The Sword of Moses, An Ancient Book of Magic

by Moses Gaster

They have... books with these terrible, awe-inspiring Names... they know that the use of these mysterious Names, without due and careful preparation, brings with it calamity and premature death. -from the introduction

How much ancient wisdom was lost in the medieval years! here laments Moses Gaster, one of the most prominent Jewish theologians and folklorists of the late 19th century.

In 1896, he translated a fragmentary relic of Gnostic literature, a manuscript concerned with the many secret names of God believed by Kabbalists to wield enormous magical power, but in the discussion that here precedes the translation, Gaster acknowledges that this document only hints at the texts that may be lost forever. It remains a tantalizing peek into archaic occult mysteries.

Genres: Occult

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Moses Gaster (17 September 1856 – 5 March 1939) was a Romanian-born British scholar, the Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation, London, and a Hebrew linguist. He was the father of Jack and Theodor Gaster and the grandfather of Marghanita Laski. He was also son-in-law to Michael Friedländer and father-in-law to Neville Laski.

Reviews

[Juzám Djinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curios Hebrew grimoire, this is a reprint of the original English translation by Rabbi Dr. Gaster. The majority of text contains very long lists of magical Hebrew Names used as the praxis. Although I found "The Sword of Moses" to be not very practical, it was interesting after a fasion.

[Dr. Ursula Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informational, could be better explained but ok as an overview

Informational, could be better explained but ok as an overview. The book does state that it is an unedited sample so maybe an updated one will come soo .

[Olu Adewumi]

Magic to make money

[Gwadue Hough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to find