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Protective prayers containing divine names

Anonymous · betmas

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Summary

This anonymous Ethiopic protective prayer invokes divine names, many derived from Hebrew letters and epithets like ʾAdonāy, for apotropaic purposes. Surviving in fluid manuscript tradition, it is often appended to amulets or liturgical rolls. The prayer lacks a fixed date but likely originates in the later Solomonic period (15th–17th c.). Its incipit and seven numbered prayers open with the double invocation ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡, while later prayers use the formula 'O my Lord, my Lord' and the phrase 'I have taken refuge in these names of Yours.' The Geʿez verb 'tamaḥṣänku' signals reliance on divine names for safety. The prayer is cited in modern scholarship as an example of Ethiopic protective magic, with no known liturgical use in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

This prayer exemplifies the syncretic blending of Hebrew letter-names and divine epithets within Ethiopic protective magic, illustrating how non-canonical texts circulated alongside liturgical rolls. Its fluid transmission and lack of liturgical use highlight the distinction between official church practice and popular apotropaic traditions. The prayer also provides insight into the reception of Hebrew elements in Christian Ethiopia.

Historical context

The prayer survives in Ethiopic manuscripts as a protective text invoking divine names, often appended to amulets or liturgical rolls. Its transmission is anonymous and fluid, with no single authoritative recension. No firm date can be assigned; the prayer likely originates in the later Solomonic period (15th–17th c.), but the manuscript tradition is poorly documented, and attribution to a specific century remains conjectural. The prayer is cited in modern scholarship as an example of Ethiopic protective magic, but it has no known liturgical use in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Its reception is primarily academic and folkloric. The edition (betmas) does not provide a critical apparatus or collation of variant manuscripts, so readers cannot assess textual stability or the extent of scribal intervention in the transmission of divine names. The names listed are largely derived from Hebrew letters and divine epithets, reflecting a syncretic tradition of invoking Hebrew-script-derived names for apotropaic purposes.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

