Divine Names Research Articles

From the Aramaic raḥmānāʾ to raḥmānān and al-raḥmān

Abstract The oldest record of the notion of “mercy”, raḥmān, in Aramaic is known from a bilingual text in which the word is the translation of the Akkadian rēmēnû. The latter is used in Mesopotamian onomastics, hymns and prayers, which delivered the oldest formulae of calls for the mercy of gods, especially in a recurrent expression: “the merciful god, that is good to pray,” translated verbatim in the Aramaic text of the statue of Tell Fekheryeh. Almost a thousand years later, the same wording has been inherited unchanged in Palmyrene Aramaic. Nevertheless, the Palmyrene interest on the divine epithet raḥmān and its revival in Palmyrene epigraphy may be explained by the influence of the new Roman concept of clementia. Meanwhile, this contribution proposes to outline a chronology of the Aramaic inscriptions from Syria and Palestine, in which raḥmānāʾ is either the main substitute for the divine name, or a major divine epithet. As the Akkadian phonetic assimilates the consonant <ḥ> to the laryngeal <ʾ> but preserves the velar <ḫ>, the supposed East Semitic root was rḥm, not rḫm. On the contrary, in the Arabian Peninsula, the earliest attested root is rḫm, as evidenced by South Arabic onomastics or toponymy. A late use of rḥm in South Arabic as a verb or noun is the result of a loan from Aramaic and does not appear until the fifth century AD. The first South Arabian inscriptions naming the monotheistic god raḥmānn are preceded by the Palmyrene inscriptions by almost two centuries and are contemporary with the Jewish-Aramaic inscriptions in the Palestinian synagogues, which call the God Raḥmānāʾ. Late, the Aramaic epithet was transferred to the Arabic al-raḥmān, through South Arabian.

Ranking of Divine Names in Ibn al-Arabī and Muhyī-yi Gulshenī’s Two Treatises on the Subject

İbnü’l-Arabî, İnşā’u’d-Devā’ir, Ankā’u Muğrib ve el-Fütūhāt gibi eserlerinde ilahî isimlerin birbirleri ve âlemle ilişkilerini “ilahî isimlerin diyaloğu” betimlemesi ile ele alır. Mümkünler, ezelde gerçekleşen diyalogda ilahî isimlere var olma taleplerini iletirler. İlâhî isimler bu talepler doğrultusunda Allah isminin huzuruna iltica ederler. Allah ismi de Zât’ın huzuruna girip onun izni ile âlemin zuhurunu gerçekleştirecek süreci başlatır. İbnü’l-Arabî bu başlık altında Zât, ulûhiyet, rubûbiyet, ilahî isimler ve mümkün varlıklar arası ilişkinin yapısını temellendirmeye çalışır. Buna göre ilahî isimler arası derecelenme, varlıktaki düzenin de kriteridir. Muhyî-yi Gülşenî’nin Risâle fi esmâ’illâhi’l-hüsnâ’ ve İttihâd-ı esmâ’ be-hüvviyet-i müsemmâ adlı aynı mahiyetteki risâleleri de bu meselelere odaklanmaktadır. Muhyî, bu küçük risalelerinde İbnü’l-Arabî’nin “ilahî isimlerin ezelde gerçekleşen konuşmaları” temasını takip eder. Risalelerde ilahî isimlerin önderlerinin ortaya çıkmasını ve isimlerin âleme tezahür süreçlerini, ontolojik meseleleri izahı kolaylaştıran bir betimleme dili ile aktarır. Muhyî’nin Allah ve âlem ilişkisine vasıta olan ilahî isimleri ve birbirleriyle ilişkilerini konu edinen risalelerinde Ekberî varlık yorumunu sürdürdüğü görülür. Bu makale İbnü’l-Arabî düşüncesindeki ilahî isimlerin önderleri meselesinden hareketle Muhyî-yi Gülşenî’nin değerlendirmelerine işaret etmektedir.

