Simon Magus's Epithet 'Standing One' = 'Bishop' or 'Overseer' in Aramaic

[DCHindley]

Isn't there something in the Simon Magus story about a 'statue'?

There is this:

Justin Martyr, 1 Apology 26.2-3: 2 There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honoured by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome:-- "Simoni Deo Sancto," "To Simon the holy God." 3 And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea generated by him.

I guess this would be the appropriate place to mention the statue dedicated to the god Semoni Sanco Deo on an island shrine in the river Tiber, which has wording that phonetically is close to what Justin Martyr said it said (Simoni Deo Sancto), which suggests that the story was based on hearsay about this statue, seen by someone while in Rome on the master's business, which was misinterpreted. There is a bit about this statue in several books, including the Ante Nicene Fathers (tr by Marcus Dods & George Reith, ANF vol 1, 1885/ANCF vol 1, 1867), and the most recent English translation of Emil Schürer's History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. - A.D. 135), (ed & tr by Geza Vermes, Fergus Miller T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1973-1987). It will also be in the earlier ET called A History of the Jewish People in the time of Jesus Christ (1885-1891)

Personally, I think Justin just got this one wrong. Oops!

How many pulpit/radio/TV sermons have we heard that got details wrong?

DCH Edit, 10:30 am, fixed Semoni Sanco Deo and added what Justin said some statue said. Also removed the reference to Adolf Deissmann's Light from the Ancient East (tr 1910) as I could find nothing in it that seems to pertain to that statue in the Tiber

[Ben C. Smith]

Isn't there something in the Simon Magus story about a 'statue'?

There is this:

Justin Martyr, 1 Apology 26.2-3: 2 There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius Caesar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honoured by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome:-- "Simoni Deo Sancto," "To Simon the holy God." 3 And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea generated by him.

I guess this would be the appropriate place to mention the statue dedicated to the god Semoni Sanctus on an island shrine in the river Tiber, which has wording that phonetically is close to what Justin Martyr said, which suggests that the story was based on hearsay about this statue, seen by someone while in Rome on the master's business, which was misinterpreted. There is a bit about this statue in several books, including the Ante Nicene Fathers (tr by Marcus Dods & George Reith, ANF vol 1, 1885/ANCF vol 1, 1867), Diessmann's Light, and the most recent English translation of Emil Schürer's History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C. - A.D. 135), (ed & tr by Geza Vermes, Fergus Miller T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1973-1987). It will also be in the earlier ET called A History of the Jewish People in the time of Jesus Christ (1885-1891)

Personally, I think Justin just got this one wrong. Oops!

I am in complete agreement. He thought the statue was of Simon, and he was wrong.

[Secret Alias]

One more odd tidbit. Philo's identification of τόπος as meaning "god" is also curious. He repeatedly references this understanding. The “place” mentioned in Gen 28:11 cannot mean the “place of God,”for God, who contains all things, cannot be contained in “a place”; according to Philo, “place,” when it appears in statements like Gen 22:3 and 28:11, must refer to the logos (Dreams 1.61-64). The Hebrew original behind τόπος is מָקוֹם. So Jastrow:



For instance:

And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he cleaved the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place (מָקוֹם) of which God had told him.

But 'standing place' and the 'stand' are intimately linked in the Jacob dream story:

And he lighted upon the place (מָקוֹם), and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep ... [and after his dream] ... And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

For those who are interested the Jewish Targumim replace 'maqom' with מקדשא:

1 temple, sanctuary Qumran, Jud, CPA, Sam, JBA, LJLA. QumNJ 554:1:2:17 : ٠٠٠] די על [שמא]ל מקדשא ‏ . EchRG[2]143(12) : חרב מקדשא ‏ the Temple was destroyed. TN Gen22:14 : בטור מקדשא ‏ . BT Pes 109a(23) : לוגא למקדשא ‏ the log-measure for the Temple. MG 6:69.2.17 : האיי דאחרביה למקדשא ‏ the one who destroyed the Temple. PJ Ex25:8 : ויעבדון לשמי מוקדשא ואשרי שכינתי ביניהון ‏ .

2 holy thing, holy place CPA, Syr. P Ex15:17 : ܡܩܼܕܫܟ ܡܪܝܐ ܬܩܿܢܝܗܝ ‍<‍ܒ‍>‍ܐ̈ܝܕܝܟ‏ .

When Deuteronomy 18:15 says that another one like Moses will come 'qwm' is also used - i.e. I will raise another ...