Genesis 37 and 39 in the Early Syriac Tradition

Kristian Heal (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

288 Seiten

2022
Brill (Verlag)
978-90-04-52695-2 (ISBN)

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This book explores Syriac literary culture and the dynamic afterlives of biblical figures through a survey and study of the uniquely rich and diverse corpus of stories about the Old Testament patriarch Joseph that survive from Syriac late antiquity.

The Syriac reception of the story of Joseph offers an unprecedented glimpse into late antique Syriac literary culture. The story inspired a diverse body of texts, written in prose, narrative poetry, dialogue poetry, and metrical homilies, including the greatest narrative poem written in Syriac. These texts explore and retell the story of Joseph with a combination of exegetical imagination, playful creativity, and a relentless focus on the exemplary virtues of the patriarch. Read through a typological lens, this study shows how the story also became an important locus of Christian-Jewish polemic.

Kristian S. Heal, Ph.D. (2008), University of Birmingham, is a Research Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. He has published translations, edited volumes, and other studies on early Syriac literature, including Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on Aaron the Priest (Gorgias, 2022).

Preface: Pursuing Joseph in the Syriac Tradition

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction: Rewriting the Bible in the Early Syriac Tradition

Prose Narratives

Narrative Poetry

Verse Homily

Dialogue Poetry

Reading the Rewritten Bible

1 A Survey of the Sources

1. Peshitta Genesis 37–50

2. Aphrahat, Demonstrations

3. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), Commentary on Genesis

4. Syriac History of Joseph (CAVT 113; S 1229)

5. History of Joseph the King (S 1631)

6. Balai, On Joseph (S 931)

7. Narsai, On Joseph (S 1748)

8. Jacob of Serugh (451–521), On Joseph (Ten Memre)

9. Joseph Son of Jacob (S 1300, 1340)

10. Joseph and His Brothers in Three Meters (S 1587)

11. Joseph Tells Jacob and Dinah (S 1342)

12. Joseph Reveals His Identity to His Brethren

13. On Joseph when He was Revealed to His Brothers

14. Removal of Joseph’s Bones (S 932)

15. Removal of Joseph’s Bones

16. Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

17. Joseph and His Mistress

18. Joseph Rejects His Mistress

19. Soghithā on Joseph and Benjamin

20. On Joseph and His Brothers

21. Joseph Reveals the Dream to His Father

22. Joseph in the Market Place

23. The Brothers in Egypt

24. On the Sons of Jacob in the Metre of Mor Jacob

25. On the Death of Jacob

26. Benjamin and the Cup

27. Joseph and Asenath (CAVT 105; Syriac Version S 559)

28. Story of Asenath’s Origins (CAVT 109)

29. Ephrem Graecus, On Joseph the Most Virtuous

30. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph

31. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

32. Ps Romanos, Kontakion on Joseph

33. Ps Ephrem, Armenian Commentary on Genesis

34. Armenian Story of Joseph

2 Joseph as a Type of Christ

Early Syriac Lectionaries

Aphrahat

Joseph Son of Jacob

Balai

Narsai

Jacob of Serugh

Conclusions

3 Exemplarity and the Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)

The Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)

Omitting the Problem: Ephrem’s Commentary on Genesis

Expanding the Problem: Balai

Addressing the Problem: Narsai

Preaching the Problem: Jacob of Serugh, Christ, and Harran

Conclusions

4 Imagining Monstrosity (Gen. 37:5–28)

Enmity, or the Motive for Fratricide (Gen. 37:3–11)

Duplicity, or Why Joseph Was Sent to Shechem (Gen. 37:11–14)

Brutality, or a Portrait of the Capture and Sale of Joseph (Gen. 37:17–28a)

Conclusions

5 Mother, Merchants, and the Market Place (Gen. 37:29–36)

Mother

Merchants

The Market Place

Conclusions

6 Making a Syriac Woman Sinful (Gen. 39)

The Temptress (Gen. 39:7)

The Adorned Woman: Syriac History of Joseph

The Sinful Woman: Joseph Son of Jacob

Eve’s Daughter: Narsai

Conclusions

7 Scripting Seduction (Gen. 39:7–10)

Arguments Marshalled by Potiphar’s Wife (P1–12)

Joseph’s Responses (J1–7)

Conclusions

8 Entrapment and Betrayal (Gen. 39:11–20)

Was Joseph Tempted to Yield?

Joseph in the Street (Gen. 39:12b)

The Accusation is Formed (Gen. 39:13–16)

The Trial and Sentence (Gen. 39:17–20)

Conclusions

Conclusion: Promise and Betrayal

Bibliography

Index of Manuscript Citations

Index of Incipits

Index of Ancient Sources

Erscheinungsdatum	18.11.2022
Reihe/Serie	Monographs of the Peshitta Institute ; 20
Verlagsort	Leiden
Sprache	englisch
Maße	155 x 235 mm
Gewicht	607 g
Themenwelt	Religion / Theologie ► Christentum ► Kirchengeschichte
ISBN-10	90-04-52695-1 / 9004526951
ISBN-13	978-90-04-52695-2 / 9789004526952
Zustand	Neuware