TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT
TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT (M451).
Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives and Chronology from Adam*
M451 is a Miscellany copied in New Julfa (Isfahan) in the year 16921. The article relates to two of the texts in the manuscript, located on folios 1v and 15v. Both texts contain chronological lists, based on biblical in- formation, while the second also deals with later figures and events. These texts belong to a tradition of various Armenian writings contain- ing lists of years and time calculations as published by Michael Stone (1981, 1982, 1996). Some of these texts, which are relevant to compari- son with the present ones, will be mentioned below. Both 1v and 15v are written in bolorgir script, probably by the same hand. Initials and the first lines of each text are coloured. The numerals are written in minuscule letters, each one surmounted by a patiw. Each numeral is preceded and followed by a single dot and a dot also usually separates the thousands and hundreds from the tens. Dots are also used in some cases for separation between words. On fol. 1v line 23 a correction secunda manu in notragir script may be observed. In our transcriptions of the texts the numerals are written in majuscule letters. In the translation we have used two kinds of brackets: [ ] marks words which are not in the Armenian text and were added for the sake of English style; < > marks words which are in the original text, but seem to be corrupt. The texts use few common abbreviations.
I. M 451 fol. 1v: Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives M451 fol. 1v contains a short text (24 lines) titled Years of the Patri- archs’ Lives. It gives the years of the lives of some biblical figures, be- ginning with Adam. Its major part, lines 1-15 and 18, is a monotonous list with a fixed sentence structure, “X’s years: Y”. The only exception
* This article is based on research done in M.E. Stone’s seminar, “Armenian Texts from Manuscripts”, given at the Hebrew University in 1999. We are deeply indebted to Prof. Stone for his comments on previous drafts. 1 The description of the manuscript is based on: EGANYAN et al. (1965) and M.E. Stone’s draft edition of the Chronology from Adam, which he kindly put at our disposal. 172 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL is line 13, which gives the years of two different biblical characters, Isaac and Job in the same structure. Lines 16, 17, 23 and 24, which have connection to Moses, deviate from this form and add information about his family. Lines 19-21 contain a general calculation of years, months and days that passed until the writing of the text. Line 22 is a Christo- logical doxology.
The Armenian text of Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives2
1 Am≤ • kenaw • nahapetawn: 2 Am≤•Adamay•¯˛•L: 3 Am≤•Se¯ay•¯˛•jB: 4 Am≤•Enovsay•¯˛•E: 5 Am≤•Kaynanay•¯˛•j: 6 Am≤•„ame≤ay•È˛•ID: 7 Am≤•Ma¬a¬ièli•ˆ˛•„E: 8 Am≤•Yareday•¯˛•KB: 9 Am≤•Enovsay•G˛•Ke: 10 Am≤•Ma¯ousa¬in•¯˛•K¯: 11 Am≤•Noyi•¯˛•∏: 12 Am≤•Abrahamou•˛HE: 13 a,b Am≤•Isahakay: ˛Ø: Am≤•Yovbow•B˛Xˆ: 14 Am≤•Yakobay•˛XÈ: 15 Am≤•Yovsefay•˛j: 16 a,b Am≤•Movsèsi•˛I: Movsè[s]•G•am fo≤r èr3 ≤an zaha- ron: 17 a,b Am≤•Aharoni: ˛IG•G am ya®a∆ me®au ≤an zmovsès; 18 Am≤: Yesouay•ordoy naueay•˛E: 19 Ard} Ș
2 The numbers on the left are line counters. 3 The r is hard to read. It is probably a correction prima manu. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 173
22 ç ≥ristosi fa®≤ yauiteans amèn´: 23 a,b Movsèsi hàr anounn•amram è: Eu màrn (eàxouvaz) yo≤a- bir:4 24 Eu kno∆n movsèsi•sefor:
Translation of Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives
1 The years of the lives of the patriarchs: 2 Adam’s years: 930. 3 Seth’s years: 912. 4 Enosh’s years: 905. 5 Kenan’s years: 910. 6 Lamech’s years: 724. 7 Mahalalel’s years: 895. 8 Jared’s years: 962. 9 Eno
4 Prima manu Jochebed’s name appears as eàxouvaz (in brackets), corrected se- cunda manu to yo≤abir or yo≤abi¯ above the line. We are not sure about the last let- ter. 174 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
Commentary
A. Technical notes on the text 1. The name enovs (Enosh) appears twice in the text: once in line 4, relating to Enosh. The second time is in line 9 relating to Enoch, who is called enov≤ or eno≤ in different readings of the Armenian Bible5. This confusion is found in several Armenian texts6. 2. In line 13b a scribal error appears: Aam≤ instead of Am≤ ‘years’. 3. Moses appears on 16b as movsè instead of movsès. 4. The word son (in genitive case), relating to Joshua, appears in the medieval form ordoy instead of the classical form orduoy. 5. In a few places the text uses o instead of the earlier Armenian form au. Only once is the diacritical sign added above the letters au in order to mark that the pronunciation should be “av” (line 17b). 6. The name of Moses’ mother was erased by a line and was written again in a different spelling and in another handwriting. 7. In most lines, words are seperated by a dot. 8. In line 19, the word hazar ‘thousand’ is pleonastic and not re- flected in the translation.
