Amulet against Disease and the Evil Eye

In Your name, the Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, who sits upon the cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4), the explicit Name [and] by the seventy names, merciful and compassionate God, God who crushes and heals—send healing and have compassion upon Bunyana bint Yaman and send her a complete healing, in Your kindness and truth. In You I trust, O God of Israel; answer me in my hour of distress. I adjure you, spirits, demons, evil eye, evil occurrence, and evil accuser, and all types of retributions, in the name of I am that I am (Exodus 3:14), who shakes the entire world with a name that the sea heard and split, which the fire heard and was extinguished, which rocks heard and broke, and which the stone heard and was smashed. So, you should leave, and go, and distance yourselves, and do not touch Bunyana bint Yaman, from this day and forever. Amen, Amen, Amen, Selah.

By Your name, O Merciful One, may healing come from heaven to Bunyana bint Yaman, and let her be healed through the mercies of heaven, and let her be healed from all evil eyes; evil spirits; evil occurrences; destructive, harmful, and crushing beings; and sufferings; and fever; and shivering; and all striking and destructive, evil beings. I instruct you and adjure you, in the name of Gabriel, Michael, and Rafael, that you leave and depart from Bunyana bint Yaman, from her body, from her head, from her side, and from the 248 limbs of hers. Amen, Amen, Selah, Hallelujah.

Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine [by a fountain]; its branches run over the wall (Genesis 49:22). I would hasten [myself to a shelter from the] stormy wind and tempest (Psalms 55:9); from the tempest and wind of storm, to a shelter myself I would hasten. [Here follows a series of magical figures.]

For, O people that dwells in Zion at Jerusalem, you shall weep no more; He will surely have compassion upon you at the voice of your cry, when He shall hear, He will answer you [anakh] (Isaiah 30:19). VAYA‘ANAKH, VERA‘ASHAKH, LA’I’ONEKH, Amen, Amen, Selah. Peyumi’el, Adarmal’el, Avarsakhas, Samar’el, Antibus, Mantipus, Shever, Senir, Shinar, VISISIM, VESAM, UVATKISAN, VIKAR, MATSOTS, YEKATKUTAH, MA‘ASEH, BERUḤA,1 VEHAZAZ BAHEM. Amen, Amen, Amen, Selah. May the Lord bless you and preserve you (Numbers 6:24); ANTIKATM, may the Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you (Numbers 6:25); PASTAM, may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:26); PASPASIM, so shall they place My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them (Numbers 6:27); VEDIYUNISIM, and he shall flay the burnt-offering (Leviticus 1:6), and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1:4).

Source: CUL T-S K1.127.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.

Notes

[These last two words might mean “an act through a spirit.”—Trans.]

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Engage with this Source

This Aramaic amulet, found in the Cairo Geniza, requests healing from disease and protection from the evil eye for a woman named Bunyana bint Yaman. The scribe who wrote this text seems to have written other amulets as well. This text invokes a number of angels and divine names and includes several biblical verses. As in many late antique and medieval magical texts, the formulas are recycled and appear in other magical literature.

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