Two Syriac Dialogue Poems on Abel and Cain

TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN

Introduction

The two lively dialogue poems (soghyatha) published here belong to a clearly defined genre of Syriac poetry1 which has its roots in ancient Mesopotamian precedence disputes2. Among the comparatively small number of dialogue poems involving Old Testament characters the first of the two poems (Soghitha I) is probably the oldest, and since it was evidently known to Jacob of Serugh (in his homilies on Cain and Abel) it cannot be later than the fifth century. An early date for Soghitha I is in fact also likely seeing that it is transmitted in both eastern and western Syriac tradition. The second poem (Soghitha II), on the other hand, be- trays a medieval date by the presence of rhyme, and if we accept its ascription to (Giwargis) Warda3, then its date of composition can be nar- rowed down to the thirteenth century. Although Soghitha II clearly knows Soghitha I, it is by no means slavishly based upon it, and it provides a good example of the continuing use of the genre in the middle ages. Both poems follow the standard format of the genre (introduction, ex- tended dialogue, conclusion), though with some modifications at the end. Thus both provide an introduction to give the setting (12 stanzas in Soghitha I, and 7 in Soghitha II), after which the dialogue, in alternating stanzas, commences, together with an alphabetic acrostic. The two soghyatha depart from the normal pattern when they reach Òadhe in the acrostic (st. 47 in I, and st. 43 in II), for at that point several narrative stanzas appear, before the ‘dispute’ is finally concluded with God's in- tervention and his judgement on Cain. The biblical starting point of the two soghyatha is Genesis 4, 8, which in the Peshitta reads, ‘Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us travel to the

1 See my Syriac dialogue poems: marginalia to a recent edition, in Le Muséon, 97 (1984), p. 29-58 (= BROCK, Syriac dialogue poems), and Syriac dispute poems; the various types, in G.J. REININK and H.L.G. VANSTIPHOUT, Dispute Poems and Dialogues (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 42), Leuven, 1991, p. 109-119. 2 For this aspect see especially R. MURRAY, Aramaic and Syriac dispute poems and their connections, in M.J. GELLER, J.C. GREENFIELD and M.P. WEITZMAN, Studia Aramaica (JSS, Supplement 4), Oxford, 1995, p. 157-187. 3 On Giwargis, see A. BAUMSTARK, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, Bonn, 1922, p. 304-305, and D. BUNDY, Interpreter of the acts of God and humans: George Warda, historian and theologian of the 13th century, in The Harp, 6 (1993), p. 7-20. 334 S.P. BROCK valley”. And it came to pass when they were in the valley Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him’. Although the biblical text gives no hint of any dispute between the brothers at this point, such a dialogue is indeed found in the Palestinian Targum tradition, although of a very different (and much more theological) character4. It seems quite likely that the Syriac author of Soghitha I was indirectly aware of the existence of Jewish literary embellishments of the biblical text here, and as a result he took this verse as the starting point for his own very different hand- ling of the dispute. The focus of interest of the two poems is in fact very narrow, for although the conclusion takes the biblical narrative down to Gen. 4, 12, neither author shows any particular interest in the reasons why Cain's offering was rejected, or how he knew that it had been rejected. Whereas most early Jewish and Christian exegetes5 exerted considerable ingenu- ity in elucidating both these points, where the biblical text is either enig- matic or entirely silent, all we find in the two poems are incidental re- flections of this exegetical tradition. Thus, for example, the view that Abel's sacrifice had been consumed by fire from heaven, referred to by both Aphrahat and Ephrem6, is alluded to once in Soghitha I in st. 23b, [Cain] ‘He honoured you greatly with the flame’. The reason for the re- jection of Cain's offering is indeed given as his lack of love (Soghitha I) or absence of purity of heart (Soghitha II), but in neither poem is much prominence given to this; instead, more attention is given to another trait in Cain's character, his overweening greed for land and his intolerance of the idea of having any rival in ownership on earth7. Both Soghyatha are transmitted in liturgical manuscripts and have a liturgical context. Soghitha I belongs to Lilyo, or the Night Office, of Monday in Holy Week8, while Soghitha II is allocated to the 5th Sunday of Lent. Soghitha I has already been published several times in its East Syriac form9 (from which the text printed below differs in a number of respects,

4 For this see G. VERMES, Post-Biblical Jewish Studies, Leiden, 1975, ch. 7; cfr also J.B. GLENTHØJ, Cain and Abel in Syriac and Greek Writers (4th-6th Centuries), (C.S.C.O., 567; Subs., 95), Louvain, 1997, p. 7 (= GLENTHØJ, Cain and Abel). 5 For these, see especially V. APTOWITZER, Kain und Abel in der Agada den Apokryphen, der Hellenistischen, Christlichen und Muhammedanischen Literatur, Wien- Leipzig, 1922, and GLENTHØJ, Cain and Abel. 6 APHRAHAT, Demonstration, IV, 2; EPHREM, Commentary on Genesis, III, 3; for the background to this tradition see my Fire from heaven: from Abel's sacrifice to the Eucha- rist. A theme in Syriac Christianity, in Studia Patristica, 25 (1993), p. 229-243. 7 GLENTHØJ, Cain and Abel, p. 142-143, 264. This theme is also familiar in Jewish tradition (e.g. TanÌuma Mishpa†im, 9; Midrash ha-Gadhol to Gen. 4, 8). 8 One manuscript (H), however, gives Wednesday of Holy Week instead. 9 See below, under NF, NM, NP. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 335 especially at the end), and once in an early form of the West Syriac tra- dition10 that is only slightly different from the present edition. By con- trast, Soghitha II is published here for the first time.

Soghitha I

Soghitha I is transmitted by numerous manuscripts in both the eastern and western Syriac tradition; in the former it is usually attributed to Narsai, an ascription which cannot be taken seriously. For the present edition use has been made of the three oldest available manuscripts in the western tradition, a selection of later western Syriac manuscripts, and three editions of the eastern Syriac tradition. These are: - A = British Library, Add. 17190, f. 53r-55v, dated 893. This manuscript omits stanza 7. - B = British Library, Add. 14516, f. 186r-v, of the ninth century. This lacks stanzas 1-26c, due to a lost folio. - C = British Library, Add. 14506, f. 204v-207v, of the ninth/tenth century. This text of this manuscript, with a few corrections, provides the basis for the edition below. - D = British Library, Add. 12147, f. 192v-193v, of 1006. The manuscript omits stanza 4 and all subsequent even stanzas. - E = Oxford, Bodleian Library, Dawkins 1, f. 146r-147r, of the eleventh century. - F = Oxford, Bodleian Library, Dawkins 32, f. 104r-105r, of c. 1165. This has stanza 3 missing. - G = Harvard syr. 30, f. 178v-179v, of the twelfth century. The manuscript omits stanzas 2, 3 and all subsequent odd stanzas. - H = Harvard syr. 31, f. 160r-161r, of the twelfth century. The manuscript omits stanzas 5, 6, 10, 12 and 16. - J = Harvard syr. 103, f. 209v-210v, of the twelfth/thirteenth century. The manuscript omits stanzas 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 14, and all subsequent even stanzas up to 53, after which it has 54[ii], 55[i] and 55[ii]; 56 is omitted. - K = New York, Union Theological Seminary, syr. 3, f. 1v-2v, of the twelfth/thirteenth century. The manuscript omits stanzas 1, 3, and all subsequent odd stanzas.

