DOCSLIB.ORG

Exodus in Syriac

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Exodus in Syriac Exodus in Syriac Jerome A. Lund Three translations of the Book of Exodus into Syriac are known: the Peshitta,1 the translation of Paul of Tella termed by present-day scholars the Syrohexa- pla,2 and the translation of Jacob of Edessa.3 The Peshitta translates a Hebrew text that is situated in the proto-Masoretic textual stream. By contrast, Paul of Tella rendered the Greek text into Syriac to give Syrian church leaders and scholars a means of approaching the Greek for comparative purposes. He incor- porated hexaplaric annotations into the text and marginal notes, so that his translation constitutes a valuable witness not only to the Old Greek translation, but also to the Greek versions of Aquila, Symmachos, and Theodotion. Jacob of Edessa utilized the Peshitta as his base text, while incorporating elements of the Greek Bible both through direct translation and from the Syrohexapla.4 From his study of Isaiah, Andreas Juckel has suggested that Jacob of Edessa sought “to adjust the Peshitta to the Greek as much as necessary, and to adopt the 1 Marinus D. Koster prepared the book of Exodus for the Leiden scientific edition of the Peshitta, The Old Testament in Syriac According to the Peshitta Version—Part i, 1. Preface, Genesis—Exodus (Leiden: Brill, 1977). The earliest attestation of the term “Peshitta” ( =I%"Kܐ ; “simple,” “straightforward”) comes from the ninth century theologian Moshe bar Kepha. The term was used to distinguish the earlier translations of the Bible from the seventh century translations (Sebastian P. Brock, The Bible in the Syriac Tradition [gh 7; rev. ed.; Piscataway; Gorgias, 2006], 23; for alternative views see Piet B. Dirksen, “The Old Testament Peshitta,” in Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity [ed. Martin Jan Mulder; crint 2/1; Assen: Van Gorcum, 1988], 255–256). 2 Two mss of the Syrohexapla to Exodus are extant: British Library Add 14429, dating from 697 according to William Wright, Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum, acquired since the year 1838, Part i, entry xlix (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1870; repr., Piscataway: Gorgias, 2002), and published by Paul de Lagarde in his Bibliothecae Syriacae (Göttingen: Dietrich Lueder Horstmann, 1892), and a Midyat ms published by Arthur Vööbus in his The Pentateuch in the Version of the Syro-Hexapla: A Facsimile Edition of a Midyat ms Discovered 1964 (csco 369, Subsidia 45; Leuven: Peeters, 1975). Whereas the British Museum ms is complete, the Midyat ms lacks texts on folios 42 and 51, that is, Exod 22:29b–23:26a and 29:41–30:18a. 3 ms Bibliothèque Nationale syr. 26, Paris, contains Jacob of Edessa’s translation of the Book of Exodus. 4 Alison Salvesen, “Jacob of Edessa’s version of Exodus 1 and 28,” Hugoye 8.1 (2005) [http:// bethmardutho.org/index.php/hugoye/volume-index.html], §18. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004282667_015 350 lund (unrevised) Peshitta as much as possible.”5 In addition to substitutions, Jacob of Edessa used doublets and expansions to supplement the Peshitta. With regard to the Peshitta, Jews rendered the Book of Exodus from Hebrew into Syriac about 150ce in the environs of Edessa,6 though Christians preserved the translation as their own. Michael Weitzman has argued that the same community that translated the text preserved the text, moving from being adherents to a form of Judaism to being Christians.7 Inasmuch as Tatian quotes the Peshitta Old Testament in his Diatessaron, the text must have been in use by 170.8 Paul of Tella made his translation at the Enaton9 monastery near Alexandria, Egypt, in 615–617.10 He rendered the Old Greek translation found in Origen’s Hexapla into Syriac, preserving annotations regarding Aquila, Symmachos, and Theodotion in the