The Story of Mar Pinhas 9781463235475

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The Story of Mar Pinḥas

Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Text and Translation 2 Series Editor Adam H. Becker

Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac is a series of Syriac martyrological texts composed from the fourth century into the Islamic period. They detail the martyrdom of a diversity of Christians at the hands of Sasanian kings, bureaucrats, and priests. These documents vary from purely mythological accounts to descriptions of actual events with a clear historical basis, however distorted by the hagiographer’s hand.

The Story of Mar Pinḥas

Edited and Translated by

Adam Carter McCollum

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34 2013

Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2013 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. 2013

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9

ISBN 978-1-4632-0217-0

ISSN 1941-871X

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 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... vii Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... ix Introduction ............................................................................................................ xi Outline and synopsis ................................................................................... xiii The saint’s name .......................................................................................... xiv Topography ................................................................................................... xv Historicity and chronology ........................................................................ xvi Literary considerations................................................................................. xx The manuscript ............................................................................................ xxi Bibliography ................................................................................................ xxii Text and Translation ............................................................................................... 1 The Story of Mar Pinḥas, Victorious Martyr ............................................. 2 Annotation.............................................................................................................. 19 Index ........................................................................................................................ 31 Index of Proper Names ............................................................................... 31 Index of Biblical Verses............................................................................... 31 Appendix: Addai Scher’s Arabic version of the Story of Mar Pinḥas........... 33 Arabic text ..................................................................................................... 34 English translation ........................................................................................ 35

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am happy to thank several colleagues and friends who read the manuscript and whose suggestions and criticisms improved the this work: Angela Roskop (Xavier University), Gareth Hughes (University of Oxford), Sergey Minov (Hebrew University), and Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB (Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Saint John’s University). Edward G. Mathews, Jr. and Andrew Criddle also responded with suggestions to an enquiry I posted on the Hugoye list. George Kiraz offered his help on parts of the Arabic text published in the Appendix. Finally, the series editor offered a number of helpful remarks on both the introduction and the translation. I take responsibility for the work as it now stands, but with the confession that its present condition is much better off than before it met the helpful scrutiny of those just named.

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ABBREVIATIONS AB Analecta Bollandiana AMS P. Bedjan, ed., Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum. 7 vols. Paris and Leipzig, 1890–1897. BHO The Bollandists, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis. Brussels, 1910. CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium GCAL Georg Graf, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur. 5 vols. Studi e Testi 118, 133, 146, 147, 172. Vatican City, 1944–1953. GEDSH S.P. Brock, A.M. Butts, G. Kiraz, and L. Van Rompay., ed. Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, 2011. GSL Anton Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur. Bonn, 1922. Fiey, Ass. chr. J.-M. Fiey, Assyrie chrétienne. Contribution à l’étude de l’histoire et de la géographie ecclésiastiques et monastiques du nord de I’Iraq. Recherches publiées sous la direction de l’lnstitut de lettres orientales de Beyrouth 22, 34, 42. Beyrouth, 1965, 1968. Fiey, SS J.-M. Fiey, Saints syriaques. Edited by L. Conrad. Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam 6. Princeton, 2004. Labourt J. Labourt, Le christianisme dans l’empire perse sous la dynastie sassanide (224– 632) 2d ed. Paris, 1904. Lampe G.W.H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford, 1961. Mingana, Cat. A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts, 3 vol. Cambridge, 1933–1939. ix

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PO Patrologia Orientalis PS R. Payne Smith, Thesaurus Syriacus. Oxford, 1879–1901. SL Michael Sokoloff, Syriac Lexicon. Piscataway, 2009. Wright, Cat. William Wright, Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum. 3 vols. London, 1870–1872.

INTRODUCTION Num 25:1–13 gives the story of a man called Phinehas (Syriac, Pinḥas)1 who would forever thereafter be known for his efficacious zeal for the God of Israel. Every martyrdom story goes at least some way in extolling the martyr’s zeal in the face of enemies and persecutors, and so the biblical Phinehas might be a distant archetype of every martyr. Among the great number of Christians who suffered under Sasanid rule is another Pinḥas, whose narrative is the subject of the present volume. The Syriac text that presents his life, martyrdom, and the adventure of his relics after his death, first published by Paul Bedjan (AMS IV 208–218) in 1894, is quite brief but a translation of this story with a few explanatory annotations will prove to be not without interest to students of eastern Christianity and to others who study the culture and literature of the Middle East in Late Antiquity. It has never been translated into English or any other European language, and Addai Scher’s Arabic version of the story2 is almost impossible to come by. Nor have there been any studies of the narrative. 1 For the Syriac text, see the Leiden Peshitta I, 2; II, 1b, 79. Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 739, n. 1, cites Thomas of Marga (see Budge 31.9 [Syr; = Bedjan 19.15], 56 [ET]), where he is called ṭannānā “zealot,” as an example of his fame among Syriac writers. There is an unedited homily by Jacob of Sarug on Phinehas; among the manuscripts that contain it are Vat. Syr. 114, ff. 56r–60v, and Vat. Syr. 252, ff. 22v–24a, both of which are difficult to read in several places. In the Bible, Pinḥas’ zeal is again commended in Ps 106:30. 2 Kitāb sīrat ašhar šuhadā’ al-mašriq al-qiddīsīn, vol. 2 (Mosul, 1905), 41–44; see the appendix below for this Arabic text and an English translation of it. Earlier witnesses to an Arabic version of the story include Bibliothèque nationale de France, Ar. 5072, fols. 101v–108r, for which see G. Troupeau, Catalogue des manuscrits arabes, pt. 1, Manuscrits chrétiens, vol. 2 (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1974), 75, and the 16th century Garshuni ms. Sharfeh Syr. 13/24 (I. Armalet, Al-Ṭurfah fī Maḫṭūṭāt Dayr al-Šarfah/Catalogue des manuscrits de Charfet [Jounieh, 1936], 224). These two manuscripts are the only ones mentioned by Graf (GCAL 1.530, 2.504; cf. Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 738, n. 5), but see one more (in Garšūnī) mentioned below under “The Manuscript”.

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Mar Pinḥas3 is, nevertheless, “bien connu de l’hagiographie orientale” (Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 737), not least perhaps because he is included in the list of disciples of the famous Mar Awgen,4 who, according to Syriac tradition, was an early leading force in Mesopotamian monasticism associated with the monastery on Mt. Izla in what is now southeastern Turkey,5 a figure almost 3 GSL, 193, with n. 8. Mar Pinḥas is no. 41 in Brock’s list in the first volume of this series (The History of the Holy Mar Maʿin [Piscataway, 2008], 82.). See also: BHO 989; Jean Maurice Fiey, Ass. chr., vol. 2, 737–739; idem, in Bibliotheca sanctorum orientalium. Enciclopedia dei santi: le chiese orientali, vol. 2 (Rome: Città Nuova, 1999), col. 834; and idem, Saints syriaques, 153–154 (no. 351). 4 BHO 120–123. Isaiah of Aleppo is mentioned as the last of his disciples, on whom see Peeters in AB 27, 165, n. 8, citing AMS III, 534–71, which is the story of this Mar Isaiah. Mar Awgen’s very long story itself may be found in AMS III, 376– 480; for a Garshuni version, cf. Ms. St. Mark’s, Jerusalem, 199, ff. 319r–336r (A. Baumstark and G. Graf, “Die literarischen Handschriften des jakobitischen Markusklosters in Jerusalem, IV. Hagiographische Literatur,” in Oriens Christianus 3 (1913): 317. For secondary literature, see А.П. Дьяконов, “К истории сирийского сказания о св. Мар-Евгене,” Христианский Восток 6:2 (1918), 107–174.; Labourt, 300–315; J.M. Fiey, “Aonès, Awun et Awgin (Eugène): Aux origines du monachisme mésopotamien,” AB 80 (1962): 52–81; Joseph Habbi, “Awgen,” in Bibliotheca sanctorum orientalium. Enciclopedia dei santi: le chiese orientali, vol. 1 (Rome: Città Nuova, 1998), cols. 325–326; Fiey, Saints syriaques, 40–41; E.G. Matthews, Jr., “Awgen, Mar,” in GEDSH, 48; and N. Sims-Williams, “Eugenius,” in Encyclopedia Iranica (online edition, 1998, http://www.iranica.com/articles/eugenius = vol. 9 of the print edition, [1999] 64); Florence Jullien, “Le monachisme chrétien dans l’empire iranien (IVe–XIVe siècles),” in Rika Gyselen, ed., Chrétiens en terre d’Iran: Implantation et acculturation (Studia Iranica, Cahier 33; Paris: Association pour l’avancement des études iraniennes, 2006), 143–184 (especially 150–151). On the Armenian translation of the Vita, see Г.Г. Мелконян, “Армянский перевод ‚Жития Мар-Авгена‛ (Из источников Фавста Бузанда),” Палестинский сборник 17 [80] (1967): 121–124. 5 On his monastery and Mt. Izla, see S.P. Brock, ed., The Hidden Pearl II, 134– 136, with J-M. Fiey, Nisibe, métropole syriaque (CSCO Subs. 54, 1977), 134–41; G. Bell (re-edition, with Introduction and Notes by M. Mundell Mango), The Churches and Monasteries of Tur Abdin (London, 1982), 3–5, 135; S.P. Brock, “Notes on some monasteries on Mount Izla,” in Abr Nahrain 19 (1980/1), 1–6 (repr. in Syriac Perspectives on Late Antiquity (London, 1984), chapter XV); and F. Jullien, Le monachisme en Perse. La réforme d’Abraham le Grand, père des moines de l’Orient (CSCO 622 = Subsidia 121; Louvain: Peeters, 2008), 149–176 and 246–247.

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certainly contrived for the purpose of explaining the supposed Egyptian origin of Syriac monasticism, albeit incorrectly.6 The monastery of Mar Awgen was presumably founded in the fourth century and a number of inscriptions from the twelfth century witness to activity there, as some informative colophons in manuscripts copied at the monastery in later centuries bear witness. Mar Pinḥas has a place among the late, very long list of Mar Awgen’s disciples.7 Referred to in a Syrian Orthodox martyrology8 as both sāhdā “martyr” and, in one version, ʿanwāyā “ascetic,” Mar Pinḥas is celebrated on April 28 (the commemoration of his martyrdom), Sept 20, and Oct 15 among the Syrian Orthodox, and on the second Friday of the Resurrection in the Church of the East.9

OUTLINE AND SYNOPSIS 1–3. Introduction to the narrative. 4. Mar Pinḥas’ early life, his activity as a monk. 5. Aniḥa, an attendant to a city official, raises complaints against Mar Pinḥas. 6. Simun, the city prefect, summons Mar Pinḥas, who confesses the Christian faith before him. 7–8. Further interrogation from Simun and confession by Mar Pinḥas. 9–11. Various tortures and the death of Mar Pinḥas. 12. The deposit and subsequent loss of Mar Pinḥas’ relics; inquiry of Mar Yabh; the son of the man that kept a relic for himself tempted. 13–14. The boy’s parents go to Mar Yabh and Mar Aḥa for help. 6 On the “Egyptianization” of Syriac monasticism — i.e. the erasing of original Syriac monastic history and the rewriting of it as having been imported from Egypt — see Adam H. Becker, Fear of God and the Beginning of Wisdom: The School of Nisibis and Christian Scholastic Culture in Late Antique Mesopotamia (Divinations: Rereading Late Ancient Religions; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006), 172–175, with further references. 7 AMS III 473.9; on this list see Labourt, 310, n. 4; Fiey, “Aonès,” 62; and the remarks of Sims-Williams, “Eugenius.” While some of Mar Awgen’s disciples are included in the so-called Book of Chastity (R. Duval, Le livre de la chasteté composé par Jésusdenah, évêque de Baçrah [Rome, 1896]), Mar Pinḥas is not among them. 8 F. Nau, “Deux ménologes jacobites d’Alep,” part of his Martyrologes et ménologes orientaux, PO 10 (Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1915), 86. In Mor Gabriel ms. 281, 312–336, a Fenqitho of the Martyrs, Mar Pinḥas is grouped with Isaiah of Aleppo and Mar Asya. 9 See Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 738 for the sources.