10 In my Soghyatha mgabbyatha, Monastery of St Ephrem, Holland, 1982, no. I; the text is also printed in Qolo Suryoyo, 26 (1982), p. 31-27 (sic). For a description of the contents of this collection of 26 dialogue soghyatha, see my Syriac dialogue poems (see note 1). 336 S.P. BROCK

- L = Birmingham, Selly Oak Colleges Library, Mingana syr. 545, f. 86v-89v, of 1929. The manuscript omits stanzas 25, 26, 29cd, and 30ab. From stanza 13 onwards the order of the stanzas is in considerable disar- ray, and the following sequence is found (even numbers = Abel, odd numbers = Cain): 13, 15, 14, 16, 17, 19, 18, 20, 21, 23, 22, 24, 19ab, 30cd, 27, 33, 28, 34, 31, 37, 32, 38, 35, 41, 36, 42, 39, 45, 40, 46, 43, 49, 44, 50, 47, 53[iv], 48, 55[ii], 51, 52, 53[ii], 54[ii], a new stanza, 56[ii]. The piece figures among a collection of memre attributed to Ephrem. - N = Eastern Syriac tradition attributed to Narsai. Use has been made of the following three editions: NF = F. FELDMANN, Syrische Wechsellieder von Narses, Leipzig, 1896, p. 23-27. The edition is based on Berlin Sachau 174-6, (Verzeichniss, nr. 57), of 1881. NM = A. MINGANA, Narsai Doctoris Syri Homiliae et Carmina, Mosul, 1905, II, p. 386-91. NP = Homilies of Mar Narsai, published by the Patriarchal Press, San Francisco, 1970, I, p. 334-40. This is a photographic reproduction of a manuscript written in 1901. Between these three editions there are only a small number of insignificant differences, and so their combined witness is cited as N.

The present edition

The text is transmitted in three somewhat different forms, two repre- sented in the western Syriac tradition (CD, ABEFGHJKL), and the third in the eastern (N). The two West Syriac text forms are much closer to each other than either is to the East Syriac tradition (see below). The differences between the three text forms are most pronounced in the last four stanzas, where we have three quite different recensions of the ending (denoted 53-56[i], 53-56[ii], and 53-56[iii], respectively). Since the poem is preserved complete in the oldest manuscripts only in C, it is the text form of CD that has been selected to form the basis of the present edition. In fact there is possible evidence, provided by the witness of Jacob of Serugh's Homilies on Cain and Abel, that C's ending is the original (and to which Jacob has some allusions), whereas that of AB etc. is based on Jacob (for details, see the Commentary). Since, however, C's text is either clearly erroneous or unsatisfactory at certain points, its reading has been relegated on these occasions to the apparatus. This applies to the following places: 1b (C goes against the metre), 1d (error), 4a (clearly secondary), 7d (twice; problematic), 10b (poor sense), 12a (against the metre), 14b (error), 22d (error), 23a TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 337

(against the acrostic), 24a (error?), 37a (error), 38a (error), 44c (error), 55[i]b (error). The orthography of C is also followed throughout, apart from three exceptions (6b, 8a, 31a).

Interrelationship of the manuscripts

As has been noted above, the manuscripts fall into three main groups; although this emerges most clearly in stanzas 53-56, where there are three different versions of the ending, the triple tradition can also be ob- served at 7a, 13d, 21b, 29ab, 31a and 37b. The East Syriac recension is rather closer to ABEFGHJKL than to CD, as can be seen from 35c, 49c, 51a, 56a; and there are some notable cases where N agrees with just AB (26d, 29c, 43d, 50d), or with A alone (9c, 23d, 25a; B is missing for these stanzas). On the other hand N joins CD against AB at 14c, 29b, 32b, 39d, 43b. N finds occasional support from individual members of the larger west Syriac group, e.g. with EF at 30d, 41d, and with F alone at 19d and 45d. The agreements between N and the late witness L at 21b, 36c, 38a, 46a (with B), 46c, 52c, 54[iii] and 55[iii] are surprising, and should, in the light of 54[iii] and 55[iii], be attributed to contamination in L from the eastern tradition. The east Syriac tradition, to judge by the witnesses used, is remark- ably homogenous and the differences between the three editions are of a very insignificant nature, and several concern only orthography. NM has two clear corruptions (at 12b, ‘wsq’ for ‘wmq’; and 46b, Ìkmt’ for Ìmt’); neither of these are included in the apparatus.

Orthography

Attention may be drawn to the following orthographical variants:

1. Verbal forms 1.1. 3 f.sg.perf.: an anomalous yodh is found in A at 33c (†¨mty) and in E at 2c (g¨ty). This spelling is not uncommon in certain manuscripts (A in fact provides anomalous -y also for 2 m.sg.perf. at 42d (’ttnyÌty) and added to batar at 43c; and E provides it for 3 m.sg. perf. at 8b (trdy). 1.2. 3 f.pl.perf.: the later west Syriac form in -y occurs in GHKL at 42b. 1.3. An anomalous suffix form to the perfect occurs in E at 8b (’pqyny for ’pqny; an imperative is impossible in the context). 1.4. At 6d, for ’tby’, AEGKL have ’tby’’, and J has ’tby’y. 338 S.P. BROCK

1.5. At 43c, for k’rny, ABH offer k’rrny, and J k’yrny. 1.6. In imperfect forms an alaph has been dropped from the root in E at 12d (nswd, for n’swd), in AF at 42a (tswd, for t’swd), and in H at 53a (dnslywhy, for dns’lywhy). 1.7. At 21c A omits the yodh in an imperfect suffixed form of a verb with third radical alaph (nb¨k, for nb¨yk), a feature not uncommonly encountered. 1.8. At 31a CD have the trisyllable form ks’ ’n’ (kasena), which goes against the metre; the rest of the manuscript tradition, apart from FH, remedies the situation by altering to a dissyllable, ’ks’ (ekse). FH, however, offer ksyn, which is certainly the original form, representing kasen, a rare abbreviated form of the masc. participle with 1st person suffix (NÖLDEKE, 64B; it is of course possible that the scribes of F and H un- derstood it instead as a passive m.pl. part., ksen, but this cannot have been the author's intention since it goes against the metre). 1.9. In participles of verbs with alaph as third radical, the yodh is absent in joined forms with 2 m. sg. suffix in K at 22bd (mpnt, mÌt; for mpnyt, mÌyt), and in FGH at 32a (dkst, for dksyt); the same phenomenon is very probably also to be found in all manuscripts except LN at 38a (mytt for mytyt): see the commentary ad locum. (This defective spelling is not re- corded in the standard grammars of NÖLDEKE and DUVAL, but two isolated examples of it in the Old Syriac Gospel manuscripts are noted by F.C. BURKITT, Evangelion da-Mepharreshe, II, Cambridge, 1904, p. 42: Luc. 7, 44 Ìzt S, Ioh. 4, 27 b¨t C).

