Sefer Shimmush Tehillim (Magical Use of the Psalms)

Sefer Shimmush Tehillim, the Book of the Use of the Psalms, is a Hebrew manual that assigns practical magical purposes to individual psalms. For each psalm, or for groups of verses, it states what the psalm is good for, such as safe childbirth, protection on a journey, healing, escape from danger, success in business or favour with authorities, and it prescribes accompanying actions: writing the psalm or a divine name derived from its letters on parchment, reciting it a set number of times, or performing it over oil or water. Each use is linked to a holy name extracted from the psalm's words, which connects the work with the Jewish tradition of manipulating divine names. Versions of the text are found in medieval manuscripts and early printed books, and much of its material is probably early medieval, from the geonic period or before. It became widely known outside Jewish circles through a German translation published in the late eighteenth century, which was later included in the English Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses; the archive presents it in that context. Bill Rebiger's critical edition of 2010 established the Hebrew text and its manuscript tradition and is now the standard reference. The book illustrates a long-lived form of scriptural magic shared by Jews and Christians alike, and parallels can be found in the Christian use of psalms in the Key of Solomon and in Abramelin.

What it contains

• Practical purposes assigned to each psalm
• Holy names derived from the letters of psalm verses
• Instructions for recitation counts and timing
• Writing psalms and names as amulets
• Rites over oil, water and other substances
• Uses for childbirth, travel, healing and protection