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15. The foundation of the Convent of Mar Pinḥas. 16. Conclusion.

THE SAINT’S NAME We first meet the name Pinḥas in its Hebrew form in Ex 6:25, where the hero of Num 25 is born, and it occurs a number of other times in the Hebrew Bible. The form in Hebrew is Pīnǝḥās, spelled with yōd in the first syllable, while the Aramaic form found in Targums Onkelos, Neofiti, and Pseudo-Jonathan is written without yōd. The origin of the name is Egyptian, pȝ-nḥśy, and means “the dark-skinned one [Nubian].”10 Other versions or languages have slightly differing forms of the name: Samaritan Hebrew Fīnās, Greek Φινεές,11 Latin F/Phinees,12 and Arabic Finḥās.13 In English, Wycliffe’s version has Phynees14 and Tyndale Phineas.15 Finally, and most directly related to the text before us, the Syriac form, at least according to Bedjan’s vocalization, is Pinḥes. This Syriac form is thus on the side of the Semitic tradition as represented in the Greek form over against that of the Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic in the stages at which we know them. If the Greek and Syriac forms of the name with the e-vowel in the second syllable 10 For more information on the name, with bibliography, see Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, trans. and ed. M.E.J. Richardson (Boston, Leiden: Brill, 2001), s.v., 926. 11 According to the Göttingen LXX: J.W. Wevers, ed., Numeri (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1982), 297. Other forms in the critical apparatus are φεινεες φινες φινεαις, and Armenian phenees and Coptic (Bohairic) phinneos. 12 The Vetus Latina has “Ph” (P. Sabatier, ed., Bibliorum Sacrorum Latinae Versiones Antiquae, vol. 1 [Remis, 1743] 309), the Vulgate (ed. Weber and Gryson) “F”. Jerome interprets the name thus: “Finees os requieuit uel silet uel ori pepercit” (P. de Lagarde, ed., Liber interpretationis Hebraicorum nominum 18.20–21, in S. hieronymi Presbyteri Opera, pt. I, Opera Exegetica, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina LXXII [Turnhout, 1959], 81–82). 13 Cf. G. Graf, GCAL I 530 and the appendix below with Scher’s Arabic version. 14 J. Forshall and F. Madden, eds., The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocrypha in the Earliest English Versions, Made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his Followers, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1850), 433. 15 J.I. Mombert, William Tyndale’s Five Books of Moses Called the Pentateuch, being a Verbatim Reprint of the Edition of M.CCCCC.XXX (London, 1884), 480.

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do not preserve an older Semitic form, the shape of the name in Syriac may, of course, simply follow the Greek, but the Greek form had to come from somewhere, and there is almost certainly an Aramaic form underlying it. It is likely, then, that the Syriac form (as vocalized by Bedjan) preserves an older Aramaic form of the name.

TOPOGRAPHY While most of the place names that occur in this story are only found here among the Persian Martyr Acts, at least several of them are identifiable.16 Based on these identifications, it is clear that much of the narrative takes place near Jazīrat ibn ʿUmar,17 that is, modern Cizre in Şırnak Province of southeastern Turkey. In § 4, we come across Ganbali, probably near Mt. Judi (Cudi dağı), near Cizre; Phenek/Panak, about 12 km NE of Cizre. Later Awṣar/Ḥawṣar, about 11km from Cizre (§ 12); Zarnoqa, in Beth Zabdai (§ 13); and Ayzak/Azekh, 34 east of Cizre (§ 14), are mentioned. To my knowledge, Padam, Zawitha, and the Sarya River (in this part of the world, at least), all in § 11, are unknown. A few more details, with references, are given regarding these place names below in the commentary. In § 3, Mar Pinḥas is said to have come from Atines,18 for which the author gives the variant name Tanis. Scher took this to be Athens, and Fiey19 took these names to mean Tanaos or Athens. The connection that the author makes between Mar Pinḥas and philosophy certainly makes the famous Greek city a likely interpretation, but the location Tanis20 (Egyptian ḏʿn.t; Coptic ϫⲁⲛⲏ, etc., and like the Greek form, ⲧⲁⲛⲉⲱⲥ; the place name in Arabic is ṣān al-ḥa ar)21 in the northeastern Nile delta is not without its own evidence. First, since Mar Pinḥas was reckoned among the number of 16 As will be seen from the comments below on the place names, J.M. Fiey has served as the most informative resource for his observations on the topography of this and a great many other Syriac texts. 17 See, for example, Mingana, Cat., vol. 2, 6 (Syriac) and 82 (Arabic) for other references to the town in colophons, and Wright, Cat., vol. 3, 1339, s.v. gāzartā, gzirtā. 18 Cf. PS 421–422 and R. Duval, ed., Lexicon Syriacum auctore Hassano Bar Bahlule (Paris, 1901), col. 327. 19 Ass. chr., vol. 2, 738. 20 See E. Amélineau, La géographie de l’Égypte à l’époque copte (Paris, 1893), 413– 414. 21 Jaroslav Černý, Coptic Etymological Dictionary (Cambridge, 1976), 358.

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Mar Awgen’s disciples and Mar Awgen was considered the introducer of Egyptian monasticism into Mesopotamia, an Egyptian provenance for Mar Pinḥas, too, is fitting. Second, although the first form of the toponym given could certainly be taken as referring to Athens, that city is so well known that it would hardly need a second name to help identify it. Third, another member of the band of Mar Awgen, Mar Ḥabib, who has no connection whatsoever to philosophical instruction and who is specifically said more than once to be Egyptian, has a connection to a city called Atines (with no further identifier).22 From Tanis, then, (or perhaps Athens) Mar Pinḥas is said to have crossed some water, presumably the Mediterranean Sea, and reached a place called the White Mountain, which Fiey23 takes to be modern Jabal al-Abyaḍ, i.e. White Mountain, in northwestern Iraqi Kurdistan extending from Dihōk to the valley of Zākhō. This likely location would be relatively close to the others in the narrative mentioned above, yet there are also modern places with that name in the Ḥoms Governorate and the Ḥamāh Governorate of Syria. If the White Mountain was more of a waypoint than the final destination of Mar Pinḥas as presented in the narrative — the text of the story is not specific — one or the other of these Syrian places is another possible identification.

HISTORICITY AND CHRONOLOGY There is little in this story to anchor it very specifically to a definite point in time. There are no references to important events about which we know anything, and while some otherwise known individuals are mentioned in the story, too little certain information about them is available to elucidate the story much from a historical perspective. The author makes Mar Pinḥas a disciple of Mar Awgen (§ 3) and a contemporary of Mar Yabh and Mar Aḥa (§§ 11–12). Mar Awgen is described as flourishing sometime in the fourth century, but little else is known for the other two monks mentioned. Mar Yabh is included in the list of Awgen’s disciples at the end of the story of 22 I read the story in Church of the Forty Martyrs, Mardin, 272, pp. 202–227. In the rubric (202), the saint is called “Bishop of Atines, which he left and fled.” Later in the story he has a satanic confrontation with a possessed man from the city of Atines (209). A puzzling occurrence of the toponym in this story (206) occurs when in a conversation with Mar Ḥabib the patriarch Athanasius refers to himself as “leader and shepherd of the church of Atines” (mdabbrānā w-rāʿyā d-ʿēdtā dAtines). 23 Ass. chr., vol. 2, 738.

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Mar Awgen (AMS III, 472.15), and Mar Aḥa is named there immediately after Mar Pinḥas (ibid. 473.9). More thoroughly, the Chronicle of Seert §3824 gives Mar Aḥa also as a disciple of Mar Awgen and as the founder of the Monastery of Zarnuqa, where he was also buried.25 These details along with the attention given to the martyr’s body parts at the end of the narrative encourage a reading of the story as an etiology for relics and monasticism. The city prefect, named Simun,26 who is the ruler in charge of Mar Pinḥas’ persecution, came, the story says, from the family of King Shapur (§ 4), but, whether factual or fictitious, the statement tells us almost nothing; if it is true, it only means that Simun himself was a relative, whether contemporary or descendant, of Shapur, presumably Shapur II (309–379), under whom the persecution of Christians in the Sasanid Empire began in earnest in the 340s. There are no priests or other specifically religious officials27 involved in Mar Pinḥas’ questioning and torture, only Aniḥa and Simun. These meager data allow for the late fourth or early fifth century as the setting for the main activity of the story,28 but there is a notable air of the legendary surrounding Mar Awgen and his disciples, including Mar Pinḥas, so we are compelled to take the story with a large grain of salt.29 As to the chronology of Mar Pinḥas’ life as presented in the martyrdom narrative, he is said to have lived 80 years as an ascetic, with 30 years of specifically warring with demons (§ 3). This seems to mean that within those 80 ascetic years, there was a unique period of demonic struggle for

Ed. A. Scher and P. Dib in PO 5: 252. See the commentary below to § 13 for a reference to the latter monk’s life and the uncertainties surrounding the time in which he lived. Fiey, SS, 30, no. 34. 26 It is vocalized “Simon” in Bedjan’s edition. As also noted below, the name is spelled differently from that of Simon Peter. The spelling here, which also follows that of Fiey in Nisibe, 172, serves to distinguish the two names. 27 On Sasanid officials in the Syriac Persian Martyr Acts, see Ph. Gignoux, “Titres et fonctions religieuses sasanide d’après les sources syriaques hagiographiques,” Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 28 (1980): 191–203. 28 P. Devos also names Pinḥas “parmi les martyrs douteux de cette époque” (“Les martyrs persans,” 224). Fiey, Nisibe, 172, places Mar Pinḥas’ death “probablement vers le début du Ve siècle, donc peut-être sous Yazdegerd,” but he gives no clear ground for this assertion of probability. 29 Note, too, that Baumsark (GSL, 193) only mentions Mar Pinḥas under the section “legendarische Prosa”. 24 25

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him. In any case, the story presents Mar Pinḥas as a hard-fighting and longlived individual. What of the words the narrator has Mar Pinḥas and his persecutors speak?30 While they are probably not the ipsissima verba, there is nothing necessarily improbable in them. In general, Mar Pinḥas is concerned with confessing his faith (§ 5–6, 8–10) and his persecutors with urging him to give up that faith (§ 6–10), both of which are, of course, stock material for martyrdom texts. That which initially evokes official attention to Mar Pinḥas is his preaching and evangelism, a very brief specimen of which is given (§ 4). The prefect, Simun, had asked Pinḥas his name and country (§ 6), and then his city (§ 7), but in neither case does the martyr answer according to the prefect’s meaning. In a short interchange between Simun and Aniḥa, the latter, who first brought Pinḥas to Simun’s attention, now reenters and offers his services in scourging (§ 8). This torture forms the surrounding in which Mar Pinḥas dies amid confession and equanimity (§ 9). If we turn to consider the story’s miracles,31 it is striking that, aside from the martyr’s typically astounding endurance in the face of the tortures he is made to bear, the only miracle occurring in the story is that involving Mar Pinḥas’ relic and the boy near the end. To borrow a phrase from Labourt,32 the narrative is enriched and embellished with discussion between the martyr and his interrogator, but not, however, with the numerous miracles that often adorn these hagiographical narratives. Cf. Labourt, 59–60. For some investigations into the place of miracles in (mostly Latin) hagiographical literature, see the several papers in part 3 of Centre de Recherches sur l’Atiquité Tardive et le Haut Moyen Age, Université de Paris, Hagiographie: Cultures et sociétés IVe–XIIIe siècles (Actes du colloque organizé à Nanterre et à Paris 2–5 Mai 1979) (Paris: Études Augustiniennes, 1981), 161–379, and for miracles in the context of both Christian and Islamic thought in the medieval period, see Denise Aigle, ed., Miracle et Karāma. Hagiographies médiévales comparées, Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, Section des Sciences Religieuses (Turnhout: Brepols, 2000), in particular, Philippe Gignoux’s “Une typologie des miracles des saints et martyrs perses dans l’Iran sassanide,” 499–523. More specifically related to miracles and Syriac hagiography, see the brief remarks by Devos, “Les martyrs persans,” 214. 32 “Il est naturel que les Passions primitives aient été, par le piété des écrivains postérieurs, enrichies et embellies de miracles ou de discours” (Labourt, 55); see also p. 59 with respect to differences in the presentation of miracles in Greek and Latin accounts, on the one hand, and Syriac accounts, on the other. 30 31

