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Headword:
*)/abaris
Adler number: alpha,18
Translated headword: Abaris, Avars
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Scythian, son of Seuthes. He wrote the so-called Scythinian Oracles[1] and Marriage of the river Hebros and Purifications and a Theogony in prose and Arrival of Apollo among the Hyperboreans in meter. He came from Scythia to Greece.
The legendary arrow belongs to him, the one he flew on from Greece to Hyperborean Scythia. It was given to him by Apollo.[2]
Gregory the Theologian mentioned this man in his Epitaphios for Basil the Great.[3]
They say[4] that once, when there was a plague throughout the entire inhabited world, Apollo told the Greeks and barbarians who had come to consult his oracle that the Athenian people should make prayers on behalf of all of them. So, many peoples sent ambassadors to them, and Abaris, they say, came as ambassador of the Hyperboreans in the third Olympiad.[5]
[Note] that the Bulgarians thoroughly destroyed the Avars[6] by force.
[Note] that these Avars drove out the Sabinorians, when they themselves had been expelled by peoples living near the shore of the Ocean, who left their own land when a mist formed in the flood of the Ocean and a crowd of griffins appeared; the story was that they would not stop until they had devoured the race of men. So the people driven away by these monsters invaded their neighbors. As the invaders were stronger, the others submitted and left, just as the Saragurians, when they were driven out, went to the Akatziri Huns.[7]
The declension is Abaris, Abaridos [genitive singular], Abaridas [accusative plural], and with apocope Abaris [nominative plural].
See about these things under 'Bulgarians'.[8]
Greek Original:*)/abaris: *sku/qhs, *seu/qou ui(o/s. sunegra/yato de\ xrhsmou\s tou\s kaloume/nous *skuqinou\s kai\ *ga/mon *(/ebrou tou= potamou= kai\ *kaqarmou\s kai\ *qeogoni/an kataloga/dhn kai\ *)apo/llwnos a)/ficin ei)s *(uperbore/ous e)mme/trws. h(=ke de\ e)k *skuqw=n ei)s *(ella/da. tou/tou o( muqologou/menos o)i+sto\s, tou= petome/nou a)po\ th=s *(ella/dos me/xri tw=n *(uperbore/wn *skuqw=n: e)do/qh de\ au)tw=| para\ tou= *)apo/llwnos. tou/tou kai\ *grhgo/rios o( *qeolo/gos e)n tw=| ei)s to\n me/gan *basi/leion *)epitafi/w| mnh/mhn pepoi/htai. fasi\ de\ o(/ti loimou= kata\ pa=san th\n oi)koume/nhn gegono/tos a)nei=len o( *)apo/llwn manteuome/nois *(/ellhsi kai\ barba/rois to\n *)aqhnai/wn dh=mon u(pe\r pa/ntwn eu)xa\s poih/sasqai. presbeuome/nwn de\ pollw=n e)qnw=n pro\s au)tou\s, kai\ *)/abarin e)c *(uperbore/wn presbeuth\n a)fike/sqai le/gousi kata\ th\n g# *)olumpia/da. o(/ti tou\s *)aba/ris oi( *bou/lgaroi kata\ kra/tos a)/rdhn h)fa/nisan. o(/ti oi( *)aba/ris ou(=toi e)ch/lasan *sabi/nwras, metana/stai geno/menoi u(po\ e)qnw=n oi)kou/ntwn me\n th\n parwkeani=tin a)kth/n, th\n de\ xw/ran a)polipo/ntwn dia\ to\ e)c a)naxu/sews tou= *)wkeanou= o(mixlw=des gino/menon, kai\ grupw=n de\ plh=qos a)nafane/n: o(/per h)=n lo/gos mh\ pro/teron pau/sasqai pri\n h)\ bora\n poih=sai to\ tw=n a)nqrw/pwn ge/nos. dio\ dh\ u(po\ tw=nde e)launo/menoi tw=n deinw=n toi=s plhsioxw/rois e)ne/ballon: kai\ tw=n e)pio/ntwn dunatwte/rwn o)/ntwn oi( th\n e)/fodon u(fista/menoi metani/stanto, w(/sper kai\ oi( *sara/gouroi e)laqe/ntes pro\s toi=s *)akati/rois *ou)/nnois e)ge/nonto. kli/netai de\ *)/abaris, *)aba/ridos, tou\s *)aba/ridas, kai\ kata\ a)pokoph\n *)aba/ris. zh/tei peri\ tw=n au)tw=n e)n tw=| *bou/lgaroi.
Notes:
See generally A.H. Griffiths in OCD(4) p.1: "legendary devotee of Apollo from the far north, a shamanistic missionary and saviour-figure like
Aristeas [
alpha 3900]". Adler credits this part of the entry to the
Epitome Onomatologi Hesychii Milesii.
[1] Or in one manuscript, 'Skythian'.
[2] Perhaps from a scholion on the passage about to be cited (so Adler). Cf.
Herodotos 4.36.1 (web address 1).
[3] Gregory of Nazianzus PG 36.524b.
[4] This material is from Harpokration s.v.
*)/abaris
[5] 768-765 BCE. Harpokration (see preceding note) cites Hippostratos (FGrH 568 F4) to this effect, but adds that there were later alternatives: the twenty-first Olympiad (696-693) or "the time of Croesus, king of
Lydia" (so
Pindar, fr.270 Snell-Maehler), i.e. c.560-546.
