Homoiōma () is a Greek neuter noun for "likeness" which is particularly common in Jewish

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

texts. The meaning of the word in several well-known New Testament verses is related to discussion in

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

about the relation of Christ to man.

Etymology

The noun comes from the adjective ''homoios'', "like".

Usage

Classical usage

Use of the word as "image" is relatively common in Attic texts; the use in the singular is found in

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

(''Phaedra'' 250a) and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

(''Rhetorica'' 1356a31). The word is found in inscriptions on ostraca and in the Tebtunis papyri.

Septuagint usage

The word is more common in Jewish usage than pagan. It appears frequently in the Septuagint, often in relation to idols. The term is used by Josephus in a similar way. The essential contrast is between the reality of God and a ''homoiōma'' or artifice. The representation may be two-dimensional such as a diagram graffiti or mural or three-dimensional such as carvings or figurines. The word may also be used in a qualitative or figurative sense; men "like the son of a king", daughters "adorned like a temple" creatures "with the likeness of a man." or, in

Sirach The Book of Sirach () or Ecclesiasticus (; abbreviated Ecclus.) is a Jewish work, originally in Hebrew, of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 BC, written by the Judahite scribe Ben Sira of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his fa ...

as the likeness (''homoiōma'') of a face to a face.

New Testament usage

The word appears 6 times in the New Testament and in the

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

is rendered "likeness" "made like to" "similitude" and "shape". Two of these uses are fairly straightforward, following directly on from Septuagint usage - idols in the ''likeness'' of animals, and locusts with the ''likeness'' of horses. Another; a sin in the likeness of Adam's sin, is understandable within secular Greek usage. This leaves three other uses, one the ''likeness'' of death in

Romans 6 Romans 6 is the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid 50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who ...

:5, two more in Paul's description of the ''likeness'' of Christ to other men.

Interpretation

The ''likeness'' of death

In Romans 6:5 Paul introduces the concept of ''homoiōma'' between Christians and Christ in a grammatical structure which, although it only employs the word once, duplicates it with a double "of his death...also n the likenessof his resurrection".

The ''likeness'' of sinful flesh

Discussion in Christology centres on the significance of ''homoiōma'' in the writings of Paul, and in particular whether ''homoiōma'' in

Romans 8 Romans 8 is the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It was authored by Paul the Apostle, while he was in Corinth in the mid-50s AD, with the help of an amanuensis (secretary), Tertius, who a ...

:3 and Philippians 2:7 indicates a merely external or internal likeness with other men. Moo (1996) in discussing Romans 8:3 maintains that Paul cannot mean that Christ had only the "appearance" of sinful flesh. yet the meaning is constrained by the need to balance Paul's use of the same word in Philippians 2:7.

Eucharist

Patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

usage, and later in Greek Orthodox tradition, the concept of ''homoiōma'', being more than just external likeness, is developed in concepts of

eucharistic prayer The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer by virtue of which the offerings of bread and wine are believed to be consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the us ...

and the rite of the

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

.Enrico Mazza ''The celebration of the Eucharist: the origin of the rite and the ...'' 1999 p140 "This bread is the figure (to homoioma) of the holy body, for (hoti) the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying: 'Take and eat, this is my body, which is broken for you for the "

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homoioma New Testament Greek words and phrases Nature of Jesus Christ