Analisis Kesalahan Berbahasa Indonesia Tataran Ejaan Menulis Karangan Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri 7 Gunungsitoli

This research aims to analyze language errors in the expository essays of class VIII students at SMP Negeri 7 Gunungsitoli. This research is a qualitative descriptive study. The data for this research is the worksheet of students who wrote expository essays. The data source in this research was class VIII students at SMP Negeri 7 Gunungsitoli. The data analysis techniques used are data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Based on the research results, it shows that spelling errors in class VIII students at SMP Negeri 7 Gunungsitoli included 104 errors consisting of: 48 errors in the use of capital letters were found, including 27 errors in usage at the beginning of sentences, 18 errors in place names, in There is 1 error in the divine name, and there are 2 errors in the title of the essay. There was only 1 error in using italics. There were 25 errors in writing derived words, including 24 errors in the prefix and 1 error in the suffix. There were 6 errors in writing the word re-form. There were 6 errors in writing prepositions found. There were 18 errors in the use of punctuation marks, including 8 errors in the use of the dot (.), 4 errors in the use of the comma (,) and 6 errors in the use of the hyphen (-).

Sacred and non-sacred: divine names in early rabbinic traditions

Several early rabbinic sources list verses that contain potential divine names. These names are classified as sacred when they refer to the Jewish God, and as not sacred when they refer to other entities, such as false gods or angels. This article argues that the core of the list was based on ancient Second Temple traditions that were modified. These changes were motivated by developments within Jewish thought and the shifting of conceptions and beliefs. Some of these changes were the result of internal rabbinic developments and others were the sages' ambition to define the boundaries of Judaism, which sometimes carried a polemical response to Christian commentaries. This article proposes that analysis of these lists and the relationship between them can serve as an example for rabbinic attempts to reframe, rather than erase, their literary inheritance.

Experiencing God in the Gospel of John

What does experiencing God look like in the Gospel of John, and what questions or possibilities might such an investigation raise for our own religious experience? To work within the scope of this essay, I limit the discussion primarily to the Farewell Discourse (chs. 14–17) and address the following as it relates to experiencing God: 1) the text as revelatory; 2) the senses; 3) union with God and Jesus; 4) the divine name; 5) and the Holy Spirit. I conclude with a word about the transformation that comes from experiencing God.

Variatio Theologica in Libro Iob? An Analysis of the Translation of ’Ĕlōhîm by Kurios in LXX Job

The default Greek equivalents of yhwh and ’ĕlōhîm are respectively kurios and theos. However, throughout the LXX, yhwh is often rendered by theos and ’ĕlōhîm by kurios. In an article dealing with divine names in LXX Pentateuch published in 2007, Martin Rösel concluded that this variation can be explained on the basis of theological motivations. Nonetheless, my own study on the translation of yhwh/theos and ’ĕlōhîm/kurios in LXX Proverbs has indicated that this variation in Proverbs is not influenced by theological motivations but that both Greek divine names have been used interchangeably by the LXX translator. In order to see whether this is also the case in other LXX books, this paper will examine the rendering of ’ĕlōhîm by kurios in LXX Job. By doing so, this paper aims to obtain a better characterisation of the translation technique and theology of LXX Job.

The Queen of Sheba in the Mystical Thought of Ibn ‘Arabī

The mystical commentary on the story of Bilqīs, the Queen of Sheba, from chapter 27 of the Qur’an carried out by the highly influential Sufi thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), shows that he differs radically from exoteric Sunni exegetes. The principal reason for this is Ibn ‘Arabī’s complete reliance on spiritual unveiling (kashf) as a hermeneutic tool. In the chapter on Sulaymān of Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Ibn ‘Arabī represents Bilqīs as the most perspicuous instantiation of the divine Name, “the Compassionate” (Al-Raḥmān). It is the divine trait of compassion, says Ibn ‘Arabī, that provides the existentiating impetus required to bring forth the entire cosmos. Due to her personification of this trait, Bilqīs’ ascent to the pinnacle of gnosis and her ontological superiority over her peers is extolled by Ibn ‘Arabī in her Qur’anic story.