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Unlike some martyrs in the Persian empire, Mar Pinḥas has no identity as a convert from Zoroastrianism,33 that is, the hagiographer makes nothing of the saint’s prior spiritual or intellectual standpoint except that he was trained in philosophy: the saint’s “conversion” as told in § 3 has no conspicuous overtones of religious or philosophical change. What about the religion of Mar Pinḥas’ opponents?34 In short, the narrator gives little attention to the subject aside from the fact that they are enemies of Christianity. Simun, the prefect (or governor) is described as “a persecutor of the saints” (§ 4). Aniḥa is bothered by Mar Pinḥas’ Christian faith and his evangelism, and his solution is to urge Simun to do what he can to make Pinḥas worship Simun’s own God and idols (§§ 4, 9). These divinities are again referred to when Pinḥas is told to “worship the seventy-two gods” (§ 6),35 and Pinḥas subsequently asks, “How can I worship the sun...?” (§ 7), thus echoing the monotheistic tradition reaching back to the Bible that sees divinities other than the one God merely as aspects of nature that are worshiped in the form of idols (e.g. Deut 4:19, Jer 2:27, Ezek 8:16, Acts 7:42). The fourth century (and later) persecutions in the Persian Empire often had to do with the fact that its Christian subjects could have been seen as, or were made out to be, allies of Christian Rome.36 These sentiments, however, are no part of the exchange between Mar Pinḥas and Simun or Aniḥa, which further suggests the legendary nature of this account. The narrator portrays the saint as an individual errant in terms of his religion without any clear commentary on the meaning of his beliefs for his political loyalty. The tortures37 inflicted upon Mar Pinḥas are hardly unique, but it will perhaps be useful to give their course and series in summary form here. See Brock, “Christians in the Sasanian Empire,” 5–7. See Asmussen, “Christianity in Iran,” 937–939 for some general remarks on this kind of question. 35 The identity of these seventy-two gods is not any more explicit than this elsewhere in the story. For some possible interpretations, see the commentary below. 36 See Sebastian P. Brock, “Christians in the Sasanian Empire: A Case of Divided Loyalties.” 37 See Labourt, 61, for some broad observations on torture in the Persian Martyr Acts, and more recently, C. Jullien, “Peines et supplices dans les Actes des Martyrs Persans et droit sassanide: nouvelles prospections,” Studia Iranica 33 (2004): 243–69. As Brock noted in his review of Wiessner (Journal of Theological Studies 19 [1968]: 33 34

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After the saint shows himself wholly unmoved by the questions and threats of Aniḥa and Simun, first iron, bronze, and a craftsman are brought to the scene, and this craftsman makes blades, combs, spikes, saws, nails, “and all the craft of Satan” (§ 8). Mar Pinḥas’ tongue is cut out and they tear his skin with a saw, after which point he is beaten (§ 8). Next, they pile wood on top of him and set fire to it, then the martyr’s enemies bring out irons, blades, and saws (§ 9). The persecutor binds the arms and neck of Mar Pinḥas with bronze fetters and chains and hangs him off a cliff. While the martyr is thus situated, seven archers impale him with a number of their arrows while stones are cast at him. They finally let him down and dismember the martyr, and that is his end, with praise to God on his lips (§ 10).

LITERARY CONSIDERATIONS A striking feature in the form of the story itself is the somewhat lengthy introduction, which accounts for almost twenty percent of the narrative and in which nothing is said about the saint’s life or Nachleben in his relics. So how does this prefatory material function? These words of praise, for both the martyr and God, while given in some variety, are of the broadest type and could in fact be applied to any martyred saint. Thus, this introduction sets up the specific story by placing it broadly in the corpus of imitable Christian lives — as perhaps, too, the claim that Simun is a descendant of Shapur sets up a correspondence with past martyrs — before the reader ever comes to any particulars about the life and death of Mar Pinḥas himself. The author of the story has made a number of biblical allusions and these are cited in the commentary below; there are no explicit references, however, to any particular biblical text. As already mentioned, the very name of the saint, Pinḥas, has biblical connotations fitting for a zealous martyr,38 but there are a few other personages from the Bible who are recalled in the language of the story and its circumstances. The biblical Phinehas is in the list of heroes mentioned by the mother-martyr of 4 Mac306), tortures have almost no place in the Bet Huzaye martyr acts: the only places of torture he cites are of Pusai (AMS II, 224 and 229) and of Šahdost and Barbaʿšmin (AMS II, 279 and 298). 38 Pinḥas, of course, hardly has the monopoly on zeal among martyrs: being a martyr at all by definition requires uncommon zeal! A concordance to the Syriac saints’ lives would find a great number of occurrences of words of the root ṭnn (zeal, zealous, etc.).

INTRODUCTION

xxi

cabees to her seven sons (4 Mac 18:12). Daniel and the three young men are also mentioned in the same list, and like every confessor and martyr, to some extent at least, Pinḥas himself follows the pattern of Daniel39 in staunch allegiance to God in the face of doubting and persecuting rulers. More specifically, the biblical figures of Noah, John the Baptist, and Elijah served the narrator as examples in portraying Mar Pinḥas. In § 3, like Noah, Mar Pinḥas crosses a body of water on an ark of his own, this time a mere wooden board, and as “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen 6:8), so here “God in his grace remembered” (cf. Gen 6:8) Mar Pinḥas, who then walks for “forty days” — the period of constant rain on the earth in the biblical Flood narrative — and finally arrives at a mountain, much like Noah did while still in the Ark. Later in the story of Mar Pinḥas (§ 4), the hero is described having “hair on him” and appearing “like a sheep.” This description of Pinḥas as a rough and hairy evangelist of sorts, who has no concern for the ranks of rulers who might oppose his actions, calls to mind the prophet Elijah40 and his antitype John the Baptist. Finally, it is worth highlighting that there is nothing here of the details of Mar Pinḥas’ martyrdom conforming to Jesus’ own death (imitatio Christi).41

THE MANUSCRIPT According to Bedjan, his manuscript source for this story is BL Add. 7200, an East Syriac manuscript of the twelfth or thirteenth century, but he seems to have misspoken, as this manuscript, according to the catalogs, lacks the story of Mar Pinḥas.42 His remarks imply that he was unaware of other wit-

39 On the book of Daniel as an influence on Syriac martyr texts, see Van Rompay, 373–375, and, more generally, V. Saxer, Bible et hagiographie. Textes et thèmes bibliques dan les Actes des martyrs authentiques des premiers siècles (Bern, 1986). 40 In Ps.-Philo, Liber antiquitatum biblicarum 48.1, Elijah is referred to as Phinehas. Cf. also H.A. Fischel, “Martyr and Prophet (A Study in Jewish Literature) (Continued),” Jewish Quarterly Review 37 (1947): 363–386 (373). 41 For this theme of imitation, see Wiessner, 187–188 (with Brock, review of Wiessner, 303–304) and Asmussen, “Christianity in Iran,” 937. 42 See AMS IV, viii-ix. For a description of this manuscript, see V. Rosen and J. Forshall, Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum orientalium qui in Museo Britannico asservantur, pt. 1, (London, 1838), 92–93 (no. LIX), together with Wright, Cat., vol. 3, 1207.

xxii

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

nesses to the story, it seems,43 but manuscripts of the life of Mar Pinḥas include BL Add. 14733 (dated 1199 CE), fols. 62v–68r,44 which also contains the lives of a few other disciples of Mar Awgen,45 and this in fact seems to be the manuscript he used in his edition. Baumstark also cites Greek Patriarchate, Jerusalem, ms. 17 as having the story, but it is in Arabic (Garšūnī), not Syriac.46 In the late manuscript Mingana Syr. 535 (dated 1895 CE),47 there is an index of saints’ lives based on another manuscript, and in this index Mar Pinḥas is listed; there he is also called ʿanwāyā, as in the martyrology mentioned above. Bedjan’s printed edition serves as the basis for the translation presented here, but I have checked it against BL Add. 14733, and relevant differences are indicated in the annotations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY48 Asmussen, “Christianity in Iran,” in Ehsan Yarshater, ed., The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3(2), The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian Periods (Cambridge, 1983), 924–948. S.P. Brock, “Christians in the Sasanian Empire: A Case of Divided Loyalties,” in Stuart Mews, ed., Religion and National Identity, Studies in Church History XVIII (Oxford, 1982), 1–19. Reprint, Chap. VI in Syriac Perspectives on Late Antiquity (London, 1984). 43 Of the series of texts in BL Add. 7200, including the story of Mar Pinḥas, Bedjan says, “nous n’avons pu trouver nulle part d’autres exemplaires pour les compléter et les vérifier” (AMS IV, viii). 44 Wright, Cat., vol. 3, 1139–1140. 45 Daniel (listed at AMS III, 472.18), Benjamin of Bet Nuhadra (AMS III, 473.5), Ḥabib the Egyptian (AMS III, 473.2); Awgen’s nephew, Malke of Clysma, is also included. 46 GSL, 193, n. 8. See also J.-B. Chabot, “Notice sur les manuscrits syriaques conservés dans la bibliothèque du patriarcat grec orthodoxe de Jérusalem,” Journal Asiatique 9e sér., 3 (1894): 92–134, esp. 110–111. The manuscript was apparently still there in 1987 when Dale Johnson inspected the collection: see http://tinyurl.com/cjo9tcx. No. 17, at least according to the numbering used in Johnson’s handlist, is a 17th century manuscript with several saints’ lives. 47 Mingana, Cat., vol. 1, col. 977. Along with this copy’s exemplar there were two others with the same texts, both on parchment and at least somewhat old, the scribe tells us, also then in Amid. 48 See also the list of abbreviations above. Sources referred to only incidentally are not listed here.

INTRODUCTION

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S.P. Brock, The History of Holy Mar Maʿin, Persian Martyr Acts in Syriac: Text & Translation (Piscataway, 2009). ________, “Martyrs and Persecutions,” in GEDSH, 271–273. ________, “Review of Wiessner [see below].” Journal of Theological Studies 19 (1968): 300–309. Paul Devos, “Les martyrs persans à travers leurs actes syriaques,” in Atti del convegno sul tema: La Persia e il Mondo Greco-Romano (Roma 11–14 aprile 1965) (Rome, 1966), 213–225. Jean Maurice Fiey, Nisibe, metropole syriaque orientale et ses suffragants des origines à nos jours, CSCO 388; Subsidia 54 (Louvain, 1977). ________, “Pinḥas,” in Bibliotheca sanctorum orientalium. Enciclopedia dei santi: le chiese orientali, vol. 2 (Rome, 1999), 834. Philippe Gignoux, “Une typologie des miracles des saints et martyrs perses dans l’Iran sassanide,” in Denise Aigle, ed., Miracle et Karāma. Hagiographies médiévales comparées, Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études, Section des Sciences Religieuses (Turnhout, 2000), 499–523. Christelle Jullien, “Martyrs, Christian,” Encyclopedia Iranica, Online edition, 2008, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/martyrs-christian. F. Nau, Martyrologes et ménologes orientaux, PO 10 (Paris, 1915). ________, “Un nouveau manuscrit du martyrologe de Rabban Sliba,” in Revue de l’Orient Chrétien 15 (1910): 327–329 Paul Peeters, “Le martyrologe de Rabban Sliba,” in AB 27 (1908): 129–200. Albert Socin, “Zur Geographie des Ṭur ‘Abdīn,” in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft 35 (1881): 237–269. Gernot Wiessner, Untersuchungen zur syrischen Literaturgeschichte I. Zur Märtyrerüberlieferung aus der Christenverfolgung Schapurs II. Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse, 3. Folge, 67. Göttingen, 1967.