[6] The word used for the Avars here,
*)aba/ris, is a homograph for the name of the Hyperborean wise man Abaris, so this separate section on the Avars is included in this entry. There is no indication that the lexicographer sees any connection between the two topics.
[7]
Priscus fr.30 FHG (4.104), still 30 Bornmann. The final part reappears at
alpha 820 and
sigma 111.
[8]
beta 423.
RE Abaris (1) I.16-17
Macartney, C.A. "On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century." BSOAS 11 (1944): 266-275
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: biography; Christianity; dialects, grammar, and etymology; geography; historiography; history; mythology; philosophy; poetry; religion; rhetoric
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 21 August 1998@17:03:41.
Vetted by:William Hutton (Modified translation and notes, added keywords, set status.) on 19 January 2001@14:57:43.
David Whitehead (augmented notes and bibliography; cosmetics) on 9 February 2001@05:20:43.
David Whitehead (added note) on 14 February 2001@06:09:48.
Mihai Olteanu (The only thracian item concerning Abaris is his father's name. Everything else pledes for his sythian ('hyperborean') origin. This is why I suppose we deal here with a copist mistake, and I propose the emendation: ́Αβαρις: Σκύθης, *Σκύθου υἱός (for Σκύθης as mythological character, see for example Herodotos 4,10).) on 22 January 2002@21:55:20.
David Whitehead (augmented notes and keywords; cosmetics) on 23 January 2002@03:11:25.
David Whitehead (augmented n.6 and added a keyword) on 5 October 2004@03:21:13.
William Hutton (augmented notes, added link and keywords, set status) on 24 August 2007@11:05:00.
Jennifer Benedict (cosmeticule) on 25 March 2008@00:16:43.
David Whitehead (another note; cosmetics) on 28 March 2014@06:23:27.
David Whitehead (updated a ref) on 29 July 2014@12:06:21.
David Whitehead (updated a ref) on 31 January 2015@09:22:24.
Headword:
*)/abas
Adler number: alpha,20
Translated headword: Abas
Vetting Status: high
Translation: A sophist, who left Historical Commentaries and an Art of Rhetoric.
Greek Original:*)/abas: sofisth\s, *(istorika\ u(pomnh/mata kai\ *te/xnhn r(htorikh\n katalipw/n.
Notes:
Adler cites Epitome Onomatologi Hesychii Milesii for the entry.
See RE 1.19, Abas(11). Jacoby's Abas, FGrH 46, is a homonym, author of a Troika.
Reference:
Epitome Onomatologi Hesychii Milesii (ed. Wentzel, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Litteratur XIII.3)
Keywords: biography; historiography; philosophy; rhetoric
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 22 August 1998@12:57:09.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)aba/skanos
Adler number: alpha,22
Translated headword: unprejudiced
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning someone/something] deceit-free, envy-free.
"He [
Mithradates] became an unprejudiced witness to Caesar of the achievements of Antipater."[1]
*)aba/skanos: a)yeudh\s, a)nepi/fqonos. o( de\ ma/rtus a)ba/skanos gi/netai pro\s *kai/sara tw=n *)antipa/trou katorqwma/twn.
Notes:
For the etymology of the (rare) headword adjective cf.
beta 167,
beta 168,
beta 169.
[1]
Josephus,
Jewish War 1.192 (see web address 1 below). For Antipater, father of Herod the Great, see OCD(4) s.v. Antipater(6), pp.107-8. 'Caesar' is Julius Caesar.
Mithradates is not one of the six kings of Pontus who bore that name (cf.
mu 1044) but the half-caste son of the last of them: a.k.a. M. of Pergamum.
Web address 1
Keywords: biography; definition; ethics; geography; historiography; history
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 22 August 1998@12:59:41.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)/abel
Adler number: alpha,30
Translated headword: Abel
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Son of Adam.[1] This man was chaste and just from the beginning and a shepherd of flocks; out of these he offered a sacrifice to God and was accepted, but was then killed because he was envied by his brother Cain.[2] Cain happened to be a farmer and after the judgement he lived worse, with groaning and trembling. For Abel, by dedicating the firstborn [of the flock] to God, recommended himself as more God-loving than self-loving,[3] and because this was a good choice, he was accepted. But Cain impiously kept his first-fruits for himself and gave the seconds to God, and for this reason was rightly rejected. For it says: "and after some days it happened that Cain offered from the fruits of the earth."[4] Cain was disgraced by the fact that the produce he offered was not the first-fruits but that which was some days old and second-best.
Greek Original:*)/abel: ui(o\s *)ada/m. ou(=tos parqe/nos kai\ di/kaios u(ph=rxe kai\ poimh\n proba/twn: e)c w(=n kai\ qusi/an tw=| qew=| prosagagw\n kai\ dexqei\s a)nairei=tai, fqonhqei\s u(po\ tou= a)delfou= au)tou= *ka/i+n. o( *ka/i+n de\ gewrgo\s tugxa/nwn kai\ meta\ th\n di/khn xeiro/nws biw/sas ste/nwn kai\ tre/mwn h)=n. o( ga\r *)/abel ta\ prwto/toka tw=| qew=| kaqierw=n filo/qeon ma=llon h)\ fi/lauton e(auto\n suni/sth, o(/qen kai\ dia\ th=s a)gaqh=s au)tou= proaire/sews a)pede/xqh. o( de\ *ka/i+n dussebw=s e(autw=| a)pone/mwn ta\ prwtogennh/mata, qew=| de\ ta\ deu/tera, ei)ko/tws kai\ a)peblh/qh. fhsi\ ga/r: kai\ e)ge/neto meq' h(me/ras, prosh/negke *ka/i+n a)po\ tw=n karpw=n th=s gh=s. w(/ste dia\ tou=to *ka/i+n e)le/gxetai, o(/ti mh\ ta\ a)kroqi/nia gennh/mata prosh/negke tw=| qew=|, a)lla\ ta\ meq' h(me/ras kai\ deu/tera.
