Siam Bhayro

Aramaic Bowl Spells

[This volume presents editions of sixty-four Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls from the Schoyen Collection, with accompanying introductions, translations, philological notes, photographs and indices, relating to the magical divorce and the wonder-working sages Ḥanina ben Dosa and Joshua bar Peraḥia., This volume presents editions of sixty-three Jewish Aramaic incantation bowls from the Schoyen Collection, with accompanying introductions, translations, philological notes, photographs and indices, relating to the magical divorce and the wonder-working sages Ḥanina ben Dosa and Joshua bar Peraḥia.]

Remarks on the Genizah Judaeo-Syriac Fragment

In a previous issue of Aramaic Studies, I published a Judaeo-Syriac medical fragment from the Cairo Genizah (S. Bhayro, ‘A Judaeo-Syriac Medical Fragment from the Cairo Genizah’, Aramaic Studies 10 (2012), pp. 153–172.). I present here a revised edition with brief notes, as well as two brief remarks on the languages employed and the phonetic nature of the transcription.

Imaging the Syriac Galen Palimpsest: preliminary analysis and future prospects

The Syriac Galen Palimpsest is a remarkable, privately owned manuscript that contains the Syriac version of Galen’s Simple drugs by Sergius of Rēs ‘Aynā (d. 536). The anonymous owner commissioned a full set of multi-spectral images and made them freely available. The available combined and enhanced images of the undertext, however, leave many areas of poor readability. The present article reports on attempts to improve readability by using sophisticated algorithms (Canonical Variate Analysis). The initial results are encouraging, and additional image capture in the infrared area with wavelengths longer than 940 nm may also be useful.

Noah’s Library: Sources for 1 Enoch 6-11

This article presents three case studies that explore the literary antecedents to 1 Enoch 6-11. The first case suggests that we can see a clear Mesopotamian influence on this narrative, while the second extends our understanding of the manner in which the author was incorporating rewritten biblical narrative into the text. The third case discusses, in a pan-Eastern Mediterranean context, the origins of the angel name Shemihazah. Taken together, these three examples illustrate the richness of the traditions and literary resources available to those who composed and edited this text.

Index of Texts

Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period explores the relationship between demons and illness from the ancient world to the early modern period. Its twenty chapters range from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt to seventeenth-century England and Spain, and include studies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period

Demons and Illness from Antiquity to the Early-Modern Period explores the relationship between demons and illness from the ancient world to the early modern period. Its twenty chapters range from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt to seventeenth-century England and Spain, and include studies of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

On the Problem of Syriac “Influence” in the Transmission of Greek Science to the Arabs: The Cases of Astronomy, Philosophy, and Medicine

The answer to the question of why the role of Syriac in transmitting Greek science into Arabic is negligible in astronomy but important in philosophy and medicine lies in the history of Syriac science. There was little imperative to transmit Greek astronomy into Syriac because Babylonian astronomy was dominant and received in Syriac. Conversely, there was an imperative to transmit Greek philosophy, due to the lack of anything comparable in Syriac and a need that arose in the late fifth century. Medicine is an in-between case—there was a well-established Mesopotamian medical system, yet Greek sources were translated and integrated with it. This integration was rejected by Arab translators, the effects of which impacted modern scholarship. This analysis explains why influence varies by field and highlights how the modern study of the Syriac sciences has neglected their Mesopotamian background and focussed on how they received and transmitted Greek sources.

An Aramaic Magic Bowl for Fertility and Success in Childbirth: Lisboa, Museu da Farmácia (Lisbon, Pharmacy Museum), Inv. No. 10895

This article presents the editio princeps of an Aramaic magic bowl housed in the Pharmacy Museum (Museu da Farmacia), Lisbon. It contains a spell that seeks to grant success in conception and childbirth for Mihranahid daughter of Aḥat. The spell includes what may be the earliest attested quotation of Gen. 30.22, as well as the often-quoted Zech. 3.2. It also contains an unambiguous rendering of the ‘Your face is the face’ formula.

Galen in Syriac: Rethinking Old Assumptions

This article challenges a series of common assumptions regarding the Syriac translations of Galen: first, about the quality of the sixth-century Syriac translations; second, about the status and role of Syriac as a scientific language; and, third, about economic forces and the motivation for excellence in translation. Finally, the circumstances that produced so many incorrect assumptions, and permitted them to persist for so long, are briefly discussed.

On Early Jewish Literature and the Aramaic Magic Bowls

This article discusses examples of ‘lost midrashim’ that occur in both the New Testament and the Aramaic magic bowls, with a view to demonstrating the significance of the magic bowls for the study of early Jewish literature.