Thursday, September 3, 2015

While the World Fights over God.......

Etymology of the Name God

god ‎(plural gods)
1.    A deity.
  • A supernatural, typically immortal being with superior powers.
  • A male deity. 
  • A supreme being; God.
The most frequently used name for the Islamic god is Allah.
2.    Alternative spelling of God
3.    An idol.
  • A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette.
  • Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed. 
4.    (figuratively) A person in a high position of authority; a powerful ruler or tyrant.
5.    (colloquial) An exceedingly handsome man. 


6.     Lounging on the beach were several Greek gods.


Oddly, the exact history of the word God is unknown.

All that we know for certain is that the word God is a relatively new European invention, which was never used in any of the ancient Judaeo-Christian scripture manuscripts which were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek or Latin.

This situation is quite remarkable, since there is a long history of people arguing and fighting over the name of God, yet we don't even know where the word came from!

According to the best efforts of linguists and researchers, the most common theory is that the root of the present word God  is the Sanskrit word hu which means to call upon, invoke, implore.

Nonetheless, it is also interesting to note the strong similarity to the ancient Persian word for God which is Khoda (or Khuda).

1 comment:

  1. Ven. Wonji, most interesting indeed. "El" or the prefix word/syllable on several Hebrew words for "God" shows (it seems to me) an evolution of sorts in theological understandings of God him/her self. In the end, as I understand it, the four Hebrew letters sometimes referred to as "Yahweh" is the highest evolution of the terms for God and is more a verb tense than noun. "I am that I am, I will be that which I will be" is sometimes how it is referred to. For Jews, God is not a static being, a noun, if you will, but rather a dynamic ever changing mystery. And since we humans are suggested to be made in his/her image?

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