Jacob of Sarug's Homily Concerning the Red Heifer and the Crucifixion of our Lord 9781463244729

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Jacob of Sarug’s Homily Concerning the Red Heifer and the Crucifixion of our Lord

Texts from Christian Late Antiquity

78 Series Editor George Anton Kiraz

TeCLA (Texts from Christian Late Antiquity) is a series presenting ancient Christian texts both in their original languages and with accompanying contemporary English translations.

Jacob of Sarug’s Homily Concerning the Red Heifer and the Crucifixion of our Lord

Edited and Translated by

Demetrios Alibertis

gp 2022

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2022 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. ‫ܛ‬

1

2022

ISBN 978-1-4632-4471-2

ISSN 1935-6846

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is available from the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America

TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................... v Introduction ................................................................................. 1 Summary ............................................................................ 11 Text and Translation .................................................................. 13 Memra 77: Concerning the Red Heifer which is commanded in the Law to be burnt in place of the sins of the assembly: And concerning the Crucifixion of our Lord ............................................... 14 Bibliography ............................................................................... 55 Ancient Sources .................................................................. 55 Modern Sources .................................................................. 55 Index of Biblical References ....................................................... 57

v

INTRODUCTION INFORMATION ON THIS HOMILY

Homily Title: Concerning the Red Heifer which is commanded in the Law to be burnt in place of the sins of the assembly: And concerning the Crucifixion of our Lord. Source of Text: Homiliae Selectae Mar-Jacobi Sarugensis, edited by Paul Bedjan (Paris-Leipzig: Harrassowitz, 1907, 2nd ed. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2006), vol. 3, pp. 242–259. [Homily 77] Lines: 344

In his seventy-seventh mimrō, Jacob of Sarug expounds on one of the most intriguing and puzzling sacrifices commanded in the Hebrew Bible, the red heifer slaughter ritual in Numbers 19. In this rite, the Israelites were instructed to take a perfect, unblemished, red heifer, upon which no yoke was ever laid, and to deliver it to the priest who would remove it from the camp. Outside of the camp, the heifer was slaughtered before the priest who would, thereafter, take some of the blood and sprinkle it towards the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, seven times. After the sprinkling of the blood, the entire animal, was completely immolated. The priest, as instructed, threw into the great conflagration which consumed the heifer three items – cedar wood, hyssop and a piece of wool material dyed scarlet. At the end of this process, the ashes of the animal were collected by an individual who was ritually pure and were stored in a clean place to be used by the Israelites to purify themselves and their dwellings from corpse impurity. Jacob examines all aspects of the brief chapter, but focuses especially on the enigma of the ritual; while the ashes of the red heifer were supposed to have a purga1

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

tive effect and, as such, were to be used to expunge impurity from those who had come into contact with a corpse or grave, all involved in the sacrifice itself were rendered unclean by it for the duration of the day. The officiating priest and all other participants were permitted to re-enter the camp of the Israelites in the evening, only after having washed their clothing and having bathed themselves. It is on this very puzzling and contradictory situation that Mar Jacob is able to skillfully weave together a typological interpretation of the narrative, portraying every feature of the ritual as being a type (tupsō), or a symbol (rōzō), or a shadow (ṭelōnitō) that depicts (ṣōar) Christ’s passion, blood and death. For Jacob, the entire story is a prefigurement of Christ’s death and its ability to restore and permanently purify all who enter the church through baptism. Jacob’s mimrō ‘On the Red Heifer’ consists of 172 stanzas written in dodecasyllabic meter and was divided into ten sections by Bedjan in his critical edition. 1 In section 1 (lines 1–36), Jacob begins with a rhetorical preamble in which he declares his inability to approach the subject matter. He begins by stating how he is approaching the treasury of God’s mysteries to make trade with it (lmettagōru). Jacob requests that God give him the ability to understand the many symbols of the narrative and he, in turn, will reveal the mysteries to his audience. There are three interconnected elements in this introductory section which are notable. First, Jacob claims that that the Son of God is alluded to many times in Moses’ writings, and how the mystery of the crucifixion and the image of Christ’s death are portrayed through the medium of the various sufferings portrayed in Scripture (15–16; 19–30). Second, Jacob claims that it is only through divine revelation that one can comprehend the meaning Bedjan based his edition on two manuscripts: (a) London, British Library, Add. 14,725, f. 29aff; (b) Oxford, Bodleian Library, Cat. 135 (= Pococke 404), f. 379aff. See Paulus Bedjan, ed., Homiliae Selectae MarJacobi Sarugensis, (vol. 3; Paris-Leipzig 1905; 2nd ed. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2006), V-XIV. 1

INTRODUCTION

3

of Scriptures (3–6; 9–14; 17–18). Finally, the element of the Eucharist is brought into the introduction and is portrayed, albeit somewhat cryptically at this point, as being the true source of understanding (5–8; 17–18). It is only later in the mimrō that a typological association will be made between the ritual and the Eucharist. Section 2 (lines 37–66) begins by depicting Moses as an artist who used choice pigments of prophecy (gawne gbayō danbiutō) to depict Christ throughout the Scriptures (37–38). Jacob claims that the blood sacrifices of the Hebrew Bible prepared the road of the crucifixion and honored the great slaughter of Christ that was to tread on the same path (39–42). Jacob sees the cross of Jesus and the crucifixion prefigured (metnaṣar) in all the sin-offerings involving blood in Scripture, especially as the blood of the animal, such as that of the heifer, had the ability to atone one from sin and to purify the elect of God (41–48). Jacob finishes the section by warning his audience that if they are attached to worldly possessions and do not approach the story in love, they will neither be able to understand the symbols nor see the hidden things therein. One must be fully immersed in love for God and lean towards God, in order for them to understand the mysteries depicted (49–64). Section 3 (lines 67–90) is simply a restatement of the biblical narrative as found in the Bible. Section 4 (lines 91–134) commences with a plea to Moses to reveal what the true meaning of the narrative and its symbols are. It is from line 99 onwards where the meaning of the ritual finally begins to be deciphered. Jacob begins his interpretation with a display of amazement at the external form of the sacrifice. He claims how the color of the heifer alone suffices to proclaim a slaughtering (99–100). Subsequently, Jacob expresses his amazement at how the sacrifice of the heifer, whose purpose is to purify those who are ritually unclean, renders the officiating priest impure (117– 134). He rationalizes that the entire rite must be a symbol of sorts, otherwise this enigma cannot be accounted for. He proceeds to attack the Jewish nation for preferring the symbols of Scripture to the Lord of the symbols. One of the key features of this section is Jacob describing the ritual as being nothing more

4

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

than a shadow, a term he will use six times in total throughout the homily. For Jacob, the efficacy of the rite rested in the fact that it was a shadow of the Son of God (bṭelōniteh dbar alōhō). He plays on a shadow-body analogy and shows himself as being puzzled at how the Jewish people could love the shadow but hate the great body (gušmō rabō) casting the shadow – the Lord Himself (109–114). In section 5 (lines 135–180), Jacob proceeds to question the conundrum of the narrative. He presents a brief, fictional dialogue wherein he asks the priest what the source of his impurity is. When the priest replies that the offering he made was the cause of his own defilement, Jacob logically assumes that if this were the case, then the animal itself would have had to been defiled (135–140). He then proceeds to cast the narrative through the lens of Christian typological exegesis, but not before portraying the cross of Jesus as a key through which the hidden things of Scripture are revealed. Beginning with the color of the animal as itself being an indicator that the rite gestures towards its being a portrayal of Christ’s slaughter, Jacob goes on to juxtapose the themes of life and death. He maintains that the reason the heifer was red was so that it would signify both life and death simultaneously: while the animal symbolizes death through its color, yet is it alive and moves towards its death. He interprets the simultaneous presence of life and death in the yetalive heifer as an image of Christ, in whose death life sprung forth for the world (153–166). Jacob also interprets the color of the animal and its movement towards the place of its slaughter as a symbol of the injured Christ going towards His death (173– 178). He summarizes these points well in the final verses of the section: “He poured forth on it a color which proclaimed heavily the death [of the Son], and he proclaimed it a sacrifice that through it he would purify those who are unclean” (179–180). In section 6 (lines 181–216), Jacob delineates the meaning of the other three materials used in the rite: the hyssop, the scarlet dye, and the cedarwood. According to the homilist, these items were intended to increase the symbolic imagery of the narrative in order to make undisputedly clear that all elements of the rite foreshadowed the crucifixion. As such, the mingling

INTRODUCTION

5

of hyssop, a symbol of purity, with the wool of scarlet dye, another representation of blood, was intended to portray the image of pure blood so as to depict the pure blood of Christ which was shed at the crucifixion (185–188; 195–198). As for the cedarwood, this was included in order to portray the wood of the cross on which the slaughter occurred (189–194). After providing his interpretation on these items and their role in the ritual, Jacob again asks a series of rhetorical questions whose purpose is to confirm the symbolic value of these very elements (211– 216). In section 7 (lines 217–252), Jacob continues interpreting other aspects of the ritual, providing for the audience his most comprehensive assessment of the narrative yet. He begins by describing how the removal of the heifer from the camp to be slaughtered outside is a type of Jesus being crucified outside the city of Jerusalem. Jacob sees the priest going outside the camp with the heifer as a likeness of the Lord who was brought out by the priests to be slayed (233–236). Furthermore, just as the heifer that was slaughtered outside the camp of Israel became a source of sanctification for Israel, so too was Christ’s death outside the city walls of Jerusalem a source of sanctification for Israel and the whole world (237–238). Furthermore, Jacob reiterates in this section two typological links already seen earlier in the commentary; the cedarwood brought out of the camp is an image of the cross carried by Jesus to the place of his execution, and the heifer going towards its death while red is a symbol of the Lord going towards His death with His body spotted red with blood from the scourging He had endured (239–242). Finally, Jacob explains the conundrum of the priest becoming defiled from the sacrifice that conveys purity. It is a symbol of the priests who delivered Christ to death and were made impure from the act, even though the sacrifice itself effected purgation for the entire world (243–244). Jacob finishes the section by comparing the water in which the heifer’s ashes were mixed in order to be sprinkled, with the water which gushed forth from Jesus’ pierced side (245–248). He is able to create this connection on account of the water being a medium of transference for purity in both situations. In the case of the heifer, it is mixed in

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

water for the priest to sprinkle on those suffering from corpse impurity, while for the church, the water flowing from Christ’s side is the baptism which purifies and renews the person. 2 Section 8 (lines 253–286) transitions into Jacob discussing the power of the church’s sprinkling and how it is superior to the sprinkling of the heifer’s ashes. It is not easy, however, to decipher Jacob’s use of the word sprinkling (rsōsō) in the verses here. Whereas in the previous section the ceremonial sprinkling referred to the entirety of Christ’s sacrifice, with an emphasis on the blood and water which flowed from His side, here it seems to be alluding to both the overall sacrifice and baptism. This is especially made evident in lines 259–260 and 265–266, where Jacob discusses the restorative properties of this sprinkling. This new sanctification is able to regenerate the individual: the harlot becomes a virgin; the old man becomes a youth. Yet, in lines 261–264, it is referring to biblical figures for whom the act of While Jacob does not explicitly state that the water at the crucifixion is a type for baptism, this is implied on account of the following. First, in stating that the water coming out of Jesus is, alongside the blood, able to purify, he creates a strong typological association between the crucifixion, baptism and the Eucharist, a connection well-attested to in the early Syriac exegetical tradition. Furthermore, in his mimrō on the Partaking of the Holy Mysteries [Homily 95], Jacob makes clear the baptismal dimension of the Eucharist which begins with the piercing of Christ’s side on Golgotha (lines 19–44). This close connection between the crucifixion and Christian baptism is seen many times also in Ephrem’s poetry. See for example, Hymns on the Nativity 16.10; Hymns on Virginity 15.6, 21.9, 30.10; Nisibene Hymns 39.7; and Hymns on Epiphany 7.1–3. For an overview of this issue, see Sebastian P. Brock, “Baptismal Themes in the writings of Jacob of Serug,” in Symposium Syriacum (vol. 205 in Orientalia Christiana Analecta; Rome: Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1978), 325–47; and Brock “Some Important Baptismal Themes in the Syriac Tradition,” Harp 4 (1991): 189–214. For Jacob’s homily on the Holy Mysteries, see Amir Harrak, trans., Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on the Partaking of the Holy Mysteries (vol. 19 of Texts from Christian Late Antiquity; ed. George A. Kiraz; Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2013). 2

INTRODUCTION

7

baptism was not applicable. The context of these verses would indicate that the sprinkling also refers to the grace of the overall redemptive act of the crucifixion. Further on, Jacob interprets the priest sprinkling blood seven times towards the Tabernacle as an instruction to the people to guard the seven gates of their soul (280). 3 He, of course, instructs that this guarding can only be accomplished through the cross, by acquiring God’s color in the soul, and kindling one’s soul towards God (283–286). Thus, the cedarwood, the scarlet dye and the fire of the offering are symbols of what one requires to safeguard the soul from the dangers of the stranger (nukrōyō) seeking to enter therein. In section 9 (lines 287–318), Jacob merges the mystery of the Eucharist into this concept of the church’s sprinkling. He presents a typological association between the great fire in which the heifer is entirely consumed and the Eucharistic bread. Within three stanzas, Jacob successfully creates such a connection by comparing the purifying properties of fire with that of the bread of the Son (295–298; 301–302). He conceives the Eucharistic bread as being infused with a cathartic fire that purifies It is difficult to know from where Jacob inherited the idea of the soul having seven gates, as no other patristic authority, Syriac or otherwise, mentions this. While there is a symbolic use of the number seven throughout the scriptures (see for example Isaiah 11:1–3, Zechariah 3:9, 4:10, and Revelations 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6), at no point is it used to refer to the senses or the gates of the soul. There is, however, the possibility that Jacob may in fact be transmitting here a tradition found circulating in Jewish mystical circles during his time. Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest of kabbalistic texts believed by most scholars to have been compiled between the second and sixth centuries CE, contains such a teaching. The anonymous author believes that God took the seven letters of the Hebrew Bible that take a dagesh (BGD KPRT) and therefore had two modes of pronunciation, and molded from their special nature the seven planets of the universe, the seven days in the week, and the seven gates of the soul: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. See Sefer Yetzirah 4:6–14 in Aryeh Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation (Rev. ed.; Boston: Weiser Books, 1997), 167–184. 3

