By The Power of Beelzebub

By the Power of Beelzebub: An Aramaic Incantation Formula from Qumran (4Q560) Author(s): Douglas L. Penney and Michael O.
Wise Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 113, No. 4 (Winter, 1994), pp. 627-650 Published by: The Society of Biblical Literature Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3266711 Accessed: 07/09/2010 23:05
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JBL 113/4 (1994) 627-650
BY THE POWER OF BEELZEBUB AN ARAMAICINCANTATIONFORMULA FROM QUMRAN (4Q560)

DOUGLAS L. PENNEY AND MICHAEL O. WISE
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
I. Introduction The era of the Second Temple was a magical time. A wealth of indirect evidence proves that, on the popular level, magic was often of greater practical significance than were many aspects of the Law of Moses.' The intensity of the unseen spiritual battle to which the common man might easily fall victim appears in Rabbi Huna'swell-known exegesis of Ps 91:7,"Everyoneamong us has a thousanddemons on his left hand and ten thousandat his right": Against these invisible legions of demons, magic offered a tangible, material defense whose potential benefits a prudent individual could not affordto ignore. Thus an understanding of magic is indispensable for a proper appraisal of Jewish civilization in these years. The problem for historians has been that the evidence is indirect. Very little in the way of incantations and books of magic dates securely to the yearsof the Second Temple.Most survivingJewish magical materials date from the Byzantine period to the medieval period; some pieces of uncertain date have tempted interpretersanxious to push back into the time of Jesus, and they have argued for Second Temple provenance. Nevertheless, the best argumentation is no substitute for a secure dating. Uncertain dating remains just that: uncertain. The only exceptions have been portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many of which remained, until recently, unpublished.3
in See the discussion by P. S. Alexander,"Incantationsand Books of Magic," E. Schurer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135) (rev.and ed. G. Vermes, F Millar, and M. Goodman; 3 vols.; Edinburgh: Clark, 1973-87) 3. 342-79. 2 On the and problem of precisely what is meant by "magic," on the problem of distinguishing in magic from religion, see D. Aune, "Magicand Early Christianity," ANRW2.23.2 (ed W. Haase; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1980) 1507-57. 3 See the bibliography of magical texts from Qumran in Schurer, History, 364-65. Further, Un note E. Puech, "11QPsApa: rituel d'exorcismes: Essai de reconstruction," RevQ 14 (1990) IV 377-408; idem, "Les deux derniers Psaumes davidiques du rituel dexorcisme, 11QPsApa 4-V 14,' in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Yearsof Research (ed. D. Dimant and U. Rappaport;Leiden: Brill, 1992) 64-89; M. Baillet, "Cantiquesdu Sage"[4Q510-511]DJD 7. 215-61; B. Nitzan, "Hymns Evil Ghosts' Tarbiz 55 (1985) 19-46 (Heb.); Y. Ta-Shma, "Notes to from Qumran '~571 : nD'
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With the release of a two-volume facsimile edition of the Scrolls4 and with open access now the rule in Qumran scholarship, these fragmentary magical texts are availablefor inspection by any curious eye. The scrolls include more magic texts than was previously realized even by the few privy to the whole collection, for one of the scrolls, thought by the original editors to be a collection of proverbs, turns out to contain an apotropaic formula. It is a portion of this unprecedented text, officially (and, one hopes, temporarily) designated "4Q560 Proverbs?"that we wish to examine in the following discussion.5 This new identification rests on a number of features peculiar to Aramaic magic texts, features whose attestation is either extremely rare or completely lacking in other genres. In anticipation of supporting arguments below, those features include: (1)The formulaic mention of demon name-male and demon name-female,which appearshere not once but twice (lines i 3, 5). This feature is virtually diagnostic of the Aramaic amulets and incantation bowls. (The attestation in other magic texts of at least one of the demon names further supports this identification.) (2) The enumeration of diseases typical of such texts and the concern for well-being in childbirth-and perhaps even safety of possessions-on which apotropaic texts habitually focus. (3) The mention of"entering the flesh/body"(using the verb and preposition combination normally required for expressing demon possession). (4) Two occurrences of the verbal root On' in the first person (one with a suffixed second masculine singular pronominal object, indicating direct address of the adjured demon), matchingperfectly the requiredsyntaxfor exorcistsaddressingdemons. (5) The occurrence of a short quotation from Hebrew Scripture, hardly an exclusive feature of magic texts, but a typical one nevertheless. These hallmarks of Aramaic magic texts positively identify the text even in its present fragmentary state. The text as it stands lacks other features expected of a typical incantation text, at least some of which we presume once stood in the lacunae. The two most important are: (a) The formula introducing the proper names identifying the client/beneficiary of the text's magic power. (b) The deity or power in whose name the evils are adjured (though perhaps to be restored in i 4).
55 "TheQumranSongs Against 'Hymnsfrom Qumran, Tarbiz (1985)440-42 (Heb.);J. Baumgarten, Demons,"Tarbiz55 (1985) 442-45 (Heb.), and B. Nitzan, "Hymnsfrom Qumran-4Q510-4Q511, in The Dead Sea Scrolls: Forty Yearsof Research, 53-63. 4 R. Eisenman and J. M. Robinson, A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2 vols.; Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1991). 5 Our designation of the text follows S. A. Reed, Dead Sea Scroll Inventory Project:Lists of and MuseumPlates (Claremont,CA:Ancient Biblical ManuscriptCenter, Documents,Photographs 1992). 6 Although traditionallybowls are distinguished from amulets, we have consulted as many texts of both types as possible since each informs the reading of 4Q560. Apart from rather obvious distinctions, no features stand out as exclusive to one or the other.
Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub
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The tradition of magic texts in the ancient Near East goes back perhaps as far as writing, as shown by the Sumerian forebears of the third millennium BCE.7A rich literature of magic and incantation texts has survived from Akkadian sources,8 and, mutatis mutandis, its formulas and phraseology can sometimes be recognized in the magic texts produced during the long period when Aramaic dominated Mesopotamia. The Aramaic tradition includes the Babylonian, Jewish Palestinian, Samaritan, Syriac, and Mandaic texts of late antiquity9 From Egypt come magical texts inscribed in Greek and Demotic, some of which, although dated centuries later, record traditions reflecting the period when the scrolls were composed.1'Hebrew magic texts are known from the medieval period, primarily in the form of amulets, and continued to be produced even after the advent of printing." Because amulets and incantations
