The Presence (and Absence) of Nomina Sacra in To Theodore

[Secret Alias]

17th century https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217 ... _23_1_3457

16th century

ANNOTATIONS - F. 202 v (= 226v de la numérotation grecque), dans une note datée du 5 décembre 1600, Georges Stratikeuas d'Argyropolis, notaire, évoque le souvenir de ses parents Mouratios Stratikeuas et Eudocie de Chrysopolis et indique que le manuscrit sur lequel il inscrit la note appartient au prêtreAlexios Asen. L'auteur de la note signe en monocondyles (dernière ligne): + μνιστιτι Κ(ύρι)ε τοῦ π(ατ)ρ(ὸ)ς υμοῦ Μουρατί(ου) τοῦ Στρατικεύα (.) ϊδοῦ δε του ευλαβεστ(ά)τ(ου) | καὶ μακαριωτ(ά)τ(ου) ιερέος κυροῦ Αλεξίου τοῦ 'Ασὲν το ευχολόγ(ιον) (.) ἐγρα|ψα ἐν αὐτὸ καὶ ὁ σιλάβον ἐν τι χειρι το εὐχολογιον ἀναγνόσ(ας) | εὐξαστε δηα τοῦ κ(υρί)ου τις δόξις υπερ του π(ατ)ρ(ὸ)ς υμῶν του ἀνοθεν ηρι|μενου καὶ τὶς μ(ητ)ρ(ὸ)ς μου Εὐδοκί(ας) τις χρισοπουλόπλος εἴνα ἔχητε | καὶ ἐσὶς το μιστὸ σὰς παρα τις ὁμοουσίο τριάδος καὶ ζωὴν τιν ἐώ|νιον κληρονομίσιτε καὶ το δευτε ι ευλογιμένι του π(ατ)ρ(ὸ)ς μου [Mt 25, 34]| ἀκουσιτε ὠ ὂν ευλογιτος Χ(ριστὸ)ς εις τους ἐόνας τον αἰονον ἀμήν(.) ἐγραφι κατα μινος δεκεμβρίου εις τ(ας) ε υμερα παρασκευὴ ετους ,ζρθ΄| + ευτελης και αμαρτολος Γεώργιος Στρατικεύας και νοτάριος ++. Sur Georges Stratikeuas et sa famille, cf. Georgios I. Kandilaptis, "Περὶ τοῦ ἐν Ἀργυροπόλει οἴκου τῶν Στρατικεύα", Ἀρχεῖον Πόντου 29 (1968-1969), pp. 64-70: 64-67. . Sur Argyropolis (Gümüşhane) et la région de Trébizonde aux XV-XVIe s., v. Anthony Bryer, The Post-Byzantine Monuments of the Pontos, Aldershot 2002, pp. 325-349. https://archivesetmanuscrits.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cc4354n

9th century hymn book

Τοῦ Κ(υρί)ου Ἰ(ησ)οῦ γεννηθέντος, ἐν Βηθλεὲμ τῆς Ἰουδαίας... Τοῦ Κ(υρί)ου τεχθέντος, ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου... 1 По МГ 56 (VIII–IX вв.). Автор сердечно ...https://www.academia.edu/15384281/The_T ... cipitarium

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I found even more when I changed the iota. 9th century cross with inscription:

ΤΟΥ Κ(υρι)ΟΥ ΙΜΩΝ Ι(ησο)Υ Χ(ριστο)Υ; Inscription translation: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inscription note: Galatians 6:14.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collectio ... t/H_AF-355

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Inscription on a stone at an archaeological site:

Greek. On the reverse side of the stone, complete greek [sic] funerary inscription. Badly damaged in the center of the stone, by humidity from the wall. Reading incomplete, and, in other places, dubious. Height of letters: .034. Regular lines. Late but beautifully letters [sic]. light carving. ligatures.