23 commentary units 6 term5 background4 structure3 parallel3 caution2 reception 1 derived notes 9 open questions 4 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: prayer in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 4 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT4310Prayer:1 · narrativehigh
Source
The following incipits of the work and its single prayers are taken from or 183 . Supplication በስመ፡ ስብሓት፡ ወጸሎ ተ ፡ ወወድሶ፡ ወመለኮት፨ ወተማኅፅኖ፡ በአስማ ተ ፡ ለስርየተ፡ ኃጢአት። 1st prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ አአሌፍ። ካፍ። 2nd prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ ዕቀበኒ፡ እመሥገርቱ፡ 3rd prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በስምከ። አሌፍ። 4th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ ለሊከ፡ በቃልከ፡ ትቤ፡ ሰማይ፡ ወምድር፡ 5th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት። ቤት፡ ቀዳሚት፡ ዘሳረረ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዓለም፡ 6th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ ደምረነ፡ ምስለ፡ ቡሩካን፡ ክህንት፡ 7th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አድኅነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ዘዚአስማት። ጋሜል፡ ኤል። ኤልኤል። መንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ዲቤየ፡ ይጽልል፡
English
Supplication In the name of praise, prayer, glorification, and kingdom, and the supplication by the names for the remission of sins. 1st prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have supplicated by means of these names of Yours: Alef, Kaf. 2nd prayer O my Lord, my Lord, protect me from the sorceries. 3rd prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have supplicated by Your name: Alef. 4th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, to You, by Your word, You said: Heaven and Earth. 5th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have supplicated by these names of Yours: the first house which encompassed the whole world. 6th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, join us with the blessed priests. 7th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, save me; I have supplicated by these names: Gamel, El, El-El, Holy Spirit, may He overshadow me.
LIT4310Prayer:2 · narrativehigh
Source
8th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ ሣህል፡ እስመ፡ በኀቤከ፡ ኵሎ፡ ይትከሀልከ፡ 9th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አድኅነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት። ዳሌጥ፡ ወሄት። አድኅነኒ፡ ዘአድኀንኮ፡ 10th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ ግብርከ፡ ወምግባርከ፡ 11th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ሄ፡ ለሄ። ወለላሄ። እንዘ፡ ሥልጣንሰ፡ ምሉእ፡ 12th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ኢያሄ፡ ሱራሄ፡ ድምናሄ፡ ለፍኖተ፡ ሀገርከ፡ 13th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ዋው፡ ያው፡ ታው፡ ወሕያው፡ ሣህልከ፡ ወምሕረትከ፡ ዲቤነ፡ ከዐው፡ አሰረ፡ ዚአከ፡ 14th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ዛይ፡ አዶናይ፡ ፈጣሪሁ፡ ለሰማይ። 15th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ጤት፡ ወሔት፡ ወሳምኬት፡ ለምንተ፡ ገደፍከኒ፡ አድኅነኒ፡ እምተ፡ ከንት፡ ዕስየኒ፡ ፍሥሓ፡ ወሐሤት፡
English
8th prayer O my Lord, of Yours is mercy, for in Your presence all things are possible for You. 9th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, save me; I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Dāleṯ and Hēt. Save me, as You have saved. 10th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, Your deed and Your work. 11th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Hē, leHē, and lalāHē, while authority is full. 12th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: ʿUyāHē, SūrāHē, DumnāHē, for the path of Your land. 13th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Wāw, Yāw, Tāw, and Ḥeyāw. Your mercy and Your compassion upon us cover; bind Yours. 14th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Zāy, ʾAdonāy, the Creator of the sky. 15th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Ṭēt and Ḥēt and Sāmket. Why have You cast me down? Save me from the snare; grant me joy and gladness.
LIT4310Prayer:3 · narrativemedium
Source
16th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ዮድ፡ ሄድ፡ ወላሜድ፡ ፈሪትከ፡ ውስተ፡ ሥጋየ፡ 17th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት። ኦአኃዊየ፡ ንዑ፡ ትስምዑ፡ ዘይትነገር፡ መድምም፡ ዕበዩ፡ ለሜም። 18th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት። ኖን። አፍርዮን። ምክራድዮን። እምነቅዐ፡ ሕይወት፡ ከመ፡ ንርወዮን። 19th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ሜ፡ ተኖሜ፡ ዘከለልኮ፡ ለታቦር፡ በጊሜ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በደብረ፡ ቍስቋም፡ በዘ፡ ነበርከ፡ ምስለ፡ እምከ፡ ቀዳሚ፡ በአሣእኒከ፡ ዘጾረት፡ ሰሎሜ። 20th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ ለከ፡ ኦዋሕድ፡ ዘቆመ፡ ቅድመ፡ ጲላጦስ፡ 21st prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በስምከ፡ ዔ፡ ጥናዔ። ጰናዔ፡ ዘሰአልነ፡ ኀቤከ፡ ኩን፡ ሰማዔ።
English
16th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Yōd, Hēt, and Lāmed. Place Your fear within my flesh. 17th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours. O my brothers, come, let us hear what is spoken: the greatness of Mēm is great. 18th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Nōn, Afəryōn, Məkradəyōn. From the sting of life, as Nərwəyōn. 19th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in these names of Yours: Mē, Tenōme, who surrounded Tābōr with Gīme. I have taken refuge in Mount Qəsəqwām, in the place where You were with Your mother from the beginning, at Your right hand, the shield of Salome. 20th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, to You, O Wāḥəde, who stood before Pilate. 21st prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in Your name: ʿĒ, Ṭənāʿe, Pənāʿe, which we asked of You. Be my heaven.
LIT4310Prayer:4 · narrativemedium
Source
22nd prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ስምከ። ፌ። መንፈስከ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ፈኑ፡ ዲቤየ፡ 23rd prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አነኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ በዝንቱ፡ ስምከ፡ ሬሲ፡ ትስእለከ፡ ዘዚኣየ፡ ነፍስ፡ አበሳየ፡ ደምስስ፡ እንተ፡ ጽንዕት፡ ነፍሰ፡ በጠለ፡ ምሕረትከ፡ አርሕስ። 24th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አድኅ ኒ ኒ፡ ተማኅፀንኩ፡ ዘዚአከ፡ አስማት፡ ሳን። ኑን፡ ፍኑን። ዝንቱ፡ ዘተብህለ፡ እብን፡ ምኑን፡ ውስተ፡ ርእሰ፡ ማእዝንት፡ 25th prayer ኦእግዚኦ፡ ነጽር፡ ውስተ፡ ረዲኦትየ፡ እግዚኦ፡ አፍጥን፡ ረዲኦትየ፡ ይትኃፈሩ፡ ወይኅሠሩ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ጸላእትየ፡ ለይግብኡ፡ ድኅሬሆሙ፡ ወይትኃፈሩ፡ እለ፡ መከሩ፡ እኩየ፡ ላዕሌየ፡
English
22nd prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in this name of Yours: Fē. Send Your Holy Spirit upon me. 23rd prayer O my Lord, my Lord, I have taken refuge in this name of Yours: Rēs. I ask of You: erase the sin of my soul, which is strong; cover my soul with the dew of Your mercy. 24th prayer O my Lord, my Lord, save me. I have taken refuge in Your names: Sān, Nūn, and Fnūn. This is what is called the stone of Mənun within the head of the altar. 25th prayer O my Lord, look upon my help. O my Lord, hasten my help. Let all my enemies be ashamed and be silent, so that they may not approach me; let them be ashamed, those who plotted evil against me.
Citation. Tergwame, “Protective prayers containing divine names”, LIT4310Prayer:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT4310Prayer#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0029 · generated 2026-11-15.