Notes:
Keywords: agriculture; biography; botany; Christianity; daily life; ethics; food; historiography; religion; zoology
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 20 August 1998@17:57:27.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abe/lteros
Adler number: alpha,32
Translated headword: thoughtless
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning] mindless, stupid. For the intelligent man [is]
be/lteros ["thoughtful, superior"].[1]
"No, by Zeus, not the greedy and thoughtless fellow, but the mindless and conceitedly slow-witted."[2]
Menander in
Perinthia [writes]: "any servant who takes an idle and easy master and deceives him does not know what a great accomplishment it is to make a greater fool of one who is already thoughtless".[3] They also call
a)belthri/a ["thoughtlessness"] an
a)belth/rion ["thoughtless thing"].
Anaxandrides in
Helen[4] [writes]: "[A:] an anchor, a little boat, - call it what vessel you want. [B:] O Heracles of the sacred precinct of thoughtlessness. [A:] But one could not estimate its size."
Also [sc. attested is]
a)belthri/a, [meaning] stupidity.
Or mindlessness.
Menander [writes]: "their mind drove them to such thoughtlessness that they prayed for victory over each other rather than over the enemy."[5]
*)abe/lteros: a)no/htos, a)su/netos. be/lteros ga\r o( fro/nimos. ou) ma\ *di/' ou)x o( pleone/kths kai\ a)gnw/mwn, a)ll' o( a)no/htos kai\ eu)h/qhs meta\ xauno/thtos. *me/nandros *perinqi/a|: o(/stis paralabw\n despo/thn a)pra/gmona kai\ kou=fon e)capata=| qera/pwn, ou)k oi)=d' o(/ ti ou(=tos megalei=o/n e)sti diapepragme/nos, e)pabelterw/sas to/n pote a)be/lteron. le/gousi de\ kai\ a)belth/rion th\n a)belthri/an. *)alecandri/dhs *(ele/nh|: a)/gkura, le/mbos, skeu=os o(/ ti bou/lei le/ge. w)= *(hra/kleis a)belthri/ou temenikou=. a)ll' ou)d' a)\n ei)pei=n to\ me/geqos du/naito/ tis. kai\ *)abelthri/a, h( a)frosu/nh. h)\ a)nohsi/a. *me/nandros: ei)s tou=to de\ a)belthri/as h)/lasen au)toi=s o( nou=s, w(/ste qa/teron me/ros th\n kata\ qate/rou ma=llon h)\ th\n kata\ tw=n polemi/wn eu)/xesqai ni/khn.
Notes:
On this headword, a comic formation literally meaning non-superior, see generally LSJ s.v. (web address 1 below); and cf.
alpha 31,
alpha 33.
[1] These glosses are paralleled in a variety of other lexica (and in the
scholia to
Aristophanes,
Clouds 1201 and
Ecclesiazusae 768).
[2] Quotation (an illustration of the first of the glossing words, not the headword) unidentifiable; also in
Photius and Aelius
Dionysius.
[3]
Menander fr. 393 Kock.
[4]
Anaxandrides [see generally
alpha 1982] fr. 12 Kock (and K.-A.). But note that Adler prints the manuscript reading "Alexandrides", on the strength of the (apparent) mention of such a playwright in
alpha 3824. On the emendation to
Anaxandrides, see Toup vol. 1 p. 9; Adler attributes the emendation to 'Iunius' (probably Adriaan de Jonghe, 1511-1575, author of a Greek/Latin
Lexicon).
[5] Not M. the comic poet, quoted above, but the C6 CE historian
Menander Protector [
mu 591]: his fr. 28 Blockley.
Toup, Jonathan, and Richard Porson. Emendationes in Suidam Et Hesychium, Et Alios Lexicographos Graecos. Oxford 1790
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: comedy; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; ethics; historiography; history; military affairs; religion
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 25 August 1998@19:02:21.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abi/gas
Adler number: alpha,43
Translated headword: Abigas
Vetting Status: high
Translation: A river.
Greek Original:*)abi/gas: potamo/s.
Notes:
In Numidia; the present-day Oued bou Roughal, in (present-day)
Algeria. Barrington Atlas Map 34 grid F2. Mentioned in (e.g.)
Procopius,
History of the Wars of Justinian 4.19.7.
See again under
rho 270.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@18:57:23.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abi/saros
Adler number: alpha,52
Translated headword: Abisaros, Abisareis
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Name of a place.
Greek Original:*)abi/saros: o)/noma to/pou.
Note:
In the mountains of NE India, present-day Hazara: Sanskrit Abhisara; Barrington Atlas map 6 grid C3. The Atlas uses the nominative plural Abisareis, which is found in e.g. Arrian, Indica 4.12, and represents a pluralisation of the (Greek version of the) ruler's name, Abisares; and the Suda's Abisaros is presumably a non-existent nominative derived from the genitive of this name, Abisarou.
Reference:
A.B.Bosworth, Commentary on Arrian's History of Alexander, ii (1995) 177-8.
