Icons of the Heavenly Merchant: Ephrem and Pseudo-Ephrem in the Madrashe in Praise of Abraham of Qidun 9781463236502

Citation preview

Icons of the Heavenly Merchant

Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies

45 Series Editors George Anton Kiraz István Perczel Lorenzo Perrone Samuel Rubenson

Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies brings to the scholarly world the underrepresented field of Eastern Christianity. This series consists of monographs, edited collections, texts and translations of the documents of Eastern Christianity, as well as studies of topics relevant to the world of historic Orthodoxy and early Christianity.

Icons of the Heavenly Merchant

Ephrem and Pseudo-Ephrem in the Madrashe in Praise of Abraham of Qidun

Andrew Hayes

9

34 2016

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2016 by Gorgias Press LLC

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2016

‫ܕ‬

9

ISBN 978-1-4632-0414-3

ISSN 1539-1507

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hayes, Andrew, 1982- author. Icons of the Heavenly Merchant : Ephrem and Pseudo-Ephrem in the Madrashe in Praise of Abraham of Qidun / by Andrew Hayes. pages cm. -- (Gorgias Eastern Christian studies, ISSN 1539-1507) In English; with some material in Syriac. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4632-0414-3 1. Abraham, of Kidun, active 4th century. 2. Ephraem, Syrus, Saint, 303-373--Criticism and interpretation. 3. Hymns, Syriac. I. Ephraem, Syrus, Saint, 303-373. II. Title. III. Title: Ephrem and Pseudo-Ephrem in the Madrashe in Praise of Abraham of Qidun. BR65.E636H394 2015 270.2092--dc23 2015019325 Printed in the United States of America

Title of the Book

Do not delete the following information about this document. Version 1.0 Document Template: Template book.dot. Document Word Count: 12772 Document Page Count: 417 to Katherine and to Jack Figel & William Carnazzo whose patronage made this work possible

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ..................................................................................... v Acknowledgments ................................................................................... ix Abbreviations ........................................................................................... xi A Brief Explanation of Transliteration and Other Spelling Conventions .................................................................................. xiii Verb Patterns .......................................................................... xiii Noun Patterns ......................................................................... xiii Presenting and Re-Presenting Saints: An introduction to Ephrem the Syrian and Abraham of Qîdûn ................................ 1 The ‘Harp of the Spirit’ .................................................................. 2 The ‘Harp’ and the ‘Heavenly Merchant’ .................................... 9 Facts and Problems ....................................................................... 12 A Solution Proposed ..................................................................... 20 Rhetoric in Syriac? .........................................................................22 The Plan of This Study ................................................................. 27 Chapter I: The Text and its Interpreters .............................................29 The Text, its Authorship, and Provenance ...............................29 Phil Botha and Predecessors: Rhetoric and Poetic Technique in Early Syriac Madrāšê.................................... 47 (a) Study of Literary Vehicles for Apologetics and Teaching ...........................................................................54 (b) Summary of Features and Definition of the Madrāšâ ............................................................................63 Conclusions: Questions, Definitions, and Method Adopted .................................................................................65 Chapter II: Pigments on the Palette: Language and Imagery in the Cycle ..........................................................................................69 An Initial Description of Themes ...............................................70 The Vocabulary and Imagery of the Cycle: A Statistical Overview ................................................................................75 v

vi

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Prominent Vocabulary and Imagery in the Ephremian Portion of the Cycle .............................................................81 (a) Language of Praise and Blame: The Eschatological Wedding Feast ...................................... 82 (b) Language of Finance and Commerce: the Riches of Paradise ..........................................................89 Conclusion ....................................................................................105 Chapter III: The Pigments Remixed: Prominent Vocabulary and Imagery in the Second Half of the Cycle .................................109 An Initial Description of Themes .............................................112 Commercial and Financial Language: A New Theology of Intercession .........................................................................114 Language for Sexual Continence: A New Emphasis on qaddîšûṯâ ..............................................................................117 Language for Prudence and Moderation in Dispute .............121 Conclusion ....................................................................................124 Chapter IV: Canons of Verbal Iconography: Rhetorical Devices & Polarity in the Cycle ................................................................127 Rhetorical Devices in the Ephremian Portion of the Cycle .....................................................................................130 The Concept of a Stanza-Level Polarity & Other Preliminaries ........................................................................137 Polarities and Themes in the Cycle as a Whole ......................139 Stanza Polarities in the Ephremian Portion ............................142 (a) Polar Opposition of Moral Qualities ............................143 (b) Polar Opposition in Space or Time ..............................146 (c) Polar Opposition between an Image and its Archetype .......................................................................152 Conclusion: Stylistic and Theological Profile of Ephrem .....159 Chapter V: The Canons Re-Codified: Rhetorical Devices and Polarity in the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion .............................161 Rhetorical Devices in the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion .........161 Stanza Polarities in the Pseudo-Ephremian Poems ...............167 Conclusion: Stylistic and Theological Profile of PseudoEphrem ................................................................................181 Chapter VI: Rhetoric of the Madrāšâ: Rhetorical Strategy, Structural Patterns, and the Theology of the Icon .................183 Overview of Rhetorical Strategy Based on the Concept of Polarity .................................................................................184

TABLE OF CONTENTS

vii

Structure and Movements in Madrāšê .....................................190 (a) Overall Reconstruction: Diptychs and Panels.............193 (b) Detailed Commentary on Poems 1–4: A Pair of Diptychs ....................................................................196 (c) The Final Poem ................................................................218 Theological Analysis....................................................................226 Chapter VII: Strategy, Structure, and Theology in the Icon of Pseudo-Ephrem ...........................................................................233 A New Type of Rhetorical Strategy ..........................................234 Structure of HdAQ 7–15 ...........................................................237 (a) HdAQ 10–14, including 15.1–4: the acrostic from lāmaḏ to šîn .........................................................240 (b) HdAQ 7 & 15.5–28.........................................................255 (c) HdAQ 6.............................................................................257 (d) Final Thoughts on the Structure of the Pseudo-Ephremian Poems..........................................261 Theological Analysis....................................................................263 Chapter VIII: Conclusions. Ephrem’s Theology of Asceticism and Virtue .....................................................................................265 Ephrem, the Marvelous Rhetor.................................................265 What the HdAQ Say about the History of Syriac Asceticism ............................................................................267 (a) Proto-Monasticism and Byzantine Monachism ..........268 (b) Abraham as Local Legend and Ascetic Pioneer .........270 (c) The Post-Ephremian Elaboration .................................276 Theological Conclusions ............................................................277 (a) Ephrem’s Ascetic Ideal ...................................................277 (b) Pseudo-Ephrem’s Ascetic Ideal ....................................279 Appendix A: Further Charts ...............................................................283 Reference List of Devices Shared between Ephremian and Pseudo-Ephremian Portions ............................................283 A Few Devices Unique to the Ephremian Portion..........285 Complete List of Polarities Used in Both Parts of the Cycle .........................................................................285 Appendix B: Annotated Translation of the Cycle ...........................307 The First Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ..............................308 The Second Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ .........................314 The Third Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ............................323 The Fourth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ..........................329

viii

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

The Fifth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ .............................336 The Sixth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ .............................345 The Seventh Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ........................350 The Eighth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ..........................355 The Ninth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ...........................361 The Tenth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ...........................366 The Eleventh Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ......................370 The Twelfth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ........................374 The Thirteenth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ...................378 The Fourteenth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ..................382 The Fifteenth Madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ ......................386 Bibliography ..........................................................................................391

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The present book is a slightly revised version of my 2012 doctoral dissertation, ‘The Rhetoric and Themes of the Madrasha Cycle in Praise of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ attributed to Ephrem the Syrian.’ I repeat here my thanks to all those who made this work possible. Particular mention is due to the members of my committee, Sidney Griffith, Monica Blanchard, and Susan Wessel. Fr. Griffith, in addition to his guidance throughout the dissertation, assisted me in acquiring an especially important article. It was through the efforts of Dr. Blanchard that high resolution scans of the manuscripts consulted for this dissertation were obtained from the British Museum. The computational analysis of Syriac word usage on which much of this research is based could not have taken place without the patient typing of my student, Michael Strickland, who converted the text of Beck’s edition to an editable and searchable Syriac text on which I could perform my queries. For support and encouragement, thanks are due to the generous patronage of Dr. William Carnazzo, Jack Figel, and especially to Philip Rousseau, for his guidance, mentorship, and financial support provided through the graduate fellowship program of the Center for the Study of Early Christianity at CUA. Special mention is also owed to those who first inspired my study of early Christian writings, particularly to Patrick Duffy, John Janaro, William Fahey, and Edward Strickland. Finally, many thanks are owed to my patient wife, Katherine, who sacrificed her own convenience in innumerable ways to permit me the freedom to complete this work. The author gratefully acknowledges the use of the Serto Jerusalem font, with thanks to Beth Mardutho. The following online research tools were used: • The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project (http://cal1.cn.huc.edu)—note that Sokoloff (ed.) 2009, A ix

x

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

•

Syriac Lexicon, was generally used to confirm all questions of Syriac lexicography. Professor Gideon Burton’s ‘Silva Rhetoricae’ (rhetoric.byu.edu)

ABBREVIATIONS For the works of Ephrem (as edited by Edmund Beck; see the Bibliography): Des heiligen Ephrem des Syrers Hymnen … de Fide contra Haereses de Paradiso de Ecclesia (published with de Paradiso) contra Iulianum de Nativitate de Epiphania de Ecclesia de Virginitate de Ieiunio de Azymis de Crucifixione de Resurrectione auf Abraham Kidunaya auf Julianos Saba Des heiligen Ephrem des Syrers Sermones de Fide Des heiligen Ephrem des Syrers Sermo de Domino Nostro

HdF HcH HdP HdE(a) HcJ HdN HdEp HdE(b) HdV HdJ HdA HdC HdR HdAQ HdJS SdF SdDN

For other works of Ephrem (not edited by Beck): Sancti Ephraem Syri in Genesim et in Exodum Commentarii Comm. in Gen; Comm. in Exod Letter to Publius Ep. ad Pub.

Other sources: Vie d’Antoine Clavis Patrum Graecorum

VA CPG xi

A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF TRANSLITERATION AND OTHER SPELLING CONVENTIONS The structure of Semitic languages depends on the concept of a root, that is, a fixed sequence of consonants (usually tri-literal, occasionally quadri-literal) indicating a specific semantic notion. The root is placed into a pattern to specify the meaning. It will be necessary to refer frequently to roots and their verbal or nominal patterns. The following conventions for the most frequent types are used: Verb Patterns

peal denotes the Grundstamm or basic form of the verb, ethpeel, its medio-passive correlate

pael denotes the Doppelstamm (geminate pattern), ethpaal, its mediopassive correlate aphel denotes the causative stem, ettaphal its medio-passive correlate Noun Patterns

nomen agentis refers to the pāʿôlâ pattern derived from the peal active participle for referring to the doer of an action

nomen occupationis refers to the pāʿʿālâ pattern that indicates the customary or skilled doer of an activity

Transliteration conventions follow those used by Murray’s Symbols of Church and Kingdom, with two changes: first, for clarity’s sake, ʿayn and âlaṕ are indicated by ʿ and ʾ rather than by single quotation marks ( ‘ and ’ ). Second, spirantization of pê and gāmal is indicated xiii

xiv

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

by over-lines rather than underlines: that is, ṕ and ḡ. Quiescent consonants are placed in parentheses, and gemination of consonants is indicated. East Syrian vocalization is followed. An exception is made for those names, for example, Abraham or Ephrem, for which non-technical transliterations are in such common use that it would be pedantic to avoid them. Foreign words, including the Greek names of rhetorical devices that are not commonly used in English, are italicized according to normal American English usage. Pronoun references to God or divine beings are left in lower-case, but, for clarity’s sake the initial letter of a divine title or personification is always capitalized. Given the uniqueness of the genre, the term madrāšâ is generally preferred for the poetic compositions under consideration in this study. Nevertheless, the conventional translation ‘hymn’ (Lat. hymnus) is too common to be completely avoided.

PRESENTING AND RE-PRESENTING SAINTS: AN INTRODUCTION TO EPHREM THE SYRIAN AND ABRAHAM OF QÎDÛN In the history and literature of early Christianity in the East, few things stand out so sharply as the abundance of vivid personalities. The histories, both ancient and contemporary, are brimming with them. Indeed, they wrote—and were written into—its literary patrimony. The courage of martyrs, the incredibly grand feats and the remarkably brief words of ascetics, the tenacity of bishops—all these and more dominate the record. One finds everything from St. Simeon who lived much of his life on a pillar, to Rabbula of Edessa, who at once codified ascetic life, standardized the Syriac translation of the Gospels, oversaw the transmission of the great theological works of Cyril of Alexandria to the Syrian Orient, and vigorously uprooted the vestiges of paganism. These figures, these holy men, are striking for their sheer abundance and diversity. They can alternately impress, puzzle, and, at times, put us off, but, to borrow a favorite metaphor of the Syriac tradition, they are a nearly inexhaustible treasury. Of course, one could not reasonably conflate the history of early Christian life and thought with these personalities, for the illusion of abundance belies the fact that the majority of Christians, like other inhabitants of the late antique world, were not famous, and few were literate in the modern sense of that term. Nevertheless, the colorful personalities, the ardent teachers and controversialists, the enthusiastic ascetics whose words and deeds command our attention, occupy a special place in the heritage of eastern Christianity, and of Syriac Christianity especially. Precisely because the churches revered, transmitted, interpreted (and sometimes revised) the stories of these great figures, such accounts 1

2

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

reveal to us the values, ideals, and aspirations of generations of Christians. Indeed, their personalities helped shape such aspirations as well. Not everyone became a saint, but nearly everyone had one to revere. What is unique about each can give one insight into those special qualities that color and shade the diverse traditions of early Christianity. It is in the liturgical cult of the saints, as well as the attraction of their wisdom lived out and embodied, that their significance endures. This book investigates a compilation that sheds light on a particular instance of this enduring significance of early Christian saints and teachers: a cycle of Syriac poetry initially composed in the fourth century by one saint in praise of another. The apparent author, St. Ephrem the Syrian, has enjoyed the more universal fame, as the ‘Harp of the Spirit’ for his inspired eloquence as a composer of liturgical poetry. Their subject, a priest and ascetic named Abraham, achieved, from the perspective of the West at least, a more limited popularity. Yet this little cycle of poems, largely forgotten in one corner of the vast treasury of early Christian hagiography, reveals an unexpected brilliance. In its light, one can learn a great deal about the ascetical theology of Ephrem, the qualities of Abraham, the history of early Syriac asceticism, and the rhetorical and historical process that preserved not just a bare account, but indeed several icons of this saint, whom Ephrem styles the ‘Heavenly Merchant’. In part, the multiplicity of depictions arises because Abraham’s own life spanned the transition from early Syriac proto-monasticism, to its later and more familiar forms. Thus he does not straightforwardly embody any single ideal. And why call these depictions icons? Because, just like the icons that decorate churches today, their perspective is deliberately paradoxical. In place of an outwardly realistic depiction, their exterior strangeness invites one to peer more deeply into the spiritual depth promised within. In the hope of achieving such insight, this book will begin by introducing the two personalities who constitute its subject: the ‘Harp of the Spirit’ and the ‘Heavenly Merchant’.

THE ‘HARP OF THE SPIRIT’

St. Ephrem the Syrian enjoys a stature without peer in the traditions of Syriac Christianity. His ancient admirers, both contemporary and subsequent, praised him not only as the divinely

INTRODUCTION

3

inspired ‘harp of the Holy Spirit’ but also as a ‘marvelous rhetor’, 1 whose works rivaled contemporary Greek compositions in skill and genius. 2 He owed his fame to his mastery of the madrāšâ (conventionally translated as ‘hymn’), a biblically inspired stanzaic poem in isosyllabic half-lines or cola, 3 which according to the frequently cited testimony of St. Jerome, would probably have been sung after the scripture lessons during liturgical services. 4 He also authored a few mêmrê (metrical discourses or homilies), prose commentaries, and several other prose works. His enviable reputation also created a flurry of translation activity and imitation, both during his lifetime and in the decades following his death. 5

Amar (ed. and trans.) 1995, A Metrical Homily on Holy Mar Ephrem, pp. 32–33. 2 See the convenient summary of later reactions in Ephrem’s works in Griffith 1986, ‘Ephraem, Deacon of Edessa’, pp. 25–27. 3 Isosyllabism means the presence of lines divided into two cola of equal syllables each. A typical Ephremian example is the 7 + 7 pattern. See ‘Summary of Features and Definition of the Madrāšâ ’ on p. 63–64 for a discussion of the questions associated with the genre of this cycle. 4 Jerome describes Ephrem’s compositions as achieving such fame ‘ut post lectionem Scripturarum publice in quibusdam ecclesiis eius scil. Ephraem scripta recitentur’. See Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, p. 10, n. 38. Jerome’s vagueness suggests that he lacked firsthand knowledge, and we must be careful to observe that Jerome’s remark attributes the liturgical use of Ephrem’s scripta to his fame (claritudinem). It is uncertain whether all such compositions were originally intended by their authors for a liturgical setting. 5 The most detailed study of this phenomenon is that of Suh 2000, From the Syriac Ephrem to the Greek Ephrem. Ephrem’s non-stanzaic metrical discourses (Syr. mêmrê ) seem to have constituted an influential canon of moral teaching in the monastic circles of N. Syria (see especially pp. 303– 419). It is to the influence of this authentic canon (comprising chiefly Ephrem’s Sermones de Fide and his three Sermones on Reproof) that the extensive inauthentic corpus of the Greek pseudo-Ephrem must be ascribed. Both groups of mêmrê have been edited: Beck (ed. and trans.) 1961, Sermones de Fide; (ed. and trans.) 1970a, Sermones. As Griffith remarks, Ephrem ‘was also a spiritual father, psychologically astute, whose counsels were widely esteemed. It was this quality, as much as any other, that 1

4

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Via such translation activity, the newly formed Syriac literary tradition—in particular, its distinctive poetic genres the mêmrâ and madrāšâ—began the long process by which they influenced the larger Christian tradition of ascetic writing and hymnody in Greek. 6 In this way, St. Ephrem became the fountainhead of subsequent Syriac literature and theological reflection, 7 as well as an inspiration to the whole church. Ephrem himself loved to think of his writings as paintings in words, 8 and indeed, they are replete with symbolism and marked by a kind of theology which one scholar has compared to the theology of icons that developed centuries after his death via the teachings of St. John of Damascus and the work of the second council of Nicaea. 9 About the details of his life (ca. 306 to 373 CE) and career, little more is known than that he was a prolific writer who served the bishops of his native Nisibis (modern-day Nusaybin in southern Turkey) as some sort of pastoral assistant. 10 According to later tradition, he was a deacon. In his own language, he refers to himself as a ‘herdsman’ (Syr. ʿallānâ ) under the authority of his ‘shepherd’ (Syr. rāʿyâ—the normal designation of a bishop). His writings suggest that he would have had charge of choir direction, contributed to his universal appeal’. See Griffith 1998, ‘A Spiritual Father’, §27. 6 Sahas 1994, ‘The ‘Circle’ of John of Damascus’, pp. 49–53. See also Brock 1989, ‘Ephrem to Romanos’, pp. 139–151. 7 Ephrem’s authority was also invoked in the christological controversies. Excerpts from his works appear in two florilegia compiled by Philoxenus of Mabbugh, although his status as a christological authority was eventually overshadowed by St. Cyril of Alexandria and Theodore of Mopsuestia (the latter only, of course, as an authority for the so-called ‘Nestorian’ tradition). See Van Rompay 2004, ‘Mallpânâ Suryâyâ’. 8 Griffith 1993, ‘Image of the Image Maker’, pp. 258–269. 9 Murray 1975, ‘Theory of Symbolism’, p. 3. 10 The summary of Ephrem’s life could be taken from the work of any number of scholars. See, for instance, Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 16–17; Griffith 1986, ‘Ephraem, Deacon of Edessa’, pp. 24–25; Friedl 2004, ‘Ephräm’, pp. 37–39.

INTRODUCTION

5

catechesis, and perhaps some oversight of the qyāmâ, that uniquely Syriac institution of celibate or continent men and women who sought to serve the Lord and the Church through the practice of physical singleness, spiritual focus, and conformity to Christ (summed up in the Syriac term îḥîḏāyûṯâ ). This proto-monastic institution, of which Ephrem himself was probably a member, distinguished itself both in theological emphasis and in actual practice from later forms of ascetic life. Most notably, instead of withdrawal from society and the practice of extreme forms of selfdenial and penance, members of the qyāmâ seem to have devoted their efforts to charitable and didactic ministries within their communities. Its theological rationale was an extension of the baptismal vocation to ‘put on Christ’. Thus the members of the qyāmâ, Ephrem among them, sought to live out their baptismal vocations by conforming themselves closely to Christ through sexual continence, single-mindedness, and service. Ephrem would have entered upon this way of life at baptism. This much can be ventured with fair certainty about Ephrem’s life and career. His great skill as a pastor, poet, and educator unfolded in the course of a significant career in the service of Nicene orthodoxy, during one of the most crucial periods in its development. The controversies over the relationship of the Son to the Father usually termed the Arian crisis were in full swing for much of Ephrem’s career. It is clear from his writings, especially the Sermones de Fide, which he penned ca. 350, that Ephrem, although residing in a border fortress of the Roman empire, was not cut off from the trends and developments of pro-Nicene thinking in the rest of the Roman world. He articulated a recognizably pro-Nicene position in the language of the newly developing Syriac literary tradition. 11 Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, p. 8. Ephrem’s role in the Arian crisis is attracting more attention these days. See Ayres 2006, Nicaea and Its Legacy, pp. 229–235. Also noteworthy is Russell 1994, St. Ephraem the Syrian. Christine Shepardson has argued that Ephrem’s anti-Jewish stance is linked to the Arian controversy. Her observations are worth attention, though they are not, to the present author’s mind, satisfactory: see Shepardson 2008, Anti-Judaism. 11

6

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

At the same time, Ephrem was heir to other inheritances and a protagonist in other battles. Nisibis’ situation during the fourth century as a key border fortress and the only legal trading exchange between Rome and Persia 12 placed him right in the middle of the flow of goods and ideas between East and West. Ancient notions of dualism and determinism, Valentinian gnosticism imported from Rome, the still-persistent doctrines of Marcion, and the comparatively recent arrival on the scene of Manichaean ascetics commanded his attention, 13 as he sought to show his flock the ‘king’s road’ 14 of truth in the midst of so many erring ways. 15 Key to Ephrem’s teaching on these matters was the identity of the true church, known by her sacred mysteries, her apostolic succession, and a rule of faith (which Ephrem simply called ‘the teaching’ or ‘doctrine’.) 16 The consolidation of the pro-Nicene cause in the Syrian Orient was due in no small part to Ephrem’s genius and persuasive skill. 12 Cameron

1993, Later Roman Empire, p. 192; see also Possekel 1999, Greek Philosophical Concepts, pp. 14–15. 13 Whether the orthodox Christian community in Urhay was in the minority at the time Ephrem arrived there is a controverted question. Many interpret Ephrem’s polemical writings from his later period to mean just that (see, for example, Friedl 2004, ‘Ephräm’, p. 39.) More likely, however, is that if the orthodox were in the minority at all, the majority was held by Arian Christians rather than the Marcionites, Bardesanites, and others usually supposed. See the arguments in Griffith 1999, ‘Setting Right the Church of Syria’, pp. 104–107. The importance of Manichaeism as a fourth-century opponent for Ephrem has also been proposed by Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, pp. 88–89. The present study develops the idea further in various places and draws the findings together in ‘Conclusions: Ephrem’s Theology of Asceticism and Virtue’, pp. 265–281, below. 14 This favorite image has been studied by Beck 1981, ‘Das Bild vom Weg’, pp. 1–39. 15 Griffith 2002, ‘Struggle for Allegiance’, pp. 9–15. 16 See Griffith 1999, ‘Marks of the True Church’, pp. 125–140. On the ‘doctrine’, see Griffith 2008, ‘Syriac/Antiochene Exegesis in Ephrem’s Teaching Songs De Paradiso’, pp. 46–49.

INTRODUCTION

7

It was also the time when the ascetic movement took hold and fired the imagination of the post-persecution Church in the empire and beyond. Many Christians, most famously in Egypt, undertook the practice of asceticism in new and ever more organized ways. Ss. Anthony and Pachomius readily come to mind as the foremost examples (if not chronologically the first) of these trends. Many fourth century fathers, such as St. Athanasius and St. Basil, participated themselves or took pains to approve (and somewhat to control) this new enthusiasm sweeping the Christian world. 17 Asceticism would ever after become an indispensable institution of the Church. Indeed missionary ascetics played key roles in the evangelization of Axum, Iberia, and Persia, as various sources (for instance Theodoret’s History of the Monks of Syria) describe. 18 In time, this ascetic movement, with its regional variations, would contribute to the developing social, political, and cultural situation of Christians. In the case of the Syrian Orient, it would mingle with and eventually overtake the proto-monastic tradition of which Ephrem was a part. 19 In the context of the lively intellectual and cultural exchange taking place along the silk road in the ancient Aramaean cities of Urhay (in Greek, ‘Edessa’) and Nisibis, Ephrem and his flock also endured frequent wars, skirmishes, and sieges between the two world powers, Rome and Sassanid Persia. Indeed, it was one of these wars which forced Ephrem and many of his flock to emigrate to safer and more tolerant lands, eventually to the mother-city of Syriac culture, Urhay. The Emperor Julian’s ill-fated expedition to Seleucia-Ctesiphon forced his successor, Jovian, to cede Nisibis to

272.

17

See, for example, Brakke 1998, Athanasius and Asceticism, pp. 266–

18 See

the reconstruction by Haas 2008, ‘Mountain Constantines’, pp. 117–120. On Persia, see the story of James of Nisibis’ work in Persia: Price (trans.) 1985, History of the Monks of Syria, pp. 13–14. More recently, see Saint-Laurent 2009, Apostolic Memories, pp. 41–71. 19 See below on p. 14.

8

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the Persians, and Ephrem sought refuge within the Roman empire. 20 Ephrem’s lamentable experience, however, proved a boon to the whole church. His Edessene period was to be the most productive and mature phase of his literary activity. It was in the region of Urhay that Ephrem’s legacy would be continued by translators and imitators. Urhay was quickly establishing itself as the center of Syriac orthodoxy and theological education, and in only a few generations more, it would be known as the ‘Athens of the East’ 21 and famed as the ‘Blessed City’. 22 Indeed, the early fifthcentury foundation legend, the Doctrina Addai, testifies to Urhay’s burgeoning importance and self-awareness, in which Ephrem’s teaching had doubtless played no small part. Both Ephrem and the Doctrina Addai after him sought to purge the memory of Edessene 20 The

loss of Nisibis, which Rome had successfully defended for the whole of Ephrem’s life up to that point, seems to have been a major test of Ephrem’s faith. The great madrāšâ cycle Carmina Nisibena as a whole interprets his trials and those of his fellow Christians. Martikainen proposes that ‘C Nis is not only “a poetical commentary” on Ephraim’s life. It is also a theological interpretation of the events in his life which must have been a fundamental test of his faith in the Beneficent and Just God. He endured the test in a prophetic way. Like the prophets of the Old Testament Ephraim interpreted contemporary political and military events in the light of his faith’. See Martikainen 1974, ‘The Carmina Nisibena as a Literary and a Theological Source’, p. 351. 21 The scholastic culture of the Syrian Orient has been studied in some detail by Becker 2006, Fear of God. See in particular, his first chapter for the status of Edessa. Much briefer, though very informative from the point of view of particular students at the school, are Heinthaler 2004, ‘Philoxenus’, pp. 180–182, and Lange 2004, ‘Jakob von Sarug’, pp. 218– 219. 22 This title derives from the promise supposedly made by Jesus, according to the Abgar legend, now preserved in the Doctrina Addai, that Urhay would be blessed and protected by divine favor. That it was a significant piece of folklore for Christians of the region is attested by Jacob of Serugh’s Ep. 20. See Olinder 1939, Letters of Jacob of Sarug, pp. 66– 67.

INTRODUCTION

9

Christians of any heretical remnants and call to mind their apostolic credentials, as well as their firm loyalty to the communion of local churches that became the Church of the Empire. 23 In short Ephrem was many things at once: a poetic and pastoral genius, a defender of Nicene orthodoxy, a foe of dualism and determinism, and the founder of the Syriac tradition of theological and moral reflection. Yet he also proved to be one of the most important encomiasts for the fourth century ascetical movement, especially as represented by Abraham Qîdûnāyâ.

THE ‘HARP’ AND THE ‘HEAVENLY MERCHANT’

Toward the end of Ephrem’s life, Urhay was also acquiring a reputation as a center of the new ascetical and monastic movement in the Syrian Orient. Over time, this prestige not only obscured the original proto-monastic forms of ascetic life in the Syrian Orient, it even re-cast the biography of Ephrem in the traditional monastic mold that was fast becoming the empire-wide norm. 24 The newer developments from the mid fourth century onward emphasized withdrawal from the community for a life of solitary confinement or wandering and extreme penances, a tradition which eventually assumed its most famous form in the pattern of the stylites, those monastics who practiced their asceticism by standing on the top of a pillar. When Ephrem emigrated to Urhay, therefore, he found not only a diverse and vigorous ecclesiastical life, but he must also have encountered the reputation and perhaps even met personally some of the pioneers of the new ascetic movement, living at that time in the environs of the city. St. Julian Saba and St. Abraham Qîdûnāyâ, together with the disciples they attracted, are the first Christians of the Syrian Orient known by name who sought to live this more radical form of ascetic commitment. It would only have been natural for Ephrem, whose reputation must have preceded him to Urhay, to compose poems in honor of these great saints. And so it 23 Griffith

2003, ‘Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm’. Perhaps the most detailed account is Griffith 1989, ‘Images of Ephrem’, pp. 7–33. See also Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 131–141. 24

10

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

is that Ephrem probably composed at this time five madrāšê on Abraham and four on Julian Saba, compositions that became the core of collections subsequently expanded by Ephrem’s imitators. Abraham himself departed this life in 367, only a few years after Ephrem probably arrived in the region. In any case, the extant cycles of madrāšê under Ephrem’s name testify to the fame of these ascetics. Ephrem’s interaction with these ascetics may also be discernible in his prose Letter to Publius, if its addressee is indeed the same early Edessene ascetic whose life Theodoret records. 25 In addition to the lengthy cycles attributed to Ephrem on Abraham and Julian, a prose Vita 26 attributed to Ephrem also celebrates Abraham’s life. Further, some record of Abraham appears in a notice in the Chronicle of Edessa, which notes that he enclosed himself in his cell in the year 355/6. 27 From these sources, one gathers that Abraham, in keeping with a traditional vocation in the Syriac churches, was a qaddîšâ, that is, a Christian who after marriage remains continent in order to devote himself to the service of the Church. In this case, his life of singleness seems to have been at the service of his bishop, 28 for whom he famously Price (trans.) 1985, History of the Monks of Syria, pp. 58–62. See also the remark of Matthews: Matthews & Amar (ed. and trans.) 1994, ‘Letter to Publius’, pp. 335–336. 26 Lamy 1891, ‘Acta’, pp. 10–49. The text was also edited in Bedjan (ed.) 1896, ‘Acta Abraham Kidunaiae’, pp. 465–499. The text is often called variously Acta Abraham Kidunaiae or simply the Acta. Several versions of this story exist in several languages. A convenient résumé can be found in CPG vol. 2, §3937. 27 There are two other similar references in the Edessan chronicle tradition. The Chronicle of Jacob of Edessa refers to the same year 355/56 A.D as the year Abraham began his ascetical practice, and the Chronicon ad annum domini 846 pertinens explains that in that year Abraham became famous. See Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, p. 244, and the notes there. 28 Two of these motifs, notably the flight from marriage, (in fact the preservation of chastity by both Abraham and his spouse) and the apostolic missionary activity are traditional features of early ascetic life in the Syriac-speaking world. The most famous example combining both 25

INTRODUCTION

11

converted the recalcitrant pagans of Qîdûn, a small hamlet near Urhay. His bishop ordained him a priest for the purpose. Perhaps as a result of his success, he also attracted many students and ascetic disciples. After rescuing his niece Mary, as the tradition would have it, from the life of harlotry into which she had fallen, 29 he apparently returned to ascetic life with greater rigor, enclosing himself in his cell in total seclusion. 30 His death came on December 1, 367. The Syriac Church celebrated him and his niece with a joint feast day on October 29. 31 Abraham’s career is of great interest for the history of Syriac asceticism. He occupies a position in the Syriac-speaking world comparable to that of St. Anthony for the Egyptian milieu. Although perhaps not properly the first in time, he is among the first in fame. More to the point, his life spans that watershed moment when the distinctive character of early Syriac asceticism first began to change and eventually to obscure the earlier heritage. As with Anthony, however, Abraham’s reputation was so great and his memory so important to subsequent generations of monks that anachronism in the sources proved inevitable. The research of previous scholars, for instance, has shown that the Vita of elements is Thomas the Apostle, always called Judas-Thomas in the Syriac tradition and celebrated by Acta which recorded his missionary activity and his encouragement of newly wed spouses to preserve their virginity. For a simple overview of the Thomas traditions treated with an open mind as to their historicity see Moffett 1998, Christianity in Asia, pp. 25– 36. For a more recent account of such missionary motifs, see Caner 2002, Wandering, Begging Monks pp. 50–82; Saint-Laurent 2009, Apostolic Memories. 29 Although Mary herself may be historical, the episode as it appears in the Acta is probably an interpolation recycling a commonplace of hagiography: the repentant prostitute. Scholars have noticed its apparent similarities to the Coptic tradition of the life of Salome. See Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, p. 248 and n. 41. 30 The main outlines of his life are derived from all the sources here described, following the accounts in Schiwietz 1938, Das Mönchtum in Syrien und Mesopotamien, pp. 176–179, and Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, pp. 244–253. 31 Schiwietz 1938, Das Mönchtum in Syrien und Mesopotamien, p. 171.

12

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Abraham which the textual tradition attributes to Ephrem must have been written by another hand, perhaps in the fifth or sixth centuries. 32

FACTS AND PROBLEMS

The attentive reader will immediately perceive the ambiguity in the preceding summary: on the one hand, the sources allow us to construct a somewhat informative picture of the careers of Abraham and of Ephrem, and of the likely relationship between these two celebrities of the Syriac church. On the other hand, later generations anachronistically distorted the true character of early Syriac asceticism. The question becomes one of how to separate the anachronisms from the truth. On this point, scholars have greatly disagreed. 33 What picture is one to paint of early Syriac ascetic practice? Are its earliest movements extreme and encratite (there is some evidence for this 34) or recognizably orthodox and well-ordered (there is plenty of evidence for this too 35)? How does it resemble or differ from the more familiar forms of monastic practice in Egypt, and does it derive from that model or from another source? The answers to these questions depend quite a bit on which texts one reads and which texts are attributed to whom. Certainly, the encratite tendencies of Tatian made their influence widely felt, inasmuch as he authored the Diatessaron, which was de Stoop 1911, ‘Un mot sur les sources’, pp. 297–312. Schiwietz confirms this conclusion. 33 Perhaps the best summary of this disagreement and a great deal of its resolution can be found in Griffith 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, pp. 220–245. My summary follows the main outlines of Griffith’s account. 34 Much of it marshaled by Drijvers and later summarized by Ross. For Drijvers’ work, see especially the following: Drijvers 1982, ‘Persistence’ pp. 35–43; 1982, ‘Facts and Problems’, pp. 157–175; 1984, ‘East of Antioch’, pp. 1–27; and 1987, ‘Marcionism in Syria’, pp. 153–172. See also Ross 2000, Roman Edessa, pp. 130–138. 35 In the form of the writings of Aphrahat, Ephrem, and the Syriac Didaskalia. On the Didaskalia, see Moffett 1998, Christianity in Asia, pp. 94–97. 32

INTRODUCTION

13

the main form of the Gospel text for early Syriac Christians. 36 Sexual renunciation is a prominent aspect of the apocryphal literature on Thomas the Apostle, to whose efforts tradition ascribes the evangelization of the Syrian Orient. 37 Manichean dualism with its negative asceticism of the body, arose in some sort of Jewish-Christian baptizing sect of Syro-Mesopotamian origin. These early indications, often fragmentary, seem corroborated by later developments in the Syrian Orient, which became famous for the ‘vivid gestures’ 38 of ascetics who lived on pillars, chained themselves to rocks, ate only grass, shunned human contact, and lived like wild beasts. The careers of such mountain ascetics and stylites appear in both Greek and Syriac sources from the fifth century on. Yet the Syriac Didaskalia and the Liber Graduum seem more moderate. What about the works of Aphrahat and Ephrem, the earliest Syriac writers whose names we know, and whose works became the treasured heritage of orthodox Christianity in the region? For some time, the answer was thought to be that Ephrem at least was quite as extreme as anything else that seemed typically Syrian. Arthur Vööbus, after critical study, accepted the manuscript attributions of several severe ascetic texts to St. Ephrem, 39 and accordingly viewed it as certain that extreme mortification and pessimism were the primitive and original attitudes of Syriac Christianity. Vööbus also accepted the Ephremian authorship of the cycle of madrāšê on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ, because he saw in it much the same logic and terminology as the other ascetic texts he supposed Ephremian. 40 Some of these tendencies, for instance, are discussed in Brock 1973, ‘Early Asceticism’, pp. 4–6. 37 A sympathetic summary appears in Moffett 1998, Christianity in Asia, pp. 25–39, 61–80. 38 Brown 1988, Body and Society, p. 330. 39 These texts are the ‘Letter to the Mountaineers’, ‘On the Solitary Life of the Anchorites’, two texts by the title, ‘On Anchorites, Hermits, and Mourners’, and ‘On Solitaries’. See Griffith 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, pp. 221–222. 40 Vööbus 1958, Literary Critical and Historical Studies, pp. 54, 67. 36

14

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

It hardly helped that the traditional monastic hagiography of later Syriac and Greek sources depicted Ephrem as withdrawn, harsh, and even misogynistic. 41 Eventually, the hagiographic tradition came to attribute the origin of Syriac monasticism to Egypt, via the legend of a certain Mar Awgin who supposedly introduced the monastic way of life from Egypt to the Syrian Orient. 42 Vööbus’ studies in what he thought were the earliest texts joined this traditional hagiography and the large and very popular corpus of texts in Greek attributed to Ephrem to give a generally false account of the earliest Syriac asceticism in orthodox circles. As Griffith observes, however, ‘When one reads the texts of the native Syriac writers of the formative fourth century without the presuppositions supposed by either the Byzantine icon of the monastic holy man leading the hermit life, or the idée fixe supplied by what one might call the Vööbus hypothesis, a portrait of the emerging monastic, or premonastic, life in Syria emerges that bears the stamp of originality’. 43 Reading such texts became possible thanks to Edmund Beck, whose publication of reliable texts of Ephrem’s genuine Syriac writings 44 revealed that Ephrem was not an extreme ascetic anchorite in the way of the later Syrian tradition. Rather his works reflected a different, less severe, and most importantly, not eremitic, style of ascetic practice. Ephrem was, it turns out, not a monastic recluse, but a celibate at the service of his local bishops, living in the church community as a teacher and writer of liturgical poetry. On the heels of this significant recovery, Sebastian Brock and especially Joseph Amar have seen the tendency of Greek hagiography to appropriate the Syriac tradition Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, pp. 1–3. Brock highlights the misogynistic aspect in Brock 1999, ‘St. Ephrem in Later Liturgical Tradition’, §3. 42 Brock 1973, ‘Early Asceticism’, p. 3. 43 Griffith 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, p. 222. 44 Of these critical editions, there are 38 volumes of Ephrem’s Syriac works in the CSCO, the vast majority of which are collections of madrāšê. Beck also provided these editions with German translations, notes, and indices. 41

INTRODUCTION

15

as an example of Greek chauvinism. 45 Many other scholars besides Beck have contributed to restoring the portrait of Ephrem, including Robert Murray, 46 Susan Ashbrook Harvey, 47 Sebastian Brock, 48 Joseph Amar, 49 and Sidney Griffith. 50 Several of these studies focused on the terminology and imagery of asceticism in Ephrem’s genuine works and those of Aphrahat. 51 Indeed, early asceticism in the Syriac speaking churches possessed its own distinctive institutions and vocabulary, most notably terms such as bnay qyāmâ (‘sons of the covenant’) 52 and îḥîḏāyê (‘singles’). 53 The bnay qyāmâ were a special core of Christians within the church who Amar 1992, ‘Greek Bias’, p. 126, repeated at the end on p. 156. One can also observe in this approach the view that the ideals or ‘ascetical values’ (p. 125) of Syriac asceticism and Greek monasticism were substantially different. Matthews 1988, ‘The Vita Tradition’ pp., 15–16, is similar. See also Brock 1985, ‘Problems of Origin’, pp. 79–80. Brock refers here to Sozomen’s description of the origins of Syriac poetry, which he traces back to the Greek tradition. For a discussion of this aspect in particular, refer to Amar 1992, ‘Greek Bias’, pp. 138–142. 46 Murray 1982, ‘Characteristics’, pp. 3–16; 1974, ‘Exhortation’, pp. 59–80; and 1999, ‘Circumcision of the Heart’, pp. 201–211. 47 Harvey 1990, Asceticism and Society in Crisis. 48 Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 131–141. 49 Amar 1988, Syriac ‘Vita’ Tradition. 1992, ‘Greek Bias’, pp. 123–156. 50 Griffith 1991, ‘Singles in God’s Service’, pp. 145–159; 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, pp. 220–245; 1993, ‘Monks, ‘Singles,’ and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’’, pp. 141–160. 51 See, for example, Beck 1958, ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum’, pp. 341–362. Griffith’s works tend to approach questions in the same way. 52 The phrase bnay qyāmâ is masculine and plural. It is a construct chain, a typically Semitic construction for indicating a genitive or appurtenance relation, and in Syriac such chains are often used in preference to other types of genitive formations to denote phrases with specialized or technical senses. The phrase also appears in the singular bar qyāmâ and in the feminine (baṯ qyāmâ, pl. bnāṯ qyāmâ ). 53 This is a nisbah type adjective derived from the adjective îḥîḏ, meaning single or alone. 45

16

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

entered into a covenant of sexual abstinence 54 and also took up a specific ‘stance’ 55 (the word qyāmâ comes from the root q-w-m, whose basic meaning is ‘to stand’) that involved responsibilities within the community such as liturgical singing and perhaps teaching 56 in addition to the traditional ascetical practices of prayer, fasting, vigil, and almsgiving. Such people were also to serve as examples or eschatological signs for their community by their prominent position. 57 Calling them îḥîḏāyâ (pl. îḥîḏāyê ) indicated that they were single-heartedly devoted to Christ and had conformed himself to Christ, one of whose titles in Syriac tradition was îḥîḏāyâ. From this perspective, celibacy or sexual ‘singleness’ was only one of the most notable aspects of a basic idea of integral devotedness to God. 58 Brock has described this tradition, taken as a whole, as Syriac ‘proto-monasticism’. 59 This proto-monasticism as represented in the works of Ephrem and Aphrahat (perhaps also the Liber Graduum) 60 was not 54 Murray

1982, ‘Characteristics’, pp. 7–9. Griffith 1993, ‘Monks, ‘Singles,’ and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’’, pp. 145–153. 56 Harvey 2005, ‘Revisiting the Daughters of the Covenant’. 57 Griffith 1993, ‘Monks, ‘Singles,’ and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’’, p. 153. It is precisely in terms of this ideal that Ephrem describes Abraham Qîdûnāyâ in his first madrāšâ. See HdAQ 1.1–3. 58 Harvey 1990, Asceticism and Society in Crisis, pp. 4–8. 59 Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 131–141. Another technical term discussed there was qaddîšûṯâ, holiness or separateness in the special sense of abstaining from marital relations, although within the married state. This seems to have been a vow made not infrequently at an adult baptism. If the report in Abraham’s life about his flight from his marriage, with the consent of his bride, is trustworthy, then Abraham would turn out to be an îḥîḏāyâ in the special state of qaddîšûṯâ. For all these terms, the standard study is Beck 1956, ‘Ein Beitrag’, pp. 254–267. 60 The kṯāḇâ d-massqāṯâ, often known by the Latin version of its title, Liber Graduum, is a collection of mêmrê apparently addressed to a single community by an anonymous author. One of the principal concerns of the collection is the distinction between two different levels or grades in the community, the upright (kênê ) and the perfect (gmîrê ), hence the name 55

INTRODUCTION

17

the only kind of asceticism in the early Syriac milieu. It is probably for this reason that Beck, in one of his earlier criticisms of Vööbus, was careful to affirm that ‘we can accept the validity of the assertion that these manuscripts [that Vööbus discusses] belong to the earliest period of Syriac monasticism. Ephrem’s authorship of them is not thereby proven, however’. 61 One suspects that the middle Platonist underpinnings of the Marcionism prevalent in the early Syriac milieu encouraged extreme asceticism. 62 Mani’s dualist cosmology also entailed an enthusiastically extreme asceticism, involving severe fasting and vegetarianism. Tatian’s encratism has already been mentioned. 63 If Drijvers is correct that Marcionites were in the majority early on, at least around Urhay, 64 then one must be careful to distinguish the ascetical tendencies and ideals represented by Ephrem and Aphrahat as orthodox (or perhaps ‘proto-orthodox’ 65) when compared with other, more extreme of the collection. It seems to date from the late fourth or early fifth century, and it may be connected with the messalian controversy, though that connection is now considered unlikely. The asceticism it commends is, like the book as a whole, rather unique in the early Syriac tradition. Yet it is not clear that the work is unorthodox by later standards. See the recent translation with introduction and notes: Kitchen & Parmentier (eds and trans.) 2004, Book of Steps, pp. xviii–xxi and xxxix–xlvi. 61 Beck 1958, ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum’, p. 357. 62 See Drijvers 1987, ‘Marcionism in Syria’, pp. 164–165. 63 See the helpful summary of the Syro-Mesopotamian scene in Murray 1982, ‘Characteristics’, pp. 6–7. See also Brock 1973, ‘Early Asceticism’, pp. 6–11. Brock’s article, however, appears to be unduly influenced by the views of Vööbus, which he later abandoned, as he states in 1992, Luminous Eye, p. 132. 64 Drijvers 1987, ‘Marcionism in Syria’, pp. 153–154; 1992, ‘Syrian Christianity and Judaism’, p. 133; and especially 1985, ‘Jews and Christians at Edessa’, p. 96. See also Ross 2000, Roman Edessa p. 131, who summarizes Drijvers’ views. 65 One might use this term to avoid anachronism. When speaking of Ephrem and Aphrahat as orthodox, we mean that given the current state of doctrinal development, their theologies can be recognized by later Christians of the Nicene faith as fundamentally their own.

18

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

views that were indeed a part of other currents in earliest Syriac Christianity. In this connection it may be useful to recall that Ephrem lived most of his life in Nisibis, and may have come into personal contact with the more intense forms of asceticism, whether heterodox or orthodox, only in the last decade of his life. Although the question of Ephrem’s real biography and attitudes towards asceticism is now considered settled, many scholars still take rather different views of the early Syriac ascetic tradition as a whole. One finds widely divergent interpretations. Some are keen to emphasize the autonomy and independent origins of the Syriac tradition; such is the anti-Hellenic viewpoint that comes across rather strongly in the works of Brock and Amar. 66 Others are impressed with cultural difference from forms of monastic spirituality more familiar in the West. 67 Still others passionately defend the movement as fundamentally orthodox, neither dualist nor gnostic (for example, Griffith, Brock, Harvey). 68 At stake is why one should care about the tradition at all. Is it primarily important to us because it is different and ‘oriental’ (with all the mystique that notion usually implies)? Is it a matter of a Anti-Hellenism in Syriac literature and among Syriac scholars is a topic in itself, for which there is no more time here than a brief mention. Some of Ephrem’s own comments about the poison of ‘Greek’ (Syr. yawnāyê ) doctrines (HdF 2.24) have led many to see in Ephrem a distinctive tradition of non philosophical, symbolic Syriac theology. Although Ephrem’s total isolation from currents of Greek thought has been soundly refuted, principally by Possekel 1999, Greek Philosophical Concepts, the anti-hellenic and anti-intellectual bias still lingers in less overt expressions. My own view is that attempts to systematize a distinct method of symbolic theology in Ephrem, Aphrahat, and other early authors, are premature without more careful study of the literary vehicles of their theological expression. Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold pp. 92– 93, quite rightly observes that the contrast between theological approach of the Greek fathers and that of Ephrem has been wrongly construed, in many instances. 67 See Colless (ed.) 2008, The Wisdom of the Pearlers, pp. 1–105. 68 See also, in addition to the works cited above, Abou Zayd 1993, Ihidayutha. 66

INTRODUCTION

19

culture war between Greek and Syriac expressions of holiness? The great Syrian mystics and ascetics would perhaps be pleased to know that even in today’s world, they still present us with signs of contradiction. They intended to embody the paradoxes of the faith, and to many their way of life, motivations, and ideals still appear nothing short of oxymoronic. Not only does the problem of general disagreement about the distinctive and the common features of Syriac asceticism remain, but the question of the real nature of Ephrem’s life and of Syriac asceticism comes into focus in the cycle in praise of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ particularly. Vööbus had regarded the cycle as genuine. 69 Indeed, for Vööbus ‘at least some of [Abraham’s] peculiar extremities reflect […] the ruthless, archaic traditions in his practice’. 70 Once this picture of ‘ruthless’ asceticism had been proven false for Ephrem, however, the cycle attracted immediate suspicion. Is it not perhaps another example of the false attributions that had led previous generations of scholars astray? The result has been almost complete scholarly neglect of this text, particularly after Beck’s negative judgment about its authenticity. Discussion of the text itself and of studies devoted to it will occupy the next chapter, but for the moment it suffices to note that a few scholars have relatively recently questioned Beck’s judgment and accepted (or inclined to accept) the authenticity of some of the poems. 71 Without the cycle, scholars would be deprived of one of 69 Vööbus

1958, Literary Critical and Historical Studies, pp. 54, 67. 1958, Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, p. 57. One might point to HdAQ 1.13–14, which describes how Abraham never washed because it makes one weak. At the same time, the statement is not unlike Athanasius’ assertion that Anthony never used oil on his body: VA, 7. 71 Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’ pp. 249–264, accepts the likely authenticity of the first five poems on Abraham and repeatedly refers to Ephrem as their author. See also the independent analysis of Botha 1990, ‘Theological Progress’, pp. 77–98. Similar remarks apply to Griffith’s analysis of the first four poems on Julian Saba (Griffith 1994, ‘Julian Saba’, pp. 198–203), to which Susan Ashbrook Harvey was favorable. See 1998, ‘Scent of Salvation’, p. 119. Brock seems to have come recently to a similar conclusion. See Brock 2008, ‘Saints in Syriac’, pp. 186–187. His 70 Vööbus

20

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the chief sources for understanding the controverted transition between the native Syriac and the more Hellenic form of asceticism, between the more service-oriented communal form of life and the radical path of the anchorites.

A SOLUTION PROPOSED

In fact, the cycle of madrāšê in praise of Abraham, a ‘son of the covenant who became an anchorite’, 72 offers quite a lot of material for solving the problem of what Syriac asceticism during its transition period was like. Griffith has suggested that the strong similarities between the first five poems of the collection and those indisputably belonging to Ephrem make it quite likely that the first portion of the cycle is authentic. Susan Ashbrook Harvey also indicates some level of agreement with Griffith, and Phil Botha, though he stops short of endorsing the view, is favorable as well. In fact, for reasons that will become clear when discussing the evidence of the text itself, there can be no room for hesitation on this point: some, at least, of the poems in the cycle come from Ephrem’s hand; others do not. 73 As such, the text is a valuable witness to the transition period described above and an important one for understanding Ephrem’s thought on asceticism and virtue in its own right. Indeed, the arguments and researches undertaken herein seek to shed greater light on the answers to the problems discussed above, and to do so with the aid of a close analysis of the cycle as a whole. Two benefits result: • The cycle will help one understand Ephrem’s thought better in the controverted area of Syriac asceticism, especially because explicit writings on morals and virtue remarks in Brock & Kiraz (eds and trans.) 2006, Select Poems p. xii, suggest the same. 72 Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, p. 252. 73 In the remainder of this book, the ancient writer of those poems judged inauthentic by the present author will be called ‘pseudo-Ephrem’, or simply, ‘the author’.

INTRODUCTION

•

21

from his pen are somewhat uncommon and not so frequently studied as his other works. It will help one gain a clearer understanding of how Syriac asceticism developed thanks to Ephrem’s promotion of the movement in the persons of Abraham and other great pioneers. In part, this is because Ephrem’s works do not stand alone in the cycle, but precisely because they are joined by the work of a later hand that re-interprets his themes and style.

Indeed, this hitherto much neglected cycle of poems is full of interesting theological themes, expressed with great poetic skill. Much as did Athanasius’ Life of Anthony, these madrāšê also commend Nicene doctrine by proposing an intrinsic connection between Abraham’s holiness and his Nicene orthodoxy. According to the poet(s), the virtuous balance of Abraham’s life mirrors the balanced integrity of his faith. One of Ephrem’s greatest legacies to the church is his spiritual teaching and counsel, and thus one of his greatest contributions has been the support his writings lent to the development of asceticism and ascetical theology. 74 Just as his rhetorical skill contributed to the success of pro-Nicene orthodoxy, so too that skill supported the burgeoning ascetic movement, in much the same way that the writings of other fourth-century fathers did. Abraham is a sort of ‘bridge’ figure, who transitions from the older to the newer way of life. Ephrem himself, as has now been firmly established, represented the older tradition of asceticism. In these poems, therefore, one may hear the voice of the older tradition praising the new. But how is one to go about the task? Ephrem’s poetry has never proven easy for its modern students to interpret because the style and idioms are so different from the classical canons to which many scholars are accustomed. The fact that Ephrem was one of the most brilliant and skilled spokesmen for orthodoxy that the Syrian Orient has ever produced means that his works show the 74 Griffith

1998, ‘A Spiritual Father’, §27.

22

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

kind of skill in Syriac that one is accustomed to find in the writings of such Greek fathers as Gregory Nazianzen or John Chrysostom. Hence, the solution proposed here is to analyze closely the rhetoric of the text, a technique that has proven extremely helpful in the interpretation of individual poems by Ephrem, although it has never before been applied to an entire cycle of poetry. The model for the task is the work of a South African scholar whose works will receive further attention in the subsequent chapter, yet before concluding this introductory survey, it must be clarified what sort of rhetoric is meant and why.

RHETORIC IN SYRIAC?

One might wonder, perhaps, why it is necessary to consider the rhetoric of fourth century Syriac poetry. After all, even taking rhetoric at its simplest definition as the ‘art of persuasive speech’ or secondarily as the school subject by which this art is imparted, most people associate rhetoric with the Greco-Roman world. What, one might ask, does a style of public speaking associated with the political and legal institutions of the Greek and Roman empires have to do with Christian poetry in Syriac designed for teaching doctrine? Moreover, rhetoric is not a popular subject anymore—at least not in its classical sense. Both scholars and students tend to address themselves to apparently more important questions—of theology, of social history, or of the history of ideas. Rhetorical techniques can appear simple rote devices studied more for the sake of tradition than for their relevance. If rhetoric is of interest at all, what attracts attention is often its power to distort truth or construct a discourse that serves some ulterior end of the powerful. Certainly rhetoric as propaganda and discourse looms large on the horizon of many scholarly studies in the field these days. 75 To answer the first question, there is no cause for asserting that Ephrem or his imitator(s) composed these poems according to the canons of Greco-Roman rhetoric. The texts do not justify such a notion, and furthermore, the idea would unfairly pass over the all75 To

take a single example, see Whitby 1998, Propaganda of Power.

INTRODUCTION

23

important fact that Ephrem is the founder of a distinctive Syriac poetic tradition, with its own independent vitality. Any possible influence of Greco-Roman rhetoric could only come on the level of style, via contemporary Christian Greek authors with whom Ephrem was probably familiar (Athanasius, perhaps). More to the point, however, is that wherever one finds in Ephrem stylistic devices such as the repetition of leading words or phrases in successive parallel lines, it would be fruitless to insist on coining a new term for it rather than using the standard Greco-Roman term for the device, viz., anaphora (or epanaphora). In other words, this book will resort to the traditional rhetorical terminology when it appears useful for categorizing Ephrem’s own stylistic preferences, but not to suggest that Ephrem deliberately cultivated or employed the elements of Greco-Roman rhetorical culture. It is not impossible that certain stylistic features, including various forms of word-play or structuring techniques simply constituted a common Christian heritage in homiletic and liturgical settings. 76 Attending to them need not impose alien categories on the greatest of Syriac stylists, but rather recognizes his participation in the larger community of Christian pastors with its common JewishHellenistic heritage. 77 In the second place, the importance of persuasive speech in the context of the fourth century is irrefutable, both in general and to its practitioners. Even those who, like Ephrem the Syrian, may have been strangers to the techniques learned at the feet of great rhetoricians such as Libanius of Antioch, were nevertheless confronted with rhetorical choices and strategies every time they Such is suggested by the rhetorical research of Murray cited later (see note 74 on page 53). He also refers to Thyen 1955, Der Stil, a study which was unavailable to me, as a further discussion of the common early Christian homiletic style. 77 One should also note that the conclusions of a recent study on the fifth-century Syriac author Balai show how readily canons of Greek composition could influence a native Syriac writer. Although less likely, given Ephrem’s formation and time period, it is not impossible that he could have felt some stylistic influence from contemporary Greek compositions. See Phenix 2008, The Sermons on Joseph of Balai. 76

24

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

engaged the religious controversies of the age. It is precisely the didactic and persuasive character of Ephrem’s own writings that makes their persuasive abilities a subject worth attention. If one can speak of rhetoric in Syriac poetry, it is only because these poems were not personal memoirs or light entertainment, like the poetry of Gregory Nazianzen, for example, but rather passionate arguments. Knowing their rhetorical aims and the strategies by which they achieved them is important for their sound interpretation. If such a basic matter as why and how Ephrem wrote is of crucial importance for interpreting him, the need is all the greater for Ephrem’s greatest compositions. Subsequent generations remembered him precisely for his poetic skill. And even the rather chauvinistic remarks of Sozomen, who could think of no higher praise for Ephrem’s Syriac poetry than to consider it a scion of the Greek achievement, 78 prove the point that Ephrem’s genius in the eyes of his followers and admirers was his ability to say what had to be said exactly as it should be said. Ephrem’s poetic genius was without parallel. His work is possessed of a remarkable intricacy and sensitivity to the capabilities of his native tongue. It is replete with complex allusions, yet in the end capable of expressing a simple and memorable conclusion. How does he do it? How does he achieve such an artful mastery? Further, Ephrem’s rhetoric, his ability to persuade, is of great interest for several reasons beyond the elementary need to know about his literary ends and means in order to interpret his works. It is of historical interest, for Ephrem’s historical success as a churchman, a pastor, and a theologian is due in no small part to his ability to persuade his flock of the true faith. The triumph of the Nicene cause in the Syrian Orient can be traced back to Ephrem’s poetic skill. It is of theological interest, for insofar as theology seeks to speak of the ineffable, Ephrem’s rhetoric has a great deal to do with how and to what extent the ineffable can be spoken. Indeed many features of his writing now explained by appeal to a distinctive theological epistemology might just as easily be accounted for by the exigencies of Ephrem’s rhetorical goals and 78 See

the remarks of Amar 1992, ‘Greek Bias’, pp. 138–140.

INTRODUCTION

25

chosen literary medium. Even if not, one cannot ignore the ‘literary vehicles of his symbolic theology’. 79 Moreover, Ephrem’s works cannot be so easily distilled from larger imperial milieu in which they were written. However excellent or distinctive their theological expression, there is no mistaking the many similarities between Ephrem’s preferred techniques and the so-called ‘Asianic’ style of contemporary Greekspeaking Christians influenced by the Second Sophistic. Such forceful and flowery techniques as rhythmic isocolon or frequent rhyme and epanaphora mark many Christian persuasive pastoral works in late antiquity. Even conceding that one cannot fairly push the parallel too far is an argument for trying to establish a little more clearly the ways in which Ephrem is typical and the ways he is distinctive. In what way does he inaugurate a uniquely Syriac theological style, and in what way is he typical of early Christian pastors defending the fidelity and social cohesion of their flocks? There is no question, in the following pages, of submitting the brilliant style of Ephrem to the judgment of alien canons of GrecoRoman rhetoric. Rather, I will take my cue first and foremost from the poets’ love for poetic polarities, pairs of terms or concepts in some kind of opposing balance. Many have remarked on Ephrem’s great love of paradox, which is in fact one of the most frequent kinds of polarities found in his corpus. Ephrem’s use of polarities, however, extends beyond this predilection. The goal here is simply to follow the lead of previous scholars in appreciating his polar techniques, appreciating the electrifying rhetorical effect to which Ephrem could put a technique in itself so simple. Seeking out other rhetorical devices or structuring techniques is purely secondary, because they appear in his poetry precisely as a support and corroboration of the ebb and flow of his polarities. At times, they are embellishments in his verbal icon. At other times, they make the strokes and colors of that icon more vivid and bold. Although such devices occupy a subordinate place within Ephrem’s stylistic repertoire, it is nevertheless important that they be included. Not only do such devices play an integral part in the 79 Den

Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, p. 47.

26

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

constitution of his poetry, they also can help the attentive reader to appreciate where Ephrem resembles his ecclesial contemporaries. If it was not the conventions of Greco-Roman rhetoric that Ephrem cultivated deliberately, how did Ephrem himself understand the kind of poetry he was writing and the style he was trying to achieve? When he discussed Bardaisan’s use of poetry to teach his doctrines in the earliest generations of Christianity in Urhay, Ephrem called them an imitation of the psalms of David. 80 Doubtless the scriptural model was the one before his own eyes as well, when he sought to best Bardaisan and Mani at their own game. Yet his favorite way of referring to his own compositions is to call them ‘images’. He continually returns to theme of imagemaking, of the poet as a painter. 81 The colorful vividness of Ephrem’s language, and his often striking metaphors and symbols, confirms that he adhered faithfully to this favorite theme. Ephrem’s poems are verbal icons, and this book consistently treats them as such by employing the metaphor of icons and painting. 82 Ultimately, I have analyzed Ephrem’s and pseudo-Ephrem’s verbal icons of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ with the following three goals in mind: • to understand better Ephrem’s theology of asceticism and virtue (what does he praise? Why?) • to understand better the history of Syriac asceticism (how did Ephremian ascetic ideas develop after his death? Is the point at issue in the transition from one form of asceticism to another really the ascetic’s withdrawal from society?)

See HcH 53.6. For commentary on this passage, consult McVey 1999, ‘Songs or Recitations?’, pp. 185–199. 81 Griffith 1993, ‘Image of the Image Maker’, pp. 258–269. 82 Without, however, assuming that Ephrem would deliberately have used all of the descriptions I employ for the cycle. The point of the metaphor, as used in this book, is to speak of his poetry in terms closest to Ephrem’s own mentality, and to make that mentality accessible to the reader. In short an iconographic mode of speaking and writing seems most in tune with Ephrem’s own thinking. 80

INTRODUCTION •

27

along the way, to understand how poetry makes his theological case both cogent in itself and persuasive to his audience.

THE PLAN OF THIS STUDY

In keeping with the notion that Ephrem’s poetry cannot be interpreted well without studying the intricate details of his composition, the following pages engage directly with the Syriac text of the fifteen madrāšê on Abraham. Consideration begins from the finest level of detail and gradually ‘zooms out’ in order to perceive and analyze the whole verbal icon. The first full chapter, ‘The Text and its Interpreters’, discusses the textual tradition and the few direct studies on the cycle itself, as well as the history of attempts to interpret Ephrem’s rhetoric and how it fits into the context of other scholarship. The second chapter, ‘Pigments on the Palette: Language and Imagery in the Cycle’, describes and analyzes the language and imagery of the genuine poems, and Ephrem’s characteristic themes and concerns, a process which will show how his language, imagery, and symbolism are thoroughly traditional. The third chapter, ‘The Pigments Remixed: Prominent Vocabulary and Imagery in the Second Half of the Cycle’, then does the same for pseudo-Ephrem by analyzing the language and the imagery of the inauthentic poems. It reveals that some of the older themes peter out or diminish as newer emphases appear. The language and imagery constitute the ‘pigments’ with which Ephrem and pseudoEphrem depict their verbal icons of the saint. The fourth chapter, ‘Canons of Verbal Iconography: Rhetorical Devices & Polarity in the Cycle’, analyzes the rhetorical devices and techniques that Ephrem uses on the level of his individual stanzas. These stanza-level devices are sometimes the figures and schemes of the Graeco-Roman rhetorical tradition, but more frequently, they are his typical device: the polarity, the artful use of a word pair as part of a rhetorical strategy. The fifth chapter, ‘The Canons Re-Codified: Rhetorical Devices and Polarity in the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion’, discovers that pseudo-Ephrem too loves to use such devices, albeit in somewhat different ways. These devices and more importantly, the conventions according to which the authors use them to support certain theological themes and rhetorical strategies, constitute the ‘canons’, so to speak, of the

28

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

verbal iconography the cycle attempts. In such terms, chapters four and five seek to establish the stylistic and theological profiles of Ephrem and his imitator. The sixth chapter, ‘Rhetoric of the Madrāšâ: Rhetorical Strategy, Structural Patterns, and the Theology of the Icon’, analyzes the rhetorical strategy of the entire Ephremian portion and looks at larger structural patterns within and between the poems. In this way, the theology that shines through his icon of Abraham, especially Ephrem’s understanding of virtue, is analyzed and summarized. The seventh chapter, ‘Strategy, Structure, and Theology in the Icon of Pseudo-Ephrem’, analyzes the rhetorical strategy and structural sections of the pseudo-Ephremian madrāšê and discusses the acrostic structure present in most of them. An annotated English translation of the entire cycle appears in the Appendix.

CHAPTER I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETERS Before one can analyze the depictions these poems offer, one must first know what one is looking at: where are the texts preserved, and what is the state of that preservation, and who has looked at them before and can offer some guidance? Fortunately, the text enjoys a modern critical edition, and although its previous investigators are few, they have offered a path to follow. The particular questions that will arise in this connection are whether Ephrem did indeed author the collection of poems on Abraham of Qîdûn, and how one might go about a literary analysis of madrāšê such as these, whether by Ephrem or not. Thus, after describing the text and noting its important features in the manuscript tradition, the study first seeks to give some teeth to the notion that Ephrem did compose the cycle’s first five poems, and then to appropriate the insights of Phil Botha, whose work has done a great deal to advance scholarly understanding of Ephrem’s poetic technique and rhetorical purposes. Botha’s work, adapted and developed, provides the method of literary analysis that will be used in this study. The observations made in this chapter will prepare the way for the questions this book engages going forward, and give a sense of its shape and limits.

THE TEXT, ITS AUTHORSHIP, AND PROVENANCE

The text is preserved complete in a single manuscript, Br. Mus. add. 14592 (Wr. 748), to which the cycle’s modern editor, Dom

29

30

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Edmund Beck, O.S.B., assigned the siglum K. 1 Its handwriting dates it, according to William Wright, to the 6th or 7th century. In addition to this base manuscript, some stanzas of the cycle appear in the manuscripts Vat. sir. 92 (= N), copied in 823, 2 and Br. Mus. add. 17130 (Wr. 513) (=Z), copied in 877. The presence of various stanzas from the cycle in the manuscripts of funeral-service books attests to the cycle’s longevity and adaptability as a source for liturgies for deceased priests and in honor of confessors, that is, non-martyr saints. 3 In some form these madrāšê were probably also known to the sixth-century Sinaite compiler of a clavis to Ephrem’s works and their melodies, who includes melodies used for one of the poems in this cycle, and shows some knowledge of a collection ‘On Confessors’ (ʿal mawdyānê ) that seems to correspond to ms. K

Beck (ed. and trans.) 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya. Unfortunately, Beck also assigned the siglum K to Br. Mus. add. 14509, of the eleventh century. For clarity’s sake, I will follow Brock’s convention for dealing with duplicate sigla and call the seventh century ms. K, and the eleventh century ms. Kbis. The neglect of the seventh century K in secondary scholarship is highlighted by the fact that it receives no mention in Brock’s 1995 study of the transmission of Ephrem’s madrāšê. See Brock 1997, ‘Transmission’, pp. 490–505. 2 N is another duplicate siglum. Beck assigned it to Vat. sir. 92, of 823, and to Br. Mus. add. 14520 of the eighth or ninth century. According to the conventions adopted here, the ninth century Vatican ms. will be called N; the ninth century British Museum ms. will be called Nbis. Which is actually earlier is difficult for me to say, since I do not have access to Nbis. 3 Assemani (ed.) 1775, BO, pp. 494–498. According to Brock, the process of selection and adaptation traces back at least to the early sixth century, from which we have a ms., Br. Mus. add. 14571, of A.D. 519 (= Beck’s D) that contains both complete cycles and selected stanzas. See Brock 1997, ‘Transmission’, p. 495. In all likelihood, the process of selection corresponds to changes in the Syrian liturgical tradition, but identifying and studying the connection lies well beyond the scope of the present inquiry. 1

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

31

fairly well. 4 The tenth madrāšâ in the cycle may also have enjoyed in later times an independent circulation 5 or it may have enjoyed special prominence in the liturgy, explaining the notice given it in Bar Bahlul’s 10th century lexicon. 6 Diagram 1: Formally Distinct Groups: Approximate Relative Sizes

Within the manuscripts, the cycle exhibits some clear subdivisions. In K, the first five madrāšê are in a group by themselves, united by their meter and melody. In fact, ms. N, although it contains only selections of the poems’ stanzas, restricts itself to these first five, which suggests that they were viewed as an independent work at some stage in the transmission. The sixth madrāšâ is melodically distinct from the rest of the cycle, and the remaining nine madrāšê are again grouped by melody and also linked together by an alphabetical acrostic running continuously through this latter section of the cycle and comprising the entire alphabet. Several De Halleux 1972, ‘Une clé pour les hymnes d’Éphrem’, pp. 184, 187, 194, and 196. The clavis is not without some confusion in these matters. See De Halleux 1974, ‘La transmission’, p. 26. 5 Independence is suggested also by structural considerations, on which, see ‘HdAQ 10–14, including 15.1–4: the acrostic from lāmaḏ to šîn ’, pp. 240–254. 6 Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, pp. 245–244. 4

32

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

stanzas, indeed, even, at times, an entire madrāšâ, are devoted to a single letter of the alphabet, yielding 226 stanzas in all (including six that do not fit the acrostic) for the 22 letters of the alphabet. In K, the oldest ms., the poems simply follow one after another, marked off by punctuation and rubricated titles. Although line endings and stanza endings are clearly marked, the caesura is not. The acrostic section is not marked in any special way (for example, by marginal notes or letters) compared to the other poems. The only division among the poems is indicated by the melody change. The way in which the madrāšê are transmitted in the mss. fits the usual pattern for the transmission of Ephrem’s works. Brock notes that there are generally two types of manuscripts: ‘firstly, those of the fifth and sixth centuries, where the madrashe cycles are normally preserved complete; and secondly, liturgical manuscripts of the ninth to thirteenth centuries, which preserve selections only’. 7 According to this classification, K would be the early base ms., although Brock does not include it in his list of the nine early mss. used in Beck’s editions. Nevertheless, just like most of the nine mss. Brock does include, K contains more than one cycle: The HdJS is completely represented, as are works ascribed to other authors, such as Isaac of Antioch. Beck included its critical text in his editions of the works of Ephrem, but continued to doubt the cycle’s authenticity (he had expressed his doubts in an earlier study). In his view, the cycle contained an eschatology incompatible with Ephrem’s thought, and an uncharacteristic use of a poetic image. 8 For some of the madrāšê, their heptasyllabic five half-line structure could be at odds with the metrical melody ascribed to them, suggesting perhaps that later scribes were confused about the original melody of these texts. 9 In 7 Brock

1997, ‘Transmission’, p. 490. 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, pp. vii–x. 9 Beck notices that the melody ‘de confessoribus’, which the ms. gives to the first five poems appears elsewhere in the Ephremian corpus (HdN 1) for poems with both a four half-line structure and a five half line structure. A marginal note supplies a different melody, ‘The God whom you love’, which belongs to a four half-line structure. The cycles in which 8 Beck

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

33

order to understand Beck’s position, it is necessary to turn to the issues that have attended the reception of this cycle prior to Beck’s taking it up. Aside from Vööbus, 10 whose interest in the cycle was twofold: describing Abraham himself and assessing the cycle as a source for Ephrem’s own views, only one other scholar, Stephan Schiwietz, had earlier taken the cycle into consideration and offered a basic description of Abraham with its help. (In fact, Vööbus’ account of Abraham’s life in his own magnum opus, The History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, is nearly identical to Schiwietz’ presentation.) 11 Schiwietz incorporated a discussion of the cycle into a chapter on ‘The Celibate Abraham Kidunaia, Contemporary of St. Ephrem’. There, his main concern was to determine the historical facts of Abraham’s life and of his niece Mary. He showed that the Acta attributed to Ephrem are not authentic, but he did regard the madrāšê as genuine, and even used that premise to show that the Acta could not be written by Ephrem since the madrāšê cohere with the sequence of Ephrem’s life in its last period in Urhay, but the Acta presume long friendship between Ephrem and Abraham when they could have known each other closely for only a few years at best. 12 Schiewitz also suggests that HdAQ 4.13, ‘your support [aided] whoever had stumbled’, is a veiled reference to Mary’s fall into sin and restoration. Whether this is so or not, no historical details in the cycle confuse the sequence of events in Ephrem’s life and thus preclude Ephremian authorship in the same way that the Acta do. On the other hand, Schiwietz was able to compare a mention of Abraham in the Chronicle of Edessa favorably with the Ephrem’s works are collected do not necessarily stem from his own arrangement. The cycles, in fact, seem to have been compiled gradually out of smaller collections. The issue will be discussed in a later chapter in a little more detail. See ‘Overall Reconstruction: Diptychs and Panels’ on p. 193. 10 For Vööbus’ importance, see See ‘Facts and Problems’ on pp. 12– 20. 11 Vööbus 1958, Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, pp. 51–60. The similarity was observed by Drijvers 1996, ‘Recent Publications’, p. 160. 12 Schiwietz 1938, Das Mönchtum in Syrien und Mesopotamien, pp. 168– 170.

34

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

material in the madrāšê so as to conclude that Abraham spent only the latter part of his life in strict seclusion (this being the event recorded by the Chronicle). 13 Prior to this time, he would have lived as a typical bar qyāmâ. Yet, when Beck had nearly finished his editions of Ephrem’s authentic madrāšê, he hesitated to include this text as well as the madrāšê in praise of Julian Saba, as noted earlier, regarding the imagery and theology as incompatible with the authentic Ephrem. In an earlier presentation 14 before he edited the collection of these hymns, Beck had grouped the cycle among other ‘monastic writings’ attributed to Ephrem but of doubtful authenticity. Although he did not discuss the cycle in any detail at that time, he did raise some concerns pertaining to these writings as a whole about textual details apparently incompatible with Ephrem’s typical way of thinking and expressing himself. Naturally enough, Beck was in an excellent position to make such a judgment. Not only had he edited many authentic compositions already, 15 but he had also conducted several important studies of Ephrem’s characteristic terminology and imagery. 16 Beck expresses his concerns and arguments on the authenticity of the madrāšê in the introductions to the text and translation volumes that he edited for the CSCO. There he marks the division of the cycle into three major groups, the first comprising madrāšê 1–5, the second madrāšâ 6, and the third madrāšê 7–15. The division rests on the formal grounds described earlier. 17 Yet in practice, Beck’s principle of division is 13 Ibid.,

p. 174. 1958, ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum’, pp. 341–362. 15 Prior to his edition of the HdAQ, these were the Hymnen de Fide, the Hymnen contra Haereses, the Hymnen de Paradiso, the Hymnen de Nativitate, the Hymnen de Ecclesia, the Sermones de Fide, the Carmina Nisibena, the Hymnen de Virginitate, the Paschahymnen, the Hymnen de Ieiunio, and two volumes of Sermones. See the Bibliography for details. 16 The most important of which are the following: Beck 1953, ‘Das Bild vom Spiegel’, pp. 5–24; 1956, ‘Ein Beitrag’, pp. 254–267; 1958, ‘Symbolum-Mysterium’, pp. 19–40; 1958, ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum’, pp. 341–362. 17 See page 31. 14 Beck

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

35

material rather than formal: he observes that the first five madrāšê lack ‘notices of concrete details of the saint’s life’, whereas in the final group ‘a few concrete details turn up which are also mentioned by the Vita’. 18 In this way, he refines the observation of Schiwietz about the relation between the Vita and the madrāšê. Only the first group, it seems, is unrelated to the pseudo-Ephremian Vita. According to Beck the first group points to the church of Urhay as Abraham’s community. It describes Abraham’s vigils, fasts, prayers, chastity, poverty, example, teaching, and admonitions. Even though the text mentions monastic foundations (dayrāṯâ ) whose inhabitants keep vigil at night, Beck carefully points out that the text never implies Abraham founded them. Such an implication would be an anachronism. He also observes an implicit reference to Abraham’s priestly status in which the author compares Abraham to Simon Peter in his care for the flock. In one place, there is even a ‘glaring contradiction’ 19 between the Vita and the second madrāšâ of the whole collection. The second madrāšâ cites Is 45.5 (with parallels at Is 45.6, Is 46.9, and Joel 2.27) ‘I am and there is no other’ in a polemic against Marcion. The Vita cites the passage in a prayer for the inhabitants of Qîdûn. 20 The second group, by contrast, alludes to various episodes found in the Vita. Among these are Abraham’s flight from marriage and the mission to the town of Qîdûn. Also included is an allusion to the ordination of a new priest for the village. In spite of the clear differences between both groups, Beck finds a stylistic peculiarity common to both. In both, he says, ‘there are many Ephremian turns of phrase and images’, but ‘the context in which this occurs is otherwise un-ephremian’. 21 Beck argues that these points of contact with Ephrem have been ‘torn from the original environment of ultimate religious questions concerning 18 Beck

1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, pp. v–vi. aufälliger Widerspruch’. 20 Ibid., p. vi. 21 Ibid., p. vii. ‘Es finden sich viele Ephrämische Wendungen und Bilder … Der Zusammenhang, in dem das geschieht, ist allerdings unephrämisch’. 19 ‘ein

36

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

God and man, and have been applied in a sometimes almost laughable way to the saint and his admirer [that is, the narrator of the madrāšê]’. 22 Beck observes how in the second madrāšâ, the image of waves engulfing the author is used to approximate the indescribable abundance of Abraham’s story (šarbâ ). Beck observes that normally ‘for Ephrem, the waves of the sea are the Godhead’. 23 The other examples of ludicrous imagery he cites all come from the sixth and seventh madrāšê, where Beck finds their author using the Ephremian image of the Sun, the ray, and the eye applied to the author’s own knowledge of Abraham. Ephrem, in contrast, typically used the image to depict knowing God. Beck also observes that the eschatology of the madrāšê seems to contradict that of Ephrem’s genuine madrāšê. For Ephrem, the soul depends completely for all of its normal vital functions on the body, and as a result in the madrāšê on Paradise, specifically in the eighth composition in that collection, Ephrem argues that the souls of the righteous must wait outside Paradise until the resurrection. They cannot enter into the perfection of paradise in their incomplete, disembodied state. 24 Yet, as Beck points out, several madrāšê in the second and third groups of the cycle ask for Abraham’s intercession after his death, a function that, according to Ephrem’s anthropology and eschatology, he would be unable to perform because his soul and body are separated. He remarks, ‘In the genuine works of Ephrem I know of no prayer to a saint for immediate help’. Yet Beck also observes that this objection hardly applies to the first five madrāšê, which only entreat the intercession of Abraham in a perfectly Ephremian way, that is, they presume that Abraham would only be able to intercede on the day of judgment, which is, of course, also the day of the body’s resurrection. Other genuine compositions, such as the Carmina Nisibena, also follow this pattern: prayers to the deceased seek their help only on the day of judgment. The only immediate help a saint can provide, according to Ephrem’s genuine works, comes from his relics, but as Beck observes, here ‘it is a matter of faith in an 22 Beck 23 Ibid. 24 See

1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, p. vii.

also the note in Brock (trans.) 1990, Hymns on Paradise, p. 131.

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

37

impersonal force-field which radiates from a dead body in view of its coming glorification’, 25 rather than any question of personal intercession. While Beck thinks it possible that Ephrem’s own views on the point developed, he regards it as much more likely that his disciples and imitators developed the eschatology after him, but based very much on the same principle. He observes that the pseudo-Ephremian Testament shows some similarities to the theology and imagery of intercession for the dead contained in the later parts of the cycle on Abraham. It is clear from Beck’s introduction that his reservations about the cycle’s authenticity do not apply to all parts of it equally. Most problematic are the second and third groups of madrāšê, which in view of their possible literary links to the pseudo-Ephremian Vita, are extremely unlikely to be genuine. Yet even here, the texts are so full of Ephremian images and turns of phrase that one could easily consider them composed in an Ephremian style. This similarity makes analysis of the rhetoric and poetic technique in the whole collection especially interesting and fruitful. Similarity to Ephrem’s surely genuine works is all the more true of the first part of the cycle, which is, as Beck admits ‘entirely within the realm of the Ephremian [eschatological] outlook’. Indeed, his only objection to the first part arises from the second madrāšâ’s use of wave imagery to describe something other than God’s essential incomprehensibility. What is one to make of this objection? In short, it does not convince. The genuine Ephrem does apply ‘wave’ imagery to describe something other than God’s essential incomprehensibility: the incomprehensibility of Paradise. In the HdP Ephrem figuratively describes how he ‘swam around in its magnificent waves’ (māmôlaw(hy) mšabbḥê ) and then reflects: Although I was not sufficient [lâ seṕqeṯ ] for all the waves of its beauty [gellê d-ṕâʾyûṯeh ], Paradise took me up and cast me into a sea [yammâ ] still greater; in its fair beauty [šûṕreh ] I beheld 25 Beck

1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, p. ix.