text and margins. His translation often mirrors the Greek, but not always. Thus, in the commandment to honor one’s parents in Exod 20:12, he renders “your father” by two words, *,$ܕ +, as in the Greek (τον πατερα σου) in contrast to the Peshitta (ܟ +), but not so the following “your mother,” where he retains the reading of the Peshitta *. +ܘ in contrast to the Greek, which lacks the second person pronoun, reading merely και την μητερα. Similarly, he renders τους αδελφους αυτου “his brothers” as ,$ܕ ܐ̈ (Exod 2:11) and και το ονομα μου “my name” as &,$ܕ /Hܘ (Exod 6:3), in contrast to the Peshitta’s renderings ܝܗܐ̈ “his brothers” and &/Hܘ “my name” respectively. Whereas the Greek does not have an equivalent of the infinitive absolute of the Hebrew, Paul of Tella at times retains it from the Peshitta, as in Exod 2:19, 5 Andreas Juckel, “Approximation of the ‘Traditions’ in Jacob of Edessa’s Revision of Isaiah,” in Malphone w-Rabo d-Malphone: Studies in Honor of Sebastian P. Brock, edited George A. Kiraz (Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 3; Piscataway: Gorgias, 2008), 243. 6 Michael P. Weitzman, The Syriac Version of the Old Testament: An Introduction (ucop 56; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 258. 7 Weitzman, The Syriac Version, 259. 8 Jan Joosten, The Syriac Language of the Peshitta and Old Syriac Versions of Matthew: Syntac- tic Structure, Inner-Syriac Developments and Translation Technique (ssl 22; Leiden: Brill, 1996), 25–27; and Joosten, “The Old Testament Quotations in the Old Syriac and Peshitta Gospels,” Textus 15 (1990): 55–76, esp. 75–76. 9 Enaton (ἔνατον) means “ninth” in Greek, being neuter to agree with μίλιον “mile,” the monastery being located near the ninth milestone west of Alexandria on the road to Libya (see “Enaton, The,” in Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia online [http://ccdl.libraries .claremont.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cce/id/784/rec/1], accessed 16 Nov 2012, and A. Juckel, “The Enaton,” in Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage [ed. Sebastian P. Brock et al.; Piscataway: Gorgias, 2011], 144–145). 10 Brock, The Bible in the Syriac Tradition, 28..
Load more

Recommended publications
  • To Bible Study the Septuagint - Its History
    Concoll()ia Theological Monthly APRIL • 1959 Aids to Bible Study The Septuagint - Its History By FREDERICK W. DANKER "GENTLEMEN, have you a Septuagint?" Ferdinand Hitzig, eminent Biblical critic and Hebraist, used to say to his class. "If not, sell all you have, and buy a Septuagint." Current Biblical studies reflect the accuracy of his judgment. This and the next installment are therefore dedicated to the task of helping the Septuagint come alive for Biblical students who may be neglecting its contributions to the total theological picture, for clergymen who have forgotten its interpretive possibilities, and for all who have just begun to see how new things can be brought out of old. THE LETTER OF ARISTEAS The Letter of Aristeas, written to one Philocrates, presents the oldest, as well as most romantic, account of the origin of the Septuagint.1 According to the letter, Aristeas is a person of con­ siderable station in the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 B. C.). Ptolemy was sympathetic to the Jews. One day he asked his librarian Demetrius (in the presence of Aristeas, of course) about the progress of the royal library. Demetrius assured the king that more than 200,000 volumes had been catalogued and that he soon hoped to have a half million. He pointed out that there was a gap­ ing lacuna in the legal section and that a copy of the Jewish law would be a welcome addition. But since Hebrew letters were as difficult to read as hieroglyphics, a translation was a desideratum. 1 The letter is printed, together with a detailed introduction, in the Appendix to H.
