Magic in the Biblical World: From the Rod of Aaron to the Ring of Solomon

The category 'magic' , long used to signify an allegedly substantive type of activity distinguishable from 'religion', has nearly been dismantled by recent historical and social-scientific approaches to religious studies. While recognising and at times reinforcing this stance, the essays in this collection show that there is still much to be learned about the cultural context of early Judaism and Christianity by analysing ancient texts which either use 'magic' as a category for purposes of deviance labelling or promote behaviour of a broadly magico-religious variety.

Through sustained engagement with texts ranging from Exod. 7-9 and Acts 8 to the Testament of Solomon and the Late Antique alchemical treatise known as the Cyranides, this volume focuses chiefly on materials that challenge the familiar boundaries between miracle and magic and medicine; yet it also heightens awareness of the way unsuspecting use of a sick sign (e.g. 'magic') can impede critical understanding of texts and their respective contexts of production and reception.

• Table of contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• List of Contributors
• Reinterpreting 'Magic' in the World of Jewish and Christian Scripture: An Introduction - Todd E. Klutz
• Part I 'Magic' in Jewish Scripture and at Qumran
  • Competing Magicians in Exodus 7-9: Interpreting Magic in the Priestly Theology - Thomas Romer
  • 1 Samuel 28 and the Condemnation of Necromancy in Persian Yehud - Christophe L. Nihan
  • Qoheleth 11.1-6 and Divination - Alain Buhlman
  • Deuteronomy 18.9-14, in the Qumran Scrolls - George J. Brooke
• Part II, 'Magic' in the New Testament and Its Graeco-Roman Milieu
  • Magic and Scepticism in and around the First Christian Century - F. Gerald Downing
  • Magic and Miracle in the Acts of the Apostles - Daniel Marguerat
  • Virtual Prison Breaks: Non-Escape Narratives and the Definition of 'Magic' - Andy M. Reimer
  • Paul and 'Magic' - Thierry Laus
  • Magic/Thaumaturgy and the Pastorals - Lloyd K. Pietersen
• Part III 'Magic' in Disreputable Books from Late Antiquity
  • Sefer Ha-Razim and the Problem of Black Magic in Early Judaism - Philip S. Alexander
  • Melanitis in the Cyranides and Related Texts: New Evidence for the Origins and Etymology of Alchemy? - David Bain
  • The Archer and the Cross: Chorographic Astrology and Literary Design in the Testament of Solomon - Todd E. Klutz
• Index of References
• Index of Authors