PGM XIII: The Eighth Book of Moses
- Date of account
- Roman imperial or late antique period
- Location
- Egypt, in the Greek Magical Papyri tradition
- Source
- model_recalled_reference
- Record updated
- 2026-10-10
Record summary
The Eighth Book of Moses is a Greek magical text preserved in PGM XIII and presented through pseudepigraphic Mosaic authority. It combines invocations, voces magicae, divine names, and ritual instructions in a syncretic environment where Jewish, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman elements overlap. Its importance lies in showing how biblical figures could be repositioned as authorities within late antique magic, rather than in verifying Mosaic authorship or supernatural results. Scholars must separate the surviving manuscript, reconstructed sequence, translation, and later assumptions about “Jewish magic.” This is an AI-recalled lead; source quality 5 and corroboration 0.
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