    [Show full text]
  • An Arabic Scholion to Genesis 9:18–21 (Noah's Drunkenness) Attributed to Philoxenos of Mabbug
    Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies, Vol. 13.2, 125–148 © 2010 by Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute and Gorgias Press PAPERS AN ARABIC SCHOLION TO GENESIS 9:18–21 (NOAH’S DRUNKENNESS) ATTRIBUTED TO PHILOXENOS OF MABBUG ADAM C. MCCOLLUM LEAD CATALOGUER, EASTERN CHRISTIAN MANUSCRIPT PROJECT HILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY COLLEGEVILLE, MINNESOTA ABSTRACT Among the scholia of an Arabic catena to Genesis published by P. de Lagarde in 1867 is an explanation of Gen 9:18–21 attributed to Philoxenos of Mabbug. This short passage is the subject of the present study. After a brief survey of the biblical text in question according to various Arabic versions, it will be shown that there is very little to commend its Philoxenian authenticity, while it clearly echoes an interpretation found in Ephrem’s Commentary on Genesis. In addition, two other related passages (one with a new interpretation) in Ephrem are brought to the discussion, and the scholion’s similarity and difference to Jewish traditions recorded in the Targums, Bereshit Rabba, and Midrash Tanhuma (Buber) are also pointed out. 125 126 Adam C. McCollum In his monumental and weighty work on Christian literature existing in Arabic, Georg Graf, when speaking of the exegetical literature of Philoxenos that was translated and survives in Arabic, remarks: “Minor [or tenuous] loans from the exegetical work of Philoxenos are found as scholia in the Arabic Pentateuch catena together with Ephrem at Gen 1:21 (on the extraordinary pairing of the dragons), independently at Gen 9:18–20...”1 This brief note will take a closer look at the scholion on Gen 9 in question, but before turning there, it is worth asking why Graf connects Philoxenos here with Gen 1:21 and Ephrem’s interpretation of it.
    [Show full text]
  • The German-Jewish Experience Revisited Perspectives on Jewish Texts and Contexts
    The German-Jewish Experience Revisited Perspectives on Jewish Texts and Contexts Edited by Vivian Liska Editorial Board Robert Alter, Steven E. Aschheim, Richard I. Cohen, Mark H. Gelber, Moshe Halbertal, Geoffrey Hartman, Moshe Idel, Samuel Moyn, Ada Rapoport-Albert, Alvin Rosenfeld, David Ruderman, Bernd Witte Volume 3 The German-Jewish Experience Revisited Edited by Steven E. Aschheim Vivian Liska In cooperation with the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem In cooperation with the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libra- ries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. ISBN 978-3-11-037293-9 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-036719-5 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-039332-3 ISSN 2199-6962 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Cover image: bpk / Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Typesetting: PTP-Berlin, Protago-TEX-Production GmbH, Berlin Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Preface The essays in this volume derive partially from the Robert Liberles International Summer Research Workshop of the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, 11–25 July 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • SYNAXARION, COPTO-ARABIC, List of Saints Used in the Coptic Church
    (CE:2171b-2190a) SYNAXARION, COPTO-ARABIC, list of saints used in the Coptic church. [This entry consists of two articles, Editions of the Synaxarion and The List of Saints.] Editions of the Synaxarion This book, which has become a liturgical book, is very important for the history of the Coptic church. It appears in two forms: the recension from Lower Egypt, which is the quasi-official book of the Coptic church from Alexandria to Aswan, and the recension from Upper Egypt. Egypt has long preserved this separation into two Egypts, Upper and Lower, and this division was translated into daily life through different usages, and in particular through different religious books. This book is the result of various endeavors, of which the Synaxarion itself speaks, for it mentions different usages here or there. It poses several questions that we cannot answer with any certainty: Who compiled the Synaxarion, and who was the first to take the initiative? Who made the final revision, and where was it done? It seems evident that the intention was to compile this book for the Coptic church in imitation of the Greek list of saints, and that the author or authors drew their inspiration from that work, for several notices are obviously taken from the Synaxarion called that of Constantinople. The reader may have recourse to several editions or translations, each of which has its advantages and its disadvantages. Let us take them in chronological order. The oldest translation (German) is that of the great German Arabist F. Wüstenfeld, who produced the edition with a German translation of part of al-Maqrizi's Khitat, concerning the Coptic church, under the title Macrizi's Geschichte der Copten (Göttingen, 1845).
