Instructions: Below is a chart with two parallel bowls: the left is in Syriac (in Manichaean script), and the right is in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. As we discussed last class, these Aramaic bowls often borrow from one another, across languages, in what is sometimes described as an Aramaic ‘common culture.’ Let’s now read the two texts together as a class, along with their brief introductory notes. After we read the texts, in your groups you will begin to compare these two sources. Please write your answers on a separate sheet of paper, and also turn in this sheet.

QUESTION

Group activity on the Aramaic Magical Bowl Spells

Activity: Comparing parallel incantation bowl texts in Syriac and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic

Background

Language and Script. Some of the Aramaic magical bowls from late Sasanian Mesopotamia are written in the Syriac language (=Christian Aramaic), but in a fairly unique script called ‘Manichaean script.’ (Remember that language and script are two different phenomena: for instance, one can write the Hebrew word שלום in Latin [English] script as shalom.) This script was a “widely used and well-established Babylonian script,” according to a recent editor of the Syriac bowls Dr. Marco Morrigi (p. 19). Due to this wide usage, this script was probably chosen by the prophet Mani (the founder of the dualistic religion called Manichaeaism) himself in the third century C.E. “as an effective tool to spread his faith” through missionizing (Moriggi, p. 19). In the end, it is important to note that these bowls are written in the Syriac language, the Christian Aramaic dialect in use in late antique Mesopotamia (and elsewhere).

Religious Identities: Moriggi correctly points out that in this bowl “the Manichaean script was being used as a common hand in Babylonia independent of the religious affiliation of the scribe” (p. 19). In other words, the script is not an indication of religion. Indeed, the specific religious identifications of these bowls’ clients and sorcerers (sometimes called the ‘practitioners’) defy easy categorization; they are not completely Christian, Jewish, Manichaean, or pagan. Some Syriac bowls mention Jesus, while others reference the Jewish God Yahweh and Israel, and still others contain explicit pagan elements. Some bowls even have all three (Jesus, Yahweh, pagan gods).

Clients and Practitioners: Similar to other bowls that we have read, the names of the clients are usually Semitic (=Aramaic) and Iranian. The magicians who produced these bowls may have been Christian, Manichaean, pagan, Jewish, or some mixture of these.

One Common Motif of the Bowls: In both the Syriac and Jewish Aramaic bowls below, the main motif used is the “divorce deed,” which in Jewish Aramaic is called a get. This divorce document is an important legal concept in the Talmud as well. In these bowls, the sorcerers use the “divorce deed” as a metaphor that represents the client’s separation from the evil spirits and demons that are threatening the client’s home or body. In short, the client ‘divorces’ the demons. The fact that this rabbinic concept (as well as Rabbi Joshua bar Perahya) appear not only in Jewish bowls but also in Syriac ones demonstrates the impact of Jewish culture on other populations in Sasanian Mesopotamia.

Instructions: Below is a chart with two parallel bowls: the left is in Syriac (in Manichaean script), and the right is in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. As we discussed last class, these Aramaic bowls often borrow from one another, across languages, in what is sometimes described as an Aramaic ‘common culture.’ Let’s now read the two texts together as a class, along with their brief introductory notes. After we read the texts, in your groups you will begin to compare these two sources. Please write your answers on a separate sheet of paper, and also turn in this sheet.

Questions for Syriac Bowl #4 and JBA Bowl 20

1) Compare these two sources.

1a) In your groups, find and annotate at least five similarities and differences between these two texts. Please underline the differences, and bracket [  ] the similarities. After you do that, make a chart or list on a separate sheet of paper summarizing your findings.

Example: In line A, the Syriac bowl says “this bowl” while the JBA bowl says “this amulet.”

1b) In a few sentences, explain what the similarities tell you about the relationship between these two texts. Is it possible to determine whether one was a borrowing from the other? If so, how?