Концепция различия Божественной сущности и действий в древнерусской переводной книжности

The author examines the Old Russian reception of the Byzantine translated works that contain the famous doctrine of the essence-energy distinction in God including some aspects of participation to God. I divide works considered in the study into two main groups according to the chronology of translations (pre-Palamite translations (X–XIII centuries) and translations of the Palamite era (XIV century)). The selected and examined texts include the Catechetical Lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem, «Theology» and «Dialectic» of John of Damascus, «On the Free Will» of Methodius of Olympus, the sholia of Nicetas of Heraclea on Gregory Nanzianzus’s 45 Oration, Corpus Areopagiticum with sholia, «On how not to fall into the Heresy of Barlaam and Akindynos» of David Dishypatos. The author shows that the Old Russian readers could be acquainted with the almost complete doctrine of essence-energy distinction in God in such aspects as Divine unity and distinction, the participated and unparticipated sides of God, the creating the Divine names through the contemplating of His energies, the hierarchy of being and its participation in Good, and etc. Damascene’s «Dialectic» introduced the reader to the technical philosophical notion and definitions of action/energy as the one of the nine accidents of essence, following Aristotle and his commentators. The author notices that the most of examined works in this paper were clearly influenced by Pseudo-Dionysius. This fact together with the substantial influence of the Slavonic translation of Dionysius allows me to conclude on the prevalence of Dionysius’s neoplatonic version of essence-energy dsictinction in the Medieval Russia. The Palamite version of considered teaching (except for the writings of David Dishypatos) was very little known in Medieval Russia and could not be fully understood.

Концепция различия Божественной сущности и действий в древнерусской переводной книжности

The author examines the Old Russian reception of the Byzantine translated works that contain the famous doctrine of the essence-energy distinction in God including some aspects of participation to God. I divide works considered in the study into two main groups according to the chronology of translations (pre-Palamite translations (X–XIII centuries) and translations of the Palamite era (XIV century)). The selected and examined texts include the Catechetical Lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem, «Theology» and «Dialectic» of John of Damascus, «On the Free Will» of Methodius of Olympus, the sholia of Nicetas of Heraclea on Gregory Nanzianzus’s 45 Oration, Corpus Areopagiticum with sholia, «On how not to fall into the Heresy of Barlaam and Akindynos» of David Dishypatos. The author shows that the Old Russian readers could be acquainted with the almost complete doctrine of essence-energy distinction in God in such aspects as Divine unity and distinction, the participated and unparticipated sides of God, the creating the Divine names through the contemplating of His energies, the hierarchy of being and its participation in Good, and etc. Damascene’s «Dialectic» introduced the reader to the technical philosophical notion and definitions of action/energy as the one of the nine accidents of essence, following Aristotle and his commentators. The author notices that the most of examined works in this paper were clearly influenced by Pseudo-Dionysius. This fact together with the substantial influence of the Slavonic translation of Dionysius allows me to conclude on the prevalence of Dionysius’s neoplatonic version of essence-energy dsictinction in the Medieval Russia. The Palamite version of considered teaching (except for the writings of David Dishypatos) was very little known in Medieval Russia and could not be fully understood.

IL as the Collective Godhead ˀIlū in LB Ugarit


 
 
 It is generally assumed that a cult of El existed in Late Bronze Age Ugarit and that the alphabetic spelling IL must refer either to the generic “god” or to the divine name El. However, such an either-or question is too simplistic when we are dealing with the multifarious nature of polytheism. In the light of Ugaritic material, which includes the liturgical texts, several “pantheon” lists, a quadrilingual vocabulary, as well as theophoric personal names, it is obvious that IL also can refer to the collective godhead Ilū. Furthermore, IL in the ritual-myth text KTU 1.23 is distinct from El in the Baal cycle. In light of several Greek and ancient Near Eastern myths of “divine engenderment,” KTU 1.23 most likely deals with the motif of the collective godhead IL (ˀIlū), who impregnated two human women in order to engender two sets of divinities. Hence, the deus otiosus theory that IL in 1.23 is a “younger” El should be rejected.
 
