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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:
*)/abaci
Adler number: alpha,16
Translated headword: planks, abacuses
Vetting Status: high
Translation: What we call a)ba/kia.[1] The Lawmaker [says] in the Martyrdom of Saint Thecla: "Tryphaina was overcome by suffering, and was seen lying like the dead on the slabs."[2] So he says.
Greek Original:*)/abaci: toi=s par' h(mi=n legome/nois a)baki/ois. o( *logoqe/ths e)n tw=| th=s a(gi/as *qe/klhs marturi/w|: *tru/faina de\ pa/qei lhfqei=sa nekroi=s o(moi/a pro\s toi=s a)/bacin w(ra=to keime/nh. ou(/tw fhsi/n.
Notes:
This entry occurs after
alpha 17 in ms A (= Parisinus 2625), after
alpha 9 in ms S (= Vaticanus 1296) and in the margin of ms D (Bodleianus Auct. V 52).
[1] The given form is a dative plural of
a)/bac, ("abacus"), and the lexicographer explains it by reference to the diminutive
a)ba/kion. The primary sense is a table topped by a slab, or the slab itself; a "calculator" is a secondary meaning.
[2] Symeon Metaphrastes (also known as the Logothete ('Lawmaker'))
Patrologia Graeca 115.837c. On Thecla, cf.
tau 1108.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 22 August 1998@12:53:59.
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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:
*)abime/lex
Adler number: alpha,45
Translated headword: Abimelech
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Proper name.[1]
The son of Gideon.[2] He smote his brothers, seventy sons of Gideon's wives,[3] upon a single stone, and none of them was left except Jotham the youngest son,[4] who ran away. As Abimelech was passing through with his people, Jotham went up to the top of the mountain and, raising his voice, told the following parable. "Listen to me, men of Shechem, and God will listen to you. The trees set out[5] to anoint a king over themselves. And they said to the olive, 'Rule over us.' And the olive said to them, 'Should I give up my rich oil, by which -- through me -- God[6] and men receive honor,[7] and go rule over trees?' Then the trees said to the fig, 'Come, rule over us.' And the fig said to them, 'Should I give up my sweetness, my excellent product, and go to rule over the trees?' And the trees said to the vine, 'Come, rule over us.' And the vine said to them, 'Should I give up my wine, merriment for men, and go to rule over the trees?' And all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come, you rule over us.' And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If you are truly anointing me to rule over you, come stand under[8] my shade. But if not, may fire come from me and consume the cedars of
Lebanon.' Now, if you have dealt with my father and his family truthfully and in an upright way, and have made his concubine's son Abimelech king over the men of Shechem, then may you rejoice in him and may he indeed rejoice in you. But if not, may fire issue from Abimelech and consume your leaders and their families. And may fire issue from the men of Shechem and consume Abimelech." And Jotham ran from the presence of Abimelech his brother. But Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. Then God sent an evil spirit between[9] Abimelech and the men of Shechem. And the men of Shechem dealt treacherously[10] with the house of Abimelech so to lay at Abimelech's feet[11] the blood of Gideon's seventy sons. And so Abimilech set out to beseige the tower.[12] As he approached the tower gate to burn it, a woman threw a piece of a millstone onto his head and crushed his skull. He at once called out to his armor bearer[13], saying, "Draw your sword and kill me, so they can never say I was killed by a woman." So the young man took up his sword and ran him through. And God recompensed the wickedness Abimelech had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. God also recompensed[14] all the wickedness of the men of Shechem, in accord with the message and parable of Jotham.