Keywords: definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; geography; historiography
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@19:04:58.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)aboulei/
Adler number: alpha,60
Translated headword: inconsiderately, unintentionally
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning] without consideration, mindlessly, ignorantly.[1]
"Though he certainly had not guessed the king's opinion, he accomplished it quite unintentionally."[2]
Greek Original:*)aboulei/: a)bou/lws, a)fro/nws, a)maqw=s. o( de\ ou) sfo/dra stoxazo/menos th=s tou= basile/ws gnw/mhs a)boulo/tata diepra/cato.
Notes:
The headword adverb, noted for its form by grammarians, is presumably extracted from somewhere (other than the quotation given).
[1] cf. generally
alpha 64.
[2]
Polybius fr. 92 Büttner-Wobst. The quotation employs the superlative form of the adverb (
a)boulo/tata) rendered here by 'quite unintentionally'. Although accepting the fragment himself, Büttner-Wobst notes that Dindorf maintained that this fragment cannot be genuinely Polybian, because
Polybius does not use the verb
diapra/casqai, except in a positive context (p. 527).
T. Büttner-Wobst, ed., Polybii Historiae, vol. IV, (Leipzig 1904)
Keywords: biography; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; ethics; historiography; history
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@19:11:52.
Vetted by:William Hutton (Modified headword, translation and note, added keywords, set status) on 30 January 2001@22:33:11.
David Whitehead (added note; cosmetics) on 23 April 2002@09:17:38.
Catharine Roth (cosmetic) on 23 April 2002@11:16:43.
David Whitehead (added primary note and another hw option; more keywords; cosmetics) on 19 December 2011@08:33:31.
David Whitehead (expanded primary note; cosmetics) on 2 April 2015@10:32:52.
Ronald Allen (added bibliography, supplemented n.2) on 25 April 2018@22:49:34.
Ronald Allen (cosmeticule (bibliography)) on 4 June 2018@23:45:53.
Headword:
*)abou/lhton
kako/n
Adler number: alpha,62
Translated headword: involuntary evil, undesired evil
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning something] unwanted, what one does not want.[1]
Also [sc. attested is] abouletos, he who does not wish; but Aboulitos [is] a proper name, with the 'i'.[2]
Greek Original:*)abou/lhton kako/n: a)qe/lhton, o(\ ou) qe/lei tis. kai\ *)abou/lhtos, o( mh\ boulo/menos, *)abou/litos de\ o)/noma ku/rion, dia\ tou= i.
Notes:
[1] The headword phrase has the same or similar glossing in other lexica (references at
Photius alpha46 Theodoridis), and is presumably quoted from somewhere.
[2] For Aboulitos (or -tes), satrap of Susiana under Alexander the Great, see
Plutarch,
Alexander 68; Arrian,
Anabasis 3.8.5, etc.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@19:22:25.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abraa/m
Adler number: alpha,69
Translated headword: Abraham
Vetting Status: high
Translation: The first among patriarchs; [it was he] in whom the Hebrew people took pride at first, before they rebelled against God, became estranged from Him, and shed upon themselves the blood of His Only-Begotten Son.[1] This man came out of the land of the Chaldeans, who devoted their entire lives to the stars and heavenly bodies. Trained, therefore, as was their ancestral custom, to observe the motions of the heavenly bodies[2] he surmised that the masterwork underlying this visible creation was not to be found in such objects, but had a Creator who set them in motion, gave harmony to their paths, and ordered the entire universe. Because of the greatness and beauty of the things He had made, Abraham, as it was likely, ceased devoting himself to gazing out into the heavens nor did he squander his passion in their pursuit. Instead, by surmounting the celestial vaults and transcending all the intelligible realm beyond the cosmos, Abraham no longer stood apart from the One sought, until finally the Creator for whom he yearned manifested Himself to Abraham in likenesses[3] and forms. And in this way the Unseen and Invisible revealed Himself. And [God] sent him forth from his own land as a wanderer and settled him in the land of the Canaanites. There he dwelled, now being in about his ninety-ninth year.[4] Until this time, he was childless; then [God] made him the father of the miraculous and blessed Isaac that he might have a first-born, only-begotten son[5] -- prefiguring the mystical image of the First-Born, Only-Begotten Son.