The Biblical Homilies of Ephraem Graecus.

摘要

Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306-373) is one of the most revered figures of Eastern Christianity and one of the few people canonized in both the Eastern and Western Churches. Ephrem's renown spread beyond the boundaries of Syriac-speaking Christendom and attracted the interest of Greek-speaking Christians. Demand for more information about this figure sparked production of texts about and putatively by Ephrem in many languages, including Greek. Ultimately, the number of Greek texts attributed to Ephrem ranks second to only John Chrysostom. These texts, known as the Ephraem Graecus corpus, have gone relatively unstudied as the works are almost certainly inauthentic. Ephrem composed exclusively in Syriac. Nevertheless, the texts have been influential in the history of Christianity, providing some of the foundational texts of Orthodox monasticism and inspiring theologians such as John Wesley.;This study seeks to explore the portion of the corpus on the topic of biblical exegesis. It provides the first ever English translation of many of these homilies. The homilies evince a creative style of exegesis relatively unknown in Western Christianity but which does appear in Syriac. These works imaginatively retell the biblical stories, inventing new dialogue and situations for the familiar characters within their established narratives. This study argues that the homilies transport the audience into a dramatic re-creation of the biblical stories where they encounter the biblical figures in a new way which emphasizes the humor, pathos, and the humanity of the characters in Scripture. A work on Joseph translated here, e.g., depicts Joseph momentarily freeing himself from his Ishmaelite captors to fall on his mother's grave and cry out to her in Hebrew, an act misinterpreted by the fearful Ishmaelites as necromancy. This episode is known from Jewish and Syriac Christian exegesis on this story, but is not attested by the Greek-speaking Christian tradition. This study argues that the Ephraem Graecus corpus is an important case study for understanding the interconnected, multi-lingual world of Late Antique Christianity. The anonymous author of the Ephraem Graecus corpus created literature for a group of Christians reflecting Syriac concerns, motifs, and interests but in the Greek language.