Transforming Words into Efficacious Healing Objects: The Case of the Bleeding Woman

The miraculous healing of the bleeding woman, Haemorrhoissa , as known from Mt 9:20‑22, Mk 5:25‑34, and Lk 8:43‑48, has been reinterpreted and inscribed onto several ‘magical’ objects to help women recover from gynecological hemorrhage in Egypt (and elsewhere) during the sixth or seventh century. The retelling of the story and the mechanics of healing through these efficacious objects are the focus of this article.