DOCSLIB.ORG

Apotropaic Prayers in the Second Temple Period

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Apotropaic Prayers in the Second Temple Period APOTROPAIC PRAYERS IN THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD ESTHER ESHEL Bar-Ilan Universiry Introduction Apotropaic prayers and hymns request God's protection from evil spirits. These prayers, already known in ancient Israel, became more common in the Second Temple period. In this paper, I will investigate the biblical background and early development of apotropaic prayers, through the lens of Qumran. 1 I begin with a brief look at biblical apotropaic prayers and their non­ biblical usage and then survey the corpus of apotropaic prayers com­ posed during the Second Temple period, focusing on two groups of such prayers. The first group comprises five apotropaic prayers of non-sectarian origin, but known at Qumran: one in the Aramaic Levi Document; two among the apocryphal psalms of 11 QPsa; and two found in the book of Jubilees. The second group comprises four doc­ uments found at Qumran containing apotropaic hymns, all of which seem to be close to the thought of the Qumran sect, and which thus may have been composed by members of the sect. These are: 4QS 1O-4QS 1 1, 4Q444, 6Q18, and 1QHa Frg. 4. I will conclude by contrasting these apotropaic prayers with another group of magical texts found at Qumran, but probably not of sec­ tarian origin: incantations against demons (4QS60, 8QS, IIQII). Whereas apotropaic prayers request God's protection from threat­ ening external evil forces, incantations address the evil forces direcdy, seeking to expel demons already at work. Finally, I will draw some 1 Recent research on the Qumran scrolls has begun to give more attention to the magical texts found at Qumran, to the terminology they use, and to the ideas and practices they may represent. For a helpful summary of the state of the ques­ tion, along with recent bibliography, see P. S. Alexander, "The Demonology of the Dead Sea Scrolls," in TIe Dead Sea Scrolls qfier Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment (2 vols.; ed. P. Flint and j. VanderKam; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 2:331-53. 70 ESTHER ESHEL inferences about the relationship between prayer and magical prac­ tice in the Qumran sect. 2 1. Biblical Antecedents: The Priest?y Blessing and Psalm 91 The oldest Jewish apotropaic prayer is the Priestly Blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26: 1,QiD" iili1' 1J'J' 1Jn', T'?~ ,'m ilIii' ,~' cn'?iD 1'? DiD" T'?~ ,'m iili1' ~iD' The Lord bless you and protect you! The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you! The Lord bestow his favor upon you and grant you peace! (NJPS) Elements of this prayer have been found in inscriptions and amulets dating from as early as the ninth and eighth centuries BeE.3 The Priestly Blessing was used by the authors of 1QS 2:2-4, 1QSb, 11 QBer 1-2, and 4Q285 1, who adapted and enlarged it. In 1QS 2:5-9, the blessing is inverted into a curse pronounced by the Levites against "the people of Belial's lot."4 2 Apotropaic prayers can be found in non-Jewish sources as well. I note a Greek apotropaic silver phylactery found in Therasos, dated to the second or third cen­ tury CEo It reads: "Blessed be The Lord Sabaoth," followed by a long list of angels, and finally the request: "Protect from every male demon or female demon, Phaeinos whom Paramona bore." See R. Kotansky, Greek Magical Amulets: The Inscribed Gold, Silver, Copper, and Bronze Lamellae, Part I' Published Texts if Knoum Provenance (Papyrologica Coloniensia 22; Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1994), 206-10, No. 38, II. 6-8. 