? MJ Smith DDD

Christian Alexander

Dear MJ Can you send the entry of Saviour by Jan Den Boeft in the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst (Leiden; Boston; Köln; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: Brill; Eerdmans, 1999)?

MJ. Smith

Ah, you read up on Azelel ...

[quote]

SAVIOUR Σωτήρ
I. Σωτήρ is the nomen agentis of the stem σω-, which is also present in the verb σῴζω, and thus in essence denotes a person who saves or preserves (or has done so). It can be used about those who have saved a community or a group of persons or an individual from an undesirable condition. In a specifically religious sense it functions as an honorific title of several gods, e.g. →Zeus, Asklepios, Sarapis, or of men whose status has been raised to the divine sphere, e.g. kings and outstanding Roman →authorities, later mostly, though not exclusively, the Roman emperor. In the LXX almost all its occurrences concern →God (as the translation of various forms of the Hebrew stem YŠʿ); in the NT it is more often used about →Jesus →Christ (especially in the later epistles).
II. In a general reflection about Xerxes’ expedition against Greece Herodotus 7.139.5 states that the Athenians might well be called “saviours of Hellas”. In Aristophanes’ Equites 149 a slave exhorts the sausage-seller to manifest himself to the city as its ‘saviour’. Such a use of the term is, however, far less frequent than its occurrences in honour of gods, especially Zeus. The oldest extant case is Pindar, Olymp. 5.17: “O saviour Zeus, in the clouds on high”. It can refer to a specific saving act, e.g. when gratitude was expressed to Zeus for having saved Delphi from an attack of Gauls in 279/8 (SIG3 408). In their capacity of gods of sailors the →Dioscuri also were often honoured by the title. Leda is said to have borne sons who were “saviours of men living on the earth and their quick-going ships” (Homeric hymn to the Diosc. 6–7, see also SB 5795). The healing god Asklepios was very often called sōtēr (e.g. IG IV2 1.127, OGIS 332.8) and it developed into his specific title, as can be witnessed in Aelius Aristides’ Sacred Tales. “Die Bezeichnung ho sōtēr ist für Aristides so sehr ein Name des Asklepios geworden, daß er ihn gebraucht wie bei Herakles die Bezeichnung Kallinikos (und Alexikakos)” (DÖLGER 1950:262). Among the gods whose cult spread in Hellenistic and Roman times especially →Isis and Sarapis held the title (OGIS 87: Sarapidi Isidi Sōtērsi); for Isis the feminine sōteira was used (e.g. VIDMANN 1969: 247). Apuleius coined the neologism sospitatrix to render this into Latin (Met. 11.9.1, 11.15.4, 11.25.1). A list of all the gods who are called sōtēr or sōteira is provided by HÖFER 1909–1915.
The title is, however, also assigned to great politicians or generals for their achievements. The first reliable contemporary record of this is Thucydides 5.11.1 about the Spartan general Brasidas, who in defeating an Athenian army in 422 was himself mortally wounded. He received sacrifices as a hēros, was honoured as a ktistēs and regarded as a ‘saviour’. Obviously sōtēr figures here within a religious context. The object of the honours has exceeded normal human bounds. Others were to follow and indeed to be honoured during their lifetime. In 302 BCE the Athenians greeted Demetrios Poliorketes and his son Antigonos as theoi sōtēres (Plutarch, Dem. 10.4, Diodorus Siculus 20.46.2, cf. IG II2.3424.12 and HABICHT 1970:44–48). When the Romans intervened powerfully in Hellenic affairs, such treatment also fell to their share. Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229–174) is the first example (Plutarch, Titus Flam. 10). A contemporary inscription found in the Laconian seaport Gytheum testifies to this: Titon Titou Koigktion, stratagon hypaton Rōmaiōn, ho damos ho Gytheatan ton autou sōtēra, “Titus Quinctius, son of Titus, Roman consul, is honoured by the people of Gytheum as their saviour”, (SIG3 592 = IGLS 8766). In the first century BCE such honours befell Caesar (SIG3 759, Athens) and Pompeius (SIG3 749b, Samos). An Ephesian inscription in honour of Caesar emphasizes the religious context: … ton apo Areōs kai Aphrodeitēs theon epiphanē kai koinon tou anthrōpinou biou sōtēra, “the manifest god, who is descended from →Ares and →Aphrodite, and the common saviour of human life”, (SIG3 760). This is not to deny that the assignment of the title could assume a stereotyped character. Thus Verres, who as a proconsul of Sicily in 73–71 was guilty of all the typical abuses of the Roman aristocratic administration of provinces, had also been honoured in such a way: Itaque eum non solum patronum illius insulae, sed etiam sōtēra inscriptum vidi Syracusis, “And thus at Syracuse I saw an inscription in which he was not only called protector of that island, but even its saviour”, (Cicero Ver. 2.2.154). In explaining the importance of the title, Cicero adds that it cannot be rendered by one Latin word: Is est nimirum sōtēr qui salutem dedit, “He no doubt is a saviour who has provided salvation”. Later, in the introductory part of his State, Cicero stressed its weight in an indirect way: neque enim est ulla res in qua propius ad deorum numen virtus accedit humana quam civitates aut condere novas aut conservare iam conditas, “Human virtue nowhere comes nearer to the majesty of the gods than in founding cities or saving those which were founded”, (Resp. I 12). The title ktistēs, ‘founder’, is indeed more than once assigned in combination with sōtēr, e.g. to Pompeius at Mytilene (SIG3 751). More often, however, sōtēr is combined with euergetēs, ‘benefactor’.
