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Current Issue Abstracts Summer 2010 Vol. 5.1 • • • • • • • • Another Look at the Magical Ritual for a Suspected Adulteress in Numbers 5:11-31 Daniel R. Miller Most scholars have asserted that the mysogynist ritual to be inflicted on a possible sotâ ("adulteress" or "wayward wife") in Num. 5:11-31 had a magical quality. Frequently, however, commentators have also considered some or all of the passage's Yahwistic features as interpolations intended to forestall the allegation that the officiating priest is engaging in magic. The present study argues that if we abandon the outdated view that magic and normative Yahwism were antithetical, Num. 5:11-31 can be interpreted as having been written by a single author who envisions a ritual simultaneously magical and Yahwistic. The ritual is predicated on an incantatory curve in vv. 21-22, and exhibits magic by speech, magic by rite and magic by inherent property (the ancient Egyptian tripartite categorization of magic). Divine Names: A Cross Cultural Comparison (Papyri Graecae Magicae, Picatrix, Munich Handbook) David Porreca This paper offers a systematic examination of divine names in the Greek Magical Papyri, the Latin version of Picatrix, and the late 15th century magic compilation known as the Munich Handbook. Methodological concerns about conducting cross-cultural text-based studies are set out, with a focus on factors of manuscript transmission, transliteration, and the peculiarities of dealing with Semitic languages. The paper includes a table listing all divine names that show evidence of continuity between the three texts under consideration, as well as a diagram illustrating results. There is substantial continuity in the use of certain divine names, especially those of Hebraic origin. The seven archangels are consistently understood as divine beings. The names of four Egyptian deities survive into later periods. God's Names and Their Uses in the Books of Magic Attributed to King Solomon Julien Veronese A number of medieval texts of learned magic deriving from different cultural contexts (Latin and Greek Christian, Jewish, Muslim) are attributed to King Solomon. This article examines frequency of use of a number of divine names in this corpus, with focus on what names are used, how they are employed, and how this usage is connected to the original cultural context of a text. Flies, Heretics, and the Gendering of Witchcraft Tamar Herzig This article examines the inquisitor and witchcraft theorist Heinrich Kramer's treatment of witchcraft and heresy in several of his works, with particular attention to his gendering of those categories. While in his Malleus maleficarum Kramer famously asserted that witchcraft was a primarily female crime, in other works he asserted the male character of heresy. In particular, he associated heresy and especially heresiarchy with the male qualities of intelligence, (misplaced) reason, and instruction. While earlier boundaries between witchcraft and heresy had been blurry, Kramer and his gendering efforts mark an important step toward the theoretical separation between these two categories of offence. Contending Realities: Reactions to Edward Bever, The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe Michael D. Bailey Edward Bever's book The Realities of Witchcraft addresses a fundamental historiographical issue, namely the extent to which early modern magical practices really functioned. Most scholars dismiss the idea that magical rites have real efficacy, or argue that the only reality that should be considered is contingent on historical cultural structures. Bever asserts that magic, and particularly harmful witchcraft, really worked, sometimes by physical means, but often by influencing neurobiology. In this forum section, five scholars respond to and critique Bever's arguments, and Bever responds. One-Tier History Stuart Clark Reality, but Not as We Know It Richard Jenkins Behind the Veil of Memory: About the Limitations of Narratives Rita Voltmer Witchcraft - Discourse and Disappearance: Württemberg and the Dutch Documenatation Willem De Blécourt Magic as a State of Mind? Neurocognitive Theory and Magic in Early Modern Europe Jesper Sørensen The Critiques and The Realities Edward Bever |
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