Ἰουδαϊσμός

Forms

Ἰουδαϊσμός (Ioudaïsmós) m (genitive Ἰουδαϊσμοῦ); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos, “Jew, Judaean”) + -ισμός (-ismós).^[1] Bailly, Abbott-Smith and Strong derive it from the verb ἰουδαΐζω (ioudaḯzō, “to live as a Jew”), itself formed from the same noun.^[2][3][4][1] Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos) is from Ancient Greek Ἰουδά (Ioudá, “Judah”), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (Yəhūḏā, “Judah”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Second Book of Maccabees, meaning the Jewish way of belief and life.^[5][3][6]

Semantic evolution

In the books of Maccabees (2 Maccabees 2:21, 8:1, 14:38; 4 Maccabees 4:26) and in a synagogue inscription from Stobi, the word names the Judaean religion and way of life.^[5][3] Paul uses it in Galatians of his own former life in Judaism.^[5][7][8] In the letters of Ignatius it is set against Χριστιανισμός (Khrīstiānismós, “Christianity”).^[5]

Latin Iūdaismus came from it, and through Old French it gave English Judaism about 1400.^[9] Modern Greek ιουδαϊσμός (iudaismós) is a learned word for the Jewish religion and for the Jews as a whole.^[10]

Timeline

• 2nd century BC – The Second Book of Maccabees uses it for the Jewish religion and way of life.^[6][5]
• 1st century AD – Paul's Letter to the Galatians uses it of his former life in Judaism.^[6][5][7]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Ignatius of Antioch sets it against Christianity.^[5][11]
• About 1400 – English borrows Judaism from Old French and Late Latin.^[9]
• Modern Greek – ιουδαϊσμός (iudaismós) is a learned word for the Jewish religion.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Judaism, the Jewish religion and way of life.^[5][7][3][8]

Related words

• Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos)
• ἰουδαΐζω (ioudaḯzō)
• Latin Iūdaismus
• English Judaism

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
4. ^ Strong, James (1890), A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament, in The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, New York: Hunt & Eaton
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Thayer, Joseph Henry (1889), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New York: American Book Company
8. ^ a b United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge