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Headword:
*)abba=
Adler number: alpha,10
Translated headword: Abba, Father
Vetting Status: high
Translation: The ancients called God "Father" from a feeling of relationship.
Moses said, "You have forsaken God who begot you."[1] And Malachi: "One God begot us and is our father."[2] They were in a state of grace, moved by the force of the Spirit. Just as there is the Spirit of wisdom by which fools have become wise (for this is clear from the teachings), and the Spirit of power by which they raised both the weak and the dead, and the Spirit of prophecy, and the Spirit of tongues, so also there is the Spirit of adoption.[3] And just as we know the Spirit of prophecy, through which one who has it is moved by grace to tell the future, so also the Spirit of adoption, through which one moved by the Spirit calls God "Father." One who wishes to show that this is most legitimate even used a Hebrew word. For he did not say "Father" but "Abba the Father." This is the word used especially by legitimate children for their father.[4]
*)abba=: o( path/r. oi( me\n palaioi\ e)ka/loun pate/ra to\n qeo\n e)c oi)kei/as dianoi/as, w(s *mwu+sh=s: qeo\n to\n gennh/santa/ se e)gkate/lipes: kai\ *malaxi/as: o( qeo\s ei(=s e)ge/nnhsen h(ma=s kai\ path/r: oi( de\ e)n xa/riti, a)po\ pneumatikh=s e)nergei/as kinou/menoi. w(/sper pneu=ma sofi/as ei)=nai, kaq' o(\ sofoi\ oi( a)/sofoi e)ge/nonto [kai\ dhlou=tai tou=to a)po\ th=s didaskali/as] kai\ pneu=ma duna/mews ei)=nai, kaq' o(\ kai\ a)sqenei=s kai\ nekrou\s h)/geiron, kai\ pneu=ma profhtei/as, kai\ pneu=ma glwssw=n, ou(/tw kai\ pneu=ma ui(oqesi/as. kai\ w(/sper i)/smen to\ pneu=ma th=s profhtei/as, a)f' w(=n o( e)/xwn au)to\ le/gei ta\ me/llonta u(po\ th=s xa/ritos kinou/menos, ou(/tw dh\ kai\ pneu=ma ui(oqesi/as, a)f' ou(= o( labw\n pate/ra kalei= to\n qeo\n, u(po\ pneu/matos kinou/menos. o( dh\ boulo/menos dei=cai gnhsiw/taton o)\n kai\ th=| tw=n *(ebrai/wn e)xrh/sato glw/tth|. ou) ga\r ei)=pen o( path\r, a)ll' a)bba= o( path/r: o(/per tw=n pai/dwn ma/lista/ e)sti tw=n gnhsi/wn pro\s pate/ra r(h=ma.
Notes:
A paraphrase of St. John Chrysostom,
Homily on the Epistle to the Romans PG 60.527.
(Entry placed after
alpha 16, Adler reports, in mss GTMB.)
[1]
Deuteronomy 32:18
LXX (web address 1).
[2]
Malachi 2:10
LXX (web address 2).
[3] cf.
Ep.Romans 8:15 (web address 3).
[4] On "Abba," see also
alpha 12.
Web address 1,
Web address 2,
Web address 3
Keywords: children; Christianity; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; medicine; religion
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 21 August 1998@16:57:30.
Vetted by:Samuel Huskey (added links to Bible, changed "sonship" to "filiation") on 15 July 2000@15:01:55.
Catharine Roth (Altered wording.) on 29 July 2000@23:15:23.
David Whitehead (added keyword; cosmetics) on 11 July 2003@08:51:36.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 6 October 2005@08:51:18.
William Hutton (tweaked translation, augmented notes, fixed broken links, added keywords, set status) on 20 August 2007@10:15:40.
Catharine Roth (upgraded links) on 5 August 2013@01:15:24.
David Whitehead (another note; cosmetics) on 28 March 2014@06:14:49.
Catharine Roth (tweaked translation, added cross-reference) on 28 March 2014@12:15:01.
David Whitehead (coding) on 15 August 2015@07:24:11.
Headword:
*)abbakou/m
Adler number: alpha,12
Translated headword: Habakkuk, Avvakoum
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [A name meaning] father of awakening. For the [word] abba means father,[1] and koum means awakening.[2] So also in the Holy Gospel: "Talitha, koum," that is, "young girl, get up."[3] From which [it is] clear that Abbakoum must be written with double b.[4]
Greek Original:*)abbakou/m: path\r e)ge/rsews. to\ me\n ga\r a)bba= shmai/nei path/r, to\ de\ kou\m e)/gersis: w(s kai\ para\ tw=| qei/w| eu)aggeli/w|: talhqa\, kou/m, h)/goun h( pai=s e)gei/rou. o(/qen dh=lon, o(/ti dia\ tw=n du/o bb grapte/on to\ *)abbakou/m.
