{"title":"Body and Mind, Husband and Household, Collaborators and Communities: Centrifugal Spheres of Protection in an Aramaic Incantation Bowl (MC 77.233)","authors":"Alexander Marcus","doi":"10.1093/jss/fgad005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract MC 77.233, an incantation bowl in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic script held in the Magnes Collection, is here published for the first time. Written primarily for Ḥammādā daughter of Xwārōy, it deepens and nuances our understanding of apotropaic activities in late antique Babylonia and surrounding regions, with terminology and phrases that are, at turns, typical and unique. Notable, too, are its combinations of, and allusions to, motifs that are elaborated with greater detail on other specimens. My discussion focuses on the role of both client and scribe in the bowl’s production, highlighting connections to bowls of other clients, to several well-attested formula repertoires, and to other Sasanian literary sources like the Babylonian Talmud. Throughout, I emphasize the opportunities for comparative analysis that are now available due to the increasing volume of bowl publications and recent scholarship on religious life, material culture, and interactions between Jews and others in late antique Mesopotamia.","PeriodicalId":17130,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Semitic Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Semitic Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgad005","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ASIAN STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract MC 77.233, an incantation bowl in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic script held in the Magnes Collection, is here published for the first time. Written primarily for Ḥammādā daughter of Xwārōy, it deepens and nuances our understanding of apotropaic activities in late antique Babylonia and surrounding regions, with terminology and phrases that are, at turns, typical and unique. Notable, too, are its combinations of, and allusions to, motifs that are elaborated with greater detail on other specimens. My discussion focuses on the role of both client and scribe in the bowl’s production, highlighting connections to bowls of other clients, to several well-attested formula repertoires, and to other Sasanian literary sources like the Babylonian Talmud. Throughout, I emphasize the opportunities for comparative analysis that are now available due to the increasing volume of bowl publications and recent scholarship on religious life, material culture, and interactions between Jews and others in late antique Mesopotamia.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Semitic Studies was established in 1955 and since then has built up a reputation as one of the leading international academic journals in its field. Semitic Studies has always been understood by the editors to include the modern as well as the ancient Near (Middle) East, with special emphasis on research into the languages and literatures of the area. The editors continue to maintain the policy of ensuring that each volume contains items of interest to Orientalists and Biblical Scholars. Extensive reviews of selected books, as well as general review notices, remain a feature of the Journal.