Chapter Five. “How is Jesus Greater than Solomon?” Solomon and Jesus as Magicians (Healers and Exorcists)

Did the image of Solomon as a magician appear as an inseparable part of Jewish occultism that developed during the Second Temple period (the Hellenist and Roman), or was it a reaction to Jesus’ reputation as an exorcist and healer in an effort to prove that Solomon was greater than Jesus?492 Or, perhaps, it was the other way around. Namely, when the people refer to Jesus, known for his ability to exorcise demons, as the “son of David”, they do so because during the Second Temple period Solomon was famous as a healer and exorcist, and the authors of the Gospels wished to cite evidence that Jesus was, in this regard, greater than Solomon. Or, perhaps, both traditions emerged separately as an outcome of the extensive presence of magic in all the cultures of the ancient world. However, Solomon does not resemble Jesus and he is not described as having engaged in the practice of magic, namely in exorcising demons, and not as having written magic oaths and texts, or having possessed them. Jesus, on the other hand, is described as having engaged in the practice of magic, namely, in healing people and in exorcising demons, and not as the author of any text whatsoever. At the most, the two “meet” in the few magic texts in which they both appear. Since the terms “magic” and “occultism” appear frequently in the research literature—and will appear in this chapter and in Chapter Seven as well—I will begin by relating the nature of the occult (or esoteric) sciences. The word first

to practical magic, namelytomagic techniques, but rather to texts that suggest a religious or cosmological method,⁴⁹⁹ such as neo-Platonic or Hermetic writings, which tell how the world was formed( gnosis)a nd what forces (primae causae) operate within it and how they influencehumans. The two magi, Marsilio Ficino (1433 -1499) and Pico della Mirandola (1463 -1494) believed that magic is "the practical part of nature" (magia est practicas cientiae naturalis). The idea that (occult) magic is no more than ac ollection of superstitions and speculations, or thati ti sa n" irrational" belief, has not been the accepted view for al ong time. Is hould like to quote the words of the scholar of ancient Egyptian magic, John Baines that "Magic and rationality do not conflict; magic is rational, its argumentation is often rationalistic".⁵⁰⁰

Magic and Healing
The belief in demons, magic, and magic practices does not acknowledge any boundaries between religions and cultures,⁵⁰¹ which were-and still are-transcultural, in manyc ases diffuse, dynamic, and syncretic in their nature.⁵⁰² It is more than af olk culture⁵⁰³;i nf act, it is ad eeplyr ooted phenomenon, existing continuouslyf rom the anciente ra until the present daya nd it cannot be eradicated,⁵⁰⁴ certainlyn ot in aworld in which magic is perceiveda sp art of the created order,i nw hich no distinction was drawnb etween it and "religion," in VI, resonates in Faust'sa bove-mentioned words. Goethe statedt hat Agrippa'sb ook was one of his favoritesand "so set my young brains in aconsiderable whirl for atime" (Basel, 1949,140). Agrippa is also one of the twomagicians who come,inMarlowe'splay, to persuade Faust to embrace esoterism: "The miracles that magic will perform\Will maket hee vowt os tudyn othing else" (1.1: 130 -131).  See Wasserstrom (2000). The article contains alengthybibliographyand the issue contains other important articles on the subject.  Baines (1991,p .165).  See Greenbaum( 2016).  Bohak (2004,2 007, 2015); Hull (1974,p p. 27-37).  The number of books written on the subject of magic in general, and magic in the ancient world in particular,i ss ov ast that Is aw no need to citem oret han ah andful of them: Butler (1998); Wygant( 2006); Kieckhefer(1990); Klutz (2004); Schäfer and Kippenberg (1997); Classen (2017); Fanger (1998); Dickie (2001); Paola Zambelli (2012). On magic and exorcism in the period of the Second Temple in general, see Bohak (2008, pp. 71-142);a nd in Josephus in particular, see Bohak (2008;pp. 83 -85,99-105). On its representation in art,see Battistini (2004,pp. 131-249); Page(2004). Forashort bibliographyonEgyptian magic, see notes 43 and 44 in my Shavit (2013).  Barb (1963, p. 125). which magic was regarded as an effective means of achieving security in this world, which is constantlyt hreatened by concealed forces⁵⁰⁵;aworld in which "magic,""medicine",⁵⁰⁶ and "science" were not thoughttocontradict one another.Inall the cultures,practices were-and are-followed to expel evil demons.⁵⁰⁷ These included incantations (epoide), curse tablets (defixiones), charms, gems with magic powers,a mulets, curse bowls, and seals. These techniques passed from culture to culture, and along with them went magic rituals (goetian), magic texts,a nd as ystem of magic symbols. An endless number of testimonies document the circulation of magic texts and the use of magic practices in Mesopotamia,a ncient Egypt,Greece, and Rome.⁵⁰⁸ It is not surprising,then, nor is thereany need to cite evidence,that belief in the existenceofevil spirits (the "spirit of Satan",or"spirits of malice")thatharm humans was alsop revalent in Jewishc ulturea nd that,a tt he same time, Jews believed there werewaysand meansofcombatingthese spirits.⁵⁰⁹ Forexample, the apocalyptic Book of Tobit [Tobias]( written and edited between the 2 nd -4 th centuries B.C.E.) describes the exorcism of ad emon or evil spirit with the aid of incense from the liver, heart,orgall of af ish (I, 1-9). Accordingt oJ osephus, the Essenes "displayanextraordinary interest in the writing of the ancient, singlingo ut those which make for welfareo ft he soul and body. With the help of these, and with av iew to the treatment of diseases, they make investigations into medical root and properties of Stone".⁵¹⁰ And the Romanh istorian and geographer Strabo (64 B.C.E.-23 C.E.) basedh is view on Posidonius' when he wrotet hat the Jews were a "people of sorcerers who pretend to use incantations".⁵¹¹ However,Solomon was not depicted as having healed the ill or exorcised demons from the bodies of humans. He is not like Elijah, nor likehis father David, who cured Saul of the evil spirit thath ad possessed him by playing on his harp.⁵¹² Nonetheless,t he sourceo fh is fame as am agician is in the wisdom at- Assmann (2002, pp. 239-240 Geography,16. 2.43 (Strabo 1930,p.295). In the apocryphal book, TheT estament of the Twelve Patriarchs,the narrator,J udah, is sad about the fact that his sons arebeingseduced by witches and spirits.And that is onlyone example that shows how widespread belief in magic was.  Plutarch writes about the playingofm usic to exorcise demons amongP ythagoras' pupils: p. 371. tributed to him in the Bible: "And Solomon'swisdom excelled the wisdom of all the people of the east,and all the wisdom of Egypt".⁵¹³ It included, among other things, the ability to speak "of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds,a nd reptiles, and fish."⁵¹⁴ "He composed threet housand proverbs, and his songsn umbered athousand and five".⁵¹⁵ As for "the wisdom of Egypt",the allusion is probablyt othe wisdom literature such as Instructions of Amenemhat from the 11 th to 12 th centuries BCE.