B. Comparative Table of Dates
The following table compares the years listed in Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives to other relevant texts as listed: Col. I Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives. Col. II The Armenian Bible (abbreviation: Arm), which is, in this case, identical to the Septuagint (LXX). Col. III The Hebrew Bible / Masoretic text (MT). Col. IV History of Adam and His Grandsons: from an Armenian manuscript (J1529) located in the library of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and previously published by M.E. Stone7.
Differences are italicized.
5 See ZEYT‘UNYAN (1985), 167. 6 See STONE (1983), 13, 23; STONE (1996), 84, 151. 7 STONE (1996), 80-100. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 175
Table 1
Years of the Arm MT History of Patriarchs’ = LXX Adam and His Name Lives Grandsons Adam 930 930 9308 930 Seth 912 912 912 912 Enosh 905 905 905 9079 Kenan 910 910 910 89710 Lamech11 724 75312 777 723 Mehalalel 895 895 895 897 Jared 962 962 962 962 Enoch 365 365 365 365 Methuselah 969 969 969 969 Noah 950 950 95013 950 Abraham 175 175 17514 Isaac 180 180 18015 Job 248 24816 X+14017 Jacob 147 147 14718 Joseph 110 110 11019 Moses 120 120 12020 Aaron 123 123 12321 Joshua son 105 11022 11023 of Nun
1. Lamech lived for 724 years, which could be a scribal or graphic error rooted in a (hypothetical) list similar to History of Adam and His Grand- sons, which gives 723; the difference probably originated from a confu-
8 From Adam up to Methuselah, Gen. 5. 9 Scribal error, confusion of è and e? 10 The scribe seems to have confused the number of years of Kenan with Mehalalel’s. 11 In the Bible (Gen. 5, 25) and in History of Adam and His Grandsons, Lamech is the son of Methuselah and father of Noah. 12 Gen. 5, 31. 13 Gen. 9, 29. 14 Gen. 25, 7. 15 Gen. 35, 28. 16 LXX Iob 42, 16. 17 Iob 42, 17: Job had lived 140 years after his recovery. 18 Gen. 47, 28. 19 Gen. 50, 26. 20 Deut. 34, 7. 21 Num. 33, 39. 22 LXX Ios. 24, 30. 23 Ios. 24, 29. 176 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL sion of graphically similar g with d. We have no explanation for the sig- nificant difference between the number given in the Bible and that of the tradition reflected in these two texts. 2. Joshua Ben Nun’s life is set at 105 years. We have no explanation for this. 3. There is no obvious explanation for the position of Lamech after Kenan and before Mehalalel. The Bible mentions two Lamechs: the first is the son of Methushael in the Cainite line (Gen. 4, 18-24); the second appears in the Sethite line as the son of Methuselah and the father of Noah (Gen. 5, 25-30). The Bible gives only the years of life of the sec- ond one (777 in the Hebrew text). In either case, in Years of the Patri- archs, Lamech is placed out of order. 4. The reason for the jumps from Noah to Abraham and from Joseph to Moses may be seen in the Biblical narrative. Abraham is the next impor- tant hero after Noah. Between them there is only a long genealogical list. Abraham is also the next link in the direct connection between God and humankind: God spoke to Noah and the next time to Abraham. Simi- larly, the narrative leads from Joseph to Moses. 5. Especially interesting are the following questions and deviations from the biblical list: a) Two things are said about Job that are not contained in the text of the Hebrew Bible. First, his age is given as 248 years. Second, his life time is set in the period before Jacob. The only thing the Hebrew Bible says about the length of Job’s life is that he had lived 140 years after his recovery without mentioning his age before that. Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives follows the Armenian Bible, which accords with the additions of the Septuagint, giving 248 years as Job’s age at the time of his death (Iob 42, 16). Placing Job before Jacob is especially interesting. Since the biblical nar- rative does not propose a fixed time for Job, a number of different tradi- tions exist in Jewish (and Christian) sources. According to some Jewish traditions Job’s wife was Dina, Jacob’s daughter (Babylonian Talmud, tractate Baba Batra 15b; Testament of Job 1:1). While this may be the reason for placing Job next to Jacob’s name, we would expect him to appear after Jacob and not before him. Other Jewish traditions identify Elihu, one of Job’s companions, with Isaac24, or Job himself with Uz,
24 Cfr Iob 32, 2; Palestinian Talmud, tractate Sota 5:20d [5:6]; Targum of Job 32:2, STEC (1994). TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 177 the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor25. These traditions agree with Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives. b) Why is Moses’ age compared to Aaron’s? The reason for this is not clear. According to the Bible, Aaron was 3 years older than Moses (Ex. 7, 7) and died at the age of 123 (Num. 33, 39). Moses died at the age of 120 (Deut. 34, 7). According to this they died in the same year and Aaron did not die three years before Moses as Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives states. c) The purpose of the calculation of weeks and days in lines 20-21 re- mains unclear. Moreover the calculation is not exact. Notably, 365,000 weeks are 2,555,000 and not 2,455,000 days. d) Why does the text list some of Moses’ family members (Amram, Jochebed, Zippora)? Probably, this may be explained as an attempt to emphasize the importance of Moses as a prophet who spoke face to face with God. e) There are two variants for the spelling of Jochebed’s name in the text, which both deviate from ov≤abè¯, the reading attested in various manu- scripts of the Armenian Bible (see ZEYT‘UNYAN on Ex. 6, 20). We have no explanation for the spelling prima manu eoxouvaz. The last letter of the spelling secunda manu is not clear and a point compari- son is missing. The reading could be yo≤abi¯, which is only slightly different from the regular spelling. However, if the reading is yo≤abir, this most probably reflects a correction under Syriac influence - (yokbr)26. f) It is not certain that the text ends with line 24 although this seems to be the case. The photograph we have shows a bit of open space in the bottom of the page, but another look at the manuscript will reveal if it is really the end of this text.
