É. Apor (ed.): Jubilee Volume of the Oriental Collection, 1951–1976. Papers Presented on the Occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Oriental Collection of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
A. FODOR: The Use of Psalms in Jewish and Christian Arabic Magig
69 Having it written, the servant of the blessed Psalm and of the blessed, magnificent verses should be entrusted to protect her from fear, anxiety and the miscarriage of children. Finally he should say this: 'Answer, by the right of Ehye Asher Ehye Adonai Lord of Sebà'ôt Ë1 Shaddai. ' This (Psalm) can also be written for the tree which drops its fruit (and it should be written) until the end of His word. And none of its leaves will be scattered and will be buried in the vineyard. The noble verses and the blessed names which are in them should also be entrusted with the protection of the tree or the vine against dropping their fruit. Then he says: 'Answer, by the right of the Greatest Name of the Great God.' Then it should be uttered seven times over water and (if) he who is bewitched washes his face with it during three days (the bewitchment) will be untied from over him, God willing. After the recital on each of the seven occasions, the servant of the blessed Psalm and the pure angels should be entrusted with the breaking and lifting up of every (malefic) practice, bewitchment, binding and tying from above this and this (person) by the right of Him who is victorious over you and whom you are subjected to." According to K, if somebody writes Psalm 2 on a potsherd and throws it into the raging sea, he will find deliverance from the storm. Inspiration for this might have come from verse 9 which says "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." The Arabic version of H apparently exploits the very same idea but for a different purpose. The author writes that should anybody wish to destroy the earthenware of a potter, he is supposed to inscribe the first 9 verses on an unbaked pot which, exposed to the sun's rays, had cracked. If this pot is put into the baking oven with the other vessels, it will cause them to break into pieces. Psalm 3 in К is a useful remedy against headaches and pains in the shoulders. The method of procedure is as follows: the Psalm should be recited over olive oil to wich salt is later added. The aching part of the body must then be rubbed with the mixture. For this Psalm, the Arabic text of H specifies several directions for use and also states that it is effective against headaches when recited over rose oil. The only imaginable common starting point for the authors of К and H may be found in the word "head" in verse 3 although it is taken completely out of its original context: "But thou, О Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. " In the case of Psalms 4 and 5 no similarity exists either in content or in the manner of employing a particular phrase or word in the text. As regards the prescription accompanying Psalm 6 in K, we find that should anybody have a pain in the eye, the Psalm and the name hidden in it must be recited over the eye seven times on a Tuesday. H also refers to the healing of the eye as one of the possible uses of Psalm 6. The common starting point can be traced back to verse 7 where the eye is alluded to, although in a context that would suggest a meaning completely different from the idea of healing: "Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies. "