For the oldest magic texts to date, see M. Krebernik, Die Beschworungenaus Fara and Ebla (Texte und Studien zur Orientalistik 2; Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1984). Note also M. J. Geller, Forerunners UDUG-HUL: SumerianExorcisticIncantations(FreiburgerAltorientalischeStudien to 12; Stuttgart:Franz Steiner Verlag, 1985). A. Goetze had already correctly asserted that "it can IncantationAgainstDiseases" hardlybe doubted that texts like ours had Sumerianantecedents"("An JCS 9 [1955] 8-18). 8 E. Reiner, "Plague Amulets and House Blessings"'JNES19 (1960) 148-55; idem, "La magie babylonienne,"in Le monde du sorcier (Sources Orientale 7; Paris: Seuil, 1966) 69-98. For a bibliography of the Old Babylonian literature, see W. Farber, "Zur alteren akkadischen BeZA schworungsliteratur," 71 (1981) 53-60; and more recently W. Farber, "Mannamluspur ana Enkidu," JNES 49 (1990) 299-321. 9 The bulk of the corpus of Babylonian Aramaic magic texts is transcribed and translated in C. Isbell, Corpusof Aramaic IncantationBowls (SBLDS 17; Missoula, MT:Scholars Press, 1975). Texts not covered in Isbell's corpus include C. Gordon, "TheAramaic Incantation in Cuneiform," AfO 12 (1937-39) 105-17; C. Gordon,"MagicBowls in the MoriahCollection' Or 53 (1984)220-41; C. Gordon, "TwoAramaic Incantations'"in Biblical and Near Eastern Studies: Essays in Honor of William SanfordLaSor (ed. G. Tuttle;Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1978) 231-44; M. Geller, "Four Aramaic Incantation Bowls,"in The Bible World:Essays in Honor of Cyrus H. Gordon (ed. G. Rendsburget al.; New York:Ktav,1980) 47-60; and E. Cook, "AnAramaicIncantation Bowl from Khafaje: BASOR285 (1992) 79-81. Jewish Palestinian: J. Naveh and S. Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1985) [hereafter,references to texts in their collection follow the notation of Naveh and Shaked: A = Amulet, B = Bowl, "Geniza"is not abbreviated];J. Naveh, "A Recently Discovered PalestinianJewish AramaicAmulet:'in Aramaeans,Aramaicand the Aramaic Literary Tradition(ed. M. Sokoloff; Ramat-Gan:Bar-Ilan University Press, 1983) 81-88; and R. Kotansky,"TwoInscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria:' IEJ 41 (1991) 267-81. Samaritan: R. Pummer, "Samaritanamulets from the Roman-Byzantine Period and their Wearers," 94 (1987) 251-63. RB Syriac: P. Gignoux, Incantations magiques syriaques (Louvain: Peeters, 1987). Mandaic:E. Yamauchi,Mandaic Incantation Texts(AOS 49; New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1967). 10 Hans Dieter Betz, ed., The Greek MagicalPapyri in TranslationIncludingthe Demotic Spells (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986); J. Gager, ed., Curse Tabletsand Binding Spellsfrom the Ancient World (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992). 11 L. H. Schiffman and M. D. Swartz, Hebrew and Aramaic Incantation Texts from the Cairo Genizah: Selected Textsfrom Taylor-SchechterBox K1 (Semitic Texts and Studies 1; Sheffield:
7
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embraced a long and conservative tradition, a sifting of these many materials for parallels greatly facilitates the understanding of 4Q560. Incantations were generally copied from patterns-extracted, as it were, from "recipe books'.12 Often multiple copies of an amulet formula or magic bowl text exist, agreeing word for word.l3Consequently, when severaltexts share the same provenance, cross-referencing makes possible the reconstruction of the broken portions in any one of them. Amulets and incantation texts were conservative of tradition and mass produced with very little modification, if any. Precisely here lie both the promise and the problems of our text. 4Q560 stands in the middle of a long gap. Its fellows date either from a much earlier or a much later time. The earliest previously known Palestinian amulets and incantation bowls are several centuries younger.'4 Thus, the appearance of the Qumran incantation so long before other Palestinian examples makes it invaluable as a record of the genre's development. At the same time, however, this text is chronologically isolated. With no close confreres, its possible reconstruction and understanding are thereby the more difficult. Our text appearsin the upper half of a photographdesignated PAM43.602, The present discussion will focus on the larger and consists of two fragments.'5 itself the product of severaljoins. Portions of two columns survive. fragment, An intercolumnar space clearly separates them. A tear in the leather dissects several words in the first column; along the subsequent join, the edges do not lie flat, obscuring the true spacing of the letters adjacent to this break. This fact is particularly critical for the reading of col. i line 5. Only the left side of col. i and the right side of col. ii survive. No single line remains intact. While col. i preserves approximately six words for each of lines 2 through 5, col. ii retains no more than three initial words in lines 4 through 7. Based on the reconstruction of col. i line 5 (see below), it is reasonable to suppose that even the best-preserved lines of col. i represent less than half the original length.
Sheffield Academic Press, 1992); T. Schrire,HebrewAmulets:Their deciphermentand interpretation (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966) 137; Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 119, 133. 12 In Naveh and Shaked, Geniza 5, pp. 2-4 and Geniza 6, pp. 1-4, the prospective owner's rn'? 1' 7bD, "so-and-so,son of so-and-so"). the cuneiform Cf. name is abbreviated :s (Aramaic D3 representationof the same Aramaicphrase,with feminine form in keeping with matronymiccustom required in amulets (J. Neusner, A History of the Jews in Babylonia [5 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1970] 4. 349), "pi-la-nuba-ri pi-la-'u" (Gordon, "AramaicIncantation in Cuneiform,' 107). A similar practice appears in the Akkadianamulet formula discussed by E. Reiner ("Plague Amulets and House Blessings"JNES 19 [1960] 151),where a blank is left for the name of the owner.The generic formula in Akkadian texts is annanna mar annanna (CAD, s.v.). 13 E. Reiner,"PlagueAmulets and House Blessings,' 151;and H. Torczyner,"AHebrew Incantation Against Night-Demons from Biblical Times," JNES6 (1947) 21, 27. The Arslan Tashtablets discussed by Torczyner have since been labeled a forgery by a few. 14 See the discussion of J. Naveh in "A Palestinian Jewish Aramaic Amulet,' 81-83. 15 Portions of the text also appear in earlier photographs designated as PAM40.602, 41.954, 42.079, 42.081 and 43.574 (middle).
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Since neither the top nor the bottom of the fragment is intact, we may not automatically assume that col. ii is part of the same incantation text. Its proximity to col. i and its vocabulary and syntax support the conclusion that it too survives from an apotropaic incantation. The firm identification of col. i as an incantation text bolsters that of col. ii, but only the appearance of additional joins would confirm beyond any doubt its identity as part of the same unit as col. i. Nonetheless, some qualified assumptions point in this direction. These assumptions concern the originalheight of the columns and the original length of the formula. The Qumran materials contain plentiful examples of scrolls with as few as six to eight lines per column. Of course, the smaller the number of lines per column in 4Q560, the greater the likelihood that cols. i and ii belong to the same unit. With regard to total length, that of extant Aramaic incantations varies greatly. Texts in Isbell's collection, for example, range from three lines to twenty. The longer texts could easily have stretched across two columns on a scroll of moderate height. Whatevermay ultimately emerge, neither column's interpretation hinges on both belonging to a single incantation formula. In general, the letters of 4Q560 are clearly legible. The scribe wrote in a book hand typical for the Qumran texts, but unlike many of the Scrolls copyists, he clearly distinguished waw versus yod and daleth versus resh. The ink remains dark and contrasts nicely with the light leather on which the text was inscribed. II. Transcription and Translation Column i c. 25 ];~55 =r[5'n [ :Imnln6[ nMTV'r [ c. 8 71]V WRIo p -15 V 55V[ 5: ^n1i rw nnip: <Rn)rntml R?n wrf< 5,n^r-i Nt mrm w mpb =:5 nwNi mwnrl awe VwV(D1 NV'w[3n 7:5 1 <-R>oi >D1D0 3W> :V [np^ 10 JDn5Mn ^b5 'r <<0 71a t<RNrn>Ol' .[c. 2]5[ c. 9] . .[c. 6]... I'P'[ c. 26 ] ...[ [ Note: Col. ii 8 implies the existence of col. i 8. Column ii ] 1 ] 1 ] 2 ] 3 ] 4 D MR1] 5 ] 6 ] 7 ] 8
lm]iiOlp2
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`n
]t 'mllp-np 4 Innmi 71 7:N 5 ]1n '1 ]rnnm 6 nnlT

