Ancient Jewish magic refers to a range of magical practices and techniques employed by Jews from the Second Temple period through the Rabbinic period. These practices are known through both textual and material evidence, including magical papyri, inscriptions, amulets, and incantation bowls, which illuminate aspects of popular religion that are only partially reflected in normative rabbinic literature. Ancient Jewish magic was closely connected to Jewish mysticism and it functioned alongside emerging rabbinic traditions rather than entirely outside them.
The evidence for ancient Jewish magic comes chiefly from the Land of Israel (Judaea/Palaestina) and Mesopotamia (or in Jewish terms, Babylonia). Magical texts appear in multiple languages used by Jewish communities, including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and were written on diverse media such as papyrus, metal sheets, ceramic sherds, stone, and clay bowls. These texts were typically produced for specific individuals and addressed practical concerns such as protection from demons, healing, success, love, and the binding of enemies. While some Jewish magical texts exhibit elements shared with surrounding cultures, many employ distinctly Jewish features, such as the invocation of biblical verses, angels, and multiple names of God.
The study of ancient Jewish magic has become an important field of research for understanding Jewish religious life beyond elite or legal texts. Since the late 19th century, archaeological discoveries and scholarly analysis have integrated magical papyri and inscriptions into broader reconstructions of Judaism in antiquity, complementing sources such as the Hebrew Bible, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Dead Sea Scrolls, works of Josephus and Philo, the New Testament, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. Together, these materials point to a long-lived and adaptable magical tradition that continued into the medieval period, preserving similar formulas and media.
Overview Although magic was forbidden by Law in the Hebrew Bible, magic relates to Jewish mysticism, and believes magical "technology" could have been widely practised in the late Second Temple period, and in the period following the destruction of the temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries C.E.Gideon Bohak Ancient Jewish magic: a history 2008Clinton Wahlen Jesus and the impurity of spirits in the Synoptic Gospels 2004 p19 "The Jewish magical papyri and incantation bowls may also shed light on our investigation.79 However, the fact that all of these sources are generally dated from the third to fifth centuries and beyond requires us to exercise particular ..." Jewish and Samaritan magicians appear in the New Testament, Acts of the Apostles, and also in the works of Josephus, such as Atomos, a Jewish magician of Cyprus (Antiquities of the Jews 20:142).
Jewish magical practice was primarily oral, so scarce evidence remains of it.
During the rabbinic period, rabbinic sages prohibited various practices associated with Jewish magic. The collective term "Ways of the Amorites" (darkhei ha-Emori) is used by the sages to encompass an assortment of rituals and beliefs that a modern scholar would describe as magical. They range from attempts to divine the future through trivial incidents such as sparks emitted by a candle to wishing "health" when sneezing. However, rabbinic instruction in the Jerusalem Talmud states that "anything which heals is not forbidden because of ways of the Amorites."
Magical papyri The language of the papyri may be: Aramaic, as in Bodleian Heb.d83, a small fragment intended for placement in a metal magical amulet, found in Oxyrhynchus with twelve lines with an invocation "by the eye of Shemihaza" "for a dog to bite someone".Gideon Bohak Ancient Jewish magic: a history 2008 Page 166 "... let us examine three specific instances of Jewish magical papyri, and see what they might contribute to the study of Jewish magic in late antiquity: Greek, as a subset of the Greek Magical Papyri catalogued by Karl Preisendanz and others.The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells Hans Dieter Betz - 1997 from Papyri Graecae Magicae. Die griechischen Zauberpapyri, herausgegeben und übersetzt von Karl Preisendanz, vol. I (Leipzig: Teubner, 1928), vol. ... On Jewish magic and related bibliography, see L. Blau, Das altjudische Zauberwesen Hebrew, as Louvre E7020, which relates to Jewish Merkaba literature and angelic liturgy.Bohak, p167
Jewish magical papyri supplement the evidences for angelology found in early rabbinic material, for example in identifying the existence of a national angel named Israel.Bentley Layton Studies in the History of Religions Volume 22 1972 Page 291 "The existence of an angel Israel is implied in both Hellenistic (Jewish) magical papyri and in late Jewish mystical literature, in rabbinic material concerning the name of the angel with whom Jacob wrestled and in Hekhaloth literature ..." reprinted in Map is not territory: studies in the history of religions ed Jonathan Z. Smith - 1993
The character of Jewish magical papyri is often syncretic.Howard Jacobson The Exagoge of Ezekiel 2009 "Greco-Jewish magical papyri invoke God and Helios in virtually the same breath." Some "Jewish magical papyri" may not themselves be Jewish but syncretic invocations of the Tetragrammaton by non-Jews.G. H. Parke-Taylor - 1975 "The use made of divine names in the semi-Jewish magical papyri of the first four or five centuries is evidence of the way in which potential magical tendencies within the divine name found expression. The sixth century also yields ..."
