Solomonic magic has captivated imaginations for centuries, yet its definition remains elusive. Is it a specialized branch linked to King Solomon, or a broader classification of practices attributed to him? This book explores the mysterious world of demon subjugation, examining previously unknown texts in multiple languages (Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and more) to reveal the historical evolution of this magical tradition. Divided into three parts, the book presents analyses of key manuscripts and examines the historical influence of Hebrew texts on later traditions. Featuring many unpublished manuscripts, this book challenges previous scholarly assumptions and offers a new perspective on the textual network that shaped medieval and early modern magical works.
Preface
List of Figures and Tables
A Note on Hebrew Transliteration
Part 1 Methodology
1 Philology
1Genes and Scale Shifting
2Textual Networks
2 Solomonic Magic: A Term in Flux or a Distinct Tradition?
1Defining through Polemical Discourses
2The Anatomical Anomaly of Solomonic Magic
3 From Micro(s) to Macro: Multi-Sources and Scribal Strategies
1Practitioners Confessions
2Genesis Narratives
Part 1: Summary
Part 2 Texts
Clusters and Nodes: A Brief Introduction
4 Liber Bileth (LB)
1Liber Bileth: Fusing Two Texts into One
2The Book of Spirits
3The Marvelous Ring
4Liber Bileth: Preliminary Intra-Clusteric Genetic Analysis
5 Clavicula Salomonis (CS)
1Italian and Latin Claviculae: The Claviculas Ritual and Six Methods
2An English Clavicula: The Return of Bileth Son of Aned
3French Clavicula
4Hebrew Claviculae
5Clavicula Salomonis: Preliminary Intra-Clusteric Genetic Analysis
6 Sapientia Salomonis (SP)
1A Consecrated Catalog of Demons
2Liber consecrationum
3okhmat Shlomo: The Hebrew SPs
4Sapientia Salomonis: Preliminary Intra-Clusteric Genetic Analysis
5Liber centum regum
6Intra- and Inter-Clusteric Analysis
Part 2: Summary
Part 3 Histories
Introduction: Beyond the Solomonic Veil
7 The Babylonian Background
1over averThe Reception of a Biblical Term
2Babylonian Jews and DemonsExpelling or Gathering?
8 Sefer Haqqevitza
1Gathering Demons in FustatSefer Haqqevitza and the Four Elements
2Sefer HaqqevitzaA Babylonian Component of the Solomonic Network
3Solomonic Attribution
4Where Are You, Arabic Sources? Some Short Notes on a Great Lacuna
9 Binding Demons in Medieval Ashkenaz and Provence
1Ashkenazic asidim and Sefer Haqqevitza
2The Chiefs of the Teli
3The Demonology of the Kohen Brothers
10 Binding Demons in Medieval SpainThe Astral Turn
1Moses of Burgos and Nachmanides
2Liber Razielis
3Berit Menua
11 Berengar Ganell and Liber Theysolius
1The Magisterium and the Summa
2Repositories of Names: The Case of Liber Theysolius
12 The Age of the Clavicula
1Clavicula Salomonis: An Italian Reaction to Information Overload
2SQR Genes in the Early Modern Period
3Abraham Colorni and the Untold Story of the Hebrew Claviculae
13 Curating WisdomThe Art of Knowledge Cataloging
1Making Catalogs I: Demons
2Making Catalogs II: Pentacles
14 The Greek Myth
1Rethinking the Hygromanteia Hypothesis
2Catoptromancy and the Solomonic Network
Part 3: Summary
Solomonic Magic: Final Thoughts
Bibliography
Index
Gal Sofer, MD, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He has studied medieval and early modern magic and Kabbalah, focusing on knowledge transmission and transformation across linguistic boundaries.
