• Case Study

    Three Healing Prescriptions from a Now-Lost Codex III: Prayer for Healing Deafness 

    In the previous posts in this series, we discussed a parchment sheet from a now-lost codex kept at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF), BnF Copte 129 (20) fol. 178, dated to around the 10th century, which contains several healing prescriptions, including the already-discussed fumigation prescription for a quick childbirth. In this post, we will take a closer look at a prayer for healing deafness, which mentions Malchus, the servant of the Jewish High Priest Caiaphas, and appears on page 23 of the codex. BnF Copte 129.20 fol. 178 (135), verso ll. 1–7: ⲕ̅ⲅ̅ ⲙ̣ⲁ̣ⲁϫⲉ̣ ⲙ̇ⲙⲁⲗⲭⲟⲥ ⲧⲉⲛⲟⲩ ⲇⲉ ⲡ̣ϫ̣ⲟⲉ̅ⲥ ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ⲡⲉⲭ̅ⲥ̅ ⲉⲕⲉⲥⲟⲟⲩⲧ̣ⲛ̇ ⲛ̇ⲧⲉ̣ⲕϭⲓ̇ϫ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ⲛⲟⲩ̣ⲛⲁⲙ̣ ⲛⲉⲕϫⲱϩ · ⲉⲡⲉⲓ̇ⲁⲗ ϭⲣⲁϩ ·…