A Palestinian-Jewish Aramaic planetary horologion from the Cairo Genizah

Gideon Bohak*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The text, a translation, and a detailed analysis of an astrological text in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, copied in a Genizah fragment (Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter K 7.46) are presented. The text begins by listing which planet rules each of the hours of the week. This is followed by short explanations of what each hour of each day of the week is auspicious for and what actions should or should not, be undertaken in each hour. Hebrew versions of this text are extant in several manuscripts, but this is the first publication of the Aramaic text from which they were translated. This text, along with several other Aramaic astrological texts from the Cairo Genizah and elsewhere, joins the growing body of evidence for the Jewish interest in astrology in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-26
Number of pages20
JournalAleph
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Funding

FundersFunder number
Israel Science Foundation986/14

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