Aphraates
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
665 unto eternity, there will be pious
uiiil
upright
men
W. Wright, Tli,- /^.mi7i.jt nf Ai/hraotrs^tln: Ptritiati .Sayr. Ixndon lH*i!* (thts Is the af(itriitcti/suf the oriplnatSvriac text) PotruUtnia .s'f/nVir/x. Paris. 1S!H. vol. I.. Syriac and IMin (the last homily oinlltiHli (i. Bert, Ai>hr(iatcjt^ dfn Pcrxij*f/icH M'ei^i:n, Iltitnilkii, nus item Siiri'<ili(>' Vlinvitzt., Lelp.slo, 1888, In (ielibart and Harnaek. Terte viiil i'litirKiichuiiutn. 111. 3. 4: J. <iwynn. T/i« A'((7:»(f' null Pnst-Xieetii: Fathntt. second series, xill. :M.5-412 lonly a few hoiiillics translated Into KiarlLsh) S. Funk, />fe iltt{i(Ulw-hfu Kleinenti- in ilin IlinniUt u ihs A]ilirnotf^^ Vienna, Isid h. GlnzlierE. I>ir Jhnnimln h. il. Kiirheiix-illrrii. part I. Allistcnlalu. ISiW; Idclii. IH< }hmiliula h. il. Kirrhtuviiltru nwl in fltr Apiiknfi'lii-'^rln n Litcrntur.
MniiiilMihrifl. IH'JK; Herzop. U<nl, n(iihl"i"'l<lir fUr I'ri>ItfliititifcUt Tluiilinii€.M ed., Lfl|wl<-, Issdi. x.r.; ForKel, lit Vita ft Scrii}tii< Aifltraatift, Louvain. IWi; Duvul. La Lit' trrature Suriaiiue, pp. 'Swr-'£i^, Paris. 1891*. nian. Coiistiiiitlnnrile. li«t
on earth."* This
.
liit
for the rahhis teach that the world's existence depemls upon the presence of the pious in it; the only disigreenient is in the necessary number of these " pillars of the tinifixed period is set for the world: "For verse."f the world will exist for (i.ddO years, like to the six (lays of the Lord, and then the Salibalh of God will This niilleiniarianbejrin " (horn. ii. 13, p. 3(i, line !>). isni is, however, not to he ascribed to nibbinieal influence upon ApliRuites; for it belonjrs to the oldest elements of Christianity, tatcen over from Judaism; indeed. Aphraates refers to "the Inidition of »'//• sages." This is mentioned l)eeause it is charaeleristic of the whole method of Aphnuites, who herein also teaches consonantly with the rabbis (compare is
Apii^oros
also of nilibinical origin;
A
L. G.
APHRASCHUS RACHMAILOWICZ. See > MM AKI.OVICII. Al APHRODITE Greek name for the gofhlcss 1
1! l
l:
Sanh.
97rt).
The knowledire of Aphraates' personal relations with Jews is limited to what may be learned from his instance, he maintains that the homily " Upon Persecution " (hom. xxi.) owes its existence to the arjrumenis against Christianity made " to him by a Jewish sage (the ejiithet "l.iak kima here is not a title, like the old "hakam." but "sjige" His fre(|Uent vigorous attacks on Jewin general). ish sages and disputants also show that, in spite of the great influence that the nibbinieal teachings exercised over him. he entered the lists against One-half of this collechis teachers more than once. tion of homilies is an avowed defense of Clirislianily against Judaism; and his charsicteristie priM<i]ile is that attack is the best defense. Therefore, he inveighs (horns, xi., xii.. xiii.. xv.) against Defends circumcision. Pas.sover. the Sabbath, Christian- .and dietary laws, the chief portions of ity Against the JewLsh ceremonial law. in order to Judaism, proceed to the rejection of the doctrine of the "chosen people "(hom. xvi.). In his apologetics for Christianity, next to the defense of the designation "Son of God" for Jesus (hom. xvii.). it is celibacy that he mainly upholds against Jews and heathen (hom. xviii). In hom. xix. he disiiroves the Messianic hopesof the Jews. Hut to his honor be it sjiid. that, unlike other ancient Christian apologeti'S, such as Origen anil Jerome, who owed much to Jewish teacliers. his writings are almost entirely free from any bitterness toward them personallv, a charaeterislie which NiUdcke ("GiittingirGi'"lehrl<> An/.eiger." ISdT. p. l.">rj) was the tirst to indicate. It should not be coneluiled that, because Aiihniatesattackeil Judaism only in the last ten of his liomilies (which were composed after the war bewritin.irs.