II. M451 fol. 15v: Chronology from Adam
We called this text Chronology from Adam. It is somewhat longer than the previous one, containing 27 lines. Chronology from Adam is a chronological list with calculations of the time gaps between different biblical and post-biblical events and characters, starting with Adam and ending (?) with some medieval Armenian figures.
25 Cfr Gen. 22, 21; Tanhuma, editio Buber 4:73. Cfr GINZBERG 2:236, 5:384. 26 Leiden edition of the Peshitta Ex. 6, 20. The Septuagint reads Iwxabed. 178 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
The Armenian text of Chronology from Adam27
1 Yadamay elaneloyn i draxtèn•minceu ´i 2 foxoumn enov≤ay•am≤ en•˜•N•ØÈ: 3 Enov≤ay mincç ´i ∆rhe¬e¬n noyi•C•∏E•am è´: 4 A´rd} adamay•minc i ∆rhe¬e¬n•B˜•M•XB•am è´: 5 I ∆rhe¬e¬èn•´i ya˙tarakn•E˛•IE•am è´: 6 Adamay minc i ya˙tarakn•B˜•È˛•KÈ•am È: 7 I ya˙tarakèn•´i yabrahamou ∑noundn•N•jÈ•am è´: 8 Adamay minc i abraham•G˜•˛•ØG•am è: 9 Abrahamou mincç ´i yelsn yegiptosi•E˛•E•am è: 10 Adamay mincç yelsn yegiptosi•G˜•Z˛•K¯•am è: 11 I yelsn yegiptosè mincç ´i corrord am ¯agauorou¯eann 12 so¬ovmoni ´i ˙inoua∑ ta©arin•N•Ø•am è´: 13 Adamay minc ´i ta©arin ˙inoua∑≤n•D˜•˛•K¯•am è´• 14 I so¬omonè ´i norogoumn ta©arin minc i zora 15 babel•D˛•Ø•am è: 16 I zora´babelay mincç ´i ∑noundn ≤ristosi•E˛•jˆ•am è´: 17 Adamay mincç ´i ∑noundn ≤ristosi•E˜•˛•„ˆ•am è: 18 I ≤ristosè mincç´ ´i sourb grigor lousauoricn•G˛•G•am è´: 19 I lousauorcèn minc i hauataln•kostandia 20 nosi ¯agauorin•jD• am è´• 21 I lousauorcèn minc i giut groyn•˛•jˆ•am è: 22 I giut groyn•mincç hayow ¯ovakann•˛L•am È´: 23 I hayow ¯ovakanèn mincç i grigor narekawin•N•LB•am è• 24 I grigor narekawèn minc i nersès klayewin•˛ØG•am è• 25 Anti minc i grigor orotnewin•ç ∑erènw grigorn•YL•am è• 26 So≤a´ e¬en ¯ovakanis hayow•ˆ˛•∏E•amin´: 27 Anti minc i ∑erènw ˙amsn•ØG•am È´:
Translation of Chronology from Adam
1 From Adam’s exit from the Garden to the 2 transfer of Enoch are 1,487 years. 27 The numbers on the left are line counters. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 179
3 From Enoch up to Noah’s flood is 755 years. 4 Therefore, from Adam up to the flood is 2,242 years. 5 From the flood to the tower is 525 years. 6 From Adam up to the tower is 2,767 years. 7 From the tower to the birth of Abraham is 417 years. 8 From Adam up to Abraham is 3,183 years. 9 From Abraham up to the Exodus of Egypt is 505 years. 10 From Adam up to the Exodus of Egypt is 3,669 years. 11 From the Exodus from Egypt to the fourth year of the reign of 12 Solomon, to the building of the temple, is 480 years. 13 From Adam up to the building of the Temple is 4,169 years. 14 From Solomon to the restoration of the Temple, up to Zerub- babel 15 is 480 years. 16 From Zerubbabel up to the birth of Christ is 518 years. 17 From Adam up to the birth of Christ is 5,198 years. 18 From Christ up to St. Grigor the Illuminator is 303 years. 19 From the Illuminator up to the believing28 of 20 the king Constantine is 14 years. 21 From the Illuminator up to the discovery29 of the script is 118 years. 22 From the discovery of the script up to the [beginning of the] Armenian era30 is 130 years. 23 From the Armenian era up to Grigor Narekac‘i is 432 years. 24 From Grigor Narekac‘i up to Nerses Klayec‘i is 183 years. 25 Thence up to Grigor Orotnec‘i and Cerenc‘ Grigor is 330 years. 26 These make the year 855 of the Armenian era. 27 Thence to Cerenc‘ Sams is 83 years.