2. Nominal forms 2.1. At 10a CK have the trisyllable ’bwhwn (abuhon), against the metre, and this has been corrected to the more banal ’bwn (abun) in most of the other west Syriac manuscripts, while N has altered to ‘and he saw'. K has got round the metrical difficulty by altering the next word Adam to den, while F provides the anomalous disyllable form ’bhwn (abhon), and this is probably implied by G, which has ’bwn, but with a he written under the beth. In view of the manuscript evidence it seems likely that C's text is indeed the original here, and that the word was intended to be read as a disyllable, (’)buhon. 2.2. F regularly provides the anomalous swry’ etc. for srwy’ etc at 50b, 51bd (joined by L in 50b). 2.3. Adjectives with third radical alaph are particularly liable to aberrant spellings; for sn’’ we find s’n’ in G at 24d and in F at 37d, while L has sn’ at 37d. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 339

2.4. The characteristic western spelling r’z’ occurs in all the west Syriac manuscripts at (N has the standard eastern form ’rz’). 2.5. The addition of seyame to the collective 'n' ('sheep'), characteristic of later western orthographical tradition, occurs only in C and (not sur- prisingly) L.

3. Other 3.1. C regularly, and D everywhere except 46b, has mn (man, ‘what?’), against mwn of the rest of the manuscript tradition (A however has an isolated mn at 22b). In the edition below C's orthography is followed. 3.2. Among joined forms (more common in later manuscripts) A's ¨†lyhy, for ¨†l’ hy, at 43a is notable. 3.3. At 33c w’l’ is written w’n l’ only in EN.

Text and apparatus

The text of the present edition differs in some respects (notably in stanzas 53-56) from that published in my Soghyatha Mgabbyatha (Mon- astery of St Ephrem, Holland, 1982; = S). Although S is for the most part based on C, there are several places where the reading of AB etc. was preferred; small differences will thus be found in 8ac, 12a, 13d, 17c, 18d, 21b, 29ab, 37ab, 40b, 49b, and 51. Much greater differences occur in the final stanzas 53-56, where S has the second form of the ending, attested in AB etc., whereas the present edition provides the text of C. In the apparatus the manuscripts attesting each stanza are listed. The four component stichoi of each stanza are denoted a b c d. All variants apart from orthographical ones and obvious errors are given.

Sigla Manuscripts A = B.L. Add. 17190 G = Harvard syr. 30. B = B.L. Add. 14516 H = Harvard syr. 31 C = B.L. Add. 14506 J = Harvard syr. 103 D = B.L. Add. 12147 K = Union Theological Seminary syr. 3 E = Oxford, Dawkins 1 L = Mingana syr. 545 F = Oxford, Dawkins 32

Editions N = Narsai (NF = ed. FELDMANN; NM = ed. MINGANA; NP = ed. Patriarchal Press) S = Soghyatha Mgabbyatha, ed. BROCK. 340 S.P. BROCK

[SOGHITHA I]

Qale C [i]

DFG [ii]

J [iii]

[i] E

[ii] F

<> [iii] H

[iv] J [v] L

1 ACDEFGHLN a N | N — b N | C — c L; N | N — d C. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 341

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

25 ACDEFHJN a : A; HJ | HJ | AN (against metre!); EFHJ — c J. 26 A(B)CEFGHKN c G | : om. G; N — d G; N | EH | ABN. 27 ABCDEFHJLN a N — b N | E | FH; L; N — c E; N | ABFLN; E | N | : H; om. N — d ABFL | L; N. 28 ABCEFGHKLN a N — b A — c E; K. 29 ABCDEFHJ(L)N a LN | E | J | AFL; BJ; E; H; N | E; om. N — b ABHL — cd om. L — c J | ABN — d J | ABEH. 30 ABCEFGHK(L)N ab om. L — a N | K | H — d EFGHN. 31 ABCDEFHJLN a = FH (see Introduction p. 338): CD; ABEJLN — b H; L; N — c E | F | N — d F | ABE | N. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 345

32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39

40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51 52 53

54 55 56

Abel and Cain I: Translation

MELODY [i] The Power of the Father who descended C [ii] O People and Peoples DFG (= Refrain [iii]) [iii] Praise to You, Lord, for there worship You J (= Refrain [i])

REFRAIN [i] Praise to You, Lord, for there worship You heaven and earth and all that there is therein. E [ii] Glory to You, O Lord of all, for in Your justice judgement is reserved, and in Your grace You perform mercy to sinners who call upon You. F [iii] O People and Peoples, come, listen and hear the story of Abel and Cain: cry Woe to the murderer who slew his brother unjustly. H [iv] To You be glory, O Lord of all, and from all and in all to You be praises. J [v] Praise to You, Lord, for at Your coming sinners turned from their wickedness they have entered and taken shelter in Eden's Garden which is the holy Church. L

1. The story of Abel has filled me with wonder and my mind is reduced to astonishment; my tongue is moved to speak of that conflict in which the brothers were engaged.

2. The wronged man's blood has silently invited me to relate his story so full of grief that even the earth groaned at his blood when he became the firstborn of that curse.

3. The reason how all this came about it is fitting we should relate to those who listen, why and how did the brothers quarrel, bringing about a murder right from the start.

1ab At the story of Abel my mind is astonished, reducing me to great wonder N. c my mind is stirred N. 350 S.P. BROCK

4. After our father Adam had left the Garden, having transgressed, he had sons, in accordance with the word of the Maker, who so willed it.

5. They took on the toil of working the land in fulfilment of the judgment which the Just One had decreed: ‘With toil and weariness shall you eat bread in the world’.

6. Cain took on the labour of the field, while the upright Abel pastured sheep. Adam saw, and was pleased with them, receiving comfort after his grief.

7. Adam sat down and summoned his sons; they entered and stood before him as he said, ‘From the produce of your work offer up firstfruits to the Lord.

8. Because I sinned He was angry with me and drove me from Paradise, casting me out; when He is reconciled by your offering, then He will turn towards me at your sacrifices’.

9. They carried their offerings, as they were bidden, each one bringing from the result of his toil; they carried them along to bring to the Lord in order to reconcile Him — even though He is never angry.

10. Their father Adam waited behind to see what would happen to them, but the Evil One, full of cunning, attached himself to Cain, filling him with anger and wrath.

4 d Creator N. 6 a earth N. c rejoiced N. 7 b om. they entered N. d they (sic) should offer up CD. 8 c when he is CK: maybe he will be rell. 10 a Our Father Adam AEGJL; And Adam saw N. b what he would do to them C; what he would answer them N. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 351

11. When they reached high ground and the presence of the Lord they held out their offerings and presented them. With Abel's offering He was pleased, but Cain's sacrifice failed to reconcile Him.