For
tween the Persians and Honnins tack
was the
result of ill-feeling
in HUT),
Among
Orientals, addicted to sensualitv. woi"shi|)ed undiruianv formsand tiirures. Tlic
was word 'Ao/)'i'li7;,
she
(Aiilit'int. A/ilimlit. Aiihriidtl),
.
ttiH-ra S.Jitrolii Kiiiitrnfii yMheut, Annenliin mill Ijitlii fif.. Me. AnlDnellii.H. Iliniii'. IT.VI, Ventre. ITil'i In fjilln. In (iullundl, IWil. Vet. I'alr. lTt»l, v.. nnil In Amie:
which
can not be satisfactorily derived from Gre<-k. plainly shows its Semitic origin; for upon elo.s<-r insiu'Ction it is proved to be identical with Aiihtorit (mncy) (F. Ilommel. "Neue JahrbUcher." cxxv. 176; II. xvj. "Die Semitischen Fremdwiirter ini Griecliischen," Aphrodite was considered so Berlin, 189.'), p. 250). peculiar to Syria that she was worshiped there as AoimMri) Ivpia, or the Syrian Aphrodite (see PaulyWissowa, "healencyklopiidie der Classi-schen AlterIhumswissenschaft," i. '2TT4). There existed in Palestine a reco.cni7.ed Aphrodite '
(1) in Jaffa (Pliny. "Ilistoria Natunilis," v. 129); (2) in Acre (ancient Acco), which city i)o,sses.sed a bathailomcd with a painting of the godiless, where on that account even the patri:ircli (Jamalii'l did refuse to liaihe (Mishnah Ab. Zarali, iii. 4; Yalkiit,
cult;
md
Dcul. HHH); (3) in
Hozrah
at the
lime of
I{.
Simeon
ben I.,t»kish (Talmud Vcruslialmi. Slicb. viii. 3W). These cities were for the most part inhabited by When, under Emperor Hadrian, even Jepa.irans. rusidem became a pa.san city with tin- name .Elia Capitolina. the strong heathenish inclination of its inhabitants displayed itself in the erection of a temple to Venus upon Alount Golgotha .iust outside the city (So/.omen, "Uist. Eccl." ii. 1: ilieronymus, " Kpistohe." 13).
Probably connected with the worship of Aphrodite bird which, it is alleged, was worshiped by the Samaritans and which may have been the dove, an attendant of the goddess of love.
was the
lliiu.iocRArnr:
(iriltz.
(lewMchte
iter
l.W; Sclillrer, ficwhiehtt <lc» JlUlitchcn
Jesu
On i«(i.
I.
5<i5
and
Jiidz-n, 3d ed.,
S.
APIKOROS
Iv.
Vitlkoim ZtUalttr
,584.
this at-
between Jews and
Christians, the former favoring the Persians, the hit teropposingthem, .pliniatcs showed not the slight est traces (d' personal ill feeling toward the Jews; and liis calm, dispassionate toni- pnives that it was oidy his firm conviction of ChrisliaTuty that caused him to The fact that in Ihelirst half of his as.sail Judaism. work he did not attack it is easily c^x plained; the themes he treated, such as fasting, love, faith, prayer, cic. furnished no basis for polemics against Jews.
BlBMooRAPMY
of love.
K.
API?:ORSIM):
In common Jewish paihiMcc tliis u.nil i> usnl to signify that a man is a heretic, unsound in his belief, or lax in his The word is derived from the religious practise. Greek 'ETiM^iof, but Maiinoiiides (Commentary <m the Mishnah, Sanh. xi. 1), deriving it from the New freedom, explains it to mean one Hebrew ipsn who refuses obedience to the l.)iw. In the Mishnah (see also .Vets. xvii. IS) the word Dmp2X evidently means an adherent of the El>icuriaii philiisi.phy the context shows this clearly. Il reads: ".ll Isnieliti-s have a share in the future world. The followinir. however, have no share in the future world He who says there is no resum-clion jthe wunls rmnn arl-. as Uabbinowit/. lias proved, intirpolated). lie who says the Ijiw has not been iriveii by Gixl. and pi
=
Ai'linuUt's (incites In pni<>t ii IIIIiIIi-bI TcrM> nif .iniilaUnn. |i. I'll, nl In our llllile. whioli iliM^a not which neither Wrlirlil nor llert imilil tlnd llii' *iuni'. in Pwilm w.irlil Im luillt ui«>n inen-y " lA. V. "Men-y lx.txl.t.;;; "The RhBll Ik" built ii|> tiin'ver"!. + See Snk. 4"l/i. wliiTi' Uie niiiiil"'r l,i plneeil at nil; tiul In Ymnii. :ts/.. .m, is h.'M «illUI.Mit. s-.> " Muniilwuhrlfl," I.e.. |>. 6411, mill the |»Lisutti's qu(ite<l from Dloitem-s miil JUKtln Manyr. • Hiini. xxlll. 4.Vi.
eiW
p
an Dmp'DK"(Sanh. iloubt
man who
x.
I.Gem
!H><i(.
Thi-recan be no
.pikoros. in this ronnectiou. ri'fers to a In refus<'S to Iwdieve in life after death.
tliiil