[6] This was an exceedingly singular[7] honor bestowed upon Abraham, for the Creator favored him with the titles Servant, Beloved, and Father by flesh of the Only Begotten Son of Him who fashioned the entire universe.[8] Abraham invented sacred writing and devised the language of which Hebrew children used to have a command, as they were this man's disciples and descendants. Moreover, the Greek alphabet received its impetus from this script,[9] even if Greeks amused themselves by forming the letters differently. Proof of this is in the pronunciation of the first and preeminent letter "alpha" because it derives its name from the Hebrew "aleph" by way of the Blessed, First, and Eternal Name.[10] So too, the Greeks through Abraham came to possess books on dream interpretation. Witness to this is Joseph, the truly wondrous descendant of Abraham, who interpreted Pharoah's dreams as they were going to turn out in fact. In this,
Philo, the Jewish philosopher, will be my confirmation via his work
Life of the Statesman.[11] About
Philo it is said "
Philo platonizes and
Plato philonizes."[12]
The practice of idolatry extended from Serug[13] to the time of Abraham's father Tharron.[14] Thus, when Abraham was 14 years old[15] and deemed worthy of divine knowledge, he upbraided his father, "Why do you lead the people astray for harmful gain (that is, with idols)? There is no other God but the One in heaven, the Creator of the entire universe." Yet seeing the people serving earthly things, he embarked on a tireless quest, seeking out with his pious heart the Truly Existing God.[16] But seeing that the sky is sometimes light and sometimes dark, he said to himself, "That is not God." Observing similarly the sun and the moon, the one obscured and eclipsed and the other waning and occluded, he said, "Those are not gods either." True, he was trained in astronomy by his father, but Abraham all the same was puzzled by the motions of the stars and scornful of them. But God appeared to him and said, "Go out of your land and leave your kinsmen."[17] Abraham took his father's idols, smashing some and incinerating others. Then he went away with his father out of the land of the Chaldeans. And they came to Haran,[18] where his father died. He left there, obeying the Lord's word, with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot[19] and all their possessions, and came to the promised land Canaan, which the Canaanites had seized and settled in. When a famine arose, Abraham left the land of the Canaanites and went into Egypt, where Abimelech[20] the king took his wife Sarah. God struck terror into Abimelech and paralysed his limbs, saying "Give this man back his wife, because he is a prophet and will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, know that you and your entire household will die." When Abraham got his wife back, undefiled, he prayed, and Abimelech and his household were cured of the paralysis.[21] After this the king, honoring Abraham and devoting himself to his sayings, became a pious and expert teacher to the Egyptians. The same Abraham, upon returning from war,[22] was considered worthy of blessing by Melchisedek, king of Salem, who brought bread and wine out to him. Melchisedek was a priest of the Most High, and Abraham gave to Him a tenth of all he had. Melchisedek was without father, mother, or lineage, like the Son of God.[23]
When Abram[24] lamented to God about his childlessness, God revealed to him through a dream that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. And he believed God, and God reckoned it to him as righteousness.[25] Now Sarah, who was barren, gave Abraham permission to father a child with her maidservant, and she bore Ismael.[26] And when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to him and altered his name to Abraham, for until then he had been called Abram. Similarly, Sarah became Sarrah with another "r".[27] And Abraham circumcised Ismael and all his descendants. Moreover, when the Lord was being shown the hospitality of Abraham's house, He promised Abraham that Sarrah would bear him a son. But Sarrah smiled; and the one who was begotten was called Isaac, by the Hebrew name that means "laughter with delight."[28]
Also [sc. attested is the adjective]
*abramiai=os: [meaning] descendant of Abraham, or towering, revered.[29]