38

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT those who are far more beautiful than it, and I reflected: if Paradise be so glorious, how much more glorious should Adam be, who is in the image of its Planter? … 26

Not only does the imagery of wave and sea appear here, but the passage argues a fortiori for precisely the same theological position taken in the second, third, and sixth madrāšê on Abraham: namely, that the beauties of mankind and especially of free will are even greater than the Paradise for whose reward they are destined (see also HdP 6.10–15 27) and thus greater than human thought. Ephrem holds that even in this life, as members of the Church, the saints have in some sense been likened to Paradise. 28 Similar imagery also appears in HdP 9.16–17, where the breeze of Paradise is described as an ‘ocean of delights’ (yammâ … d-ṕûnāqê ) with ‘luxuriant waves’ (gellê d-ḡeʾwāṯâ ). Indeed, one notices many respects in which the madrāšê on Paradise and the first five madrāšê on Abraham share similar eschatology and similar views on the merits of free will. 29 One might perhaps wonder how Beck could have overlooked these passages in the HdP, especially since the language, imagery, and themes of some of the poems in the HdAQ are in general so similar to the HdP. Perhaps the oversight stems from the great gap in time between Beck’s initial work on the HdP and his work on the HdAQ. (The time gap might also explain the double assignation of sigla noticed earlier in note 1 on page 30.) Beck’s first study of the eschatology of the HdP, which he cites in his introduction to the translation of the HdAQ, appeared in 1951, 30 about twenty HdP 6.4 and 6.5 (for the translation, see Brock [trans.] 1990, Hymns on Paradise, p. 110). 27 In which, Ephrem speaks of how fitting it is to tell the stories of the denizens of Paradise (šarbê d-naṣṣîḥê ). 28 HdP 6.8–11. 29 The prominence of eschatology in the madrāšê doubtless explains why parts of the cycle eventually appeared in funeral liturgies. 30 Beck (ed. and trans.) 1951, Ephraems Hymnen über das Paradies. 26

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

39

years before he edited the HdAQ. His full critical edition of the HdP is also one of his earlier works (published in 1957). There is another passage in the first five poems, not discussed by Beck in his arguments about authenticity, which one might be inclined at first to challenge, but which, on closer examination, follows a typically Ephremian pattern: the third madrāšâ contains a striking exegesis of the story of Jacob and Laban, according to which the author explains how the sticks which Jacob peeled so as to make the ewes conceive speckled offspring exercised a mysterious influence on the flock because of their ‘beauties’ (presumably a reference to the speckled pattern they exhibited). He then compares this to ‘the spirits of the righteous’ like Abraham: How much more the spirits of the righteous, in which fair types [ṭûpsê ] are depicted, enrich the flock of Christ with the richness that enriches its receivers. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (the last half line is missing in the ms.) 31

A sort of spiritual exchange occurs. The righteous forefathers, like Jacob, depict in themselves the types of Christ. Although now deceased, because of their typological relationship to Christ, they still serve as an example 32 that enriches Christ’s flock. There is no question here of personal intercession. One should probably take this passage as part of Ephrem’s traditional view of the righteous as a mirror for the faithful. 33 In the end, therefore, Beck’s arguments about Ephremian style in the madrāšê as a whole are unsatisfactory. His stylistic argument against the authenticity of the first five is unconvincing; his stylistic impressions hold good only for the second half of the cycle. Likewise, it is only the second part of the cycle that develops Ephrem’s eschatology in a new direction, albeit at the hand of a writer very familiar with his thinking. 3.15. Their role as an example is clearly suggested by the choice of words: ṭûpsê (Gk. τύποι). 33 See ‘The ‘Harp’ and the ‘Heavenly Merchant’ ’, pp. 9–12. 31 HdAQ 32

40

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Studies subsequent to Beck have tended, when dealing with Abraham, to accept his doubts and even to assert the cycle’s inauthenticity more trenchantly than Beck did, without any further nuance. Sebastian Brock and Susan Ashbrook Harvey, for instance, when discussing the legend of Abraham’s niece Mary, simply say ‘it is now generally accepted that these [madrāšê ] are unlikely to be by Ephrem’. 34 In a recent study of early Syriac asceticism, Shafiq Abou Zayd includes a brief discussion of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ in a ‘who’s who’ survey. Abou Zayd says that these hymns have been ‘wrongly attributed to Ephrem’ and further remarks that they ‘give no clear idea about the personality of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ—his social origin and background, the nature of his ascetic life, etc.—but deal exclusively with his spiritual presence’. 35 His footnote discusses the objections of de Stoop and Peeters (see note 32 on page 12), also dealt with by Schiwietz and Vööbus, but he mistakenly cites Beck’s ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum bei Ephräm’ as arguing against their authenticity. In fact, Beck does argue there (on page 357) against the authenticity of the HdJS 36 and includes the HdAQ in a general list of dubious texts, but he does not actually address the hymns on Abraham directly. As Beck himself notes, he is constrained by his limited time so that the treatment of monastic writings attributed to Ephrem cannot receive a thorough investigation in the latter half of his presentation. Abou Zayd’s remark about the ‘spiritual’ kind of data the madrāšê contain, however, shows that the author avoided Brock & Harvey (eds) 2008, Holy Women, p. 79. There is a small mistake on this page of the text. The authors assert that there are thirteen hymns in the cycle. In fact, they number fifteen, as edited by Beck. Wonmo Suh also accepts Beck’s judgments in his recent dissertation: Suh 2000, From the Syriac Ephrem to the Greek Ephrem, p. 250. 35 Abou Zayd 1993, Ihidayutha, p. 327. 36 Among other things, he points out that many of the hymns on Julian are addressed to Julian as if by one of his disciples, which Ephrem, by reason of the chronology of his move to Urhay, could not possibly have been. A similar objection had been raised by Schiwietz about the attribution of the Acta Abraham Kidunaiae to Ephrem, as was discussed above. 34

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

41

traditional topics of Greco-Roman biography 37 and thus of monastic hagiography. Rather, the author had a different conception what it was appropriate to praise and commend in an îḥîḏāyâ: a Christ-like pattern of life, illustrated by biblical exemplars. As for historical material, Abou Zayd’s presentation adds nothing to what Schiwietz and Vööbus had earlier determined. On the other hand, it is unfair to argue, as Abou Zayd does, that the madrāšê give no information about the nature of Abraham’s ascetic life. Responding to the general neglect of the cycle, Sidney Griffith recently studied the sources for Abraham’s life and the particular ‘literary portrait’ of the saint that appears in the madrāšâ cycle. He observes that the first five madrāšê intend to praise Abraham’s ascetical practices, or dûbbārê, as they are called in Syriac. The portrait one finds there is largely reminiscent of the traditional practices and expectations of a bar qyāmâ, particularly that of providing instruction and encouragement. 38 Indeed, Abraham’s ‘fame is such that it incorporates the full range of activities of a seasoned spiritual director’. 39 Moreover, the language of the ‘sheepfolds’ (dayrāṯâ ) and ‘companion of the sheepfold’ (bar dayrâ ) should be read not as ‘monasteries’ in the later sense, but in the original Ephremian sense of ‘the sphere of pastoral activity’ comprising the bnay qyāmâ who assisted the bishop, especially since the comparison to the angelic life of the ‘Watchers’ (ʿîrê ) appearing here is also typical of this institution. Griffith summarizes: ‘Ephraem’s madrāšê portray Abraham Qîdûnāyâ as a ‘son of the covenant’ who for the last eleven years of his life had undertaken a different style of asceticism; he became a recluse and an anchorite, a follower of the new monastic fashion that became popular in the Syriac-speaking churches, and particularly in the environs of Urhay, Such as parentage, birth, specific anecdotes eliciting praise, and death in chronological sequence. See Momigliano 1993, The Development of Greek Biography, p. 11. See also Geljon 2002, Philonic Exegesis, pp. 32–36. 38 Griffith 2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, pp. 254–255. Griffith also observes that Abraham was, even according to the Vita, at the bishop’s service, another traditional feature of the life of a bar qyāmâ. 39 Ibid., p. 256. 37

42

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

in the first half of the fourth century, just as it had done in other churches of the Roman Empire at the same time’. 40 Griffith accepts the authenticity of the first five madrāšê in the cycle, and supposes that ‘[i]n later times other writers added to the collection of festal madrāšê that Ephraem had begun in honor of Abraham, and they enlarged on the themes that he had already introduced, supplying developments of their own’. 41 This also means that Ephrem’s madrāšê witness to the development of the new ascetical style in the Syriac-speaking world. Despite the traditional idioms, ‘he celebrated the spiritual accomplishments’ of Abraham ‘who in the pursuit of holiness had exchanged the consecrated way of life, integrated into the local community life of Urhay, for that anacōrēsis [sic], or withdrawal from the customary patterns of ecclesial society that was the hallmark of the monastic way of life that had become the new Christian heroism in the fourth century’. 42 In other words, what eventually distinguished Abraham was radical withdrawal from the community. Indeed, as Griffith describes carefully elsewhere, this withdrawal was a new fashion accompanying the post-Constantinian developments of ecclesiastical life and organization, but which the Syriac church ‘developed … in accordance with its own temperament’. 43 Meanwhile, ‘the Church of Syria long preserved adepts of the old ways, who continued to live in the general community and to use the traditional ascetical vocabulary, although much of it was adopted by the new enthusiasts’. 44 In reading texts from this period, particularly by Ephrem who was such a supporter of other post-Constantinian developments in church life, 45 one needs to be attentive to the fluidity of the situation and of its terminology. A simple bifurcation between Syriac proto-monasticism and Egyptian 40 Ibid.,

pp. 257–258. p. 258. 42 Ibid., pp. 259–260. 43 Griffith 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, p. 222. 44 Ibid., p. 223. 45 Griffith 1986, ‘Ephraem, Deacon of Edessa’, pp. 22–52. emphasizes Ephrem’s pro-Roman and pro-Constantine views. See also 1999, ‘Setting Right the Church of Syria’, pp. 97–114. 41 Ibid.,

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

43

style eremitism will not do. Indeed, the rhetoric of continuity in the texts suggests that their authors at least did not perceive any profound contradiction in adopting the new fashions. The only other treatments of the cycle in recent times are both the work of Phil Botha, whose publications on Ephrem have dealt chiefly with his rhetorical techniques and purposes, but have attracted little notice, because his articles have remained relatively inaccessible to scholars outside of South Africa. His contributions to the analysis of Ephremian rhetoric in general will be discussed below. Regarding Abraham and this cycle in his praise, he argues on stylistic grounds for a fourth century date for the first five madrāšê and a fifth-century date for the rest of the cycle. 46 He based his assessment on the grounds that the latter ten madrāšê showed the significant theological developments that Beck had pointed out earlier, namely, hope for the saint’s intercessory help and the application of theological or exclusively divine imagery to the saint, while at the same time, the style of the latter ten poems was markedly less competent than that of the first five. Thus, a stylistic ‘regression’ accompanies the theological ‘progression’ that Botha considers ‘non-Syrian’ and un-Ephremian. 47 In another study, Botha also contributed a careful analysis of the fifth madrāšâ, for which he argued that the poem’s purpose was to honor the saint and that it did so by constructing a polarity between honor and shame and showing how Abraham achieved the former in contrast to those who earned the latter. The author used metaphors for things such as wealth, which usually carry associations of honor, to recast Abraham as one honored by God after death. In a secondary fashion, Botha argues, the poem was designed to encourage others to imitate Abraham. Like many of Botha’s analyses, especially his earlier ones, his treatment of Abraham is straightforward and laconic, eschewing extensive historical contextualization or theological interpretation. 48 At this point, a brief clarification is in order. Botha argues that ‘in the middle of the fourth century (337–345), Aphrahat knows 46 Botha

1990, ‘Theological Progress’, pp. 77–98. pp. 79–81. 48 Botha 1997, ‘Textual Strategy’, pp. 47–50. 47 Ibid.,

44

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

nothing about the veneration of saints, neither are the apostles or Mary the object of his prayers. His younger contemporary Ephrem does address certain persons that have passed away, but he always requests their supplication for him on the day of judgment’. 49 He considers the development of honoring non-martyr saints, such as ascetics, a result of the replacement of heroic martyrdom with heroic asceticism in the Church as a result of Constantine’s patronage—a traditional explanation for the rise of Egyptian anchoritic monasticism. Botha also opines that the tendency to apply divine theological language and imagery to Abraham is related to this first development since ‘the saint is no longer thought of as mere human, awaiting resurrection in the grave, but as someone who has crossed over to the other side of the divide between God and man [so] that it becomes possible to speak to him in theological imagery’. 50 In these suggestions, Botha develops and connects the doubts already raised by Beck. There are, however, three problems with Botha’s observations. First, since the latter portion of the cycle is explicitly anti-Arian in several places, 51 it is inaccurate to assert, as Botha does, that a saint like Abraham has ‘crossed over to the other side of the divide between God and man’. Such an assertion would horrify a genuine disciple of Ephrem, who would naturally insist on a rigorous distinction between the creator and the creature. Indeed, the author explicitly condemns doctrinal controversy in the anti-Arian terms Ephrem typically uses: When Controversy [drāšâ ] observed the firmness of his truth [šrāreh ], the spring of its disputes dried up and vanished. 52

49 Botha

1990, ‘Theological Progress’, p. 80. p. 81. 51 HdAQ 9.25; 12.6; 12.10; and 14.19. The remarks of Beck on these same passages confirm the view. 52 HdAQ 9.25. 50 Ibid.,

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

45

Unless the author of the last ten poems is hopelessly muddled, 53 surely it is more correct to hold that such language has been applied to Abraham analogously rather than literally. Second, praising a saint differs from venerating him so as to expect his immediate intercession. Just as Ephrem himself composed praises for his bishops, 54 it would not be out of place for him to compose praises for other holy men. It is misleading, therefore, to suggest that Ephrem, like Aphrahat, knows nothing of venerating saints. It would be better to speak of praising a saint on the one hand, and of praying to him on the other. The latter practice, it is clear, developed after Ephrem’s time, whereas the former did not. Third, given that Ephrem applies the ‘theological’ language of incomprehensibility to Paradise and its contents (as discussed above), the real point at issue is not whether theological language has been applied to a mere human, but who, if anyone, dwells in or near Paradise in any sense before the final resurrection. These clarifications are important, because Botha’s assertion that ‘the first group of these (hymns 1–5) shows little or no sign of that influence I have tried to link to Egyptian monasticism’ 55 is not quite correct. In a couple of places in the first part of the cycle, 56 imagery of incomprehensibility or amazement does appear, but wherever it does, it hardly suggests that Abraham has ‘crossed over the divide’ to divinity but rather that he has drawn near to the boundary of Paradise, the ‘harbor of life’, 57 where the souls of the just dwell in their abodes awaiting the final resurrection. 58 The latter ten poems in the cycle do indeed contain a different eschatology and a garish application of the language of divine incomprehensibility and grace to Abraham, but one must draw the dividing line correctly. In the On the other hand, it is possible that we are dealing with more than one author in the non-Ephremian portion of the cycle. See ‘Structure of HdAQ 7–15’, pp. 237–263. 54 For instance, CNis 14, which praises the three bishops, Jacob, Babu, and Vologeses, under whom he served. 55 Botha 1990, ‘Theological Progress’, p. 81. 56 HdAQ 2.6–10 and 3.3–5. 57 HdAQ 3.1. 58 See HdP 8.11. 53

46

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

first portion of the cycle, there is no expectation of the saint’s intercession, and one finds only language that portrays Abraham as a neighbor of Paradise, glorified, 59 but not divine. In the second portion of the cycle, not only is the notion of intercession present, it is in fact a major theme developed throughout, as is the analogy between God and the saint. To be fair, Botha in one place agrees that the language of amazement the author of the first five hymns employs is unlike the ridiculous examples found in the latter ten. He observes that ‘it is the story about Abraham that transfixes the author in hymn 2.7, not the saint himself’. 60 Yet he goes on to assert that ‘there is a shift in the status of the saint in the second part of the collection to the extent that it becomes incompatible with our knowledge of Ephrem’s strict distinction between God and man’. 61 Given the anti-Arian language of the second half of the cycle, this is an overstatement. In the end, Botha’s observations on the theology and style of the cycle remain particularly illuminating, even despite the occasionally infelicitous or inaccurate turn of phrase. In addition to a poetic analysis of the fifth poem, Botha has developed Beck’s conclusions and refined them so that it is possible to hold that Ephrem could have been the author of the first group of five poems, which must have been close to Ephrem in time. As one can see from the foregoing survey, the history of scholarship on Abraham and the cycle written in his honor has been rather uneven, and the bulk of it has focused on the light it can or cannot shed on the history and ideals of early Syriac asceticism. Yet despite the uneven treatment and neglect, it has See especially HdAQ 5.23–26, where Moses, whose face became radiant after being in the divine presence, appears as a biblical example of the type of glory Abraham enjoys. 60 Botha 1990, ‘Theological Progress’, pp. 83–84. Emphasis mine. One should add that this emphasis on the saint’s ‘story’ (šarbâ ) fits perfectly with tenor of the HdP, which is also an exegesis of a šarbâ or ‘story’, according to Ephrem in HdP 1.1: the šarbâ d-ḡannṯâ, or ‘tale of the garden’ as Brock translates it. Ephrem repeats the word šarbâ in much the same sense in HdP 1.3, in 4.7, in 4.9–10, and in 5.4. 61 Botha 1990, ‘Theological Progress’. 59

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

47

gradually appeared that the first part of the text at least should be ascribed to Ephrem, and that the cycle as a whole is very close to him in thought and expression. Moreover, it illuminates, as Griffith showed, a crucial period of transition, in which native Syriac culture and church life, as expressed in its asceticism, was evolving. At the same time, the cycle’s own themes, ideals, and means of commending them have been largely untouched. Only Botha attempted very briefly and in a very general way so to characterize one composition in the cycle. In fact, as the work of Beck and the investigations of Griffith have shown, there is much one can learn from the cycle, especially from the five authentic madrāšê with which it begins. In particular, it is a rich source for the eschatological and ascetical ideals of Ephrem and his followers at a moment when Ephrem’s own views may have begun to evolve. Botha has only begun to address the complex rhetorical and artistic features of the cycle, which includes images and symbols that, because of the encomiastic and ascetical topic, are less well attested in Ephrem’s other writings, most of which hardly address such themes in such detail. It is necessary, therefore, to pick up where Botha left off: with a detailed rhetorical and thematic analysis of the text of the HdAQ. Botha’s numerous work on other Ephremian compositions will serve as the model for this study, and for this reason, one must seek a sense of Botha’s work and its background.

PHIL BOTHA AND PREDECESSORS: RHETORIC AND POETIC TECHNIQUE IN EARLY SYRIAC MADRĀŠÊ

How might one analyze that poetical tradition which is the ‘most Aramaean of literary genres’? 62 Study of poetic idiom in Ephrem’s madrāšê has progressed along various lines and at different paces based on the varying interests of scholars. Three different trends stand out. The first trend, and chronologically the earliest to begin, studied the fundamentals of the madrāšâ’s poetic form and origin. These two aspects were related, since the scholars who studied them (initially mostly German-speaking) were interested in 62 Griffith

2002, ‘Struggle for Allegiance’, p. 14.

48

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

discerning the poetic, and particularly the metrical, form in order to understand whence the form arose and whether it influenced later Christian hymnody in the Greek and Latin traditions or had instead been influenced by them. 63 The earliest scholars were eager especially to understand whether there was any principle of meter other than isosyllabism. This trend continued into the twentieth century where it finally achieved some completion but also developed new questions in the direction of ancient Mesopotamian models for dialogue and dispute structures in Ephrem’s madrāšê. 64 To this trend we owe our awareness of the basic poetic features of these works and some sense of their didactic purpose. 65 One useful

Sprengling 1916, ‘Antonius Rhetor on Versification’, pp. 145–216, contains a very comprehensive summary of the earliest work on these questions. 64 This is chiefly the work of Sebastian Brock. In the course of an edition and a couple of studies (Brock [ed.] 1982, Sogyatha Mgabbyatha; 1984, ‘Syriac Dialogue Poems’, pp. 29–59; 1991, ‘Syriac Dispute Poems’, pp. 109–119), he classified the five different kinds of dialogue poems that one can find in the Ephremian corpus of madrāšê. These typically involve characters disputing with one another in a dialogic form over a particular problem. Brock traced this dispute poem to an ancient Mesopotamian genre called the precedence dispute, which involves two characters or personifications arguing for preeminence. One can find the traces of such an idea in our own cycle in implied disputes, such as the implied contest between youth and old age in the first madrāšâ. Such precedence disputes are thus a form of the rhetorical polarities we will discuss in connection with Botha’s work below. 65 The didactic purpose of the madrāšâ is now well established. For a discussion, one might consult McVey 1999, ‘Songs or Recitations?’, pp. 185–199. The most definitive argument, however, is the brief essay: Lattke 1989, ‘Hymnen?’, pp. 38–43. Lattke defines the madrāšâ as follows: ‘a didactic or narrative poem or song, frequently anti-heretical’. Because of the didactic purpose, many scholars now shy away from the conventional translation ‘hymn’, in favor of something like ‘teaching song’. While it is quite true that a madrāšâ bears little resemblance to the sort of hymn common in churches of the Protestant tradition, the use of the term ‘hymn’ is so common in English translations of Orthodox liturgical poetry, that avoiding its use seems misleading. Traditional hymnody in the 63

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

49

observation that also arises from the question of origins is the way that such compositions relate to the tradition of Aramaic and Hebrew pîyyûṭîm or synagogue poems. 66 Another is the importance Byzantine Eastern churches is indeed partially modeled on the Syriac poetry of Ephrem. 66 Though typically in Hebrew, many late antique Aramaic examples exist. See Sokoloff & Yahalom 1985, ‘Aramaic Piyyutim’ pp. 309–321, who find almost fifty examples of this kind. The word itself derives from the Hebrew noun payeṭān, which ultimately goes back to Greek ποιητής). Which type of poetry influenced which is a controverted question. They tend to be very similar to madrāšê in poetic form, having a stanzaic structure, but a stress accent (Schirmann 1953, ‘Hebrew Liturgical Poetry’, p. 135.) They also have responses, parallelism, and acrostics. They were elaborations sung between passages read from scripture or from standard prayers. The problem is that it is difficult to know which type of composition, the pîyyûṭ or the madrāšâ, came first, since the dating of pîyyûṭîm may be late (Schirmann argues for an early date, and Sokoloff & Yahalom 1985, ‘Aramaic Piyyutim’ p. 311, show that the genre is at least as old as the fourth or fifth century, making it roughly contemporary with the Syriac compositions. Almost all of these Aramaic pîyyûṭîm are written in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and have thus a very different provenance than the works of Ephrem.). It is reasonably plausible, however, that these Jewish compositions influenced the Christian Aramaic tradition of madrāšê or at least represent a case of parallel development. More recently and more importantly, Rodrigues Pereira has drawn attention to the similarities between some of Ephrem’s compositions and the Samaritan pîyyûṭîm of the fourth-century poet Marka (Pereira, A. S. Rodrigues 1997, Studies in Aramaic Poetry, pp. 278–290.) Indeed, even if it is impossible to know for certain how much this Jewish or Samaritan poetry may have influenced Ephrem and his imitators, Pereira shows that Ephrem’s poetry can profitably be set in the context of the larger Aramaic poetic tradition. Pereira discusses, for instance, some distinctive marks: how Ephrem uses parallelism in comparison to other Aramaic poets (largely for contrast rather than for equivalent expression). Another is Ephrem’s distinctive and prominent use of chiasm. On the other hand, he points out the common feature of concatenation of strophes, shared with Marka. Not only is Pereira’s approach more detailed than many earlier discussions, which were content to observe the basic features of

50

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

of dialogic structures as part of the ancient Mesopotamian tradition of dialogue poems discovered in the background of the genre. Some of the most recent examples of this work give the interpreter of Ephrem a better perspective: 67 it is not always necessary to appeal to theological epistemology or method alone (see below) to explain some poetic features, such as parallelism or concatenation, already common to the tradition. It will be necessary to appeal to this perspective in a limited way to avoid some of the limitations of the more theologically oriented poetic analyses of the second trend. The second trend, much more recent but reasonably welldeveloped, has been styled ‘descriptive-analytical’. Kees den Biesen, who coined this term in a recent assessment of the trend, meant by parallelism and acrostic, it also situates the poetic and rhetorical devices and structures used in madrāšê within a larger tradition. 67 Trying to look at Syriac poetry from the perspective of the Aramaic tradition as a whole revealed an interesting unrecognized tension between Sebastian Brock and Jonas Greenfield on the question of isosyllabism, already so much discussed by scholars. Brock 1985, ‘Problems of Origin’, p. 80, emphasized that isosyllabism ‘as a principle of Semitic poetry may well be something extremely ancient: it may be a feature of the funerary inscription known as the Carpentras stele, and recently it has been claimed that syllable count plays an important part in early Hebrew poetry’. Greenfield, on the other hand, writing after Brock, argues that for the early Aramaic tradition, at least, stress accent and not isosyllabism was the metrical principle: Greenfield 1989, ‘Mandaic Poetic Technique’, pp. 102–103. It is clearly a matter of interpretation (both Greenfield and Brock point to the Carpentras stele in defense of their views). All are agreed that for Syriac poetry, isosyllabism is the rule. If Greenfield is right, however, then it suggests that Syriac poetry represents an anomalous or at least very distinctive development when compared to Aramaic poetry as a whole. Although Greenfield cites Brock’s article without much remark, it is clear that there is a tension between the emphasis on the possible antiquity of isosyllabism on the one hand and the antiquity of stress-accent on the other. See also Greenfield’s earlier work on Aramaic poetry: Greenfield 1965, ‘Stylistic Aspects’, pp. 1–18; 1971, ‘Literary and Rhetorical Elements’, pp. 253–268; 1971, ‘The Zakir Inscription’, pp. 332–339; 1979, ‘Aramaic Poetry’, pp. 45–51.

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

51

it the recent analyses that were based on the reliable editions of Ephrem that Beck had edited, and which therefore were able to analyze the inventory of distinctive imagery and terminology, which from a material point of view, is the genre’s most salient characteristic. This scholarship, besides being more appreciative of Ephrem’s literary style because it indulged fewer inherited classical biases, has tended to let the texts determine the theological categories used. On the positive side, this approach shows an eagerness to appreciate how Ephrem’s madrāšê contain a distinctive symbolic outlook which interprets the whole world in a contemplative way in terms of meaningful symbols drawn from nature and scripture. 68 Den Biesen refers to this as ‘the discovery of symbolic theology’. 69 Occasionally, however, this interest in the distinctive symbolic theology exhibits a bias against Hellenic culture and against the traditional, philosophically articulated theology it The classic study of this notion is Murray 1975, ‘Theory of Symbolism’, pp. 1–20. The approach as a whole is best represented by Murray 2004, Symbols, which contains an appendix listing numerous titles of Christ under different sub-categories with the passages in early Syriac literature where they can be found. The study itself was a detailed analysis of many of these images or titles for Christ, such as ‘the Grape’ (ṯûṭîṯâ ) or ‘the Vine(yard)’ (karmâ ), several of which can be traced back to the scriptures and to specific exegetical traditions on key testimonia passages. An especially systematic development of this notion is Bou Mansour 1988, La pensée symbolique. Other noteworthy examples include Yousif 1978, ‘St. Ephrem on Symbols in Nature’, pp. 52–60; Brock 1982, ‘Clothing Metaphors as a Means of Theological Expression’, pp. 11–39. A popular presentation is Brock 1992, Luminous Eye. One could also include Beck’s numerous studies on Ephremian terminology and images: Beck 1953, ‘Das Bild vom Spiegel’, pp. 5–24; 1956, ‘Ein Beitrag’, pp. 254–267; 1958, ‘Symbolum-Mysterium’, pp. 19–40; 1958, ‘Asketentum und Mönchtum’, pp. 341–362; 1979, ‘Das Bild vom Sauerteig’, pp. 1–19; 1981, ‘Das Bild vom Weg’, pp. 1–39; 1986, ‘Besrâ (sarx) und pagrâ (sōma) bei Ephräm’, pp. 1–22; 1987, ‘Zwei ephrämische Bilder’, pp. 1–9. The method has expanded to include the study of other early Syriac fathers, but such work is beyond the scope of this study. 69 Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, p. 7. 68

52

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

fostered. Such a truncated perspective has tended to regard philosophical theology as rationalist. It is not unlikely that such studies, gaining momentum in the 1970’s, represent at least in Catholic and Orthodox circles the anti-scholastic legacy of the Ressourcement. 70 On the other hand, much scholarship in this trend has tried to take more account of the culturally blended Hellenic, Roman, and Aramaic milieu of Ephrem’s poetry. Den Biesen named these studies (some of them quite recent) ‘descriptive-analytical’ because in his view they did not address the theological or philosophical underpinnings of the symbolic worldview they elaborated. 71 Instead, he thought they simply described the language and imagery they found in an attempt to be faithful to it. In fact, many of the studies do make some initial attempt to explain what appears to be a distinctive theological epistemology in Ephrem in particular. Murray, for example, observes that the theory of symbolism in Ephrem is closely connected to his eagerness to discredit the neo-Arian style of theology that employed literal and univocal definitions. 72 One can point to other studies that have focused on Ephrem’s distinctive theological method. 73 Nevertheless, the primary utility of such studies for the present inquiry is that they catalogue many of the images that are Robert Murray’s general approach to analyzing biblical typology and symbolism in the Syriac fathers reminds one especially of another Jesuit: Jean Daniélou, one of the leaders of the Ressourcement movement. Daniélou was especially interested in early Christian symbolism. See, for instance, his Daniélou 1956, Bible and the Liturgy; 1960, From Shadows to Reality; 1961, Primitive Christian Symbols. 71 At least, that seems to be his view. He never actually defines the ‘descriptive-analytical’ approach alongside the ‘theological reflection’ that he attempts to advance. So, one must infer his meaning from the contrasts between the actual studies he mentions (Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, pp. 31–33 in particular and more generally on pp. 7–30.) 72 Murray 1975, ‘Theory of Symbolism’, pp. 14–20. 73 Brock has treated this question in an elementary way in Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 23–25. See also Amar 1987, ‘Perspectives on the Eucharist’, pp. 443–454; McVey 2001, ‘Use of Female Metaphors’, pp. 261–288; Murray 2004, ‘Paradox’, pp. 159–161. 70

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

53

the basic building blocks of poetic style in Ephrem and his imitators. The third trend is a nascent interest in the rhetorical characteristics of Ephrem’s madrāšê, or as den Biesen calls them, ‘the literary vehicles of symbolic theology’. The present study of the poetical rhetorical idiom of the cycle develops this third trend. It is represented primarily by a single scholar, Phil Botha, 74 who in a series of articles published beginning in the 1980’s, attempted to analyze the apologetic rhetoric of many of Ephrem’s madrāšê. Usually, he identifies and discusses the complex polarities, that is, pairs of subjects in some kind of opposing balance, which serve to reinforce the pro-Nicene view on the proper way to look at divine mystery or its symbols in Scripture and nature. Botha’s analyses are typically brief, but they are extremely informative about the interaction of technique, structure, and theme. The depth of the analysis in each case is limited by the space-constrictions of his format, and so historical considerations, questions of literary influence, and detailed analysis of the message conveyed are all usually absent. Instead the articles seek to show the usefulness of approaching Ephrem via polarities and similar literary devices put to rhetorical purposes. Robert Murray devoted some study to hellenistic Jewish rhetoric in Ephrem and Aphrahat and focused especially on the litany-like tendencies that one might trace back to ancient Near Eastern religious expression. His work on this point may be considered an extension of his interest in biblical testimonia traditions and on the divine titles that appear in them. Thus, it is of a fundamentally different character from the work considered in this section. See Murray 1983, ‘Hellenistic-Jewish Rhetoric’, pp. 9–12 (he also discusses the dialogue poem genre); Murray 1977, ‘Rhetorical Patterns’, pp. 109–131. Brock also studied some rhetorical devices in the Ep. ad Pub. In his edition, he noticed several such devices, including anaphora, isocolon, homoeoteleuton, asyndeton, and polysyndeton. See Brock 1976, ‘Ephrem’s Letter to Publius’, p. 265. His position is that these devices, which he notes are also popular in the Cappadocian fathers, are an ‘independent phenomenon’ in Syriac literature. See ‘Rhetoric in Syriac?’ on p. 22 above. 74

54

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

(a) Study of Literary Vehicles for Apologetics and Teaching As a rule, Phil Botha’s studies take for granted the various descriptive-analytical studies of Ephrem’s symbolic theology just described, and he uses anthropological categories to elucidate the social function of Ephrem’s poems and how they achieve that function. 75 In a typical study, Botha chooses a single hymn, translates it into English, and marks the polarities with different typefaces or other notes. 76 He then proceeds to analyze how a knowledge of these polarities can reveal the basic message of the poem and its ‘textual strategy’, the way that it commends or conveys its message. Here is a simple example 77 of the way Botha typically proceeds. In his analysis of HcH 25, Botha points out a particular stanza which contrasts the phases of salvation history in terms of the apostles and the prophets: In fact, he frequently refers to Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, in his introductory sections in order to point out typical features of Ephrem’s world-view, such as his love of paradox. Botha then tends to set up the questions he addresses in terms of such well-known features. In general, I have relied on Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, pp. 53–69, to assist the analysis of Botha’s work, especially in situations where he had access to one of Botha’s studies that was otherwise unavailable to me. Den Biesen, however, is concerned with high level theological analysis and epistemology. His interests are really beyond the scope of this study, and his work is not discussed in its own right, although it has been very helpful for identifying Botha’s contributions. 76 Den Biesen also calls these polarities ‘binomials’. Frustratingly, although den Biesen accuses other authors of ‘occasionally us[ing] but hardly ever specif[ying]’ terms like ‘polarity’, ‘antithesis’, or ‘paradox’, he himself does not actually define the terms in his own study. Ibid., p. 52. Botha himself defines polarity in the following way: ‘In general, a polar pattern can be defined as the tension created by the juxtaposing of two elements with one another’. He also specifies that sometimes one must pay attention to the connotations rather than the denotations to see the polarity (Botha 2001, ‘Contrast and Contrivance’, pp. 39, n. 16.) One can see that the concept, as Botha employs it, is fairly general. 77 Botha 1991, ‘The Poetic Face of Rhetoric’, pp. 24–26. 75

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

55

The trumpets (A) of prophecy (A´) kept silent (A´´); The ram’s horns (B) of apostleship (B´) resounded (B´´).

Botha identifies the three different polarities with parenthetical upper-case letters. He also observes that although earlier in the poem, a similar polarity had been used as a merism, to denote the whole of salvation history, now the relationship is contrastive, emphasized by isocolon. The polemical purpose is to highlight the opposition between Jews and Christians. The most prominent anthropological category in Botha’s studies is the word-pair honor and shame, treated as a basic ancient Mediterranean social value. In adopting this terminology, he follows the lead of Bruce Malina who first developed it as a tool for the literary analysis of the Bible. 78 Malina in turn based the idea on the anthropological work of Julian Pitt-Rivers, who contended that honor and shame were core values that regulated most societies. Malina breaks down the boundary lines of honor and shame in terms three intersecting person-lines: of power, of gender, and of religion. In terms of these lines honor and shame may be obtained or lost. 79 Other social values Botha discusses are wealth, health, and salvation, but even these he tends to analyze in terms of honor and shame. 80 In such analyses, a textual strategy of an apologetic sort might focus on commending a given view by associating it with honor and associating its opposite with dishonor. According to Botha, Ephrem constructs such associations with polarities. As he put it on one occasion: ‘antitheses and polarities … are used to communicate aversion and dislike towards certain actions and attitudes through linking them with terms that have a negative connotation and with dishonor or shame; and simultaneously to propagate certain other actions and attitudes by connecting those

Malina 1981, The New Testament World, pp. 27–30. A very helpful summary of Malina’s model and the literature it generated can be found in Crook 2009, ‘Honor, Shame, and Social Status’, pp. 591–594. 79 Malina 2001, The New Testament World, pp. 28–32. 80 Botha 2000, ‘Social Values and Textual Strategy’, pp. 28–30. 78

56

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

attitudes to words with a positive emotive value, often signifying honor’. 81 In addition to his frequent appeal to these anthropological notions, Botha discusses the way the structure of strophes and sections of the madrāšâ contribute to the argument at hand, using other techniques such as repetition or abbreviated lines for emphasis. Often he distinguishes between stanzas and strophes. Strophes are the basic units of equal sets of half-lines. Stanzas are structural groups of strophes linked by a particular theme, and as Botha shows, usually structurally connected by a careful anaphoralike repetition of key words and ideas. 82 Usually Botha shows how these rhetorical techniques emphasize the fundamental polarity which Ephrem wishes to assert and elaborate. In fact, Botha argues that unless one reads Ephrem’s poetry according to the fundamental polarity or polarities he wished to convey, one runs the risk of misinterpreting his point. The reason for this, according to Botha, is that such arguments arise from particular apologetic situations in which Ephrem needed to confirm the belief of the faithful. Thus, he argues, one should be careful not to attribute apparent terminological vagueness to any failure of logic on Ephrem’s part. Rather he focuses narrowly on certain important polarities. Such polarities might be, for instance, a polarity between Christ and Arius, or between God and humanity. For Ephrem, the thesis usually is the polarity itself. The goal of the argument is to make it clear and to encourage his hearers to a particular position in 81 Botha

1997, ‘Textual Strategy’, p. 50. 1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’ pp. 68–69, is one of the more complex examples of this kind of structural analysis. He diagrams the relationships between the stanzas with a schematic tracing the clusters of terms, some of which run through the whole composition like threads, others of which are confined to their particular stanzas. He does not always distinguish thus between stanzas and strophes, however. See Botha 2000, ‘Social Values and Textual Strategy’ p. 24, where he simply uses the term ‘stanza’ to refer to the individual groups of half-lines. It does not seem particularly useful to maintain Botha’s distinction in the present study. Instead, units of thought or thematic expression larger than a stanza will be called movements. 82 Botha

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

57

terms of it. Indeed, the polarity might be thought of as Ephrem’s attempt to strike an appropriate balance and so to get at the truth he wishes to convey. Not only is Ephrem’s thesis frequently a polarity, but Botha shows that analysis in terms of polarity can illustrate the purpose and meaning of Ephrem’s images. So, for example, the metaphor of God putting on a ‘garment of words’ serves to show both God’s familiarizing us with himself and preserving the distance between himself and us at the same time. 83 Botha also observes that the prominence of the language of cognition and learning thus suggests the ultimate purpose of the metaphor should be understood as a didactic illustration of the didactic process itself whose proper functioning is constituted by the fundamental polarity of familiarity and distance. 84 In this way, the images used and not just the structural techniques can be analyzed in terms of the polarities Ephrem means them to convey. These polarities and images, in turn, argues Botha, are presented in such a way as to create emotional and ethical associations. 85 Thus, for Botha, ‘polarity’ is a concept that may be embodied or expressed in different ways. Botha even speaks of ‘abstracting’ the polarities from a given poem. 86 Diagram 2 below describes the three main ways in which Ephrem forms polarities, according to Botha’s writings. The schematic should not, however, be taken to imply that the sub-categories represented in the first sub-level are 83 Botha

1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’, pp. 75–76. p. 77. 85 Botha 1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’, pp. 77–78. Botha also shows that persuasive techniques in Ephrem are not limited to his commonly employed associative techniques or attractive presentations of the views he wishes to commend. He also appeals directly to his own authority as teacher. Rhetorical questions frequently endow a point with sarcasm or emphasis. These techniques supplement his fundamental approach of presenting the attractive balance of the main polarity he is expounding, a balance which can be represented in the very structure of the parts of the poem as well. See Botha 2000, ‘Social Values and Textual Strategy’, pp. 25–28. 86 Botha 2001, ‘Contrast and Contrivance’, p. 35. 84 Ibid.,

58

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

mutually exclusive. A single fundamental polarity may be expressed and articulated using all of these elements, which are strategies or techniques for its representation. Paradoxes, for example, are a special type of antithesis. 87 The dashed line represents the fact that semantic and semiotic opposition may create non-paradoxical antitheses as well. 88 Diagram 2: Schematic of Polarities

The terms used in the schematic are defined as follows: First sub-level: 1. symbolism: a polarity may be formed between symbols or images used in a text. These symbols need not be antithetical or even paradoxical. Botha points out the following example: ‘The sun showed the symbol of his [divine] glory / the moon showed the symbol of his

Botha 1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’, pp. 70–71, contains a brief discussion summarizing the ways in which one might have polarities in Ephrem’s works. It alludes to an earlier, more complete treatment of the matter which is unavailable to the present author: Botha 1991, ‘Structure and Function of Paradox’, pp. 50–62. The arrangement in our text is a synthesis of the information in Botha’s articles, with some help from Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, pp. 53–66, who had access to Botha’s article in Ekklesiastikos Pharos. For the distinction between merely symbolic polarities and paradoxical polarities, see Botha 2002, ‘Appearance and Truth’, p. 35. 88 Botha 1997, ‘Textual Strategy’, p. 43. 87

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

59

humanity’ (HdE(b) 4.15). 89 In this case a polarity appears between sun and moon and between divinity and humanity, with a symbolic relation between the two. 2. antithesis: ‘opposition established by words from the same semantic field with disjunctive meanings’. 90 A polarity with true contradiction or contrariety may be formed along these lines. Botha points to the antithesis between ‘without confines’ and ‘confined’ in Ephrem’s line: ‘Since he is human he is confined; / without confines is he, since his nature is God’. 91 3. paradox: defined in its usual sense of truth presented in the form of seeming contradiction. Although the simple antithesis between ‘without confines’ and ‘confined’ is not in itself a paradox, as presented, they are linked to being both God and man simultaneously, which is a seeming contradiction and thus a true paradox. Paradox like this is extremely frequent. Second sub-level: 1. semantic opposition: is a way of creating polarity generally 92 or, according to den Biesen, of creating paradox specifically, 93 based on the meaning or denotation of words. The simplest example is an antonym such as between bitter and pleasant: ‘in his bitter snares he ensnares us pleasantly’. 94 2. semiotic opposition: is a way of creating polarity based on the connotation of words. Den Biesen observes that this kind of opposition is uncommon by itself but he points out the following example: ‘the bridal room of the Son we have Botha 2002, ‘Appearance and Truth’, p. 39. The translation given is that of Botha. 90 Botha 1991, ‘Structure and Function of Paradox’, p. 58, quoted in Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, p. 56. 91 Botha 1989, ‘Christology and Apology’, pp. 24–25. 92 Botha 1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’, pp. 70–71. 93 Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, p. 56. 94 Ibid. 89

60

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

3.

4.

5. 6.

exchanged for the snare’. 95 Bridal chambers and snares carry opposing connotations, but one could not treat them as pure semantic opposites. referential opposition: is opposition based on a reference to a particular context, such as scripture. In this way, it can resemble semiotic opposition which may also result from context in scripture. Den Biesen points out the contrast between the rich man and Lazarus as an example of this kind of opposition. 96 qualitative antithesis: is a disjunction on the basis of qualities. The polarity between honor and shame is a clear example of a qualitative antithesis. It also happens to include semantic opposition, since the two qualities are antonyms. quantitative antithesis: is disjunction based on quantity or size. In the first madrāšâ in the cycle, for example, one finds the author saying in reference to Christ’s descent to Hades, ‘One descended but many he raised up’ (1.11). generic antithesis: disjunction based on the presence or absence of a quality: for example, knowledge versus not knowing or godly versus godless. Such antitheses may imply qualitative antithesis as well.

Offering these sub-categories of polarities is hardly meant to suggest that Ephrem or his imitators employed the scheme rigidly. The schematic is merely an extrapolation from all the different instances that Botha has discovered. It serves to illustrate the range of possible conceptual techniques for representing polarity, many of which overlap, when Ephrem or one of his school set about composing a madrāšâ. In discussing the formation of polarities, Botha allows for more than one sense of ‘polarity’ or ‘polar opposition’. Sometimes, he refers to a lower-order type of opposition present in the grammatical or literary constructions on the page. Other times, he 95 Ibid.

96 Ibid.,

p. 57.

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

61

refers to a higher-level more conceptual type of opposition. He describes the situation this way: The literary function of these [lower-order] polar constructions seems to be that they form the infrastructure for larger polarities. These polarities are the semantic abstractions of polar constructions such as antitheses, antonyms, active-passive opposites, assertionnegation pairs or other forms of contextual opposition. 97 (emphasis added)

Here, of course, he provides a simple terminological difference between ‘polar constructions’ and ‘polarities’. Even if this terminology does not always appear in exactly this way in all of his studies, the context always makes clear whether the notion of polarity is being used in its more construction-oriented sense or in its more abstract sense. The flexibility of the term is simply a matter of convenience. So much for Botha’s techniques for analyzing polarities in Ephrem. Another salient feature of Botha’s approach is his frequent desire to show, on the basis of polarity analysis, that Ephrem’s arguments are not sound logical arguments designed to convince opponents or really to convince in the strict sense at all. Instead they are primarily affective argumentation, whose purpose is to confirm and strengthen the faithful who already agree with Ephrem’s views. 98 Botha’s reason for this contention is that Ephrem’s arguments assume principles that his opponent would not accept. Botha also purports to show other logical mistakes in Ephrem’s arguments. Yet such arguments may, he contends, cleverly offer the appearance of logical arguments. 99 In the end, one of Botha’s main concerns is to ensure that one reads Ephrem’s poetry not as doctrinal proof but as apologetics. In other words, Ephrem wrote to keep the faithful together in unity as the Church 97 Botha

1992, ‘God in a Garment of Words’, p. 72. Botha 1996, ‘Argument and Art’, pp. 21–36, in particular 26–33. See also Botha 1989, ‘Christology and Apology’, pp. 20–21. Den Biesen observes (2006, Simple and Bold, pp. 62–69) that this idea is not unique to Botha, but had also been held by Pierre Yousif and Cassingena-Trévedy. 99 Botha 2000, ‘Social Values and Textual Strategy’, pp. 27–28. 98

62

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

drove to find a centrist position that would ensure its own institutional stability and viability. 100 The advanced literary techniques Botha describes serve this goal, fundamentally by polarizing his flock via an ‘us versus them’ approach, whether the ‘them’ be the Arians or the Jews. 101 While Botha is quite right to emphasize that Ephrem writes primarily for an audience that already agrees with him, the characterization of his arguments as primarily affective rather than logical is problematic. In fact, the Ephremian arguments Botha analyzes are not all equally good. For example, Botha is right to criticize one instance in which Ephrem uses a false disjunction in an argument on a scripture passage whose interpretation the Arians indeed disputed. But Ephrem’s successful rhetorical arguments do include sound logic. His arguments tend to work in three ways: affectively, aesthetically, and logically. Botha has successfully shown the way that polarities in Ephrem’s hymns create persuasive affective associations, especially with honor and shame. Yet these associations do not stand alone without an appeal to the authority of Scripture; Scripture is the basis for their elaboration. For example, associating fasting with triumph and honor so as to make it attractive to Christians is possible because all Christians accept the authority of the scriptural story in which Christ’s triumph over Satan’s temptation was linked to his fast. Most affective arguments in Ephrem’s poetry either contain this appeal to scriptural authority or to nature and common experience. 102 Aesthetic argumentation, as the term is used here, is simply a convenient way of analyzing and classifying a persuasive technique Botha has already pointed out. The polarities themselves exercise an appeal because of their inherent balance. Such an aesthetic appeal can be reinforced by careful structuring of lines and strophes to create the impression of beautiful balance and to create the impression of a logical progression where in the strict sense it does not exist. 100 Cf.

Moffett 1998, Christianity in Asia, p. 64. 1989, ‘Christology and Apology’, pp. 20–21. 102 Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, pp. 19–21. 101 Botha

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

63

In those poems where Ephrem does seek to refute a heretical position logically, one can speak of logical argumentation, provided one appreciates that the premises derive from scripture. As with so many other patristic arguments, Ephrem’s arguments usually intend to show that the orthodox position can make better sense of a disputed scripture passage because it achieves the greatest coherence with the rest of scripture. 103 Under this method of argumentation, Ephrem would naturally start from the orthodox position, the perspective of the luminous eye of faith, 104 and address the opposing view by supposing it for the sake of argument and reducing it to absurdity in the light of the orthodox reading of the text. Indeed, precisely this sort of theological argument appears in the second madrāšâ on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ in which the author addresses a particular biblical passage in the same three step way: Abraham is presented as professing the orthodox view on the basis of a particular biblical passage; the Marcionite view is granted for the sake of argument and shown to be inconsistent with the New Testament; and the orthodox view is proclaimed. Such arguments are not demonstrative in the technical sense. Rather, like many biblical arguments in the fathers, they are cumulative affairs, trying to show the proper place of a single part in the whole Christological reading of scripture. 105 At issue here is not Botha’s analytic technique, but his failure to appreciate the scriptural idiom and argumentation in these texts, which were, after all, ‘produced as choral responses to the scripture lessons in the liturgy’. 106 (b) Summary of Features and Definition of the Madrāšâ The cumulative effect of more than a century of scholarship on the madrāšâ as a persuasive poetic genre is to show its tremendous complexity in Ephrem’s hands. The three different trends of that scholarship have isolated its basic function and features, discussed 103 O’Keefe

& Reno 2005, Sanctified Vision, pp. 33–44, esp. 36. Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, pp. 24–26, describes how the eye of the mind in ‘the posture of lectio divina’ enters within the biblical text. 105 O’Keefe & Reno 2005, Sanctified Vision, p. 43. 106 Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, p. 13. 104

64

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

its repertoire of symbolism and imagery, and analyzed the extraordinary rhetorical and poetical complexity possible in expressing the fundamental polarities of divine mystery and of communal identity for the benefit of the Christian flock. Based on the foregoing analyses, one can summarize the nature of the Ephremian madrāšâ, as considered in this study, in terms of its function, setting, structure, and techniques. As regards function, the definition of Lattke 107 is to be accepted: it is ‘a didactic or narrative poem or song, frequently anti-heretical’, but it must be added, ‘for the confirmation of the faithful in their belief’, as Botha points out. Characterizing them as ‘doctrinal’ should not permit one to ignore their pastoral function. Its setting is clearly liturgical at a time when controversy and change seized the churches, both over issues of asceticism and over the Arian controversy. This liturgical setting and pastoral function should be viewed in connection with an important aspect that Botha rarely treated in detail: the biblical character of the poetry. Indeed, the formal structure, so reminiscent of the psalms or of the pîyyûṭîm, with its parallelism, acrostics, concatenation of strophes, and biblical imagery, is to be expected from its setting and function. As Griffith put it: The fact that so much of Ephraem’s writing had a pastoral setting, a good portion of it even being produced as choral responses to the scripture lessons in the liturgy, reminds one of the centrality of the Bible in all of his work. 108

The techniques employed in Ephremian madrāšê ultimately reduce to the balance of various polarities, whose elaboration is always part of the textual strategy. One may apply den Biesen’s remark about divine providence in Ephrem to his intellectual and poetic style as a whole: it is ‘penetrated by an acute sense of coherence’. 109 His works commend for his audience the beauty of divine truth, of nature, of scripture, or in our case, of a heroic ascetic like Abraham, in terms of a virtuous balance of qualities. Finding the 107 See

note 65 on page 48. 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, p. 13. 109 Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold, p. 59. 108 Griffith

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

65

Ephremian balance of polarities in each case and assessing its function will be the most recurrent feature of this study.

CONCLUSIONS: QUESTIONS, DEFINITIONS, AND METHOD ADOPTED

In summary, then, the following are the most significant features of the cycle on Abraham. It is a hybrid collection, composed of an initial core of madrāšê composed by Ephrem and a larger group of madrāšê written in imitation of his style and theology, but showing clear signs of later theological development. It belongs to the world of late fourth-century Urhay, where the ascetic life was beginning a new phase of its development in Mesopotamia, which would bring its practice and ideals into more obvious comparability with those of the church in the Roman empire. In the praise of Abraham and his practices, Ephrem and his imitators accordingly employ both the traditional idioms of Syriac ascetic practice and poetic form while celebrating and encouraging the new cultural expression, and its importance for the true faith as they saw it. As such, this collection of poems exemplifies Ephrem’s genius for balance both of form and image, while expressing ascetical topics and ideals that are less commonly treated in discussions of Ephrem’s symbolic theology. It provides one, therefore, not only with useful information about Abraham himself and the period of transition in which he lived, as earlier scholars realized, but it also reveals a less familiar face of Ephremian rhetoric and thought as well as a different perspective on the intricacies of the intellectual and moral inheritances of Syriac Christianity. The madrāšê on Abraham are thus at the same time traditional in expression and newly creative in their purpose. At the same time, the work of previous scholars has cleared the way to consider more closely the actual rhetoric and themes of the cycle, given that its text has been more firmly established, its authenticity and place in the historical record of Syriac asceticism more fully explored. The larger developments within Ephremian studies, in particular a better appreciation for the distinctive theological and ascetical vocabulary and categories of Ephrem’s world, have also laid a foundation upon which to conduct a detailed rhetorical analysis that can reflect the real genius of the authors.

66

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Phil Botha, in particular, has shown the way forward for rhetorical analysis by insightful research into the basic form and structure of Ephremian rhetoric in so many of his compositions. He has revealed that the didactic and apologetic success of the madrāšê in general rests upon their intricate ability to articulate the truth commended as a balance of polarities. The subtleties of structure themselves need not be perceived as long as they successfully contribute to the intellectual, aesthetic, and affective associations necessary to create the overarching polarities intended. In the end, therefore, Botha’s work establishes three essential points: • Ephrem’s rhetorical strategies are typically associative and contrastive. • He achieves his rhetorical goals through various formal characteristics, but especially the use of polarities. • His arguments are not always strictly demonstrative arguments, but rather apologetic suasiones.

It is in the context of this research that one can frame worthwhile questions for further investigation and can possess, with the help of Botha, a method for answering them. Three fundamental questions are at work here: • rhetorical skill: what are the rhetorical techniques and strategies used for commending Abraham’s asceticism both in its older and newer styles? • theology of asceticism and virtue: what are the ascetic ideals commended? What sort of relation between holiness and orthodoxy is defended or presumed? • history of Syriac asceticism: What is at stake for the authors or why are they concerned to commend Abraham in the way(s) they do? How are the old and new ideals and images of ascetic life related?

While I am interested in the poetic idiom or the ‘literary vehicles for symbolic theology’ present here, I hope to study them in a more in-depth way than Botha and with less theory in a more historically plausible way than den Biesen. Through the second and third points I hope to advance the study of Syriac asceticism by a focused appeal to this neglected text, while maintaining the distinctively Syriac nuances of the language and rhetoric of asceticism it contains.

I: THE TEXT AND ITS INTERPRETORS

67

The scope of this book is limited entirely to the actual texts of the madrāšâ cycle in the form in which it has come down to us. As an exercise in textual interpretation, it does not make any claim to detailed study of source traditions such as rhetorical antecedents or the cycle’s textual history. While a diachronic approach of that sort could certainly be useful, the more straightforward synchronic analysis of the text adopted here is its pre-requisite. Neither is it comparative (a study which would also be premature for the same reason). However, relevant details of historical context or historical or theological comparison will feature in this book out of a desire to analyze the text from a properly informed perspective. In the end, the search for the icons of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ contained in this cycle of Syriac poems will reveal several striking images that speak to the varying poetic skill of their authors, their differently shaded understandings of holiness and ascetic practice, and their different positions in the history of the quest for the ‘pearl of great price’ that captured the imagination of so many early Christians in the Syriac speaking world.

CHAPTER II: PIGMENTS ON THE PALETTE: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE In seeking to understand how these poems present and interpret Abraham, the ‘Heavenly Merchant’, the first task is to consider, generally speaking, what imagery and what language both Ephrem and pseudo-Ephrem employ to praise him. The complex and interesting uses of language and imagery reveal much about the ideals of both the authors and their audiences. Indeed, this state of affairs is exactly what one would expect: the style of early Syriac theology is almost entirely symbolic. These poems are no exception: they grant access to their poets’ ideals of praise, theology of virtue, and tenets of doctrine—in short, their spiritual world vision 1—only through the imagery and metaphors in which they couch it. Thus, this chapter first offers an initial description of Ephrem’s theological themes, followed by a statistical overview of the language and imagery in the cycle as a whole, a sort of artistic inventory, if you will. Finally, it analyzes Ephrem’s characteristic themes and concerns as they emerge from his chosen imagery. The first point to note is that these themes and concerns assume a traditional fourth-century hue. Sidney Griffith observed briefly in his study of Abraham’s ‘literary portrait’ in the cycle that the language of asceticism found there is for the most part the traditional vocabulary for the ‘sons of the covenant’ (the bnay I borrow this phrase from the sub-title of Brock’s well-known book on Ephrem. 1

69

70

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

qyāmâ ) and for their activities and ecclesial role. 2 Such activities include traditional virtuous practices such as prayer and fasting, and particularly a role in instructing and admonishing the bar qyāmâ’s fellow Christians. 3 At the same time, in the second part of the cycle as Beck and Botha had earlier realized, such language is not always deployed as Ephrem himself would typically have done.

AN INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF THEMES

But what Ephremian imagery appears? The most prominent metaphors in the first half of the cycle are financial and mercantile. The poems present a whole conception of the ascetic life expressed in mercantile and financial imagery. Indeed, in the first half of the cycle, Ephrem meditates on the saint’s spiritual ‘profitability’, using two main groups of images and concepts. The first is the language of finance and commerce, applied metaphorically to spiritual endeavor and contrasted with earthly commerce. The second is the language of the heavenly wedding feast, the event for which, according to the image, Abraham stores up his spiritual wealth and especially his bridal adornments. The image of the wedding feast becomes the center around which Ephrem’s large vocabulary of praise revolves. From a theological point of view, Ephrem’s meditations focus not simply on the ascetic virtues of the saint’s earthly career, but on his doctrinal fidelity, his merit as dependent on free will but ultimately coming from God, and the ways in which spiritual benefit can and cannot be shared between the individual saint and the church at large. In these three areas and in the general tone of the eschatological imagery, this portion of the cycle, it bears 2 Griffith

2004, ‘Abraham Qîdūnāyâ’, p. 257 and again on p. 259. best evidence for these activities and role come from the genuine writings of Ephrem and Aphrahat, and especially Ephrem’s own descriptions of his activities. For a discussion of the latter see Griffith 1997, Faith Adoring the Mystery, pp. 6–9. For the bar qyāmâ ’s role as an example, see Griffith 1995, ‘Asceticism in the Church of Syria’, pp. 228– 229. 3 Our

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

71

emphasizing again, is perhaps most like the madrāšê On Paradise. 4 It should come as no surprise, then, that a large number of verbal parallels can be found between the two cycles. 5 Ephrem’s paradisiacal perspective in HdAQ 1–5 means that his ultimate point is to praise Abraham’s triumphant diligence, 6 his persistence to the end of his life, up to the point of entry into Paradise, rather than any particular virtuous practices. It is Abraham’s diligence which serves as his example to others. Ephrem’s perspective also includes the understanding that the goal of the ascetic life is participation in divine glory, the biblical model for which in HdP 9.22–28 is Moses on Sinai who, ‘nourished with divine glory, grew and shown forth’. Abraham, on the mount of Paradise, is described by appealing to precisely the same biblical example in HdAQ 5.22–26. Thus, the Ephremian portion of the cycle progresses through several variations on the mercantile metaphor: first the saint’s 4 The

similar eschatology between the two cycles, which expects that the just cannot enter Paradise until the resurrection of the body, and instead rest near the border of Paradise until that time, was discussed above in ‘The Text, its Authorship, and Provenance’ on pp. 29–47. 5 If one tabulates the parallels noticed by Beck and mentioned in his footnotes to his translation, with the addition of a few he did not notice, it turns out that there are 39 different passages in the first half of the cycle which can be connected to one or more genuine Ephremian compositions, of which seven show a parallel to a passage (or sometimes several passages) from the HdP. Other prominent cycles in this regard are the HdF, to which one finds five passages in the HdAQ parallel to one or more texts in that cycle. Also prominent are HcH and CNis, each with eight parallels. The complete list of parallels to other Ephremian compositions can be found as footnotes to my translation of the cycle in ‘Appendix B: Annotated Translation of the Cycle’ on p. 307. 6 The Syr. root is k-š-r. As Brock notes in his comment on HdP 5.15 (and HdP 6.11), this word is ‘often used by Syriac writers in connection with the parable of the talents (Lk 19.11–27)’. See Brock (trans.) 1990, Hymns on Paradise, p. 192. For this reason, we should probably see in Ephrem’s ‘diligence’ language in the HdAQ a connection to the financial metaphors he uses throughout.

72

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

ability to obtain spiritual profit through earthly means, second, his fidelity and trustworthiness in that he did not abuse his authority to gain worldly profit, third, his abundant spiritual wealth shared between him and his community, fourth, details of the riches in that abundant treasury, and fifth, those riches as provision for his journey to paradise. Table 1 summarizes the themes and contents of the cycle’s Ephremian portion. 7 In the remainder of this chapter, the vocabulary and imagery with the greatest thematic prominence in the first five hymns will receive the greatest attention. 8 But before such a survey, it will be helpful to furnish a comparative and contrastive overview of language and imagery of the cycle as a whole. Table 1: Themes and Contents of the Ephremian Portion of the Cycle 9, 10

Poem First Poem

Theme, with analysis Abraham’s ability to obtain spiritual profit during his earthly ‘voyage’, expressed in images of finance and commerce. Stanzas 1-3: the death of the saint robs his people of the mirror of all virtues; 417: the saint’s virtues—fasting, love of God and neigbhbor, almsgiving, prayer, vigil; 18-19: the saint’s death; 20: the old man puts youth to shame; 21: victory over mammon—spiritual wealth instead of loss derived from earthly wealth

The summaries of each poem’s contents have been taken from Beck’s notes, but modified where necessary for clarity or accuracy. 8 It is not feasible nor even desirable to attempt here an exhaustive study of the vocabulary and imagery of the cycle, which would be a thesis in itself. The aim here is to be representative rather than exhaustive. Whenever certain less prominent but still interesting images have been passed over for want of space, they will at least be mentioned in the notes so that the interested reader can be apprised of them. 9 The double perspective, earthly and paradisiacal, that appears in HdAQ 2.7–9, also appears in HdP 1.6–7, where Ephrem describes the saints in Paradise manifested by their disciples on earth. See also HdAQ 3.4–19. 10 With reference to the scriptural examples in HdAQ 3.4–19, cf. HdP 14.7–8. 7

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

Poem Second Poem

Third Poem

Fourth Poem

Fifth Poem

73

Theme, with analysis The victory over mammon illustrated by biblical comparisons. Like the biblical figures mentioned, Abraham’s trustworthiness is the basis for his spiritual wealth. Stanza 1: the prophet Samuel as an example of victory over mammon; 2-4: Elijah and Elisha, Apostles, and prophets as prototypes of the saint; 5-6: earthly perspective—the beloved ones left behind mourn the death of the saint; stanzas 7-9: paradisical perspective—the sea of the saint’s virtues overwhelms the author; 10-25: how the orthodox faith of the saint refuted the erroneous teaching of Marcion; 26: a personal concluding stanza in the Ephremian style, beseeching the saint to pray for him on the day of judgment. The abundant spiritual wealth of Abraham is shared between him and his community. Stanza 1: the saint as merchant; 2: the evil one’s consternation and his last weapon, the saint; 4-19: the wonder of the treasures of the saint, which are completely with h likewise in heaven. examples from the Bible: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, th victory of the saint’s eyes. A meditation on the various kinds of riches in the saint’s treasury, sometimes more and sometimes less extensive. How these riches benefited his contemporaries. Stanza 1: the treasures of the saint, such as fasting, prayer, and penitential weeping; 2-5: the water of baptism and the water of penitential weeping; 6-8: fasting and prayer; 9-11: the saint’s house, table, and alms; 12-18: his instruction through word and example for neighbors and strangers; 19-21: his perseverance, even up to old age; 22-23: vigil and prayer in the night; 24-25: fasting and abstinence from wine bind and crucify the lusts; 26-27: personal prayer in the Ephremian style. The saint’s spiritual wealth as a provision for his journey to Paradise. The most eschatological of all the five poems—this one focuses on a theology of merit: how one can use earthly things to gain heavenly (cf. the theme of madrāšā one). Stanzas 1-2: The saint died enjoying a good name and supplies (that is, merits); 36: the example of the rich man and Lazarus; 7-15: the right use of earthly things, such as speech or bodily wealth for the hereafter (biblical examples: Simon Peter and the good thief); 16-21: good works accompany the body at the resurrection as the key of glory, like blossoms on a tree; 22-26: God and good works—the paradox of recipient and giver; 27-32: the exceeding wealth of the saint and the author, who, according to his weak skills seeks to praise him and asks accordingly for the erasure of his bill of debt at the judgment.

74

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Diagram 3: Semantic Groups and their Distribution in the Cycle

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

75

THE VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY OF THE CYCLE: A STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

One can refine the general observations made above by looking at the frequency and distribution of terms and images throughout the cycle, as well as vocabulary one might expect to find, but which remains unused. Thus, for example, although the cycle of madrāšê in praise of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ is replete with language and imagery traditional for the early Syriac tradition, some terms, including îḥîḏāyâ or bar qyāmâ, which have received so much attention from scholars, are absent. Such language and imagery as is present, however, falls into several major semantic groups, a classification that reveals in a general way the similarities and differences between the two portions of the cycle. Such statistical analysis based on word counts furnishes only a rough picture of the cycle. This is because it is theoretically impossible to determine themes solely on the basis of word occurrence, and because it is practically impossible to count every significant word while excluding the insignificant. For this reason, the analysis offered here is not meant to stand on its own, but only to give a general idea of major themes and their relative importance based on major semantic groups. There are six such major semantic groups (some having already been mentioned): (1) a large and diverse vocabulary of praise, including for example words like ‘triumph’ (neṣḥānâ ), ‘acclamation’ (qûllāsâ ), and ‘beauty’ (šûṕrâ ). Also quite large is (2) the range of financial and commercial language and imagery, in terms of which the ascetic stores up heavenly treasures. One finds a large, evenly distributed, class of terms (3) for traditional ascetic practices, such as prayer, fasting, vigil, instruction, and admonition. Less prominent, but still significant, is (4) a cluster of ‘contest’ metaphors, in which, for example, the poet compares the ascetic to an athlete. Prominent in a few poems, but not the entire cycle, are (5) words for sexual virtue and (6) traditional Syriac ‘dispute’ language belonging to the genre of the dispute poem 11 contrasted Brock 1984, ‘Syriac Dialogue Poems’, pp. 57–58, describes several of these terms in particular. 11

76

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

with language of prudence and moderation. 12 Typical Ephremian theological language for ‘symbols’ 13 and condemnation of human audacity are less prominent than in other texts, but that is to be expected given the choice of subject matter. Diagram 3: Semantic Groups and their Distribution in the Cycle, summarizes the seven groups and their prominence in the different halves of the cycle. The Ephremian portion is represented by the light shading, the pseudo-Ephremian portion by the dark shading. Some of these groups, in particular groups three and four, require little comment, since they are common to the Christian tradition as a whole or to fourth century ascetic texts generally. One should note, however, how emphasis falls on particular virtues here or there, or how sometimes one is cast in a distinctively Syriac way (for instance, the Syriac predilection to refer to angels as ‘watchers’—ʿîrê—and to connect such angelic activity to the night vigils of ascetics). Others, such as the financial and commercial language (the second group), are striking and noteworthy not simply for their frequency but because of their special prominence in the Syrian Orient. Thus, Griffith notes that such language appears to be favored for praising saints and ascetics in Syriac and may even reflect the economic benefits accompanying the cult of a saint. 14 Also possible is a connection with Marcionite language prevalent in the area of Urhay, which often portrayed Christ as a merchant. 15 Likewise, the language of praise, at least in the first part of the cycle, carries many allusions to the eschatological wedding feast, imagery which, as Brock has shown, was especially significant for early Syriac asceticism. 16 Dispute language and the vocabulary of prudence have been joined together because, for the author of the second half of the cycle, avoidance of doctrinal controversy is one of the manifestations of Abraham’s prudence. 13 For a very thorough survey and analysis of such terms, see Beck 1982, ‘Zur Terminologie’, pp. 239–277; Botha 1996, ‘Argument and Art’, pp. 21–36. 14 Griffith 1994, ‘Julian Saba’, p. 214. 15 Drijvers nd, ‘Christ as Warrior and Merchant’, pp. 83–85. 16 Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 115–116. 12

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

77

Comparing and contrasting the language and imagery of the two portions of the cycle can most easily be achieved with the aid of simple statistics on the frequency of the roots of the words in question. The greatest similarities between the two halves appear in the fundamental language for Abraham’s activities and virtues. The virtuous activities ascribed to Abraham include such practices as prayer (ṣ-l-y—both in the nominal form ṣlôṯâ and in various pael verbal forms such as ṣallî ), fasting (ṣ-w-m—in both nominal and verbal forms), vigil (š-h-r—usually in the nominal form), alms (z-d-q—usually in the nominal form), visitation of the sick (s-ʿ-r 17— in both nominal and verbal forms), poverty (roots ʿ-n-w and m-s-k-n), and sexual continence (roots such as n-q-p—in the nominal form neqpâ meaning sexual intercourse—and q-d-š—usually meaning ‘chaste’ in the technical sense of a married person who practices celibacy). Also frequent are words for instruction (y-l-p— in both nominal and verbal forms), discipleship (t-l-m-d ), and admonition or rebuke (roots like l-ḥ-m, k-ʾ-ʾ, k-ʾ-r, k-s-s, and g-n-y). For the most part, such virtue-language is evenly distributed between the two portions of the cycle, which are also roughly the same in size—the first five madrāšê being about 2,600 words, the remainder being about 3,000 words. Both halves of the cycle contain over one hundred instances each of such language, taken as a group (the first half has 117, the second 152). Moreover, when one looks at the distribution of such language throughout each half of the cycle, the density 18 of the terms in question is fairly even. Although the density naturally varies from one poem to the next, for each half of the cycle, no single poem has a particularly large number of virtue-terms compared to the rest, and certainly nowhere near a majority. For this root, and others, such as z-d-q, which may have a wider range of meaning than the one indicated, only those instances, which, in context, can be judged to apply to the ascetic virtue, have been counted. 18 ‘Density’ = the ratio of instances of such terms in an individual poem to the total number of instances in each half of the cycle, expressed as a percentage. In this case, the range of densities in the individual poems is about fifteen percentage points. The lowest density, for example, in the first half of the cycle is about 9.5%, and the highest is about 25%. 17

78

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

The picture changes, however, when one considers certain specific terms within the group. For example, the first half of the cycle contains about 17% more instances of language for instruction and admonition than the second half of the cycle, and as a result, such language is more dense in the first half of the cycle. 19 Furthermore, almost 30% of the second half’s ‘virtue’ language pertains to sexual asceticism (much of it concentrated in madrāšê 10 and 11), while only about 13% of the first half’s virtue language pertains to sexual asceticism. The relative frequencies of different groups of terms help one to gauge roughly the importance of particular themes. Instruction and admonition appear to be more prominent aspects of Abraham’s activity in the first half of the cycle, whereas his sexual continence is emphasized in some parts of the cycle’s second half. There is also some virtue language present in the second half of the cycle that is totally absent in the first. For instance, the root s-y-b-r (endurance of suffering) and the word pûršānâ (discernment) 20 are not to be found in the first half of the cycle. Thus, when taken with the greater frequency of the root ʾ-b-l (mourning) in the second half, one can infer that there is a greater emphasis on suffering and penance in the second half of the cycle. The absence of the word pûršānâ turns out to be more of a stylistic choice on the part of Ephrem than a difference in theme between the two halves of the cycle, because Ephrem frequently emphasizes Abraham’s spiritual sagacity with mercantile language, as we will observe. Another semantic group in which both halves of the cycle share nearly evenly is language for praise, with nine more instances, or about 16% more, in the first half. This result is unsurprising, given that both groups of poems take praise of Abraham as their main theme. One notices, however, that different terms within the semantic group predominate in each half. In the first half, the overwhelmingly preferred terminology clusters around the root 19 About

26% versus 17%. word also means ‘separation’ or ‘departure’, particularly in the sense of death, much as in English one refers to a dead person as ‘departed’. 20 The

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

79

ṣ-b-t, which means ‘adornment’ or ‘ornament’ often with the connotation of bridal adornment or jewelry. In the second half, the preferred terminology clusters around the root n-ṣ-ḥ, which means more generically ‘triumph’ or ‘praiseworthy deed’, and refers to the fame Abraham achieved. A constant in both halves of the cycle is the root q-l-s, (derived from Greek καλός), with the term exhibiting approximately the same degree of prominence in each half (about 12% percent in the first half versus about 11% in the second half). By contrast, the imagery of adornment is about 38%, or more than a third, of the praise language in the first half. This same imagery is nearly absent from the second half of the cycle (only 5% of the total), but language of triumph and fame has taken its place. Such language is about 48% of the total, or nearly half of the praiselanguage in the latter portion of the cycle. One can add to this that the more generic word for ‘beauty’ (root š-p-r) shows a more than 50% increase in prominence in the second half of the cycle than in the first. The relative frequencies of the different roots show that the connotations and imagery of praise are weighted in very different directions in the two halves. The first half uses fairly specific language of adornment. The second employs more generic language that concentrates on Abraham’s fine moral qualities and consequent fame. As for the other semantic categories outlined earlier, one discovers that although both halves of the cycle exhibit the same language, one or the other half is more rich, depending on the category in question. For example, the first half of the cycle contains nearly twice the number of instances of financial or commercial terminology as the second half, in spite of the second half’s slightly greater size. 21 In fact, a high density of such commercial language in the second half of the cycle appears only in the sixth madrāšâ, and peters out in the subsequent poems. By contrast, three of the five madrāšê in the first half of the cycle have between 20–35% of the financial and commercial language each, with the rest evenly shared among the other two. A similar The underlying reason for this difference turns out to be that the author of the second half of the cycle employs financial and commercial language in stereotypical ways, without extensive development. 21

80

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

situation obtains for the language of athletic contest, for example, ‘crown’ (k-l-l ), ‘race’ (r-h-ṭ ), ‘athlete’ (ʾ-t-l-y-ṭ > Gk. ἀθλήτης), and, of course, ‘contest’ (ʾ-g-w-n > Gk. ἀγών). Although present in both halves of the cycle, one finds more than twice as many instances of such language in the first half as in the second half, and consistently lower densities of such terms in each poem of the second half. In short, all the poems of the second half are similarly poor in contest language and imagery. On the other hand, the second half of the cycle proves to be richer in the category of ‘dispute’ language, such as d-r-š (‘dispute’), n-ṣ-y (‘quarrel’), k-t-š (‘trouble’), and vocabulary for describing the saint’s wise moderation, which the poet contrasts with the futility of dispute. Such instances as do occur in the first half do not seem in context to refer to doctrinal dispute, but the opposite is true for the cycle’s second half in three different poems (madrāšê 10, 12, and 14). Looking at the relative prevalence of different types of language and imagery in the two parts of the cycle reveals that out of the semantic categories, with only two small exceptions, namely sexual asceticism and language of moderation and dispute, the first half is far richer with concrete imagery: concrete language for praise, more concrete language and imagery for finance and commerce, more concrete language and imagery for athletic contest, more language for admonition and instruction. While the second half does describe many of the same traditional virtues, its imagery and language in the categories enumerated is much less dense and less richly developed. As a final note, one omission is striking. In both halves of the cycle, there is little mention of Abraham’s separating himself from his community in order to practice asceticism. There are a few possible references, 22 but for the most part, both Ephrem and his imitator seem to envision Abraham wandering about to give his One is a reference to Abraham’s house (baytâ ) in HdAQ 4.9. The passage seems to envision that Abraham remained in his house, but the indication is very slight and tenuous. More clear is 12.21: ‘He separated himself in order to become small’. (Beck translates: ‘Er ging weg [in die Wüste] um klein zu werden’.) 22

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

81

teaching and advice. On the whole, the image of Abraham looks much more like the ‘wandering begging monks’ of an earlier Syrian style described by Daniel Caner and Samuel Moffett. 23 According to this style the ascetic’s poverty and itinerancy do not separate him from the community but rather enable him to engage in missionary activity, a motif that appears also in the madrāšê in praise of Julian Saba. 24 Since Brock (and Botha following him) have identified such ἀναχώρησις or ascetic withdrawal from the community as the signature feature of Egyptian-style monasticism and of its influence on the Syrian milieu, one is compelled to ask whether a reevaluation of Egyptian versus Syrian asceticism is in order for this text and its time. Although in the second half of the cycle later developments appear that may derive from Egyptian influence, perhaps it would be better to see Syrian asceticism and monasticism (at least as represented in both parts of the cycle and spanning the fourth through the middle of the fifth centuries) maintaining its own distinctive character and not yet changing under foreign influence. If Egyptian monasticism’s signature feature is absent, how influential was such monasticism for the Syrian milieu of these texts at this time? Indeed, even in a later time, Syrian ascetics tended not to live far from civilization, since the geography of the Syrian Orient generally discouraged this practice. 25

PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY IN THE EPHREMIAN PORTION OF THE CYCLE

So much for the general disposition of language and imagery between the two portions of the cycle, and their differences. When one turns to consider the most prominent image groups in the first half, a clearer sense of the author’s poetic artistry and rhetorical

Caner 2002, Wandering, Begging Monks, pp. 50–82; Moffett 1998, Christianity in Asia, pp. 77–78. 24 For example, in HdJS 4 especially. 25 Brown 1971, ‘Rise and Function’, pp. 83–84. 23

82

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

skill emerges. These groups are (1) language of praise and blame 26 and (2) financial or mercantile terminology. As one expects with Ephrem, the poetry of the cycle flows effortlessly from one theme to another, and some vocabulary could fit into more than one classification. (a) Language of Praise and Blame: The Eschatological Wedding Feast The first five madrāšê are full of generic language for praise and blame—for praising Abraham and for rebuking those of Abraham’s contemporaries lazier than he. Some of the more important words in this connection are neṣḥānâ (‘triumph’, ‘praiseworthy deed’), ṣeḇtâ (‘adornment’), qûllāsâ (‘praise’, ‘acclamation’), and šûṕrâ (‘beauty’). One also finds an explicit discussion of the importance of a ‘good name’ (šmâ ṭāḇâ ) in madrāšâ 5. In polar opposition to this language there are various words for rebuke and embarassment: for example, lûḥāmâ (‘rebuke’), the root k-ʾ-r (‘reprove’, ‘make blush’), and the root k-s-s (in the aphel pattern ‘refute’, ‘reprove’). These terms of praise are very prevalent in the first five madrāšê. The most common root is ṣ-b-t, occurring some 25 times. In order of frequency there follow n-ṣ-ḥ (18 times), š-p-r (10 times), and q-l-s (8 times). This frequency makes praise the dominant theme in the Ephremian material. Praise, however, is not simply a stock concept used in nondescript fashion. Ephrem develops a theological argument about the purpose of such praise and describes his own activity as a poet in terms of offering glory to the saint according to the theology he develops. 27 For Ephrem, offering glory to the saint is a way to share in the saint’s glory. As a result this vocabulary forms an important basis for his rhetorical goals. He wishes to show his audience the benefit of praise given The terms in this group play an important role in constructing the polarity between honor and shame that Botha described in his studies on the cycle. In the analysis in the preceding section, blame and admonition language was classified among the terms for Abraham’s virtuous activity. It is considered here once more, because it also serves to create polarities with praise language. 27 HdAQ 5.30–32. 26

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

83

with understanding and to show who does and does not deserve it. 28 In this first group, the most frequent and striking word that Ephrem uses to praise Abraham’s achievements is ṣeḇtâ. Ephrem refers constantly to these ṣeḇtê of Abraham. 29 The word is usually translated somewhat blandly as ‘adornment’, but in fact it can carry the more specific nuance of ‘bridal adornment’ in early Syriac literature. For this reason, it and its derivatives can often be thought of as a ‘jewel’, a ‘gem’, or even a kind of festive garment. Thus, it could refer to any item of feminine apparel intended for festive ornament. Earlier Syriac writings can illustrate this nuance. Aphrahat, for example, uses the term in his Demonstrations when contrasting the temporary benefits that the ‘daughters of Eve’ obtain through marriage and child-bearing with the eternal benefits that dedicated virgins receive through their marriage to the Christ the Bridegroom. 30 The various occurrences of the term in the Included among the undeserving is the pseudo-ascetic and the heretical ascetic, a point which is made increasingly clear by the fifth madrāšâ. See ‘Theological Analysis’ on p. 226. We should also note that the basic polarity between praise and blame manifests the same basic rhetorical pattern that Botha has noted many times in Ephrem’s works. This pattern entails associating good connotations and resonances with the object of praise and bad ones with the object of criticism—all the with the apologetic goal of encouraging the faithful to associate with the good and reject the bad. We shall have more to say about exactly what kind of rhetorical argument this is, but we may note in a preliminary fashion that it is, in classical terms, an appeal to ethos more than to logos. 29 The word or a cognate form appears in HdAQ 1.1; 2.1; 2.r; 3.13; 3.16x4; 3.17x3; 4.12; 5.11; 5.20; 5.22; 5.23x3; 5.24x2; 5.25x2; and 5.26x2. 30 Dem. 6.6: And because [virgins] do not bear children, they are given a name which is better than sons and daughters, and instead of the laments of the daughters of Eve, they sing the songs of the Bridegroom. A wedding feast for the daughters of Eve lasts for seven days, whereas [the virgins’] Bridegroom never leaves. The adornment of the daughters of Eve is a woolen garment that wears out and is consumed, but the [virgins’] garments do not wear out. Old age makes the beauty of the daughters of Eve fade. 28

84

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

prophetic books of the Peshitta, particularly Isaiah, suggest the same nuance. 31 In his HdP, Ephrem uses the term ṣeḇtâ specifically for the ‘adornments’ that free will adds to nature. 32 Thus, the term appears in our cycle, it seems, because the saint’s merits are metaphorical ‘adornments’ that make him fit for the eschatological wedding feast. That wedding feast, and its accompanying biblical references and imagery (most especially the wedding garment or ‘robe of glory’), is, as Brock has shown, the dominant way that Syriac writers expressed their conception of and motivation for the ascetical life. 33 The term appears to belong with the other traditional vocabulary used to discuss the ‘sons of the covenant’ and their activities. The root ṣ-b-t, however, is applied in various ways in the Ephremian material of the cycle. It refers not only to Abraham’s achievements and virtues as bridal adornments for him that will become apparent at the resurrection, 34 it also refers to Abraham himself as an adornment for his local church, which is also considered a ‘bride’ of Christ. Ephrem speaks of how Abraham was a sort of ‘mirror’ (maḥzîṯâ ) ‘by which our people had been Syr: wa-ḏ-lâ yāldan bnāyyâ meṯya(h)ḇ l-hên šmâ d-ṭāḇ men bnāyyâ w-men bnāṯâ, wa-ḥlāṕ âwlîāṯâ d-ḇātt ḥawwâ âmran henên zmîrāṯeh d-ḥaṯnâ. meštûṯâ d-ḇatt ḥawwâ šaḇʿâ ênnôn yawmîn w-ḏîlhên ḥaṯnâ d-lâ pṭar l-ʿālam. ṣeḇtâ d-ḇātt ḥawwâ ʿamrâ d-ḇālê w-meṯḥabbal, w-ḏîlhên lḇûšayhên lā bālên. l-šûṕrâ d-ḇātt ḥawwâ maḥmyâ leh saybûṯâ. See Parisot (ed.) 1894, Demonstrationes, col. 269. There is another common early use of the root ṣ-b-t in Ephrem and Aphrahat. They use it to refer to God’s activity in adorning creation, but it is not clear that the use has much importance for the term’s ascetical implications. 31 Explicit in Isa 49.18, perhaps implicit in Isa 3.18–24. One of the examples Audo cites (col. 360) also suggests a distinctly feminine nuance attached to the word. We do not, however mean to suggest that the root is restricted only to such contexts. 32 HdP 6.10–15. See also HdF 31.5. A similar use appears in Ep. ad Pub. 12–15. 33 Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 94–97 & 124–126. 34 Ephrem speaks of the adornments as stored up in Abraham’s body. See HdAQ 3.16 & 5.20.