⁵¹⁶ Even if we read the verse in 1Kings4 :33as"to the trees, to the beasts, to the fowl," instead of "of the trees," etc., that would still not suffice to suggest that Solomon possessed the skills of am agician just as the words in the Gemara about R. Johanan ben Zakkai that he was well-versed in "the speech of the MinisteringAngels, the speech of spirits, and the speech of palm-trees"⁵¹⁷ do not make him am agician.⁵¹⁸ Putative evidence that Solomon engaged in magic is in "Songfor the Stricken" from Qumran, which is attributed to David (11QPs Ap).⁵¹⁹ It states that Solomon receivedf rom his father ah ymn [a version of ac urse] to exorcise an evil spirit,b ut it does not sayh eu sedi t. AndJ osephus writes that "God granted him knowledge of the art useda gainst demons for the benefita nd healing of men. He also composed incantations by which illnesses are relieved, and left behind forms of exorcism which those possessed by demons drive them out,never to return".⁵²⁰ Moreover,J osephus finds it necessary to cite ac oncrete example of Solomon'sp ower as ah ealer and an exorcist of demons. Another sourcem ay have been the Vulgate. Solomon was known as awriter of curses in the first centuries C.E. from an umber of sources: the 1 st century fragment Cithsrismus Regis David contradaemonun Saulis, in which David warns the demons: "Ason will be born to me who will rule over you";a nd the work Hydromatiae of Solomon,n amely divination through water,o rh ydromancy, which describes healing techniques  1K ings 4:30.  1K ings 4:33.  1K ings4 :32. We have no wayo fk nowingw hat the wisdom of the threea ncient wise men was (whomJ osephus calls "ancients").  Which has several parallels in Proverbs 22:17a nd 22:25.  Sukkah 28a.  On the other hand, accordingt ot he legendary biography of Apolloni Tyaneus, written by the Athenian sophist Philostratus (c. 170 -247), he knew all the languages in the world, understood the languageofbirds,healed sick people whow ere possessed by demons,orw ere struck blind (III 3.38), and he also owned books of magic. Philostratus (1995, p. 277).  J. M. Baumgarten (1985). Nitzan( 1985).  Josephus, Ant.8 , in which the magician places the demons in abasin of water⁵²¹;aswellasatthe end of the 3 rd century C.E. by the alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis: "among the Egyptians therei sabook called TheB ooko fS even Heavens but it is not true that it was written by Solomon, for these bottles wereb rought [from Jerusalem] manygenerations earlier by the [Egyptian] priests. But Solomon onlywrote asingle book about the seven bottles…".⁵²² The Sages did not mentionSolomon in the context of exorcism, though Talmud Yerushalmi⁵²³ refers to a "tablet of remedies" that King Hezekiah ordered removed in order to cleansing the Temple of idolatry ) ‫טזנג‬ ‫שהלב‬ ‫רל‬ ‫.(תואופ‬ ⁵ ² ⁴ The late secondary additiont oMishnah Pesahim 4:9r eads: "King Hezekiah did six things… He hid the book of remedies".I nM aimonides'sv iew, the tablet was al ist of magical remedies. The tradition thatthis book was composed by Solomon appears in Christian literature.⁵²⁵ In Quaestiones et responsiones XLI,A nastasius Sinaita, the 7 th -century monk, repeated the question posed by the Church fatherH ippolytus in the earlythird century in his commentary on Song of Songs. There, Hippolytus wondered where had the proverbs and psalms written by Solomon⁵²⁶ disappeared to. His replywas that King Hezekiah feared the people might applythe incantations that appeared in those booksi nstead of praying to God for ac ure, and, hence, onlyaportion of Solomon'sw ritingsw erec opied duringh is reign and the rest werep laced in archives. Among the latter,H ippolytus enumerates books on the physiology of plants, animals, flow and fish, as well as the healing of illness. Accordingt ot he Byzantine writer George Syncellus (ca. 800), it was Solomon's writingsthat wereengravedinthe gate of the Temple thatcontained the remedy for every disease. McCown concludes that in the fifth century there weres till Christian writers who related with admiration to pseudo-Solomonic textso n magic.⁵²⁷ Even if we accept this view,t he fact is thatn one of these textsf rom the Second Temple period and thereafter mention Solomon'sm agic practices,  According to Varo,who is cited by Augustine (1984,8 :38) the source of these techniques was in Persia. And see Livy,X I, xxix, pp. 91-93,a nd the discussion in Torijano (2002, pp. 209 -309). The book was preserved in Persian under the name Keyo fM ercy and Secrets of Wisdom.  James (1893, pp. 195 -196).  y.Mishnah Pesachim 9:1, 36c -d, p. 332; also see b. Berahot 10b, Pesachim 56a, Sanhedrin 47a.  Halperin (1982);Silverman (1976). This tradition is part of the attempt to glorify Hezekiah's image.  See Halperin (1982, pp. 117-126).  1K ings 5:13.  McCown (1922a, p. 15).

Magic and Healing
and the TestamentofSolomon is apparentlythe onlywork in which the king not onlyr ules the world of demons but also recruits them to construct the Temple while he also exorcises ad emonc alled Urinus from ab oy'sb odya nd calls other demonsb yn ame in order to exorcise them.⁵²⁸ Jesus appears in this text as possessingm ore power to rule over demons thanS olomon.
Would it be correct to state that duringthe Second Temple period atradition about Solomon as an exorcist was widespread in Jewish society in Palestine and in Egypt,a nd that that tradition was also accepted by non-Jews?W eh aven ot come across more than afew magic papyri that use the name of Solomon before the 3 rd centuryC.E. thatcan be attributed to Jews and can serveasevidence of a Jewish "popular tradition" about Solomon as an exorcist of demons and the use of Solomon'sname for purposes of magic.⁵²⁹ From the few examples of such use, we can mention the Paris magicalpapyrus from the fourth century, which states: "Ia djure( exorkizo)t hee [the demons] by the seal which Solomon laid upon the tongueofJeremiah and he spoke".⁵³⁰ The text of the papyrus is complex and in a later version, 'Jesus, the God the Hebrews',was added to it.A nd, written on another papyrus, Köln 338( 3 rd century C.E.): "Ia djuree very spirit wicked and evil by the great God most highw ho created heavena nd earth and seas and all thingsi nt hem,t oc ome out of Allous, whom Annis bore, the holder of the Seal (sphragis)o fS olomon. Now! Now! Now! At once!"⁵³¹ All this is not enough evidence of the existenceo fawidespread tradition about King Solomon, in contrast to Jesus, performing magic or healing.  Torijano writes that: "The figure of Solomon as exorcist enjoyed enough fame amongt he gentile readers of Josephus to allow the adaptation of pre-existent patterns without much trouble" (Torijano 2002,p p. 104-105). However,t here is no evidencet hat Solomon was famous amongn on-Jewish readers in the time of Josephus.Dulingalso writes that "the fascinatinglegend of Solomon'sm agical wisdom was widespread in Late Antiquity […]",D uling( 1985).  Bibliothèque Nationale, Supp., grec., no. 564,1 1, 3039 f. . And see Bonner (1943); Kotansky (1995,p p. 261-266).  David R. Jordan and Roy Kotansky (1997);Duling( 1975).

