Εἷς θεóς in Palestinian Inscriptions

Abstract

The acclamation εἷς θεός in inscriptions, alone or in composition with μάνος, ὁ βοηθῶν or other formulas, is commonly viewed as evidence of the Christian identity of the writer, even in the absence of any support and sometimes even in the face of contrary indications. While this is true in the case of late antique inscriptions in Egypt and in most cases also in Syria, where the acclamation is often accompanied by crosses, an examination of the examples in Palestinian inscriptions shows that the early use of this acclamation belongs in pagan monotheism, and in Late Antiquity most of the finds (many of them unfortunately still unpublished) come from Samaritan holy places or from a Samaritan milieu. An analytical table of the evidence is attached.