Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Books of Moses

See also: Octateuch

The Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Books of Moses or 8th, 9th, and 10th Books of Moses are grimoire texts attributed to Moses, and popularized by pseudo author Henri Gamache.[1][2]

Content

Gamache subdivided thirteen chapters into three sections:[3]

Origin

First published in 1945, Gamache's Mystery of the Long Lost 8th, 9th and 10th Books of Moses theorized an expansion beyond the well-known Torah of lost mosaic works written by Moses such as the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, which those works were also examined in his book. These works were known for its magic, attributed written works done and used by Moses but not meant for the common knowledge of many peoples.[2]

Gamache argued that all Western religions were philosophies developed from Africa. He describe Moses as, "The Great Voodoo Man of the Bible," and a man of both of medical and miracle capabilities. Gamache also argued that Moses was the founding influential basis of religious ideology such as Judaism, Voodoo, Christianity and Hoodoo.[2]

Manuscripts

The Eighth Book of Moses mentioned by Gamache is a Greek Magical papyrus (PGM XIII) found in Thebes at the beginning of the 19th century.[4][5] Known as the Leyden Papyrus, the document was known for its magical content. An alternative title was given because of its content known as the Magical Papyrus or Le Papyrus Magique.[5] The text itself displays the title Eighth Book of Moses.[1][5]

A modern translation of the eighth book was published by Hans Dieter Betz.[4] It consists of an initiation ritual where the magician attains communion with God in order to perform various magical feats, such as resurrecting the dead, invisibility, and other uses.[4]

In poor condition, another manuscript known as the Sword of Moses contains magical formulas dating to the 13th through 14th century AD. The manuscript contains both the ninth and tenth books of Moses, and was written in Syrian Rabbinical characters, a mix of Hebrew and Aramaic; The manuscript's origin is designated from Palestine, and not from Moses himself.[1][5] The Sword of Moses was first published by Jewish scholar Moses Gaster in 1896, and according to Gaster, the manuscript is based on an even older text.[5][6] A more recent translation by Israeli historian Yuval Harari was published in 2012.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Illes, Judika (2010). The Weiser Field Guide to Witches: From Hexes to Hermoine Granger, from Salem to the Land of Oz, The Weiser Field Guide Series. Weiser Books. p. 80. ISBN 9781609252991.
  2. 1 2 3 Horowitz, Mitch (2009). Occult America: The Secret History of how Mysticism Shaped Our Nation. Bantam Books. pp. 125–126. ISBN 9780553806755.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Finley, Stephen; Guillory, Margarita; Page Jr., Hugh (2014). Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: "There Is a Mystery"... Aries Book Series. BRILL. p. 157. ISBN 9789004283428.
  4. 1 2 3 Betz, Hans Dieter (1996). The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells, Volume 1. University of Chicago Press. p. 172. ISBN 9780226044477.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Gamache, Henri (1992). Eighth, Ninth, Tenth Books of Moses. Health Research Books. p. 59. ISBN 9780787313852.
  6. ↑ Gaster, Moses (2005). The Sword of Moses, an Ancient Book of Magic (Reprint ed.). Cosimo, Ink. ISBN 9781596055810.
  7. ↑ Partridge, Christopher (2014). The Occult World. Routledge. p. 609. ISBN 9781317596769.
  8. ↑ Aitken, James K.; Paget, James Carleton (2014). The Jewish-Greek Tradition in Antiquity and the Byzantine Empire. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 9781107001633.
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