12. The envious man saw, and was clothed in anger; down to the valley he dragged his brother. The Evil One, full of cunning, incited him and showed him how to shed blood.

13. CAIN Says Cain: Since the Lord has taken delight in your sacrifice, but rejected mine, I will kill you: because He has preferred you I will get my own back on this His ‘friend’.

14. ABEL Abel replies: What wrong have I done if the Lord has been pleased with me? He searches out hearts and so has the right to choose or reject as He likes.

15. CAIN I am the eldest, and so it is right that He should accept me, rather than you; but He has preferred yours, and mine He has abhorred: He has rejected my offering and chosen yours.

16. ABEL In all offerings that are made it is love that He wants to see, and if good intention is not mingled in, then the sacrifice is ugly, and so gets rejected.

17. CAIN I will deprive you of your friend, for the earth will not hold us both; then He will have to accept sacrifice from me, when there is no one else beside me.

12 a saw: drew near AEKL. c incited: instructed AEGKL; cleaved to F; was his scribe N. d F substitutes 10d. 13 d his (friend) CD: your rell. 15 c why has he loved you, but me in turn hated? N. d I will kill you because he has loved you J. 17 d when he has no one else AEFH. 352 S.P. BROCK

18. ABEL Grant me as a favour some small corner in the world, and do not kill me. The whole world shall be yours, then you can offer up your sacrifice just as you like.

19. CAIN Tears and weeping will not sway me, nor will your groans, however plentiful. The moment He accepted your sacrifice I thought of you as already dead and hidden away.

20. ABEL You may have this world to yourself, but grant me the favour of remaining in it; lay the yoke of your rule on my neck, but let me have my fill of the life to which I have come.

21. CAIN From this moment on your mother Eve will be deprived of your truth; Adam will look for you, but to no avail. They will come to consider you as though you had never existed.

22. ABEL Adam will question you about me, what answer will you give him? His first injury has not yet healed, and you will be hitting his wound with thorns.

23. CAIN If God has sent to accept your offering, honouring you greatly with the flames, then I will kill you because He has favoured you, accepting your sacrifice and rejecting mine.

24. ABEL Alas for my youth, what is become of it, seeing that I shall die without having done wrong. Show some sorrow, brother, and pity me: do not shed my blood, filled with hate.

18 d your C: om. rell. 19 b your: om. FN. d hidden: buried FN. 21 b truth CD: presence rell. 23 d and I will get my own back on your friend AN (= 13d). 24 a youth: oppressed state N. d filled with hate: on the ground EK. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 353

25. CAIN Fury has overcome me, and I am filled with anger as I go down carrying my offering. Why did He not receive it? If you know, reveal to me the secret and you will not have to die.

26. ABEL The mouth is inadequate to relate the great vision which I saw there, when Truth arose and chose the sacrifice, rejecting and selecting just as He wished.

27. CAIN What profit has it brought you, that vision which you saw, for it has paved the way for your slaughter and death: a robe of suffering has it woven for you, and clothed you in it; a garment of blood has it spread out to cover you.

28. ABEL The vision which I beheld shall deliver me from Satan, whose abode you have become. If I should die, then both heaven and earth are witnesses that I have done no wrong.

29. CAIN He has clearly selected you and accepted your burnt offerings, while my offering He has rejected, abhorring my worship. So, because He has favoured you, I will mix your blood in with your sacrifice.

30. ABEL He has clearly selected me, just as you say, receiving my offering and showing me love. See that you do not stain your hands with my blood lest He utter some sentence against you.

31. CAIN A pile of stones will I heap upon you. Who will require your blood at my hands? We left the Lord behind on the mountain above, so who will deliver you if I put you to death?

25 a has overcome me: and emotion A; has goaded me HJ. 27 a Your vision (or, The sight of you) has not profited me N. b provoked N. 29 a accepted your burnt offerings: honoured and accepted (you) HN. cd What does he have that he can do to me more than all this if I kill you? J. 31 c I left N. d inquire of ABE. 354 S.P. BROCK

32. ABEL That pile of stones which you heap up over me will cry out for me, accusing you: their clamour shall the Just One hear, and He will judge the wrong done to me in accordance with His wisdom.

33. CAIN However much you try to unsettle me, my mind's cunning plan will not be wiped out: until my hand has tasted of your blood I will not stay still or take any rest.

34. ABEL How heavy my life seems to you because the earth will not contain both me and you; let my offering count as yours, so be quiet, rest from your wrath and do not kill me.

35. CAIN He would have accepted me rather than you had you not done me this wrong: you are younger in both age and intelligence, yet you took first place with the firstfruits.

36. ABEL He would have chosen you, had you acted well, and He would have been pleased with your offering: you would have been accepted if only you had mixed sincere love along with your sacrifice.

37. CAIN What shall I say when Adam asks me ‘Why did He not accept you?’ He will be pleased with you — if you remain alive — but with me he will be angry and treat me as hateful.

38. ABEL It is an evil death that you will bring upon me, and Adam will be angry if you kill me. Spare your mother: let not the young shoot which sprang from her be cut off.

32 d (done to me) in accordance with his word EFGH(K); at your hands N. 35 c age: years N. intelligence: stature H. 36 d sincere: upright N. 37 d but he was angry with me because I was rejected E. 38 a evil: in suffering C; harsh N. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 355

39. CAIN That shoot which left me behind, as it went on to grow tall, I will tear out by its roots, lest it hold me back; with my iciness I will cause it harm, while it is still tender, lest it grow strong and rebel against me.

40. ABEL Let your heart be quieted from wrath, hold yourself back from grief: look, sin is crouching at the door; do not approach it lest it tear you to pieces.

41. CAIN He has cast me down and rejected me in anger, He has refused my offering and abhorred my worship. What else can He bring against me more than this if I kill you?

42. ABEL It is a most cruel thing to shed my blood, to destroy the image which His hands have fashioned. Allow the earth to be at peace; ask for mercy, and then you will find rest.

43. CAIN This is a hard thing which you are saying, and your words are crueller than the spear: after He has shown his dislike, and rebuked me too, are you asking me to go and see Him face to face?

44. ABEL O servant who has been fashioned, do not be contentious towards the Good One who has delineated and adorned you; remember the dust from which you came into being, and the soil to which you will return.

45. CAIN Cease from what you are saying: you will not escape through talking.

39 a which grew stronger and larger than me N. c with my iciness: immediately N. cause it harm: uproot it N. d rebel against: torture ABEFH. 40 b grief: the curse ABEFGHKL; evil N. c lying in ambush K. 42 a evil N. om. my AEGH. d find mercy F. 43 b and this is cruel because you remain AB. the spear: the sight (of you) N. 43 c rejected E(FL)N. 44 a O dust EK. 356 S.P. BROCK

Your time has come, you wretch, it is superfluous for you to be standing there.

46. ABEL Your heart has been dulled by anger, what to say to you I have no idea. Let the mountains weep for me from now on, seeing that I am going to die in between them.

