What is unusual is how it is expressed. The adjective “divine” occurs only three times in the NT (Acts 17:29 [“the divine being”]; 2 Pet 1:3, 4; cf. a related term in Rom 1:20). It is rare in the LXX (only nine times) and in early Christian literature (once each in 1 Clement, 2 Clement, Ignatius and Papias, but nine times in Hermas, mostly in Mandate 11). Where the term “divine” is common is in the Hellenistic works of 4 Maccabees (twenty-five times), Philo (Quod deterius … 83; De Abrahamo 26; Spec.
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