Forerunners and rivals of Christianity : $b being studies in religious history from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (of 2)Legge, Francis
Religion
Forerunners and rivals of Christianity : $b being studies in religious history from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (of 2)
Legge, Francis
Christianity and other religions; Religions
In the address of Jesus beginning “O my Father, Father of every
Fatherhood, boundless light” with which this part of the Μ. τ. σ.
opens, we can, with a little good will, identify nearly every word of
the “galimatias” which at first sight seems mere gibberish. Thus, the
whole invocation reads: αεηιουω, ϊαω, αωϊ, οϊαψινωθερ, θερ[ι]νοψ,
νωψιθερ, ζαγουρη, παγουρη, νεθμομαωθ, νεψιομαωθ, μαραχαχθα,
θωβαρραβαυ, θαρναχαχαν, ζοροκοθορα Ιεου Σαβαωθ. The seven vowels to
which many mystical interpretations have been assigned, and which have
even been taken for a primitive system of musical notation (C. E.
Ruelle, “Le Chant des Sept Voyelles Grecques,” _Rev. des Ét.
Grecques_, Paris, 1889, t. II. p. 43, and pp. 393-395), probably
express the sound to Greek ears of the Jewish pronunciation of Yahweh
or Jehovah. The word Iao we have before met with many times both as a
name of Dionysos and otherwise, and is here written anagrammatically
from the difficulty which the Greeks found in dealing with Semitic
languages written the reverse way to their own. The word ψινωθερ which
follows and is also written as an anagram is evidently an attempt to
transcribe in Greek letters the Egyptian words _P_, _Shai_, _neter_
(_P_ = Def. article, _Shai_ = the Egyptian God of Fate whose name
Revillout, _Rev. Égyptol._ Paris, 1892, pp. 29-38, thinks means “The
Highest,” and _neter_ or _nuter_ the determinative for “god”), the
whole reading “Most High God.” The words ζαγουρη παγουρη (better,
πατουρη) are from the Hebrew roots סגר פטר and seem to be the “he that
openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no man openeth” of Rev.
iii. 7. Νεθμομαωθ, which is often found in the Magic Papyri, is
reminiscent of the Egyptian _neb maat_ “Lord of Truth,” the following
νεψιομαωθ being probably a variant by a scribe who was uncertain of
the orthography. Μαραχαχθα I can make nothing of, although as the
phrase νεφθομαωθ μαραχαχθα appears in the Magic Papyrus of Leyden
generally called W (Leemans, _Papyri Graeci_, etc. t. II. p. 154) in a
spell there said to be written by “Thphe the Hierogrammateus” for
“Ochus the king,” it is evidently intended for Egyptian. In the same
spell appear the words θαρνμαχαχ ζοροκοθορα and θωβαρραβαυ which are
evidently the same as those in the Μ. τ. σ., and of which I will only
say that, while Mr King supposes ζοροκοθορα to mean “light-gatherer,”
θωβαρραβαυ is in the leaden _tabula devotionis_ of Carthage (Molinier,
“Imprecation gravée sur plomb,” _Mem. de la Soc. Nat. des Antiquaires
de France_, série VI. t. VIII. Paris, 1897, pp. 212-216) described as
τον θεὸν του τῆς παλινγενεσιας “the god of rebirth.” The concluding
words are of course merely “Yahweh of Hosts.”
Footnote 623:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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