8

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

the individual receiving it. These ideas resonate strongly with those seen in some of Ephrem’s works, most notably in several of his hymns. 4 Furthermore, Jacob equates the purified site on which the heifer is slaughtered and burnt with the church wherein the bread of the Lord is distributed affectionately towards all her children (300–301). Again, as seen in earlier sections, he compares the strength of the shadow with that of the antitype, the very substance of the Lord (305–306). He finishes by comparing the old purification rite with the new. Jacob claims the current process for being renewed is superior to the old as there is no longer a need for any of the old prescriptions. The cross alone suffices to purify and give life as it is both the embodiment and the summation of all the old sacrifices (307– 318). Section 10 (lines 319–344) continues in the theme established at the end of the previous section. Jacob continues to emphasize how the church no longer requires the animals of the past in order to purify someone. Bulls and heifers are useless as it is the blood of Christ and the cross which make whole the individual. He makes a powerful statement when he claims that God does not desire any material object but rather the person’s being alone (323–324). In the last section, Jacob goes into an anti-Jewish rhetoric wherein he asks the Jewish people to cease serving the shadows of the past and to accept enlightenment through the cross. He tells them that they are defiled on account of having sacrificed Christ but that they can become purified on

See hymns 10 and 19 from Ephrem’s Hymns on Faith cycle in Jeffrey T. Wickes, trans. St. Ephrem the Syrian: The Hymns on Faith (vol. 130 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation; ed. David G. Hunter et al.; Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 2015), 121–5, 151–3. For a discussion of fire imagery in connection with offerings, the Holy Spirit, and the Eucharist, see Sebastian P. Brock, “Fire from Heaven: from Abel’s Sacrifice to the Eucharist,” in Fire from Heaven: Studies in Syriac Theology and Liturgy (vol. 863 of Variorum Collected Studies Series; London: Ashgate Variorum, 2006), 229–243. 4

INTRODUCTION

9

account of this same sacrifice (325–340). 5 He finishes the section by claiming how accepting Christ does not mean that one abolishes the law (341–342). In summary, this homily is an exegetical piece, typical of the patristic age, which situates a rite described in the Hebrew Bible within a Christian type-antitype interpretive framework. Jacob’s objective is to juxtapose the symbols with what he perceives to be their respective realities, in order to show that the complex and enigmatic red heifer rite can be easily understood in light of Christ’s passion and death. Staying true to patristic typology, Jacob’s objective is to display for his audience the weak and temporary efficacy of the symbol in the old ritual against the enduring and permanent strength of Christ’s sacrifice in the New Testament. Indeed, the ashes of the heifer had the ability to purify, but the purity it bestowed on its recipient was temporary since encountering another corpse or grave would return the individual back into a state of impurity, requiring the purification-process to be repeated. But Christ’s sacrifice, according to Jacob, brings about a permanent state of purity for those willing to be sprinkled by his blood, since it is the summation of all offerings prescribed in the Old Covenant. Being the epitome of all past biblical sacrifices, Christ’s offering has the ability to purify indefinitely not only corpse impurity, but all The statements of Jacob in this section resonate strongly with the remarks of Aphrahat in his fourth Demonstration. Aphrahat states that the Jews have been stained red on account of the blood of Christ and of the prophets, and can be cleansed only through baptism and their participation in the Eucharist. He also stresses that the sacrifices of old are rejected and God now requires a spiritual offering – prayer. He writes, “Blood is atoned for by the Blood, and body is purified by the Body. Sins are washed away in water, and prayer speaks with [God's] majesty. Observe, my friend, that sacrifices and offerings have been rejected, and that prayer has been chosen instead.” Adam Lehto, The Demonstrations of Aphrahat, the Persian Sage (Vol. 27 of Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies; ed. George A. Kiraz et al.; Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2010), 4:19 (144–5). 5

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

forms of defilement, and to wholly renew the individual. For Jacob, the heifer possessed power to purify, not on account of some innate property it contained. Rather, the purgative properties of its ashes rested solely in the symbol which was portrayed by the rite. The ashes were able to cleanse only because the animal’s ritualistic slaughter was a type of the slaying which would purify the world – the crucifixion. Thus, through the power of the cross, operating by means of the heifer and the other prescribed animals, was sanctification possible in the Old Testament. Jacob is certainly not the first church writer to comment on the red heifer ritual. The late first/early second century CE Epistle of Barnabas is the earliest document to append a Christological interpretation to the rite. 6 While the treatment of the topic in this piece is quite brief, it does establish the ritual as a type of the crucifixion. Later patristic authorities to also deal with this narrative in more detail include Epiphanius of Salamis, Theodoret of Cyrus and Cyril of Alexandria, the latter two of which portray the ritual as a prefigurement of Christ’s death and the purification that this sacrifice brought about for the entire world. 7 Given the number of times Cyril of Alexandria deals with the matter, his consistent typological application of Christ’s passion and death to the various components of the narrative, as well as the fact that he was an author whom both the Chalcedonians and Anti-Chalcedonians respected and utilized, it is possible to surmise that he served as the inspiration for Jacob’s Barnabas, Epistola Catholica VIII (PG 2:748A-749A). Epiphanius, Panarion (PG 41:457C-460B); Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyrorum in Numeros Liber (PG 69:623B-636C); Cyril of Alexandria, Commentarius in Oseam Prophetam (PG 71:125A-B); Cyril of Alexandria, Commentarius in Malachiam Prophetam (PG 72:309A-B); Cyril of Alexandria, Collectanea: Ex Libro Numerorum (PG 77:1225A-1232B); Theodoret, Quaestiones in Numeros XIX: Interrogatio XXXV & XXXVI (PG 80:385A-388A); Theodoret, Interpretatio Epistolae ad Hebraeos XIII (PG 82:781C-D); Theodoret, Eranistes Seu Polymorphus: Impatibilis, Dialogus III (PG 83:253A-B); 6 7

INTRODUCTION

11

treatment of the topic. However, there are marked differences between the two authors. Aside the obvious difference that Cyril writes in prose while Jacob writes in verse, Jacob examines Numbers 19 to a degree not seen in either Cyril or any of the other church author. His verbose and detailed treatment of the story is such that makes it the preeminent commentary of the ritual throughout the entire patristic world. In closing, I would like to mention the following. First, I am indebted to Amir Harrak, Professor of Aramaic and Syriac studies at the University of Toronto, for his invaluable insights on this difficult text and for his suggestions on my translation. Second, it is important to mention that an English translation of this mimrō was already made many years ago by David J. Lane (1935–2005), former Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto. 8 I am especially honored to have obtained my Ph.D. at the very school and department which once housed this extraordinary scholar, and which continues to be one of the few places worldwide wherein one can study the Syriac language and culture. It is hoped that the introduction and translation presented in this fascicle, both made independently of any and all previous scholarship on the matter, will generate or renew interest in the patristic, typologicalinterpretive approach applied to this obscure and perplexing biblical ritual by one of the greatest poet-exegetes of the Eastern Church – Mar Jacob.

SUMMARY

1. Opening Invocation (1–36)

2. Moses’ Writings Filled with Symbols of the Son of God (37– 66) 3. Numbers 19 – The Red Heifer Ritual (67–90)

David J. Lane, “Jacob of Sarug: On the Red Heifer,” Harp 15 (2002): 25–42. 8

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

4. The Ritual as a Prefiguration of the Crucifixion and of the Crucifiers (91–134) 5. An Inquiry into the Enigmatic Nature of the Ritual (135– 180) 6. The Hyssop, Scarlet Dye, and Cedarwood as Intensifiers of the Symbol (181–216) 7. An Interpretation on the Priest Becoming Unclean After the Slaughter of the Heifer (217–252) 8. An Invitation to the Jews to Observe the Superior Strength of the Church’s Sprinkling (253–286) 9. The Eucharistic Association with the Ritual (287–318) 10. Closing Remarks – An Invitation to the Jews to Cease Serving Shadows and to Accept Jesus’ Sacrifice in Order to be Purified (319–344)

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

13

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

MEMRA 77:

CONCERNING THE RED HEIFER WHICH IS COMMANDED IN THE

LAW TO BE BURNT IN PLACE OF THE SINS OF THE ASSEMBLY 1:

AND CONCERNING THE CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD 1

5

10

Behold, I approach the treasury of Your mysteries to make trade [with it]. Grant me an abundance from the wealth of Your crucifixion! My mind conceives the suffering of Your death, O Son of God. Through the pangs of Your slaughter, may it beget the discourse of truth. 2 Your blood moves greatly in me; I shall mingle the wine of Your sacrifice. Pour it in me and I will irrigate the thirsty nations from Your fount! Mingle Your new and divine wine without sparing, for while they are guarding it and are being guarded by it, they will be entrusted to You. Grant me a word, not that I am going to contain Your hiddenness, but that I may speak in wonder, for You are unfathomable. The waves of Your discourses kick me violently as I bathe within the raging seas. Grant me your hand, O Lord of the seas, that I may be drawn out by it! Your mysteries surround me like legions of all sorts of warriors, and each one pulled me to speak to me concerning Your revelations.

1 2

[Editor’s note]: Numbers 19:1–10 London [L]: ‫“ ܕܫܪܝܪܘܬܟ‬your truth.”

‫‪15‬‬

‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܺܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܡܪ ܐ ‪.‬ܥܙ‪.‬‬ ‫ܳܽ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܩܬܐ‪ܰ :‬ܕ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܬ ܐܩܕܰ‬ ‫ܦܩܝܕ ܒܢܡܘܣܐ‬ ‫ܕܥܠ�ܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܣܘܡ‬ ‫ܳ ̈ܶ ̇ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܚܠܦ ܚܛܗܝܗ ܕܟܢܘܫܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܥܠ ܙܩܝܦܗ ܕܡܪܢ‪.‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬

‫‪5‬‬

‫‪10‬‬

‫ܰ ܳ ܳܰ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫�ܡܬܬ ܳܓ ܽܪܘ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܓܙ ܐ ܕܐ� ܙܝܟ ܗܐ ܩܪܒ ܐܢܐ‬ ‫̱ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܽ ̱ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܗܒ ܺܠܝ ܡ�ܘܐܐ ܡܢ ܗܘ ܥܘܬܪ ܐ ܕܙܩܝܦܘܬܟ܀‬ ‫ܰܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܛܢܐ ܰܬ ܺ‬ ‫ܘܬܟ ܳܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܥܝܬ ̱ܝ ܰܒܪ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫�ܚܫܐ ܕܡ‬ ‫ܶ ̈ܶ ܶ ܳ ܺ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܰܺ ܳܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܒ� ܕܩܛܠܟ ܬܐܠܕ ܡܐܡܪܐ ܕܫܪܝ�ܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܟ ܳܪ ܰܬܚ ܺܒܝ ܶܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܝܚܘܬܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܡܙܘܓ ܚܡܪܐ ܕܕܒ‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܽܙܠܘܥ ܺܒܝ ܰܘ ܶ‬ ‫ܡܡܐ ܰܨܗ ܳ�̈ܐ ܶܡܢ ܰܡ ܽܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܫܩܐ �ܥ‬ ‫ܘܥܟ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܬ ܐ ܰܘ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܙܘܓ ܳܕ� ܰܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܐ� ܳܗ ܳ�ܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܣܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܚܡܪܟ ܚ‬ ‫ܬܓ ܽ‬ ‫ܬܢ ܺ‬ ‫ܰܕܟܕ ܳܢ ܺ‬ ‫ܛܪܝܢ ܶܠܗ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܛܪܝܢ ܶܒܗ ܳܠܟ ܢܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܥ�ܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܗܒ ܺܠܝ ܶܡܠܬܐ ܰܠܘ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܓܢ ܽܝܙܘܬܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܣܝܟ ܠ‬ ‫ܶܐ ܳ� ܺܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܰܪܟ ݀‬ ‫ܐܡܪ ܰܟܕ ܳܬ ܰܗܪ ܐ̱ ܳܢܐ ܳܕ� ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬ܀‬ ‫ܰ̈ ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܓܘ ܳܡ ܽܡ ܰ‬ ‫�� ܺ‬ ‫ܘܢܝ ܶܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܣܚܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘ�ܝ̈ܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܡ�ܝܟ ܰܒܥܛ‬ ‫ܓ‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳܡ ܳܪܐ ܰܕ� ̈‬ ‫ܡܡܐ ܰܗܒ ܺܠܝ ܐ ܳܝܕܟ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ � ܳܒܟ܀‬ ‫ܳܰ ܰ ܶ ܽ ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܓܝܘܢ̈ܐ ܽܕܟܠ ܰ�ܓܢ̱ ܳܒ ܶ�ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܢܝ ܐ̱� ܙܝܟ ܐܝܟ ܠ‬ ‫ܰܚܕܪ ̱‬ ‫ܘܚܕ ܰܚܕ ܰܢ ܰ‬ ‫ܢܝ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫�ܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܢܡ ܶܠܠ ܺ�ܠܝ ܰܥܠ ܶ‬ ‫�� ܳܢܟ܀‬ ‫ܬܦ ̱‬

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I saw the wealth of symbols which were heaped up on the road of the books, and the task fell on me to carry from it and to flourish exceedingly by it. The instruction concerning the banquet 3 of Your great slaughter called me and it mingled blood for me, and lo, it boils in me to show its power. Moses, who was able, made a spiritual banquet. And he set the table of symbols before me that I may be delighted by it. The books of the Father I took to read out, and from them I learned that He has a Son, and look, He is spoken of between their verses! The mystery of Your slaughter was transmitted in their revelations, and the image of Your death 4 was portrayed in a suffering 5 upon their scrolls. There is not as much water in the great sea as the book of Moses which is filled with the symbols of our Lord. The sky is not illumined by the moon which travels in it, as much as the Pentateuch that shines out with the story of the Son of God. The sun is not as adorned by the rays which surround it

Oxford [O]: ‫“ ܫ�ܘܬܐ‬banquets.” Sic O: ‫ܕܡܘܬܟ‬ ܼ “Your type.” 5 ̇ L: ‫ܟ�ܟܝܗܘܢ‬ ‫“ ܘܨܠܡܟ ܪܒܐ ܨܝܪ ܗܘܐ ܒ ܹܪ ܵܫܐ ܥܠ‬And Your great image was portrayed from the beginning upon their scrolls.” 3 4

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‫ܦ�ܐ ܽܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܣ ܶ‬ ‫ܐܘܪܚܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܬܪ ܐ ܕܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܚܙܝܬ ܰܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܽܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܫܐ ܳܒ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܡ� ܰ‬ ‫ܢܦܠ ܺ�ܠܝ ܶܕ ܽ‬ ‫ܐܣܒܘܠ ܶܡ ܳܢ ̇ܗ ܶܘܐܫܬܪܬܚ ܳܒ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܘܥ‬ ‫ܳܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܰܥܠ ܫܪܘܬ ܐ ܕܩܛܠܟ ܪܒܐ ܩܪ ̱ܢܝ �ܘܠܦܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܗܐ ܳܪ ܰܬܚ ܺܒܝ ܰܢܚ ܶܘܐ ܰܚ ܶ‬ ‫ܡܙ ܓ ܺܠܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܘ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܥܒܕ ܽܬ ܳ‬ ‫ܳܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܦܩܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܩ ܳܢܐ ܽܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܳ� ܳܝܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܩܕ ܰܡܝ ܶܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܣܡ ܳܦ ܽܬ ܳܘܪܐ ܕܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܒ ܰܣܡ ܶܒܗ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܢܗܘܢ �ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܩܠܬ ܶܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܟܬ ܰܒܘ̈ܗܝ ܰܕ ܳܐܒܐ ܶܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܽ‬ ‫ܩܪܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܦܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ ̱‬ ‫ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܰܠܠ ܶܒܝܬ ܽܚ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܐܝܬ ܶܠܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܐ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܝ̈ ܽܗܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܕܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܛܠܟ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬ� ܰܒܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܝ ܰ�ܝ̈ ܽܗܘܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚ ܳܫܐ ܰܥܠ ܶܟ ܰ‬ ‫�ܟ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܬܟ ܺܨܝܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܗܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܘܨ�ܡܐ ܕܡ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ� ܳܗ ܰܟ ܳܢܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܝܚܝܢ ܰܡܝ̈ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܟ ܺ‬ ‫ܒܝ ܳܡܐ ܪ ܳܒܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܬ ܶܒܗ ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܰܙܝ ܳܡ ܰܪܢ܀‬ ‫ܐܟܡܐ ܕܡ�‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫� ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐ ܫܡ ܳܝܐ ܒܣܗܪܐ ܰܕܡܗܠܟ ܒ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܒܪ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ܀‬ ‫ܐܝܟ ܕܐܘܪܝܬܐ ܨܡܚܐ ܒܫܪܒܗ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ� ܺ‬ ‫ܗܕܝܪ ܶܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܫܐ ܶܡܢ ܰܙ ܺ�ܝ̈ ܶܩܐ ܰܕܟܪܝܟܝܢ ܠܗ‪:‬‬

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as the book of the Father which shows the beauty 6 of the Son. The heat is not as near to the flame as the cross is clearly portrayed in the scriptures. All who prophesied concerning the hidden things [of scripture] spoke through our Lord. And unless it is [so], the revelations of truth would be futile. The scriptures are for Him limbs as He is the soul for them. And through Him, they are moved to speak [of] Him richly. Moses carried 7 the choice colors of prophecy and depicted Him on all the leaves through his readings. With the blood of the sacrifices, he sprinkles 8 the road of the crucifixion, so as to honor the great slaughter which proceeds on it. He shed blood against iniquity when it had been intensified, and he mystically made atonement for the nation through its sacrifices. The cross of our Lord 9 was foretold of in his works, and there is nothing which he did 10 without it. In all sorts of ways, he [Moses] celebrated the symbol of the Son of God, so that with all kinds of beauty he might establish for Him an image that is entirely astonishing. The heifer he sacrificed for the cleansing of all the people, that it would be sprinkled on whomsoever had sinned, and they were made pure. 11 If there is a hearing ear which receives me in a loving way,

L: ‫“ ܫܪܒܗ‬the story.” L: ‫“ ܛܥܝܢ‬is carrying.” 8 ̇ L: ‫ܙܠܥܗ �ܘܪܚܐ ܕܙܩܝܦܘܬܐ‬ ‫“ ܒܕܡܐ ܕܕܒܚܐ‬With the blood of the sacrifice he draws up the road of the crucifixion.” 9 L: ‫“ ܕܒܪܐ‬of the Son.” 10 L: ‫ܕܥܒܕ‬ ܼ 11 ̇ ‫“ ܕܢܬܚܣܐ‬that they may be made pure by it.” L: ‫ܒܗ‬ 6 7

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܰ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܚ ܶܘܐ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܦܪܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܬ ܶܒܗ ܰܕ ܳܐܒܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ܀‬ ‫ܐܝܟ ܕ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫� ܩܪܝܒܐ ܚܡܝܡܘܬ ܐ ܨܝܕ ܓܘܙܠܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܐܝܟ ܰܕ ܺ‬ ‫ܨܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܒܐ ܺܨܝܪ ܰܒܟܬ ̈ܒܐ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܡ ܶܠ ̱ܘ ܽܟܠ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܬ� ܺܒܝܘ ܰܥܠ ܰܟܣܝ̈ܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ̈ܶ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܕܫ ܺܪ ܳܝ�ܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܶܘ ܽܐܠܘ� ܽܗܘ ܒܛ� ̱ܘ ܓ��ܢܐ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܘ ܽ‬ ‫ܟܬ ̈ܶܒܐ ܰܐܝܟ ܰܗ ܳ ̈ܕ ܶܡܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܗܘܢ ܰܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܗܘܘ ܶܠܗ‬ ‫ܺ ܺ‬ ‫ܘܒܗ ܶܡܬܬܙܺ ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܢܡܠ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܥܝܢ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܢܝ ̱ܗܝ ܰܥܬ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܶ ܰ ܳ ̈ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܬ ܐ ܛܥܶܢ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܓܘܢܐ ܓܒܝܐ ܕܢܒܝ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܠܗ ܳ� ܰܐܪ ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܒܟ ܽ‬ ‫�ܗܘܢ ܰܕܦܐ ܰܥܠ ܶܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ܀‬ ‫�� ܰܢ ̱‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܶ ̈ܶ ܰ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܦܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܕܡܐ ܕܕܒܚܐ ܙ�ܚ ̇ܗ �ܘܪܚܐ ܕܙܩ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܛ� ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܗ ܶܠܟ ܳܒ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܰܕ ܰܢܝ ܰܩܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ �ܩ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܒܠ ܰ�ܥܘ� ܳܡܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܳܐ ܶܫܕ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܥ ܰܫܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܰ ̈ ܳܳܳܺ‬ ‫ܘܡܚܣܐ ̱ܗܘܐ �ܥܡܐ ܒܕܒܚܘ ̱ܗܝ ܐ̱ܪ ܙ ܢܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ̈ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܕܬܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨܠܝܒܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܡܬܢ�ܪ ̱ܗܘܐ ܒܥܒ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳܘ� ܺܐܝܬ ܶܐ ܰܡܬ ̱ܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ܀‬ ‫ܕܥ ܶܒܕ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ ܶܡܢ ܒ��ܕ ̱‬ ‫ܽ ܶ ܺ ܺ̈ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܒܪ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܟܠ ܐܣܟܡܝܢ ܙܝܚܗ �ܪ ܙ ܐ‬ ‫ܽ ܺ ܺ ܶ� ܰ ܳ ܽ ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܽ‬ ‫ܒܟܠ ܫܘܦ�ܝܢ ܢܩܝܡ ܠܗ ܨ�ܡܐ ܕܟܠܗ ܬܗܪܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܚܠܦ ܬ ܺܕܟܝܬܐ ܽܕܟ ܶܠܗ ܰܥ ܳܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܒܚ ̱ܗܘܐ‬ ‫ܬ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܕܚܛܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܬ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ � ܳܝܢܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚ ܶܣܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܶ ܺ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܺ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܝܒܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܐܝܬ ܫܡܥܐ ܕܡܩܒܠ�ܠܝ ܚܒ‬

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then the mystery of the narrative I have taken up to tell is wondrous. But if love is not present in the listening, the symbols of Moses will not be depicted clearly. If your entire mind is in the world [and] is intent on acquisition, 12 you will not be able to hear from my mouth the story which I will undertake. If ephemeral affairs are dear to you, it is difficult for Scripture 13 to speak to you concerning the hidden things. But unless your soul inclines towards God in love, Moses utters empty sounds to your ear. Moses is a stammerer 14 and does not expound to you whatsoever he says. Send your mind to enter [the book of Moses] and understand his hidden things! 15 If his distinctive features do not abound, [then] read in love, and lo, he establishes you over his revelations! His discourse is not easy; if you look carefully [he only gives] hints. He depicts the cross – fix your mind to its deeds. It is not possible to purify anything except through blood, and there is neither life nor atonement except through our Lord. Give 16 heed to me that I may speak now being amazed, concerning that red heifer which had been slain. Why does the priest cast it out from the people?

̈

O: ‫ ܠܢ ܬܫܡܥ ܡܢܢ‬... ‫“ ܩܢܝܢܐ܆‬possessions: … to hear from us.” L: ‫“ ܠܟܬܒܝ‬my book.” 14 O: �‫“ ܠܥܓ‬the calf.” See Exodus 4:10. ̈ 15 O: ‫“ ܟܣܝܬܐ‬the hidden things.” 16 L: ‫ܗܒܘ‬ 12 13

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܺ ܽ ܳܶ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܽ‬ ‫ܡܡ ܳܠܘ܀‬ ‫ܬܡܝܗ ̱ܗܘ ܐ̱ܪ ܙܗ ܕܫܪܒܐ ܕܫܩܠܬ ܠ‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܢܗܘ ܕܚܘܒܐ � ܡܬܩܪܒ ܨܝܕ ܡܫܡܥܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ� ܶܡ ܺ‬ ‫ܬܬܨ ܺܝܪܝܢ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܰܙܝ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܥ� ܳܢܟ ܽܟ ܶܠܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܥ ܰ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ̱ܗܘ ܶܨܝܕ ܶܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܶܐܢ ܶܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܢ� ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ� ܺ‬ ‫ܪܒܐ ܰܕ ܺ‬ ‫ܘܡܝ ܰܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܣܦܝܩ ܰܐܢ̱ܬ ܺܠܝ ܬܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܪܡܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܫܡܥ ܶܡܢ ܦ ̱‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܳ̈ ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܘ��ܬܐ ܰܚ ܺܒܝ̈ ܳܒܢ ܳܠܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܨܒܘܬ ܐ ܥܒ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܳ̈ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܛܠ ܽ ̱ܗܘ ܟܬܒܐ ܕܢܡܠܠ�ܠܟ ܥܠ ܟܣܝܬܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܶܐ ܳ� ܰܨ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܒܐ ܰܢ ܳ‬ ‫�ܝܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܦܫܟ ܶܨܝܕ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ̈ ܶ ܺ ̈ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܽ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܡܥܬܟ܀‬ ‫ܩ� ܣܦܝܩܐ ܡܣܪܚ ܡܘܫܐ ܨܝܕ ܡ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܳܘ� ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܥܓܐ ̱ܗܘ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܦ ܶܫܩ ܳܠܟ ܡ ܶܕܡ ܳܕܐܡܪ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܥܟ ܳܥܐܠ ܳܩܐܡ ܰܥܠ ܰܟܣܝ̈ܬܗ܀‬ ‫ܫܡܪ ܡ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܺ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܫܚ ܺ‬ ‫ܝܡܝܢ ܩ ܰ�ܘ ̱ܗܝ ܐܢ ܦ ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ � ܥܬܝܪܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘ�ܫ ܰܢ ̱‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܺ ܶ ܳ ܺ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܳܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ܀‬ ‫ܒܚܘܒܐ ܩܪܝ ܒܗ ܘܗܐ ܐܩܝܡܟ ܥܠ�ܓ‬ ‫��ܢ̈ ̱‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܶ ܳܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܳܕ� ܺ‬ ‫ܦܫܝܩ ܰܡܡܠܗ ܡܪܡܙ ܪܡܙ ܐܢ ܚܐܪ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܳܰ ܰܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܶ‬ ‫ܥܒ ̈� ܳܕܬܗ܀‬ ‫ܨܠܝܒܐ � ܐܪ ܐ�ܕ ܗܘܢܟ ܒ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܳ� ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܶܐ ܳ� ܰܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܟܚ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰܢܕ ܶܟܐ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶܘ ܳܐ� ܳ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܰܪܢ ܳ� ܺܐܝܬ ܰܚ ̈ܶܝܐ ܳܘ� ܽܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣ ܳܝܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰܗܒ ܺܠܝ ܰܨܘܬ ܐ ܐ ܰܡܪ ܳܗ ܳܫܐ ܰܟܕ ܬ ܰܗܪ ܐ̱ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܩܬܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܬܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܟܣܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ܀‬ ‫ܡܛܠ�ܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܗܝ ܣܘܡ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܡ ܶܦܩ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܠ ̇ܗ ܰ‬ ‫�ܒܪ ܶܡܢ ܰܥ ܳܡܐ‪:‬‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

And by what symbol did he burn it? And for what [reason]? Let Scripture come and explain itself in simple terms, then the interpretation will display the beauty of the lesson. 17 The Lord said to Moses and to Aaron concerning the people, by what [manner] and how it could be purified when it had become defiled. “Choose a red heifer which is pure and without blemish, and upon which no yoke had been placed to subjugate from its [early] days. 18 And give it to the priest Eleazar when it is required, and the priest will bring it out of the encampment and will slay it there. And he will take of the blood and will sprinkle it towards the front of the Tabernacle. And he will burn it in fire, [along with] its skin and flesh and blood. And its dung [will also be burnt] along with it. And the priest will take cedarwood, and he will bring with him hyssop, and scarlet dye. And he will cast [these] into the fire, into the conflagration of the red heifer which he brought [for an offering]. And the priest will wash his garments and will bathe his flesh in water. And after these things he will enter the encampment, and the priest will also be unclean until evening. And whoever burnt it will wash his clothing and bathe his flesh. And this one will also be unclean until evening. And a man who is clean will gather the ashes of that burning,

L: ‫“ ܩ�ܝܢܐ‬the lessons.” Stanzas 38–45 are a recitation of Numbers 19:2–9 which describe the ceremony of the red heifer.

