Jewish Magic Bibliography
Posted By MSH on June 25, 2009
Here’s a very nice 131 page bibliography on Jewish magical practices (all eras – biblical, the ANE background to the biblical, and later Judaism). Just came up on the ABZU blog.
You say you’ve never heard of “Jewish magic”? Well, that’s what the bibliography is for. “Magic” (in ancient terms — not David Copperfield) is broadly defined is the idea of soliciting a deity through various ritual means to get the deity to do or not do something, or to get knowledge from the deity. The most obvious biblical example are the Urim and Thummim. Another is the water ritual in Numbers 5 — an example of “sympathetic magic.”
Comments
11 Responses to “Jewish Magic Bibliography”
Leave a Reply
Please note: Comment moderation is currently enabled so there will be a delay between when you post your comment and when it shows up. Patience is a virtue; there is no need to re-submit your comment.
What did the Urim and Thummim really “do”? I never fully got it ever since I read the Pentateuch.
Also, isn’t “magic” forbidden in the Bible?
(a) we aren’t told; (b) no — prophets and priests did things that pagans did that come under our label “magic”. I wrote a paper on this subject. You can email me for it.
Will do.
hi mike ! please send a copy of your paper on jewish magic to my mail address: mattinaerotta@aol.com.
much obliged!
maggi
just sent it
mike-could you please email me the paper you did on magic to me also. thanks
Mr. Mike – I’m really fascinated by all that I’ve learned on your site. Thanks so much for your service and ministry. If possible, could you please email me the paper on magic used by prophets and priests, mentioned above? Thanks! Grazie~
I would be interested in the paper as well. I am a student and have access through my university library if it can be found through such a resource.
I always understood the biblical prohibitions against “magic” to be quite specific. E.G. Things like summoning angels or demons and attempting to summon the spirits of the dead.
send me an email mshmichaelsheiser[at]gmail[dot]com.
Michael,
Hope to not impose on your grace but I would love to have a copy emailed to me as well. Thank you for all you are doing.
send me an email so that I can reply with that (and remember this).