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

1

2

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS, VICTORIOUS MARTYR [208] Our Lord, help me begin and complete his story according to your will! 1 Let us now come to the story of the life of this marvelous man, the powerful combatant and skilled soldier, as we trust in him for whom it is easy indeed to do anything, that he may instruct our weakness. Let us reveal and show how many struggles he bore and endured, how many signs our Lord wrought by his hands, and how many sufferings, tortures, and hardships he bore from the persecutors of truth. But you, my faithful and true friends, consider the desirable beauties of this powerful soldier and chosen vessel, and acknowledge with praise the Lord who chose him and made him a defender of the oppressed, a refuge for the weary, and a comforter to the grieving. For thus the Good and Merciful one customarily does, the consoler of our race, the one that lifts up our fallen state, the surgeon of our fracture. Our race used to lie in desperation, but our Lord in his mercy, with pity on our race, after he had ascended to heaven, sent us the Spirit, the Paraclete, from the Father, a consolation for our souls and a support for our low estate, in whom we have been found worthy of adoption, so that we cry out [209] to the God of majesty, our Father in heaven, who has had mercy on our wandering way, which had been going along in the worship of idols and mute images, even from the earliest generations. From the rising to the setting of the sun he has blocked off the earth [from worshipping idols] for the worship of the living crucified one, and look, the world rejoices all over in the knowledge of the truth forever! He has raised up for us pillars of light in each generation, people powerful in divine knowledge, and they worshiped God as God. Through their perfect way of life they expelled and nullified all the darkness of the night of sin and the work of Satan. They cleared out the road before us, that we might travel on paths of righteousness, and go from carnal to spiritual things, and from earthly to heavenly. One of these pillars was the elect, Mar Pinḥas, the subject of this narrative.

‫‪3‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܕܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܣܗܕܐ ܢܨܝܚܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܡܪܢ ܥܕܪܝܢܝ ܕܐܫܪܐ ܘܐܫܠܡ ܬܫܥܝܬܗ ܐܝܟ ܨܒܝܢܟ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 1‬ܢܩܪܘܒ ܗܟܝܠ ܠܘܬ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ ܕܕܘܒ̈ܪܘܗܝ ܕܗܢܐ ܬܡܝܗܐ ܘܐܓܘܢܣܛܐ ܙܪܝܙܐ‬ ‫ܘܦܠܚܐ ܟܫܝܪܐ‪ :‬ܟܕ ܬܟܝܠܝܢܢ ܥܠ ̇ܗܘ ܕܦܫܝܩ ܠܗ ܠܡܣܥܪ ܟܠܡܕܡ ܦܫܝܩܐܝܬ‪:‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܓܘܢܐ ܣܒܠ ܘܣܝܒܪ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܗܘ ܢܚܟܡ ܠܒܨܝܪܘܬܢ‪ :‬ܘܢܓܠ ܐ ܘܢܚܘܐ ܕܟܡ ܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܐܝܕܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܟܡ ܐ ̈‬ ‫ܘܐܘܠܨܢܐ ܣܒܠ‬ ‫ܘܫܢܕܐ‬ ‫ܚܫܐ‬ ‫ܐܬܘܬܐ ܣܥܪ ܡܪܢ‬ ‫ܘܟܡ ܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܡܗܝܡܢܐ ܫܪܝ̈ܪܐ‪ :‬ܐܬܒܩܘ‬ ‫ܚܒܝܒܝ‬ ‫ܡܢ ̈ܪܕܘܦܘܗܝ ܕܫܪܪܐ‪ .‬ܐܢܬܘܢ ܕܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܒܫܘܦ̈ܪܘܗܝ ̈ܪܓܝܓܐ ܕܗܢܐ ܦܠܚܐ ܙܪܝܙܐ ܘܡ ܐܢܐ ܓܒܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܘܕܘ ܘܫܒܚܘ‬ ‫ܠܡܪܝܐ ܕܓܒܝܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܥܒܕܗ ܣܢܐܓܪܐ ܠ ̈‬ ‫ܐܠܝܨܐ ܘܒܝܬ ܓܘܣܐ ܠܡܛ̈ܪܦܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܠܡܥܩܐ‪ .‬ܕܗܟܢܐ ܡܥܕ ܠܡܣܥܪ ̇ܗܘ ܛܒܐ ܘܡܪܚܡܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܡܢܚܡܢܗ‬ ‫ܘܡܒܝܐܢܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܘܡܩܝܡܢܗ ܕܡܦܘܠܬܢ‪ :‬ܥܨܘܒܗ ܕܬܒܪܢ‪ :‬ܕܗܐ ܡܢܩܕܝܡ ܫܕܐ ܗܘܐ‬ ‫ܕܓܢܣܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܓܢܣܢ ܒܦܣܩ ܣܒܪܐ‪ .‬ܘܡܪܢ ܒ̈ܪܚܡܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܕܚܣ ܥܠ ܓܢܣܢ‪ :‬ܟܕ ܣܠܩ ܠܫܡܝܐ‪:‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܠܢܦܫܬܢ ܘܣܘܡܟܐ‬ ‫ܫܕܪ ܠܢ ܪܘܚܐ ܦܪܩܠܝܛܐ ܡܢ ܒܝܬ ܐܒܐ‪ :‬ܒܘܝܐܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܢܝܐ‪ :‬ܕܢܩܪܐ ܠ ܐܠܗܐ ܕܪܒܘܬܐ ܐܒܘܢ‬ ‫ܠܫܦܘܠܬܢ‪ :‬ܕܒܗ ܐܫܬܘܝܢ ܠܣܝܡܬ‬ ‫ܕܒܫܡܝܐ‪̇ :‬ܗܘ ܕܚܣ ܥܠ ܬܘܫܐ ܕܐܘܪܚܢ‪ :‬ܕܪܕܝܐ ܗܘܬ ܒܣܓܕܬ ܦܬܟ̈ܪܐ‬ ‫ܣܟܪܗ ܠ ܐܪܥܐ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܡܕܢܚܘܗܝ ܕܫܡܫܐ‬ ‫ܩܕܡܝܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܨܠܡܐ ܚ̈ܪܫܐ ܗܐ ܡܢ ܕ̈ܪܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܣܟܗ‬ ‫ܘܥܕܡ ܐ ܠܡܥ̈ܪܒܘܗܝ ܠܣܓܕܬܗ ܕܨܠܝܒܐ ܚܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܗܐ ܪܘܙܐ ܬܒܝܠ ܡܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܥܡܘܕܐ ܕܢܘܗܪܐ ܒܕ̈ܪܝܢ ܕ̈ܪܝܢ‪ :‬ܐܢܫܐ‬ ‫ܒܝܕܥܬܐ ܕܫܪܪܐ ܠܥܠܡ‪ .‬ܘܐܩܝܡ ܠܢ ܐܦ‬ ‫ܓܢܒ̈ܪܝ ܚܝܠ ܐ ܕܝܕܥܬܐ ܐܠܗܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܦܠܚܘ ܠ ܐܠܗܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܠ ܐܠܗܐ‪ :‬ܘܒܝܕ‬ ‫ܕܘܒ̈ܪܝܗܘܢ ܓܡܝ̈ܪܐ ܛܪܕܘ ܘܒܛܠܘ ܠܟܠܗ ܚܫܟܐ ܕܠܠܝܐ ܕܚܛܝܬܐ ܘܦܘܠܚܢܗ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܫܒܝܠ ܐ ܕܙܕܝܩܘܬܐ‪ .‬ܘܢܗܘܐ ܡܢ‬ ‫ܕܤܛܢܐ‪ .‬ܘܢܩܠܘ ܐܘܪܚܐ ܩܕܡܝܢ‪ :‬ܕܢܪܕܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܡܝܢܐ‪ .‬ܕܚܕ ܡܢܗܘܢ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܓܒܝܐ ܡܪܝ‬ ‫ܦܓ̈ܪܢܐ ̈ܪܘܚܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܡܢ ܐ̈ܪܥܢܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܐܝܬܝܗ ܬܫܥܝܬܢ‪.‬‬ ‫ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ :‬ܕܥܠܘܗܝ‬

4

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS 2 So, my friends, it is right for us to sanctify our souls with love, prudence, and faith, to cleanse our minds, and to incline our ears to listen to the reading aloud of the story of this miraculous man, that we might pluck the fruit of repentance from it, the fruit by which our sins are broken in pieces. By his prayers may we be thought worthy of that place, where calamities and distresses are far away. Therefore know this, my friends: that in this way we should be like the angels of God, listening and knowing that this man is worthy of heavenly blessings, because he scorned and despised the world, with all its passing pleasures, but he desired and loved the love of his true Lord. 3 [210] The blessed Mar Pinḥas was, by family, from the city of Atines, that is Tanis, from a well-known family there. When he was twenty years old and had already been instructed in philosophy, his parents died, and he buried them with due honor. Then he thought to himself and said, “I, too, am mortal like my parents, but I will get up and leave the world by my own will, before others can lead me from it against my will.” So right then he took off his clothes and sat on a wooden board and crossed the sea. When he left the water, God in his grace recalled him. After he had walked about for forty days, he reached the mountain known as the White Mountain. He obligated himself, body and soul, to God’s service, after eighty years of being barefoot, nakedness, hunger, thirst, and vexation from demons and evil spirits, because he was a disciple of the great Mar Awgen, from whom he received this combat, on which account the blessed Mar Pinḥas battled with rebellious demons for thirty years, in such a way that they often tried to kill him, saying, “Leave this place and the mountain!”

