_neshem_, of which the column is made, is a very hard stone, which is proof against any injury. ⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂, which I translated “crush,” means probably “grind to powder,” and ⁂⁂, “to receive a cut,” means to be scratched or incised by a sculptor’s tool. The power of the amulet consists in making the body of the deceased as hard as _neshem_.