Technical notes
A. Notes on language and spelling 1. The preposition i, which is used frequently in this text, is often at- tached to the following or previous word. The verb è (is) is also attached to the word am (year): amè.
28 Literally it says ‘believing’, but it can also be understood, in this case as conver- sion. 29 According to the tradition, the Armenian script was ‘discovered’ with divine help (not invented) by St. Mesrop Mastoc‘. 30 The Armenian era starts its reckoning from the year 551 of the common era. 180 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
2. The preposition i is sometimes doubled (i + y…), as in line 7 (i yabrahamou) and in lines 9, 11 (i yelsn)31. 3. A sign is used to mark the pronunciation of the letter combination au as ‘av’ (and not ‘o’). 4. There are a number of corrections prima manu: In line 3, ∆rhe¬e¬n: the letters e¬ are written above the line. Similarly in line 23, the letters èn are written above the line. In line 25, in the name ∑erènw (Cerenc‘): w is below the line.
B. Comparative Table of Years
The table on pages 182-183 compares the numbers in this text to other similar texts, previously published by M.E. Stone32:
Col. I and II give the events and characters marking the beginning and the end of the time periods listed in Chronology from Adam. Col. III years according to Chronology from Adam. Col. IV years according to Dates33. Col. V years according to The Generations from Adam and their Numbers34. Col. VI years according to History of Adam and His Grandsons35. Col. VII Biblical Paraphrases36. Col. VIII The Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea37.
Numbers in brackets ( ) are based on our own calculations and do not appear in the manuscript. R.D. stands for relative date (between events or figures) and A.M. for anno mundi.
31 See WEITENBERG (1997). 32 STONE (1996), 88, also compares Josephus’ Hypomnesticon and the Acts of Pilate. He also compares the dates of the history post Christum with the traditional dates given. The numbers up to the construction of the Temple are practically identical to Dates. 33 STONE (1996), 99. 34 STONE (1981), 222-223 & 228-241. 35 STONE (1996), 80-100. 36 STONE (1982). 37 KARST (1911), esp. p. 34-62. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 181
Notes on content Except for technical, linguistic and numerical peculiarities, which were described in the previous pages, there are few other aspects of this text requiring deeper examination:
A. Structural aspects and date calculations 1. The first 16 lines keep the same sentence structure and inter-sentence relations: From A to B: W years. From Adam to B: X years. From B to C: Y years. From Adam to C: Z years And so on… All the sums of years given in this part are based on Adam or the crea- tion of the world, i.e. anno mundi. 2. Christ’s first appearance is in line 16. Line 17 gives the years between Adam and Christ. From this point Adam is not mentioned any more. The basic date becomes the birth of Christ (Anno Domini). 3. The penultimate line gives the calculation according to the Armenian era (A.E.), which starts from the base date of the year 551-2 C.E.
B. Notes and comments on figures and events mentioned in the text The text counts the years between specific figures and events. Some of them are biblical and some post-biblical. The list of those included seems not to be accidental. All the biblical figures and events in this list seem to be highlights in the relations between God and humanity: - Adam, the first human to be created, who also committed the first sin against his Creator38. - Enoch, who was transferred to God39. - The flood and Noah: God’s punishment of humanity and its salva- tion40. - The tower of Babylon: humanity’s attempt to overcome (or become similar to) God41. - Abraham, who was chosen by God to embrace monotheism and to be the root of the chosen people, Israel42. 38 Gen. 1-3. 39 Gen. 5, 24. 40 Gen. 6-9. 41 Gen. 11, 1-9. 42 Gen. 12. 182 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
53
60
5228
5518
48
56
59
R.D. A.M.
942
300
A.M. 2242 2242
R.D.
46
A.M.
