21/05/2024 18:30 - 19:30

HALL: STERI - SALA MAGNA

The most pivotal shift in the evolution of Abrahamic religions occurred when the Hebrew faith was transplanted onto Greek soil, giving rise to what may be termed "transcultural monotheism." This linguo-theological transformation aligned with other important shifts—not only political developments that led to internationalization of the Greek language but also more profound cultural processes that replaced myth with speculative thought. In other words, Moses' spiritual message had to await Alexander's political infrastructure and Athenian intellectual tools to enable Judeo-Greek creativity. Intended to meet the inner needs of the Hellenistic Jewish community, it eventually became a factor of universal impact.
This expansion of Second Temple Judaism, including its Christian variation, beyond the Semitic realm presented new challenges. Unique theological constructs anchored in specific
linguistic forms and structures faced the necessity of adaptation. This was particularly evident with respect to the core concept of Jewish thought—the one and only "God," the sole creator and ruler of the universe. It proved no easy task to pick a name for such a referent that essentially lays beyond any taxonomy—i.e., unknowable and, therefore, unnamable.
The introduction of Greek terms for this concept, as well as their equivalents in other languages, proceeded not without deliberation or resistance. The inherent inadequacy of any term for the concept of the monotheistic God led and continues to lead to unceasing attempts to explore alternative terminology.
This paper aims to reconstruct previously overlooked considerations behind a Judeo-
Greek innovation in religious terminology, with a focus on its key element—Hellenization of
the Hebrew name of God. The suggested reconstruction may affect our perspective on several fields of knowledge and shed light on some unresolved questions, including the problems of biblical isopsephism, early Jewish and Christian numeric symbolism, the history of nomina sacra (including the question of their Jewish vs. Christian origins), and early binitarian theology.