All the names of the Lord : lists, mysticism, and magic

Christians face a conundrum when it comes to naming God, for if God is unnamable, as theologians maintain, he can also be called by every name. His proper name is thus an open-ended, all-encompassing list, a mystery the Church embraces in its rhetoric, but which many Christians have found difficult to accept. To explore this conflict, Valentina Izmirlieva examines two lists of God’s names: one from __The Divine Names__, the classic treatise by Pseudo-Dionysius, and the other from __The 72 Names of the Lord__, an amulet whose history binds together Kabbalah and Christianity, Jews and Slavs, Palestine, Provence, and the Balkans. This unexpected juxtaposition of a theological treatise and a magical amulet allows Izmirlieva to reveal lists’ rhetorical potential to create order and to function as both tools of knowledge and of power. Despite the two different visions of order represented by each list, Izmirlieva finds that their uses in Christian practice point to a complementary relationship between the existential need for God’s protection and the metaphysical desire to submit to his infinite majesty—a compelling claim sure to provoke discussion among scholars in many fields. Valentina Izmirlieva Examines Two Lists Of God's Names: One From The Divine Names, The Classic Treatise By Pseudo-dionysius, And The Other From The 72 Names Of The Lord, An Amulet Whose History Binds Together Kabbalah And Christianity, Jews And Slavs, Palestine, Provence, And The Balkans. Despite The Two Different Visions Of Order Represented By Each List, Izmirlieva Finds That Their Uses In Christian Practice Point To A Complementary Relationship Between The Existential Need For God's Protection And The Metaphysical Desire To Submit To His Infinite Majesty - A Compelling Claim Sure To Provoke Discussion Among Scholars In Many Fields.--book Jacket. The Claim Of Theology : Nameless And Of Every Name -- The Divine Names And Dionysius The Areopagite -- Myth And Mystification -- The Exegetes -- The Translators -- Disputed Authorship And Indisputable Authority -- Back To The Sources -- The Bible And The Name -- The Trouble With Logos -- The Two Roads, Or The Nature Of Divine Names -- The Synthesis Of Dionysius -- The Dionysian Vision -- The Theological Project -- United Differentiations -- A Hierarchy Of Names -- Nameless And Of Every Name -- Theory And Practice -- Biblical Exegesis -- The Proper Name Of God Is A List -- Listing The Names Of God -- A Magical Alternative : The 72 Names Of God -- How Many Are The Names Of God? -- The Number Of God's Names -- The Larger Context -- The Synonymy Of 72 And 70 -- A Body Of 72 Parts And The 72 Diseases -- An Apostle For Every Nation -- The Division Of The Languages At Babel -- The Septuagint -- The 72 Disciples Of Christ -- The Ideal Quorum -- The Peculiar Codex Jerusalem 22 -- The Facts -- A Kabbalistic Hypothesis -- The Balkan Context -- Three Possible Kabbalistic Indices -- The Emphasis On 72 -- Kabbalah And The World Of 72 Parts -- Christian Culture And The 72 Names -- Kabbalah In Christian Garb -- The Christian Amulet East And West -- Printing And The Career Of The Slavonic Text -- The Miscellany For Travelers And The Remaking Of The Text -- The Spectacular Aftermath -- Building Textual Affinities -- Commercial Success -- The Abagar Of Philip Stanislavov. Valentina Izmirlieva. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 207-224) And Index. CONTENTS 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 14 Divine Names as Terms of Order 15 What Kind of Order? 17 Lists as Figures of Display 19 What Is Symbolic Production of Order? 20 The Material 22 Part One: The Claim of Theology: “Nameless and of Every Name” 28 1. The Divine Names and Dionysius the Areopagite 30 Myth and Mystification 30 The Exegetes 32 The Translators 33 Disputed Authorship and Indisputable Authority 35 2. Back to the Sources 39 The Bible and the Name 40 The Trouble with Logos 43 The Two Roads, or the Nature of Divine Names 45 3. The Synthesis of Dionysius 50 The Dionysian Vision 50 The Theological Project 53 United Differentiations 56 A Hierarchy of Names 59 Nameless and of Every Name 62 4. Theory and Practice 64 Biblical Exegesis 64 The Proper Name of God Is a List 66 Listing the Names of God 69 Part Two: A Magical Alternative: The 72 Names of God 80 5. How Many Are the Names of God? 82 The Number of God’s Names 83 The Larger Context 87 The Synonymy of 72 and 70 90 6. A Body of 72 Parts and the 72 Diseases 92 7. An Apostle for Every Nation 97 The Division of the Languages at Babel 98 The Septuagint 101 The 72 Disciples of Christ 102 The Ideal Quorum 105 8. The Peculiar Codex Jerusalem 22 110 The Facts 111 A Kabbalistic Hypothesis 112 The Balkan Context 113 Three Possible Kabbalistic Indices 117 The Emphasis on 72 122 Kabbalah and the World of 72 Parts 125 9. Christian Culture and the 72 Names 130 Kabbalah in Christian Garb 130 The Christian Amulet East and West 136 10. Printing and the Career of the Slavonic Text 145 The Miscellany for Travelers and the Remaking of the Text 146 The Spectacular Aftermath 148 Building Textual Affinities 151 Commercial Success 153 The Abagar of Philip Stanislavov 158 Epilogue 164 Two Visions of Order 165 Religion, Need, and Desire: A Reorientation 167 The Danger of Closures 171 Notes 174 Bibliography 220 Index 238 The Christian God has at once all names and no name. To explore this conflict, the author here examines two lists of God's names - one from 'The Divine Names', the classic treaty by Pseudo-Dionysus, and the other from 'The 72 Names of the Lord' an amulet whose history binds together the Kabbalah and Christianity