47. Cain approached his own mother's son and made him kneel down like a lamb about to be slaughtered. The heights gave a wail, and the depths wept tears at the innocent man being slaughtered.

48. The hills bent down to lament at this novel corpse in their midst; the heavenly ranks were left in stupor at what the audacious Cain had done.

49. He cried out in grief as he was bound, and the mountains wailed at the sound of his moans; the deaf rocks heard his weeping and gave out a sound in their suffering.

50. The earth cried out when she received that first blood that trickled down upon her; she gave a thunderous sound at the murderer, cursing him as she said ‘What have you done?’

51. The elements quaked in terror at seeing that first corpse; the earth shook as she received that first blood that descended upon her.

52. The Lord of all thundered in heaven as Abel's blood groaned out before Him;

45 d look, you are talking to superfluity N. 46 a mind BLN. b you do not know what you have said N. 47 c F substitutes 48a. d E substitutes 48d. 48 a assembled N. c were reduced to lament AB. d EK substitute 47d. 49 d trembling J; grief N. 50 d has he done ABFGHLN; has he dared EK. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 357

and as Judge He prepared the court, summoning Cain, so as to question him.

53. The Father began to question Cain, even though he knew very well, ‘Where is your brother? Tell me. Where has he gone and what happened to him?’

54. Cain heard the Most High question him concerning his brother. He brazenly lied and said, ‘I am not aware, for I am not Abel's keeper’.

55. GOD You shall be accursed within the world, and you shall be shaking and trembling there; and every one who shall find you will kill you on the earth upon which you have spilt blood. 52 c prepared: sat down (in) N. 53 [i] = CDJ [ii] = ABEFHL The Upright One began questioning that murderer, asking what he had done: ‘Where is your brother, whom Eve and Adam are expecting to receive back?’ b F substitutes [i] b. [iii] = N The Lord began to say to him, ‘Where is your brother?’ — and he was afraid and trembled, answering him with the words ‘I am not my brother's keeper’. 54 [i] = CD [ii] = ABEFGHJKL Cain began to say to Him in insolence, ‘I am not aware; for you did not hand him over to me to guard him for you; why do you seek him at my hands?’. d demand FL. [iii] = LN He asked him again, ‘What have you done? For look, the blood of your brother groans out to me. The sentence shall come upon you for you shall be shaking and quaking on earth’. 55 [i] = CDJ d see you J. [ii] = ABEFJ (God) ‘I beheld the awesome sight of your brother's murder, how he wept as he entreated you, and because you did not answer him or show pity, you shall be tormented by Justice’. d you shall be shaking in the world EJ (cp [i] ab). 358 S.P. BROCK

56. Thanks be to the Exalted who discerningly accepted the offering of Abel who had pleased Him, but rejected the sacrifice of him who is rejected, decreeing His judgement in justice.

Greek words gwnía 18a katjgore⁄n 32b pe⁄sai 19a, 46b stoixe⁄on 51a táziv 48c

Commentary Four Syriac texts in particular provide parallels with Soghitha I: - A prose narrative on the slaying of Abel by Cain, by an otherwise un- known author, Symmachus11. Cited as Life (by section number). [iii] = LN Cain was astounded by that curse, how it had come on him all of a sudden, and in his folly he confessed he had done wrong, asking a great deal for forgiveness. cd and he ascribed woe to himself, for he had perished from both worlds L.

56 [i] = C [ii] = ABEFGHKL Thanks be to You, O Lord of all, for in Your justice is judgement reserved, and in Your grace you have performed mercy on those sinners who call upon You. a = [iii]a a Lord of all: and blessed is Your name F. b in justice is Your judgement EK. b-d performing judgement for the oppressed. In Your upright and glorious judgement, judge the unbelievers who are judging us F.

56[iii] = N Thanks be to you, O Lord of all, upon whose will both height and depth depend; you have kept in mind the upright, whereas the wicked you have destroyed. a = [ii]a.

11 S.P. BROCK, A Syriac Life of Abel, in Le Muséon, 88 (1974), p. 472-485; the text alone, but with a few corrections on the basis of Paris syr. 276, is given in Luqo†e d- mimre d-¨al ktobay qudsho, St Ephrem Monastery, Glane, 1993, p. 5-14. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 359

- Isaac of Antioch, Memra on Abel and Cain12. Cited as Isaac (by folio number). - Jacob of Serugh, Memre on Abel and Cain13. Cited as Jacob (by page and line number). - Narsai, Homily IV on Creation14. Cited as Narsai (by line number). All four texts, as well as Soghitha I, were used by GLENTHØJ in his de- tailed study of the episode in Greek and Syriac writers (see note 4). With the help of his index, GLENTHØJ's work can serve as an excellent commentary to Soghitha I; accordingly, the present commentary is largely limited to parallels in other Syriac texts.

Melodies: qala/melody [i] represents the opening line of the Soghitha on Mary and the Angel (Soghyatha mgabbyatha, no. 6; T. LAMY, S. Ephraem Syri Hymni et Sermones, II, Malines, 1886, col. 589-604). All three qale refer to the same metrical structure, 7+7 7+7 syllables.

Refrains: only [iii] is specific to the subject of the soghitha, and since it provides a frequently found qala title (= qala [ii] here), it is likely to be the original refrain for this soghitha. 1a sarbeh d-Habel, ‘the story of Abel’: thus Jacob, 17, 1. 2a dmeh da-¨liba, ‘wronged man's blood’: thus Jacob, 19, 7. 2c ‘the earth groaned’: cfr Gen. 4, 10. 3a ëllta, ‘the reason’: thus Jacob, 3, 7; Isaac, 172v. 3c nÒaw, ‘quarrelled’: this is the verb used in Targum Neofiti (margin) and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan for the dispute between Cain and Abel in the Palestinian Targum to Gen. 4. In other dialogue soghyatha it occurs in that between the Church and Synagogue (stanza 41), and in Ephrem's dispute between Death and Satan (Carmina Nisibena, 52, 1). 5cd cfr Gen. 3, 19; the phraseology here, ‘with toil and weariness’, however, was suggested by Gen. 31, 42. 6ab cfr Gen. 4, 2. 7 Jacob (p. 3-4) also has Adam instruct Abel and Cain to make offerings on his behalf. The Life (2) also mentions in passing that the brothers make offerings at the bidding of their father; cfr also Cave of Treasures, V, 25, and GLENTHØJ, p. 80. 7c men ällata d-pulÌankon, ‘from the produce of your work’: cfr Jacob, 4, 4, men ällata d-qenyanaykon.

