KYP T-2804

KYPRIANOS DATABASE OF ANCIENT RITUAL TEXTS

KYPRIANOS T2804

Manuscript:	M15
Sigla:	P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595
Text no. Position of the text within the manuscript.	44
Coptic Scriptorium:
Date:	501 – 700

Text position:	p. 14 (P. Mich. Inv. 597 vo) l. 15, p. 15 (P. Mich. Inv. 595 ro) l. 2-4
Type of text:	Healing, exorcism of evil spirit (magical, formulary)

Original title:	ⲛ̅ⲧⲃⲉ̅ ⲟ︦ⲩⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲙⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ
Original title (translated):	For an evil spirit
Conventional title:	To exorcise an evil spirit

Language:	Egyptian (Coptic)
Dialect:	Sahidic (non-standard)
Script:	Coptic
Image:	http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599r.tif & http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2616/599v.tif

Text:

Translation:

p. 14 (P. Mich. Inv. 597 vo l. 15)
↓
15. [previous text] ⲛ̅ⲧⲃⲉ̅ ⲟ︦ⲩⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲙⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ⧹ⲟⲛ⧸

p. 15 (P. Mich. Inv. 595 ro)
↓
ⲇ
1. ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲡⲕⲱⲗϩ ⲙ︦ⲡϩⲏⲧ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲫⲏⲡⲁⲣ ⲇͅⲇͅ ⲕⲁⲧⲁⲥⲧⲓⲗⲉ ⲕ̅ⲉ̅ⲭ̅-
2. ⲝ̅ⲝ̅ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲙⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ ⲉⲩ̅ⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏ̅ⲥ̅ · ⲛ̅ⲅ̅ⲙⲟⲣϥ
3. ⲛ̅ⲥ̅ⲓⲣ ⲛ̅ⲉ̅ⲓ̅ⲱ̅ ϥ̅ⲛ̅ⲁⲭ̅ⲱ̅ⲣ̅ⲓ̅ (kharaktēres: ΤƎΧ) ⲙⲅⲡⲉⲗ̅ⲅⲟ̅ⲣ̅ⲅ̅ⲇ̅ • (kharaktēr: Τ) ⲙ̅
4. (charaktêres: HI*Ǝ) ⲭ̅ⲙ̅ⲅ̅ ⲕⲁᵼ̅ [following text]

[p. 14 l. 15] For an evil spirit.

[p. 15 l. 1] {may the throbbing pain in the heart and the liver of NN stop, Kekhxx!”}

[2] {For an evil spirit.} ⟨Write⟩ on a sheet of papyrus and bind it to him [3] with the hair of a donkey. It will leave. (kharaktēres: ΤƎΧ) ⲙⲅⲡⲉⲗ̅ⲅⲟ̅ⲣ̅ⲅ̅ⲇ̅ • (kharaktēr: Τ) ⲙ̅
4. (charaktêres: HI*Ǝ)

(kharaktēres: HI*Ǝ) ⲭ̅ⲙ̅ⲅ̅. ⟨Add the⟩ usual (?).

Tableau:
Tracing by:

Apparatus:

p. 14
15. ⟦.⟧ erased by washing | ⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ i.e. Greek πν(εῦμ)α | ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ⧹ⲟⲛ⧸ i.e. Greek πονηρόν

p. 15
2. ⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ i.e. Greek πν(εῦμ)α | ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ̅ i.e. Greek πονηρόν | ⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏ̅ⲥ̅ i.e. Greek χάρτης
3. ϥ̅ⲛ̅ⲁⲭ̅ⲱ̅ⲣ̅ⲓ̅ double supralineation on ⲛ̅ i.e. Sahidic ϥ-ⲛⲁ-ⲁⲛⲁⲭⲱⲣⲓ i.e. Greek ἀναχωρεῖν | ⲙⲅⲡⲉⲗ̅ⲅⲟ̅ⲣ̅ⲅ̅ⲇ̅ ⲙ corrected from ⲅ by overwriting, ⲗ corrected from ⲣ by overwriting
4. ⲕⲁᵼ̅ i.e. Greek κοι(νά) ?

