אסו ית ארסינואי | Two healing prayers for Arsinoë’s recovery (Amulets 80.AM.55.1 & 80.AM.55.2, J. Paul Getty Museum)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Roy Kotansky (translation) and Unknown Author(s)

Shared on:

13 July 2021 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Incantations, Adjurations, & Amulets, Well-being, health, and caregiving

Tags:

41st century A.M., Angels, Aramaic, Late Antiquity, קמעות ḳame'ot, 3rd century C.E., angelology, entering magical territory, Angels of Healing

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Source (Aramaic)	Translation (English)
	Amulet “A” (No. 80.AM.55.1) [inscribed on gold-leaf lamella]
כתב אנא די תתאסי ארסינואי	I am writing (this) so that Arsinoë will be healed.
בשם ישרומיאל וישומאל ונהריאל דלעל מנ נהרי אל ותהומיאל דאל ימאל	In the name of Yeshrumiel and Yeshumel and Nahariel, who is (appointed) over the rivers of El, and Tahomiel who is over Yamel (?).^[1] Kotansky prefers the following reading “ותהומיאל דאקימ אל” (and Tahomiel whom God set up) but explains this is uncertain (p.272 and f.12): “(Alternatively, one can take the last clause with the lines that follow: ‘…and Tehomiel. That [you], God, may cause to stand, and rescue and save Arsinoë…’, though this yields awkward syntax.) The problem seems to be that the qof of the proposed דאקים is difficult to confirm, lamed or samekh being other possibilities. Further, the mem of the sequence of letters דאקימאל is not in the final form (ם) expected if one were to take אל as the subject of the verb. Hence, it would be natural to read here an angel’s name, viz. ימאל. (f.12) ‘…and Tahomiel who is over Yamel’ (?). That is, דאל (= דעל) is read in lieu of דאק, the qof of which is unclear.” This latter reading seems preferable to me in the context of the previous line, yamel and naharei El both manifesting the chaotic turbulence of the primordial waters stilled by El as in Psalms 93:3-4. –ANV
ושיזב ופלט ית ארסינואי מן כל מחבלה	And rescue and save Arsinoë from every destroyer-demon,
אא בב חח אאאא אוא יהוה ו תת אא ווווו הה אאא הוא שניה קשיה ודחילה	He is strange, difficult, and frightening.
אסו ית ארסינואי אל חסדך	Heal Arsinoë. ‘For your loving-kindness…’ (cf. Psalms 115:1; Psalms 138:2).
	Amulet “B” (No. 80.AM.55.2) [inscribed on silver-leaf lamella]
קרינא לכון מלאכיה קדישיה די תאסון ית אריסינואי מן כל בוש	I call upon you Holy Angels that you heal Arsinoë from every illness:
סר צבא יהוה מיכאל והאיש גבריאל	‘Prince of the hosts of YHVH’ (Joshua 5:14-15), Mikhael; ‘and the man, Gavriel’ (Daniel 9:21);
וארפאל רב אסותה וענאל דעני בנת חוה	and Refael, master of healing;^[2] Kotansky (p.277): The initial aleph is prosthetic. and ‘Anael, who answers (the prayers of) the daughters of Ḥavah;^[3] Find ‘Anael as the angelic ruler of the sixth day of the week in “Wisdom of the Chaldeans” (Theurgy of the Kasdim).
צדקיאל אוריאל	Tsadqiel, ’Uriel,
נהריאל סרפיאל	Nahariel, Serafiel,
ברקיאל יכנאל	Barqiel, Yakonel^[4] Kotansky notes (p.278): Reading uncertain, but more likely than the alternative ימנאל.
צוריאל סוריאל	Tsuriel, Suriel,
רהביאל רמיאל	Rahaviel, Ramiel,
חרביאל שתקיאל	Ḥarbiel, Shatqiel,
דוליאל ויהובאל	Doliel and Yahovel,
סתריאל עזריאל	Sitriel, ‘Azriel,
סמאל עזזאל	Sammael, ‘Azazel,
יחזקאל יקטיאל	Yeḥezqel, Yaqtiel,
אמציאל ועזיאל	’Amtsiel and ‘Uzziel,
נוריאל ואמתיאל	Nuriel and ’Am(a)tiel,
ואמוריאל ואמוניאל ואנקיאל	and ’Amoriel and ’Emuniel and ’Anaqiel.^[5] Roy Kotansky notes (p.270 f.11): “In the fourth firmament of Sefer ha-Razim (Morgan, p. 68), we find a similar list of thirty-one angels who lead Helios through the course of the day. The fact that this list begins with Abrasax (= 365, the number of days in the solar year) suggests that both on the Getty amulet and here, the thirty-one angels correspond to the maximum number of days in a solar month. In the Mediaeval ‘Moon-books’ (Lunaria), we also have forms of divination and magic to be performed on specific days of the month; see L. Thorndike: A History of Magic and Experimental Science I, New York, 1929, Ch. 29, esp. pp. 680-681. These are, in principle, the same sort of treatises as the Wisdom of the Chaldeans, but expanded to include a whole month.”
בבעו מנכון אסו ית ארסינואי מן כל רוח בישה אל חסדך ואמתך	I pray of you, heal Arsinoë from every evil spirit. “For your loving-kindness and truth.” (cf. Psalms 115:1; Psalms 138:2)