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

85

adorned’ (meṣṭabbaṯ ) 35 while Abraham was still alive. In Abraham one could glimpse the life of the new world anticipated in the local church, which thus shares in the eschatological adornment. In fact, Ephrem is eager to reflect on the way that Abraham’s adornments also belong to his local church of Urhay: ‘You painted and adorned / yourself, father, with all kinds of adornments. / Although your own adornments [ṣeḇtayk] are stored up within you / your jewelry [taṣbyāṯayk] bedecks [lit., ‘is spread out over’] everyone’. 36 This close connection between ascetic and his community is to be expected in early Syriac asceticism. 37 A slightly different nuance in the use of the root in the fourth madrāšâ shows Abraham’s importance as an example for his local church (a theme frequently expressed with other language as well). Not only are Abraham’s virtues an adornment for himself and for his community, they are also ‘a mirror for whoever will be adorned’ (meṣṭabbaṯ ). 38 That is, whoever wishes to adorn himself need only look at Abraham. This use of the root bespeaks another traditional feature of the bnay qyāmâ: their function as an example for virtue close to home. 39 Finally, Ephrem links closely Abraham’s adornments and the resurrection of the body. While the adornments are perforce a metaphor, Ephrem describes them concretely as being ‘on your 1.1.5. 3.16.2–5. 37 Due to the geography and settlement patterns in Syria, as Peter Brown has observed, even the later anchoritic style of life that developed was never as separate from the local church community as its counterpart in Egypt. See 1971, ‘Rise and Function’, p. 83. (He makes similar remarks in 1982, ‘Town, Village, and Holy Man’, pp. 157–165.) For this reason, we should not readily accept the close connection between Abraham and his community as stand-alone evidence for a non-anchoritic style of life. Indeed, it may have been the more ready proximity of anchorite to his community that allows Ephrem to treat earlier and later forms of asceticism as a continuity in the way he does in the cycle on Abraham. 38 HdAQ 4.12.4. 39 Griffith 1993, ‘Monks, ‘Singles,’ and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’’, p. 153; 1991, ‘Singles in God’s Service’, pp. 153–154. 35 HdAQ 36 HdAQ

86

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

[that is, Abraham’s] physical members’ (ʿal hḏāmayk). 40 Indeed, in the next stanza, Ephrem even envisions the resurrection of the body as a sort of bridal procession flying through the air from the tomb to the bridal chamber: ‘On the day on which your Lord leads the procession [zayyaḥ ] / and the bodies fly through the clouds 41 / from the tomb, the nest of death, to the bridal chamber of life and joy, the Spirit’s wing will give you flight’. 42 In this way, the picture suggests that Abraham puts his ṣeḇtê on his body, like a wedding garment, and is led to the heavenly wedding feast. These ṣeḇtê, as Ephrem makes clear, are his excellent ascetic practices, specifically his ‘fasting, vigil, and alms’. He then compares them to the radiance that Moses enjoyed (cf. Ex 34.29–35), suggesting an intimate, faceto-face, unveiled meeting. 43 The bridal nuances and concrete intimate imagery that Ephrem employs are all the more striking once one realizes that the root ṣ-b-t is hardly to be found in the second, inauthentic half of the cycle, appearing twice in the sixth madrāšâ, and nowhere in the stanzas of the acrostic portion (madrāšê 7–15). It does appear in the refrain for madrāšâ 10. 44 Not only does the near absence of this term that was so prominent in the first part of the collection show a change of direction in the imagery and rhetoric, it also suggests that the point of the imagery was lost on Ephrem’s imitator (who otherwise adopted many Ephremian turns of phrase). A possible explanation for the disappearance of this language is a later date for the second half of the cycle, a date by which the transition from older to newer styles of asceticism was complete, and the concrete significance of the old imagery had faded from memory to a degree. 5.20.2; cf. 3.17.1; 2.2.1–5. image is an interpretation of 1 Thess 4.16. 42 HdAQ 5.21.1–5. 43 HdAQ 5.26.1–5. 44 Since this madrāšâ emphasizes Abraham’s sexual virtue, the image of the bridal adornment in the refrain does have a certain fittingness. It is worth pointing out here that it is unclear to what extent the refrains in such compositions go back to the author of the composition. 40 HdAQ 41 This

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

87

The more generic word šûṕrâ, meaning ‘beauty’, both in a physical or moral sense, although much less frequent than the word ṣeḇtâ, appears mostly in the fifth madrāšâ in the same passages as ṣeḇtâ and its cognates. 45 Just as Aphrahat had used it in the passage from Dem. 6 (cited above) to refer to the beauty of a bride, here Ephrem seems to employ it in a similar way, and the remarks made about ṣeḇtâ could be applied to it. The frequent term neṣḥānâ and its related verb forms does not appear to carry any special nuance. One often hears it translated as ‘triumph’ or ‘victory’, and it connotes fame and reputation. Probably better in many contexts (this one included) is ‘praiseworthy deed’. 46 It is significant chiefly because it is a ‘catchall’ term for the various achievements of Abraham. Ephrem speaks many times of how Abraham ‘triumphed’ through fasting, hard work, etc. 47 He also speaks of how the members of the local church are caught ‘between mourning and consolation / between suffering and triumph’ when contemplating Abraham’s death. 48 The root q-l-s is borrowed from Greek καλός. In our text it appears in derived pael and ethpaal verb forms and in the associated noun pattern, qûllāsâ. The basic meaning of the word as used in Syriac is ‘praise’ or ‘calling something good’. In this basic sense, Abraham is occasionally described as being praised 49 or as praising others so as to encourage them. 50 The most interesting and most frequent use of the term, however, makes it a characteristic activity of the angels, who are called in the usual fashion ‘watchers’

HdAQ 5.17.3 and 5; 5.20.5; 5.23.3; and 5.25.1 and 5. Of the few other instances where the term occurs, the usage is unremarkable. One of these (specifically 3.3.5) may be an interpolated stanza. 46 My translation is inspired by the choice of Brock & Kiraz (ed. and trans.) 2006, Select Poems, p. 173. They choose to render the term in the plural as ‘fine actions’. 47 HdAQ 1.4.1; 3.20.4; 4.1.1; and 4.5.5. 48 HdAQ 2.6.2; cf. 5.1.2. 49 HdAQ 1.4.5; 4.19.1 50 HdAQ 4.14.1. 45

88

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

(ʿîrê ) or ‘exalted ones’ (ʿelāyê ). 51 Ephrem describes Abraham’s qûllāsê as ‘among the watchers’ (bêṯ ʿîrê ). 52 ‘The watchers praised’ (qalles(w) ) 53 Abraham, says Ephrem, and ‘the exalted ones praise [mqallsîn ] the lowly’ 54 for their wisdom. Ephrem also applies the word to his own activity praising Abraham: ‘See I have woven qûllāsê into a crown for him / who wove his achievements into a crown for You’. 55 Given that qûllāsâ often seems to denote the praise and encouragement that the angels give to those on earth, Ephrem’s use of the term forges a connection between heaven and earth, a connection that he frequently emphasizes was a feature of Abraham’s life and part of Abraham’s service for his local church. Ephrem occasionally contrasts the language of praise just discussed with language of rebuke and censure. These terms have been classified under the category of virtue language, because admonition and instruction are part of a bar qyāmâ’s role, as described above. Nevertheless, it is helpful to pause briefly to consider this group by itself, because its words have an additional function. More than another ascetic practice, they also help to construct polarities with the language of praise. Terms for rebuke, shame, or admonition are not so frequent or significant as those in the category of praise, but it is worth noting that words of rebuke fall into two clear groups. In the first group, Abraham’s contemporaries are rebuked for their slothfulness by his diligence and virtue. The following is a characteristic passage: ‘By your diligence, [the futile ones] were rebuked’ (eṯkaʾʾar[w] ). 56 In the other group, with the specific word lûḥāmâ (‘censure’), Ephrem describes Abraham’s conscious effort to admonish his This usage of ‘exalted ones’ is often meant to contrast with the ‘lowly ones’ (taḥtāyê ). In other words, the meaning of the expression is ‘the denizens of the upper realms’ in contrast to ‘the denizens of the lower places’. 52 HdAQ 1.18.5. 53 HdAQ 1.19.1. 54 HdAQ 5.16.1; cf. 5.15.5. 55 HdAQ 5.30.4–5. 56 HdAQ 1.3.2. 51

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

89

contemporaries for their faults. 57 Terms in the first category create polarities with Ephrem’s own praise of Abraham. Terms in the second create polarities with Abraham’s encouragement or his inner tranquility. The best example of this is probably HdAQ 4.14: ‘Although rebuke was on your lips, within you were at peace [šaynâ ], on the outside your demeanor was threatening [lûḥāmâ ]’. This brief survey of Ephrem’s language for praise and blame allows us to reach several conclusions. First, the sheer prevalence of such language determines the overall constitution of the text, making it a work of carefully thought-out praise. Second, although the language is often generic, just as often Ephrem has in mind a specific concrete set of images relating to the eschatological wedding feast as the goal of Abraham’s ascetical activity. Abraham’s specific virtuous actions, such as fasting or vigil, are his ‘bridal adornments’ (ṣeḇtê ), his ‘triumphs’ (neṣḥānê ), and his ‘beauties’ (šûṕrê ). Third, it is particularly the angels who sing Abraham’s praises, and the community’s praise for Abraham is an implicit participation in this activity. The overall effect of this language is to highlight for Abraham’s ascetic activity its eschatological aspect. Its primary focus is the heavenly wedding feast which will be consummated at the final resurrection. The language also contributes to the sense of connection between earth and heaven, between Abraham and his community, that will be developed especially in the imagery of mercantile exchange to be discussed next. (b) Language of Finance and Commerce: the Riches of Paradise One of the more striking features of the Ephremian material in the cycle is the prevalence of language and imagery for mercantile and financial activity. 58 If one wished to summarize in a single metaphor the reason Ephrem finds Abraham so impressive, it 4.14.2; 4.14.5; and 4.15.1. imagery turns out to be rather rare in the pseudo-Ephremian material of the cycle, and much less richly developed wherever it does occur. 57 HdAQ 58 Such

90

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

would have to be: Abraham is rich beyond all telling. Not, of course, with earthly wealth, but with the riches of Paradise. Words for ‘wealth’ and ‘treasures’ are frequent, as is the root t-g-r, which denotes commercial trading activity or one who engages in it. Also frequent are terms for profit, loss, capital, interest, returns, lending, and borrowing. The prominence of such language in the madrāšê on Abraham appears to be a natural part of praising ascetics in Syriac, at least in the Edessene milieu. In the cycle of madrāšê in praise of Julian Saba, for example, whose textual history, topics, and audience so closely resemble our cycle, one finds the same sort of imagery. Griffith observed that ‘this commercial imagery is a natural one in the idiom of a people for whom trade and its ways are staples of everyday life’. 59 Although it has attracted less attention than other forms of imagery in Ephrem’s poetry, the importance of mercantile language in early Syriac writings generally has not gone unnoticed. 60 Such language also appears in the Syriac Liber Graduum, which suggests how geographically widespread the concept of spiritual profit was among Syriac speaking Christians. 61 Pearl merchants especially are a prominent metaphor in early Syriac asceticism. 62 The imagery is so fundamental to the concept of the ascetic life that along with the motive of unity with Christ the bridegroom expressed in the notion of singleness (îḥîḏāyûṯâ ), one might also propose the ideal of spiritual profit as a pillar of Syriac ascetic thinking. Like the bridal imagery, it also enjoys a substantial biblical basis in the NT parables. Examples of such financial imagery in the NT include the parable of the merchant and the pearl of great price (Mt 13.46), the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 6.21), the treasure in Heaven of those who give up possessions to follow Christ (Mt 19.21; parallel in Lk 12.21ff. and Mk 10.21), the 59 Griffith

1994, ‘Julian Saba’, p. 214. See, for instance, the mercantile imagery catalogued by Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 163–166. 61 LG col. 305.2–7. See Kitchen & Martien F. G. Parmentier 2004, ‘Introduction’, p. li and 127. 62 An entire book, albeit a somewhat peculiar one, has been organized around this theme: see Colless (ed.) 2008, The Wisdom of the Pearlers. 60

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

91

parable of debts in Mt 18.25ff., and the unrighteous steward (Lk 16.3ff). In addition to the biblical sources, the language of merchants, finance, and commerce has an ancient Mesopotamian background. In fact, as Annus and Murray note, ‘merchant’ was a title of the god Enlil ‘who deals in merchandise of souls and their merits, which will be subjected to scrutiny by the heavenly customs officers’. 63 The same note points out the philological connection between Akkadian tamkāru (Syr. taggārâ ), ‘merchant’ and the Syriac words mḵîrâ and māḵôrâ, which refer to brokering a marriage agreement. They share the same original root: m-k-r. The philological affinity suggests that the relationship among the main images in the Ephremian poems is both ancient and organic. The imagery of the wedding, bridal adornment, and commerce belong together. In this case, what is interesting is that Abraham (in imitation of Christ, the heavenly merchant) is a merchant on his own behalf and on behalf of his people, in much the same way that he is both adorned for the wedding feast and an adornment for his community, the local church as the bride of Christ. A careful look at the use of this language in the Ephremian material of the cycle reveals a significant theme. Just as Ephrem had a great deal to say about praise and the way it enables the praising church to participate in the riches of the one praised, so too he will be very concerned with emphasizing Abraham’s dependability as someone who knew how to make spiritual profit for himself and for others. This theme suggests a connection between Abraham’s ascetic achievement and his orthodoxy, as will become clear. 64 Here is a brief résumé of the mercantile language that appears throughout the first five madrāšê. The most frequently occurring root is ʿ-t-r for ‘riches’ or ‘wealth’. It appears some 29 times, mostly in the first and third madrāšê. Also very frequent are the root g-z-z Annus 2006, ‘Survivals’, p. 3, and Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 174– 175, with notes. Annus cites Murray, but does not make clear that he has, in fact, quoted Murray’s first footnote on page 175 verbatim. 64 See ‘Conclusion: Stylistic and Theological Profile of PseudoEphrem’ on pp. 181–182. 63

92

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

(‘treasure’) and s-y-m (also meaning ‘treasure’ or ‘store’), occurring 15 and 14 times, respectively. Ephrem typically speaks of Abraham’s ʿûṯrê (‘riches’) and sîmāṯâ or gazzê (‘treasures’), but verbal forms of the words occur too. The root t-g-r in the form taggārâ (‘merchant’) and the verb form êṯtaggar (‘to trade’) occurs 11 times. The words tûkkâ (‘loss’) and yûṯrānâ (‘profit’) occur 2 and 4 times, respectively. The root y-z-p meaning both ‘to borrow’ and ‘to lend’, depending on the verb form which it takes, occurs 8 times. It appears in such terms as îzeṕtâ (‘loan’) and mawzṕānâ (‘lender’). Certain interesting words only appear a few times. Three times, one can find mlû(ʾ)â (‘cargo’). Ship, (êlpâ ) and harbor (lmênâ, derived from Greek λιμήν) occur once and twice, respectively. ‘Mammon’ (mammônâ ) and ‘interest’ (rebbîṯâ ) both appear twice. Found once each are ḥûḇlê (‘returns’ on investment), qarnâ (‘capital’), and zḇan (‘to purchase’). Different madrāšê in the cycle tend to focus on a particular term. The root y-z-p is common in the first madrāšâ. The root t-g-r is most frequent in the third and fifth madrāšê. The fourth madrāšâ contains at least one or two instances of a few key terms. The only madrāšâ without a preponderance of such terminology is the second one, but that is because the mercantile imagery is constructed obliquely without frequent recourse to that language, but also without abandoning the concept. In this composition Ephrem focuses instead on Abraham’s orthodoxy. As when discussing Abraham’s ‘adornments’, one must ask to what Ephrem intended to refer by using such metaphors as ʿûṯrê, sîmāṯâ, and gazzê. Sometimes, he employed these terms interchangeably to refer to Abraham’s virtuous practices, such as his teaching of the truth 65 or his fasting and prayer, which Ephrem called a ‘treasury of assistance’ (gazzâ d-ʿûḏrānê ) and ‘a store of remedies’ (sîmaṯ sammānê ) 66 In the third madrāšâ, such language describes specific charisms, spiritual gifts such as Joshua’s ability to intercede (takšeṕtâ ) on behalf of the people, which he ‘drew from the riches of his master’ (ʿûṯray rabbeh), that is, Moses. 67 Ephrem 2.10.3–5; cf. 2.9.1–5. 4.1.2. 67 HdAQ 3.10.1–2. The biblical reference is to the episode where Achan (whose name is also given as Achar) caused the Hebrews to lose 65 HdAQ

66 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

93

compares Abraham’s intercessory ability to this biblical example. Sometimes, such terms can hardly mean anything other than ‘merit’ in the technical theological sense of that word. 68 Finally, the imagery also carries an eschatological import. Ephrem imagines Abraham carrying his spiritual treasures with him in death, so that at the resurrection ‘in the blink of an eye / with the voice of your Lord as with a key / the treasuries hidden in you, O saint, will be opened’. In fact what comes out of the treasury is Abraham’s êsṭôl šûḇḥâ, his ‘robe of glory’ for the wedding feast. 69 In this case, language for wealth integrates seamlessly with the bridal imagery previously discussed. Thus, two principal uses of these ‘wealth’ terms appear. On the one hand, they tend to refer to specific actions or aptitudes on Abraham’s part as they were capable of enriching his local community. In particular his prayers, intercession, and teaching are meant. On the other hand, they refer to the merit that accrues to Abraham himself as a result of these activities. In this way they are spiritual profits that he enjoys at the resurrection and the wedding feast of the Bridegroom. The two uses are not incompatible. Indeed at one point, Ephrem envisions Abraham’s prayer like a ship sailing the ‘sea of the air’ and carrying his treasures to heaven where they will be safe from any damage. 70 Thus the same ship of prayer that is the instrument of exchange between earth and heaven is also a means of exchanging profit between saint and community. Alongside this general account of ‘wealth’ language, other clusters of terms reveal particular nuances. For example, sometimes the notion of borrowing and lending is used to highlight the aspect of exchange between the saint, his community, and God. Other times, the language of heavenly trading shows extended eschatological one of their battles during the conquest of Canaan because he had taken something from the spoils of battle, in spite of God’s prohibition. Joshua interceded for the people and was told of the sin. As a result he was able to cleanse the impurity by having Achar executed. See Josh 7.1–26. 68 For example, HdAQ 1.12; 1.15. Beck often bypassed the metaphor in his translation by referring to the saint’s ‘Verdienst’. 69 HdAQ 5.18.1–5. 70 HdAQ 5.14.1–5.

94

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

treatment, which, it turns out, will help to explain the imagery that led Beck to doubt the authenticity of the poems. Still other times, the language deliberately contrasts heavenly riches with earthly riches and thus has a specific paranetic dimension. Such notions of exchange between saint and God and between saint and community come out more clearly in the language of borrowing and lending that appears so frequently in the first madrāšâ. In stanza six, for example, we discover a series of such financial exchange language arranged in the form of a climax: You hearkened [šāmaʿ ] [to the commandments] in order to labor [l-meʿbaḏ ] 71 You labored in order to have something to lend [to God] [l-mawzāṕû ] You lent in order to show your belief in Him [la-mhaymānû ] You believed in order to receive a return 72 and You received in order to possess [l-mamlāḵû ] in the end. 73

Ephrem had just described how Abraham ‘paid out good returns [ḥûḇlê ] / between God and man’ by ‘yok[ing] together the two praiseworthy commandments’ of love of God and love of neighbor 74 Having described Abraham’s financial ‘deal’ with God, The polarity between ‘hearing’ and ‘doing’ seems to be one of Ephrem’s favorites. A biblical basis for it may be found in Gal 3.5 and Rom 2.13, as well as many other Pauline texts. 72 Heb 6.12 and Heb 11.3ff. 73 HdAQ 1.6. Depending on which meaning one assigns to this root (m-l-k can either refer to possession/ruling or to counseling), the aphel pattern infinitive found in this line could mean either ‘to reign as king / to possess’ or ‘to counsel [others]’. One suspects that Ephrem may have intended both meanings to be felt. On the one hand, Abraham obtains spiritual possessions for himself through his ‘mercantile’ activity. On the other, one of the signatures of his ministry was admonition, teaching, and spiritual advice. 74 HdAQ 1.5. This translation follows the variant reading in ms. N prʿ (‫ )̇ܦܪܥ‬instead of zrʿ (‫)ܙܪܥ‬. The imagery is drawn from agriculture. With either reading, Abraham is like a farmer who has made a good investment of seed and gotten a good harvest as his financial ‘return’. The language in 71

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

95

Ephrem clarifies what is the ‘currency’ of this exchange metaphor: ‘Your alms and your prayers / … are like a loan // They enrich their recipients / while for you they returned with interest the principal / that you had lent’. 75 Here, such giving to the community in the forms of alms and prayers is the precise way in which the metaphorical mercantile exchange between saint and God occurs. That is why Ephrem introduces the image with the two commandments to love God and neighbor, and why he proceeds to say that ‘The alms of a giver resemble / the loan that righteous men borrow, / … / which comes back to [the lender] with interest’. Thus, not only does Ephrem employ a great deal of terminology to discuss ‘heavenly’ riches of various sorts amassed for Abraham or his community, the metaphor also includes spiritual commerce between God and community, of which Abraham is the foremost representative. Such language articulates polarities between God, saint, and members of the saint’s community. Ephrem summarizes this aspect in the first madrāšâ with a reference to the parable of the wicked servant. 76 In addition to language of spiritual wealth and spiritual exchange through ‘loans’ and ‘borrowing’ in the first madrāšâ, mercantile language with a slightly different dimension dominates the third madrāšâ. There, Abraham appears as a ‘heavenly merchant’ who knows how to get a good profit for his community, and Ephrem reflects on how even after the saint’s death, his treasures remain with the community and are enjoyed by him in heaven— and even remain with his body in the grave. Thus the use of financial language and metaphors is mostly eschatological. Ephrem N is more mercantile, which seems to fit the overall context better. One generally notices that the readings in N have a way of employing less peculiar or more natural diction in some passages. Whether this is an example of a scribe emending a difficult reading by conjecture or crosschecking his copy with some other copy (that is, contamination) is very hard to say, because we lack the evidence to determine the relationship between the mss. 75 HdAQ 1.7. 76 Lk 16.3ff. Does this suggest a Sitz im Leben in which unjust lending was a common problem?

96

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

begins this madrāšâ by explaining how the ‘heavenly merchant’, Abraham, has now come to port in the ‘harbor of life’. Yet Ephrem emphasizes how Abraham’s ‘treasures’ ‘accompany you [that is, Abraham] among the dead / yet their profits are traded [meṯtaggrîn ] among the living’. 77 A little later, he elaborates: It is a great wonder that, although you alone own the treasures many own them with you They are with your body [in Sheol]; On the height of Paradise, they are with the Son of your Lord. 78

Thus, Ephrem has in mind that these riches are not merely corporeal or earthly benefits, but some kind of wealth that transcends spatial and temporal categories. It is at this juncture that one is justified in speaking of some kind of ‘merit’ in the theological sense, a merit which will come to its full value in the resurrection. In fact, one of the examples Ephrem subsequently gives to illustrate his point about this kind of spritual wealth comprises an idiosyncratic exegesis of the story of Jacob placing the spotted sticks in front of the flock of Laban. 79 Ephrem compares Abraham to the spotted sticks inasmuch as he in a mysterious fashion retains his own ‘adornments’ and yet imparts them to the flock of Christ. Ephrem reasons, ‘How much more the spirits of the righteous / in which fair types are depicted / enrich the flock of Christ’. 80 In the context of the poem’s opening, which describes Abraham’s death, it is no accident that Ephrem compares Abraham and the souls of the righteous generally to sticks which are, as he says ‘without sense’ (d-lâ reḡšṯâ ), 81 for according to early Syriac eschatology, as was discussed earlier, the souls of the righteous are unable to function or perceive anything after death because they are separated from their bodies. They remain in a 3.5.3–4. 3.7. 79 Gen 30.37ff. 80 HdAQ 3.15.1–3. 81 HdAQ 3.14.1. 77 HdAQ 78 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

97

sleep-like state. 82 Yet somehow these merits can be shared with the community. From other examples Ephrem gives it is clear that not simply merit, but also spiritual charisms are included in these ‘riches’. Ephrem illustrates what he means in Abraham’s case by pointing to prominent examples in the Old Testament, in which a master bestows upon his disciple some of his ‘wealth’. He explains how Joshua obtained from Moses the treasury of ‘intercession’ on behalf of the people. 83 Elisha, for his part, obtained a double portion of Elijah’s spirit of prophecy. 84 In a similar way, sometimes the ‘treasures’ that the heavenly merchant obtains include healing for the community. Here, however, such treasures refer back to Abraham’s virtuous activities during life and not his post mortem influence on the community. Specific practices, such as fasting and prayer, are considered ‘a treasury of helps’ and ‘a treasure chest of remedies’. 85 Ephrem, then enumerates many other such treasures, though without explicitly naming them as such. These include hospitality, 86 almsgiving, 87 weeping, 88 and especially (over several stanzas) instruction and admonition. 89 Ephrem concludes his spiritual accounting (and the poem) by implicitly connecting all these riches to the toil of the merchant: ‘Merchants’, says Ephrem, ‘see profit / they do not look at the hardship of the journey’. 90 One final important dimension of this mercantile and financial imagery in the first five madrāšê is the way Ephrem employs it in a paranetic way to construct a contrast between earthly riches and heavenly riches. Implicit in the contrast is the idea that heavenly Beck 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, pp. viii–ix; see also Brock (trans.) 1990, Hymns on Paradise, p. 131. 83 HdAQ 3.9–10. 84 HdAQ 3.11–12. 85 HdAQ 4.1.2–3. 86 HdAQ 4.10–11. 87 HdAQ 4.5.2. 88 HdAQ 4.5.3. 89 HdAQ 4.12–18. 90 HdAQ 4.21.1–2. 82

98

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

riches are associated with earthly poverty, while earthly riches bring eternal poverty. Ephrem develops a biblical basis for the notion especially in madrāšâ five with an exegesis of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. 91 This aspect of the terminology is important because Abraham’s îḥîḏāyûṯâ or ‘singleness’ involved also his ʿanwāyûṯâ, ‘poverty’, as Ephrem reminds us in a couple of places: Abraham put on the ‘poverty’ (ʿanwāyûṯâ ) of the apostles and prophets ‘like a garment’ 92 and his ‘eating was poor’ (ʿanwāyâ ) 93 in the sense that it was plain and simple. As the financial imagery develops in this way, it reveals a particularly biblical motivation to embrace ascetic poverty. Ephrem explains that The rich man and Lazarus both died, and although both their deaths were equivalent their deaths were in fact very different. The rich man brought his debts The poor man [meskēnâ ] brought his provisions [zwāḏê ]. 94

Just as Lazarus stripped off his earthly troubles by his death and put on what was eternal, Abraham ‘put on glory’ and obtained ‘an eternal name’ by bearing with the toils of poverty for a time. 95 How, in particular, does Abraham do this and what is the rationale for the contrast between earthly and heavenly riches and poverty? Ephrem says that Abraham ‘purchased eternal life’ 96 through good use of his faculty of speech: ‘Speech is the cargo carried by every mouth / One man transacts through it to his loss / Another transacts business through it to his gain. / By it 97 the mouth of the 91 Lk

10.19–30. 2.4.3. 93 HdAQ 4.6.4. The term can also mean ‘continent’ or ‘restrained’, and it would be rash to exclude this meaning from the text. Both poverty and restraint are probably intended. 94 HdAQ 5.3. 95 HdAQ 5.4.5 and 5.6.3. 96 HdAQ 5.5.4. 97 Syr. beh: With a different nuance, it could perhaps be translated as ‘in Abraham’. 92 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

99

good transacts / profit which is certain and easy’. 98 After expounding this theme for a few more stanzas, Ephrem gives as a specific example Abraham’s imitation of Simon Peter’s care for the flock: ‘In your zeal’, says Ephrem to Abraham, ‘you imitated Simon [Peter] / to whom the Lord entrusted his flock’. 99 It appears that the way the mouth transacts profit through a ‘single word’ 100 is, for example, Abraham’s imitation of Peter’s brief confession of faith, a theme that Ephrem dwells on elsewhere. 101 Ephrem also mentions how ‘by his word the thief [on the cross] obtained life’. 102 Just as for Simon Peter, the all important word the thief speaks is a word of faith. Thus, one may infer, Abraham’s ability to transact spiritual profit in this life centers on the purity of his faith, example, and teaching of the flock. Leaving aside the specific way that Abraham obtains spiritual profit through his faith, the ultimate rationale for this type of spiritual commerce is found in another Lucan parable, the parable of the wicked servant. 103 Ephrem explains: It is possible that creatures be employed 104 for good purposes by good men. They are used in commerce for evil purposes by evil men One man blots out his debts by means of them; another increases his sins through them. … By the body of sins, 105 Abraham was justified;

5.8. 5.13.1–2. 100 HdAQ 5.10.1. 101 SdF 2.33–144. Ephrem dwells on how Simon was a man of restrained speech who earned beatitude through a brief and simple confession of faith. 102 HdAQ 5.9.5. The good thief’s faith is also another favorite topic of Ephrem. See, for example, HdP 4.5 and 8.1–3. 103 Lk 16.1–13. 104 An alternative interpretation is ‘It is possible that creatures / be rightly understood by good men’. 105 cf. Rom 6.6. 98 HdAQ 99 HdAQ

100

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT By ‘the mammon of iniquity’, 106 he possessed [wealth]. By ugly labor he received adornment; on a troublesome sea, he transacted his business. He reached the harbor by his death. 107

The point Ephrem makes here is that it was not simply because of his temporal poverty that Abraham obtained eternal riches. Rather, he used what he had in this life intelligently, as in the Lucan parable, and did not allow temporal riches to frustrate his heavenly profit. And in this case, his earthly success centers around Abraham’s confession of faith, but Ephrem leaves open the possibility that anyone may use what he has in this life to obtain heavenly riches. Thus, literal earthly poverty may not be required, although the point of the contrast appears most clearly in Abraham, who did endure a life of literal poverty, like Lazarus and Simon Peter. This poverty is also emphasized throughout by the term meskēnâ (also spelled meskênâ ), which appears in the fifth madrāšâ in reference to Lazarus or to Abraham as compared to Lazarus, 108 where it always refers to literal poverty. There is, however, another sense of ‘poverty’ in one instance of the root m-s-k-n, which evokes another important nuance to Abraham’s embrace of poverty. Ephrem compares Abraham to Moses in a passage which also links Abraham’s poverty to eschatological glory and the image of bridal adornment discussed above. The Exalted One impoverished [mmasken ] his ornaments in order that the poor [meskênê ] might adorn him instead So that when a beautiful person is adorned He borrows some of [Christ’s 109] glory Just as he lent [âwzeṕ ] his brightness to Moses. 110 106 Lk

16.9. 5.7 and 5.11. 108 See HdAQ 5.3.5 and 5.4.2. 109 The Syriac gives only the masculine pronoun, but it seems desirable to clarify the reference. 110 HdAQ 5.23. 107 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

101

As Beck observes in his footnote to this passage, the point is that the ultimate source of our spiritual wealth, here equated with divine glory, is God. 111 We ‘borrow’ it from God, who is thus the ultimate source of spiritual commerce. The implication here is that Abraham, in imitation of Moses and Christ (implicitly the New Moses 112), grounds all his virtuous activities in God’s goodness. Literally, Ephrem says that he has ‘grafted them into [God’s] steadfast truth’ (âṭʿem ênnôn ba-šrārâ ), language reminiscent of John 15.1–11, the parable of the vine. Such an image should immediately call to mind also the complex of ecclesial imagery traditionally associated with this biblical passage, including Christ as the true vine, the grape in the cluster, and the light-giving olive. 113 One of the specific ‘riches’ described frequently is Abraham’s instruction and admonition. This aspect deserves particular attention because it describing doctrine or teaching or wisdom as ‘wealth’ has some precedent. Briefly put, Aphrahat in Demonstration 10.8 explains to his student, ‘just as I have been able to take from that unfailing treasury [gazzâ ] and give something of its riches to you, at the same time as I give it to you it remains entirely with me [lwāṯ(y) ʾîṯaw(hy) kollāh ]. For the treasury does not run out since it is God’s wisdom [ḥeḵmṯeh ] and our Lord Jesus Christ is its treasurer [rabb baytâ ]’. The description of wealth remaining with both giver and receiver is undoubtedly parallel to Ephrem’s various permutations of the idea. As in other cases Murray has frequently noticed, Ephrem may cleverly have manipulated in his own way language which Aphrahat has preserved in a more traditional form. 114 What this passage from Aphrahat illustrates for us is not so much that Ephrem may have borrowed directly from Aphrahat, but rather that the treasure imagery Ephrem employs here may already have been ‘loaded’ with a specific nuance—to imply instruction and admonition in divinely revealed truth. If so, then Ephrem’s preferred description of Abraham can only have been 111 See

Beck 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, p. 16, n. 3. In the context of the Johannine imagery suggested in the same part of the poem, one might propose an allusion to John 5.45–46. 113 Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 95–130. 114 Ibid., pp. 42 & 100. 112

102

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

that of a teacher and example, a point which his extensive mercantile language reinforces. Aphrahat makes clear in other places that the ‘job’ of the ascetic was also to instruct by example, and that this vocation included not only teaching but also practicing what one teaches. 115 A similar attitude appears in Ephrem both in the first part of the cycle on Abraham 116 and elsewhere in his corpus. 117 Thus, one should see no opposition between the various senses and shades of nuance in the mercantile language. Describing Abraham’s fasting or abstinence from bathing as ‘treasures’ or as ‘wealth’ is just as much a part of his didactic and ‘exemplaric’ vocation as his explicit instruction and admonition. Thus, in summary, throughout the instances of financial and commercial language and imagery, one can observe that under Ephrem’s expert handling, such language includes several different but related referents. Among these are specific virtuous practices, especially prayer and instruction, specific charisms exercised on behalf of the community, such as intercession or prophecy, and theological merit and its final state, viz., eschatological glory. 118 Within the complex of commercial and financial imagery, the language of poverty may refer both to literal poverty and to selfemptying or self-donation for others. In terms of such poverty and wealth, Ephrem creates a deliberate contrast between earthly and heavenly riches, a contrast he resolves by pointing out how earthly things may be used to obtain heavenly profit, provided the ultimate source of this wealth is God’s truth. God’s truth as the source of profit shows how correct faith is thus the key to the treasury of divine riches. 119 115 Morrison

2008, ‘The Bible in Aphrahat’, pp. 10–11. 1.6, 2.23, 4.13, 117 For example, HdP 1.7. 118 One may find here an Ephremian parallel of the traditional theological notion that ‘grace is the seed of glory’. 119 This theological thesis is characteristic of Ephrem. See, for instance, HdP 6.1, where Ephrem refers to the keys of instruction ((ʾ)qlîḏê d-yûlpānâ ). On this theme, see Griffith 2008, ‘Syriac/Antiochene Exegesis in Ephrem’s Teaching Songs De Paradiso’, pp. 27–52. 116 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

103

Before taking leave of the distinctive vocabulary and imagery in the Ephremian portion of the cycle, it remains to us to discuss two very important implications of the overall imagery: the first pertains to the biblical allusions and references of the second madrāšâ; the second to the image of waves describing the overwhelming virtue of the saint in the second and the third madrāšâ, an image Beck thought argued against the cycle’s authenticity. Ephrem places considerable emphasis on Abraham’s spiritual wealth, and especially his ability to obtain spiritual wealth for his people. In fact, Abraham does this especially through his intercessory prayer, his wise admonition, and his instruction in the correct way of life. This, in turn, sheds light on why Ephrem elects to compare Abraham to the priest Samuel: Samuel is an ornament for your truth [šrārāḵ ] for his mouth testified [âsheḏ ] to the [Jewish] People And the People confirmed his innocence of any fraud [šûḥdâ ] Although your mouth is now silent Your truth calls out on your behalf. 120

Ephrem refers to 1 Sam 12.1ff. Samuel, having just anointed a king for the people, asks them to testify that he has dealt justly and fairly with them throughout his time as their leader, without defrauding anyone of his possessions. This they promptly do. Samuel then addresses the people with an oath, presenting a brief summary of all that God has done for them up to that point. Samuel concludes, ‘Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and right way’. 121 One notices right away that Samuel’s own self-description matches the portrait of Abraham’s own activities, who has been concerned to obtain spiritual profit for his people through intercession and instruction. Ultimately, the point Ephrem emphasizes by the comparison with Samuel is Abraham’s trustworthiness (šarrîrûṯâ ), a word which appears explicitly in the 2.1. Sam 12.23.

120 HdAQ 121 1

104

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

next stanza. 122 Ephrem then proceeds to contrast Abraham’s teaching of true doctrine with the errors of Marcionite thinking. 123 In this madrāšâ, therefore, one finds the converse of the spiritual profit theme: that Abraham did not abuse his position to obtain earthly gain for himself. His poverty was thus genuine, as was his doctrine, his ‘truth’ (šrārâ ). And it is precisely for this reason that Abraham could obtain the spiritual riches which Ephrem describes with such rhetorical amazement in stanzas five through nine of this madrāšâ and stanzas three through five of the third madrāšâ. Such an emphasis on Abraham’s legitimacy must have been important, especially since we know that the old Syrian tradition of itinerant ascetics tended to attract criticism. 124 No doubt many pseudoascetic missionaries profited in a wordly sense from their ministries. It is probably also for this reason that Ephrem cannot resist employing language of fraud to describe the ‘Stranger’ of Marcion, calling him a ‘deceiver’ (nḵîlâ ) who ‘puts on like clothes the form of the one realm / and entered into it secretly / without the knowledge of its master [that is, the OT god and creator] / that he might take us captive out of our realm to his’. 125 The ‘stranger’ is thus a ‘thief’ (gāneḇ ) whose heralds are, according to Ephrem, exactly like their master. 126 In contrast to this fraud, Ephrem thus weaves the theme of Abraham’s genuineness into his overall use of financial and commercial language. Abraham’s faithfulness and genuineness appear all the more in the abundance of spiritual riches that he exhibits. Precisely, however, because Ephrem has emphasized that these riches are heavenly and even in some places compared to the eschatological glory of Paradise and its adornments (especially, for example, the imagery of Abraham’s ‘robe of glory’ coming out of his treasury in HdAQ 5.18.1–5), it is possible to understand why he should want 2.2.1. 2.10–24. 124 Caner observes that the pseudo-Clementine Letter to Virgins shows that adherents of an itinerant way of life had to defend it against its critics. See Caner 2002, Wandering, Begging Monks, pp. 66–70. 125 HdAQ 2.17. 126 HdAQ 2.14.2 and 2.14.5. 122 HdAQ 123 HdAQ

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

105

to employ the language and metaphors for amazement that he customarily uses for the divine being and for the ineffable glory of Paradise and its inhabitants. Thus, when Ephrem speaks of how, ‘little by little, the waves of your story / capture me. / I fall and am tossed about amidst the waves … so that I cannot tell any of it [as it is]’, 127 we should immediately recognize the point. Ephrem uses the image to highlight such wealth’s paradisiacal character. It is the same with the language of amazement in the third madrāšâ where Ephrem explains that Abraham’s ‘praiseworthy deeds are cast and scattered about [blîlîn wa-šḏên ] / and they confuse the eye of the mind / like some royal treasury / in which all sorts of riches are scattered / confusing the eye with their beauties’. 128 It is difficult not to see the parallel to the precious gems that lie ‘scattered about’ (nqîlîn šḏên) in Ephrem’s descriptions of Paradise, 129 especially since it is precisely the praiseworthy deeds of the righteous that are its true adornment.

CONCLUSION

The Ephremian poems, quite apart from those of their imitator(s), contain a wealth of imagery all their own. Such images speak to Ephrem’s theological themes and imagery and to how those themes differ from pseudo-Ephrem. Ephrem’s themes and imagery in the HdAQ follow closely his thought in the HdP, with the difference that Ephrem now focuses more closely on Abraham himself as one of the denizens of Paradise. According to Ephrem, Abraham is a heavenly merchant who profits by the riches of paradise because of the simplicity of his faith and the diligence of his practices. This true faith sets him apart from other false ascetics who might otherwise engage in similar practices (namely, the traditional practices of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and rebuke by word and by example). It makes him 2.7.1–5. HdAQ 3.3. See HdP 4.7–11 & 6.2. The Paradise narrative in Genesis is also referred to as ‘treasury’ in HdP 1.1.3, which Ephrem strives to gaze upon with ‘the eye of the mind’ (HdP 1.4.1). 129 cf. HdP 7.4. 127 HdAQ 128

106

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

profitable: a shining example of paradisiacal status, in which his community can share by imitating and praising him, and a mirror of the holy scriptures. It is his diligent persistence and his faith which attract Ephrem’s attention rather than any particular form of ascetic practice, such as withdrawal, seclusion, or itinerancy. Throughout, Ephrem stresses God’s glory as the source for Abraham’s spiritual wealth. Talk of spiritual wealth borrowed and profitably invested flows seamlessly into the language of bridal adornment that was a staple of the early Syriac ascetic tradition. Abraham has donned once again the wedding garment lost through the fall but restored in baptism. The eschatological wedding feast is bedecked with the riches of Paradise stored up by Abraham, the heavenly merchant. As for the information on the history of Syriac ascetic practices that the language and imagery of HdAQ 1–5 contain, one finds only that (1) the language is thoroughly traditional, that (2) Abraham could just as well have been an itinerant or missionary member of the traditional covenant (qyāmâ ), and (3) that Ephrem’s concern for ascetic authenticity fits the Syrian milieu exactly as one would expect. Indeed, his mercantile language may aim deliberately to refute the similar language used by Manichean ascetics, a language already familiar in the region due to the influence of Marcion’s thought. If there is any particular ‘treasure’ of Paradise Ephrem singles out, it would be Abraham’s teaching. It is frequent enough to suggest that Ephrem preferred to think of Abraham’s work as instruction, before all else. This cycle as a whole deserves also to be compared with Ephrem’s Letter to Publius, which is also replete with language of ascetic achievement as adornment at the heavenly wedding feast. 130 Like the HdAQ, the Ep. ad Pub. also employs mercantile language. 131 Another governing image in the Ep. ad Pub. is the image of the mirror, 132 which serves a similar architectonic function in the first five poems on Abraham. In the case of the Ep. ad Pub., ad Pub. §12–16 (Brock 1976, ‘Ephrem’s Letter to Publius’, pp. 284–287.) 131 Ep. ad Pub. § 24 (Ibid., pp. 293–294.) 132 Ep. ad Pub. §1 (Ibid., p. 272.) 130 Ep.

II: LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN THE CYCLE

107

Ephrem begins and concludes his exhortation with the image of the Gospel as the mirror in which we may observe how to act and the good consequences that result from virtue as well as the evil consequences of vice. In the HdAQ, Abraham himself, as a successful ascetic has become the mirror, an idea one expects from Ephrem, for whom the examples of our biblical forefathers are continued in the contemporary church. 133 Ephrem, it appears, conceives the whole process of divinization or the life of virtue in terms of the divine beauty imparted to the Church and shared among her members. When successful, they not only adorn themselves but can adorn others precisely because they are reflections of the divine light, the robe of glory, which adorns them. Thus, the language and imagery of virtue and asceticism here serve to underscore the communal, ecclesial character of virtue as well as its ultimate divine source. These features in the first part of the cycle deserve notice precisely because they can help situate the poems in their proper place as genuine expressions of Ephrem’s thought on the burgeoning ascetic movement of his day in the environs of Urhay. It is of no small importance that Publius, the addressee of the aforementioned letter, may have been one of the early ascetics in the regions of Urhay, who like Abraham, had attracted Ephrem’s notice or even solicited his advice. 134 It begins to emerge that the HdAQ are not an isolated instance but perhaps the mature development of themes first expressed in the HdP, and also found, around the same time as the HdAQ, in the Ep. ad Pub., and even in some of the HdJS. In this way, one can perceive a little better how the mature Ephrem thought of the ascetics whom he encountered. It seems that by the end of his life, he had a well-developed set of ideas about the ascetic life and its ecclesial value, ideas that, to all appearances, witness to the ancient traditions of the Syrian Orient and do not bespeak a major revolution of ascetic theory, even if perhaps in the last days of Ephrem ascetic practice had begun to shift to a more eremitic expression. 133 See,

for instance, HdP 6.7–8. Matthews suggests this connection: Matthews & Amar (eds and trans.) 1994, ‘Letter to Publius’, pp. 335–336. 134

108

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

In some ways, these themes and language persist in the pseudo-Ephremian poems, but the traditional language eventually peters out to be replaced by more a commonplace emphasis on sexual virtue and prudence. But the themes and imagery of pseudoEphrem merit their own discussion in the subsequent chapter.

CHAPTER III: THE PIGMENTS REMIXED: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE CYCLE In the second half of the cycle, the melody changes to match the new, simpler meter, and the stanzas fall into an acrostic pattern. Earlier, the general disposition of certain terms throughout this half of the cycle conveyed a sense of the vocabulary or ‘pigments’ used, but closer inspection will reveal differently shaded themes in the light of those terms’ new context. In short, the old pigments have been remixed such that (1) the imagery of Ephrem peters out or diminishes; (2) new emphases appear; and (3) some of these emphases, particularly the interest in physical asceticism, approximate the classical themes associated with Egyptian monasticism. With regard to the first point especially, although much of the same imagery appears as in the first part of the cycle, especially financial and mercantile language, rarely is it so extensively developed. Often, it has become formulaic instead. Moreover, pseudo-Ephrem shows a marked self-reflective tendency. In contrast to the congenial self-effacement of the author in the first half of the cycle, one finds instead in some of the compositions a continuous, rambling pleading of authorial inadequacy that gives the distinct impression that the author has actually little to say. 1 When one adds to this the ever-present plea Indeed, most of poem 6 is devoted to this theme, but especially HdAQ 6.1–2, 6–13. Similar protestations recur at the beginning of subsequent poems. Some of these protestations may be later interpolations, since they do not fit the acrostic. 1

109

110

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

for Abraham’s intercession already noticed by Beck, the overall impression is that the remix of Ephrem’s language has not been altogether successful. It has been recast in a formulaic, selfconscious, and, on the whole, duller, less vibrant mode. Seeing this change in action is easiest with a straightforward comparison with the preceding chapter, and hence with a thematic overview of the pseudo-Ephremian poems, followed by a detailed investigation of the language and imagery that seems to be especially important to the thematic concerns of their author(s). One can group such language and imagery into three categories: (1) the poet redeploys mercantile and financial language to characterize the analogy between God and the saint and the practice of prayer to the saint; (2) the language of sexual continence has become especially prominent in the two poems which emphasize the supposed facts of his career; and (3) language of prudence and moderation in the context of dispute emphasizes the saint’s wisdom. Because the language in each group tends to be clustered in a particular poem or poems, the discussion will focus on just those few out of the ten in which that language is most prominent. Table 2: Themes and Contents of the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion of the Cycle (6–11) 2

Poem Sixth Poem

Theme, with Analysis The analogy between God and the Saint leads to trust in the saint’s intercession Stanza 1: The dilemma of the author—to speak or to remain silent; 2: The saint’s intercession as the solution of the dilemma; 3-5: the graces for which the saints intercede resemble the graces of God; 6-12: again, the frailty of the author—but the intercessory prayer of the saint lends or confers graces, just like his gracious Lord; 13: even if the saint refuse his help now, at the last judgment the author will receive it.

As with the previous overview (p. 72), these summaries are translated from Beck’s notes in his translation volume, modified where necessary for accuracy. 2

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

Seventh Poem

111

The rationale for, and the possibility of, praise—trust in the saint’s intercession Stanzas 1-4: Again the author despairs before the magnitude of his task—to praise the saint adequately; 5-7: The saint worked in a stony field (among pagans or heretics); 8-14: a continuation of the previous sentiment of gratitude and the hesitation of the author before the greatness of his task; 15-17: He attempts it anyway, with confidence in the saint’s intercession; 18-27: examples to prove the probability of such assistance—the counter-example of the influence of the Evil One, snake charmers, the influence of wine, the influence of a teacher, the operation of rain on plants, and of the Holy Spirit on the prophets.

Eighth Poem

A catalogue of virtues Stanzas 1-6: Again, the audacity of the author, which both attracts and frightens him; 7-21: a disorganized description of the saint—alms in secret, the sweet yoke of the master, practicing what he preached, vigils and fasting, chaste and prudent even in youth, Satan frightened and envious, self-possession, prayer for himself and others, the mirror of truth in front of him; 22-31: the rigor and wise moderation of the saint.

Ninth Poem

Another catalogue of virtues—with emphasis on their social dimension Stanzas 1-2: again, the initial thought—the fear of the author before the greatness of his task; 3-7 & 9-10: the charming example of his fasting and generosity; 8 & 11-20: his uninterrupted self-scrutiny, prayer, fasting, and trust; 21-26: how the saint appeared to God, the Holy Spirit, angels, doctrinal controversy, and lusts.

Tenth Poem

The saint’s historical career—mission to Qîdûn & his flight from his marriage Stanza 1: May Abraham come to the bosom of Abraham; 2-14: Conversion of the heathens of Qîdûn through long struggle and tribulations—the building of the church there, Christian priests taken from among the heathen priests, images of leaven, the bee, frost, and the unstoppable stream; 15-24: Abraham’s marriage and flight.

Elevent h Poem

An extended biblical synkrisis to illustrate Abraham’s qaddîšûṯâ Stanza 1: May Abraham’s table give refreshment to Abraham; 2: the saint and Enoch; 3-7: the saint and Joseph and Moses; 8-11: the saint and the elderly David; 12-13: the saint and Peter and Paul; 14-20: a supplement on Joseph and the unwritten law of nature contrasted with the broken tablets and idolatrous People; 21-23: it is impossible to use all the comparisons that could be.

112

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

AN INITIAL DESCRIPTION OF THEMES

The second half of the cycle, which Beck and Botha both considered un-Ephremian because of the eschatology and the ludicrous use of the theological language of incomprehensibility, also shows many parallels—fifty-four in fact—to the authentic works of Ephrem, but there is no mistaking the different style and different theological emphasis. Many of these parallels are marked by an un-Ephremian use of an Ephremian image or word. Moreover, the images and themes of the pseudo-Ephremian portion do not so easily fall under a single heading. Nevertheless, there are many interesting features. Among them is a theology of divinization, which expresses a strong analogy between God and the saint, or ‘man of God’, 3 as he is called, and a consequent interest in the saint’s intercessory assistance for the poet and his community. Among the somewhat disorganized catalogues of the saint’s virtues and virtuous practices, the vocabulary emphasizing his sexual asceticism—specifically his qaddîšûṯâ, or abstinence from sexual relations after marriage and his practical wisdom—is especially prominent. Mercantile language resembling that found in the first portion of the cycle, is prominent only at first, and later gives way to other interests. Indeed, although the second portion of the cycle is formally unified by an acrostic and contains a great store of Ephremian language, it lacks the thematic unity of the Ephremian portion of the cycle. One does notice, however, a fairly consistent emphasis on the contrast between this life and the next. In other words, the perspective definitely sharpens the challenge to take up an ascetic way of life, to renounce this world for the sake of a better one. Perhaps this approach reflects a more monastic perspective, or simply the elaboration of Abraham’s reputation among his now more-organized followers. See Table 2 for a synopsis of the contents of the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle.

3 HdAQ

10.8.4.

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

113

Table 3: Themes and Contents of the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion of the Cycle (12–15) Poem Twelfth Poem

Theme, with Analysis Another catalogue of virtues—with emphasis on the saint’s practical wisdom Stanzas 1-3: Again, the formula, ‘I am not pure for the task’; 4-11: the saint’s practical intelligence; 12: Scripture as the norm of the saint’s teaching; 13-22: a disorganized enumeration of the saint’s merits, especially his giving of advice to others.

Thirteenth Poem

Another catalogue of virtues—with a focus on Abraham’s heavenly priorities Stanza 1: introductory prayer on behalf of the author’s inadequacy; 2-11: the prayer and fasting of the saint, his priestly ministry, his contrasting attitude to outer and inner defilement; 12-24: The saint overcomes the death of sin through the cross and physical death through the promise

Fourteenth Poem

The paradoxical blessing in the saint’s death Stanzas 1-4: The saint’s poverty and contempt for riches lead to blessing; 5-6: the saint as teacher; 7-12: a series of praises—great is your marvel . . . your consolation . . . your glory . . . your rest . . . your blessing . . . your victory; 13-15: Abraham, the Patriarch Abraham, and Lazarus; 16-19: Abraham steered his ship without loss through the Arian controversy; 2021: Two stanzas with ‘Glory be to God’, which appear to be the end, but to which at the beginning of the next hymn two further are added.

Fifteenth Poem

The saint’s departure from this life and his intercession—this earthly life is vanity Stanzas 1-2: The burial of the saint; 3-6: the author prays that the saint not forget him in his earthly necessities; 7-12: the foolish dependence of people on this sinful life; 13-14: the justice and mercy of the Judge in the example of Sodom; 15-18: trust in the saint’s intercession at the last judgment; 19-24: the author marvels at his own impenitence and that of every person; 25-28: he hopes in the goodness of the judge and the intercession of the saint.

114

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL LANGUAGE: A NEW THEOLOGY OF INTERCESSION

The sixth madrāšâ enjoys the preponderance of the financial and commercial language in the cycle’s second half. The words or roots for wealth (ʿûṯrâ ), treasure (gazzâ ), capital (qarnâ ) and interest (rebbîṯâ ) are among the most frequent. It is in this same poem that the poet develops his analogy between God and the saint and spends a great deal of time imploring the saint’s help. The financial imagery describes what the author is seeking from the saint, which is like ‘interest’ (rebbîṯâ ) which the poet begs the saint not to refuse him. 4 The poet also has Abraham’s intercessory prayer in mind, since he asks Abraham to ‘give me the key by your prayer [ṣlôṯāḵ ] / that I might become the steward [gîzbārâ ] for you / and lend your wealth [ʿûṯrâḵ ] to the needy’. 5 In the same stanza, the poet imagines that by writing his poetry in the saint’s honor, he will give the saint’s ‘wealth’ to the needy, and he himself will obtain assistance as the interest or perhaps even ‘broker’s fee’. Thus, he uses language of wealth or treasure to refer to the grace or merits of the saint which will aid the poet to teach others about him. There is no question here of the saint’s practices during life, but rather of his intercession now, which is the key to sharing the saint’s merits with the author. Part of this imagery is the comparison between God and the saint (the basis for the theological language that Beck and Botha found so ludicrous when applied to Abraham). Abraham is asked to ‘be like your gracious Lord / who bestowed the ten talents / the profit [yûṯrānâ ] and the principal [qarnâ ]’. 6 In the Gospel parable of the ten talents, the virtuous steward receives the talents, as well as the talent of the lazy servant, which he has been guarding for his master, as his own. 7 The poet imagines himself like the servant in the parable, and Abraham as like God himself who dispenses his graces. 6.10.6–7. 6.9.1–3. 6 HdAQ 6.10.1–3. 7 Mt 25.14–30. 4 HdAQ 5 HdAQ

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

115

One also finds, however, the saint’s own teaching described as wealth, for instance: ‘His treasury [bêṯ gazzeh ] was filled / with both wise counsels [pûrsê > Gk. πόρος] and deeds [ṣûʿrānê ]’. 8 Thus, the basic idea of the saint’s spiritual wealth is his merit, his teaching, and his example, which is obtained for the poet and the community by the saint’s prayer and spread throughout the community by the poet’s teaching. 9 Elsewhere in the latter half of the cycle the imagery of spiritual wealth is used primarily to contrast with earthly wealth, so as to praise Abraham for pursuing heavenly in place of earthly wealth. For instance, the author praises Abraham by way of the first beatitude in the following words: You loved the ‘blessing’ which enriches the poor. 10 You put no faith in the consolation which impoverishes the rich.

Your triumph is great because you overcame money [kespâ ], which lynched and made leprous Gehazi and Judas. 11

Here, the referent of the heavenly wealth is not as important as the very contrast between earthly and heavenly. The point the poet wishes to convey is the dangers of earthly wealth or ‘mammon’, and indeed in stanzas 17–19 of the same poem, he connects love of wealth to doctrinal controversy (ḥeryānâ ). In this way, it is not so much literal wealth that is the problem but subtle doctrinal controversy, which is to wealth as simple belief is to poverty. Finally, there are many instances where the language of wealth is vague and formulaic, without a clear or specific referent in mind. 12.16.1–2. also HdAQ 8.7.1–2 and 8.13.1–2. 10 cf. Mt 5.3. 11 HdAQ 14.2–3. The biblical references are to 2 Kings 5.23–27 and Mt 27.4–5. 8 HdAQ 9 see

116

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Take, for instance, the poet’s trepidation at the task of praising the saint in madrāšâ seven: How much my littleness impoverishes the story of this merchant, whose treasures [sîmāṯeh ] were famed! … His money [kespeh ] was famed among the merchants, and so were his harvests among the husbandmen. 12

Wealth language is simply part of the larger point about the poet’s inadequacy, but without any special nuance. A similar use of such language occurs in the twelfth poem. ‘He aids me’, says the poet, ‘since I / am weaker than he, being lowly. / He makes me to possess / his treasure [gazzeh ] when it overwhelms me’. 13 In none of these instances is there anything in the context to suggest that one particular aspect or nuance is intended. Rather, it seems that such generic wealth and poverty language was simply a part of the poet’s repertoire for expressing his own inadequacy to praise the saint properly. In the end, therefore, the poet employs language of finance and commerce principally to refer to the saint’s merit, example, and teaching. In particular, the metaphor appears most developed in situations where, through the saint’s intercessory prayer and the poet’s praise, an exchange of merit or instruction between saint, poet, and community occurs. It is also part of the parallel drawn between God and the saint, who, like God, is able to bestow his spiritual wealth abundantly. The ideal of praise implied in this mercantile exchange between saint, poet, and community is not the same as that in the implied mercantile exchanges in the first half of the cycle. There, the point had been that through praise of the saint merit is obtained from God, its ultimate source, in a way similar to how Abraham obtained merit through the praise of God implied 12 HdAQ 13 HdAQ

7.3 and 7.5. 12.3.

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

117

by his deeds while alive. The language of borrowing and loaning, as Beck points out, was designed to express the paradox that our glory is loaned to us by God, its source, but it is loaned by us to God for our profit in Paradise. 14 In the second half of the cycle, presumably the wealth owned by the saint has its ultimate source in God, but the poet does not bother to discuss the fact. In part, this is what makes the comparison between God and the saint so outlandish. The saint appears more as a source than an example.

LANGUAGE FOR SEXUAL CONTINENCE: A NEW EMPHASIS ON QADDΊÛṮÂ

In the two poems of the latter half which address details in the historical career of Abraham (namely, poems ten and eleven), 15 language of wealth and commerce all but disappears. A strong emphasis on sexual continence takes its place. In each of these poems the references to sexual virtue comprise around seventy percent of each poem’s total instances of virtue language. In the tenth poem, for instance, the poet describes how Abraham practiced qaddîšûṯâ, or sexual continence after marriage: Out of his youthfulness on the couch of his marriage feast there dawned in his heart the glory of the Kingdom.

From his beginning he drew forth his end. He exchanged his wedding garment [êsṭôl ḥaṯnûṯeh ] for sackcloth, As he, being chaste [naḵpâ ] was imitating his most chaste [spouse] [naḵpaṯ naḵpāṯâ ]:

HdAQ 5.23–24 and Beck’s notes to the same. In fact, an explicit discussion of this loaning to God occurs near the beginning of the first poem and near the end of the fifth. In this way, the image serves as an inclusio for poems 1–5. 15 These details follow the same lines as the pseudo-Ephremian Vita. 14

118

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT for seven days she had remained with her husband! 16

The use of the root n-k-p in the sense of chastity or sexual continence is unmistakable here, and much what one would expect from a celibate in the early Syrian milieu. Indeed, the poet proceeds to praise praise Abraham because ‘from the beginning of his marriage / he left his marriage companion / because he perceived the crown / and entered into the contest’. 17 Abraham ‘sanctified [or separated: Syr. qaddeš ] his bed / from sexual intercourse [neqpâ ] with his rib [êlʿâ ]’. 18 The examples thus far simply show the conventional, literal sense of ascetic chastity and of sexual intercourse. Abraham’s motives, however, are presented in such a way as to apply the language of sexual union analogically to heavenly realities, though not necessarily to God or Christ. In such instances as these, ‘pure brightness’ is part of what Abraham obtains. He sanctified his bed, ‘in order that his intercessory prayer [bʿāṯeh ] might spend the night / in constant brightness [zahyāʾîṯ ]’. 19 Perhaps a particularly enthusiastic interpretation of 1 Thess 5.17 (“pray without ceasing’) and 1 Cor 7.5, (‘do not deprive one another except perhaps for a time by agreement in order that you might be free for prayer’) lies behind this passage. Indeed, according to the poet, ‘whoever gazes upon / the supernal brightness [zîwâ ʿelāyâ ] / in his eyes, the beauties of earth / become contemptible’, 20 and lust could not tempt him ‘because his stuggle was so bright’ (or pure, Syr. zhê ). 21 This brightness of the kingdom also appears in the eleventh madrāšâ as part of the many biblical examples of qaddîšûṯâ with which the poet compares Abraham. For instance, the poet prays that Abraham ‘may inherit along with Moses, / the radiant one 10.15–17. 10.18. 18 HdAQ 10.19. On the Syriac use of ‘rib’ for ‘wife’, cf. Gen. 2.21. As Beck observes in his note, the usage is a typically Ephremian one. 19 Ibid. 20 HdAQ 10.21. 21 HdAQ 10.24.4. 16 HdAQ 17 HdAQ

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

119

[zahyâ ], who established / a wall of chastity [saygâ d-naḵpûṯâ ] / between himself and Sepporah’. 22 Often it seems that the poet wishes implicitly to compare the heavenly brightness with ‘the fire of lust which blinds’ 23 or the ‘attractiveness [šûṕrâ ] of sin’. 24 Language of brightness, which in Ephrem’s poems indicated conformity to and unity with God, now appears with a focus on sexual continence. At the same time, one finds more suggestive images used to describe Abraham’s motives for keeping qaddîšûṯâ. The poet explains that more than contemptible [šîṭâ ] intercourse [ʿenyānâ ] with a woman [ba(r)t (ʾ)nāšâ ] the sweet intercourse [ʿenyānâ ḥelyâ ] of the Holy Spirit [rûḥ qûdšâ ] pleased him. 25

The poet uses a normal term for sexual intercourse in such a way which suggests the image of sexual union with the Holy Spirit, who is, as is normal for early Syriac texts, represented as feminine. Lest one think that the poet has chosen his words carefully so as to avoid the even more explicitly sexual root n-q-p, he proceeds to say: instead of sexual intercourse [neqpāh ] with this lowly ‘rib’ his soul united with [neqpaṯ ] the Lord of Glory [mārê tešbôḥtâ ]. 26

In this case, it is the soul that is represented as feminine, and the Lord of Glory (a title for Christ) who is the bridegroom. Indeed, in the next madrāšâ, Christ is referred to as ‘our bridegroom’ (ḥaṯnan). 27 It would be a mistake to suppose that the language is meant literally, since the two images are mutually exclusive (in the first, Abraham is represented as masculine, and in the second as 11.7. 11.9.1–2. 24 HdAQ 11.5.4. 25 HdAQ 10.22. 26 HdAQ 10.23. 27 HdAQ 11.12.3. 22 HdAQ 23 HdAQ

120

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

feminine), but there is no mistaking the fact that the language is very concrete and suggestive, a feature shared with early Syriac ‘proto-monasticism’ generally. 28 On the other hand, despite all this traditional language and imagery of wedding feast and bridal chamber, missing is any use of the term ṣeḇtâ (bridal adornment) that was so prevalent in the first half of the cycle in the same situations. The different choice of words is further evidence that the two parts of the cycle belong to different authors. Thus, the language of sexual continence in the second half of the cycle emphasizes Abraham’s earthly practice of qaddîšûṯâ and extols it in terms that could be read even as somewhat encratite (inasmuch as the poet refers to married sexual intercourse as ‘contemptible’—šîṭâ ). In contrast, the practice of qaddîšûṯâ leads to enjoyment of heavenly brightness and intimate union with God in the final wedding feast. Whereas in the earlier portion of the cycle, specific ascetic practices on the part of Abraham, such as prayer or admonition, became his free-will adornments for the heavenly wedding feast, here it is precisely his sexual asceticism that guarantees his participation in that heavenly intimacy. The language and concept of qaddîšûṯâ is entirely traditional in the tenth and eleventh madrāšê in the cycle, which makes its virtual absence in the first half of the cycle interesting. It seems that, at least, for Ephrem and his audience, Abraham’s exploits in the arena of sexual virtue were simply less interesting, less important, or most likely taken for granted. On the other hand, perhaps pseudo-Ephrem was writing for a more monastic audience, which would have expected him to attend to sexual virtue in particular. 29

Brock 1992, Luminous Eye, pp. 115–116. It is worth pointing out that Beck chose to translate the Syriac terms ʿenyānâ and neqpâ with Verbindung and Umgang, respectively. These are fairly flexible terms in German and need not carry a sexual connotation. 29 The ‘monasticization’ of Ephremian writings and themes is a general trend in the pseudo-Ephremian literature studied by Suh 2000, From the Syriac Ephrem to the Greek Ephrem, pp. 417–418. 28

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

121

LANGUAGE FOR PRUDENCE AND MODERATION IN DISPUTE

Another new emphasis in the second half of the cycle is Abraham’s participation, or more accurately, non-participation, in unspecified doctrinal controversies, presumably those associated with Arianism. Instead, in everything, Abraham exercises prudent moderation, both when he gives advice or teaches and when he refrains from the blasphemy of Arianism and practices instead evangelical simplicity. The poet often describes Abraham as ‘wise’ (ḥakkîm), ‘skilled’ (ʿrîm), characterized by ‘discernment’ (pûršānâ ), filled with ‘tricks’ (ṣenʿāṯâ ) and ‘strategems’ (pûrsê ). At the same time he is simple (pšîṭ ) and refuses to engage in dispute (drāšâ ) which has swamped the ‘boats’ of many. In particular this language appears in the twelfth madrāšâ as a meditation on the Gospel injunction to be both wise and simple, 30 which invites the poet to make a paradoxical contrast between earthly and heavenly wisdom. The following stanzas are typical: Skilled [ʿrîm ] was the simpleton [hedyôṭâ ] who knew well in his stratagems [êṯparras ] how to please the Possessor of all wisdom [mārê ḥeḵmāṯâ ]. 31 and Skilled was the perfect one [tammîmâ ] who conquered with all sorts of stratagems [pûrsîn ] the Evil One, whose disciples were more subtle [qaṭṭînîn ] than he. 32

As Beck observes, in Ephremian terms, the disciples of the evil one are usually the heretics. 33 Thus, it comes as no surprise that in the surrounding stanzas, the poet emphasizes that Abraham ‘labored that by his deed / he might become wise [yāḏôʿâ ] / because he saw the disputatious [dārôšâ ] whose practices [dûbbāreh ] are 30 Mt

10.16. 12.9. 32 HdAQ 12.8. 33 see Beck’s note to the same stanza. 31 HdAQ

122

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

foolishness’. 34 Here the ‘disputatious’, in typical Ephremian terms, is an expression of indictment against heretics. More specifically, the poet characterizes Abraham as someone who practiced what he preached in contrast to the heretics, whose actual manner of living was not spiritually profitable. Instead of vain disputation with a glib rhetor who ‘is too massive to fit / through the narrow gate of the kingdom’, 35 Abraham gave help to others that was ‘appropriate for the circumstance’ 36 and ‘weighed out his subtleties [pûršānê ] / in accord with his activities’. 37 His practices were ‘trustworthy’ and his statements ‘true’. The poet clarifies what he means by this harmony between words and deeds when he says that Abraham’s ‘door was open for the needy / his counsel [melkeh ] ready for the simple [pšîṭê ]’ 38 That is, his wisdom was concerned with practical matters and helping others, not the vain speculation of doctrinal controversy. This same idea of prudent moderation and practical wisdom appears in other passages where, for example, Abraham’s prayer for others is described as ‘discerning’ (d-ṕûršānâ ). 39 And Abraham’s decision to die to this world in order to obtain the world to come is characterized as the ‘life of discernment’ (ḥayyê … d-ṕûršānâ ). 40 Abraham ‘measures his words / as with a balance [massâṯâ ]’ so that whatever he said ‘would not come back against him’. 41 Throughout whatever advice he gave, his truth was so firm that controversy could do nothing against him, 42 and he avoided the ‘troublesome commerce’ that ‘causes loss by disputation’. Instead he was able to 12.6. 12.10.3–4. 36 HdAQ 12.13.2. 37 HdAQ 12.13.3–4. 38 HdAQ 12.15.3–4. 39 HdAQ 13.3.2. 40 HdAQ 13.13.3–4. One could also translate this phrase as ‘the life of death / dying / mortification’. Ephrem seems to have chosen the word pûršānâ deliberately for its double meaning. See page 175. 41 HdAQ 8.12.1–2. 42 HdAQ 9.25. 34 HdAQ 35 HdAQ

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

123

teach others obliquely without openly rebuking their faults. 43 One can summarize all these examples under three interrelated points. First, the language emphasizes Abraham’s practical ability to help others through his teaching. Second, he avoided all controversy, because (and this is the third point) he had the discernment to appreciate the relative value of the new life of Paradise over the old life of this world. Throughout, wisdom appears as practical rather than speculative, serene rather than disputatious, and heavenly rather than earthly. There are two further observations to make about the emphasis on Abraham’s practical wisdom. First, unlike the first half of the cycle, the poet does not specify what doctrine the saint actually taught. Perhaps one can infer that the saint himself never advocated one position or the other in the Arian controversy, but simply stayed out of the whole thing. Yet surely he must have taken some position in his preaching to the people of Qîdûn, as Ephrem asserts when he describes the saint’s polemic against Marcion. Of course, it is not so simple as taking either poet’s description as a word-for-word reproduction of the saint’s theological opinions. No matter how objective Ephrem or his imitator meant to be, neither could escape interpreting the saint’s teaching and authority in terms of the views they themselves hold. At the very least, there would be a tendency to interpret the saint’s teaching favorably. Nevertheless, the only doctrinal formulation in the second half of the cycle is a Trinitarian baptismal confession in which the poet explains that Abraham ‘loved the Father / and was fervent toward the Son / and through Him in the Spirit / he worshipped the Father’. 44 Yet there is nothing explicitly Nicene about the formula, which is a typical subordinating type. In the end, the two different halves of the cycle leave us with rather different impressions of Abraham’s doctrinal orthodoxy. Ephrem is specific and concrete: Abraham’s teaching was practical and focused on spiritual profit, but he profited precisely because he held the line and kept the true faith against the errors of the followers of Marcion, probably in contemporary manichaean guise. Pseudo-Ephrem simply emphasizes that 43 HdAQ 44 HdAQ

8.25–30. 10.10.

124

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Abraham had no use for doctrinal controversy and focused instead on practical ministry. Thus, the link between the saint’s orthodoxy and his spiritual merit is much more vague in the second half of the cycle. On the other hand, in the language of practical wisdom in the second half of the cycle, one can find another instance of the influence of Egyptian style monasticism which held laughter to be an expression of frivolity. 45 In the ninth madrāšâ the poet emphasizes that Abraham was always ‘a discerning mourner [âḇîlâ d-ṕûršānâ ] / a mourner [âḇîlâ ] in his garment / a mourner [âḇîlâ ] too in his mind’. Appropriately, therefore Abraham ‘put no faith in … either jesting [šeʿyâ ] or mockery [gûḥkâ ]’. 46 Instead, he walked ‘gloomily [kmîrāʾîṯ ] every day’. The poet proceeds to compare him with Job in his steadfast suffering of sorrow. 47 In these strictures against jesting, one discerns the particular nuance of Abraham’s practical wisdom. The poet frames it as an expression of his mourning in this life so as to obtain the life of joy that is to come.

CONCLUSION

In the end, pseudo-Ephrem’s chosen words and images show the new directions in which he takes Ephrem’s ideas. Although much of the imagery is recognizably similar, he has remixed the pigments on the palette in three ways. First, he develops the mercantile language that had expressed the transaction of spiritual wealth between God and man and focuses attention on the community’s Strictures against laughing and frivolity are part and parcel of the Apopthegmata traditions and other Egyptian texts. See Hausherr 1982, Penthos, pp. 95–106. Indeed, he quotes a passage from pseudo-Ephrem that in turn quotes the Egyptian father, Agathon, to the effect that ‘Laughter and parrhesia spell disaster for the monk’s soul’. Hausherr proceeds to discuss the problem of laughter as the exterior sign of inner carelessnes over the next few pages. He even refers to the Acta Abraham Kidunaiae directly, on p. 103. But he cites many other writers, including St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, and the Coptic writer, Ibn Saba, to similar effect. 46 HdAQ 9.15.1 & 4. 47 HdAQ 9.16. 45

III: PROMINENT VOCABULARY AND IMAGERY

125

participation in that heavenly wealth. In so doing, he makes a theological argument for trust in the saint’s intercession, although without always making his case felicitously. He also focuses explicitly on Abraham’s sexual renunciation. Abraham’s brightness, glory, and intimacy before God consist chiefly in this particular virtue. Such a notion is not necessarily foreign to Ephrem’s thinking, for he was certainly alive to the theological implications of sexual renunciation, especially the greater intimacy with God that one might expect as a result. Pseudo-Ephrem has, so to speak, intensified the color of this particular pigment, and used it more prominently to paint his icon of Abraham. Finally, pseudo-Ephrem also directs attention to Abraham’s teaching style. Instead of focusing on the doctrinal content of that teaching as Ephrem had, pseudo-Ephrem prefers to limit his portrait to a vague sense of Abraham’s attitude toward doctrinal controversy. Perhaps this is deliberate. If the author was indeed writing during the early to mid fifth century, he may not have wished to show his colors, or perhaps he thought doctrinal specificity was undesirable in principle. The christological disputes made this a troubled time, and one in which it might be more pastorally appropriate to set out an evangelical method or spirit with which to approach doctrinal questions. Perhaps pseudoEphrem wanted Abraham’s attitude to appeal to all sides of the controversy. It is rather striking that the author does not try to claim Abraham for one side or the other, and shows only an old form of Trinitarian confession. In any case, the passages in which he articulates his evangelical vision of pure simplicity are among the most rhetorically sophisticated in the cycle, as we will discuss in ‘The Canons Re-Codified: Rhetorical Devices and Polarity in the Pseudo-Ephremian Portion’ on pp. 168–171 below. At very least, this suggests the special importance pseudo-Ephrem gave to this theme in particular. Our overview has highlighted the prominent vocabulary and favorite turns of phrase that seem both prevalent and carry the main burden of praise and argument in the poems. One is forced to conclude that the two parts of the cycle differ quite significantly in word choice and thematic emphasis. Whereas the first reflects two dominant themes: virtuous exercise of free will as an adornment on the last day and the exchange of glory and freedom between

126

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

God and man couched in mercantile terms, the second reflects instead a preference for specific virtues, such as sexual continence and prudence, and the same mercantile metaphors used throughout the first half as the infrastructure of the poet’s thought apply in the second half of the cycle not to God and man as much as to the transaction between the saint and his admirer.

CHAPTER IV: CANONS OF VERBAL ICONOGRAPHY: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE The preceding chapters have already begun to delineate the carefully chosen and artfully employed vocabulary of Ephrem and pseudo-Ephrem, as the fundamental medium with which they composed their praise of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ. Common hues, complementary images, and striking contrasts have come to light thereby. But of course a great deal about these poems remains unexplored, and based only on the materials and imagery, traditional or innovative, one can hardly get more than an amorphous sense of the poets’ work. Of greater importance is how they actually configured and treated the images and language of the early Syriac tradition, and to what end. Thus, the next logical step is to survey the most important artistic techniques and habits of style that appear in the cycle, and the way in which these literary vehicles support the themes and theology of the poems. We begin modestly. The techniques that will occupy this chapter are those identifiable on the level of the individual stanza: for instance, devices of sound, repetition, and balance, as well as the word-pairs that create stanza-level polarities. 1 Many years ago now, Albert Wifstrand gave the following brief characterization of the rhetoric and style of the then recently discovered paschal homily of Melito of Sardis: As a general rule, statistics in the main body of the text are limited to summaries and highlights of the most important information. Detailed statistics on the frequency and distribution of devices and polarities can be found in ‘Further Charts’ on p. 283. 1

127

128

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Especially there is in Melito an abundant use of the isocolon and anaphora and homoeoteleuton, often of an antithetic nature; on the other hand, the complicated period structures, which are a mark of other sorts of Greek oratory, are seldom to be found in this text. 2

Wifstrand was speaking of a composition in Greek, but it is striking how aptly this same description fits the rhetorical and stylistic profile of the poems in our cycle. 3 Indeed, although one could add to this list a predilection for many types of word-play and also for epistrophe, 4 Wifstrand’s remark could easily have been made of St. Ephrem and his imitator(s). Some controversy surrounded the relative hellenic or semitic character of Melito, but on the whole scholars concluded that Melito’s work must be understood as Greek, albeit of a particular type of Greek rhetoric, not without links, in Christian setting, to the synagogue. 5 The case of Melito suggests that Ephrem’s rhetoric and that of his imitator(s) resembles other early Christian pastoral compositions in Greek, marked by relatively simple period structure and devices of a rhythmic or emphatic nature, especially isocolon and anaphora. Ephrem’s signature is that he puts these devices and many other elements in the service of polar oppositions. In other words, the distinctiveness of Ephrem is to be found in his brilliant and intricate polarities. The pseudoEphremian portion is also replete with polarities, although a certain diminution of skill and frequency in their regard is also apparent. Other rhetorical devices like those of Melito and other later Greek writers 6 turn out to be simply one facet of the expression of 2 Wifstrand

1948, ‘The Homily of Melito’, p. 14. Botha has also drawn attention to parallels between Ephrem and other Christian homilists writing in Greek. See Botha 1991, ‘The Poetic Face of Rhetoric’, pp. 16–36. 4 This device resembles anaphora, but the repeated words occur at the end of a line rather than, as in anaphora, at the beginning. 5 Zuntz 1952, ‘Melito: Syriac?’, pp. 193–201. 6 Such devices are conventionally termed ‘asianic’. In the classical period they were associated with the sophist Gorgias of Leontini. 3

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 129 polarities. Indeed, Ephrem’s imitator shows perhaps greater ingenuity than Ephrem in his use of the Greek rhetorical devices common in other later writers such as Romanos the Melodist. At the stanza level of detail at least, Ephrem’s rhetorical strategies fit what might be called a fairly typical Christian profile: a preference for drawing typological connections and, in general, techniques that promote a certain vividness. In Ephrem’s verbal icons, one finds techniques that promote emphasis or boldness of style, or disposition of elements with an eye to classifying them theologically, much as one finds in the canons of traditional Christian iconography. The present chapter aims to give some account of these stylistic canons as they appear in Ephrem’s poems. Doing so will allow us to perceive the stylistic and theological profile of the poet, and in this way, to link the theological emphases noticed in the previous two chapters to the complexities of their persuasive expression. It will be necessary to determine (1) what rhetorical devices are present and how are they distributed in HdAQ 1–5; (2) how this distribution of devices compares to the work of pseudo-Ephrem; and (3) what types of polarity are most prominent and how are they supported by other rhetorical devices? Any theological conclusions will follow from understanding these points. For the most part, both parts of the cycle show the same preference for tropes that involve sound and wordplay. Homoeoteleuton or rhyme, paronomasia, parechesis, and polyptoton are quite frequent. The most frequently found schemes are generally those which promote parallelism, as one would expect of poems whose chief formal characteristic is parallel isosyllabic cola. Thus, anaphora, epistrophe, isocolon, 7 chiasm, and simple parallelism are especially noticeable. In the abstract at least, tropes of word-play and sound are emphatic devices that serve to draw attention to the point being made. The repetitive schemes just described also play an emphatic role, but sometimes they help mark which words the author intends to couple so as to create a polarity. In terms of syllable count at least, every stanza is a specimen of isocolon, but only those instances have been counted where parallel vocabulary and syntax are also present. 7

130

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

RHETORICAL DEVICES IN THE EPHREMIAN PORTION OF THE CYCLE

Rhetorical devices in the first five poems are quite frequent, but their distribution is uneven. The frequency ranges between twenty and fifty rhetorically significant 8 instances of devices in each of the poems. The first two poems approach nearly fifty such devices, while the third and fourth poems fall in the twenty to thirty range. The fifth poem, despite being the longest, shows fewer than forty such devices. The total number of rhetorically significant instances of such schemes and tropes is 176. Of course, many of these devices are repeated several times, and so one cannot gauge the actual variety of different types of devices from their bare quantity. Certain types are especially frequent. At the top of the list are anaphora and epistrophe within the stanza, which, taken together, appear in every one of the first five poems, and usually more than four times a poem. Also very prevalent in each poem are other devices of repetition, either of sound, such as paronomasia, or a kind of what one may fairly call polyptoton—as used here, the repetition of the same Semitic root but in multiple forms. Homoeoteleuton, or rhyme, is also frequent. Other less-favored devices appear once or twice in a poem, and perhaps even only once or twice in the entire collection. See Table 4 below for details on the most common devices. 9

Devices have been considered rhetorically significant when they mark a polarity in some way. 9 The most common devices are defined in the table just given. Other devices will be defined whenever they are first mentioned, and also in a representative list in the chart, ‘Reference List of Devices Shared between Ephremian and Pseudo-Ephremian Portions’, on p. 283 below. More complete explanations for the definitions adopted are also given in the list. Unless the name of a rhetorical device has entered common English usage, it will be treated as a foreign word and italicized. In general, I have preferred to use the Greek names of devices for the sake of consistency. 8

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 131 Table 4: Favorite Devices in the Ephremian Portion 10 Device

Definition

repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses (anaphora) or at the end (epistrophe)

anaphora, epistrophe

homoeoteleuton

polyptoton

parallelism paronomasia, parechesis

similar sounds at the ends of successive lines or half -lines the use, in close proximity, of the same semitic root but in multiple forms or patterns similarity of structure in phrases or clauses world-play involving a similarity of sound or name

Madrāšâ 1

2

3

4

5

11

13

1

4

7

9

3

6

4

1

2

5

6

3

5

5

7

2

3

1

7

0

2

5

2

All of the most frequent figures involve some kind of parallelism or repetition, whether in structure or sound. It is a mark of the Ephremian portion especially that the formal parallelism of the cola usually corresponds to a parallelism of thought or to some other parallel structuring device. Such parallelism is, of course, one of the most fundamental features of biblical poetry, and it is also prominent in Jewish and Samaritan pîyyûṭîm, which are perhaps (as Devices are counted by the number of times they mark a polarity (that is, the number of times they are rhetorically significant). This results in a slightly greater count than if they were numbered absolutely. The reason is that occasionally a single device will mark more than one polarity. 10

132

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

discussed above) the closest literary analogues to the Syriac tradition of madrāšâ composition. 11 The chart above also suggests that one can divide the cycle in terms of the frequency of rhetorical devices. The first two poems show disproportionately more anaphora and epistrophe than the last three. Thus, the first two poems, although formally identical in structure, show a different structural emphasis than the last three. This fact is consistent with the notion that poems 1 and 2 form a pair, as do poems 3 and 4, a position that will be argued below. 12 To illustrate Ephrem’s use of these rhetorical devices, it is most helpful to look at those stanzas in each of the first five poems where several such devices appear together. 13 In the first poem, for instance, one finds the following stanzas right at its center: Your prayer was a hidden chariot that flew between earth and heaven. You ascended in a hidden manner, as Elijah [êlîyâ ] once ascended openly to the gate of your Lord, the Most High [ʿellāyâ ]. 14

For by prayer [ba-ṣlôṯâ-(h)w ] a man ascends himself to the height that no man by himself attains [māṭê leh ]. For by his kindness [b-ṭaybûṯâ-(h)w ] the Living One himself descended to the death that every man tastes [tāʿem leh ]. One descended, but many he raised up. 15

Ephrem here compares Abraham to Elijah, and Abraham’s prayer to the chariot in which Elijah was taken up to heaven (2 Kings 11 See

note 66 on page 48. See Chapter VI: ‘Rhetoric of the Madrāšâ: Rhetorical Strategy, Structural Patterns, and the Theology of the Icon’ on p. 183. 13 Each stanza of each poem has been analyzed, and those were chosen for discussion which showed at least three separate devices. 14 One could also take the adjective ‘most high’ as referring to the gate. 15 HdAQ 1.10–11. 12

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 133 2.11–12). 16 He makes his metaphor more vivid by drawing attention to Elijah’s name through a parechesis. Although etymologically Elijah’s name is unrelated to the adjective ‘most high’, Ephrem capitalizes on the similarity in sound in order to draw attention to the connection between Elijah and God, characterized here as ʿellāyâ. Ephrem then employs a clear parallelism between the first and third half lines of the next stanza: ba-ṣlôṯâ-(h)w gêr sāleq naš versus bṭaybûṯâ-(h)w gêr nḥeṯ ḥayyâ. The initial phrase of each rhymes. The second and fourth half lines parallel one another, and the last word of each line also rhymes, making an epistrophe: l-rawmâ d-lâ (ʾ)naš māṭê leh versus l-mawtâ d-ḵôllnaš ṭāʿem leh. The parallel between the two lines is also enhanced by the parechesis between māṭê (reaches) and ṭāʿem (tastes). The parallel structure, rhyme, and epistrophe highlight, on the one hand, the association between earth and heaven. The parechesis, on the other hand, draws attention to the dissimilarity between God and man: no one can ascend to heaven on his own. Every man’s ascension to heaven depends on the condescension of the Son of God. In short, careful use of rhetorical devices highlights the paradoxical association of two poles, viz., heaven and earth, that cannot, of themselves, be associated. In the second poem, we read For both earlier and later the single [îḥîḏâ ] Being is one [ḥaḏ ], while both earlier and later the single [(ʾ)îḥîḏâ ] Son is one [ḥaḏ ] in himself. The Single [(ʾ)îḥîḏâ ] one begot the Single [(ʾ)îḥîḏâ ]. 17

This single stanza actually concludes a rhetorically sophisticated exegesis which Ephrem represents as the teaching of Abraham against the doctrines of Marcion. The passage will merit more detailed discussion later, but notice for the moment how strongly conduplicatio (simple repetition of words in close context) and polyptoton mark this stanza, in order to drive home the antiThe Peshitta represents Elijah as being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (ʿalʿālâ ), but the chariot seems to be Ephrem’s main interest. 17 HdAQ 2.22. 16

134

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Marcionite assertion that God is indeed one throughout all of salvation history. The lexical root for singleness or oneness, viz., ʾḥ-d, appears six times in five half-lines both repeated without variation (conduplicatio) and with variation (polyptoton). The result is a sort of urgent climax emphasizing Ephrem’s point by the sheer weight of repetition. In the third poem, we read Your treasures [sîmāṯāḵ ] are deposited [sîmān ] in you, and they are deposited [sîmān ] in the heavens. They are deposited [sîmān ] in the churches [ba-ʿḏāṯâ ]. They are deposited [sîmān ] in souls [b-naṕšāṯâ ]. Your wealth, O Saint, is both scattered and gathered. 18

This stanza, like the one just examined, concludes and summarizes a lengthy section of theological reflection. With the aid of biblical examples, Ephrem has been reflecting on the way in which Abraham’s spiritual wealth is both owned by Abraham himself and yet shared within his community after his death. In this stanza, the most prominent device is anaphora: each of the first four half-lines begins with the identical phrase: hâ sîmān (literally, ‘lo, they are deposited’). Polyptoton between sîmāṯāḵ and sîmān provides and aural and visual representation of the way in which, as from a single point, Abraham’s wealth is scattered everywhere in abundance, just as the word sîmān is sprinkled liberally throughout the stanza. The homoeoteleuton between ba-ʿḏāṯâ and b-naṕšāṯâ merely reinforces the parallelism already established by the other devices. In the fourth poem, Ephrem writes: The whole object of your prayer was forgiveness [d-šûḇqānâ-(h)y ] for anyone who had offended you. The whole object of your prayer was retribution [d-ṯaḇʿāṯâ-(h)y ] for the Evil One who would injure you. You became both forgiver and punisher [šāḇôqâ w-ṯāḇôʿâ ]. 19

In this stanza, Ephrem describes Abraham’s attitude in prayer as a balance between his warfare with the Evil One and his pastoral 18 HdAQ 19 HdAQ

3.18. 4.7.