Jesus as aH ealer and an Exorcist
The majora chievement ascribed to magic is the exorcism of demons or devils from the bodyo fa ni ll person using various techniques. All the cultures of the ancientw orld⁵³² believed that evil spirits (demons/devils) possessed the power to enter the bodyo faperson, and in the power of ak ing,o rasaint,t o overcome the demon by the touchofhis hand.⁵³³ There are instances of healing without anymagical practice in the Bible (the stories of Elijah and Elisha) and in GenesisApocryphon (XX. 16 -32), awork from the Judean desert scrolls (Qumran) that tells how Abraham cured Pharaoh after all of his sorcerers had failed and fled: Abraham: "prayed [for him]…and Il aid my hands on his [head]; and the scourge departedf rom him and the evil [spirit] was expelled…".⁵³⁴ Similar testimonies are found in rabbinical literature. In the MidrashGenesis Rabbah,atale is told about "Elijah of blessed memory who came to our master [Judah ha-Nasi], put his hand on his tooth and healed him".⁵³⁵ Certainly, the Sages opposed healing by whisperings pells, viewing it as ap ractice of the minim (heretics),⁵³⁶ but their negative opinion was not adopted by the public. The belief in healing through the laying of hands of saints and kingse ndured at least until the seventeenth century.⁵³⁷ This widespread belief aroused quite al ot of criticism and derision.⁵³⁸ Manyepisodes in the Gospels tell of Jesus' deeds as ahealerand exorcist of demons, and they contain different versions of how Jesus explains the sourceof his power.Ishall cite onlyafew.⁵³⁹ Matthew relates that Jesus passed through all the cities and villages "teachingi nt heir synagogues, and proclaimingt he good  Jayne (1962);B haryoa nd Rider (2017).  Flusser (1957).  Vermes (1987e dn.), TheD ead Sea Scrolls in English,2 55.S ee also Fitzmyer( 2004,p .103).  Genesis Rabbah 33:3;e d. Theodor-Albeck (1936,p p. 306 -307).  See Schäfer (2007, pp. 52 -62).  Uzbek, the Persian traveler in Montesquieu's Persian Letters writes: "This kingi sagreat magician […]h ee vens ucceeded in makingt hem [the French] believet hat he can cure them of all sort of diseases by touching them." The KingofFranceisamaster sorcerer,whose subjects believenot onlyinthe paper money he prints,but also in the healingpowerofthe touch of his hand. The disease, scrofula, is called "kings evil" in English. Letter 24 in Montesquieu (1973, p. 73). And see Thomas (1973,p p. 227-242).  Lucian of Samosatamocks those who "purify themselveswith holypotions and others who ared eceivedb yi mposters whos ell them spells" and tells about af ool whow as seducedi nto buying incantations from aJ ew (Iudaios eternon morone ksadei labon). Lucian of Samosata (1973,p .1 73).  See Duling (1978,p p. 392-410); Paffenroth (1999). news of the kingdom" and that he alsowas "curing every disease and every sickness."⁵⁴⁰ And he also tells how Jesus cured agirl by holding her hand, and two blind men, whose eyes he touched, and said: "According to your faith let it be done to you".And their eyes wereopened.⁵⁴¹ Jesusalso healedbyexorcisingdemons: "Then they brought to him ademonic-possessed man who was blind and mute; and he cured him, so that the one who had been mute could speak and see. All the crowds werea mazed and said, 'Can this be the Son of David?'"⁵⁴² And when another presumed to cast out devils in his name,Jesusdid not prevent him and said to his followers: "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against youis for you".⁵⁴³ The onlydirect correspondence between Jesus and Solomon as exorcists is in Matthew 12:22-24,w hen the crowd, amazed at seeing Jesus cure ab lind man possessed of ad emon, cries out: "Can this be the Son of David?" The Pharisees heard it,and said, "It is onlybyBeelzebul, the ruler of the demons, thatthis fellow casts out the demons".A nd Jesus replied: "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?I fIcast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists castthem out?Therefore, they will be your judges".⁵⁴⁴ There is also the story in Mark⁵⁴⁵ about the beggar Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus,w ho upon seeing Jesus began to call out: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercyo nm e!"⁵⁴⁶ In these stories,t he "true" Jesusd oes not appear as am agician⁵⁴⁷ or as haman.⁵⁴⁸ However,h ed oes not use healing herbs, roots,i ncantations, or as eal.
In these acts, Jesus is akin to Elijah the Tishbite, who resurrected the son of the woman in whose homeh el ived: "After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe thatthere was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, 'Whath avey ou against me,Oman of God? Youhavecome to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of  Matthew 9:35.  Matthew 9:25-31.  Matthew 12:22-23.  Luke 9:50.  Matthew 12:24-27.  Mark 10:46 -52.  Matthew 12:42;L uke 11:31. And the story about the "Queen of the south" (Queen Sheba) whowhenshe came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, found that "somethinggreater than Solomon is here!"  Unlike Morton Smith'sc laim in his book. See Smith (1978). See Birkett (2015); Twelftree (2007); Benko ( 1982);K ee (1986). In at horoughly researcheds tudy, it is argued that healing and miracles contributed to the success of Christianity.S ee Ehrman (2019,p p. 131-159).  Craffert (2008). my son!' But he said to her, 'Give me your son'.H et ook him from her bosom, carried him up into the upper chamber whereh ew as lodging,a nd laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, 'OLordm yGod, have youbroughtcalamity even upon the widow with whom Ia ms taying, by killing her son?' Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried out to the Lord, 'O Lordm yG od, let this child'sl ife come into him again'.T he Lordl istened to the voice of Elijah; the life of the child came into him again, and he revived".⁵⁴⁹ Jesusexorcises demons through his authority and faith. When he exorcises a foul spirit from the bodyofachild and commands it: "Youspirit that keepsthis boy from speakinga nd hearing,Icommand you, come out of him, and never enter him again!"⁵⁵⁰ He said to them, "This kind can come out onlythrough prayer".⁵⁵¹ And when, at the synagogue in Capernaum, whereh et aught as one that had authority,a nd not as the scribes, af oul spirit entered into one of the worshippersa nd Jesus ordered it to come out,t hoseo bserving werea ll amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this?An ew teaching-with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him".⁵⁵² In this way, Jesus' power is greater and different from thato fP hilip from Samaria, who exorcised foul spiritsa nd healed the lame, and from thato fS imon (Magus), also from acity in Samaria, who used sorcery and bewitched the people of his city with his magic. But afterthey heard from Philip the tidingsabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,they were baptized, both men and women.⁵⁵³ Hence, Matthew and Luke rejected magic practicesa nd, in doing so, drew adistinction between Jesus as an exorcist of demonsand other exorcists.⁵⁵⁴ He is the antithesis of Simon Magus, who amazed the crowds with his sorceries tais mageasis⁵⁵⁵ and in the Middle Ages became the archetype of asatanic magician.