*)abime/lex: o)/noma ku/rion. ui(o\s *gedew/n. ou(=tos e)pa/tace tou\s a)delfou\s au)tou= e)k tw=n e)leuqe/rwn a)/ndras e)bdomh/konta e)pi\ li/qon e(/na, e)c w(=n ou)k a)pelei/fqh plh\n *)iwa/qam tou= newte/rou diadra/ntos. o(\s kai\ paraporeuome/nou tou= *)abime/lex meta\ tou= laou= a)nh=lqen e)pi\ th\n korufh\n tou= o)/rous, kai\ e)pa/ras th\n fwnh\n au)tou= e)/fh pro\s au)tou\s parabolh\n toiau/thn. a)kou/sate/ mou, a)/ndres *siki/mwn, kai\ a)kou/sei u(mw=n o( qeo/s. poreuo/mena e)poreu/qhsan ta\ cu/la tou= xri/sai basile/a e)f' e(autw=n. kai\ ei)=pan th=| e)lai/a|: basi/leuson e)f' h(mw=n. kai\ ei)=pen au)toi=s h( e)lai/a: a)fei=sa th\n pio/thta/ mou, h(\n e)do/casen e)n e)moi\ o( qeo\s kai\ oi( a)/nqrwpoi, poreuqw= a)/rxein tw=n cu/lwn; kai\ ei)=pon ta\ cu/la th=| sukh=|: deu=ro, basi/leuson e)f' h(ma=s. kai\ ei)=pen au)toi=s h( sukh=: a)fei=sa th\n gluku/thta/ mou kai\ to\ ge/nnhma/ mou to\ a)gaqo\n poreuqw= a)/rxein tw=n cu/lwn; kai\ ei)=pon ta\ cu/la pro\s th\n a)/mpelon: deu=ro, basi/leuson e)f' h(mw=n. kai\ ei)=pen au)toi=s h( a)/mpelos: a)fei=sa to\n oi)=no/n mou kai\ th\n eu)frosu/nhn tw=n a)nqrw/pwn poreuqw= a)/rxein tw=n cu/lwn; kai\ ei)=pon pa/nta ta\ cu/la th=| r(a/mnw|: deu=ro, su\ basi/leuson e)f' h(ma=s. kai\ ei)=pen h( r(a/mnos pro\s ta\ cu/la: ei) e)n a)lhqei/a| xri/ete/ me u(mei=s tou= basileu/ein e)f' u(ma=s, deu=te, u(posth=te e)n th=| skia=| mou, kai\ ei) mh\, e)ce/lqoi pu=r a)p' e)mou= kai\ katafa/gh| ta\s ke/drous tou= *liba/nou. kai\ nu=n ei) e)n a)lhqei/a| kai\ o(sio/thti e)poih/sate meta\ tou= patro/s mou kai\ meta\ tou= oi)/kou au)tou= kai\ e)basileu/sate to\n *)abime/lex ui(o\n th=s paidi/skhs au)tou= e)pi\ tou\s a)/ndras *siki/mwn, eu)franqei/hte e)n au)tw=|, kai\ eu)franqei/h kai/ ge au)to\s e)n u(mi=n: ei) de\ mh\, e)ce/lqoi pu=r e)c *)abime/lex kai\ katafa/goi tou\s a)/rxontas u(mw=n kai\ tou\s oi)/kous au)tw=n: kai\ e)ce/lqoi pu=r e)k tw=n a)ndrw=n *siki/mwn kai\ katafa/goi to\n *)abime/lex. kai\ a)pe/dra *)iwa/qam a)po\ prosw/pou *)abime/lex a)delfou= au)tou=. o( de\ *)abime/lex h)=rcen e)pi\ to\n *)israh\l e)/th tri/a. kai\ e)cape/steilen o( qeo\s pneu=ma ponhro\n a)na\ me/son *)abime/lex kai\ a)na\ me/son a)ndrw=n *siki/mwn. kai\ h)qe/thsan oi( a)/ndres *siki/mwn e)n tw=| oi)/kw| *)abime/lex tou= e)pagagei=n a)diki/an kai\ to\ ai(=ma tw=n o# ui(w=n *gedew\n e)pi\ th\n kefalh\n *)abime/lex. kai\ ga\r a)pelqw\n polemh=sai pu/rgon kai\ proseggi/sas th=| qu/ra| tou= pu/rgou e)mprh=sai au)th\n, e)/rriye gunh\ kla/sma mu/lou e)pi\ th\n kefalh\n au)tou= kai\ sune/triye to\ kra/nion au)tou=. kai\ e)piboh/sas taxu\ ei)=pe pro\s to\n ai)/ronta au)tou= ta\ skeu/h: spa/son th\n r(omfai/an sou kai\ qana/twso/n me, mh/ pote ei)/pwsin: gunh\ au)to\n a)pe/kteine. kai\ kenth=san au)to\n to\ paida/rion a)nei=le. kai\ e)pe/streyen o( qeo\s th\n ponhri/an *)abime/lex, h(\n e)poi/hse tw=| patri\ au)tou= a)poktei/nas tou\s o# a)delfou\s au)tou=. kai\ pa=san th\n ponhri/an a)ndrw=n *siki/mwn e)pe/streyen o( qeo\s ei)s th\n kefalh\n au)tw=n kata\ to\n lo/gon kai\ th\n paroimi/an *)iwa/qam.