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 135 solicitude for his fellow Christians. Abraham’s virtue in this regard is one among a list of virtuous practices that Ephrem praises in this section of the poem. Ephrem balances the first two full lines with a strict parallelism: the first half-line ṣlôṯāḵ kollāh d-šûḇqānâ-(h)y parallels the third half-line ṣlôṯāḵ kollāh ṯaḇʿāṯâ-(h)y, and the second half-line lwaṯ barnašâ d-âskel bāḵ parallels the fourth half-line lwaṯ bîšâ d-maskel bāḵ. One could consider the fifth half-line an instance of polyptoton or epanalepsis (the repetition, after intervening material, of the same word or phrase), since he repeats the roots for retribution and forgiveness. The last half-line employs this device to summarize the stanza’s point in a memorable way. In the fifth poem, Ephrem writes: By means of relaxation [nyāḥê ] for the space of a moment, he obtained woes [wāyê ] that are eternal. By means of troubles for a time [ṭûrāṕâ d-zaḇnâ ], the elder purchased [zḇan ] eternal life [ḥayyê ]. By means of nothing [lâ meddem ] he obtained everything [kollmeddem ]. 20

In this stanza Ephrem reflects on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16.22ff). His purpose is to contrast the way in which the rich man used the things of this life to no avail, whereas Lazarus used them profitably. The beginnings of each of the full lines show a simple anaphora with the preposition b-: b-nyāḥê … bṭûrāṕâ … b-lâ meddem. The anaphora lends the whole stanza a certain rhythmic insistence. It drives home the paradoxical reversal of connotations (ordinarily comforts are desirable and discomforts undesirable). Ephrem sharpens his reversal and contrast between the rich man and Lazarus by rhyming the two emphatic words (wāyê, ‘woes’, and ḥayyê, ‘life’) around which the contrast revolves. The rhyme (homoeoteleuton) appears calculated, since the word life is usually grammatically plural, but both wāyê and nyāḥê need not be. Ephrem uses the plurals deliberately to achieve his rhyme. Since sorrows (wāyê ) and life (ḥayyê ) are the two opposed poles, Ephrem uses a paronomasia to emphasize the hinge between them. In-between the half-lines in which each of these two terms 20 HdAQ

5.5.

136

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

occurs, exactly in the middle, with two intervening words on either side, Ephrem puns on ṭûrāṕâ d-zaḇnâ and zḇan. His choice of words highlights the concept of a mercantile exchange as the decisive point, the fulcrum of the ascetic life. Thus both visually and aurally, mercantile exchange appears as the fulcrum between eternal sorrows and eternal life. Ephrem then concludes his stanza with a kind of epanalepsis that is also an hyperbole. ‘by means of nothing [lâ meddem ], [Lazarus] obtained everything [kollmeddem ]’. This example from the fifth poem is one of the more elaborate, but as one can observe in several of the other preceding examples, some of the stanzas richest in Greek rhetorical devices are not in fact especially intricate. The overwhelming tendency is to favor some kind of parallelism or repetition, but some of the instances of this device can only be identified in the most generic way as a simple parallelism, a basic doubling (conduplicatio) or simple repetition (epanalepsis). This stylistic tendency suggests an author who is not especially schooled in the use of the traditional devices of Greek rhetoric. In all likelihood, their use as such is not deliberate. Instead, they should probably be taken as expressions of the basic tendency to parallelism that marks Ephrem’s poetry and its Semitic antecedents. Moreover, the stanzas which show the greatest density of rhetorical devices are not always theologically the most significant or structurally important to the whole poem. This suggests a rather haphazard use of the devices to support rhetorical strategy. On the other hand, a couple of the stanzas in which such devices are prominent (2.22 and 3.18) summarize previously developing points. Stanza 5.5 concludes Ephrem’s exegesis of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and transitions to his theological reflection on it. The devices observed in these stanzas thus bear some of the burden of emphasizing and summarizing Ephrem’s conclusions. Otherwise, no special pattern noticeable in itself appears in the use of such devices. Analysis of the use to which Ephrem puts these devices must await a discussion of the polarities in the cycle, but one can summarize the findings about rhetorical devices under a few simple points: • Ephrem’s poems prefer rhetorical devices that emphasize parallelism. Thus his rhetorical devices are simply an

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 137

• •

expression of the larger tendency toward parallelism that routinely expresses itself in his polarities. These devices generally seem to promote emphasis, either by marking a contrast or a similarity. The pattern of use is ad hoc, consistent with a poet who has little or no formal training in Greco-Roman rhetoric, exactly as one would expect of Ephrem.

THE CONCEPT OF A STANZA-LEVEL POLARITY & OTHER PRELIMINARIES

The importance of polarities in the stanzas is obvious in the first place from their sheer quantity and ubiquity. Nearly every stanza shows at least one identifiable polarity, and taken as a whole, the cycle shows 660 individual instances of polarities (351 in the Ephremian portion and 309 in the Pseudo-Ephremian portion). By contrast, only 178 instances of other rhetorical devices occur in the Ephremian portion of the cycle and only 225 in the PseudoEphremian portion. 21 Normally each polarity can be identified with an actual pair of words or phrases in a stanza. For instance, one of the most frequently repeated polarities opposes ‘death’ (mawtâ ) and ‘life’ (ḥayyê. ) Sometimes, though less frequently, an implied subject of a verb may serve as a pole. In any given stanza, one might find anywhere from one to five such pairs, and in a few stanzas, there are none. However they fall, there are three key aspects to the way polarities appear in the cycle as a whole. In the first place, polarities are not restricted merely to the level of the stanza. Indeed, on the stanza level they usually serve as an expression of some larger thematic balance between two poles. Thus, it is possible to distinguish between the individual pair of words or concepts and the larger thematic polarity which the poet develops by accumulating individual polarities. Whereas stanzalevel polarities are a sort of poetic device, thematic polarities tend to express a rhetorical strategy that usually associates or dissociates. These figures can only be, at best, approximate, insofar as the count will vary depending on how polarities and other devices are construed. 21

138

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Botha refers to the two types of polarity as ‘minor’ (or ‘subsidiary’) and ‘fundamental’ polarities, respectively. 22 For instance, throughout the first part of the fifth poem in the cycle, Ephrem employs polarities to contrast honor and shame. Honor versus shame could therefore be considered the major thematic polarity. Yet he expresses it with several different word-pairs: for instance in stanza six he creates a polarity between shame (Syr. ḥesdâ ) and ‘name’ (Syr. šmâ ) in the sense of good reputation: ‘For by that through which fools obtain eternal shame / [Abraham] obtained an eternal name’. The same contrast, however, appears throughout the first part of the poem leading up to stanza 6 using polarities between the rich man of the parable and Lazarus, between eternal ‘rest’ (nyāḥê ) and eternal ‘woes’ (wāyê ) and between Abraham and ‘fools’ (saḵlê ). The biblical Lazarus and the rich man exemplify the contrast. The former obtained eternal rest for his dishonor in this life. The latter obtained reproach and eternal woes. The contrast continues as Ephrem juxtaposes moral ugliness (Syr. sānyâ ) and moral adornment (Syr. meṣṭabbaṯ ) in stanza eleven of the same poem. Ephrem also supports the major polarity of honor versus shame with other polarities drawn from the world of commerce, such as profit (yûṯrānâ ) and losses (tûkkê ). 23 Thus in this chapter, which serves to introduce the rhetorical use of polarities, it will be necessary first to identify the major thematic polarities that appear in the cycle in order to focus on the stanza-level, minor instances of such polarities and how they interact with the other rhetorical devices identified. Second, it is important to realize that even though all polarities by definition involve some kind of opposing balance, not all polarities are absolute contrasts like honor and shame. One can also find the polarity between the saint and his community, expressed, for instance, in the third madrāšâ via a stanza-level polarity between ‘master’ (rabbâ ) and ‘disciple’ (talmîḏâ ), whose Botha 1999, ‘Honour and Shame’, pp. 55–57. I prefer to use the language of ‘major’ and ‘minor’ as the most concise expression of the two types of polarity. See ‘Study of Literary Vehicles for Apologetics and Teaching’, pp. 54–65. 23 HdAQ 5.8. 22

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 139 biblical example is the relationship between Moses and Joshua (HdAQ 3.9). Although Abraham clearly surpasses his contemporaries in virtue, because his spiritual wealth is shared, the poet resolves the opposition in a particular way. Associative polarities like this one typically find some kind of resolution, whereas dissociative polarities tend to be absolute disjunctions, like the great chasm fixed between Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham and the rich man in Gehenna. Finally, although the concept is simple, in certain cases a polarity is difficult to identify. Normally the difficulty arises because one finds obviously significant words and phrases that the author intends to highlight, but whose polar structure could be read in different ways. These ambiguous polarities can sometimes be resolved by careful attention to the sense or the structure of the stanza. In such cases, it may be that a rhetorical device, such as a chiasm, can help focus the attention in a certain way and make it reasonably clear what polarity the author intends. 24

POLARITIES AND THEMES IN THE CYCLE AS A WHOLE

Several minor polarities are repeated verbatim, or else there are several similar polarities which more or less clearly express the same notion or theme. Alphabetic labels have been applied to these categories for convenience’ sake. Some of the most prominent 24 The

persistence of some ambiguous examples should remind us to keep an humble and open mind about the artistic tools the poets use. Often their skill cannot be neatly defined and ‘boxed’—and that is part of its charm. Analysis in terms of polarities is ultimately justified not a priori but a posteriori. In other words, we should not come to these poems with a preconceived notion of polarities and then try to make the text fit. Rather, we should accept as correct the polarities we discover because they have real explanatory value. The soundness of one’s analysis can be gauged by how much light it sheds on the poem’s meaning and depth. For these reasons, a generous approach to devices and polarities has governed the analysis. Anything that might fairly resemble a polarity is accepted, initially at least, as potentially illuminating and an example of poetic skill. After analysis, it usually becomes clear which aspects of style have the best claim to our attention.

140

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

thematic groups of polarities are the following: (1) opposition of moral qualities (category A), (2) opposition in spatial or temporal terms (category C 25), (3) the opposition between an image and its archetype (category D), (4) reversals (category E), and (5) inward/outward polarities (category H). 26 Many polarities seem to Category B was assigned to generic opposition. Because it makes no identifiable contribution to the analysis, consideration of this category has been left out of account. 26 In fact, fifteen other categories were discerned, and the assignation of letters simply followed the order of discovery: (F) opposition of social/ontological status, (G) opposition of potency to act or passive to active, (I) quantitative opposition (including part to whole), (J) opposition between members of the communion of saints, (K) virtues and virtuous activities set in opposing balance, (L) opposition between death and life, (M) correlative terms of finance and mercantile activity, (N) opposition between word and silence, (O) opposition between action and speech, (P) opposition between God and his creation, (R) appearance versus reality, (S) correlative agricultural terms, (T) rich versus poor, and (Q) various unspecified relationships. Obviously, some of these categories could be combined with one another, but the purpose of distinguishing them is to help single out noteworthy groups of themes that make it easier to compare and contrast the different parts of the cycle. More thorough statistics can be found in Table 11 ‘Polarities Sorted According to Theme’ in ‘Further Charts’ on p. 162. Such a preference for distinction presents no methodological difficulty because, in general, the top five mostattested categories identified would not lose that status even if some of the less-well represented categories were combined with other categories. For the Ephremian portion, however, adding category P (opposition between God and creation) to category F (opposition of status, which includes the common honor-shame polarity) would adjust the picture slightly by ranking it above category D (image / archetype relationship). Yet even in this case, it remains helpful to keep the categories distinct, for two reasons. In the first place, the relationship between the creator and the creature is a problem distinct from social status, and neither Ephrem nor any of his imitators is engaged in extensive anti-Arian argumentation in these poems, which might otherwise bring these two categories together. In the second place, although one might be surprised at the less frequent attestation of the honor-shame polarity that Botha emphasized, it 25

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 141 have no special theme other than opposition between the two terms due simply to the natural qualities of the things involved: for instance, darkness (ḥeššôḵâ ) versus brightness (zahrâ ). 27 Polarities in these major groups usually depend simply on the natural qualities of the two things being set in opposing balance, like the example just mentioned. Sometimes, however, the balance of the polarity could not be perceived except with reference to a previously known context, normally scripture, or some aspect of the saint’s story that the poet has already mentioned. Thus, one might find a polarity between the rich man and Lazarus, which is immediately intelligible, but only because the characters are known from the biblical parable. When it is necessary to refer to such polarities as a distinct type, it seems best to call them ‘referential’, 28 because of the way they depend on reference to some previously understood context. In a similar way, certain polarities are explicitly symbolic because of the way they relate two scriptural persons or episodes as type and antitype. A classic Ephremian example of this type of polarity occurs between the ‘People’ and the ‘Peoples’. Such polarities, if they must be identified, will be called ‘symbolic’.

is not too surprising that this polarity should be an implicit theme running through the poems, and nevertheless fail to receive as much explicit attention as other themes. I make a point of this because it seems likely that Botha (1997, ‘Textual Strategy’, pp. 42–52) has misidentified the apologetic tone of the earlier portion of the cycle. Ephrem is not trying chiefly to argue that Abraham and his chosen way of life were honorable. Such a position was implicitly accepted by Ephrem and his audience and imitators. What is more of interest to everyone involved is the inner attitude characterizing genuinely profitable asceticism. 27 HdAQ 6.4. 28 See Diagram 2 ‘Schematic of Polarities’ on p. 58.

142

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Table 5: Common Thematic Groups of Polarities

Thematic Category A: moral qualities

Number of Instances in the Whole Cycle 91

C: spatial/temporal

72

D: image/archetype

51

E: reversals

42

H: inward/outward polarities

32

Illustration the lazy [baṭṭîlê ] versus Abraham’s dilligence [kûššārâ ] (inter alia, HdAQ 1.3) above [l-ʿel ] and below [l-ṯaḥt ] (often with reference to heaven versus earth. See HdAQ 2.21-22) Enoch, the biblical archetype of married virtue, and Abraham, who is patterned after Enoch (see HdAQ 11.2) old age [saybûṯâ ] is rejuvenated [êṯʿallmaṯ ] (inter alia, HdAQ 4.20) hidden [kasyâ ] versus apparent [galyâ ] (e.g., HdAQ 13.21)

Certain themes dominate one or the other, or both, parts of the cycle. Thus, for instance, if one leaves otherwise unclassified, generic opposition out of account, the most prominent themes in the Ephremian portion of the cycle are the opposition of moral qualities, spatial/temporal opposition, and image/archetype opposition. The pseudo-Ephremian acrostic gives even greater prominence to the opposition of moral qualities, and adds a number of polar reversals and inner/outer polarities. In both cases, approximately half of the poems’ polarities are dedicated to one of the five major themes identified above (if generic polarities are included as well).

STANZA POLARITIES IN THE EPHREMIAN PORTION

Typically, any given stanza shows at least three distinct polarities, whether between a pair of words, a pair of phrases, or a pair of characters. Thus, in the first poem alone sixty polarities appear. The fifth poem exhibits the greatest number out of the group: viz., eighty-nine polarities. Table 6 below summarizes the polarities and their density in the Ephremian poems, expressed as a decimal.

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 143 Table 6: Number of Polarities in the Ephremian Portion 29 Poem

1

2

3

4

5

Total

number of polarities

60

67

54

81

89

351

polarities per half-line

.571

.508

540

.600

.556

.557

As one can observe, the density of polarities in Ephrem’s portion of the cycle is quite high, and does not vary too significantly from poem to poem. Put differently, Ephrem consistently employs about the same number of polarities throughout his poems. Three major thematic groups dominate Ephrem’s polarities: (1) opposition of moral qualities, (2) opposition in space and time, and (3) opposition between an image and its archetype. Taken together with nonspecific polarities based on a generic opposition, these three thematic groups constitute about half of all the polarities that Ephrem uses. Their importance is confirmed by the fact that the first two of them are also the types of polarities most likely to be supported by the rhetorical devices identified earlier (space/time opposition, in particular, tends to appear with anaphora or epistrophe in support). (a) Polar Opposition of Moral Qualities Of these three major groups, the opposition of moral qualities is especially frequent in the fifth poem, where Ephrem presents moral opposition between good and evil as literally a matter of life and death. Many of his moral polarities appear together with In each of these two charts, the polarities per half-line are expressed as a decimal. Thus, a measure of .5 or greater means that, in general, every full line of the poem contains a polarity. A measure substantially greater than .5 would be both theoretically unlikely and artistically overwrought. Because the two portions of the cycle, the Ephremian and the pseudo-Ephremian, use a different isosyllabic structure, and the individual madrāšê of the pseudo-Ephremian portion are often just a little shorter in overall line-length, to a certain extent the less intricate structure of the pseudo-Ephremian stanzas comes from the more constrained metrical form chosen. 29

144

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

life/death polarities intended to explain them. For example, one reads Speech [maml(l)â ] is the cargo carried by every mouth [pûmîn ]. One man trades in it to his loss [tûkkê ]. Another trades in it to his gain [ʿûṯrâ ]. By means of it the mouth [pûm ] of the good transacts profit which is certain and easy.

By words the People [ʿammâ ] blasphemed [kṕar ] and perished [êḇaḏ ]. By words the Peoples [ʿammê ] lived [ḥyaw ] because they attested to God’s truth [d-âwdîw ]. By words Korah [qôraḥ ] and Dathan [dāṯan ] died [mîṯ ]. 30 Because of his word the Serpent [ḥewyâ ] was cursed [lîṭ ]. Because of his own word the thief [gayyāsâ ] is alive [ḥayyâ ]. I am showing you with a single word [ba-ḥḏâ mellâ ] that everything [koll meddem ] which for the sinner [ḥaṭṭāyâ ] begets loss and ruin [tûkkâ w-ḥûsrānâ ], becomes a cargo for the good man [ṭāḇâ ] by means of which he might transact profit [yûṯrānâ ]. 31

Ephrem loves to focus on the senses and the faculties as the hinges of the moral life, the turning points on which success or failure In Syr., the singular verb appears, in agreement with the nearest subject. 31 HdAQ 5.8–10. Given the complexity of this passage, the following list of polarities in English may prove useful: mouths one mouth losses profits denied confessed people peoples perished lived Korah/Dathan/serpent the Good Thief died/cursed lived one word everything for the sinners for the good loss and ruin profit 30

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 145 depend. In this case, his focal point is speech, and he adduces several biblical examples to contrast the right use of speech with the wrong use of it. The general strategy of the polarities he uses for the purpose is contrastive. Thus, the first polarity occurs between loss and profit: tûkkê (plural) versus ʿûṯrâ (singular), a basic contrast, which Ephrem heightens with a second polarity: contrasting every mouth (koll pûmîn, plural) with the mouth of the good (pûm ṭāḇê, singular). Ephrem continues with this plural versus singular polarity in the next stanza to suggest that many use speech ruinously, while perhaps only a few manage to profit from it. The stakes, however, are high, as Ephrem points out by using one of his favorite scriptural contrastive polarities: the (Jewish) people versus the (Gentile) peoples, 32 a contrast that he represents in terms of death and life. Ephrem even places the polarity êḇaḏ versus ḥyaw at the center of a chiasm (kṕâr—êḇaḏ-ḥyaw—âwdîw) that brings closer together the two poles in order to heighten the contrast between them. Ephrem then expands the contrast by bringing up three negative poles (Korah, Dathan, and the serpent in the garden 33) to balance against one positive pole (the good thief). His purpose seems once again to point out that many perish by their words, while only a few profit by them. Thus, he supplies three examples of vice and only one of virtue. Accompanying this polarity is another between died/cursed (mîṯ/lîṭ) and alive (ḥayyâ ). Paronomasia between ‘serpent’ (ḥewyâ ) and ‘alive’ (ḥayyâ ) coupled with insistent anaphora on ‘words’ (the phrase b-mellê is repeated thrice) rounds out the emphasis in the stanza. Ephrem summarizes his point in the next stanza with a series of three polarities: the first a quantitative contrast between ‘a single word’ (ḥḏâ mellâ ) and ‘everything’ (koll meddem), the second a contrast between the sinner (ḥaṭṭāyâ ) and the good man (ṭāḇâ ), and the third a contrast between loss and ruin (tûkkâ w-ḥûsrānâ ) and profit (yûṯrānâ ). This last polarity concludes with homoeoteleuton. The contrast is a traditional one in early Syriac Christianity. See Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 41–68. 33 Num 16.2–3 and Gen 3.14–15, respectively. 32

146

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

This group of three stanzas not only showcases the rhetorical complexity of which Ephrem is capable when he wishes to emphasize a point, it also demonstrates a densely interwoven texture of polarities. The architectonic pairs are clearly the contrastive moral polarities between the biblical characters, but he brings in death/life polarities, and polarities drawn from the world of commerce to illustrate and interpret the basic moral contrast. (b) Polar Opposition in Space or Time The second major type of polarity, opposition in space and time, is most prominent in the second poem, whose purpose is to emphasize the completeness and orthodoxy of Abraham’s belief and his trustworthiness as a source of spiritual profit. Here the balance is not contrastive, but denotes instead completeness or integrity. The contrast Ephrem does develop is that between Abraham and contemporary false ascetics whose views of salvation history are dualist. The doctrinal terms of the discussion are clearly indebted to anti-Marcionite polemic, but the most likely contemporary dualists are Manichees, whose doctrines Ephrem saw as a ghastly resurrection of Marcion’s errors. 34 As with the previous example, the most developed form of this type of polarity takes the form of an extended biblical exegesis: 35 On the contrary, your mouth [pûmāḵ ] sang psalms to your Lord [mārāḵ ],

Griffith 2002, ‘Struggle for Allegiance’, p. 11. Indeed, Drijvers’ research has confirmed Ephrem’s point of view. He remarks that ‘if we look at Marcion’s Christology from this viewpoint [of warrior and merchant] its closeness to Manichaean concepts is obvious. Warrior and merchant are very common symbols in Manichaean literature to denote a divine messenger sent to the world to liberate divine souls. The apostles are compared to merchants buysing souls that were saved and returned to the world of light’. See Drijvers nd, ‘Christ as Warrior and Merchant’, p. 85. 35 The analysis of this passage was given as part of a brief paper by the author in an earlier form at the 2008 Dorushe graduate student conference at Notre Dame. 34

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 147 the same who had in the revelation on mount Sinai [sînay ] stood calling [qāʿê ] to the people: ‘I am and there is no other’. And his creatures [beryāṯeh ] confirmed it in his own realm [âṯreh ]. 36

The mountain [ṭûrâ ] bore witness [sheḏ ] by flaming with fire. The sea [yammâ ] bore witness [sheḏ ] by dividing in two. The battle with Amalek bore witness [sheḏ ]: Moses lifted up [ârîm ] his hands and lowered [âḥḥeṯ ] them. He bore witness [sheḏ ] that you are above and below [l-ʿel wa-l-ṯaḥt ]. The Most Merciful [mlê raḥmê ] sent his son [breh ] to come and save the peoples [ʿammê ], just has he saved the People [ʿammâ ] from Egypt. Creation bore witness [sehdaṯ ]to the son of its Lord [bar mārāh ], just as beforehand it bore witness to its Lord [mārāh ].

The sea [yammâ ] which grew calm bore witness [sheḏ ]. The tombs [qaḇrê ] which were split open bore witness [sheḏ(w) ], along with the heavens [šmayyâ ] that were rent. Earlier [l-ʿel ] in scripture and later [wa-l-ṯaḥt ] in scripture, the sun grew dark. It bears witness [sheḏ ] that both earlier and later [l-ʿel wa-l-ṯaḥt ] you existed. For both earlier and later [âṕ l-ʿel gêr wa-l-ṯāḥt ] the single Being [ʾîṯyâ îḥîḏâ ] is one, while both earlier and later [âṕ l-ʿel tûḇ wa-l-ṯāḥt ] the single Son [brâ (ʾ)îḥîḏâ ] is one in himself. The Single one [(ʾ)îḥîḏâ ] begot the Single [(ʾ)îḥîḏâ ]. 37

In the first two stanzas quoted, Ephrem’s biblical allusions are numerous and complex. He quotes Is 54.18, ‘I am, and there is no other’ (with a parallel, perhaps, to Ex 3.14) and then describes the I follow Beck’s suggested emendation of the text from b-trh to bʾtrh and vocalize it as b-âṯreh. With this phrase, Ephrem contests the Marcionite opinion that the lower realm of the earth was not the domain (âṯrâ ) of the God of heaven. 37 HdAQ 2.18–22. 36

148

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

various marvels of the Exodus that confirm the statement of divine sovereignty: the fire on Sinai (Ex 18.19; 24.17), the division of the Red Sea (Ex 14.21), and the victory over Amalek (Ex 17.8–16). Then he adduces New Testament miracles which he considers parallel: the calming of the sea (Mt 8.24–27 and parall.), the opening of the tombs (Mt 27.52–53), the rending of the heavens at Jesus’ baptism (Mk 1.10). 38 Ephrem concludes with a double allusion to the darkening of the Sun at the crucifixion (Mt 27.45) and the darkening of the heavens that occurs in the ninth plague on Egypt (Ex 10.21ff). His allusion to the ninth plague calls for some explanation. Key to the connection is the word for ‘raising’. In Ex 10.21, the story of the ninth plague, God told Moses to lift up (ârîm) his hands against the heavens so that they will become darkened. Thus, Ephrem finds a connection between the ninth plague both to the crucifixion scene (Lk 23.45), 39 with Christ’s uplifted hands and with its darkening of the ‘heavens’, and also to the Amalek story in Ex 17 with the raising up of Moses’ hands. What he means is that the Lukan story of darkness parallels one OT miracle (the plague of darkness), which itself parallels another OT miracle (the Amalek narrative) that similarly involved Moses’ uplifted hand. The uplifted hands of Christ on the cross doubtless help to suggest the connection. His allusion to the OT at the end of this NT sequence of miracles he just mentioned (the calming the sea, etc.) creates an inclusio. The Amalek story, with its raising and lowering of Moses’ hands, is the key to understanding the full parallelism that Ephrem is trying to exploit in order to bring several mighty deeds of salvation history together to testify to the single divine being (ʾîṯyâ ) operating throughout the whole. In order to understand the logic, one must consider why Ephrem has focused upon the textual detail of the raising and lowering, the detail that renders the story of where the Peshitta text, like the Greek, uses a word for ‘splitting’ or ‘rending’: ḥzā d-êstaddeq(w) šmayyâ. 39 Lk 23.45 has šemšâ ḥšeḵ (in both the Old Syriac and Peshitta versions; only the late Harklean differs), while the other synoptics do not mention the sun directly, but speak of darkness over the whole land. 38

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 149 Amalek parallel to other deeds of salvation history (the events of the Exodus and the crucifixion narrative of Luke). The answer depends on the meaning of the Syriac phrase l-ʿel wa-l-ṯaḥt. Depending on context, it may refer to spatial position ‘above and below’ or to location in a text ‘earlier and later’. The difference, of course, is in the English words chosen for the phrase, not in the phrase itself. Payne-Smith points to an example in Cyril’s commentary on Luke, where the phrase is used to mean ‘everywhere’ (ubique)—in other words, the expression is a merism, 40 and Ephrem uses it in precisely that sense. Yet it is also necessary to feel the spatial and temporal breadth of the merism, which the translation ‘everywhere’, would not convey. Ephrem has exploited both of these senses: above and below, earlier and later. Taken in the first sense of ‘above and below’, the phrase straightforwardly refers to the image of Moses raising and lowering his hands. In the typological picture Ephrem draws, most of the NT miracles Ephrem quotes as witnesses alongside the OT marvels of Exodus do not, at first glance, clearly resemble their supposed OT counterparts. For example, in Exodus the sea divided, whereas in the Gospel it grew calm. Again, the rent-open tombs described in the Gospel lack an obvious correlate in the Exodus texts that Ephrem advances. Yet, if one considers that in each case some miracles were ‘above’ in the heavens and the others are positioned ‘below’ on earth then the parallel falls into place. In the Exodus theophany, fire is ‘above’ on the mount; the sea is ‘below’. 41 The battle with Amalek occurs with Moses ‘above’ on the mount and Joshua ‘below’ on the plain. Likewise in the Gospels, the calming of the sea occurs below, while the splitting of the heavens occurs 40 Payne

Smith, R. (ed.) 1981, Thesaurus Syriacus, p. 2888b. Indeed, insofar as it involves passage through the sea, the type suggests descent into the earth below, and going down into the tomb: there are passages in the prophets, such as Jon 2.1–9 for this idea. Daniélou elucidates this theme as well: Daniélou 1956, Bible and the Liturgy, pp. 75–77. The waters of the baptismal font are represented as a sort of tomb. Thus, given the context, the division of the Red Sea, a traditional baptismal type, may be intentionally linked to the splitting of the tombs, although Ephrem uses two different words in each case: plāḡâ and srâ. 41

150

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

above. The darkening of the heavens, one might suppose, is also considered ‘above’ (more on that in a moment). Finally, the rending of the tombs occurs below. Ephrem clearly suggests that the single ʾîṯyâ of God exercises power throughout creation, in heaven above and on earth below, a kind of typological merism. Yet the temporal sense, ‘before and after’ immediately appears because it is difficult to read the very next Syriac phrase: l-ʿel wa-lṯaḥt ḥšeḵ šemšâ, in a spatial sense as ‘above and below the sun grew dark’—the sun is only ‘above’ 42 in heaven, not below on earth. Beck’s translation oben und unten carries roughly the same range of senses as the Syriac l-ʿel wa-l-ṯaḥt. Yet he puzzles over the final lines of the stanza under discussion. He asks, ‘Ist das die ‘Finsternis über das ganze Lande’ von Matthäus 28.14 u[nd] Par[alellen]’? The answer to Beck’s question is ‘yes’—but it is also the darkness over all the land (ḥeškâ ʿal ârʿâ ) of the ninth plague against Egypt. Ephrem thus makes another OT allusion, an allusion to a place earlier in the canon. Ephrem’s reference is deliberate: the ninth plague is another biblical example of ‘darkening’, and it occurs in the context of the Exodus narrative, which is so significant for Ephrem’s entire explanation. More than simple verbal links and echoes Ephrem has exploited the different nuances of the Syriac phrase ‘before and after’. He seeks to show that God and his Son share identical power in both phases of salvation history. Thus, the Amalek story witnesses to this theology in three ways, in a triple parallel: the physical sense of raising and lowering (for God’s spatial omnipresence), the verbal linkage between scripture texts (for his omnipresence in scripture), and an explicit reference to the theme of the People and the Peoples (for the concept of two phases in salvation history). The various polarities that dominate this exegesis are, in accord with the explanation just proposed, spatio-temporal A grammatically possible alternative is to say that the sense of the line crosses the caesura and read the passage as ‘And the heavens that were split above / and the sun grew dark beneath [them]’, but this seems forced, because it is still unclear why Ephrem should characterize the sun as ‘below’, and besides this interpretation does not respect the poetic structure of the lines. Therefore, I have dismissed it. 42

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 151 polarities that contribute to the three merisms just described. These merisms convey the complete truthfulness of Abraham’s doctrine by showing how it incorporates all the scriptural evidence and successfully provides a holistic view of creation and of salvation history. Both the spatial (heavenly/earthly) and temporal (Old Testament/New Testament) polarities are important for the refutation of Marcionite ideas because Marcion not only rejected the Old Testament, he also viewed the realm of the evil Old Testament creator god as the earth, whereas the new and strange divinity whom Jesus announces is the heavenly father. 43 Thus, the main polarity is the pair l-ʿel wa-l-ṯaḥt, repeated throughout the passage in both a spatial and a temporal sense. Other polarities reinforce one or the other senses of this repeated theme. Thus the polarity between the Lord of creation and creation: mārāḵ/mārāh versus beryāṯeh, between Sinai (which, as a place of theophany represents God’s supernal dwelling place) and the realm (âṯrâ ) of creatures below, and between sea/tombs (yammâ/qaḇrê ) and the heavens (šmayyâ ), all reinforce the spatial theme of the polarity. Polarities between the mouth of Abraham (pûmāḵ ) and the voice of God calling (qāʿê ), between the people and the peoples, and between the Lord of creation (mārāh) and the Son of the Lord of This division into two realms and two times is the basis of Ephrem’s parody of Marcionite doctrines in HdAQ 2.11–17. Because Marcion’s stranger god entered the realm of the evil creator god surreptitiously and stole the creator’s creatures, Ephrem accuses Marcion’s stranger of being a deceiver (nkîlâ ) and a rebel (šāḡôšâ ), a sharp rebuke to Marcion’s contention that the stranger god is just and fair. Drijvers notes that ‘the liberation of the souls from the created material world was in Marcion’s view the nucleus of the Gospel. Freeing souls is at the same time a mighty deed of God and performed in humility. It demands both an enormous will power and the utmost humility. That is inherent in the soul that belongs to the divine sphere and to the created world. Therefore Marcion pictures Jesus analogous with the soul. He is a mighty warrior, who came to overcome the world and its Maker, and a humble merchant who tried to agree a pact with the guardians of the human souls, which tried to keep them within the limits of the laws of this world’. See Drijvers nd, ‘Christ as Warrior and Merchant’, pp. 83–84. 43

152

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

creation (bar mārāh, stanza 19) reinforce the temporal theme of the polarity as a merism of the Old and New Testaments or between sacred scripture and church, which is the point of the connection between God’s voice and Abraham’s mouth. Insistent anaphora marks this whole passage, probably because the scriptural argument is cumulative, and the anaphora on the word ‘bears witness’ (sheḏ ) represents this accumulation in a visual and aural way. (c) Polar Opposition between an Image and its Archetype Our final illustration of a major thematic polarity in the Ephremian poems comes from the third poem, which shows several instances of polar opposition between an image and its archetype. The reason for this is that the third poem stresses the way in which Abraham’s spiritual wealth (described in the preceding two poems) is shared between the saint and his community. Not surprisingly, polarities that focus on different members of the communion of saints and on part/whole relationships play important supporting roles in this poem’s articulation of the image/archetype polarities. Ephrem uses the story of Jacob’s care of his father-in-law’s flock (Gen 30.31ff) as a scriptural proof that spiritual adornments and wealth can be shared without diminishing. Laban defrauded Jacob of his wages by removing the lambs and goats from his flock which were spotted. These had been the agreed-upon reimbursement for the Jacob’s pastoral service. In response, Jacob set up striped sticks in front of the flock as they were mating, in order that the progeny should be spotted (how this influence of the sticks upon the flock was thought to work is quite obscure). In this way, Jacob collected the wages of which he had been defrauded. Ephrem perceives a polarity between Jacob’s sticks and his flock, one that mirrors the polarity between Abraham and his ‘flock’. In both cases, the polarity emphasizes the relationship between the giver (archetype) and the receivers (image): Likewise the sticks [zqāṯâ ] 44 that Jacob fixed in the ground before the flock [ʿānâ ] for them to see: 45

This word, appearing in the Peshitta of Gen 30.31ff and which means a rod or a goad, causes some difficulty. According to Payne-Smith, 44

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 153 although he did not remove the sticks’ attractive appearance [lâ šlaḥ taṣbyāṯayhên ], he managed to cover his flock with it [ṣeḇtayhên pras ʿal ʿānâ ], and so the lambs put on [lḇeš ] their beauties [šûṕrayhên ]. 46 On the one hand mere sticks that have no feeling in them, in giving nothing of their own [menhên meddem lâ ya(h)ḇ ], on the other hand gave all that they had [ya(h)ḇāy(hy) koll mâ d-

the word derives from the root z-q-t ‘to prick’, and should be construed as masculine, with a masculine plural, zeqtê. Brockelmann, however, in the second edition of his Lexicon Syriacum (204b) treats the plural form as feminine and vocalizes it as tri-syllabic: zeqāṯâ. (Sokoloff’s updated version of Brockelmann, in col. 395b, follows this interpretation, offering the equivalent ‘switch, staff’.) In context, Ephrem clearly intends a feminine form of the word, as the several instances of feminine plural possessive suffixes and feminine verb forms require. Nevertheless, it is impossible to accept Brockelmann’s vocalization in this case, since it would violate the heptasyllabic meter. Audo (ed.) 1985, Treasury of the Syriac Language, however, attests that the form is masculine, but that there exists an alternate plural, which is feminine (I.291a). Audo’s vocalization (zqāṯâ ) is the only one that makes metrical sense in this passage. Also of interest is that one of the equivalents Audo supplies for the verb zqaṯ is dʿaṣ, which Ephrem uses to describe how Jacob stuck the sticks or goads in the ground. Doubtless, Ephrem appreciated the similarity in meaning between these two words and used the verb dʿaṣ to impart a certain nuance to the biblical image. Ephrem’s preference for thinking of these objects as goads or stimuli suggests the reason he chooses this biblical example to illustrate Abraham’s life. Abraham’s example was a stimulus or ‘goad’ to the virtue of the flock. The image also suggests Abraham’s pastoral role as an îḥîḏāyâ and ʿallānâ. 45 More literally, ‘as an example’, or ‘as a figure’. 46 It is important not to draw a parallel, as Beck does (on page 9, n. 2 of his translation), between this passage and HdF 53.1, where Ephrem does indeed refer this general area of Scripture, but with a different point: namely, to show that God is willing to speak of lowly things in Scripture as well as great things. In HdF 53.1, Ephrem does not refer to ‘sticks’ (zqāṯâ ) but to a ‘rod’ (šaḇtâ ), making it doubtful that he intended to refer to the story of Jacob at all (more likely he had Num 17.10 in mind).

154

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT qānyān (h)way ], for they continued to bear their treasures [gazzayhên ] while the lambs sported the sticks’ riches [ʿûṯrayhên ].

How much more, then, the spirits of the righteous [rûḥāṯâ d-ḵênê ], in which fair types are depicted, enrich the flock of Christ [ʿāneh da-mšîḥâ ] with the richness that enriches its receivers. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 47

Instead of the sticks which Jacob set up as a figure [ṣayyar ], you inscribed and adorned [ṣayyartāh âṕ ṣabbeṯtāh ] yourself with all sorts of adornments. In your own self your adornments [ṣeḇtayk ] are stored up [qṕîsîn ], but the decorations [taṣbyāṯayk ] they give are spread over all [prîsîn ].

Your adornments are upon the parts of your body [ṣeḇtayk ʿal hḏāmayk ] like the images upon the sticks [ṣûrāṯâ d-ʿal zqāṯâ ]. You do not strip them off [lâ šlaḥt ênnôn ] of yourself, but they adorn [ṣabbeṯtāh ] our flock [marʿîṯan ] 48 like those sticks which adorned the flock [ʿānâ ] of Laban. 49

In the first few stanzas quoted (13–14), Ephrem describes the biblical example in terms of a polarity between the sticks (zqāṯâ ) and the flock (ʿānâ ), and between the attractive appearance (taṣbyāṯayhên) of the sticks and the beauties (ṣeḇtayhên/šûṕrayhên) that the flock assumed as a result of seeing them. Ephrem continues the polarity between image and archetype by characterizing these beauties as a polarity between treasures and riches, a characterization which coheres both with Ephrem’s penchant for discussing spiritual ‘wealth’ and Abraham’s pastoral activities, as Beck notes that ‘The scribe of this one verse has left out the last line of the stanza. Its contents should be conjectured according to the context as something like ‘and likewise they remain with their givers.’ ’ 48 Beck notes: ‘Here it is clear a second time that the ʿḏāṯâ (churches) are meant; one cannot think of monastic communities’. 49 HdAQ 3.13–17. 47

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 155 well as the thrust of the biblical story itself, since the flock is the very wealth over which Jacob and Laban dispute. Ephrem underscores the paradoxical character of the association between image and archetype with some generic contrastive pairs: strip off (šlaḥ )/put on (lḇeš ) and gave everything/gave nothing. In stanzas 15–17, Ephrem then uses the image/archetype relationship of the biblical example as itself an archetype of the image/archetype relationship between Abraham and his flock. Thus, Ephrem establishes a polarity between the spirits of the just (rûḥāṯâ d-ḵênê ) and the flock of Christ (ʿāneh da-mšîḥâ ), as way of expressing the communion of saints or perhaps a merism between the Old and New Testaments, if the ‘just’ are understood as the patriarchs, and the flock of Christ as the New Testament church. He follows this polarity with an image/archetype polarity between Jacob the patriarch and Abraham: Jacob embellished (ṣayyar) the sticks, whereas Abraham embellished (ṣayyar) and adorned (ṣabbeṯ ) himself. Ephrem both associates the two of them and contrasts them because Abraham’s adornments were more personal. He himself was the image adorned that enriched Christ’s flock. The physical emphasis in the imagery is consistent with the importance Ephrem placed on Abraham’s coming resurrection and with the eschatology of the fifth poem in the cycle especially where Ephrem dwells at length on what will happen when Abraham’s spiritual adornments are manifested physically on his members like a wedding garment. (See page 84 above.) Several other polarities continue in the same vein, either as instances of an image/archetype relationship, or in support of it. Ephrem uses the pairs stored up (qṕîsîn)/spread out (prîsîn, with homoeoteleuton), adornments (ṣeḇtayk)/decorations (taṣbyāṯayk), adornments (ṣeḇtayk)/images (ṣûrāṯâ, with homoeoteleuton with zqāṯâ in the same phrase), and our flock (marʿîṯan) versus the flock (ʿānâ ) of Laban. The multiplication of all these polarities, which generally associate the image with its archetype, conveys the thing for which Ephrem most praises Abraham: enriching the flock of Christ in a mysterious and wonderful exchange, using earthly things to gain heavenly, and multiplying the spiritual, which is not constricted by temporal and spatial limitations. Abraham, like Jacob, is righteous

156

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

and clever, 50 and although defrauded by death, as Jacob was by Laban, Abraham’s spiritual beauties are not lost to him or to his community. Abraham, by making himself a good example of virtue and by putting on Christ, ensures not only that he is enriched in himself but that his flock too shares in the benefit. The îḥîḏāyâ as an exemplar for his community, lives out the mysteries of the scriptures in the life of the church. Although the exegesis is striking, the language and theology of the passage is entirely traditional. In the first place, the context of the Genesis story is devoted to the theme of marriage, which Ephrem elsewhere takes as a type of the marriage of Christ and his church in betrothal of Jacob and Rachel. Jacob performed a heroic deed in her presence, for through the Son, who was hidden in it, he rolled away a stone that even many could raise only with difficulty. When he betrothed her to God through this marvelous deed, Jacob then turned and married himself to her with a kiss. 51

Jacob, Ephrem suggests, is like Christ, and in marrying Jacob, Rachel marries God himself. Abraham, in his turn, has ‘put on Christ’ according to the traditional theology of Syriac asceticism, and thus assumes the role of the bridegroom in this story. In his commentary, Ephrem also continues the typological interpretation Some interpreters might be accustomed to viewing Jacob as devious and crafty, but Ephrem’s Commentary on Genesis, although it does not contain a detailed exegesis of the passage on which he comments in the third madrāšâ, consistently emphasizes that Jacob was righteous yet defrauded by Laban. Nevertheless, God overcame Laban’s treachery and blessed Jacob. Thus, Ephrem writes: ‘God, who saw that Laban had cheated from his wages that one to whom he had promised ‘I will go down with you, and I will raise you up from there,’ made Jacob rich from Laban’s own flock without doing any harm to Laban’. Comm. in Gen 29.1. (The translation, in this and subsequent citations unless otherwise noted, is from Matthews & Amar [eds and trans.] 1994, ‘Commentary on Genesis’) Jacob also appears as a righteous figure in CNis 31. See Martikainen 1974, ‘The Carmina Nisibena as a Literary and a Theological Source’, p. 348. 51 Comm. in Gen. 27.1. 50

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 157 of the passage by insisting that Jacob consented to marry Leah only for the sake of the ‘seed of the Just One’, that is, for the sake of Christ who was to come. Thus, it should come as no surprise that an explicitly christological interpretation appears in the third madrāšâ on Abraham: How much more, then, the spirits of the righteous [rûḥāṯâ d-ḵênê ], 52 in which fair types [ṭûpsê ] are depicted, enrich the flock of Christ [ʿāneh da-mšîḥâ ]

It is in virtue of the ‘types’ that the spirits of the righteous forefathers present to the flock that they ‘enrich the flock of Christ’. These few lines serve as the theological interpretation and justification of the story of Jacob, as well as of the career of Abraham, which are themselves in a typological relationship. That is, Jacob himself is a type that Abraham fulfills. The image/archetype relationship nested in the story of Jacob serves to drive home the basic typological connection between the OT and the church that is Ephrem’s concern. The foregoing survey of the major thematic polarities in the Ephremian portion of the cycle demonstrates the thoroughly traditional yet creative 53 character of Ephrem’s interpretations, which each in their various ways contribute to the basic theme of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ’s spiritual profitability identified in the second chapter (see page 70). The fifth madrāšâ interprets the polarity between virtue and vice in terms of the traditional mercantile 52 Ephrem

compares the spirits of the just to the sticks Jacob set up. The point of this metaphor can best be understood in terms of early Syriac eschatology. The souls of the righteous resemble the sticks that Jacob peeled because they have sloughed off their bodies until the resurrection. This ‘naked’ state means that they cannot operate effectively. They are impotent, apparently like the sticks of Jacob which in themselves have no power. Abraham himself, apparently addressed as deceased, is compared to them in the next stanza. 53 The creative use of traditional concepts, themes, and images, especially biblical testimonia, is a mark of Ephrem’s distinctive style within the early Syriac tradition as a whole. See Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 100, 208.

158

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

language of early Syriac Christianity (see pp. 89–104). The second madrāšâ uses spatial-temporal polarities to attack the original heretic of record (Marcion) in the Edessene milieu, and to contrast Abraham’s profitable orthodoxy and trustworthiness with the deceit of false dualist ascetics who have made the same mistakes as Marcion did. The third madrāšâ employs image/archetype polarities in a way that reflects the traditional understanding of a son of the convenant’s role in his community, including both implicit nuptial imagery and the baptismal concept of putting on Christ as an example to others. Indeed, the sustained and intricate developments of thematic polarities show us that polarized thinking, both as a habit of thought and as a compositional technique, is essential to understanding his theology and his biblical allusions. Thus, the meristic spatio-temporal polarities Ephrem uses in the second madrāšâ are integral to his refutation of dualism. Without attention to that underlying thematic polarity and the way Ephrem packs a plurality of meanings into a simple phrase such as ‘both above and below’, his use of so many disparate biblical allusions would be unintelligible. Likewise, his preference for polarized thinking and composition explains his creative associative use of the story of Jacob the Patriarch (a traditional type of Christ) as a just and shrewd character whom Abraham Qîdûnāyâ imitated. So too, Ephrem’s explanation of the crucial importance of speech in the fifth madrāšâ depends on the contrastive polarity he sets up between the various biblical characters who share the use of speech in critical situations of belief and unbelief, truth and falsehood, and yet fare so differently as a result. His portrait of moral success and failure in terms of life and death is rhetorically effective for his audience because it is so stark, and thoroughly traditional as, for instance Deuteronomy, St. Paul, and the Didache all attest. 54 Throughout, Ephrem’s most elaborate uses of polarities have all been sustained biblical exegeses over several stanzas, supported by devices of sound and structure that express the theological thesis both to the ear and to the eye. The scriptural arguments

Deut 30.15–19, Rom 6.23, and the well known image of the two ways that opens the Didache. 54

IV: RHETORICAL DEVICES & POLARITY IN THE CYCLE 159 typically defend beliefs couched in the usual early Syriac language, by cumulative argument in favor of a certain coherence. The tendency to use polar word-pairs also helps one to identify specific rhetorical strategies, of which there are chiefly three: (1) contrastive strategies, which seek to divide two things sharply so that the audience dissociates them and naturally inclines strongly to reject one pole and cling to the other; (2) associative strategies, which seek to connect two compatible things, such that the audience understands the implications and interconnections of scriptural doctrine and their own connection to it; and (3) meristic strategies, which seek to convey the totality or integral perfection of a spiritual mystery by linking its extremes. 55 The intricacy and sophistication of the ways Ephrem pursues these rhetorical strategies through cumulative scriptural allusion, double-meaning, polarity, and figures of speech is recognizable and its effects felt subconsciously by someone accustomed to Ephrem’s chosen genre. Yet as Beck’s scorn for the exegesis in the third madrāšâ shows, 56 without an appreciation for the polarized style and rhetorical strategy, the thought can seem bizarre, shallow, or forced. Beck seems to have overlooked the connection between this exegesis and Ephrem’s thoughts in his prose commentary on the same passage. On the other hand, it requires considerable poetic skill to carry such sustained poetic exegesis successfully through to completion. The pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle proves both less successful in its expression and less traditional in its themes.

CONCLUSION: STYLISTIC AND THEOLOGICAL PROFILE OF EPHREM

The researches conducted lead one to see that, stylistically, Ephrem prefers cumulative argument, which he expresses as polarities, like so many densely overlaid strokes. For the most part, these are qualitative polarities that advance three basic kinds of themes: On the importance of merism to Ephrem, see Botha 1996, ‘Argument and Art’, p. 29. 56 See Beck’s second note on p. 9 of his translation. 55

160

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

moral contrast, spatio-temporal connection, and the association of an image with its archetype. The rhetorical devices which predominate are anaphora, homoeoteleuton (that is, rhyme), polyptoton, parallelism, and puns (both as paronomasia and parechesis). Insofar as there is a pattern to their use, anaphora and epistrophe tend to mark spatio-temporal connection and homoeoteleuton and parallelism tend to mark the image/archetype association. In this way, these rhetorical devices play a supporting role. The polarities provide structure by connecting several stanzas into a kind of single movement of thought. The language and imagery in the first two poems of the HdAQ tends to be financial and nuptial, whereas the second two poems focus on the notion of exemplarity and spiritual wealth. The fifth poem is the most eschatological. Nevertheless, in all of the poems, the same basic stylistic tendencies remain fairly consistent. Ephrem’s theological profile, on the other hand tends toward a particular theology of virtue in terms of several points. He shows a strong anti-dualist tendency, and although he is keen to emphasize the physical aspects of Abraham’s asceticism, he does not focus on sexual ascesis or virtues in particular, nor on the soul above all else. Instead, one finds a more holistic concept of virtue as an integrated balance of qualities, inseparable from its communal dimension. Ephrem usually wishes to resolve apparent opposites in this regard, shows an interest in the human senses and faculties, and adheres strongly to the connection between orthodoxy and moral life. As a rule, Ephrem’s key arguments are scriptural, and his imagery and eschatological presuppositions are those one would expect of a writer in the early phase of the Syriac tradition. In the end, the most salient characteristic of Ephrem’s theological arguments is their struggle to achieve the integrated vision of the ‘luminous eye’: an integrated view of the human person, a notion of virtue that resolves opposition, and a style of exegesis that reconciles the diverse data of scripture.

CHAPTER V: THE CANONS RE-CODIFIED: RHETORICAL DEVICES AND POLARITY IN THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION It has become quite clear that interpreting the theological thought of Ephrem’s compositions in the HdAQ depends very much on appreciating the rhetorical techniques and strategies at work, and especially his habit of thinking in terms of polarities that dissociate, associate, and integrate. It is in terms of such links and contrasts, shaded with other rhetorical devices, that Ephrem’s icon of Abraham comes together in his chosen medium. In a sense, the situation is no different for pseudo-Ephrem’s theological elaboration of Ephrem’s literary icon. It remains necessary to attend closely to the devices and especially the polarities pseudoEphrem develops. Yet he realigns his poetic conventions to express his different theological perspective(s). It is thus natural to consider the second portion of the cycle with reference to the same kinds of questions as applied to the cycle’s first portion: (1) What rhetorical devices appear and how are they distributed? (2) what types of polarity are the most prominent and which devices appear to support them? and (3) what theological interpretation arises from the icon of Abraham redrawn in this way according to new conventions of thought? As it turns out, both the similarities and the differences between the madrāšê of Ephrem and pseudoEphrem are quite significant.

RHETORICAL DEVICES IN THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

In the pseudo-Ephremian portion, rhetorical devices other than polarities are quite a bit more frequent than in the Ephremian portion of the cycle, although some individual poems show very few rhetorical devices. One can find 223 instances of rhetorically 161

162

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

significant devices, mostly confined to a few basic types. The author shows the same tendency to parallelism as does Ephrem, but employs many more devices of sound and word-play. Another key difference is that the stanza has ceased to be such a significant unit of composition. Most of the anaphora and epistrophe that was so frequent within the actual stanzas of Ephrem’s poems is not found in the stanza itself, but rather in between the stanzas (the same is true of polarities as well). Thus, the stanzas themselves are no longer autonomous units of composition, but parts of the larger whole. As one can gather from the chart, the devices disperse unevenly throughout the acrostic portion of the cycle. Poems 8, 13, and 14 show, for instance, a special preference for chiasm. Poems 9, 10, and 14 prefer polyptoton. Homoeoteleuton is most frequent in 8, while poems 12 and 13 prefer isocolon to all else. The sixth poem of the cycle stands by itself by reason of its distinct meter and stanzaic structure. Nevertheless, the stylistic preferences in the sixth poem differ little from the rest of the pseudo-Ephremian portion, except for a love of explicit comparison or simile not so much in evidence in the rest of the pseudo-Ephremian poems. Despite this difference, there is no question of considering the sixth poem with the five genuine poems, because it is entirely dedicated to the un-Ephremian theology of intercession that Beck has identified.

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

163

Definition similar sounds at the ends of successive lines or half lines

paronomasia/ parechesis

chiasm

parallelism

isocolon/paromoeosis

polyptoton

Device homoeoteleuton

Table 7: Favorite Devices in the Pseudo-Ephremian Acrostic (Poems 7–15) 7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Total

3

9

0

3

3

5

1

2

6

32

1

3

5

5

1

2

1

5

4

27

3

0

1

0

2

7

11

2

1

27

similarity of structure in phrases or clauses.

0

10

5

3

0

0

3

2

3

26

repetition of ideas or grammatical structures in inverted order: A-B-B-A

2

5

1

0

3

2

5

5

2

25

world-play involving a similarity of sound or name

3

3

1

2

2

2

1

4

2

20

the use, in close proximity, of the same semitic root but in multiple forms or patterns parallelism of similarly structured cola. With similarity of sound, the device becomes paromoeosis

164

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Table 8: Favorite Rhetorical Devices in Poem 6 Device homoeoteleuton Polyptoton simile isocolon/paromoeosis parallelism chiasm paronomasia/parechesis

Number of Occurences 5 4 4 0 3 0 1

The use of the various devices in the pseudo-Ephremian portion tends to be less dense and sophisticated in the individual stanza than in the genuine poems. The reason for this could be the skill of the author(s), but it also reflects the stanza structure chosen for the acrostic portion. The pentasyllabic stanzas of only four half-lines simply lack scope for development of rhetorical devices (and polarities as well). This often gives the stanzas the feel of mere couplets, not unlike the couplets often identifiable in later mêmrê. Nevertheless, one can observe a few striking examples of rhetorical sophistication. In the eleventh stanza of the sixth poem, for instance, one reads how the author compares Abraham to a wealthy man and his contemporaries as merchants who borrow from him. The author identifies himself as a middle-man or broker: You have plenty of money [yāṯar ] like a rich man [ʿattîrâ ] The hearer is like the merchant. I play the role of the broker. The distributors [kayyālê ] whom Joseph appointed lived on some of what he distributed [kaylâ ]. And he who counts the money of a king enjoys some share of that money.

The author appeals to the example of Joseph the Patriarch, who as steward in Egypt appointed subordinates to distribute the grain in time of famine. His point is that middle-men also partake in a share of the riches that they distribute. In order to emphasize the biblical example, he employs polyptoton between kayyālê and kaylâ. The similarity between the words highlights the association between the middle man and his charge. The author emphasizes the triple simile in the preceding lines by resorting to parechesis between yāṯar and

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

165

ʿattîrâ. The doubling of sound suggests the abundance that characterizes Abraham’s spiritual wealth in which the author hopes to share by virtue of his poetic composition. A textbook example of chiasm appears in the ninth stanza of the eighth poem. The author praises Abraham because his good deeds are done in secret, for the approval of God rather than the praise of men. He writes: Shining and clear [dnîḥān ] are his secrets [kasyāṯeh ] Yet secret [ksên ] are his alms [zeḏqāṯeh ] For not to boasting did he subject his freedom.

The meaning of ‘secrets’ is a little unclear, but it seems likely that the author has in mind the saint’s interior virtues, which he depicts as shining forth, with the usual word for the rays of the sun, dnîḥān. The saint’s virtue is obvious, but his actual virtuous deeds are not done in public, a point made more emphatic by inverting the order of the two cola: dnîḥān kasyāṯeh / ksên zeḏqāṯeh and by rhyming the words which denote the interior and the exterior: kasyāṯeh and zeḏqāṯeh. The last two half lines make for a sort of parallelism as well, inasmuch as the first colon identifies the exterior vice and the second the interior principle of virtue. 1 On the whole, the stanza emphasizes the completeness of Abraham’s virtue, since he correctly managed both its interior and exterior dimensions. A similiar respect for the completeness of Abraham’s virtue appears in stanzas four through six of the thirteenth poem. In this case, the emphasis is on Abraham’s patient endurance through all kinds of ministries and trials. As an aside, one notices that this stanza serves to explain the one immediately preceding, in which the author argues that Abraham was both manifest and hidden. Beck takes this statement (in n. 4) as a laughable example of the parallel between God and the saint pushed too far. Actually, however, stanza nine specifies the sense in which the author wished stanza eight to be taken. It is not that the saint is incomprehensible like God, but rather that he cannot be surpassed in virtue precisely because he has balanced the outer and inner aspects of the life of virtue. 1

166

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT He fasted and prayed [ṣām (h)wâ âṕ ṣallî ], he both acted and taught [wa-ʿḇaḏ âṕ âlleṕ ]; he initiated and confirmed [talmeḏ âṕ šarrar ], he offered and ministered [kahhen âṕ šammeš ]. … He thirsted and persisted [ṣhê (h)wâ âṕ ḥamsen ]; he hungered and yet he endured [kṕen (h)wâ wa-msaybar ]; 2 He was weary and yet concealed it [l(ʾ)ê (h)wâ wa-mṭašê ]; He was taxed and remained strong [w-âllîṣ wa-mʿazzê ].

In this case, the principal device is isocolon. Each colon consists, in essence, of a pair of verbs, and the second verb in each pair even falls consistently into a pael form of the verb. In the case of the second stanza quoted, participles instead of finite verb forms are used, but the principle is the same in both stanzas. In both cases, the isocolon is an emphatic devices, though the emphasis is different. The first stanza emphasizes that Abraham’s virtuous activities involved the complete range of activities he might have been expected to do. The second stanza emphasizes that through a complete range of privations (thirst, hunger, weariness, 3 and labor) he nevertheless persevered. The cumulative nature of isocolon emphasizes the two forms of perseverance by presenting in sound a kind of picture of continuation. The preceding examples suggest a penchant for concentrating rhetorical devices in those poems where the author is keen to emphasize a list of Abraham’s virtues and virtuous activities. Both poems 8 and 13 are examples of this sort of composition. Yet the pattern is not so consistent. Poems 9 through 12, especially 10 and 11 which emphasize sexual virtue, are relatively poor in rhetorical devices of this sort. Rarely do more than two devices appear in a single stanza, and more frequently The use of waw between these verbs could be taken as circumstantial: for example, ‘he endured through hunger’. The use of âṕ in parallel, however, is clearly conjunctive, and suggests that the whole series of cola be taken in the same way. In any case, the difference in nuance would be slight. 3 in context, probably the weariness associated with night-time vigil. 2

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

167

there is only one. Overall, the greatest density of devices appears in the beginning of the acrostic section and toward the end. As was the case with the Ephremian poems, those places just quoted, where especially emphatic rhetorical devices appear, do not necessarily hold any special place in the madrāšâ itself. Stanza 6.11 is simply one out of several biblical arguments that the poet makes. Likewise, stanza 8.9 is simply one among many developing the notion of Abraham’s freedom. Stanzas 13.4 and 13.6 are, again, simply part of a list of qualities and activities the poet wishes to praise. One is led to conclude that just as for the Ephremian portion of the cycle, the use of rhetorical devices within the stanzas themselves is somewhat random. They are frequent enough to be a noticeable part of the poet’s repertoire, but they do not stand out as a major aspect of his technique. On the other hand, some individual poems do show noticeable preferences for one or another type of rhetorical device. The stylistic differences lead one to ask to what those differences ought to be attributed. Is it due to the different themes in the various poems? Are there separate authors for the different parts? Does the use of rhetorical devices depend chiefly on the rhetorical strategy of the author(s)? In order to answer these questions, some analysis of the polarities in the poems is needed. The polarities are not only the most noticeable technique in the poems, just as in the first part of the cycle, they also, more than anything else, advance the theological themes and rhetorical strategies of the poems.

STANZA POLARITIES IN THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN POEMS

Stanza level polarities in the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle strike out in new directions compared to the polarities in the genuine portion. Sometimes they show a special interest in a particular theme that was less emphatic in the previous poems, such as a predilection for polarities of reversal or polarities between inward and outward dimensions, and sometimes they show a different rhetorical strategy, such as a consistent recourse to hyperbole. The different and relatively simpler stanzaic structure of the second half of the cycle (with the exception of the sixth poem) also gives this portion more the feel of a mêmrâ than of a madrašâ. Indeed, so many rhetorical devices and polarities seem to operate across the boundaries of the stanzas in Beck’s edition (such as anaphora on the initial word of each successive stanza instead of

168

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

successive lines) that one is led to question whether the stanzas have been divided correctly. The manuscripts, however, leave no doubt as to how the scribe thought the stanzas should be divided. Each half-line in the base manuscript is clearly marked by a ‘.’, and the end of each full stanza is marked by ‘‫’܀‬. It is, of course, possible that scribal editing at some point in the textual tradition reorganized the stanzas, but the alphabetical acrostic makes this unlikely. The conclusion to draw from this is that the individual stanzas have ceased to be a rhetorically significant unit of composition, a stylistic preference that differs markedly from the tendency of the first five poems, which treat the stanzas as relatively autonomous units of composition. In addition to being used differently and being less rhetorically marked, polarities in pseudo-Ephrem are less frequent and less evenly distributed throughout the poems. (See Table 9 below.) Table 9: Number of Polarities in the Pseudo-Ephremian Poems

Poem Number of polarities Polarities per halfline

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Total

31

31

43

22

26

28

26

37

30

35

309

.341

.287

.347

.212

.271

.304

.295

.385

.357

.313

.311

Polarities decline noticeably in poems nine to twelve before returning to greater prominence in the last poems of the collection. In terms of the acrostic, these poems with fewer polarities constitute the stanzas from kāṕ to pē, inclusive. These same stanzas also show the fewest rhetorical devices out of the group. The pseudo-Ephremian poems focus on four major thematic polarities especially: (1) opposition of moral qualities, (2) reversals of situation, (3) spatial/temporal opposition, and (4) inward/outward polarities. As a rule, polarities expressing these themes are also fairly likely to be supported by rhetorical devices, but unlike the Ephremian poems the use of rhetorical devices to support polar themes is not so consistent: some less frequent themes also show a high proportion of rhetorical devices (for instance, polar pairs balancing different virtues and virtuous activities, such as prayer and fasting, show a fair amount of parallelism). For the most part, the different types of common rhetorical devices are fairly evenly spread out over the different

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

169

themes, but isocolon and paromoeosis seem especially common for reversals, while parechesis and paronomasia occur quite frequently with spatial/temporal opposition. In the case of the opposition of moral qualities, one notices immediately that while it is more common in the pseudoEphremian acrostic than in the genuine poems, in those poems where it predominates (namely poems eight, twelve, and fifteen) it tends to be found there diffusely rather than concentrated in a single connected passage. In this way, the theme has become more a commonplace rather than a specific rhetorical strategy as it is in the Ephremian portion. Nevertheless, one extended development of moral opposition does occur: The deceitful enemy [bʿeldarâ nḵîlâ ] fought with him, and the simple one [tammîmâ ] defeated his overpowering strength.

The one was cunning [ʿrîm ], as scripture says, the other perfectly simple [tammîm ], as we described. But it was the simple one [pšîṭṭâ ] who was instructed by the wisest wisdom [ḥeḵmaṯ ḥeḵmāṯâ ]. 4

He labored [ʿmal ] in order that by his deed [ʿḇāḏâ  ] he might become wise [yāḏôʿâ  ], because he saw the disputatious [dārôšâ  ] 5 whose practices [dûbbāreh  ] 6 are foolishness [sḵal  ] 7 4A

construct chain here expresses a superlative, a grammatical usage not found in the genuine poems of the cycle. 5 Beck notes, ad loc., that dārôšâ, for Ephrem, usually refers to the Arians. He compares HdF 1.9, 2.22, and 13.1, etc. 6 Literally, this word is singular. It tends to refer to a way of life or manner of ascetic conduct. 7 The poet levels an interesting charge against the Arians: either they have no asceticism and this shows their intellectual views to be hypocritical or their asceticism is somehow vitiated. In any case, the view of personality expressed here is clearly quite integrated. No division between practice and thought is conceivable.

170

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT He labored [ʿmal  ] that he might become skilled by his actions[mahhîrâ b-sûʿrānê  ], because he saw the wise who were fools by their deeds [saḵlîn ba-ʿḇāḏê  ]. 8

These stanzas appear in the midst of a catalogue of the saint’s virtues and virtuous activities that focuses generally on the theme of his practical shrewdness and wisdom. The biblical inspiration for the passage is the apostolic commission in Mt 10.16: ‘be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves’. 9 The author regards true wisdom as that which is confirmed by one’s deeds. Thus, he repeats and develops a basic contrast between Abraham’s activities and those of disputatious fools and between Abraham’s activities and those of the evil one. The thought is actually quite straightforward and even somewhat vague, since no specific activities are mentioned, but the structure of these stanzas is not without interest. The first two stanzas develop a contrastive moral polarity between the evil one and the saint: the deceitful enemy (bʿeldarâ nḵîlâ  ) versus the simple saint (tammîmâ  ), followed by the paradoxical contrast between the saint’s simple wisdom (described as tammîm) and the empty cunning of the enemy (described as ʿrîm). 10 Homoeoteleuton between the two words highlights the paradox (and probably explains why the poet followed the Old Syriac version of Matthew instead of the Peshitta). The poet carefully avoided isocolon. Indeed, he often prefers to use synonyms rather than repeat the same words in a stanza. The following two stanzas, however, switch the emphasis to the moral contrast between the saint and a contemporary ‘disputer’ 12.4–7. This seems a genuine Ephremian theme with regard to the Arians. It is more important to investigate and be concerned with things that will actually be of practical benefit. In part, this is because it is necessary to experience conversion and to investigate with humility. 9 Beck notes that the choice of words reflects the Old Syriac version of Matthew rather than the Peshitta. 10 One might also identify a polarity between attacked (maqreḇ ) and conquered (zḵay[hy ] ). 8 HdAQ

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

171

(dārôšâ ) and the ‘wise’ (ḥakkîmê ). Pseudo-Ephrem expresses the contrast with three polarities: action (ʿḇāḏâ ) versus way of life (dûbbārâ ), wise (yāḏôʿâ ) versus disputer (dārôšâ ), and ‘skilled by actions’ (mahhîrâ b-sûʿrānê ) versus ‘fools by deeds’ (saḵlîn ba-ʿḇāḏê ). The author also uses anaphora on the word ʿmal across the stanzas and sets up a chiasm with homoeoteleuton (ʿḇāḏâ—yāḏôʿâ-dārôšâ— dûbbāreh) to emphasize the contrast between Abraham and his opponent. Notice that he does not mind using ʿḇāḏâ first in a positive sense and later in a negative sense. Structure and sound seem more important to the moral contrast than choice of words. There is also an inter-stanza polarity between the evil one and humans, a theme which had also been an important part of Ephrem’s discussion of Abraham’s relationship to his fellow Christians in the fourth madrāšâ of the collection (HdAQ 4.7–8 et passim). Here, however, the choice of words suggests that Abraham’s activity is not admonishing the lax or wicked but rather refuting heretics. Refutation of heretics by pitting simple evangelical wisdom against the pagan subtleties of rhetoricians is a commonplace of great longevity in all traditions of Christian hagiography. The most apposite comparison is probably to the Vita Antonii, where the great saint refutes the Arians of Alexandria. 11 Unlike the authentic second madrāšâ, however, doctrinal details are conspicuously absent. Nevertheless, Ephrem could easily have agreed on the importance of simplicity and humility in doctrinal matters. One of his classic themes is castigation of investigation into and dispute about divine mysteries. Certainly the author indicates in typical Ephremian fashion that one’s teaching ought to be accompanied with moral uprightness and authentic ascetic practice. The next major theme, reversal of situation, dominates the middle of the tenth poem in the collection, the poem chiefly concerned with the historical details of Abraham’s mission to the pagans of Qîdûn. The author dwells on the amazing and Christ-like paradox that Abraham was able to achieve his goals while suffering apparent defeat at the hands of obstinate pagans:

Brakke 1998, Athanasius and Asceticism, pp. 246–248 and 253–262, offers a helpful discussion. 11

172

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT He is like the leaven, which, while the mass of dough [gḇîlṯâ ] surrounds it and overtakes it [zḵāṯeh ], it instead is overtaking [zāḵê ] the dough. 12

In the end, when they learned who he was by a thousand experiences, they were amazed at him because they realized that he was a man of God. 13

For they proved it true that he endured [saybar ] their deceits and carried [ṭʿen ] their burdens 14 in order that he might inherit [nêraṯ ] their lives

He loved the Father and was fervent toward the Son And through him in the Spirit he worshipped his Father.

They grew weary of beating him For they oppressed him [šaḥqû(hy) ] and became powerless [êštahî ] This is the Athlete who conquers [zḵâ ] when he is wounded [bālaʿ ]

He observed the bee which, when it defeated and struck [mḥāṯ ] him was itself defeated [mezdaḵyâ ] slain by its own sting He experienced how sternly the ice strikes [mḥa ] the land and then cleans [maḏkê ] it and melts away upon it [ṭāleq ].

12 1

Cor 5.6–8. notes that the Syr., gaḇrâ hû d-âlāhâ, compares closely with the Vita IV.31.12: ʿaḇdâ hû d-âlāhâ (ḥayyâ ). 14 Gal 6.2. 13 Beck

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

173

Banks restrain [taḵsû(hy) ] a flowing [ḥāyyâ ] spring And because they supposed they had dried him up [âḡîzû(hy) ] They were drowned [êṯḥannaq(w) ] by his waves [b-ḡel(l)aw(hy) ]. 15

As with the first theme, the general strategy of the author is contrastive, a contrast for which he marshals some natural phenomena as illustrations that inspired Abraham’s persistence. He begins with a Pauline image (from 1 Cor 5.6–8) expressed as a polarity between a mass of dough (gḇîltâ ) that surrounds (balʿaṯāh) and leaven (ḥmîrâ ) that nevertheless overtakes it (zāḵê lāh). After an intervening stanza without polarities, he then returns to his Pauline theme with another scripture reference to Abraham’s diligence in bearing the burdens of others (Gal 6.2). Although the biblical reference is reasonably clear, the polarity between carried (ṭʿen) and inherit (nêraṯ ) seems less so. The author’s strategy employs the paschal or baptismal imagery of St. Paul to point out the providential reversal that Abraham’s missionary labors achieved. Doubtless the comparison between Paul and Abraham is deliberate. Indeed, he may also evoke the parallel with the image of the athlete and the two associated polarities (šaḥqû(hy)/êštahî and zḵâ/bālaʿ ), since Paul characterized himself as an athlete for Christ and had much to say about his apostolic sufferings (see, for instance, 1 Cor 9.24–27, 2 Tim 2.5, and 1 Thess 2.2–14). The next three stanzas draw examples of reversals from the world of nature and express them as polarities: the bee stings (mḥāṯ ) and is defeated (mezdaḵyâ ); frost strikes (mḥa) the land and melts away (ṭāleq); and banks restrain (taḵsû[hy ] ) a spring that nevertheless flows (ḥāyyâ ). The author compares Abraham’s campaign to baptize the pagans to a spring which they supposed they had dried up (âḡîzû[hy ] ) and which instead drowned them (êṯḥannaq[w ] ). 16 Once again, the references are not too specific, but 10.7–14. There is no question in this passage of the use of wave imagery in a way comparable to the wave imagery Ephrem applies to the ineffable Godhead and other divine mysteries. In all likelihood, the waves refer to the waters of baptism which Abraham used to convert the pagans. 15 HdAQ 16

174

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the author probably expects his audience to know Abraham’s story (perhaps in the form of the fifth century Vita 17) well enough to understand his allusions. On the whole, pseudo-Ephrem’s development of the reversal theme is fairly simple. It takes the form of an allusive string of vignettes drawn from the previously known narrative, much as many an Ephremian composition does. It also employs recognizable polarities, but much less densely than the genuine poems in the cycle. The passage in the tenth poem is also much less inter-textual and offers little theological interpretation of Abraham’s actions. The polarities here simply express wonder at the contrast between Abraham and his contemporaries, a rather commonplace hagiographical sentiment. Perhaps the theology of baptism underlies the author’s work, but he chooses not to develop it. Pseudo-Ephrem, in this passage at least, has little to say. Nevertheless, the Pauline references give us an interesting sense of the apostolic model for asceticism that Abraham, in the eyes of his later interpreter, followed closely. The next two dominant themes, spatial/temporal polarities and inward/outward polarities appear most frequently in poem 13. The poem itself falls into two parts of roughly equal length, a first section that deals with Abraham’s earthly ministry, and a second section that focuses on eschatology: mortification in this life for the sake of the life to come. Both passages where the two polar themes Beck pointed out a few parallels between these stanzas and episodes in the Vita. I reproduce his footnote (translated, with transliteration standardized) to the passage here: ‘Syr. b-îḏeh [da-ḇrâ] lâḇû(h)y b-rûḥâ sā̱geḏ hwâ. Cf. as in the genuine work Sermones I.1.612ff. in a corresponding formulation, viz.: b-rûḥ qûdšâ sā̱geḏ la-ḇrâ … beh [ba-ḇrâ] mawdê l-âḇû(h)y. Certainly, the ascending order, Spirit, Son, Father of Ephremian theology is in evidence, although clearly here the Father and the Son are set at equivalent rank, inasmuch as both are in the same way, the object of the love of the saint, and on the other hand, Son and Spirit stand on the same level. The Vita adds a Trinitarian confession in the baptismal formula used by the saint (IV.34.28ff): âlāhâ (ʿaḇôḏâ ) … w-ḇaḇreh îḥîḏāyâ ḥayleh w-ḥeḵmeṯeh w-ṣeḇyāneh wa-ḇ-rûḥ qûdšâ maḥyānâ d-ḵôll’. 17

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

175

occur belong to the second half of the poem and interpret the eschatological doctrine implied in Abraham’s life. The temporal polarities in the thirteenth poem develop a sort of inaugurated eschatology 18: Abraham anticipates the next life in this life, and thus the polarities treat of time versus eternity: His cross [ṣlîḇeh ] was in his heart, and whoever had discernment [praš ] saw the uplifted one [zqîṕâ ] 19 both crucified [ṣlîḇ ] and walking [mhalleḵ ]. 20

Before the usual death [mawtâ ] which comes to all mankind, he experienced another death [mawtâ (ʾ)ḥrēnâ ]: the death of humility [d-mûkkāḵâ ]. Before this life [ḥayyê ] in which all mankind is equal [šwê ], he had another life [ḥayyê (ʾ)ḥrēnê ]: the life of death/distinction [d-ṕûršānâ ].

