The Alien Gods: Notes on εἴδωλον and δαίμων as Instruments of Religious Polemics
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Abstract
The purpose of this study is to ponder the controversial potentials arising from the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek –the so-called Septuagint (3rd century BC)– and the impact they will have on the Christian mission. It is proposed, as a primary hypothesis, that the Greek voices eidolon (εἴδωλον) and daímon (δαίμων) do not enter the Septuagint as more or less precise alternatives to certain Hebrew voices, but as heuristic resources meant to answer the question about the nature of the Alien Gods. Both concepts –εἴδωλον and δαίμων– are used to translate not one but many Hebrew voices. It is argued, in the second place, that the amplitude and diversity of Hebrew voices substituted by εἴδωλον and δαίμων brought with it the accumulation of diverse controversial rhetorics about the Alien Gods, which will grant the hermeneutical foundations and the canonical sustenance for the construction of idol and demon voices.
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