I. Name

̔́ Υψιστος is a superlative form from the adverb ὕψι (there is no positive adj.) “most high, highest”. With the article ὁ it serves as a noun, having the sense “the most high” or “the highest”. In the Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible עליון (Elyon) is always translated by (ὁ) ὕψιστος. In these instances, as in the Greek literature of Judaism of the Second Temple Period and in the literature of primitive Christianity, the expression ὁ ὕψιστος refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In n…