‘Spirits of the Dead’ or ‘Necromancers’? The <i>eṭemmū</i> in an Old Assyrian Letter Reinterpreted in Light of Hebrew <i>’ō<u>b</u>ô<u>t</u></i>, <i>yidd<sup>e</sup>‘ōnîm</i>, and <i>’iṭṭîm</i>

The Old Assyrian archive from Kanesh, dated to ca. 1950–1850 BCE, has yielded a letter that refers to the consultation of the spirits of the dead (<i>eṭemmū</i>), thus making it the world’s oldest actual attestation of necromancy. However, whereas the immediate context mentions the <i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Alinda Damsma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/614
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