12 In Vatican syr. 120 (6th century), f.172v-185v (unpublished; edition in prepara- tion). 13 Homilies 147-150 in P. BEDJAN, Homiliae Selectae Mar Jacobi Sarugensis, V, Paris, 1910. 14 Ed. P. GIGNOUX, Homélies de Narsai sur la Création (Patrologia Orientalis, 34), Paris, 1968. 360 S.P. BROCK

8b men pardaysa, ‘from Paradise’: thus Jacob, 3, 17. 8c kad metra¨¨e b-qurbankon, ‘when he is reconciled by your offering’: cfr Jacob 4, 21 (Adam to Cain and Abel) ‘with offerings reconcile the Lord’ (similarly, 3, 11). According to GLENTHØJ, p. 80, this motif is not found elsewhere. 10a (’)buhon: evidently treated as two syllables; the variant abun is clearly secondary; see p. 338, above. 10b bisa, ‘the Evil One’: Isaac, f. 177v-178r, has the Evil One speak directly to Cain. In the Cave of Treasures, V, 27, too, Satan incites Cain. 10d rugza ’ap Ìemta, ‘anger and wrath’: cfr Jacob, 14, 10. 11a rawma, ‘the high ground’: cfr Cave of Treasures, V, 27, ‘top of the mountain’. 12a Ìza Ìassama, ‘the envious one saw’: thus Jacob, 19, 4; Narsai 348 and 369 describes Cain as Ìassama. For Cain's ‘envy’ (Ìsama), see Isaac, f. 177v; Life, 2, 6; Narsai 338, 350, 355; Cave of Treasures, V, 28. (Envy as Cain's motive is already found in the Testament of Benjamin, 7, 5; cfr also GLENTHØJ, p. 146, 284-6). - rugza lbes, ‘was clothed in anger’: the phrase already occurs in II Macc. 4, 25. 12b ¨umqa, ‘depth’: based on pqa¨ta in the Peshitta (Gen. 4, 8), which is the term used in Isaac, 172v, 175r, 177r; Life, 3; Cave of Treasures, V, 29. 13b ’asli, ‘rejected’: this verb is already used in this context by both Aphrahat (Dem., IV, 2) and Ephrem (Comm. Gen., III, 3), and is regularly found in later Syriac writers; the Peshitta's la ’eÒ†bi (Gen. 4, 5) is preserved in 13a (cfr 14b, for Abel's sacrifice). 13d metnaqqam (’)na, ‘I will take vengeance on’: similarly Narsai 346. - raÌmeh, ‘friend’: similarly Jacob, 22, 8, 13, and Isaac, f. 174v, 175r. In 17a Cain speaks of God as Abel's ‘friend’. 14a man ’asklet, ‘what wrong have I done’: cfr Isaac, f. 177v, ‘show me my wrong towards you’. 14b baÌar lebba, ‘He who searches out hearts’: Ier. 11, 20; Prou. 17, 3. 14d ’a(y)k reggteh, ‘as he likes’: cfr Jacob, 8, 2. 15a bukra, ‘the eldest’: similarly Jacob, 55, 17 and Narsai 312. Cain re- turns to the subject of precedence in age in stanza 35. This is a motif found in several Greek writers (see GLENTHØJ, p. 69) as well as in Jewish sources from Jubilees (4, 1) onwards. 16b Ìubba, ‘love’: thus already Ephrem, Comm. Gen., III, 2. The same point is made in stanza 36. 16c Òebyana la Ìli†, ‘(good) intention is not mingled in’: similarly Narsai 321 la Ìli† (h)wa beh Òebyana (sc. in Cain's offering); cfr also TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 361

Isaac, f. 173v (‘Abel's offering would not have been pleasing without his (good) intention’), 176r. See further GLENTHØJ, p. 95. 17-18 Cain's desire to possess the whole earth is a theme also found in Jewish sources, e.g. Genesis Rabba 22, 7 (see also note 7, above); in other Syriac writers, Jacob, 18, 20 (Cain wanted ‘to inherit the entire world’); Life, 2. Among Greek writers it appears to be confined to a Greek text attributed to Ephrem, see GLENTHØJ, p. 142-3. 17cd ma da-(’)Ìrina la ’it lwat(y), ‘when there is no one else beside me’: cfr Isaac, f. 174v, ‘if I kill him, there will be no one else to worship his (= God's) honour’. 18a gonya, ‘corner’: the Greek loan word gwnía is first found in the fifth-century translations of Eusebius (Hist. Eccl., I, 4, 2; Theoph., III, 9; IV, 7, 23; V, 46), and then in native Syriac literature of the late fifth century, e.g. Life of Symeon Stylites (ed. BEDJAN, Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, IV, p. 519), and Martyrdom of Simeon bar ∑abba¨e (recension B; Patrologia Syriaca, II, col. 922). 22c ki’ba, ‘injury’: the same term occurs in Life, 6, and Isaac, f. 177r. 22d suÌna, ‘wound’: cfr Jacob, 24, 15. 23b wab-gawzalta, ‘with the flame’: according to a tradition first attested by the Jewish Greek translator Theodotion at Gen. 4, 4 (ênepú- risen), Abel's sacrifice was burnt up by fire, as an indication of its ac- ceptance. This tradition was already well known to both Aphrahat (Dem., IV, 2) and Ephrem (Comm. Gen., III, 3); see GLENTHØJ, p. 97- 100, 229, and (for the wider theme of the descent of fire) my Fire from heaven (see note 6, above). The specific term gawzalta features in Jacob, 8, 19. 24a for N's ¨libuteh, ‘oppressed state’, cfr Jacob, 19, 14; 26, 15. 25a for the variant ‘goaded’, cfr Jacob, 9, 13. 26b Ìezwa, ‘vision’: this appears to be without parallel. In the Life, 11, Cain claims to his parents to have seen Abel snatched up to heaven (cfr Ephrem, Comm. Gen., III, 5). 26c gba, ‘selecting (lit. chose)’: thus Isaac, f. 173v. 27c kutin Ìassa, ‘garment of suffering’: the phrase is picked up by Jacob, 9, 16. 27c zqar w-’albsak, ‘woven for you and clothed you in it’: cfr Jacob, 2, 6 (but referring to Abel). 29b = 41b. 31c cfr Jacob, 13, 18-19, where Cain likewise supposes God is still on the mountain. 34d nuÌ men Ìemtak, ‘rest from your wrath’: cfr Jacob, 11, 5 ‘give rest to your anger’. 362 S.P. BROCK