    [Show full text]
  • 1 a Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments Of
    A CRITICAL EDITION OF THE HEXAPLARIC FRAGMENTS OF JOB 22-42 Introduction As a result of the Rich Seminar on the Hexapla in the summer of 1994 at Oxford, a decision was made to create a new collection and edition of all Hexaplaric fragments.1 Frederick Field was the last scholar to compile all known fragments in the mid to late 19th century,2 but by 1902, Henry Barclay Swete had announced that more hexaplaric materials were ―accumulating.‖3 These new materials need to be included in a new collection of hexaplaric fragments, a collection which is called ―a Field for the 21st century.‖4 With the publication of two-thirds of the critical editions of the Septuagint (LXX) by the Septuaginta-Unternehmen in Göttingen, the fulfillment of a new collection of all known hexaplaric fragments is becoming more feasible. Project 1 Alison Salvesen ed., Origen’s Hexapla and Fragments: Papers presented at the Rich Seminar on the Hexapla Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, 25th-3rd August 1994 (Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 58 Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998), vi. 2 Frederick Field, Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt sive veterum interpretum graecorum in totum Vetus Testamentum fragmenta, 2 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1875). 3 Henry Barclay Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1902. Reprint, Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2003), 76. 4 See http://www.hexapla.org/. Accessed on 3/20/2010. The Hexapla Institute is a reality despite Sydney Jellicoe‘s pessimism concerning a revised and enlarged edition of the hexaplaric fragments, which he did not think was in the ―foreseeable future.‖ Sidney Jellicoe, The Septuagint and Modern Study (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968), 129.
    [Show full text]
  • P.Grenf. 1.5, Origen, and the Scriptorium of Caesarea1
    Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 52 (2015) 181-223 P.Grenf. 1.5, Origen, and the Scriptorium of Caesarea1 Francesca Schironi University of Michigan Abstract P.Grenf. 1.5, a fragment from a papyrus codex with Ezekiel 5:12-6:3, is here put in its historical context. Since it was written close to Origen’s own lifetime (185-254 CE), it provides early evidence about how he used critical signs in his editions of the Old Testament. It also sheds light on the work of the scriptorium of Caesarea half a century later. P.Grenf. 1.5 — P.Grenf. 1.5 and Origen’s critical signs — Hexaplaric Texts and P.Grenf. 1.5 — The “Revised” Edition of the Bible— P.Grenf. 1.5 and the Codex Marchalianus (Q)— Critical Signs in P.Grenf. 1.5 and Q —The Position of the Critical Signs in the “Revised” LXX Text — P.Grenf. 1.5 and Origen’s Work on the Bible — Conclusions P.Grenf. 1.5 (= Bodl. MS. Gr. bibl. d. 4 (P) = Van Haelst 0314 = Rahlfs 0922) is a fragment from a papyrus codex containing a passage from Ezekiel (5:12-6:3). After its publication by Grenfell in 1896,2 this papyrus has been included in the online repertoire of the Papyri from the Rise of Christianity in Egypt (PCE) at Macquarie University (section 24, item 332). However, to 1 I presented earlier versions of this paper at the 27th International Congress of Papy- rology, Warsaw, in July 2013, and at the SBL Annual Meeting, San Diego, in November 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • The Son of Man and the Ancient of Days Observations on the Early Christian Reception of Daniel 7
    The Son of Man and the Ancient of Days Observations on the Early Christian Reception of Daniel 7 Bogdan G. Bucur Duquesne University, Pittsburgh Abstract: The divergence between the two textual variants of Dan 7:13 (“Old Greek” and “Theodotion”) and their distinct ways of understanding the relationship between Daniel’s “Ancient of Days” and “Son of Man” is insufficiently studied by scholars of the Book of Daniel, and is neglected by translators of the LXX. This article offers a critical examination of the status quaestionis and a discussion of the exegetical, doctrinal, hymnographic, and iconographic productions illustrating the rich reception history of Daniel 7 in Late Antique and Medieval, especially Byzantine, Christianity. While one exegetical strand distinguishes between the Son of Man (identified as God the Son) and the Ancient of Days (identified as God the Father), an equally, if not more widespread and influential, interpretation views Jesus Christ as both “Son of Man” and “Ancient of Days.” The article argues against the thesis of a direct correlation between the two textual variants of Dan 7:13 and the two strands of its reception history. Introduction The Christian reception history of Daniel 7:13 is complicated by the existence of two authoritative Greek variants of this verse. The pages to follow review the state of scholarship and argue that this textual divergence actually had a minimal impact on the Wirkungsgeschichte of Dan 7:13. This article is also concerned with the best ways to describe the multi-layered reception history of Greek Daniel 7, its diverse modes of symbolisation and strategies of appropriating the sacred Scriptures of Israel as Christian Bible.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Was Paul and What Did He Do? Fig
    Part One Who Was Paul and What Did He Do? Fig. Int. 1 Early third-century fresco of the apostle Paul, from the catacomb of St. Domitilla, Rome. Introduction Why Study Paul? Positive and Negative Evaluations of Paul Think of a well-known but controversial public figure from the present or the past: Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lady Gaga, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan. Each person has passionate supporters—and equally ardent opponents. Paul, an early Christ-believing missionary, apostle (or “messenger,” see chapter 3), theologian, and author, has elicited the same kind of sharply opposed reactions. Over the centuries, he has been appreciated as the most important apostle and vilified as virtually the Antichrist. For Christian thinkers like Augustine (354–430) and Martin Luther (1483– 1546), Paul and his thought are at the very heart of the Christian theological enter- prise. Thus, Luther wrote that Paul’s letter to believers in Rome “is in truth the most important document in the New Testament, the gospel in its purest expres- sion. It is the soul’s daily bread, and can never be read too often, or studied too much. It is a brilliant light, almost enough to illumine the whole Bible.”1 John Wesley (1703–1791), the founder of Methodism, at a crucial point in his develop- ment felt his “heart strangely warmed” when he heard Luther’s words about Paul read. Throughout his career, Wesley repeatedly returned to Romans in his sermons and writings. In the twentieth century, Karl Barth (1886–1968) and Rudolf Bult- mann (1884–1976) acknowledged the importance of Paul for ongoing Christian witness.
