James the Just's name Oblias (Ωβλιας)

[Secret Alias]

Another argument in favor of identifying Ωβλιας as having something to do with a 'ram' is the manner of James's death in Hegesippus - he is struck with a 'fuller's club.' A fuller is a person who cleanses the impurities out of wool and thickens it, in a process that originally involved beating it with a club. Yuval (Hebrew same spelling יוּבָל) is a relatively common Hebrew first name. It means stream, brook, or tributary. Yuval was the son of Lamech and Adah, a brother of Jabal, a descendant of Cain. He was named as the ancestor of all who played the lyre and pipe (see book of Genesis 4:20-21).

[Secret Alias]

Almost no Hebrew word begin with "o" so the general idea here of "yo-" is sensible

[Secret Alias]

Although compare Onias with חוֹנִיּוֹ

[Secret Alias]

ḥwbl, ḥwblˀ (ḥubbāl, ḥubbālā) v.n.D harm


1 harm Syr. (a) injury Sam, Syr. HippAp 32(2) : ܡܼܢ ܥܠܬ ܚܘܒܠܐ ܡܦܩܬܐ ܕܓܪܡܐ an account of injury -- excressence from the bone (i.e., gangrene). (a.1) disability Syr. EphNat 17.18:4 : ܚܘܒ̈ܠܐ ܕܐܪܡܝܬ ܥܠܘܗܝ ܩܥܝܢ the disabilities that You imposed upon hime are crying out.

2 corruption Syr. HippAp 32(2) : ܡܼܢ ܥܠܬ ܚܘܒܠܐ ܡܦܩܬܐ ܕܓܪܡܐ . (a) disgrace Syr.

3 extinction Syr.


Page refs. in other dictionaries: LS2: 420[211]; Payne-Smith: ~1179; J. Payne-Smith: 129; Tal Sam: 243;

View a complete KWIC

[Secret Alias]

He could equally be - the destroyer (of Jerusalem) based on the story in Hegesippus

ḥbl, ḥblˀ (ḥăḇāl, ḥăḇālā) v.n. damage


1 damage Com-OA-OfA. Ezra4:22 : לְמָה יִשְׂגֵּא חֲבָלָא לְהַנְזָקַת מַלְכִין lest the damage become great for the bother of the king. Dan3:25 : א וַחֲבָל לָא־אִיתַי בְּהוֹן they being undamaged. TN Gen22:10 : נדחי לגובה דחבלא we should be cast into the pit of destruction. P Lv26:33 : ܘܬܗܘܐ ܐܪܥܟܘܢ ܠܚܒܠܐ . P Ez12:20 : ܐܪܥܐ ܠܚܒܠܐ ܬܗܘܐ . P Acts2:27 : ܕܿܢܸܚܙܸܐ ܚܒܼܵܠܵܐ . BT BQ 89b(17) : ואידך תזבנה ניהליה בחבליה let her sell the rest of it [i.e. her ketubba] to him (in compensation) for his injury. (a) ruination JLAtg, Syr. ActsThom 237:18 : ܡܚܿܪܪ ܡܢ ܚܒܿܠܐ ܘܡܢ ܥܒܼܕܘܬܐ̈ the one who frees from ruination and from servitudes. (b) ܕܠܐ ܚܒܠܐ adv. : undamaged Syr.

2 alas ; see s.v. ḥbl interj. Com.

[John2]

DCH wrote:

"It is hard to tell whether Hegesippus was going off a Greek or Aramaic source"

Whatever language it is derived from, it is probably something from the OT since Hegesippus says that it is "in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him." Eusebius also uses the word bulwark regarding James in EH 3.7.9 and connects it to holding back the destruction of Jerusalem because of his repentance:

"But it may be proper to mention also those events which exhibited the graciousness of that all-good Providence which held back their destruction full forty years after their crime against Christ—during which time many of the apostles and disciples, and James himself the first bishop there, the one who is called the brother of the Lord, were still alive, and dwelling in Jerusalem itself, remained the surest bulwark of the place. Divine Providence thus still proved itself long-suffering toward them in order to see whether by repentance for what they had done they might obtain pardon and salvation."

The Thanksgiving Hymns use similar "bulwark" language, and I'm curious what the Hebrew says.

"Thou hast made me like a strong tower,
a high wall, and hast established my edifice upon rock;
eternal foundations serve for my ground,
and all my ramparts are a tried wall which shall not sway."

"But I shall be as one who enters a fortified city,
as one who seeks refuge behind a high wall until deliverances (comes);
I will [lean on] Thy truth, O my God."

"I thank Thee, O Lord,
for Thou art as a fortified wall to me,
and as an iron bar against all destroyers."

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/scrol ... ish/08.htm

[John2]

Eisenman suggests oz (ayin, zav) or "strength" as a possible option for the "ob" in oblias, which is used several times in the OT, such as Ps. 29:11, where it is used in conjunction with "to His people" (l'ammo), which could also account for the second part of "Oblias," which is said to mean "Bulwark of the people" and not just bulwark.

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/5797.htm

http://biblehub.com/interlinear/psalms/29-11.htm

[Secret Alias]

A bilingual hodgepodge name? No. Stupid suggestion.

[Secret Alias]

The next step in DCH's theory is to find examples where yod-waw becomes omega at the front of a word or name in Greek. I haven't found an example yet (but then again I've only looked for a few minutes).

[John2]

Regarding the examples of similar "bulwark" language in the DSS I noted above, Dunn notes that, "Bauckham has argued persuasively that the term 'Oblias' should be seen in the context of the earliest church's understanding of itself as the eschatological temple, rather as the Qumran community did. As Oblias, the 'rampart,' he protected the city through his prayers."

https://books.google.com/books?id=A_Ngb ... as&f=false

Regarding the original language of Oblias, Painter suggests that, "The term Oblias is Hebrew or Aramaic ... Oblias may be an inaccurate transliteration of the Hebrew 'Bulwark of the people' ... The question of how James attracted the name 'Bulwark of the people' finds a suggestive answer in a later passage (3.7.8), in which the presence in Jerusalem of James and the other apostles is said to afford a strong protection (bulwark) to that place."

https://books.google.com/books?id=HQGsx ... as&f=false

And Allison notes another possibility I haven't considered before, that Oblias could be a corruption of "Obadiah" meaning slave of God. I'll need to give that more thought.

https://books.google.com/books?id=d-0RB ... as&f=false