KYP T-895

KYPRIANOS DATABASE OF ANCIENT RITUAL TEXTS

KYPRIANOS T895

Manuscript:	M9
Sigla:	P. Mich. Inv. 593
Text no. Position of the text within the manuscript.	35
Coptic Scriptorium:
Date:	401 – 700

Text position:	p.11 l. 12-p. 12 l. 5
Type of text:	Ritual instructions (magical, formulary)

Original title:
Original title (translated):
Conventional title:	Further instructions for using the invocation

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. 11 (↓)

12. [preceding text] ⲉⲕⲛ̣ⲁϭⲱ̅ ⲛ̅ⲧⲉⲡⲣⲟⲥ-
13. ⲉⲩⲭⲏ ϩ̅ⲛ̅ ⲣⲟⲕ̅ ⲛ̅ⲛⲁⲩ ⲛⲓⲙ̅ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅
14. ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓϣ ⲛⲓⲙ̅ ⲙⲉⲣⲉⲗⲁⲁⲩ ⲛ̅ϫⲣⲟⲡ̅
15. ⲧⲁϩⲟⲕ̅ ϩⲁϩⲏ ⲙ̅ⲡⲁⲧⲕⲣ̅ ϩⲱⲃ ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧ̅ⲥ̅

p. 12 (→)

1. ⲉⲛⲉϩ︦ ⲉⲕⲛⲁϫⲟⲕⲙⲉⲕ̅ ϩ̅ⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲙⲟⲟⲩ
2. ⲛ̅ⲧⲁⲫⲛⲏ ⲉⲕⲧ̅ⲃ̅ⲃⲏⲩ ⲉϫⲱϩ̅ⲙ̅ ⲛⲓⲙ
3. ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲕⲟⲩⲱⲙ̅ ϩⲣⲉ · ⲉϥⲧⲃⲃⲏⲩ
4. ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲟ̅ ⲛ̅ⲣⲟⲕ︦ ϩ̅ⲛ̅ ⲟⲩϩⲙⲟ̣ⲩ̣ ⲙ̅-
5. ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ ⲙ̅ⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲏⲣ̅ⲡ̅ ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ ⟩⟩·
⟩⟩⟩ — ⟩⟩⟩ — ⟩⟩⟩ — ⟩⟩⟩ — ⟩⟩ — ⟩⟩ —

[p. 11, 12] If you keep the [13] prayer in your mouth in every hour [14] and every time, you will encounter no obstacle. [15] First, before you ever undertake it, [p. 12, l. 1] you shall wash yourself in laurel-water, [2] while you are pure of every defilement, [3] and eating food that is pure, [4] washing your mouth with some rock salt [5] and some unmixed wine.

Tableau:
Tracing by:

Apparatus:

p. 11

12-13. ⲡⲣⲟⲥⲉⲩⲭⲏ i.e. Greek προσευχή
13. ⲣⲟⲕ : ⲣⲱⲕ Worrell
15. ϩⲁϩⲏ i.e. Sahidic ϩⲁ ⲧ-ϩⲏ

p. 12

1. ⲉⲕⲛⲁϫⲟⲕⲙⲉⲕ̅ ϫ corrected by overwriting ?
2. ⲧⲁⲫⲛⲏ i.e. Greek δάφνη
4. ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲟ̅ i.e. Sahidic ⲉⲓⲱ
5. ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ i.e. Greek πέτρα | ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ i.e. Greek καθαρόν

Notes:

Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 594 vo l. 23-25, P. Mich. inv. 603 ro ll. 1-5 (KYP M15; KYP T937)

1. There are traces of ink above the live, on the left-hand side. There seems to be several vertical strokes, perhaps letters that were erased by washing. The placement could indicate a page or folio number, although pagination/foliation is not consistent in this manuscript, and perhaps appears on pages 4-5 and 15.
1-2. ⲟⲩⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̅ⲧⲁⲫⲛⲏ For laurel water, cf. p. 6 ll. 3-4 (KYP T864) ⲟ[ⲩ]ⲙ̣ⲟⲟ̣ⲩ ⲉⲣⲉⲟⲩⲇⲁⲫⲛⲉ ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧϥ̅ (“water with laurel in it”), and Ms. Mich. 136 (KYP M128) p. 11 ll. 13-14: ⲟ̣ⲩⲕⲗⲁⲇⲟⲥ ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲕⲟⲇⲁⲫⲛⲏ ⲕⲁⲁϥ ϩⲙ̅ ⲡⲙⲟⲟⲩ ϣⲁⲛⲧϥ̅ⲃⲱⲕ (“a branch of laurel – put it in the water until it dissolves”). This suggests that “laurel water” is water in which laurel has been soaked.
4-5. ⲟⲩϩⲙⲟ̣ⲩ̣ ⲙ̅ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ This term is not attested in Coptic outside of this text to the best of our knowledge, but a translation as “rock salt” seems reasonable. This would refer to salt mined from the earth rather than produced from the evaporation of seawater. Interestingly, rock salt is referred to in Greek as ὀρυκτός (“excavated”) rather than using a cognate of πέτρα; see Grons 2025, 172, and see C. Pharm. Copt. (KYP M945) 7.18 (ⲟ̣ⲣⲩⲕⲧⲓ̣.?) , C. Pharm. Copt. 28 (KYP M643) p. 241 ll. 1-2 (ⲱⲗⲩⲕⲧⲟⲥ) for the use of the loanword in Coptic medical texts. Cf. the use of rock salt earlier in this codex (p. 10 ll. 5-6 (KYP T889)).
5. ⲟⲩⲏⲣ̅ⲡ̅ ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ We have not found a parallel for this construction, but it seems to refer to wine which is not mixed or adulterated with, for example, water; see LSJ s.v. sense 2. Compare Grons 2025, 471 who notes the use of the Greek loanword ἄκρατον (“umixed”) to express the same idea in Coptic medical texts.
5. The separation line below forms a diple paragraphos on the left.

Bibliography:

Grons, Anne. Medizinische Rezepttexte in koptischer Sprache (C.Pharm.Copt.). Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete – Beiheft 56. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2025.

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.

Mirecki, Paul. “The Coptic Wizard’s Hoard.” The Harvard Theological Review vol. 87 no. 4 (1994): 435–460.

Worrell, W. H. “A Coptic Wizard’s Hoard.” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 46 no. 4 (1930): 239–262.

Editor:

EL’s transcript from Worrell (29/1/20); KD, MPS, RBS (23/7/2026)

How to cite:

[Editor names]. "KYP T895: Further instructions for using the invocation," 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-895. Accessed on 11/10/2026
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