KYP T-929

KYPRIANOS DATABASE OF ANCIENT RITUAL TEXTS

KYPRIANOS T929

Manuscript:	M15
Sigla:	P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595
Text no. Position of the text within the manuscript.	27
Coptic Scriptorium:
Date:	501 – 700

Text position:	p. 4 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, vo) ll. 7-9
Type of text:	Protection of ships (magical, formulary)

Original title:	ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲛ̅ⲟⲩϩⲙ ⲛ̅ϩⲉⲛⲛ̅ⲉϫⲏⲩ ϩⲛ̅ ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ⲏ ϩⲙ̅ ⲡⲏⲉⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ ⲙⲛ̅ ϩⲱⲃ ⲛ̅ⲓⲙ
Original title (translated):	For the safety of ships at sea or on the open sea
Conventional title:	For the safety of ships at sea

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. 4 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, vo) ↓ 7. [preceding text] ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲡⲛ̅ⲟⲩϩⲙ ⲛ̅ϩⲉⲛ- 8. ⲛ̅ⲉϫⲏⲩ ϩⲛ̅ ⲑⲁⲗⲁ⧹ⲥ⧸ⲥⲁ ⲏ ϩⲙ̅ ⲡⲏⲉⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ ⲙⲛ̅ ϩⲱⲃ ⲛ̅ⲓⲙ ⲥϩⲁⲉⲓϥ ⲉⲩ- 9. ⲉⲩⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏⲥ ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ̅ ⲛ̅ⲅⲙⲟⲣϥ ⲉϩⲧⲉϥ ⲙⲡⲉϩⲧⲉ [following text]	[p. 4 l. 7] For the safety of [8] ships at sea or on the open sea and everything. Write it on [9] new papyrus and bind it to the tip of the mast.

Tableau:
Tracing by:

Apparatus:

7-8. ⲛ̅ϩⲉⲛⲛ̅ⲉϫⲏⲩ i.e. Sahidic ⲛ-ϩⲉⲛ-ⲉϫⲏⲩ : ⲛ︦ϩⲉⲛⲉϫⲏⲩ Worrell
8. ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ i.e. Greek θάλασσα | ⲏ i.e. Greek ἤ | ⲡⲏⲉⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ ⲁ corrected from ⲉ̣ by overwriting i.e. Greek πέλαγος : ⲡⲉⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ Worrell | ⲥϩⲁⲉⲓϥ ⲥ corrected from ϩ by overwriting, ϥ corrected from ? by overwriting
8-9. ⲉⲩⲉⲩⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏⲥ i.e. Sahidic ⲉ-(ⲟ)ⲩ-ⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏⲥ i.e. Greek χάρτης : ⲉⲩⲭⲁⲣⲧⲏⲥ Worrell
9. ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ i.e. Greek καθαρόν | ϩⲧⲉϥ i.e. Sahidic ϩⲧⲏ⸗ϥ | ⲡⲉϩⲧⲉ i.e. Sahidic ⲡⲉ-ϣⲧⲉ

Notes:

Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 593, p. 9 ll. 11-15 (KYP M9, T887)

8. ⲑⲁⲗⲁ⧹ⲥ⧸ⲥⲁ ⲏ ϩⲙ̅ ⲡⲏⲉⲗⲁⲕⲟⲥ θάλασσα and πέλαγος both can be translated into English as “sea”, but when used together, πέλαγος means the “deep” or “open sea”, out of sight of land (cf. BDAG, CDO, LSJ s.v.), in contrast to θάλασσα, which would refer to areas of the sea in sight of land. The preservation of this sense in Coptic can be seen in Shenoute’s I Have Been Considering in which he criticises men who ⲥⲉⲛⲁⲣ ⲑⲉ ⲛⲟⲩϫⲟⲓ ⲉϥⲟ ⲛϭⲱⲧϩ ϭⲱⲧϩ ⲉⲛⲅⲛⲁϣⲛϩⲉⲧ ⲡⲉϥⲥϭⲏⲣ ⲁⲛ ϫⲓⲛ ⲡⲓⲕⲣⲟ ⲉⲡⲉⲓⲕⲣⲟ ⲛⲧⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ ϫⲉ ⲛⲛⲁϫⲟⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲥⲡⲉⲗⲁⲅⲟⲥ (“will be like a ship full of holes; you would not trust it to sail from this side of the sea to the other, to say nothing of the open sea”; Amélineau 1911, 8.11-13). This usage is slightly distinct from the phrase ⲡⲡⲉⲗⲁⲅⲟⲥ ⲛⲧⲉⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ (“the depths of the sea”), found in Matthew 18.6, in turn from the Greek πέλαγος τῆς θαλάσσης.

Bibliography:

Amélineau, Émile. Œuvres de Schenoudi: Texte copte et traduction française, vol. 1, Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1911.

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:

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

How to cite:

[Editor names]. "KYP T929: For the safety of ships at sea," 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-929. Accessed on 10/10/2026
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