ΕΚΟΙΜΗΘΕΙΟΔΟΥΛΟΣΚΟΥΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ
ΜΟΝΑΧΟΣΟΝΟΥΣΑΜΟΙΔΥΣΕΙΜΕ
ΤΑΑΠΩΝ ΗΡΙΛΙΡΛΜΩΚΓ ΙΝΔ Ι
ΕΓΡΑΦΗ

Εκοιμηθει ο δουλος τ(ου) Κ(υρι)ου Ιακωβος μοναχος. Ο νους αμοι δυσει με|τα αγιον. .......... κγ ινδ(ικτιωνος) ι εγραφη.

Has been buried the servant of the Lord Iakob, the monk. His soul will enter somewhere, with the saints. the 23rd of (a month, or name of emperor or patriarch), 10th indiction, this has been written.(?) Image http://vrc.princeton.edu/researchphotog ... 1550%2C728

[Secret Alias]

I would say from memory (as I go back to work):

1. every place there were Greeks there was KOY.
2. as such it is not specific to Egypt
3. (almost) every century:
a. 2nd century
b. 3rd century
c. 4th century
d. 5th century
e. 6th century
f. 7th century
g. 9th century
h. 10th century
i. 11th century
j. 15th century
k. 16th century
l. 17th century
m. 18th century
n. 19th century
and of course
o. 20th century
p. 21st century

[Secret Alias]

The unusual NS κού has numeric value 490 found three times in Mar Saba letter

Now I am starting to wonder - is KOY an abbreviation or a nomen sacrum? There is no overbar. What makes an abbreviation a nomen sacrum? Merely when it refers to a divine being? THE divine being?

Here's what I am thinking as I take a break from this. Christian scholars unconsciously or whatever thought/wanted to make the nomina sacra SPECIAL. So Hurtado and others imagine that the reason why there is this convention is because Christianity was different even if it was only in the back of their heads. But clearly there were inscriptions that used abbreviations. And kurios has a secular meaning (i.e. guy who can beat the shit out of you, rape your wife, slaughter your kids and steal your property). So it looks like KOY was around from before Christianity. But ...

Phil 2:9 tells these people that there is this notion of a 'name above all names.' So they have to create this mysticism around the development of the nomina sacra. Instead of simply saying 'hey there was this name that added up to 7 x 70 you know the number in Daniel chapter 9 which became the gateway for a later deliberately Christianized abbreviation system. They imagine that the Christian abbreviation system goes back to the Tetragrammaton. Why? Why does that make sense? Yahweh is not an abbreviation. 490 is as good a reason as any to imitate an abbreviation system.

שָׁבֻעִים שִׁבְעִים נֶחְתַּךְ עַל-עַמְּךָ וְעַל-עִיר קָדְשֶׁךָ, לְכַלֵּא הַפֶּשַׁע ולחתם (וּלְהָתֵם) חטאות (חַטָּאת) וּלְכַפֵּר עָוֺן, וּלְהָבִיא, צֶדֶק עֹלָמִים; וְלַחְתֹּם חָזוֹן וְנָבִיא, וְלִמְשֹׁחַ קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים

Seventy sevens (= KOY) are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to forgive iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the most holy place

In other words, there is power in heaven, who is going to come and blow up the Temple. You can see why later Christians wouldn't want to keep this system of worshipping a destroying God. At least it's a hypothesis. Still thinking about it.

I am even beginning to suspect that Christian texts originally had first initial + case ending and the IC, XC etc all came later.

Why should Christians have developed a whole system of abbreviation independent of their pagan contemporaries? It's madness.

Why couldn't the nomina sacra have developed from KOY? It must have been around in pagan antiquity long before Christianity.

K = 20 O = 70 Y = 400.

It is noticeable how much more frequent KOY is than other triliteral abbreviations in Christian documents.

[Secret Alias]

From a Coptic scholar:

The nomina sacra that you list occur only very rarely in Coptic documents of any sort, so far as I know. Even the words theos and kurios as such are rare in Coptic, in favor of the Coptic equivalents (which are typically written as nomina sacra only in certain Coptic dialects, mainly in Bohairic). Of course xristos occurs in Coptic, almost always abbreviated as ΧC (i.e. ΧΣ). Inflection for case is not feature of Coptic grammar, and so Greek loanwords are only very rarely expressed in anything other than the nominative singular.