For before death [pûršānâ ] he died [mîṯ ] to sin, 21 but before his resurrection [nûḥāmeh ] he lives [ḥayy ] to the Lord of all [mārê koll ]. 22

Paradoxically, in fact, in the case of Abraham, eternity has been telescoped into time. He anticipates the final mysteries now, before the usual time, a point which the author stresses through interstanza anaphora on the word ‘before’ (qḏām). Exploiting the various Here, and wherever else this concept appears, I am indebted to N.T. Wright. On the concept, see most recently 2013, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, pp. 941–944. 19 Often the word zqîṕâ itself means the cross, but its literal sense is ‘that which is lifted up’. 20 A new emphasis appears here: Abraham as conformed to the crucified Christ. 21 Cf. Rom 6.2. 22 HdAQ 13.11–14. 18

176

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

meanings of the word pûršānâ (which include separation, death, distinction, and discernment) allows the author to set up some fairly intricate temporal polarities. He begins with a polarity between crucified (ṣlîḇ ) and walking (mhalleḵ ), meant to evoke St. Paul’s expression of a similar paradoxical notion (Rom 6.4 and 6.6). 23 The author then explores this mystery, which is available only to the one who has discernment (praš ) by introducing a polarity between normal death and the death of humility and between normal life and the life of dying (pûršānâ, which probably means something like the word ‘mortification’). These two polarities express the same basic concept of an anticipated or inaugurated eschaton but in opposite ways: two forms of death versus two forms of life. The result is a polarity between the two stanzas themselves, which are at once the same, yet different. The author then brings together his two stanzas into one that summarizes the point with Pauline terms once again: death to sin versus alive to God (Rom 6.10–11 24) and death versus resurrection. Pseudo-Ephrem thus argues that Abraham lives out the baptismal mystery, just as Paul has described it. His goal is to associate Abraham with eternal life while at the same time making clear to his audience the things which militate against it: pride and sin. Yet a hidden thread runs through this Pauline presentation: the notion of spiritual discernment and perhaps even Abraham’s physical withdrawal from his community. That the author suggests this too is clear from his choice of words: ‘this life [ḥayyê ] in which all mankind is equal [šwê ]’. With the use of the antonym ‘equal’, pseudo-Ephrem calls to mind pûršānâ in the sense of difference or distinction. Abraham’s life was distinctive because he set himself Rom 6.4: ‘Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life’. The Peshitta reads bḥayyê ḥa(d)tê nhalleḵ. Rom 6.6: ‘Knowing that our old self was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin’. The Peshitta reads barnāšan ʿattîqâ êzdqeṕ ʿammeh. 24 In fact the whole of Rom 6.1–11 finds some echo in the language of this passage. 23

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

177

apart from everyone else by the excellence of his practices. This extra polarity between difference (pûršānâ ) and equal (šwê ), coupled with the reference to ‘anyone who has discernment [praš ]’, associates in the minds of the audience the attainment of eternal life with the pursuit of a distinctive way of life that the discerning person should be able to recognize. The positive connotation associated with death in this way also helps explain why the author preferred to use the term pûršānâ: it has a more flexible and broader range of meaning than mawtâ. The life of distinction is also set in polarity against the Lord of all (mārê koll), a polarity between the unique and the common. In this way, the temporal polarities between death and the anticipated death of humility, between life and the anticipated life of mortification and between death and resurrection find some support in the less obvious polarities between difference and equality. Ultimately, the author refers the whole mystery to divine sovereignty: no matter what different ways of life people lead, they are still subject to the Lord of all, who is Lord not only of all persons but of all times. Such is the discerning, eternal perspective that Abraham possessed, and which the author hopes his audience will perceive through his poetry. He wants his hearers to move with him and with Abraham from time to eternity. The focus on crucifixion and Abraham’s title of zqîṕâ calls for some comment. The word itself can mean cross, but it literally refers to something lifted up, whether the cross itself or the person lifted up on the cross. One is tempted to see in the inaugurated eschatology of this passage a tendency toward the later practice of stylites who sought to live out the life of resurrection by being ‘lifted up’ on a pillar, often with arms outstretched in the form of a cross. Although the stylite practice is a later development in the history of Syriac asceticism, Susan Ashbrook Harvey has shown how, in its native Syriac idiom, it could express the unity of body and soul, how the stylite could resemble a new Moses, lifted up before the people to receive the law, how he could stand on the high pillar and fight the evil one with the cross, just as Jesus had down on the high mountain. 25 The stylite’s peculiar way of life Harvey 1988, ‘Sense of a Stylite’, pp. 381–386. I prefer not to distinguish quite as sharply as Harvey does between the seventh century 25

178

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

derived organically, in other words, from the holistic and intensively biblical focus of early Syriac asceticism. This trend may even now be beginning in the apostolic and Mosaic paradigm which Abraham himself lived out according to Ephrem and his imitator. Indeed, the focus on the unity of body and soul explains why, only a few stanzas later in the same madrāšâ, a number of inner/outer polarities appear, whose goal is to provide that discerning perspective that the author advocated earlier. In that perspective, it is possible to observe how Abraham incorporates all aspects of the death/life exchange, the physical and the spiritual. There is no contrariety between them: For death was slain [qṭîl ] both hiddenly and openly [kasyâ âṕ galyâ ]: 26 the hidden death [kasyâ ] was slain [qṭîl ] by his practices [dûbbārê ], the open death [galyâ ] by his promises [mûlkānê ]. The sinful one [ḥaṭṭāyâ ] is slain [qṭîl ] in an entirely hidden manner [kasyāʾîṯ ] while the weak one [ḥallāšâ ] fears the death that is apparent [mawtâ galyâ ]

The just one [kênâ ] too is slain [qṭîl ] in his fasting [b-ṣawmeh ] and his vigil [b-šahreh ]

development in which Simeon the Younger is explicitly compared with the crucified Christ and the earlier focus on Simeon the Elder whose purpose is expressed in more prophetic terms, in the language of spiritual warfare, and in the image of transfiguration on the mount. The reason is that the transfiguration itself as a biblical image is intimately connected with the passion of Christ, who, enthroned on his cross, conquers the evil one with it as a weapon. Such language is so common both to the genuine Ephrem and to Jacob of Serugh that it is difficult not to expect some implied connection between the stylite’s life as a transfiguration and his life as an image of crucifixion. 26 literally, ‘both the hidden death and the apparent death’.

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

179

because the discerning one [pārôšâ ] fears the death which is to come. 27

In these stanzas, the author praises Abraham’s virtue with a meristic strategy: that is, he emphasizes how the ascetic successfully managed both the inner and outer aspects of asceticism. Together, the three stanzas quoted constitute a unit marked by anaphora on the word ‘slain’ (qṭîl). The first of the stanzas quoted above serves to introduce the fundamental polarity the author explores: the polarity between the hidden and the revealed: kasyâ âṕ galyâ. Structuring the argument with prosapodosis, 28 he interprets the polarity as a polarity between hidden (kasyâ ) death and apparent (galyâ ) death. He relates these two deaths to a polarity between practices (dûbbārê ) and promises (mûlkānê ) by which both forms of death are slain. Through the practice of virtue and asceticism, Abraham slays the hidden death of sin, and slays physical death through the promises. What promises? Doubtless the promise made to the good thief: ‘This day you shall be with me in paradise’ (Lk 23.43) and probably also the promise of the Holy Spirit (Lk 24.49; cf. Acts 1.4 & 2.33) which Paul viewed as the fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs (Rom 15.8). Abraham has nothing to fear, for his virtue is complete: from both forms of death he is secure. Pseudo-Ephrem sharpens his focus on Abraham’s complete virtue in the next two stanzas by contrasting him, the just man (kênâ ), with the sinner (ḥaṭṭāyâ ). This polarity between the two stanzas, however, also connects his reflection on Abraham’s perfection to the previously hidden theme of discernment, now hidden no longer. 29 The sinner is weak (ḥallāšâ ), but the righteous Abraham is discerning (pārôšâ ). His discernment is proven precisely 13.21–23. a figure of reasoning in which the author structures the argument by providing a reason or amplification for each division of a statement, following that statement in parallel fashion. 29 In this way, the author’s development of his thesis itself constitutes a polarity by progressing from implicit (that is, hidden) to explicit (that is, revealed). 27 HdAQ 28

180

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

in the fact that he can see through what is obvious to what is hidden. He focuses on what is truly important. The audience is encouraged to gain such insight into Abraham’s life, with the poet’s guidance. Although the second and third stanzas in the triptych identified here form a polarity with one another, there are also polarities inside the individual stanzas that flesh out the poet’s observations. Thus, in the second stanza an inner/outer polarity appears between outward death and being slain inwardly and between the sinner and weakness. The author associates sin with weakness in an associative polarity precisely by connecting it to interior death. In other words, the sinner ‘dies’ before his time through his sin. Implicitly, such premature ‘death’ is the sinner’s weakness. The discerning Abraham, although he ‘kills’ or mortifies himself with his practices of fasting and vigil, nevertheless uses this present ‘death’ to overcome the ‘death’ which is to come. It is the discerning one who ultimately knows what real death is, which the poet expresses through the metaphorical use of the term for physical demise. Thus, the meristic polarity between Abraham’s dûbbārê, that is, fasting and vigil, allows him to defeat one death (mawtâ da-ʿṯîḏ ) with another: being slain through ascetic practice. In this way, the poet showcases Abraham’s wise command of all the realities at stake. He can use what is outward to overcome what is inward. Such is Abraham’s complete circumspection and virtue. The triptych of stanzas just described is not in and of itself an argument for ascetic practices. Pseudo-Ephrem assumes his audience will be sympathetic, and thus he contents himself with a theologically charged description of Abraham, an icon of his virtue. Yet he does not leave his audience without a rationale for the contrasts and comparisons he draws. The last stanza of the poem provides that biblical rationale: By means of a tree, death slew those who ate [âḵôlê ], Fasters [ṣayyāmê ] [however] make light of death, and slay it by the cross. 30 30 HdAQ

13.24.

V: THE PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTION

181

The author appeals to the story of Gen 3.1–24 to explain why ascetic practices are a matter of life and death as he understands it. Adam and Eve ate and were slain, not openly, but in the hidden death of sin that the poet has just described. The ascetic practice of fasting reverses this process. It is not, therefore, in the author’s mind, a matter of body/soul dualism, but rather a polarity established by salvation history between the tree of the garden and the cross of Christ. 31 The fundamental polarity of inner and outer is the moral arena in which the contest of life and death takes place, and the body proves indispensable to the acquisition of genuine spiritual insight.

CONCLUSION: STYLISTIC AND THEOLOGICAL PROFILE OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

In the end, although the pseudo-Ephremian portion proves to be less rich and intricate both in style and theology, one can still identify a stylistic profile of heuristic value. In the first place, the tendency toward parallelism and isocolon increases somewhat since the acrostic section shows a simpler metrical structure. In general, the same devices that Ephrem loved to use remain, but the structure of the stanzas means that rhetorical techniques, especially anaphora and polarity, operate between rather than within stanzas. The stanzas themselves are no longer a significant unit of composition, a fact which also tends to increase the list-like quality of the poetry. In fact, the most rhetorically sophisticated arguments tend to appear in such lists. In such lists one also discover some correlation between certain thematic polarities and certain devices. The relationship of inward to outward tends to be marked by polyptoton and homoeoteleuton. Spatio-temporal connection tends to be marked not so much by anaphora and epistrophe but by parechesis and paronomasia. As Botha has pointed out, such indeed is the attitude of the authentic Ephrem toward fasting. Its rationale comes from the story of the fall, and its goal is spiritual insight. See his 1993, ‘Cleansing of the Eye’, pp. 13–22. 31

182

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

The image/archetype association tends to prefer polyptoton. Homoeoteleuton and isocolon dominate the reversal polarities. What sort of theological profile does pseudo-Ephrem show? In the first place, a more uneven one than Ephrem himself. HdAQ 1–5 all cohere fairly well around the themes identified. PseudoEphrem’s theological insight seems to come in fits and spurts. Often, his thought seems especially inspired by Pauline theology, and his interpretation of asceticism follows St. Paul’s theology of baptism, just as his theology of prudence follows Paul’s embrace of the wisdom of the Gospel in contrast to the wisdom of the world. Ephrem, by contrast, had appealed to the story of the patriarch Jacob as an example of spiritual shrewdness. Pseudo-Ephrem’s model for asceticism is the apostolic missionary, Paul. Ephrem’s model was Moses, especially as mediator. Pseudo-Ephrem also seems especially interested in inaugurated eschatology, for which St. Paul’s thought, naturally enough, is the basic inspiration. The author is at his most skillful when reflecting on eschatology. He weaves together an explicit and an implicit understanding of death and life in order to inculcate in his audience a faculty of spiritual insight and discernment. In the end, therefore, if Ephrem tends to focus on OT examples of spiritual diligence and wealth for his exegetical arguments, his imitator prefers a Pauline focus on apostolic and evangelical wisdom. The result is an unmistakably different theological emphasis, despite basic elements in common.

CHAPTER VI: RHETORIC OF THE MADRĀŠÂ: RHETORICAL STRATEGY, STRUCTURAL PATTERNS, AND THE THEOLOGY OF THE ICON Part of Ephrem’s charm and skill as a poet lies in the fine detail of his artistry. His stanzas are so often an intricate layering of perfectly poised polarities that they fairly burst with the vibrant colors of spiritual and pastoral insight. And even though his imitator or imitators lacked the same depth of detail in the simpler stanzas of the later poems, nevertheless, there are passages in which beautiful jewels of insight gleam. Yet what of Ephrem and pseudo-Ephrem’s overall vision of Abraham, the ‘Heavenly Merchant’? The time has come to view these icons—whose different details have been inventoried, inspected, compared, and contrasted—from a more holistic perspective. Can one discern any coherence to the madrāšê, or relationships among the madrāšê, that allow a glimpse of the many accounts of Abraham’s spiritual practices as so many icons that depict the different aspects of his ascetic achievements and thus reveal the theological perspectives of their authors? The answer is clearly ‘yes’, as the remainder of the book will show. Indeed the rhetorical investigations of previous chapters can now also serve a theological purpose. By reflecting on the poems rather than on the stanzas as rhetorical units, it becomes possible to appreciate the theological and moral instruction Ephrem hopes his audience and his more assiduous readers will draw from his compositions. Because one accesses Ephrem’s teaching through his symbols and their artful rhetorical disposition, the logical sequence to follow is first to consider the rhetorical strategies throughout each poem, the structure on the level of the poem that these strategies permit one to discern, and finally the theology that thus reveals itself. As one 183

184

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

‘zooms out’ further to take in the whole of Ephrem’s verbal icon, one glimpses much better the overall associative, dissociative, and integrative rhetorical strategies at work, how the ebb and flow of those rhetorical strategies structure the first five poems into three major parts, each marked by an epilogue, and finally what theological interpretation one can give to the whole. The moral theology that the icon commends takes virtue as its axis. Indeed, Ephrem consistently treats virtues as the balanced integration of qualities, champions an overtly communal notion of virtue that anticipates the more metaphysical perspective of the much later Syrian author known as pseudo-Dionysius, and characterizes the fundamental virtue as diligence, which he interprets as human receptivity to divine initiative in a way strikingly similar to Athanasius.

OVERVIEW OF RHETORICAL STRATEGY BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF POLARITY

Throughout the first five poems, Ephrem’s main goal is pastoral, as is the case for most of his writings. In them, he wishes to commend Abraham’s example to the people, because they can obtain spiritual profit by learning from him. He also wishes to impart a few lessons of his own that explain Abraham’s success. Thus, as was observed above, Ephrem reflects on and commends the profitability of faithful orthodoxy, the profitability of praise, the profitability of freedom when it relies on glory given by God. Conversely, he condemns the unprofitability of doctrinal error and controversy. As Botha noticed, the usual strategies are associative or dissociative—that is, Ephrem wants to associate himself and his people with Abraham, God, and Christ, and dissociate them from sin, laziness, and heretics. The usual way to do this is to depict the former as good, noble, and desirable, but the latter as evil, mean, and abhorrent. In this way, he associates the object commended with something else good in the minds of his hearers. It is a sort of ‘sheep versus goats’ strategy, and its success depends in large measure on Ephrem’s ability to make the associative link between what his hearers know and what he commends as vividly and convincingly as possible. The more vivid the image, the more persuasive he will be. From this perspective one can better perceive the rhetorical importance of the image-making metaphor that

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

185

Ephrem typically appeals to as a description of his work. His argument relies on the immediacy and vividness of his images. When one considers in general this ‘sheep versus goats’ approach, one can discern the three major polarized strategies or ‘major’ polarities discussed in the two preceding chapters. These are the associative, the contrastive, and the meristic strategy. The associative seeks to bring together things, persons, or stories that might not seem at first to belong together. The contrastive highlights a contrast, often a moral one, between two entities. The meristic points out the completeness of something by bringing together two opposed poles or parts. One might reasonably consider the meristic strategy a special form of association. Indeed, Ephrem’s rhetoric often combines these two strategies together. Each of these strategies is fairly conveniently demonstrated by the first few stanzas of madrāšê one (which, as will be argued below, is also the introduction of one of the main structural units of the cycle). In this way, they summarize the strategies that Ephrem will develop throughout the subsequent stanzas. In the two previous chapters, we encountered these strategies in situ in the course of trying to understand the interaction of stanza level polarities and rhetorical devices. Here, we investigate the way in which they create structural units in the poems. Thus, for instance, in the first three stanzas of the first poem, each of the three major strategies appears: first, the associative, then the meristic, and finally the contrastive. The God El, 1 the Victor [âllāhâ zāḵāyyâ ], despoiled death, the all-conquering [mawtâ ḥāsen koll ]. He entered and took away from our people [šqal men gaww ʿamman ] the mirror [maḥzîṯâ ] placed among our people [sîmâ b-ʿamman ], which served as an ornament for our people.

Every man [kollnāš ] saw himself in that mirror. Every man [kollnāš ] corrected himself by it. Your old age was our mirror: if anyone looks into it and is displeased by it, it is because his ugliness is brought to light in it. 1 Syr.

îl, > Hebr. ‫אל‬.

186

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT The indolent [baṭṭîlê ] looked upon you, O Saint; your diligence [kaššîrûṯâ ] put them to shame. The weary [maʾînê ] also looked upon you; Your endurance [maḡraṯ rûḥâ ] made them turn back embarrassed. Your success [kûššārâ ] shamed all who slack off [šaṕlê ].

All three stanzas share explicitly or implicitly the single image of the mirror (maḥzîṯâ ) of virtues, and together the stanzas themselves serve as a sort of mirror in which the reader can glimpse his overall approach in summary fashion. His first three polarities are (1) God conquering (âllāhâ zāḵāyyâ ) versus death defeating (mawtâ ḥāsen koll), (2) taken away (šqal men gaww ʿamman) versus set in the midst (sîmâ b-ʿamman), and (3) everyone (koll) versus our people (ʿamman). These three polarities as a unit reveal an associative line of thinking. The first polarity appears at first glance to be a contrast, but it ultimately expresses an association of likeness, because the power of death is but a weak reflection of the victorious power of God. Ephrem’s real point is to link or associate God and man. It is precisely by bringing man to himself that God overcomes the power of death and is thus victorious. This state of affairs introduces another paradoxical association between God and man: although God’s victory is (again, paradoxically) a loss for the people (who have been deprived of Abraham), still God’s bringing of man to himself associates God with the people. The poet fully resolves this paradox of association by suggesting with his last polarity that although Abraham, the mirror which adorned his community, is now gone, God’s victory expressed in him represents a mark of distinction for the Edessene community as opposed to the common fate of death suffered by others. That is, the first stanza reveals an association between God, saint, and community that belies the outward appearance of death. In this way, the stanza expresses both an associative strategy and an implied meristic strategy, since Ephrem introduces the theme of the abundance of Abraham’s spiritual wealth shared between heaven and earth, God and man. The fulness of the saint’s perfection appears in this relation. These poles, apparently contrasting, are associated, and in so doing express a new vision of perfection within the compass of this relation. In the next two stanzas, Ephrem takes up the inner-outer paradox (that is, between appearance and reality) he used in the

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

187

first and develops it into the contrastive polarity that he actually wishes his audience to focus on: the contrast between the saint’s example and his less-than-exemplary contemporaries. First, he contrasts the inner beauty expressed with the outward ugliness of old age and the outward beauty of youth that harbors moral ugliness within (an idea only implicit until the end of the first poem in the second to last stanza). The second stanza expatiates on the image of the mirror which had been described as an adornment in the first stanza, but which is nevertheless capable of presenting an ugly picture if those who gaze into it are morally decrepit. Ephrem thus implies a polarity between beauty and ugliness (sanyûṯeh). This polarity is all the more paradoxical because throughout these two contrastive stanzas, Ephrem also develops a polarity between old age (saybûtāḵ—used here as a form of direct address) and youth. The contrastive strategy, however, does not become fully explicit until the third stanza, in which Ephrem creates three clear polarities: (1) between the lazy (baṭṭîlê ) and Abraham’s diligence (kaššîrûṯâ ), (2) between the weary (maʾînê ) and Abraham’s patience (maḡraṯ rûḥâ ), and (3) between the lowly (šaṕlê ) and Abraham’s success (kûššārâ ). Each polarity is a straightforward contrast, but Ephrem introduces some subtlety by using two synonyms, kaššîrûṯâ and kûššārâ in slightly different ways. Both carry such meanings as diligence, prosperity, success, and skill. Nevertheless, it seems that Ephrem shifts the meaning slightly to highlight first Abraham’s diligence contrasted with those who never began the struggle (the lazy—baṭṭîlê ), then his perseverance contrasted with those who gave up (maʾînê ), and finally his achievement contrasted with those who settled for less (the lowly—šaṕlê ). Thus, in these three stanzas which introduce the whole collection, one can see reflected the basic themes that Ephrem pursues: (1) the link between God, Abraham, and his community characterized by victory over death and the sharing of spiritual wealth through example, (2) the perfection of Abraham’s virtue thus dispersed, and (3) the contrast between Abraham and others who lacked his diligence, skill, and success as a spiritual merchant. Each of these persuasive strategies is expressed respectively by associative, meristic, and contrastive

188

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

polarities. 2 As they progress, the poems elaborate theological explanations for how the wise merchant’s wealth is shared. The metaphor Ephrem settles on in HdAQ 5 is that of Abraham like a mirror and like Moses reflecting the divine glory for his community. This image of Moses as mirror follows the lead of 2 Cor 3.18 which links the image of the mirror to Moses’ transfiguration. As the example just mentioned intimates, Ephrem’s associative rhetoric is part of the reason that biblical typology and biblical examples (such as Moses) are a significant part of his rhetorical strategy. Aside from the obvious persuasiveness lent to his work by appeal to Scripture’s authority, there is also in discussing types and symbols something inherently iconographic and associative. Typology calls up images and examples from the scriptures and joins them together. As O’Keefe and Reno point out, good typology works because the association or link between type and antitype is immediately felt and perceived. It does not need explanation. 3 This perception, of course, always occurs in the context of the whole discourse, so an audience that has been suitably prepared to expect typological arguments will be more receptive than one that has not. In the right context, however, a forcefully presented series of ‘Jesus moments’ 4 identified in scripture can make the point better than anything else. Typology as a persuasive strategy also has a couple of other advantages. It is inherently integrating and inherently cumulative. As an integrating technique, it constructs a complete image out of otherwise apparently disjointed events in salvation history. Indeed, although polarities prove to be the main way Ephrem pursues such strategies, the other types of rhetorical devices discussed in previous chapters also play a role in creating the overall strategy of the verbal icon. Considerations of space demand focusing on the polarities as the more significant element, but the interested reader will find information on which devices seem to correlate with which strategies in ‘Further Charts’, on p. 171. 3 O’Keefe & Reno 2005, Sanctified Vision, pp. 69–73. 4 Such is O’Keefe and Reno’s clever summary of the notion of typology. See Ibid., p. 73. 2

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

189

Typology is a matter of finding the pattern. 5 Once that pattern can be convincingly presented, then Ephrem has once again painted a successful icon. The resulting advantage is that the icon, if well executed, can be immediately grasped. It summarizes briefly an entire outlook or point of view—in this case, the one commended. As a cumulative technique, typology also has a certain forcefulness to it that Ephrem can employ to good effect. The overall picture improves, the more detail is filled in. One might say that good typology is inherently ‘high resolution’. The resulting image is full of vibrant detail—and all the more so when Ephrem uses clever imagination to fill in gaps in the picture presented by scripture or tradition. We have stressed Ephrem’s symbolic style of presentation as a rhetorical strategy, but it would be a mistake to view it as mere rhetoric. As numerous other scholars have shown, there are deeprooted epistemological and theological principles in this style of theological thinking. Symbols are important not simply because Ephrem can use them to persuade his audience but because they are the way God reveals himself to us. In fact, a big part of the persuasiveness of symbolic discourse, is that everyone involved, poet and audience, views the world and salvation history symbolically—accepts, in other words, that God reveals himself to us through symbols and types in nature and scripture. It is first and foremost a way of thinking and consequently a style of arguing. The fact that a shared worldview, with shared symbols, 6 is an essential part of the rhetoric should drive home once again that Ephrem’s works are intended primarily for internal consumption. Their purpose is not chiefly to persuade outsiders—even if on occasion they happen to do that—but to confirm the faithful in their belief. Ephrem’s works are catechetical and instructive in a milieu where confusion and controversy prevailed. On the other hand, the purpose to which Ephrem puts his poetry does not imply that his works lack arguments of an intellectual sort. They are not merely appeals to emotion or 126.

5 Ibid., 6

pp. 72–73. Cf. Wright 1992, The New Testament and the People of God, pp. 122–

190

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

imagination. Usually, they are arguments that such and such orthodox position (for instance, the unity of the two testaments or the unity between the Father and the Son) represents the best possible interpretation of salvation history. That is, the picture Ephrem paints is most faithful to the truth, with the correct balance, proportion, and contrast. Herein one can perceive that polarizing rhetoric has both a great power and a great potential for abuse. The real genius of any polarizing strategy lies in its ability to make complicated things black and white, that is, easily comprehended. If one does it right, its success appears precisely in getting down to the essentials, in ‘hitting the nail on the head’, and in bringing to light exactly what needs to be explained. In effect, Ephrem’s poetry tells his audience: ‘I know it all looks very complicated, but when you look closely, the reality is that you cannot trust the heretics and you can trust Abraham’. He says, ‘I know the Arians are very clever but really what is at stake is Christ is God and is not a creature’. If the poet’s insight is correct, then such rhetoric has tremendous didactic power. If, however, the poet is mistaken or blinded by prejudice, then polarizing rhetoric becomes an expression of mere partisanship, without nuance or subtlety. One can now see the need to appreciate Ephrem’s arguments rhetorically. For either he is a mere demagogue or he is a brilliant theologian, and it is difficult to discover a middle ground between the two extremes. A final aspect of rhetorical strategy deserves mention. It must not be forgotten that these poems are musical compositions. This means that their persuasive and emotional effect on the audience will be of a different sort from mere prose. Like any form of music, it will be fundamentally an expression of emotional likes and dislikes, and through the repetition that is part and parcel of these poems as music, they reinforce the habit of affirmation or negation in the audience that has ‘tuned in’, so to speak, to their rhythms and melodies.

STRUCTURE AND MOVEMENTS IN MADRĀŠÊ

The structure of Ephrem’s madrāšê in general presents difficulties that appear also in these poems on Abraham. First, there is the problem of line division. Often, the mss. mark the individual cola with some sort of punctuation, but if a refrain is missing in the ms.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

191

or if the meter is unclear or complicated, then the same poem can be laid out in different ways. Second, there is the problem of editorial corruptions (we leave out of account other sources of corruption, such as scribal mistakes). Such corruptions can take several forms. Outtier 7 has shown that the ms. tradition not infrequently divides a single madrāšâ into two parts. It also sometimes lifts stanzas from one poem and places them in another. Often stanzas seem to have been sufficiently autonomous units of composition that they could easily be rearranged in this fashion. 8 This process of rearranging happened in some cases even before the great thematic collections attested in the fifth century. 9 In other words, such rearrangement was part of the earliest reception of Ephrem’s works. (Indeed, who is to say that Ephrem himself did not edit or rearrange some of his compositions?). 10 The bottom line is that even though in the HdAQ, the stanzas and line divisions are clearly marked in the main ms. witness, that does not mean that every aspect of the text’s presentation is original. Another source of editorial corruption is abbreviation or omission of stanzas, a feature that, for our cycle, appears clearly in N, perhaps as part of the rearrangement process just described. Yet another source of corruption is likely to have been interpolation, although judging which stanzas are likely to have been interpolated is very difficult. Sometimes, perhaps, the interpolation originated as a gloss, 11 but the most likely explanation is that spurious stanzas 7 Outtier

1975, ‘Contribution a l’étude’, pp. 50–52. Such does not seem to be the case as readily for the pseudoEphremian acrostic, as I explained earlier. See page 162. 9 Brock 1997, ‘Transmission’, p. 495, observes this phenomenon. 10 Den Biesen 2006, Simple and Bold pp. 98–99, makes a similar suggestion, as I discovered upon re-reading his work. 11 This is the explanation to which Andrew Palmer frequently appeals, but his reconstructions are fraught with difficulties. Palmer 1995, ‘Words, Silences, and the Silent Word’, pp. 129–200, lays out his basic proposal. He subsequently expands on his basic theory of blank spaces in Ephrem’s autograph in Palmer 2002, ‘Akrostic Poetry’, pp. 275–287; 2003, ‘Restoring the ABC’, pp. 147–194; 2006, ‘Interpolated Stanzas’, pp. 1–22; and Palmer 2009, ‘Interpolated Stanzas’, pp. 1–27. 8

192

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

intermingled with genuine ones in the process of liturgical rearrangement, with the result that the spurious material was incorporated, perhaps even into the large early collections, if they were based on mss. that had already undergone liturgical revision. In the end, therefore, four types of editorial corruption occur: (1) omission of stanzas, (2) abbreviation of stanzas, (3) transposition of stanzas, and (4) interpolation of spurious stanzas. The early date at which these processes began should alert us to the possibility that the original structure as Ephrem intended it has been obscured. But what criteria is one to use to separate the wheat from the chaff? Outtier, although he did not develop such criteria, did lay the groundwork for them by observing that evidence can be found in the notices which begin and end the madrāšê in the mss., as well as in the internal coherence of the poems’ themes or sequence of ideas. Andrew Palmer, on the other hand, has tried to advance the question much further. He argues that the acrostic principle Ephrem uses, together with an appeal to numerology, can help sort out the genuine stanzas. Palmer postulates that Ephrem ordinarily wrote only a single stanza for each letter in an acrostic. Those poems which show several stanzas on the same letter contain interpolations. Palmer then resorts to the artistic merits of the stanzas, or their sequential coherence, to argue which are genuine and which spurious. Unfortunately, the aesthetic grounds on which he bases these judgments are, to put it kindly, rarely conclusive—a problem which his idiosyncratic metrical translations simply exacerbate: they show how subjective his artistic judgment is. Much better is when he can identify a theological inconsistency or a break in the sequence of the thought. Furthermore, his theory of acrostics (that is, one stanza per letter) remains only a postulate resting on conjecture. It has led Palmer to banish very large sections of poetry from the house of Ephrem. Instead, the procedure adopted here presupposes the types of corruptions that can be identified with the help of Outtier’s research, as well as the likelihood that stanzas separate in the mss. could have originally been combined. It adopts two criteria: (1) rhetorical sophistication, and (2) the sequence of rhetorical strategy. The first criterion demands that one accept as genuine those stanzas which show the kinds of rhetorical sophistication already observed in the previous chapters, including, but not limited to: multiple polarities interacting, double meanings, and parts of the

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

193

poem balanced against each other. The second criterion demands that one accept as genuine those stanzas which fit the overall movement of strategy in the context where they are found. Conversely, a stanza which suddenly adopts, for example, a contrastive strategy in an otherwise associative context is much less likely to be genuine. It is best to be conservative in these matters. Just because a stanza does not at first appear to fit is not grounds for ejecting it forthwith. It merely becomes a candidate for removal. Although even the earliest mss. are not flawless, we have no better witnesses. It is for this reason that the criteria given above have been formulated chiefly as inclusive criteria. (a) Overall Reconstruction: Diptychs and Panels The various problems of editorial corruption having been taken into account, the following structure, with minor reconstruction, of the Ephremian madrāšê of the HdAQ is proposed. Among the first five poems, three possess clear epilogues, in which, in a typically Ephremian way, the author seeks for mercy or for prayers. The epilogues are HdAQ 2.25–26, 4.26–27, and 5.27–32. Such epilogues are hardly unique to this cycle. They appear, for instance, in the poems of the CNis that discuss Ephrem’s three bishops, as well as in various places in the HdP. Beck already noticed these parallels. 12 In contrast to these epilogues, poems one and three end rather abruptly. On closer examination, one notices that hook-words link the final stanza of HdAQ 1 to the first stanzas of HdAQ 2. Likewise, hook-words link the final stanza of HdAQ 3 to the first stanzas of HdAQ 4:

12 See

‘Themes and Contents of the Ephremian Portion of the Cycle’ on p. 72 above. This chart reproduces, with minor adjustments, Beck’s account, in his translation volume, of the each poem’s contents. He distinguishes the epilogues clearly, and draws attention to parallels in Ephrem’s works in the course of his footnotes on these sections.

194

HdAQ 1.26

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Mammon [mammônâ ], the master of fools,
 became a slave to your sagacity.
 The grasping are indeed overcome by it,
while the generous are crowned by it,
 and by it your just alms were crowned.

Table 10: Hook-Words Linking the Stanzas HdAQ 2.1 Samuel is an ornament for your truth,
for his mouth bore witness to the People
And the People absolved him of any bribery [šûḥdâ ].
 Your mouth indeed is now silent,
but your truth calls out on your behalf.

HdAQ 3.20

You fought two [trên ] contests:
 your eyes [ḥzāyâḵ ] despised lust.
 They triumphed by day.
By night your vigil was triumphant.
 Blessed are you who were entirely perfect!

HdAQ 4.1

Blessed are you, Elder, who were triumphant
For your fasting was a treasury of helps,
 your prayer a treasure chest of remedies.
Both of your eyes [tartên ʿaynayk ] became for you
a baptism of propitiation.

In HdAQ 1.26 and 2.1, two words from the same semantic field appear: mammon, or unrighteous wealth, and bribery (šûḥdâ ), or the misuse of wealth. Ephrem first describes how Abraham’s righteous use of mammon for alms allowed him to conquer mammon. Then he points out Samuel as the preeminent biblical example of such honesty. The ministries of both Samuel and of Abraham were genuine, because they did not take money for their services. The link is subtle, but natural. Likewise in HdAQ 3.20 and 4.1, Ephrem employs two words from the same semantic field: Abraham’s sight and his eyes (they are also connected by Ephrem’s reflection on Abraham’s double success, marked by the two instances of the word for ‘two’.) In this case, his point is to talk about Abraham’s ascetic endeavors (nighttime vigil and daytime modesty) that follow naturally on his discussion of the way Abraham attended both to himself and yet still helped others (in 3.18–19). He then develops the theme of eyes, sight, double-value, and help for others and self in the first part of HdAQ 4. The links between stanzas, together with the epilogues as natural breaks suggest that HdAQ 1–5 were intended by Ephrem to fall into three parts: HdAQ 1–2, HdAQ 3–4, and HdAQ 5. The fifth poem, as the longest and most eschatological in tone feels naturally enough like Ephrem’s final word on Abraham, a conclusion, in other words, to his entire cycle. Surely it is no accident that when HdAQ 1–2 and HdAQ 3–4 are set side by side

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

195

they each have the same combined length: viz., forty-seven stanzas long. 13 If one then divides the text up into chunks that reflect phases of rhetorical strategy which also share similar themes or words, the results could be expressed in the following diagrams, in which the different sizes of the boxes represent the lengths of the different groups. See Diagram 4: Structure of the First Diptych: HdAQ 1 & 2: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy on p. 197. One can call these sections of the cycle ‘double poems’, but one may borrow the suitable word ‘diptych’ from the tradition of iconography. Thus, one can speak of Ephrem’s poems as falling into two diptychs, consisting of poems one and two, and of poems three and four, as they are numbered in the ms. As one can observe from the diagram, Ephrem prefers to alternate between long and short sections. The long sections generally develop a biblical comparison or exegesis, whereas the shorter sections provide transitions, summaries, and the like. A similar pattern appears in the second diptych. See Diagram 5: Structure of the Second Diptych: HdAQ 3 & 4: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy. Within each double poem, blocks of text that seem to share the same theme or imagery and a common rhetorical strategy are grouped together. In the larger groups, naturally, more than one strategy sometimes occurs, but in that case, it is usual for the large group to show a pattern of rhetorical strategies clustered together, for example, first largely contrastive then largely meristic. On the other Although it is unclear to what extent, if at all, the responses contained in the manuscripts go back to Ephrem himself, some confirmation of the link between poems one and two and poems three and four might be inferred from the similarity of style shown by the responses. The first two poems share very similar responses: the first has ‘Blessed is he who crowned you, O elder’, while the second has ‘Blessed is he who adorned you, O elder’. Likewise, poems three and four show similar responses: the third poem has ‘Blessed is he who magnified your triumph’, while the fourth has ‘Blessed is he who increased your memorial’. The fifth poem has a different sort of response from the first four: ‘Blessed is the Good One, who crowned your end’. 13

196

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

hand, stanzas that make an abrupt break in imagery and rhetorical strategy are candidates for consideration as interpolations (such have been identified in bold. Some groups that are closely related in strategy and theme might differ in that one group relies chiefly on biblical examples, whereas the other chooses a different method of explanation, but pursues the same strategy with generally the same imagery. For this reason, some blocks might be combined. Each stanza that has been retained in the reconstruction shows some verbal or imaginative link to the stanzas that surround it. When looked at in this way, each double poem appears as a sort of diptych, with a hinge stanza between the two panels. The hinge recapitulates what had gone before and leads into the next poem. The final poem is a single panel in its own right, in which the life of the saint is summed up. See Diagram 6: Structure of the Fifth Poem: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy on p. 218. (b) Detailed Commentary on Poems 1–4: A Pair of Diptychs Such is the overall structure of the first five poems, insofar as the rhetorical strategies and the imagery can shed light on it. Ephrem’s thought consists of longer and shorter segments, the latter of which serve like hinges and transitions for the former. The following somewhat abridged commentary aims to summarize the ebb and flow of Ephrem’s thought and to supply a few concrete examples. To save space and avoid needless repetition, passages previously discussed will be referred to or summarized rather than quoted a second time.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

197

Diagram 4: Structure of the First Diptych: HdAQ 1 & 2: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy

198

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

First Diptych: Abraham, Heavenly Merchant First Panel: kaššîrûṯâ The poet’s thesis: Abraham is rich beyond all telling with the riches of paradise. In him, one sees a paradoxical association between God and man, effected by human skill (kaššîrûṯâ ) in response to the divine initiative. Outline of the argument: Ephrem’s overall goal is to seek the true meaning and interpretation of Abraham’s life and death. Ephrem’s finds this true meaning by adopting a paradisiacal perspective that presents Abraham as a skilled heavenly merchant, who stores his riches in Paradise through prayer, vigil, fasting, and almsgiving. Ephrem’s further goal is to describe the relation between God and man, heaven and earth as a paradoxical association He proceeds as follows: An initial statement in three stanzas (1–3) presents the association between Abraham and God and the contrast between Abraham and his contemporaries in stark terms. As noted above, the overall structure of these first three stanzas consists of three polarities, explicitly associative and implicitly meristic, an implicit contrast, followed by three explicit contrastive polarities to balance the three associative polarities introduced at the beginning. There is a polarity between stanzas 1 and 3, with 2 acting as a sort of hinge or fulcrum between them. The first stanza expresses an association that seems at first a contrast; the third stanza expresses a contrast brought to light by Abraham’s association with his contemporaries. 14 A second phase (stanzas 4–17) describes Abraham’s virtues, or spiritual wealth, that consistently emphasizes their completeness via meristic polarities. (He also continues an implied contrast with Abraham’s lazy contemporaries, by couching the language in stanza four in terms of honor and shame.) The following features are especially noteworthy: 14 See

page 185 above.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

199

In 1.7–8, Ephrem sets the scene for what follows in the next panel: It was your alms and your prayers that were just like a loan: they enriched those who received them [nāsôḇayhên ], and to you they returned both the principal [qarnâ ] and the interest [rebbîṯâ ] that you had lent. An almsgiver’s [yāhôḇâ ] alms resemble the loan just [kênê ] borrowers borrow: it certainly belongs to the borrower [yāzôṕâ ], but again it belongs to the lender [mawzṕānâ ], since it will return to him with its interest.

Ephrem’s meristic polarities between (1) receiver and giver, (2) principal and interest, (3) almsgiver and just borrower, and (4) borrower and lender emphasize the totality of the spiritual transaction in terms of its fairness and justice. In short, both parties to the transaction benefit; it is a ‘win-win’ situation. The focus on the fairness and mutual benefit of the relationship anticipates his criticism of the doctrine of Marcion (and presumably its manifestation in the dualism of Manichaeism) in the second panel of the diptych. Ephrem, for his part, presents the virtuous life in terms of an image that connotes balance and fairness. The use of polyptoton enhances the perception of balance and connection, and hence the feeling of fairness that the poem presents. In the middle of this section, Ephrem focuses instead on the association between Abraham and God that results from his fair and righteous activities. Ephrem focuses on the central motif of exchange between heaven and earth, with the aid of Elijah’s chariot as a biblical example. The key to this exchange is prayer, which ascends in a hidden manner (kasyāʾîṯ ). Hence, the position of stanzas 10 and 11 at the middle of the poem emphasizes prayer as the hinge or fulcrum of the spiritual life understood in mercantile terms. Crucially, however, Ephrem also points out that all the spiritual profit he has just described in Abraham depends on God’s initiative as its precondition. After emphasizing Abraham’s complete virtue and his association with God, Ephrem turns to discuss the contrast

200

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

between Abraham and his contemporaries. A thread throughout this section is the use of physical creation, particularly the body, to obtain spiritual wealth. It is in Abraham’s physical asceticism (avoidance of luxuries, constant vigilance, etc.) that the hidden exchange taking place via his prayer becomes manifest. The value of physical creation is important to Ephrem; by emphasizing it, he excludes the Manichaean perspective on asceticism, a point that will become more explicit in the second panel and in the subsequent poems. The third phase (stanzas 18–20) recapitulates the three main points just made: perfection, association, contrast, and reprises the introduction which had articulated those same points. Thus, Ephrem returns in this phase to the polarity of death versus life to express the totality of Abraham’s success and perseverance. He also uses parechesis to emphasize the contrast between lazy youths (ʿlaymê ) and the hard labor (ʿamlâ ) of the old man. Hinge (stanza 21): Ephrem sums up his point about Abraham’s spiritual profitability by highlighting his success via a contrastive polarity between profit and loss. Thus, he emphasizes how wealth can be used either to profit or to loss: Mammon, the master of fools, became a slave to your sagacity. The grasping are indeed overcome by it, while the generous are crowned by it, and by it your almsgiving was crowned.

Ephrem makes Abraham’s success attractive by associating it with the honorable status of a master and money with the dishonorable status of a slave. The key, Ephrem suggests, is the right use of created things. In this case, money should be generously distributed; the evangelical reference is unmistakeable: ‘Go and sell what you have and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven’ (Mt 19.21 and parallels). Second Panel: šarrîrûṯâ Thesis: Abraham’s ascetic virtue can be trusted because his teaching is founded on the complete canon of scripture. In contrast

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

201

to Abraham’s teaching, which is a medicine of life from Paradise, the teachings of heretics are death-dealing poison. Outline of the argument: Ephrem’s goal is to present Abraham in relation to scripture, as a living icon of ‘bible-truth’. In doing so he pursues a link between Abraham and biblical exemplars that emphasizes the way he incorporated all the truths of scripture into his ascetic practices. He also paints a contrast between Abraham’s biblically-founded truth and the error of Marcion, which Ephrem viewed as the fundamental source of the dualist error of the Manichees. On the one hand, therefore, Ephrem insists on the association of Abraham with scripture, and on the other, on the dissociation between Abraham and heretical ascetics. He proceeds as follows: An initial biblical comparison, in four stanzas (2.1–4) sets Abraham alongside several biblical exemplars, in particular Samuel, and alludes to a scriptural passage that summarizes Samuel’s career (1 Sam 12.4). Ephrem implies that Abraham’s life followed the pattern of Samuel’s: prayer for the people, admonition and instruction, and selflessness. The polarities he pursues in this first section are meristic. Ephrem sets different sorts of virtues in opposing balance to emphasize that Abraham was able to incorporate every sort of virtue. Thus, the fourth stanza summarizes: Their purity was depicted in you. Their chastity was inscribed on you. You put on their poverty like a garment. Your body clothed itself with their fasts. As for their prayers, they flowed from your mouth.

There is a polarity between the virtues of purity (daḵyûṯâ, naḵpûṯâ ) on the one hand and actions of poverty (ʿanwāyûṯâ, ṣâwmê ) 15 on the other. The former are more inward qualities, while the latter are outward The link between these two may not seem apparent at first, but elsewhere in the cycle (4.6), Ephrem associates poverty (ʿanwāyûṯâ ) with restraint in eating, and compares it to chaste thoughts. See the detailed discussion on page 52 above. 15

202

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

practices. Each group is described differently: the inner ones are ‘inscribed’ (ršîmâ ) and ‘depicted’ (ṣîrâ ), whereas the outward ones are described like clothing (mʿaṭṭeṕ, lḇeš ). Epistrophe renders these parallels more emphatic and links together the whole complex of virtue just described. Prayer finishes out the set of parallels, as the crowning practice of Abraham’s asceticism. In this way, Ephrem continues the theme observed in 1.10–11. Initial presentation of the double perspective, earthly and paradisiacal (stanzas 2.5–9): with these two perspectives, Ephrem paves the way for his discussion of the saint’s orthodoxy. He pursues the earthly perspective first, with meristic polarities: How can any of his friends [ḥabbîḇâw(hy) ] be saddened at any of his accomplishments? How can any of his brothers [âḥaw(hy) ] not weep for any of his treasures, since they are cut off from any treasure [of his]?

Your sons [bnāyyāḵ ] and your disciples [talmîḏayk ] are between mourning [êḇlâ ] and consolation [bûyâʾâ ], between pain [ḥaššâ ] and triumph [nesḥānê ]. And although pains overcome them consolation gladdens them.

At first, the death of Abraham leaves his devotees in a quandary: they are at once happy and sad at the departure of Abraham (here Ephrem revisits the theme of 1.1.) Several meristic polarities, such as (1) friends versus brethren, (2) mourning versus refraining from weeping, (3) mourning versus consolation, (4) pain versus triumph, and (5) sons versus disciples bring out a paradoxical fullness of human emotion (polarities 2–4) shared by the entire community (polarities 1 and 5). But, they also intimate that the riches of Abraham’s treasury are shared between Abraham and his community. This chance to share in Abraham’s treasury is the consolation (bûyāʾâ ) to which Ephrem refers. (Such sharing contrasts with communion in the poison of the false ascetics whom he mentions in 2.14 and again in 5.25.) The attitude is that of one who looks at Abraham from the earth. Imagining himself in Paradise, Ephrem then elaborates the concept in the next few stanzas with associative polarities: Gradually the waves of your delightful story seize hold of me.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

203

I fall and float about amid the waves, and although I do not leave [lâ neṕqeṯ ] your story, in fact I cannot really recount [lâ tannêṯ ] any of it.

I seem to be like the bellows 16 of a smith’s oven, which becomes a passage for the air. It constantly fills [mālê ] and pours it out again [maspeq ]. While it constantly hunts after more air, it captures none of it I turn to enter into your treasury, whose riches confuse the eyes. For they all cry out at once to me, and I cannot handle them all. I will take the first one that meets me.

The various polarities here (for instance, between not departing and not recounting, or between fill and empty) are associative: like some other instances already noticed, these polarities suggest a contrast that is paradoxically resolved, without ceasing to remain in effect. The author is able to share in Abraham’s brilliant riches, but does not exhaust them. Doctrinal presentation: first error (poison), then the truth (medicine of life)—stanzas 2.10–24: The basic trend among the polarities is at first contrastive, with an eye to showing that the error of dualism is not what it seems. Ephrem describes Marcion’s view and ridicules it for its senselessness. Contrastive polarities such as leap out versus conceal, contest versus plunder, and rebel versus lord, seek to expose the reality hidden behind the pious appearance of false ascetics’ doctrine. Ephrem also associates such doctrines with a one-sided or partial view of things to discredit them in the eyes of the audience. By contrast, Ephrem marshals one of the most sophisticated sustained meristic strategies of the entire collection to display the full orthodoxy of Abraham’s doctrine. Syr. kûrâ. Beck observes that the native lexica cited by PayneSmith give as a meaning for this word the bellows that heat up a furnace. 16

204

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

The bipartite presentation of this section, which consists of error contrasted with the truth, reflects the double presentation of earthly and paradisiacal perspectives in the preceding section and suggests that the error of the dualists comes from their truncated earthly perspective, whereas Abraham’s truth is properly informed with a paradisiacal perspective. In the end, he emphasizes his fundamental contrast between the ‘water of truth’ and the ‘poison of [erroneous] doctrines’ in 3.24 with anaphora and homoeoteleuton. Epilogue: summary and prayer (stanzas 2.25–26): Ephrem concludes by pointing out that the error of the heretics is poisonous, just as he had identified the teaching of Abraham as a medicine of life (2.10). Ephrem heightens the pathos of the conclusion by presenting himself as being in need of Abraham’s medicine. In this way, he finishes the contrast he has been drawing between truth and error by contrasting himself with Abraham. Earlier, as he led up to the epilogue, Ephrem emphasized that Abraham taught the truth with words, but primarily with deeds (2.23–24). In the next diptych, he will explore Abraham’s role as an example by his deeds and the spiritual profits to the community that resulted. Summary of the First Diptych Throughout the first double-poem, Ephrem’s concentrates on Abraham as the skilled and trustworthy merchant who is able to use earthly things such as almsgiving and physical asceticism to gain profit in Paradise. As was pointed out on p. 101 above, the spiritual wealth Abraham gains there is nothing less than the treasury of divine wisdom, the medicine of life, which he is then able to give to the people.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

205

Diagram 5: Structure of the Second Diptych: HdAQ 3 & 4: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy

206

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Second Diptych: Abraham adorned as an example First Panel: the broad dispersion of Abraham’s spiritual wealth Thesis: The spiritual wealth of Abraham can be shared via example. In this way, the community too can also put on the garment of the eschatological wedding feast. Outline of the argument: Having established his themes in the first diptych, Ephrem presents Abraham as a shining example. To do this he uses a series of biblical comparisons to bring out the nuances of Abraham’s role. He proceeds as follows: An initial statement in three stanzas (3.1–4) 17 presents Abraham as the heavenly merchant (taggārā šmāyyānâ ), but it focuses on the way in which Abraham’s spiritual wealth is shared between the saint and the community, with meristic and associative strategies, while contrastive 18 polarities highlight the gap that has been bridged: The heavenly merchant [taggārâ šmāyyānâ ], trader of wealth among us [b-ʿamman ], has departed [praš ] and left us. And while he has departed for the harbor of life [ḥayyê ], our pain at his death [mawteh ] remains [šḇaq ].

Your praiseworthy deeds [neṣḥānayk ] are scattered in abundance, and they confuse the eye of the imagination [ʿaynâ d-reʿyānâ ]. Like a royal treasure house in which all kinds of riches [ʿûṯrîn ] are scattered so as to confuse the eye [ʿaynâ ] with all their beauties.

17 Stanza

2 has been omitted from the count as a possible interpolation. Its description of Abraham’s fight with the devil breaks the sequence of mercantile imagery and introduces a suddenly contrastive strategy in the midst of associative and meristic strategies. Furthermore, the description of the devil in stanza 2 may owe something to the pseudoEphremian Vita. 18 When contrastive polarities play only a supporting role in this way, it seems best to consider the overall strategy as associative.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

207

Whichever of your riches I look upon, in unison they all cry out to me. One after the other draws me to itself, and truly the spiritual riches [ʿûṯrê rûḥānê ] of your treasury bewilder my poverty [meskênûṯ(y) ].

The first polarities: (1) merchant versus our people, (2) life versus death, (3) heavenly versus with us on earth, and (4) departed versus remain emphasize on the one hand the pain of separation (as did a similar group of three stanzas at the beginning of the first diptych) but ultimately they serve to define the totality of the community that includes both Abraham and his devotees, heaven and earth. Ephrem continues with polarities (praiseworthy deeds versus riches and the eye of the mind [ʿaynâ d-reʿyānâ ] versus the physical eye) that highlight the kind of association available within this community between the saint and his admirers: it is a spiritual association in which praiseworthy deeds are compared to the riches of a treasury. They are riches available not to the eye, but rather to the eye of the mind. After describing the spiritual character of these riches, he contrasts them to his own spiritual poverty in the subsequent stanza. It is worth recalling that Ephrem nowhere emphasizes Abraham’s separation from the community by any sort of anchoritic ascetic practice (see page 80). On the contrary, his attention to meristic and associative polarities showcases the importance of the communal dimension of Abraham’s ascetic life. Ephrem does not emphasize Abraham’s separation from the community, but goes out of his way to emphasize his connection to it. The poet proceeds with a list of biblical comparisons to illustrate how Abraham himself is an example for his community. He focuses especially on the figure of the patriarch Jacob. Ephrem first introduces the comparisons with a discussion, in four stanzas, intended to develop the connection between the saint and his community: Who can tell of the treasures which are both in your possession and in ours? Although they accompany you among the dead [lwên lāḵ bêṯ mîṯê ], yet their profits are traded among the living [meṯtaggrîn bêṯ ḥayyê ]. They take their leave of you and yet remain with you [pāš(w) mennāḵ w-êzal(w) ʿammāḵ ]!

208

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Amazing! The treasures among the dead the living possess along with you. Although you have your treasures, your sons and daughters have them too. You have both taken them and have left them.

It is a great wonder that, although you alone own them, many own them with you. They are with your body [paḡrāḵ ]. On the height [rawmâ ] [of Paradise] they are with the Son of your Lord.

The treasure of the righteous forefathers, while going in its entirety with each of them remained entirely with their sons. For the very same wealth that goes with its owners [māraw(hy) ] remains also with those who love it [ḥabbîḇaw(hy) ].

These stanzas develop associative polarities at some length. Among the most prominent are (1) accompanying Abraham among the dead versus traded among the living—also marked with homoeoteleuton, (2) with you versus with your sons, (3) the body of Abraham [in Sheol] versus the height [of Paradise], and (4) the owners of wealth versus those who admire it. By repeating the associations several times in various ways, Ephrem establishes his theme firmly in the minds of his hearers before supplying biblical comparisons to illustrate it. The comparisons themselves appeal to three biblical figures: first, Moses, then Elijah, and finally and most extensively Jacob. The polarities developed in the comparison are associative like those which preceded the comparison-series. 19 The appeal to Moses and Elijah probably also implies a merism: the totality of the law and the prophets. Thus, Abraham is like Moses and like Elijah. His community relates to him as Joshua did to Moses and as Elisha did to Elijah, both of whom profited from association with their masters’ spiritual wealth, which consists of the office of interceding For the notion of a comparison-series, see Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 42, 51–53, 136–137, 212, 235, & 336. 19

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

209

for the people (as in the case of Moses and Joshua) and of rebuking and admonishing the people (as in the case of Elijah and Elisha). In this way one can perceive here a summary of Abraham’s own vocation to pray and admonish (like Samuel the priest). The description of the story of Jacob focuses on the way Abraham’s wisdom and justice resembles that of Jacob, and how his example allowed Abraham to multiply his spiritual wealth just as Jacob multiplied his wealth by the blessing of God. For a detailed discussion, see pp. 152–156. Third Phase (stanzas 18–20): a recapitulation of the theme of shared spiritual wealth, expressed via meristic polarities. For example, Ephrem uses polyptoton on the word sîm, for ‘deposited’, to create an aural example of the various ways Abraham’s spiritual treasures manifest themselves: Your treasures are deposited in you [bāḵ ], and they are deposited in the heavens [ba-šmayyâ ]. They are deposited in the churches [ba-ʿḏāṯâ ]. They are deposited in souls [b-gaww naṕšāṯâ ]. Your wealth, O Saint, is both scattered and gathered [mḇaddar … wa-ḵnîš ]. 20

The meristic polarities (1) deposited in Abraham versus deposited in the heavens, (2) deposited in churches versus deposited in souls, and (3) scattered versus gathered reflect the totality of ways in which Abraham’s spiritual wealth is shared by his example. Ephrem then ponders (3.19–20) the way that Abraham balanced attention to himself and attention to others, a meristic polarity that again highlights the completeness and the communal dimension of his virtuous activity. Hinge (stanza 4.1): Ephrem transitions to describing Abraham’s spiritual abundance in terms of its dispersion throughout the community (the point of the first panel) to a description of how Abraham’s wealth includes all sorts virtuous practices that enrich the community (the purpose of the second panel):

20 HdAQ

3.18.

210

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Blessed are you, Elder, who were triumphant For your fasting [ṣawmāḵ ] was a treasury of helps, your prayer [ṣlôṯāḵ ] a treasure chest of remedies. Both of your eyes [tartên ʿaynayk ] became for you a baptism [maʿmûḏîṯâ ] of propitiation.

Thus Ephrem begins with polarities between (1) prayer and fasting and between (2) the one baptism and two eyes. He suggests the totality of spiritual helps and remedies that comes from Abraham’s virtuous example. Moreover, these polarities converge toward greater and greater similarity, trying to show that the fasting was just as worthwhile as the prayer. The motif of two converging into one is subsequently taken up with two eyes and two baptisms being equally effective. Second Panel: the variety of Abraham’s spiritual wealth Thesis: Abraham’s example was spread through the community near and far by his virtuous practices, including clever rebuke of sinners. Outline of the argument: the poet develops the image of baptism and tears as the first phase of his meristic and associative argument. Subsequent phases pursue the same sorts of meristic and associative arguments with different types of virtue and imagery. The last few movements of the panel introduce a new strategy: hyperbole and contrastive polarities to emphasize the surpassing abundance of Abraham’s spiritual wealth. First phase (stanzas 2–5): Ephrem compares tears of repentance to baptism and uses this comparison to develop an association between God the Creator who establishes remedies for our ills and Abraham who uses the things of creation to benefit his community. In this way, he recapitulates a theme present in the second panel of the first diptych: the genuineness of Abraham’s asceticism, rooted both in scripture and in creation. Ephrem prepares the way for a more detailed discussion of Abraham’s ascetic practices in the subsequent phases of his argument. Stanzas 3–4 are representative: Since the Creator knew in advance that faults continually [koll šaʿ ] increase in us and that baptism can occur only once [ḥḏâ (h)y balḥôḏ ],

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

211

He fixed in the one body [ḥaḏ paḡrâ ] two baptisms [tartên maʿmûḏyāṯâ ] of propitiation.

Praise be to the kindness which placed together sight [ḥzāyâ ] and tears [beḵyâ ] in the wellsprings of the eyes so that if the sight should make the eyes [ʿaynê ] sin [âḥṭî ] tears might flow and propitiate [nṕaq ḥassî ] for the body [paḡrâ ]. Blessed is he who put the medicine [sammâ ] together with the ill [kêḇâ ].

In 4.1, Ephrem had pointed out that Abraham supplied spiritual helps and remedies. Now, he uses associative polarities to describe those remedies and link them to the Creator’s own wise disposition of creation. His polarities are (1) once only versus continually, (2) one body versus two baptisms, (3) sight versus tears, (4) sin versus cleansing, (5) eyes versus body, and (6) medicine versus illness. The first two polarities are simply quantitative and serve to highlight the abundance of the problem (continual sin) and the abundance of the solution (a double baptism contained in the eyes). Ephrem’s rhetorical goal is associative: to link, in the minds of his audience, Abraham’s practice of weeping with the Creator’s plan. The remaining four polarities highlighted are meristic. They seek to show everything that is contained in the body: both the potential for sin and the potential for virtue. (This idea has appeared elsewhere in the cycle under the notion that earthly things can be used both for profit and for loss. 21) The body contains both potential cleansing and potential sin, the medicine placed together with the illness, according to the wisdom of the creator. By implication, Abraham simply taps this wisdom by using the body as an instrument for attaining virtue. He models his practices on the divine plan. In the second phase (stanzas 6–8), Ephrem takes up other ascetic practices that redounded to the community’s benefit and uses polarities to continue elaborating the world-affirmative See page 98. It also corresponds exactly to Ephrem’s stated position on the neutrality of creation and how evil is only introduced by our will in the use we make of creation. See HcH 28.11. 21

212

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

approach found in Abraham’s asceticism. Thus, for instance, Ephrem addresses Abraham in the following words: Your mouth scorned [šāṭ ] delicacies, although everything was pure [dḵê ] for you. You fasted from everything: Your eating [maʾkûlāṯāḵ ] was poor. Your thoughts [maḥšaḇtāḵ ] were chaste.

Ephrem describes a meristic polarity between the two related attitudes of Abraham: (1) scorned versus pure and (2) everything permissible versus abstinence from everything. He also establishes a meristic polarity between eating (a physical practice) and thoughts (interior disposition) to show the veracity and completeness of Abraham’s ascetic practices. Abraham fasts both from food and from evil thoughts. Notice that Ephrem does not attempt to prove in any extended way that Abraham’s asceticism accepted the purity of created things (as against the heresy of encratism). Rather, he asserts it with the participle dḵê and allows it to flow naturally into the context of other polarities that his audience will easily appreciate. Ephrem is painting a portrait, not writing an apology. 22 The remainder of this section (stanzas 7–8) describes the complete perfection of Abraham’s prayer practices by explaining how he was always ready to pray for the forgiveness of his fellow man, and for the punishment of Satan. In the third phase (stanzas 9–11), Ephrem continues with the notion that right use of created things leads to profit. Here, temporal hospitality receives eternal reward. He recalls the hospitality of the patriarch after whom Abraham is named. First (in stanzas 9 and 10) he describes Abraham’s hospitality in terms of food and drink (another meristic strategy). Then, he concludes: The fact that Ephrem felt a need to emphasize the purity of created things probably reflects a traditional point of identity for the Christian community, one that would distinguish it from the more encratite tendencies of Manichaean ascetics. 22

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

213

For the table of Abraham did not give [ya(h)ḇ ] in proportion as it received [nsaḇ ]. For it bestowed sustenance one could see [galyâ ], but it received the hidden [kasyâ ] commandment 23 It gave temporally [d-zaḇnâ ]; it received eternally [da-l-ʿālam ]. 24

To which Abraham Ephrem intended to refer is not at first obvious, a strategy that is probably deliberate. The reference to the commandment (pûqdānâ ), as Beck’s note suggests, indicates that Ephrem has the biblical patriarch at the front of his mind. The various polarities: (1) gave versus received, (2) manifest versus hidden, and (3) temporal versus eternal, establish the typological association between the patriarch’s hospitality and that of the contemporary ascetic. The temporal has become the means to the eternal. Fourth phase (stanzas 12–18): Ephrem bestows special prominence on Abraham’s ministry of admonition and example by devoting seven stanzas to the theme, which, like the other phases discussed thus far, he develops with meristic polarities. First, Ephrem reintroduces the image of the mirror (see HdAQ 1.1) to describe how Abraham served as an example for his community, and then he elaborates how Abraham’s example made its influence felt through direct presentation and through reputation. For example, he writes that The rumor of you [ṭebbāḵ ] taught people afar off [b-rûḥqâ ]. Your action [ʿḇāḏāḵ ] instructed people close by [b-qûrbâ ]. You became both near [b-rûḥqâ ] and far [b-qûrbâ ] a mirror for whoever was adorned. Your reputation was gathering up blessings [ṭûḇê ]. 25

23 Beck

notes the following: ‘Syr. pûqdānâ. Certainly in this expression without doubt the commandment of Gen 18.10 is meant (that is, Sara will have a son). The pûqdānâ (as ‘merciful visitation’) should probably be explained with reference to the corresponding verb in the same situation as 1 Sam 2.21: w-māryâ pqaḏ l-ḥannâ w-beṭnaṯ.’ 24 HdAQ 4.11. 25 HdAQ 4.12.

214

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Meristic polarities between (1) near and far and (2) reputation and action establish that in the realm of teaching by example and admonition, his ministry was as complete—as was the truth of its doctrinal content (emphasized in the second panel of the first diptych). Ephrem indulges here in some word play to emphasize Abraham’s perfection: parechesis on rumor (ṭebbâ ), adorned (meṣṭabbaṯ ), and blessings (ṭûḇê ). A different sort of perfection appears in the meristic polarities of the fourteenth stanza: Your encouragement [qûllāsāḵ ] aided the weary [lāʾyê ]. Your threats [lûḥāmāḵ ] aided the indolent [baṭṭîlê ]. You hid love within cunning, and although rebuke [gzāmâ ] was on your lips, inside was tranquility [šaynâ ], outside threatening [lûḥāmâ ].

Every type of person (both the weary and the lazy) who might need help received whatever sort of instruction (both encouragement and rebuke) might be required. The polarities between these terms are resolved by Ephrem’s assertion that Abraham’s wisdom allowed him to show one disposition while harboring another within. This situation reverses the hypocrisy of false ascetics. For Abraham, the inner dimension, the source of his solicitude for his fellow man, was his love and tranquility, even if he becomes all things to all men (a reference to 1 Cor 9.22, which is made explicitly in a subsequent stanza) and adapts his outward behavior to help them. As with other aspects of this second diptych, the themes of the first diptych have been reworked to emphasize their communal dimension. Recapitulation and transition to final movement of praise (stanzas 19–21): as Ephrem concludes his depiction of Abraham, he turns to emphasize Abraham’s success with contrastive polarities 26 that emphasize the height of Abraham’s achievement. Some of these later contrastive polarities, because they also serve to exalt Abraham’s virtue with hyperbole, tend to have a weaker force than many of the contrastive polarities observed earlier. The earlier examples, whenever the contrast was the main point, normally used that contrast to provoke an ethical and emotional reaction of disgust in the 26

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

215

In language reminiscent of St. Paul, he emphasizes how the love of the crown spurred Abraham on in the race and how merchants, Abraham among them, look to the profit they will receive from their endeavors, not the toil that leads up to it. Ephrem pursues this kind of hyperbolic strategy most vigorously in stanza 21: For merchants see [ḥzaw ] profit [yûṯrānâ ]. They do not see [la ḥāzên ] the hardship [ʿamlâ ] of the journey. Athletes look to [ḥzaw ] the crown [klîlâ ]. They do not look at [la ḥāzên ] the toil [ḥaššâ ] of the contest. In retrospect they see all.

His polarities contrast (1) profit with hardship, (2) crown with toil, and (3) seeing with not seeing. His two contrastive polarities seek to associate his audience with Abraham’s achievement by encouraging them to keep their eye on the prize and promising a final retrospective vision in light of which everything else makes sense, the perspective from paradise. 27 Two final elaborations on vigil (stanzas 22–23) and fasting (stanzas 24–25) sum up the points Ephrem has made by using more contrastive polarities to dissociate two types of ‘vigil’: the drunken reveries of demon-inspired revelers versus the prayerful singing of the chaste who resemble the seraphim. He heightens the paradox by describing with a contrastive polarity between prison and lusts the way in which Abraham was able through restraint to bind the lusts that normally constrain others. Thus Ephrem sums up Abraham’s ascetic practices as follows: Your youth cut off [qeddaṯ ] and removed from your body by the sword of fasting.

audience, the goal being to persuade them not to associate with one pole and to adhere strongly to the other. In some of these later instances, however, while there is still a certain distaste (for example, for the hard toil required by the virtuous life), the audience is encouraged to embrace it for something greater. The rejection of the negative pole is only relative rather than absolute. 27 Ephrem adopts a similar strategy in most of HdP 7.4–20.

216

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT every band [qeddyān ] that restrained the lusts that were in your body— your body became for them a prison [bêṯ âssîrê ].

Polarities between (1) cut off and bands and (2) imprisoning lusts and lusts imprisoned highlight the amazing success of Abraham’s virtuous practices by showing the way that he is able to reverse the usual course of human life. Together with the next stanza, which begins with a discussion of Abraham’s old age, Ephrem uses the reference to youth to construct another merism to emphasize that throughout his life Abraham persisted in the practice of virtue. (In this way, he recalls the theme at the end of the first panel of the first diptych, HdAQ 1.18–20). Epilogue (stanzas 26–27): Ephrem, not without a touch of irony, given his references to Abraham’s restraint from wine in stanza 25, seeks to share in the spiritual wealth of Abraham, which he characterizes as a holy inebriation 28 in contrast to the poor water of the poet’s own discourse. My harp desists from your song, and you force me to seek from you that you be my intercessor on the day when the books are opened and the pangs [of Sheol] smite us debtors.

And if anyone who gives a cup of water to drink to one of the disciples, the wage has been promised him with solemn oaths, intercede that the weak one not be defrauded, who gave your vintage to drink to your sons.

As Beck noticed, Ephrem seeks Abraham’s intercession explicitly on the day of judgment and not before, a request that would be incompatible with the eschatology that Ephrem develops in the HdP. As one would expect in this final part of the poem, Ephrem’s strategy is associative: he points out the contrast between himself Ephrem elsewhere refers to the holy inebriation that one can gain from paradise (see HdP 6.4), and perhaps he also intends a reference to baptism which began this panel of the diptych. 28

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

217

and Abraham precisely as an argument that he stands in need of Abraham’s assistance. Such is the point of the polarity between the silence of the poet and Abraham’s song, and the associative polarity between the poet’s seeking and Abraham’s intercession, which share the same root in Syriac (b-ʿ-y). Further contrast between water and wine, promise and defrauding, is resolved by appeal to the promise of our Lord whom Abraham has imitated all his life. The reference to Abraham’s wine or vintage (ḥamrānê ) recalls once more the paradisiacal perspective that the poet adopts. Ephrem elsewhere speaks of the riches of paradise in terms of an inebriating draught that confers wisdom: ‘a heavenly drink that gives wisdom to its drinkers’ (HdP 7.3; cf. HdP 6.4). 29 Indeed, in HdP 9.23–24, Ephrem describes the visions that flow from the Firstborn (that is, Christ) as inebriating waves of glory (šeṕʿâ dḇûsāmâ on which ḥazzāyê are meṯlaʿbîn), whose ultimate source is the Father. Ephrem refers explicitly in the HdP to the example of Moses, who fasted on Mt. Sinai and received sustenance from the vision of divine glory. The image implied here leads us directly to the final image of HdAQ 5.22–25, which appeals to the experience of Moses as the ultimate basis for Abraham’s glorious success. By way of summary of the first four poems, one might represent the overall presentation of Ephrem’s verbal icon graphically in this way: Each diptych takes the audience through various aspects of Abraham’s ascetic career, not of course, in historical sequence, but from the point of view of Abraham’s successful strategies for obtaining and distributing spiritual wealth. Through a carefully structured progression of introductions, linking stanzas, and epilogues, Ephrem presents his icon of Abraham as a denizen of Paradise. Although of course, while his body is still in Sheol, Abraham is not actually present there, Ephrem nevertheless contemplates his position with the eye of the mind and reflects on the abundant wealth or provisions that Abraham was able to store there and in his body, ready for the last act of the drama, the heavenly wedding feast, which is the subject of the final poem in 29 Syr.

šeqyā šmayyānâ mḥakkem l-šattāyaw(hy).

218

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the collection. Naturally, in the final poem, the language of commerce yields to describing the bridal adornments that Abraham acquired. Diagram 6: Structure of the Fifth Poem: units of text, defined by progressive movements of rhetorical strategy

(c) The Final Poem In the last poem, Ephrem brings together the various threads of imagery to show that Abraham is well prepared to enter the ‘bridal chamber of life and joy’ (HdAQ 5.21). Thesis: All the spiritual wealth of Abraham proved to be provisions for his honor at the heavenly wedding feast. The ultimate source of his wealth is God.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

219

Outline of the argument: In this poem, much of the bridal imagery which was only implicit in Ephrem’s vocabulary (particularly adornment language) and examples (particularly Jacob the patriarch) now becomes explicit. Ephrem first pursues a series of contrastive polarities based on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Then he develops further biblical comparisons with more contrastive strategies to emphasize that the right use of the faculty of speech is key to Abraham’s success. Abraham uses speech to profess the true faith and to admonish and instruct others. Ephrem pursues the image of speech as a merchant’s ‘cargo’ to highlight the completeness of Abraham’s virtue with meristic polarities. The next phase transitions to imagery of the wedding feast and adornment (stanzas 17–22) and then provides the theological explanation by appealing to Moses’ example (stanzas 23–26). The argument concludes with a meditative epilogue (stanzas 27–32). Ephrem’s introduction and initial biblical comparison (stanzas 5.1–6) returns to the dilemma that has occupied the poet and his audience at the beginning of each of the other two main sections (that is, at the beginning of the diptychs): the fulness of conflicting emotion that the saint’s community feels as it contemplates Abraham’s decease (stanza 1). This time, however, Ephrem tackles the question head-on by appealing to the biblical parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The contrast between the rich man and Lazarus sets the tone for the rest of the polarities in the poem, which associate Abraham with Lazarus or discuss his virtue in such a way as to confirm the association. Ephrem presents his contrastive argument in terms of honor and shame (stanzas 2–3): For all men [koll nāš ] must experience death [mawtâ ], but all men do not enjoy a good name [šmâ tāḇâ ]. All men will have to pay back, but that a man will come with provisions 30 is possible only for the few [dallîlê ].

Beck notes that this idea of provisions for the heavenly journey is very common in Ephrem’s genuine works. 30

220

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT The rich man and Lazarus both died, and although their deaths were equivalent [šwên ], their deaths were very different [prîšîn ]. The rich man brought his debts [ḥawbê ] . The poor man brought his provisions [zwāḏê ].

Death serves as a sort of hinge or fulcrum for the contrast, since it is common to all men and thus the deaths of the rich man and Lazarus were equivalent in that sense. They were, however, very different in their results, and this is the focus of Ephrem’s various contrastive polarities: between (1) all men and the few, between (2) the rich man and Lazarus, and (3) between debts and provisions. There are also contrasts that include death as one of the poles rather than making it the fulcrum: between (4) death, which is common, and a good name, which is rare, and between (5) equal and different. Thus, from two different angles, Ephrem depicts Abraham’s distinctiveness. His success contrasts with the common run of men who will have to pay back their debts upon death. It is no accident that Ephrem chooses this parable as his capstone for the depiction. Abraham’s perfection was, as the previous panels of the icon made clear, precisely his sharing of spiritual wealth throughout the community in various ways: for example, example, admonition, teaching, encouragement, almsgiving, and hospitality. Stinginess, like that of the rich man in the parable, is the very thing he overcame. Moreover, Abraham’s generosity included both spiritual and material goods, whereas the rich man’s stinginess manifested itself in a purely material way. Ephrem’s first phase (stanzas 7–12) continues the contrast between Abraham and the wicked in terms of speech. First Ephrem reminds his hearers of a point he has developed in several other places in the cycle: created things themselves are morally neutral. Everything depends on the use to which we put them. Thus, Ephrem argues as follows, still in a contrastive vein: It is possible that creatures [beryāṯâ ] be employed by good men [ṭāḇê ] for good purposes. They are used in commerce [neṯʿanyān ] 31 unto evil by evil men. 31 Literally,

to be busy with, converse with, be familiar with.

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

221

One man blots out [ʿāṭê ] his debts [ḥawbaw(hy) ] through them. Another increases [masgê ] his sins [ḥṭāhaw(hy) ] through them.

Ephrem describes several polarities: a contrast between (1) good and evil men, (2) blotting out versus increasing, and (3) debts versus sins. Creatures, however, are merely the currency by which humankind trades for eternal profit or eternal loss. Several biblical examples in the next few stanzas elaborate this theme in terms of of one such created entity: namely, speech. He develops contrastive polarities between (1) losses and profits, (2) blasphemed and confessed, (3) the people and the peoples, and (4) a single word versus everything that depends upon it. One of his most complex polarities balances the blasphemy and lies of Korah, Dathan, and the Serpent on the hand hand against the simple confession of the good thief. A detailed analysis was provided above. (See pp. 143–145.) The second phase (stanzas 13–16) develops the perfection of Abraham’s use of speech. Ephrem switches to associative and meristic polarities in this phase to provide a more positive description of Abraham’s virtue. Prayer, for instance, is one of Abraham’s most significant virtuous uses of speech. Ephrem describes it (in stanza 14) as a ship carrying the cargo of spiritual treasures to heaven: Your prayer [ṣlôṯāḵ ] was a ship [êlpâ ] which clove the sea of the air without ceasing. It would sail and ascend, carrying up your treasures [sîmāṯāḵ ] and placing them in heaven in a place which knows no fear of loss [ʿlāy men qenṭâ ].

He places a single polarity here: between treasure and the fear of losing it, but his point is that through prayer Abraham overcame this fear. Prayer thus connects heaven and earth and shows the complete sagacity of Abraham’s ascetical discipline. The third phase (stanzas 17–22) consists of the wedding feast and Abraham’s adornment with glory. As in other sections of the poem, Ephrem first develops the contrast and then discusses Abraham’s perfection with meristic and associative polarities. Their bodies stand at the resurrection clothed with their works [ʿḇāḏayhôn ] on the outside, both the beauties [šûṕrāyhôn ] and the stains [mûmāyhôn ]

222

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT like pleasant [ṭāḇê ] or foul [bîšê ] blossoms, when they put on all at once their beauties.

In a flash are opened up by the voice of your Lord as with a key the treasure houses hidden in you, O Saint, and from your treasury comes forth your robe of glory for the feast.

When with shame he is ejected [bāheṯ nāṕeq ] who did not prepare wedding garments for himself for the wedding feast, by your clothing, your heart was enlarged [yāreḇ lebbâ ] 32 as the radiance of your garment flashed forth.

Ephrem first develops the contrast that will occur at the resurrection in terms of the following polarities: (1) beauties versus stains, (2) the pleasant versus the foul blossoms, and (3) deeds versus blossoms. The next stanza (18) does not itself contain any more contrastive polarities, but is instead intended to contrast with the stanza which follows (19). In this way, Ephrem first frames the basic contrast that Abraham presents in the presence of the wicked (stanza 17), and then develops each of the two subsequent stanzas as a pole in the contrast. Abraham is prepared with good deeds that serve as his wedding adornments. He obtains honor (expressed in the notion of his freedom of speech or courage. Syr. yāreḇ lebbâ ). The ill-prepared, on the other hand, receive only shame (bāheṯ nāṕeq). Abraham’s adornments, however, are stored within his body, and at his resurrection will transfigure his old age, with a ‘sweet beauty that does not wither’ (5.20). With this image, Ephrem concludes the theme that has persisted in various ways throughout the poems: the contrast between youth and old age. Abraham’s hard work and success contribute ultimately to his eternal rejuvenation. The ultimate source of that rejuvenation, however, is In other words, he gained courage. Here we see a variation on the common patristic doctrine that redemption entails a return of the filial confidence or parrhesia originally enjoyed in Paradise. Daniélou 1956, Bible and the Liturgy, pp. 39–40. 32

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

223

not in Abraham himself, as Ephrem turns to explain in the next section. The fourth phase (stanzas 5–23–26) presents the Mosaic paradigm for Abraham’s transfiguration. Here, Ephrem argues that the ultimate source of Abraham’s glory is God who loans it to man that he might make a profit on it. To put it in more metaphysical or theological terms, one might say that God’s grace is prior in being to man’s merit, or one could simply highlight the necessity of prevenient grace. In Ephrem’s terms, one cannot profit on counterfeit money. Ephrem, however, prefers to express the thought in polarities rather than explicitly metaphysical categories. The Exalted One [rāmâ ] impoverished [mmasken ] his ornaments, in order that the poor [meskênê ] might adorn [nṣabbṯônāy(hy) ] him, 33 so that whenever a beautiful person [šappîrâ ] is adorned He borrows [nešâl ] it from him [that is, from God], just as He lent [âwzeṕ ] His brightness to Moses. The praise of our mouths adorns Him, and our prayers glorify him. 34 But He, upon receiving them, grafts them into His truth, that they might have the ability to adorn us.

For every ornament that is not grafted into His beauty is completely hateful to Him. The arrangement of the roots creates a chiasm: m-s-k-n—ṣ-b-t—ṣ-bt—m-s-k-n. 34 The exchange is both between God and man and between saint and community. Authentic praise is a source of merit, provided it be grounded in the divine beauty. Authentic praise of merit, as the last stanza makes clear below, is also a source of glory for the one who praises, if the original adornments praised be genuine, that is, rooted in God’s own beauty. Conversely, praise of those heretics whose doctrines are not founded on God’s truth and beauty would be injurious. Praise of God joins us to God. Praise of the saint implicitly joins us to God too since ultimately, that which is praised comes from God. This at least, seems a connection Ephrem wants his hearers to make, but it is not expressly stated. 33

224

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Blasphemers may pray and fast, but their adornments are loathsome since their beauties are alien 35 to Him.

But as for you, all your adornments, of fasting, vigil, and alms, you grafted into His truth, like Moses who grafted his adornments into the brightness which brightened his face.

Several polarities, mostly associative, occur here: (1) impoverished versus adorn, (2) the Exalted One versus the poor, (3) borrow versus lend, (4) humanity versus God, and (5) the adornments of Moses versus the adornments of Abraham. On the one hand, these polarities highlight the difference or gap between God and man which is bridged by the initiative of divine condescension. On the other, they also associate Abraham to Moses, the biblical example or paradigm for the success of the virtuous life. 36 Ephrem places all these associative polarities (which he also highlights with a contrast between genuine and false asceticism) here at the end of his poem to give his view of what the ascetic’s life is ultimately all about. The purpose of such asceticism is not negating the world or even purely personal gain but rather associating mankind once again with God, of bringing man back into communion with God. Its work, in other words, is the work of salvation. Ephrem’s main metaphor for this relationship is mercantile, and his final biblical image for it is Moses, whom St. Paul also characterizes with the image of the mirror in 2 Cor 3.18. Ephrem has brought his imagery back full-circle to the beginning of his cycle, and shown that Abraham reflects the perfection of Moses, borrowed ultimately from God himself. In his epilogue (stanzas 27–32), Ephrem brings his reflections to rest ultimately in a desire to associate himself with Syr. nûḵrāyîn. With this word, Ephrem evokes the Marcionite view of the NT God as ‘Stranger’ (nûḵrāyâ ). 36 Appeal to Moses as an example of the virtuous life is also a favorite theme of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who devoted his De Vita Moysis to the topic of virtue. 35

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

225

Abraham, who had associated himself with God, just as Moses had. Ephrem reflects on the gap between himself and Abraham, but ultimately expresses confidence that through his act of praise he too might share in Abraham’s glory. In this way, Ephrem makes his final persuasive appeal to his audience with his own posture of dependence and receptivity to the divine light. Like Abraham, he himself stands as an example for his community. Ephrem closes by inviting them to imitate him in praising Abraham because to do so is ultimately to praise God: ‘He who offers a crown to the King / receives in return the King’s gift’ (5.32). In the HdP, one of the ways Ephrem seeks to characterize what Adam and Eve enjoyed and what Christ restores to fallen man is the pair life and wisdom. Over several madrāšê (12–14) in that cycle, Ephrem meditates on the fall into dishonor and disgrace from the glory and dominion that Adam, as king over creation, had enjoyed. He also reflects on how Adam’s life, had he endured and maintained his relationship with God, would have been secure from death and corruption. Accordingly, Ephrem speaks of the ‘two Trees to provide two crowns / if he were victorious’. Indeed, If only he had conquered just for a moment, he would have eaten the one and lived, eaten the other and gained knowledge; his life would have been protected from harm and his wisdom would have been unshakeable. 37

According to our analysis of the HdAQ, one can see the same pattern enacted: the two poles which constitute the totality of human perfection in communion with God: life and wisdom. It is no accident, therefore that Abraham represents paradise restored, and his crown involves the sagacious use of free will that leads to eternal life, grafted into the firmness of God’s truth (indeed, the Syr. word šrārâ includes both of these nuances: truth and steadfastness.) The result is depicted in the shining face of Moses: the glorious status that comes from communion with God. 37 HdP

12.17.

