عنوان

The Jewish Tetragrammaton:

Number

LA118948

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

The Jewish Tetragrammaton:

General Material Designation

[Article]

Other Title Information

Secrecy, Community, and Prestige among Greek-Writing Jews of the Early Roman Empire

First Statement of Responsibility

Nathanael Andrade

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Leiden

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Brill

Text of Note

In his retelling of Exod 3:14-16, Josephus (A.J. 2.275-276) frames the Tetragrammaton as a name that only Jews knew, and he indicates that Jews were not to intone it or disclose it to foreigners. His account illuminates a practice that certain Jews cultivated regarding their non-disclosure of the divine name. The disposition of Jews not to utter their divinity's name preserved its sanctity and expressed acknowledgement of its ineffable character. But certain Jews, such as Josephus and Philo, also promoted among themselves and outsiders the premise that knowledge of the divine name was a characteristic feature of Jews, a feature of which non-Jews were unaware. Moreover, they framed knowledge of it as being restricted to a subgroup of privileged Jews, who safeguarded its sanctity. In this way, such Jews circulated and bolstered the Tetragrammaton's reputation for secrecy. Intriguingly, Greek and Latin authors of the Roman Empire appear to corroborate this premise. Even as the divine name underwent increased circulation among non-Jews, such authors still conceived of the Jewish divinity as having a name that Jews did not disclose. Such was the Tetragrammaton's reputation for secrecy, one which certain Jews actively cultivated and amplified. In his retelling of Exod 3:14-16, Josephus (A.J. 2.275-276) frames the Tetragrammaton as a name that only Jews knew, and he indicates that Jews were not to intone it or disclose it to foreigners. His account illuminates a practice that certain Jews cultivated regarding their non-disclosure of the divine name. The disposition of Jews not to utter their divinity's name preserved its sanctity and expressed acknowledgement of its ineffable character. But certain Jews, such as Josephus and Philo, also promoted among themselves and outsiders the premise that knowledge of the divine name was a characteristic feature of Jews, a feature of which non-Jews were unaware. Moreover, they framed knowledge of it as being restricted to a subgroup of privileged Jews, who safeguarded its sanctity. In this way, such Jews circulated and bolstered the Tetragrammaton's reputation for secrecy. Intriguingly, Greek and Latin authors of the Roman Empire appear to corroborate this premise. Even as the divine name underwent increased circulation among non-Jews, such authors still conceived of the Jewish divinity as having a name that Jews did not disclose. Such was the Tetragrammaton's reputation for secrecy, one which certain Jews actively cultivated and amplified.

Date of Publication

2015

Physical description

198-223

Title

Journal for the Study of Judaism

Volume Number

46/2

International Standard Serial Number

1570-0631

Subject Term

Greek-writing Jews

Subject Term

Josephus

Subject Term

Judaism

Subject Term

Philo

Subject Term

Roman period

Subject Term

Tetragrammaton

Nathanael Andrade

Call Number

10.1163/15700631-12340099

Electronic name

p

[Article]

275578

a

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