Importance for research The discovery of magical papyri, primarily during the heyday of Near Eastern archaeology in the late 19th century, and subsequent interpretation and cataloguing, primarily during the early 20th century, has been followed by incorporation into academic research which has allowed Jewish magical papyri and magical inscriptions a supplemental role to major sources such as Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, the New Testament, and the Talmud.Jacob Neusner Religion, literature, and society in ancient Israel, formative Christianity and Judaism University Press of America Volume 2- 1987 "As my introductions to each section in this corpus clarifies, the documents help solidify the importance of Philo, Josephus, the Old Testament Apocrypha, the Qumran Scrolls, and Jewish Magical Papyri"Craig A. Evans, Emanuel Tov Exploring the origins of the Bible: canon formation in historical Literary, and Theological Perspective Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology 2008 "Now, thanks to research by Jews and Christians on the Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, the New Testament, the Jewish magical papyri, inscriptions, and rabbinics, we know that the following is correct about ... "
Exorcism A case of Jewish exorcism appears in Antiquities of the Jews (8.42–49), published by the Jewish historian Josephus in the 90s CE. In the account, a Jewish exorcist named Eleazar frees men possessed by demons in the presence of Vespasian and his troops. Eleazar places a ring containing a root prescribed by the biblical monarch Solomon under the possessed man's nose and recites incantations he composed, drawing out the demon through the nostrils and preventing it from returning. To demonstrate his power to onlookers, he commands the demon to overturn a cup or footbasin, which it does, signaling that it has abandoned its host. Josephus situates the miracle within a broader portrayal of Solomon's unparalleled wisdom, presenting him as possessing advanced knowledge of natural and supernatural phenomena. The narrative attributes the recognition and acclaim to Solomon rather than to Eleazar, forming a structural distinction from typical miracle stories.
Another story related to exorcism appears elsewhere in Antiquities of the Jews (6.166–169), when Josephus recounts the biblical story of Saul. According to the biblical narrative, Saul is tormented by evil spirits and is relieved by David's playing. In Josephus's version, he presents David as performing an exorcistic function: physicians cannot relieve Saul's distress, so David is brought to the court, where he restores Saul through singing and playing the harp, expelling the spirits and returning him to his right mind.
Magical treatises
Two Jewish magical treatises from antiquity have survived. One of them, Sefer HaRazim, or the Book of Mysteries, is generally dated to the middle of the first millennium CE. Composed in Hebrew, it is thought to have originated in either Palaestina or Egypt. According to its preface, the book was used by biblical figures such as Noah and King Solomon. It presents a structured magical system organized around seven heavens, each inhabited by a distinct group of angels assigned specific magical functions. The text contains 28 magical recipes through which a practitioner could enlist these angels to carry out desired aims. Although it reflects familiarity with Greco-Egyptian magical traditions, it reshapes them within a distinctly Jewish framework.
Another important Jewish treatise from late antiquity is Harba de-Moshe, or The Sword of Moses, a work written in Aramaic and Hebrew. It is generally believed to have been compiled in the third quarter of the first millennium CE, and its exact place of composition remains unknown. The work centers on a collection of divine and angelic names said to derive from the "sword" granted to Moses in heaven when he ascended to receive the Torah. When used according to the book’s magical recipes (140 of which appear in its final chapter) these names were believed to enable a wide range of acts, including healing and self-protection, enhancing memory, and harming enemies.
Amulets and curse texts
Knots Rabbinic literature preserves several references to protective "knots" (qesharim) worn by children. The Mishnah (Shabbat 6:9) notes that boys could go out wearing such "knots" on the Shabbat, implying they were considered part of normal dress. Later discussion in the Babylonian Talmud expands on their function through the views of two amoraic sages who describe healing practices involving tied bundles and amulets. Abaye describes a traditional remedy attributed to his mother: tying three "knots" could stop an illness, five might heal it, and seven were believed powerful enough to ward off witchcraft. Rav Huna prescribes an amulet for tertian fever made from multiple materials arranged in groups of seven. A later legal work, the Geonic-period Sepher ha-Ma'asim, adds that children could wear knots only until about age nine. That implies that "knots" were understood as safeguards for the more vulnerable young and were regulated once a child was older. Archaeology provides confirmation that such practices were real. In the Cave of Letters, a Bar Kokhba refuge cave in the Judaean Desert, a child's linen shirt dating to the 130s CE was discovered with small tied pouches sewn into it, which are thought to be the "knots" mentioned in rabbinic literature. These bundles contained items such as shells, salt, and seeds, materials commonly used in protective charms across the ancient Mediterranean.
Inscribed amulets and defixios