The tannaitic term epikoros (also apikoros; pl. apikorsim) is a rabbinical name for the heretic that goes back to the Greco-Roman school of Epicurean philosophy. In the Mishnah, Epikoros is denied its “share of the world to come.” Strictly speaking, Epicureanism is the attempt at overcoming one's fear of the Gods by disputing their power over humans. In later Jewish sources, this originally precise meaning of the …
Epikoros(2,453 words)
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Zank, Michael, “Epikoros”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 30 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0042>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20180401
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