Notes:
Source for the main paragraph (after the initial gloss): George the Monk,
Chronicon 148.2-149.20.
[1] Hebrew: אבימלך "my father is king." Used derogatorily and incessantly (31 times) throughout the Abimelech episode in
Judges 9 (Boling, NSRV at
Judges 9:1).
[2] Literally, "by his wives." The use of
e)leuqe/rwn here indicates "married women/wives" (see L-S-J). The Massoretic Text (MT) (
Judges 8:30; Kohlenberger, Vol. 2, 101) shows נשים
našīm, which here means "wives" (Brown, Driver, Briggs {BDB}, 61). The term is to be distinguished from that for Abimelech's mother — פלגש
pilegeš "concubine" in the sense of a legitimate wife of secondary rank (Kohlenberger for the suffixed MT form; Boling, NRSV at Judges 8:31).
[3] Literally, "upon a single stone." MT: על אבן אחת
ʿal ʾeḇen ʾeḥat (
Judges 9:5). See Boling,
Judges (Anchor), 171.5. A direct transference from the Hebrew to the
LXX.
[4] (Cf.
iota 478.) The Greek
newte/rou, comparative understood for the superlative (Smyth §1082.a) from Hebrew הקטן
haqqaton, the "young(est) one" (
Judges 9:5).
[5] The Suda's
poreu/omena e)poreu/qhsan parallels the MT at
Judges 9:5 (but not the
LXX, which singularizes the finite verb) in its fuller anthropomorphism via the plural finite verb. The participle plus finite verb mimics, but does not parallel, MT usage, which gives infinitive absolute plus finite verb (הלוך הלכו
haloḵ halēḵū) (Kautzsch, 342 {113o(1)}; Boling,
Judges (Anchor), 173.8). For this genre of fable, see also
2 Kings 14:9-10 and its shadow at
2 Chronicles 25:18-19. the motif bears only general resemblance to Aesop's frog fable. For related motifs, see the source summary in Brown (The New Jerome), 140; Boling,
Judges (Anchor), 173.
[6] The Suda singularizes (
o( qeo/s), whereas the MT contains אלהים
elohīm to be interpreted as "gods" — not "God." That the translation warrants a plural is supported by the antiquity of the original motif (Boling,
Judges (Anchor), 173-74.15; 175.20). The plural is the norm in modern Bible translation.
[7] The standard translation of the MT אשר-בי יכבדו אלהים ואנשים
ʾašer-bī yeḵaḇdū ʾelohīm waʾanašīm (
Judges 9:9) and the Suda's
h(\n...a)/nqrwpoi is "by which/whereby gods and men are honored." The Hebrew syntax merits reevaluation. The Jotham parable is a poetic fable cast in prose (Boling,
Judges (Anchor) 166, 172-73.8-15, 173.15; for an uncritical opposing view, see Brown (The New Jerome), 140). However, Boling (173.9) and others read the Pi'el active
yeḵaḇdū ("ykbdw" in Boling) as a Niph'al passive (are honored). Boling also cites the "kbd" root as Niph'al reflexive in
Exodus 14:4, perhaps intending an alternative (but unlikely) reading for
Judges 9:9 as "gods and men honor themselves." This approach overlooks the fable's poetic form — a medium that allows the Pi'el to operate intransitively (Kautzsch, 142 {52k}). Relatedly, Kautzsch (Gesenius, in accord with T.K Cheyne) assigns Niph'al senses to Pi'el forms in the poetry of
Isaiah 48:8 and 60:11, which just as easily may be read intransitively as "your ear has not opened (responded) [to new things]" and "your gates shall always stand open." In
Judges 9:9, the intransitive result is "(by) which, through me, gods and men receive honor." The preposition "bi" (Greek:
e)n e)moi\), which in Boling's syntax is left "unexplained", provides an instrumental dative (BDB, 89, III.2): "through me." Boling asserts "bi" to be "a third-person suffix" without further discussion; BDB (citing George F. Moore) suggests the third-person "bo" (by/through it) for the "bi" form. Boling does cite the
LXX Vaticanus reading "by it"; however, Vaticanus works a simplified solution:
e)n h(=i doca/sousi to\n qeo\n a)/ndres, "by which men shall honor God" (Brenton, 329). In a near parallel to the MT, the Suda records
e)do/casen for a Hebraicized-intransitive
e)do/casan (
yeḵaḇdū): literally, "regarding which (oil), through my agency, God and men receive honor."
