This article is a discussion of two Greek loanwords found in the Rabbinic text Song of
Songs Rabbah. It shows that these words are best identified and explained through a
comparison with a Stoic theory of fire, described and refuted by Philo of Alexandria.
That these words, both hapax legomena in Rabbinic literature, are used in the Midrash
show that at least some rabbis were conversant in Greek scientific terminology—and
perhaps specifically with a version of this Stoic dispute. The uses to which these terms
were put show that the rabbis deployed their vast, specialized knowledge where it was
most important to them: interpreting the scriptures.