Jesusw orks miracles withoutu sing incantations or other means. He is, therefore, at herapeutic Jesus, who exorcises demons that have possessed the bodyo faperson, or heals the disabled, with the power thatc omes to him from God,⁵⁵⁶ and works miracles the like of which have never been wroughtb e- 1K ings 17:17-22.  Mark 9:24-25.  Mark 9:29.  Mark 1:21-29.  Acts 8:4 -19.S ee also Butler (1993, pp. 63 -83).  Butler (1993, pp. 73 -83). According to Matthew (12:28), Jesus says: "by the Spirit of God that Ic ast out demons".  Acts 8:9 -13.  Fisher (1968). fore: "But if it is by the Spirit of God that Icast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you".⁵⁵⁷ Jesus passes this power on to his apostles,whom he sends to heal the sick, to revive the dead, to purify lepers, to cast out demons.⁵⁵⁸ But the use of Jesus' name to exorcise demons was alreadyw idespread during his lifetime,and "imposters" began to use his name. When his followers encountered such an imposter,t hey forbade him because "he does not follow with us".⁵⁵⁹ During his journey to Ephesus,P aulc ame across several vagabond Jews who claimedt hey werec asting out demons by using Jesus' name, but the possessed man fought them off and they fled, naked and wounded, and "the name of the LordJesus was magnified".Following this incident, "Anumber of thosew ho practicedm agic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it wasfound to come to fifty thousand silverc oins".⁵⁶⁰ The power-and the authority-to exorcise demons lies onlyw ith the Apostles. In Lystra, Paul heals acripple by calling out loudly: "Stand upright on your feet." And the man leaped and walked.⁵⁶¹ This deed causedthe people of the city to regard Paul and Barnabas as gods who had come down to earth in the likeness of men. In Malta, when the father of the chief man of the island lays ick with fever and bloodyf lux, Paul prayed, laid handsu pon the man, and cured him.⁵⁶² Timothyr eminds Aquila that Jesush ealed the manyi llnesseso ft hose who were sick (7,6b).⁵⁶³ Eusebiusa ttests to Jesus' popularitya sahealerw hen he writes that when Abgar, Kingo fE dessa in southern Syria, fell ill, he heard reports about Jesus who healedt he sick without using herbs and medicines, caused cripplest o walk again and blind ment os ee,a nd cast out evil spirits and demons. The King understood that Jesusi sagodw ho descended from heavent ow ork all these miracles, or that he is, perhaps,ason of God.H ence, he asked him to come to Edessa to cure him. The King also heard thatt he Jews were spreading malicious rumorsa bout Jesus and trying to harm him. His city is small and pious, the Kingw rites to Jesus, and therei sr oom for the two of them. Jesusr eplies: "Those who have seen me willnot believeinme"and "those who have not seen me will be saved".Hesayshewill not come to Edessa for he must complete his mission, and then will be takenupt oheaven, but he willsend to Abgarone of his apostles who will bring him ac ure. Eusebius hastens to add that therei s evidence of the existenceofthis exchangeofletters in an Edessaarchive.⁵⁶⁴ This is, of course, al egend, but the fact thatE usebius believed that Jesus' healing powers furthered the spread of Christianity in Eastern Syria indicatesthatheregarded Jesus' powers of healing and exorcisingdemons as asignificant element both of his divinity and of the attractiono fb elievers to the new religion.⁵⁶⁵ He writes that it is well known thatw ea re accustomed to using the name of Jesusa nd pure prayers to repulse the actions of demons⁵⁶⁶ and Justin Martyr writes in as imilar vein.⁵⁶⁷  Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History,1.13.1-10,inCartlidge and Dungan (1980,p.91). The referencei st oA bgar V, Kingo fO srhoene in Mesopotamia 4-50 C.E. Another version of the story comes from Ioannes Damascenus (676 -749),anArabChristianmonk and theologian. According to him, Abgarwrote to Jesus askingt hat,i nc ase he will refuse to come, he will charge his ambassador to employ an artist to makeaportrait of him (Epistola ad Theophilium). The letteri s mentioned in adescription of the journey of Egeria, at the end of the fourth century.She relates that the bishop of the city showed her the king'sletterand Jesus' reply. Wilkinson(1999,p.133). In the medieval apocrypha "Letter of Lentulus",the writer,P ublius Lentulus, af ictitious governor of Jerusalem, Jesus "raises the dead and heals all diseases".S ee Lutz (1975).  On the vast literatureonthis subject,see Cartlidge and Dungan (1980,p.9); as wellasthe bibliographyi nt he article by Meggitt (2006,p p. 109 -114).  Preparation for the Gospel III: 6, 35,i nE usebius (2002).  "…it is equallyclear (as the word of prophecy) speakinginthe name of His followers,metaphoricallyaffirms,that We believers beseech Him to safeguard us from strange, that is, evil and deceitful spirits.Weconstantlyask God throughJ esus Christ to keep us safe from those demons […]Wec all him our Keeper and Redeemer […]i ti sc lear to all of us that His Father bestowed upon Him such ag reat powert hat even the demons ares ubjectb oth to His name and to His ordained manner (the sign of the cross) of suffering" (Chap. 30), Justin Martyr (2003,p p. 191-192).Celsus also attests to the fact that Jesus was renowned as ahealer and exorcist wholearned certain magical powers in which the Egyptians excel, and when he returned to Palestine, he became arrogant and declared himself ag od (1:28, Chadwick 1963, p. 28). He also mocked the Christians for materializingt he demons,a na ct they had copied from various books of magic and compared the incantations and curses to an ode hummed by an old woman tryingt op ut an infant to sleep. He adds that: "ac ertain Dionysus, an Egyptian musician […]t old him that magical arts weree ffective with uneducatedp eople but not with people whoh ad studied philosophyw ith whom they weren ot able to do anye ffect,b ecause they werec areful to lead a healthyway of life" (VI:41. Chadwick 1963, pp. 355 -356) that is, onlyamong the uneducated because of its vulgarity and the utterlyi lliterate" (I:26). The miracles ascribed to Jesus aret he actions of sorcerers, whopromise wondrous things,but the belief that they cast out demons,heal illness and call up spirits is but afigment of the imagination. To that claim, Origen replied: "But as aChristian,and havingamoreaccurate knowledge of the matter than he [Celsus], Imust aver that these aren ot doctrines of Christians, but of those whoa re whollya lien to salvation, and whoinnoway profess Jesus to be either Saviour,orGod, or teacher,orSon of God (VI:30, Chad-AccordingtoEmperor Julian, Jesus "accomplished nothing worth hearing of, unless anyone thinks that to heal crooked and blind men and to exorcise those who were possessed by evil… can be classed as am ighty achievement" (CG,191 E).⁵⁶⁸ In other words, this was acommon phenomenon, not agreat achievement to boast of. These mocking words towards Jesus and his disciples are far more harsh (and derisive)t han Julian'so pinion of Solomon, who was, accordingt o him, "proficient in the secret cult of God" (224c-d), namelyi np erforming magic practices that created al ink with the divine and also influenced him".
