Mesopotamia & Levant
Babylonian exorcisms, Lamashtu and Pazuzu, divination and magic in Canaan and ancient Israel.
The apkallu: the seven sages and the figurines guarding the house
The apkallu, Mesopotamia's seven sages in fish cloaks or with bird heads, and their protective figurines buried beneath the floors of Assyrian houses.
Aramaic incantation bowls: spiral spells beneath the house
The incantation bowls of late antique Mesopotamia: spiral texts in Aramaic, Syriac and Mandaic, buried upside down beneath floors to trap demons.
Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh: magical knowledge in clay
Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh: how it was gathered, its omens and incantations, its nineteenth-century discovery and the king's colophons.
The āšipu, the Mesopotamian exorcist, and his «Manual»
Who the āšipu was, the exorcist of Babylonian and Assyrian temples: training, texts to master, the «Exorcist's Manual» and his relationship with the asû.
The scholars of the Assyrian court: astrologers, exorcists, diviners
The ummânū of the Neo-Assyrian court: Esarhaddon's astrologers, exorcists and diviners, their letters to the king and the prophetesses of Arbela.
Balaam, seer of the gods: from the Bible to the Deir Alla inscription
Balaam son of Beor in the Book of Numbers and in the plaster inscription of Tell Deir Alla: a non-Israelite seer of blessings, curses and visions.
Enūma Anu Enlil: Babylon's great book of celestial omens
Enūma Anu Enlil, the Babylonian series of celestial omens: moon, sun, weather and planets read as divine messages for the king and the land.
Eṭemmu and kispu: ghosts, ancestors and necromancy in Mesopotamia
The spirit of the dead (eṭemmu) in Mesopotamia: the household kispu cult, unburied ghosts and the rare ritual texts for summoning the departed.
Babylonian hepatoscopy: reading the liver of the lamb
How the Babylonian bārû read a lamb's liver: queries to Šamaš and Adad, the zones of the liver, the clay models of Mari and the bronze liver of Piacenza.
The silver amulets of Ketef Hinnom and the priestly blessing
The two small silver scrolls of Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem: funerary amulets bearing a text strikingly close to the priestly blessing of Numbers 6.
Lamashtu: the demoness of childbirth and her amulets
Lamashtu, daughter of the god Anu and terror of mothers and infants: the iconography of her amulets, incantations, gifts of comb and spindle, and Pazuzu.
Lamassu: the winged bulls that guarded Assyria's palace gates
The Assyrian lamassu, colossi with a human head, a bull's or lion's body and eagle wings: the name, their protective role and the five-leg trick.
Maqlû, the «Burning»: Babylon's great rite against witchcraft
Maqlû, the Babylonian «Burning» series: eight tablets of incantations, burned figurines and a full night of ritual against witches and spells. History, form.
The medium of Endor: Saul, Samuel and the summoning of the dead
The woman of Endor in First Samuel: King Saul, the shade of Samuel, the Hebrew vocabulary of necromancy and the debate of ancient interpreters.
Mīs pî: the rite that brought Mesopotamia's divine statues to life
The mīs pî, «washing of the mouth»: the rite by which a statue of wood and metal became the living presence of a god in a Mesopotamian temple.
The namburbi rituals: how a bad omen was «undone»
Babylonian and Assyrian namburbi: rituals to cancel the evil announced by an omen, using water, clay, offerings to Šamaš and the purifying river.
Oil on water and incense smoke: lecanomancy and libanomancy
Babylonian lecanomancy, which read oil poured onto water, and libanomancy, which watched rising incense smoke: techniques, texts and meanings.
Pazuzu, king of the wind demons: the monster who protects
Pazuzu, son of Hanbu and king of the lilû spirits: wings, talons, scorpion tail and the paradox of a demon used as a protector against Lamashtu.
The substitute king: when an eclipse threatened Assyria's ruler
The substitute king rite (šar pūḫi) in Assyria: another man on the throne to deflect an eclipse omen while the real king withdrew from view.
Šumma ālu: the omens of everyday life in Mesopotamia
Šumma ālu, the Babylonian series of terrestrial omens: houses, cities, snakes, ants and dogs read as signs sent by the gods in everyday life.
Šurpu: the onion in the fire and the undoing of guilt
Šurpu, the Babylonian «burning»: the onion peeled into the fire, the wool unravelled, the long list of sins and the dialogue of Marduk and Ea. History of a rite.
The teraphim: the Bible's household gods from Rachel to Michal
The teraphim in the Hebrew Bible: the household gods stolen by Rachel, the figure in David's bed and the king of Babylon consulting them at a crossroads.
Ugarit and Canaanite magic: Horon and the spells against snakes
The magical texts of Ugarit: the mare and the snake's venom, the god Horon, the spell against sorcery and the clay liver models of the diviners.
Urim and Thummim: the sacred lots of Israel's high priest
Urim and Thummim in the Bible: the high priest's breastpiece, the ephod, yes-or-no questions and the disappearance of the oracle after the exile.
Utukkū lemnūtu: the «Evil Demons» and the Seven of Mesopotamia
The bilingual series Utukkū lemnūtu against evil demons: the group of the Seven, the formula of Asalluhi and Ea, holy water and the circle of flour.