Undoubtedly, such titles also occurred in a less exalted sphere, witness this Laconian inscription dating from the Augustan age: ha polis kai hoi Rōmaioi Gaion Ioulion Euryklē Lacharous hyion ton autas sōtēra kai euergetan, “the city and the (locally active) Romans honour Gaius Iulius Eurycles, son of Lachares, as their saviour and benefactor”, (SEG XXIX 383). A more curious case is the freedman Milichus, who, having been rewarded for his part in the dismantling of the Pisonian conspiracy against the emperor Nero, conservatoris sibi nomen Graeco eius rei vocabulo adsumpsit, “he assumed the title ‘saviour’ in its Greek version”, (Tacitus Ann. 15.71.1). Of course, the purist Roman historian was precluded from using the term sōtēr. NOCK (1972:727–730) mentions other cases in which “sōtēr, while most often used of Emperors, was at times formally applied to local dignitaries and to Imperial functionaries, in a manner which indicates that it was not felt to be excessive or invidious” (727). NOCK is in general reluctant to link the title prematurely to the divine sphere. Nevertheless, such a link is explicitly made in an edict of 19 CE by Germanicus, when he orders the Alexandrians to avoid certain acclamations, “which are for me invidious and which belong to the level of divinity, for they are suitable only for him who is really the sōtēr and euergetēs of the whole human race”, i.e. Tiberius (SB 3924.35–40). NOCK stresses the cautiousness of Germanicus’ words in regard to the official emperor. In this he is right, but sōtēr and euergetēs were obviously regarded as divine titles. Indeed, in answer to the proconsul Fabius Maximus’ appeal in 9 BCE the Greek cities of the province Asia honoured Augustus as having been sent by Providence as a “saviour, who was to stop war and to establish peace” (OGIS 458 = EHRENBERG & JONES 1955:98.36–37).
In fact, such texts can be regarded as belonging to the domain of the →ruler cult. In this respect the title sōtēr was at first awarded for specific salutary achievements, as in the decree of the league of Aegean islands concerning Ptolemy I in 280/279 (SIG3 390.27; cf. also Pausanias 1.8.6 about the Rhodians and HABICHT 1970:158) or in Phylarchus’ report on the way Seleucus I and his son Antiochos were honoured by the Athenians of Lemnos when they had been liberated from Lysimachos’ administration (FGH 81 F 29; cf. HABICHT 1970:89–90). Gradually, however, it developed into a more general honour. See for this RONCHI (1977:1054–1064) about the successive Ptolemies. Antiochos IV was hailed as sōtēr tēs Asias (OGIS 253) and Caesar even as sōtēr tēs oikoumenēs (IG XII. 5.557), a title which is also attested for Nero (OGIS 668) and (with addition of holēs) for Marcus Aurelius (SB 176, 6674). One further step was possible, viz. to regard the emperor as a ‘Weltheiland’. In an inscription of Halicarnassus Augustus is hailed as saviour tou koinou tōn anthrōpōn genous (G. HIRSCHFELD, Collection of Ancient Greek Inscriptions in the British Museum IV [1893] 894 = EHRENBERG & JONES 1955:98a.6–7), the context giving further testimony to his salutary influence on society and nature. Later Hadrian was indeed called sōtēr tou (sympantos) kosmou (T. B. MITFORD & I. K. NICOLAOU, The Greek and Latin Inscriptions from Salamis [Nicosia 1974] 13 and 94, CIG III 4335).
Generally speaking, the salvation provided in the cases dealt with above concerns material life in the present world. The title occurs far less in a spiritual domain. For Dio Chrysostom philosophers can heal psychical damage and thus are sōtēres (Or 32.18). This use of the term is, however, by no means widespread. Remarkably enough, the ‘atheistic’ Epicurus was celebrated as a sōtēr by his followers. This is implicit in Lucretius’ eulogy in De rerum natura V 1–54 (Epicurus is called deus in v8), but the title is explicitly used in Plotina’s letter to the Athenian Epicureans of 121 CE (SIG3 834.21) and in PHerc 346 IV 26–27 (hymnein ton sōtēra ton hēmeteron). This stresses the ‘soteriological’ aspect of Epicureanism, which is so clearly expressed in the curious inscription at Oenoanda, the author of which, a certain Diogenes, states that he wanted ta tēs sōtērias protheinai pharmaka, viz. by an epigraphic survey of Epicurus’ doctrine. See for further discussion of Epicurus as sōtēr CAPASSO (1982:112–115).
III. In the LXX sōtēr almost always is a title of God. Only in Judg 3:9, 15; 12:3 and Neh 9:27 the ‘judges’ are awarded the title. FOHRER (TWNT 7, 1013) notes that the →Messiah is never called sōtēr (but cf. Isa 49:6 and Zech 9:9). Philo of Alexandria often calls God sōtēr, a few times in combination with euergetēs (e.g. Opif. 169), once each with the addition tou pantos (Deus 156), pantōn (Fug. 162), tou kosmou (Spec. 2.198). Apart from this he uses the title sōtēr kai euergetēs for the emperor in Flac. 74 and Gaius 22.
