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The Hebrew expression avot ha-olam, the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore,literally the the (fore)fathers of the age(s), is often rendered the fathers of theworld, but this is based on a later medieval understanding. When Jews, Christians,and Muslims saw themselves as the civilized world, the Patriarchs could be regardedas the (spiritual) Fathers of the world. This would be incongruous in the pagan

world of Antiquity. Both elements of this word pair have a wide semantic range.Hebrew avot can mean fathers, forefathers, ancestors, (eminent) forefathers,progenitors, originators, chiefs, leaders, advisors, counselors, patricians, nobles, orfundamentals. Hebrew olam can mean eternity, eon/age, lifetime, world, cosmos,(civilized) society, or (Jewish) community. See note 482 toAvot2:7a; note 47 toAvot1:2; note 587 toAvot2:11; note 940 toAvot3:15; note 262 toAvot4:16; note 8 toAvot6:1; note 184 to Avot6:11. Most of the possible permutations are, of course,impossible. So, for example, if the phrase referred only to contemporary sages, itmight mean the (eminent) masters/fathers of the (current Jewish)community/world. What then would the fathers of the world mean? Since itrefers to people of the past, it cannot mean the (fore)fathers who are (currently) inthe world or the worlds fathers (all the fathers in the world). Unlikely, too, is theeverlasting (fore)fathers or the (fore)fathers of the Eternal (God). Compare Daniel12:7. If it referred primarily to the Biblical figures from Adam to Noah, it mightmean the (fore)fathers/ancestors of the (entire) world. But it generally refers to thePatriarchs, and sometimes even to early rabbinic sages (see below). Perhaps it shouldbe taken in an extremely elliptical sense meaning the (eminent) (fore)fathers (in thehistory) of the (whole) world. But this seems quite a stretch.

The most obvious meaning of this expression would be the (eminent)(fore)fathers of yore. This is the typical meaning of similar expressions in the Bible.Compare Isaiah 44:7, 58:12, 63:9; Jeremiah 6:16, 18:15; Malachai 3:4; Job 22:15;

Psalm 143:3. Normally in Biblical Hebrew such constructions use olamwithout thedefinite article (ha-olam). But already in the Bible ha-olam is equivalent to olam,eternity/eon. See Psalm 106:48, 1 Chronicles 16:36, from eternity unto eternity(min ha-olam ve-ad olam), literally from the eon/age and unto the eon/age, andon this note 263 to Avot 4:16. Compare the Aramaic loan translation with thedefinite article (see below). In Rabbinic Hebrew the definite article typically appearsin the second element of the word pair (for example, avot ha-olam) when emphasisis placed on both elements. See Sarfatti, Definiteness in Noun-Adjective Phrases inRabbinic Hebrew, 164-165; Segal, A Grammar of Mishnaic Hebrew, 183. Such anunderstanding is corroborated by the alternation in Rabbinic sources of avot ha-

olam, the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore, and avot ha-rishonim, the (eminent)(fore)fathers of yesteryear, when referring to the Patriarchs (avot). See SifreZutatoNumbers 15:23 (edition Horovitz, 284), (Interpreting Numbers 15:23)Allthat theLord commanded (you) through Moses. Which is the (precept) about which the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yesteryear were commanded and (then) Moses came and(re)stated it? This is circumcision. Similarly, the Patriarchs are called avot ha-rishonimin Palestinian Talmud Berakhot1:1, 2c (edition Sussmann, 3); the parallelin Yoma 6:6, (edition Sussmann, 591) is a later addition to the Manuscript.

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Sometimes the two expressions interchange. See Leviticus Rabbah 36:3 (editionMargulies, 845), where the Patriarchs are called the (eminent) (fore)fathers ofyesteryear, but Manuscript Munich reads: the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore (avotha-olam), while Manuscripts Oxford (Neubauer 147), Oxford (Neubauer 2335),Paris, and Jerusalem read simply: Patriarchs (avot). In Numbers Rabbah2:1, the

three stanzas of the Priestly Blessing correspond to the (eminent) (fore)fathers ofyesteryear, but in Midrash Chaserot ve-Yeteirot, Parashat Naso 97 (Wertheimer,Batei Midrashot, 2:273), they correspond to the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore. Asimilar alternation also occurs when these expressions refer to the Schools ofShammai and Hillel. See Tosefta Tevul Yom 1:4 (following Manuscript Vienna),Rabbi Yosisaid: See, this law, how (come) the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yesteryear(avot ha-rishonim) were divided over it. Yet note the nearly identical turn of phrasein other sources (see below): RabbiShimonson of Yochai said: I am astonished (at)how (come) the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yorewere divided over it. See also belowon the evidence from Ben Sira.