*)abraa/m: o( prw=tos e)n patria/rxais: ei)s o(\n a)pesemnu/neto dh=mos o( tw=n *(ebrai/wn to\ pro/teron, pri\n h)\ qeou= a)poskirth=sai kai\ gene/sqai tou/tou a)llo/trioi kai\ to\ tou= monogenou=s ui(ou= au)tou= ai(=ma e)f' e(autou\s e)pispa/sasqai. ou(=tos e)k me\n th=s *xaldai/wn gh=s u(ph=rxen o(rmw/menos, tw=n peri\ ta\ mete/wra kai\ tou\s a)ste/ras to\n bi/on o(/lon katanalisko/ntwn. a)skhqei\s ou)=n kata\ to\n pa/trion no/mon ta\s tw=n e)pourani/wn a)ste/rwn kinh/seis kai\ stoxasa/menos w(s ou)k e)n tou/tois i(/statai to\ megalourgo\n th=s fainome/nhs tauthsi\ kti/sews, a)ll' e)/xei tina\ to\n dhmiourgo\n to\n kai\ kinou=nta kai\ dieuqu/nonta th\n e)narmo/nion tw=n a)ste/rwn porei/an kai\ tou= ko/smou panto\s th\n kata/stasin, kai\ dia\ tou= mege/qous kai\ th=s kallonh=s tw=n ktisma/twn to\n genesiourgo\n au)tw=n, w(s e)nh=n, qewrh/sas ou)k e)/sth me/xri tou/twn, ou)de\ th\n e)/fesin ei)s tau=ta katedapa/nhsen, a)lla\ tw=n ou)rani/wn a(yi/dwn u(perarqei\s kai\ pa=san diaba\s th\n nohth/n te kai\ u(perko/smion su/mphcin ou)k a)pe/sth tou= zhtoume/nou, e(/ws ou(= o( poqou/menos e(auto\n au)tw=| e)fane/rwse tu/pois te kai\ morfw/masin, oi(=s e(auto\n e)mfani/zei o( a)fanh\s kai\ a)o/ratos. kai\ metana/sthn au)to\n e)k th=s patri/dos labw\n e)pi\ th\n *xanani=tin kate/sthse, to\n e)nenhkosto/n pou kai\ e)/naton h)/dh xro/non pare/lkonta: kai\ a)/paida me/xri to/te tugxa/nonta gennh/tora tou= qaumasi/ou kai\ ma/karos kate/- sthsen *)isaa\k, i(/n' e)/xoi monogenh= ui(o\n kai\ prwto/tokon, tou= monogenou=s kai\ prwtoto/kou mustikh\n ei)ko/na prodiagra/fonta: tou=to ge/ras au)tw=| kat' e)cai/reton xarisa/menos, to\ dou=lon kai\ fi/lon kai\ pate/ra xrhmati/sai tou= monogenou=s ui(ou= kata\ sa/rka, tou= to\n ko/smon o(/lon dhmiourgh/santos. ou(=tos eu(=re me\n i(era\ gra/mmata kai\ glw=ssan e)mhxanh/sato, h(=s *(ebrai/wn pai=des e)n e)pisth/mh| e)tu/gxanon, w(s o)/ntes tou/tou maqhtai\ kai\ a)po/gonoi. e)k tou/tou kai\ ta\ *(ellh/nwn gra/mmata ta\s a)forma\s e)/labon, ka)\n a)/llws kai\ a)/llws e(autou\s diapai/zontes a)nagra/fwsin *(/ellhnes. kai\ tou/tou martu/rion h( tou= *)/alfa fwnh\ tou= prw/tou stoixei/ou kai\ a)/rxontos, a)po\ tou= *)/alef *(ebrai/ou labo/ntos th\n e)pi/klhsin tou= makari/ou kai\ prw/tou kai\ a)qana/tou o)no/matos. e)k tou/tou kai\ ta\ o)nei/rwn bibli/a e)sfeteri/santo *(/ellhnes. kai\ ma/rtus *)iwsh\f o( panqau/mastos o( tou/tou a)po/gonos, o( tou= *faraw\ ta\ e)nu/pnia w(s e)/mellon a)pobh/sesqai dihgou/menos. tou=to/ moi kai\ *fi/lwn, e)c *(ebrai/wn filo/sofos, e)n tw=| tou= *politikou= bi/w| sunepimarturh/setai, *fi/lwn, peri\ ou(= e)rrh/qh, *fi/lwn platwni/zei, kai\ *pla/twn filwni/zei. o(/ti h)/rcato h( ei)dwlolatrei/a a)po\ *serou\x e(/ws tw=n xro/nwn *qa/rra tou= patro\s *)abraa/m. o(\s *)abraa\m u(pa/rxwn e)tw=n id# kai\ qeognwsi/as a)ciwqei\s e)nouqe/tei to\n pate/ra au)tou=, le/gwn: ti/ plana=|s tou\s a)nqrw/pous dia\ ke/rdos e)pizh/mion [toute/sti ta\ ei)/dwla]; ou)k e)/stin a)/llos qeo\s ei) mh\ o( e)n toi=s ou)ranoi=s, o( kai\ pa/nta to\n ko/smon dhmiourgh/sas. o(rw=n ga\r tou\s a)nqrw/pous ktismatolatrou=ntas dih/rxeto diaponou/menos kai\ to\n o)/ntws o)/nta qeo\n e)kzhtw=n e)k filoqe/ou kardi/as. o(rw=n de\ to\n ou)rano\n pote\ me\n lampro\n, pote\ de\ skoteino\n, e)/legen e)n e(autw=|: ou)k e)/stin ou(=tos qeo/s. o(moi/ws kai\ to\n h(/lion kai\ th\n selh/nhn, to\n me\n a)pokrupto/menon kai\ a)maurou/menon, th\n de\ fqi/nousan kai\ a)polh/gousan, e)/fhsen: ou)d' ou(=toi/ ei)si qeoi/. kai\ me/ntoi kai\ th\n tw=n a)ste/rwn ki/nhsin, e)k tou= patro\s ga\r e)paideu/eto th\n a)stronomi/an, kai\ a)porw=n e)dusxe/rainen. w)/fqh de\ au)tw=| o( qeo\s kai\ le/gei au)tw=|: e)/celqe e)k th=s gh=s sou kai\ e)k th=s suggenei/as sou. kai\ labw\n ta\ ei)/dwla tou= patro\s kai\ ta\ me\n kla/sas ta\ de\ e)mpuri/sas a)nexw/rhse meta\ tou= patro\s e)k gh=s *xaldai/wn: kai\ e)lqo/ntos ei)s *xarra\n, e)teleu/thsen o( path\r au)tou=. kai\ e)celqw\n e)kei=qen e)n lo/gw| *kuri/ou h)=lqe su\n th=| gunaiki\ *sa/rra| kai\ tw=| a)neyiw=| *lw\t meta\ pa/shs au)tw=n th=s a)poskeuh=s ei)s th\n o)feilome/nhn gh=n *xanaa\n, h(\n oi( *xananai=oi turannikw=s a)felo/menoi w)/|khsan. limou= de\ genome/nou katalipw\n th\n *xananai/wn gh=n ei)s *ai)/gupton a)ph/|ei, ou(= th\n gunai=ka *sa/rran *)abime/lex h(/rpasen o( basileu/s. tou=ton o( qeo\s e)kdeimatw/sas kai\ pa/resin tw=n melw=n e)pa/cas, a)po/dos, e)/fh, th\n gunai=ka tw=| a)nqrw/pw|, o(/ti profh/ths e)sti\ kai\ proseu/cetai peri\ sou= kai\ zh/seis. ei) de\ mh\ a)podw=|s, gnw=qi o(/ti a)poqanh=| su\ kai\ ta\ sa\ pa/nta. kai\ ou(/tws a)polabw\n th\n gunai=ka a)mi/anton kai\ proseuca/menos i)aqh=nai e)poi/hse th=s pare/sews *)abime/lex kai\ to\n oi)=kon au)tou=. e)/ktote timw=n au)to\n o( basileu\s kai\ prose/xwn toi=s u(p' au)tou= legome/nois, dida/skalos eu)sebei/as kai\ polupeiri/as *ai)gupti/ois