[8] The verb
u(po/sthte also carries the meaning "submit"; the Hebrew at
Judges 9:15 (imperative
hasū) carries only the sense "take refuge" (BDB, 340).
[9] The duplicated
a)na\ me/son is a Hebraism paralleling
Judges 9:22 (בין אבימלך ובין בעלי שכם
bēn ʾAḇimeleḵ uḇēn baʿalē šeḵem). See also the MT and
LXX at
Genesis 1:4. For model Greek syntax, see
LXX Genesis 32:16 (Brenton, 43)— with the MT (
Genesis 32:17) showing the duplicate pattern (Kohlenberger, Vol 1, 88).
[10] For
a)qete/w (deal treacherously), see Lust, Pt. I, 9.
[11] Literally, "to lay upon Abimelech's head his injustice and the blood of Gideon's seventy sons."
[12] For Abimelech's ill-fated siege of the Thebez tower, see
Judges 9:50-57.
[13] The term
paida/rion reprises the MT נערו
naʿarō (his servant or retainer) at
Judges 9:54. Translations render the word as "armor bearer." Boling in his
Judges (146.10; 182.54) prefers "squire."
[14] Literally, "turned about onto their head."
Boling, R.G. Judges (The Anchor Bible). New York: Doubleday, 1975.
Boling, R.G. Judges in the Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: Harper Collins, 1993.
Brenton, C.L.B. The Septuagint with Apocrypha. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991 (reprint of 1851 ed.).
Brown, F. Driver, S.R., Briggs, C.A. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1951.
Brown, R.E. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990.
Kautzsch, E. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910.
Kohlenberger, J.R. The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.
Lust, J. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Part I. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1992.
Smyth, H.W. Greek Grammar. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1984.
Keywords: biography; definition; dialects, grammar, and etymology; gender and sexuality; history; military affairs; poetry; religion; women
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 22 August 1998@13:01:24.
Vetted by:
Headword:
*)/abra
Adler number: alpha,68
Translated headword: favorite
Vetting Status: high
Translation: Not simply a maidservant nor even the pretty maidservant is called [favorite], but a daughter of one of the house slaves and an honored one, whether born in the house or not.
Menander in
False Heracles [writes]: "the mother of these two sisters is dead. A concubine of their father's, who used to be their mother's favorite slave, is bringing them up."[1] In
Sikyonian: "he bought a beloved slave instead and did not hand the slave over to his wife, but kept her apart, as is appropriate for a free woman."[2] In
Faithless One: "I thought if the old man got the gold, he'd get himself a favorite slave right away."[3]
Iamblichus [writes]: "since this was difficult and something of a rarity, with the [woman] housekeeper on guard and another favorite slave-woman also present, he persuades the daughter to run away without her parents' knowledge."[4]
*)/abra: ou)/te a(plw=s qera/paina ou)/te h( eu)/morfos qera/paina le/getai, a)ll' oi)ko/triy gunaiko\s ko/rh kai\ e)/ntimos, ei)/te oi)kogenh\s ei)/te mh/. *me/nandros *yeudhraklei=: mh/thr te/qnhke tai=n a)delfai=n tai=n duei=n tau/tain. tre/fei de\ pallakh/ tis tou= patro\s au)ta\s, a)/bra th=s mhtro\s au)tw=n genome/nh. *sikuwni/w|: kai\ a)/bran ga\r a)ntwnou/menos e)rwme/nhn, tau/th| me\n ou) pare/dwk' e)/xein, tre/fein de\ xwri\s, w(s e)leuqe/ra| pre/pei. *)api/stw|: w)/mhn ei) to\ xrusi/on la/boi o( ge/rwn, qera/painan eu)qu\s h)gorasme/nhn a)/bran e)/sesqai. *)ia/mblixos: e)pei\ de\ tou=to xalepo\n h)=n kai\ spa/nio/n ti to\ th=s oi)kourou= fulattou/shs kai\ a)/bras tino\s a)/llhs sumparou/shs, a)napei/qei th\n ko/rhn laqou=san tou\s gonei=s a)podra=nai.
