אַפִּיפְיוֹר (apifyor) — pope
Etymology
The Hebrew word for "pope" has a delightfully convoluted origin: it was taken from an Aramaic word for a minor Roman court functionary and applied — apparently by an unknown medieval Jewish wit — to the most powerful figure in Christendom, the Bishop of Rome.
In medieval Europe, Jews used the word "papa" for the head of the Church, following their Christian neighbors. The Latin word "papa" is a borrowing from Greek, itself derived from "papas" — a childlike address from son to father. In early Christianity, bishops and senior church figures were called "papa" affectionately. In the 11th century, Pope Gregory VII reserved the title exclusively for the Bishop of Rome.
In the 16th century, an unknown Hebrew writer had a better idea. The Babylonian Talmud, tractate Avoda Zara 11a, contains a story about Onkelos, a Roman of high standing who converted to Judaism. The Roman emperor repeatedly sends soldiers to bring Onkelos back, but Onkelos converts each group by explaining Judaism to them. Onkelos's speech includes a hierarchy of Roman court titles: "ניפיורא נקט נורא קמי אפיפיורא, אפיפיורא לדוכסא, דוכסא להגמונא, הגמונא לקומא..." — "the nifyora carries the torch before the apipyora; the apipyora before the dux; the dux before the hegemon; the hegemon before the comes [top rank]..."
The אַפִּיפְיוֹרָא in this context is thus a low-ranking court official, well below the top ranks. Rashi explains it as "one who carries the torch before those of higher rank." Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz notes that these titles reflect the Byzantine imperial court hierarchy. The word itself is probably a distortion of the Greek "papias," meaning "doorkeeper" or "gate official."
Why, then, was this low-ranking title applied to the pope? Almost certainly because of sound. "Apipyora" resonates closely with Latin "papa" and even more closely with "papas hieros" (the Greek title meaning "Holy Father"). The bilingual pun — the humor of calling the supreme head of Christianity by a Talmudic word for a lowly torch-bearer — was either a subtle mockery or simply an elegant phonetic bridge. It was certainly a creative act.
The first documented use of "apifyor" in the modern papal sense appears in a 15th-century work called "Arukh Katzar" (Short Dictionary of Foreign Words in Rabbinic Literature) by a writer named Elijah, about whom nothing else is known. The word spread rapidly after the 16th-century printing revolution. By Ben-Yehuda's time, it was firmly established, and both "apifyor" and the parallel coinage "חַשְׁמָן" (cardinal, from a biblical hapax legomenon in Psalms 68:32) were standard Hebrew terms.
Key Quotes
"ניפיורא נקט נורא קמי אפיפיורא, אפיפיורא לדוכסא, דוכסא להגמונא, הגמונא לקומא, קומא מי נקט נורא מקמי אינשי?" — תלמוד בבלי, עבודה זרה י"א, א׳
"נוטל ומוליך האבוקה לפני אפיפיור — כולן מיני שררה הן זה למעלה מזה" — רש"י, פירוש לאבודה זרה
Timeline
- ~2nd–6th century CE: Talmud Bavli composed; Avoda Zara 11a contains "apipyora" as a court title
- Early Christianity: "papa" used informally for bishops
- 11th century: Pope Gregory VII reserves "papa" exclusively for the Bishop of Rome
- 15th century: Writer "Elijah" applies "apifyor" to the Pope in "Arukh Katzar"
- 16th century: Printing revolution spreads the word throughout Jewish communities
- Modern Hebrew: אַפִּיפְיוֹר = pope (standard); April 2025: news cycle brings renewed discussion
Related Words
- חַשְׁמָן — cardinal (from biblical hapax in Psalms 68:32; first recorded use also by Elijah in "Arukh Katzar")
- פָּפָּא / פָּאפָּה — papa (Latin/Greek source, used by medieval Jews)
- כּוֹמֶר — priest (general term for Christian clergy)
- בִּישׁוֹף — bishop (from Greek episkopos via German/Yiddish Bischof)