Les épithètes divines dans la Septante: réfléxions méthodologiques à la lumière de l’usage de μακρόθυμος
Résumé
The article aims to investigate the lexical evolution of the adjective μακρόθυμος. The
term occurs 19 times in the LXX, usually with reference to God. It is attested mostly in
translated texts where it corresponds to the Hebrew ’æræk ’appayîm, literally, “longnostril”
with the sense of “slow to anger.” However, the meaning of μακρόθυμος is
not univocal. More specifically, in the translated books it rather indicates the idea of
temporal limitation of divine anger, while in the books originally written in Greek it
takes on the broader nuance of “magnanimity.” Through a detailed analysis of the
contexts in which the adjective occurs within the Bible, the article seeks to explain
this shift in meaning.