17 18

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܶ ܽ‬ ‫ܐܝܢܐ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ܰܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܡܛܠ ܳܡ ܳܢܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܩܕ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܠ ̇ܗ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳܳ ܰܶ ܺ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܝ̈ܛܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺܢܐܬ ܐ ܟܬܒܐ ܢܚܘܐ ܕܝܠܗ ܒ‬ ‫ܡܚ ܶܘܐ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܟܢ ܽܦ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܦܪܗ ܶܡܢ ܶܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫ ܳܩܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܪ� ܳܢܐ܀‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܰܘ� ܽ‬ ‫ܪ�ܐ ܽ‬ ‫�ܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܐ̱ ܰܡܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܪܘܢ ܶܡܛܠ ܰ�ܥ ܳܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܰܶ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܬܛ ܰܡܐ܀‬ ‫ܕܒܡܢ ܘܐܝܟܢ ܡܬܕܟܐ ̱ܗܘܐ ܡܐ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܝܐ ܰܘܕ� ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܰܕܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܓܒܘ ܣܘܡܩܬܐ ܬ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܳܕ� ܰ‬ ‫ܝܪܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܢܦܠ ܺܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܝܗ ܡܢ �ܘܡ ̇‬ ‫ܥܠ ̇‬ ‫ܝܗ �ܡܬܟܒܫܘ܀‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܶܐ ܺܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗ ܳ‬ ‫�ܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܝ� ܰܙܪ ܳܡܐ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܬܒ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗ ܽܒ ̇‬ ‫ܥܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ̇ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܘܢܶ ܺ‬ ‫ܟܣ ̇‬ ‫ܝܗ ܬ ܳܡܢ܀‬ ‫ܘܢܦܩܝܗ ܟܗܢܐ ܡܢ ܡܫܪ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܢܶ ܰܣܒ ܶܡܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܘ�ܶ ܽܪܘܣ �ܦ ̈ܝ ܡܫܟ ܰܢܙܒܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܒ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܐ ܳܠ ̇ܗ ܰܘ ܶ‬ ‫ܣܪ ̇ܗ ܰܘ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܟ ̇ܗ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܩܕ ̇ܝܗ ܽ‬ ‫ܰܘܢ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܡ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܬ ̇ܗ ܰܥ ܳܡ ̇ܗ ܘܢܶ ܰܣܒ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܪܙ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܦ‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܰ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܢܝܬܐ ܥܡܗ ܙܘܦܐ ܘܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚܘܪܝܬܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܺ‬ ‫ܒܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܘܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܪܡܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܪܐ ܒܓܘ �ܩܕ ܢܐ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܕܐܝܬܝ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܡ ܳܝ̈ܐ ܶܒ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܣܚܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܢܚ ܶܠܠ ܳܡ ܰܐ�ܘ ̈ ̱ܗܝ ܰܘܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܣܪܗ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗ ܶ‬ ‫ܫܪܝܬܐ ܳܒܬܪ ܳܗ ܶܠܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܝܕܝܢ �ܶ ܽܥܘܠ�ܠܓܘ ܡ‬ ‫ܥܕ ܳܡܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܛܡܐ ܰܠܡ ܳܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܰ‬ ‫�ܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܫܐ܀‬ ‫ܣܚܐ ܶܒ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡܢ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܕ ܳܠ ̇ܗ ܰܢܚ ܶܠܠ ܳܡ ܰܐ�ܘ ̈ ̱ܗܝ ܰܘܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܣܪܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܥܕ ܳܡܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܰ‬ ‫�ܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܛܡܐ ܽܬܘܒ ܳܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܳܗ ܳܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܫܐ܀‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܰܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܟܢܘܫ ܰܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܟܐ ܶܩ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܢܶ ܽ‬ ‫ܛܡܗ ܰܕܗܘ ܰ� ܳ‬ ‫ܩܕ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

that it may be for the sprinkling of the entire assembly, that it would become purified on account of it.” O Moses! What is this that you are saying? The symbols that were pronounced by you, O Great Prophet, are astonishing! Exalted in the manner of revelations, proffer to us a word so that we may see its beauty. O bearer of parables, raise the veil from your narrative! You who were raised up to the lofty utterance of the House of God, come down! Tell us of the symbols which you brought from the heights! You who penetrated and saw the Son with His Begetter, come out! Show us clearly and openly about his beauty! The form of this sacrifice which you presented is amazing. For even while it was not [yet] slaughtered, the color of blood is shown in it. But if – just as you say – the heifer was needed for the sacrifice, why [was it] red unless its color proclaimed a slaughtering? But if the unclean ones are purified by your sacrifice, O Moses, why did the priest who slaughtered it become impure, unless it be a symbol? O truth which is revealed and stands as a luminary, but the blind nation does not see that it was entirely light. The symbols of our Lord used to cleanse it from impurity, but now that the Lord of the symbols has come, why do they hate Him? By the shadow of the Son of God, it [the Jewish Nation] was purified,

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܽ ܳ ̇ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܬܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܒܗ ܬܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܐ܀‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ �ܟܠܗ ܟܢ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܽ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܳܳ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܘ ܠܟ ܡܘܫܐ ܡܢܘ ܗܢܐ ܕܡܡܠܠ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܗܝܢ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܺ‬ ‫ܢܒ ܳܝܐ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܬܠ ܺ‬ ‫ܥܙܝܢ ܳܒܟ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܳ ̈ܶ ܽ ܰ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܙ ܐ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܠܬܐ ܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܦ� ̇ܝܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܪܡ ܓ��ܢܐ ܦܫܘܛ ܠܢ ܡ‬ ‫ܺ ̈ܶ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܺ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܛܥܝܢ ܦ�ܬ ܐ ܐܪܝܡ ܘܐ� ܡܢ ܬܫܥܝܬܟ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܳܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܳܐܘ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܬܥ ܺܠܝ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܒܝܬ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܡ�� ܪܡܐ‬ ‫�ܡ ̱‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܽܚܘܬ ܰܡ ܶܠܠ ܰ�ܠܢ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܰܕܐܝܬܝܬ ܶܡܢ ܥܶ ܳ� ܳܝܐ܀‬ ‫ܐܬܓ ܺܘܝ ܰܘܚ ܳܙܝ ̱ܗܝ ܰܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܶܨܝܕ ܳ� ܽ� ܶ‬ ‫ܳܐܘ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܕܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܽܦܘܩ ܰܚ ܳܘܐ ܰܠܢ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܦܪܗ ܶ‬ ‫�ܝܐ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܶ ܺ ܶ ܶ ܳ ܳܳ ܰ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܶܪܒ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܬܡܝܗ ܐܣܟܡܗ ܕܕܒܚܐ ܗܢܐ ܕ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܩܛܝܠ ܰ�ܓܘܢܶܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚ ܶܘܐ ܶܒܗ܀‬ ‫ܕܐܦ ܟܕ �‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܳܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܚܐ �ܕܒܚܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܐܡܪ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢܗܘ‬ ‫ܽ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܶܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܡܘܢ ܣܘܡܩܬܐ ܐ � ܕܓܘܢ ̇ܗ ܩܛ� ܡܟܪܙ܀‬ ‫ܶܐ ܽܢܗܘ ܰܕܛ ̈ܡܐܶܐ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܟ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܝܢ ܶܒܗ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ ܶ ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܕܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܘܢ ܐܬܛ ܰܡܐ ܐܢ ܰܠܘ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܰܙ ܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܟܣܗ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܳܳ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܐܡ ܐܝܟ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܘ ܠܫܪ ܪܐ ܕ ܓ�‬ ‫ܰܳ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܳܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܘܥܡܐ ܣܡܝܐ � ܚܐܪ ܒܗ ܕܟܠܗ ܢܘܗܪܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܝܢ ̱ܗ ܰܘܘ ܶܠܗ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܰܙܝ ܳܡ ܰܪܢ ܶܡܢ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܬ ܐ ܳܡ ܳܪܐ ܕܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܽ‬ ‫�ܡܘܢ ܳܣܢܶܝܢ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܘܗܫܐ ܕ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܛ ܳ� ܺܢܝܬܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܒܪ ܐ� ܳܗܐ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕܟܝ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬

26 110

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

but today, when the Great Body has appeared, it does not love Him! It attached itself to various sorts of borrowed sacrifices. But look! The Lord of Truth is placed before it yet it does not look at Him. The blind nation took hold of the shadow and abandoned the body. And, furthermore, it did not recognize that the body 19 is also the Savior. It did not understand that Moses had made it pure through the parables, and [that] he depicted something [more] by these symbols which he was presenting. Why did the pure sacrifice make the one offering it unclean, except to depict a type of our Lord and His crucifiers? The nation suspended our Lord on wood and it became impure, but the blood of His sprinkling purified the nations and sanctified them. For those who slaughtered Him became impure but they who consume Him found life. That those who killed Him died through Him but those who eat [Him] find life, is a great marvel! The priest who slaughtered the heifer became defiled according to the Law, that he would become the likeness of the nation which boldly crucified [Him].

19

L: ‫“ ܒܓܫܬܐ‬In the sensation [of the handling].”

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܢ ܰܕ ܰܕܢܚ ܽܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܘ� ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܫܡܐ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ � ܳܪ ܶܚܡ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܒܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܺܫܐ�̈ ܶ� ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܶܕܡ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ ܶܡܣܬ ܰܒܟ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܐ ܺܣܝܡ ܽܩ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܳܡ ܶܪܗ ܽܕܩܘܫܬܐ ܘ� ܳܚܐܪ ܶܒܗ܀‬ ‫ܘܕܡ ̱‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫�ܒܟ ܛ ܳ�� ܰܘ ܺ‬ ‫ܰܥ ܳܡܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܐܪܦܝ ܽܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܘ ܳܝܪܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܫܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܬ ܰܘܕܥ ܶܠܗ ܳܕܐܦ ܳܦ ܽܪ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܘܐܦ� ܓܘܫܡܐ ܡ‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܦ ܳ�ܬ ܐ ܰܕܟܝܶܗ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫� ܡܬܒܝܢ ܕ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܶܕܡ ܳ�ܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܗܠܝܢ ܐ̱� ܙܶ ܐ ܰܕܡܩܪܒ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܟܝܐ ܰܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܛ ܰܡܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܪܒܢܶܗ‬ ‫ܘܦܣܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܶܐ ܳ� ܰܕ ܽܢܨܘܪ ܽܛ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܘ ܳܕܨ ܽܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܒܘ ̈ ̱ܗܝ܀‬ ‫ܑܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܬܠܝ ̱ܗܝ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰܥ ܳܡܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܩ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡ ܰܪܢ ܶܘܐܬܛ ܰܡܐ ܶܒܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܶܣܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܡܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܩ ܶܕܫ ܐ ܽܢܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܰܘܕ ܺܟܝ �ܥ‬ ‫ܛ�ܘܗܝ ܰܛܡܐܺܝܢ ܰܘ ܳܕܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܰܕܩ ܽ‬ ‫ܟܠܝܢ ܶܠܗ ܰܚ ̈ܶܝܐ ܶܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܟܚ ̱ܘ‪:‬‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܐܟܠܝܢ ܬܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܝܘ ܳܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܺܡܝܬ ̱ܘ ܶܒܗ ܰܕܢ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܰܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܪܐ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ܀‬ ‫ܟܣ‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܕܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܐܐ ̱ܗܘ ܶܡܢ ܳܢ ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܛܠ ̇ܗ ܠܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܛ‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܰܳ ܰ ܰ ܰ ܳܳܺ‬ ‫ܕܢܗܘܐ ܕܡܘܬ ܐ �ܥܡܐ ܕܨܠܒ ܡܪܚܐܝܬ܀‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

And if this which I have spoken is not 20 truthful, why did the priest become defiled by the sacrifice which he brought? He [the priest] purified these ones [Israelites], but he 21 became unclean symbolically. Others gained but he suffered loss in the sacrifice which he made. When the priest brought the heifer out from the nation he made it a sacrifice, [yet] he became defiled 22 by the sacrifice which he made. His action 23 is good in that he purified those who are unclean. As for him, the sacrifice which he offered made him unclean. The priest remained within the encampment while being unclean, and they fled from him till evening for he was defiled. 24 Tell me, O priest, that impurity – because of what is it? O priest of the nation, what made you unclean while you were pure? The priest says, “The sacrifice defiled me when I offered it, And my offering is the entire reason for my becoming impure.” O priest of the nation, the sacrifice which you brought was then unclean.

O: � ̇ O: ‫ܘܠܗܘ‬ “but that one.” 22 O: ‫ܐܬܛܡܝ‬ ܿ 23 O: ‫“ ܼܥܒܕܗ‬He did [a good].” 24 L: ‫ܗܘܐ‬ 20 21

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‫ܶܘܐܢ ܰܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܢܐ ̱ܗܝ ܰܐܝܟ ܳܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܪ ܳܪܐ ܰܠܘ ܳܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܡܪ ܐ̱ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫�ܡ ܳܢܐ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܶܡܬܛ ܰܡܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕܐܝܬܝ܀‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܗ ܶܠܝܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܺܟܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܠܗ ܽ ̱ܗܘ ܛ ܰܡܐ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܳܙ ܢܳܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܪ ̱ܘ ܰܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܚܣܪ ܶܠܗ ܽܗܘ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܒܕ܀‬ ‫ܐ̱ܚ� ܢܐ �‬ ‫ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳܡܐ ܰܕܐܦܩ ̇ܗ ̱ܗܘܐ ܟܗܢܐ ܠܬܘܪܬ ܐ �ܒܪ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܛ ܰܡܐ ܶܠܗ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܒܕ܀‬ ‫ܥܒܕ ̇ܗ ܕܒܚܐ ܐ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܥܒ ܶܕܗ ܰܫ ܺܦܝܪ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰܠܕܛ ܺܡܐܝܢ ̱ܗ ܰܘܘ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶܠܗ ܶܕܝܢ ܺܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܠܗ ܛܡܐܗ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܶܪܒ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫�ܬܒ ܟܗܢܐ ܘܥܒܝܕ ܛܡܐܐ ܒܓܘ ܡ‬ ‫ܘܥ ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܥܕ ܳܡܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܡܫܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫�ܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܩܝܢ ܶܡܢܶܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܛܡܐ ̱ܗܘ ܠܡ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ ܽ‬ ‫ܐ̱ ܰܡܪ ܺܠܝ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܳܗܝ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ ܶܡܛܠ ܳܡ ܰܢܐ ܳ ̱ܗܝ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܰܳ ܰܽ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܟܝܐ ܐܢ̱ܬ܀‬ ‫ܟܘܡܪܐ ܕܥܡܐ ܡܢܘ ܛܡܐܟ ܟܕ ܕ‬ ‫ܳܰ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܐܢܝ ܟܕ ܩܪܒܬܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܡܪ ܟܗܢܐ ܕ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܛ ܰܡ ̱‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡܢ ܽܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܝ ̱ܗܝ ܽܟ ܳܠ ̇ܗ ܥܶܠܬܐ ܕܐܗܘܐ ܛܡܐܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܪܒ ̱‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܥ ܳܡܐ ܛܡܐܰܐ ܽܗܘ ܳܡ ܶܕܝܢ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕܐܝܬܝܬ‪:‬‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

Why did you offer it if impurity was found in it? So then, your likeness is entirely depicted 25 in the children of your nation, and your whole sacrifice proclaims our Lord who purifies all. Look! Through the cross, all is truly purified! 26 The nation alone became defiled by it 27 for it did not love it. The symbols which Moses the scribe depicted in his writings are marvellous. And if not through our Lord, their actions would not be deciphered. He buried treasures concealing them amongst his verses, but the cross came [and] revealed his hidden things. If you are discerning, 28 concentrate your mind on his actions and you will find that in every instance, he depicted for us the Son. He depicted a great image of our Lord when he sacrificed; the symbolic heifer put on the color of the crucifixion. It was red so that its appearance, too, would proclaim death, so as to resemble the sprinkled blood while yet alive.