1487 1487
(2242)
525 2765 527 2769 417 417 3184
480 480 480 4150
512 5198 518 5198 548
306 (5504)
43 45
52
55
58
50
Generations Adam and His Bibiblical Eusebius’
(5547)
2242 (2234)
47
415 3206 505 3815 507 505 505 3689
Dates
44
49 51
54
A.M R.D. A.M. A.M. R.D.
1487 (1487)
(5619) 117 (5621) (5749) 131 (5752)
(6181) 432 (6184)
(6343) 183 (6367) (6694)
(6777)
57
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Chronology from Adam from Adam Grandsons Paraphrases Chronicle
505 3669
480 4169 480 (4458)
480303 512 511 502 4680
14 (5515) 582[5]
118
330
ams 83
S
Enoch’s heavenly walk
reign = building of the Temple
Zerubbabel
Armenian Era 130
Grigor
Table 2:
from to R.D. Exit from Paradise Flood Tower 525 2767 525
Abraham Exodus from Egypt Enoch Noah’s flood 755 2242 Tower Birth of Abraham 417 3183
Exodus Fourth year of Solomon’s
SolomonChrist Restoration of the Temple, St. Gregory the Illuminator Illuminator Believing of Constantine Zerubbabel Birth of Christ 518 5198
Illuminator Discovery of the script Discovery of script Armenian Era Grigor Narekac‘i 432 Grigor Narekac‘i Nerses Klayec‘i 183
From there Grigor Orotnec‘i and Cerenc‘
Sum (Armenian Era) 855
From there Cerenc‘ TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 183
,689 +
written in the
the first year of
-two years.” Cfr
).
(1996), 89.
to which event in
365 years until his
TONE
is impossible, it could
ø
pying and calculation.
/
.
Ø
and
. 3, 1). If we deduce 30 years for
k
Luc
/
. The right number should have been
K
d
and
baptism of Christ
g
. 7, 6).
Gen
(1911), 61f.
ARST
. 3, 1 = from Adam to the
Luc
to the flood…”
Adam
(1996), 89. According to the tradition Nerses Klayec‘i (Shnorhali) died 1173.
Chronology from Adam.
TONE
is mistaken (3,183+505 is not 3,669). The correct number should be 4,169-480=3,689 (like in
(1996), 89.
TONE
of the reign of Constantine.
Chronology from Adam
beginning
to the
(1911), p. 53, line 31. This is obviously a calculation error. According to the numbers given in the text, the sum should be 3
t [1911], 42, line 31f).
ARS
(1996), 99, has the right number in Armenian but not in English (515 instead of 525).
ARST
Adam
TONE
(1996), 97. However, it should have been: “the years from
The text gives the time span from Adam to the birth of Enoch (1,122 years). The number given in the table reflects 1,122 plus This figure agrees with the Septuagint and most manuscripts of the Armenian Bible, however, not with the Masoretic text (1,656 From Adam to the birth of Noah 1,634 years plus 600 years of his age, when the flood came ( The text says (17) “The years from the transfer of Enoch to the flood, taken together, are… two thousand two hundred and forty
S Eusebius does not give a date for the construction of the tower of Babel, but only a total for the timespan from the flood to
This is most probably a scribal error, since 2,767+417 gives 3,184. It seems that the scribe confused
From Adam to (the birth of) Abraham. This is a scribal error, too. See footnote 49. From Adam to the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. See K
This should be: 4,169+480+518=5,167. From Adam to the reign of Tiberius (5,532) plus 15 years according to Eusebius does not refer to the birth of Christ but to his first public appearance in the fifteenth year of Tiberius (
The traditional date is 301 C.E. See S From Eusebius calculates from the 15th year of Tiberius to the 20th year of Konstantin, see K This is probably a scribal error. The calculation should give 5,228 + 300 = 5,528. This gives the date 421 C.E. The traditional date is 406 (15 years deviation). Ad-Gr gives 423, i.e. 17 years deviation, cfr S This is the traditional date 551. Ad-Gr gives 554 (3 years deviation). This gives the date 983 C.E. Ad-Gr gives 986 C.E. Actually Grigor of Narek lived from ca. 945 to 1003 or 1010. It is not clear
This gives the date 1166 C.E. Ad-Gr gives 1169, cfr S This gives the date 1496 C.E. Actually Cerenc‘ died 1425. This gives the date 1406 C.E. (855+551). This date is by 90 years different from the sum of previous numbers (1496). This may be understood either as 1489 C.E. (1,406+83) or as 1579 A.D (1,496+83). According to the colophon the manuscript was
43
44 45 46
47 48 49
50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67
TONE
S
heavenly walk.
