James the Just's name Oblias (Ωβλιας)

[DCHindley]

Ding Dong Dangy!

I had a nifty and crazy complicated post all constructed, and, teacher, I know this sounds fishy, but the Internet ate my paper! <grumble>

Anyhow, I did look about for others who might have lit upon something similar, but with only limited success.

The Wikipedia entry for Hegesippus (copied 7-25-16 10:00pm) cites the following authorities for suggestions:

Charles C. Torrey, "James the Just, and His Name 'Oblias'" Journal of Biblical Literature 63.2 (June 1944:93-98) gives a sketch of attempted emendations, in offering his own, a variant of Obadiah; Torrey does not doubt Eusebius' characterisation of Hegesippus: "He was an Oriental, familiar with Aramaic and Hebrew, and it is not to be doubted that he understood perfectly the meaning of the word which he wrote" (p. 93), but is aware that "As soon as the attempt is made to find an Aramaic or Hebrew equivalent of 'Ωβλιας, very serious difficulty is encountered" (p. 94). Like all his predecessors Torrey searches for the impossible origin in a corrupt manuscript tradition.

There is another citation of Eisenman, James the Brother of Jesus, where the author of this section of the article got the idea that it was related to the word for Zaddikim, but gives no page number. I think he or she had page 354 in mind.

My reading of James the Brother of Jesus, following up on the pages associated in the index with the word Oblias, gives me the impression that Eisenman prefers B-L-‘ ( בלע
) Belah, which means "to swallow", and is the root behind "Belair" as a name for the evil one.

A writer frequently cited is Roy Blizzard III, "A Short Explanation of James’ Title Oblias or Ωβλιας in Greek and Hebrew" which can be found here:
http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy ... and-Hebrew

His solution is Uvleh ( יבלח
), based on the root B-L-H (I think), which means something like "turn over". So, to him, the word refers to continuously turning over the law in one's mind.

DCH

[John2]

DCH,

I'll have to check, but my understanding is that he prefers "oz." For example:

...despite the admitted absurdity of mixing Hebrew with Greek word roots, Ob would seem to be based on some Hebrew description incorporating something of the sense of 'Protection,' 'Bulwark,' or 'Strength' (in Hebrew 'Oz' or 'Ma'oz').

https://books.google.com/books?id=XhJcW ... oz&f=false

Then what is meant in Hebrew by the Greek 'Ob'? The closest Hebrew, as we saw, is 'Oz'/Strength or another variation, also used in [the Thanksgiving] Hymns, 'Ma'oz' or 'Shield' or 'Protection' again. This word 'Oz' is often coupled in the Psalms of the Bible in extremely interesting contexts with the phrase 'to the people'.

https://books.google.com/books?id=XhJcW ... 3F&f=false

Zaddikim is related to the 'Just' part of James' name (zaddik).

I haven't seen that Roy Blizzard III article yet and will take a look at it now. Edit: I just took a look at it. I have seen it before.

[John2]

Blizzard's idea doesn't take into account the "of the people" part of Oblias ("which in Greek signifies a bulwark of the people"), while oz is used in conjunction with "people" in the OT (e.g., Ps. 29:11: "oz l'ammo").

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

It also needs to be something that is in the OT (or "in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him"), and Blizzard references the Pirke Avot, so I want to see if/how ובלה is used in the OT.

I'm leaving work now so I will check it tomorrow.

[John2]

I can't follow Blizzard's argument about "uvleh." He writes, "I then went to the Jastrow’s Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature. I finally found on page 172 an interesting citation on the root word Belah or הּלּבּוּ (it reads backwards in this posting-Uvleh in Hebrew would be Oblias in Greek) from Pirke Avot or Ethics of the Fathers..."

I'm only seeing the definition of to wear out, to consume, to destroy, to ruin, to waste away, to decay, to grow tired and the like on page 172 of Jastrow’s Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, and Midrashic Literature in this link:

http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/jastrow/

And in this translation of Pirke Avot the passage is in 5:21 and appears to have the sense of "worn out":

"Ben Bag Bag would say: Delve and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do not budge from it, for there is nothing better."

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_c ... r-Five.htm

It is in 5:22 in the Hebrew:

בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ. וּבָהּ תֶּחֱזֵי, וְסִיב וּבְלֵה בָהּ, וּמִנַּהּ לֹא תָזוּעַ

http://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_Avot.5.22 ... l&lang2=he

This is how belah is used in the OT too and the way Eisenman understands it.

And it looks to me like "reflect on it" ("see with it" in the above translation) is based on chazah, not belah.

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2372.htm

And "turn it over" ("delve into it" in the above translation) is הֲפֹךְ

http://biblehub.com/hebrew/2015.htm

So I'm kind of lost here.

[Secret Alias]

Doesn't make sense to me either. But Eisenman's bilingual construction is no better. DCH might be onto something.

[Secret Alias]

Some observations about the passage in Hegesippus where he was called:

the Just, and Oblias, which signifies in Greek Defence of the People, and Justice, in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.

ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ὠβλίας, ὅ ἐστιν Ἑλληνιστὶ περιοχὴ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ δικαιοσύνη, ὡς οἱ προφῆται δηλοῦσιν περὶ αὐτοῦ [Ecl 2.23.8]

1. the 'o' in Oblias could be explained by the 'and' between "the Just' and whatever Oblias was
2. the explanation of what these terms mean is inverted (first Just/last Justice) (last Oblias/first Defense of the People)

[Secret Alias]

Another possibility אבולא = rampart Targum-Pseudo-Jonathan Deut 28:52 : עד זמן די יחתון אבוליכון רמיא ותליליא until your high and fortified ramparts fall down.

[Secret Alias]

Also going back to the Greek cited by Eusebius περιοχὴ also means 'section' see Acts "Now the passage (περιοχὴ) of Scripture which ..." It comes from a verb which means to encompass, encircle.

[Charles Wilson]

...see Acts "Now the passage (περιοχὴ) of Scripture which ..." It comes from a verb which means to encompass, encircle.

Acts 8: 32 (RSV):

[32] Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this: "As a sheep led to the slaughter
or a lamb before its shearer is dumb...

Thank you very much for this. Nice piece of the puzzle for me.

CW

[Secret Alias]

I just discovered an interesting variant in the Syriac recension of Eusebius. Instead of the Greek text:

the Just, and Oblias, which signifies in Greek Defence of the People, and Justice, in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him

the Syriac text reads:

‘the Just’ (tsdyqa) and ‘Door (wshurh) of the people’ and ‘righteousness’ (wtsdyqwth), in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him

William Wright and Norman McLean, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius in Syriac https://archive.org/details/WrightAndMc ... usInSyriac