3 Cf., for example, this inscription, found at Kuntillet 'Ajrud: 11atZl'l 1<::l>1J' .iir11iD~'?1 F~rI iilii''? .lrlY1J .rI~ .O'?tiJii r']n~'? 1a~ 1'1a~ 1a~ (?) c':i,.Il 1.1l J'l11~ .C.ll W1 Amaryahw says: "Say to my lord: Is it well with you? I bless you by YHWH of Ternan and his Asherah. May he bless you and keep you and be with my lord [forever (?)J. See Z. Meshel, Kuntillet 'AJrud. A Religious Center from the Time if the Judaean Monarchy on the Border if Sinai. (Israel Museum Catalogue 175; Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1978); M. Weinfeld, "Kuntillet 'Ajrud Inscriptions and their Siguificance," SEL I (1984): 121-30; and]. M. Hadley, "Some Drawings and Inscriptions on Two Pithoi from Kuntillet 'Ajrud," VT 37 (1987): 180-211, on whose presentation the trans­ lation is based. A shorter version of the Numbers passage is found on a silver amulet from Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem. See G. Barkay, "The Priestly Benediction on Silver Plaques from Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem," Tel Aviv 19 (1992): 139-92. 4 See the discussion of B. Nitzan, Qymran Prayer and Religious Poetry (STDJ 12; Leiden: Brill, 1994), 145-71. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sanhedrin 035.Pub
    כ"ח אב תשעז“ Sunday, Aug 20 2017 ן ל“ה סנהדרי OVERVIEW of the Daf Distinctive INSIGHT 1) Capital cases must be completed during the day (cont.) When a kohen becomes disqualified from service מה עבודה שדוחה את השבת רציחה דוחה אותה שנאמר מעם The Gemara continues its tangential discussion of the מזבחי תחקנו למות . הוקע meaning of the term The reason many courts were used to try idolaters in the wilderness is explained. O ur Gemara teaches that beis din may not execute someone on Shabbos. This is determined from a verse, 2) The restriction against convicting someone of a capital which overrides a conclusion we might have determined by קל crime in one day comparing the relationships of certain laws using a The service in the Beis HaMikdash is a very . וחומר R’ Chanina and Rava suggest different sources for the restriction against convicting someone of a capital crime in important mitzvah, and the labors associated with it may one day. even be performed on Shabbos. Yet, we know that a kohen The exchange between R’ Chanina and Rava concerning who commits murder is excluded from performing this ser- their respective sources is recorded. vice, as the verse teaches (Shemos 21:14), “from My altar 3) Holding a trial for a capital case on erev Shabbos or you shall take him away to die.” We might then say that the Yom Tov observance of Shabbos, which is pushed aside in deference The reason a capital case cannot be held on Erev Shab- to the service of the Beis HaMikdash should also be de- bos or Yom Tov is explained.
    [Show full text]
  • Song of Ascents
    Rabbi Jay & Ilana Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau Rabbi Adam Mintz Kelman The Narrative of Sefer Tehillim According to the Contextual Interpretation Online syllabus of 30 lectures Lecture #25 113-118 • Song of Ascents (Mizmorim 120-134) – Structure, 119 Messages & Story • Their location between 119 and before 135-136 120-134 • Comparison Song of Ascent Priestly Blessing • Intertextuality with Ezra & Nechemia 135-136 www.tehillim.org.il The Book of Psalms Beni Gesundheit Interpretation & [email protected] Teachings Ariye Bar Tov, Susan Suna, Audrey Samuels הלל של הלל הלל פסוקי קיבוץ גלויות Hallel of the המצרי הגדול דזמרא Pesukei Great Egyptian Ingathered Dezimra Hallel Hallel Exiles L26 L25 L24 L23 L22 L21 תורה וציון )מזמור א'-ב'( 104-107 108-110 111-118 119-134 135-136 137-145 145-150 Contents Praise and Return to Jerusalem: Praise and Building in Jerusalem: Praise and The Blessing from Praise Thanksgiving Ingathering of the Thanksgiving Praise of the Torah, Thanksgiving Jerusalem: Punishment of Exiles and Going up to the Babylonia and a Call to the Restoration of the Temple and to the City Diaspora for Tikun Olam Davidic Kingdom of David Led by David Said by: Rescued from Returnees to Builders of Israel and the Exile Zion the Land the World תורת ה' )קי"ט( "הלל הגדול" )קל"ה-קל"ו( מהגלות לירושלים ק"כ קכ"א קכ"ב )ד-ה( םשֶׁשָּׁ עָּׁלּו קכ"ג קכ"ד )א( ִשיַּר הַּמֲעלֹות ְׁשָּׁבִטים ִשְׁב טֵ י יָּׁ ּה עֵדּות )א( ִשירַּ הַּמֲעְׁלֹות לָּׁדִו ד ֶׁאל ה' ַּבָּׁצָּׁרָּׁתהִלי ְׁלִי ְׁ ש ָּׁרֵאל תלְׁהֹדֹו לְׁשֵ ם ה': לּולֵי ה' שֶׁהָּׁ יָּׁה לָּׁנּו