]1":p3 aMmR 5 7
]. vacat [ c. 5] 8 Column i 1. ...Beel]zebub, you/to you[... 2. ...]the midwife, the punishment of childbearers, an evil visitant, a de[mon . . . 3. ... I adjure you all who en]ter into the body, the male Wasting-demon and the female Wasting-demon 4. ... I adjure you by the name of YHWH, "He who re]moves iniquity and transgression,' O Fever and Chills and Chest Pain 5. ...and forbidden to disturb by night in dreams or by da]y in sleep, the male Shrine-spirit and the female Shrine-spirit, breacher-demons (?) of 6. ...w]icked...[ ]..[ ]l[ ] 7. ...]...[ 8.... Column ii
1....
2. before h[im... 3. and... 4. before him and... [ 5. And I, O spirit, adjure [you that you... 6. I adjure you, O spirit, [that you... 7. On the earth, in clouds [... 8.... Analysis Column i Line 1 ]": '1-I[ The fragmentary state of line 1 precludes any firm reconstruction. The second word, if complete, represents the 2 f. s. pronoun, but its syntactic funcIn tion remains unclear.16 the first word, the two beths are clear, but the letter
16 The f. sing. pronoun ':5 occurs frequently in the obligatorydirect address formulas of magic texts because the offending spirit (nln) is grammatically feminine, although the masculine also occurs in agreement ad sensum. See ii 6.
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to the right is badly damaged. Twolower strokes (a horizontal and an oblique, down and to the left) are discernible. The word =31 occurring in col. i line 4, and occasionally in other incantations, might tempt one to see in the strokes the remains of a lamedh. Yet a closer examination of the other instances of lamedh establishes that the final stroke of lamedh in this hand does not descend to the line as does the stroke here. It is possible to read two letters, viz., waw and lamed, but that requires a waw somewhat different from those preserved elsewhere in this text. The traces indicate a daleth. Even the reading '?lr presents more than one option for interpretation. The first possibility stems from the idioms using the Akkadianverb dabdbu, whose many meanings include "to speak, recite, mumble, grumble, pester'17 Borrowed uses of this root appear in several places in West Semitic. H. Torczynerhas reinterpreted the pointing of Cant 7:107l=t TnnD D'n7so that it reads "to recite a conjuration of the sleeping''"8The Ugaritic incantation RIH 78/20 has the form dbbm in its opening line, where D. Pardee (and others) render "tormentors," relating the form to the expression bel dabdbi, "adverbut In sary (in court), plaintiff," also "enemy."19 the context of magic, the Akkadian phrase kassaptum sa udabbabu etlam, "the witch that pesters the young man,' has particularrelevance.2 The Akkadianroot has thus found its way into the Palestinianmagic tradition.In particular,Aramaicdeveloped the borrowed idiom in several forms. The meaning "enemy" is well attested in various dialects.2 Jewish Palestinian Aramaic contains numerous uses of =t1 5'l as ~ a noun and even as a verbal root.22The abstract noun 1'M1'5l, "enmity," This rendering Hebrew F;iR, occurs in a targum of the curse in Gen 3:15.23 connection of the curse with childbirthmay anticipatethe topic of line 2, which mentions birth complications. In the magic literature, however, and exorcism in particular, this word The title occurs in the adjuramay occur as a designation for "The Accuser." tions of later Aramaic magic texts.24The Synoptics' use of the Semitic word as WTiv PeX4p3o6uX the equivalent of 6 aaravaSand the ruler of demons (apXoov
17 CAD, s.v. Note also gudbubu, "to make some one recite (prayer,ritual, lament)"
18 He relates the phrase to Akkadiandababu, "maketo recite, mutter" "A (H. Torczyner, Hebrew IncantationAgainstNight-Demons from BiblicalTimes,JNES 6 [1947]19). Cf. the relateddiscussion in S. Kaufman, TheAkkadianInfluenceson Aramaic (Assyriological Studies 19; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974) 42 n. 55. 19 D. Pardee (personal communication). See also D. Pardee, Les textes rituels (Ras ShamraOugarit; Paris: Editions Recherches sur les Civilisations, forthcoming). 20 CAD, s.v. dabdbu. 21 Kaufman, Akkadian Influences, 42. 22 M. Aramaic(Ramat-Gan, Israel:Bar Ilan University Sokoloff,A Dictionaryof Jeish Palestinian Press, 1990) s.v., and the conjugated form p11;'7P :nno, "he was hostile to them" 23 Ibid., s.v. 24 Cf. m'mn'Q:)'':3 (Isbell 2.3; 7.5) and note esp. Isbell 6.6, where he translates"mightyfoes', observing correctly in his note that "the phrase is a synonym of'enemy," but Isbell goes on to say that it "means literally 'owner of (slanderous) talk'" This later assertion ignores the evidence of the phrase's origins; in our opinion, the literal meaning is "bitter or strong accuser/enemy."
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8atLioviov) further testifies to the currency of this name for exorcism in first-
century Palestine. The subject of line 2 may provide an alternative solution for the problem of ''1. Childbirth and its attendant complications were the primary domain of the demon Lilith-hence her frequent mention in the amulets and bowls. If the topic of line 2 continues that of line 1, then we may plausibly suggest for ':i the meaning "fly" Aramaic magic texts testify to the belief that Lilith The texts sometimes adjure could enter the rooms of pregnant women as a fly.25 her from so doing. Neither interpretation of 231 commands our conviction to the exclusion of the other, a fact that reflects the difficulty of the line with its single word and absence of context.
Line 2
w~N Ti p115' n ]VW
nnmn [
Although the limited context once again makes interpretation difficult, the root 7'15occurs twice. In magic texts pleas for the safety of childbearing women are common.26 Since the rest of the line seems disjointed, we suggest as a working hypothesis that this line contains a list enumerating concerns or evils pertaining to a childbearing woman. The photograph reveals traces immediately before the yod of mLn n, apparently those of a mem.27 Among the stems whose morphology accords with this reading, the limited context does little to narrow the possibilities. Lexical usage is, however, more helpful, pointing to the pael, which alone uses both a prefix and a suffix on the same form. Therefore, we consider the pael participle feminine singular status emphaticus the most likely candidate, understood as a substantive with the meaning "midwife"28 Such a mention does have couldassume formandtheAramaic the It wasclearly beliefthatdemons virtually natural any in RDon-r StqTiW KoY1w[]nrinmn-In'n lmI1 magictextsparticipate such beliefs.Cf. Nn' mrllI 5m1in' )n= rnnl, "inthe likenessof vermin,and reptile,in the likenessof beast and 1p3':3 and bird,in the likenessof husband of wife,andin everylikenessandin allcolors" (Isbell3.14-15; B on and see also57.3;NavehandShaked, Amulets, 13.11-13 the narrative pp. 112-13]), The [esp. in of Testament Solomon 15.3(D. Duling"Testament Solomon:' OTP1. 935-87. For the 2.3, of The standard editionof the Greektext,see C. McCown, Testament Solomon Hinrichs, of [Leipzig: 1922],hereafterT Sol.). 26 Cf. the occurrences this root:n'S15 A 15:1; 12:11; in B in T'I'in B 7:8. RnT'5 B 13:10, 13 of Kindred who give birth"). themesalso occurin othermagictexts.Forbar"women (translated and see see rennessand abortion, Isbell 17.3-4;for menstruation miscarriage, Isbell 37.7,and Box and Schiffman Swartz, Taylor-Schechter K1,texts18 and30 (hereafter usingtheirnotation, who For labororbreech,notethe "woman travails, TSK1). birthcomplications, perhaps prolonged but does not give birth" (Isbell25.9). 27 The lowerportionof the finalstrokeof mem,which descendsto the left, is visible.Not a taw of to enoughof the strokeremains ruleout the possibility reading taw,but reading creates See its own problemsof interpretation. below.
25 28 As in Hebrew, the doubled stem is lexicalized with the meaning "to assist in giving birth": 7'lr12 pael inf. "Geburtshilfe leisten" (G. Dalman, Grammatik des judisch-palastinischen Aramiiisch [Leipzig:Hinrichs, 1927; reprinted, Darmstadt:Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1981] 311).
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a precedent. "Midwife" the form of the noun ^U'l')occurs once in a negative (in list.9 This fear of midwives may reflect a belief similar to that spelled out in Akkadian texts where Lamastu is prohibited from appearing in the form of a midwife, wet nurse, or nanny intending to snatch the child's life.30 Tnnl', "chastisement, punishment."As noted, the scribe carefully distinguished between the resh and the daleth. Nrl-2t is attested in another Aramaic incantation.31 flsC, "childbearers"(ptc. f. pl. status absolutus). The missing portion of line 1 may contain a request for ameliorated labor or some other reference of to the "curse" pain in childbirth.32While the word "cursed"is not actually used of the woman in Gen 3:16,ancient readers realized it was clearly implied in the punishment. It was, of course, a widespread ancient belief, the first century not excepted, that disease was a form of divine punishment. In npD,"visitant" 4Q560, the form appearsto be a masculine noun. Jewish or Palestinian Aramaic attests 'np'D 'npD, "commandment," it is positive but in meaning, almost an equivalent of Hebrew ,11M,and so does not satisfy the
Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, B 13:13. The concept of a midwife as evil stems from the belief that demons plaguing prospective or new mothers and their new or unborn children could appear as midwives. Lilith was believed to enter the rooms of pregnant women in many forms and is adjured from so doing in numerous texts. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lilith, borrowed from Akkadian lilu, especially ardat lilt, does not correspond perfectly to the character of the Akkadian demon, although at least one Akkadian text does express the concern that "the lilu-demon should not come near the baby"(CAD, s.v.lilu). As the quintessential menace in childbirth, Lilith conforms more closely to Akkadian der 6:445 and the bibliography, Reallexikon Assyriologie, Lamastu(Farber, "Lamastu,' 441). Akkadian incantations adjure Lamastu from appearing as a midwife, nanny or wet nurse to steal the child's life. (The relevanttexts will appearin a forthcomingpublicationof the Lamastuseries by W. Farber.) Lilith'sLamastu-like behavior appears, for example, in Isbell 19.9,where she is adjured "not to devour their sons or their daughters, whom they have or will have."Cf. the Akkadian belief that "Lamastufollows women about to give birth"(CAD, s.v.alidu) with the dragon who "stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth"(Rev 12:4). The success of the borrowed name Lilith in West Semitic may be due to folk etymology linking it with the root 5'5, "night'" The name rn'1'has now appeared at Qumran (4Q510 i 5). Cf. Isa 34:14. For a bibliography of incantation texts dealing with Lamastu, see E. Yamauchi, "Magicor Miracle' in The Miraclesof esus (ed. D. Wenhamand C. Blomberg;Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1986) 156-57 n. 92. 31 Naveh and Shaked, Amulet, B 13:4. 32 In Jewish legend, Jochebed was granted painless childbirth (Schrire,HebrewAmulets, 114). A request for painless menses in TS K1.30lines 24-26 is fortified with a threat to beat the demon "with the iron rods of those four holy matriarchs,BILHAH, RACHEL, ZILPAH, LEAH" (whose initials spell the magic element L5nT, "iron").Akkadian texts include requests for easy birthing 308; idem, Texteaus der Umweltdes Alten Testaments 11/2,Rituale und (Farber,"Mannamluspur," Beschworungen I 274ff.) and again, lilid ardatum musapsiqtum, "let the woman in travail have an easy birth" (AHW s.v. pasaqu, and CAD, s.v. ardatu). Z The magic texts express fears about childbirth: l^1VIT pl3'y0lr 'w" 11l';' lY 715'l3 'rir N5VS , "spirits which enter the wonbs of women and deform their offspring, 3,1 T'nDn E)rln that she not abort the fruit of her womb" (TS K1.18lines 15-17, so also TS K 1.30 lines 8-10; see also Isbell 19.4; 20.7; T Sol. 9.5-6, 12.2 and 13.1-6).