    [Show full text]
  • Severusofantioch
    Severus of Antioch His Life and Times Edited by John D’Alton Youhanna Youssef leiden | boston For use by the Author only | © 2016 Koninklijke Brill NV Contents Foreword vii Bishop Suriel Preface ix Bishop Mor Malatios Malki Malki Notes on Contributors xi Introduction xiv Severus of Antioch: Heir of Saint John Chrysostom? 1 Pauline Allen Se glorifier de sa ville et de son siège? La grandeur d’Antioche et le mépris des titres chez Sévère le Grand 14 Roger-Youssef Akhrass A Letter from the Orthodox Monasteries of the Orient Sent to Alexandria, Addressed to Severos 32 Sebastian P. Brock The Asceticism of Severus: An Analysis of Struggle in His Homily 18 on the “Forty Holy Martyrs” Compared to the Cappadocians and the Syrians 47 John D’Alton Quotations from the Works of St. Severus of Antioch in Peter of Callinicus’ magnum opus ‘Contra Damianum’ 65 Rifaat Ebied Severus of Antioch and Changing Miaphysite Attitudes toward Byzantium 124 Nestor Kavvadas The Doves of Antioch: Severus, Chalcedonians, Monothelites, and Iconoclasm 138 Ken Parry Severus of Antioch at the Crossroad of the Antiochene and Alexandrian Exegetical Tradition 160 René Roux For use by the Author only | © 2016 Koninklijke Brill NV vi contents Hymns of Severus of Antioch and the Coptic Theotokia 183 Youhanna Nessim Youssef Index 199 For use by the Author only | © 2016 Koninklijke Brill NV Hymns of Severus of Antioch and the Coptic Theotokia Youhanna Nessim Youssef Introduction Severus of Antioch has a special veneration in the Coptic Church.1 In previous studies, we highlighted the role of Severus of Antioch in the Coptic Theotokia,2 especially the homilies 14 and 67 which commemorate a local tradition of the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Polis Yuhsb.Org Volume Two
    The Polis yuhsb.org Volume Two EDITORS Noam Josse ’17 David Tanner ’18 FACULTY ADVISOR Dr. Seth Taylor Principal for General Studies The Polis The Centennial Series: Volume Two Editors: Noam Josse (’17) and David Tanner (’18) Faculty Advisor: Dr. Seth Taylor Principal for General Studies, YUHSB CONTENTS Introduction 1 Rabbi Josh Kahn Arbitration Agreements: A Problem That Can Become a Solution 3 David Tanner (’18) Can We Recreate the Human Brain? 9 Moshe Inger (’20) Debates in the Jewish World in the Post-Sabbatean Period 14 Raziel Siegman (’17) Eurasianism and the Traditional School 18 Rabbi Mayer Schiller Heinrich Mann’s Ambiguous Repudiation of Nietzsche 32 Dr. Seth Taylor Nuclear Forces in the Twenty-First Century 44 Baruch Schwartz (’18) Population Growth in the American South and Biblical Egypt 50 Mr. Murray Sragow Romantics, Race and Modernity: Germanness and the Jewish Questions between Volk and Rasse 58 Mr. Joel Pinsker Space Sovereignty and the Outer Space Treaty 77 Yoni Benovitz (’19) The Evolution of Chess 83 Noam Putterman (’18) The Khazar Empire and Ashkenazic Jewry 90 Moshe Hecht (’18) Introduction Rabbi Josh Kahn Jews have often been referred to as the “People of the Book.” This description is most fitting as it describes our commitment to learning and scholarship, which has been our life force throughout history. Fittingly, upon leaving Egypt and becoming a nation, we are presented with the ultimate “book”—our Holy Torah. If we are a people of the book, it is our commitment to continuing to learn, despite challenging situations, that has kept us alive and strong as a nation and community.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pre-Christian Jewish Christ. 301
