Yahweh mentioned on Cyprus amulet?

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ficino
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Yahweh mentioned on Cyprus amulet?

Post by ficino »

A short news item about a 1500-yr old amulet found in the agora of Paphos on Cyprus says that one divinity mentioned on the amulet has a name rendered in English as Iahweh, "the bearer of the secret name." There is also mention of the "lion of Re."

I have no clue about this. The suggestion is made that Christians used such messages to try to avoid persecution. But there wasn't persecution in c. 500 CE. ?

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/1 ... red-cyprus
andrewcriddle
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Re: Yahweh mentioned on Cyprus amulet?

Post by andrewcriddle »

Jewish and Christian sacred names were used in the magic of this period.

This is probably an example.

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Leucius Charinus
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Re: Yahweh mentioned on Cyprus amulet?

Post by Leucius Charinus »

Image
  • Amulets are small objects that are either worn or offered to a deity because the owner believes that it will magically impart a certain power or form of protection from harm. The amulet, which is thought to be around 1,500 years old, is engraved on both sides. One side has several images, such as Harpocrates, the god of silence, whereas the other features a palindromic inscription written in Greek. It reads:

    ΙΑΕW ΒΑΦΡΕΝΕΜ ΟΥΝΟΘΙΛΑΡΙ ΚΝΙΦΙΑΕΥΕ ΑΙΦΙΝΚΙΡΑΛ ΙΘΟΝΥΟΜΕ ΝΕΡΦΑΒW ΕΑΙ

    As reported by Live Science, this translates to
    • “Iahweh (a god) is the bearer of the secret name, the lion of Re secure in his shrine.”
    [/i]

    The sequence actually features a couple of mistakes, with a “p” written twice when it should have been a “v.”

Interesting stuff. I agree with Andrew that its probably related to the Greek_Magical_Papyri.




LC
A "cobbler of fables" [Augustine]; "Leucius is the disciple of the devil" [Decretum Gelasianum]; and his books "should be utterly swept away and burned" [Pope Leo I]; they are the "source and mother of all heresy" [Photius]
andrewcriddle
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Re: Yahweh mentioned on Cyprus amulet?

Post by andrewcriddle »

From further investigation this is known as the iaeobaphrenemoun palindrome see for example scrolls of manetho

Andrew Criddle
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