29 30
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context here.33 While the apparent setting of a list of evils dictates the demands preference for a negative definition, the subsequent adjective "evil" such a negative. The root itself may encompass negative meanings,34 but the possibility that the word has a significance peculiar to the magic literature should not be overlooked. One tantalizing incidence of this root occurs as 7'l7pDin a list of adjured evils in Isbell 53.7. In lieu of his dubious translation "pledges,"we suggest "demon visitants"35Mandaic corroborates this in two
Gen 3:15,using both words. Sokoloff,Dictionary, s.v.See also the long elaboration of Tg.Yer. Syriac reflects such a negative meaning in the ethpeel "to be visited with punishment" as well as the positive in piuqda ' and paqddnd', "commandment"(J. Payne Smith, ed., A Compendious Syriac Dictionary [2 vols.; Oxford: Clarendon, 1976] s.v. pqd), hereafter PS. 35 Support for Isbell's rendering "pledge"in the context of childbirth might perhaps be found in the rabbinic exegesis of h=nrZ,"woman in travail,'who was called "mehabbelabecause she was seized as a pledge (see Exod 22:25) to death"(VayyikraRabba 639:2, cited in Sokoloff, DicBut tionary, s.v. bDrnn). Isbell's translation of the line contains, in addition to this word, several other unfortunate translations which may now be improved. The relevant portion of Isbell's text " and translation reads: N3K 501 l1,n n,n l 1' y = Y1 )~ KK1 R)OD1 DI p1)I0TD 17'Op1ED11 1'1nTD Vnni rlnn [sic], "plague, satan, incubus, all the idols-all of them-pledges, farmers, pebblecharms, impious-ones, dissension, plagues of male and female smiter"We propose the following corrections: (1) The entire list identifies types of spirits. This is now well established for 1'~r~D, as we argue below (see discussion of the demon :1' in line 5) and Isbell himself admits this possibility (p. 20 n. 4). Therefore, the meaning "idol-spirits"is preferable to "idol"alone. (2) In keeping with this understanding, p'~pDdesignates an "appointedspirit"or "spiritvisitant" as the Mandaic bears out (see note below). is (3) 111"7, "farmers,' without precedent in the magic texts and is orthographicallypeculiar, since the spelling with yod is unique. In the Aramaicdialects the word for farmer,Targ. 'akkerd', Syr. 'akkdra', and Mand. 'kara, and the Arabic loan 'akiru, always has an a-class vowel in the first syllable. Only Hebrew, 'ikkar,has an i-class vowel, due to attenuation, as in gibb6r <*gabbar. Other similar lists suggest a solution. In place of p~'1R they mention 'fl'?Y, "temple-spirits" Isbell himself notes that "both "'nyY and :'N are clearly attested" as spellings in his corpus (p. 33 n. 7). The only difficulty (if it can be called that) is the defective orthography.Even disregarding the advantages of preferable meaning and the precedent of other lists, lack of a mater lectionis is a less difficult problem than having the wrong one. We therefore urge the adoption of the reading "temple-spirits." While Isbell's consistent rendering is again technically correct, (4) lpIDn, "pebble-charms." it masks the integral notion that the necklace pendant was inhabited by a spirit, the real reason for its mention in the magic lists. Cf. Mandaichumria,"amulet-spirits" S. Drowerand R. Macuch, (E. A Mandaic Dictionary [Oxford:Clarendon, 1963] s.v.)and evidence adduced by C. Faraone for paiTuXos 0 n "house of god")in regardto the Semitic belief that gods inhabited sacred stones (< "r, Horses:GuardianStatuesin Ancient GreekMyth and Ritual [Oxford:Oxford (Talismansand Trojan University Press, 1992] 50). (5) nlMrrno[sic] t'N31 N3D\, "dissension,plagues of male and female smiters" Apparently Isbell intends to correct 'tR to '^13, "plagues of" Not only is such a construction unusual, but Mandaic attests pigia upilgia, "deaf-mute and dissension:' as demons, making emendation unnecessary (Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, s.v.pigia, but note also palga, "paralysis?demon" [ibid., s.v.]). The evidence above suggests the following new translation:"plague,satan, incubus, all the idol-spirits- all of them- demonic visitants,temple-spirits,pebble-charm demons, impious-ones,
33
34
637
forms: paqda, "kind of demon, incubus,"and piqdia, "kind of demon, demon visitant."36 V0M, "bad, evil" This word is the standard modifier of 'lW and other demons in later magic. Thus it provides further support for the understanding of 'Ip (above) as a demon. ]W.That the demon designation '7i lipDimmediately precedes suggests that IW,"demon," may also occur in the list, but again context is lacking, so the possibilities are nearly limitless. The phrase nlt: ''rW,5, "to the demons of error,'in 4QpsDan illustratesa use roughly contemporaneous with 4Q560.37 The disjointed nature of this line may indicate that it forms part of a list of evils against which the incantation serves as protection. If so, we may offer the following speculative reconstruction: "In the name of... protect PN from ... ] the midwife, punishment of childbearers (i.e., childbirth afflictions), an evil visitant, a de[mon ..." n^= 55/[ Line 3 n n 'n ,nn5 anp.3 < 5bnm5m n 1<>~r* n Note especially Syriac 'all beh dayw', "adevil entered into :::3 51y/[. "Satan entered into him."38In laterJewish Palestihim,' and 'et'allal beh sadtdnd', nian Aramaic,the body is usually termed R-3', while lqVm has the meaning The body is normally referred to by :l3 "flesh,meat"(as opposed to drink).39 in incantation texts as well.4 The usage here more nearly resembles Syriac.4 Yet closer examination of the idiom may provide a more parsimonious solution. The expression 'W3M55Vmay simply anticipate or reflect the nature of the affliction attributed to the demon called ,SrnSn. It may be that zW:'= is the expected preposition and object combination following the root 5n5n, i.e., "poisoning,"affects the "flesh"in particular, not so much the "body"in general.42 We <5>L,nbn55, "Wasting-demon." emend on the basis of the repetition (with a feminine ending) later in the same line, where the lamedh prefix is
If dissension-spirits, deaf-spirits, male and female smiter." these corrections are warranted, then the 1pt' find a precedent in the w'8O 'pD of 4Q560. 36 Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, s.v. Note the following combinations attested in Mandaic: piqda daiwa (demon), piqdia uruhia (spirits),sahria (demons) upiqdia,piqdia ulihania (net-spirits), sidia (demons) upiqdia. Note also the use of pqd in the Peshitta of Ps 91:11. 37 J. A. Fitzmyer and D. Harrington, A Manual of PalestinianAramaic Texts(BibOr 34; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1978) 7. Their text 3C:2 = 4QpsDan. Note also D'MlP (4Q510 i 5). 38 PS, s.v. '11. Cf. similar phrases in Isbell 21.14-16, 20. 39 Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, B 7:8 or 13:10. 40 E.g., Isbell 3.15 or 19.10. 41 Cf. the semantic overlap of Syriac besra', flesh (and hence) body, with pagra', "the body, the flesh";and esp. besrana', "offlesh, corporeal, carnal,' or besranaya', "fleshly,carnal,"and pagrand', "bodily,fleshly, carnal"(PS, s.v.).In the Syriac NT, pagrd' regularly renders Greek ljCloa. 42 The occurrences of the root in JPAare sufficientlyrarethat they neither confirmnor contradict this proposal. The Syriac examples given below (see the discussion of ',^n,5) show that this idiom did not function in that language. Cf. the distinct uses of"body" and "flesh"in 2 Macc 9:9.
638
not repeated. Severalconsiderations support an emendation. First, as already mentioned, is the feminine form that follows. Second, col. i line 5 contains in another "omission" a parallel context.3 Third, as an examination of other will attest, such lapses are common in magical texts. texts The word appears in the form of a nomen gentilicium (determined state, masc. sing.)44The feminine occurrence later corresponds morphologically to the gentilic, but as written does not agree with regard to status.45We have emended on the basis of the determined state of the masculine form and the subsequent word n'pI. Similarlogic applies to the emendation of the names in line 5. There the feminine form, clearly a gentilic, again lacks the expected determined ending even though RnQp3 follows.The masculine form omits both the gentilic and emphatic ending while the following word, '11, also lacks the later. Fortunately these orthographic inconsistencies do not obscure the meaning or compromise the interpretation of the text. The syntax of the phrase requires that R<,n>n function as a designation of a demon or perhaps a proper name. A similar form, Rl)nTln,"poisoning," occurs in the context of a list of demons in Isbell 53.2, 7, where the difference The name here, as there, refers may reflect simply a later,fuller orthography46 to poisoning or perhaps various consumptive diseases with similar symptoms. This determination is possible because, while this name is relatively rare, related terms and similar semantic extensions do occur elsewhere. Jewish Palestinian Aramaic uses the verbal root to describe the effects of poisoning, nMnnMr V nw,n p&Dq0L, "He had scarcely drunk of it (poison), before O y he wasted away"47 Syriac attests several related forms: methalhal pagra', "the and body wastes away"48 gusma' maspel wmawhel,"itenfeebles and debilitates the body"49 The possibility exists of a perceived connection in antiquity with '1rn, "sick persons"50
43 It is possible that this writing may bespeak a failure to pronounce syllable final resh in the spoken language rather than a lapsus calami. See E. Qimron, TheHebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls (HSS 29; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986) ?200.14. 44 The suffix of each form of the name in 4Q560 reflects the correct gender of the gentilic adjective ending (Dalman, Grammatik, ?36, 3). 45 Cf. the similar disagreement between the forms of l:3' in lines 3 and 5. 46 Although in JPAnouns built with reduplicated first and second radicals usually have waw in the second syllable, examples of defective writing do occur, e.g., rnb'25:1 Rnlq5n;(Dalman, and Grammatik, 165-66). 47 Sokoloff, Dictionary, s.v.Jastrow recognizes several related forms and meanings: (1) b)nrn (Heb.) "penetration of a poisonous substance, poison";(2) 5nrnnr (Heb.) "to be permeated (with poison)";(3) 5nrrnnrP (Arm.) "to be permeated by poison, to feel the effects of poison" (Jastrow, s.v.5n5n). 48 PS, s.v. hll, palpel "shake violently,' ethpalpel "to be dissolved."Although the ithpalpal is well attested for geminate roots in JPA (Dalman, Grammatik, 337), Dalman cites the form "wurde erschiittert,"as an ithpalpal of a middle weak root (p. 325). brbnnnrv, 49 PS, s.v. yhl. The root occurs only as an aphel, "to enfeeble." 50
Cf. Isbell 39.7.

