KYP T-937

KYPRIANOS DATABASE OF ANCIENT RITUAL TEXTS

KYPRIANOS T937

Manuscript:	M15
Sigla:	P. Mich. Inv. 599 + 594 + 603 + 596 + 598 + 597 + 595
Text no. Position of the text within the manuscript.	35
Coptic Scriptorium:
Date:	501 – 700

Text position:	p. 4 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, vo) ll. 23-25, p. 5 (P. Mich. Inv. 603, ro) ll. 1-5
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:	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)
↓
24. [previous text] ⲉⲕⲛ̅ⲁϭⲱ ⲛ̅ⲧⲉⲡⲣⲟⲥⲉⲩⲭⲏ ϩⲛ̅ ⲣⲟⲕ
25. ⲛ̅ⲁⲩ ⲛⲓ̅ⲙ ⲙⲛ̇ ⲟⲩⲉⲓϣ ⲛ̅ⲓⲙ ⲙⲉⲣⲉ̣ⲗ̣ⲁ̣ⲁ̣ⲩ̣ ⲛ︦ . . [ ca. 7 ? ] . [ . . . ] . .
26. ⲧⲃ̣ⲟ ϩ̣ⲛ̣ ⲣ̣ . [ .? ]

p. 5 (P. Mich. Inv. 603, ro)
→
1. ϩⲁϩⲏ ⲙⲡⲁⲧⲕⲣϩⲱⲃ ⲛ̅ϩⲏⲧⲥ ⲉⲛ̅ⲉϩ̅
2. ⲉⲕⲛ̅ⲁϫⲟⲕⲙⲉⲕ ϩⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̅ⲇⲁⲫⲛ̅ⲏ̣
3. ⲉⲕⲧⲃⲃⲏⲩ ⲉϫⲱϩⲙ ⲛ︦ⲓⲙ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲕⲟⲩⲱⲙ
4. ϩⲣⲉ ⲉϥⲧⲃⲃⲏⲩ ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲟ ⲣⲟⲕ ϩⲛ̅ ⲟⲩϩⲙⲟⲩ
5. ⲙⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ ⲙⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲏⲣⲡ ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ .
_______________________________

[p. 4 l. 24] If you keep the prayer in your mouth [25] in every hour and every time … [26] purify … [p. 5 l. 1] First, before you ever undertake it, [2] you shall wash yourself in laurel-water, [3] while you are pure of every defilement, and eating food [4] that is pure, [4] washing your mouth with some rock salt [5] and some unmixed wine.

Tableau:
Tracing by:

Apparatus:

p. 4 (P. Mich. Inv. 594, vo)

24. ⲉⲕⲛ̅ⲁϭⲱ ⲁ corrected from ⲛ by overwriting | ⲡⲣⲟⲥⲉⲩⲭⲏ i.e. Greek προσευχή | ⲣⲟⲕ ⲣ corrected from ⲡ̣ by overwriting : ⲣⲱⲕ Worrell
25. ⲛ̅ⲁⲩ : ⲛⲛⲁⲩ Worrell | ⲟⲩⲉⲓϣ : ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓϣ Worrell | ⲛ︦ . . [ ca. 7 ? ] : ⲛ︦ϫⲣⲟⲡ ⲧⲁϩⲟⲕ Worrell
25-26. . [ . . . ] . . ⲧⲃ̣ⲟ ϩ̣ⲛ̣ ⲣ̣ . [ .? ] : Worrell omits

p. 5 (P. Mich. Inv. 603, ro)

1. ϩⲁϩⲏ i.e. Sahidic ϩⲁ ⲧ-ϩⲏ
2. ⲉⲕⲛ̅ⲁϫⲟⲕⲙⲉⲕ ⲛ corrected from ⲁ by overwriting | ⲇⲁⲫⲛ̅ⲏ̣ i.e. Greek δάφνη
3. ⲁⲁⲱ smudge over ⲁⲁ
4. ⲉⲕⲉⲓⲟ̅ i.e. Sahidic ⲉⲓⲱ
5. ⲙⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ ⲧ corrected from ⲣ by overwriting i.e. Greek πέτρα | ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ i.e. Greek καθαρόν

Notes:

Parallel text: P. Mich. inv. 593, p. 11 ll. 12-15, p. 12 ll. 1-5 (KYP M9, T895)

p. 4

25-26. ⲛ︦ . . [ ca. 7 ? ] . [ . . . ] . . ⲧⲃ̣ⲟ ϩ̣ⲛ̣ ⲣ̣ . [ .? ] The beginning of this sequence was likely ⲛ︦ϫⲣⲟⲡ ⲧⲁϩⲟⲕ, just as in the parallel text of P. Mich. inv. 593 (KYP M9; KYP T895) p. 11 l. 14-15, but not enough is visible to reconstruct with certainty. The scribe also seems to have added an extra line of text not attested in the other copy, at the end of line 25 and beginning on line 26.

p. 5

1. ⲉⲛ̅ⲉϩ̅ There is an oblique stroke to the right of the hori, but we interpret it as a supralinear stroke based on its presence in the other copy P. Mich. inv. 593 (KYP M9; KYP T895) p. 12 l. 1, since the copyist does not otherwise use punctuation of this form.
2. ⲟⲩⲙⲟⲟⲩ ⲛ̅ⲇⲁⲫⲛ̅ⲏ̣ 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. ⲟⲩϩⲙⲟⲩ ⲙⲡⲉⲧⲣⲁ 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 manuscript (P. Mich. inv. 594 vo ll. 12-14 (KYP T931)).
5. ⲟⲩⲏⲣⲡ 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. After ⲛ̅ⲕⲁⲑⲁⲣⲟⲛ, there is a strange sign at the end of the line which doesn’t clearly resemble any letter or sequence; it may have been deleted by barring. Compare the similar unexpected final sign at p. 6 (P. Mich. Inv. 603, vo) l. 22 (T676).

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:

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

How to cite:

[Editor names]. "KYP T937: 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-937. Accessed on 10/10/2026
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