1. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 90 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magic, jesus as ultimate magician Found in books: Carleton Paget and Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible (2013) 868 | 90. Return, O LORD; how long? And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants.,Who knoweth the power of Thine anger, And Thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto Thee?,Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep; In the morning they are like grass which groweth up.,For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath; We bring our years to an end as a tale that is told.,Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, According to the years wherein we have seen evil.,For a thousand years in Thy sight Are but as yesterday when it is past, And as a watch in the night.,Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, And Thy glory upon their children.,A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations.,So teach us to number our days, That we may get us a heart of wisdom.,The days of our years are threescore years and ten, Or even by reason of strength fourscore years; Yet is their pride but travail and vanity; For it is speedily gone, and we fly away.,Thou turnest man to contrition; And sayest: 'Return, ye children of men.',And let the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; Establish Thou also upon us the work of our hands; Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.,Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, Our secret sins in the light of Thy countece.,O satisfy us in the morning with Thy mercy; That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.,For we are consumed in Thine anger, And by Thy wrath are we hurried away.,In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; In the evening it is cut down, and withereth.,Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 7.10-7.12, 13.16, 20.24 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magic, jesus as ultimate magician Found in books: Carleton Paget and Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible (2013) 865, 868; Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2| 7.11. וַיִּקְרָא גַּם־פַּרְעֹה לַחֲכָמִים וְלַמְכַשְּׁפִים וַיַּעֲשׂוּ גַם־הֵם חַרְטֻמֵּי מִצְרַיִם בְּלַהֲטֵיהֶם כֵּן׃ 7.12. וַיַּשְׁלִיכוּ אִישׁ מַטֵּהוּ וַיִּהְיוּ לְתַנִּינִם וַיִּבְלַע מַטֵּה־אַהֲרֹן אֶת־מַטֹּתָם׃ 13.16. וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל־יָדְכָה וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ יְהוָה מִמִּצְרָיִם׃ | 7.10. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as the LORD had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 7.11. Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their secret arts. 7.12. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13.16. And it shall be for a sign upon thy hand, and for frontlets between your eyes; for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.’ |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 6.4-6.9, 11.18-11.20 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magic, jesus as ultimate magician Found in books: Carleton Paget and Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible (2013) 868| 6.4. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃ 6.5. וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל־מְאֹדֶךָ׃ 6.6. וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ׃ 6.7. וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃ 6.8. וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל־יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ׃ 6.9. וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל־מְזוּזֹת בֵּיתֶךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ׃ 11.18. וְשַׂמְתֶּם אֶת־דְּבָרַי אֵלֶּה עַל־לְבַבְכֶם וְעַל־נַפְשְׁכֶם וּקְשַׁרְתֶּם אֹתָם לְאוֹת עַל־יֶדְכֶם וְהָיוּ לְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֵיכֶם׃ 11.19. וְלִמַּדְתֶּם אֹתָם אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶם לְדַבֵּר בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ׃ | 6.4. HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. 6.5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6.6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 6.7. and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 6.8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. 6.9. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates. 11.18. Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 11.19. And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 11.20. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates; |