nQp3 ...
639
..X R1 ..., "X male-demon and X female-demon.' This pattern
(repeated in line 5) occurs in many incantations. As noted above, it is perhaps the single most important feature identifying this text as magical.5 The precedent for this standardphrasing goes back at least as far as Akkadian(and probably Sumerian).52
Line 4 1'5 nWlq 1.Vl lWN WO 1 R [3n r 1m The first discernible words of this line are apparently a quotation from 1 either Exod 34:7 or Num 14:18.3 The phrase 7lp7317Ml nl WD111 RW1 l :rD n'1-5ril bv t-5%y -5ynV1/3 71/v 7pp3, "forgivinginiquity and transp 'pP gression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty,visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation,"occurs in both passages. A NW[:I,"He who removes." small, dark fleck is visible in the photograph above the break and to the right of the partially preserved sin, where the ascender of a lamedh would appear. It is not at all certain, however, that it represents part of a letter, since such flecks appear elsewhere on the leather where they are clearly not letter fragments. The reading sin is more secure. A small tear in the leather seems to have caused part of the ink on the sin to fleck off. On the basis of the quotation one expects a participle from the
root RW.
WD1 01Y, "iniquity and transgression." Later amulets and charms frequently quote biblical texts. A few consist almost entirely of quotations, e.g., Isbell's texts 35 and 66. Sometimes the connection between the passage cited and the amulet's purpose is transparent, as with the frequently quoted Psalms 91 and 121, Num 6:24, or Zech 3:2. In other cases the logic behind
51 The standard formula, '1, occurs in Isbell 3.5; 11.3;12.8. Variationsand alterKnIpo ... native renderings: aNrlp: Nn'nD'r .... nl- ;15LN,"male gods ... and female goddesses" (21.8, .' 9; 40.4); N,'p3 1n1 01Ip1', "whether male or female" (42.3); rnip'l N-'K Rvnlwv plnt 5:, "all you evil spirits, whether male or female"(53.2); and also with other evil pairs, as in RnY3D R3D, "maleplague and female plague"(24.10). Similarly,Naveh and Shaked, [N1']p311' 17, "whether male or female" (A 7b:3). Isbell. 59.4-5 refers to "evilspirit-male or female"(r'p31 'T IY nnmI) and "sorcerers man or woman"(7trWl D0'DW). The deliberately inclusive language of magic Wv' texts, probably intended to allow no loopholes for wily demons, applies to protected entities as well: "male and female fetuses" (20.7; 19.4; 22.5; 20.6 [recons.]) and "boysand girls" (22.4; 57.4). 52 Note utukkulili lititu immedu puzur gahati, "the utukku-demon,lilfi-demon and the female lilitu-demon take refuge in the hidden corners" (CAD, s.v. lilu). While this example illustrates how closely the Akkadianparallels our phrase, Akkadiandoes not seem to employ the construction with the other designations for demons, but restricts it to the "family" lilu/lilftu/ardatlili/etel lilt, where it reflects the incubus/succubaactivities of those demons- activities in which the other demons presumablydid not participate.That kassdptu, "sorceress,usuallyaccompanies the mention of kagsapu, "sorcerer," may point to the Akkadian as a precedent for that Aramaic phrase, too (CAD, s.v.).Note also apkallu,"exorcist'frequently accompanied by the feminine apkallatu(CAD, s.v.) as the equivalent of"sorcerers, man or woman" (see note above). 53 The Numbers passage omits the word r^tol, "andsin' from the list after "transgression." Similar phrases also occur elsewhere, e.g., Mic 7:18.
640
text selection and significance is mystical or otherwise obscure. If line 2 does refer to infertility, difficulty in childbirth, or postpartum complications for mother or infant, the relevance of Exod 34:7 as a promise of future generations is self-evident. The gap in the text is too small for an extensive quotation, and the phrase in Exodus does not lend itself to quotation. that precedes W)D lw pl1 Consequently, the missing text may have been a simple invocation relating to the divine attributes.Other Aramaicand Hebrew incantation texts, particularly those with a more "orthodox"(i.e., less eclectic) flavor, use scriptural phrases to construct epithets for 7r,'. Later texts sometimes invoke a powerful angel, Abraham, Solomon, or Elijah.54The Qumran text probably said l D7 something on the order of fVI 1q f[3; 1T -.55 While such formulas commonly introduce scripturalpassages, they also varya great deal. Therefore, while a formula almost certainly introduced the quotation, we may only speculate as to the exact words. It is a general principle in incantation texts that an epithet should emphasize those attributes of the deity relevant to the disease mentioned or the demon adjured. Evidently, the particular attribute of the deity invoked in line 4 is the ability to forgive sin and so transmute its consequences. This interpretation of the quotation both clarifies the choice of this particular passage and is consonant with the surviving portions of the text. The word Rqw is the absolute form of lnwrq, "fever,' which wNN,"Fever" fits well into the topic of the remainder of the line. In other texts this noun occurs before every instance of nl'nI (see below) as part of the natural pair54 For angels, e.g., bswm ml'k' mntrn', "aunom des anges veilleurs" (Gignoux II, 3), in addition to many others named in later texts. (See the appropriateindex of names in the works cited.) For Abraham, see J. Montgomery,"Some Early Amulets from Palestine,'JAOS31 (1911)274. For Solomon, already at Qumran his name appears inserted in Psalm 91 (E. Puech, "1QPsApa:Un rituel d'exorcismes," 386). 55 The restoration in the text is based on the examples below. Note n,1"DW'3, "in the name of YHWH" (Isbell 10.4); nlY nP DW3, "in the name of YHWH of hosts" (Isbell 23.12); "In [the name of h]oly, holy, holy YHWH of Hosts" (Isa 6:3; nrnsq m1 V1lp tt'p ttn[p Dl]-, " D^bP1 P1'D11W, "In the name of YHYHYH m Isbell 33.5); ,0 m 7) , l1l Dr nrlqn D151R r1 ,n1D Elohim (of) Hosts. Amen. Amen. Selah. Hallelujah! It is written:" (Ps 91:7; Isbell 52.8). W21p R 15 Npn 'n m;l'nw'" , "Andin his great name which is called "The Holy God" (Isbell 'Sj'NW, '" .. (by) his name devils are bound (and) suppressed" (Isbell 24.8); l't'N 24.5); '1 ' m nt'tVr , "I adjure you by the one who caused his Shekinah 5tr,n3 n3ra W ~H p1nn ~',by N1' R,~ll nmR' DWv, to dwell in the temple of light" (Isbell 9.3); ... . 'N. ' 71;15 ''1TRnNPI I' "in the name of the one who is holding the demons ... in the name of'I-am-who-I-am'" (Isbell 17.4), and the Syriac bsmh d'lh' hy' wqdys' "aunom de Dieu vivant et saint" (Gignoux, II, 6). Cf. also the pious "biblicized"wording found in Isbell 42.12, -nirnli [sic] ^ p)31 oD 7l[n] ]N 'w' 5 ln ,1D mm;, "Amen. [Am]en. Selah. Hallelujah! Blessed rIY' <)>rn ml^/ 7Dl ^DP n art thou, YHWH, Healer of the sick of all people, Performer of miracles. Amen. Amen. Selah" Similar blendings of text and epithet are to be found in Betz, ed., Greek Magical Papyri, 124, "Iconjureby the one who in the beginning made heaven and earth and all that is therein. Hallelujah! Amen!"
641
ing "feverand chills"56The Akkadian equivalent, ummu, "fever,'also occurs in similar contexts.7 i" 1, "Chills, Shivering.58 Aramaic incantation texts mention this ailment, almost alwaysin combination with RnR.59 The pair "feverand shivering" is the concern of amulets and incantations in the Egyptian magical texts and in Akkadian texts occurs as a symptom of the Lamastu disease.0 =5 nwi l, "Chest Pain" The reference here is probably not to "passion," althoughamulets as love charms do exist, and often mention the heart.6'Several facts oppose such an understanding. First, the common expression is not "fire of the heart"but "thathis heart burn"(7ip? 7=125 11m^1 "(may)fire from your ) or fire kindle the heart of PN" (D S' 7()5 1 1 'v n pn lIr). Second, love i(i)p charms generally stick to their subject with single-minded devotion. Third, "fireof the heart"in all likelihood following immediately after "feverand chills," refers to a group of diseases with the common symptom of fever or burning pain in the chest or upper stomach.62
See the discussion in Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 47. Akkadianummu, sometimes written IZI (isatu, "fire"[CAD,s.v.])is the regular designation for "fever"(AHW,s.v.). In reference to abscesses and inflammation, the name of Lamastu, the demon responsible for fevers,is given as sa isitam inappahu,"Quiallume le feu"(Thureau-Dangin, 198, and CAD, s.v.lamastu). For igdtumas a disease in Akkadian amulets, see Albrecht Goetze, "AnIncantation Against Diseases,' JCS 9 (1955) 11-12. For lists of diseases, see Materialien zum SumerischenLexicon,9 (ed. B. Landsbergerand M. Civil; Rome: PontificiumInstitutum Biblicum, 1967) 77-112. 58 Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 275. Naveh and Shaked cite Syr. 'ry, "to be seized with cold,' Pa. "to be numb with cold" (but note also the meanings "to be seized with illness"; 'ry', "cold, frost, chill"; 'rwyt', "the shivering fit of an ague"; 'rya, "seizure,epileptic fit" [PS,s.v.]).Gignoux's Syriac magic text 11,52refers to "frisson(de fievre)"in the phrase wkl 'st' w 'rwyt' (p. 34). Isbell's glossary gives On'PY,"chills"(Isbell, 176), but provides no text references. Cf. also Naveh'smore detailed remarkson fire and chills as "shivery in fever" "APalestinianJewishAramaicAmulet, 85-86. 59 Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, A 2:2, 8, 12; 3:22; 4:29 (Heb.); misspelled in A 9:1 and B 9:13. In each case it occurs in tandem with bRwtR, "fever," except for B 9:13, where the long list of diseases is incomplete. 60 Note that in addition to the many Egyptian amulets for fever,others occur mentioning both fever and chills in Betz, ed., GreekMagicalPapyri,VII.211-12;VII.218-21;LXXXIII.1-20;CIV.1-8; CXV.1-7;CXIXb.4-5. For shivering alone, see CXXIIIa.56-68; CXXX.1-13.The Akkadian noun pair is ummu and k2su (AHW,s.w.), but verbal expressions also occur: summa amelu etemmu isbassum immem ikas[si], "If a ghost has seized a man (i.e., he suffers from the disease 'seizure by a ghost') and he gets (alternately) hot and cold" (CAD, s.v. ememu). 61 E.g., Geniza 3, Geniza 5, p. 4, line 12; Geniza 6, p. 1 lines 6 and 10. 62 Compare the uses of the Akkadian noun ummu, "Hitze, Fieber"(AHW,s.v.) and the verb ememu, as in summa la'i libbagu immim ikassa, "if an infant's heart gets hot and cold" (CAD, s.v.) or the etiological diagnosis gumma res libbisu em u qerbusu nuppuhu sibit etemmi, "if his epigastrium is hot, and his intestines inflamed, (this is) 'seizure' by a ghost" (CAD, s.v.etemmu). Note the similar description of Nabonidus's illness, 3nV, "inflamation, ulcer" (4QPrNab i 6), as well as the R'5fnri n', "spiritof purulence,"which kept Pharaoh away from Sarai (lQApGen 20:26). Earlier, the spirit sent by God is termed W1't mm,"a pestilential spirit" (lit., "smiting spirit:' kds <kts) and the generic RWR": nm, "evil spirit" (lQApGen 20:16; see Fitzmyer and Harrington, Manual). Finally, the Testamentof Solomondevotes a chapter to demons of disease, heart pain (18.26). citing these three afflictionsin close proximity;fever (18.20,23); chills (18.18-19);
