Naming God in Early Judaism

Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek

By (author) Anthony Meyer

Book cover: Naming God in Early Judaism

Extent: 341 pages

Publisher: Brill | Schöningh

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies

Series: Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible

Series volume number: 2

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(November 2022)

ISBN: 9783506703507

6.1 x 9.25 inches

Price: $125.00

In stock

During the Second Temple period (516 BCE-70 CE), Jews became reticent to speak and write the divine name, YHWH, also known by its four letters in Greek as the tetragrammaton. Priestly, pious, and scribal circles limitted the use of God’s name, and then it disappeared. The variables are poorly understood and the evidence is scattered. This study brings together all ancient Jewish literary and epigraphic evidence in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek to describe how, when, and in what sources Jews either used or avoided the divine name. Instead of a diachronic contrast from use to avoidance, as is often the scholarly assumption, the evidence suggests diverse and overlapping naming practices that draw specific meaning from linguistic, geographic, and social contexts.

  • By (author) Anthony Meyer