However,demons do exist and hence, Jesus, with his greater power,protects people from them through exousia in the spirit like that of Julian and Celsus. Nestor the Priest writesthatthe Christians worship Jesus "because he resurrected one dead man, but resuscitated two people; one before his ownd eath and the one after he has died",E lisha "resuscitated twod ead people: one before his own death,and one after he died. He walked in the Jordan River",and "Ezekiel resuscitatedm anyd ead in the valley" (13\15). Andt hati sf ar more marvelous than what Jesus did by resuscitatingo ne dead person on the third daya fter his death.⁵⁶⁹ The name of Jesusa sahealer was also known among Jews because of the incident related about R. Eleazar ben Damma, of the 2 nd century C.E., who was bitten by as nake. Jacob of Kfar Sama came to cure him by using the name of Jesusb en Pantera. When R. Ishmael refused to permit this,b en Dama told him he would proveh im wrong, but "he did not have time to bring the [promised] proof before he dropped dead".⁵⁷⁰ However,n ot all the Jewishh ealers used the name of Jesus, and the prohibition against magical healing was not onlyd ue to the fear that it might be associated with Jesus.⁵⁷¹ In anye vent,t he prohibition did not keep Jews who were ill from seeking magical healing.⁵⁷² The Church unreservedlya ccepted the belief in the existenceo fd emons that dwell in the soul and bodyo famana nd control him.⁵⁷³ It also adopted some wick, 346). Origenwrites that Jesus overcomes the demons by his soul "and the divine power in him".Their powerwould be destroyed, sincethey areunable to withstand the light of the divine power" (I.60), Chadwick 1963, p. 54.S chäfer writes: "Casting out demons throught he power of Jesus' name does not just mean through Jesus' authority (exousia), but,l iterally, through using the power (dynamis)i nherent in Jesus' name:" In Schäfer (2007, p. 59).  Julian (1980).  TheP olemic of Nestor, "The Account of the Disputation of the Priest".S ee in Lasker and Stroumsa (1996,p .5 4).  Tosefta Hullin 2:22, trans. Neusner.  Schäfer (2007, pp. 105 -106).  See in Bar-Ilan (1995) and Schäfer (1997, pp. 33 -38).  Jenkins (1953). magic practices,but endowed them with an ew character by means of aversion of prayers and incantations (coniuro,adiuro), in the name of the "father,the son and the holyspirit".Nuns also accepted the belief in the power of amulets.⁵⁷⁴ For example, Anthonyoft he Desert (c251-356) was renownedf or his ability to cast evil spirits from the bodies of the ill,⁵⁷⁵ and the acts of healing and exorcism of the zealous Monophysitem onk, Barsauma of the fifth century,w erek nown to meet the standardso ft he established Church.⁵⁷⁶ In Summa Theologiae (Book II, Question 96), Thomas Aquinas denouncedt he magic rituals intended to replace the grace of God as aw ay of achieving knowledge,a nd wrotet hat "magic art is to be absolutelyr epudiated and avoided by Christians";n onetheless, he did not impugn the validity of some types of magic.⁵⁷⁷ And it is a known fact that the use of the Scriptures for magic purposes was popular at least until the fifth centurya nd John Chrysostom called them theiai epôdai (divine charms).⁵⁷⁸

The Riddleo fS olomon'sR ing
Although Josephus maynot be the sourcefor Solomon'simageasamagician, he did make as ignificant contribution to the dissemination of thati mage.
Whyw asn'tJ osephus content merelyt op raise Solomon'sk nowledge of magic and its practice? Whyd id he decidet oa dd as tory about am iracle that proves the power of the incantations written by Solomon?A ccording to his well-known story, Josephus claimed that he saww ith his own eyes am an (perhaps an Essene) named Eleazar who, in the presenceo fV espasianus, his sons, and anumber of other soldiers, freed menpossessed by demons by putting "[…] to the nose of the possessed man aring which had under its seal one of the roots prescribed by Solomon,⁵⁷⁹ and then, as the man smelledit, drew out the demon  In Underwood (1953,p p. 131-140) and Kieckhefer (1990,p p. 69 -80).  "Life of Antonyb yA thanasius 64 (36)",i nW hite ( 1991,p p. 48 -49).  Kiperwasser and Ruzer (2013).  In the 17 th century,t he French scholar Gabriel Naude (1600 -1653)r ejectedt he claim that Aquinas had engaged in magici nh is book Apologie pour tous les grands personages qui ont esté faussement soupçonnez de magie,p ublished in 1625 and printedi nf our editions.H ea lso defended Pythagoras, Socrates,a nd others against as imilar claim.  See Gamble (1995, pp. 237-241).  Ring (daktulios)and seal (sphragis). They aresometimesone object (see Esther 3:12) aseal is attached to the ring, and they wereattributed with magical powers.Inthe Testament of Solomon,the seal ringisgiven to him by the ArchangelMichael so that he can controldemons.Also see Barb (1963, pp. 112-113). through his nostrils, and when the mana to nce fell down, adjured the demon never to come back into him, speaking Solomon'sn ame and reciting his incantations (epôdai)t hat he composed. The exorcism of the demon revealedt ot he onlookers the greatness of his [Solomon's] nature and how God favoured him, and thatn oo ne under the sun mayb ei gnorant of the king'ss urpassing virtue of every kind".⁵⁸⁰ The addition of this episode to the description of Solomon'swisdom is ariddle of sorts that has aroused much interest among scholars, among other reasons, because it "revealed" the significant role of magic, magic practices,a nd astrology in Jewish culture and society.J osephus also wrotet hat there were books in circulation giving "recipes",a nd that he himself knew of aw ork under such at itle ascribed to Solomon.⁵⁸¹ It seems that the importance that Josephus ascribes to Solomon as the author of magic incantations is not sufficientlyexplainedbythe fact thatexorcism was awidespread practice in Jewishsociety,⁵⁸² or that Nahor'sfather supposedly taught him the traditions of the Chaldeans so he could practice divination and astrology according to the signs as reported in the Book of Jubilees (9:8), or that it is written that "Noah wrote everythinginabook just as we taught him according to every kind of healing,that the evil spirits wererestrainedfrom following the sons of Noah, and he gave everything which he wrote to Shem, his oldest son[…]".⁵⁸³ However,neither that nor the fact that exorcism was awide-spread practice in Jewishculture, can explain whyJ osephus sawfit to ascribetoSolomon "magical wisdom",⁵⁸⁴ which is not attributed to him in the Bible. One might also wonder whyJosephus believed that the story of Eleazar'sact of exorcism, in which he was helped by incantations and recipes written by Solomon, would impress the educated Romanreader,and whyhedid not cite adifferent concrete example of the depth and breadth of Solomon'sw isdom. Bohak writest hat Josephus "assumed his non-Jewish readers would share his ownexcitement about such aglorious manifestation of the supreme wisdom of an ancientJ ewish king".