̇ – the words are the same but are arranged differO: ‫ܟܠܗ ܨ̇ܝܪܐ ܗܝ ܡܕܝܢ‬ ently. 26 O: ‫“ ܡܬܢܟܐ‬was injured.” 27 O: ‫“ ܠܗ‬to it.” 28 L: ‫ܦܪܘܫ‬ 25

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܫܬ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܚܐ ܶܒܗ܀‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܰܩ ܶܪܒܬܝ ̱ܗܝ ܐܢ ܛܡܐܘܬ ܐ ܡ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡܘܬܟ ܳܡ ܶܕܝܢ ܺܨ ܳܝܪܐ ̱ܗܝ ܽܟ ܳܠ ̇ܗ ܰܒܒܢ̈ܝ ܰܥ ܳܡܟ‪:‬‬ ‫�ܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܡ ܶ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܟ ܰܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܪܙ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ܽܟܠ܀‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳܗܐ ܰܒ ܺܙܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܦܐ ܽܟܠ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܐ ܰܫ ܺܪ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫�ܚܘܕ ܐܬܛ ܰܡܐ ܶܒܗ ܕ� ܳܪ ܶܚܡ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܰܥ ܰܡܐ ̱ܗܘ ܒ‬ ‫ܳܰ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܳܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܦܪܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܝܗܝܢ ܐ̱� ܙܶ ܳܐ ܶ ܳܕ�ܪ ܰܒܟܬ ̈ܒ ̱‬ ‫ܬܦ ܰܫܩܘ ܽܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܰܪܢ � ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܥ� ܰܢ ܽ‬ ‫ܶܘ ܳܐ� ܳ‬ ‫ܝܗܘܢ܀‬ ‫̱ܶ‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ̈ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܺܦܝ ܐܢܶܝܢ ܶܒܝܬ ܶܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ‪:‬‬ ‫ܛܡܪ ܣܝܡ‬ ‫�� ܰܢ ̱‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܺ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܶܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܐܬ ܐ ܙܩܝܦܐ ܓܠܝ ܐܢܝܢ ܠܛܡܝ�ܬܗ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ̈ ܶ ܶ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐ�ܕ ܗܘܢܟ ܒܥܒܝܕܬܗ ܐܢ ܦܪ‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܺ ܰ ܳ ܳܰ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܟܚ ܐܢ̱ܬ ܶܠܗ ܰܕܒܟ�ܙܒܢܝܢ ܠܒܪܐ � ܐܪ܀‬ ‫ܘܡ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܳ�ܪ ܶܠܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܨ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܟܕ ܳܕ ܰܒܚ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܳܶ ܺ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܒܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܕܐ̱� ܙ ܐ ܥܛܝܦܬ ܓܘܢܐ ܕܨܠ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܙ ܳܬ ̇ܗ ܰܡܘܬ ܐ ܬ ܶ‬ ‫ܩܬܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ ܳܕܐܦ ܺܗܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܪܙ‪:‬‬ ‫ܣܘܡ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܕܬܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܝܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܳܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܦܝ� ܟܕ ܰܚ ܳܝܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ܀‬

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160

165

170

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

The symbol colored the whole sacrifice with the color of suffering, so that its likeness would hint at slaughter to the one looking at it. While not [yet] slain, the appearance of the heifer which he brought was perfect. 29 It was like blood for its color was red. When he chose it, he adorned the symbol in the color of slaughter, so that the crucifixion would be clearly shown in it. Like a mirror of blood, he set it up that they would see it and see death which was moving symbolically in it. It was slain in color but living through the symbol which was spoken of through it – clearly the story of the slaughter of the One who gives life to all. It was colored in slaughter and was moving while alive toward death, like that sacrifice of the Son out of whose death life sprang forth. And if this is not just as I have said, why was a red heifer chosen to be sacrificed? He saw in it the color of the crucifixion when he chose it, and he gave it for a burnt-offering that it would be sprinkled on the entire nation. The blood was depicted through it and it proclaimed openly the death of the Son, who became for the nations a sprinkling that purifies all impurity. Its body bore the sprinkling of the scourges and then was chosen, so that the sentence of the slaughter might be spoken richly through it.

L: ‫“ ܟܕ � ܩܛܝ� ܟܡܝܪ ܗܘܐ ܚܙܘܐ ܕܬܘܪܬܐ ܕܐܝܬܝ‬While not [yet] slain, the appearance of the heifer which he brought was mournful.”

29

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܒܚܐ ܰܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܚ ܳܫܐ ܰܨܒܥܶܗ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܘܬܗ ܶܩܛ� ܬ ܽ‬ ‫ܳܕܐܦ ܺܗܝ ܽ‬ ‫ܪܡܘܙ ܰܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܚܐܪ ܳܒ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܝ� ܺ‬ ‫ܓܡܝܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܶܚ ܳܙܘ ̇ܗ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܰܕܐܝܬܝ‪:‬‬ ‫ܟܕ � ܩܛ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܽ ܰ ܳ̇ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܐܝܟ ܕܕܡܐ ̱ܗܘܬ ܡܛܠ�ܓܘܢܗ ܕܣܘܡܩܬܐ ̱ܗܘܬ܀‬ ‫ܰ݁ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܩܛ� ܰܟܕ ܳܓ ܶܒܐ ܳܠ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨܒܬ ̇ܗ ܐ̱ܪ ܙ ܐ ܒܓܘܢܐ‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܕܨܠܝܒܘܬ ܐ ܬܬܚܘܐ ܒ ̇ܗ ܢܗܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܳܣ ܳܡ ̇ܗ ܰܕ ܽܢܚ ܽ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܘܢ ܳܒ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܝܟ ܡܚܙ‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܳܳܳܺ‬ ‫ܘܢܚܙܘܢ ܡܘܬ ܐ ܕܡܬܗܦܟ ܒ ̇ܗ ܐ̱ܪ ܙ ܢܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܳܝܐ ܒ ̱ܐ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܢ ̇ܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܝ� ܰ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܰܠܠ ܳܒ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܩܛ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰܢ ܺܗܝܪܐܝܬ ܰܫܪܒܐ ܕܩܛܠܗ ܕܗܘ ܡ ܶܚܐ ܟܠ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚ ̈ܶܝܐ ܽܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܛܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩܒܠ ܰܡܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨܒܝܥܐ ܒܩܛ� ܘܪ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰܐܝܟ ܳܗܝ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܢ ܺܡܝܬܘܬܗ ܰܚ ̈ܝܐ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܦܪܥ ̱ܘ܀‬ ‫ܶܘ ܽ‬ ‫ܐܢܗܘ ܳܕܗ ܶܕܐ ܰܠܘ ܳܗ ܰܟ ܳܢܐ ̱ܗܝ ܰܐܝܟ ܳܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܡܪ ܐ̱ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܓܒܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܬܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ܀‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܣܘܡܩܬܐ ܬ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܓܘܢܐ ܚܙ ܐ ܒ ̇ܗ ܕܙܩܝܦܘܬ ܐ ܟܕ ܓܒܐ ܠ ̇ܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܩܕܐ ܕܬܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܘ� ܳ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܒ ̇ܗ ܰ‬ ‫�ܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳܡܐ ܽܟ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫�ܝܐ ܰܡܘܬܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܺܨܝܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܒ ̇ܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܝܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܡܡܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ܽܟܠ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܕܗܘܐ �ܥ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶܪ ܳܙܦܐ ܕܢܶܓܕܐ ܛܥܝܢ ̱ܗܘܐ ܦܓܪ ̇ܗ ܘܟܢ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܓܒܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ ܺ‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܩܛ� ܢܶ ݂ܬ ܰܡ ܰܠܠ ܳܒ ̇ܗ ܰܥܬ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܕܕܝܢܐ‬

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180

185

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

He depicted the wounds upon it in appearance while it was not yet beaten, that through its color it would proclaim the wounds of the Son. He adorned it in scourges while it was distant from scourges, that by this also it would proclaim the flagellation of the Son. He poured forth 30 on it a color which proclaimed heavily the death [of the Son], and he proclaimed it a sacrifice that through it he would purify those who are unclean. Furthermore, he mingled hyssop and scarlet dye with it, to make a double 31 symbol of the type of the complete slaughter. In all forms, the skillful Moses portrayed blood, that in all sorts of colors he would establish the image of the crucifixion. The heifer which he brought, that was red, did not suffice for him, but through the scarlet dye he depicted the blood. He mingled wisely the color of blood in one another, that the beauty of the image of the crucifixion would become strong. Why did he take with him the cedarwood? Look O discerning one! The symbol portrays the entire sacrifice! He devised the cross but without the wood it cannot stand up. But the work of the crucifixion was fulfilled in all things. On account of this Moses took the cedarwood, 32 that the cross of our Lord would be fulfilled in his actions.

L: ‫ܙܠܥ‬ ܼ “He poured out.” ̇ O: ‫ܕܢܥܦܝܗ‬ ; L: ‫“ ܕܢܟܦܗ‬to make modest.” 32 O: ‫“ ܕܪܐܙܐ‬the symbolic [wood]” 30 31

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܝܗ ܶܒ ܺ‬ ‫ܚܘ ܳܬ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ�ܪ ܰܡ ܳ ̈‬ ‫ܐܣܟ ܳܡܐ ܰܟܕ ܳ� ܶܒ ܰ‬ ‫ܥܠ ̇‬ ‫�ܥܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܰܬ ܶ‬ ‫ܚܘܬܶܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܢ ̇ܗ ܰܥܠ ܰܡ ܳ ̈‬ ‫ܒܝܕ ܰܓ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܟܪܙ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܓܕܶܐ ܰܪ ܺܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܓܕܶܐ ܰܟܕ ܶܡܢ ܢܶ ̈‬ ‫ܒܬ ̇ܗ ܒܢܶ ̈‬ ‫ܝܩܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܕܒܪܐ ܬܟܪܙ܀‬ ‫ܳܕܐܦ ܗܝ ܗܕܐ ܠܦ�ܓ�‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܝܪܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܙܠܚ ܒ ̇ܗ ܓܘܢܐ ܕܡܟܪܙ ܡܘܬ ܐ �ܩ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰܘ ܳ‬ ‫ܩܪ ̇ܗ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ̣ܒ ܳܚܐ ܰܕ ܰܢܕ ܶܟܐ ܳܒ ̇ܗ ܰܠܕܛ ܺܡܐܝܢ ̱ܗ ܰܘܘ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܽ‬ ‫ܰܳ ̇ ܽ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܚܠܛ ܬܘܒ ܥܡܗ ܙܘܦܐ ܘܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܳܳ ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܬ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܢܥܦܗ ��ܪ ܙ ܐ ܥܠ ̇‬ ‫�ܝܐ ܶܩܛ�܀‬ ‫ܝܗ ܕܕܡ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܒܟܠ ܶܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ̱ܗܘ ܳ� ܐܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܣܟ ܺ̈ܡܝܢ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܗ ܳܝܪܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܺ̈ ܺ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܽ‬ ‫ܝܦܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܒܟܠ�ܓܘܢܝܢ ܢܩܝܡ ܨ�ܡܐ ܠܙܩ‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܰ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܝܬܝ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܳܩܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ‪:‬‬ ‫� ܣܦܩܬ ܠܗ ܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܕ‬ ‫ܶܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܪ ܶܫܡ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܐ � ܒܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚܘܪ‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܳ ̈ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܓܘܢܐ ܕܕܡܐ ܚܠܛ ܒܚܕ ܕܐ ܚܟܝܡܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܰܺ ܽ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܦܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܕܢܗܘܐ �ܙܝܙ ܫܘܦܪܗ ܕܨ�ܡܐ ܕܙܩ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܪܙ ܐ ܶܡ ܽܛܠ ܳܡ ܳܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܣܒ ̱ܗܘܐ ܥܡܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽܚܘܪ ܳܦ ܽܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܽܕܟ ܶܠܗ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ܳ� ܐܪ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܰܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ � ܳܩܐܡ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܙܩܝܦܐ ܪܟܒ ܘܕ� ܩ‬ ‫ܳܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܟ�ܡ ܶܕܡ ܰܫ ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܡܠܝ ܥܒܕܐ ܕܨܠܝܒܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܰܘ‬ ‫ܶܡ ܽܛܠ ܳܗ ܳܢܐ ܰܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܪܙ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܣܒ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܺ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܺ ܳ̈ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܕܬܗ܀‬ ‫ܕܢܫܬܡ� ̱ܗܘܐ ܨܠܝܒܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܒܥܒ‬

