RACA

RACA. – Transcription into Greek (ḥuxā), and subsequently into Latin, of an Aramaic word (rēqā). Etymologically (cf. Heb. rīq; Akkadian rēqu or rāqu), it means “empty.” In the only biblical text in which it appears (Mt. 5:22), it constitutes an insulting epithet, equivalent to “empty-headed” or something similar; St. Girolamo, in his commentary (PL 26, 37), translates it as abique cerebro. It is occasionally found in Talmudic writings (Ta'ānīth, 20b; Bērākhōth, 22a; Gittīn, 58a).

Angelo Penna