Notes:
The main part of this entry is also in
Photius, Lexicon alpha50 Theodoridis (where the headword is plural); similar material in other lexica.
LSJ uses the rough breathing (
a(/bra) for the word it defines specifically as 'favorite slave'. See web address 1 below.
[1]
Menander fr. 520 Kock, 453 K.-Th., 411 K.-A.
[2]
Menander fr. 438 Kock (1 Sandbach).
[3]
Menander fr. 64 Kock, 58 K.-Th., 63 K.-A.
[4]
Iamblichus,
Babyloniaca fr. 56 Habrich.
Web address 1
Keywords: comedy; daily life; definition; economics; ethics; gender and sexuality; philosophy; women
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@19:13:15.
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:
*(abro/s
Adler number: alpha,87
Translated headword: delicate
Vetting Status: high
Translation: [Meaning] bright, delicate, tender.[1]
In the Epigrams: "a cicada sat above a cithara delicately murmuring."[2]
"All the same that fellow is dainty and delicate and weakened by the softness of his body and depraved and with his hair done up like the most licentious little courtesans. And when he goes in to see the king his face and his curly hair are always delicately dripping [with perfume], and he takes as much money from the communal difficulties as would satisfy even the legendary Midas."[3]
Greek Original:*(abro/s: lampro\s, trufero\s, a(palo/s. e)n *)epigra/mmasin: a(bro\n e)pitru/zwn kiqa/ras u(/per e(/zeto te/ttic. o(/mws de\ o( trufero\s e)kei=nos kai\ a(bro\s kai\ u(po\ malaki/as tou= sw/matos kateagw\s kai\ lelugisme/nos kai\ ta/s te ko/mas a)nadou/menos, w(/sper ai( tw=n e(tairi/dwn a)selge/sterai, kai\ a(brostage\s e)/xwn a)ei\ to\ me/twpon kai\ tou\s bostru/xous, labw\n xrusi/on e)k tw=n koinw=n sumforw=n, o(/son i(kano\n h)=n e)mplh=sai kai\ to\n e)k tou= mu/qou *mi/dan, ei)se/rrei pro\s to\n basile/a.
Notes:
For this adjective see already alpha
alpha 73 and
alpha 86, and again
alpha 88.
[1] Same glossing in other lexica; references at
Photius alpha55 Theodoridis.
[2]
Greek Anthology 6.54.7 (Paulus Silentarius).
[3] Attributed by Hemsterhuys to
Eunapius; again (in part) at
alpha 1860.
Translated by: Anne Mahoney on 26 August 1998@19:39:27.
Vetted by:William Hutton (Modified translation, cosmetics, augmented note, set keywords and status) on 2 February 2001@12:21:50.
David Whitehead (added note and keyword; cosmetics) on 9 February 2001@06:35:10.
David Whitehead (another keyword) on 3 January 2006@10:26:40.
David Whitehead (augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics) on 21 December 2011@04:35:18.
Catharine Roth (cosmeticule) on 22 December 2011@19:16:16.
David Whitehead on 16 August 2013@07:18:56.
David Whitehead (another x-ref) on 17 January 2014@04:31:02.
Headword:
*)/abudos
Adler number: alpha,101
Timeout after 20 seconds; further results omitted.