⁵⁸⁵ Jose- Ant 7VII.45 -9, Trans.Thackery with Bohak'smodification, in Bohak (2008, p. 101). Also see Förster (2001).  McCown (1922a, pp. 1-24).  Eshel (1999).  Jubilees 9:10 -14,t rans. Wintermute, in Charlesworth (1983, pp. 35 -142).  Contrary to Duling'sv iew.S ee Duling( 1985, p. 7).  Bohak (2008, pp. 100 -101). Joshua Amir goes even further when he writes that Josephus sees in Solomon'sr ing "the greatness of Solomon",a nd also adds that if so, "it is no wonder, then, that in the eyes of the simple Jewo ft he time Solomon'sm agical power seemed to be phus must have been cognizant of the harsh, even derisive criticism of faith in magic practices (magikê technê), which weret houghtt ob elong to dedita superstitiosa gens,tob emiracula circumlatoris and magicae vanitates. Josephus lived and wrotei nR ome at the time when the Roman authorities failed to suppress traditionalE gyptian magical techniques and the circulation of magical texts.⁵⁸⁶ The expulsion from Rome of astrologers and sorcerers in 33 B.C.E. was not effective,and the burning of thousandsofmagic books by order of EmperorAugustus in 13 C.E. was also to no avail (the church father John  states that in the city of his birth, Antioch, soldiers searched for booksofmagic and set fire to them).⁵⁸⁷ At the same time,inEgypt under Roman rule, "much of what had constituted public religion was drivenunderground, becomingasecretive and 'private' practice".⁵⁸⁸ In anyevent,the persecution or even the execution of thoseusing magic or possessingamulets or books of magic did not succeed in dissuading those who wishedt oa vail themselveso fs uch practices.⁵⁸⁹ If so, did Josephus have anyreason to believethat the EmperorV espasianus would be impressed by Eleazar'sa bility to cure ab lind man, using ar ing and incantations?T acitus (56 -120C .E.) states thatw hile the emperorw as staying in Alexandria, ab lind man and am an who had lost the use of his hand approached him and beggedt ob ec ured. Vespasianus at first ridiculed these appeals and treated them with scorn. However,w hen the men persisted, he "took precaution" and consultedhis physicians "whether such blindness and infirmity could be overcome by human aid".Their replyt reated the two cases differently: they said thati nt he first the power of sight had not been completely eaten away and it would return if the obstaclesw erer emoved; in the other, the jointhad slipped and become displaced, but they could be restored if ahealing pressurewereapplied to them. Such perhaps was the wish of the gods, and it might be that the emperor has been chosen for this divines ervice; in anyc ase, ridicule would fall onlyo nt he poor supplicant.S o, Vespasianus, believing that his good fortune was capable of anything and thatn othing was anyl ongeri ncredible, with asmiling face, and amid intense excitement on the part of the byone of the strong cardsofJ udaism in its great proselytizingcampaign".Amir (1968, p. 17). Feldman'sc laim that Josephus added the episode because "exorcising demons was regarded as the signo fs pecial poweri nawise man",i so dd. Feldman (1998, p. 584).  Ritner (1993, p. 89).  MacMullen (1975Kippenberg (1997).  Ritner (1995a, pp. 43 -60). At the same time, Plinyt he Elder writes, "magic roset osuch a heightthat even todayithas swayoveragreat part of mankind, and in the East commands the Kingo fK ings",P liny the Elder XXX.1-1-2( trans. Jones).  See Barb (1963, pp. 100 -125).
The Riddle of Solomon'sR ing standers, did as he was asked to do. The hand wasinstantly restored to use, and the dayagain shonefor the blind man".⁵⁹⁰ In order to confirm the veracity of the story,Tacitus stresses that "both facts are told by eye-witnesses even now when falsehoodb ringsn or eward".I ti si mpossiblet ok now what the truth is in this story,b ut it seems more reliable to me than Josephus' story,a lthough the latter states thath eh imself was present at the act of exorcisingt he demon.
Why, then, would Josephus provide support,for example, for Posidonius' assertion that the Jews are ap eople of sorcerers who pretend to use incantations? Duling suggests that Josephus believed such as tory would enhance Solomon's prestige within ap ublic thatb elieved in supernatural forces and was familiar with the traditions about Solomon'sg reatness and wisdom.⁵⁹¹ Thise xplanation seems to me contrived.⁵⁹² The onlyr easonable explanation is thatJ osephus did not find in the historical tradition anyconcrete example demonstratingt hat Solomon was well-versed in all branches of "scientific" knowledge.Therefore, he decided to addt he episodea bout Eleazar-and even to affirm it,d eclaring that he himself sawi tw ith his owne yes. And perhaps the simple explanation is thatJ osephus, likem anya uthors, wantedt oi ntroduce anecdotes into his story,afruit of his creative imagination.⁵⁹³ Whatever the reason, this episode certainlyi nfluenced the shaping of Solomon'sl egendary imagea saruler of demons, which dominated the imagination of the comingg enerations.⁵⁹⁴  Books IV-V, LXXXI, pp. 158 -163inTacitus (1969). Tacitus also writes that the Egyptians "are the most superstitious of nations".  Duling ( 1985, p. 25);Förster( 2001).  Thereisnoevidencethat "Solomon'sring" (or "seal")was known in Jewish history before the writingo fJewishA ntiquities. Possibly, the motif appears under the influenceo ft he book, which was quitepopular.Tertullian writes: "The JewJosephus,native champion of Jewish antiquities,must be consulted" (Tertullian 1984,xix, pp. 5 -6). The motif was known, for example,to several Byzantine chronographers, such as Georgios Hamartolos (ca. 850), whomentions the exorcism carried out by Eleazar,a nd Cederes (c. 1000) whom entionst he act of exorcism and the incantations composed by Solomon. See Torijano (2002, p. 87). However,i ti si mpossible to provet hat Josephus was the progenitoro ft his motif.  On the claim that Jews engaged in demonology was widespread in Byzantium see the Byzantine poet Johannes Tzetzesofthe 12 th century who wrote: "To the Jews,Isayinapropermanner in Hebrew:Your blind house devoted to magic, your mouth, ac harm engulfingf lies […]" in Herrin (2008, p. 242).  Solomon'sringappears on aglass pasteoval amulet from the Byzantine period. In Maguire (1995,p.39). Papyrus PGM XII, 261-69 states: "Alittle ring useful for every [magical] operation and for success.K ings and governors [try to geti t]. Very effective".I nB etz ( 1992, p. 161).