Notes:
An etymology for the name of the prophet Habakkuk (in the
Septuagint, Ambakoum or Avvakoum), based on two Aramaic words found in the New Testament. The Suda is drawing from older onomastica; the same etymology is found in the Origenistic lexicon (see bibliography).
[1] See already
alpha 10. The Hebrew/Aramaic אבּא
abba means father.
[2] The Hebrew/Aramaic קום
kūm means arise; it can also be used to mean awake.
[3]
Mark 5:41 (web address 1); not in the other Gospels, but several times in patristic literature.
[4] The Suda is correct. The doubling of the בּ is indicated by its dot (dagesh); unlike Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic do not replicate doubled letters.
Paul de Lagarde, Onomastica Sacra, p. 200, line 14-15
Associated internet address:
Web address 1
Keywords: children; Christianity; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; gender and sexuality; imagery; religion; women
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 21 August 1998@16:59:43.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abarni/s
Adler number: alpha,19
Translated headword: Abarnis
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Name of a city.
Greek Original:*)abarni/s: o)/noma po/lews.
Notes:
Same entry, according to Adler, in the
Ambrosian Lexicon (74), and cf. more generally the
scholia to Apollonius Rhodius,
Argonautica 1.932 (where the genitive case occurs), on which see further below.
Abarnis lay on the southern shore of the Propontis (Sea of Marmara), between
Parion and
Lampsakos; Barrington Atlas map 51 grid H4. According to
Stephanus of
Byzantium s.v.
*)/abarnos (sic), Abarnos and Aparnis were also attested versions of its name.
A scholium to Apollonius Rhodius,
Argonautica 1.932 (repeated in more legible form in
Etymologicum Magnum 2.11-28) provides an etymological explanation of the origin of the name in Aphrodite's refusal (
a)parnh/sasqai) to recognize her offspring Priapos, who was born in the region.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 22 August 1998@12:55:54.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abesalw/m
Adler number: alpha,35
Translated headword: Abesalom, Absalom
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Proper name.[1]
[The man] who rose up against his own father
David and was destroyed by him in the war.[2]
*)abesalw/m: o)/noma ku/rion. o(\s tou= i)di/ou patro\s *dabi\d katecane/sth kai\ a)nh|re/qh u(p' au)tou= e)n tw=| pole/mw|.
Notes:
[1] So too, according to Adler, in the Ambrosian Lexicon.
[2] See generally 2 Samuel 15-18 LXX.
Keywords: biography; children; definition; ethics; history; military affairs; religion
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@18:50:03.
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
Keywords: aetiology; biography; children; Christianity; chronology; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; dreams; food; gender and sexuality; geography; historiography; history; law; medicine; religion; science and technology; women
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 20 August 1998@17:54:17.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)abudhno\n
e)pifo/rhma
Adler number: alpha,100
Translated headword: Abydene dessert, Abudene dessert
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Whenever something unpleasant happens as a result of someone having shown up at the wrong time, we are accustomed to call it an "Abydene dessert." This is because the people of
Abydos,[1] whenever they entertain a fellow-citizen or a foreigner, bring their children around to be admired after the ointments and the crowns. Those in attendance are disturbed by both the nurses clamoring and the children screaming. Hence it has become customary to say the foregoing.[2]
*)abudhno\n e)pifo/rhma: o(/tan a)kai/rws tino\s e)pifane/ntos a)hdi/a tis h)=|, ei)w/qamen le/gein *)abudhno\n e)pifo/rhma. dia\ to\ tou\s *)abudhnou\s, o(/tan tina\ tw=n politw=n h)\ ce/nwn e(stiw=si, meta\ to\ mu/ron kai\ tou\s stefa/nous ta\ paidi/a perife/rein filhqhso/mena. tw=n te tiqhnw=n qorubousw=n tw=n te paidi/wn kekrago/twn e)noxlei=sqai tou\s paro/ntas. a)f' ou(= ei)/qistai le/gein to\ prokei/menon.
Notes:
[1] A city on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont: see
alpha 101.