‫‪5‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܢܦܫܬܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܚܒܝܒܝ‪ :‬ܙܕܩ ܠܢ ܕܒܚܘܒܐ ܘܒܦܘܪܫܢܐ ܘܒܗܝܡܢܘܬܐ ܢܩܕܫ‬ ‫‪ 2‬ܡܕܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܕܢܝܢ ܠܡܫܡܥ ܩܠ ܬܫܥܝܬܗ ܕܓܒܪܐ ܗܢܐ‬ ‫ܗܘܢܝܢ‪ :‬ܘܢܨܠ ܐ‬ ‫ܘܢܨܠܠ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܚܛܗܝܢ‪.‬‬ ‫ܕܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ‪ :‬ܕܢܩܛܘܦ ܡܢܗ ܦܐ̈ܪܐ ܕܬܝܒܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܕܒܗܘܢ ܡܬܬܠܚܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܒܨܠܘܬܗ ܢܫܬܘܐ ̇‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܥܩܬܐ‪ .‬ܡܕܝܢ ܕܥܘ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܘܠܨܢܐ‬ ‫ܠܗܘ ܐܬܪܐ‪ :‬ܕܪܚܝܩܝܢ ܡܢܗ‬ ‫ܚܒܝܒܝ‪ :‬ܕܗܟܢܐ ܙܕܩ ܠܢ ܕܢܗܘܐ ܐܝܟ ܡܠ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܟܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܘܢܫܡܥ ܘܢܕܥ‪:‬‬ ‫ܐܘ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܡܝܢܐ‪ :‬ܕܫܛ ܘܐܣܠܝ ܠܥܠܡ ܐ ܘܠܟܠܗܝܢ‬ ‫ܠܛܘܒܐ‬ ‫ܕܗܐ ܓܒܪܐ ܫܘܐ‬ ‫̈ܪܓܝܓܬܗ ܥܒܘ̈ܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܪܚܡ ܘܐܚܒ ܚܘܒܐ ܕܡܪܗ ܫܪܝܪܐ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 3‬ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܛܘܒܢܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܒܓܢܣܗ ܡܢ ܐܬܝܢܣ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܕܗܝ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܢܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܒܗ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܒܡܫܘܚܬܐ ܕܥܣܪܝܢ‬ ‫ܬܢܢܝܣ‪ :‬ܡܢ ܐܢܫܐ ܝܕܝܥܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܐܬܪܕܝ ܒܦܝܠܣܘܦܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܡܝܬܘ ܐܒܗܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܥܦܝ ܐܢܘܢ ܒܐܝܩܪܐ ܕܙܕܩ‪ .‬ܘܗܝܕܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܒܗܝ‪ .‬ܐܠ ܐ‬ ‫ܐܬܚܫܒ ܒܢܦܫܗ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܕܐܦ ܐܢܐ ܡܝܘܬܐ ܐܝܬܝ ܐܝܟ‬ ‫ܐܩܘܡ ܐܦܘܩ ܡܢ ܥܠܡ ܐ ܒܨܒܝܢܝ‪ :‬ܩܕܡ ܕܢܕܒܪܘܢܢܝ ܡܢܗ ܕܠ ܐ ܒܨܒܝܢܝ‪ .‬ܘܡܚܕܐ‬ ‫ܫܠܚ ܡ ̈‬ ‫ܐܢܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܝܬܒ ܥܠ ܕܦܐ ܕܩܝܣܐ‪ :‬ܘܥܒܪ ܒܝܡ ܐ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܢܦܩ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫ܡܝܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܨܝܒܬܗ ܛܝܒܘܬܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ‪ :‬ܡܢ ܒܬܪ ܕܗܠܟ ܐܪܒܥܝܢ ̈‬ ‫ܝܘܡܝܢ‪ :‬ܡܛܐ ܠܛܘܪܐ‬ ‫ܗܢܐ ܕܡܬܩܪܐ ܚܘܪܐ‪ .‬ܘܫܥܒܕ ܠܢܦܫܗ ܥܡ ܦܓܪܗ ܒܦܘܠܚܢܐ ܕܥܡ ܐܠܗܐ‪:‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܢܝܢ‪:‬‬

‫ܒܚܦܝܝܘܬܐ‬

‫ܘܒܥܪܛܠܝܘܬܐ‪:‬‬

‫ܒܟܦܢܐ‬

‫ܘܒܨܗܝܐ‪:‬‬

‫ܒܬܪ ܕܝܢ ܬܡܢܐܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܕܝܘܐ‪ :‬ܡܛܠ ܕܬܠܡܝܕܐ ܗܘܐ ܕܪܒܐ ܡܪܝ ܐܘܓܝܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܒܛܘ̈ܪܦܐ ܕܡܢ ܫܐܕܐ‬ ‫ܘܡܢܗ ܩܒܠ ܐܬܠܝܛܘܬܐ ܗܕܐ‪ .‬ܒܕܓܘܢ ܗܢܐ ܛܘܒܢܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ :‬ܬܠܬܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܣܓܝܐܢ ܒܥܝܢ ܗܘܘ‬ ‫ܕܙܒܢܝܢ‬ ‫ܫܐܕܐ ܡ̈ܪܘܕܐ‪ :‬ܐܝܟܢܐ‬ ‫ܫܢܝܢ ܥܒܕ ܩ̈ܪܒܐ ܥܡ‬ ‫ܠܡܩܛܠܗ ܟܕ ܐܡܪܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܕܦܘܩ ܡܢ ܐܬܪܐ ܘܡܢ ܛܘܪܐ ܗܢܐ‪.‬‬

6

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS 4 There was a village there called Ganbali. In it lived a man named Aniḥa, the wicked, and he was always oppressing Mar Pinḥas, because he was an attendant of the prefect (ὕπαρχος) of the city of [211] Panak, whose name was Simun; he was the king of Panak and belonged to the family and tribe of Shapur, king of the Persians. This man, too, was a persecutor of the saints. Aniḥa went to the prefect and said to him, “There is a certain man on our mountain who worships the one the Jews crucified in Jerusalem. He has hair on him and he looks like a sheep, and he says to the people, ‘Follow me, and worship Christ without delay and without fear!’ But command him to come to you and confess your God and worship your idols.” 5 When Simun heard this, he sent messengers to bring the victorious Mar Pinḥas. They found him sitting in a cave and they seized him, and then they brought him and set him up before the prefect. But the victorious Mar Pinḥas was not afraid of the evil one’s threats in the least, nor did he slacken before his intimidation, but, contemplating and serving Christ, he was not silent. Rather, he confessed and said, “I worship and confess the Christ, my God, who is the true shepherd and the wise leader, the Spirit of God and his wisdom. He is first, middle, and last, and his rule shall never and ever be dissolved. He will dissolve the earth and make it pass away according to his word and command: he is the existent one, forever and ever!” 6 When the prefect heard this, he said, “Where are you from? What is your country? Where did you come here from? You speak openly with an evident accent. [212] You neither fear nor stand in terror of my threats.” The victorious martyr answered Simun the wicked and said, “By the power of Christ I possess a kingdom that has no end, and for this reason I speak openly, without fear and without being weakened by your threats, because the power of Christ, my Lord, is with me every

‫‪7‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫ܕܫܡܗ ܓܢܒܠܝ‪ :‬ܘܐܝܬ ܗܘܐ ̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܒܗ ܓܒܪܐ ܚܕ‬ ‫‪ 4‬ܐܝܬ ܗܘܐ ܕܝܢ ܬܡܢ ܩܪܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܕܫܡܗ ܐܢܝܚܐ ܪܫܝܥܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܡܝܢܐܝܬ ܫܚܩ ܗܘܐ ܠܗ ܠܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ .‬ܡܛܠ ܕܗܘ‬ ‫ܓܒܪܐ ܥܡ ܗܘܦܪܟܐ ܕܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܦܢܟ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܘܫܡܗ ܕܗܘܦܪܟܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܡܠܟܗ ܕܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܦܢܟ‪ :‬ܘܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܡܢ ܓܢܣܗ‬ ‫ܣܝܡܘܢ‪ .‬ܘܗܘ ܗܘܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܕܩܕܝܫܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܫܪܒܬܗ ܕܫܒܘܪ ܡܠܟܐ ܕܦ̈ܪܣܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܦ ܗܘ ܗܢܐ ܪܕܘܦܐ ܗܘܐ‬ ‫ܘܐܙܠ ܐܢܝܚܐ ܠܘܬ ܗܘܦܪܟܐ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܕܐܝܬ ܒܛܘܪܢ ܓܒܪܐ ܚܕ‪ :‬ܕܣܓܕ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܝܗܘܕܝܐ ܒܐܘܪܫܠܡ‪ .‬ܘܐܝܬ ܥܠܘܗܝ ܣܥܪܐ‪ :‬ܘܕܡ ܐ ܗܘܐ ܠܥܪܒܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܗܘ ܕܙܩܦܘ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܠܒܢܝܢܫܐ‪ :‬ܕܬܘ ܒܬܪܝ‪ :‬ܘܣܓܘܕܘ ܠܡܫܝܚܐ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܬܫܬܘܚܪܘܢ ܘܬܕܚܠܘܢ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܐܡܪ‬ ‫ܐܠ ܐ ܦܩܘܕ ܕܢܐܬܐ ܠܘܬܟ‪ :‬ܘܢܘܕܐ ܒܐܠܗܟ‪ :‬ܘܢܣܓܘܕ ܠܦܬܟ̈ܪܝܟ‪.‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܝܙܓܕܐ ܕܢܝܬܘܢܝܗܝ ܠܢܨܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 5‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥ ܣܝܡܘܢ‪ :‬ܫܕܪ‬ ‫ܗܘܦܪܟܐ‬

‫ܘܐܫܟܚܘܗܝ ܒܡܥܪܬܗ ܕܝܬܒ‪ :‬ܘܚܛܦܘܗܝ ܘܐܝܬܝܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܩܕܡ‬ ‫ܐܩܝܡܘܗܝ‪ .‬ܗܘ ܕܝܢ ܢܨܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ :‬ܠ ܐ ܣܟ ܕܚܠ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫ܠܘܚܡܘܗܝ ܕܥܘܠ ܐ‪:‬‬

‫ܘܠ ܐ ܐܬܪܦܝ ܡܢ ܓܙܡܗ‪ .‬ܐܠ ܐ ܒܗܪܓܗ ܘܦܘܠܚܢܗ ܕܥܡ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܠ ܐ ܫܠ ܐ‬ ‫ܗܘܐ‪ :‬ܐܠ ܐ ܡܘܕܐ ܗܘܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܕܣܓܕ ܐܢܐ ܘܡܘܕܐ ܐܢܐ ܠܡܫܝܚܐ‬ ‫ܐܠܗܝ‪ :‬ܕܗܘܝܘ ܪܥܝܐ ܫܪܝܪܐ ܘܡܕܒܪܢܐ ܚܟܝܡ ܐ‪ :‬ܘܪܘܚܗ ܕܐܠܗܐ ܘܚܟܡܬܗ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܗܘܝܘ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܘܡܨܥܝܐ ܘܐܚܪܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܠܕܪܕ̈ܪܝܢ ܠ ܐ ܡܫܬܪܐ ܫܘܠܛܢܗ‪ .‬ܘܫܪܐ‬ ‫ܠ ܐܪܥܐ ܘܡܥܒܪ ̇‬ ‫ܠܗ‪ :‬ܐܝܟ ܡܠܬܗ ܘܐܝܟ ܦܘܩܕܢܗ‪ :‬ܘܗܘ ܩܝܡ ܠܥܠܡ ܥܠܡܝܢ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 6‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥ ܗܘܦܪܟܐ ܐܡܪ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܡܢ ܐܝܟܐ ܐܢܬ؟ ܘܐܝܢܘ ܐܬܪܟ؟ ܘܡܢ‬ ‫ܐܝܟܐ ܐܬܝܬ ܠܗܪܟܐ؟ ܕܗܐ ܓܠܝܐܝܬ ܠܥܙ ܐܢܬ ܘܡܡܠܠ ܐܢܬ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܕܚܠ‬ ‫ܐܢܬ ܘܠ ܐ ܡܣܬܪܕ ܐܢܬ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫ܠܘܚܡܝ‪ .‬ܘܦܢܝ ܣܗܕܐ ܢܨܝܚܐ ܠܣܝܡܘܢ ܪܫܝܥܐ‬ ‫ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܐܢܐ ܒܚܝܠܗ ܕܡܫܝܚܐ ܩܢܝܬ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܠܝܬ ̇‬ ‫ܠܗ ܫܘܠܡ ܐ‪ .‬ܘܡܛܠ‬ ‫ܗܕܐ ܓܠܝܐܝܬ ܡܡܠܠ ܐܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܕܚܠ ܐܢܐ ܘܠ ܐ ܡܫܦܠ ܐܢܐ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫ܠܘܚܡܝܟ‪.‬‬ ‫ܡܛܠ‬

8

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS day, and my trust is in him. He has sent me to bring you to shame!” The prefect answered Mar Pinḥas, the victorious, and said to him, “Let go of the error you’re holding on to, and worship the seventy-two gods with us! Offer your worship and don’t be in doubt — for I’m not commanding anything difficult — or your body will be chopped up into pieces, and I will bring harsh tortures indeed upon you. I will make you a terror to all those like you in the world, and a derision above and below. Listen, I’ve warned you first!” 7 The courageous martyr answered Simun the wicked and said, “How can I worship the sun, which darkened and mourned in gloom from the sixth to the ninth hour on the day Christ, my king and my God, suffered? Sometimes it’s long and sometimes short, and it has no power over itself. But I worship the God of all: the one with power and a kingdom that never vanishes and has no end, the one whose chariot is cherubim, the one whom orders of watchers sanctify, the one whom all the ranks of flame worship. Get behind me, [213] Satan, and your gods with you, off to the fire that will never go out, prepared for your father, the devil, and his angels! That being the case, I have no fear of your threats, like the sound of a gnat buzzing in the air; your cruelty is like a contemptible locust, and fear of you is like a mole that digs in the ground. The words leaving your mouth are like wax that melts before a fire.” Simun the wicked answered the martyr and said, “Tell me, what city are you from, that you’re treating my power and threats lightly?” The martyr replied and said, “I’m from the city that’s above, and I’m a Christian. I’m called after Christ and, therefore, I fear neither your plots, your feeble tortures, nor your sharpened swords, because I have taken the crowns of righteousness in the power of my Lord Jesus Christ, and I will never forsake the diadem the Holy Spirit has put on me.”