    [Show full text]
  • Halachic Minyan”
    Guide for the “Halachic Minyan” Elitzur A. and Michal Bar-Asher Siegal Shvat 5768 Intoduction 3 Minyan 8 Weekdays 8 Rosh Chodesh 9 Shabbat 10 The Three Major Festivals Pesach 12 Shavuot 14 Sukkot 15 Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah 16 Elul and the High Holy Days Selichot 17 High Holy Days 17 Rosh Hashanah 18 Yom Kippur 20 Days of Thanksgiving Hannukah 23 Arba Parshiot 23 Purim 23 Yom Ha’atzmaut 24 Yom Yerushalayim 24 Tisha B’Av and Other Fast Days 25 © Elitzur A. and Michal Bar-Asher Siegal [email protected] [email protected] Guide for the “Halachic Minyan” 2 Elitzur A. and Michal Bar-Asher Siegal Shevat 5768 “It is a positive commandment to pray every day, as it is said, You shall serve the Lord your God (Ex. 23:25). Tradition teaches that this “service” is prayer. It is written, serving Him with all you heart and soul (Deut. 2:13), about which the Sages said, “What is service of the heart? Prayer.” The number of prayers is not fixed in the Torah, nor is their format, and neither the Torah prescribes a fixed time for prayer. Women and slaves are therefore obligated to pray, since it is a positive commandment without a fixed time. Rather, this commandment obligates each person to pray, supplicate, and praise the Holy One, blessed be He, to the best of his ability every day; to then request and plead for what he needs; and after that praise and thank God for all the He has showered on him.1” According to Maimonides, both men and women are obligated in the Mitsva of prayer.
    [Show full text]
  • Basic Judaism Course Copr
    ה"ב Basic Judaism Course Copr. 2009 Rabbi Noah Gradofsky Syllabus Basic Judaism Course By: Rabbi Noah Gradofsky Greetings and Overview ................................................................................................................. 3 Class Topics.................................................................................................................................... 3 Reccomended Resources ................................................................................................................ 4 Live It, Learn It............................................................................................................................... 6 On Gender Neutrality...................................................................................................................... 7 Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah.................................................................................................................... 8 Contact Information........................................................................................................................ 8 What is Prayer?............................................................................................................................... 9 Who Is Supposed To Pray?........................................................................................................... 10 Studying Judaism With Honesty and Integrity ............................................................................. 10 Why Are Women and Men Treated Differently in the Synagogue?
