The Number Seventy-two: Biblical and Hellenistic Beginnings to the Early Middle Ages
This article treats the widespread and complex symbolism of the number seventy-two from the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 to Isidore of Seville in the early seventh century. Whereas later authors attribute the notion of seventy or seventy-two original nations and languages in the world to Genesis 1...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brepols
2013
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| In: |
Sacris erudiri
Year: 2013, Volume: 52, Pages: 7-45 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | This article treats the widespread and complex symbolism of the number seventy-two from the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 to Isidore of Seville in the early seventh century. Whereas later authors attribute the notion of seventy or seventy-two original nations and languages in the world to Genesis 10, the literary and religious significance of the number symbolism in early Jewish and Christian literature stems more likely from other sources such as the Letter of Aristeas which first gives the number of translators of the Septuagint as seventy-two, and the Gospel of Luke which describes Jesus sending out seventy or seventy-two disciples. Although many authors are indebted to their inherited literary traditions, symbolic usage of the number seventy-two can be idiosyncratic and prone to unique developments. Much of the symbolic usage of the number seventy-two begins to form in earnest after Augustine, when the number could be employed for typological purposes. While early Jewish and Christian use of the number seventy-two remained strictly symbolic, later Christians, particularly Isidore of Seville, exploited the typological potential of the number. Though the seventy-two languages in the world and the seventy-two disciples sent out by Christ remain the commonest motifs, authors could also associated the number with the total tally of biblical books, of hours in a three day period, of Moses’ elders and the Sanhedrin, and of bishops needed to dispose of another bishop. |
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| ISSN: | 2295-9025 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sacris erudiri
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1484/J.SE.1.103821 |