‫‪9‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫ܕܚܝܠܗ ܕܡܫܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܥܡܝ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܟܠܝܘܡ‪ :‬ܘܥܠܘܗܝ ܬܟܝܠ ܐܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܗܘ ܫܕܪܢܝ‬ ‫ܕܐܒܗܬܟ‪ .‬ܘܦܢܝ ܗܘܦܪܟܐ ܠܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܢܨܝܚܐ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܐܪܦܐ ܠܛܘܥܝܝ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܠܗܝܢ‪ :‬ܘܩܪܒ ܣܓܕܬܐ ܘܠ ܐ‬ ‫ܕܐܚܝܕ ܐܢܬ‪ :‬ܘܣܓܘܕ ܥܡܢ ܠܫܒܥܝܢ ܘܬܪܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܩܫܝܐ‬ ‫ܘܫܢܕܐ‬ ‫ܬܬܦܠܓ‪ .‬ܕܠ ܐ ܩܫܝܐܝܬ ܐܦܩܘܕ‪ :‬ܘܗܕܡ ܗܕܡ ܦܓܪܟ ܢܬܦܣܩ‪.‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܩܫܝܐ ܡܝܬܐ ܐܢܐ ܥܠܝܟ‪ :‬ܘܐܥܒܕܟ ܣܘܪܕܐ ܠܟܠ ܕܐܟܘܬܟ ܒܬܒܝܠ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܒܙܚܐ ܒܪܘܡ ܐ ܘܒܥܘܡܩܐ‪ .‬ܗܐ ܩܕܡܬ ܐܘܕܥܬܟ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 7‬ܘܦܢܝ ܣܗܕܐ ܠܒܝܒܐ ܠܣܝܡܘܢ ܪܫܝܥܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܕܐܝܟܢ ܣܓܕ ܐܢܐ ܠܫܡܫܐ‬ ‫ܕܚܫܟ ܒܝܘܡ ܚܫܗ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܡܠܟܝ ܘܐܠܗܝ‪ :‬ܘܩܛܪ ܐܒܠ ܐ ܘܥܡܛܢܐ ܡܢ ܫܬ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܥܝܢ ܘܥܕܡ ܐ ܠܬܫܥ‪ .‬ܘܒܙܒܢ ܝܪܟ ܘܒܙܒܢ ܟܪܐ‪ :‬ܘܫܘܠܛܢܐ ܥܠ ܢܦܫܗ ܠܝܬ ܠܗ؟‬ ‫ܒܪܡ ܠ ܐܠܗܐ ܕܟܠ ܣܓܕ ܐܢܐ‪̇ :‬ܗܘ ܕܩܢܐ ܫܘܠܛܢܐ ܘܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܠ ܐ ܣܟ‬ ‫ܥܒܪܐ‪ :‬ܘܫܘܠܡ ܐ ܠܝܬ ̇‬ ‫ܠܗ‪̇ .‬ܗܘ ܕܟ̈ܪܘܒܐ ܡܪܟܒܬܗ‪ :‬ܘܣܕ̈ܪܐ ܕܥܝ̈ܪܐ ܡܩܕܫܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܐܠܗܝܟ‬ ‫ܬܓܡܐ ܟܠܗܘܢ ܕܫܠܗܒܝܬܐ‪ .‬ܙܠ ܠܒܣܬܪܝ ܤܛܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܗ‪ :‬ܘܠܗ ܣܓܕܝܢ‬ ‫ܥܡܟ‪ :‬ܠܢܘܪܐ ܕܠ ܐ ܕܥܟܐ ܠܥܠܡ‪̇ :‬ܗܝ ܕܡܛܝܒܐ ܠ ܐܟܠܩܪܨܐ ܐܒܘܟ‬ ‫ܐܟܘܗܝ‪ .‬ܘܡܟܝܠ ܠܝܬ ܠܝ ܩܢܛܐ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܠܘܚܡܝܟ‪ :‬ܐܝܟ ܩܠ ܒܩܐ ܕܙܐܡ‬ ‫ܘܠܡܠ‬ ‫ܒܐܐܪ‪ .‬ܘܩܫܝܘܬܟ ܐܝܟ ܩܡܨܐ ܫܝܛܐ‪ :‬ܘܕܚܠܬܟ ܐܝܟ ܚܘܠܕܐ ܕܚܦܪ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܐܪܥܐ‪̈ .‬‬ ‫ܕܢܦܩܢ ܡܢ ܦܘܡܟ‪ :‬ܐܝܟ ܫܥܘܬܐ ܕܡܬܦܫܪܐ ܡܢ ܩܕܡ ܢܘܪܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܡܠ ܐ‬ ‫ܘܦܢܝ ܣܝܡܘܢ ܪܫܝܥܐ ܠܣܗܕܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܐܡܪ ܠܝ‪ :‬ܕܡܢ ܐܝܕܐ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܐܢܬ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܗܐ ܡܩܠ ܐ ܐܢܬ ܥܠ ܥܙܝܙܘܬܝ ܘܥܠ ̈‬ ‫ܠܘܚܡܝ؟ ܥܢܐ ܣܗܕܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܕܐܢܐ ܡܢ‬ ‫ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܕܠܥܠ ܐܝܬܝ ܘܟܪܤܛܝܢܐ ܐܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܡܫܝܚܝܐ ܡܬܩܪܐ ܐܢܐ‪ .‬ܘܒܕܓܘܢ‬ ‫ܠ ܐ ܕܚܠ ܐܢܐ ܡܢ ܨܢ̈ܥܬܟ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܢܫܝܫܐ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܡܢ ̈‬ ‫ܫܢܕܝܟ ̈‬ ‫ܠܛܝܫܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܣܝܦܝܟ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܟܠܝܠ ܐ ܕܙܟܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܣܟ‬ ‫ܕܐܢܐ ܒܚܝܠܗ ܕܡܪܢ ܝܫܘܥ ܡܫܝܚܐ ܢܣܒܬ‬ ‫ܐܫܒܘܩ ܠܬܓܐ ܕܣܡ ܠܝ ܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ‪.‬‬

10

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

8 So the judge commanded and they brought iron, bronze, and a craftsman, who made from them blades, combs, wedges, saws, nails, and all the craft of Satan. He set them before the victorious Mar Pinḥas and said, “Look, Christian, look!” But the victorious one was enflamed with the Holy Spirit and said, “Glory to your holy name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forever and ever, amen!” And when the judge heard this, he got enflamed with rage and wrath, and went crazy with cruelty; he commanded his tongue to be cut out with a sword and his flesh to be lacerated with a saw. [214] Aniḥa, the servant of sin, answered, “Sir, give me this friend of the Christians, and I will give him a severe beating.” That wicked man commanded, “Go on and give him a severe beating; have no mercy on him at all!” 9 So Aniḥa, devoid of mercy, took the victorious Mar Pinḥas and piled wood on top of him. He lit a fire on it, but the victorious one was not frightened: rather, he praised God and said, “Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ, my God!” The cursed Aniḥa gave the command and they brought irons, blades, and saws. He set them before the victorious one and said to him, “Do the king’s will and worship the idols and gods that he worships!” The martyr answered and said to him, “How can I forsake the God who made heaven and earth, and all that is in them, who sent his beloved son to save me and gave himself to death for our sake, and saved us from the bondage of Satan? And he will come again in the end time with great and unspeakable glory, effecting resurrection and resuscitation for the whole human race: he will save the righteous for their righteousness, and the wicked, like you, he will cast into hell and the unquenchable fire!”

‫‪11‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫̈‬ ‫ܣܟܝܢܐ‬ ‫‪ 8‬ܘܦܩܕ ܕܝܢܐ ܘܐܝܬܝܘ ܦܪܙܠ ܐ ܘܢܚܫܐ ܘܐܘܡܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܥܒܕ ܡܢܗܘܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܨܨܐ ܘܟܠ ܐܘܡܢܘܬܐ ܕܤܛܢܐ‪ .‬ܘܣܡ ܐܢܘܢ‬ ‫ܘܐܣܦܝܢܐ ܘܡܣ̈ܪܐ‬ ‫ܘܡܣ̈ܪܩܐ‬ ‫ܩܕܡܘܗܝ ܕܢܨܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܚܙܝ‪ :‬ܢܨܪܝܐ‪ :‬ܚܙܝ‪ .‬ܘܢܨܝܚܐ ܐܬܓܘܙܠ‬ ‫ܒܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܫܘܒܚܐ ܠܫܡܟ ܩܕܝܫܐ‪ :‬ܐܒܐ ܘܒܪܐ ܘܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܠܥܠܡ ܥܠܡܝܢ‪ :‬ܐܡܝܢ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥ ܗܠܝܢ ܕܝܢܐ‪ :‬ܐܬܓܘܙܠ ܒܚܡܬܐ ܘܒܪܘܓܙܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܐܫܬܢܝ ܩܫܝܐܝܬ‪ :‬ܘܦܩܕ ܕܒܣܝܦܐ ܢܬܦܣܩ ܠܫܢܗ‪ :‬ܘܒܡܣܪܐ ܬܘܒ ܢܬܢܣܪ‬ ‫ܒܣܪܗ‪ .‬ܘܥܢܐ ܐܢܝܚܐ ܡܫܡܫܢܐ ܕܚܛܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܕܗܒ ܠܝ ܡܪܝ ܠܗܢܐ ܚܒܪܐ‬ ‫ܕܢܨ̈ܪܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܢܐ ܡܢܓܕ ܐܢܐ ܠܗ ܡܪܝܪܐܝܬ‪ .‬ܘܦܩܕ ̇ܗܘ ܪܫܝܥܐ‪ :‬ܕܫܩܘܠ ܘܙܠ‬ ‫ܢܓܕܝܗܝ ܡܪܝܪܐܝܬ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܣܟ ܬܚܘܣ ܥܠܘܗܝ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 9‬ܘܫܩܠܗ ܐܢܝܚܐ ܓܠܝܙ ܡܢ ̈ܪܚܡ ܐ ܠܢܨܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ :‬ܘܟܫܐ ܥܠܘܗܝ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܩܝܣܐ‪ :‬ܘܣܡ ܒܗܘܢ ܢܘܪܐ‪ .‬ܘܢܨܝܚܐ ܠ ܐ ܐܬܪܗܒ‪ :‬ܐܠ ܐ ܡܫܒܚ ܗܘܐ‬ ‫ܠ ܐܠܗܐ ܘܐܡܪ‪ :‬ܕܠܝܬ ܡܕܡ ܕܡܫܟܚ ܦܪܫ ܠܝ ܡܢ ܚܘܒܗ ܕܡܫܝܚܐ ܐܠܗܝ‪ .‬ܘܦܩܕ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܣܟܝܢܐ ܘܡܣ̈ܪܐ‪ :‬ܘܣܡ ܐܢܘܢ ܩܕܡܘܗܝ‬ ‫ܐܢܝܚܐ ܠܝܛܐ ܘܐܝܬܝܘ ܦ̈ܪܙܠ ܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܠܗܐ ܐܝܠܝܢ‬ ‫ܕܢܨܝܚܐ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܥܒܕ ܨܒܝܢܗ ܕܡܠܟܐ‪ :‬ܘܣܓܘܕ ܠܦܬܟ̈ܪܐ ܘܠ‬ ‫ܕܣܓܕ ܠܗܘܢ‪ .‬ܘܦܢܝ ܣܗܕܐ ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܕܐܝܟܢ ܫܒܩ ܐܢܐ ܠ ܐܠܗܐ ܕܥܒܕ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܡܝܐ ܘܐܪܥܐ ܘܟܠ ܕܐܝܬ ܒܗܘܢ‪ :‬ܘܫܕܪ ܠܒܪܗ ܚܒܝܒܐ ܕܢܦܪܩܢܝ‪ :‬ܘܝܗܒ ܢܦܫܗ‬ ‫ܚܠܦܝܢ ܠܡܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܦܪܩܢ ܡܢ ܫܘܥܒܕܗ ܕܤܛܢܐ؟ ܘܗܘ ܬܘܒ ܥܬܝܕ ܕܢܐܬܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܕܙܒܢܐ ܒܫܘܒܚܐ ܪܒܐ ܕܠ ܐ ܡܬܡܠܠ‪ :‬ܘܥܒܕ ܩܝܡܬܐ ܘܢܘܚܡ ܐ ܠܟܠܗ‬ ‫ܒܚܪܬܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܕܒܢܝܢܫܐ‪ .‬ܘܢܦܪܘܩ ܙ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܠܥܘܠ ܐ ܕܐܟܘܬܟ‬ ‫ܕܝܩܐ ܡܛܠ ܙܕܝܩܘܬܗܘܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܓܢܣܐ‬ ‫ܢܪܡ ܐ ܒܓܗܢܐ ܘܢܘܪܐ ܕܠ ܐ ܕܥܟܐ‪.‬‬

