-
"For That Is What His Name Means" (Acts 13:8): Luke's Etymology of Elymas the Magician
- The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
- The Catholic University of America Press
- Volume 84, Number 4, October 2022
- pp. 609-626
- 10.1353/cbq.2022.0132
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract
Abstract:
The name Elymas in Acts 13 has long perplexed interpreters. Why this name should provide an alternate to Bar-Jesus has found no answer, and the etymology of Elymas as "magician" has been judged senseless. To explain it, commentators frequently appeal to unlikely Semitic precedents for Elymas or follow Codex Bezae in reading Hetoimas ( Ἑτοιμᾶς) and associate this figure with Atomos from Josephus's Antiquities. In contrast, I propose that Josephus's account of Noah's genealogy, which speaks of a certain Elymos, forms the background for Luke's Elymas. This background renders Elymas's name and etymology sensible, providing a solution to a long-standing exegetical conundrum.
collapse
You are not currently authenticated.
If you would like to authenticate using a different subscribed institution or have your own login and password to Project MUSE
Authenticate
