ABSTRACT
A strong confirmation of the view that ה ס ו י alludes to Zeus we find in another passage of the Talmud. 1 Quoting the expression of the Mishnah, 2 “ H e who curses w i t h a curse ,” R. Josef says : — “ T h i s means וס וק תא ם ס ו ק ה כ י , ‘he who blasphemed w i t h an oath his Kos , ’ 3
where Kos, equal to Zeus, is again substituted for ה ו ה י . Kos comes nearer to the word Zeus, besides being a surname of the same, who was called Zɛυ̑ς Κάσις, and known by the Romans as Jupi ter Casius.4 This name occurs also in a Nabatean inscription as ו י צ ק . b 5 The Midrash 6 mentions ןיצוק י ת ב , houses devoted to the worship of Zeus Kasios, after whom, or in whose honour, the ci ty En Kos was called En Koz . 7 This deity was worshipped also in Idumea. Josephus8
writes as follows :—“Costobarus was an Idumean by b i r th , and one of their principal dignitaries, and one whose ancestors had been priests to the Kose, 9 whom the Idumeans had esteemed as a god.”
