is impossible to deny the relationship of this material [i.e., Greek magical papyri] to the hekhalot tradition. The contrast between mortal and immortal beings, the ascent from the realm of mortality to that of the immortals, the jealous guards to be mastered by the use of magic names, the entrance of the heavenly realm, when the hostile gods all stare at the intruder . . . all these characteristics are common to the Jewish and the magical materials.121
