Note 5 — I.

Both the etymology and the exact meaning of the word ‏ספירה‎ (plural ‏ספירות‎) are matters of dispute. R. Azariel, the first Kabbalist, derives it from ‏ספר‎ to number, whilst the later Kabbalists derive it alternately from ‏ספיר‎ Saphir, from ‏השמים מספרים כבוד אל‎ ( Ps. xix, 1 ), and from the Greek σφαῖραι, and are not at all certain whether to regard the Sephiroth as principles (ἀρχαὶ), or as substances (ὑποστάσεις), or as potencies, powers (δυνάμεις), or as intelligent worlds (κόσμοι νοητικοί), or as attributes, or as entities (‏עצמות‎), or as organs of the Deity (‏כלים‎). ↑