36a cfr Gen. 4, 7. 36d Ìubba sapya, ‘sincere love’: the phrase is found elsewhere in Jacob, III, 489, 9, as well as in later monastic and liturgical texts (e.g. Fenqitho IV, 527b and 530a). 38a mytt: in view of the defective spellings noted under Orthography 1.9, above, it seems preferable to take mytt as a rare spelling for mytyt, i.e. maytet, the joined form of mayte + ’a(n)t, ‘you are bringing'15, rather that as maytat, the short form of ma’et + ’a(n)t, ‘you will die (because of me)’, which provides less satisfactory sense. 38cd nurba…swaÌ, ‘shoot which sprang’: cfr Jacob, 2, 21, ‘the shoot which sprang from the vine of our father Adam’. The image is taken from Isaiah (e.g. 11, 1; 60, 21). 40c cfr Gen. 4, 7. 42b Òalma, ‘image’: cfr Jacob, 15, 14-15. The line has been taken up in a qolo in the Syrian Catholic Fenqitho (V, 104b-105a, Tuesday in Holy Week): ‘The mountains and hills wept [cfr 46c] for the innocent Abel as he went down to the valley; he resembled a lamb [cfr 47b] and was beg- ging his brother with tears and groans: The world is granted to you [cfr 18c, 20a]: only do not kill me; you can become the heir in its midst, but do not shed my blood on the ground. Remember, my brother, that God exists, who sees in the height and depth; do not destroy the fair image which His hands have fashioned’. 44cd cfr Gen. 3, 19. 45b ba-swada, ‘chatter’: cfr Isaac, f. 175r, uses the same word. 46c see above on 42b for a later borrowing from this line. 47a bar ¨emmeh, ‘mother's son’: cfr Life, 5-6; Isaac, f. 178r. 47a w-’abrkeh, ‘and made him kneel down’: in Isaac, f. 178r, Satan in- structs Cain to make Abel kneel down. 47b cfr Is. 53, 7. 47d tammima, ‘innocent’: thus Jacob, 12, 18; 14, 14; Isaac, f. 174v; Narsai 327, 344, 353, 369. 48b mita Ìa(d)ta, ‘novel corpse’: cfr ‘novel slaughter’ in Jacob, 17, 3. 48c †eksay rawma, ‘ranks of the height’: cfr Jacob, 19, 14, taksis da- smayyane. 49a kad ’etpkar, ‘as he was bound’: no doubt Gen. 22 is at the back of the author's mind. In Jacob it is Cain who is bound — metaphorically — by God's questions to him (23, 9), while in Narsai Justice binds both Cain and Satan (379, cfr 384). 49bc perhaps suggested by Matth. 27, 51. 15 This is not only how LN have taken the form (reverting to the normal orthography), but also how Mor Julius Çiçek, the scribe of S, has vocalized the defective form. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 363

50b dma sarwaya, ‘initial blood’: thus Jacob, 19, 12 and 30, 1; the phrase already occurs in Ephrem, Carmina Nisibena, 39, 16, also with reference to Abel. Narsai (392) uses dma qadmaya, ‘first blood’, instead. Abel is ‘the initial lamb’ in Isaac, Hom. 26 (ed. BEDJAN, p. 318). 52b cfr Gen. 4, 10. 53b a similar point is made by Ephrem, Comm. Gen., III, 6, while Jacob (21, 7) adapts it (Cain imagines God did not know). 53c Gen. 4, 9. 54(i)c w-’agmed, ‘and he acted brazenly’: the rare verb is also used in Isaac, f. 183r; for the more frequent noun gumdanuta, cfr Jacob, 20, 7. Narsai uses both gumdana’it (371) and b-gummada (382). 54(i)d cfr Gen. 4, 9. 54(ii) conceivably it was Jacob's memra which provided the starting point for this alternative stanza (see the parallels cited below). 54(ii)b b-sarobuta, ‘in insolence’: the term is used by Jacob, 22, 4; 21, 4; 23, 2; 24, 8; the cognate srubya occurs in Isaac, f. 183v, and Narsai 362. 54(ii)c d-li la ’aslemta(h)y d-’e†riw(hy), ‘for you did not hand him over to me to keep him’: cfr Jacob 22, 15 ‘at what time did you hand him over to me to keep him?’. 55(i)a Gen. 4, 11. 55(i)b Gen. 4, 12. 55(i)c Gen. 4, 14 (but the words are there put into Cain's mouth).

Soghitha II

The second Soghitha ‘On Abel and Cain’ is, by inference, attributed to Giwargis Warda (thirteenth century) by the scribe of Cambridge Add. 1983, from which the present edition is taken. Confirmation for a medieval date is found in the presence of rhyme, a feature absent from the soghyatha of the period before the Arab conquests: in each stanza the first two and the last two stichoi are rhymed (a quite different system from that employed in the Sinful Woman and Satan II)16. Cambridge Add. 1983 is a ‘Warda’, or collection of poems arranged according to the liturgical year and attributed to Giwargis Warda whose contents differ considerably from other such collections. The manuscript is dated 1549/50, and contains several pieces by poets other than Giwargis Warda.

16 Ed. in S.P. BROCK, The Sinful Woman and Satan: two Syriac dialogue poems, in O.C., 72 (1988), p. 21-62. 364 S.P. BROCK

The author of Soghitha II clearly knows Soghitha I, and follows its general structure, with Adam introduced near the beginning, and God at the end (the concluding verses, with their overt Christian references, go their own way, and give no hint of which ending of Soghitha I Warda knew (though presumably it was that in N). At various stages in the poem (above all in stanzas 26 and 27) Soghitha II directly echoes the earlier poem; a list of such reminiscences will be found following the translation. The text reproduces that of the only manuscript known to me, Cam- bridge Add. 1983, f.100r-103r; a few small corrections, however, have been made, but in all these cases the reading of the manuscript is indi- cated in the apparatus.

[SOGHITHA II]

1 2 3 100b 4 5 6 7 8 9

6b ms. . 8d ms. . TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 365

10 11 12 13 101a 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 101b 23 24 25 26

21a ms. . 366 S.P. BROCK

27 28 29 30 102a 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 102b 41 42

28a : read ‘me’ (cfr rhyme)? 28c ms. . TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 367

43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 103a 51 52

Abel and Cain II: Translation

Another (soghitha), for the Fifth Sunday of the Fast, on Cain and Abel. By the same [sc. Warda].

1. A tale full of woe encountered me at the very beginning of creation; as I sat down to read it I found therein great suffering.

2. When Adam went forth from Paradise like some thief, he fathered Cain his firstborn, and then, afterwards, Abel.

52 breaks the acrostic and is clearly a secondary addition. Before it the scribe wrote (but then deleted) the words ‘and hold us all worthy of new life'. 368 S.P. BROCK

3. Cain worked on the land, while Abel learnt to shepherd sheep. Adam summoned his two sons and addressed them as follows:

4. ‘Arise, my sons, and go up to the mountain top, offer an offering to that Lord who fashioned us out of dust, and who said he would return us to dust’.

5. Abel took the choice firstborn and went up with a joyful heart, but Cain took miserable specimens of fruit, accompanied by bitter thoughts.

6. When they offered up their offerings, the (divine) will distinguished between the two, accepting the offering of Abel, whereas Cain's he utterly rejected.

7. Cain called out to Abel in anger, ‘Come, let us go to the valley’, and he went with him in all simplicity, but (Cain) grabbed him and spoke to him harshly:

8. CAIN O wretch, woe to your mother, for your death and your (last) day are close at hand; then shall I see whether your offering will save you, and who will come to your help.

9. ABEL O brother, have pity on my wretched self, have compassion on my poor state. I have not done any harm to you, so why would you kill me?

10. CAIN I am the firstborn, and I am older than you, yet it was me He cursed, and your offering that He accepted; and if I do not kill you, I will find no rest for my heart.