    [Show full text]
  • Sim Shalom: the Perfect Prayer
    Rabbi Menachem Penner Focusing on Max and Marion Grill Dean, RIETS Tefilla SIM SHALOM: THE PERFECT PRAYER e end the Amidah — makes peace in His heights.” G-d, the Torah of life, love of kindness, both on weekdays and Masekhet Derekh Eretz, Perek righteousness, blessing, mercy, life and holy days — with a Shalom no. 19 peace. tefillahW for peace. This is in keeping There are, however, multiple reasons Moreover, the closing (and opening) with the tradition of concluding our to question whether Sim Shalom is a berakhot of Shemoneh Esreh — prayers with the hope for shalom: mere request for peace. Retzei, Modim, and Sim Shalom — אמר ר' יהושע דסכנין בשם ר' לוי גדול השלום Indeed, the first half of the berakhah are not supposed to be requests at all! - שכל הברכות והתפלות חותמין בשלום: אמר רב יהודה לעולם אל ישאל אדם צרכיו :asks for more than peace קרית שמע - חותמה בשלום - "ופרוס סוכת לא בג' ראשונות ולא בג' אחרונות - אלא ָ לֹוםשִ ים ׁשטֹוָבה ּובְ ָרָכֵה חָן ו ֶֽחֶסד וְ ַרֲחמִ ים באמצעיות: שלומך". ברכת כהנים - חותמה בשלום ָע ֵֽלינּו וְ ַעָל כל יִשְ ָרֵאַל ע ָברְ ֶֽמָך׃ ֵֽכנּוָ, אבִֽ ינּוֻ, כ ָֽלנּו - שנאמר "וישם לך שלום". וכל הברכות - R’ Yehudah said: A person should not כְ ֶאָחד בְ ָאֹור כִי בְ פֶֽניָך ָאֹור נ פֶֽנָיָךַֽתָת ָֽ לנּו ה' חותמין בשלום - "עושה שלום במרומיו." ask for his needs — not during the first ֱאֹלקינּו ת ַֹורַת חיִים וְ ַֽאֲהַב ֶֽת חֶסד ּוצְ ָדָקה ּובְ ָרָכה Said R’ Yehoshua of Sachnin in the of the Amidah] and not] וְ three blessingַרֲחמִ ים וְ ַחיִים וְ ָ ׁשלֹום׃ name of R’ Levi: All the blessings and during the last three blessings.
    [Show full text]
  • Parshat Naso 5769 by Rachel Farbiarz June 6, 2009
    Parshat Naso 5769 By Rachel Farbiarz June 6, 2009 Parshat Naso provides the script for one of the more penetrating segments of the Hebrew liturgy—the birkat kohanim, or priestly blessing. Over the millennia, this benediction has remained a seminal means of invoking the Divine in both the Jewish and Christian traditions. In our parshah, God dictates the blessing to Moses, who is to teach it to Aaron and his sons—the kohanim, or priests: May God bless you and guard you. May God make God’s face shine upon you and grant grace to you. May God lift up God’s face to you and give you peace.1 At the Sephardic synagogue in which I was raised, Shabbat mornings were punctuated by the eerie call-and-response of the benediction and the congregation’s hopeful rejoinder: May it be God’s will.2 Integral to the priests’ recitation were the rituals accompanying the blessing that seemed to suspend kohanim and congregation together in a humbled thrall. At a specified time in the service, the community’s kohanim discreetly excused themselves to perform their preparatory ablutions. The faint sound of the priests’ shufflings was followed by a call-to-attention—Koh-Haahh- Neeeeeem!—summoning them to their posts before the ark. The men of the congregation gathered their children and their children’s children under the prayer shawls they had drawn over their heads. The kohanim faced them, cloaked too in their billowing shawls. Their arms outstretched, their fingers extended and conjoined in the cultic v-shape, the priests swayed and chanted the blessing—distending its syllables, trilling its notes.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to the Observance of Mourning
    A GUIDE TO THE OBSERVANCE OF MOURNING (This is a general guide only. For details, consult your rabbi.) Who is a mourner? We are obliged to mourn for a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister (including half- brother and half-sister), husband or wife. Males from the age of thirteen years and females the age of twelve years should observe the laws of mourning. While one is permitted to observe mourning rites for others, those who wish to do so should consult their rabbi. Between death and burial During the period between death and burial the mourn known as an omen . The onen is obligated to arrange for the funeral and burial of the dead. In recognition of this obligation and of the mourner's fragile state of mind at this time, the onen is exempt from fulfilling certain other religious duties such as reciting prayers or putting on tefillin, and is not called to the Torah. On Shabbat or a Festival, however, an onen may attend services. Mourner's Kaddish The Kaddish is generally thought of as a prayer for the dead, but it does not mention death or the dead. Reciting Mourner's Kaddish is an act of faith, expressing hope in presence of grief. We praise God with the words of Kaddish, accepting God's sovereignty and affirming life in world. In Jewish tradition, this takes place in public assembly. Thus the Kaddish is recited only in the presence of a minyan. The Mourner's Kaddish is recited for one's parents for eleven months (in some communities for twelve months), counting First and Second Adar, in a leap year, as two separate months.
