[B-Greek] IHS abbreviation
Tony Costa
tmcos at rogers.com
Mon Dec 15 14:49:11 EST 2003
I never heard of this one. The Latin word for "this" is "hoc" not "hota". I
think that IHS emerged from the 'nomina sacra' where Greek scribes would
abbreviate sacred names and words by usually writing the first and last
letters of the word and then placing a stroke above the letters. IHS are the
first 3 letters in Greek for 'Jesus', but the sigma can also be the last
letter of the name as well (IHSOUS). The Latin derivation, "Jesus Saviour of
Men" from IHS was a later development.
Tony Costa
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Hare" <jason at hareplay.com>
To: "B-Greek" <B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] IHS abbreviation
> I have always heard that IHS stands for "In Hota Signo" or some sort (with
> my terrible Latin!). This was the phrase given to Constantine that caused
> his conversion. "In this sign shall you conquer." Has no one else heard
> this?
>
> Regards,
> Jason
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Maurice A. O'Sullivan" <mauros at iol.ie>
> To: "Jeff Cockrell" <jeffcockrell at hotmail.com>
> Cc: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 11:15 AM
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] IHS abbreviation
>
>
> At 16:15 15/12/2003, Jeff Cockrell wrote:
>
> >I have read that IHS is an abbreviation for Jesus in Greek. However, I
> >have also read that this is an abbreviation from Latin meaning "Jesus
> >Savior of Men."
> >
> >Any conclusive evidence to the orgin of this abbreviation?
>
> Well, the Encyclopaedia Britannica appears in two minds on the matter:
>
> Its entry for " monogram " states:
>
> >>The interlaced IHS, also called the sacred monogram, is an abbreviation
> of the Latin phrase Iesus Hominum Salvator ("Jesus, Saviour of Mankind").
> This monogram apparently possesses no great antiquity and is said to have
> been the creation of St. Bernard of Siena in the mid-15th century.<<
>
> whereas the entry on "symbolic modes of expression" states;
>
> >>The letters received a symbolic character in two ways: first, as
> components of a word for which they stood-e.g., the Hebrew tetragram
> (four-letter) YHWH (Yahweh) for God, the Latin IOM for Jupiter Optimus
> Maximus (Jupiter the Best and Greatest), and the Greek IHS for Jesus-or,
> second through their numerical value, as in >alpha< and >omega<, the
> beginning and end of the Greek alphabet, signifying Christ. They then
> became means of abbreviation-signs possessing a specific content and
> meaning.<<
>
>
>
> Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
> mauros at iol.ie
>
>
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