e)ge/neto. o( au)to\s *)/abram u(postre/fwn e)k tou= pole/mou th=s eu)logi/as tou= *melxisede\k kathci/wtai, tou= basile/ws *salh\m, o(\s e)ch/negken au)tw=| a)/rtous kai\ oi)=non. h)=n de\ kai\ i(ereu\s tou= *(uyi/stou. kai\ e)/dwken au)tw=| *)/abram deka/thn a)po\ pa/ntwn. h)=n de\ o( *melxisede\k a)pa/twr, a)mh/twr, a)genealo/ghtos, a)fwmoiwme/nos tw=| ui(w=| tou= qeou=. tw=| de\ *)/abram a)tekni/an o)lofurome/nw| kaq' u(/pnous e)pidei/cas o( qeo\s tou\s a)ste/ras kata\ to\ plh=qos au)tw=n e)/sesqai/ oi( to\ spe/rma proedh/lou. o( de\ e)pi/steuse tw=| qew=|, kai\ e)logi/sqh au)tw=| ei)s dikaiosu/nhn. h( de\ *sa/rra stei=ra ou)=sa sunexw/rhsen *)/abram a)po\ th=s paidi/skhs paidopoih/sasqai: kai\ i)/sxei to\n *)ismah/l. e)nenh/konta de\ kai\ e)nne/a e)tw=n o)/nti tw=| *)/abram e)pifanei\s o( qeo\s *)abraa\m metwno/masen: *)/abram ga\r prw/hn w)noma/zeto: o(moi/ws kai\ th\n *sa/ran *sa/rran, prosqei\s kai\ e(/teron r. kai\ perie/teme to\n *)ismah\l kai\ pa/ntas tou\s e)c au)tou=. *ku/rios de\ tw=| *)abraa\m e)picenwqei\s e)phggei/lato te/cesqai *sa/rran au)tw=| pai=da. h( de\ e)meidi/ase, kai\ *)isaa\k to\ gennhqe\n proshgoreu/qh, ferwnu/mws tw=| meq' h(donh=s ge/lwti kata\ th\n *(ebrai/+da dia/lekton. kai\ *)abramiai=os: o( a)po/gonos *)abraa\m, h)\ gigantiai=os, i(eropreph/s.
Notes:
This long entry is derived in part directly from George the Monk, in part indirectly from
Philo of Alexandria; see further in the notes below.
[1] cf.
Matthew 27:25 (web address 1).
[2] The Suda's attention to Chaldean astrology derives from
Philo,
On Abraham, (Colson,
Philo Vol VI: XV.69-70).
[3] Use of
tu/pos here is twofold: 1) To assert that God's appearance to Abraham was indirect (echoing
Philo,
On Abraham, XVII.79-80); 2) To impart, as if a corollary of
tu/pos in Romans 5:14, that God's manifestation to Abraham was a type or prefiguration of Christ.
[4] Abraham is 100 years old at Isaac's birth (
Genesis 21:5); however, the Suda follows
Josephus,
Antiquities of the Jews 1.191-93 (web address 2 below) in assuming Abraham's age as 99 at the time of God's promise.
[5] The Suda here omits Ishmael, born to Abraham by the Egyptian slave Hagar when he was 86 years old (
Genesis 16:1-16). The Suda's omission tacitly acknowledges a covenantal and legal distinction clearly drawn in Genesis. In Isaac, God establishes an "everlasting covenant" for his progeny, whereas God blesses Ishmael and makes him "fruitful and exceedingly numerous" (
Genesis 17:19-20). Isaac's filial status is made explicit by God in identifying him as Abraham's "only son" (
Genesis 22:12) through whom "offspring shall be named" for Abraham, whereas Ishmael, although destined to father a nation, is identified by God as "the son of the slave woman" (
Genesis 21:12-13). Ishmael is, however, mentioned later in the entry.
[6] Christological imagery links Isaac to the personage of Jesus (
Matthew 1:1-2 at web address 3 below). See also
delta 94, notes 1 and 14.
[7] The Suda underscores the magnitude of the honor with a hyperbolic
kat' before
e)cai/reton.
[8] The statement, rooted in a paternalistic-filial model that originates in Abraham and culminates in the figure of Christ, approximates the transcendental premise: Abraham is to Joseph as Isaac is to Christ.
[9] The Suda confuses Mosaic and Abrahamic lore. The 2nd century BCE Jewish writer Eupolemus claimed for
Moses the invention and propagation of writing: "
Moses was the first wise man, the first who imparted the alphabet to the Jews; the Phoenicians received it from the Jews, and the Greeks from the Phoenicians." The 2nd century BCE Egyptian Jewish writer Artapanus attributed hieroglyphics to
Moses. According to the 2nd century BCE Samaritan writer Ps.-Eupolemus and Artapanus, astrology and astronomy originated with Abraham, who taught these disciplines and other tools of culture to the Jews, Phoenicians, and Egyptians. They, in turn, transmitted these arts to the Greeks.
Philo in
On Abraham stresses Abraham's expertise as a teacher. (Encyc. Judaica, Vol 6.964-65; Gruen, 146-51, 157, 294; Grant, 77;
Philo, XI.52) At
sigma 295, Seth is credited with the invention of the alphabet; Greek legend named Cadmus or
Linus as the one who introduced the alphabet to Greece (
gamma 416,
kappa 21,
kappa 22,
lambda 568). See also
phi 787.
[10] The reference recalls א aleph as the initial letter of
ʾelohīm, the most frequent generic name for God in the OT, used about 2,500 times--but a distant second to the unspoken covenant name YHWH (Yahweh), which occurs some 6,800 times (Perdue, 685-86). Cf.
alpha 1445.
