| Manuscript: | M9 |
| Sigla: | P. Mich. Inv. 593 |
Text no. 
Position of the text within the manuscript. | 28 |
| Coptic Scriptorium: | |
| Date: | 401 – 700 |
| Text position: | p. 9 l. 15-p. 10 l. 3 |
| Type of text: | Favour before authority (magical, formulary) |
| Original title: | ⲉⲧⲣⲉ ⲟⲩⲧⲉⲛⲁⲥⲧⲏⲥ ⲧⲁⲛϩⲟⲩⲧ̅ⲕ̅ |
| Original title (translated): | So that a powerful man will trust you |
| Conventional title: | For favour before a powerful man |
| Language: | Egyptian (Coptic) |
| Dialect: | Sahidic (non-standard) |
| Script: | Coptic |
| Image: | https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?id=S-APIS-X-2601%5D593_1R.TIF |
| Text: | Translation: |
| p. 9 (↓) 15. [preceding text] ⲉⲧⲣⲉ ⲟⲩ- p. 10 (→) |
[p. 9, 15] So that a [16] powerful man will trust you [17] and will not send you away. Write it [p. 10, 1] on a papyrus sheet and make a phylactery [2] and bind it to your right arm [3] and you will be trusted. |
| Tableau: | |
| Tracing by: |
| Apparatus: | p. 9 p. 10 |
| Notes: | arallel text: P. Mich. inv. 594 vo l. 9-12 (KYP M15; KYP T930) p. 9 l. 15 – p. 10 l. 3 This prescription is an example of a procedure for restraining anger and gaining favor from kings, rulers, judges, and other powerful figures, attested in the older Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri. These often use knotted cords in the garment (GEMF 60/PGM XIII.251-252 (KYP M161)) or rings (GEMF 15.250-57/PGM XII 201-202 (KYP M160), GEMF 15.319-329/PGM XII.270-80), while here a papyrus amulet is bound to the arm; cf. also GEMF 16/PDM xiv.451-458 (KYP M162); GMA 58 (KYP M3682); PCM I 26 (KYP M166) p. 16 ll. 28-30. The formulation is close to GEMF 15.327-328/PGM XII.277-79: “And even more, it stops the angry outbursts (ὀργὰϲ) of kings (βασιλέων) and masters (δεσποτῶν). When you wear it (i.e., the ring), you will be trusted (πιϲτευθήϲῃ)”. Cf. Preininger 2026, 34-41. |
| Bibliography: |
Meyer, Marvin W., and Richard Smith. Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power. Princeton (New Jersey): Princeton University Press, 1999, p. 304–310, no. 133. |
| Editor: | EL’s transcript from Worrell (29/1/20); preliminary translation by KD (31/1/2020); KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026) |
How to cite:
[Editor names]. "KYP T888: For favour before a powerful man," 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-888. Accessed on 11/10/2026For the "editor names", see the abbreviated names in the field "Editor", and to resolve the abbreviations, see the help page.