Wrapped up in the Bible: The Multifaceted Ritual on a Late Antique Amulet (P. Oxy. VIII 1077)

• Autores: Joseph E. Sanzo
• Localización: Journal of early Christian studies: Journal of the North American Patristic Society, ISSN 1067-6341, Nº. 4, 2016, págs. 569-597
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • [...]many scholars have underscored the social and ritual functions of exorcism and other ostensibly magical rites in antiquity.11 Despite the growing interest in these four overlapping domains, individual studies tend to focus on only one dimension of ancient magic.12 Yet, these dimensions coalesce on several magical objects. VIII 1077 preserves a singular reading of this passage.51 It is highly unlikely, therefore, that the omissions or the repetition were based on another manuscript or manuscript tradition. [...]the omissions at least are not easily explained away in reference to typical scribal errors.52 Thus, Jones thinks that the ritual expert intentionally omitted the reference to the synagogues because it was not considered relevant.53 This is certainly a reasonable conclusion. According to this reading, he or she would have sought to disassociate Jesus and the client from the Jews by omitting the reference to the synagogues in Matt 4.23. [...]within a culture, such as late antique Egypt, in which writing played a major role, the inability to read did not necessarily translate into a lack of familiarity with traditions or even texts.96 In this vein, the client may have had some knowledge of Jesus's miracles-from stories told or read at church or in another venue-and might, therefore, have been able to understand the significance of the textual, visual, and material elements of the amulet for healing.