12

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

10 When the judge heard these things, he took the fetters and chains of bronze and he bound his arms and neck and tossed him head first over a high cliff. The victorious Mar Pinḥas said, “I confess the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!” When the judge heard him, he commanded him to be pierced with sharp arrows. [215] Then he set up seven archers and they were mercilessly shooting arrows and casting stones at him, while he was hanging upside down on the high cliff, and with the praise of God and the hymns he was continuously offering up not ceasing from his mouth, saying, “You are holy, you are holy, mighty Lord, with whose praises both heavenly and earthly regions are full.” The judge commanded, and they released him and put him on the ground, and they dismembered him with swords. At that time, his soul departed joyfully from his body to his Lord, that he might give him his due: the heavenly kingdom and unceasing sweetness, along with all those who do his will. And now his glorious memorial day is celebrated in the four corners of creation, honoring his feast day each year on the 28th of Nisan with praises and songs of the Holy Spirit forever.

‫‪13‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܫܫܠܬܐ ܕܢܚܫܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܣܪ ܒܕ̈ܪܥܘܗܝ‬ ‫ܣܘܛܡ ܐ‬ ‫‪ 10‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥ ܕܝܢܐ ܗܠܝܢ‪ :‬ܫܩܠ‬ ‫ܘܒܨܘܪܗ‪ :‬ܘܫܕܝܗܝ ܡܢ ܫܩܝܦܐ ܪܡ ܐ ܒܬܪ ܪܫܗ‪ .‬ܘܐܡܪ ܢܨܝܚܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪:‬‬ ‫ܡܘܕܐ ܐܢܐ ܒܐܒܐ ܘܒܪܐ ܘܒܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥ ܕܝܢܐ‪ :‬ܦܩܕ ܕܒܓܐ̈ܪܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܫܢܝܢܐ ܢܫܬܦܕ‪ .‬ܘܗܝܕܝܢ ܐܩܝܡ ܫܒܥܐ ܓܒ̈ܪܝܢ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܒܟܐܦܐ ܫܕܝܢ‬ ‫ܩܫܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܒܓܐ̈ܪܐ‬ ‫ܗܘܘ ܠܗ ܕܠ ܐ ܚܘܣܢ‪ :‬ܘܗܘ ܟܕ ܬܠ ܐ ܒܬܪ ܪܫܗ ܒܫܩܝܦܐ ܪܡ ܐ‪ :‬ܟܕ ܠ ܐ ܫܠܝܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܘܗܘܠܠ ܐ ܕܡܩܪܒ ܗܘܐ ܐܡܝܢܐܝܬ ܘܐܡܪ‪:‬‬ ‫ܡܢ ܦܘܡܗ ܬܫܒܘܚܬܐ ܕܐܠܗܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܬܫܒܚܬܗ‪.‬‬ ‫ܫܡܝܢܐ ܘܐ̈ܪܥܢܐ ܡܢ‬ ‫ܩܕܝܫ ܐܢܬ ܩܕܝܫ ܐܢܬ ܡܪܝܐ ܚܝܠܬܢܐ‪ :‬ܕܡܠܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܣܝܦܐ ܗܕܡ ܗܕܡ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܦܩܕ ܕܝܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܫܪܐܘܗܝ ܘܣܡܘܗܝ ܥܠ ܐܪܥܐ‪ :‬ܘܦܣܩܘܗܝ‬ ‫ܘܗܝܕܝܢ ܫܢܝܬ ܢܦܫܗ ܡܢ ܦܓܪܗ ܒܚܕܘܬܐ ܠܘܬ ܡܪܗ‪ :‬ܕܢܦܪܥܝܘܗܝ ܡܠܟܘܬܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܥܒܕܝ ܨܒܝܢܗ‪ .‬ܘܗܐ ܡܬܢܨܚ‬ ‫ܫܡܝܢܝܬܐ ܘܒܘܣܡ ܐ ܕܠ ܐ ܦܛܪ‪ :‬ܥܡ ܟܠܗܘܢ‬ ‫ܝܘܡ ܐ ܫܒܝܚܐ ܕܕܘܟܪܢܗ ܒܐܪܒܥ ܵ‬ ‫ܦܢܝܢ ܕܒܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܟܕ ܒܟܠ ܫܢܐ ܒܥܣܪܝܢ ܘܬܡܢܝܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܬܫܒܚܬܐ ܘܒܙܡܝ̈ܪܬܐ ܕܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ‬ ‫ܒܢܝܣܢ ܝܪܚܐ ܡܙܝܚܝܢ ܠܝܘܡ ܥܕܥܕܗ‬ ‫ܠܥܠܡ‪.‬‬

14

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

11 People from the village of Padam came and took parts from the body of holy Mar Pinḥas and deposited them there with them in their house. Then seven days later they searched for those body parts but did not find them, so they set off for the blessed Mar Yabh, who was at the monastery with his disciple, Barṭaksha, above the village of Zawitha on the Sarya River. When they came to him, they said to him, “Sir, we gathered the body parts of a certain saint from the city of Panak and deposited them with us in the church, but when we looked for them, we did not find them, nor do we know [216] what happened with them.” Holy Mar Yabh said to them, “These relics you took have gone out to seven monasteries at the hands of the holy angels, and now his memorial day is being celebrated in these seven monasteries. I make known to you also that the man that gathered these relics is from the village of Padam, and he actually removed from them a joint from his [Pinḥas’] right hand and has kept it among his possessions, and now, because of these things, his son will be tempted by Satan for seventy days.” 12 And it was so. They carried the boy and brought him to the blessed Mar Yabh at his monastery, but they did not find him there. Barṭakša, the saint’s disciple, said to them, “My master, Mar Yabh, has gone to holy Mar Aḥa to see him and to find out how he is.” When the boy’s parents heard this, they thought it over and said, “Come on, let’s go to both of them together.” When they went out to go see holy Mar Aḥa and arrived at the village of Awṣar, just then the boy was tempted, and he stretched out his hand to his collar and found the joint of St. Pinḥas and he said to his mother, “Look, mother, for this is the joint that’s been choking me!” His mother said, “Give it here, son,” and the child’s mother took the pearl and threw it to the ground. Immediately the boy got better.

‫‪15‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫̈‬ ‫ܡܢܘܬܐ ܡܢ ܦܓܪܗ ܕܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ‬ ‫‪ 11‬ܘܐܬܘ ܐܢܫܐ ܡܢ ܦܕܡ ܩܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܢܣܒܘ‬ ‫ܦܝܢܚܣ‪ :‬ܘܣܡܘ ܐܢܘܢ ܥܡܗܘܢ ܒܒܝܬܐ ܕܝܠܗܘܢ‪ .‬ܘܡܢ ܒܬܪ ܫܒܥܐ ̈‬ ‫ܝܘܡܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܠܗܕܡ ܐ ܗܢܘܢ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܐܫܟܚܘ ܐܢܘܢ‪ .‬ܘܩܡܘ ܘܐܙܠܘ ܠܘܬ‬ ‫ܒܥܘ ܐܢܘܢ‬ ‫ܛܘܒܢܐ ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ‪ :‬ܕܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ ܒܕܝܪܗ ܥܡ ܬܠܡܝܕܗ ܒܪܛܟܫܐ‪ :‬ܠܥܠ ܡܢ‬ ‫ܙܘܝܬܐ ܩܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܥܠ ܢܗܪܐ ܕܫܡܗ ܣܪܝܐ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܐܬܘ ܠܘܬܗ ܐܡܪܘ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܕܚܢܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܕܗܕܡ ܐ ܡܢ ܚܕ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܢ ܦܢܟ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܣܡܢܢ ܐܢܘܢ‬ ‫ܡܢܘܬܐ‬ ‫ܡܪܝ ܟܢܫܢܢ‬ ‫ܥܡܢ ܒܒܝܬܐ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܒܥܝܢ ܠܗܘܢ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܐܫܟܚܢܢ ܠܗܘܢ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܝܕܥܝܢܢ ܡܢܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܡܢܘܬܐ ܕܫܩܠܬܘܢ‪:‬‬ ‫ܗܘܐ ܐܢܘܢ‪ .‬ܘܗܘ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ ܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ‪ :‬ܕܗܠܝܢ‬ ‫ܒܐܝܕܝ ܡܠ ̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܩܕܝܫܐ‪ :‬ܘܗܐ ܡܬܢܨܚ ܝܘܡ ܐ ܕܕܘܟܪܢܗ‬ ‫ܐܟܐ‬ ‫ܠܫܒܥ ܕܝ̈ܪܬܐ ܐܙܠܘ‬ ‫ܒܗܠܝܢ ܫܒܥ ܕܝ̈ܪܬܐ‪ .‬ܘܬܘܒ ܡܘܕܥ ܐܢܐ ܠܟܘܢ‪̇ :‬‬ ‫ܕܗܘ ܓܒܪܐ ܕܟܢܫ ܐܢܘܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܡܢܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܡܢ ܦܕܡ ܩܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܗܐ ܫܩܠ ܡܢܗܘܢ ܚܕܐ ܫܪܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܠܗܠܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܡܢ ܐܝܕܗ ܕܝܡܝܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܣܡܗ ܒܡ ܐܢܘܗܝ‪ .‬ܘܗܐ ܥܠ ܗܠܝܢ‪ :‬ܥܬܝܕ ܒܪܗ ܕܡܬܢܣܐ‬ ‫ܡܢ ܤܛܢܐ ܫܒܥܝܢ ̈‬ ‫ܝܘܡܝܢ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 12‬ܘܗܘܐ ܗܟܢܐ‪ .‬ܘܛܥܢܘܗܝ ܠܛܠܝܐ ܘܐܘܒܠܘܗܝ ܠܘܬ ܛܘܒܢܐ ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ ܠܕܝܪܗ‪:‬‬ ‫ܘܠ ܐ ܐܫܟܚܘܗܝ ܬܡܢ‪ .‬ܘܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܒܪܛܟܫܐ ܬܠܡܝܕܗ ܕܩܕܝܫܐ‪ :‬ܕܪܒܐ ܕܝܠܝ‬ ‫ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ ܐܙܠ ܠܘܬ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ ܐܚܐ‪ :‬ܕܢܚܙܝܘܗܝ ܕܢܫܐܠ ܒܫܠܡܗ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܗܕܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܐܒܗܘܗܝ‪ :‬ܐܬܡܠܟܘ ܘܐܡܪܘ‪ :‬ܕܬܘ ܢܐܙܠ ܠܘܬ ܬ̈ܪܝܗܘܢ ܫܘܝܐܝܬ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ‬ ‫ܫܡܥܘ‬ ‫ܢܦܩܘ ܕܢܐܙܠܘܢ ܠܘܬ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ ܐܚܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܬܡܛܝܘ ܠ ܐܘܨܪ ܩܪܝܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܗܝܕܝܢ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܘܐܫܟܚܗ ܠܫܪܝܬܐ ̇ܗܝ ܕܡܢ‬ ‫ܐܬܢܣܝ ̇ܗܘ ܛܠܝܐ‪ :‬ܘܦܫܛ ܐܝܕܗ ܠܒܪ ܨܘܪܗ‬ ‫ܩܕܝܫܐ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܘܐܡܪ ܠ ܐܡܗ‪ :‬ܚܙܝ ܐܡܝ‪ :‬ܕܗܕܐ ܗܝ ܫܪܝܬܐ ܕܚܢܩܐ ܗܘܬ ܠܝ‪.‬‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܘܫܩܠܬܗ ܐܡܗ ܕܛܠܝܐ ܠܡܪܓܢܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܕܗܒܝܗ ܠܝ ܠܗܪܟܐ ܒܪܝ‪.‬‬ ‫ܘܐܡܪܬ ܐܡܗ‪:‬‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܘܐܪܡܝܬܗ ܒܐܪܥܐ‪ .‬ܘܒܪ ܫܥܬܗ ܐܬܚܠܡ ܛܠܝܐ‪.‬‬ ‫̇ܗܝ‪:‬‬

