Naming God in Early Judaism : : Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek / / Anthony Meyer.

• Superior document: Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible ; 2
• VerfasserIn: Meyer, Anthony,
• Place / Publishing House: Paderborn : : Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, , 2020.
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible ; 2.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (341 pages)
• Other title: Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek
• ISBN: 3657703500
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Anthony Meyer.

This study brings together all ancient evidence to tell the story of the divine name, YHWH, as it travels in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek through the Second Temple period, the most formative era of Judaism. 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.