 

Подборка драгоценных камней: элементы акбарийской космологии

The author notes that the Sufi theological tradition of Akbariya was formed on the basis of the works by Muhyiddin ibn Arabi. Part of this tradition is the doctrine of the nature of the world and its creation, i.e. cosmology. The purpose of the article is to reveal some elements of Akbarian cosmology. The semantic content of the concepts of Akbarian cosmology, creation and approved incarnations is determined. The author maintains that, although things exist eternally, from time immemorial and without beginning in divine knowledge precisely in the form of approved incarnations, at the same time they do not exist. The shortcomings of the (neo)platonic interpretation of the approved incarnations are demonstrated. The difference between Akbariya and the Academy of Plato lies in the fact that the teaching of the first concerns a person and his heart as an organ of self-integrity and connection with God, while the teaching of the second concerns the rational part of the soul. Also, several aspects of the cosmological concept of the Divine Names are revealed, the problem of the pantheistic interpretation of this theory is discussed and it is proved that it is not justified by the texts of Ibn Arabi. The cosmologi-cal meaning of the image of the mirror and the epistemological meaning of the image of “the silence of those who know” are also revealed. The last “gem” – the Perfect Man – is the beginning, the end and the preservation of creation. Various aspects of the concept of the Perfect Man (ethical and cosmologi-cal), its identification with Adam, with humanity in general and with Muhammad (the reality of Mu-hammad) are considered, the question of the “hypostasy” of the Perfect Man is identified and discussed

Linguistic evidence for the Indo-European and Albanian origin of Aphrodite

I consider the question of the source of the divine name Aphrodite, arguing that the etymology of the name indicates an Albanian and Illyrian origin. I first survey different etymological hypotheses and give reasons for rejecting them and then turn to motivating the Albanian sound changes necessary for taking the name to derive from Albanian sources. The historical and linguistic evidence will show that the Albanian phrase afro dita ‘come forth the day/dawn’ can be posited back to a Proto-Albanian *apro dītā a reflex of Proto-Indo-European *h2epero déh2itis. Modern Albanian afro dita refers to Aphrodite’s celestial origin. Aphrodite was first and foremost known as the planet Venus, which can only be seen during the dawn. Only Modern Albanian afro dita ‘come forth the day/dawn’ indicates this exact time when the planet Venus is visible in the sky. The celestial concept of Aphrodite was adapted by a Pre-Proto-Albanian group (Illyrians) from the Phoenicians, who first brought knowledge of the goddess to Europe.

Ralph K. Hawkins. Discovering Exodus: Content, Interpretation, Reception

Ralph K. Hawkins. <i>Discovering Exodus: Content, Interpretation, Reception</i>

Ibn ʿ⁠Arabī on the Circle of Trusteeship and the Divine Name al-Wakīl

Abstract With special reference to chapters 119 and 558 of the Meccan Revelations, the article draws out Ibn ʿ⁠Arabī’s (d. 638/1240) understanding of the divine Name al-Wakīl (“The Trustee”) and the nature of trusteeship (wakāla). In the process, it demonstrates how for our mystic trusteeship forms a circle that begins with the human being entrusting his affairs to God, and returns to its point of origin with God entrusting him to be His vicegerent (khalīfa). Trusteeship, which finds its archetypical perfection in the divine Wakīl, descends through various degrees of perfection, to all levels and strata of human society. The capacity to embody and manifest the Name al-Wakīl is, for Ibn ʿ⁠Arabī, itself made possible by the theomorphic nature of the human being, a child of the primordial Adam fashioned in the image of God.