    ; 296 THE OPEN COUKT. THE PRE-CHRISTIAX JEWISH CHRIST. BY A. KAMP.MEIER. WHILE the idea of the suffering, dying, and resurrected god, as it appears in pagan religions around the Mediterranean, must be readily acknowledged as having influenced Christianity in its origin, we can have no truly historical view of the formation of Christianity unless we also make clear to ourselves the character of the Christ figure as it existed in Judaism previous to Christianity. This has been somewhat neglected thus far. it seems to me. the search for parallel ideas in pagan religions which have entered into Christianity, being almost the only line investigation has taken. Christianity was cradled and nourished by Judaism ; it always retained very strong Jewish characteristics even after it assimilated many pagan elements ; its earliest protagonists always drew mainly from Jewish ideas and Jewish literature, not alone that of the Old Testament but Apocryphal and other sources as well ; even Paul, tlirough whom, mainly, Christianity widened into a more universal religion, was strongly Jewish in education, thought, and sentiment Paul de Lagarde even said that he was the most Jewish of all. This does not mean that Judaism was anything entirely original, uninfluenced by other sources, but it means that we must take into full consideration the peculiar Jewish character by which many religious ideas were so transformed that it became possible for them to enter into a more universal religion, Christianity, though without depriving it of its original traits and marks of descent. The very name "Christianity" betrays its Jewish origin. It is connected with the Christ or Messiah idea prevalent among the Jews before Christianity.
    [Show full text]
  • L'épitaphe De Duhëla Sb Iii 6249: Moines Gaïanites Dans Des Monastères Alexandrins
    The Journal of Juristic Papyrology Vol. XXVIII, 1998, pp. 55-69 Adam Łajtar Ewa Wipszycka L'ÉPITAPHE DE DUHËLA SB III 6249: MOINES GAÏANITES DANS DES MONASTÈRES ALEXANDRINS 1 est bien connu qu'Alexandrie, dans l'antiquité tardive, était entourée d'un Jdense réseau de monastères. Ils étaient particulièrement nombreux à l'ouest de la ville, sur l'étroite bande de terre (ταινία, en latin taenia) qui séparait le lac Maréotis de la Méditerranée, le long de la route qui menait d'Alexandrie au grand centre de pèlerinage d'Abu Mina et vers la Libye. C'est là que se trou- vaient, parmi d'autres, les célèbres centres monastiques Pempton, Enaton (ou Ennaton), Oktokaidekaton et Eikoston, ainsi appelés parce qu'ils étaient situés, respectivement, près de la cinquième, de la neuvième, de la dix-huitième et de la vingtième pierre milliaire du cursus publicus.1 Les centres monastiques de la taenia alexandrine sont connus surtout grâce à des textes littéraires et para-littéraires. La documentation papyrologique est à peu près inexistante, ce qui est normal pour une localité de la Basse Egypte. On dispose en revanche de données archéologiques et, pour un centre monastique qui a dû être situé près de la localité moderne de Duhëla, d'un groupe im- portant d'inscriptions. Ad-Duhëla se trouve à une dizaine de km à l'ouest du centre d'Alexandrie, à la hauteur d'Agami, à peu près à l'endroit de l'antique Plinthinè. C'était jadis un village, mais depuis longtemps, c'est un faubourg d'Alexandrie. Au début du XXe siècle, dans cette localité, à 500 m au sud-est de la gare de chemin de 1 Au sujet de ces centres, voir les articles de J.
    [Show full text]