and expulsion of the witch. The witch is destroyed by fire and water; these symbolic
acts of burning and drowning are performed ritually on representations.
The fire-god Girra is a primary actor in this division. The incantation II 76 – 102
is addressed to the fire-god and is recited alongside the ritual burning of images of
the witch:
O blazing Girra, firstborn of Anu,
It is you who renders judgment, the secret speech,
You illumine darkness,
You set straight confusion and disorder.
You grant decisions for the great gods,
Without you, no god delivers a verdict,
It is you who gives instruction and direction.
It is you who speedily captures the evildoer,
And who speedily overcomes the wicked (and the) enemy.
I, your servant, So-and-so, the son of So-and-so, whose god is
So-and-so, whose goddess is So-and-so –
I have been attacked by witchcraft, and so I stand before you,
I have been made detestable before god, king noble and lord, and so
I come before you,
I have been made sickening in the sight of anyone who beholds me,
and so I bow down before you.
O most great Girra, pure god,
Now in the presence of your great godhead
Two images of the warlock and witch (made) of bronze I have
fashioned with your power.
In your presence I have crossed them and to you I have given
them.
May they die but I live,
May they be driven away (or perhaps bound) but I be acquitted
(lit., be/go straight),
May they come to an end but I increase,
May they weaken but I become strong.
O stately Girra, most eminent one of the gods,
Vanquisher of the wicked and the enemy, vanquish them so I not
be wronged.
May I, your servant, live and be well so that I may serve you
(lit., stand before you).
You alone are my god, you alone are my lord,
You alone are my judge, you alone are my aid,
You alone are my avenger!The request to the fire-god to destroy the evildoer is continued in the next incantation
(II 104 – 125 ), the first part of which (II 104 – 115 ) is here quoted:
O blazing Girra, warlike son of Anu,
It is you, the fiercest among your brothers,— Tzvi Abusch —