A Translation of the Arabic Duʿāʾ al-Saḥar (The Dawn Supplication) or Duʿāʾ al-Bahāʾ (The Supplication of Splendour) with Select Expository Scriptural Writings of the Bāb and Bahāʾu’llāh

This article provides a full English translation of the Du’ā’ al-saḥar or Dawn Supplication for the Islamic month of Ramaḍān. Attributed to certain Imams whom Twelver Shī`ī Muslims regard as the successors of the Prophet Muhammad, it is an Arabic invocatory devotional also known from around the 13th century CE after its opening words, as the Du‘ā al-Bahā (Supplication of Splendour–Glory–Light). It is commonly ascribed to the fifth Imam Muhammad al-Bāqir (d. c. 126/743) or as transmitted through his son, the sixth Imam Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq (d. c. 138/765). The former version or recension has around 22 invocations, while the sixth Imam’s recension is known as the Du‘ā’ al-mubāhalah (The Supplication for Mutual Imprecation) and is considerably longer, consisting of over 30 supplicatory lines. This latter recension had its origin at a time when Muhammad was challenged near Medina by certain Yemenite Christians of Najrān about his messianic status as a Prophet in the light of theological and Christological issues. Both Sayyid ‘Alī Muḥammad Shīrāzī, “the Bāb” (1819–1850), and Mīrzā Ḥusayn ‘Alī Nūrī, “Bahā’u’llāh” (1817–1892) gave great importance to this supplication (or these two related supplications) and were much influenced by its vocabulary and rhythmic, cascading content relating the Names of God. The Bāb interpreted it on Islamic and imamological lines in his Persian Dalā’il-i saba‘ (The Seven Proofs). He cited it often, both in early texts and within numerous later major writings, including the Kitāb al-asmā’ (The Book of Names) and the Kitāb-i panj sha’n (The Book of the Seven Modes [of Revelation]). In his Persian Bayān and other writings, he used nineteen of its invocatory divine Names to frame the structure and names of his annual calendar of nineteen months: his new, wondrous or Badī‘ calendar (“The New/Regenerative Calendar”). This calendar was furthermore adopted by Baha’u’llah in his Kitāb-i aqdas (The Most Holy Book). His own theophanic title, evolving from “Jināb-i Bahā’” (His eminence the Glory) to “Bahā’u’llāh” (the Glory of God) is closely related and is rooted in this and certain similar texts. Baha’u’llah referred to the Du‘ā’ al-saḥar as the Lawh-i baqā’ (The Scriptural Tablet of Eternity) and understood its opening lines as an allusion to his person as the embodiment of the Supreme or Greatest Name of God (al-ism al-a`ẓam). Several of the Arabic and Persian writings in which the founder of the Baha’i religion interprets the Du‘ā’ al-saḥar are translated in this current paper. Their content demonstrates the extent to which he elevated this powerful Islamic text.

Semantics of divine names: Tabatabai’s principle of ‘focal meaning’ and Burrell’s grammar of God-talk

ABSTRACT In the present paper, I investigate the ways in which the grammar of God-talk in David B. Burrell’s philosophical theology comes to meet Muhammad Husiyn-i Tabatabai’s account of divine names, which has been developed in his theory of religious language. I begin the first part of the paper by introducing Tabatabai’s innovative articulation of the concept of Mental Construct and its relevance to his account of language and meaning. I, then, clarify how he proceeds to elucidate his conception of religious language in terms of what he calls ‘focal meaning’, i.e. his idea of a true sense underlying the application of a word. Inthe second part of the article, Burrell’s methodology of God-talk is introduced and briefly discussed, before proceeding with interlocutory explanations as well as an examination of Tabatabai’s semantics of divine names. On the basis of Burrellian reading of via analogia, I propose a novel interpretation of the principle of focal meaning. This interpretation is particularly concerned with the most appropriate manner in which we can comprehend the literality of religious language. I conclude by explaining the way in which Burrell’s analysis is useful and elucidating for a contemporary interpretation of Tabatabai’s work.