[2] See also
Zenobius 1.4 and other paroemiographers. For a different explanation (involving taxes and harbor dues) see
Athenaeus,
Deipnosophists 14.641A [14.47 Kaibel], citing Aristeides,
On Proverbs.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 25 August 1998@19:00:52.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)agaqo/n
Adler number: alpha,118
Translated headword: good
Vetting Status: high
Translation: In general [it is] something beneficial, but in particular what is either identical with or not different from benefit; hence, both virtue itself and what participates in it are called "good" in three ways: as the good (i) from which [being benefited] results, [and (ii) according to which being benefited results,] as [virtuous] action and virtue,[1] and (iii) by whom [being benefited results], as the virtuous person who participates in virtue. Or [they define it [2]] in this fashion: the good is the perfection in accordance with nature of a rational being qua rational. And virtue is a thing of this sort, so that virtuous action as well as virtuous people participate [in the good]. Joy, cheerfulness and the like are byproducts [of virtue]. Furthermore, of goods, some are in the soul, others external, and others neither in the soul nor external. The ones in the soul are virtues and actions in accordance with them. The external ones are a virtuous fatherland, a virtuous friend, and their happiness. Those which are neither external nor in the soul are someone's being for himself virtuous and happy. Furthermore, of goods, some are final, others instrumental, and others both final and instrumental. Thus a friend and the benefits added by him are instrumental goods. But confidence, prudence, freedom, enjoyment, cheerfulness, freedom from distress, and every action in accordance with virtue are final. [Virtues] are instrumental and final: they are instrumental goods insofar as they produce happiness, and final [goods] insofar as they complete it in such a way as to become parts of it; for example a friend and freedom and enjoyment.[3] Furthermore, of the goods in the soul, some are conditions, others dispositions, and others neither conditions nor dispositions. Virtues are dispositions, pursuits conditions, and activities neither conditions nor dispositions. In general good children and a good old age are minor goods,[4] but knowledge is a simple good. And virtues are always present, but joy and taking a stroll for example not always. Every good is profitable, advantageous, binding, useful, serviceable, fine, beneficial, just, and choiceworthy.
That which is aimed at by all things is good.[5]
Thus that to which all things are referred but which is referred to nothing is good.[6]
Greek Original:*)agaqo/n: koinw=s me\n to/ ti o)/felos, i)di/ws de\ h)/toi tau)to\n h)\ ou)x e(/teron w)felei/as: o(/qen au)th/n te th\n a)reth\n kai\ to\ mete/xon au)th=s a)gaqo\n trixw=s le/gesqai. oi(=on to\ a)gaqo\n, a)f' ou(= sumbai/nei, w(s th\n pra=cin kai\ th\n a)reth/n. u(f' ou(= de\, w(s to\n spoudai=on to\n mete/xonta th=s a)reth=s. h)\ ou(/tws: to\ a)gaqo\n, to\ te/leion kata\ fu/sin logikou=, h)\ w(s logikou=. toiou=to d' ei)=nai th\n a)reth\n w(s mete/xonta ta/s te pra/ceis ta\s kat' a)reth\n, kai\ to\ spoudai/ous ei)=nai. e)pigennh/mata de\ th/n te xara\n kai\ th\n eu)frosu/nhn kai\ ta\ paraplh/sia. e)/ti tw=n a)gaqw=n ta\ me\n ei)=nai peri\ yuxh/n, ta\ de\ e)kto/s, ta\ de\ ou)/te peri\ yuxh\n ou)/te e)kto/s. ta\ me\n peri\ yuxh\n a)reta\s kai\ ta\s kata\ tau/tas pra/ceis: ta\ de\ e)kto\s to/ te spoudai/an e)/xein patri/da kai\ spoudai=on fi/lon kai\ th\n tou/twn eu)daimoni/an. ta\ de\ ou)k e)kto\s ou)/te peri\ yuxh\n to\ au)to\n e(autw=| ei)=nai spoudai=on kai\ eu)dai/mona. e)/ti tw=n a)gaqw=n ta\ me\n ei)=nai telika/, ta\ de\ poihtika/, ta\ de\ telika\ kai\ poihtika/. to\n me\n ou)=n fi/lon kai\ ta\s u(p' au)tou= prosginome/nas w)felei/as poihtika\ ei)=nai a)gaqa/: qa/rsos de\ kai\ fro/nhma kai\ e)leuqeri/an kai\ te/ryin kai\ eu)frosu/nhn kai\ a)lupi/an kai\ pa=san th\n kat' a)reth\n pra=cin telika/. poihtika\ de\ kai\ telika\, kaqo\ me\n poiou=si th\n eu)daimoni/an, poihtika/ e)stin a)gaqa/: kaqo\ de\ sumplhrou=sin au)th\n, w(/ste me/rh au)th=s gene/sqai, telika/: oi(=on fi/los kai\ e)leuqeri/a kai\ te/ryis. e)/ti tw=n peri\ yuxh\n a)gaqw=n ta\ me/n ei)sin e(/ceis, ta\ de\ diaqe/seis, ta\ de\ ou)/te e(/ceis ou)/te diaqe/seis. diaqe/seis me\n ai( a)retai/, e(/ceis de\ ta\ e)pithdeu/mata, ou)/te de\ e(/ceis ou)/te diaqe/seis ai( e)ne/rgeiai. koinw=s tw=n a)gaqw=n mikra\ me/n e)stin eu)tekni/a kai\ eu)ghri/a. a(plou=n de/ e)stin a)gaqo\n e)pisth/mh. kai\ a)ei\ me\n paro/nta ai( a)retai/, ou)k a)ei\ de\ oi(=on xara\, peripa/thsis. pa=n de\ a)gaqo\n lusitele\s ei)=nai kai\ sumfe/ron kai\ de/on kai\ xrh/simon kai\ eu)/xrhston kai\ kalo\n kai\ w)fe/limon kai\ di/kaion kai\ ai(reto/n. a)gaqo\n de/ e)sti to\ pa=sin e)feto/n. a)gaqo\n ou)=n e)stin, ei)s o(\ pa/nta a)nh/rthtai, au)to\ de\ ei)s mhde/n.