Abraham (K 3,184. Also the next sum in Eusebius), which also agrees with 3,184+505 and supposes only one cipher mistaken. Since a visual confusion of be a confusion of lines (line 6 or 13) or something similar. This reconstruction supposes the smallest amount of mistakes in co
480 = 4,169. the traditional age of Jesus, the numbers are again identical to
Grigor’s life the text refers.
year 1692. 184 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
- The Exodus from Egypt: the reestablishment of the connection be- tween God and Israel68. - The building of the Temple by Solomon: this marks the more estab- lished commitment of the Israelites towards God69 and the same is true of the restoration of the Temple by Zerubbabel70. - The acme of this list is Christ, the son of God, who was sent by his Father for the redemption of humanity71.
The Bible does not date the construction of the tower of Babylon, so that the number 525 given in the texts must be based on other sources, unknown to us. The time span between Abraham and the Exodus (505) is calculated on a basis of Gen. 12, 7 and Ex. 12, 40 or Paul’s comment in Gal. 3, 17. The number given in History of Adam and His Grandsons (507) is probably another confusion of e and è. According to most manuscripts of the Armenian Bible, the sum of years from the flood to Abraham in Gen. 11 is 946 (ZEYT‘UNYAN 1985). According to Chronology from Adam, History of Adam and his Grand- sons and the Chronicle of Eusebius this sum is 942 (525+417) years. Dates gives 940 years, probably caused by scribal error. Biblical Para- phrases gives 944 (527+417) years, probably due to a scribal error, too, since the total years until the birth of Christ (5198), given in that text, can only be explained as sum of 2,242 + 525 + 417 + 505 + 480 + 511 + 518 (confusion of e and è). Generations from Adam and their Numbers gives a sum of 3,206 for the years between Adam and Abraham, which does not agree with the other texts. Since this text does not go into de- tails, this number cannot be seriously compared. Chronology from Adam mentions 480 as the years from the Exodus to the building of Solomon’s Temple agreeing with all other texts that give a number for this period. The Septuagint and the Armenian Bible read 440 years for this time span. This number, however, is ultimately based on the Hebrew text of I Reg. 6, 1. Already Eusebius takes great pains to explain this number as correct vis à vis numbers given by Kings, Judges, Paul, Clement of Al- exandria and Julius Africanus72. The numbers from the building of the Temple to its reconstruction and from there to Christ seem to contain two errors, one in Chronology
68 Ex. 6, 13. 69 I Reg. 5-9. 70 Ez. 3. 71 Ioh. 1, 1-18. 72 KARST (1911), 46-53. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 185 from Adam, the other in History of Adam and his Grandsons: Chrono- logy of Adam repeats 480 of the previous dating. Similarly, History of Adam and his Grandsons repeats 512 for the time between Zerubabbel and the birth of Christ. These are probably dittographies. It seems to us that the numbers given in Biblical Paraphrases (511 and 518) are the original ones, if the sum 5,198 is original, too. If we consider the dif- ferent scribal confusions between of e and è and the mentioned dittogra- phies, this sum works well for all three texts. The post-biblical figures and events mentioned in Chronology from Adam are mainly Armenian. The only exception is the conversion of Constantine, which marks the beginning of the official Christianity in the Roman-Byzantine empire, with which the Armenians had important ties. Parts of Armenia were also actively ruled by the Byzantine Empire for centuries. The Armenian events and figures mentioned are: - Grigor (Gregory) the Illuminator made Christianity the official reli- gion in Armenia, few years before Constantine’s conversion. The traditional date is 301 C.E73. The manuscript dates Grigor at 303, without stating if this relates to the conversion of Armenia, though this is most probable. According to History of Adam and His Grandsons Grigor is dated at 306 (see table). Garsoïan mentions that different sources date the official Christianization of the coun- try between 284 and 31474. - The discovery of the Armenian script is dated traditionally to 40675. According to Chronology from Adam this happened 118 years after the Illuminator, that is 421 C.E. History of Adam and his Grandsons gives a relative date close to this: 117 after the Illuminator that is 423 C.E. (117 + 306). - The traditional Armenian Era (A.E.) starts at C.E. 551. Chronology from Adam agrees with this dating. History of Adam and his Grand- sons gives 554 (117 + 306 + 131)76. However, the relative date, i.e. the time span given from the discovery of the script until the begin- ning of A.E., is much closer in both texts, 130 and 131. - Grigor Narekac‘i77 is regarded by many as the most important reli- gious poet in Armenia. He wrote mystic poems and prayers, hymns,
73 LANG (1970), 158. 74 GARSOIAN (1997), 81-84. 75 STONE (1996), 89. 76 STONE (1996), 89. 77 For more details about Narekac‘i’s life and works see: GARSOIAN (1997), 174, and THOMSON (1997), 199-239; LANG (1970), 255 and 270-272; THOMSON (1995), 128; BO™ARIAN (1971), 157 (in Armenian). 186 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL
panegyrics, anthems and a commentary on the Song of Songs. Narekac‘i was born around 945 and died in the beginning of the 11th century; according to some sources in 1003. According to Thomson Narekac‘i probably died in 101078. Chronology from Adam gives the year 432 (Armenian Era) i.e. 983 C.E., but does not mention to which point in Narekac‘i’s life it relates. Again, History of Adam and his Grandsons gives the same time span as Chronology from Adam from the beginning of A.E. to Grigor Narekac‘i. - Nerses Klayec‘i is known better as St. Nerses Snorhali79 (the Gra- cious). He lived in the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia during the 12th century (~1102-1173). He was for many years the right hand of his brother, the Catholicos Gregory III. After Gregory’s retirement, Nerses replaced him for the next 7 years until his death in 1173. St. Nerses wrote a large number of religious writings, such as commen- taries, prayers, and poems as well as a version of the Armenian his- tory and an elegy on the fall of the city of Edessa. As for Narekac‘i, many of his writings are still in use in the Armenian Church. Chro- nology from Adam gives an absolute date of 615 A.E. (432 + 183), i.e. 1166 C.E. History of Adam and his Grandsons gives the same relative date according to his calculation of A.E, reaching 1169 C.E. - Grigor (?) Orotnec‘i: According to Chronology from Adam he is dated in 1496. Therefore the name has probably been confused ei- ther with Yovhannes Orotnec‘i80 (d. 1387), though the dating stays problematic. or with one of his students Grigor Tat‘ewac‘i or Grigor Xlat‘ec‘i81. The three figures are often mentioned together. This may be a scribal error. The manuscript mentions him together with Cerenc‘ Grigor and the dating may relate to the last, however, even then, the number given differs from the historical date as we know it (see below). Yovhannes was a student of Esayi Nc‘ec‘i and Tiratur vardapet in Glajor, the most important school in Armenia at his time. He had deep knowledge of Latin and of the scholastic method. He educated a large number of vardapets (authoritative teachers) and priests. - Cerenc‘ Grigor (~ 1350-1425) is also known as Grigor Xlat‘ec‘i82: Cerenc‘ was his family name and he came from the city of Xlat‘. Grigor was a student of Yovhannes Orotnec‘i for 8 years. After
78 THOMSON (1997), 231. 79 More about Nerses Snorhali: LANG (1970), 272-273; COWE (1997), 293-325. 80 BO™ARIAN (1971), 391-395 (in Armenian). 81 MAT‘EVOSYAN (1997), 61. 82 BO™ARIAN (1971), 414-418 (in Armenian). TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 187
Orotnec‘i’s death Cerenc‘ came back to his homeland and later traveled as a pilgrim to Jerusalem and stayed there for two years (1403-1405). He was known as a prolific scribe and for editing the Synaxarium. The date given for him in the manuscript can be calcu- lated as 1496 C.E. (330 + 1166). This gives a number too late for his time, being 71 years after his death. - After mentioning Cerenc‘ Grigor the manuscript gives the year 855 A.E. as the time of Orotnec‘i and Cerenc‘. This year equals 1406 C.E. (855+551), a deviation of 90 years from the calculations based on the previous lines. The year 1406 is within the period of Cerenc‘ Grigor’s life and makes more sense. We can assume that there is a mistake in the number given in line 25 (330 years), perhaps due to a scribal error. - Cerenc‘ Sams: The identity of this individual is mysterious.
Four of the Armenian figures above are mentioned also (among oth- ers) in the intercessory prayers of the Armenian liturgy: St. Grigor the Illuminator, Grigor Narekac‘i, Nerses Klayec‘i and Yovhannes Orot- nec‘i. St. Mesrop Mastoc‘, the founder of the Armenian script, is men- tioned there too83.
Some Remarks on the History of Tradition
Some remarks have to be made on the history of tradition. Stone noted the similarities between History of Adam and his Grandsons and Chronology from Adam about the tradition of the biblical and the post- biblical events84. It seems to us that the dates given in Chronology from Adam, Dates, History of Adam and His Grandsons, and Biblical Para- phrases belong all to the same chronological tradition85. As reflected in table 2, we suggest taking the Armenian translation of Eusebius’ Chronicle into account. Practically all numbers of years given in this text agree more or less with the tradition of the other manuscripts. Since Eusebius’ text was translated already in the Golden Age of Arme- nian literature86, his work (together with Armenian Bible) is most prob- ably the starting point for the other chronological texts, at least in regard
83 NERSOYAN (1985), 82 (Armenian); p. 83 (English). 84 STONE (1996), 82, refers to other “analogous” compositions for the dates of Arme- nian history, which we could not check: British Library Ms Or. 6968, fol. 206v and Or. 2621, foll. 206v-208r. 85 Only Generations from Adam and Their Numbers differs somewhat. 86 INGLISIAN (1963), 158. 188 Y. LOEFF – D. STÖKL of the choice of events and the calculation of years of the Biblical dates87.