56 57
642
The last words of line 4 designate diseases. Twoare well attested in other texts, while the third has a number of precedents. Their appearance together here, as in the considerably earlier Akkadianand later Aramaic texts, places their interpretation as demonic diseases beyond debate. Both the earlier and later literaturesspell out explicitly the demonic etiology of these very diseases. In addition, Aramaicmagical texts frequently do not distinguish between the name of a given disease and that of the demon who causes it. In light of the well-documented magic traditions that bracket 4Q560, this typical pattern of expression suggests that the terminology of 4Q560 likewise designates not diseases per se but rather disease demons.63 Evidence from outside the magic text corpus, but roughly contemporary with our text, also supports reading the "diseases"as types of demons. The synoptic pericope concerning a cure of Peter's mother-in-law from fever appears at face value as a simple healing (Matt 8:15//Mark 1:31),but the words of Luke, the beloved physician, betray the ambiguous nature of the event: Tx7 "he XC7iTurTjav nupTxq) xoCai OCUTTI, rebuked the fever and it left her.64 cplixev Line 5 "'~nnMn p3 <R>,n'<n>0l<W'1:n<1>7:nD lM Ran 1[ R3: , "sleep"Our understanding derives from similar passages wherein demons disturb someone's sleep.65Magic texts were commonly written to induce sleep.66The widespread ancient belief in dreams as divine communication went hand in hand with nightmares as demonic meddling.67Demons
63 The view of some that the Qumran texts do not support a demonic etiology for disease must now be abandoned. Thus H. Ringgren (The Faith of Qumran [Philadelphia:Fortress, 1963] 90), W. Carr (Angels and Principalities [SNTSMS42; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981] 196 n. 29), Yamauchi("Magicor Miracle?"121 n. 259), and W. Kirschlager,"Exorzismus in Qumran?"Kairos 18 [1976] 135-53). 64 This standard rendering "it left her" (KJV,RSV,NASB, NIV, Phillips, JB, NEB and TEV "the fever left her")follows the accounts of Matthew and Mark. In its own Lucan context, the translation "He rebuked the fever(-demon) and it let her go" is equally plausible, as we hope to show elsewhere. 65 Isbell 11.10; 20.11;and, in a curse, 62.1. Cf. Betz, GreekMagical Papyri, XVIIIb, 1-7, "every tn5'Tn Tn1nrl'n shivering fit and fever, by night or day"Note also Isbell 57.3-4 nTrimrl R51 ~5 1Onn'i 3[RlT]'n, "appearingin the dream of the night and appearing in the vi[si]on of the day," and the similarformulationin Syriac(Gignoux,II, 44). Testament Solomonattests to an insomniaof demon (18.32). 66 E.g., Naveh and Shaked, Amulets,Geniza 5, p. 3. For requests for children'ssleep, see n. 70. 67 The recurringphrase for nightmare in Akkadianis sundtupardatu (AHW,s.v.suttu, "Traum,' 5 In 1 s.v.pardu, "schrecklich"). Aramaic,the corresponding phrases are apparently 1'3": 7l?5Zrn p 131rn pt, "from all bad dreams, from [hated] apparitions"(Isbell 39.5, reconstructed on '3:D] the basis of line 3, where read I'3:1t for lplrl); 14.2; "3r' lO5n, "confusing dreams" (32.4); ~' WlrID Knllnl: "'M L'ln, "in evil dreams, in hateful images" (Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, B 13:11.Cf. the phrase monln1lTn,"visions and dreams,' in Dan 1:17.Syriac uses wdhl[m'] bny lly' wymm', "et des reves, fils de la nuit et du jour" in a list of demon names (Gignoux, II, 44). Tnrn Nb The reconstruction leans on the typical phrasing of the later texts: K ... . '15 7r '~ RL -Tr1 ^r'iL N?OzN Nn n, "(the demons) may not appear to them ... neither in a dream of the night nor in sleep of the day" (Isbell 11.9-10); R0'b-L Nnt m5''55: rn5Tn .... .15, lTrnn'T
643
and became active and traveledat night,68 intellectual debate duringthe Second Temple period attempted to resolve the question of demon's sexuality (Mark 12:18-25). Sexual dreams served as evidence of demonic rape, further proof of the dangers of the night.9 (But this entire line of reasoning may miss the point-it could be that WZ,occurs here in a request for an infant's sleep.70)
... <.(>)
(> ()...
<>
'1Dn (nomina gentilicia, determined
state, masc.
sing. and fem. sing. respectively [see line 3]). Its place and function in the phrase identify ~:' as a demon designation. A similar word occurs in Mandaic-prikia, "pagan shrines and their spirits, altar-demons" Mandaic phrases such as kulhunprikia lagtia, "theyinclude all altar-demons,'and 'kuria illustrate the uprikia upatikria,"temple-spirits,shrine-spirits,and idol-spirits," belief that cult objects were inspired by demons.7 The origin and development of the Mandaicword, as well as its connection with 7', which antedates it by a minimum of several centuries, merit further investigation.
Nt2nnYZ'" Rn3'3, "forall the liliths which appear to them ... in a dream by night and in sleep by 5 <T t1 olvi (,tnri 5 1 7ptnnrn , il rl '1'if day" (Isbell 15.3-5 [repeated in line 9]), and "Do not appear to them in visions by day or in 'impure fancies' by night" (Isbell 19.8). A corresponding Mandaic phrase bsuita d-lilia ula bsuita d-'umama means "neither by terror by night nor by panic by day" (Drower and Macuch, Mandaic Dictionary, s.v.suita). In this connection, cf. also the Mandaic idiom liha sinta, rendered "in the toils of sleep" (Drower and Macuch, s.v.), but literally "in the net of sleep,"where "net" is a snare used by demons (and apparently not pace Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 127). distinguished from "nightmare, terror," 68 E. Reiner, "Plague Amulets and House Blessings,"150. The same is obviously true of their common manifestations, owls (R. Patai, The Hebrew Goddess [New York:Ktav, 1967] 208), but see also Akk. kilil, "owl[as an ominous bird]"and "afemale demon" [CAD,s.v.])and bats (Sokoloff, Dictionary, s.v. tI'). Akkadianfears of snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and geckoes, whose venom and/or nocturnal habits prove their demonic connection, have a similar basis. Mandaic texts disparagethe bat and owl as creatures of"Darkness"and the snake and tortoise (!) for their "deadly poison" (E. Drower, Alf TrisarSuialia [The Thousand and Twelve Questions] [Berlin:AkademieVerlag, 1960] 178-79) hereafter ATS. 69 The same demon could appear to a man as a woman, and to a woman as a man (see Isbell 53.6). Spirits could even appear as one's spouse, nnrl W'In3 rl2'l, "in the likeness of husband and of wife"(Isbell 3.15). See also 05w, "incubus" (Isbell 24.9; 47.3; 53.7; and 57.4). For this reason the bedroom in particular,in addition to the house in general, is declared off limits to demons (Isbell 4.3; 15.8; 16.7; 39.5; and Gignoux I, 24). Demons were adjured not to engage in sexual 51,"anddo not lie [with] her" (Isbell 17.8; cf. also Isbell activity with humans; R[n''y]pl:'rn 1.13). The rabbinic prohibitions against venturing out at night have similar origins (G. Vermes, Jesus the Jew: A Historian'sReading of the Gospels [New York:Macmillan, 1973] 76, 208). Patai is certainly correct that the practice (common in Aramaic incantations) of issuing a divorce (t'3) to a demon and sending the party awaynaked (cf. Hos 2:5) is a logical consequence of the belief that demons jealously guarded their rights to nighttime conjugal visits with humans (cf. Tobit 6:13-14 and 1QApGen 2.16). Breaking off these common-law arrangements required legal remedies (Patai, Hebrew Goddess, 212). 70 Cf. Farber, "Mannamlugpur," 309; idem, Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf!: MesopotamischeBabyBeschworungenund -Rituale (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989) passim. 71 Drower and Macuch cite Akk. parakkuand Syr.prakka' (s.v.).Yamauchialso refers to 1'-"ID, without any reference (Yamauchi,"AramaicMagic Bowls,"518). "shrine-spirits,"
644
Several other designations of demons in similar texts have been derived from the names of foreign temples or idols. In that light, we might suggest that this term has been extended from Akkadianparakku,"shrine,' the spirit to If to live there.72 so, this is further evidence for a regular semantic considered development. Note some other examples of the process: (1) from Akkadian ekurru (<Sumerian E.KUR),73 comes the Aramaic 11'3t/l,T74 "shrine-spirits, Mandaic 'kura, "pagantemple, temple-spirit";(2) from a Persian designation for a temple comes the Aramaic N3tI3, a term designating both demons generally and the king of the demons specifically;75(3) from the Persian word for "statue" "likeness"comes Aramaic NDniD, Syriac ptakra', "idol,"76 or and Mandaicpatikra,"idol,idol-demon,'originallydesignatingan idol but extended, as the magic texts show, to the "idol-spirit" believed to live there. Note already in the LXX of Isa 8:21 r&a rcarapa for MT 1'T15. The Mandaic magic phrase patikria zikria upatikria nuqbata, "maleand female idol-demons,' points irrefutably to the demonic component of the originally concrete noun.77(4) Note of the "personification" the inanimate in "Ibecame a laughingstockto the idols and demons" (T Sol. 26:7; cf. 1 Cor 10:20 and Deut 32:17). (eS8),Xotg) These parallelsemantic extensions,from sacred place or object to its spirit inhabitant, establish the plausibility of an analogous development for a PRKdemon from the Akkadianparakku,"cult-pedestal, sanctuary,shrine"78As a must be viewed as a consequence, the Mandaic word prikia, "shrine-spirit," descendant of this earlier Aramaicform, rather than a late development from the same Akkadiansource79This word in particularrequires, as does this text
