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pitenius ago

What the hell?

The Bible is in (koine) Greek and Greek translations of Hebrew and Aramaic. I'm not certain what you mean by "Judeo-Christianism", but when "Roman Christianity" institutionalized itself in Europe, they spoke and wrote in Latin.

  1. Saint is an English derivative of sanctus, a past participle of the longstanding verb sancio, meaning "to make sacred, render inviolable, fix unalterably, establish, appoint, decree, ordain, confirm, ratify, enact". It relates to a general Indo-European root involving "honor", as with the Sanskrit sac, which means to accompany as an honor guard. The notion of sanity as in "sana mens in corpore sano" (a phrase from Juvenal) is sana, meaning "healthy". There are not really "saints" in the bible.

  2. "Sin" is a particularly English word, going back to Old English. It derives from a German root meaning "to be true", with the idea that the true thing was akin to guilty verdict. There are a MESS of words for sin in the Greek bible.

  3. Satan is not a name, but a position. In Hebrew, the word is שָׂטָן‏, which is a legal term, like accuser or "the prosecution". The word entered Greek with no change, but it was taken as a name.

  4. As for "heaven", this word is from Old English heofen, meaning "sky". This word is difficult to connect with other languages, but usually it just meant "sky". In the Greek bible, with was οὐρανός. The etymology is difficult, but the word seems to mean anything like a vaulted roof or tent peak. It's an old idea, from Homer and Hesiod. What is it in Hebrew? Shamayim (שָׁמַיִם), literally a shin-causative of mayim (מַיִם), waters. Heaven is literally "the place which makes the waters". Think of rain.

  5. As for "hell", it comes from a root for "cover". It means "the covered over place" and refers to where the dead are after burial. The same idea lies behind the Hebrew sheol שְׁאוֹל, which means "grave". What did Greeks say? ᾍδης, which was a personal name for the god of the dead. It extended to the domain of the dead.

  6. Old English had sawol for soul. It meant "soul, life, spirit, being" with the same idea as the German Seele. The Greek and Hebrew relate to breath.

ardvarcus ago

Wow, you actually too the time and trouble to respond to this idiotic post from the OP. Better you than me, fella.

pitenius ago

Glutton for punishment? I hope it amused you.