    [Show full text]
  • Haftarah Helper- Passover Days 1 and 2
    Haftarah Helper 5781: First Two Days of Passover Zachary Beer (Nachshon Project Fellow, The City College of New York) and Barry Kornblau (Rabbi, Young Israel of Hollis Hills-Windsor Park, Queens, NY) The Haftarot of the first two days of Passover recount celebrations of the holiday at two moments of dramatic transformation in Biblical history. At both moments, these celebrations renew the nation’s commitment to its covenant with God, focusing the people on the practical and spiritual goals facing them. Specifically, the readings describe the Passovers of Joshua and King Josiah. Forty years after the Exodus, Joshua’s celebration of the holiday renewed the Israelites' covenantal connection to both God and His Land before conquering it. Centuries later, Josiah revolutionized Judean society after generations of idolatry, and the national observance of Passover again demonstrated the nation’s recommitment to their eternal covenant with God. When the covenant needs to be renewed, Passover is there as the central focus. Day 1 Joshua 3:5-71; 5:2-6:1; 6:27 The Haftarah of the first day of Passover includes key passages, including the third-ever celebration of Passover, from the beginning, middle, and end of the story of the Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan and the beginning of their conquest of the Land, the miraculous conquest of Jericho. This monumental undertaking affirms, incorporates, and fulfills God’s covenant with His people. Joshua leads a mass fulfillment of the covenant of circumcision. This covenant of circumcision, in turn, incorporates God’s covenantal promise to inherit the land (Gen. 17:8), which the forthcoming conquest begins to fulfill.
    [Show full text]
  • The Liturgical Reception of Isaiah 6
    Worship as Interpretation: The Liturgical Reception of Isaiah 6 Sebastian Yosef Selvén Wolfson College, Cambridge June, 2017 This dissertation is submitted to the University of Cambridge for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ▪ This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. ▪ It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text ▪ It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. 2 This dissertation is an investigation into how the Hebrew Bible is used in (Rabbinic) Jewish and Christian liturgical settings, and how this impacts biblical scholars. I argue against the neglect of liturgy and ritual in reception studies and make the case that liturgy is one of the major influential forms of biblical reception. I do this by taking Isa. 6:3 as my example. My liturgical material is the qedushah liturgies in Ashkenazi Judaism and the Sanctus in three church traditions; (pre-1969) Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism (the Church of England) and Lutheranism (Martin Luther, and the Church of Sweden).