There are 24 instances of sōtēr in the NT, of which eight concern God and 16 Jesus Christ. In the Pastoral Epistles the term occurs ten times, six of which about God; the five instanced in 2 Peter all concern Jesus Christ. It seems prudent to follow FOERSTER’s strategy in TWNT 7, 1015–1017 in first dealing with the other cases.
Both in Luke 1:47 (the beginning of the Magnificat) and Jude 25 (doxology) God is called saviour in a manner reminiscent of the OT. In the Lucan texts Luke 2:11, Acts 5:31; 13:23 Jesus is announced as specifically the Saviour of Israel, but in John 4:42 and 1 John 4:14 he is called sōtēr tou kosmou. The two oldest occurrences are in the Pauline epistles. In an eschatological context Phil 3:20 gives vent to the Christian expectation that the Saviour, the →Lord Jesus Christ, will come from heaven to transform “our humble bodies”. Wholly differently, Eph 5:23 states that Christ is the saviour of the body, which within the context of the Epistle means the Church. In five passages in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim 1:1; 2:3, Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4) God is called “our saviour”; 1 Tim 4:10 (“God is the saviour of all men”) might be polemical against those who tended to narrow salvation to a small group. This could also apply to Titus 2:10, since v 11 adds that God’s grace brings salvation to all men. Jesus Christ is called “our saviour” in Titus 1:4, where it is purely formulaic, and in 1 Tim 1:10, Titus 2:13; 3:6, where the title is elaborated in the context that follows. Such an elaboration is absent in 2 Pet 1:1, 11; 2:20; 3:2, 18. Among these texts 2 Pet 3:2 stands out as the only example of Christ being referred to as “Lord and Saviour” without mention of his name.
In rendering the title in Latin, Christian authors availed themselves of a variety of terms, e.g. conservator, salutificator, sospitator, but the Christian neologism salvator, a nomen agentis derived from salvare, itself a neologism, prevailed. It is used in (some branches of) the VL and became normal in the Vg.
IV. Bibliography
M. CAPASSO, Trattato etico epicureo (PHerc 346) (Naples 1982); F. J. DÖLGER, Der Heiland, Antike und Christentum 6 (Münster 1950) 257–263; F. DORNSEIFF, Σωτήρ, PW II 5 (1927) 1211–1221; V. EHRENBERG & A. H. M. JONES, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius (Oxford 1955); W. FOERSTER, Σωτήρ, TWNT 7, 1004–1022; C. HABICHT, Gottmenschtum und griechische Städte (München 19702); O. HÖFER, Soteira; Soter, ALGRM 4 (1909–1915) 1236–1272; H. LIETZMANN, Der Weltheiland, KS I (Berlin 1958) 25–62; M. P. NILSSON, Geschichte der Griechischen Religion II, Die Hellenistische und Römische Zeit (München 19884) 184–185, 389–391; A. D. NOCK, Essays on Religion and the Ancient World (ed. Z. Stewart, Oxford 1972) I 78–84, II 720–735; G. RONCHI, Lexicon Theonymum rerumque sacrarum et divinarum ad Aegyptum pertinentium quae in papyris ostracis titulis Graecis Latinisque in Aegypto repertis laudantur, Fasc. V (Milan 1977) 1048–1077; C. SPICQ, Notes de lexicographie néotestamentaire. Supplément (OBO 22, 3; Fribourg 1982) 636–641; L. VIDMANN, Sylloge inscriptionum religionis Isiacae et Sarapiacae, (RGVV 28; Berlin 1969); P. WENDLAND, ΣΩΤΗΡ, ZNW 5 (1904) 335–353.
J. DEN BOEFT

LXX Septuagint

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

SB Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten

IG Inscriptiones Graecae

OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger

OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger

IG Inscriptiones Graecae

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

IGLS Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum

SB Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten

OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

FGH Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, ed. F. Jacoby

OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger

IG Inscriptiones Graecae

OGIS Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger

SB Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten

CIG Corpus Inscriptionum Graecorum

Or Orientalia

SIG Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W. Dittenberger

LXX Septuagint

TWNT Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament, ed. R. Kittel & G. Friedrich

TWNT Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament, ed. R. Kittel & G. Friedrich

VL Vetus Latina

Vg Vulgate

PW PAULY-WISSOWA, Realencyclopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft

TWNT Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament, ed. R. Kittel & G. Friedrich

ALGRM Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, ed. W. H. Roscher (= LGRM)

KS Kleine Schriften

OBO Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis

RGVV Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten

ZNW Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft

J. den Boeft, “Saviour,” in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst (Leiden; Boston; Köln; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: Brill; Eerdmans, 1999), 733–737.