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4. Herodotus, Histories, 7.114 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2| 7.114. φαρμακεύσαντες δὲ ταῦτα ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ πρὸς τούτοισι ἐν Ἐννέα ὁδοῖσι τῇσι Ἠδωνῶν ἐπορεύοντο κατὰ τὰς γεφύρας, τὸν Στρυμόνα εὑρόντες ἐζευγμένον. Ἐννέα δὲ ὁδοὺς πυνθανόμενοι τὸν χῶρον τοῦτον καλέεσθαι, τοσούτους ἐν αὐτῷ παῖδάς τε καὶ παρθένους ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ζώοντας κατώρυσσον. Περσικὸν δὲ τὸ ζώοντας κατορύσσειν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ἄμηστριν τὴν Ξέρξεω γυναῖκα πυνθάνομαι γηράσασαν δὶς ἑπτὰ Περσέων παῖδας ἐόντων ἐπιφανέων ἀνδρῶν ὑπὲρ ἑωυτῆς τῷ ὑπὸ γῆν λεγομένῳ εἶναι θεῷ ἀντιχαρίζεσθαι κατορύσσουσαν. | 7.114. After using these enchantments and many others besides on the river, they passed over it at the Nine Ways in Edonian country, by the bridges which they found thrown across the Strymon. When they learned that Nine Ways was the name of the place, they buried alive that number of boys and maidens, children of the local people. ,To bury people alive is a Persian custom; I have learned by inquiry that when Xerxes' wife Amestris reached old age, she buried twice seven sons of notable Persians as an offering on her own behalf to the fabled god beneath the earth. |
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5. Strabo, Geography, 16.2.43 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 | 16.2.43. Such are the phenomena. But Posidonius says, that the people being addicted to magic, and practising incantations, (by these means) consolidate the asphaltus, pouring upon it urine and other fetid fluids, and then cut it into pieces. (Incantations cannot be the cause), but perhaps urine may have some peculiar power (in effecting the consolidation) in the same manner that chrysocolla is formed in the bladders of persons who labour under the disease of the stone, and in the urine of children.It is natural for these phenomena to take place in the middle of the lake, because the source of the fire is in the centre, and the greater part of the asphaltus comes from thence. The bubbling up, however, of the asphaltus is irregular, because the motion of fire, like that of many other vapours, has no order perceptible to observers. There are also phenomena of this kind at Apollonia in Epirus. |
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6. Suetonius, Nero, 16.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 | 16.2. During his reign many abuses were severely punished and put down, and no fewer new laws were made: a limit was set to expenditures; the public banquets were confined to a distribution of food; the sale of any kind of cooked viands in the taverns was forbidden, with the exception of pulse and vegetables, whereas before every sort of dainty was exposed for sale. Punishment was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition. He put an end to the diversions of the chariot drivers, who from immunity of long standing claimed the right of ranging at large and amusing themselves by cheating and robbing the people. The pantomimic actors and their partisans were banished from the city. |
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7. Pliny The Elder, Natural History, 30.11, 30.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 | 30.11. I find that a heavy cold clears up if the sufferer kisses a mule's muzzle. Pain in the uvula and in the throat is relieved by the dung, dried in shade, of lambs that have not yet eaten grass, uvula pain by applying the juice of a snail transfixed by a needle, so that the snail itself may be hung up in the smoke, and by the ash of swallows with honey. This also gives relief to affections of the tonsils. Gargling with ewe's milk is a help to tonsils and throat, as is a multipede beaten up, gargling with pigeon's dung and raisin wine, and also an external application of it with dried fig and soda. Sore throat and a running cold are relieved by snails — they should be boiled unwashed and with only the earth taken off crushed and given to drink in raisin wine; some hold that the snails of Astypalaea are the most efficacious — by their ash, and also by rubbing with a cricket or if anybody touches the tonsils with hands that have crushed a cricket. 30.13. Good treatment for pains in the shoulder is weasel ash and wax. Rubbing with ants' eggs prevents hair in the armpits of children, and dealers, to delay growth of downy hair on adolescents, use blood that comes from the testicles of lambs when they are castrated. Applications of this blood after the hair has been pulled out also do away with the rank smell of the armpits. |
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| 8. Juvenal, Satires, 6.546 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 |
9. New Testament, Acts, 8.9 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magicians, jesus as Found in books: Janowitz, Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians (2002) 17| 8.9. Ἀνὴρ δέ τις ὀνόματι Σίμων προυπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ πόλει μαγεύων καὶ ἐξιστάνων τὸ ἔθνος τῆς Σαμαρίας, λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτὸν μέγαν, | 8.9. But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who had used sorcery in the city before, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, |
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10. New Testament, Romans, 13.13-13.14 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magic, jesus as ultimate magician Found in books: Carleton Paget and Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible (2013) 869| 13.13. ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ εὐσχημόνως περιπατήσωμεν, μὴ κώμοις καὶ μέθαις, μὴ κοίταις καὶ ἀσελγείαις, μὴ ἔριδι καὶ ζήλῳ. 13.14. ἀλλὰ ἐνδύσασθε τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς πρόνοιαν μὴ ποιεῖσθε εἰς ἐπιθυμίας. | 13.13. Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy. 13.14. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts. |