Further confirmation for understanding avot ha-olam as the (eminent)(fore)fathers of yore comes from the Aramaic Targums, which reproduce theHebrew expression exactly as amlo tbha, ahavat alma. This cannot possibly beunderstood as the (fore)fathers of the world, since that could only be expressed byamlod Nbha, ahavan de-alma, as it actually appears in one late source (see below).While the Targums render Hebrew olamin various ways, the Aramaic almais usedto translate Hebrew olam,of yore, in Isaiah 58:12, 63:9; Malachai 3:4; Job 22:15;and Psalm 143:3. Compare Sokoloff, A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic ofthe Byzantine Period, 31-32, 409-410. (The texts are based on the online database ofthe Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project.) Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Exodus14:21 refers to the Patriarchs as the three (fore)fathers of yore (amlo tbha, ahavatalma). Similarly in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Deuteronomy 28:15. The SecondTargumto Esther 1:2 refers to the seven (fore)fathers of yore, identified as Adam,Noah, Shem, Job, and the three Patriarchs. In a work dated to the seventh-eighthcentury, the Targum to Song of Songs5:14 the Yemenite recension does refers to thePatriarchs as the three (fore)fathers of the world (amlod Nbha, ahavan de-alma).But the generally superior Western recension reads: the three (fore)fathers. Inaddition, this phrase appears in what Alexander considers a secondary insertion. SeeAlexander, The Targum of Canticles, 210. This last example is clearly the exceptionwhich proves the rule: the original Targums all correctly understood avot ha-olam asthe (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore.

Some scholars reject this interpretation because several rabbinic texts use avotha-olamin reference to great sages of the recent past, possibly in living memory, butsuch concern seem baseless so long as the reference is not to contemporary sages.Consider the related expression ha-tzadiqim ha-rishonim, the righteous ofyesteryear (some sources read: tzadiqim ha-rishonim). See Avot deRabbi NatanVersion A8 (edition Schechter, 38; edition Becker, 104-107; following ManuscriptOxford, Oppenheimer 95), Just as the righteous of yesteryear (ha-tzadiqim ha-rishonim) were saintly (chasidim), so (too) were their beasts saintly. The examples

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provided include the Patriarch Abrahams camels and a donkey belonging to noneother than Chaninahson of Dosah(about 20-110 CE), a sage who appears in Avot3:9a. While still in living memory of the second/third century (?) creators of thistradition, presumably Chaninah is already deceased before being termed one of therighteous of yesteryear. Compare Berman (Beck-Berman), H!asidim in Rabbinic

Traditions, 17-18 and 26 note 50-51. In the case of Ben Sira 44:1, while the thesuperscription the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore appears to include acontemporary of Ben Sira, the superscription does not appear to be part of theauthots original Hebrew work (see below).

In Rabbinic texts, the expression the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore usuallyrefers to the Biblical Patriarchs. The use of avot ha-olam in reference to the BiblicalPatriarchs is quite common. See Palestinian Talmud Sanhedrin10:1, 27d, (editionSussmann, 1316); Lamentations RabbahProem 24 (edition Buber, 26); Pesiqta deRavKahana Supplement 1:1, 5:2 (edition Mandelbaum, 437, 464); Pesikta Rabbati37:2, 50:7, Supplement 3:8 (edition Ulmer, 838, 1072, 1121; edition Friedmann,

2a); Seder Eliyahu Zuta 20 (edition Friedmann, Supplement, 31); Ecclesiastes Rabbah4:3; Exodus Rabbah25:8, 32:2, 44:9; Numbers Rabbah9:13; Midrash Samuel21:1(edition Buber, 108); Esther Rabbah7:13;Midrash Proverbs6 (edition Visotzky, 43);Midrash Psalms7:6, 8:4, 13:1, 16:2, 16:3, 65:2, 77:3 (edition Buber, 66, 76, 109 andsee his note 3, 120, 121, 291, 343);Midrash Zuta Lamentations1:26 (edition Buber,65); Midrash Zuta LamentationsVersion B 20 (edition Buber, 83); Manuscript ofMidrash Yelammedenu, Toldot(in Wertheimer,Magazin fr Haggadische Midraschimaus antiquaren Manuscripten, 1:80); 3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of)Enoch44:7 (this list isnot exhaustive). Compare Mishnah Rosh Ha-Shanah4:5, where the first blessing ofthe Amidah prayer referring to the Patriarchs is termed Avot. Similarly in theexpression zekhut avot, merit of the (fore)fathers. See note 41 to Avot 2:2;

Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, 170-198. The Patriarchs are called the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yore in Deuteronomy Rabbah 11:1 (beginning with thefirst printed edition), but according to Deuteronomy Rabbah11 (edition Lieberman,128) Manuscript Oxford 147 reads here: the (fore)fathers. The reading the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yore in Genesis Rabbah 54:4 (edition Theodor andAlbeck, 622; see variant readings) is also spurious. This is also true inMidrash Psalms2:9 and 16:4 (edition Buber, 28 and see his note 57, 121), as can be seen from theparallel in Midrash Samuel 19:1 (edition Buber, 101; avot is the reading in allwitnesses).