“THE SERMON ΟΝ LAW AND GRACE”: A MODEL OF REFUTATIONAL - PROBATIVE ARGUMENTATION

The author of the paper analyzed the models of refutational and probative argumentation in an outstanding piece of Kyivan Rus’ literature of the 11th century — “The Sermon on Law and Grace” by metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv. Although certain aspects of the work have already been properly analyzed, the formal rhetorical principles of polemical argumentation in “The Sermon on Law and Grace” remain little studied. The construction of the argument itself and compositional regularities of its structural organization still need due consideration. Throughout the entire reflection, moving from one topic to another, the author of “The Sermon…” maintains the same principle of literary presentation — dialectical oratio. This model is based on a special dialectical reasoning rooted in the principle of antinomies and originated in ancient judicial rhetoric. In “The Sermon on Law and Grace”, the dialectical oratio is built according to the ‘refutation + proof’ scheme. That is, the author initially refutes something and then proves something. Τhis rhetorical tendency is used throughout the work. Hilarion constantly tries to expose and devalue something characterized as outdated, related to Old Testament, Jewish or pagan, and glorify the new, evangelical, and Christian. However, denying one thing and affirming the other do not exhaust the author’s goal. Such dialectical unity of the negative and the affirmative in characterization of one object not only goes back to the traditions of ancient judicial rhetoric but also reflects the Eastern Christian theological tradition. Something similar can be seen in the treatises by Dionysius the Areopagite. In the works “On Mystical Theology”, “On Divine Names”, and “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”, Dionysius the Areopagite derives a complex antinomic system of symbolic designations of the Divine Essence, qualifying a part of them as apophatic (dissimilar) and the other part as kataphatic (similar). Perhaps, the reasoning model of refutatio + probatio in ancient rhetoric, the apophatic-cataphatic principle of determining the names of God in the “Corpus Areopagiticum”, and refutational-probative argumentation in “The Sermon on Law and Grace” are formal links of a general rhetorical oratory chain. However, this issue requires a more thorough study based on a wide range of literary material, including ancient, biblical, medieval, etc.

Once Again on ʾbk wdm in Ethiopian Sabaic

In an article published in this journal in 2010, Norbert Nebes argued that ʾbk wdm is an apotropaic formula, which can be translated, for instance in the case of RIÉ 9, as ‘und Waddum ist dein (göttlicher) Vater als Schutz vor einem Widersacher’ (wʾbk wdm [b]n ʿtkm). In contrast, it is proposed here that ʾbk wdm continues the previous list of deity names, as already suggested in 1976 by Roger Schneider. Key to this argument is the distribution of the concluding prepositional phrases bn kl mrʿm, ‘from everyone who is malicious’, and bn ʿtkm, ‘from an adversary’, which only occur in inscriptions that have b-s¹qt, ‘by the protection of’. Thus, the following formula is proposed: b-s¹qt DN(s) bn X, ‘by the protection of divine name(s) from X’.

The Joint Reaffirmation of the Davidic Messiah and the Torah of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, As in the Psalter

Proverbs 30:3-5 depends on Job 38-39, hence, the use of the divine name Eloah in Prov 30:5. We note the same in Ps 18:31 but with the substitution of the name of YHWH for Eloah, as part of the messianic Yahwist reaffirmation of the writing of the whole Psalter. In this perspective, Ps 18:32 identifies Eloah with YHWH. In the parallel of 2 Sam 22 to Ps 18, the name Eloah is not repeated, the emphasis being on the relationship between David and the Psalter. Deuteronomy 32 agrees with the overall redaction of the Psalter, which jointly reaffirms the Davidic Messiah and the Torah of Moses, in the general introduction (Ps 1, the Torah and Ps 2, the Messiah), in the first Book, Pss 3-41 (Ps 18, the Messiah and Ps 19, the Torah) and the fifth Book, Pss 107-150 (Ps 119, the Torah and Pss 120-132, the Messiah). Thus as inclusion, Deut 32:2-4 is based on Ps 18:31-32 with the reference to YHWH the ROCK, an allusion to the Temple and its cult, including the performance of the Psalter. The vocabulary of this passage from Ps 18 appears again in the following verses of Deut 32, including the name Eloah in Dt 32:15, 17, its only occurrences in Deuteronomy.

A Further Note on the Alleged Egyptian Etymology of Sabaoth

Abstract This note provides further arguments against a proposed Egyptian etymology of the divine name or title צְבָאוֹת (ṣᵉbāʾōt), as initially proposed by Manfred Görg, and expands a recent article by Giuseppina Lenzo and Christophe Nihan.