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11. New Testament, Matthew, 23.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magic, jesus as ultimate magician Found in books: Carleton Paget and Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible (2013) 868| 23.5. πάντα δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ποιοῦσιν πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· πλατύνουσι γὰρ τὰ φυλακτήρια αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλύνουσι τὰ κράσπεδα, | 23.5. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments, |
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| 12. Clement of Alexandria, Christ The Educator, 3.4 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 |
13. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 1.13.1-1.13.6 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •magicians, jesus as •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2; Janowitz, Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians (2002) 17 | 1.13.2. Pretending to consecrate cups mixed with wine, and protracting to great length the word of invocation, he contrives to give them a purple and reddish colour, so that Charis, who is one of those that are superior to all things, should be thought to drop her own blood into that cup through means of his invocation, and that thus those who are present should be led to rejoice to taste of that cup, in order that, by so doing, the Charis, who is set forth by this magician, may also flow into them. Again, handing mixed cups to the women, he bids them consecrate these in his presence. When this has been done, he himself produces another cup of much larger size than that which the deluded woman has consecrated,) and pouting from the smaller one consecrated by the woman into that which has been brought forward by himself, he at the same time pronounces these words: "May that Chaffs who is before all things, and who transcends all knowledge and speech, fill thine inner man, and multiply in thee her own knowledge, by sowing the grain of mustard seed in thee as in good soil." Repeating certain other like words, and thus goading on the wretched woman [to madness], he then appears a worker of wonders when the large cup is seen to have been filled out of the small one, so as even to overflow by what has been obtained from it. By accomplishing several other similar things, he has completely deceived many, and drawn them away after him. 1.13.3. It appears probable enough that this man possesses a demon as his familiar spirit, by means of whom he seems able to prophesy, and also enables as many as he counts worthy to be partakers of his Charis themselves to prophesy. He devotes himself especially to women, and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth, whom he frequently seeks to draw after him, by addressing them in such seductive words as these: "I am eager to make thee a partaker of my Charis, since the Father of all doth continually behold thy angel before His face. Now the place of thy angel is among us: it behoves us to become one. Receive first from me and by me [the gift of] Chaffs. Adorn thyself as a bride who is expecting her bridegroom, that thou mayest be what I am, and I what thou art. Establish the germ of light in thy nuptial chamber. Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, while thou art received by him. Behold Charis has descended upon thee; open thy mouth and prophesy." On the woman replying," I have never at any time prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy;" then engaging, for the second time, in certain invocations, so as to astound his deluded victim, he says to her," Open thy mouth, speak whatsoever occurs to thee, and thou shalt prophesy." She then, vainly puffed up and elated by these words, and greatly excited in soul by the expectation that it is herself who is to prophesy, her heart beating violently [from emotion], reaches the requisite pitch of audacity, and idly as well as impudently utters some nonsense as it happens. to occur to her, such as might be expected from one heated by an empty spirit. (Referring to this, one superior to me has observed, that the soul is both audacious and impudent when heated with empty air.) Henceforth she reckons herself a prophetess, and expresses her thanks to Marcus for having imparted to her of his own Chaffs. She then makes the effort to reward him, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him. 1.13.4. But already some of the most faithful women, possessed of the fear of God, and not being deceived (whom, nevertheless, he did his best to seduce like the rest by bidding them prophesy), abhorring and execrating him, have withdrawn from such a vile company of revellers. This they have done, as being well aware that the gift of prophecy is not conferred on men by Marcus, the magician, but that only those to whom God sends His grace from above possess the divinely-bestowed power of prophesying; and then they speak where and when God pleases, and not when Marcus orders them to do so. For that which commands is greater and of higher authority than that which is commanded, inasmuch as the former rules, while the latter is in a state of subjection. If, then, Marcus, or any one else, does command,--as these are accustomed continually at their feasts to play at drawing lots, and [in accordance with the lot] to command one another to prophesy, giving forth as oracles what is in harmony with their own desires,--it will follow that he who commands is greater and of higher authority than the prophetic spirit, though he is but a man, which is impossible. But such spirits as are commanded by these men, and speak when they desire it, are earthly and weak, audacious and impudent, sent forth by Satan for the seduction and perdition of those who do not hold fast that well- compacted faith which they received at first through the Church. 