Coptic ⲃⲱ(ⲱ)ϩ, ⲃⲟϩ - Greek ΦΑΛΗΣ

Two Coptic hagiographies transmit an otherwise unattested theonym (S Bō(ō)h, B Boh). It was the name of a god whose idols would have been destroyed by a wondrous intervention of the archangel Michael. The unpublished Arabic version of one of these texts renders the divine name through a quite discrepant form (barbū). The edition of its relevant passage is here offered for the first time. Since Černý’s interpretation of the Coptic theonym as a pendant of the Greek Buchis appears phonologically untenable, I propose to match Bō(ō)h / Boh with the anatomical term bah “penis”. The underlying hypothesis is that the destroyed idols would have represented a phallic deity, whose denomination could also resound in Sabaean BWḤ, and Arabic būḥ