These are two prayers for Arsinoë found in amulets held in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum (No. 80.AM.55.1 and No. 80.AM.55.2). They were transcribed and translated by Roy Kotansky and published in “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Israel Exploration Journal, 41:4 (1991), p.267-281). For additional details of these fascinating amulets, please consult this article. I have adapted Kotansky’s translation slightly by organizing the text in a linear fashion and in the transliteration of angelic names (i.e., Gavriel instead of Gabriel). I have also preferred an alternate reading of a line proposed by Kotansky in Amulet A (find note on “Tahomiel”). –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Amulet A (No. 80.AM.55.1) from “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Roy Kotansky 1991)

Amulet B (No. 80.AM.55.2) from “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Roy Kotansky 1991)

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Kotansky prefers the following reading “ותהומיאל דאקימ אל” (and Tahomiel whom God set up) but explains this is uncertain (p.272 and f.12): “(Alternatively, one can take the last clause with the lines that follow: ‘…and Tehomiel. That [you], God, may cause to stand, and rescue and save Arsinoë…’, though this yields awkward syntax.) The problem seems to be that the qof of the proposed דאקים is difficult to confirm, lamed or samekh being other possibilities. Further, the mem of the sequence of letters דאקימאל is not in the final form (ם) expected if one were to take אל as the subject of the verb. Hence, it would be natural to read here an angel’s name, viz. ימאל. (f.12) ‘…and Tahomiel who is over Yamel’ (?). That is, דאל (= דעל) is read in lieu of דאק, the qof of which is unclear.” This latter reading seems preferable to me in the context of the previous line, yamel and naharei El both manifesting the chaotic turbulence of the primordial waters stilled by El as in Psalms 93:3-4. –ANV
2	Kotansky (p.277): The initial aleph is prosthetic.
3	Find ‘Anael as the angelic ruler of the sixth day of the week in “Wisdom of the Chaldeans” (Theurgy of the Kasdim).
4	Kotansky notes (p.278): Reading uncertain, but more likely than the alternative ימנאל.
5	Roy Kotansky notes (p.270 f.11): “In the fourth firmament of Sefer ha-Razim (Morgan, p. 68), we find a similar list of thirty-one angels who lead Helios through the course of the day. The fact that this list begins with Abrasax (= 365, the number of days in the solar year) suggests that both on the Getty amulet and here, the thirty-one angels correspond to the maximum number of days in a solar month. In the Mediaeval ‘Moon-books’ (Lunaria), we also have forms of divination and magic to be performed on specific days of the month; see L. Thorndike: A History of Magic and Experimental Science I, New York, 1929, Ch. 29, esp. pp. 680-681. These are, in principle, the same sort of treatises as the Wisdom of the Chaldeans, but expanded to include a whole month.”

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“אסו ית ארסינואי | Two healing prayers for Arsinoë’s recovery (Amulets 80.AM.55.1 & 80.AM.55.2, J. Paul Getty Museum)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Roy Kotansky (translation)

Roy D. Kotansky is a scholar and notable author of works in the Classics and in Biblical Studies. He was the recipient of the Noyes-Cutter Greek prize University of Chicago in 1980, and a fellow in Antiquities at the Jean Paul Getty Museum, 1983-1984.

Unknown Author(s)

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Amulet A (No. 80.AM.55.1) from “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Roy Kotansky 1991)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17