1.13.5. Moreover, that this Marcus compounds philters and love-potions, in order to insult the persons of some of these women, if not of all, those of them who have returned to the Church of God--a thing which frequently occurs--have acknowledged, confessing, too, that they have been defiled by him, and that they were filled with a burning passion towards him. A sad example of this occurred in the case of a certain Asiatic, one of our deacons, who had received him (Marcus) into his house. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, fell a victim both in mind and body to this magician, and, for a long time, travelled about with him. At last, when, with no small difficulty, the brethren had converted her, she spent her whole time in the exercise of public confession, weeping over and lamenting the defilement which she had received from this magician. 1.13.6. Some of his disciples, too, addicting themselves to the same practices, have deceived many silly women, and defiled them. They proclaim themselves as being "perfect," so that no one can be compared to them with respect to the immensity of their knowledge, nor even were you to mention Paul or Peter, or any other of the apostles. They assert that they themselves know more than all others, and that they alone have imbibed the greatness of the knowledge of that power which is unspeakable. They also maintain that they have attained to a height above all power, and that therefore they are free in every respect to act as they please, having no one to fear in anything. For they affirm, that because of the "Redemption" it has come to pass that they can neither be apprehended, nor even seen by the judge. But even if he should happen to lay hold upon them, then they might simply repeat these words, while standing in his presence along with the "Redemption:" "O thou, who sittest beside God, and the mystical, eternal Sige, thou through whom the angels (mightiness), who continually behold the face of the Father, having thee as their guide and introducer, do derive their forms from above, which she in the greatness of her daring inspiring with mind on account of the goodness of the Propator, produced us as their images, having her mind then intent upon the things above, as in a dream,--behold, the judge is at hand, and the crier orders me to make my defence. But do thou, as being acquainted with the affairs of both, present the cause of both of us to the judge, inasmuch as it is in reality but one cause." Now, as soon as the Mother hears these words, she puts the Homeric helmet of Pluto upon them, so that they may invisibly escape the judge. And then she immediately catches them up, conducts them into the bridal chamber, and hands them over to their consorts. |
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14. Justin, First Apology, 14.2 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician •magicians, jesus as Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2; Janowitz, Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians (2002) 17 | 14. For we forewarn you to be on your guard, lest those demons whom we have been accusing should deceive you, and quite divert you from reading and understanding what we say. For they strive to hold you their slaves and servants; and sometimes by appearances in dreams, and sometimes by magical impositions, they subdue all who make no strong opposing effort for their own salvation. And thus do we also, since our persuasion by the Word, stand aloof from them (i.e., the demons), and follow the only unbegotten God through His Son - we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all. But lest we should seem to be reasoning sophistically, we consider it right, before giving you the promised explanation, to cite a few precepts given by Christ Himself. And be it yours, as powerful rulers, to inquire whether we have been taught and do teach these things truly. Brief and concise utterances fell from Him, for He was no sophist, but His word was the power of God. |
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| 15. Lucian, Gout, 171, 173, 172 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 |
| 16. Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation To The Greeks, 1 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 |
17. Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, 68b, 68a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •nan Found in books: Kalmin, Migrating tales: the Talmud's narratives and their historical context (2014) 124, 125| 68a. איגניב לן כסא דכספא בהדי דקא מעייני ואתי אשכחוה דכרוכה בסודריה,אמרי ליה חזי מר דלא מיכל קא בעי אלא לצעורן אמר להו אנא מיכל אכלי וטעמי ביה טעמא דחיורא אמרי ליה חיורא לא עביד לן האידנא אמר להו בדקו בדוכתיה דאמר רב חסדא אוכמא בחיורא וחיורא באוכמתא לקותא היא בדוק אשכחוה,כי קא נפיק כרו ליה בירא ושדו ליה ציפתא עילויה ואמרי ליה ליתי מר לינח נחר ליה רב חסדא מאחוריה אמר ליה לינוקא פסוק לי פסוקיך אמר ליה (שמואל ב ב, כא) נטה לך על ימינך או על שמאלך אמר ליה לשמעיה מאי קא חזית אמר ליה ציפיתא דשדיא אמר ליה הדר מינה,לבתר דנפק אמר ליה רב חסדא מנא הוה ידע מר אמר ליה חדא דנחר לי מר ועוד דפסק לי ינוקא פסוקא ועוד דחשידי עבדי דלא מעלו,(קהלת ב, ח) עשיתי לי שרים ושרות ותענוגות בני האדם שדה ושדות שרים ושרות אלו מיני זמר ותענוגות בני האדם אלו בריכות ומרחצאות שדה ושדות הכא תרגימו שידה ושידתין במערבא אמרי שידתא,אמר רבי יוחנן שלש מאות מיני שדים היו בשיחין ושידה עצמה איני יודע מה היא,אמר מר הכא תרגימו שידא ושידתין שידה ושידתין למאי איבעי ליה דכתיב (מלכים א ו, ז) והבית בהבנותו אבן שלמה מסע נבנה וגו' אמר להו לרבנן היכי אעביד אמרו ליה איכא שמירא דאייתי משה לאבני אפוד,אמר להו היכא אישתכח אמרו ליה אייתי שידה ושידתין כבשינהו אהדדי אפשר דידעי ומגלו לך אייתי שידה ושידתין כבשינהו אהדדי אמרי אנן לא ידעינן דילמא אשמדאי מלכא דשידי ידע,אמר להו היכא איתיה אמרי ליה איתיה בטורא פלן כריא ליה בירא ומליא ליה מיא ומיכסיא בטינרא וחתמיה בגושפנקיה וכל יומא סליק לרקיע וגמר מתיבתא דרקיעא ונחית לארעא וגמר מתיבתא דארעא ואתי סייר ליה לגושפנקיה ומגלי ליה ושתי ומכסי ליה וחתים ליה ואזיל,שדריה לבניהו בן יהוידע יהב ליה שושילתא דחקיק עלה שם ועזקתא דחקיק עלה שם וגבבי דעמרא וזיקי דחמרא אזל כרא בירא מתתאי ושפינהו למיא וסתמינהו בגבבי דעמרא וכרא בירא מעילאי ושפכינהו לחמרא וטמינהו סליק יתיב באילנא,כי אתא סייריה לגושפנקא גלייה אשכחיה חמרא אמר כתיב (משלי כ, א) לץ היין הומה שכר וכל שוגה בו לא יחכם וכתיב (הושע ד, יא) זנות ויין ותירוש יקח לב לא אישתי כי צחי לא סגיא ליה אישתי רוה וגנא,נחית אתא שדא ביה שושילתא סתמיה כי אתער הוה קא מיפרזל א"ל שמא דמרך עלך שמא דמרך עלך,כי נקיט ליה ואתי מטא דיקלא חף ביה שדייה מטא לביתא שדייה מטא גבי כובא דההיא ארמלתא נפקא | 68a. A silver cup was stolen from us, and they searched everyone for it. When they were checking they found the piece of meat wrapped in his scarf.,The Exilarch’s servants said to the Exilarch: See Master, i.e., the Exilarch, Rav Sheshet does not desire to eat, rather he wishes only to afflict us. Even after everything that was done for him he did not eat from the Exilarch’s meal. Rav Sheshet said to them: I ate and I tasted the taste of white leprous spots in the meat and therefore I did not eat it. They said to the Exilarch: We did not prepare an animal with white spots today. Rav Sheshet said to them: Check the skin in the place of the portion that I was given. He issued this instruction in accordance with the statement of Rav Ḥisda, as Rav Ḥisda said: Black spots within white skin and white spots within black skin are an affliction and a sign of disease. They checked and found that the animal was afflicted in this manner, and the Exilarch’s servants became even angrier with him.,When Rav Sheshet was exiting the house of the Exilarch the servants dug a pit and placed a reed mat [tzifta] on top of it so that the pit would not be noticed. And they said to Rav Sheshet: The Master, i.e., Rav Sheshet, should come and rest for a short time, and they intended for him to fall and be hurt. Rav Ḥisda, who was also present, snorted [neḥar] to him from behind in order to signal to him. Rav Sheshet said to a child who was there: Recite your verse for me that you studied today. The child said to him: “Turn to your right or to your left” (II Samuel 2:21). Rav Sheshet, who was blind, said to his servant: What do you see? His servant said to him: I see a mat that has been placed on the ground. Rav Sheshet said to him: Turn away from it and we will go around it.,After Rav Sheshet left the Exilarch’s house, Rav Ḥisda said to him: From where did the Master, i.e., Rav Sheshet, know that the servants had dug a pit in that place? Rav Sheshet said to him: There were several matters that raised my suspicions. One, that the Master, i.e., Rav Ḥisda, snorted to me to signal that I should beware. And additionally, when the child recited the verse for me it alluded to this matter. And additionally, servants are suspect of not acting according to a high standard, and I suspected that they would attempt to cause me harm.,§ After mentioning the spirit named kordeyakos on the previous daf the Gemara relates other matters connected to spirits and demons. It is written: “I got myself sharim and sharot, and human pleasures, shidda and shiddot” (Ecclesiastes 2:8). The Gemara explains: “Sharim and sharot”: These are types of musical instruments. “And human pleasures”: These are pools and bathhouses. “Shidda and shiddot”: Here, in Babylonia, they interpreted these words in the following manner: Male demons [shidda] and female demons [shiddetin]. In the West, Eretz Yisrael, they said that these words are referring to carriages [shiddeta].,Rabbi Yoḥa says: There were three hundred types of demons in a place named Shiḥin, but I do not know what the form or nature of a demon itself is.,The Master said: Here they interpreted it: Male demons and female demons. The Gemara asks: Why was it necessary for Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, to have male demons and