1c) What do you make of the differences between the two texts? Do they in any way demonstrate that the sorcerers adapted the contents of the spells to suit either their own ‘religious worldview’ or the ‘religion’ of the client? Or are they incidental differences? Explain your position in a few sentences.

2) In your opinion, what were the religious identities of the clients and sorcerers of these two bowls? What evidence can you find to support your position?

3) What is the meaning of line G in these two bowls? Scholars often describe these lines as a sort of ‘shamanistic/magical ascension.’ Explain in a sentence or two.

4) What does the existence of these two parallel bowls texts teach us about the interactions between different communities in Sasanian Mesopotamia? Did they interact? How? Why? So what?

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Syriac Bowl #6 (Manichaean script)

Prepared is this bowl for the sealings (of) the house of Mihrohrmazd son of Mami

by virtue of the power of Jesus the healer, by virtue of the power of the mighty ’ḥny, bound is the dwelling and the tent and the house and the wife and the sons and the daughters of Mihrohrmazd who is called “son of Mami”. Bound and sealed

as said Moses to the Red Sea and stood (the waters) like walls that (were) on both sides. Bound and sealed, bound and sealed is with this word by which God made the earth and the trees to lie down so that they submit to their Lord (?). Bound and sealed is by the bond of the mountains and the heights,

bound and sealed is by the fortune of heaven and earth, sun and moon, stars and constellations, that by his word are bound and by his command stand. In the name of Michael the healer and Raphael the deliverer and Gabriel the servant of Adonay, bound and sealed is every evil that is in the body of Mihrohrmazd son of Mami

and in his house, his wife and his sons and his daughters and his cattle and his property and in all his dwellings by the seal of Airun son Zand and by the signet ring of king Solomon,

by which are sealed the wrath-demons and the no-good-ones and I seal by the seal of El Shadday and by the mighty Lord Abraxas and the great seal by which are sealed heaven and earth and all demons

and impious visitation-spirits and no-good-ones from it, before it they tremble and may they not break this seal and against the amulet and the counter-charm may they not do evil (?) and everyone that cases an evil gaze (?) and roams about and dwells, may he be bound by the bond

of fire and by the chains (of) water until the melting of heaven and earth. Amen, amen, selah. May be sealed and may be protected the house and the wife and the sons and the property and the body of Mihrohrmazd

son of Mami and may depart from him the mevakkalta-demon and the evil dreams and the curses and the vows and the sorcery and the mevakkalta-demon and the losses and the lacks and the harms and the poverty and may be sealed and may be protected Bahruy daughter of Bat-Shada

from the mevakkalta­­-demon and the evil dreams and the curses and the vows and the sorcery and the magical acts and my be bound the mevakkalta-demon and the lilith and the excommunicated one and the abolished one in her hands and in her feet so that she may not approach her and may not harm her, this Bahruy daughter of Bat-Shada. Amen.

Questions for Syriac Bowl #6

1. Scholars have noted several important features of this bowl. First, the clients’ names (in bold) are Iranian and Semitic, and they also appear in a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic bowl. Conjecturally, I would propose that the first name ‘Mihrohrmazd’ is Iranian (with strong Zoroastrian connotations), and the last name ‘Mami’ is Semitic. The name ‘Bat-Shade’ is definitely Christian (‘daughter of the martyrs’). This means that the same family presumably had composed for them bowls in both languages.

Second, this bowl contains a range of figures and deities—including:

• Jesus ‘the healer’
• Michael, Raphael, Gabriel (angels)
• Adonay (the name of the Jewish god)
• King Solomon (common in Jewish magic)
• El Shadday (name of the Jewish god)
• Abraxas (Greco-Roman deity that appears in Jewish magic and elsewhere)

In a paragraph explain what these bowls teach us about the complexity of religious identities of the inhabitants of late Sasanian Mesopotamia.

2. In the ancient world, there was generally no distinction between magic and medicine. As we have seen, many of these magical bowls were intended to protect a client against demons and evil spirits which caused illness. Why do you think that it would be this specific realm of life—namely, magic and medicine (as opposed to, for instance, law or polemics or storytelling)—that we would find high levels of intercultural exchange between Jews, Christians, Manichaeans, Iranians, etc.?