Solomon'sA fter-Lifea saMagician
In Commentaryupon Matthew,Origenwrote that "the Jews are regarded as adept at the adjuration of demons and they employ adjurationsi nt he Hebrew languagedrawn from the books of Solomon".By"books",Origenwas not referring to Songo fS ongs, Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, but rather to bookso fi ncantations. Sepherha-Razim,apparentlywritten in Palestine in the third century C.E., relates that ancient booksofmagic were passed down each generation to Solomon.Secrets of magic werep assed down from Noah through the Patriarchs to Moses, and from him to the Prophets and Sages, until they came to Solomon: "And the Bookso ft he Mysteries wered isclosedt oh im and he became very learned in books of understanding, and (so) ruled over every-thing he desired, over all the spiritsa nd the demons that wander in the world, and from the wisdom of this book he imprisoneda nd released, and sent out and brought in, and built and prospered. Form anyb ooks werem ore precious and more honorable and more difficult than anyo ft hem".⁵⁹⁵ In other words, these "books of secrets", which contained incantations and curses to exorcise demonsa nd spirits, were not written by Solomon but werepassed down to him in achain of transmission, of which he was the last recipient.I nc ontrast, accordingt ot he Sufi encyclopedia, Rasāʾil Ikhwāna l-Ṣafā,c ompiled in Basrai nt he second half of the tenth century,the sourceo ft he magic textsi sh uman-the Persians receivedt he wisdom of astronomyfrom the Indians, and Solomongained the knowledge of trickery and sorcery and curses and the uses of idols and talismans from the kingsof other nations. In other words, not from the mythological Noah, the Patriarchs, and the Prophets. On the manyi ncantation bowls against demons and evil spirits found in Babylonia, Solomon'sname⁵⁹⁶ is mentioned on some, for example: "Solomon the Son of David who worked spells on male demons and femalel iliths".
The longevity of this tradition is attested to by,a mong others, Don Isaac Abrabanel, the learned Jewish statesman from Portugal (1437-1508).Inhis commentary on 1K ings based on Josephus' Antiquities (which he read in aL atin or Castilian translation published in 1492), he wrotet hat Solomon'sm agic power "in the matterofdemonsand their deeds and the spells to be employed against them" is an expression of his unique wisdom. And the Germanb ishop, theologian, and scholarAlbertus Magnus (1200 -1280) cites the work Speculumastronomiae,w hich refers to "satanic booksa ttributed to Solomon".T he ArsN otoria quam Creator Altissimus Salomoni reuelauit from the 12 th century (which was preserved in more than 50 manuscripts and attributed alsot oA pollonius)s tates: "Ista, inquit Salomon" (Thus said Solomon): magic is described as a "holya rt" and as acrament revealed by God to Solomon".⁵⁹⁷ Manyb ooksf rom this genre known as "Solomonic Grimoire" wered isseminated in the West.⁵⁹⁸ The most popularofthese is Clavicula Salomonis (Solomon'sKey), acollection of talismanic formulae for summoning demons.⁵⁹⁹ Itssourceisunknownand it appeared in the West in the sixteenthc enturyi nL atin, Italian and French manuscripts.⁶⁰⁰ When Faust says: "Für solche halbeH öllenbrut /I st Salomon'sS chlüssel gut" (I.1257-8), he is not referringt ot he ability to overcome ag host with ar eal key,but with the help of abook that contains ritual diagrams. That also appears in the chapter Ars Goetia in the book Lesser KeyofSolomon evoked by King Solomon.⁶⁰¹ In the two works,S olomon bequeaths the knowledge of magic he possesses, "the most precious of all",w hich shows how to introduce the celestial movement to his son Rehoboam. The four brass jugs in which Solomon imprisoned and sealed the demons are part of this sacred geometry.Akey is mentioned in TheSecond Targum to Esther⁶⁰²: "Solomon was awise man who knew the secrets of the heavens… To him was givenalarge keywhereby to open the gates of wisdomund understanding the heart".⁶⁰³ Hereakey is not an object,but rather am etaphor ("the keyso fh eaven"). On the other hand, as someone engagingi n magia naturalis,S olomon appears very rarely.F or example, as such he appears in a14 th century work, Jocalia Salomonis (DiamondsofSolomon), whereheisde-  Page(2004,p.39). The 15 th century Liber Visionum (Book of Visions) was,for example, "an attempt to reconcile the goals of acondemned medieval, ritual magic text,the Ars Notoria after which is was looselymodelled".See "Plunderingthe Egyptian treasure: John the Monk'sBook of Visions and its relation to the Arsn otoria of Solomon",i nF anger (1998, pp. 216-249).  Amongt hem: Liber Salomonis libri de Tribus Figuris,L eL ivre de Salomon, Herbarium Salomonis, HygromantiaS alomonis, Schemhamphoras Salomonis Regis. On the "Solomonic Cycle", see Butler (1998, p. 48).  Yates ( 1984,p p. 42 -43); Thorndike( 1964,V ol. 2, pp. 279 -290). According to am edieval Neapolitan story,t he bodyo ft he poet Virgil was found in ag rave perfectlyp reserved, and under his head, among others,was the Ars Notoria. Virgil also "possessed" the seal of Solomon. See Comparetti (1895;pp. 274, 318).  See MacgregorMathers (2006[1888). His translation is based on aFrench translation from the eighteenth century.The ChivalricRomans Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (14 th century) refers to the Pentangle, is asymbol that Solomon-formerly(conceived) as a "tokenof(holy) truth". Trans.B rian Stone (1974,p .4 5) and Trans.S .W. A. Neilson (1999,p .1 4).  This book was written under the inspiration of Johann Weyer'sbook, mentioned in note 34.  TheS econd Targumt oE sther,I I. Cassel (1888, p. 270).  Thus,a lso "keyo fD avid" in Revelation 3:7. scribed as dabbling in alchemy.⁶⁰⁴ In anye vent,a sInoted, Solomon is famous not for the practice of magic, but rather as the author of magic literature, or as the possessor of such literature.