Summary A few specific questions, related to both texts presented above, re- main open. Such are the identity of Cerenc‘ Sams (Chronology from Adam), the comparison between Moses and Aaron and the listing of their family members, the mentioning of “the 7,000th year” and an eventual eschatological interest of the scribe (Years of the Patriarchs’ Lives). These two texts represent a genre of chronological texts and name lists that were written and copied in the Armenian language during the late middle ages and the beginning of modern era. They deal both with biblical and post-biblical figures and events, i.e. “history.” There are some general questions that emerge from these texts. For example, the criteria for the inclusion of certain events and figures are not always clear. Further investigation may help clarifying the relation- ship among the different texts and their sources, their theological func- tion, and their influences in the Armenian traditions. It may also be in- teresting to compare them with parallel writings among related Christian and non-Christian traditions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BO™ARIAN (BOGHARIAN) N., Armenian Writers (Hay Gro¥ner), Jerusalem, 1971 (in Armenian). BUBER S., Midrasch Tanchuma. Ein agadischer Commentar zum Pentateuch von Rabbi Tanchuma ben Rabbi Abba, Wilna, 1885. COWE P., Medieval Armenian Literary and Cultural Trends (Twelfth – Seven- teenth Centuries), in HOVANNISIAN (ed.) (1997), pp. 293-325. EGANYAN O., ZEYT‘UNYAN A.S. & ANT‘ABYAN P‘., Catalogue of Manuscripts of the Mastoc‘ Matenadaran, Yerevan, 1965 (in Armenian). Eusebius – see KARST. GARSOIAN N., The Arsakuni Dynasty (A.D. 12- [180?]-428), in HOVANNISIAN (ed.) (1997), pp. 63-94. GINZBERG L., The Legends of the Jews, 7 vols., Philadelphia, 1909-1938. HOVANNISIAN R.G. (ed.), The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, vol. 1, New York, 1997.
87 Most prominent exceptions are the date of the construction of the tower of Babel, which does not appear in Eusebius, and the calculation according to his first appearance in public (Eusebius) or to the birth of Christ (all other texts). The calculation of the span from Zerubbabel to the reconstruction of the Temple (502) differs by 10 years from the number given in History of Adam and His Grandsons. TWO CHRONOLOGICAL TEXTS FROM AN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPT 189
INGLISIAN V., Die armenische Literatur, in Armenisch und kaukasische Spra- chen (Handbuch der Orientalistik, 7), Leiden — Köln, 1963, pp. 157-250. KARST J., Eusebius Werke. Fünfter Band: Die Chronik. Aus dem Armenischen übersetzt mit textkritischem Commentar (Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte, 20), Leipzig, 1911. LANG D.M., Armenia: Cradle of Civilization, London, 1970. MAT‘EVOSYAN A., The Scribal Centre of Mecop‘pavank‘, 12th-15th century (Mecop‘pavank‘i Grc‘ut‘yan Kentron¢), Edjmiacin, 1997 (in Armenian). NERSOYAN T. (transl.), Divine Liturgy of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church with Variables, Complete Rubrics and Commentary, 5th ed., Lon- don, 1985. Peshitta – The Old Testament in Syriac According to the Peshitta Version. Part I, fascicle I: Preface, Genesis, Exodus, Leiden, 1977. SPITTLER R.P., Testament of Job, in CHARLESWORTH J.H., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1. Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, New York, 1983, pp. 829-868. STEC D.M., The Text of the Targum of Job: An Introduction and Critical Edition (Arbeiten zur Geschichte des Antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums, 20), Leiden, 1994. STONE M.E., Signs of the Judgement, Onomastica Sacra and the Generations from Adam (University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies, 7), Chico, CA, 1981, pp. 222-223 & 228-241. STONE M.E (ed.), Biblical Paraphrases, in Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Patriarchs and Prophets, Jerusalem, 1982, pp. 81-116. STONE M.E., Armenian Apocrypha Relating to Adam and Eve, Leiden — New York — Köln, 1996. STONE M.E., Chronology From Adam (unfinished and unpublished typed script). Tanhuma – see BUBER. Targum of Job – see STEC. Testament of Job – see SPITTLER. THOMSON R.W., A Bibliography of Classical Armenian Literature to 1500 AD (Corpus Christianorum), Turnhout, 1995. THOMSON R.W., Armenian Literary Culture Through the Eleventh Century, in HOVANNISIAN (1997), pp. 199-239. WEITENBERG J.J.S., The Preposition Group i y- and the Orthography of Gospel Manuscript M (Matenadaran 6200), in Annual of Armenian Linguistics, 18 (1997), pp. 39-50. WEVERS J.W., Genesis (Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis editum, 1), Göttingen, 1974. ZEYT‘UNYAN A.S., Genesis. A Critical Edition (Girk‘ Cnndoc‘), Yerevan, 1985. ZEYT‘UNYAN A.S., Exodus. A Critical Edition (Girk‘ Elic‘), Yerevan, 1992.
The Hebrew University Yoav LOEFF P.O.Box 16174 Daniel STÖKL Jerusalem Israel