Solving the Ninth Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of the American Oriental Society Année : 2023

Solving the Ninth Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem

Flavia Ruani

Résumé

Solving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem Yonatan moSS the heBrew univerSitY oF jeruSalem and Flavia ruani irht-CnrS, pariS-auBervillierS Within the rich literary tradition of the West Syrian (i .e ., Syriac Orthodox) Church, two ninth-century authors stand out thanks to a curious problem. The authors are the bishops John of Dara, who lived in the first half of the century, and Moses bar Kepha, who died in northern Iraq in 903. The problem is the literary relationship between several of the texts transmitted in their names. Applying a three-pronged approach to this synoptic problem, this article offers a path toward a solution. On the basis of biographical, stylistic, and philological arguments, it is argued that at least one text that goes under John's name, On Heretics, was not in fact written by him. The author of that text, likely operating in the tenth century, drew heavily from Moses bar Kepha's treatise On Paradise, while reshaping the material from Moses, and also incorporating additional material from other sources. introduCtion Within the rich literary tradition of the West Syrian (i .e ., Syriac Orthodox) Church, two ninth-century authors stand out thanks to a curious problem. The authors are the bishops John of Dara, who lived in the first half of the century, and Moses bar Kepha, who died in 903. 1 The problem is the literary relationship between several of the texts transmitted in their names. The Syriac manuscript tradition, now spread across libraries in the Middle East, Europe, and North America, assigns over a dozen treatises to John, 2 and several dozen treatises, homilies, and commentaries to Moses. 3 The subjects covered by the two authors mostly deal with speculative theology (such as paradise, angels, creation, the soul, and resurrection), the explanation of church feasts, sacraments, and liturgy, and, for Moses, also biblical exegesis. With one exception, there is no ambiguity concerning the manuscripts' attributions; each work is consistently attributed to one of the two authors. 4
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
06_Moss-Ruani_JAOS_143.3_2023.pdf (532.77 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Licence : Domaine public

Dates et versions

hal-04372260 , version 1 (04-01-2024)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-04372260 , version 1

Citer

Yonatan Moss, Flavia Ruani. Solving the Ninth Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2023, 143 (3), pp.581-606. ⟨hal-04372260⟩
3 Consultations
9 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More