Oracular Amuletic Decree

In the Twenty-second and Twenty-third Dynasties, divine oracles promising specific individuals long life, prosperity, good health, and protection from malevolent forces were recorded on papyrus. These papyri were then rolled up and enclosed in wooden or metal cylinders which were worn as amulets suspended around the neck. As official divine decrees they were official temple products, not the product of personal magic.

The Oriental Institute papyrus, originally one long strip but now in four pieces, records the words of the goddess Nekhbet on behalf of the Lady Taibakhori of Thebes. The text is written in hieratic and is read from right to left: "Nekhbet, the very great goddess from the beginning of creation, said:

“I shall keep safe Taibakhori, this daughter of Tetisheri, she who is also called Sherinihi, my servant and my ward. I shall keep her healthy in her flesh and her bones. I shall protect her and I shall look after her. I shall be between her and any sickness. I shall grant her life, health, and a great and goodly old age. I shall cause her eyes to see; I shall cause her ears to hear; I shall cause her strength to flourish. I shall open her mouth to eat and I shall open her mouth to drink. I shall cause her to eat in order to live and I shall cause her to drink in order to be healthy. I shall cause her to be completely satisfied with a happy life on earth. I shall keep healthy her whole body — every limb — and her entire frame from her head to her soles. I shall keep her safe from every evil intention of every god and every goddess resident in heaven, earth, or the underworld. I shall save her from divine wrath…. I shall save her from every action of a demon and every interference of a demon. I shall save her from every demon of every sort who is in heaven, earth, or the underworld. I shall not let them approach her vicinity at all. I shall save her from every Evil Eye. I shall save her from all Syrian magic. I shall save her from all foreign magic of every sort in the entire earth…. I shall save her from the bite of a snake; I shall save her from the bite of scorpions…. I shall save her from every accident and every abomination at every stage of her journey that she will make by ship, horse, or on foot…. I shall keep healthy the ten fingers of her hands…. I shall keep healthy her ten toes…. I shall keep healthy her
entire frame from her head to her soles. Nekhbet, the very great goddess from the beginning of creation, said: “As for every matter which has been set down in this written oracle, together with what might have been forgotten to be set down in it, I shall render them beneficial to Taibakhori, the daughter of Tetisheri, she who is also called Sherinihi, every single day.”