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Summaries 99*

mentioned coin in these documents, which rarely appears in other
sources – the shiyānī.

Geniza Fragments of
The Sword of Moses

Yuval Harari

Department of Hebrew Literature – Program of Folklore Studies,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Sword of Moses (Ḥarba de-Moshe) is the most comprehensive, and
from many aspects, also the most significant book of Jewish magic dating
from late antiquity. The book is mentioned by its name and opening words
already at the beginning of the 11th century by R. Hai Gaon in his
famous responsum to the rabbis of Kairouan but it is only in a late
manuscript – Genève 145 (formerly Sassoon 290), from the 16th century
that we encounter it in full. The article presents the Genizah evidence
relevant to The Sword of Moses – 14 fragments from the 11th-13th century
that comprise copies of the treatise, recipes copied from it, and a piece of
“magical sword” literature. It begins with a general consideration of The
Sword of Moses and the significance of the Genizah evidence for a better
understanding of the text and its structure. A detailed discussion precedes
each of the texts.