female demons? The Gemara answers: As it is written with regard to the building of the Temple: “For the house, when it was being built, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was being built” (I Kings 6:7). Solomon said to the sages: How shall I make it so that the stone will be precisely cut without using iron? They said to him: There is a creature called a shamir that can cut the stones, which Moses brought and used to cut the stones of the ephod.,Solomon said to them: Where is it found? They said to him: Bring a male demon and a female demon and torment them together. It is possible that they know where, and due to the suffering they will reveal the place to you. Solomon brought a male demon and a female demon and tormented them together, and they said: We do not know where to find the shamir. Perhaps Ashmedai, king of the demons, knows.,Solomon said to them: Where is Ashmedai? They said to him: He is on such-and-such a mountain. He has dug a pit for himself there, and filled it with water, and covered it with a rock, and sealed it with his seal. And every day he ascends to Heaven and studies in the heavenly study hall and he descends to the earth and studies in the earthly study hall. And he comes and checks his seal to ensure that nobody has entered his pit, and then he uncovers it and drinks from the water in the pit. And then he covers it and seals it again and goes.,Solomon sent for Benayahu, son of Jehoiada, a member of the royal entourage, and gave him a chain onto which a sacred name of God was carved, and a ring onto which a sacred name of God was carved, and fleeces of wool and wineskins of wine. What did Benayahu do? He went and dug a pit lower down the mountain, below the pit dug by Ashmedai, drained the water, and plugged it with the fleeces of wool so that Ashmedai’s pit was emptied. And he dug a pit higher up the mountain, above Ashmedai’s pit. And he poured the wine into it so that the wine filled Ashmedai’s pit, and he plugged the lower and upper pits that he dug. He climbed up and sat in a tree.,When Ashmedai came he checked his seal, opened the pit, and found it to be filled with wine. He said that it is written: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is riotous; and whosoever wallows in it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1), and it is written: “Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the heart” (Hosea 4:11). He concluded: I will not drink this wine. Eventually, when he became thirsty, he was unable to resist the wine and he drank, became intoxicated, and fell asleep.,Benayahu descended from the tree, came, and threw the chain around Ashmedai, and enclosed him within it. When Ashmedai awoke he struggled to remove the chain. Benayahu said to him: The name of your Master is upon you, the name of your Master is upon you, do not tear the chain. God’s name is written on this chain, and it is forbidden to destroy it.,When Benayahu took Ashmedai and came to Jerusalem he reached a palm tree and Ashmedai rubbed against it and knocked it down. He reached a house and knocked it down. He reached a small shack [kuva] belonging to a certain widow. This widow emerged, |
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18. Origen, Against Celsus, 1.25-1.26 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 | 1.25. And perhaps there is a danger as great as that which degrades the name of God, or of the Good, to improper objects, in changing the name of God according to a secret system, and applying those which belong to inferior beings to greater, and vice versa. And I do not dwell on this, that when the name of Zeus is uttered, there is heard at the same time that of the son of Kronos and Rhea, and the husband of Hera, and brother of Poseidon, and father of Athene, and Artemis, who was guilty of incest with his own daughter Persephone; or that Apollo immediately suggests the son of Leto and Zeus, and the brother of Artemis, and half-brother of Hermes; and so with all the other names invented by these wise men of Celsus, who are the parents of these opinions, and the ancient theologians of the Greeks. For what are the grounds for deciding that he should on the one hand be properly called Zeus, and yet on the other should not have Kronos for his father and Rhea for his mother? And the same argument applies to all the others that are called gods. But this charge does not at all apply to those who, for some mysterious reason, refer the word Sabaoth, or Adonai, or any of the other names to the (true) God. And when one is able to philosophize about the mystery of names, he will find much to say respecting the titles of the angels of God, of whom one is called Michael, and another Gabriel, and another Raphael, appropriately to the duties which they discharge in the world, according to the will of the God of all things. And a similar philosophy of names applies also to our Jesus, whose name has already been seen, in an unmistakeable manner, to have expelled myriads of evil spirits from the souls and bodies (of men), so great was the power which it exerted upon those from whom the spirits were driven out. And while still upon the subject of names, we have to mention that those who are skilled in the use of incantations, relate that the utterance of the