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200

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

He prepared with scarlet dye the sacrifice that he made, that the pure blood would be spoken of in his work. Through the sprinkled hyssop 33 and the scarlet, the blood was portrayed, and through the heifer, whose color 34 was red, the entire slaughter. 35 A deaf person recognizes these symbols through a nod, and a blind person perceives through touch 36 their meanings. 37 The nation was more blind than a blind one who does not perceive. Its eyes were opened but its mind was darkened from understanding. 38 If it desired to concentrate on these symbols, it would see – without stumbling – the cross of the Son in them. From the visible things it would be able to understand the hidden things, and through the visible things it would understand the concealed things. From the form 39 of these sacrifices which it offered, it would understand that a great slaughter saves the world. It was easy for it to understand through the types that it was serving,

O: ‫ – ܙܘܦܐ‬missing the prepositional ‫ܒ‬. ̇ “whose blood.” O: ‫ܕܕܡܗ‬ 35 O: �‫ܩܛ‬ 36 The entire first part of this line is omitted in O. Only the very last ̇ word, ‫ܦܘ�ܫܢܝܗܘܢ‬ , is present. 37 See Isaiah 35:5. ̈ ̈ 38 L: �‫ܦܬܚܝܢ ܥܝܢܘܗܝ ܘܚܫܘܟ ܠܒܗ ܡܢ ܣܘܟ‬ “Its eyes were opened but its heart was darkened from understanding.” See Isaiah 43:8; John 12:38– 40; Matthew 23:16–22. ̈ 39 L: ‫“ ܐܣܟܡܐ‬forms.” 33 34

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܰ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܒܕ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨܒܬܗ ܒܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚܘܪ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܣܝܐ ܢܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܰܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܰܠܠ ̱ܗܘܐ ܒܗܘ ܬܘܩܢܗ܀‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ ܳ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܳ� ܐܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܙܘܦܐ ܪܣܣܐ ܘܒܙܚܘܪܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܟ ܶܠܗ ܶܩ ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܓܘܢ ̇ܗ ܣܘܡܩܐ ̱ܗܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܛܠܗ ܒܬ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܓܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܪ ܳ‬ ‫�ܗ ܶܠܝܢ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ ܽܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܙ ܐ ܶܡܫܬ ܰܘܕܥ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܘ�ܫ ܰܢ ܽ‬ ‫ܣܬ ܰܟܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽܦ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܗܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܘܣܡܝܐ ܒܓܫܬܐ ܡ‬ ‫ܳ ܰܳ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܥܘܝܪ ̱ܗܘܐ ܥܡܐ ܛܒ ܡܢ ܣܡܝܐ ܕ� ܡܬܒܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܽܫܘܟ ܰܗܘܢܶܗ ܶܡܢ ܽܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܚܢ ܰܥ ܰ‬ ‫ܦܬ ܳ ̈‬ ‫ܝ�ܘ ̈ ̱ܗܝ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܟ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܶܐ ܽܠܘ ܳܨ ܶܒܐ ܰܕ� ܶ�ܕ ܰܗܘܢܶܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܗ ܶܠܝܢ ܐ̱ ܳ� ܙܶ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺܙܩ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܦܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܒܗܘܢ ܳܚ ܶܙ ܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܕ� ܽܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܘ ܳܕ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܳ̈ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܡ� ܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܩܐܡ ܰܥܠ ܰܟܣܝ̈ܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܡܢ ܓ�ܝ‬ ‫ܺ ܳ̈ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܒ ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚܙ�̈ܢ ܶܡܣܬ ܰܟܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܠܓܢܝܙܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܣܟ ܳܡܐ ܳܕܗ ܶܠܝܢ ܶܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܶܡܢ ܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܶܪܒ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܰܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܛ� ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܳ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܳܦ ܶܪܩ܀‬ ‫ܡܬܒܝܢ ̱ܗܘܐ ܕܩ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܳ̈ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܝܩ ܽ ̱ܗܘ ܺܕܢ ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܐܠܦ ܒܛ�ܢܝܬܐ ܕܡܫܡܫ ̱ܗܘܐ‪:‬‬

38 210

215

220

225

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

for something great was going on within them. What profit [is there] in the small wool of scarlet? And by what power did it cleanse from impurity? What did the cedarwood profit the one who was defiled? For with it, the Law instructed that the entire nation should be purified. Why did he choose the heifer which was red 40 for the sacrifice? And why were the defiled ones of the nation made pure through it? Something else was spoken of through these sacrifices, 41 but the nation did not understand that it should know mystical things. Moses hinted to it the slaughter of the Son that saved the world. But because it was blind from understanding, it did not perceive. If that which purified from defilement was a heifer, why did Moses not choose a black one for the sacrifice? If he had not been prefiguring the color of the crucifixion, a red one would not have been required to be the sacrifice. He was proclaiming the blood through the wool and the scarlet dye, that the color of the slaughter will purify the nation from defilement. Through the shadow of our Lord, Moses purified the nation; for sheep and oxen did not purify it from defilement. Look! Through something which was feeble, he is showing it 42 something great!

L: ‫ܕܣܘܡܩܬܐ‬ L: ‫“ ܒܗ ܕܒܚܐ‬through the sacrifice.” 42 L: ‫ܡܚܘܐ ܗܘܐ‬ 40 41

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܰܕܠܓܘ ܶܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܢܗܝܢ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܗ ܰܦܟ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܳܡܢ ܽ� ܳ‬ ‫ܘܬܪ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܥܡܪܐ ܙܥܘܪܐ ܕܙܚܘܪ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰܶ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܒܐܝܢܐ ܚܝ� ܡܕܟܐ ̱ܗܘܐ ܟܝ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܬܛ ܰܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܩܝܣܐ ܕܐܪܙ ܐ ܡܢ ܡܗܢܐ ̱ܗܘܐ ܠ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܕܒܗ ܳܢ ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܩܕ ܢܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܐ ܽܟܠܗ ܥܡܐ܀‬ ‫ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܳܓ ܶܒܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡ ܳܩܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܬ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܡܛܠ ܳܡ ܳܢܐ ܛܡܐܐ ܕܥ ܳܡܐ ܳܒ ̇ܗ ܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕܟܝܢ܀‬ ‫ܒܗ ܶܠܝܢ ܶܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܬܡ ܰܠܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܪ ܳܢܐ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ̱ ܰ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܶܰ ܽ ܳܳܺ‬ ‫ܘ� ܐܣܬܟܠ�ܥܡܐ ܕ�ܕܥ ܪܘܚܢܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܕܩ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܛܠܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܪܡܙ ܶܠܗ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫�ܥ�ܡܐ ܦܪܩ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܥܠ ܰܕ ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘ� ܳܢܐ � ܐܣܬ ܰܟܠ܀‬ ‫ܥܘܝܪ ̱ܗܘܐ ܡܢ ܒ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ ܳܗܝ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܟܝܐ ܶܡܢ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܬ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܢ ܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܟܡܬܐ � ܳܓ ܶܒܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܬ ܐ ܳ� ܰ‬ ‫ܡܢ ܰ�ܪ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐ ܽܠܘ ܠܓܘܢ ̇ܗ ܕܨܠܝܒ‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܝܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܬ ܬܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܩܬܐ ܶܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ܀‬ ‫ܠܘ ܣܘܡ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܰܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܨ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܒܥܐ ܰܕ ܽܙܚܘܪܝܬܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܪܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܟܪܙ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܛ� ܰܢܕ ܶܟܐ ܰ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳܡܐ ܶܡܢ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܕܓܘܢܗ ܕܩ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܺ ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܰܕܟܝ �ܥܡܐ ܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܛ�ܢ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܠܘ ܓܝܪ ܥ�ܒܐ ܘܬܘ�ܐ ܕܟܝ ̱‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܶܕܡ ܰܕ ܽܙܥܘܪ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ ܳܗܐ ܡܚܘܐ ܠܗ‪:‬‬

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So that through the allegories, it might learn the symbols of the crucifixion. “Choose a heifer and let the priest take it out from the [camp of the] nation.” If it was not a symbol, why did he bring it out from the nation? Let him slaughter it inside the camp: then it will [still] be a sacrifice! But because it was a symbol, he took it 43 and went out, apart from the nation. It was the likeness of our Lord whom the priests and the Sadducees brought out, who would be a sacrifice on behalf of sinners, outside of the nation. 44 The teachers of the people led Him out of Jerusalem, 45 and they slaughtered Him outside that He might be the purification of the world. 46 He carried with Him the wood of the cross when He went out [of the city],

ܿ

O: ‫“ ܕܒܪܗ‬He took it.” The Bedjan text reads, ‫“ ܕܒܪܗ‬he took her.” L: ‫“ ܠܒܪ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ ܕܢܗܘܐ ܕܒܚܐ ܥܠ�ܓܓܘܠܬܐ‬who would be a sacrifice on Golgotha, outside of the nation.” 45 All four Gospels are clear that Jesus was led out of the city and executed by the Roman authorities. Mar Jacob, as with all other church writers during the patristic age, places the responsibility of Jesus’ death at the hands of the Jewish leaders who delivered Him to the Romans. Hence why this stanza describes the Jewish teachers as being the ones leading Jesus out of the city and executing Him. See Matthew 27:31– 35; Mark 15:20–24; Luke 23:25–33; John 19:16–18. 46 See Hebrews 13:11–12. See also Acts 13:27–29; 1 Thessalonians 2:14–15. 43 44

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‫ܰ ̈ ܶܳ ܳ ܺ ܰ ܳܶ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܒܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܕܒܦ�ܬ ܐ ܢܐܠܦ ܐ̱� ܙ ̇ܝܗ ܕܨܠ‬ ‫ܺ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܰܘܢ ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܝܗ ܟܗܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܦܩ ̇‬ ‫�ܒܪ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܓܒܝ ܠܡ ܬ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܐ ܽܠܘ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܰܙ ܐ ̱ܗܘ �ܒܪ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ �ܡܘܢ ܡܦܩ ܠ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܗ ܳܡ ܶܕܝܢ ܬܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܢܶ ܺ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܣ ̇‬ ‫ܒܚܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܓܘ ܡܫܪ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰܘܕܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ �ܒܪ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ ܰܕܒܪ ̇ܗ ܘܢܦܩ܀‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡܘܬܶܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܳܟ ̈ܗܢܶܐ ܰܘܙ ܽܕ ̈ܘ ܳܩܝܶܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܕܐܦܩ ̱‬ ‫ܳܶ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܳ‬ ‫�ܒܪ ܶܡܢ ܰܥ ܳܡܐ ܕܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܠܦ ܰܚܛܝ̈ܐ܀‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܢܦܩܘ ܳܣ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܦ�ܝ ܰܥ ܳܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܰܘ ̱‬ ‫ܶܡܢ ܐܘܪܫܠܡ ܰܕܒܪ ̱‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܕܠܬܕܟ‬ ‫�ܒܪ ܰܩܛ� ̱‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܺܙܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܦܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܰܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܩܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰܥ ܶܡܗ ܰܟܕ ܳܢ ܶܦܩ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

just as the cedarwood which Moses brought out for the sacrifice. The body of the Great Savior was spotted 47 by the blood of the scourges, just like the color 48 of that sacrifice of Moses which was red. The defiled ones crucified Him who purifies the entire world. The priest too who slew 49 the heifer became defiled. His forgiving blood flowed from His side on Golgotha, and it fulfilled in its color the place of the scarlet dye. Water along with blood went out from the Savior, for the sacrifice was also thrown into water to purify the defiled ones. Our Lord alone purified the unclean ones from defilement, for He is the sprinkling suitable for the purification of the unclean ones. He is the great remedy for the scars of all who fell, and there is no ulcer which He healed that resists Him. Come, O Jew, and see the sprinkling of the Church today, which purifies the defiled without the ashes of the heifer. She carries the cross instead of that wool of scarlet. She seals the defiled ones and they are purified of their blemishes. She carries the body and the blood and sprinkles the wounds, and through it [=the cross], all the stains 50 of every sinner are whitened. She sprinkled some of it on harlots who are not holy,

L:‫ܙܠܥ‬ ܼ “poured out.” L: ‫ܓܘܢܐ‬ 49 O: ‫ܕܢܟܣܗ‬ ̈ 50 ̇ ‫“ ܘܡܬܚܘ�ܢ‬and through her, all the scars O: ‫ܒܗ ܟܠ ܫܘܡܬܐ ܕܟܠ ܚܛܝ̈ܐ‬ of every sinner are whitened.” 47 48

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‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܝܬܝ ܶ‬ ‫�ܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ܀‬ ‫ܐܝܟ ܕܐܦ ܩܝܣܐ ܕܐܪܙ ܐ ܐ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܶ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܓܕܐ ܺܙܠܝܚ ̱ܗܘܐ ܦܓܪܗ ܕܦܪܩܐ ܪܒܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܕܡܐ ܕܢ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܐܝܟ ܰܗܘ ܰܓܘܢܗ ܕܕܒܚܗ ܕܡܘܫܐ ܕܣܘܡܩܐ ̱ܗܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܰܛ ̈ܶܡܐܐ ܰܙ ܽ‬ ‫ܟ� ܳܢܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܰܠ ܰ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܽܟ ܶܠܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܩܦ‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܕܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܳܕܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܳܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܣܗ ܠܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܐܬܛ ܰܡܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܣ� ܳܢܐ ܳܪܕܐ ܶܡܢ ܶܣ ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܡܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܛܪܗ ܰܥܠ� ܳܓܓܘܠܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܽ ܰ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܪܝܬܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܡ ܺܠܝ ܒܓܘܢܗ ܕܘܟܬ ܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚ‬ ‫ܰܡ ܳܝ̈ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܶܡܢ ܳܦ ܽܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܦܩ ̱ܘ ̱ܗ ܰܘܘ ܰܥ ܶܡܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܩܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܳܝ̈ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܳܕܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܦܠ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰܢܕ ܶܟܐ ܛ ̈ܡܐܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ ̈ܶ ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܒ ܽ‬ ‫�ܚܘܕ ܰܕ ܺܟܝ ܠܛܡܐܐ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܘ�ܘ ܳ‬ ‫ܽܕܗ ܽ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰܕܠܬ ܺܕܟܝܬܐ ܕܛ ̈ܡܐܐ ܳܚ ܰܫܚ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰܳ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫�ܫ ̈ܘ ܳܡܬܐ ܽܕܟ� ܳܢ ܶܦܠ‪:‬‬ ‫ܥܨ ܰܒܐ ̱ܗܘ ܪܒܐ ܕ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܺܪܝܕ ܶܡܢܶܗ ܕ� ܰܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܚܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܳܘ� ܐܝܬ ܽܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܣܐ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܽ ܳܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܳ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܬ ܐ ܰ� ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܬ ܐ �ܗܘܕ�ܐ ܘܚܙܝ ܪܣܣܐ ܕܥ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܶ ̱ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰܰ‬ ‫ܕ� ̱ܗܘܐ ܒܩܛܡܐ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܡܕܟܝܐ ܠܕܡܬܛܡܐ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܺ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܙܩܝܦܐ ܛܥܝܢܐ ܚܠܦ ܗܘ ܥܡܪܐ ܕܙܚ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܠܛ ̈ܶܡܐܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܝܢ ܳܒ ̇ܗ ܶܡܢ ܽܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܝ̈ ܽܗܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܬܡܐ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܺ ܳ ܳܳ ܰ ܳܳܳ‬ ‫ܦܓܪܐ ܘܕܡܐ ܛܥܝܢܐ ܘܪܣܐ ܠܚܒ�ܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܽ ܽ ̈ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܬܡܬܐ ܽܕܟܠ ܚܛܝܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܡܬܚܘ�ܢ ܒܗ ܟܠ ܟܘ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳܪ ܳܣܐ ܶܡܢܶܗ ܰܥܠ ܳܙܢܝ̈ܬܐ ܕ� ܩܕܝܫܢ‪:‬‬