The term the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore sometimes refers to many

Biblical saints. See Pirqei Rabbenu ha-Qadosh3 (edition Grnhut,Sefer ha-Likkutim,3:59); possibly also Song of Songs Rabbah1:60 (edition Dunsky, 46). The Aramaicloan translation in Targum Pseudo-Jonathanto Deuteronomy (see above) also takes itto refer to Biblical saints. The expression avot ha-olam also appears in thesuperscription to Ben Siras paean for the pious saints of Biblical times (Ben Sira 44-49). While it appears that he intends to include the contemporary High Priest Simonson of Onias II (author of Avot1:2) as one of the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore(Ben Sira 50), this is not absolutely certain. Ben Sira 44:1-2, Praise of the

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(fore)fathers of yore. Let me praise men of piety, our (fore)fathers in theirgenerations, (to whom) the Most High apportioned much glory/honor andprestige/greatness from days of yore. The translation follows Hebrew Manuscript B,with minor corrections from the Masada scroll, the best ancient witness of Ben Sira,which unfortunately is defective at this point. The Old Greek (Septuagint) reads: A

Hymn of the (fore)fathers (patern). Let us now praise famous men, and our(fore)fathers by generations (descent), (to whom) the Lord created much glory, Hismajesty from eternity. The Syriac (Peshi!ta) reads: And indeed I shall praise men ofpiety/goodness, our (fore)fathers who have been in their generations; much honor letus apportion to them, and all their glory is from generations of yore. CompareYadin, The Ben Sira Scroll From Masada, 34-35; Skehan and Di Lella, The Wisdom ofBen Sira, 498; Segal, The Complete Book of son of Sira, 302-303; Dihi, TheMorphological and Lexical Innovations in the Book of Ben Sira, 497-499; Friedman,The Transformation of Mlwo. The superscription, however, is missing in the Syriacversion and several Greek witnesses, and due to a lacuna in the scroll, it is uncertainwhether or not it originally appeared in the Masada scroll. Furthermore, the Greekreads: the (fore)fathers, not the (fore)fathers of yore. But for our purposes, it issignificant that a Jewish scribe in Antiquity considered the superscription Praise ofthe (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore as a fitting title to a paean for the pious saints ofBiblical times. Note the use in the following verse of the expression the days of yore(mi-yemot olam), which suggests that avot ha-olam was understood as the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yore.

In several Tannaitic sources, however, the expression avot ha-olam, the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yore, is also understood to refer to the greatest sages ofprevious generations. See Palestinian Talmud Chagigah2:1, 67d (edition Sussmann,787), RabbiShimon son of Yochai (about 90-170 CE) said: I am astonished (at)

how the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yorewere divided over the creation of heaven andearth. Genesis Rabbah 1:15 (edition Theodor and Albeck, 13-14; followingManuscript London), RabbiShimonson of Yochai said: I am astonished (at) howthe (eminent) (fore)fathers of yorewere divided about this matter/thing the creationof heaven and earth.... Genesis Rabbah 12:14 (edition Theodor and Albeck, 112;following Manuscript London), RabbiShimonson of Yochai said: I am astonished(at) how the (eminent) (fore)fathers of yore the School/House of Shammai andthe School/House of Hillel (about 50 BCE30 CE) were divided over thecreation of heaven and earth. Leviticus Rabbah 36:1 (edition Margulies, 835),Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai said: I am astonished (at) how the (eminent)

(fore)fathers of yore the School/House of Shammai and the School/House ofHillel were divided over the creation of heaven and earth. Note that avot ha-olam is missing in Manuscripts London and Paris of Leviticus Rabbah, and inManuscript Jerusalem it is replaced with yesodei olam, the worlds foundations oreternal foundations.

Other traditions refer to Hillel and Shammaias the (eminent) (fore)fathers ofyore. See Mishnah Eduyot 1:4; Tosefta Eduyot 1:2. This term was not reservedexclusively for the famous first-century sages living during Second Temple times; it

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was also applied to eminent second-century rabbis as well. So Palestinian TalmudRosh ha-Shanah 1:1, 56d (edition Sussmann, 663; and parallels), Who are the(eminent) (fore)fathers of yore? Rabbi Yonah(about first half of the fourth centuryCE) taught (a Tannaitic tradition) before Rabbi Yirmiyah: (They are) RabbiYishmaeiland Rabbi Aqivah. Hillel and Shammai, Yishmaeiland Aqivahare all

sages cited in Avot. See also Ginzberg, An Unknown Jewish Sect, 204-208. Thesuggestion thatAvotmay come from avot ha-rishonim, the (eminent) (fore)fathersof yesteryear, is theoretically possible, however, this expression never appears to referto post-Biblical figures. On the various interpretations of the title Avot, see Sharvit,Language and Style of Tractate Avoth Through The Ages, 18-19. See also Visotzky,Fathers of the World, 1-3. On the literary strategy of paternal authority in SecondTemple wisdom texts, see Wright, The Sage as Father in Early Jewish Literature.