same incantation in its proper language can accomplish what the spell professes to do; but when translated into any other tongue, it is observed to become inefficacious and feeble. And thus it is not the things signified, but the qualities and peculiarities of words, which possess a certain power for this or that purpose. And so on such grounds as these we defend the conduct of the Christians, when they struggle even to death to avoid calling God by the name of Zeus, or to give Him a name from any other language. For they either use the common name - God - indefinitely, or with some such addition as that of the Maker of all things, the Creator of heaven and earth - He who sent down to the human race those good men, to whose names that of God being added, certain mighty works are wrought among men. And much more besides might be said on the subject of names, against those who think that we ought to be indifferent as to our use of them. And if the remark of Plato in the Philebus should surprise us, when he says, My fear, O Protagoras, about the names of the gods is no small one, seeing Philebus in his discussion with Socrates had called pleasure a god, how shall we not rather approve the piety of the Christians, who apply none of the names used in the mythologies to the Creator of the world? And now enough on this subject for the present. 1.26. But let us see the manner in which this Celsus, who professes to know everything, brings a false accusation against the Jews, when he alleges that they worship angels, and are addicted to sorcery, in which Moses was their instructor. Now, in what part of the writings of Moses he found the lawgiver laying down the worship of angels, let him tell, who professes to know all about Christianity and Judaism; and let him show also how sorcery can exist among those who have accepted the Mosaic law, and read the injunction, Neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them. Moreover, he promises to show afterwards how it was through ignorance that the Jews were deceived and led into error. Now, if he had discovered that the ignorance of the Jews regarding Christ was the effect of their not having heard the prophecies about Him, he would show with truth how the Jews fell into error. But without any wish whatever that this should appear, he views as Jewish errors what are no errors at all. And Celsus having promised to make us acquainted, in a subsequent part of his work, with the doctrines of Judaism, proceeds in the first place to speak of our Saviour as having been the leader of our generation, in so far as we are Christians, and says that a few years ago he began to teach this doctrine, being regarded by Christians as the Son of God. Now, with respect to this point - His prior existence a few years ago - we have to remark as follows. Could it have come to pass without divine assistance, that Jesus, desiring during these years to spread abroad His words and teaching, should have been so successful, that everywhere throughout the world, not a few persons, Greeks as well as Barbarians, learned as well as ignorant, adopted His doctrine, so that they struggled, even to death in its defense, rather than deny it, which no one is ever related to have done for any other system? I indeed, from no wish to flatter Christianity, but from a desire thoroughly to examine the facts, would say that even those who are engaged in the healing of numbers of sick persons, do not attain their object - the cure of the body - without divine help; and if one were to succeed in delivering souls from a flood of wickedness, and excesses, and acts of injustice, and from a contempt of God, and were to show, as evidence of such a result, one hundred persons improved in their natures (let us suppose the number to be so large), no one would reasonably say that it was without divine assistance that he had implanted in those hundred individuals a doctrine capable of removing so many evils. And if any one, on a candid consideration of these things, shall admit that no improvement ever takes place among men without divine help, how much more confidently shall he make the same assertion regarding Jesus, when he compares the former lives of many converts to His doctrine with their after conduct, and reflects in what acts of licentiousness and injustice and covetousness they formerly indulged, until, as Celsus, and they who think with him, allege, they were deceived, and accepted a doctrine which, as these individuals assert, is destructive of the life of men; but who, from the time that they adopted it, have become in some way meeker, and more religious, and more consistent, so that certain among them, from a desire of exceeding chastity, and a wish to worship God with greater purity, abstain even from the permitted indulgences of (lawful) love. |
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| 19. Pseudo Clementine Literature, Homilies, 5.4-5.7 (3rd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE) Tagged with subjects: •jesus, as magician Found in books: Janowitz, Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity (2002b) 2 |
| 20. Anon., Corpus Hermeticum, 13.1 Tagged with subjects: •magicians, jesus as Found in books: Janowitz, Magic in the Roman World: Pagans, Jews and Christians (2002) 3 |