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and through the water they became virgins in some sacred manner. 51 This sprinkling fell 52 upon the Publican and he was set aright, 53 and it placed the sinful woman in the rank of the Apostles. 54 A trickle of it went to the thief, an avid wolf, and it made him a lamb that he would enter and graze in the Kingdom. 55 If this sprinkling is sprinkled on an old man, he would become a youth through the spiritual second birth. 56 This sprinkling purifies the soul from defilement. O you who are defiled! Come, whiten with it your blemishes! 57 Through this symbol, Moses purified the children of his nation. There was no power in the heifer to purify anything. The beauty of the likeness of our Lord poured forth 58 over the Hebrew people, and through it, the defiled ones of the nation were truly purified. Through the color of the heifer and that of the scarlet dye, 59 the Law clearly portrayed the blood of the Savior. 60

See Luke 7:36–50; John 4:1–42; John 8:1–11. L: ‫“ ܪܣ‬was sprinkled.” 53 See Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 18:9–14. 54 L: ‫“ ܕܥ�ܝ̈ܡܬܐ‬of the maidens.” In Syriac texts, the sinful woman regularly refers to the anonymous woman of Luke 7. See Luke 7:36–50. 55 See Luke 23:32–43. 56 See John 3:1–8. 57 See Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18. 58 L: ‫ܙܠܥܬ‬ “poured out.” ܸ 59 L: ‫“ ܓܘܢܐ‬color.” ̄ 60 L: ‫ܡܚܝܢܐ‬ 51 52

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‫ܰ ̈ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ̈ ܳ ̈ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܝܫܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܘܒܬܘܠܬܐ ܒܡܝܐ ܗܘ�ܢ ܩܕ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳܗ ܳܢܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܢܦܠ ܰ�ܥܠ ܳܡܟܣܐ ܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܙܕ ܰܕܩ ̱ܗܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܚܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫�ܚܛܝܬܐ ܳܣ ܳܡ ̇ܗ ܒܬܓܡܐ ܕܫܠ‬ ‫ܘ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶܪܙܦܐ ܡܢܗ ܡܛܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܠܓܝܣܐ ܕܐܒܐ �ܥܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܕܗ ܶܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܥ ܶ‬ ‫�ܟܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܡܪܐ ܕ�ܶ ܽܥܘܠ ܢܶܪܥܶܐ ܶܒܝܬ ܡ‬ ‫ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܳܗ ܳܢܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܕܥܠ ܳܣ ܳܒܐ ܐ̱ ܳܢܫ ܐܢ ܳܪܐܣ ܶܠܗ‪:‬‬ ‫�ܕܐ ܰܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܛ ܳ‬ ‫�ܝܐ ܳܗ ܶܘܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܪܝܢ ܽܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܚ ܳ� ܳܝܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳܗ ܳܢܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ܶܡܢ ܛ ܽܡܐܘܬ ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܘ�ܚ ܰܢ ܽ‬ ‫ܬܡ ̱ܘ ܰܬܘ ܰܚ ܰܘܪ ̱ܘ ܶܒܗ ܽܣ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܟܘܢ܀‬ ‫ܐܘ ܕܐܬܟ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒ ̱ܐ ܳܪ ܙܶܗ ܕܗܢܐ ܰܕܟܝ ܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ �ܒ ܰܢܝ ܥܡܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܝ� ܰ‬ ‫ܬܕ ܶܟܐ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ܀‬ ‫� ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܒܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܐܝܬ ̱ܗܘܐ ܚ‬ ‫ܘܦܪ ̇ܗ ܰܥܠ�ܥܶ ܳ‬ ‫�ܚܬ ܽܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܡܘܬܶܗ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܰܪܢ ܙܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܒ��ܶܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܰ ̈ܶ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܘܒ ̇ܗ ܐܬܕܟܝܘ ܛܡܐܐ ܕܥܡܐ ܫܪܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܓܘܢܐ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܘܒܗܘ ܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚܘܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܚ� ܳܢܐ ܳ�ܪ ܳܢ ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣܐ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

The priest with his finger sprinkled blood in the Tabernacle, to instruct the soul to seal its gates 61 through the atoning blood. “Sprinkle seven times towards the Tabernacle from the blood of the heifer,” he commanded the priest who slayed her. Moses hinted to you if you look clearly, for there are seven gates 62 in your being which you seal 63 through blood. Let the cross be a guardian for the gate of the soul, that it may be shut 64 before the stranger so that he will not enter it. He instructed you through the wool for it carried the color of the scarlet, to dye your soul with God to acquire His color. Let love kindle the burning sacrifice that will burn iniquity. Kindle your soul to God through tears of love. O that I might be given love that will hear clearly, so that the symbol of Moses might be uttered again abundantly. Its beauty stirs me to redouble my word on the reading, that the beauty of the image which was entirely marvellous will be made manifest again. His book gestured to me: Read me clearly and then you will find great wealth amongst my verses. O intelligent ones, give me your hearing with love, that through the parable 65 of Moses we may prudently grow rich.

̇ “its gate.” O: ‫ܬܪܥܗ‬ O: ‫ܬ�ܥܐ‬ 63 O: ‫[“ ܚ̇ ܬܡ‬which] seals.” 64 O: ‫ܐܚܝܕܐ‬ ̇ ̈ 65 O: ‫“ ܕܒܦ�ܬܗ‬that through the parables.” 61 62

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‫ܰ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܶ ܶ ܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܳܪܐܣ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܡܫܟܢܙܒܢܐ ܟܗܢܐ ܒܨܒܥܗ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܶ ܽ‬ ‫ܰܕܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܝܗ ܰܒܕܡܐ ܰܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ ܕܬܚܬܘܡ ܬ�ܥ ̇‬ ‫ܣܝܐ܀‬ ‫�ܦ ̇ܗ �ܢ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܳ̈ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܩܒܠ ܰܡ ܰ‬ ‫ܫܟ ܰܢܙ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܐ ܽܪܘܣ ܰܠܡ ܽܠ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܫܒܥ ܙܒܢ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܡܢ ܕܡ ̇ܗ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܦܩܕ �ܟܗܢܐ ܕܢܟܣ ̱ܗܘܐ ܠ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ ܽ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܐܢ ܳܚܐܪ ܐܢ̱ܬ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܪܡܙ ܠܟ ܡ‬ ‫ܰ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܽ‬ ‫ܒܥܐ ܰܬ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫�ܥܝܢ ܺܕܐܝܬ ܒܩܢܘܡܟ ܒܕܡܐ ܬܚܬܘܡ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܥܒܝܕ ܳܢ ܽܛ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܠܬ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܒܐ ܢܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܨܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܥܐ ܰܕܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܟܪ ܳ�ܐ ܕ� �ܶ ܽܥܘܠ ܳ�ܠ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܕܬܗܘܐ ܐܚܕܐ ܩܕܡ ܢ‬ ‫ܰ ܳ̇ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܪܐ ܰܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܠܦܟ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܫܩܠ�ܓܘܢܗ ܕܙܚܘܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܦܫܟ ܐܢ̱ܬ ܰܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܬܶ ܽܨܒܘܥ ܰܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܐ� ܳܗܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܓܘܢܶܗ ܬܩܢܶܐ܀‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܥ ܳܘ� ܺܢ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܒܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܠܩ ܽܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܳܕ� ܶܩܕ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܩܕ‪:‬‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܫܓ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪ ̇ܝܗ ܰ‬ ‫�ܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܕܡܥ̈ܶܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܒܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܦܫܟ ܶܨܝܕ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܰܡܢ ܶܕܝܢ ܰ� ̱ܗܒ ܠܝ ܚܘܒܐ ܕܢܫܡܥ ܢܗܝܪܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳܶ ܽ ܶ ܺ ܺ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܕܬܘܒ ܢܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܰܥܬ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܬܡ ܰܠܠ ܐ̱ܪ ܙܗ ܕܡ‬ ‫ܢܝ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܦܪܗ ܶܐ ܽܥܘܦ ܶܡ ܰܠܬ ̱ܝ ܰܥܠ ܶܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܓ ܰ‬ ‫ܪ� ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܪܓ ̱‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܽܕܟ ܶܠܗ ܬܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚ ܶܘܐ ܽܫ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܦܪܗ ܰܕܨ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܬܘܒ ܢܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܪܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܪܡܙ ܺܠܝ ܰܕ ܺ‬ ‫ܟܬ ܶܒܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܩܪܝ ܺܒܝ ܰܠܡ ܰܢ ܺܗ ܳܝܪܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܫܟܚ ܰܐܢܬ ܰܒ ܳܝܢܬ ܽܚ ̈ܘ ܰܩܝ ܽܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܬܪ ܐ ܰܪ ܳܒܐ܀‬ ‫ܘܬܘܒ ܶܡ ܰ ̱‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܳܽ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܝܒܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܗܒܘ ܠܝ ܨܘܬ ܐ ܐܘ ܦ�ܘܫܐ ܚܒ‬ ‫ܰ ̱ܶܳ ̈ ܶ ܽ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܒܦ�ܬܗ ܕܡܘܫܐ ܢܥܬܪ ܦܪܘܫܐܝܬ܀‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

Why and for what reason was the heifer burned in fire, if not to depict a type of the bread of the Son of God? In the conflagration of the sacrifice which was made, the Eucharistic bread was represented, for it also burns in fire to purify the one who takes it. The Law commanded that they should cast the sacrifice in a place that was purified; the place that is purified it called the church for it is a house of propitiation. The bread of our Lord is made a purification for the entire world, that the church divides affectionately for her children. Come, O nations of the earth! Become pure through this sprinkling! For there is power in it that will also cure the wounds of the soul. 66 If through the hand of Moses, His shadow purified the people, how much more through His substance will He give life to those invoking Him? If a person from the nation came close to the bone of a dead person, they sprinkled him from the conflagration of the heifer. Thus, if your person dies altogether today, the church has a sprinkling that gives you life, if you desire. She does not purify you through the blood of calves which you offer, nor does she sprinkle the ashes of the heifer on your wounds. She does not bring you cedarwood to whiten yourself by it, neither through the wool of the scarlet does she cleanse your iniquity.

66

See Hebrews 9:11–14.

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‫ܽ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܡܛܠ ܳܡ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܒܢܘܪܐ �ܡܢ ܡܘܩܕ ̱ܗܘܐ‬ ‫ܶܳ ܰ ܽ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܕܒܪ ܐ�ܗܐ܀‬ ‫ܐ � ܕܢܨܘܪ ܛܘܦܣܐ ܕܠܚܡܗ‬ ‫ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܪܫܡ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܩܕ ܢܐ ܕܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܗܘ ܰ� ܳ‬ ‫ܝܣܬܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܕܥܒܕ‪:‬‬ ‫ܦܪ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳܕܐܦ ܗܝ ܒܢܘܪܐ �ܩܕܐ ܬܕܟܐ ܠܕܢܣܒ ܠ ̇ܗ܀‬ ‫ܕܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܬܪ ܐ ܰܕ ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܩܕܐ ܰܢ ܽ‬ ‫ܦܩܕ ܳܢ ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܕܟܐ ܰ‬ ‫�ܝ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܡܘܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܬ ܐ ܳܩ ܶܪܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܕܒܝܬ ܽܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣ ܳܝܐ ̱ܗܝ܀‬ ‫ܬܪ ܐ ܰܕܕ ܶܟܐ �ܥ‬ ‫ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܺ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܳ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܽܟ ܶܠܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܚܡܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܥܒܝܕ ܬܕܟ‬ ‫ܰ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܺ ܳ ܰ ܶ̈ ܰ ܺ ܳܺ‬ ‫ܕܡܦܠܓܐ ܠܗ ܥܕܬ ܐ ܠܒ�ܝ ̇ܗ ܚܒܝܒܐܝܬ܀‬ ‫ܬܕ ܽܟܘ ܰܥ ̱ܡ ̈ܶܡܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܗ ܳܢܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܰܬܘ ܶܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܪܥܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ ܽ̈ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ ܰܢ ܶ‬ ‫ܬܐ ܰܕܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܚܠܡ܀‬ ‫ܺܕܐܝܬ ܶܒܗ ܰܚܝ� ܕܐܦ ܫܘܡ‬ ‫ܶܘܐܢ ܶܛ ܳܠܶܗ ܰܕ ܺܟܝ ܰ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳܡܐ ܺܒ ܰ ̈‬ ‫ܐܝܕܝ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܽ ܶ ܰ ̈ܶ ܶ ܶ‬ ‫ܬܠ ܰ�ܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܩ ܶܪܝܢ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܟܡܐ ܒܩܢܘܡܗ ܚܝܐ ܢ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܳ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܐܢ ܳܩ ܶܪܒ ̱ܗܘܐ ܠܓܪܡܐ ܕܡܝܬܐ ܐ̱ܢܫ ܡܢ ܥܡܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܳܳ ܶ ܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܬ ܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܳܪ ܺܣܝܢ ̱ܗ ܰܘܘ܀‬ ‫ܥ�‬ ‫ܡܢ �ܩܕ ܢܐ ܕܕܒܚܐ ܕܬ‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܗܪܟܐ ܟܠܟ ܓܒܪܐ �ܘܡܢ ܐܢ ܡܐܬ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰܶ ܳ ܶ ܳܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܐܝܬ ܳܠ ̇ܗ �ܥܕܬ ܐ ܪܣܣܐ ܕܬܚܝܟ ܐܢ ܨܒܐ ܐܢ̱ܬ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܶ̈ܶ ܰ ܰ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܶܪܒ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫� ܡܕܟܝܐ ܠܟ ܒܕܡܐ ܕܥܓ� ܕ‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܽ̈ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܛܡܐ ܕܬܘܪܬ ܐ ܳܪ ܳܣܐ ܰܥܠ ܫܘܡܬܟ܀‬ ‫ܐܦ� ܩ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ� ܰ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܒܐ ܳܠܟ ܰܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܣܐ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܪܙ ܐ ܕܬ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚ ܰܘܪ ܶܒܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܩܐ ܰܥ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܳܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܠܟ܀‬ ‫ܐܦ� ܒܥܡܪܐ ܕܙܚܘܪ‬