    [Show full text]
  • Between Blessings and Prayer: on the History of the Amidah Prayer
    Between Blessings and Prayer: On the History of the Amidah Prayer David Henshke The daily Amidah prayer, i.e., the eighteen benedictions also known as the shmonehesreh, is composed of three units. Its first unit consists of three blessings of praise; its middle unit contains petitions terminating with ‘He hears prayer’; and we would expect the concluding unit to manifest termination and leave-taking. However, only the middle blessing of this section fulfills this function: the first of these three benedictions, the blessing of the (temple) service (avodah) and the concluding one, the blessing of peace, are clearly petitions. Hence, the very structure of the Amidah prayer is fundamentally problematical. The solution proposed here is based on the earliest extant versions of the Amidah prayer-- the seven Sabbath and festival benedictions--formulated in the Temple period as documented in the Tosefta. As described in the Mishnah, the last unit of that Amidah ends with the priestly blessings and not the blessing of peace. Accordingly, the concluding blessing of the primary Amidah was the priestly blessings. Thus, prayer had a dialogic structure: praise, petition, thanksgiving, and then blessing by God. This structure suggests that the Amidah was originally a public prayer and was not intended for individual recitation, for the priestly blessing is recited only in a public framework. However, because the rabbis in Yavneh required the recitation of the statutory prayers twice or three times a day by individuals as well as the public, it became necessary to incorporate the blessing of peace - containing phrases from the priestly blessing - as a substitute for the priestly blessing: In the Evening Service (Arvit), and in the Afternoon Service (Minchah), there is no priestly blessing.
    [Show full text]
  • Siddur 1 Siddur
    סָדּור organized, arranged סִּדּור - סידורים ; organizing, tidying, arranging ; order, arrangement ; (colloquial) "fix", revenge (colloquial) errands ִסּדּור prayer book http://www.morfix.co.il/en/%D7%A1%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A8 Sidriel - angel prince of the first heaven. http://www.angelsghosts.com/angel_names Siddur 1 Siddur Part of a series on Judaism • Category • WikiProject • Portal • v • t [1] • e siddurim [siduˈʁim]) is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set ,סדורים siˈduʁ] ; plural] סדור :A siddur (Hebrew order of daily prayers. (The word "siddur" comes from a Hebrew root meaning "order".)[2] This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed. A separate article, Jewish prayer, discusses the prayers that appear in the siddur, and when they are said. History of the siddur The earliest parts of Jewish prayer book are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") (Deuteronomy 6:4 et seq), and the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), which are in the Torah. A set of eighteen (currently nineteen) blessings called the Shemoneh Esreh or the Amidah (Hebrew, "standing [prayer]"), is traditionally ascribed to the Great Assembly in the time of Ezra, at the end of the Biblical period. The name Shemoneh Esreh, literally "eighteen", is an historical anachronism, since it now contains nineteen blessings. It was only near the end of the Second Temple period that the eighteen prayers of the weekday Amidah became standardized. Even at that time their precise wording and order was not yet fixed, and varied from locale to locale. Many modern scholars believe that parts of the Amidah came from the Hebrew apocryphal work Ben Sira.
    [Show full text]
  • 5765 Volume XII Number 39
    Naso 5765 Volume XII Number 39 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum hagballah," referring to the three days beforehand that RABBI DOV KRAMER G-d had Moshe move the nation away from Mt. Sinai Taking a Closer Look (Shemos 19:12). Both Rav Yosi and the Rabbanan agree that this happened on the 3rd of Sivan (see hevuos, one of the five Biblical holidays and one of Shabbos 78a), so according to Rav Yosi they were the "Shalosh Regalim" (lit: "three legs" or "times" warned to keep back 4 days before the Torah was Sreferring to Succos, Pesach and Shevuos) is most given, not 3. Our expression of "3 days" would seem to widely known as the holiday celebrating the public only be consistent with the Rabbanan. revelation, when G-d appeared before the entire nation The Mogen Avrohom (O"C 494:1) asks how we at Mt. Sinai and spoke the "Aseres Hadibros" ("Ten can follow the Rabbanan, if in another area of Jewish Statements" more commonly identified as the "Ten law it is apparent that we follow Rav Yosi's opinion that Commandments"). We refer to it in our holiday prayers the Torah was given on the 7th. as "zeman matan Toraseinu," the time that our Torah After marital relations, the couple is "tamay," was given, and in the morning we read the portion in the ritually impure, for at least a day. If he (for example) Torah describing the public revelation. goes to the mikveh the next day, he becomes "tahor," When did this occur? The Talmud (Shabbos ritually pure from that "tumah," after nightfall.
    [Show full text]