[11] A reference to
Philo's
*bi/os politikou= o(/per e)sti peri\ *)iwsh/f (Colson,
Philo Vol VI, 140ff.)
[12] Adapted from Jerome's
On Illustrious Men (11):
h)\ *pla/twn filwni/zei h)\ *fi/lwn platwni/zei ("Either
Plato philonizes or
Philo platonizes.") Cf.
phi 448 and
Photius,
Bibliotheca 86b 25.
[13] Abraham's grandfather (
Genesis 11:22). Seruch in the
LXX, שרוג
śerūḡ in Hebrew. See also
sigma 253.
[14] Abraham's father (
Genesis 11:24). Tharra (
*qa/rra,
*qarra/) or Tharrha (
*qa/r)r(a) (Hatch, Concordance, Appendix 1, 71; Brenton, 13); in Hebrew תרח
Teraḥ. From the
Chronicon of George the Monk, 92.11-12; cf. Malalas 55.5-6.
[15] The Midrash sets Abraham's rejection of idolatry at age 13 (Encyc. Judaica, 4.244). From here to "teacher to the Egyptians," the Suda's source is the
Chronicon of George the Monk, 93.16 - 95.17.
[16] On God as "He who is," see
omicron 438,
omega 105.
[17] cf.
Philo,
On Abraham XIV.62.
[18] The call in
Genesis 12:1-5 brings Abraham from Haran (חרן) to Canaan (כנען). The Suda adheres to
Philo,
On Abraham, XIV. 67:
metani/statai...a)po\ th=s *xaldai/wn gh=s...e)is th\n *xarrai/wn gh=n.
[19]
Philo shows
a)delfidou=s, as at
On Abraham, XXXVII.212, rather than the Suda's potentially ambiguous
a)neyio/s for nephew (see LSJ s.v. at web address 4).
[20] On Abimelech, see
alpha 45.
[21] The affliction cured in
Genesis 20:17-18 is unspecified for Abimelech, but clearly is sterility for the female members of his house.
Josephus,
Antiquities of the Jews 1.208 (web address 5) relates that a "dangerous distemper" (Whiston trans.) afflicted Abimelech. For other traditions, see EncycJudaica, 2.76.
[22]
Genesis 14:14-18; the Suda's source is the
Chronicon of George the Monk, 100.17-26; 101.5-7.
[23] See
Hebrews 7:3 (web address 6). In the Suda, see
mu 544,
mu 545,
mu 546.
[24] The Greek mainly uses Abraam (אברהם
ʾAḇraham) to this point, but here Abram (אברם), his pre-covenant name (
Genesis 17:5).
[25]
Genesis 15:5-6. The statement "and he believed God and God reckoned it to him as righteousness" appears also in
Romans 4:3 (web address 7),
Galatians 3:6 (web address 8), and
James 2:23 (web address 9). A more idiomatic and semantically precise translation of the Hebrew (והאמין בה' ויחשבה לו צדקה
weheʾemīn bah' wayyaḥšeḇeha lō ṣedaqah) reads: "And because he put his trust in the Lord, He reckoned it to his merit" (Plaut, 146). This version takes into interpretive account the imperfective waw consecutive (consequential) (Kautzsch, 111.l).
[26] Ismael (Ishmael) appears in the Suda at
iota 644, but with a gloss that belongs to Isaak.
[27]
Genesis 17:15. Also as
*sa/r)r(a or Sarrha (Brenton, 18). The Hebrew covenant name change is Sarai to Sarah (both meaning Princess).
[28] Isaac (יצחק
yiṣḥaq) from the Hebrew meaning "he (Abraham) laughed" in
Genesis 17:17, and puns Sarah's תצחק
tiṣḥaq ("she laughed") in
Genesis 18:12. (Kohlenberger, Vol 1, 37, 39; Anderson, 182) In the Suda, see
iota 606 (mostly taken from this entry).
[29] This adjectival derivative of Abraham's name appears in
4 Maccabees 9:21
LXX. The gloss replicates, apart from word order, one in
Photius; cf.
Synagoge alpha17,
Hesychius alpha181.
Anderson, A.W. Understanding the Old Testament. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966
Attridge, H.W. "The Letter to the Hebrews" in The HarperCollins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: HarperCollins, 1993
Brenton, L.C.L. The Septuagint with Apocrypha. Peabody: Henrickson, 1999 (reprint of 1851 edn.)
Colson F.H., Philo (Vol VI), Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1994
Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1973
Grant, M. From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Hellenistic World. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1982
Gruen, E.S. Heritage and Hellenism: The Reinvention of Jewish Tradition. Berkeley: University of California, 1998
Hatch, E., Redpath, H.A., and Muraoka, T. A Concordance to the Septuagint. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998
Kautzsch, E. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910
Keck, L.E. "The Letter of Paul to the Romans" in The HarperCollins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: HarperCollins, 1993
Kohlenberger, J.R. The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987
Perdue, L.G. "Names of God in the Old Testament" in Harper's Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985
Plaut, W.G. The Torah: Genesis, A Modern Commentary. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1972
Smyth, H.W. Greek Grammar. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1984
Whiston, W. The Works of Josephus. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987 (reprint of 1736 edn.)
Associated internet addresses:
Web address 1,
Web address 2,
Web address 3,
Web address 4,
Web address 5,
Web address 6,
Web address 7,
Web address 8,
Web address 9
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Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 20 August 1998@17:54:17.
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Headword:
*)abre/as
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