Babylonian Devil
Traps
These were terracotta bowls inscribed with “magical texts”
and charms, used by the ancient Hebrews in parts of Mesopotamia. The inverted
bowls were buried under the four corners of the foundations of buildings,
usually houses. Their magic provided protection against male and female demons,
illnesses, curses and the ‘evil eye’. These Babylonian devil traps were used
between the third and first centuries BCE until the sixth century CE. As a
surviving pagan custom, the bowls were technically prohibited by the Hebrew
religion, which proscribes magic in general. Probably to circumvent this
religious law, the devil traps often also had inscriptions invoking the help of
God, or quotations from Hebrew Scriptures. One bowl from the third century BCE
proclaims a ‘bill of divorce’ from the devil, and all of his night monsters,
commanding them to leave the community forthwith.