226

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

From the perspective of the glory promised to man in Paradise, it is possible to look back on the theology of the entire icon Ephrem paints in his five madrāšê on Abraham. Ephrem also characterizes his poems as a woven crown of praise, and many different threads have been artfully added to it. One of Ephrem’s consistent concerns has been to present the true picture of asceticism and virtue, to answer the question: ‘In what does real virtue consist’? This appears negatively in the many passages where Ephrem emphasizes the moral neutrality of creation, its essential goodness, its usefulness for obtaining spiritual wealth, and especially in his consistent polemics against dualism, framed in a traditional anti-Marcionite way, but more likely directed toward contemporary ascetics. Of the various interpretations of asceticism opposed to orthodox Christianity in the fourth century, the most likely targets of Ephrem are Manichaeans. More important, however, is the positive picture of real virtue that Ephrem proposes to his audience. He seeks to make it attractive, to paint with bold colors, and to present a biblical rationale whose terms and imagery would be traditional and familiar (as was argued above in chapter II, pp. 38–61) to his audience, and which was native to the land of Aram that Ephrem and his flock called home. Ephrem’s theology of ascetic practice as it appears in the HdAQ has little to do with modern scholars’ concerns over whether the form of asceticism was the native Syriac covenant (qyāmâ ) or an import from the monastic practices of Egypt (however legitimate that interest may be in itself). Rather, he wishes to emphasize that authentic virtue has three main qualities. First, it balances and integrates the human person. The body is the locus of asceticism, not because it is evil, but because it is the proper tool with which to live a life pleasing to God. Other scholars, especially Susan Ashbrook Harvey, 38 have made a point of emphasizing that personal integrity rather than a conflict Harvey 1990, Asceticism and Society in Crisis, pp. 7–8. See also her 1988, ‘Sense of a Stylite’, pp. 381–386, and 1998, ‘Scent of Salvation’, pp. 111–115. 38

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

227

between body and soul is the consistent ideal of early Syriac ascetics. Ephrem’s commendation of Abraham fits that ideal exactly. Abraham consistently incorporated exterior and interior aspects. He practiced what he preached. His outward deeds conformed to his interior disposition, and his spiritual wealth will ultimately manifest itself at the resurrection of the body, where it will serve as the body’s rejuvenation in recompense for an entire life spent in hard toil. The actual ascetic practices that Abraham chose do not attract particular comment from Ephrem, because the rudiments of ascetic practice: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, vigil, instruction, and admonition, were already taken for granted and enjoyed a unquestioned warrant in sacred scripture. The important thing is that Abraham conformed to it, and integrated the whole of scripture, not just the truncated marcionite canon, into his life. Such is the focus of the first diptych. Second, Ephrem’s conception of virtue is radically communal. Indeed Abraham’s goodness, conceived as it is in terms of glory and light, can hardly be conceived without the notion of the mirror and the implication that light cannot be hidden, but must be shined on others. If physical withdrawal (ἀναχώρησις) from the community were to mean abandoning all solicitude for the community, then Ephrem clearly would have rejected it. Ephrem’s ideal is the ascetic who receives glory but also shines it on others, just as Moses is the perfection of virtue in his contemplation, but also the perfect lawgiver by his words and deeds. Just as Moses was a mediator for his people, the ascetic in his community creates the link between God and man that enables the whole to become perfect. Ephrem’s allusion to the Pauline and Johannine doctrines of being grafted into the vine of Israel (HdAQ 5.24 cf. John 15.5 and Rom 11.17–24, with various OT parallels) 39 suggests this ecclesial conception of virtue. Likewise, his appeal to Pauline language of becoming all things to all people (HdAQ 4.17) and his extensive appeal to the biblical example of the wise Jacob, who according to Ephrem’s typology, is mystically espoused to the The best discussion of this imagery in early Syriac theology remains Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 95–130. 39

228

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

church, show that the life of asceticism, in Ephrem’s mind, is never a personal or private affair. The extent to which (throughout the second diptych) Ephrem praises Abraham’s abundant spiritual riches for being scattered throughout his community anticipates the more metaphysical expression of another, later Syrian writer, pseudo-Dionysius, whose cardinal principle was that goodness is self-diffusive. Although Ephrem eschewed Dionysius’ platonic language in favor of his own characteristic polarities, he would readily have agreed with his sentiment. Thus, one of Ephrem’s favorite themes in these poems is the polarity between Abraham and his community, especially the paradox that although Abraham obtains spiritual profit by his own meritorious efforts, the benefits of these also belong to his community. Indeed, Abraham, in adorning himself for the heavenly marriage feast, manages to serve as an adornment for his own community (HdAQ 1.1). In receiving from God the basis for merit, he manages to give back good ‘returns’ (1.5) both to his community and to God himself. Ephrem is eager to balance the two poles, the individual and the communal. In this polarity, one can observe Ephrem’s interest in a classic problem of ascetic theology: how to maintain the bond of Christian charity in the case of an ascetic who withdraws to give foremost attention to his own salvation. The key, it appears, from Ephrem’s depiction, is precisely Abraham’s exemplary status. By increasing his individual conformity to Christ, through diligent ascetic labor, Abraham, like Moses, both enjoys the light of divine glory in himself and becomes a beacon for others. Thus Ephrem says of Abraham that ‘The rumor of you taught people far off / your action instructed people close by / You became both near and far / a mirror for whoever was adorned. / Your reputation was gathering up blessings’ (4.9). Third, and perhaps most importantly, Ephrem carefully insists on the ultimate source of the ascetic’s glory. It can only be God, the source of all glory and wisdom. Ultimately, it is the wonderful exchange between God and the saint that so frequently attracts Ephrem’s notice. The exchange demands our freedom and our ability to merit as a result of freedom, but Ephrem insists that the relationship is asymmetric. Our cooperation with the creator conforms to the general pattern of the relationship between the

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

229

creator and creatures: our total dependence on him for life and knowledge. For this reason, Ephrem focuses not on any specific ascetic practice, which in and of itself is meaningless, but on the fundamental stance of readiness to cooperate with God, of receptivity to the divine glory (HdP 9.28; cf. the image of the mirror in HdAQ 1.1, & 4.12 and the example of Moses in 5.23–26). This seems to be the ultimate meaning of Abraham’s diligence (Syr. kûššārâ & kaššîrûṯâ ): it brings every creaturely resource to bear on the task of seeking virtue. It is an integrating and focusing persistence throughout life, but its ultimate goal is to be a receptacle for the divine light. It is thus paradoxically passive despite the strenuous effort that Abraham devoted to it throughout youth and old age. In this respect, Abraham’s theology of virtue and grace closely corresponds to the theology his exact contemporary, St. Athanasius, developed in the praise of one of the first ascetics in his field of vision, namely, St. Anthony. Athanasius emphasizes how God’s grace acts to bring creation, which has no being in and of itself, into closer communion with him. Khaled Antatolios describes his position this way: God acts to qualify this ontological poverty of creation by granting it a participation in the Word. Such participation stabilizes and orders creation in a way reflective of the divine power and goodness rather than of creation’s intrinsic definition. The natural difference between God and creation is thus de facto modified by this participation. This kind of modification achieves a much more intensified expression in the case of humanity. In this context also, Athanasius speaks in terms of God acting to mitigate the intrinsic definition of creaturely being by means of grace … The ‘added grace’ granted to humanity consists in a distinct level of participation in the Word which renders human beings λογικοί. 40

The fall of man endangered this ‘stabilization’ and participation in the λόγος (Ephrem would say participation in glory instead of 40 Anatolios

2005, Athanasius, p. 167.

230

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

participation in the Word 41). In practice, this means that St. Anthony embodies a new order of creation which reverses this tendency and in which ‘our life in God is not ours’. 42 The proper response to this new order is, according to Anatolios’ interpretation of Athanasius, ‘characterized above all by diligence’. He remarks that ‘Athanasius seems preoccupied … with the proper response to God’s grace’. In this context, then, Athanasius presents Anthony as the ‘ideal type of the redeemed Christian’, who, also ‘provides us with an ideal representation of Athanasius’ conception of the life of grace’. 43 There are two fundamental features in that account: (1) the total dependence of the creature on the grace of the creator, who always remains ‘other’ and (2) the dialectic of divine dispensation and human striving that is ‘interior’ to the account of creaturely dependence on God. 44 Human striving or cooperating with grace is not antithetical to dependence on participating in God’s gift. Rather it is the best expression of that dependence, because by it man responds to that on which he depends. To put it another way, ‘human response’, according to Athanasius, ‘is strictly derivative of the divine initiative’. 45 Indeed, Athanasius even says that ‘when we make a return [to God] we give nothing of our own but those things which we have received from Him, this being especially of His grace, that He should require as from us, His own gifts’. 46 This is precisely the position that Ephrem adopts when he explains that Abraham’s spiritual wealth, his bridal adornments, are derivative from God’s own glory which he lends to us without losing possession of it himself. Abraham, as has been said before, trades on borrowed wealth. Indeed, perhaps it is the borrowing and lending of mercantile exchange that renders it a fitting metaphor, in Ephrem’s mind for the communion of God and man, who can Interestingly, in one of the passages, Anatolios cites, Athanasius does speak in terms of the divine light (Festal Letters 3.4). 42 Ibid., p. 168. 43 Anatolios 2005, Athanasius, p. 169. 44 Ibid., p. 176. 45 Ibid., p. 177. 46 Ibid. 41

VI: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY

231

never be ontologically equal but associated by a ‘loan’ of God’s glory, a spiritual wealth that can be shared by all without diminishing. To conclude, the similarity of Ephrem’s theology of virtue, grace, and ascetic striving, to that of another great fourth century theologian, Athanasius, can help us appreciate how much Ephrem has in common with the rest of the church of his day. Not only did he share the common concerns and themes of other pro-Nicene theologians, but his response to the growing ascetic movement in the fourth century tracks along lines similar to his Greek-speaking contemporaries. It seems obvious that it should be so, but Ephrem’s distinctiveness, which resides in his great poetic skill and a distinctive tradition of imagery and biblical interpretation, is too often turned into a doctrinal or methodological difference. Hence, the parallel to Athanasius deserves our full attention, if we are to come to an adequate assessment of Ephrem’s teaching.

CHAPTER VII: STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND THEOLOGY IN THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM What then, can one say of the icon painted by pseudo-Ephrem, who has re-mixed Ephrem’s pigments and re-arranged his canons to paint a rather different, if recognizable, picture of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ? Does he take up and develop Ephrem’s theological concerns within a new structure or does he go in a contrary direction? The goal, therefore, as in the chapter that preceded, is to elucidate the theological conclusions that derive from pseudoEphrem’s praise of Abraham, with the aid of rhetorical analysis. Likewise our structure will follow a similar tripartite pattern, looking first to (1) rhetorical strategies, (2) to structure, and finally (3) to theological analysis. Although the strategies and structure of the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle are simpler than those of Ephrem himself, another source of complexity will appear: the question of unity in the pseudo-Ephremian portion. In the case of Ephrem’s poems, examined above, the pattern of sequential and interlaced rhetorical strategies make it likely that he intended his cycle as a unity of interlocked madrāšê that serve as what one may, for convenience, call ‘panels’ in his icon of Abraham, although one cannot presume that Ephrem intended them literally as panels. In the case of the pseudo-Ephremian portion, the acrostic supplies an easily intelligible unity to the whole, but what is one to do with the sixth madrāšâ, which appears to stand by itself? Even within the acrostic itself, it will be necessary to consider the integrity of the text. It is fairly clear that in many parts, the arrangment makes little sense, and a few stanzas are candidates for being considered interpolations. In particular, the first thing to note is the new rhetorical strategy that appears more extensively among the three already 233

234

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

familiar from Ephrem’s poems. Next, the structure of the sixth poem and the major sections of the acrostic poems deserve close inspection, keeping in mind the likelihood that at least some of the poem divisions in the ms. are likely to be artificial. Only at this point will the theology of the poems emerge. These investigations will on the one hand confirm the theological innovations in eschatology and the theology of intercession that Beck first observed. Indeed, it becomes clear that Pauline inaugurated eschatology was a topic of particular interest to pseudo-Ephrem, to which he devoted more than a little skill. On the other hand, a more individualist approach to virtue and asceticism predominates in pseudo-Ephrem’s thought, together with a greater focus on specific qualities or activities. His eschatology is his most theological contribution to the exhortation because it tries to show what is ultimately at stake and what the final goal is. It sharpens the ascetical challenge to ‘take up one’s cross’, by presenting the way of asceticism in starker terms than Ephrem himself did. Gone is the more universal appeal of Abraham’s life, in favor of his greater exaltation. The more he becomes a monastic hero in the later sense, the less accessible he is to the layman.

A NEW TYPE OF RHETORICAL STRATEGY

Although one generally finds the same three main strategies in pseudo-Ephrem as in the genuine poems, in several parts of the acrostic, a new strategy sometimes asserts itself: polarities whose purpose seems to be purely exhortative or paranetic. The actual balancing of poles in these cases becomes secondary to a certain progression from one to the other. In quite a different fashion, the contrastive strategies Ephrem typically employed in the first five poems set up the two poles in such a way as to suggest the imitation of one and the rejection of another. Associative polarities in Ephrem’s praise of Abraham drew a parallel between the poles: a similarity in difference that is supposed to lead to an insight into their higher unity. Meristic polarities showcased the complete scope of something bounded by two poles. In the case of pseudoEphrem’s paranetic polarities, one finds something more like a litany: a catalogue of virtues to excite imitation. The polarity is more a matter of formal structure than an ad sensum balance of complements or opposites. Such polarities do not dominate the

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

235

whole cycle, but at times they seem to intrude on the course of a contrast or an association. Often, one finds them in a more narrative setting. For instance, pseudo-Ephrem praises Abraham’s missionary activity in Qîdûn with the following words: His money [kespeh ] was famed among the merchants [taggārê ] and so were his harvests [ʿlalāṯeh ] among the husbandmen [âkkārê ]

He abandoned [arpî ] the fields already cleared of thorns [dḵên men yaʿrâ ] and labored [ʿmal ] in the field replete with tares [malyâ zîzānê ] 1

In these two stanzas, one finds polarities between (1) money and harvests, (2) merchants and husbandmen, (3) the field cleared of thorns and the field replete with tares, and (4) abandoned and labored. The two stanzas are linked together by consonance: the sound of the letter ʿayn is frequently repeated, thus one gets the impression that the first of these two stanzas prepares the way for the second. Yet, pseudo-Ephrem expresses the first two polarities as simple parallels, which despite their first appearance, are not truly meristic because he simply adds one metaphor (the agricultural) to another (the mercantile). Neither one constitutes an opposite pole between which every other ascetic endeavor might be included. Likewise, the next two polarities do express a reversal of expectations or a sort of contrast, but unlike most contrastive polarities seen so far, pseudo-Ephrem does not strongly advocate for the association of his audience with one side and the dissociation from the other. (Significantly, there is no honor/shame or good/evil contrast underlying the image, as in many instances found in the genuine poems.) The author simply highlights Abraham’s virtue that surpasses expectation. This is not to say that the rhythmic balance of these stanzas does not have an appealing structure, but whatever balance is present is more a function of the 1 HdAQ

7.5–6.

236

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

isocolon structure than of a balance in the actual thought. The next stanza continues to develop the praise of Abraham’s missionary work in much the same vein. Elsewhere, pseudo-Ephrem appeals to the athletic metaphor: Jesus himself understood the suffering [ḥaššâ ] of His athlete A crown and acclamation [klîlâ w-qûllāsâ ] he prepared for him in Eden. 2

The author employs a polarity between suffering and the crown/acclamation. Ultimately, the point is to encourage imitation of Abraham, but unlike some of the examples from, for instance, the fourth madrāšâ, the author shows little interest in encouraging his audience to dissociate themselves from suffering, even on an emotional level. Certainly, there is not the typical ‘sheep versus goats’ moral contrast that one usually expects from Ephrem. What also sets this strategy apart from previous examples in the Ephremian poems is that there is no associative context that is meant to link Abraham to his community. Rather, pseudo-Ephrem presents us with a bare, if enthusiastic, description. 3 This subtle difference in strategies highlights the theological contrast between the two parts of the poem. Ephrem had argued long and hard, with many biblical examples, for the association between Abraham and his community, an association essential to Abraham’s perfection, and one that persisted even after his death by virtue of the legacy of his example. Here, in his eagerness to present Abraham as the divinized ‘man of God [gaḇrâ (h)w dâllāhâ ]’ 4 the poet paradoxically distances Abraham from his community. The long-term effect of this perspective seems to be that now his help must be sought through prayer rather than being evident in the memories of his community. Indeed, Ephrem’s 8.20. Other examples of this paranetic strategy without associative context or strong moral contrast are the following: HdAQ 8.25–30 (some of these stanzas lack any polarities at all), 9.15, 10.3, 10.16–18, 11.14–15, 13.6, and perhaps 13.10. 4 HdAQ 10.8. 2 HdAQ 3

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

237

liturgical commemoration of Abraham in his poetry was clearly intended as the means whereby Abraham’s profitable example would be called to mind and put into its appropriate context in salvation history as the continuation of the scriptural mystery. Such was the express purpose of HdAQ 5.27–32. In light of this point of view, a theology of intercession would have been superfluous to Ephrem.

STRUCTURE OF HDAQ 7–15

The presence of the new rhetorical strategy highlights a new structural feature in the acrostic: a preference for narration of episodes from the saint’s historical career as that story was preserved in local lore (doubtless, its written form would have been some version of the fifth century Vita we now possess). As one considers the ebb and flow of such narrations, punctuated by reflections on the theology of intercession or of specific virtues, a difficulty comes to light. On the one hand, the text of 7–15 is a complete alphabetical acrostic (excluding a few stanzas that do not fit the alphabetical sequence). If one removes the misfit stanzas as likely interpolations, the remainder consists of 220 stanzas of pentasyllabic quatrains. From the point of view of the complete acrostic, as well as the fact that the whole poem begins and ends with a seemingly natural introduction and conclusion (that is, the whole of the sections on âlaṕ and taw, respectively), one would be inclined to judge the poem a unified composition as it stands. Yet, on the other hand, when one examines the contents of several extensive portions of the acrostic one quickly notices what Beck called ‘disorganized [ungeordnete]’ 5 descriptions of the saint (particularly in 8.7–21, the middle of 9, where Beck rearranges some of the stanzas, and 12.13–22). The madrāšâ divisions in the ms. do not always correspond to the acrostic divisions (a problem that affects authentic works of Ephrem as well, as was noted above 6), but more significant is the fact that some portions of the acrostic are extremely short, having only one or two stanzas per 5 Beck 6 See

1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, pp. 23, 25, and 32. ‘Structure and Movements in Madrāšê’, pp. 190–225.

238

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

letter, while others are very lengthy. One could represent the situation graphically as in Diagram 7: Acrostic Division of HdAQ 7–15, in which the size of the blocks represents the portion of the whole devoted to a particular letter. Diagram 7: Acrostic Division of HdAQ 7–15

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

239

The question is whether there is any pattern to all or some of what the ms. presents, or whether any pattern can be rediscovered with some conjecture about interpolations. As one can observe from the chart, the first and last letters of the alphabet each merit relatively even-sized sections. Moreover, from lāmaḏ to šîn, the sections also seem to be about the same length. These are also the sections that show the most consistent development of themes, but, in contrast, the section comprising bêṯ through kāṕ is a complete jumble. Some pattern to the sequence of differently sized blocks, above and beyond the bare acrostic, is indeed possible. The recent work of Carl Griffin on Cyrillona’s corpus illustrates that a fifth century author could structure an acrostic madrāšâ with different numbers of stanzas devoted to a single letter, varying according to a pattern. He discovers in Cyrillona’s so-called sôḡîṯâ on Zacchaeus an acrostic running from zay to lāmaḏ in which the different groups of stanzas fall into the pattern: A B A A B A. This acrostic pattern reflects a similar thematic progression. He also observes that many individual acrostic poems by Ephrem, like the one by Cyrillona on Zacchaeus, do not consist of the entire alphabet. 7 Such discoveries pose some interesting possibilities for the acrostic on Abraham. The introductory and concluding sections, madrāšê 7 and most of 15, are of approximately the same length, if one omits un-alphabetical stanzas as intrusions, but they do not contain any hook words that would link them to the subsequent or preceding poems (8 and 14, respectively. Further, the fourteenth madrāšâ concludes with the burial of the saint, which means that the entire course of the saint’s historical career has been covered in the course of madrāšê 10 8 through 14. These five poems, 10–14, are roughly the same length. Most of them each have an introduction and a conclusion of their own, and each typically comprises two letters from the alphabet. Poem ten begins and poem fourteen ends with the same motif: coming to the bosom of Abraham the Patriarch. One must ask the question: ‘Did poems 10–14 originally constitute a collection of their own’? 7 Griffin

2011, Cyrillona: A Critical Study and Commentary, pp. 304–308. one whose incipit was quoted by Bar Bahlul’s lexicon as a wellknown example of the collection, on which see p. 31 above. 8 The

240

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

What about the part of the cycle that covers the first part of the alphabet? The arrangement of stanzas is, at first, less promising. One pattern does appear, however: the stanzas from dālaṯ through yôḏ form a chiastic pattern: ABA A ABA. The pattern is most likely to be an accident or a remnant of a structure now confused, because this section of the poem is precisely one of those which earned Beck’s label of ‘disorganized’. It progresses through various topics, among which are discernment, almsgiving, the yoke of pride contrasted with the yoke of the Lord, avoiding hypocrisy by practicing what he preached, and so forth. Several different polar strategies also appear in this section, without a perceptible progression. This is also the only part of the pseudo-Ephremian text for which another ms. witness (Z) exists, but that witness also disagrees throughout the section with K, and Beck was twice driven to emend readings in K. In short, the transmission of these portions seems rather confused. While it can be plausibly shown, as will be done below, that poems 10 through 14 constitute some kind of original unity, little more than conjecture can be offered for the rest of the acrostic. One wonders if a second, less expert author took it upon himself to supply stanzas for the missing letters of the alphabet and in this way added a whole poem to the beginning and end of the resulting composite. In what follows, we will take a closer look at HdAQ 10–14, and then at 7, 15, and 6, individually. These are the sections of the cycle that appear, on preliminary investigation, to be the most likely units of composition. As with the abridged commentary in the previous chapter, the following presentation aims chiefly to summarize the structure in terms of rhetorical strategy. In the interest of efficiency, passages already discussed extensively will be cross-referenced, but not re-interpreted. (a) HdAQ 10–14, including 15.1–4: the acrostic from lāmaḏ to šîn The acrostic section from lāmaḏ to šîn generally devotes each letter to a specific rhetorical strategy or sequence of strategies. A shift from one letter to the next usually portends a shift in the poet’s goal. For instance, the section on lāmaḏ progresses from an initial associative polarity that links Abraham with his namesake to a series of contrastive polarities that highlight Abraham’s cunning as a missionary.

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

The initial associative polarities occur in the first stanza:

241

May Abraham arrive at the bosom of Abraham since he resembled him twice over both in name and in deeds.

Pseudo-Ephrem’s point is simple and elegant. He sets up a polarity between Abraham the patriarch and Abraham the contemporary ascetic in order to associate in the minds of his audience the ascetic with the glorious patriarch. Yet the author wishes to make a more subtle point, which he suggests with the polarity between name and deeds. It seems to be that Abraham Qîdûnāyâ truly imitated his namesake because he was vexed by idolatry. Whereas Abraham of old was wise enough to perceive the truth of the one God and to go out from the pagans of his country, 9 the Abraham praised in the poem was inspired by the same fidelity to the one God to seek to convert the pagans. In short, the author sees Abraham’s missionary vocation implied in his name. Abraham’s wise insight and fidelity to his apostolic mission becomes the basic theme of the rest of the section through šîn. Many of the contrastive polarities that follow intend to establish two things: first, Abraham’s qualitative superiority over the pagans whom he evangelizes; second, the reversal of situation his actions achieve. As noted in the first section of this chapter, although the polarities are contrastive, they do not follow the same This interest in the patriarch’s wise perception of the one creator appears in Ephrem’s SdF 3.53–88. There, Ephrem interprets Genesis to mean that ‘Abraham was able to investigate / the things that he had heard. // For he did not learn via the commandment [that is, revelation] / that there is a God in the heavens, // but he judged of his own accord / that there is a Master of creation’. Ephrem goes on to explain that it was then that God revealed himself to Abraham to confirm his observation. The faith of Abraham and his wisdom as one of the first practitioners of a certain ‘natural’ theology seems to have become part of the JudaeoChristian lore of the Syrian Orient, and it eventually found its way into the Qur’ān, where it has great importance. See, for example, Q.21.52ff and especially 6.74ff. 9

242

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

pattern of contrasts that appeared in the Ephremian poems in the cycle, because the goal is more to evoke wonder at the achievement of Abraham than to promote the audience’s association with the saint and dissociation from the negative pole (that is, the pagans). The section, especially its Pauline inspiration, was extensively analyzed above on p. 171–181. The section on mîm shifts the audience’s attention to a different focus: namely, Abraham’s sexual virtue, specifically his flight from his marriage. Several contrastive polarities praise Abraham’s wisdom and perhaps suggest imitation. The key to his wisdom was rejecting the earthly for the sake of the heavenly. 10 Thus, one finds contrastive polarities between (1) sexual union and prayer, (2) supernal brightness and earthly beauty, (3) intercourse with a woman and intercourse of the Holy Spirit, (4) the feeble rib (that is, wife) and the Lord of glory. The language here is not technically encratite, but it is quite clear that pseudo-Ephrem wants to inflame his hearers with zeal for the monastic vocation. Nevertheless, this focus contrasts rather strongly with the anti-dualist rhetorical strategies observed above in Ephrem’s poems. The section from nûn to semkaṯ continues the theme of Abraham’s sexual virtue, but with a different set of polarities. Pseudo-Ephrem contemplates the biblical examples for Abraham’s way of life. He also draws a connection between this section and the previous two acrostic sections: the stanzas on nûn recall the opening of the stanzas on lāmaḏ: May the feast of Abraham 11 give refreshment to Abraham who put on his wedding garment [kûṯînâ ] as well as his way of life [dûbbārâ ]. 12

As with the opening of the previous poem, pseudo-Ephrem associates Abraham with the great patriarch for whom he is named. Now, the focus is not on his faith and missionary endeavors, but This passage was extensively quoted and its imagery analyzed above on pp. 117–120. 11 Cf. Lk 13.24–30. 12 HdAQ 11.1. 10

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

243

on the fact that Abraham was an example of married virtue. Thus, one finds another associative polarity between the two Abrahams, now explained by an associative polarity between wedding garment and way of life. For pseudo-Ephrem, marriage, in and of itself, is not a barrier to holiness. Put another way, adopting a virtuous way of life is compatible with donning the wedding garment. Many of the subsequent polarities present an image/archetype relationship, and once again a Pauline theme underlies the presentation: the idea that marriage is an image of the union between Christ and his Church, a point which becomes explicit in the twelfth and thirteenth stanzas, as the author transitions from OT to NT examples. Here, the author develops a more positive picture of marriage, inasmuch as he is happy to praise several OT figures: Abraham, Enoch, Joseph, who at various points in their lives practiced sexual restraint and lived a married life. Thus, pseudo-Ephrem points out that marriage and virtue can be found in different temporal relationships: Enoch was first married, yet later proved pleasing to God. Joseph restrained himself in youth, and married later. The author presents several polarities that associate these figures to Abraham the ascetic: for example, (1) Moses and the saint, (2) Moses and Sipporah, (3) David and the saint, (4) Simon (Peter) as bridegroom and Christ as bridegroom, (4) the Apostle Paul and the saint. The following stanza, from the end of the section on nûn, illustrates: May he inherit along with Simon, whose mother in law 13 was ill. She bore witness that her bridegroom [ḥaṯnāh ] was instructed by by our bridegroom [ḥaṯnan ]. May he reign along with the Apostle who was jealous 14

13 Syr. 14 A

ḥmāṯeh, as in Mk 1.29 (Lk 4.38 and Mt 8.14). clear reference to 2 Cor 11.2.

244

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT and grafted chaste holiness [qûdšâ ] 15 onto the branches of matrimony [zûwāḡâ ].

The polarities in these two stanzas, between the Paul (the Apostle) and the saint and between Peter and the saint seek to associate Abraham to these NT exemplars, but they also express the marriage’s role as an image of a higher mystery. That role was the implicit basis for the author’s previous remarks and comes to inform the subsequent presentation a little more clearly (though still allusively) as it progresses. The author observes that Simon Peter was an example of the voluntary progress from marriage to qaddîšûṯâ, who had been a bridegroom in the earthly sense, but through the practice of continence, associated himself to Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church. The associative polarity in this passage thus links Abraham to Christ, in a way entirely traditional for the early Syriac church, in which ascetics sought to be associated with Christ in baptism. As Beck’s note to the passage observes, the author’s choice of the word eṯtalmaḏ suggests that Simon was inspired to undertake celibacy voluntarily by the healing of his mother-in-law. 16 The reference to Paul’s encouragement of the voluntary embrace of celibacy (1 Cor 7.1–11) follows the same line of thinking. Later, in stanza twenty, the author explicitly praises Abraham for adopting the ‘fast’ of celibacy of his own free will, calling it ṣawmâ d-ṣeḇyānâ (a willing fast). Paradoxically, matrimony itself also comes into association with celibacy with the image of the vine into which celibacy is grafted (language which recalls Paul’s characterization of the gentiles as joined to the olive tree of Israel 17). The upshot is that pseudo-Ephrem magnifies his associative strategy in this passage by bringing in multiple scriptural allusions, in the course of which he brings celibacy and marriage together as Syr. qûdšâ. Cf. with this concept HcH 45.10, with its notes and the notes on qaddîšûṯâ in strophe 7, above. 16 Beck’s note also observes that elsewhere in the Ephremian corpus (Pr. Ref. II.75.35ff) Ephrem compares Simon to Moses’ practice of continence but insists that Christ did not force Simon to undertake it. 17 Rom 11.17–24. 15

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

245

double expressions of the Christian mystery. His purpose seems to be to intertwine the various threads of his thought up to a sort of Pauline climax. It is Paul who supplies the ultimate theological rationale for his argument. His other associative polarities (to Enoch, Moses, Simon, etc.) lead into the association of marriage and celibacy, the two ‘ways of life’ exemplified by these holy figures. Indeed, the next section on semkaṯ continues these reflections through an exegesis of the story of Joseph. The Pauline basis for the discussion also triggers another association in the author’s mind: a defense of the law of nature that held sway during the time of the patriarchs. In this way, his associative strategy develops into a typically Ephremian polemic against those who would valorize once again the Jewish law (the image), now that its time has passed and reality has come (stanzas 14–23). In this way, the anti-Jewish polemic is consistent with the general associative strategy that depends on an image/archetype relation. Even the brief conclusion to this madrāšâ continues the notion by representing the author’s own words as merely pale representations of the reality he has attempted to describe (stanzas 21–23). The section from ʿayn to pê, after three introductory stanzas, returns to Abraham’s success as a missionary by developing another Pauline theme: the power of simple evangelical wisdom against the ‘wisdom’ of this world. The section on ʿayn presents the negative perspective by pursuing contrastive polarities which juxtapose the two kinds of wisdom. The section on pê offers the positive perspective; it employs meristic polarities, as a rule, to express the totality of the saint’s evangelical wisdom. In particular, pseudo-Ephrem insists on the importance of living out in one’s actions what one professes in words. He seems to have in mind a charitable disposition towards others and patient endurance of mockery rather than symbolic forms of action. In the ʿayn stanzas, for instance, the author develops such contrastive polarities as (1) the effective action of the wise versus the foolishness of the disputatious, (2) the saint, skilled by his actions, versus the ‘wise’ foolish by their deeds, and (3) the narrow gate of the kingdom versus disputation. The last of these, in particular, is a textbook example of a contrastive strategy:

246

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Guilty is the rhetor [māllālâ ] who is lithe [qaṭṭîn ] for his disputation 18 yet too massive [ʿḇê ] for that gate, the narrow gate of the Kingdom. 19

Pseudo-Ephrem proposes a comical image of the subtle speaker who, for all his linguistic subtlety, is too fat to fit through the door to the ‘table of Abraham’ (of which the previous madrāšâ speaks). Indeed, our author recalls with this comparison that the eschatological focus should be his audience’ main concern. In fact, the passage in Luke (13.23–30) that seems to have inspired his image refers both to the table of Abraham and to the narrow gate. Implied in pseudo-Ephrem’s image of the fat rhetor is the vice of hypocrisy since it is by failing to lead an appropriately meagre and continent life through fasting and self-restraint that the rhetor fails to practice what he preaches. Like the rich man of the parable, he will pay a heavy price for his luxury. Abraham, by contrast, in his evangelical simplicity, lets his faith and words be proven by his virtuous actions. Also included in the author’s choice of the word ʿḇê is the prophetic critique leveled by Is 6.9–10 and repeated in the Mt 13.14–15. The astute hearer, skilled in evangelical wisdom, will notice the accumulating biblical references and be moved to associate himself with the path of austerity and simplicity commended by so many parts of sacred scripture and to dissociate himself from pharisaical hypocrisy. In the stanzas on pê, the poet transitions to a meristic strategy that characterizes the nature of evangelical wisdom. It consists in foresight and action, and in consistency that obviates any hypocrisy. One finds polarities, for instance between (1) deeds of splendor and words of modesty, (2) practices and statements, (3) wise plans (pûrsê ) and wise deeds (sûʿrānê ). Toward the end of this section, the Beck notes that ‘Syr. drāšâ, for Ephrem is the Arian Controversy. Cf. the notes on Str. 6. The word qaṭîn (astute —scharfsinnig) is also said of the Arians (HdF 56.1: drāšâ d-qaṭînâ [the astute one], perhaps Arius himself?), but also of other heretics such as Bardaisan in CH 6.10 (qaṭîn Bardayṣān)’. 19 HdAQ 12.10. 18

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

247

contrastive strategy reasserts itself, but the author makes his point about the basis of Abraham’s virtue most clearly in the final stanzas: He went away in order to become less [d-nezʿar ] 20 in order that he might become greater [d-nêraḇ ]. It was the Little one [zʿôrâ ] 21 who commanded him to become greater and to make others great. His mouth was ever interceding and weeping in prayer on behalf of the insignificant [zallîlê ] that they might attain honor [d-nehwôn yaqqîrê ].

The poet sets up associative polarities between (1) becoming less and becoming greater, (2) between Christ (as the ‘Little One’) and the saint, and (3) between the insignificant and honor. This last stanza’s thought reminds one of HdAQ 5.22–26, 22 where one observes the same emphasis on Christ’s condescension. Nevertheless, the theological observation made by the author is different: the paradigm for Abraham’s evangelical wisdom is the paradoxical pattern of humility first set by Christ. In the light of Christ’s example, the poet proposes, we should understand Abraham’s choice to withdraw from his community. It does not, on this interpretation, amount to an abandonment of ministry for his fellow Christians. The poet clearly strives to interpret Abraham’s choice to withdraw in terms of his previous discussion (in the first parts of the section on pê ) of the fulness of the saint’s evangelical wisdom. Throughout the section, the author emphasizes that the wisdom of the saint is one of the few references to Abraham’s withdrawal from his community. Beck clarifies the compressed Syriac by translating it: ‘Er ging weg [in die Wüste]’. Beck 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, p. 33. 21 Beck draws his readers’ attention to the similar words of HdAQ 13.8. The title zʿôrâ for Christ does not appear in Murray’s list: 2004, Symbols, pp. 354–363. Nevertheless, Mt 18.1–10, in particular, the verse ‘see that you do not despise one of these little ones’ seems to underlie the author’s words in this stanza. 22 See page 222. 20

248

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

expressed chiefly in humility and service. Here, at the end, he leads his audience back to Christ, as the exemplar of this wisdom. The section on ṣāḏê through qôṕ turns to a further discussion of Abraham’s virtuous practices, in particular, his perseverance, and then to the theme of Pauline inaugurated eschatology, where it offers a rationale for the saint’s self-mortification in this life for the sake of eternal life. In short, according to the poet, Abraham’s death to self follows the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection. The section on qôṕ has already been discussed above. In the immediately preceding section on ṣāḏê the author paints a complete, if somewhat vague picture of the saint’s ministry using such meristic polarities as those between (1) fasting and prayer, (2) steadfastness and humility, (3) action and teaching, (4) bearing his own load versus bearing the loads of others (cf. Gal 6.2). 23 In the section on rêš through šîn, pseudo-Ephrem brings all his reflections to a certain closure. In particular, this section is strongly marked with anaphora with repeated explamations such as, ‘Great is your blessing … your wonder, etc’. Thus, these final stanzas often take on the character of a litany of praises. Two movements in the stanzas on rêš appear. At first (HdAQ 14.1–3), the author continues his eschatological theme on death and life implicitly, with a series of contrastive polarities on poverty and wealth that seem inspired by the beatitudes and by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Soon (14.7–12), these polarities focus clearly once again on the contrast of death with life. As we have noticed before, 24 contrastive polarities such as those of both movements just mentioned, tend to exalt Abraham to his divinized or eschatological status without so strongly marking the association between him and his community as Ephrem himself would have done. Doubtless, pseudo-Ephrem expects that some in his audience will be inspired to imitate Abraham’s way of life, but the rhetorical goal of associating Abraham with heavenly life seems motivated more by a desire to defend and promote the cult of the saint and the invocation of his intercession. Much of this passage was already commented upon. See page 174 above for more complete commentary. 24 See ‘A New Type of Rhetorical Strategy’, pp. 234–237. 23

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

249

Examples of polarities from the first movement among the rêš stanzas include the following contrasts: (1) the blessing of the poor versus the consolation of the rich, (2) rich versus impoverished, and (3) Gehazi and Judas versus Abraham the ascetic. (Gehazi and Judas taken together serve as the biblical example of greed against which Abraham’s poverty appears in sharp relief.) Examples of polarities the second movement include: (1) liberation versus the ‘yoke’ of troubles, (2) rest versus wormwood/bitterness, and (3) blessing versus fear. The progression from the first movement to the next is that the biblical example first appears, and then Abraham is praised in terms of it, with an eye to contrasting his blessed situation with the audience’s wretchedness. For instance, after invoking the beatitude: ‘blessed are the poor’, pseudo-Ephrem offers the following contrastive polarity in HdAQ 14.3: Your triumph is great because you overcame money which lynched and made leprous Gehazi and Judas 25

Abraham appears against the bad example of greed set by Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, and Judas, apostle of the Master. In the choice of examples, one can perceive a certain typological relationship, and perhaps also a meristic polarity that balances the Old and New Testaments. 26 Abraham, however, is the ‘good and faithful servant’ (Mt 25.21) whose poverty made him ready for the blessing promised by the first beatitude. The author then compares Abraham’s situation to that which we all experience in this life. In doing so, he continues to associate Abraham with honor and to contrast it with the dishonor we have due to our sins: Beck observes that ‘The same connection between Gehazi and Judas appears in HdE(b). 11.5 and 7; HdE(b). 31.8 and 10; cf. further HdE(b). 46.10’. 26 The arrangement: lynched-leprous—Gehazi-Judas (ḥnaq (h)wâ wâḡreḇ l-ḡaḥzî wa-l-îhûḏâ ) is also chiastic. 25

250

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Great is your liberation [ḥûrārāḵ ] because you broke by your death the yoke of troubles [nîrâ d-ʿāqāṯâ ] which every man drags with him.

Great is your rest [nyāḥāḵ ], O Saint, because you escaped from this life, which gives us to drink wormwood and bitterness [geddāyyâ wa-mrārê ]. Great, O saint, is your blessing [ṭûḇāḵ ] because you have escaped from fear [qenṭâ ]: your contest is ended, and you have escaped from the Evil One. 27

The insistent anaphora between these stanzas emphasizes the contrast between the saint and this life again and again. This life brings with it the yoke of troubles, wormwood and bitterness, and fear. The first two curses are the troubles of life itself, the last one, the problem caused by the temptations of the evil one. Ultimately the contrast between the blessedness of the saint and the troubles his devotees experience will come to a resolution at the very end of the section on šîn. As one has come to expect, that solution arises from the saint’s intercession, which alleviates our woes. The section on šîn as a whole deals with the theme of Abraham’s final arrival at his rest in the bosom of Abraham, the theme with which the acrostic section on lāmaḏ had begun. 28 The general trend of the polarities is contrastive, as in the previous section. First, pseudo-Ephrem transitions from his discussion on the evil one and then proposes his theme: You obtained the crown by your complete race, and your enemy was ashamed: his tricks have vanished.

14.9–11. Indeed, the poet even quotes his own words nearly verbatim. In 10.1, he had written: dmâ leh b-ṯartên / ba-šmâ wa-ḇʿḇāḏê. Now, in 14.15, he writes: ba-šmâ wa-ḇʿḇāḏê / b-ṯartên marrîytā(hy). 27 HdAQ 28

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

251

You leapt over, by your deeds, the chasm [peḥtâ ], 29 and your father Abraham rejoiced over you and your brother Lazarus. 30

As he introduces his comparison for the second time in the whole section, he returns to associative polarities between Abraham and Lazarus and between Abraham the saint and his namesake, the patriarch. Then he elaborates the contrast between the saint and his devotees through a series of contrastive and associative polarities: for example, (1) between mammon and contention and (2) trouble/doubt and simplicity/discernment. Pseudo-Ephrem writes: Mammon [mammônâ ] caused trouble for one ship after another buffeted and drowned because of contention [ḥeryānâ ]

Glorious was your conquest for you conquered the evil one, the quarrelsome neighbor [šḇāḇâ naṣṣāyâ ] and the destructive kinsman [knāṯâ sārôḥâ ]

Troublesome is the commerce that causes loss by disputation [drāšâ ] The merchants doubted [palleg(w) ] who spoke in vain inquiry [bʿāṯâ ]. 31

First, the poet states the problem: greed causes loss to merchants seeking spiritual profit. Yet our author then proceeds to associate greed with doctrinal disputation or strife (ḥeryānâ ). The term could also refer to social disorder. As Beck notices, however, the language of the subsequent stanzas, which explain the first, is the typical vocabulary that Ephrem employs to refer to the Arian

29 Lk

16.26. 14.13–14. 31 HdAQ 14.17–19. 30 HdAQ

252

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

controversy. 32 Two types of polar strategies combine here. On the one hand, the overall point is contrastive: Abraham’s success contrasts with the vanity and failure of his contemporaries. On the other hand, the author also makes a particular point by associating certain types of vice with one another: viz., greed and disputatiousness. His polarities on this score are between mammon and contention, quarrelsome and destructive, disputation and inquiry. He argues that greed underlies the doctrinal dispute of the time. Moral and ascetical failure, in other words, leads to doubt, to the destruction of faith, and to the spiritual loss of the heavenly merchants. Abraham, however, was able to survive the tempest because of his evangelical simplicity. The first lines of stanzas 18 and 19, with parallel structure, reinforce this basic contrast: ‘Glorious was your conquest’ but on the other hand, ‘Troublesome is the commerce’ of those who do not share in Abraham’s virtue. Doubtless in these terms, pseudo-Ephrem also issues a warning to his audience about the correct path they should take in the doctrinal controversy of their own day, namely: stay out of it. Finally, he resolves the contrast between the saint and the audience with an appeal to the saint’s intercession, and also to his clothes as relics sought by his community. 33 After a description of the saint’s flight to heaven and the burial of his body, the last two stanzas on šîn conclude the contrast and seek the saint’s assistance: The facts of all my sins [ḥṭāhay ] I have recounted to you. May you pour fourth tears [demʿê ] in prayer for me. It is appropriate even now that I ask of you

In his note to the passage (1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya, p. 37), he refers to HdF 1.9, 2.12, 2.14, 2.18 and the same sentiment ‘in many [other] places’. 33 Beck observes that this description corresponds to one of the final episodes in the Vita. 32

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM that you intercede [d-ṯeḇʿê ] for my wounds [kêḇay ], which are too great for my bandages. 34

253

The author develops associative polarities (1) between himself and the saint, (2) between his sins and the saint’s tears, and (3) between his wounds and the saint’s intercession. He even imagines the blessed Abraham weeping for the author’s sins, despite his current blessedness. Not only does the appeal to Abraham’s intercession contradict Ephrem’s understanding of the relationship between the departed soul and body, as Beck observed, but the author even uses the paradisacal imagery of Ephrem in a way that Ephrem explicitly disallows. Throughout this final section of the poem, pseudo-Ephrem’s inspiration has been the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Indeed, references to this parable, and most recently to the chasm (peḥtâ ) between Gehenna and the bosom of Abraham, define the structure of the acrostic sections under discussion. The implication is that Abraham has somehow bridged the unbridgeable chasm (which implies either a too-exalted sense of Abraham, or a very negative comparison of this world with Gehenna, or both, in fact.) When Ephrem himself interprets the parable in HdP 1.13 & 17, he explicitly affirms that those in the bosom of Abraham do not intercede for those on the other side of the chasm because the ‘Abyss severs any love / which might act as an intermediary’. One is forced to conclude that the author, in his exuberance, has distorted the imagery of scripture and the interpretation of Ephrem in a bemusing way. Nevertheless, throughout the acrostic from lāmaḏ to šîn, pseudo-Ephrem has preserved a thematic and structural unity, whatever his stylistic or theological infelicities. He has fairly consistently employed some form of anaphora over many sections: each subsequent stanza typically begins with the same kind of phrase or word, along with the natural repetition of the letter of the alphabet that marks the section in question. The effect of this strongly parallel structure is to emphasize the eschatological effect of Abraham’s virtuous practices, whether qaddîšûṯâ or apostolic ministry. A fulsome, descriptive (but not always specific) 34 HdAQ

15.3–4.

254

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

admiration for the eschatological success of Abraham governs the discussion of his earthly career throughout. The various parallels to the Vita that occur throughout make it quite likely that these poems are a liturgical recasting of the familiar narrative. Beginning on pê, the acrostic sections seem to follow the pattern: first, meditation on an aspect of Abraham’s life, second, its biblicallyfounded interpretation. Most noteworthy, however, is that the mercantile conception of the ascetical life is no longer the governing theological paradigm. Similiarly, the interest in the transfiguration of Moses, which seems to have inspired Ephrem, is no longer dominant. These elements are present in the acrostic, but have become muted, part of a traditional stock of language. Rather, the events of the Vita take center stage, and the theological paradigm by which pseudoEphrem interprets them is the career of the apostle Paul. It is an apostolic paradigm that includes several fundamental aspects: the surpassing value of voluntary sexual continence, ministry that adapts to the needs of the faithful according to the norm of evangelical simplicity, and reflection on the baptismal mystery of death and resurrection. In and of themselves, these theological positions, and the interest in missionary asceticism, fit the traditional paradigm for the Syrian Orient, where the apostles Paul and Thomas, and the virtues of sexual continence enjoyed an especially prominent position (even leading in many instances early on, to marcionism and encratism). Those heresies have no place in the theology of our cycle, naturally enough, but the old paradigm of missionary asceticism is clearly discernible. It is even the basis for sophisticated rhetorical structures and hence a theological presentation that cannot be understood apart from its persuasive structure. Where the author seems to falter is in his attempt to develop a theology of intercession. Although it is mostly implicit in the sections just discussed, such a theological explanation is the explicit topic of HdAQ 7 and forms the basis of the rambling exhortation in HdAQ 15.5–28.

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

255

(b) HdAQ 7 & 15.5–28 The seventh poem of the HdAQ presents its interpreter with the distinct convenience of a single theme in a single poem on a single letter of the alphabet. Clearly, pseudo-Ephrem wants to invoke the saint’s intercession at the beginning of this endeavor 35 and to persuade his audience to be confident in the saint’s intercession. In short, the first poem explicitly defends the cult of the saint and the appeal to his intercession, a practice that might have raised eyebrows among more conservative Christians of the time, since he was not a martyr. Most of the poem (seventeen stanzas, in fact!) is a tedious commoratio on the author’s inadequacy. Drawn out over a few stanzas, such a protestation would be charming enough, but here it is ridiculous. It was such a passage as this that Beck found laughably un-Ephremian. It is also among these stanzas that one finds some of the rather bland paranetic polarities discussed at the beginning of this chapter. These form passages meant to inspire in the audience a certain wonder, juxtaposed with polarities that develop the contrast between the saint and the poet. For example, 7.8 presents polarities between (1) speaking and desisting, and (2) the author’s difficulty and the saint’s assistance. Eventually, in stanza 15, the poet overcomes his fear and develops some associative polarities that link him to the saint via the saint’s intercession. This prompts him to develop several arguments for the value of intercessory prayer. To do this, he employs associative strategies not unlike the ones found in HdAQ 11. Their purpose is to link Abraham to the biblical examples (forced examples, not infrequently) that the poet adduces. The theology and poetic skill of the first part of the poem deserve little comment beyond what Beck had already noticed: namely, that the author’s relationship of dependence on the saint employs language more normally used for one’s dependence on God. More interesting, however, and worthy of some remark, is the That is, if the pseudo-Ephrem who wrote HdAQ 1 is the same pseudo-Ephrem who wrote HdAQ 10–15.4. It is difficult to tell, but fortunately, not too important for the interpretation. 35

256

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

series of arguments on behalf of trust in the saint’s intercession, and the associative polarities they contain. In all, pseudo-Ephrem furnishes eight different arguments drawn partly from scripture, but mostly from the realm of nature, to justify dependence on the saint’s influence post mortem. Distilled to their essentials, these associations are as follows: • Satan can influence our will through temptation; a fortiori, the saint should be able to influence our will by suggestion. • Wine inebriates in a hidden way; therefore, the saint should be able to inspire us. • A teacher can influence his pupils, even without words, but Abraham was our teacher; therefore, he should be able to influence us silently even now. • Satan was able to possess the serpent so as to whisper temptation; Abraham’s prayer should be able to whisper in us. • Water silently and secretly influences vegetation and makes it grow; the saint’s influence should do likewise. • Wind invisibly serves vegetation; the saint’s influence is no different. • The inspiration of prophecy influences those who possess that charism. Abraham’s influence should also be able to inspire us.

On the one hand, pseudo-Ephrem makes it clear in stanza 24 that the influence in question is that of the saint’s prayer (ṣlôṯâ ), but on the other, it is most striking that the dominant conception for it is a kind of inspiration or something that can serve as a metaphor for inspiration. 36 According to this logic, Abraham is like the Father who sends his Holy Spirit to inspire us to good actions and thoughts and prophecy. Abraham’s prayer takes the place of the Holy Spirit! Clearly not all those who took up the mantle of Ephrem shared his theological perspicacity. Nowhere in the acrostic section from lāmaḏ to šîn did such an outlandish interpretation of the saint’s intercession occur. Even the choice of 36 Beck

observed various parallels in the language of these arguments with several genuine works of Ephrem.

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

257

words is different. In HdAQ 7, the word is ṣlôṯâ, a very general term, whereas in the section from lāmaḏ to šîn it is always bʿāṯâ, whose sense is restricted to intercession. One of the striking things about this section is that, as the author labored to supply examples, the persuasive strategies ceased to be polarities in the usual mode. Often, there are simple parallels. A few stock polarities appears, such as between (1) a master and his disciples, (2) the evil one and the good one, or (3) doing and teaching, but they do not really endow the argument with its momentum. The acrostic section on taw (HdAQ 15.5–28) also appears to be a stand-alone section. Its almost exact correspondence in length to the acrostic on âlaṕ suggests that it was added to balance the seventh madrāšâ. It consists of reflections on biblical examples that illuminate the mystery of sin and repentance. The types of polarities found there are haphazard and do not provide a clear sense of structure. Nevertheless, he uses the example of Joseph the patriarch, who had been confined to prison, meditating on the paradox that although we would like to leave this imprisoning world, we still seek time to ask for repentance before we go (HdAQ 15.5–10). The author appeals to Abraham’s intercession for assistance in this dilemma. Indeed the help of the wise merchant, Abraham, is the hope of those merchants who have acted foolishly and squandered their capital (15.11–12). The fundamental paradox of divine justice versus divine mercy is the theme of the rest of the poem, in which the assistance of the saint is compared to the chance the sons-in-law of Lot had to escape from the punishment of Sodom. Just as Lot was the ticket for their escape from punishment, so the author hopes that Abraham’s intercession will prove to be in his case (15.13–15). Overall, therefore, the author recasts the theme of madrāšâ 7 by returning to the theme of the saint’s intercession. Now, rather than focusing on its possibility, he focuses on that intercession as the key by which sinners will manage to escape punishment. (c) HdAQ 6 Distinct in its meter, melody, and stanza structure, the sixth poem in the collection, although it shares an interest in the theology of intercession, is a distinct composition rhetorically. Its rhetoric first outlines the basic problem of the author’s inadequacy, and then follows two parallel movements in the same pattern. First, pseudo-

258

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Ephrem reflects on the saint’s intercession as a solution, and then argues for the similarity between God and the saint. Second, the author returns to his own inadequacy, but again pursues the association between the saint and God before concluding with a plea that he at least enjoy the saint’s intercession on the day of judgment, a conclusion that shows he understands he is breaking new ground theologically by seeking to trust the saint’s intercession now. In fact, that appears to be why he seeks to argue on behalf of the notion in the first place. This structure was first suggested by Beck, in the way he summarized the poem’s contents in the footnotes to his translation. The poem’s structure: only thirteen stanzas, makes its approach somewhat easier to grasp and the long stanzas give the poet more scope to develop his ideas than any of the other poems in the collection. The sections Beck identified also correspond roughly to the rhetorical strategies that appear. In the first section, the author uses contrastive polarities between (1) speech and silence, (2) magnifying and being magnified. The poet is not able to speak nor to magnify Abraham since he cannot add anything to the saint’s achievement, but instead is himself made greater by praising the saint. This exchange seems inspired by the language of the first five poems in the collection, where Ephrem insisted that God is the ultimate source of glory, but includes the idea that praising the saint can bring the author and his audience benefits as well. 37 Immediately, however, the author pursues the strategy by developing the analogy between the saint and God, such that the saint himself receives attention less as a mirror of the divine grace and more as a treasurer or intermediary to whom the author can appeal. For example, in the fourth stanza, the poet argues: But if the lamp [šrāḡâ ] is in darkness [b-ḥeššôḵâ ], without its feeble gleam, no one is able to see its brightness [zahreh ]. It is by the beams of your prayer [b-zlîqê (h)û d-ṣlôṯâḵ ] that man is able to see the fair aspect 37 See

note 14 on page 355.

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM of your inner man [bar (ʾ)našāḵ gawwāyâ ], which is entirely impressed with [the image of] God [b-âllāhâ ].

259

The polarities between (1) darkness and brightness, (2) outer and inner (represented by the lamp and by the ‘inner man’), and (3) man and God ultimately aim to associate Abraham with God and to characterize his prayer as the mediating instrument that gives the author the ability to see God in Abraham. This poem’s shift from the first five is actually rather subtle. Ephrem also associated God, the saint, and the community, and, moreover, this communion was an important part of his theology. Now pseudo-Ephrem pushes the notion a little further and concentrates on the epistemological help Abraham can bestow. Abraham actually manifests to his community the presence of God. Ephrem never used such metaphors as the lamp or (as in the third stanza of this poem) the sun and its rays probably because they were too audacious for his taste. Ephrem’s preferred image of the mirror, by contrast, has the advantage of constantly reminding us that its light is derivative. Here, pseudo-Ephrem represents Abraham as a lamp, which has its own source of light. This de-emphasis on the derivation of the saint’s glory, paradoxically in the very act of comparing him to God’s incomprehensibility, is jarring. It is that disjunct that marks the thought as un-Ephremian, together with the confidence in Abraham’s intercession. Pseudo-Ephrem develops the same strategy over the next several stanzas. His focus shifts when he returns to the dilemma of his own inadequacy in stanzas six and seven, with such polarities as (1) the saint’s beautiful praiseworthy deeds versus the author’s weak pigments, or (2) the author’s insipid word versus the saint’s ‘salt of truth’ (a reference to Mt 5.13 and parallels), and finally, he returns to associative polarities in the rest of the poem with a new interpretation of the parable of the talents and of the story of Joseph, in which the poet acts as the steward to bring Abraham’s riches to those in need of them (The passages were already discussed above on p. 164 and on p. 114.) What is striking is the way that the author of this poem has carefully thought through the traditional language appearing in the

260

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

first five madrāšê. He knows that he is developing a new focus, and he hopes to capitalize on the idea that Abraham has been transfigured or, as he puts it ‘stamped’ with God (ṭḇîʿ b-âllāhâ ). 38 What he says, in fact, does not diverge too much from the basic Ephremian inspiration: that the close association between God and Abraham makes Abraham in some sense a source of spiritual wealth and enlightenment for the poet and for his audience. The author thinks that it should be possible to appeal to Abraham directly for wealth and enlightenment but he does not clearly offer new reasons for this position. He simply develops the old imagery to emphasize the theology of divinization, yet without Ephrem’s theological subtlety. Also interesting is the author’s assumption that Abraham’s post mortem influence is possible. The author of the seventh poem feels the need to argue for the ability of Abraham to intercede. Thus, he treated Abraham’s prayer as a kind of subtle spiritual force that could exert some influence on the living, and he uses images such as water and wind that the genuine HdP use 39 to describe the influence of Paradise on the inhabited world of fallen humanity. In contrast, the author of the sixth poem takes it for granted that Abraham is as available to hear his prayers as is God himself, and focuses instead on the saint’s resemblance to God. The point of his argument is divinization, not intercessory capability. This is significant because the reason Beck argues hope for the saint’s interecession post mortem contradicts Ephrem’s theology is that Ephrem regards the soul of the deceased as sleeping, unable to function apart from the body that mains in Sheol until the resurrection. That this is not even an issue for pseudo-Ephrem to address (in madrāšâ 6) suggests a couple of possibilities. First, the author of HdAQ 6 is simply unaware of Ephrem’s views on this point, and more broadly, that there is a tradition to this effect. This might suggest that the ‘sleep of the soul’ doctrine in the Syrian Orient died out quite early since we know that HdAQ 6 was available to be copied possibly as early as the sixth century. Or it could mean that the tradition was never a universal one among 6.4. example, HdP 11.10–15.

38 HdAQ 39 for

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

261

Syriac-speaking christians. Second, it is possible that the author of HdAQ knows of the older position but reliance on the intercession of saints is already accepted and uncontroversial, which also suggests that the teaching on the sleep of the soul died out quickly. The second of the two possibilities is the most likely, because the author seems to preserve a memory of the sleep of the soul doctrine when, in stanza 13, he expresses confidence that even if he cannot receive Abraham’s help now, he can expect it at the resurrection of the dead. (d) Final Thoughts on the Structure of the PseudoEphremian Poems The analysis just pursued has revealed that the text as we have it in the ms. falls into several different parts, in terms of its rhetorical structure as expressed in the strategies pursued, and in terms of the theological concerns that appear in those strategies. HdAQ 6 is metrically, melodically, and thematically distinct from all the rest. Clearly it is related to them insofar as it shares the same subject, but it makes significant use of image/archetype polarities to argue for a robust understanding of the saint’s divinization. The author deliberately develops the implications of Ephrem’s traditional language in a way that Ephrem himself would probably have rejected, because, ultimately, pseudo-Ephrem’s notion of Abraham’s influence is not a sound theological insight. One could express the theological problem by borrowing later terms: it confuses the adoration due to God with the derivative veneration owed the saint. Presented with this verbal icon, the iconoclasts of a later generation would certainly have found grounds for their objections. HdAQ 7 and HdAQ 15.5–28 seem to form a pair of poems of equal size, though of lesser skill. Their similar size and lack of clear reference to the rest of the poems suggest they may have been independent, later additions, to what was perceived as an incomplete acrostic cycle. They also share a similar associative premise and a great deal of explicit focus on the saint’s role as an intercessor. In HdAQ 7, it is the possibility of that intercession that exercises the author’s skill. In HdAQ 15.5–28, it is the necessity of that intercession, not to understand the saint nor even to enjoy a particular profit, but for salvation itself. The stark and exalted portrayal of the saint in the first part (who is compared to the Holy

262

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Spirit) balances the rhetorically pathetic presentation, in the second part, of human sinfulness, described as barely escaping Sodom’s fate of total annihilation. HdAQ 10–15.4 constitute their own rhetorical unity: a theologically well-informed and fairly complete poetic version and interpretation of the traditional story of saint’s life as it is preserved in the fifth century Vita. Structurally, not only do they form an acrostic unity, but they are also marked by consistent reference to the parable of Lazarus, the rich man, and Abraham, as well as frequent use of anaphora between the stanzas and stanzas balanced off of one another. The argument proceeds in recognizable phases and employs a thoroughly traditional concept of the missionary ascetic’s vocation to service and chastity, based ultimately on the thought of St. Paul, especially his baptismal theology. The possibility of seeking the saint’s intercession is certainly envisioned, 40 but hardly the author’s main concern. Also to this section belongs the one reasonably clear reference to the new style of asceticism, namely, Abraham’s enclosure in a cell, but the poet’s main interest is actually on Abraham’s community involvement. Clearly pseudo-Ephrem, like Ephrem himself, did not take a particular interest in Abraham’s adoption of the new ascetic practice. In the end, can one conclude that there is an overall structure and unity to the acrostic or to the whole pseudo-Ephremian portion? No. There is evidence of some structure in parts of the presentation but not in others. The complete text exists in only a single ms., and the only other witness, a fragmentary one, merely confirms that part of the traditional text at least, could become very confused in transmission. Moreover, rather diverse theological interests appear in the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the poem. While the present author hesitates to insist that the rest of the cycle cannot be the work of a single author, there is little evidence to at least once, in HdAQ 15.3–4. The fact that this aspect, which was really the strongest objection Beck raised against the poems’ authenticity, is so muted suggests that they are much closer in thought to the real Ephrem, perhaps emanating directly from whatever legacy or ‘school’ he left behind in Urhay after his death. 40

VII: THE ICON OF PSEUDO-EPHREM

263

support the view that it is, and plenty to suggest that one holds, in ms. K, the work of as many as three distinct imitators of Ephrem.

THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Since the text of the pseudonymous portion of the HdAQ is in fact diverse, so too are its theological emphases and the conclusions one must draw from them. One point, however, is common to the whole section: the more exalted status accorded to Abraham. Ephrem himself had focused on Abraham as a paradigm of success and a model for others who wish to practice virtue: a mirror, in short, that like the Gospel, could be used by any Christian wishing to follow the ascetic path. 41 The icon of the heavenly merchant was but a reflection. Ephrem’s later imitators sought to push the theology he developed to a more divinized picture of the saint. Ephrem, it is clear, based his poetry on the notion that Abraham achieved, by grace, a paradisiacal status, a certain transfiguration in divine glory that would be confirmed upon his ultimate entry into Paradise. His later imitators, certainly less sensitive to Ephrem’s subtle eschatology and his description of Paradise, tended to take the language in ways that might obscure the distinction between Abraham and God, or at least would conform to a later portrayal of divinization that stressed the availability of divine power in the saint. Different degrees of development in their authors’ eschatology attend this common emphasis on the saint’s distinctiveness. The most traditional, and artistically coherent, presentation shows the least development: merely a certain confidence that the man of God would, after his death be able to continue the miraculous success of his career by helping others. For the rest, two different directions are discernible: first a theology that takes for granted the saint’s ability to participate in divine power and to radiate it to others. The saint’s intercession with God on behalf of others is not particularly stressed, but rather the power that he possesses to illuminate, inspire, and support. The second Such, indeed, is Ephrem’s exhortation to one such ascetic in his Ep. ad Pub. See p. 106. 41

264

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

development deliberately tries (and, in fact, fails pretty substantially) to argue for that ability. With these distinctions, it is possible to refine Beck’s observations about the eschatology of the cycle. 42 Another common feature in the pseudo-Ephremian portion is that the communal and ecclesial concept of virtue has diminished. To be sure, Abraham’s service to his community is still a very important part of his virtue and also his activity in the church even now. Nevertheless, the principle of imitating God by spreading God’s goodness throughout society has disappeared. The result is a more individualist picture of Abraham’s asceticism that may reflect the growing acceptance of solitary and eremitic renunciants in the Syrian Orient. Although Abraham himself seems to have been one of the first to participate in this practice (albeit for only the last part of his life), the portrait of him that appears in the pseudonymous poetry already shows signs of that shift to the pattern of ‘Byzantine ascetic monachism’ that eventually created the icon of ‘Ephraem Byzantinus’. The shift appears gradual in the HdAQ, however, and owes more to the greater appreciation for the heroism and miraculous way of life of these ascetics than to a hostile take-over of the old culture. It was probably simply a matter of the great reputation of such ascetics as Abraham and Julian Saba that the solitary way of life gained ground in the Syrian Orient, just as it seems fair to suggest that its success in Egypt was due in no small part to Anthony’s fame. On the other hand, no new influence of monastic ideas expressed in Greek (such as the writings of Evagrius), or indeed evidence of Christological concerns, is apparent in this latter portion of the cycle. Other than the developed eschatology and theology of divinization, the poems are strikingly neutral with regard to the doctrinal concerns of the fifth century. One may take this, perhaps, as an indication of their conservative milieu. Beck did indeed notice that the author of the seventh poem, at least, seemed to have a sense of the novelty of defending Abraham’s ability to intercede for the living, as I later discovered. See his note to HdAQ 7.15, where he remarks, ‘Incidentally, the author himself seems to be aware of the boldness of his hope in the immediate help of the saint’. 42

CHAPTER VIII: CONCLUSIONS. EPHREM’S THEOLOGY OF ASCETICISM AND VIRTUE EPHREM, THE MARVELOUS RHETOR

The effect of our investigation into the cycle of madrāšê on Abraham Qîdûnāyâ has been to show its surprisingly great wealth of themes, images, and artistic merits. It is an abundant treasury full of riches old and new. That is, most of the themes and rhetorical structure follow the customary idioms and traditional ideals of the early Christianity of the Syrian Orient. Nevertheless, these traditional idioms and ideals now serve a new development in the life of the church, one whose growing strength may be perceived as the reader progresses from the poems written by Ephrem to those penned by his imitator(s). Naturally, enough, the greatest riches, both artistic merits and theological insight, belong to the authentic poems of Ephrem, in whose traditional language and ideas, the spark of a typically polyvalent creative genius constantly appears. 1 Yet Ephrem’s imitator and successor in the task of praising Abraham also proves to be a poet of some talent, and one perhaps for whom the prestige of the local church of Urhay and its traditions, held a special value. The time has come to summarize the results and to make some sense of their implications for the study of Ephrem and the study of early Syriac asceticism as a whole. At the beginning, three goals were established and related questions posed. The hope was that studying the icons of the 1 Murray

2004, Symbols, p. 100.

265

266

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

‘Heavenly Merchant’ as contained in these poems, one might achieve the following: • • •

understanding better Ephrem’s theology of asceticism and virtue, understanding better the history of Syriac asceticism, and

along the way, understanding how poetry makes his theological case both cogent in itself and persuasive to his audience.

Also significant, of course, was the more fundamental question of how to take the HdAQ as evidence for answering these questions. Is it written by Ephrem? On what context can it shed light? In answer to this last question, as the introduction demonstrated and the subsequent chapters have routinely confirmed, the text proves to be an important witness to late fourth-century Urhay and (in the case of the first part of the cycle) a valuable source of Ephrem’s mature thought on virtue and asceticism. The analysis pursued has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Ephrem of Nisibis did indeed author the first five poems in the cycle. The rhetorical sophistication, the theological similarity (particularly the paradisiacal language and the characteristically Ephremian interest in free-will against dualism and false ascesis), the thoroughly traditional language and imagery, all point to the Harp of the Spirit as their author. The single argument mounted to the contrary proved to be ill-founded, because it failed to appreciate the full scope and flexibility of Ephrem’s language for expressing the inexpressible mysteries of Paradise and its divine Planter. On the other hand, the subsequent ten poems, despite some passages of great intrinsic interest, are, beyond a reasonable doubt, examples of the spuria that misled previous generations of scholars. In answer to the question of how Ephrem’s brilliant poetic techniques promote his paradisiacal perspective, one can offer the following answer. The chapters have shown again and again that Ephrem’s arguments, not logical demonstrations but rather apologetic suasiones founded on the interpretation of Scripture, are complex and intricate icons, composed of layers of luminous polarities, supported by rhetorical techniques and devices common to the second sophistic of later Greek literature and to so many

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

267

other Christian writers in that literary tradition. The use of these techniques by Ephrem and his imitator, however, retains an independent vitality: rather than formal training in the canons of Greco-Roman rhetoric, one perceives a native style of theological dispute, whose Christian roots doubtless lie in the testimonia traditions and whose ancient roots in the form of praises and precedence disputes probably go back ‘before the muses’ 2 to the dawn of recorded literature. Ephrem and his imitator(s) do show slightly different persuasive techniques and certainly different theological outlooks, but the fundamental character of their arguments, founded upon biblical polarities, remains the same throughout the cycle of poems. How is one to summarize this native Syriac style of argumentation? The text itself seeks to imitate and participate in the limitless multi-faceted capacity of scripture itself, by presenting a case, not so much in strict logical progression, as in rhetorical abundance. It is argument by abundance of proof.

WHAT THE HDAQ SAY ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SYRIAC ASCETICISM

The HdAQ have also proven quite informative about the history of Syriac asceticism, despite earlier scholars’ dissatisfaction with the apparent poverty of the text as a source for the events of Abraham’s life. The conclusions one can draw from the cycle are more on the order of the ideals of the audience and of the poets in the late fourth and early fifth century, and it is under this heading that the most interesting discoveries have been made. These discoveries might be summarized under the following points: There was no perceptible dichotomy, for the authors and audiences of these poems, even into the early fifth century, between GrecoEgyptian monasticism and the native tradition of protomonasticism.

I borrow this phrase from the title of Foster (ed. and trans.) 2005, Before the Muses. 2

268

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Nevertheless, Ephrem does sense the uniqueness of Abraham as an ascetical pioneer whose impact was to gather a following of disciples. Pseudo-Ephrem witnesses to a later stage in that process, after which the saint has become essential to the well-being of the community of Urhay, including his ascetic disciples. Abraham’s career proved to be a milestone in the local church’s maturity.

Particularly in the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle, one begins to see the interest in consolidating and publicizing the credentials of the church of Urhay, the Blessed City. Abraham numbered among the city’s claims to fame and honor, preserved in traditional lore, in a way not unlike her putative apostolic origin in the legend of Addai. This backwards-looking perspective in the writings of pseudo-Ephrem seems likely to be part of the fifthcentury Edessene church’s consolidation under the bishop Rabbula. Finally, in the case of Ephrem himself, one perceives an interpretation of the ascetic ideal that greatly resembles that of Athanasius, but without the political dimensions, because Ephrem was not a bishop seeking to maintain his authority, but a refugee, gratefully offering homage to the hero of the community that had welcomed him.

(a) Proto-Monasticism and Byzantine Monachism The most significant issue on which the HdAQ in their entirety can shed light is the relationship between Syriac proto-monasticism and Greek ‘ascetic monachism’ (to borrow Amar’s phrase). To put it simply: no part of this cycle supports a sharp dichotomy between the two, for one simple reason. Neither Ephrem nor pseudoEphrem shows any special interest in the question of Abraham’s supposed new ascetic style. If one did not already know that Abraham was famous for withdrawing from his community, one would not learn it from Ephrem, nor even, probably, from pseudoEphrem. The authentic and inauthentic portions of the cycle, it is true, do present different icons of the saint, but each icon largely depends on the traditional presuppositions of ascetic life in the Syrian Orient: in other words, on the proto-monastic tradition. Pseudo-Ephrem simply focuses more on the aspects of apostolic itinerancy and sexual renunciation. Some traces of influence (particularly, pseudo-Ephrem’s disapproval of laughter) from the

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

269

wider ascetic world may be found, but there is hardly anything in the cycle to suggest a revolution of ascetic practice on the scale that interpreters of the two icons of Ephrem himself have proposed. Thus, even the suggestion that only the pseudo-Ephremian portion of the cycle represents the later, Hellenizing phase of Syriac asceticism is not entirely fair. On the contrary, the fact that, in the early fifth century (the putative date of the pseudo-Ephremian poems and the Vita) Abraham could still be praised in such thoroughly traditional terms suggests two things: first that native Syriac proto-monasticism preserved its independent vitality in the region of Urhay for quite some time. Second, because the poems are not defensive in tone, their author(s) probably saw no problem with newer forms of ascetic practice that included more reclusive monks. Ephrem’s great cultural pride in Abraham, expressed, perhaps, in the way in which Abraham is an adornment of ‘our people’ in a polarity which contrasts the community with the common run of humanity 3 means that he would surely have mounted a defense against blatant cultural assault, if he felt there had been such an attack. Ephrem’s concern is to defend asceticism against a resurgence of dualism and encratism, not against an invasion of Greeks. Indeed, perhaps the dichotomy that has long been drawn between the two styles of asceticism has arisen because the enthusiastic rhetoric of some of these texts, both of the Egyptian desert and of the Syrian Orient, has led scholars astray. 4 It is doubtful that in the Syrian Orient, Palestine, and even in Egypt itself, many ascetics ever lived so far from society as to be totally unconcerned about it, and there is copious evidence from the fourth and fifth centuries that despite the anti-social tendencies of certain individuals, the monastic movement as a whole never really escaped or wanted to escape from involvement in church life. 5 HdAQ 1.1–3. If, as seems likely, the first four poems of the HdJS are also by Ephrem, then in them too, but especially HdJS 4.8 and surrounding context, we find expressed great local pride in Julian, who is compared to the memory of the local martyrs Habib, Shmona, and Guria. 4 See ‘Facts and Problems’, pp. 12–20. 5 Goehring 1999, ‘The World Engaged’, pp. 39–52. 3

270

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Indeed, Ephrem’s appeal to the Mosaic paradigm for Abraham’s life recalls the same appeal made by some of the Cappadocians, notably St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nyssa, his younger brother, who see in Moses both the ideal of solitary contemplation and church leadership. 6 It is worth belaboring the point only because it is precisely the supposed dichotomy between the two forms of asceticism that led previous interpreters of the poems to doubt their authenticity. One cannot help but feel that Beck was uncomfortable with Ephrem praising a monastic pioneer known for becoming a recluse. Knowing that Abraham was remembered as such by later tradition made it difficult to read the text in its own right, without the presuppositions of harsh, anti-social monastic practice in mind. Yet, in fact, Ephrem’s icon of Abraham has nothing to do with this portrait, and as a contemporary source, one may take him to be more reliable than the accretions of later tradition on the subject of how Abraham’s career was perceived in the fourth century. What we discover instead of a dichotomy between the two traditions is a basic and common presupposition: that it is good to seek a distinctive, more intense form of the Christian life. This presupposition manifests itself over time in various ways in both Egyptian and Syrian milieux: eremitical establishments, stylites and dendrites, apostolic itinerancy, sexual renunciation, and the like. In any case, the monastic culture of N. Syria in the days after Ephrem should not be so one-sidedly linked to Egypt alone. A common and international proto-Byzantine monastic culture was emerging, heavily influenced by Egypt, of course, but also linked to the Cappadocian tradition through Evagrius, as well as to Syrian traditions through Ephrem. (b) Abraham as Local Legend and Ascetic Pioneer On the other hand, study of the Abraham stories and their Ephremian kernel (in the form of the first five poems in the cycle) can tell us much about the monastic milieu that in the decades after Ephrem’s death had begun to develop his thinking, and alter it in 6 Sterk

1998, ‘Basil, Moses, and the Model Bishop’, pp. 249–253.

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

271

some respects. What matters is precisely the view of asceticism that came to prevail in Syria after the time of Ephrem, for it truly did emphasize, at least rhetorically, a radical withdrawal from the life of the church in a way that Ephrem himself would never have advocated. Such was the language of the texts that Vööbus had mistakenly attributed to Ephrem (See ‘Facts and Problems’, pp. 7– 11 above). In short, we find in the HdAQ a traditional story, its Ephremian interpretation, and its post-Ephremian adjustment. Regarding the first point, the story of Abraham himself, as it seems to have circulated as part of traditional Edessene church lore, there is no particular reason from the perspective of Ephrem’s poems to reject it as a legend: that is, as a genuine expression of the community’s memory. Calling it historical in a rigorous modern sense, of course, is another matter entirely. Yet, the legend of Abraham as a source of prestige for the local church plays a role quite similar to the lore expressed in another early fifth century Edessan text, the Doctrina Addai, which seeks to explain the growing cachet of Edessa by highlighting its apostolic foundation. 7 The Vita traditions about Abraham found in pseudo-Ephrem, particularly HdAQ 10.1–15.4, seem to have a similar purpose. They promote the local saint of the great mother city of Syriac culture, perhaps not without a desire to prove that Urhay too can boast of extraordinary, early ascetics who can trace their practices back to ancient tradition, just as the orthodoxy of Edessa can be traced back to Addai himself. This rhetorical interest in the traditional heritage on the part of the entire cycle seems likely to explain the inattention to Abraham’s newer ascetic practice of anchoritism, as something less relevant to the authors’ goals. As for Ephrem’s interpretation, Abraham’s virtuous practices and the presuppositions of his life are, as has been shown, thoroughly traditional in their core. (It is later that certain newer elements, such as eschatology and intercession, appear.) Given this traditional character, the place of Ephrem’s iconographic interpretation in this growing tradition must have been that of a 7 Griffith

2003, ‘Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm’, argues that such was precisely the purpose of presenting the traditional teaching of Addai as a paradigmatic rule of faith for the Edessene church.

272

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

supporting role. His consistent anti-dualism would be entirely of a piece with his other compositions generally accepted as Edessene (particularly, the HcH and the Pr. Ref.) and all part of a rhetorical presentation that emphasizes the traditional faith of Urhay against the three heresiarchs who were its traditional foes. In Ephrem’s icon, Abraham thus appears to embody Ephrem’s understanding of orthodox asceticism. That orthodoxy, presented in an archaic mode, did not consist so much in a Trinitarian doctrine as in a rule of faith that maintains the integrity of scripture and interprets all of it christologically. It also included a moral/ascetical component: the fundamental goodness of creation and the ascription of evil to human freedom rather than to God. The neglect of the contemporary Arian controversy in HdAQ 1–5 also seems likely to be part of the desire to hark back to the earliest traditions of the area. Indeed, in the case of the HdAQ, it is fortunate that we know something about the earliest phases of ascetic tradition in the Syrian Orient from other sources besides Ephrem: most notably, Aphrahat. This allows us to glimpse the traditional character of Ephrem’s icon. His language is clever and inventive, but the theological principles of his work were of established pedigree. Hence, Ephrem’s portrait of Abraham was not (one should hazard) a conscious correction of an unorthodox biographical tradition, although it may very well have been instead a selection of the most orthodox strands of that tradition. 8 As noticed above (‘Facts and 8 In

this way, Ephrem’s icon of Abraham differs somewhat from the portrait of Anthony drawn by Ephrem’s contemporary, Athanasius. Brakke 1998, Athanasius and Asceticism, pp. 203–204, argues that Athanasius corrected earlier views of Anthony, although it is entirely possible, we have to observe, that Athanasius did so by selecting the Anthony-traditions he wished to emphasize. If that is the case, then Athanasius did not so much correct as interpret Anthony’s life, much as Ephrem seems to have done with Abraham. In the case of Ephrem, however, the only early data we have specifically for Abraham come from Ephrem himself, and there are no earlier witnesses. Thus, we are not able to compare the different traditions that Ephrem may have been able to choose from, if indeed such even existed.

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

273

Problems’, pp. 7–11), more than one type of asceticism seems to have circulated in the earliest days of Christianity in the Syrian Orient, some forms more encratite and extreme, others more orthodox. Naturally, Ephrem would have presented Abraham in what he considered the appropriate, orthodox interpretation. Even though we suggest that Ephrem, as Athanasius did with Anthony, used Abraham as the icon of his deliberately archaic doctrinal and moral ideals, we do not suggest that Ephrem’s icon is in any sense a fundamental distortion of the facts of Abraham’s life and opinions. Ephrem himself was an exile at the time he penned this text, and although surely weighed down with his own personal anxieties, did not have episcopal authority and image to maintain for himself, as Athanasius did. In other words, although Ephrem surely hoped to support the orthodox community of Urhay by praising and claiming Abraham as its great hero, he would not likely have had a personal axe to grind. His own reputation would already have been established, and being at best only a deacon, would have had less reason to hold a church political agenda on his own behalf. 9 That is, perhaps, what gives the HdAQ their charm. Like his great HdP, they are among his least polemical compositions. The only strident anti-heretical polemics in the poems are simply the traditional theological expressions that have become customary for the Syrian Orient. Instead of polemics, the HdAQ reflect the genuine wonder and interest of an old man, weary with long service to his church, worn out by exile. Mourning perhaps, the loss of his native city, no doubt somewhat disheartened by the fortunes of the pro-Nicene cause, Ephrem would have found solace in reflecting on Abraham, the great saint who ultimately was a living icon of hope for the Christian community, and one that remained among it even in death. Upon reading Ephrem’s praise of the saint, one cannot help but feel that The difference in personal status between Ephrem and Athanasius means that despite theological similarities between the presentations of Abraham and Anthony (see ‘Theological Analysis’, pp. 226–231) we should not regard Ephrem’s ascetical theology as so politicized as that of Athanasius. See Brakke 1995, Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism, pp. 245–265. 9

274

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the great Harp of the Spirit felt a certain kinship with his fellow bar qyāmâ and saw in him something of the ideal that he too had pursued throughout his life: fidelity to the faith and service to the community as a teacher and example. The crown of praise for Abraham that Ephrem wove became something of a moral and spiritual synthesis of Ephrem’s thought, recapitulating reflections that he had earlier pursued in the HdP and CNis. As he joined the angels in acclaiming Abraham, he no doubt longed for the same heavenly connection and hoped that his offering to the Exalted One would also be grafted in to the tree of life, the Church, 10 rooted in God’s truth. Is there some kind of connection between the Vita of Anthony and any part of the HdAQ? It is a question whose answer would require extensive comparison with the Syriac translations of Athanasius and of other Anthony sources, something that lies beyond the scope of this work. Some remarks, however, can be made. First, it is unlikely that Ephrem himself could have depended on any Syriac literary source referring to Anthony, for the simple reason that most, if not all, of the sources that later came into existence, were probably unavailable to him. 11 He is writing the HdAQ at the end of his life. Second, he may, however, have heard of Anthony’s reputation, which was quite extensive throughout the Christian world. Yet, if he did know of Anthony, Ephrem’s poems show no evidence of it that this study can discern. Ephrem rarely mentions contemporary figures by name in his madrāšê, anyway. The only people to whom Ephrem compares Abraham are the great examples of the scriptures, especially the Old Testament. On one occasion, he refers to other holy people: martyrs and ‘the chaste’ (HdAQ 4.22) which suggests only that Ephrem knows See Murray 2004, Symbols, pp. 106–113, who comments in detail on the single poem De Ecclesia that follows the HdP cycle. The poem suggests the image of the Church herself as the tree of life, or the vine. 11 Brakke 1994, ‘Greek and Syriac Versions of the Life of Antony’, pp. 29–53. Brakke’s analysis establishes that (1) the Greek is the original form of the VA, and that (2) the Syriac version of it that we have is a fifth century text. This means, of course, that it would have been unavailable to Ephrem in Syriac. 10

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

275

others who practice asceticism. The absence of reference to other great pioneers in asceticism, including notably Ephrem’s own spiritual father, James of Nisibis, implies rather strongly that Ephrem indeed saw Abraham (or wished to see him) as a sort of pioneer whose own inspiration was entirely scriptural and not predicated on the example of an ascetic mentor. By contrast, even Athanasius mentions Anthony’s predecessors, and the legends about Pachomius mention his teacher, Palamon. 12 Another possible explanation of this omission, and indeed, the more likely one, is that the institution of the covenant (qyāmâ ) was already so ancient and already so fundamental that it did not have a single founder figure to whom Ephrem might refer. Thus, in the end, we must entertain two possibilities: (1) that Ephrem knows Abraham is the first expression of a new form of asceticism, at least in the region, (2) that Abraham simply follows an already established paradigm too ancient to trace back to an origin. While the second of these possibilities is the more conservative and likely one, it is interesting to point out that Ephrem does envision Abraham Qîdûnāyâ himself as a sort of master or leader of his local church community. It is on this presupposition that the comparison to Moses is based in HdAQ 3. Such a situtation could suggest that Abraham was unique in that he attracted significant ascetic disciples that developed into a sort of monastic community over time. The existence of the rest of the cycle of HdAQ would bear out this hypothesis. The effect of all this analysis is to locate Ephrem’s theology of asceticism and promotion of it in its broader fourth century context. While it exhibits many distinctive and very attractive features that mark it as one of the finest expressions of the early Syriac tradition, there is no mistaking is broad similarity to the theological and moral programs of better known figures, particularly Ephrem’s great contemporary, Athanasius, but also the Cappadocians.