The Assyriansbelieved demons haunted ruined temples (CAD,s.v.zaqlqu, and see the note below.) In the Aramaicperiod the idea was extended to nearly any foreign temple, whose spirit then bore the same name as its habitation. The Mandaic phrase kulhun humria saria b'kuria uprikia, "allamulet-spirits inhabiting (pagan) temples and shrines,' points directly to this belief (Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, prikia). Cf. the demon's statement "this Temple cannot contain me" (T Sol. 15:6). 73 Although f.KUR originally designated only the temple of Enlil in Nippur, the term eventually (from Old Babylonian on) came to refer to "temple"generically (CAD, s.v.ekurru A). The belief that demons (utukkuand Lamastu) came and went from temples can be seen again in the mythological use of the proper name of the temple in Nippur-Ekur "Unterwelt als Sitz der Damonen" (AHW s.v. Ekur; see also CAD, s.v. ekur). 74 See Isbell, 33 n. 7, where he asserts concerning the 'aleph and 'ayin that "both forms are clearly attested"; Isbell 7.10, 11;and Yamauchi, Mandaic Incantation Texts,30. 75 Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, 205, who derive it from the Persian bag-ddna, "a temple' A Syriac occurrence appears in Gignoux I, 55. 76 Cf. $'nDn (Isbell 2.7; 22.16; 40.4; 47.2). Isbell's tentative suggestion to read "image-spirit" rather than "idol"(as he has translated) should be adopted (Isbell 20 n. 4). PS gives only the meaning "idol,'to which should now be added the meaning "idol-spirit"as attested in Gignoux I, 26 wmn s'd' dyw' wptkr' wptkrwt' wllyt' (correcting wptknwt' to wptkrwt' to accord with his glossary entry, p. 64) "des d6mons, des diables, des idoles males et femelles, et des liliths" 77 Yamauchi, "AramaicMagic Bowls,' 518; and Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, s.v.patikra. 78 "Kultsockel, Heiligtum' <Sum lw., AHW, s.v. 79 Yamauchi, Mandaic Incantation Texts,30.
72
645
generally, the abandonment of the traditional view that the Aramaic magic text as a genre develops after the Second Temple period. Understandably,foreign terminology was borrowed with religious practices and elements that were frowned upon. Given the pejorative connotations of this and other Akkadianwords80borrowed into the Aramaic dialects, our suggestion becomes all the more likely. Finally, the plausibility of these foreign connections is reinforced by the long list of associated vocabulary that has been borrowed from Akkadian. Aramaic has seen fit to employ Iw, Rntor:,81 81,,82 and 73pl,s83 to name a few. Hebrew, relevant because of the Palestinian provenance of our text, also borrowed heavily from Mesopotamian demon terminology.4 We emend -01 to status emphaticus in agreement with Rap3 . Note line 3 and the inconsistency of the forms of nrl in ii 5-6 (although the context of column ii is broken). This word is the most difficult of the entire text. 'llnn1, "breachers (?)." One might be inclined initially to read '1 <(>nnn, "aplague of,"because of but the frequency with which the root anr occurs in magical texts,85 two apparinsurmountable problems block that happy solution. First, as noted, our ently scribe clearly differentiated between resh and daleth, and the letter here can only be a resh. Second, some traces of ink certainly follow the taw, and the spacing is such that all the letters must be read as one word. The traces are
80 These include: Syriac prakka', "idol'sshrine, small temple for idol-worship (on village outskirts),"targumic 'gwr', "paganaltar"(g< k), and Mandaic 'kwr', "pagantemple."See Kaufman, AkkadianInfluences,80 and 48, respectively,and his discussion of borrowed religious terminology, 164. 81 For arguments defending the connection of this word with Akkadian apkallu, see Geller, "Four Aramaic Incantation Bowls,"50-51 n. 6. 82 Probably a corrupted form of Nergal (Isbell 62.3), so also for '1-'3 (Isbell 18.1).Cf. Syriac nryg (Gignoux, I, 40, 47, 54) and Mandaic (Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, s.v. nirig). 83 Isbell traces the word to Akk. lahannu, which AHW renders "eine Trinkschale" (goblet). The CAD describes a "bottle" holding beer, but also for use in the apotropaic namburbi ritual. for In ritual use it might hold pared nails, shorn hair, or the figurine of a dead man. These incantational uses probably aided the transfer of the word into Aramaic magic. While Isbell's rendering "bowl"is etymologically understandable, the context again calls for a spirit (Isbell 53.2). 84 Instances include IW (Deut 32:17 and Ps 106:37),rn515(Isa 34:14), '"t (Isa 19:3,a borrowing of Akkadian etimmu, "Totengeist";see A. Jirku, "Etimmu und D'tN," OLZ 17 [1914] 185, cited in H. Cohen, BiblicalHapax Legomenain the Light of Akkadianand Ugaritic[SBLDS 37; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1978] 74 n. 147), and the various foreign words for magicians acquired at least by the exile, including rlR, "conjurer,'and rt, "sorcerer." 85 Plagues and the sudden onset of disease are a common theme. Cf. tnnD, "plague"(Isbell 24.6); RnrI rnr, "male and female smiter" (Isbell 53.7-8) and y3D,"plague"(passim); Akkadian also magddu,"tostrike (with palsy)"(CAD, sibtu, "seizure,attack (of disease or demon)" (CAD,s.v.); s.v.)and mahasu, "tostrike with disease, of gods or demons" (CAD,s.v.).Jewish PalestinianAramaic attests rnn, "blow, plague" (Sokoloff, Dictionary, s.v.);Syriac similarly uses mahwd', mahutd', "wound, sickness, disease, plague" (PS, s.v.).
646
very indistinct and somewhat distorted from any letter form, but waw is probably the best reading. Thus we must deal with the reading 'lnnlM. The word appears to be a noun, construct state masc. pl., derived from the verbal root 'nn. The maqtuil Aramaicroot is attested in the ithpaaland ithpeel meaning "tobe broken into.86 The related nouns, n'nnn , "breach,'and rnn, "shovel,'87 point to a meaning "todig, break in"for the unattested peal, as in Hebrew 'nn.88 The maqtiil form
may then be taken as a nomen actionis, "breachers of."89 Burglary often involved digging90 Adjuring demons from breaking and entering, though strange to us, is consistent with the attitudes of the period. Amulets to protect from robbery as well as incantations for the safety of possessions prove that demons were believed to lie behind these events, and magic was the prescribed remedy9? There is evidence that some ancients thought all evils, even violation of mores, could ultimately be traced back to demons, who used human agents to work their mischief.2 The Testament of Solomon names a demon who claims, "I demolish houses" (18:40). Hence, our suggestion is to understand this word as "breachers,' but it is a tentative suggestion93 If correct, it points to house protection as another of the intended functions of this text.
86 Jastrow, s.v.
Sokoloff, Dictionary, s.v. For the Hebrew, see Jastrow, s.v. For the peal in Aramaic, Drower and Macuch consider the single Mandaic instance of the verb HTR (Sem. htr) doubtful. The dictionary cites the phrase 'htar ubtas b 'ustuna translating"theybroke into (?) and trod down the body:'E. Drower'soriginal rendition in ATS(p. 236, ?127) reads "struck out and kicked within the body,' in an allegorical interpretation of fetal activity in the fourth month of gestation. 89 The maqtfl as nomen actionis is attested in various Aramaic dialects, but note particularly Grammatik christlichdes the clear evidence of ChristianPalestinianAramaicin C. Miiller-Kessler, paliistinisch Aramiischen Teil 1: Schriftlehre,Lautlehre, Formenlehre(Hildesheim: Olms, 1991) ?4.2.1.9.3.3. 90 Note Matt 6:19, xXeirtat 8topu'aouatv xXeiT0couaLv, xalc "(where) thieves break in and steal:' in and the similar xrotXopuXoS Josephus Ant. 16 ?1. BAG defines the latter as "house-breaker" but (s.v. btopu6aoo), the literal meaning is "wall-digger": 91 For robbery,see Betz, ed., GreekMagicalPapyri,V.172-212;VII.370;Schrire,HebrewAmulets, 131;Yamauchimentions "Robber-spirits" Mandaic Incantation Texts,29-30 [citing Thomp(in son, Semitic Magic,98]). The frequent mention of possessions in amulets and bowls (Isbell 23.12, 34.6; Gignoux I, 20, 24, 25) is sufficient evidence that they needed protecting and that magic methods were tried among others. 92 In this connection, recall the rationale given for the behavior of Judas in Luke 22:3 and John 13:27.The TalmudBabli finds demonic causes behind "agreat many naturalinconveniences" (Neusner, History, 4. 334). In West Africa today,where the Islamic tradition of amulets exhibits many parallels to these texts, amulets are worn to protect against knife attacks or are placed above the lintel to protect against burglary. 93 Against this suggestion, the a-u vowel pattern is predominantly passive in Semitic. This fact might point to an alternative solution in which 'irnn designates a place where a breach occurs; cf. Dalman, Grammatik, ?32.5.
88
87
647
This line is too fragmentaryand the adjective Line 6 7l~W[, "wicked." too common to speculate as to what other words it might have modified. The word is, nevertheless, typical vocabulary for magic texts. Column ii As discussed earlier, the possibility that col. ii belongs to a different incantation formula from col. i does not materially affect its interpretation, because several internal considerations assign it to the same genre. Since the preserved portion of this column is so narrow,very little in the way of content and meaning is at stake. What little remains is, with the exception of line 7, quite clear, even if disjointed. Line 1. No traces remain of this line. It is posited on the basis of its position in relation to the lines of col. i. Line 2 '1n]1nnp, "before him":The preposition probably ends with the suffix of the same person and number as in line 4. Although such a common preposition can hardly be the basis for a reconstruction of this lacuna, a similar formulationdescribes the flight of adjureddemons and contains precisely such P "he flees away frighta configuration of 'ip:'n1Tp l 5nrnn p5'~m, and is swallowed up before it" (Isbell 8.7, 9). The formula Djp 5 ened, b'm, "be afraid of,"often occurs with suffixes. Line 3. A few traces of the tops of five or six letters in two words are discernible, but none can be identified with any certainty. Line 4. ]Y1 '1nni lp.See line 2. There is little to add here since the text following the second mem is lost. A participle is most likely, but there are no clues as to the verbal root. Line 5 ]; lD n 'il 1. Reading ,1Yt as "oath" seems unlikely94We take it to be a participle,since the firstword, the 1st c. sing. subject pronoun, expects a subsequent participle. The root NnY,"to swear," is aph'el "to adjure," well
