The poetics of Ancient Jewish curse texts

The language of incantation bowls is highly stylized and figurative. In this paper we examine the use of specific magical formulae, magical lists, e.g. lists of body parts ((VA.2418)ותיזלין עליה דמר בר אחות ותיתיבין לה על ראישא ועל צידעיה ועל עיניה ופירשי לגידא רבה דיפקותיה), demons ((BM.91797) אנא אישדר עליכי תמינא אסרין דממנן עליכי אינפרת עוזיאל חזחזיאל יתרוני גדול יאגדול אקף נקף ונוקף) natural phenomena, and historiolae within the incantations. The extensive use of lists within the incantation bowl texts underlines their oral nature which is also evident by the mention of noises that accompany the cursing ritual ((VA.2418) ונימר וי וי וי) and the comparison of the manner of articulation with animal voices ((Pearson bowl) קל ברבל בילילי קל תרנגולבינגהי קלהון דהנין אינשי קדח צנף ילולי) The magic vigor of the bowls is also augmented by the use of quotations from the Tanach – be it in Hebrew or in a translated Aramaic version. Direct quotations or indirect references of biblical texts are a quite common feature of incantation bowls. On the one hand, biblical verses are transferred to the incantation because of their content, e.g. a curse from Dvarim is used within the cursing process. On the other hand and much more frequent, divine epithets are transferred from the Tanach to the Aramaic incantations. In this regard, the present paper will also examine the similarities between the language of aggressive incantation bowls and the language of Jewish prayer illustrating a continuum between standardized liturgical language and curse texts.