Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. X, 1953 Sacred Scripture Particular topics

Raca

Italian original Cite

RACA. - Transcription into Greek (ḥuxā), then into Latin, of an Aramaic word (rēqā). Etymologically (cf. Hebrew rīq; Akkadian rēqu or rāqu) it means "empty." In the only text in which it appears in the Bible (Mt. 5:22) it constitutes an insulting epithet, equivalent to "empty head" or the like; St. Jerome in his commentary (PL 26, 37) translates it as abique cerebro. It is sometimes found in the Talmudic writings (Ta'ānīth, 20b; Bērākhōth, 22a; Gittīn, 58a).

Angelo Penna

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By Angelo Penna

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Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. X (1953), coll. 445–446.

More by Angelo Penna: Rachel (Heb. Rāḥēl) · Raphael, Saint · Rages · Raguel (Heb. Rē'ḏēl = "Friend of God") · Raiffeisen, Friedrich Wilhelm

Cite this article

Chicago

Penna, Angelo. “Raca.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. X, coll. 445–446. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1953. https://azioneromana.com/article/raca.

MLA

Penna, Angelo. “Raca.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. X, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1953, coll. 445–446. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/raca.

BibTeX

@incollection{ec10_raca,
  author    = {Penna, Angelo},
  title     = {Raca},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {X},
  pages     = {445--446},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1953},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/raca}
}

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