94 Cf. Aramaic '"01Y, "oath,imprecation, curse" (Jastrow,s.v.).The large number of Akkadian texts intended to ward off the ominous consequences of a broken oath (CAD, s.v.mamitu and J. Black and A. Green, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia [Austin:University of Texas Press, 1992] s.v. "oathsand curses") raises the possibility that the Arameans inherited the concept. We know of no Aramaic texts that explicitly attest to the transfer of this notion, unless the phrase "the curse is in the oath (PnnO) the cripple and the maimed" (Isbell 14.6) of should be so understood.It is possible that, instead of the cognate noun, the Aramaictexts designate the idea with i'3, "vow," which occurs as an adjured evil in several lists (Isbell 10.3; 43.2; Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, B 1:2, 11; 3:2).
648
the attested in this genre?5Grammatically, vocative 'nn should be status emphaticus as in ii 6, but the text'saccidence is inconsistent. Similaromissions appear in i 3 and 5. Line 6 ]RnlmDMnlI. Dnnlq, "I adjure you."The aph'el of Nn', 1st c. sing. with 2 masc. sing. suffix. The root Nn' may be followed by simple suffix directly on the verb, or by the complements 5, :, or "5 + suffix. The noun nl, while technically feminine, sometimes appears in both genders even within the same text?6The suffix here indicates that in this instance the noun is masculine. Note that, as is common in texts of the time of the scrolls, the author uses medial kaph in final position97 Adjured spirits are addressed directly (i.e., in the second person) in Aramaic, Syriac, and Mandaic magical texts. This direct address typifies Akkadianapotropaic texts as well?8 The same holds for many of the exorcisms in the Gospels99 "0 rnnM, spirit" The required direct address makes vocatives common in magic texts. Here it occurs in apposition to the suffix on the preceding
form.0?
Line 7 ]7l3::? Yt-'R5y. l' 5Y, "on earth" The writing of the first two words initially appears difficult,but magnificationof the photographrevealsa small shred of the leather lying askew, not flat, containing an unmistakable 'aleph. The letter appears unusually small, because the portion containing the 'aleph is twisted at an oblique angle to the rest of the fragment. Once the reading of 'aleph is secure, the remnants of the letter before the lamedh are almost certainly the serif of an 'ayin.101 ]1l33I, "in clouds" The reading "clouds"following RtIfl is not simply a
95 The syntax and grammar of this construction vary widely. Cf. Naveh and Shaked, Amulets, A 6:7-8; Isbell 8.3; 12.6; 23.5; 39.6; 43.5-6; 53.2; and 53.13-14. 96 Cf. Isbell 3.2, 3, 7 and 9. Further evidence for two genders (in Heb.) comes from4Q510 i 5 -D'rtO nnl 'rn R l'nnl "tousles esprits d'angesde corruption et les esprits de batards" 5r, mnri (M. Baillet, DJD 7). 97 Cf. also :DD in i 5, where the medial form cannot serve as evidence that the copyist failed to finish that word. 98 Walter Farber (personal communication). 99 E.g., Mark 5:8; Luke 9:42; Acts 16:18; 19:13.Direct address, however, may occur without a demon named, as in Mark 7:34 or Luke 4:39, and exorcism at a distance (without any direct address) as in Matt 15:22-28. 100 The vocative,almostmandatoryin adjurations demons, often followsa resumptivepronoun, of Ik/lky(lit., "you,I adjureyou:'passim)and ['nty]mwmn' Ikyrwh' byS',"jet'exorcise, 'nt/'nty muwmn' Esprit mauvais" (Gignoux III, 50). 101The reading kaph, i.e., L5, "all," possible, but only if written defectively. The "parallelism" is the with the beth of 133:Y makes 5%y more likely reading.
649
poetic alternative to or synonym of lW=, "heavens."102Already in Dan 7:13 clouds (r1) are associated with visions of the unseen spiritual dimension.'03 The Mandaic tradition develops anana, "Cloud,'into a female higher being.104 The Mandaeans further reflect the belief that the sky "beneath the clouds" is the domain of purgatory demons and sons of darkness.'05It may be that the words of this line designate spheres within which the demons move and operate or from which the incantation bans the evil spirits. Other texts engage in such practices, although it may be that the expression instead describes the dominion of the deity invoked. III. Conclusion This remarkable text helps answer old questions and raises new ones. 4Q560 preserves an Aramaic apotropaic magic formula that mentions concerns common to other similar texts: childbirth, demons and the diseases associated with them, sleep or dreams and perhaps safety of possessions. The preserved portions of the formula adjure the offending spirits, apparently by name. The text further seems to connect preservation from these evils with forgiveness of sin. The formula clearly stands within the broad tradition of amulets and incantation texts that spanned the ancient Near East both geographically and chronologically. 4Q560 is therefore an important witness to the development of magical traditions in the Greco-Roman world generally, and among Second Temple Jews specifically. The text underscores the large debt that later Aramaic magic materials owe to the Mesopotamian tradition. As a harbinger of the subsequent magical tradition, the Qumran text tends to show that stock phrases found their way from the Akkadiantradition into the later Aramaic texts. This text is a unique intermediary,contradicting the customary supposition that later texts are innovative and therefore do not reflect magical ideas as old as the Second Temple. In this connection, our discussion has noted :D as well as other Mesopotamian vocabulary current in the Aramaic magic tradition and appearing even in the Hebrew Bible.
'02Fora similar reference to heaven as clouds or sky,compare 'pn, Isbell 37.11.See also Isbell 93 n. 4. 103 Cf. in this connection "the -I 0N':052) Angels of fire and the Spirits of cloud . " (73?'ml in 4Q286-287 (J. T Milik, "Milki-sedeq et Milki-resa' dans les anciens ecrits juifs et chretiens," JJS 23 [1972] 130-35). 104 Drower and Macuch, Mandaic, s.v., but also ATS, 110 (?4), 132 (?79) and Sarat-Anana. 105 ATS,179 (?255). In T Sol. demons may range "up to the firmament of heaven"(20:12). Cf. "the TovapXovxaTqS I&ouaCaS aO&poS, prince of the power of the air"(Eph 2:2) and the extent -oU of the angel's dominion in the Testamentof Amram, manuscript B, fragment 2, line 6 N'5y [pI l'3n: h5 5i to5v 13 'in?1 t7, "from]the highest regions to the lowest I rule over all Light" i (J. T. Milik, "4Q Visions de 'Amram et une citation d'Origene" RB 79 [1972] 77-97).
650
Deriving from the time and place when Christianity arose, 4Q560 can help provide perspective on various portions of the NT. With regard to the and "healGospels, this incantation poses the question whether "exorcism" were truly distinguished in the minds of the evangelists. ing" In the realm of the scrolls, the mere existence of this text demands a rethinking of earlier positions denying a demonic etiology for disease in the Qumrantexts. Further,with 4Q510-511, this text pointedly disprovesthe assertion that in Qumran texts "demons are not given names."'06 4Q560 is in no As respect "sectarian." noted, it fits comfortably within the magical traditions of the ancient Near East. How did 4Q560 come to be included among the Dead Sea Scrolls? We suggest that this formuladerives from a "recipebook"containing other similar formulas that once belonged to a person of at least minimal learning. Perhaps the owner was a Qumranic magkflor a village scribe. People would consult this learned book owner, who copied out the appropriateformula on the indicated medium for the "patient"to secrete in the specified location. The alternative- that this fragmentof leather with its text actually served its intended apotropaic function - contradicts the physical evidence. The photograph reveals no signs of rolling or traces of similar systematic distress to the leather such as appear, for instance, in the Qumran phylacteries.?07 The question of the text's proximate origin-how it came to be in Cave 4-seems unlikely to receive an answer that will convince all scholars, but it is in any case the less interesting question. The more interesting question is that of the text's ultimate origin. Here it may be that a convincing answer is possible: 4Q560 preservesfor us the partialresources of a Jewish magician.'08
Angels and Principalities, 42-43. The secondary literature on Qumran uses the term phylactery as a technical designation for tefillfn, of which a number survive consisting entirely of scripture, e.g., DJD 1, 72; DJD 2, 80; DJD 3, 149, and 178. For the poor state of preservation of these and similar texts, see esp. pl. xxxii. For the effects of rolling in particular (on a mezuza), see DJD 3, pl. xxxiv and DJD 4/2 (passim). Note further the remarks of Puech on the condition of the Copper Scroll in E. Puech, "llQPsApa:Un rituel d'exorcismes. Essai de reconstruction,' 377. 108 The authors would like to thank Dennis Pardee and Edwin Yamauchifor commenting on earlier drafts of this paper. In addition, Walter Farber offered invaluable assistance with the cuneiform evidence, and was extraordinarilygenerous with his time in discussing an earlier draft in detail. We owe him special thanks. Postscript: A second volume by J. Naveh and S. Shaked, Magic Spells and Formulae(Jerusalem: Magnes, 1993), appeared after this study went to press. In that volume, the quotation of Exod 34:7 in 4Q560 now finds a parallel in Geniza 13.1.13(=TS K1.57).
107
106 Carr,

By The Power of Beelzebub

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By the Power of Beelzebub: An Aramaic Incantation Formula from Qumran (4Q560) Author(s): Douglas L. Penney and Michael O.

JBL 113/4 (1994) 627-650

BY THE POWER OF BEELZEBUB AN ARAMAICINCANTATIONFORMULA FROM QUMRAN (4Q560)

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

]t 'mllp-np 4 Innmi 71 7:N 5 ]1n '1 ]rnnm 6 nnlT

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

w~N Ti p115' n ]VW

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Cf. Isbell 39.7.

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

..X R1 ..., "X male-demon and X female-demon.' This pattern

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

'1Dn (nomina gentilicia, determined

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

Penney and Wise: By the Power of Beelzebub

Journal of Biblical Literature

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