Notes:

Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 602 ll. 42-43 (KYP M18, T2796)

p. 14

15. ⲟ︦ⲩⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ The ⲟⲩ of seems to be repeated because the scribe jumped over a break in the papyrus, implying that the damage was already there when he copied the text.

p. 15
1-2. ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲡⲕⲱⲗϩ ⲙ︦ⲡϩⲏⲧ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲫⲏⲡⲁⲣ ⲇͅⲇͅ ⲕⲁⲧⲁⲥⲧⲓⲗⲉ ⲕ̅ⲉ̅ⲭ̅ⲝ̅ⲝ̅ ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲙⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ Here and elsewhere the scribe uses “counter-catchwords” at the beginning of new pages, repeating the last words of the previous page so that the reading order is clear. For a discussion of this practice in the context of earlier Greek magic, see Blanco Cesteros 2024. Here he repeated some words of the previous texts (ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲡⲕⲱⲗϩ ⲙ︦ⲡϩⲏⲧ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲫⲏⲡⲁⲣ ⲇͅⲇͅ ⲕⲁⲧⲁⲥⲧⲓⲗⲉ ⲕ̅ⲉ̅ⲭ̅ⲝ̅ⲝ̅ from KYP T2803) in addition to the first few words on this text (ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩⲡ̅ⲛ̅ⲁ̅ ⲙⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣ̅ⲟ̅ⲛ).
1. Note on ⲕⲱⲗϩ The literal meaning of ⲕⲱⲗϩ is “to knock” (Crum CD 106b), often used in the context of someone “knocking at a door”. For a discussion of the sense of the word in a medical context, see Grons 2025, p. 62. It seems to refer to a pain which may be recurrent, and can be felt either in an individual body part, or in the whole body; the use of “knock” suggests a recurrent, throbbing pain, comparable to the sense of “ache” in English.
2. ⲉⲧⲃⲉ P. Mich. inv. 602 ll. 42 (KYP M18, T2796) has ⲛⲧⲃⲉ, used throughout in that manuscript instead of ⲉⲧⲃⲉ. The scribe of this manuscript usually copied ⲛⲧⲃⲉ, as in p. 14 l. 15 above, but here corrected it to ⲉⲧⲃⲉ.
3. • This small circle is not included in the kharaktēres of P. Mich. inv. 602 l. 43 (KYP M18, T2796). It may have been a false start for the writing of the following T-shaped kharaktēr, which has the usual small circles at the extremities of each stroke.
4. ⲭ̅ⲙ̅ⲅ̅ is a scribal mark which should be understood either as an isopsephism for 643 = θεὸς βοηθός (“God is help”), or as an abbreviation of Χριστὸν Μαρία Γεννᾷ (“Mary bore Christ”); cf. Blumell 2012: pp. 47-48.
4. ⲕⲁᵼ̅ This sign may have been the abbreviation of the word κοινά (“(add the) usual (things)”) earlier in the transmission of this text, but the second letter is clearly an alpha in this copy.

Bibliography:

Blumell, Lincoln. 2012. Lettered Christians. Christians, Letters, and Late Antique Oxyrhynchus. Leiden: Brill.

Malleson, Claire. 2020. “Flora of Ancient Egypt”, in The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology, edited by I. Shaw and E. Bloxam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 125-150.

Editor:

KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026)

How to cite:

[Editor names]. "KYP T2804: To exorcise an evil spirit," Kyprianos Database of Ancient Ritual Texts and Objects, Korshi Dosoo, Markéta Preininger, & Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin (principal editors), www.coptic-magic.phil.uni-wuerzburg.de/index.php/text/kyp-t-2804. Accessed on 09/10/2026
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