The use of ar ing⁶⁰⁵ was apparentlyn ot an "invention" by Josephus, but he mayh avei nspired the appearance of Solomon'ss ignet ring (sigillium)⁶⁰⁶ as a major item in the magic toolbox. In Testamento fS olomon,i ti sr elatedt hat after having prayed to the LordSabaoth, Solomon receivedfrom the angel Gabriel asignet ring from aprecious stone on which a pentalpha was engravedtohelp him build the Temple.Hebrought to Solomon "alittle ring,having aseal consisting of an engraved stone, and said to him: Take,OSolomon, king,son of David, the gift which the Lordhad sent thee. With it thou shalt lock up all the demons of the earth, male and female; and with their help thou shalt build up Jerusalem". And Solomoncalled aboy,gavehim the ring,and when the king ordered him to, he threw the ring at the chest of the demon.⁶⁰⁷ On one side of amedallion from Smyrna, for example, the spell appears: "Flee, hated one: Solomonpursues you […]Seal of Solomon.Expel every evil from the bearer".When Timothytells Aquila the Jewthat ademon has entered his bodymaking him belittle Christianity, he says, "make the seal of Christ that is the sign of the cross on his forehead and his heart" (II.2).⁶⁰⁸ Ar ing also appears in esoteric texts attributed to Solomon, including Sigillum Solomonis (Solomon'sr ing). The "seal of Solomon" (i. e., signet ring) and "the ring of Solomon" became populars ymbols and werew idelyd isseminated. Egeria writes thatduringEasterweek acrowdofworshippers came to the Church of the Nativity and, after kissing the cross,p assed before aD eacon that held Solomon'sring and kissed it.⁶⁰⁹ Priests in Catholic England useda"Solomon'sring" as well as "Solomon'sstaff" and the ring of the prophet Elisha.⁶¹⁰ From this very long tradition, the signet ring arriveda tt he roots of the plant whose botanical name is Polygonatum odorum,which was giventhe name "Solomon'sring" because it wasused for healing wounds and fractures, and as alove potion.A sf or Jewish tradition, "Solomon'sr ing" did not become at alisman,a role thatwas filled by aShield of David usuallyhung on the neck. But there are "Kabbalists" who call themselves "world renown experts",a mong other things, in writing amulets, "using the seals of KingSolomon and the script of angels".⁶¹¹ While in the esoteric literature Solomon and Jesus competea st ow hich of them controls the demons, in the corpus of magic papyri, they do not compete, but at times act jointly. Most of these magical texts written in Greek come from the Roman period and those that originate in Mesopotamia are from af ar later period. From about 600 C.E., we do not possess anymagic papyri from the first century C.E., or from previous centuries, that can be attributed to Jews, and in which Solomon is mentioned. Among other sources, we know from Sefer Hasidim written by R. Judah he-Ḥasid, the rabbio ft he AshkenaziC hasidim in the 13 th century,t hatc urses and spells werew idespread in the Ashkenazi society.I t states that "he who dealsi nc urses of angels or demons or in magicali ncantations will not come to ag ood end, and distressingt hingswill occur to his body and his sons".⁶¹² Then, what Solomon did not write, or what was forbidden, is written (but not in Solomon'sn ame) in Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Guide to Exorcism of aS pirit,⁶¹³ similar to guidebooks writteni nC hristian society.⁶¹⁴ Hundreds of texts about possession by ad emon and its exorcism, or about a dybbuk (a term that appears in Hebrew onlyi n1 715) have been documented, and Iw illr elatet o onlyone of these, taken from the Chronicle of Ahimaaz. It tells the tale of R. Shefatia who cast out ademon thatrefused to come out of the bodyofthe daughter of the EmperorofByzantium. R. Shefatiatold the stubborn demon he would cast him out with the help of the Almighty and said: "come forth, in the name of God, that he mayknow there is aG od in Israel. It came forth at once and tried to escape; but he seized it and put it into aleaden chest; he then covered the chest on  The (contemporary) "kabbalist" Yitzhak Mizrahi, whose name "precedes him and whose actions arewell-known throughout the land and the whole world",offered his goods in acolorful newspaper ad in which am iniature photograph of the seal appeared: "the strongest amulet todayf or couple hood, livelihood, physical and mental health." The "Beit haRuchot" site, www.israghost.co.il (last visited on October 1 st 2019). See Bohak (2019).  Rabbi Judah ben Samuel (1998, p. 105). It is also written there: "If yous ee am an prophesyingabout the Messiah, know that he is engaginginanact of magic or of demons or usingthe explicit name",p p. 206, 175( my translation).  Tzfatman (2016,p p. 187-202).  See in Kieckhefer (1990,p.156). And in Tzfatman (2016,p.189), n. 5i nt he first "Guide to the Exorcist". Thesaurus Exorcismorum appeared in print in 1608. See, for example, Etkes (1995). And see as urvey on this literature in the first half of the 17 th century,i nF einer (2017, pp. 295 -310). all sides and sealed it in the name of his Maker,dropped it into the sea, and let it sink into the depth of the mighty waters."⁶¹⁵ Exorcism rituals are practicedtothe present dayinboth Jewish and Christian societies.⁶¹⁶ In anyevent,S olomon'sn ame wasn ot usedi nt hese rituals, but rather the name of Jesus, the cross, and holyw ater. * Supposedly, faithful Christians have no need for magic since Jesus protects them from evil spirits. God endowed him with such power thate vent he demonic forces are controlled by him. Jesus rules over the supernatural world. From the forceofthe name, JesusChrist,Justin Martyr tells Trypho, the demonic forces shudder and are casto ut.Christians have no need for the name of Jesusi nf ormulae of oaths, or on amulets; they are replaced by the cross or by holy reliqua, which one onlyn eeds to show to the demon, and he vanishes.⁶¹⁷ Augustine writes thatatthe St.Ambrose Cathedral in Milan, wheretwo martyrs are buried, not onlypeople possessed by af oul spirit were curedb ut also ablind man, immediatelya fter he touched his eyes with ak erchief that layo nt he bier of the saints, which greatlye nhancedt he fame of the dead bishop (Confessions IX:16).⁶¹⁸ It was reportedt hat St.A nthony, in trying to provet he power of faith to ag roup of philosophersw ho came to visit him, said: "There are some here sufferingf rom the torments of demons […]. Now come on, use your syllogism and anyw icked spelly ou wish, to drive out thosew hom yout hink of as your gods. But if youa re unable to do so, hold out your conquered handsi ns upplication and take refuge in the signs of Christ'sv ictory".T he philosophers were amazed by the miracle that had been wroughtinthe name of Jesus.⁶¹⁹ St.Anthony overwhelmed the philosophers through his power of healing which he owed to Jesus. St.F rancis healed the ill and cast out demons by prayer and touching, by the Cross and by virtue of holyobedience,⁶²⁰ without curses or incantations. Thus, ac harismatic, holym an can do these deeds in the medieval legend Vin- Salzman (1966,p p. 71-72).  In 1972, PopePaulVIforbade the use of exorcism. However,inNovember 2010,acommitteeo fb ishops in the United States that convened in Baltimore decided, consideringt he wide demand, to trainp riests to hold exorcism rituals. Ha'aretz,1 4N ovember 2012 (trans.f romt he New York Times,12N ovember 2012).  See Jensen (2017).  Augustine (1961, p. 191).  White, Early Christian Lives (1991,p p. 58 -59).  Saint Bonaventure( 2010,p p. 97-105).
Solomon'sA fter-Life as aM agician