[1] Taken from: Marco Moriggi, A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia (Brill, 2014). This book is available online through iucat.

[2] Taken from: Shaul Shaked et al., Aramaic Bowl Spells: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls, Volume 1  (Brill, 2013). This book is also available online through iucat.

ANSWER

Comparative Analysis of Aramaic Magical Bowl Spells in Syriac and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic

Introduction

The Aramaic magical bowls from late Sasanian Mesopotamia provide valuable insights into the religious and cultural milieu of the time. This essay aims to compare two parallel incantation bowl texts, one written in Syriac (in Manichaean script) and the other in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. By examining their similarities and differences, we can gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between different communities, the religious identities of the clients and sorcerers, and the complex religious landscape of late Sasanian Mesopotamia.

Comparison of the Two Sources

 Similarities: In the Syriac bowl, the term “bowl” is used, while the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic bowl refers to an “amulet.” Both texts reference the theme of a divorce in the court of Rabbi Joshua bar Perahya. These similarities indicate a shared conceptual framework and borrowings across languages in what is known as Aramaic “common culture.”

Differences: The texts differ in specific wording and phrases. For example, the Syriac bowl mentions “the sign of mdg” and the power of Jesus, while the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic bowl includes references to characters, King Solomon, and Greco-Roman deity Abraxas. These differences suggest adaptations of the spells to suit the religious worldview of the practitioners or the clients they served.

Religious Identities

The religious identities of the clients and sorcerers of these two bowls are not easily categorized. The names of the clients in both bowls are Semitic and Iranian, with potential Jewish, Christian, Manichaean, pagan, or mixed religious affiliations (Fotopoulos, 2014). The inclusion of references to Jesus, Yahweh, and pagan gods in some bowls further demonstrates the fluid religious boundaries and syncretism in late Sasanian Mesopotamia.

Meaning of Line G

Line G in both bowls refers to a shamanistic/magical ascension, suggesting a ritualistic journey or confrontation with supernatural forces (Animism | Definition, Meaning, Symbol, & Examples, 2007). While the exact interpretation may vary, this line indicates the sorcerers’ attempt to gain power over and remove the influence of malevolent spirits or demons.

Interactions between Different Communities

The existence of parallel bowl texts in Syriac and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic highlights the interactions and exchanges between different religious and cultural communities in late Sasanian Mesopotamia (Christian Magicians, Jewish Magical Idioms, and the Shared Magical Culture of Late Antiquity on JSTOR, n.d.). The influence of Jewish culture on other populations is evident through the presence of Jewish motifs and the figure of Rabbi Joshua bar Perahya in the Syriac bowl. These interactions likely contributed to the formation of an Aramaic common culture and the borrowing of ideas across religious boundaries.

Conclusion

The comparative analysis of the Aramaic magical bowl spells in Syriac and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic sheds light on the complex religious identities and interactions within late Sasanian Mesopotamia. The similarities and differences between the texts indicate shared conceptual frameworks and adaptations to suit specific religious contexts. These bowls provide valuable evidence of the syncretic nature of religious beliefs and practices during this period, where elements of Jewish, Christian, Manichaean, and pagan traditions coexisted and influenced one another. By exploring these artifacts, we gain a deeper understanding of the cultural and religious dynamics of the time.

References

Animism | Definition, Meaning, Symbol, & Examples. (2007, February 2). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/animism/Particularism 

Christian Magicians, Jewish Magical Idioms, and the Shared Magical Culture of Late Antiquity on JSTOR. (n.d.). https://www.jstor.org/stable/26358168 

Fotopoulos, J. (2014). 1 Corinthians: Blackwell Companion to the New Testament. Saintmarys. https://www.academia.edu/1955145/1_Corinthians_Blackwell_Companion_to_the_New_Testament