12 Rousseau

1999, Pachomius, pp. 57–65.

276

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

(c) The Post-Ephremian Elaboration In the latter poems of the HdAQ, the praise of the saint actually intensifies, and the sense of wonder increases. Ephrem, still living with the effects of Julian’s hostility toward the church, offered it support and encouragement by presenting Abraham, the successful heavenly merchant, who succeeded despite the difficult circumstances. In pseudo-Ephrem’s writing, this comforting tone has given way to a more triumphant exuberance that seems reflective of the Theodosian period of church life. Paganism was declining, and in Urhay particularly, Rabbula engaged in a sharp anti-paganism campaign. 13 Abraham’s success in converting the heathens of Qîdûn plays into this triumphant narrative beautifully. One interesting aspect of the post-Ephremian elaboration, already noticed by Botha, was the stronger sense that Abraham has been divinized and likened to God. The ideal of man putting on the robe of glory once again and returning to paradise is hardly new to Ephrem, but the focus on Abraham’s god-like qualities in pseudo-Ephrem’s poetry may also account for the switch from an ‘exemplaric’ approach to asceticism to the ‘patron’ model that was more common elsewhere in the empire at the time. 14 Thus, instead of focusing on the way Abraham’s example assists the community, pseudo-Ephrem asserts the necessity of Abraham’s post-mortem intercession so that sinful, ungodly humanity can obtain the graces it needs from God. The patron model of asceticism was certainly at least as old as the reputation of Anthony, as Brakke points out. 15 Moses’ status as mediator between God and the Jewish people could easily serve as a scriptural precedent too. Ephrem does, in fact, present Abraham as an intercessor and mediator for his community, with Moses as the model for that role, but more to the point, the main role of Abraham for his community is as an example. One might see in this role a more optimistic spiritual anthropology on Ephrem’s part, and perhaps also a tradition that would have made Theodore of Mopsuestia’s interpretations of 13 Drijvers

1982, ‘Persistence’, p. 39. 1971, ‘Rise and Function’, pp. 85–88. 15 Brakke 1995, Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism, pp. 208–213. 14 Brown

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

277

Christ seem natural to many in the Syrian Orient. He is well known for having emphasized Christ’s salvific role as a moral example for humanity.

THEOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS

One can pursue these historical observations further by taking a closer look at the theology of the ascetic ideal presented by Ephrem and by pseudo-Ephrem. For Ephrem and for his imitator, it is necessary to ask what each chose to praise and why, not simply in terms of the overall mood of the times and the historical development, but in terms of theology as well. (a) Ephrem’s Ascetic Ideal The chapters above have shown consistently that the ascetic ideal as Ephrem saw it was to reflect the glory of God in the inhabited world, while being at the same time on one’s way back to Paradise. The paradisiacal features of Abraham’s career, such as his surpassing abundance of spiritual wealth represented like the waves of the incomprehensible sea, his bridal adornments, the simplicity of his faith like that of the thief who returned to paradise, his garment of glory, the appeal to Moses on the mountain as the type of the denizen of Paradise, constantly remind his admirers of the success which he achieved, a success measured precisely by the return to paradise. Indeed, we should expect that Ephrem could afford to be allusive and not name Paradise directly in his poems: the language was probably traditional enough that it would bring these paradisiacal connotations to mind subconsciously as Ephrem presented the icon of Abraham to his audience’s mind’s eye. Indeed, perhaps the theme was merely at the back of Ephrem’s own mind, as part of his accustomed idiom for thinking about those who have achieved spiritual success (Syr. kûššārâ ). It is not so much Abraham’s paradisiacal state, but how he achieved it that occupies Ephrem’s mind in HdAQ 1–5. Ephrem makes the path to success quite clear: one achieves this glory by borrowing and putting to good use God’s own good gifts, whose right use depends on free will. So often Ephrem returns to the ambiguous potential of created things. Good in themselves, they can be used well by the good, but viciously by those who are evil. Thus, in the relationship between God and man constituted by the

278

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Christian aspiration to return to Paradise, the two poles are divine glory and human freedom. This freedom itself, Ephrem makes clear, must be rooted in or somehow connected to the tree of life or ‘grafted into’ God’s truth, as he puts it in HdAQ 5.24–26. In order to obtain glory, one must be connected to its source. But to be connected to God in this way, demands founding one’s life on his revelations in both nature and scripture. Hence, Ephrem emphasizes the thoroughly scriptural character of Abraham’s life, whose images and practices Abraham himself puts on like a garment. It is also for this reason that belief in the fundamental goodness of the Creator is so important for Ephrem. Without it, Abraham would have separated himself from the very one who had planted the Paradise he sought. In the ascetic struggle, it becomes clear that the human part in the exchange between glory and freedom is the virtue of diligence (kaššîrûṯâ ), whose task is not first and foremost active, but receptive. One must be open to accepting freely the glory the creator offers. Only then does one ‘invest’ it so as to make a profit. The investment so often seems to be expressed not in terms of personal ascetic practices but in terms of ministry to others: spreading the glory of the divine wealth throughout the community through such practices as almsgiving, admonition, and teaching. Here is the underlying theological reason why the particular ascetic practice (eremitic or communal) is not at issue. Indeed, after investigating the theology of these texts through their rhetorical expression, one realizes that at least for Ephrem’s writings, posing the question in terms of the contrast between anchoritism and communal asceticism is itself an ill-fitting distinction imported from the Egyptian milieu. So long as Abraham’s ministry to others is not impeded, Ephrem gives the impression it matters little what precise ascetic practices he undertook. The key is not the style of ascetic practice but that no effort be spared in the spiritual trade. Ephrem’s casting this spiritual trade in terms of the riches of paradise reminds us that again that his notion of virtue is implicitly ecclesial, since the church is paradise restored. The focus on the church, in turn reflects traditional Ephremian theological interests, whose main concerns are the integrity of the church’s rule of faith

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

279

against the attacks of the troika of traditional heresiarchs, Marcion, Bardaisan, and Mani. 16 The unmistakable prominence that Ephrem gives to ministry for the church allows us to perceive how once again, as with other themes in Ephrem’s thought, his spiritual world-view returns inevitably to the church. Ephrem’s ‘ecclesiology’ (if one may use that term) is the deep foundation that, whenever one looks closely, always seems to ground his thought on so many topics: doctrines erroneous and true, anti-Judaism, Julian the Apostate, and, of course, virtue and asceticism. 17 The centrality of the church, Paradise replanted (cf. HdP 6.7–8), in Ephrem’s thinking might perhaps be compared to the central role of the Civitas Dei in the theological synthesis of Augustine. 18 (b) Pseudo-Ephrem’s Ascetic Ideal Yet the ecclesial attitude of Ephrem, this sense of practicing virtue in and with the church as the replantation of paradise, is much attenuated in pseudo-Ephrem’s presentation. Paradoxically, the desire to exalt Abraham renders him less connected to the church. He has leapt over the ‘chasm’ that separates the world (implicitly no better than Gehenna!) from the bosom of Abraham (HdAQ 14.14). Whereas Ephrem felt it natural to reflect on Abraham’s persistent influence on the church of Urhay via one of Abraham’s biblical models, viz., the shrewd and righteous patriarch Jacob, pseudo-Ephrem must actually strain to argue that Abraham is not On this point, see Griffith 1999, ‘Marks of the True Church’, pp. 125–140. 17 The best evidence for the centrality of the Church in early Syriac writings and, of course, in Ephrem, remains Murray 2004, Symbols, where he remarks on the first page that reflection on the church gives us ‘one of the richest fields of symbolism in Syriac literature’. 18 Clearly, the Augustinian and Ephremian traditions develop in different directions, and in many respects, Ephrem’s views are much more Eusebian (as Griffith 1986, ‘Ephraem, Deacon of Edessa’, pp. 47–52, notes). Yet it is interesting to observe that these two figures share in common an anti-manichaean concern, a fundamental interest in defining the identity and marks of the true church in the midst of heretics, and an attention to the fundamental problems of free will and evil. 16

280

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

cut off from his community. In fact, most of the latter half of the seventh poem in the collection is a belabored argument that Abraham can still influence us with his prayer. Perhaps the very exaltation and fame of Abraham made his status seem simply unattainable. Along with this theological shift that concentrates on the fame and exaltation of Abraham, it is appropriate to recall another feature noticed earlier: namely, that pseudo-Ephrem no longer understands the paradisiacal idiom of bridal adornment (Syr. ṣeḇtâ and cognates) that was Ephrem’s most prominent language of praise. This old notion, attested in Aphrahat, has simply disappeared. Perhaps in the early fifth century, as part of Rabbula’s desire to ‘standardize’ the theological reflection of the church of Urhay 19 in terms of Cyril’s theology, the text of the Peshitta, 20 and the practice of asceticism, the older traditional eschatological doctrine of the ‘sleep of the soul’ also began to be abandoned. Once this happened, as the church of Urhay was brought into closer conformity with other local churches in the Roman world, paradoxically, the connection between the ‘sleeping’ Abraham and his church was broken. The earlier doctrine implied that both Abraham and his local church were looking toward paradise and anticipating it: Abraham both anticipated it in his body and awaits For a general overview, see Pinggéra 2004, ‘Rabbula’, pp. 57–70. Juckel 2009, ‘Old Syriac Heritage of the Peshitta’, pp. 44–47, also discusses Rabbula’s relationship to the Peshitta. Griffith 2003, ‘Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm’, §31–46, outlines many of the reforms Rabbula made in Edessa during his tenure as its bishop. 20 Although it is unclear that much can be made of the fact, it is intriguing that in HdAQ 1–5 one encounters, simply among the biblical references marked out by Beck, four non-standard, that is, non-Peshitta, Gospel citations. The Peshitta citations that Beck does notice come either from the Old Testament or the Pauline corpus. In contrast, in pseudoEphrem’s poems, only a single Gospel citation that does not derive from the Peshitta can be found. Further work would have to be done, but one is tempted to hypothesize that the Gospel citations and allusions of pseudo-Ephrem help to date the work to the period of Rabbula or later, after the Diatessaron had fallen out of favor. 19

VIII: CONCLUSIONS

281

it in the grave, just as the church anticipates paradise in image and awaits it at the resurrection. Perhaps for this reason, the patronmodel of the ascetic came to predominate in pseudo-Ephrem’s thinking, bringing with it the necessity of relying upon the saint’s intercession for spiritual success. The poor quality arguments that pseudo-Ephrem adduces to make his case only highlight his uncertain footing and perhaps the relatively early stage in development of the doctrine of the intercession of saints. Thus, the ascetic ideal in pseudo-Ephrem’s poetry is on the one hand more public, more focused on the ascetic triumph (Syr. neṣḥānâ, with its connotations of fame) and on missionary activity, but in fact less ecclesial in its core. The essence of that ascetic ideal is to die to this world, like St. Paul. 21 Mortification and self-denial take center stage in pseudo-Ephrem’s praise. Although Ephrem himself would not have found anything to condemn in such zeal, there is no denying that the overall conception has shifted. In pseudo-Ephrem, the contrast between death and life is more sharp and the chasm deeper. It is here, at last, that we must take our leave of these texts in praise of Abraham Qîdûnāyâ. As the analysis has revealed, he deserves to be better known, as do the texts which preserve his memory for us under various forms. At least, this study will have shown the riches that the ‘heavenly merchant’ has to offer us even today as a model for the diligent who would take up themselves the quest for the pearl of great price. At the same time, we may now appreciate the great skill which Ephrem, the ‘marvelous rhetor’ sets before the eye of the mind the great saint Abraham, as an icon in whose radiance the glories of paradise blossom once again.

21 See,

for example, Col 2.12–13 and 3.5.

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS The following lists indicate how rhetorical terms are defined in this study, by adaptation of classical definitions, together with the number of occurrences for each type of device. 1 The number is given in parentheses following the name of the device. Occurrences that appear not to mark a polarity or that have no clear significance for the point being made have not been counted.

REFERENCE LIST OF DEVICES SHARED BETWEEN EPHREMIAN AND PSEUDO-EPHREMIAN PORTIONS

For devices shared between the two portions, the numbers of instances are labeled as E, for Ephrem, and P-E for pseudoEphrem. anaphora/epistrophe (E: 37; P-E: 7): repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or clauses (anaphora) or at the end (epistrophe). The combination of the two devices is symploce, which appears in the pseudonymous portion. homoeoteleuton (E: 23; P-E: 37): similar sounds at the ends of successive lines or half -lines polyptoton (E: 21; P-E: 31): the use, in close proximity, of the same semitic root but in multiple forms or patterns 2 Definitions of rhetorical devices have been taken, unless otherwise noted, from Gideon O. Burton’s ‘Silvae Rhetoricae’ (rhetoric.byu.edu [verified Nov. 4, 2014]). His definitions derive from the ancient Greek and Latin sources. Burton’s definitions have also been compared, and sometimes modified in accordance, with Lanham 1991, A Handlist. 2 Polyptoton, literally ‘many cases’ is a device in which an author repeats the same word in a different grammatical forms within the same 1

283

284

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

parallelism (E: 18; P-E: 29): similarity of structure in phrases or clauses. 3 paronomasia/parechesis (E: 16; P-E: 21): world-play involving a similarity of sound or name 4 chiasm (E: 7; P-E: 25): the inversion of the order of parallel cola: an ABBA pattern simile (E: 7; P-E: 4): a figure in which one thing is explicitly compared to another amplificatio (E: 6; P-E: 2): a generic rhetorical strategy that involves increase or augmentation. As used here, it refers to otherwise unclassifiable structural progression anadiplosis (E: 6; P-E: 3): the repetition of a word or phrase that occurs at the end of a line or section again at the beginning of the next line or section conduplicatio/ploce (E: 3; P-E: 4): the repetition of words in close context epanalepsis (E: 3; P-E: 4): repetition of the same word or phrase, after intervening material hendiadys (E: 3; P-E: 1): saying one thing with a pleonastic expression, often two verbs for one passage. Syriac does not retain an actual case system like Greek and Latin, and thus polyptoton manifests itself not by various case forms but instead in different patterns of the same triliteral root, or in different states (emphatic, absolute, or construct) of the same word. 3 Parallelism is, of course, a very basic category, and many other devices could be included within its scope. As used here, it refers to a parallelism of thought between clauses or phrases which cannot easily be classified as a more specific form of parallelism, such as anaphora. One must distinguish parallelism of thought from formal parallelism. The isosyllabic structure of the poems in question guarantees a certain formal parallelism, at least in the sense that each colon will have the same number of syllables, but that parallelism does not always correspond to a parallelism in sense. 4 Figures in this list also include the very similar device of parechesis. In Ephrem’s poetry, this often has to do with a similar sound in the triliteral root of two unrelated words, usually caused by metathesis of the consonants.

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

285

alliteration (E: 2; P-E: 13): device in which successive words in a single context begin with the same consonantal sound prosopoeia (E: 2; P-E: 2): personification catachresis (E: 1; P-E: 1): the deliberate misuse of a word (in the cycle, the most common misuse is the association of the wrong sense organ with a sensation, which is an example of hypallage) irony (E: 1; P-E: 1): a statement in jest that says the opposite of what one means isocolon (E: 1; P-E: 21): parallelism of similiarly structured cola. As used here, isocolon refers to such a parallelism of form that cannot readily be classified as another rhetorical device. A Few Devices Unique to the Ephremian Portion climax (4): the arrangement of words or phrases in order of increasing importance apodioxis (2): a figure of refutation that entails rejecting an opponent’s argument as absurd, wicked, etc. inclusio (2): beginning and ending a section with the same word, phrase, or reference 5 assonance (1): device in which successive words in a single context begin with the same vocalic sound. 6 hyperbole (1): overstatement, for effect sarcasmus (1): verbal taunting synchoresis (1): concession for the sake of argument Complete List of Polarities Used in Both Parts of the Cycle Where an identical polarity is used more than once, its several locations are noted. Location is indicated by poem and stanza number, and polarities are grouped according to location. It seems helpful to distinguish between two special cases: the triplet and the off-balance polarity. In a few instances, there appears to be a juxtaposition between three equally weighted terms rather than the usual two. Such triplets will have the third term enclosed in curly 5 This

definition is not taken from Burton’s ‘Silva Rhetoricae’. Note that this definition is more specific than that offered by Burton’s ‘Silva Rhetoricae’. 6

286

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

braces. Off-balance polarities appear when the author wishes to set two or more terms on one pole, balanced against only a single term or phrase on the other pole. Off-balance polarities are marked by separating the terms by commas. All terms are listed in the order in which they appear, but if the terms are identical, regardless of order, the polarities are treated as identical. Effort has been made to make the polarities clear on their own, but the reader should be advised that recourse to the context will often be necessary to grasp why the poles in question have been juxtaposed. As has been the case throughout this study, the fact that a polarity has been construed in a particular way or counted in a particular way is not meant to suggest that no alternative interpretation or division exists. Instead, the presentation chosen has been based on what seems to have the greatest heuristic value for the surrounding passage. God conquering / death defeating ............................................ 1.1 taken away from / placed within everyone / our people inner beauty (outer ugliness, old age) / outer beauty (inner ugliness, youth) ................................................................. 1.2 the lazy / Abraham’s diligence................................................... 1.3 the weary / Abraham’s patience the lowly / Abraham’s diligence fasting (scarcity) / celebration (abundance) ............................. 1.4 tiring vigil / rejuvenation toil / strength mocked / honored greed (shamelessness) / modesty (shame) God / neighbor ............................................................................ 1.5 God / man lend / receive ................................................................................ 1.6 hearing / doing receiver / giver ............................................................................. 1.7 principal / interest almsgiver / just borrowers ......................................................... 1.8 borrower / lender seed / storehouse ......................................................................... 1.9 (metaphorical) seed / Abraham heaven / earth ............................................................................1.10 Abraham / Elijah

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

287

hidden / manifest no man / all men........................................................................1.11 ascend / descend living one / death one / many human prayer / divine goodness height of Paradise / death (in Sheol) not in the body / in the self .....................................................1.12 fool / Abraham remains / goes flesh / spirit.................................................................................1.13 dirt / no dirt scouring / accumulating ...........................................................1.14 body / soul the two types of bathers / Abraham darkness / daylight .....................................................................1.15 wealth of others / wealth of Abraham sleep / vigilance steal / guard (metaphorical) seed / (metaphorical) shoots .........................1.16 snow / heat plant and sow / burst forth and water fasting / weeping of vigil youth / Abraham .......................................................................1.17 out of the race / time for the race death / life ...................................................................................1.18 contests / crowns {acclamations} among us / on Abraham’s members youths / the elder .......................................................................1.19 cast off / picked up lazy / labor rebuke (active) / shame (passive) ............................................1.20 the elder / youths old age / labor master / slave .............................................................................1.21 givers / takers truth / bribery............................................................................... 2.1 mouth of Abraham / mouth of Samuel silent / calls out all the just / specific forefathers ................................................ 2.2

288

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

members of Abraham’s body / members of the communion of saints Abraham’s depiction / apostles and prophets ........................ 2.3 virtues of purity / virtues of poverty ........................................ 2.4 beloved ones / brethren ............................................................. 2.5 mourn / weep Abraham’s treasures / any treasure (singular versus plural, with difference in word choice) 7 mourning / consolation .............................................................. 2.6 pain / triumph sons / disciples pain / consolation I do not depart / I do not recount ............................................ 2.7 fill / empty .................................................................................... 2.8 capture / do not capture the riches summon / the author is insufficient ....................... 2.9 all of the riches/ the first treasures available the medicine of life / those in need of it ...............................2.10 take / give true Being / another essence know / teach ...............................................................................2.11 power / Creator hides itself / cries out other power / there is no other power learn / teach ................................................................................2.12 hidden (passive) / hides itself (active) divine power / the other power in the time of contest / at the end of time ............................2.13 did not want to reveal himself / did reveal himself weak / concealed........................................................................2.14 come / go contest / plunder leap out / conceal contest / cross ............................................................................2.15 evil one / good 7 There

may also be a polarity in the same stanza between Abraham’s accomplishments (neṣḥānê ) and his spiritual treasures (sîmāṯâ ).

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

289

darkened / split ..........................................................................2.16 sun / veil deceiver / rebel...........................................................................2.17 realm of the stranger / realm of the Marcionite ‘creator’ rebel / lord lord of creation / creatures ......................................................2.18 mouth of Abraham / voice of God mount of Sinai / realm of creatures below raised / lowered..........................................................................2.19 mountain / sea above / below The most merciful (Father) / his Son.....................................2.20 peoples / People Lord / Son of the Lord sea / sun {tombs}......................................................................2.21 above / below earlier / later above / below earlier / later single Being / only Son .............................................................2.22 single (Being) / only (Son) learned / taught ..........................................................................2.23 few words / many deeds expanded thinking / restrained opinion .................................2.24 water of truth / poison of doctrines sweetness / poison of death.....................................................2.25 tastes / examines swallows / spits out all merits / one only ..................................................................2.26 merchant / our people ................................................................ 3.1 life / death in the heavens / with us (on earth) depart / leave defeated / defeat .......................................................................... 3.2 triumphs / riches.......................................................................... 3.3 eye of the mind / physical eye wealth / poverty ........................................................................... 3.4 one by one / all together with you (Abraham) / with us (his admirers) .......................... 3.5

290

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

wealth accompanies Abraham among the dead / wealth traded among the living away from Abraham / with Abraham dead / living .................................................................................. 3.6 with you (Abraham) / with your (Abraham’s) sons taken them / left them Abraham / the many ................................................................... 3.7 the body of Abraham (in Sheol) / the Height of Paradise with Abraham / with the Son of the Lord with the righteous / with their (spiritual) sons ........................ 3.8 go / stay its owners / its friends take / leave .................................................................................... 3.9 disciple / master riches of the master / entreaty like the master ......................3.10 Joshua / Achar caused to win / hindered prayed / stole gave / picked up.........................................................................3.11 took away / left behind with the master / with the disciple..........................................3.12 master / disciple heaven / earth sticks / flock ...............................................................................3.13 did not strip off / spread it over attractive appearance / beauties gave everything / did not give anything .................................3.14 treasures / riches spirits of the just / flock of Christ ..........................................3.15 Jacob the Patriarch / Abraham................................................3.16 set up / set up and adorned stored up / spread out adornments / decorations adornments on Abraham / images on the sticks ..................3.17 did not strip off / adorned our flock / the flock of Laban in the body of Abraham / in heaven ......................................3.18 in the churches / in souls scattered / gathered

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

291

Abraham / Abraham’s treasures .............................................3.19 scattered / gathered all of Abraham with one / all of Abraham with all attentive to everyone / attentive to the Lord race / turn away from the race day / night ...................................................................................3.20 prayer / fasting ............................................................................. 4.1 treasury of helps / treasury of remedies one baptism / two eyes ............................................................... 4.2 constantly / once only................................................................. 4.3 one body / two baptisms as one / two eyes ......................................................................... 4.4 sight / tears sight causes sin / weeping cleanses eyes / body medicine / illness sight / weeping ............................................................................. 4.5 day / night alms / prayers scorned / pure .............................................................................. 4.6 everything is pure / abstained from everything chaste / meagre eating / thinking forgiveness / punishment ........................................................... 4.7 man / Evil One forgiver / punisher Evil One / man ............................................................................ 4.8 enemy / fellow member demanded / allowed one / all ......................................................................................... 4.9 door (literal) / doors (metaphorical) from outside / from within hungry / abundance spring (of water) / thirsty .........................................................4.10 earth / heaven gave / received ...........................................................................4.11 manifest / hidden gave / received temporal / eternal near / far .....................................................................................4.12

292

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

reputation / action near / far near / far .....................................................................................4.13 reputation / visit perfect / immature {repentant} teaching / admonition {support} weary / negligent ........................................................................4.14 encouragement / rebuke love / wisdom outside / inside tranquility / rebuke the humble / the audacious ......................................................4.15 hasten his course / restrain his fervor he who imitates / he who refuses to imitate .........................4.16 rejoiced / were sad Apostle Paul / Abraham ...........................................................4.17 perfect / babes increased / decreased with the little one / with Abraham flowing stream / grave laughter ...............................................4.18 eye / mouth erroneous but well intentioned / hypocrites rejoicing / rebuke youth / old age ...........................................................................4.19 race / love of the crown weakness / grew strong ............................................................4.20 old age / was rejuvenated saw / did not perceive race / crown profit / labor ...............................................................................4.21 merchants / athletes see / do not see crown / suffering adulterers and drinkers / angelic watchers ............................4.22 demons / seraphim martyrs and chaste / seraphim.................................................4.23 monastics / seraphim earth / heaven liberated / bonds ........................................................................4.24 prison / lusts

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

293

Abraham / the many .................................................................4.25 crucify / crucified drinking / dry silence of the poet / song of Abraham ..................................4.26 poet seeks / Abraham intercedes promised / not defrauded ........................................................4.27 water / wine suffering / triumph ...................................................................... 5.1 suffering / triumph suffering / name death / good name ...................................................................... 5.2 all men / not to all men pay back / well-provisioned all men / the few rich man / Lazarus....................................................................... 5.3 equal / different debts / provisions rich man / poor man rich man / poor man ................................................................... 5.4 stripped off / put on pleasures / troubles temporal / eternal labor / glory temporal / does not pass away rest / woes..................................................................................... 5.5 brief / eternal temporal troubles / eternal life nothing / everything fools / Abraham........................................................................... 5.6 shame / name died / alive sin / God alive / death evil ones / good ones .................................................................. 5.7 blots out / increases debts / sins mouths / one mouth ................................................................... 5.8 losses / profits denied / confessed ....................................................................... 5.9 People / peoples

294

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

perished / lived Korah, Dathan, serpent / good thief died, cursed / lived one word / everything...............................................................5.10 for the sinner / for the good man loss and ruin / profit debts / acquittal..........................................................................5.11 mammon / lordship ugliness / adornment troubled sea / harbor all difficulties / harbor life / death ...................................................................................5.12 sinners / Abraham fleeting life / eternal life love / purity ................................................................................5.13 treasury / fear of loss ................................................................5.14 the Just One (God) / those defrauded (the righteous dead) .............................................................................................5.15 treasure / deposits exalted / lowly ............................................................................5.16 beauties / spots ..........................................................................5.17 the good / the evil blossoms / garments embarrassment / courage .........................................................5.19 the fool / Abraham kept within / spread outside ....................................................5.20 blossoms / does not fade nest of death / bridal chamber of life.....................................5.21 vigil, fasting / alms, prayers ......................................................5.22 visiting the sick / instructing the healthy impoverished / adorn................................................................5.23 Exalted One / the poor borrow / lend humanity / God .........................................................................5.24 every adornment / entirely ugly...............................................5.25 adornments of Moses / adornments of Abraham ...............5.26 well up / bring forth ..................................................................5.27 breast / tongue ear / mouth

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

295

lowly water / wine .....................................................................5.28 poet’s poor words / praise winter / summer ........................................................................5.29 abundance / famine light / darkness earth of the poet / blossoms of Abraham .............................5.30 poverty of the poet / Abraham’s crown poet weaves praise / Abraham weaves his praiseworthy deeds race / was victorious .................................................................5.31 labor / magnified diligence / rich fasting / triumphed vigil / became illustrious crown / gift .................................................................................5.32 king / servant offer / receive coin / crown poet / Abraham able to speak / better to keep silent .......................................... 6.1 poet does not magnify / poet is magnified saint’s intercession / poet’s capacity ......................................... 6.2 sun / the sun’s rays ...................................................................... 6.3 hidden beam / the mind saint / sun, moon darkness / brightness .................................................................. 6.4 outer (lamp) / inner (man) man / God hiddenness / apparent ................................................................. 6.5 bright flashes / dark world God / the triumphant (saints) goodness / hiddenness beautiful triumphs / weak pigments ......................................... 6.6 weak words / the saint’s strength insipid word / salt of truth ......................................................... 6.7 skill / weakness ............................................................................ 6.8 hidden / open king’s and saint’s treasury / poet’s and smith’s treasury give / adorn

296

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

wealth / the needy ....................................................................... 6.9 words / deeds distributed / not diminished interest and the principal together / interest only ................6.10 the Lord / the saint rich man / merchant..................................................................6.11 king’s money / king’s distributors the rich / the triumphant ..........................................................6.12 transient wealth / permanent wealth sweet fragrance / sick odor ......................................................6.13 victory / defeat ............................................................................. 7.2 impoverish / treasures ................................................................ 7.3 grasp / surpass.............................................................................. 7.4 money / harvests ......................................................................... 7.5 merchants / husbandmen cleared of thorns / replete with tares........................................ 7.6 abandoned / labored rocks / fruits ................................................................................. 7.7 ashamed / modesty speak /desist ................................................................................. 7.8 difficult / helps speak / desist ................................................................................ 7.9 scares away / draws close discernment threatens / experience reprimands ...................7.10 babe / teacher deficient, defeated / triumphs..................................................7.12 denounce/ speak ........................................................................7.14 succor / deeds ............................................................................7.15 intercession / weakness irrigate / spring ...........................................................................7.16 help / triumph ............................................................................7.17 evil one / good one ...................................................................7.18 wine / prayer...............................................................................7.19 saint / poet’s community wise master / children ...............................................................7.20 word / silence .............................................................................7.21 community / the master acted / taught saint’s prayer / whispering of the disciples’ lips ...................7.24 wind, water / prophecy .............................................................7.27

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

297

servant for the mouth / servant for God servant (saint) / the poet ............................................................ 8.1 silence / praise tongue / weak nature .................................................................. 8.2 speak / hush could not praise / could transact profit ................................... 8.3 profit / censure ............................................................................ 8.4 knowledge / restraint .................................................................. 8.7 manifest / hidden......................................................................... 8.8 assist / gain profit hidden things / shine forth ........................................................ 8.9 freedom / subjection to pride hidden things / alms shine forth / hidden yoke of pride / the yoke of the Lord ......................................8.10 bitter / pleasant say / do ........................................................................................8.11 action / teaching belonging to another / belonging to the saint ......................8.13 gold / speech discerning vigilance / sensible fasting ....................................8.14 thinking / prayer modesty / innocence .................................................................8.15 youthfulness / maturity triumph of the saint / pain of the enemy ..............................8.16 stirred up / tranquil ...................................................................8.17 outward appearance / inner self ..............................................8.18 the disciples’ pains / the saint’s own pains ............................8.19 suffering / crown, acclamation ................................................8.20 hid / revealed ..............................................................................8.21 beauty / stains harsh / tranquil...........................................................................8.23 threats / purity wounding / warding off injury ................................................8.24 medicate, heal / increasing health clearly perceived / did not make it known ............................8.25 another person / the sinner......................................................8.26 strike one person / wound the other ......................................8.27 judge one’s self / put the other to shame weighed / burdened...................................................................8.28

298

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

soothed / reproved did not strike openly / did cause pain ....................................8.30 chastise / praise ..........................................................................8.31 hateful / steadfast speak / cease from telling ........................................................... 9.1 ineffable / cannot be silenced .................................................... 9.2 the fasters / the gluttonous ........................................................ 9.3 the faster / the greedy one ......................................................... 9.4 extol / chastise.............................................................................. 9.5 generous / greedy ........................................................................ 9.6 extol / provoke humiliate / revere help / be aided.............................................................................. 9.7 self-judgment / reproach of others ........................................... 9.8 knew the saint / did not know the saint ................................9.10 prayer / weeping ........................................................................9.11 fast from bread / fast from wickedness .................................9.12 outwardly / inwardly .................................................................9.13 flesh (that is, meat) / anger mourner in raiment / mourner in mind .................................9.14 jesting / mockery .......................................................................9.15 standing / sitting ........................................................................9.16 temple of divine judgment / law of justice ............................9.18 saint as judge of himself / Satan as judge ..............................9.21 exalted one / humble one .........................................................9.22 controversy / truth ....................................................................9.25 Abraham the saint / Abraham the patriarch .........................10.1 name / deeds 8 thorns / fruits of modesty ........................................................10.3 heathen priests / sons of heathen priests...............................10.4 Christians / heathens cursed / blessed..........................................................................10.5 hated / loved envied / cherished

10.2 does not fit the acrostic, and seems likely to be an interpolation. Nevertheless, one might count in it a polarity between bride of the king and son of the king. 8

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

299

one / many ..................................................................................10.6 the mass of dough surrounds / the leaven overtakes ..........10.7 endured, carried / inherited .....................................................10.9 heathens oppress / heathens are rendered powerless ....... 10.11 conquers / wounds the bee strikes / the bee is defeated ..................................... 10.12 snow strikes / snow melts ..................................................... 10.13 banks restrain / the spring overflows .................................. 10.14 dried up / drowned beginning / end ....................................................................... 10.16 marriage robe / sackcloth chaste saint / chaste spouse .................................................. 10.17 crown / contest ....................................................................... 10.18 sexual union / prayer.............................................................. 10.19 supernal brightness / earthly beauty .................................... 10.21 intercourse with a woman / intercourse of the Holy Spirit .......................................................................................... 10.22 feeble rib / Lord of Glory ..................................................... 10.23 lust / purity .............................................................................. 10.24 wedding garment / ascetic practices .......................................11.1 Abraham (the patriarch), Enoch / the saint ..........................11.2 Joseph (the patriarch) / the saint.............................................11.3 whirlwind of lust / Joseph ........................................................11.4 outer garment / self, body victorious athlete / weak sin ....................................................11.5 beauty or love offers itself / chastity triumphs .....................11.6 radiant Moses / the saint ..........................................................11.7 Moses / Siphorrah David / the saint ........................................................................11.8 sin / chastity smoke of the fire of arousal / chaste bosom of David........11.9 chaste youth / triumphant old age ....................................... 11.10 enticing, pleasing / triumph .................................................. 11.11 Simon (as bridegroom) / Christ the Bridegroom .............. 11.12 Apostle Paul / the saint ......................................................... 11.13 chaste holiness / the branches of matrimony the modesty of Joseph (the patriarch) / no one to observe it .................................................................................. 11.14 law of nature / law of scripture ............................................ 11.15 self / neighbor ......................................................................... 11.16

300

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the law extolled by Jews / Christians annoyed................... 11.17 law studied / Christians provoked tablets broken / (Jewish) People broken ............................ 11.18 thirsty youth / did not drink deceit ...................................... 11.19 that which is one’s own / fasting from one’s own by will 11.20 Joseph (the patriarch) / saint Abraham, even greater small knowledge / the pigments of the kingdom .............. 11.22 eye, mind / the blossoms of Nisan ...................................... 11.23 the prayer of the brethren / the weakness of the poet ........12.1 labor / profit poet’s tale / saint’s story ...........................................................12.2 force of the saint’s deeds / words of the poet the treasure of the saint / weakness of the poet ...................12.3 deceitful Enemy / simple saint ................................................12.4 cunning Enemy / simple saint .................................................12.5 work of the wise one / foolishness of the disputatious.......12.6 saint skilled by his actions / ‘wise’ foolish by their deeds ...12.7 simple saint / cunning ...............................................................12.8 Evil One / flimsy disciples simpleton / cunning ..................................................................12.9 saint / possessor of all wisdom lithe / massive ......................................................................... 12.10 disputation / the Narrow Gate deeds of splendor / words of modesty ............................... 12.11 explained, taught / did, loved ............................................... 12.12 practices, deeds / statements ................................................ 12.14 mouth / door ........................................................................... 12.15 needy / simple wise plans / wise deeds .......................................................... 12.16 near / far .................................................................................. 12.17 rhetors babble / the saint listens .......................................... 12.18 the discerning saint / the simpletons ................................... 12.20 Christ (as the Little One) / saint .......................................... 12.21 the insignificant / honor ........................................................ 12.22 prayer for self / help increased for others .............................13.2 fasting / prayer ...........................................................................13.3 steadfastness / humility fasted / prayed............................................................................13.4 acted / taught initiated / confirmed

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

301

offered / ministered the saint’s own load / loads of others ....................................13.5 thirst / strength ..........................................................................13.6 hunger / endurance weary / concealed in difficulty / yet strong the little ones / the great saint .................................................13.8 dirt on the body / ‘dirt’ in the memory ............................... 13.10 exterior dirt remains / interior ‘dirt’ is scoured crucified / walking .................................................................. 13.11 normal death / ‘death’ of humility ....................................... 13.12 new life / life of discernment (or difference) ..................... 13.13 all are equal / the life of distinction dead to sin / alive for the Lord ............................................ 13.14 death governs by fear / life is hidden within ...................... 13.15 sin / death of the cross .......................................................... 13.16 second death / life of the resurrection ................................ 13.17 killed self / slew death our nature / Adam .................................................................. 13.18 life / second death .................................................................. 13.19 Abraham falls into Sheol / Abraham ascends via the promise ..................................................................................... 13.20 hiddenly / openly .................................................................... 13.21 practices / promises hidden death / open death hidden / apparent ................................................................... 13.22 weak one (physically) / sinner (weak spiritually) justice / discernment .............................................................. 13.23 fasting / vigil present death / coming death eaters / the faster (that is, the saint)..................................... 13.24 tree /cross the blessing of the poor / the consolation of the rich .........14.1 poor / enriched ..........................................................................14.2 rich / impoverished blessing / consolation Gehazi, Judas / Abraham .........................................................14.3 heavy load / long distance ........................................................14.4 fruits / branches .........................................................................14.5 irrigated / increased

302

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

little instruction / stream of teaching .....................................14.6 dead / alive..................................................................................14.7 dead / alive Abraham / his community .......................................................14.8 consolation / sting dead / alive liberation / yoke of troubles ....................................................14.9 Abraham / every man rest / wormwood (bitterness) ............................................... 14.10 Abraham / his community blessing / fear .......................................................................... 14.11 triumph of Abraham / darkness of his Opponent ............ 14.12 Abraham’s crown / the Enemy’s shame ............................. 14.13 Abraham / Lazarus ................................................................. 14.14 Abraham the saint / Abraham the Patriarch ...................... 14.15 name / deeds mammon / strife ..................................................................... 14.17 saint / evil one ......................................................................... 14.18 disputatious neighbor / corrupted (or greedy) kinsman trouble / doubt ........................................................................ 14.19 simplicity / discernment ........................................................ 14.20 path of Abraham / his capacity to endure it ...................... 14.21 house of mourning / triumphal procession ..........................15.1 garments of Christ / garments of Abraham ..........................15.2 wicked / holy ones sinful author / the saint ............................................................15.3 the intercession of the saint / the wounds of the author ....15.4 prison / pardon ..........................................................................15.5 remember / forgot .....................................................................15.6 justified / the pit triumphed / shackles .................................................................15.7 fear of death / fear of life .........................................................15.9 penitent sinner / friend of the light ..................................... 15.10 would go / but stays deprived of capital / consoled by hope ............................... 15.11 the insolent one hopes / the insolent one agrees to be despoiled ................................................................................... 15.12 sinful sons in law / Lot .......................................................... 15.14 many just people / one just person...................................... 15.15

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS

303

Sodom / Lot Gehenna / many just people Lot, Sodom / author, Gehenna those of the right hand / sinners .......................................... 15.16 evil men ask / evil men receive ............................................ 15.17 the good / the Good One ..................................................... 15.18 courage / trepidation affliction / rest (well-being) ................................................... 15.19 beautiful creation / ugly will ................................................ 15.20 not yet repented / yet repent every day............................... 15.21 dead man / living man ........................................................... 15.23 arrogant / brought to nothing go / remain .............................................................................. 15.24 do well / sin grace before departure / danger if not cleansed ................ 15.25 servant (poet) / servant (Abraham) ..................................... 15.26 cleansed here / provisions in the next life debt repaid / living by grace.................................................. 15.27 just / mercy .............................................................................. 15.28

304

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Table 11: Polarities Sorted According to Theme

Thematic Category

Alphabetical Label

moral qualities

A

generic opposition

B

space/time

C

image/archetype

D

reversals of situation

E

status

F

potency and act (also passive and active)

G

Instance(s) 1.3x3, 1.4x2, 1.13, 1.14, 1.17, 1.19, 1.20, 2.1, 2.15, 2.17, 3.10, 3.19, 4.4x2, 4.5, 4.14x2, 4.15x2, 4.18, 4.22x2, 5.6x3, 5.7, 5.9x2, 5.10, 5.12, 5.17x2, 5.19x2, 6.12, 6.13, 7.7, 7.18, 8.9, 8.10, 8.16, 8.17, 8.21, 8.26, 8.27x2, 8.31x2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6x3, 9.25, 10.4, 10.5x3, 10.24, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 11.8, 11.9, 11.11, 11.18, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.10, 12.18, 12.20, 13.24, 14.3, 14.12, 14.13, 14.18, 15.2, 15.3, 15.14, 15.15x3, 15.16, 15.18, 15.24 1.13, 1.14, 1.15x3, 1.16, 1.19, 1.21, 2.5, 2.6x3, 2.8x2, 2.10, 2.24, 2.25, 3.6, 3.9, 3.11, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, 3.19, 4.7x2, 4.8, 4.9, 4.11x2, 4.16x2, 4.18x2, 4.20, 4.21, 4.24, 4.27, 5.3x2, 5.4x2, 5.5, 5.7, 5.11, 5.17, 5.25, 5.29x3, 5.32, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6x2, 6.7, 6.8, 7.2, 7.4, 7.7, 7.8, 8.10, 9.10, 11.19, 11.22, 11.23, 12.10, 14.4, 14.8, 14.11, 15.1, 15.6, 15.17, 15.19 1.1, 1.10, 1.11x2, 1.12, 1.18, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16x2, 2.17, 2.18x5, 2.20x2, 2.21x5, 2.22, 3.1x2, 3.5, 3.7x2, 3.8, 3.11, 3.12, 3.18x2, 3.20, 4.5, 4.11, 4.12x2, 4.13, 4.23, 5.4x2, 5.5x2, 5.12, 6.12, 7.9, 9.16, 10.16, 11.10, 11.15, 11.17x2, 12.17, 13.11, 13.12, 13.13x2, 13.16, 13.18, 13.20, 13.21, 13.23, 13.24, 14.9, 14.10, 15.10, 15.24, 15.25, 15.26 1.10, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, 2.18, 2.20, 2.22, 3.10, 3.13x2, 3.14, 3.16x3, 3.17, 3.19, 4.2, 4.9, 4.17, 4.23x2, 4.26, 5.9, 5.26, 5.27x2, 5.30, 6.3x4, 6.5, 6.8, 6.10, 7.24, 7.27, 10.1, 10.17, 11.2, 11.3, 11.7, 11.8, 11.12, 11.13, 12.8, 12.9, 12.21, 14.14, 14.15, 15.2, 15.18 1.4x3, 1.20, 2.13, 3.10, 4.4, 4.6x2, 4.20x2, 4.24, 4.25, 5.20, 6.1, 6.9, 8.9, 8.20, 8.24x2, 8.25, 9.21, 10.4, 10.7, 10.9, 10.11x2, 10.12, 10.13, 10.14x2, 13.6x4, 13.17, 13.23, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.10, 15.23 1.17, 1.19, 1.20, 1.21, 2.17, 3.9, 3.12x2, 4.7, 4.8x2, 4.13, 4.17, 4.19, 5.3, 5.16, 5.28x2, 5.30x2, 5.32x2, 7.10, 8.1, 8.15, 9.22, 10.16, 10.21, 11.1, 11.7, 11.13, 11.20x2, 12.22, 13.8 1.18, 2.11, 2.12x2, 2.23, 3.2, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21x2, 4.25, 4.27, 5.1x3, 5.4, 5.31x5, 6.2, 6.8, 7.15x2, 7.16, 7.17, 9.7, 10.18, 12.1, 12.16, 13.4, 14.5, 14.21

APPENDIX A: FURTHER CHARTS Thematic Category

Alphabetical Label

inward/outward

H

quantitative (including part and whole)

I

communion of saints

J

virtues

K

death and life

L

mercantile and financial terms word versus silence action versus speech God and creation Unspecified appearance versus reality agricultural terms rich and poor

M N O P Q

305

Instance(s) 1.2, 3.3, 4.6x2, 4.14x3, 5.20, 5.27, 6.4, 6.5x2, 6.8, 8.8, 8.9x2, 8.18, 8.21, 8.30, 9.12, 9.13x2, 9.14, 9.18, 11.4, 11.14, 13.10x2, 13.21x2, 13.22x2 1.1, 1.11x2, 2.2, 2.9, 2.26, 3.4, 3.7, 3.14, 4.3x2, 4.4x2 4.9, 4.17, 4.25, 5.2x2, 5.5, 5.8, 5.10, 10.6, 14.9, 15.15 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.5x2, 3.8x2, 3.15, 4.17, 6.11x2, 7.19, 7.21, 8.19, 9.8, 11.16, 12.1, 13.2, 13.5, 14.8, 14.10, 15.4, 15.26 1.16, 2.4, 4.1x2, 4.5, 4.13, 5.7, 5.22x2, 8.13, 8.14x2, 8.15, 9.11, 9.15, 13.3x2, 13.4x2, 13.23, 14.18, 14.19, 14.20 1.1, 1.11, 1.18, 2.24, 3.1, 3.6, 5.6x2, 5.9x2, 5.12, 5.21, 13.14, 13.15, 13.17, 13.19, 14.7x2, 14.8, 15.9, 15.23 1.6, 1.7x2, 1.8x2, 1.15, 5.2, 5.8, 5.10, 5.11x3, 5.14, 5.15x2, 5.23, 6.10, 8.4, 15.11, 15.27 2.1, 2.7, 2.11, 4.26, 6.1, 7.8, 7.9, 7.10, 7.14, 7.21, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.1, 9.2, 12.2x2, 12.3 1.6, 4.12, 4.13, 6.9, 7.21, 8.11x2, 10.2, 12.11, 12.12, 12.14, 12.15x2, 13.4, 14.15 1.5x2, 1.11, 2.10, 2.11x2, 2.12, 2.18, 3.19, 5.23, 5.24, 6.4, 7.27, 10.22, 10.23 1.12, 2.14, 3.3, 4.10, 4.18, 4.21, 5.2, 7.5x2, 8.13, 12.8, 12.9, 14.17, 15.20, 15.28

R

2.14, 2.25x2, 8.23x2, 8.28x2, 14.2, 15.12, 15.21

S T

1.9x2, 1.16x2, 7.6x2, 10.3, 14.5, 14.6 2.9, 3.4, 5.3, 5.4, 5.23, 14.1, 14.2x2

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE A note to readers: The following translation renders the complete critical text of the HdAQ for the first time into English. It aims both to be accurate and to be aesthetically pleasing. No attempt has been made to replicate poetic devices, syllable-count, or the like. The translation is based on the Syriac, with consultation of the original mss. Occasionally, to clarify difficult passages or correct some initial mistakes, the German translation offered by Beck as a companion to his edition has been consulted. The English translations of individual lines and stanzas available in the works of Griffith and Botha have also proven helpful on occasion. Beck supplied a set of footnotes to his German translation. Many of these have been translated and included below, always clearly labeled with Beck’s name. There are various reasons for including some of Beck’s comments. In the first place, many of Beck’s notes are prejudiced against the authenticity of the first five poems. Given that their authenticity is defended in this book, some of these notes have deserved the trouble of a refutation or response on my part, but I have left them as they stand, albeit with transliteration standardized according to conventions used here. In the second place, some of his notes require clarification or correction. In such a case, my clarifications are enclosed in square brackets. Finally, some notes have been furnished with expansions or commentary when an important theological textual point is at stake. When one of Beck’s footnotes is translated below, its source is always 1972, Auf Abraham Kidunaya. Further annotations, including scriptural parallels and parallels to other works of Ephrem, have also been added. Nevertheless, these notes are not intended to be comprehensive, and the reader is referred to Beck’s notes, especially for the many parallels to genuine works of Ephrem or to the pseudo-Ephremian Vita of Abraham. 307

308

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

As laid out below, the first five poems have been given suitable introductions, each of which always ends with Beck’s view of how the sections of the poem ought to be divided. The remaining poems in the cycle have not seemed deserving of such extensive introduction, given the arguments made about their interrelationships in the main body of this book. Nevertheless, Beck’s suggested division of each poem has been included in the footnotes.

THE FIRST MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

The theme of this poem is Abraham’s ability to obtain spiritual profit during his earthly voyage. Accordingly, mercantile and financial imagery predominates, to which Ephrem joins traditional eschatological language for Paradise and the heavenly wedding feast. In this and the subsequent four poems, part of the purpose of these distinctive mercantile metaphors is to furnish an analogy by which Abraham’s success can be explained. That is, on the basis of St. Ephrem’s eschatology, Abraham (or any other saint) cannot enter Paradise completely until the final resurrection. The mercantile language of ‘deposits’ and ‘pledges’ helps explain how Abraham’s profits are, as it were, deposited in heaven, to be enjoyed in the future. The image is also suggested by scriptural language, such as Mt 6.19ff: ‘Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal’. Another theme begun in this poem is war against evil. Beck divides the poem up into five parts along the following lines: Stanzas 1–3: The death of the saint robs his people of the mirror of all virtues; Stanzas 4–17: the works of the saint: fasting, love of God and love of neighbor, almsgiving, prayer (10– 11), outer dirtiness and inner purity (13–14), vigil, unceasing even up to old age; Stanzas 18–19: the death of the saint; Stanza 20: the old man puts youth to shame; Stanza 21: victory over mammon.

1.

2.

3.

4.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 309 The God El, 1, 2 the Victor, despoiled death, the all-conquering. He entered and took away from our people the mirror placed among our people, which served as an ornament for our people. Response: Blessed is he who crowned you, O elder!

Every man saw himself in that mirror. Every man corrected himself by it. Your old age 3 was our mirror: if anyone looks into it and is displeased by it, it is because his ugliness is brought to light in it.

The indolent looked upon you, O Saint; your diligence put them to shame. The weary also looked upon you; Your endurance made them turn back embarrassed. Your rigor shamed all who slack off.

In running the race 4 of fasting, you triumphed. In running the race of vigilance, your youth returned. In running the race of [physical] toil, you proved mighty. 1 Syr.

îl, >Hebr. ‫אל‬ Beck: On Hebr. ēl (îl) as a name for God, cf. HcH 55.6 (Bardaisan) and HdJ 9.6,7 & 9. In the Testament (Z. 79) it is said of Christ on the cross: haw pûmâ d-êmar îl. [Probably, therefore, the use of the term is meant to emphasize the battle theme and the battle interpretation of the crucifixion narrative, as well as recalling the linkage between the testaments that is an important theme of the first two madrāšê.] 3 Syr. saybûṯāḵ. This could also be read as a form of direct address: ‘You, O elder, …’. This observation is true for anywhere I have rendered the phrase as ‘your old age’. I have chosen the more literal rendering, as a rule, because doing so seems to make some of Ephrem’s intended polarities clearer. 4 Syr. rehṭâ. Ephrem characterizes three traditional ascetical practices: fasting, night-time vigil, and manual labor (Syr. ʿamlâ ), as ‘races’. Abraham was victorious in each of them. 2

310

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

By greed you were not mocked. By restraint 5 you earned great praise.

[You heard] two praiseworthy commandments: to love your neighbor and your God. You linked them together like a plowman with a yoke, and between God and man you paid [to God] good returns.

You hearkened to the commandments in order to do well. You did well in order to lend [to God]. 6 You lent in order that you might show your belief in Him. You trusted in order to receive a return. You received in order to possess in the end.

It was your alms and your prayers that were just like a loan: they enriched those who received them, and to you they returned both the principal and the interest that you had lent. An almsgiver’s alms resemble the loan that righteous men borrow: it certainly belongs to the borrower, but again it belongs to the lender, since it will return to him with its interest.

Seeds scattered and destroyed, trampled into the bosom of the earth gather again in the storehouse of the plowman. The seeds that you sowed everywhere will return to you at the resurrection.

5 Syr.

naḵpûṯâ. One could also translate the term as ‘modesty’ or even ‘sobriety’. The term seems to have a broad significance, pointing to outward and inward restraint and self-control. 6 Beck: The good works are lent to God in order that they might be returned with interest. Cf. HdF 5.17 and 19.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 311 10. Your prayer was like a hidden chariot that flew between earth and heaven. You ascended in a hidden manner, as Elijah once ascended openly to the gate of your Lord, the Most High.

11. For by prayer a man ascends himself to the height that no man by himself attains. And by his kindness the Living One himself descended to the death that every man tastes. One descended, but many he raised up. 12. The fool outside his own body deposits his wealth with others. You deposited your wealth in yourself, so that while wealth remains on earth your wealth would [in fact] go with you. 7

13. Your body was emaciated and unfamiliar with bathing and anointing. The dirt that accumulated on your flesh scrubbed your spirit of the ‘dirt’ that is begotten of luxuries.

14. For by scrubbing the body, a crust accumulates on the soul. One man may bathe because of his complexion, another may bathe because of his hard labor but your old age defeated them both. Ephrem imagines Abraham’s good works buried in the grave with his body. Thus, at the resurrection, Abraham’s wealth will accompany him. It is also possible that Ephrem wishes to include a contrast between the earthly wealth that does not translate to heaven and the spiritual wealth that does. 7

312

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

15. During the darkness when thieves keep awake, and seize the wealth of others, your night-time vigilance guarded your wealth. During the daytime when the slackers sleep, your hard labor increased it.

16. Snow did not deprive you of ‘seed’. Nor did summer heat deprive you of your ‘shoots’. Your old age was full of skill: as your fasting planted and sowed, your vigilant weeping poured forth and watered them.

17. You were never seen, O Saint, spending an hour of idleness. While youth 8 slept and missed the race although it was time to race, you plaited your crown.

18. Your death arose and went forth with the crowns your life had plaited. Your crowns adorn your limbs. Your contests are before us. Your acclamations are among the watchers.

19. The watchers acclaimed you because they observed that in the midst of idle youths 9 an old man triumphed by hard labor. The burdens which youthfulness shrugged off your old age picked up. 20. Youthfulness earned rebuke and adolescence 10 earned shame. 8 Syr. 9 Syr.

ṭalyûṯâ. ʿlaymê. 10 Youthfulness = Syr. ṭalyûṯâ. Adolescence = Syr. ʿlaymûṯâ. Ephrem seems to distinguish between two stages of life, the first younger than the

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 313 Both of them saw you and blushed that your old age undertook labors, as numerous as your gray hairs.

21. Mammon, the master of fools, became a slave to your sagacity. The oppressive 11 are indeed overcome by it, while the generous are crowned by it, and by it your almsgiving was crowned.

second, but his point is to contrast both with Abraham’s seniority (Syr. saybûṯāḵ). 11 Syr. ʿālôḇê.

314

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE SECOND MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

In this poem, Ephrem provides biblical examples of those who have attained spiritual wealth though the right use of earthly wealth or through abstaining from such earthly wealth. These biblical examples, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha are celebrated for their trustworthiness, reproof of sins, and chastity, praiseworthy actions which Ephrem will discuss in subsequent poems, and which, it seems, he considered hallmarks of Abraham, who, like other early Syrian ascetics was supposed to be a warner for his community, set apart by chastity, and distinguished by fidelity. In particular, Ephrem emphasizes Abraham’s trustworthiness as the basis for his spiritual wealth. On the other hand, Ephrem emphasizes the deceitful thievery of the heretics whom Abraham, the trustworthy merchant, refutes. Beck divides up the poem as follows: Stanza 1: Samuel as a biblical example for the virtue mentioned in the last strophe of the previous hymn. Stanzas 2–4: Elijah and Elisha, Apostles and prophets as prototypes of the saint. Stanzas 5–6: The beloved ones and brothers, the sons and disciples of the saint mourn over his death. Stanzas 7–9: a literary topos: the sea of the saint’s virtues overwhelms the author. Stanzas 10–25: How the orthodox faith of the saint refuted the erroneous teaching of Marcion. Stanza 26: a personal concluding strophe in the style of Ephrem: the saint should pray for him on the day of judgment. 1.

Samuel is an ornament for your truth, for his mouth bore witness to the People, and the People confirmed his innocence of any fraud. 1

Beck: Cf. 1 Sam 12.4ff. [The biblical passage referred to speaks of Samuel’s actions testifying the people regarding the king whom he has just anointed for them. The passage goes on to discuss the way that Samuel recounted to them the history of God’s doings with them and how they had sinned by asking for a king. He proved this by calling upon the Lord for a sign who then sent rain and thunder out of season. There is much emphasis in this passage on how Samuel prays for the people and exhorts them to follow the right path and shows them how: ‘I will instruct you in the good and right way’. The passage is important because it shows the 1

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 315

2.

3.

4.

Your mouth indeed is now silent, but your truth speaks out on your behalf. Response: Blessed is he who adorned you, O elder!

Your faithfulness 2 was that of Samuel, your reproof 3 that of Elijah. Your chastity was like that of Elisha. Every one of the righteous forefathers you joined to your own body.

With the eye of the heart you looked on both the Apostles and the Prophets. 4 You were their image in your own flesh: everyone who looked on you also beheld them.

Their purity was depicted in you. Their chastity was inscribed on you. You put on their poverty 5 like a garment.

unity of the cycle and also how Ephrem continues the theme of spiritual profit versus worldly profit. We can see here perhaps the insistence that the genuine ascetic, although he may beg, does not defraud anyone or perform his spiritual exploits for base gain. It is yet another piece in the mosaic of the traditional style of life Abraham is leading. The word ‘truth’ in these contexts bears the connotation of honesty and trustworthiness. Ephrem means that like Samuel the priest, Abraham did not use his authority to enrich himself. Samuel’s self-description appears to be the model for the portrait of Abraham. Both were priests, and Abraham spent his life doing what Samuel said of himself: ‘Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way’. ] 2 Syr. šarrîrûṯâ. 3 Syr. makksānûṯâ. 4 Abraham’s life witnesses to the harmony of OT & NT. 5 Beck: Syr. ʿanwāyûṯâ. The meaning ‘poverty’ is the right one for this word, since in hymn 4.6, it appears that the meals of the saint were ʿanwāy

316

5.

6.

7.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Your body clothed itself with their fasts. As for their prayers, they flowed from your mouth. How can any of his friends be saddened at any of his accomplishments? How can any of his brothers not weep for any of his treasures, who from any treasure [of his] are cut off? 6

Your sons and your disciples 7 are between mourning and consolation, between pain and triumph. And although pains overcome them consolation gladdens them.

Little by little, the waves of your delightful story seize hold of me. I fall and am tossed about amid the waves, 8

(poor, meager). The adjective also appears in HcH 47.4 where the expressions âḇîl, ʿanwāy, and ṣayyām are used of John the Baptist. 6 This stanza seems to admit of more than one way to read the Syriac, depending on how exactly one construes the author’s intention and the use of the Syr. âynâ, which means either which, what kind of, or who (all interrogative). Instead of the interpretation followed here, one could, following Beck, read it this way: One whose praiseworthy deeds are such— / how can his friends not lament? One whose treasures are such— / how can his brethren not mourn that they are cut off from any treasure [of his]? 7 Beck: Cf. the ‘Friends and brothers’ of the previous strophe. Only hymn 4.23 speaks of monastic foundations without any immediate relationship to the saint. 8 Beck: The image here is forced and is just empty words. In HcH 31.8 the waves of the sea are the divinity which make the investigators float pilotless. [add, however, reference to HdP 6.4–5 and 10 and 15 also 6.14, with the same word šarbâ. In Beck’s mind, such Ephremian imagery is normally applied to the Godhead. However, as the parallel between this

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 317

8.

9.

and although I do not leave your story, in fact I cannot really recount any of it [as it is].

I seem to be like the bellows 9 of a smith’s oven, which becomes a passage for the air. It constantly fills and pours it out again. While it constantly hunts after more air, it captures none of it. I gird myself to enter into your treasury, whose riches confuse the eyes. For they all cry out at once to me, and I cannot handle them all. I will take the first one that meets me.

10. A medicine of life 10 was the first to meet me. I will take it and give it to those who need it. The medicine of life, O Saint, is your truth, 11 that did not associate with the one Being 12 another essence. 13

11. You knew well and made known that if there had been another ‘power’ it could not have hidden itself

passage and the HdP cycle shows, it is also paradise and its inhabitants that Ephrem likes to characterize as beyond the comprehension of man. ] 9 Beck: More accurately what kûrâ should mean according to the native lexica cited by the Thesaurus is a bellows belonging to a furnace. 10 Syr. sām ḥayyê. 11 Ephrem praises Abraham for arguing that Jesus is not the representative of a strange God other than the god of the Old Testament. Ephrem often refers to God as ‘the Being’. 12 Syr. îṯyâ. 13 Syr. îṯûṯâ.

318

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

when the Creator was calling out: ‘I am and there is none other’. 14

12. You learned well and taught others that, if this other ‘power’ existed and was hidden, what would it profit him to conceal himself? For that would be the time for the one power to meet with the other. 13. Let us grant this statement for a moment, that there was some alien ‘power’, and in that moment of contest,

Beck: Syr. ênâ nâ w-layt ḥrênâ. Although in Str. 18, these words are connected with Sinai (cf. Ex 20.2), it is obvious that at their root are such passages from Deutero-Isaiah as ênâ nâ māryâ w-layt tûḇ l-ḇar men(y) (43.11; 45.5) or more briefly 45.18: ênâ nâ māryâ w-layt tûḇ. The latter is the form which Pr. Ref. II.95.47ff. cites in a polemic against Marcion on the basis of the account of the transfiguration of Christ. With that citation it was supposed to be proven that the just God would not have tolerated [such] out of fear of the stranger and of his deceitful voice: ‘This is my beloved Son’. In the commentary on the Diatessaron, the citation appears again, also in connection with the transfiguration of the Lord but expressed differently. Here it is phrased as a question: Where was the Just One at the time when the voice rang out: medḥal dḥel w-êṯtaššî [‘he hid himself in great fear’] (cf. how this verb tšâ is applied to the Stranger in Str. 12.3) or (and that is the new assertion) the Good and the Just Gods have made some agreement so that one time the Just One said ênâ nâ qadmāyâ wa-ḥrāyâ [‘I am the first and the last’] (Diat. XIV.9.13) and another time the Good One said ‘This is my beloved son’. This citation appears also in Pr. Ref. II.59.20. Here Ephrem means that the Just God had probably therefore allowed Adam to live after the fall for 930 years (cut off from the tree of life) in contradiction to the threat of immediate death after the sin. He infers thereby that there is no other God, who could have lead them back into Paradise: zaddeq ô Marqyôn l-haw d-êmar d-ênâ nâ âllāhâ w-layt tûḇ l-ḇar men(y). It is very suspicious that the Vita employs the same citation, but rather in the struggle against paganism (Lamy IV.29.2f.). 14

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 319 he did not want to show himself, but instead revealed himself later. 15

14. He was a weakling to leave when he did, a thief to arrive like that later. He hid himself at the moment of contest. Yet, in a moment of surprise he leaped out of hiding for plunder. 16 His own heralds are exactly like he is. 15. But if the blasphemer retorts 17 that he would not come to the contest as if he were evil, but instead he came to cross since he is good [and] he made a great battle, with his cross as his weapon. 18 15 Beck:

cf. on this point Pr. Ref. II.59.25 (Marcion says): lâ qaddem êṯâ nûḵrāyâ da-l-ḥartâ teṯḥzê hwaṯ taybûṯeh (The Stranger did not come at first; therefore he showed his goodness at the end.) 16 The polarity Ephrem develops here between the deceitful thieves (that is, the dualist heretics) and the honest merchant (that is, Abraham) shows that the heretics are discussed here to show Abraham to his best advantage. It is a rhetoric of contrast, but at the same time, the balanced appearance of a polar argument lends the impression of fairness. For these reasons, the place of the heretics in the poem’s rhetoric, while not central, is nevertheless integral. The notion that Abraham’s opponents are spiritual deceivers and thieves suggests that he, in contrast, took Samuel as a twofold model, a model not only in that he defrauded no one, but also in teaching the truth of divine oneness without deceit. 17 Ephrem’s point is to grant the Marcionite position that the new god, the Stranger, has come to capture the creatures made by the old god, and to show that it looks like an unfair, deceitful trick. The real picture, acc. to Ephrem is cosmic harmony between God and creatures. The dualism of Mani and Marcion is thus mere deceit. 18 The author seems to take two stanzas to complete his thought. Stanza 15 appears to pose the thought of the dualist ‘blasphemer’, whereas stanza 16 shows what Scripture presents is actually the case. If the dualist position holds that the good Stranger comes in peace,

320

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

16. He darkened the sun in the firmament He split the holy temple curtain in two, and, according to the opinion of the blasphemers, if a man looks into the Stranger’s way of coming, It is nothing but a source of battles!

17. He is both a deceiver and a rebel, who put on like clothes the form of our realm, and entered into it secretly, without the knowledge of its master, that he might take us captive out of our realm to his. 19

18. On the contrary, your mouth sang psalms to your Lord, the same who had in the revelation on mount Sinai stood calling to the people: ‘I am and there is no other’. And his creatures confirmed it in his own realm. 20

19. The mountain bore witness by flaming with fire. The sea bore witness by dividing in two. The battle with Amalek bore witness: Moses lifted up his hands and lowered them. He bore witness that you are above and below.

Scripture, on the contrary seems to present the crucifixion scene as one of battle. The irony, of course, is that the dualist himself stirs up battles and contention by his views. 19 This whole passage is rather challenging to translate, but the challenge arises from the fact that the Marcionite language could also have an orthodox sense or pedigree. Ignatius of Antioch and Eph 4 both speak of deceit or despoiling as part of Christ’s act of redemption. The argument reveals why some people might have found Marcionite ideas persuasive. 20 This passage deliberately evokes the earlier biblical reference to Samuel. There the people were called upon to bear witness to Samuel’s righteousness. Here, creatures are called upon to bear witness to God’s justice.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 321 20. The Most Merciful sent his son to come and save the peoples, just has he saved the People from Egypt. Creation bore witness to the son of its Lord, just as beforehand it bore witness to its Lord.

21. The sea which grew calm bore witness. The tombs which were split open bore witness, along with the heavens that were rent. Earlier in scripture and later in scripture, the sun grew dark. 21 It bears witness that both earlier and later you existed. 22. For both earlier and later the single Being is one, while both earlier and later the single Son is one in himself. The Single one begot the Single. 22

23. It was these doctrines that you both learned and taught. You taught them in few words, but with numerous deeds. Beck: Is this the ‘darkness over the whole land’ in Mt 27.45 and parallels? 22 Beck: Syr. îḥîḏâ âwleḏ l-îḥîḏâ, although it is contrary to the usage (Sprachgebrauch) of Ephrem that the Father is also called îḥîḏâ. On îḥîḏâ (instead of the usual îḥîḏāyâ ) as a term for the Son, cf. SdF 1.71 and 6.259. ḥaḏ is used for the Father as in HdP 9.14.6. ḥaḏ also appears for the Father and the Son, as in HdF 6.13 (the works are created b-yaḏ ḥaḏ men ḥaḏ ), or SdF 1.91 (ḥaḏ hû l-ḥaḏ meškaḥ ḥāzê ). On the verb âwleḏ in this expression cf. HdF 40.5: kyānâ d-mawleḏ îḥîḏāyʾîṯ. [As Beck notes, this term is somewhat unusual in this context, with the related îḥîḏāyâ being preferred for Christ and not normally used for the Father. Beck considers this usage unEphremian, but one may consider the parallel usage in the Comm. in Diat. in addition to the others mentioned. It seems that the less common word was deliberately chosen here for making the unity between Father and Son more striking. ] 21

322

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

As though they were numerous mouths, you taught the truth to all mankind.

24. You expanded your thinking. You severely restrained your opinion. The stream of truth welled up in you, and there was not be room in you for the poison of erroneous doctrines. 23

25. For the sweetness of error, made into deadly poison, is eager to sneak into the minds of men. One tastes, is deceived, and so swallows it. Another examines it, spits it out, and casts it away.

26. All my goods are spent, and I have only this one left: may the true faith become 24 my supplication on the day of judgment, 25 that I might live by this one thing on the day of judgment.

23 Syr.

24 Beck:

yûlpānê. the final strophe, which appears very surprisingly is modeled after the Ephremian style (ephrämischen nachgebildet). For the sole merit of true faith, cf. HcH 26.10 and 37.10. [pace Beck, it is less surprising, once we see the progression I have been describing.] 25 Beck: in a similar fashion, Ephrem hopes in CNis 14.25f. for the advocacy of his three masters, the three bishops of Nisibis at the judgment. What is new is the connection with merit. [One might see this sentiment as similar to the HdP; besides, the Syr. ṭāḇāṯâ can mean more than simply merit or profits (Verdienste). It can mean valuables or virtues or noble things.]

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 323

THE THIRD MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

The theme of this poem is that the great spiritual wealth of Abraham is shared between him and his community. In this way, it continues and elaborates an idea contained in 1.6, although without specific verbal allusion to that passage. Whereas trustworthiness and dependability were emphasized in the first two poems, here, Ephrem emphasizes the abundant riches of the saint, and how it was impossible for the Evil One to tempt him even to take pride in them. The poem falls into the following divisions (with some adjustment to Beck’s original scheme): Str. 1: The deceased saint as merchant; 2: The last weapon of the Evil One, pride; 3–4: the confusion of the author at the riches of the saint; 4–19: the wonder of the treasures of the saint, which are completely with him and with his sons, with him in the grave and likewise in heaven. examples for this from the Bible: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha; the sticks of Jacob and the sheep; 20: the double victory of the eyes of the saint (cf. the theme of the next hymn in str. 5). 1.

2.

3.

The heavenly merchant, trader of wealth among us, has departed and left us. And while he has departed for the harbor of life, our pain at his death remains. Response: Blessed is he who magnified your triumph! For our foe, when he saw that he was beaten in the struggle against him, in his pride he fled to conceal himself and to put it on as a sort of armor in order to defeat the strong merchant with pride. Your victories are scattered in abundance, and they confuse the eye of the imagination. 1

Syr. blîlîn wa-šḏên neṣḥānāḵ w-maṕhên l-ʿaynâ d-reʿyānâ. This expression is reminiscent of Ephrem: HdP 1.4 and 6.16. See also HdP 7.4 Syr. wqarkednê w-ṭaḇʿê nqîlîn šḏên tammān. 1

324

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Like a royal treasure house in which all kinds of riches are scattered so as to confuse the eye with all their beauties. Whichever of your riches I look upon, in unison they all cry out to me. One after the other draws me to itself, and truly the spiritual riches of your treasury bewilder my poverty. 2

Who can tell of the treasures which are both in your possession and in ours? Although they accompany you among the dead, yet their profits are traded among the living. They take their leave of you and yet remain with you! Amazing! The treasures among the dead the living possess along with you. Although you have your treasures, your sons and daughters have them too. You have both taken them and have left them.

It is a great wonder that, although you alone own the treasures, many own them with you. They are with your body. 3 On the height of Paradise 4 they are with the Son of your Lord. The treasure of the righteous forefathers, while going in its entirety with each of them remained entirely with their sons.

6.17. Beck: and thus also in Sheol, that is, in the grave. 4 This polarity between the body and Paradise accords with Ephrem’s eschatology inasmuch as the body does not enter Paradise immediately. 2 HdP 3

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 325

9.

For the very same wealth that goes with its owners remains also with those who love it.

Moses departed on the mountain 5 and went away, and although he took his wealth with him, he left his wealth to his disciple, for the disciple was filled with his treasures, with the likenesses and types of his master.

10. And he drew forth from the riches of his master the treasure of entreaty like his master. When Achar 6 had stolen what was under ban and hindered the People in their battle, Joshua himself prayed and obtained victory for the People.

11. Elias too, who was taken up, brought his wealth with him as he ascended, but he gave double to his disciple. The master took his wealth with him. He left it as double to his disciple. 12. Who is able to tell of the treasure that belongs totally to the master and totally to the disciple? 5 that

is, Mt. Nebo. In the story referred to, Achar, an Israelite of the tribe of Judah, had violated the ban that declared all the spoils of the holy way the Israelites were conducting for the conquest of Canaan as belonging to the Lord. He stole a fine garment, some silver, and some gold. As a result, the People of Israel were defeated in their next battle. Joshua prayed before the Ark for the People and learned what had happened. At God’s command they discovered Achar and put him to death. The author focuses here on Joshua’s taḵšeṕṯâ, his act of intercession before God for the people. In this action he imitated Moses who had interceded for the People when they sinned. Achar’s name is more familiar as Achan. The form ‘Achar’, as Beck notes, is also used in CNis 39.3 and HdE(a) 46.9. 6

326

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

It ascended with the master into the heavens, 7 and it stayed on earth with its disciple.

13. Likewise the sticks 8 that Jacob fixed in the ground before the flock for them to see: 9 although he did not remove the sticks’ attractive appearance, he managed to cover his flock with it, and so the lambs put on their beauties.

14. On the one hand mere sticks that have no feeling in them, in giving nothing of their own, on the other hand gave all that they had, for they continued to bear their treasures while the lambs sported the sticks’ riches.

Beck: The contrast to the statement in stanza 7 is hereby brought to light: that Elias according to the Scriptures had already gone up into Heaven with his body. [Beck observes that the text here makes clear an important difference between Elijah and Abraham. Elijah, unlike Abraham, has already ascended bodily into heaven. Thus, the polarity in the case of Elijah is between earth and heaven, whereas for Abraham, it is between Paradise and the grave. Actually, as Botha’s discussion has clarified, this stanza is meant to be applied to Elijah and Elisha. Thus, it is meant to contrast with Abraham. His wealth goes to the grave and remains on earth. See Botha 1990, ‘Theological Progress’, pp. 85–86.] 8 Beck: these are the words (incl. also ‘set up’) of the Peshitta in Gen 30.38. On the interpretation that this narrative carries here, cf. the one similarly employed but contained more briefly in HdJS 14.5f. HdEp 7.2 is in accord with the latter. Ephrem, in HdF 53.1, puts the narrative almost scornfully beside the ‘wife-tale’ of the mandrakes in Gen 30.14. [It is important not to draw a parallel, as Beck does, between this passage and HdF 53.1, where Ephrem does reference this general area of Scripture, but with a different point: namely, to show that God is willing to speak of lowly things in Scripture as well as great things. In HdF 53.1, Ephrem does not refer to ‘sticks’ (zqāṯâ ) but to a ‘rod’ (šaḇtâ ), making it doubtful that he intended to refer to the story of Jacob at all (more likely he had Num 17.10 in mind).] 9 More literally, ‘as an example’, or ‘as a figure’. 7

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 327 15. How much more, then, the spirits of the righteous, 10 in which fair types are depicted, enrich the flock of Christ with the richness that enriches its receivers. 11 _______

16. Instead of the sticks which Jacob set up as a figure, you painted and adorned yourself with all sorts of adornments. Although your own adornments are stored up within you, your jewelry bedecks everyone.

17. Your adornments are upon the parts of your body like the images upon the sticks. You do not strip them off of yourself, but they adorn our flock 12 like those sticks which adorned the flock of Laban. 18. Your treasures are deposited in you, and they are deposited in the heavens. They are deposited in the churches.

Ephrem compares the spirits of the just to the stick Jacob set up. The point of this metaphor can only be understood in terms of early Syriac eschatology. The souls of the righteous resemble the sticks that Jacob peeled because they have sloughed off their bodies until the resurrection. This ‘naked’ state means that they cannot operate effectively. They are impotent, apparently like the sticks of Jacob which in themselves have no power. Abraham himself, apparently addressed as deceased, is compared to them in the next stanza. 11 This is perhaps the thing for which Abraham is most praised: enriching the flock of Christ in a mysterious and wonderful exchange, using earthly to gain heavenly, and multiplying the spiritual, which is not constricted by temporal and spatial limitations. 12 Beck: Here it is clear a second time that the ʿḏāṯâ (churches) are meant; one cannot think of monastic communities. 10

328

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

They are deposited in souls. Your wealth, O Saint, is both scattered and gathered.

19. Your treasures resemble you, 13 for you are entirely scattered everywhere, and you are entirely gathered into unity. Accompanying all men in the race, you did not turn away from your Lord. 14

20. You fought two contests: your eyes despised lust. They triumphed by day. By night your vigil was triumphant. Blessed are you who were entirely perfect!

13 This

stanza seems to begin the transition to the next poem. Ephrem addresses here the balance between the active and the contemplative life. 14

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 329

THE FOURTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

This poem is an elaboration of the saint’s great wealth, and as such, is closely connected to the preceding poem in the cycle. Ephrem develops several different virtues of Abraham, sometimes giving them a particular theological meditation (as in the case of Abraham’s penitential weeping) or a particularly lengthy discussion (as in the case of Abraham’s admonition to others). These two aspects that receive extended treatment exhibit a certain polarity: Abraham’s mourning for his own sins versus his clever rebuke of the sins of others. At the same time, Ephrem’s choice of these two related virtues develops specific ways in which Abraham’s wealth was shared between himself and his community. In this way the fourth poem in the cycle complements the more general theological, biblically based presentation of the same idea in the third poem. Beck divides up the poem in this way: Stanza 1: the treasures of the saint, such as fasting, prayer, and penitential weeping; 2–5: the water of baptism and the water of penitential weeping; 6–8: fasting and prayer; 9–11: the house and table of the saint, and his alms; 12–18: his instruction through word and example for neighbors and strangers; 19–21: his perseverance even up to old age; 22–23: His vigil and prayer in the night. Monks resemble the seraphim in so doing; 24–25: Fasting and abstinence from wine bind and crucify the lusts; 26–27: personal prayer in the style of Ephrem. 1.

Blessed are you, Elder, who were triumphant. For your fasting was a treasury of helps, your prayer a treasure chest of remedies. 1 Both of your eyes became for you a baptism of propitiation. Response: Blessed is he who increased your fame!

The polarities here converge toward greater and greater similarity, trying to show that the fasting was just as worthwhile as the prayer. The motif of two converging into one is subsequently taken up with two eyes and two baptisms being equally effective. 1

330 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

For although there is only one baptism for whitening the stains of sin, yet there are two eyes which become when filled with tears a baptism for the body’s members. Since the Creator knew in advance that faults continually increase in us and that baptism can occur only once, He fixed in the one body two baptisms of propitiation.

Praise be to the kindness which placed together sight and tears in the wellsprings of the eyes so that if the sight should make the eyes sin tears might flow and propitiate for the body. Blessed is he who put the medicine together with the ill. For you, sight which belongs to the daytime became full of alms, and by night full of prayers. Weeping became your armor. With the two kinds of armor you conquered.

Your mouth scorned delicacies, although everything was pure for you. You fasted from everything: Your eating was poor. 2 Your thoughts were chaste. 2 Syr.

ʿanwāyâ: meaning ‘poor’, but also ‘restrained’ and ‘ascetic’. This word is cognate with Hebr. ‫ענוים‬, the poor and lowly singled out by the prophets for God’s favor. The poverty of Abraham is emphasized again. Based on the choice of words here, we can see a particular interpretation of mourning and poverty that connects the beatitude ‘blessed are they who mourn’ to the OT ideal of God’s poor.

7.

8.

9.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 331 The whole object of your prayer was forgiveness for anyone who had offended you. The whole object of your prayer was retribution for the Evil One who would injure you. You became both forgiver and punisher. 3

For the Evil One—he is the enemy, and you required of him his folly. But as for a human, because he is a fellow member, 4 you treated his folly with leniency. Since you both required and forgave, you were crowned in perfection. Although your house had but a single door, your whole house became doorways that received people on all sides. Every hungry person who called out from the outside you answered from within your abundance.

10. Your table resembled a spring whose stream of water is never exhausted for the thirsty 5 who come to it. Your table was firmly established on earth, Even established in the heavens. 6 3 The

idea here is not so much the imagery of contest, but of putting the devil to shame. 4 [Beck specifies in the translation: ‘of Christ’; here in the note he adds:] Or ‘of the Church’; cf. HdF 15.7 and 9. Or, more generally, ‘of one and the same body’; cf. HcH 45.7. 5 Between this stanza and the subsequent, there is a thirsty/hungry polarity, perhaps harking back to the parable of the cup of water which is explicitly mentioned at the very end of this poem. 6 [Beck translates the text more explicitly as a nominal sentence and remarks:] In Syriac a pure nominal sentence without copula. For this reason, its tense is unspecified. And thus, the expression is useless for determining the eschatological conception here.

332

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

11. For the table of Abraham the Patriarch did not give in proportion as it received. For it bestowed sustenance one could see, but it received the hidden commandment. It gave temporally; it received eternally.

12. The rumor of you taught people afar off. Your action instructed people close by. You became both near and far a mirror for whoever was adorned. Your reputation was gathering up blessings. 13. Your reputation assisted those far off, your activity those nearby. Your admonition aided the immature, your teaching whoever was perfect, your support whoever stumbled.

14. Your encouragement aided the weary. Your threats aided the indolent. You hid love within cunning, and although rebuke was on your lips, inside was tranquility, outside threatening.

15. For a threat is like a rod, and if its shadow does not fall upon the lowly and the audacious, he who is lowly does not hasten his course, and he who is audacious does not restrain his violence. 16. You set up signposts 7 in every direction That whoever sees them might imitate you. 8 You rejoiced over anyone who imitated you. 7 Syr.

nîšê. Abraham’s function as a warner and example for others becomes very clear in these stanzas. 8

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 333 At anyone who refused, you were sad, and you would pray that he might imitate you instead.

