Hapax legomenon describes a term that occurs a single time within a defined body of literature, such as one book, author, or corpus. Since there are no additional examples to compare, the meaning of a hapax legomenon is often uncertain and must be understood through surrounding language, related words, or broader usage in the language. These rare terms are significant because they can affect interpretation, translation, and understanding of a passage. Their presence also raises questions about vocabulary choice, transmission, and the limits of linguistic evidence.
Intertexts
References
- Meiser, Martin, The Septuagint and Its Reception: Collected Essays
- Zipor, Moshe A., "The Nature of the Septuagint Version of the Book of Leviticus" in Himbaza, Innocent (ed.) The Text of Leviticus: Proceedings of the Third International Colloquium of the Dominique Barthélemy Institute
- van Wieringen, Archibald L.H.M., "The Concept of the City in the Book of Isaiah and in the Deuterocanonical Literature" in De Troyer, Kristin (ed.) The Early Reception of the Book of Isaiah
Search
Find connections using this term
Search "hapax legomenon"
Search texts, references, and tags