Dositheos and Theodosios, and Other Greek theos-Names in a Jewish Context in Greco-Roman Egypt

Abstract

It has long been noted that theos-names have a strong connection with the Jewish diaspora in Egypt. In this article, we look at two of the most common names of this type, Dositheos and Theodosios, and the practice of garbling the orthography of these names, as -θης for Dositheos, and Θη-, Θευ-, and Τευ- for names starting with Θεο-. We propose a link with a growing avoidance in the Roman period of the use of the name of Jahweh.