Notes:
See also
alpha 119, likewise a neuter singular.
This entry mostly reproduces
Diogenes Laertius 7.94-98 (who supposedly is quoting an extract of Stoic ethics). The Suda text contains important omissions as well as different readings (the D.L. readings are, for the most part, much better).
[1] D.L. gives
th\n pra=cin th\n kat' a)reth/n, "the action according to virtue" or simply "the virtuous action", as a gloss on a second sense in which virtue and what participates in it are called "good": that according to which being benefited results.
[2] D.L. has
o(ri/zontai, "they define", which makes clear that a new definition is being given here.
[3] This puzzling list of examples does not occur in D.L.
[4] The text given by Suda is misleading; D.L. gives
a)gaqw=n mikta/, "mixed goods", instead of
a)gaqw=n mikra/, "little goods".
[5] cf.
Aristotle,
Topica 1094a2-3, with Alexander of
Aphrodisias's commentary 93.8.
[6]
Plotinus,
Enneads 1.7.1, 21-22 (identified by Henry [below] 157 n.2, as noted in Adler's addenda).
J. Annas, The Morality of Happiness (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 1993
Henry, P. "Suidas, Le Larousse et le Littré de l'antiquité grecque." Les Etudes classiques (1937): 155-62
Keywords: children; daily life; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; ethics; philosophy
Translated by: Marcelo Boeri on 26 May 2000@18:40:04.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)agaphto/n
Adler number: alpha,154
Translated headword: beloved, scarce
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning] that which is loved or unique.[1]
Also [sc. attested is the related adverb] a)gaphtw/s ["scarcely"]. "So great was the foolishness among their leaders that they scarcely saw whether they would not be fighting with all who were taking part in the campaign."[2]
Greek Original:*)agaphto/n: to\ h)gaphme/non h)\ to\ monogene/s. kai\ ou(/tw de\ a)/ra polu\ to\ a)no/hton e)n toi=s h(gemo/sin au)tw=n h)=n, w(/ste a)gaphtw=s ei)=don, ei) mh\ meta\ pa/ntwn a)gwniou=ntai tw=n sunarame/nwn th=s stratia=s.
Notes:
[1] Neuter singular of this adjective. (For the plural see
alpha 153.) Same or similar material in other lexica (references at
Photius alpha121 Theodoridos), and in the
scholia to
Homer,
Iliad 6.401. The term is applied e.g. to an only child, who is especially loved on that account: see LSJ s.v. at web address 1.
[2] Quotation unidentifiable. (It illustrates sense 2 in LSJ s.v.; sense 1 is 'gladly, contentedly.')
Web address 1
Keywords: children; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; epic; ethics; historiography; history; military affairs
Translated by: William Hutton on 2 April 2000@22:10:59.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)aga/pios
Adler number: alpha,158
Translated headword: Agapios, Agapius
Vetting Status: high
Translation: This man was an Alexandrian by birth; raised from childhood amidst cultured discourse, he became a commentator on medical teachings and went to
Byzantium where he established a very distinguished school. Relying on the magnitude of his talent and the favor of fortune, he became celebrated for his skill and amassed large amounts of money.
*)aga/pios: ou(=tos h)=n *)alecandreu\s me\n to\ ge/nos: e)k pai/dwn de\ lo/gois e)ntrafei\s e)leuqeri/ois kai\ i)atrikw=n maqhma/twn e)chghth\s gegonw\s a)nelqw\n e)s to\ *buza/ntion diatribh/n te suneph/cato ma/la diapreph=, fu/sew/s te mege/qei kai\ decio/thti tu/xhs xrhsa/menos, e)/ndoco/s te e)pi\ th=| te/xnh| ge/gone kai\ xrh/mata mega/la sunei/loxen.
Note:
Damascius,
Life of Isidore fr. 330 Zintzen (298 Asmus, 107 Athanassiadi).
Keywords: biography; children; economics; ethics; geography; medicine; philosophy
Translated by: William Hutton on 9 April 2000@23:07:39.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)agenh/s
Adler number: alpha,199
Timeout after 20 seconds; further results omitted.