Amulets

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible on Amulets

1. Origin. The connexion with lahash, to mutter as a snake-charmer (Ps 58°), points to something that has had whispered or chanted over it words of power and protection. Cf. Heb. hartom, magician, and its connexion with heret, the graving-pen of the learned writer, and the Arab, 'talisman' similarly associated with the tailasan or long robe of the sacred dervish. The same idea of power through secret lore and sanctity is exemplified at the present day in Jerus., where crucifixes, pictures of the Virgin, and rosaries are laid on the pavement at the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre so as to give them this holy value in the market. 2. Meaning. The central meaning of the a. is something that faith may clasp as a prophylactic against known and unknown dangers. It assumes a connexion between holiness and healing, between piety and prosperity, the first being appreciated lor the sake of the second. It is a testimony to the sense of sin, for it is only that which is want- ing in holiness that requires to be covered or pro- tected. Hence the Arab, proverb says, 'The eye of the sun nee…