17. The Apostle who became all things for all taught you to become all things with all. Among the excellent you increased, among the immature you diminished. You would diminish with the one that he might increase through you. 18. A stream would flow from your eye, grave laughter 9 from your mouth. From both you emitted treasures: for the well-intentioned, but astray, rejoicing, for the evil but apparently good, 10 rebuke. 19. Your acclamations belong two ages: since from childhood to old age your race extended. 9 Syr.

gûḥkâ knîḵâ: This deliberately paradoxical expression could also be translated as ‘serious, [well-intentioned] ridicule’. In the context, it could show some awareness of Egyptian monastic traditions, in which laughter is considered inappropriate frivolity. Abraham’s activities do not fit this mold well, a point the poet seems to be acknowledging by his choice of words. 10 [Beck translates as ‘Tadelnswerte’ (blameworthy), and remarks:] a weaker translation of the Syriac sanyâ (hideous, wicked). The oxymoron corresponds to the ‘good sinners’ in the immediately preceding and probably has the meaning: ‘for the good, if he sins’. Lamy separates both of the final elements from what precedes them and makes thereby two independent sentences: ‘erranti grata est hilaritas, bono displicet maestitia’, which seems to me to be very bold and content-wise improbable. [Beck seems to be right about this. These expressions refer to people who seem to be one thing, but are in fact on the whole another. Like Christ, Abraham encourages those who stumble, but rebukes harshly the hypocrites.]

334

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

The course of the elder remained powerful 11 for the love for the crown drove him on.

20. His weakness became strength. His old age was rejuvenated. He saw the crown and became young again. Thus, he did not perceive the toils of the race, for he only perceived the crown itself.

21. For merchants see profit. They do not see the hardship of the journey. Athletes look to the crown. They do not look at the toil of the contest. In retrospect they see all.

22. Instead of adulterers and drinkers, who spend the night in darkness with the demons, you, O Elder, became a seraph. You were chaste that you might offer ‘holies’, that you might become a companion in the fold of the watchers.

23. Martyrs and the chaste are a type of the seraphim. Dwellers in the night and seraphim of fire and spirit offer ‘holies’ on earth and in the heavens.

24. Your youth cut loose and cast off from your body by the sword of fasting every last shred holding 12 11 an

odd shift from second person to third. Syr. koll qeddyān la-ṕkārayhên. Beck seems to envision these qeddyān as bands (Streifen) that hold fast, but they could also be taken as ‘shreds’ or ‘scraps’. Audo, vol II, 400, provides the basis for thinking of them as qaddîn: a sort of goatskin used for holding milk. Thus, one might also try a translation like ‘all the vessels for holding fast’. Nevertheless, this seems 12

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 335 the lusts that were in your body— your body became for them a prison.

25. Your old age cut off the drinking of wine from your body, and since your body was withered it crucified the lust which is in the members. It crucified the torment of many.

26. My harp desists from your song, and you force me to seek from you that you be my intercessor 13 on the day when the books are opened and the pangs of Sheol smite us debtors. 14 27. And if anyone who gives a cup of water to drink to one of the disciples, 15 the wage has been promised him with solemn oaths, intercede that the weak one not be defrauded, who gave your vintage to drink to your sons.

an unlikely interpretation. The translation in the main text of the book follows Beck’s more conservative approach. 13 Beck: Syr. baʿʿāyâ. The verb underlying this form appears in the same kind of context of intercession at the last judgment in HdP 7.25 and CNis 14.11 and 37.2. 14 [Beck translates: ‘und die Wehen die Sünder befallen’, (and the pangs afflict the sinners) but remarks:] literally, ‘schlagen’ [strike], Syr. mḥâ as in CNis 14.11 and 37.2. 15 [Beck translates as ‘Jünger’ and explains as follows:] a drawing together of l-ḥaḏ men hālên … ba-šmâ d-ṯalmîḏâ (Old Syriac: d-ṯalmîḏûṯâ ).

336

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE FIFTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

As the capstone of the original cycle, this poem is in many respects the most elaborate and theologically rich of the group. In keeping, however, with the financial and mercantile language and themes of the previous poems, Ephrem here focuses on the saint’s spiritual wealth as his provision for the journey to heaven. The overall thrust of this final poem is thus more explicitly eschatological. Appropriately, therefore, the poem opens with an extended exegesis of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and then proceeds to discuss what one might call a theology of ‘merit’ or how one uses earthly things, particularly speech, so as to achieve heavenly happiness and reward. Beck’s division of the poem (with some correction) is as follows: Stanzas 1–2: The saint died enjoying a good name and ‘supplies’ (merits); 3–6: The example of the rich man and Lazarus; 7–13: the right use of earthly things, such as speech or bodily wealth for the hereafter (biblical examples: Simon Peter and the good thief) 14: The prayer of the saint; 15–21: The good works accompany the body at the resurrection as the key of glory, like blossoms on a tree; 22–26: God and good works, recipient and giver; 27–32: The exceeding wealth of the saint and the author, who according to his weak skills seeks to praise him and asks accordingly for the erasure of his bill of debt at the judgment. 1.

2.

3.

We are thrust, O Saint, into a contest between your sufferings and your triumphs. For whenever your suffering grieves us, on the other hand your triumph gives us joy. Your name has defeated your suffering. Response: Blessed is the Good One, who crowned your end! For all men must experience death, but all men do not enjoy a good name. All men will have to pay back, but that a man will come with provisions is possible only for the few.

The rich man and Lazarus both died, and although their deaths were equivalent,

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 337

4.

5.

6.

7.

their deaths were in fact very different. The rich man brought his sins. The poor man brought his provisions.

The rich man stripped off his pleasures. The poor man stripped off his troubles. They stripped off the temporal and put on the eternal. Your body stripped off its temporal labor. It put on the glory that does not pass away. By means of relaxation for the space of a moment, he obtained woes that are eternal. By means of troubles for a time, the elder purchased eternal life. By means of nothing he obtained everything.

For that which fools possess, there is eternal shame. He possessed by the very same thing an eternal name. 1 For his life died to sin, and, behold, his death lives before God. 2

It is possible that creatures be employed 3 by good men for good purposes. They are used in commerce 4 unto evil by evil men. One man blots out his debts through them. Another increases his sins through them.

Beck: here again, it means only reputation or praise as opposed to shame. A connection to the names written in the book of life (Phil 4.3) appears not to be made. [It is possible, but not certain, that Ephrem intended to refer to those whose names are written in the book of life. The other Pauline reference in the nearby context, and the overall focus on eschatology, debt, and reward, suggests that we should not rule out such a reference, as Beck does. ] 2 many Pauline turns of phrase. Cf. Rom 6.8–11. 3 Syr. neštamʿān. 4 Syr. neṯʿanyān: lit., to be busy with, converse with, be familiar with. 1

338 8.

9.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT Speech is the cargo 5 carried by every mouth. One man transacts through it to his loss. Another transacts through it to his gain. By it the mouth of the good transacts profit which is certain and easy.

By words the People blasphemed and perished. By words the Peoples lived because they attested to God’s truth. By words Korah and Dathan died. Because of his word the Serpent was cursed. Because of his own word the thief lived. 6

10. I will show you with a single word that everything which for the sinner begets loss and ruin, becomes a cargo for the good man by means of which he might transact profit.

11. He was acquitted by the body of debts. He reigned by the mammon of iniquity. In a loathesome world he was adorned. On a troublesome sea he transacted his business. He reached the harbor by his death. 12. During their lives sinners transact death by means of life. You transacted life by means of life, so that by means of life that passes away you found eternal life.

13. For in your zeal you imitated Simon Peter to whom the Lord entrusted his flock: 5 Syr.

mlûʾâ. Notice the importance of the story of the good thief, an importance shared by the cycle on Paradise. See HdP 4.5. 6

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 339 the ewes, the lambs, and the ewe-lambs. Your love would pasture the lambs. Your purity would pasture the ewe-lambs.

14. Your prayer was a ship which clove the sea of the air without ceasing. It would sail and ascend, carrying up your treasures and placing them in heaven in a place which knows no fear of loss. 7

15. You deposited your treasure with the Just One, who raises men up with the words: ‘O you who have been defrauded by death come, receive now your deposits’. They enter to the Watchers’ acclamations.

16. The denizens of the upper realm acclaim them, saying how wise are these denizens of the lower places, who hid their garments in their bodies, so that when the call of resurrection comes they do not stand naked. 17. Their bodies stand at the resurrection clothed with their works on the outside, both the beauties and the stains like pleasant or foul blossoms, when they put on all at once their beauties. 8

Beck: on this striking image, cf. already 1.10. For Ephrem in HdF 80.8 faith is the ship in which the human spirit gathers its treasures. Cf. further HdF 86.2 and SdF 4.72ff. [Beck observes that in the parallel passages noted above, the ‘ship’ is a metaphor for faith and not for prayer. Faith and prayer are closely associated with one another in Ephrem’s thought, as the entirety of HdF 20 makes clear. Inasmuch as prayer is simply the outer manifestation of interior faith, the use of the image does not seem incongruous.] 8 [Beck declines to translate this and instead leaves an elipsis, explaining:] The ms. has šûṕrayhôn ‘their beauties’, which can only be 7

340

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

18. In the blink of an eye are opened up by the voice of your Lord as with a key the treasuries hidden in you, O Saint, and from your treasury comes forth your robe of glory for the feast.

19. When with shame he is ejected who did not prepare wedding garments for himself for the wedding feast, by your clothing, your heart was enlarged 9 as the radiance of your garment flashed forth. 20. The adornments hidden in your members now cloak your members. They break forth like blossoms, and from your old age flows forth sweet beauty which does not wither.

21. On the day when your Lord leads the procession, 10 and the bodies fly through the clouds, from the tomb, the nest of death, to the bridal chamber of life and joy, the wing of the spirit will give you flight. 11

connected with ṭāḇê and not also with bîšê. One would expect a neutral expression, such as naḥtayhôn ‘their clothes’, following stanza 19. 9 in other words, he gained courage. Here we see a variation on the common patristic doctrine that redemption entails a return of the filial confidence or parrhesia originally enjoyed in Paradise. See Daniélou 1956, Bible and the Liturgy, pp. 39–40. 10 Syr. zayyaḥ. The same word can also be translated as decorate or praise, a meaning surely not lost on Ephrem. 11 Beck: Syr. geppâ d-rûḥâ. The same expression appears in HdF 2.5 but there the expression d-rûḥâ only has the sense ‘spiritual’ (wing). Here, on the contrary rûḥâ appears to be used in a personal way. [It is possible, as Beck notes, that the parallel to HdF 2.5 is an instance in which an original impersonal Ephremian image has been re-used in a way that

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 341 22. Your accomplishments rejoice as one. Vigil adorns your fasting, and prayers adorn your alms. Along with your visits to the sick comes your instruction of the healthy.

23. The Exalted One impoverished his ornaments, 12 in order that the poor might adorn him 13 so that whenever a beautiful person is adorned he borrows from the glory [of the Exalted One], just as he lent his brightness to Moses.

24. The praise of our mouths adorns Him, and our prayers glorify him. 14

suggests the personhood of the Holy Spirit. But the grounds for this are tenuous.] 12 Syr. taṣbyāṯâ. These ornaments here are ornaments inherent in Christ’s nature. Elsewhere, the term refers to ornaments deriving from free will. Thus, the term refers fundamentally to some kind of attribute, whether acquired or innate. 13 Beck: according to the beginning of the next stanza, we adorn God with our good works. That is only possible if God ‘makes himself poor’, that is, presents himself as in need of it. The final ‘purpose’ clauses anticipate the next thanks expressed: our adornment (that is, our merit) actually derives its root from God. It is this paradox (Antinomie) that Ephrem brings out under the variously used images of capital and interest (of borrowing and loaning). Cf. HdE(b) 30.2ff. where at the beginning the example is thus: Anna gave to God her child whom God had given to her. The accepting on God’s part becomes like a loan. Because God has ‘prayed through his good ones’ (that they give to him their good works), one can also translate: he took a loan from people so that it can be said of God ‘from whom what belongs to you you permit to be given to you’ (HdE(b) 30.7). 14 The exchange is both between God and man and between saint and community. Authentic praise is a source of merit, provided it be grounded in the divine beauty. Authentic praise of merit, as the last stanza

342

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

But he, upon receiving them, grafts them into His truth, that they might have the ability to adorn us.

25. For every ornament that is not grafted into 15 His beauty 16 is completely hateful to Him. Blasphemers may pray and fast, but their adornments are loathsome since their beauties are alien 17 to Him. 26. But as for you, all your adornments, of fasting, vigil, and alms, you grafted into His truth, like Moses who grafted his adornments into the brightness which brightened his face.

makes clear below, is also a source of glory for the one who praises, if the original adornments praised be genuine, that is, rooted in God’s own beauty. Conversely, praise of those heretics whose doctrines are not founded on God’s truth and beauty would be injurious. Praise of God joins us to God. Praise of the saint implicitly joins us to God too since ultimately, that which is praised comes from God. This at least, seems a connection Ephrem wants his hearers to make. 15 that is, inseparably joined (Syr. maṭʿem); the use of this term, which may seem awkward, has clearly been derived from a biblical passage, Romans 11, in which Paul speaks of gentiles being grafted in to the chosen people. The Peshitta uses this very verb. 16 Once again, Ephrem returns to the issue of authentic and trustworthy asceticism. As Beck notes, the pre-requisite for merit is the true faith. Right belief, for Ephrem, is the necessary basis for spiritual profit and exchange. One cannot profit by counterfeit money. 17 Syr. nûḵrāyîn. With this word, Ephrem evokes the Marcionite view of the NT God as ‘Stranger’ (nûḵrāyâ ). Perhaps ascetics with Marcionite leanings are the targets of this criticism. Notice too that the term ‘beauties’ has a sort of neutral sense, or perhaps an ironic one: ‘beauties’ that are not truly beautiful.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 343

27. Your praiseworthy deeds well up in me, yet my mouth is not able to bring them out. The tongue is a symbol of the breast, which gives suck to the mouth of the ear. If it presses too hard it chokes that ‘mouth’. 28. Mere water poured, O Lord, into a jar and became wine. Likewise may my own weak speech pour into the ear as into a jar, and increase so as to acclaim your athlete.

29. O you, who make flowers to blossom in Nisan, All sorts of victors 18 are crowned by them: the summer which defeats winter, the abundance which defeats famine, and the light which defeats the darkness.

30. The earth of my poverty has brought forth rational blossoms so as to crown your Athlete. See, I have woven accolades into a crown for him who wove his praiseworthy deeds into a crown for You. 19 31. I have crowned his course that ended in success. I have crowned his labor that gave profit. I have crowned his diligence which was rich. I have crowned his fasting that took the victory. I have crowned his vigil that triumphed.

The victors here are listed in what follows: summer, abundance, and light—all coming with the change of season in Nisan. 19 Abraham’s own activity is an adornment for God, which in turn, adorned Abraham. He became beautiful like the beauty he praised through his life. It seems an implicit principle that praise unites and likens the one who praises to that which is praised. Thus Ephrem himself hopes to share in the merit of Abraham by praising him. 18

344

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

32. Because he offered a crown to the king he receives the gift of the king. May Your punishment not overtake me. Tear up the bond against Your servant who wove a crown for Your servant, Abraham. 20

Deeds and their praise are intimately connected. The praise is in some sense a reprise of the deeds; both the deeds and the praise are described as a ‘crown’. In this way the praise of Abraham is an act of communal re-appropriation of the benefits it has received, almost a reinvestment of them, doubtless because the leadership of the saint was still wanted by the community, as Ephrem himself says at the beginning of his cycle. 20

THE SIXTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ

Melody: The Spirit spoke through David. The sixth poem is unique in the cycle. Not only does it stand apart from all the others by its melody and metrical structure, it also shows a slightly different eschatology than the other pseudoEphremian poems. The author is clearly rather hesitant to trust in the saint’s intercession during this present life. For this reason, his final stanza falls back to a more traditional position: hope in the saint’s intercession on the day of judgment. The acrostic poems show greater confidence in the theologoumenon. Beck’s summary runs as follows: Str. 1: The dilemma of the author: to speak or to remain silent. 2. He asks the saint to help through his intercession. 3–5: The graces for which the saints beg resemble the grace of God. 6–12: Once again, the frailty of the author. The intercessory prayer of the saint lends or confers graces, just like his gracious Lord. 13: Even if the saint should refuse his help now, at the last Judgment it will be awarded to the author. 1.

2.

If I say that I myself am capable of praising you 1 yet it were better for me to be silent, for I would still be far removed from you. And if I should be discerning and keep quiet I would not then have made you, the great one, any greater. I would instead have the advantage of it myself, because I would become greater through much discernment. Response: Glory to the one who depicted in you the triumphs of your perfection!

Pray, O saint, that I might be capable of praising you, 2 for without your intercession

Beck: The melody appears here for the first time. Each strophe consists of seven lines, each with seven syllables. Hymn 6 is isolated between the groups of the same melody, viz., 1–4 and 7–15. 2 Beck: this intercession of the dead on behalf of the living author is a new development compared with hymns 1–5. Cf. the note on Hymn 7.15f. 1

345

346

3.

4.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT I would be too little to tell of you. Who indeed is there to paint your triumph without the finger 3 of your prayer to help him? May your intercession become in me a source, and I will tell of you according to my capacity. In the light itself we see light, and we see the sun through its rays, the moon through its shining. By the gifts they bestow spectators can see them. By the hidden beam of your assistance my mind will be able to perceive you. But if the lamp is in darkness, without its feeble gleam, no one is able to see its brightness. It is by the beams of your prayer that man is able to see the fair aspect

Beck: a very striking image. Ephrem speaks in HdF 17.10 of the finger of Christ by which God created the world. In HdF 22.1 the one finger which has played on both harps of the Old and New Testaments is clearly the Holy Spirit. In HdF 37.13 the finger which wrote the ten commandments on the tablet is contrasted with the finger of the artisan who fashions idolatrous images and the finger of the heretic who writes in his books. In HdF 51.6, Ephrem prays that his tongue be a reed pen and that the ‘finger of the Good One write with it’! And in HdF 78.8, he speaks again of the finger of the Son, on which all creation depends. Here too belongs HdF 79.13: the Father is the creator ‘by the finger of his beloved’. In addition, Ephrem can also speak of the finger of a human, through which the power of God works a miracle. Thus in HcH 12.1, where Moses, with an invisible finger, writes admonitions on the bodies of the Egyptians with boils rather than pigments, and in HcH 13.10 according to which the priests of Baal cannot loose that which the finger of Elias has bound. With this last example, a connection to the ‘finger of prayer’, that is, to the God-given power of intercession, is possible. But the image remains garish, nevertheless. 3

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 347

5.

6.

7.

8.

of your inner man, which is entirely impressed with the image of God.

Who indeed can hold God in his gaze without the ray of his beneficence and by the beam of his grace his hiddeness became apparent to you? The triumphant resemble their Lord, because by the bright flashes of their deeds the dark world 4 is able to see them.

I came forward to receive your images. I gazed upon you and was dazzled. For your Lord is depicted on your physical members, and my pigments are too weak, my explanations too feeble, so beautifully are the triumphs of your might depicted in you! Because my word is so insipid the tale of your story cannot be seasoned without the salt of your truth. Nor can your crown be decked out without the blossoms of your contest. May my word be mixed in with your salt in order that it may be acceptable to its hearers.

However skilled a smith may be he is too insignificant to make from his own treasure a kingly crown of worth. Instead, the king gives from his own treasury gemstones and jewels for his crown. Give to me your treasure in a hidden

Syr. ʿālmâ ḥeššôḵâ: an expression used by St. Jacob of Serugh in Ep. 19 (Olinder [ed.] 1937, Jacobi Sarugensis Epistulae, p. 108]. to refer to Sheol. See Chesnut 1967, Three Monophysite Christologies, p. 114. Yet even in Jacob’s text, the phrase could refer to this earthly life rather than to Sheol. 4

348

9.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT manner, in order that with it I might adorn you openly. Grant me your key by your prayer that I might become the steward for you, and lend your wealth to the needy. Mine will be the words and yours the deeds may your treasure be distributed by my words so that, as your wealth is not impoverished, I might live on the interest it earns.

10. Be like your gracious Lord who bestowed the ten talents, the profit and the principal. Divide for me a portion in your graciousness out of the principal and the interest, and if you refrain from giving the principal, at least do not refuse the interest. 11. You have plenty of money, like a rich man. The hearer is like the merchant. I play the role of the broker. The measurers whom Joseph instituted lived on a measure of it. And he who counts the king’s money enjoys some of that money. 5

12. I fear because I know that the righteous are hungry, and they will not be satisfied by a promise. And just as when the rich are greedy to possess transient wealth, so also the triumphant are desirous to possess the wealth which abides forever. 5 Gen.

47.13–26.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 349 13. Even if you give me nothing that I might in turn burn as incense to you, your fragrances do not disappoint me for their breath wafts in me. May your sweet fragrance cover the sick odor of my sores when the radiant Bridegroom comes.

350

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE SEVENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 6 1.

2.

3.

4.

Brothers, I am moved to speak the praises of a man whose glory is greater than my tongue. Response: Glory to your God!

How can I plait a crown for the athlete? For the extent of his victory is the measure that I fall short. How much my littleness impoverishes the story of this merchant whose treasures are famed!

Not even in thought am I able to grasp you, the course of whose triumphs surpasses me greatly.

For poems 7–15 (the acrostic portion of the cycle), Beck’s introductions are included in the notes, due to their brevity. Beck’s introduction runs as follows: The first hymn of the group sharing the same melody, and moreover, linked together by an acrostic. The strophes are arranged alphabetically. Those of the first all begin with âlaṕ. Str. 1–4: Again the author despairs before the magnitude of his task: to praise the saint adequately. 5–7: The saint worked in a stony field (among pagans or heretics). 8–14: the continuation of previously introduced thanks; the hesitation of the author before the greatness of his task. 15–17: He attempts it anyway with confidence in the saint’s intercession. 18–27: Examples to prove the probability of such assistance. The counterexample of the influence of the Evil One (18); snake-charmers (22–24); the example of the power of wine, the influence of the teacher (19–21); the operation of the rain and of the Holy Spirit on the prophets. 6

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 351 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

His money was famed among the merchants, and so were his harvests among the husbandmen.

He abandoned the fields already cleared of thorns, and labored in the field replete with tares.

Barren rocks were put to shame by him. They softened and gave the fruits of modesty.

How can I speak of what is difficult for me? But how can I desist from that which helps me?

If I speak as is right, his wealth scares me away. If I desist from his treasure, his love draws me close.

10. My discernment threatens me to be as silent as a babe. My experience reprimands me that I am able as a teacher. 11. I stand in the midst, brothers, between these two options: I am afraid to speak; I fear to keep silent.

12. For in terms of its substance my tongue is deficient,

352

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT and I am afraid to defraud the telling of his triumphs. 7

13. For even that fact that I remember their stories constantly among us leaves me a debtor to such fair ones. 14. I will denounce fear, and speak what is right: it is even more daunting to defraud what is right.

15. I will put on his succor and speak of his deeds, and his intercession 8 is the help for my weakness.

16. I will irrigate my mind, so unworthy and mean; 7 Syr.

nesḥānaw(hy). [Beck notes the following:] Here the subject is, as was already clear above in Hymn 6.2, the helpful intercession of the dead saint for the living poet (disciple). In the context of Ephremian eschatology, that creates a difficult problem, on which, see my commentary on HdP 8.7–11 in Studia Anselmiana 26 (Rome 1951), p. 87ff. In CNis 43.11f. there is only talk of prayer to the martyrs (and saints?) at their graves, and that which they can obtain for the suppliants appears to be limited to the final Judgment. ‘Their weapon is silence. Silently they persuade Him who hears the silent’. Thus they can gain victory over ‘the silent Master’ of strophe 21. But the only connection meant there is the effects of the teaching of the now deceased master. Incidentally, the author himself seems to be aware of the boldness of his hope in the immediate help of the saint. For this reason he introduces a list of examples to show its possibility. Cf. Foreword, p. ix. [With this stanza, pseudo-Ephrem begins to mount his theological defense of the possibility of trust in the saint’s intercession.] 8

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 353 his prayer 9 will become in me a spring of praises.

17. I will possess his help and speak of his triumph. May his prayer be for us a finger on our harp.

18. For if in a hidden way the movement of the will of the evil one moves in us, how much more that of the Good One!

19. If, again, wine is able to whisper within its drinkers, how much more, O Saint, does the force of your prayer whisper in us! 20. Again, if the will of the wise master whispers in children as he instructs them,

21. So in us whispers the instructing word of the silent master 10 who performed all that he taught.

22. Again, if the suggestions made by sin stir up the snake and the scorpion in a hidden manner, 9 Syr.

ṣlôṯeh. Beck, it seems, interprets this as a reference to Christ. While this interpretation is probably correct, it is only fair to note that it could refer to Abraham himself. 10

354

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

23. If the snake is the vessel of Satan, 11 and the force of his suggestions mocks what is his own,

24. Then even in us, O Saint, may your prayer creep secretly and may the whispering of our lips be for your praise.

25. If too the force of waters secretly and silently creeps within and stirs up the vegetation, 26. So also the wind, O Saint, is a servant for the mouth; it makes every tree to blossom and bud.

27. And similar is prophecy: It speaks to God the words of God by means of his own handmaid. 12

11 Gen 12 Syr.

(rûḥâ ).

3.1ff b-ḏîleh šamāšteh. The ‘handmaid’ is probably the wind or the air

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 355

THE EIGHTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 13 1.

2.

3.

4.

Your triumphant servant was magnified in silence. How shall I acclaim him— so great is his victory? Response: Blessed is he who multiplied your treasure!

I am amazed at how my tongue dares to speak, and forgets to hush its weak nature.

It perceived the great treasure and was dismayed It could not praise [adequately] but it could transact profit. 14 It was right in this way that with the profit

Beck: Str. 1–6: Once more the audacity of the author, which both attracts and frightens him. [It is worth noting here that the sense units identified by Beck do not necessarily match up to the acrostic units.] 7–21: a disorganized description of the saint: alms in secret, the sweet yoke of the master; he practiced what he preached; vigils and fasting; chaste and prudent already in youth; Satan frightened and full of envy; self-possessed, both inside and out; prayer for himself and others; the mirror of truth placed in front of him; 22–31: The rigor and wise moderation of the saint. 14 Syr. neṯtaggar. This appears to set up a dominant theme of praise in the second half of the cycle. Praise to the benefit of the praised is impossible, but praise for the benefit of the hearers is possible. It is also an important part of the theology of praise in the first part. It is important to know whom to praise, as that will bring eschatological profit to the one who praises. Just as Abraham had exercised discernment in praise and blame, so too our discernment in praise and blame is a source of profit for us, a virtuous balance. 13

356

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT it remember the blame earned by him who does not discern. He who examines gemstones— If his knowledge is untutored— multiples disgrace for himself, because he is not able to discern.

Immediately apparent 15 is the rebuke of the fool who strikes the harp so as to create a cacophony of notes.

Instruction 16 is a treasure that enriches through knowledge and begets discernment that one may approach with restraint.

Your servant is both manifest and hidden, and who is capable of understanding him? He was openly seen in order to assist; he is hidden in order to gain abundant profit. His hidden mysteries shine forth although his alms are hidden,

Syr. galyâ: in other words, as soon as he picks up the instrument, his inability can be heard in his poor music. 16 Features like the sudden appearance of this concept, noted by Beck, as well as the disjointed character of some parts of the latter half of the cycle suggest that the cycle has been added to and re-arranged here and there for liturgical use. In this way, the latter half would represent the compilation of perhaps several authors over time for the celebration of Abraham’s feastday, with adaptations of Ephremian compositions and perhaps fresh developments reflecting a new theological development as well. This would fit well with the mss. evidence for the funerary handbooks. 15

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 357 for he did not subject his freedom to ostentatious pride.

10. Because he knew by experience that the yoke of pride is bitter, he took refuge in the pleasant yoke of the Lord.

11. Such things he would say, and such things also do. His action always followed on the heels of his teaching.

12. And as with a balance he would measure his words, for he was afraid lest his statement would come back against him.

13. Instead of the one who weighs out his gold, he constantly weighed his speech.

14. Discerning vigilance was sown in his thinking, 17 and sensible fasting mingled with his prayer.

15. The true meaning 18 of modesty he sowed in his youthfulness, and he gave to his innocence the full savor of maturity.

16. The enemy choked in rage seeing how he triumphed. 17 Syr.

18 Beck

tarʿîṯeh. translates Syr. ḥaylâ as ‘power’ (die Kraft).

358

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT He added to his pain, and grew more angry and embittered.

17. His own envy oppressed him, and his own rage consumed him. He was greatly stirred up, seeing him who was tranquil. 19

18. He put in order his outward appearance; he kept his inner self modest, in order that men might really see that he is in every respect a benefit [to others]. 20

19. His intercession was more for us than for himself; he suffered more for our pains than for his own. 20. Jesus himself understood the suffering of his athlete: a crown and acclamation he prepared for him in Eden. 21. Every day the mirror of truth was before him; he hid his beauty and revealed his stains.

22. As he constantly reproved the chip which was in his eye, first he would consider and [only] then would he teach. 23. Although he was very harsh with all of his threats, 19 that 20 Syr.

is, Abraham. yûṯrānâ.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 359 he was tranquil in his radiance, and his gentleness was abundant.

24. Although he would wound in order to ward off injury, He would medicate and heal, in order to increase health.

25. Even when he clearly perceived the stains in someone, without making it known he would correct [the fault] by teaching him.

26. In recounting to the one before him the disgrace of hateful things in another person wisely he would discipline the one before him.

27. While he would strike the one the other would be wounded, and in judging himself he would shame the one who did wrong. 28. While one is weighed another is the one burdened. While one is soothed the other is reproved.

29. He would not expose anyone who did wrong, lest he should humilate him 21 and would add to his own condemnation. [Beck’s note here pertains to his choice of words in German. He does, however, remark disparagingly:] ‘The final strophes, completely empty of content, are formal imitations of the foregoing strophe’. 21

360

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

30. While he would not strike openly he would still cause pain, and wisely still rebuke the actual fault.

31. Whenever he wanted to chastise the hateful, he would always magnify the steadfast greatly before them.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 361

THE NINTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 22 1.

2.

3.

4.

My brothers I am afraid to speak of his triumphs; at the same time, I fear to cease from telling his acts. 23 Response: Blessed is he who increased his riches!

For the treasure of his actions 24 is truly ineffable, and the beauties of his discernment cannot be silenced.

As he extolled those who fast, he zealously taught fasting to the gluttonous.

Although he would never humiliate one who was greedy, The faster 25 added fasting upon fasting.

Str. 1–2: repetition of the intial thought: the fear of the author before the greatness of his task. 3–7 & 9–10: The charming example of his fasting and his generosity, 8 & 11–20: his uninterrupted self-scrutiny, prayer, fasting, trust (Job). 21–26: the elaboration of how he appeared to God, the Spirit, angels, doctrinal controversy and lusts. 23 There is a fair unity to this madrāšâ, but we should see the whole structure as very much like a list of the saint’s accomplishments. One of the major themes seems to be his similarity to Job, particularly in his restraint and mourning. Another important feature is his teaching, though this is especially in poem 8 as well. 24 Beck: Syr. ṣenʿāṯâ: here used in the rare praiseworthy sense of clever stratagems [Beck translates as ‘tricks’ (Listen)], as in HdF 26.15, are ascribed to God. 25 that is, Abraham. 22

362 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT In extolling those people who are generous, the greedy, like Zachaeus, he would chastise.

In extolling the one he would provoke the other, and humiliating the one he would revere the other.

In just this way it was easy for him to help; in just this way it was simple to be aided.

Every day righteousness was put before him: he would judge himself, and then he would reproach others. Whenever by chance a man would sit with him, he would get from him fair examples.

10. Even though he knew him not he would know him by his fruits, for the fragrance of his assistance would waft from him.

11. Continually in prayer he would pour himself out, and continually with weeping his eyes would be blurred.

12. Always he was fasting; making a fast even within the fast: one fast being from bread the other fast being from wickedness.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 363 13. As he restrained himself outwardly and inwardly, he was restrained with regard to flesh and restrained with regard to anger. 14. Continually he made himself a discerning mourner: a mourner in his garment, and a mourner too in his mind. 15. In his mind he put no faith in two evil things: so that he never employed either jesting or mockery. 26

16. Gloomily every day 27 he walked as scripture says, but instead of Job, his counterpart he would sit. 28

17. Like Job continually he took care of the needy. His groans became his primary food.

18. His body was a temple of divine judgment. His heart likewise is a law of justice. 26 Syr.

šeʿyâ … gûḥkâ. Note the contradiction to 4.18, which describes Abraham’s mouth as filled with ‘grave laughter’ (gûḥkâ knîḵâ ). 27 Job 30.26–28. The Syriac is rather difficult here, but pseudoEphrem seems to envision a contrast between Job’s ‘standing in the assembly’ and Abraham’s sitting. Beck’s translation proved less than helpful in choosing an English rendering, although there is little doubt that he correctly identified the sense of the passage. 28 Cf. Job 2.13.

364

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

19. Constantly he restrained his senses from wickedness: his mouth and heart, his eye and his hearing.

20. Constantly he rebuked himself with harshness. He was ever to be found sitting in judgment on himself.

21. When Satan observed that he judged himself, his enemy was ashamed to become his judge. 29

22. When the Exalted One observed how he humbled himself, he did not want to raise him up in order to extol his humility. 23. When indeed the Spirit observed his splendor, 30 He, the friend of the chaste. began to dwell in his temple.

24. When the Watchers who keep vigil also observed him, these lovers of wakefulness were delighted at his voice. 25. When Controversy observed the firmness of his truth, 31 29 Throughout

this section, the book of Job seems to form the point of reference. See Job 1.1–2.7. 30 Syr. zahyûṯeh. One could also translate this word as ‘his purity’. 31 Syr. šrāreh.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 365 the spring of its disputes dried up and vanished.

26. When Lust saw him she was defeated. She was ashamed at her filth, which had spattered so many.

366

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE TENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 32 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

May Abraham arrive 33 at the bosom of Abraham, since he resembled him twice over: both in name and in deeds. Response: Glory to his God!

He both finished and crowned the church which he built, and like a royal bride he espoused her to the son of the King.

Heathenism vexed him. He instructed some of its children, and plucked from the thorns the fruits of modesty. He instructed the heathen priests, and made their sons become priests in his place to serve as Christians before God.

They cursed him, and he blessed them; 34 they hated him, and he loved them; they envied him, and he cherished them; he persevered, and made profit.

Beck: Str. 1: Abraham should come into the bosom of Abraham; 2–14: Conversion of the heathens (of Kidun), through long struggle and tribulations. The building of the church. Christian priest taken from the heathen priests, the image of the leaven (7), the bee (12), the frost (13), closed up stream (14); 15–24: Abraham’s marriage and flight. [Beginning with this poem, the author focuses on Abraham’s mission to the pagans.] 33 Beck: Syr. imperfect tense, hence also the possible translation: ‘may he come’. In every instance this is in the future, in agreement with Ephremian eschatology. 34 Lk 27.28. 32

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 367 6.

7.

8.

9.

He gave himself to the heathens, and being only one by himself, he enlarged his mind, and overcame many. He is like the leaven, which when the mass of dough surrounds it and overtakes it, it instead overtakes the dough. 35

In the end, when they learned who he was by a thousand trials, they were amazed at him because they realized that he was a man of God. For they proved it true that he endured their deceits, and carried their burdens in order that he might inherit their lives. 36

10. He loved the Father, and was fervent toward the Son. And through him in the Spirit he worshipped his Father.

11. They grew weary of beating him, for they oppressed him and became powerless. This is the Athlete, who conquers when he is wounded. 12. He observed the bee which, when it defeated and struck him, 35 1

Cor 5.6–8. nêraṯ ḥayyayhôn: an interesting metaphor to describe Abraham’s labors. One could also translate it: ‘take possession of’. 36 Syr.

368

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT was itself defeated, slain by its own sting.

13. He experienced how sternly the ice strikes the land, and then cleans it, and melts away upon it.

14. Banks restrain a flowing spring, and because they supposed they had dried him up, they were drowned by his waves! 15. From his youthfulness, on the couch of his marriage feast, there dawned in his heart the glory of the Kingdom. 16. From his beginning he drew forth his end. His marriage robe he exchanged for sackcloth.

17. How the chaste one imitated his most chaste spouse: for seven full days 37 she had remained with her husband! 18. From the beginning of his marriage, he left his yoke-companion, because he perceived the crown and entered into the contest.

19. He sanctified his bed, and separated it from sexual union with his rib,

Beck: In the Vita, it says, et cum essent nuptiae, post dies septem, cum esset in thalamo cum sponsa (repente lux apparuit …). 37

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 369 so that his prayer might spend the night in constant purity. 38

20. It was as a test that marriage was put in his path to give him a trial to see whom he really loved. 21. For whoever gazes upon the supernal brightness, in his sight earthly beauty seems but contemptible.

22. More than such contemptible intercourse 39 with a woman, the sweet intercourse of the Holy Spirit 40 delighted him.

23. Instead of sexual union 41 with this feeble rib, his soul united 42 itself to the Lord of glory.

24. From the beginning of his struggle lust was afraid. It simply refrained from tempting him because his struggle was so bright. 43 38 Syr.

zahyâʾîṯ means both ‘with brightness’ and ‘with purity’. Syr. ʿenyānâ. The word means intimacy and does not necessarily have sexual connotations. The more usual word for sexual intercourse, neqpâ, appears in the next stanza. 40 Syr. ʿenyānâ ḥelyâ d-rûḥ qûdšâ. 41 Syr. neqpâ. 42 Syr. neqpaṯ. 43 or ‘pure’: Syr. zhê. 39

370

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE ELEVENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 44 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

May the feast of Abraham give refreshment to Abraham, who put on his wedding garment 45 as well as his way of life. 46 Response: Blessed is he who magnified your gems! May Abraham’s chaste wing take him, along with Enoch, who, after he was married, was pleasing, triumphed, and flew up. 47

May he inherit along with Joseph, who triumphed while being married, since he also was triumphant after he had sanctified himself in chastity. A whirlwind blew hard 48 against the triumphant Joseph. He proved stronger in himself, and left behind his outer garment.

May he receive the athlete who was victorious in the inner room,

Beck: Str. 1: The celibate and the Patriarch Abraham; 2: the saint and Enoch; 3–7: the saint and Joseph and Moses; 8–11: the saint and the elderly David; 12–13: the saint and Peter and Paul; 14: a supplement on Joseph, the unwritten law of nature, the broken tablets and the idolatrous people; 21–23: conclusion: it is impossible to use all the comparisons that could be. 45 Syr. kûtînâ. 46 Syr. dûbbāreh. 47 Further examples of chastity follow. 48 Syr. kûḵîṯâ: a reference to the seduction attempted by Potiphar’s wife. 44

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 371

6.

7.

8.

9.

where the attractiveness of sin proved too weak.

May he consider how he endured the beauty when it offered itself, love when it burned passionately, and how he triumphed in chastity.

May he inherit along with Moses, The Radiant One who placed a wall of chastity 49 between himself and Siphorrah.

May he inherit along with David who despised sin, and because he sanctified himself in chastity he won his crown upon his bed. 50 The smoke of the fire even from a distance makes blind, but in the chaste bosom of David it was defeated.

10. May the blessed one inherit, who sanctified his youth in chastity, along with the king, whose old age was triumphant.

Beck: Syr. naḵpûṯâ. Ephrem asserts in two passages with the same interpretation of Ex 4.24–26 in HdN 14.19 (Moses separated himself from his wife and) Sepora neṭraṯ qaddîšûṯâ. Pr. Ref. II.75.35ff. is similar (God forced Moses by way of the angel to send his wife away) da-nḥawê da-ḵmâ gaḇyâ hwāṯ leh qaddîšûṯâ. 50 The author refers to 1 Kings 1.2–4: the story of Abishag who became David’s nurse in old age, but scripture explicitly says that he did not sleep with her. 49

372

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

11. Sexual union was enticing, and passion burns hot, beauty was pleasing, and yet David triumphed.

12. May he inherit along with Simon whose mother in law was ill. She bore witness that her bridegroom was instructed 51 by our bridegroom.

13. May he reign along with the Apostle 52 who was jealous, and grafted chaste holiness onto the branches of matrimony.

14. Greatly Joseph increased even when there was none to see. He himself possessed shame, and so preserved his freedom. 15. He bears witness that earlier and more ancient is the law of nature than the law of Scripture.

16. He shows that it is inscribed on the tablet of the mind

Beck: Syr. eṯtalmaḏ, which one must probably take more narrowly here: ‘He was instructed’. But then the question arises: to what does this expression refer? According to the other examples, one expects something to do with singleness and chastity. Here it is very noteworthy, that in connection iwth the previously cited example of Moses and Sepporah in Pr. Ref. II.75.35ff, it says that Christ l-šemʿôn â(y)ḵ hāḏê ʿḇaḏ leh, which can only be associated with the earlier cited love for qaddîšûṯâ, to which is added ‘even if he did not force him to it’, and so what is probably alluded to by that is Mt 19.2 (qui potest capere capiat). 52 Paul: 2 Cor 11.2ff 51

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 373 not to do what you hate for yourself against your neighbor.

17. Extremely despised is that People who extols his law now to spite us: [the Jews] have meditated on it on to provoke us. 18. They boast very much about tablets that have been broken. Their [broken] fragments make it clear, that they themselves will soon be broken. 19. Very great was Joseph whose youthfulness thirsted; he did not drink deceitfully because of his righteousness.

20. Very great is anyone who even has his own spring, and yet refrains from what is his own by a fast of the will. 21. Long have I been chasing after comparisons, which are always inadequate because of my weakness.

22. Very small is my knowledge for seeing and mixing, for measuring and comparing the colors of the kingdom.

23. The month of Nisan shows me that the eye and the mind never suffice for even the colors of its blossoms.

374

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE TWELFTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 53 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Brethren, may your prayer assist my weakness. Let [brotherly] love partake both in the labor and in the profit. Response: The dullness of my words is rebuked by his deeds. They are unable to describe him who overwhelms me. Response: Blessed is he who magnified your end, O saint! My tale went to contest with the acts of the saint. The force of his deeds overcame my word.

He aids me since I am weaker than he, being lowly. He makes me to possess his treasure when it overwhelms me. The deceitful enemy fought with him, and the simple one defeated his overpowering strength.

The one was cunning, as scripture says, the other perfectly simple, as we described, But it was the simple one who was instructed by the wisest wisdom.

53 Beck:

Str. 1–3: again the formula: I am not pure for the task; 4–11: the genuine practical intelligence of the saint; 12: Scripture as the norm of his teaching; 13–22: a disorganized enumeration of the saint’s merits: among which are his wandering around to give advice (17) and a formulaic enumeration of good works in 19.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 375 6.

7.

8.

9.

He labored in order that by his deed he might become wise, because he saw the disputatious whose practices are foolishness. 54

He labored that he might become skilled by his actions, because he saw the ‘wise’ who were fools by their deeds. 55 The simple one was cunning; by every stratagem he conquered the evil one whose disciples are more subtle 56 than he is.

The ‘simpleton’ 57 was indeed cunning; he knew well in his strategems how to appear fair 58 before the Possessor of all wisdom.

10. Guilty is the rhetor who is lithe for his disputation, 59 54 An

interesting indictment of the Arians: either they have no asceticism and this shows their intellectual views to be hypocritical or their asceticism is somehow vitiated. In any case, the view of personality is clearly that it is very integrated. 55 This seems a genuine Ephremian theme with regard to the Arians. It is more important to investigate and be concerned with things that will actually be of practical benefit rather than proud investigations into doctrinal subtleties. 56 Or ‘flimsier’: Syr. qaṭṭînîn. See Beck’s note below. 57 Syr. hedyôṭâ. That is, Abraham himself. 58 We should always note the moral connotation implied by the root š-p-r, like that of Gk. καλόν. 59 Beck: Syr. drāšâ, for Ephrem is the Arian Controversy. Cf. the notes on Str. 6. The word qaṭṭîn (astute—scharfsinnig) is also said of the

376

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT yet too massive for that gate, the narrow gate of the Kingdom.

11. The triumphant one made plain the truth by his practices: they were splendid deeds and modest words.

12. He explained what was written, he taught what was described, he did what was commanded, and loved what was counseled. 60 13. He made his assistance appropriate for the time. He weighed out his subtleties in accord with his activities.

14. He multiplied as is fitting fruits in every place. Trustworthy were his practices; steadfast were his statements.

15. The blessed one kept open both his mouth and his door: his door was open for the needy, his counsel ready for the simple.

16. His treasury was filled with both wise plans and deeds, and everyone found in him advice in which his will could be at peace. Arians (HdF 56.1: drāšâ d-qaṭînâ [the astute one], perhaps Arius himself?), but also of other heretics such as Bardaisan in HcH 6.10 (qaṭṭîn Bardayṣān). 60 This stanza has a chiastic structure.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 377 17. His paths were straightforward; his ways were smooth. He answered anyone who called upon him, both near and far. 18. The rhetors babbled, and the insolent mocked. Humbly he listened, cheerfully he endured.

19. He rescued whoever was in difficulty; he brought forth those imprisoned. He freed the downtrodden; he supported those in need.

20. The insignificant ordered him around; simpletons reproached him. The discerning one proved the stronger, so as to acquire the simple.

21. He went away in order to become less, 61 in order that he might become greater. It was the Little One 62 who commanded him to become greater and to make [others] great. 22. His mouth was ever interceding and weeping in prayer on behalf of the insignificant that they might attain honor.

61 One

of the few references to Abraham’s withdrawal from his community. 62 Seemingly, a reference to Christ.

378

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE THIRTEENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 63 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Pray, my friends, that I might be able to tell of the splendid triumphs of the splendid Abraham. Response: Blessed is He who enriched your treasure!

He prayed for himself so as to increase his help for others. He prayed for his neighbor so as to double his profit: Profitable fasting, and discerning prayer, the garment of steadfastness, and the bread of humility. He fasted and he prayed, he both acted and taught, he initiated and confirmed, he offered and ministered.

His neck willingly accepted the yoke. Along with his own load he carried the loads of others.

He thirsted and persisted; he hungered and yet he endured; he was weary and yet concealed it; he was taxed and yet remained strong.

Beck: Str. 1: Introductory prayer; 2–11: the prayer and fasting of the saint, his priestly ministry, his contrasting attitude to inner and outer stain; 12–24: The saint overcomes the death of sin through the cross and physical death through the promise. 63

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 379 7.

8.

9.

His will was magnanimous and rejoiced greatly over the blessings that happened to others.

He prayed that the little might become great like himself. He prayed that even the great one might become greater than he.

His prayer was that of the pure ones, and his fasting that of the splendid ones. 64 His vigil was that of the tranquil ones, his love of the perfect ones.

10. The dirt on his body he left there so he could keep working; the dirt in his memory he scoured that he might keep pure. 11. His cross was in his heart, and whoever had discernment saw the uplifted one both crucified and walking. 65

12. Before the usual death which comes to all mankind, he experienced another death: the death of humility. 13. Before the New Life in which all mankind is equal, 64 Syr.

zhayê. One perceives here a new emphasis: Abraham as conformed to the crucified Christ. 65

380

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT he had another life: the life of death. 66

14. For before death he died to sin. But before resurrection he lives for the Lord of all.

15. For death was afraid of him although it governed him, because it saw that hidden in him was the life which is to come.

16. Sin too feared him even while he lived because it saw that hidden in him was the death of the cross.

17. By the cross he slew the second death, that he might live at the resurrection. He killed himself before he died.

18. He slew willingly this vital nature, in order that it might be dead to the sin which had slain Adam. 19. Life and the second death were both slain: life by the cross, and death by the promise. 67

20. For the just one [that is, Abraham] before he fell into Sheol— 66 Syr. 67 of

pûršānâ could also be translated: ‘distinction’ or ‘separation’. Paradise to the thief. See Lk 23.43.

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 381 it is as if he has ascended by the voice of the promise.

21. For death was slain both hiddenly and openly: The hidden death was slain by his practices, the open death by his promises. 68

22. The sinful one is slain in an entirely hidden manner, while the weak one fears the death that is apparent.

23. The just one too is slain in his fasting and his vigil, because the discerning one fears the death which is to come. 24. By means of a tree, death slew those who ate. Fasters make light of death, and slay it by the cross.

note how the polarity between deeds and words is transformed in reference to Christ. 68

382

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE FOURTEENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 69 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

How great is the ‘blessing’: ‘blessed are you poor in spirit’, which puts no faith in the consolation which a rich man loves. Response: Blessed is He who increased your blessing!

You loved the ‘blessing’ which enriches the poor; you put no faith in the consolation which impoverishes the rich. Your triumph is great, because you overcame money which lynched and made leprous Gehazi and Judas. 70 Your mind was so great that you were never troubled by a heavy load and a long distance. You irrigated and grew the fruits of your planting.

Beck: Str. 1–4: Poverty, the contempt for riches; 5–6: the teacher; 7–12: Great is your marvel … your consolation … your blessing … your victory; 13–15: Abraham, and the Patriarch Abraham, and Lazarus; 16–19: Abraham steered his ship without loss through the Arian controversy; 20– 21:Two stanzas with šûḇḥâ: Glory (be to God), which appear to be the conclusion, but to which at the beginning of the next hymn two further are added. 70 note the chiastic arrangment. 69

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 383

6.

7.

8.

9.

Their fruits increased, and their branches grew strong. 71

First he germinated the plants while his instruction was little, then he increased and poured into it the irrigating stream of his teaching. 72

Your wonder is great since you were dead while still alive, and alive by your death because your promise was alive.

Great is your consolation for henceforth the sting of sin was dead for you, which is alive for us.

Great is your liberation because you broke by your death the yoke of troubles, which every man drags with him.

10. Great is your rest, O Saint, because you escaped from this life, which gives us to drink wormwood and bitterness.

11. Great, O saint, is your blessing because you have escaped from fear: your contest is ended, and you have escaped from the Evil One. 71 Beck:

the image does not admit of exact significance, whether by it individual disciples are meant or dayrāṯâ (monasteries) [Beck refers literally to ‘Lauren’.] 72 This strophe falls outside of the acrostic pattern.

384

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

12. Great is your triumph, for you were casting secret arrows at your deceitful opponent, who was clothed in darkness. 13. You obtained the crown by your complete race, and your enemy was ashamed— his tricks have vanished. 14. You leapt over by your deeds the chasm, and your father Abraham rejoiced over you, and your brother Lazarus.

15. Appropriately you also were named Abraham. You imitated him twice over: by your name and by your deeds. 16. Well you steered your triumphant ship, and so among the merchants your profit was renowned. 17. Mammon caused trouble for one ship after another, buffeted and drowned because of contention. 73

18. Glorious was your conquest for you conquered the evil one, the quarrelsome neighbor, and the corrupt kinsman. The image of this life for all Christians is that of a merchant who must make good returns. 73

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 385 19. Troublesome is the commerce that causes loss by disputation. 74 The merchants doubted who spoke in vain inquiry. 20. Glory be to God whose will rested in delight in all your simplicity, filled with discernment.

21. Glory to Him who increased your race beyond its normal stretch, 75 and made even your path as long as your endurance.

74 Another

indictment of the Arian controversy. Beck: Syr. men ṭawrāḵ. The sense of this difficult stanza appears to me to be: his life was so full of his ministries because of the long duration which his perserverance was able to manifest. 75

386

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

THE FIFTEENTH MADRĀŠÂ ON ABRAHAM QÎDÛNĀYÂ 76 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Glory to him who increased and carried your house of mourning on a triumphal procession, in order that you might fly as it were with feathers through the air. Response: Blessed is he who you gathered you up entirely!

Glory to him who divided his garments among the wicked. In the assembly of the holy ones your garments were zealously seized. The facts of all my sins I have recounted to you. May you pour fourth tears in prayer for me.

It is appropriate even now that I ask of you that you intercede for my wounds, which are too great for my bandages. Remember me, O saint, In this house of captives, and may that commandment which is full of pardon come!

Beck: Str. 1–2: the burial of the saint; 3–6: the author prays that the saint not forget him in his earthly necessities; 7–12: the foolish dependence of people on this sinful life; 13–14: the justice and the mercy of the judge in the example of Sodom; 15–18: Trust in the intercession of the saint at the Last Judgment; 19–24: The author marvels at his own impenitence and that of every person; 25–28: he hopes in the goodness of the judge and the intercession of the saint. 76

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 387 6.

7.

8.

9.

Remember your servant and be not like that one who was enjoined and then forgot Joseph in the house of captives. 77

I am amazed at him: how he tarries and remains behind, but was justified in the pit, and triumphed in his shackles.

I am amazed, O saint, at my hatefulness how much I lag behind. The weight of my sins I increase, and it is magnified.

Both things are hard and by which is he consoled: by the fear of death or by the fear of life?

10. I am amazed because the sinner, for the sake of repentance, prays that he might stay, although he is the friend of the light. 11. The foolish merchant, who is deprived of his capital, is consoled by hope even while he is impoverished.

12. I am amazed because the insolent holds on to hope. He is despoiled with his own consent even as his eyes are closed. 77 Gen

40.14 and 40.23.

388

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

13. Thanks to the Just One who is no respecter of persons. He gave sentence justly that Sodom might be destroyed. 78

14. Thanks to the Gracious One for, if his sinful sons-in-law had wished it, they could have escaped with Lot.

15. May Sodom be for me a likeness of Gehenna, and may there be many instead of the one just man, Lot. 79

16. May the intercession of those who stand at the right hand increase, and may your goodness call us from among the sinners. 17. I am amazed that evil men ask things of evil men, and they receive their petition and forgive wrongdoing.

18. May your prayer on my behalf give courage to my trepidation, because the good are heard by the Good One. 78 Gen

19.24–28. author’s point is that if there are many just ones present in the local community, God would spare the author, just as he promised to Abraham that he would not destroy the cities if there were even a few just men living there. The communal character of the church has become a basis for the doctrine of intercession. 79 The

APPENDIX B: ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF THE CYCLE 389 19. I am amazed at myself how both in affliction and in rest, still I multiply my transgressions.

20. I am amazed at creation: how beautiful it is, while how ugly is my will in the midst of such beautiful things.

21. I am amazed that I have not yet repented although I repent every day. I cling fast to hope, without yet deserving it. 22. I marvel at how our humanity has been deceived, and not even trials are able to instruct it.

23. I am amazed at how insolent a man can be: if he dies, he is dissolved; if he remains alive, he is arrogant.

24. I ask for two things either that I depart or that I do well. I am afraid to go; I sin while I remain.

25. May your goodness be gracious to me before I have departed, for there is danger if I depart while I am still uncleansed.

26. Grant to your servant through the prayer of your servant that I might be cleansed here and might be provided for there.

390

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

27. Grant to me that I might repay here the debt to your justice, and make me able there to live by your goodness.

28. May the fervent supplication of the just enter before the advocate of your mercy and bring to life all my just deeds.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Abou Zayd, S., 1993. Ihidayutha: A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient: From Ignatius of Antioch to Chalcedon, 451 A.D. Oxford: ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies. Amar, J., 1987. Perspectives on the Eucharist in Ephrem the Syrian. Worship, 61(5), pp. 441–454. ———., 1988. The Syriac ‘Vita’ Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian. Unpubl. thesis. The Catholic University of America. ———., 1992. Byzantine Ascetic Monachism and Greek Bias in the Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian. Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 58, pp. 123–156. ———., ed. and trans. 1995. A Metrical Homily on Holy Mar Ephrem. Patrologia Orientalis t. 47, fasc. 1. Turnhout: Brepols. Anatolios, K., 2005. Athanasius: The Coherence of His Thought. [Kindle] Oxford Studies in Historical Theology. Oxford: Taylor & Francis Inc. Available at: Amazon.com. Annus, A., 2006. The Survivals of the Ancient Syrian and Mesopotamian Intellectual Traditions in the Writings of Ephrem Syrus. Ugarit-Forschungen, 38, pp. 1–25. Anon., 1896. Acta Abraham Kidunaiae. In: P. Bedjan, ed. Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum, 6. Paris and Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz. pp. 465–499. Assemani, J.S. ed., 1775. Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana. vol. 2. Rome. Audo, T. ed., 1985. Treasury of the Syriac Language. Vol. 1. (Syriac) Holland: Monastery of St. Ephrem. Ayres, L., 2006. Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bartelink, G.J.M. ed. and trans., 1994. Vie d’Antoine. Sources chrétiennes 400. Paris: Editions du Cerf. 391

392

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Beck, E. ed. and trans., 1951. Ephraems Hymnen über das Paradies: Übersetzung und Kommentar. Studia Anselmiana 26. Rome: Herder. ———., 1953. Das Bild vom Spiegel bei Ephräm. Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 19, pp. 5–24. ———. ed. and trans., 1955. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Fide. CSCO 154–155. Louvain: Durbecq (Peeters). ———. ed., 1955. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Fide. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 154. Louvain: Durbecq (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1957. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen contra Haereses. CSCO 169–170. Louvain: Durbecq (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1957. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Paradiso und Contra Julianum. CSCO 174–175. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———., 1958. Symbolum-Mysterium bei Aphrahat und Ephräm. Oriens Christianus, 42, pp. 19–40. ———. ed. and trans., 1959. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Nativitate (Epiphania). CSCO 186–187. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1960. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Ecclesia. CSCO 198–199. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1961. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Carmina Nisibena. CSCO 218–219. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1962. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Virginitate. CSCO 223–224. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1964. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Carmina Nisibena (Zweiter Teil). CSCO 240–241. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1964. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen de Ieiunio. CSCO 246–247. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1964. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Paschahymnen (De Azymis, De Crucifixione, De Resurrectione).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

393

CSCO 248–249. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1970a. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones I. CSCO 305–306. Louvain: Durbecq (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1970b. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones II. CSCO 311–312. Louvain: Durbecq (Peeters). ———. ed. and trans., 1972. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen auf Abraham Kidunaya und Julianos Saba. CSCO 322 and 323. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———. trans., 1972. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Hymnen auf Abraham Kidunaya und Julianos Saba. CSCO 323. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). ———., 1979. Das Bild vom Sauerteig bei Ephräm. Oriens Christianus, 63, pp. 1–19. ———., 1981. Das Bild vom Weg mit Meilensteinen und Herbergen bei Ephräm. Oriens Christianus, 65, pp. 1–39. ———., 1982. Zur Terminologie von Ephraems Bildtheologie. In: M. Schmidt & C.F. Geyer, eds. Typus, Symbol, Allegorie bei den östlichen Vätern und ihren Parallelen im Mittelalter. Eichstätter Beiträge 4. Regensburg: Verlag Friedrich Pustet. pp. 239–277. ———., 1986. Besrâ (sarx) und pagrâ (sōma) bei Ephräm dem Syrer. Oriens Christianus, 70, pp. 1–22. ———., 1987. Zwei ephrämische Bilder. Oriens Christianus, 71, pp. 1–9. ———., 1956. Ein Beitrag zur Terminologie des ältesten syrischen Mönchtums. Studia Anselmiana, 38, pp. 254–267. ———., 1958. Asketentum und Mönchtum bei Ephraem. In: Il Monachesimo Orientale. Orientalia Christiana Analecta 153. Rome. pp. 341–362. ———. ed. and trans., 1961. Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones de Fide. CSCO 212–213. Louvain: Sécretariat du CorpusSCO (Peeters). Becker, A.H., 2006. Fear of God and the Beginning of Wisdom: The School of Nisibis and Christian Scholastic Culture in Late Antique Mesopotamia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

394

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Botha, P.J., 1989. Christology and Apology in Ephrem the Syrian. Hervormde Teologiese Studies, 45, pp. 19–29. ———., 1990. Theological Progress and Artistic Regress in the Hymns on Abraham Kidunaya Attributed to St. Ephrem. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 1, pp. 77–98. ———., 1991. The Poetic Face of Rhetoric: Ephrem’s Polemics against the Jews and Heretics in Contra Haereses XXV. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 2, pp. 16–36. ———., 1991. The Structure and Function of Paradox in the Hymns of Ephrem the Syrian. Ekklesiastikos Pharos, N.S., 73 (2), pp. 50–62. ———., 1992. ‘God in a Garment of Words’: The Metaphor of Metaphoric Language in Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymn ‘On Faith’ XXXI. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 3, pp. 63–79. ———., 1993. Cleansing of the Eye: Spiritual Vision and the Fast in Ephrem’s Hymns De Ieiunio. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 4, pp. 13–22. ———., 1996. Argument and Art in Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymn De Fide LXXVIII. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 7, pp. 21–36. ———., 1997. Textual Strategy in a Fourth-Century Syriac Hymn on the Life of the Ascetic Abraham of Kidun. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 8, pp. 42–52. ———., 1999. Honour and Shame as Pivotal Values in Ephrem the Syrian’s Vision of Paradise. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 10, pp. 49–65. ———., 2000. Social Values and Textual Strategy in Ephrem the Syrian’s Sixth Hymn on the Fast. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 11, pp. 22–32. ———., 2001. Contrast and Contrivance in Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymn De Virginitate XLIV. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 12, pp. 30–40. ———., 2002. The Paradox between Appearance and Truth in Ephrem the Syrian’s Hymn De Crucifixione IV. Acta Patristica et Byzantina, 13, pp. 34–49. Bou Mansour, T., 1988. La pensée symbolique de saint Éphrem le Syrien. Kaslik: Bibliothèque de l’Université Saint-Esprit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

395

Brakke, D., 1994. The Greek and Syriac Versions of the Life of Antony. Le Muséon, 107, pp. 29–53. ———., 1995. Athanasius and the Politics of Asceticism. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ———., 1998. Athanasius and Asceticism. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Brock, S., 1982. Clothing Metaphors as a Means of Theological Expression in Syriac Tradition. In: M. Schmidt & C.F. Geyer, eds. Typus, Symbol, Allegorie bei den östlichen Vätern und ihren Parallelen im Mittelalter. Eichstätter Beiträge 4. Regensburg: Pustet. pp. 11–39. ———. ed., 1982. Soghyatha Mgabbyatha. Holland: Monastery of St. Ephrem. ———., 1984. Syriac Dialogue Poems: Marginalia to a Recent Edition. Le Muséon, 97, pp. 29–58. ———., 1985. Syriac and Greek Hymnography: Problems of Origin. Studia Patristica, 16, pp. 77–81. ———., 1989. From Ephrem to Romanos. Studia Patristica, 20, pp. 139–151. ———. trans., 1990. Hymns on Paradise. Crestwood, New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press. ———., 1991. Syriac Dispute Poems: The Various Types. In: G.J. Reinink & H.L.J. Vanstiphout, eds. Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East: Forms and Types of Literary Debates in Semitic and Related Literatures. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 42. Leuven: Peeters. pp. 109–119. ———., 1992. The Luminous Eye: The Spiritual World Vision of Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Revised ed. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. ———., 1997. The Transmission of Ephrem’s Madrashe in the Syriac Liturgical Tradition. Studia Patristica, 33, pp. 490–505. ———., 1999. St. Ephrem in the Eyes of Later Syriac Liturgical Tradition. Hugoye, 2(1) [online] Available at: http://syrcom.cua.edu/hugoye/Vol2No1/HV2N1Brock.html. ———., 2008. Saints in Syriac: A Little-Tapped Resource. Journal of Early Christian Studies, 16(2), pp. 181–196.

396

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

———., 1973. Early Syrian Asceticism. Numen, 20, pp. 1–19. ———., 1976. Ephrem’s Letter to Publius. Le Muséon, 89, pp. 261– 305. Brock, S. & Harvey, S.A. eds, 2008. Holy Women of the Syrian Orient. [electronic edition]. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Library, Scholarly Publishing Office. Available through: http://hdl.handle.net.proxycu.wrlc.org/2027/heb.94258. Brock, S. & Kiraz, G. eds and trans, 2006. Ephrem the Syrian: Select Poems. Eastern Christian Texts 2. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. Brown, P., 1971. The Rise and Function of the Holy Man in Late Antiquity. The Journal of Roman Studies, 61, pp. 80–101. ———., 1982. Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity. Berkeley: University of California Press. ———., 1982. Town, Village, and Holy Man: The Case of Syria. In: Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity, Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 153–165. ———., 1988. Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. New York: Columbia University Press. Cameron, A., 1993. The Later Roman Empire: A.D. 284–430. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Caner, D., 2002. Wandering, Begging Monks: Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity. Berkeley: University of California Press. Chesnut, R., 1967. Three Monophysite Christologies: Severus of Antioch, Philoxenus of Mabbug, and Jacob of Sarug. London: Oxford University Press. Colless, B. ed., 2008. The Wisdom of the Pearlers: An Anthology of Syriac Christian Mysticism. Cistercian Studies 216. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. Crook, Z., 2009. Honor, Shame, and Social Status Revisited. Journal of Biblical Literature, 128(3), pp. 591–611. Daniélou, J., 1956. The Bible and the liturgy. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press. ———., 1961. Primitive Chrisitian Symbols. London: Burns & Gates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

397

———., 1960. From Shadows to Reality: Studies in Biblical Typology of the Fathers. London: Burns & Oates. De Halleux, A., 1974. La transmission des hymnes d’Éphrem d’aprés le ms. Sinai Syr. 10, f. 165o-178o. In: Symposium Syriacum 1972. Orientalia Christiana Analecta 197. Rome. pp. 21–63. ———. 1972., Une clé pour les hymnes d’Éphrem dans le MS. Sinai Syr. 10. Le Muséon, 85, pp. 171–199. De Stoop, E., 1911. Un mot sur les sources des Acta d’Abrahamios de Qiduna. Extrait du Musée Belge, XV, pp. 297–312. Den Biesen, K., 2006. Simple and Bold: Ephrem’s Art of Symbolic Thought. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press. Drijvers, H.J.W., 1984. East of Antioch: Forces and Structures in the Development of Early Syriac Theology. In: East of Antioch: Studies in Early Syriac Christianity. Variorum Collected Studies 198. London: Variorum Reprints. pp. 1–27. ———., 1992. Syrian Christianity and Judaism. In: J. Lieu, J. North & T. Rajak, eds. The Jews among Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire, New York: Routledge. pp. 124–146. ———., 1982. Facts and Problems in Early Syriac Speaking Christianity. Second Century, 2, pp. 157–175. ———., 1982. The Persistence of Pagan Cults and Practices in Christian Syria. In: N.G. Garsoïan, T.F. Matthews & R.W. Thomson, eds. East of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period, Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks. pp. 35– 43. ———., 1985. Jews and Christians at Edessa. Journal of Jewish Studies, 36(1), pp. 88–102. ———., 1987. Marcionism in Syria: Principles, Problems, Polemics. Second Century, 6 (3), pp. 153–172. ———., 1996. Early Syriac Christianity: Some Recent Publications. Vigiliae Christianae, 50(2), pp. 159–177. ———., nd. Christ as Warrior and Merchant: Aspects of Marcion’s Christology. Studia Patristica, 21, pp. 73–85. ———., 1994. Commentary on Genesis. In: E. Matthews & J. Amar, eds. St. Ephrem the Syrian: Selected Prose Works. Fathers of

398

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

the Church 91. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. pp. 67–213. ———., 1994. Letter to Publius. In: E. Matthews & J. Amar, eds. St. Ephrem the Syrian: Selected Prose Works. Fathers of the Church 91. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. pp. 335–355. Matthews, E. & Amar, J. eds and trans., 1994. St. Ephrem the Syrian: Selected Prose Works. Fathers of the Church 91. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. Foster, B.R. ed. and trans., 2005. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature. Potomac: CDL Press. Friedl, A., 2004. Ephräm der Syrer. In: W. Klein, ed. Syrische Kirchenväter. Kohlhammer Urban Taschenbücher 587. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer. pp. 36–56. Geljon, A.C., 2002. Philonic Exegesis in Gregory of Nyssa’s De Vita Moysis. Providence: Brown Judaic Studies. Goehring, J., 1999. Ascetics, Society, and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International. ———., 1999. The World Engaged: The Social and Economic World of Early Egyptian Monasticism. In: Ascetics, Society, and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism. Studies in Antiquity and Christianity. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International. pp. 39–52. Greenfield, J.C., 1965. Stylistic Aspects of the Sefire Treaty Inscriptions. Acta Orientalia, 29, pp. 1–18. ———., 1971. Scripture and Inscription: The Literary and Rhetorical Elements in Some Early Phoenician Inscriptions. In: H. Goedicke, ed. Near Eastern Studies in Honor of W.F. Albright, Baltimore. pp. 253–268. ———., 1971. The Zakir Inscription and the Danklied. In: Proceedings of the Fifth Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. pp. 332–339. ———., 1979. Early Aramaic Poetry. Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society, 11, pp. 45–51. ———., 1989. On Mandaic Poetic Technique. In: C.M.-K. M. Macuch, and B.G. Gragner, ed. Studia Semitica necnon Iranica

BIBLIOGRAPHY

399

‫ ביתה בנתה חכמת‬Rudolpho Macuch Septuagenario ab Amicis et Discipulis Dedicata, Wiesbaden. pp. 101–108. Griffin, C.W., 2011. Cyrillona: A Critical Study and Commentary. Unpubl. thesis. The Catholic University of America. Griffith, S.H., 1986. Ephraem, the Deacon of Edessa, and the Church of the Empire. In: T.H. Williman & J.P. Amar, eds. Diakonia: Studies in Honor of Robert T. Meyer, Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. pp. 22–52. ———., 1989. Images of Ephrem: the Syrian Holy Man and His Church. Traditio, 45, pp. 7–33. ———., 1991. ‘Singles’ in God’s Service: Thoughts on the Ihidaye from the Works of Aphrahat and Ephraem the Syrian. The Harp, 4 (1–3), pp. 145–159. ———., 1993. Monks, ‘Singles,’ and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’: Reflections on Syriac Ascetic Terminology. Studia Anselmiana, 110, pp. 141–160. ———., 1993. The Image of the Image Maker in the Poetry of St. Ephraem the Syrian. Studia Patristica, 25, pp. 258–269. ———., 1994. Julian Saba, “Father of the Monks” of Syria. Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2(2), pp. 185–216. ———., 1995. Asceticism in the Church of Syria: the Hermeneutics of Early Syrian Monasticism. In: V. Wimbush, ed. Asceticism, Oxford University Press. pp. 220–245. ———., 1997. Faith Adoring the Mystery: Reading the Bible with St. Ephraem the Syrian. Marquette University Press. ———., 1998. A Spiritual Father for the Whole Church: The Universal Appeal of St. Ephraem the Syrian. Hugoye, 1(2) [online] Available at: http://syrcom.cua.edu/hugoye/ Vol1No2/HV1N2Griffith.html, pp. 197–220. ———., 1999. Setting Right the Church of Syria: Saint Ephraem’s Hymns against Heresies. In: W.E. Klingshirn & M. Vessey, eds. The Limits of Ancient Christianity: Essays on Late Antique Thought and Culture in Honor of R.A. Markus, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. pp. 97–114. ———., 1999. The Marks of the ‘True Church’ according to Ephraem’s Hymns against Heresies. In: After Bardaisan: Studies on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honour of Professor

400

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Han J.W. Drijvers. Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 89. Leuven: Peeters. pp. 125–140. ———., 2002. Christianity in Edessa and the Syriac-Speaking World: Mani, Bar Daysan, and Ephraem: The Struggle for Allegiance on the Aramean Frontier. Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies, 2, pp. 5–20. ———., 2003. The Doctrina Addai as a Paradigm of Christian Thought in Edessa in the Fifth Century. Hugoye, 6 [online] Available at: http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/ HV6N2Griffith.html. ———., 2004. Abraham Qîdūnāyâ, St. Ephraem the Syrian, and Early Monasticism in the Syriac-speaking World. In: D. Hombergen & M. Bielawski, eds. Il Monachesimo tra Eredità e Aperture. Studia Anselmiana 140. Rome. pp. 239–264. ———., 2008. Syriac/Antiochene Exegesis in Saint Ephrem’s Teaching Songs De Paradiso: The ‘Types of Paradise’ in the ‘Treasury of Revelations’. In: R.D. Miller, ed. Syriac and Antiochian Exegesis and Biblical Theology for the 3rd Millennium. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 6. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 27–52. Haas, C., 2008. Mountain Constantines: The Christianization of Aksum and Iberia. Journal of Late Antiquity, 1 (1), pp. 101–126. Harvey, S.A., 1988. The Sense of a Stylite: Perspectives on Simeon the Elder. Vigiliae Christianae, 42(4), pp. 376–394. ———., 1990. Asceticism and Society in Crisis: John of Ephesus and the Lives of the Eastern Saints. Berkeley: University of California Press. ———., 1998. St. Ephrem on the Scent of Salvation. Journal of Theological Studies, n.s., 49(1), pp. 109–128. ———., 2005. Revisiting the Daughters of the Covenant: Women’s Choirs and Sacred Song in Ancient Syriac Christianity. Hugoye, 8(2) [online] Available at: http://bethmardutho.org/index.php/hugoye/volume-index/ 166.html. Hausherr, I., 1982. Penthos: The Doctrine of Compunction in the Christian East. Kalamzoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

401

Heinthaler, T., 2004. Philoxenos von Mabbug. In: W. Klein, ed. Syrische Kirchenväter. Kohlhammer Urban Taschenbücher, no. 587. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer. pp. 180–190. Lieu, J., North, J. & Rajak, T. eds, 1992. The Jews among Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire. New York: Routledge. Juckel, A., 2009. Research on the Old Syriac Heritage of the Peshitta Gospels: A Collation of Ms. Bibl. Nationale Syr. 30 (Paris). Hugoye, 12(1) [online] Available at: syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol12No1/HV12N1Juckel.pdf. Kitchen, R.A. & Martien F. G. Parmentier eds and trans, 2004. The Book of Steps: The Syriac Liber Graduum. Cistercian Studies 196. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. Klein, W. ed., 2004. Die Syrische Kirchenväter. Kohlhammer UrbanTaschenbücher 587. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer. Lamy, T.J., 1891. Acta Abraham Kidunaiae. Analecta Bollandiana, 10, pp. 10–49. Lange, C., 2004. Jakob von Sarug. In: W. Klein, ed. Die Syrische Kirchenväter, Syrische Kirchenväter. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. pp. 217–227. Lanham, R.A., 1991. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. 2d ed. Berkeley: University of California Press. Lattke, M., 1989. Sind Ephraems Madrāšê Hymnen? Oriens Christianus, 73, pp. 38–43. Malina, B.J., 1981. The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology. Atlanta: John Knox Press. ———., 2001. The New Testament World: Insights From Cultural Anthropology. 3d ed. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. Martikainen, J., 1974. Some Remarks about the Carmina Nisibena as a Literary and a Theological Source. In: Symposium Syriacum 1972. Orientalia Christiana Analecta 197. Rome. pp. 345–351. Matthews, E., 1988. The Vita Tradition of Ephrem the Syrian, the Deacon of Edessa. Diakonia, 22, pp. 15–42. McVey, K., 1999. Were the Earliest Madrāšê Songs or Recitations? In: G.J. Reinink & A.C. Klugkist, eds. After Bardaisan: Studies on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honour of Professor Han J.W. Drijvers. Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 89. 185–199.

402

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

———., 2001. Ephrem the Syrian’s Use of Female Metaphors to Describe the Deity. Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum, 5 (2), pp. 261–288. Miller, R.D. ed., 2008. Syriac and Antiochian Exegesis and Biblical Theology for the 3rd Millennium. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 6. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. Moffett, S., 1998. A History of Christianity in Asia. rev. and corr. ed. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Momigliano, A., 1993. The Development of Greek Biography. expanded ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Morrison, C.E., 2008. The Bible in the Hands of Aphrahat the Persian Sage. In: R.D. Miller, ed. Syriac and Antiochian Exegesis and Biblical Theology for the 3rd Millennium. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 6. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. pp. 1–25. Murray, R., 1974. The Exhortation to Candidates for Ascetical Vows at Baptism in the Ancient Syriac Church. New Testament Studies, 21, pp. 59–80. ———., 1977. Some Rhetorical Patterns in Early Syriac Literature. In: R.H. Fischer, ed. A Tribute to Arthur Vööbus: Some Studies in Early Christian Literature and its Environment, Primarily in the Syrian East, Chicago. pp. 109–131. ———., 1982. The Characteristics of the Earliest Syriac Christianity. In: N.G. Garsoïan, T.F. Matthews & R. Thomson, eds. East of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period, Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks. pp. 3– 16. ———., 1983. Hellenistic-Jewish Rhetoric in Aphrahat. In: R. Lavenant, ed. III Symposum Syriacum 1980. Orientalia Christiana Analecta 221. Rome. pp. 79–85. ———., 1999. Circumcision of the Heart and the Origins of the Qyama. In: G.J. Reinink & A.C. Klugkist, eds. After Bardaisan: Studies on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honor of Professor Han J. W. Drijvers. Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 89. Leuven: Peeters. pp. 201–211. ———., 2004. Symbols of Church and Kingdom: A Study in Early Syriac Tradition. revised ed. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

403

———., 2004. The Paradox of God’s Hiddenness and Accessibility in St. Ephrem. New Blackfriars, 85, pp. 158–162. ———., 1975. The Theory of Symbolism in St. Ephrem’s Theology. Parole de l’Orient, 6/7, pp. 1–20. O’Keefe, J.J. & Reno, R.R., 2005. Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Olinder, G. ed., 1937. Jacobi Sarugensis epistulae quotquot supersunt. Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium 110, Scriptores Syri, T. 57. Paris: Typographeum Reipublicae. ———., 1939. The Letters of Jacob of Sarug: Comments on an Edition. Lund & Leipzig: C.W.K. Gleerup & Otto Harrassowitz. Outtier, B., 1975. Contribution a l’étude de la préhistoire des collections d’hymnes d’Ephrem. Parole de l’Orient, 6/7, pp. 49– 61. Palmer, A., 1995. Words, Silences, and the Silent Word: Acrostics and Empty Columns in Saint Ephraem’s Hymns on Faith. Parole de l’Orient, 20, pp. 129–200. ———. 2002. Akrostic Poetry: Restoring Ephraim’s Madroshe. The Harp, 15, pp. 275–287. ———. 2003. Restoring the ABC in Ephraim’s Cycles on Faith and Paradise. Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, 55 (3–4), pp. 147–194. ———. 2006. Interpolated Stanzas in Ephraim’s Madroshe LXVI– LXVIII on Faith. Oriens Christianus, 90 (1), pp. 1–22. ———. 2009. Interpolated Stanzas in Ephraim’s Madroshe III– VII on Faith. Oriens Christianus, 93, pp. 1–27. Parisot, J. ed., 1894. Aphraatis Sapientis Persae Demonstrationes I– XXII. Patrologia Syriaca 1.1–2. Paris Payne Smith, R. ed., 1981. Thesaurus Syriacus. Hildesheim and New York: Georg Olms. Pereira, A. S. Rodrigues., 1997. Studies in Aramaic Poetry (c. 100 B.C.E. – c. 600 C.E): Selected Jewish, Christian, and Samaritan Poems. Assen: Van Gorcum.

404

ICONS OF THE HEAVENLY MERCHANT

Phenix, R.R., 2008. The Sermons on Joseph of Balai of Qenneshrin: Rhetoric and Interpretation in Fifth Century Syriac Literature. Tübingen: Mohr Sieback. Pinggéra, K., 2004. Rabbula von Edessa. In: W. Klein, ed. Die Syrische Kirchenväter. Kohlhammer Urban-Taschenbücher. Stuttgart: Verlag W. Kohlhammer. pp. 57–70. Possekel, U., 1999. Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian. Peeters Publishers. Reinink, G.J. & Vanstiphout, H.L.J. eds, 1991. Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Mediaeval Near East: Forms and Types of Literary Debates in Semitic and Related Literatures. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 42. Leuven: Peeters. Ross, S.K., 2000. Roman Edessa: Politics and Culture on the Eastern Fringes of the Roman Empire, 114–242 C.E. Routledge. Rousseau, P., 1999. Pachomius: The Making of a Community in FourthCentury Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press. Russell, P., 1994. St. Ephraem the Syrian and St. Gregory the Theologian Confront the Arians. Kottayam: Sahas, D.J., 1994. Cultural Interaction during the Ummayad Period: The ‘Circle’ of John of Damascus. ARAM, 6, pp. 35–66. Saint-Laurent, J.-N., 2009. Apostolic Memories: Religious Differentiation and the Construction of Orthodoxy in Syriac Missionary Litterature. Unpubl. thesis. Brown University. Schirmann, J., 1953. Hebrew Liturgical Poetry and Christian Hymnology. Jewish Quarterly Review, 44, pp. 123–161. Schiwietz, S., 1938. Das morgenländische Mönchtum. Dritter Band: Das Mönchtum in Syrien und Mesopotamien und das Aszetentum in Persien. Wien: Mödling. Shepardson, C., 2008. Anti-Judaism and Christian Orthodoxy: Ephrem’s Hymns in Fourth-Century Syria. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. Sokoloff, M. ed., 2009. A Syriac Lexicon: A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brokelmann’s Lexicon Syriacum. Piscataway, New Jersey & Winona Lake, Indiana: Gorgias Press & Eisenbrauns. Sokoloff, M. & Yahalom, J., 1985. Aramaic Piyyutim from the Byzantine Period. Jewish Quarterly Review, 75, pp. 309–321.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

405

Sprengling, M., 1916. Antonius Rhetor on Versification with an Introduction and Two Appendices. The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, 32(3), pp. 145–216. Sterk, A., 1998. On Basil, Moses, and the Model Bishop: The Cappadocian Legacy of Leadership. Church History, 67 (2), pp. 227–253. Suh, W., 2000. From the Syriac Ephrem to the Greek Ephrem: A Case Study of the Influence of Ephrem’s Isosyllabic Sermons (memre) on Greek-speaking Christianity. Unpubl. thesis. Princeton Theological Seminary. 1974. Symposium Syriacum 1972. Orientalia Christiana Analecta, 197. Price, R.M. trans., 1985. History of the Monks of Syria. Cistercian Studies 88. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. Thyen, H., 1955. Der Stil der Jüdisch-Hellenistischen Homilie. Göttingen. Van Rompay, L., 2004. Mallpânâ dilan Suryâyâ: Ephrem in the Works of Philoxenus of Mabbog: Respect and Distance. Hugoye, 7 [online] Available at: http://syrcom.cua.edu/ Hugoye/Vol7No1/HV7N1VanRompay.html#FNRef38. Vööbus, A., 1958. Literary Critical and Historical Studies in Ephrem the Syrian. Stockholm: ———., 1958. History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, vol. I. CSCO, Subsidia 184. Louvain: Peeters. Whitby, M., 1998. The Propaganda of Power: The Role of Panegyric in Late Antiquity. Brill. Wifstrand, A., 1948. The Homily of Melito on the Passion. Vigiliae Christianae, 2, pp. 201–231. Wright, N.T., 1992. The New Testament and the People of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ———., 2013. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Yousif, P., 1978. St Ephrem on Symbols in Nature: Faith, the Trinity and the Cross (Hymns on Faith, no 18). Eastern Churches Review, 10, pp. 52–60. Zuntz, G., 1952. Melito: Syriac? Vigiliae Christianae, 6 (4), pp. 193– 201.