11. ABEL Carry on as the firstborn, as indeed you are, and make me a servant in your presence; TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 369

do not call me ‘brother’ or ‘companion’, but ‘servant’ and ‘hired labourer’.

12. CAIN I am a man bitter of soul, and I possess an evil heart; I am unable to leave you (alive), or look upon you with my eye.

13. ABEL Let the whole world be entirely yours, but leave me sound (and alive); allow me just one corner, my brother, like some animal or wild beast.

14. CAIN Let it be mine, as you say, but you are not dwelling alongside with me; no, not with the animals and wild beasts, nor with the birds of the air.

15. ABEL Look on my tears, and feel some sorrow for me; pity me, brother, and show some compassion. Allow me to toil in servitude: I do not ask for the position of brother.

16. CAIN These words do not affect my mind, they make no impression on my heart. I will not accept any testimony unless I destroy your life.

17. ABEL Look, the earth is extensive and large, why has your love grown cold? allow me (still) to be a companion to you, both by day and by night.

18. CAIN Woe to you: your time is up, your departure has drawn near; do you suppose that with your words you will draw my mind towards you?

19. ABEL Alas for me who have done nothing wrong! Why are you going to kill me? weep, but you show no concern, my supplications do not affect you. 370 S.P. BROCK

20. CAIN Your time has come, wretch, do not multiply your tears and weeping. There is no one to save you from my hands: I cannot bear to set eyes on you.

21. ABEL Tremble before the Judge, my brother: should you not give me fair judgement? For if you reject me when I have done nothing wrong, what will He do to you once you have done what is wrong?

22. CAIN Rage and anger incite me on: your words will not beguile me. I do not fear judgement: I will kill you even if I too will have to die.

23. ABEL Spare your poor brother, let your heart have faith; remove the anger from it, lest your blow be harsh.

24. CAIN I prefer your death to your life, for your life embitters mine. If I do not destroy you, I will never cease from suffering.

25. ABEL Ungrateful man, do not destroy me, do not deprive me of my life. Do not make me into the first dead body, lest you be cursed until the end.

26. CAIN I will gather a heap of stones, and hide in it your body. Who will know that Abel ever existed and was killed by his brother Cain? 27. ABEL You will be accused by the very heap of stones that you pile up over me. As for your saying that no one will see you — the Lord on high will observe you.

28. CAIN When God sees you and how I am approaching you TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 371

let Him do what He will with me — He who preferred Abel's offering!

29. ABEL If this is the reason, and if it is because of my offering that I shall die, let the offering be yours, and decree for me a temporary life.

30. CAIN Your words help not in the slightest, they do not profit you at all; unless you taste death, you will appear to me an object of hate.

31. ABEL I call God as my witness that ‘of everything in this world I desire not death in it, but the living soul’.

32. CAIN You will not be rescued from death by weeping and bitter cries: as long as I remember your offering, I shall be like someone crazed.

33. ABEL O what has the offering given me, what a loss it has proved to be! Let me be the rejected one, let your offering be the chosen!

34. CAIN Keep your own offering, and I will see what advantage it brings you; and I, who was rejected along with my offering, will see what my loss turns out to be.

35. ABEL May you have a pure heart, for it is purity which the Lord loves. Had your mind been pure, then your offering would have been accepted.

36. CAIN I place no hope in any offering, for I know that He will not accept me. 372 S.P. BROCK

It is your blood that I shall make today as a libation and offering.

37. ABEL You have drawn your tongue like a sword: you are trading with your own loss. Do not perform this great sin, lest your abyss be just as great.

38. CAIN You are standing at death's door — alas for your mother, what are you going to do? Your father cannot deliver you, nor can your offering save you.

39. ABEL I raise my eyes up to you like a servant and say to you on oath, Take for yourself whatever is in creation, but grant me life as a favour.

40. CAIN Let your mouth be silent from speech, and your tongue from talking. There is no way that you can live on, or any means by which you can be saved.

41. ABEL Desist from your wicked intent, you evil man; spare your father and her who bore you; their groans are exceedingly bitter (at their banishment) from Eden — and now over their son.

42. (Cain) approached him like a lion and trussed that pure lamb up; he tortured him mercilessly, after the manner of the cruel demons.

43. The evil man hunted down the innocent, having no fear for the Sovereign on high: he beat him heavily, with cruel and embittered blows.

44. (Abel) cried out on earth with all his might and his voice was heard in heaven. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 373

The Sovereign of heaven thundered out against Cain with a voice that could be heard.

45. GOD ‘Cain, Cain, tell me where is your brother? Show me’. CAIN He answered and said ‘I know not, for I have not been made my brother's keeper’.

46. GOD Great is your wickedness, audacious man, and likewise your sin, O impious one. Earth and heaven shall curse you, seeing that you have displayed the first murder.

47. Great was the evil that Cain performed, great too was that which Judas carried out; Cain slew a man, but the other betrayed the Lord of all.

48. Cain was punished seven times over, for breaching his brother's blood at the beginning, but for Judas a thousand thousand stripes and tortures are far too small.

49. Praise to the true Shepherd who in his love became a lamb, dying on the wood on Golgotha, like Abel in the valley.

50. Let the Church give thanks with all kinds of voices to the Son who has perfected all mysteries. Let it curse Judas and his band, but magnify our Lord and his resurrection.

51. Open your door, O Jesus, in your mercy to the composer of these words, grant him, along with Abel, a portion, — and to us as well — while to you be glory.

52. When you are revealed at the end of time may we come forth to meet you with all kinds of Hosannas, singing praise to your divinity, for you are our King and there is none like you. 374 S.P. BROCK

Greek words katjgore⁄n 27b pe⁄sai 19d pórov 40c

Reminiscences of Soghitha I in Soghitha II

1a: cfr Soghitha I 1a. 2a: cfr 4a. 2c: cfr 15a. 3ab: cfr 6ab (and Gen. 4, 2). 3cd: cfr 7a. 4b: cfr 7d. 4cd: cfr 44cd (and Gen. 3, 19). 5a: Gen. 4, 4. 6cd: cfr 11cd. 7ab: cfr 12ab; 7b Gen. 4, 8. 9ab: cfr 24c. 9c: cfr 14a. 10a: cfr 15a. 10d: cfr 33d. 11b: cfr 20c. 13a: cfr 18c. 13c: cfr 18ab. 15ab: cfr 24c. 18c: cfr 45b. 19ab: cfr 24ab. 25c: cfr 48b. 26a: based on 31a. 27ab: based on 32ab. 29b: cfr 34b. 31bcd: based on Ez. 33, 11. 32b: cfr 19a. 39d: cfr 20b. 41b: cfr 38c. 42b: cfr 47b. 43a: cfr 47d. 44c: cfr 50c. 45: cfr 53[iii] and Gen. 4, 9. TWO SYRIAC DIALOGUE POEMS ON ABEL AND CAIN 375

46c: cfr Gen. 4, 11. 48a: cfr Gen. 4, 15.

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