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HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

She neither sprinkles on you water with the hyssop from the conflagration, nor does she make you stink by the blood of the various sacrifices. 67 She makes the sign of the cross which is the summation of all sacrifices, and through it, she gives you everlasting light and life. 68 Come out, O Jew, from the shadows which you serve, and come, be completely enlightened by the cross of light which you do not love! You are exempt 69 of sacrifices; the church 70 does not require bulls from you. Come in person – there is a sacrifice that purifies you! No one requires you to bring tithes with you, and there are no offerings 71 except your own person to God. If you come, do not bring a heifer to us to sacrifice. Come and become whitened by the crucifixion and blot out your iniquity. If your soul is red like the scarlet in iniquity, the cross will whiten and purify it 72 from defilement. If you are more defiled 73 than the scarlet dye,

̈ “sacrifices.” The Bedjan text shows ‫“ ܕܒܚܐ‬sacrifice” which was L: ‫ܕܕܒܚܐ‬ rendered as a plural above for the sake of the English translation. The translation would have read literally: “nor does it make you stink by the blood of the sacrifice of the various kinds.” 68 See Ephesians 2:13–18; Colossians 1:19–22; 2:13–15. 69 O: ‫“ ܚܣܘܟ‬Exempt [yourself].” ̈ 70 Sic O: ‫ܥܕܒܐ‬ 71 O: ‫“ ܩܘܪܒܢܐ‬offering.” 72 L: ‫“ ܠܟ‬you.” 73 L: ‫“ ܬܫܬܚܡ‬you will be darkened.” 67

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‫‪325‬‬

‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܒܙ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ� ܳܪ ܳܣܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܥܠܝܟ ܰܡ ܳܝ̈ܐ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܦܐ ܶܡܢ ܰ� ܳ‬ ‫ܩܕ ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܗܡܐ ܳܠܟ ܰܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܙ ܳ‬ ‫ܳܘ� ܰ‬ ‫ܕܡܐ ܶܕܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܕܡ ܶܕܡ ܶܡ ܶܕܡ܀‬ ‫�ܗܘܢ ܶܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܺܙܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܘ�ܘ ܳܣ ܳܟܐ ܽܕܟ ܽ‬ ‫ܝܦܐ ܳܪ ܳ‬ ‫ܫܡܐ ܽܕܗ ܽ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܗܒܐ ܳܠܟ ܽܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܚ ̈ܶܝܐ ܳܕ� ܽܫ ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܘܒܗ ܳ� ܳ‬ ‫ܘܗܪܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘ� ܳܡܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܽܦܘܩ ܽ� ̱ܗ ܳܘܕ ܳ�ܐ ܶܡܢ ܶܛ ܳ �� ܶ� ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܫ ܶܡܫ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܽ ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܘܬ ܐ ܰܢܗܪ ܽܟ ܳܠܟ ܰܒ ܺ‬ ‫ܘܗܪܐ ܕ� ܳܪ ܶܚܡ ܐܢ̱ܬ܀‬ ‫ܨܠܝܒ ܢ‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܚܣܝܟ ܰܐܢܬ ܶܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܳ� ܳܒ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܝܐ ܳܠܟ ܺܥܕܬ ܐ ܬܘ�ܐ‪:‬‬ ‫̱‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܒܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܟ ܳܬ ܐ ܳܠܟ ܺܐܝܬ ܽ ̱ܗܘ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܚ ܶܣܐ ܳܠܟ܀‬ ‫ܰ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܠܘ ܰܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܥܣ ܶ�ܐ ܳܒܥܶܐ ܳܠܟ ܐ̱ ܳܢܫ ܬܝܬܐ ܰܥ ܳܡܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܩܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܘ�ܒܢܶܐ ܐ � ܽ‬ ‫ܳܘ� ܽܩ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܟ ܶܨܝܕ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ܀‬ ‫ܳ ܰ ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܳܶ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܐܢ ܐܬ ܐ ܐܢ̱ܬ‪:‬‬ ‫� ܬܝܬܐ ܠܢ ܬܘܪܬ ܐ �ܕ‬ ‫ܰ ܺ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܘܬ ܐ ܳܬ ܐ ܶܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܚ ܰܘܪ ܰܘܥܛܝ ܰܥܘܠܟ܀‬ ‫ܒܨܠܝܒ‬ ‫ܶ ܽ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܐܢ ܣܘܡܩܐ ܒܥܘ� ܢܦܫܟ ܐܝܟ ܬܘܠܥܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܺ ܳ ܰܰ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܙܩܝܦܐ ܡܚܘܪ ܘܡܚܠܠ�ܠ ̇ܗ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܳ ܶ ܽ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܪܝܬܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܬܬܟܬܡ ܛܒ ܡܢ ܨܘܒܥܐ ܕܙܚ‬

52 330

335

340

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION

the death of the Son will purify you, if you will confess Him. Moses also purified you mystically through our Lord, and through Him all those sacrifices which were offered were received. Leave the sacrifice and offer yourself to God, for it is not something belonging to you that He wants but you yourself. There is the sacrifice that you crucified which purifies you. Cleanse yourself of His killing and He will atone you of your debts. If the Father of truth is loved by you, confess His Son. And if you love the whole-burnt sacrifices, He is also the sacrifice. If you seek the purification of the soul, He purifies you. And if you desire the sprinkling, He sprinkles on you His blood. You do not abolish the Law on account of Him if you love Him; all sacrifices are comprised in Him without the stench. He is Pontiff and Sacrifice and Priest 74 and the One who atones. 75 Blessed is He through whose symbols Moses purified the entire nation.

L: ‫“ ܗܘܝܘ ܟܘܡܪܐ ܘܟܗܢܐ ܘܕܒܚܐ ܘܡܚܣܝܢܐ‬He is Pontiff and Priest and Sacrifice, and the One who atones.” 75 See Hebrews 2:17; 3:1–2; 4:14–15; 5:1–10; 6:20; 7:26–28; 8:1–7; 9:11–28. 74

‫‪53‬‬ ‫‪330‬‬

‫‪335‬‬

‫‪340‬‬

‫‪TEXT AND TRANSLATION‬‬

‫ܰܡܘܬܶܗ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ܳܠܟ ܶܐܢ ܰܬ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܪܐ ܽܗܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܕܐ ܶܒܗ܀‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܒܡ ܰܪܢ ܰܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܟܝܟ ܳܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܐ̱ ܳܪ ܳܙ ܢܳܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫�ܗܘܢ ܶܕ ̈ܶ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܒܗ ܶܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܬܩ ܰܒ� ̱ܘ ܽܟ ܽ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܡܩ ܶܪܒ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ܀‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܰܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܩ ܶܪܒ ܰܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܦܐ ܶܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܦܫܟ ܶܨܝܕ ܐ ܳ� ܳܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶܳ ܶ‬ ‫ܰܠܘ ܶܓܝܪ ܺܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܝܠܟ ܳܒܥܶܐ ̱ܗ ܳܘܐ ܳܠܟ ܐ � ܐܢ ܳܠܟ܀‬ ‫ܺ ܽ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܰ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܬܝ ̱ܗܝ ܰܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܡܕ ܶܟܐ ܳܠܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܝܬ ̱ܗܘ ܕܒܚܐ ܗܘ ܕܨܠ‬ ‫ܺ ܶ ܶ ܶ ܰ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ̈ܳ ܳ‬ ‫ܣܚܝ ܡܢ ܩܛܠܗ ܘܡܚܣܐ ܠܟ ܡܢ ܚܘܒܬܟ܀‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܳ ܰܳ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܫܬܐ ܰܐ ܳܘܕܐ ܰܒ ܶ‬ ‫ܒܪܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܰܚ ܺܒܝܒ ܠܟ ܐܒܐ ܕܩ‬ ‫ܶ ܳ ܶ ܰ ܶ ̈ܶ ܰ ̈ܶ‬ ‫�ܡܐ ܳܐܦ ܽܗܘ ܶܕ ܰ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ̱ܗܘ܀‬ ‫ܘܐܢ ܪܚܡ ܐܢ̱ܬ ܕܒܚܐ ܫ‬ ‫ܶ ܰ ܺ ܳ‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܽ‬ ‫ܝܬܐ ܰܕܢ ܳ‬ ‫ܰ‬ ‫ܦܫܐ ܳܒܥܶܝܬ ܗܘ ܡܕܟܐ ܠܟ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܢ ܬܕܟ‬ ‫ܶ‬ ‫ܒ� ܳܢܟ ܶ‬ ‫ܶܘܐܢ ܰܠ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܓܝܓ ܶܨ ܳ‬ ‫ܪܣ ܳܣܐ ܺ‬ ‫ܕܡܗ ܳܪܐܣ ܳܠܟ܀‬ ‫ܡܒ ܶܛܠ ܰܐܢ̱ܬ ܶܐܢ ܬܶ ܳ‬ ‫ܰܠܘ ܳܢ ܽܡ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܣܐ ܶܒܗ ܰ‬ ‫ܪܚܡܝ ̱ܗܝ‪:‬‬ ‫ܶ ܶ ܰ ܺ ܽ ܽ ܶ ̈ܶ ܳ ܰ ܽ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܡܘܬ ܐ܀‬ ‫ܒܗ ܡܣܬܝܟܝܢ ܟ�ܗܘܢ ܕܒܚܐ ܕ� ܙ‬ ‫ܘ�ܘ ܽܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܒܚܐ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܟ ܳ‬ ‫ܘܡܪܐ ܶ‬ ‫ܽܗ ܽ‬ ‫ܘܕ ܳ‬ ‫ܡܚ ܳ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܰܘ ܰ‬ ‫ܣ� ܳܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܳ‬ ‫ܺ‬ ‫ܘܫܐ ܰ‬ ‫ܘܗܝ ܰܕ ܺܟܝ ܽܡ ܶ‬ ‫�ܥ ܳܡܐ ܽܟ ܶܠܗ܀‬ ‫ܒܪܝܟ ܰܕܒ ̱ܐ� ܰܙ ̱‬

‫‪259‬‬

BIBLIOGRAPHY ANCIENT SOURCES

Bedjan, Paulus, ed. Homiliae selectae Mar-Jacobi Sarugensis, I–V. Paris–Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1902–1910. Reprinted as Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, I–VI. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2006. Patrologia Graeca. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 161 vols. Paris, 1857– 1886.

MODERN SOURCES

Brock, Sebastian P. “Baptismal Themes in the writings of Jacob of Serug.” Pages 325–47 in Symposium Syriacum. Vol. 205 of Orientalia Christiana Analecta. Edited by François Graffin and Antoine Guillaumont. Rome: Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1978. ——. “Some Important Baptismal Themes in the Syriac Tradition.” Harp 4 (1991): 189–214. ——. “Fire from Heaven: from Abel’s Sacrifice to the Eucharist.” Pages 229–243 in Fire from Heaven: Studies in Syriac Theology and Liturgy. Vol. 25 of Studia Patristica: Biblica et Apocrypha, Orientalia, Ascetica. Edited by Amy Livingstone. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 1993. Reprinted in Vol. 863 of Variorum Collected Studies Series. London: Ashgate Variorum, 2006. Harrak, Amir, trans. Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on the Partaking of the Holy Mysteries. Vol. 19 of Texts from Christian Late An55

56

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION tiquity. Edited by George A. Kiraz. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2013.

Kaplan, Aryeh. Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation. Rev. ed. Boston: Weiser Books, 1997. Lane, David J. “Jacob of Sarug: On the Red Heifer.” Harp 15 (2002), 25–42. Lehto, Adam. The Demonstrations of Aphrahat, the Persian Sage. Vol. 27 of Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies. Edited by George A. Kiraz, István Perczel, Lorenzo Perrone, and Samuel Rubenson. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2010. Wickes, Jeffrey T., trans. St. Ephrem the Syrian: The Hymns on Faith. Vol. 130 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation. Edited by David G. Hunter et al. Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 2015.

INDEX OF BIBLICAL REFERENCES References are to line number

Exodus 4:10

Numbers 19:2–9

59 75–91

Isaiah 1:18 35:5 43:8

268 200 202

Psalms 51:7

268

Matthew 9:9–13 23:16–22

261 202

Luke 7:36–50 18:9–14 23:32–43

260, 262 261 264

John 3:1–8 4:1–42 8:1–11 12:38–40

266 260 260 202

Acts 13:27–29

238

Ephesians 2:13–18

318

Colossians 1:19–22 2:13–15

318 318

1 Thessalonians 2:14–15 238 Hebrews 2:17 3:1–2 4:14–15 5:1–10 57

344 344 344 344

58

HOMILY ON THE RED HEIFER AND THE CRUCIFIXION 6:20 7:26–28 8:1–7 9:11–14

344 344 344 304

9:11–28 13:11–12

344 238