Sepher Ha-Razim
Encyclopedia
The Sepher Ha-Razim is a Kabbalistic text supposedly given to Noah
by the angel Raziel
, and passed down throughout Biblical history to Solomon, for whom it was a great source of his wisdom, and purported magical powers. Note that this is a different book than the Sefer Raziel HaMalach, which was given to Adam by the same angel. To say that it is an unorthodox text is an understatement; while traditional Jewish laws of purity are part of the cosmogony, for instance, there are "praxeis which demand we eat cakes made from blood and flour" (Morgan 9). It is supposedly a sourcebook for Jewish magic, calling upon angels rather than God to perform supernatural feats. The text itself was once considered to be part of "orthodox" Judaism under the influence of Hellenism
, but this text, along with other works of Kabbalah
, are considered to be unorthodox at best and heretical at worst in modern Judaism.
. He hypothesised that several fragments of Jewish magical literature shared a common source and was certain that he could reconstruct this common source. He achieved this in 1966 when he published Sepher Ha-Razim. The first English translation of the book was undertaken by Michael A. Morgan in 1983; the book is now in print, as of summer 2007. A new scholarly edition of the most important extant manuscript witnesses including Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic Geniza fragments and a 13th century Latin translation was prepared by Bill Rebiger and Peter Schäfer in 2009 and will be followed by a translation and commentary in German.
(thirteenth century CE), the Bahir
(thirteenth century CE as well), and possibly the Sefer Yetzirah
(fourth century CE). There are certain textual clues that point toward this early date, specifically the reference to "the Roman indications in 1:27-28 [which] gives a clear terminus a quo of 297 CE" (Morgan 8).
Margalioth, Mordecai. Sepher Ha-Razim. Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966.
Morgan, Michael A. Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983. The majority of the information for this article is from this book.
Rebiger, Bill; Schäfer, Peter (eds.). Sefer ha-Razim I und II. Das Buch der Geheimnisse, vol. 1: Edition, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009.
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
by the angel Raziel
Raziel
Raziel |God]]") is an archangel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism who is the "Keeper of Secrets" and the "Angel of Mysteries"...
, and passed down throughout Biblical history to Solomon, for whom it was a great source of his wisdom, and purported magical powers. Note that this is a different book than the Sefer Raziel HaMalach, which was given to Adam by the same angel. To say that it is an unorthodox text is an understatement; while traditional Jewish laws of purity are part of the cosmogony, for instance, there are "praxeis which demand we eat cakes made from blood and flour" (Morgan 9). It is supposedly a sourcebook for Jewish magic, calling upon angels rather than God to perform supernatural feats. The text itself was once considered to be part of "orthodox" Judaism under the influence of Hellenism
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
, but this text, along with other works of Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, are considered to be unorthodox at best and heretical at worst in modern Judaism.
Discovery
The text was rediscovered in the 20th century by Mordecai Margalioth, a Jewish scholar visiting Oxford in 1963, using fragments found in the Cairo GenizaCairo Geniza
The Cairo Geniza is a collection of almost 280,000 Jewish manuscript fragments found in the Genizah or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat, presently Old Cairo, Egypt. Some additional fragments were found in the Basatin cemetery east of Old Cairo, and the collection includes a number of...
. He hypothesised that several fragments of Jewish magical literature shared a common source and was certain that he could reconstruct this common source. He achieved this in 1966 when he published Sepher Ha-Razim. The first English translation of the book was undertaken by Michael A. Morgan in 1983; the book is now in print, as of summer 2007. A new scholarly edition of the most important extant manuscript witnesses including Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic Geniza fragments and a 13th century Latin translation was prepared by Bill Rebiger and Peter Schäfer in 2009 and will be followed by a translation and commentary in German.
Dating
Margalioth places the date of the original text to the early fourth or late third century CE. This date is almost universally accepted; a notable exception is Ithamar Gruenwald who dates the text to the sixth or seventh century CE. Nonetheless, it is clear that this text predates other Kabbalistic texts, including the ZoharZohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
(thirteenth century CE), the Bahir
Bahir
Bahir or Sefer Ha-Bahir סֵפֶר הַבָּהִיר is an anonymous mystical work, attributed to a 1st century rabbinic sage Nehunya ben ha-Kanah because it begins with the words, "R. Nehunya Ben Ha-Kanah said"...
(thirteenth century CE as well), and possibly the Sefer Yetzirah
Sefer Yetzirah
Sefer Yetzirah is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah...
(fourth century CE). There are certain textual clues that point toward this early date, specifically the reference to "the Roman indications in 1:27-28 [which] gives a clear terminus a quo of 297 CE" (Morgan 8).
Structure and Content
The book is split into seven sections, not including a preface which details the book's reception and transmission. Each of the seven sections contains a listing of angels and instructions to perform one or more magical rite. There is an uneasy tension between the orthodox cosmogony of the book and the unorthodox praxeis embodied in these magical rites; the book has obviously been edited by a rabbinical scribe, but the "popular religion" contained in the book is more or less intact. Some of the rituals purport to facilitate healing, prophecy, an attack upon one's enemy, and gaining good fortune. The symbolism of the number seven, the importance of divine names, and the prevalence of sympathetic should not be overlooked in situating this work in its Ancient Near Eastern magical context.Sources
Levy, B. Barry. "Sepher Ha-Razim." Unpublished manuscript and English translation, McGill University.Margalioth, Mordecai. Sepher Ha-Razim. Jerusalem: Yediot Achronot, 1966.
Morgan, Michael A. Sepher Ha-Razim: The Book of Mysteries. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983. The majority of the information for this article is from this book.
Rebiger, Bill; Schäfer, Peter (eds.). Sefer ha-Razim I und II. Das Buch der Geheimnisse, vol. 1: Edition, Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009.