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Key research themes
1. How did Jewish communities integrate and adapt magical motifs and practices within their religious and social frameworks in Late Antiquity?
This research area investigates the incorporation of magic within Jewish religious life, focusing on how Jewish communities in Late Antiquity incorporated magical elements such as amulets, incantations, and angelic names into their ritual and daily practices. It highlights the interplay between traditional Jewish theology and magical practices, analyzing how magic was simultaneously condemned and adopted within Jewish society, and how these practices reflect adaptability and cultural syncretism in response to social and environmental challenges.
Key finding: This study reveals the complexity of defining 'magic' within ancient Jewish contexts and traces the growth of scholarship focusing on explicit Jewish magical texts such as amulets, incantation bowls, and Genizah manuscripts.... Read more
Key finding: Bohak offers a comprehensive history of ancient Jewish magic, demonstrating that Jewish magical traditions matured through contact with Greco-Egyptian practices during late antiquity. The research documents how Jewish magical... Read more
Key finding: This paper maps extensive Jewish magical literature spanning from antiquity to modern times, underscoring both the richness of the corpus and the ideological biases that limited its academic exploration. By advocating for an... Read more
Key finding: The paper documents varied applications of biblical verses and historiolae within Jewish magical texts, showing that Hebrew scripture formed a fundamental source for magical incantations and amulets. It explores how biblical... Read more
Key finding: This thesis argues that Jewish communities in Palestine from 200 to 600 AD integrated astrological motifs and zodiac imagery into synagogue mosaics and liturgy as part of a form of magical esotericism designed to control... Read more
2. What are the linguistic and conceptual frameworks for understanding 'magic' and 'magicians' in Greek and Jewish ancient texts, and how did these evolve across cultural contexts?
This theme addresses the terminological, semantic, and conceptual complexity surrounding the categories of 'magic,' 'magician,' and related terms in Greek, Jewish, and Greco-Jewish literature. It examines how ancient societies classified and perceived magical practitioners, how bifurcations between magic and religion were constructed and challenged, and how language—especially Greek terms in the Septuagint and later Christian texts—mediated cross-cultural understandings of magical phenomena.
Key finding: The study analyzes Greek terms such as μάγος (magos), μαγεία (mageia), γόης (goēs), and related words in the Septuagint and New Testament, revealing that Greek vocabulary for magic retained a Persian origin with pejorative... Read more
Key finding: Yurovitskaya demonstrates that key Greek magical terms such as μάγος, γόης, ἐπῳδός, and φαρμακεύς show distinct connotations and limited occurrences in the Septuagint, with terms like μάγος associated primarily with Persian... Read more
Key finding: This work critically interrogates how 'magic' as a category is historically constructed and ideologically charged, problematizing the distinctions drawn between magic and religion in ancient Jewish and Christian contexts.... Read more
Key finding: This research situates magic within the broader cultural and religious framework of the biblical world, tracing Egyptian and Mesopotamian influences on Jewish magic and divination. It elucidates the evolving relationships... Read more
3. How did Greco-Roman magic practitioners and magical beliefs function socially and culturally, and what roles did magic and magicians play in ancient society?
This research theme investigates the identities, social standings, and cultural roles of magicians in the Greco-Roman world. It explores how magic was practiced publicly and privately, the social regulation and stigmatization of magical activities, and how magical authority was performed and negotiated. The theme integrates insights from archaeological artifacts, literary sources, and iconography to understand magic’s embeddedness in ancient sociopolitical and religious life.
Key finding: Dickie's comprehensive study reveals that magicians, both male and female, occupied a socially marginal but culturally significant niche in Greco-Roman society from the fifth century BC through the late antique period. His... Read more
Key finding: This analysis of a Lucanian red-figure calyx-krater suggests that ancient Greek magic involved embodied performance that enacted social and ritual authority, exemplified through binding spells. The study interprets... Read more
Key finding: Focusing on the Acts of the Apostles, this research contextualizes magic within the Greco-Roman world, showing that magic was recognized as a cosmic power with both positive and negative connotations. The work emphasizes... Read more
Key finding: This volume, arising from international scholarly conferences, synthesizes current debates on magic as ritual power within the ancient Near East, Greco-Roman world, Judaism, and early Christianity. It highlights... Read more
Key finding: The paper argues against a strict dichotomy between magic and religion in Greco-Egyptian contexts, showing how magic appropriated certain Greek gods and syncretized them with non-Greek deities to replace traditional religion.... Read more