16

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

13 After they reached Mar Aḥa at the Monastery of Zarnuqa, [217] they found the two of them, Mar Yabh and Mar Aḥa, sitting together in conversation. Then the boy’s parents said to them, “Sir, we went to your monastery, Abuna Mar Yabh, but didn’t find you.” The blessed one said to them, “Why did you go there?” They answered, “Because this boy was tempted, and we looked for you so you could pray for him.” He said to them, “Now the boy has gotten better: right from the moment you threw that pearl, because that was the cause of his temptation, and it was choking him.” When his parents heard the story about the pearl, they marveled at the saint’s knowledge. So they went back to see if they might find it, to build a shrine over it, but they were unsuccessful, since they had taken it in theft. 14 At that time, a certain man from the village called Azyak happened to be there — he was passing through on his way to the village of Awṣar for some reason or other. He found the pearl and took it in faith and built a shrine over it for the glory of the Lord and for holy Mar Pinḥas as a resting place for his bones. That man had a sister, a nun, a daughter of the covenant; she came and lived at that convent. Many companions, daughters of the covenant, congregated around her, and the convent was named — as it is to this day — for Mar Pinḥas. 15 So the blessed one took two crowns: the first, of confession [as a martyr]; the second, of monasticism. By his prayers may God give peace to the church with its children, [218] and may the congregation that celebrates his feast day with songs of the Holy Spirit be aided by his prayers. Whoever departs from his own work and commemorates him, may God bless his household! May the sinner who has written his story be absolved by his prayers, with the reader and hearer! Amen!

‫‪17‬‬

‫ܬܘܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܐ‬

‫‪ 13‬ܘܡܢ ܒܬܪ ܕܡܛܘ ܠܥܘܡܪܐ ܕܙܪܢܘܩܐ‪ :‬ܠܘܬ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ ܐܚܐ‪ :‬ܐܫܟܚܘ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܚܕܕܐ‪ :‬ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ ܘܡܪܝ ܐܚܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܐܢܘܢ ܬ̈ܪܝܗܘܢ ܟܕ ܝܬܝܒܝܢ ܘܡܡܠܠܝܢ ܥܡ‬ ‫ܗܝܕܝܢ ܐܡܪܘ ܠܗܘܢ ܐܢܫ ̈ܘܗܝ ܕܛܠܝܐ‪ :‬ܕܚܢܢ ܡܪܝ ܐܙܠܢܢ ܠܕܝܪܟ‪ :‬ܐܘ ܐܒܘܢ‬ ‫ܡܪܝ ܝܗܒ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܐܫܟܚܢܟ‪ .‬ܐܡܪ ܠܗܘܢ ܛܘܒܢܐ‪ :‬ܘܡܛܠ ܡܢܐ ܐܙܠܬܘܢ؟‬ ‫ܐܡܪܝܢ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܡܛܠ ܕܗܢܐ ܛܠܝܐ ܐܬܢܣܝ‪ :‬ܘܒܥܝܢܟ ܕܬܨܠ ܐ ܥܠܘܗܝ‪ .‬ܐܡܪ‬ ‫ܠܗܘܢ ܗܘ‪ :‬ܗܫܐ ܛܠܝܐ ܐܬܚܠܡ‪ :‬ܡܢ ̇ܗܝ ܫܥܬܐ ܕܫܕܝܬܘܢ ̇‬ ‫ܠܗܝ ܡܪܓܢܝܬܐ‪.‬‬ ‫ܡܛܠ ܕܗܝ ܗܘܬ ܥܠܬ ܢܣܝܘܢܗ‪ :‬ܘܗܝ ܚܢܩܐ ܗܘܬ ܠܗ‪ .‬ܘܟܕ ܫܡܥܘ ܐܢܫܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܫܪܒܗ ܕܡܪܓܢܝܬܐ ̇ܗܝ‪ :‬ܐܬܕܡܪܘ ܥܠ ܝܕܥܬܗ ܕܩܕܝܫܐ‪ .‬ܘܬܘܒ ܐܙܠܘ‬ ‫ܗܢܘܢ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܕܢܒܥܘܢܗ‪ :‬ܐܝܟ ܕܢܫܟܚܘܢ ܠܗ‪ :‬ܘܢܒܢܘܢ ܥܠܝܗ ܗܝܟܠ ܐ‪ :‬ܘܠ ܐ ܐܫܟܚܘܗ‪ :‬ܡܛܠ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܕܫܩܠܘܗ ܒܓܢܒܘܬܐ‪.‬‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܕܫܡܗ ܐܙܝܟ‪ :‬ܕܥܒܪ ܬܡܢ ܕܢܐܙܠ‬ ‫‪ 14‬ܘܗܝܕܝܢ ܐܬܛܝܒ ܓܒܪܐ ܚܕ ܡܢ ܩܪܝܬܐ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܘܫܩܠܗ‬ ‫̇ܗܝ‬ ‫ܘܐܫܟܚܗ ܠܡܪܓܢܝܬܐ‬ ‫ܠ ܐܘܨܪ ܩܪܝܬܐ ܒܥܠܬܐ ܡܕܡ‪:‬‬ ‫̇‬ ‫ܥܠܝܗ ܗܝܟܠ ܐ ܠܫܡܗ ܕܡܪܝܐ ܘܠܩܕܝܫܐ ܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ ܠܢܝܚܐ‬ ‫ܒܗܝܡܢܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܒܢܐ‬ ‫ܕܓ̈ܪܡܘܗܝ‪ .‬ܘܐܝܬ ܗܘܐ ܠܗ ܠܓܒܪܐ ̇ܗܘ ܚܬܐ ܕܝܪܝܬܐ ܒܪܬ ܩܝܡ ܐ‪ :‬ܐܬܬ‬ ‫̇‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܣܓܝܐܬܐ ܒܢ̈ܬ ܩܝܡ ܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܬܩܪܝ‬ ‫ܚܕܪܝܗ ܚܒ̈ܪܬܐ‬ ‫ܥܡܪܬ ܒܕܝܪܐ ̇ܗܝ‪ .‬ܘܐܬܟܢܫ‬ ‫̇ܗܘ ܕܝܪܐ ̈‬ ‫ܕܢܫܐ ܥܕܡ ܐ ܠܝܘܡܢ ܥܠ ܫܡܗ ܕܡܪܝ ܦܝܢܚܣ‪.‬‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܟܠܝܠ ܐ‪ :‬ܚܕ ܕܡܘܕܝܢܘܬܐ‪ :‬ܘܐܚܪܢܐ ܕܥܢܘܝܘܬܐ‪.‬‬ ‫‪ 15‬ܘܫܩܠ ܛܘܒܢܐ ܬܪܝܢ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܝܠܕ ̇‬ ‫ܝܗ‪ :‬ܘܟܢܫܐ ܕܙܝܚ ܥܕܥܕܗ ܒܙܡܝ̈ܪܬܐ‬ ‫ܒܨܠܘܬܗ ܢܫܝܢ ܥܕܬܐ ܥܡ‬ ‫ܕܐܠܗܐ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܨܠܘܬܗ‪ .‬ܘܟܠܡܢ ܕܦܪܫ ܡܢ ܦܘܠܚܢܗ ܘܥܒܕ ܠܗ ܕܘܟܪܢܐ‪:‬‬ ‫ܕܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ ܢܬܥܕܪ‬ ‫̈‬ ‫ܒܨܠܘܬܗ‪ :‬ܘܠܩܪܘܝܐ‬ ‫ܐܠܗܐ ܢܒܪܟ ܒܝܬܗ‪ .‬ܘܠܚܛܝܐ ܕܟܬܒ ܬܫܥܝܬܗ‪ :‬ܢܬܚܣܐ‬ ‫ܘܠܫܡܘܥܐ‪ :‬ܐܡܝܢ‪.‬‬

ANNOTATION 1 combatant: the use of the Greek word agonesṭā, common in Syriac martyrdom texts, parallels Greek usage.1 The term is also used more broadly for ascetics, as for example, in letters to and from Dawid bar Pawlos (8th/9th cent.).2 skilled soldier (pālḥā kašširā): the word pālḥā may also mean “servant,” but the surrounding militaristic tone of the passage lends likelihood to “soldier.” easy indeed: renders the cognate Syriac adjective and adverb: pšiq...pšiqāʾit. that he may instruct our weakness: alternatively, this last clause may be rendered, “for he can instruct our weakness,” with d- being causal and the imperfect verb with a indicating a modality of possibility (rather than purpose, as in the translation supplied in the main text). In either case, it is the reason put forth for the writer’s trust in God. powerful soldier (pālḥā zrizā): the name and adjective pairs given to Mar Pinḥas in the beginning sentence have been rearranged. The phrase agonesṭā zrizā occurs in the Mar Awgen story (AMS III, 423.19). chosen vessel: Acts 9:15. in whom we have been found worthy of adoption, so that we cry out [209] to the God of majesty, our Father in heaven: cf. Rom 8:15, Mt 6:9. From the rising to the setting of the sun: that is, from east to west. 1

See Lampe, 25–26, svv. ἀγών, ἀγωνίζομαι, ἀγώνισμα, ἀγωνιστής, the last word being the direct Greek source for the Syriac word. See also the note below (§ 3) on atlēṭutā. (Cf. in Gǝʿǝz the common mästägadǝl, “combatant, fighter, martyr, ascetic” and the usual name for saints’ stories in Gǝʿǝz, gädl, “contending, combat.”) 2 Church of the Forty Martyrs, Mardin, ms. no. 158, pp. 127 and 151. In the first of these references, a letter to Dawid, the recipient is addressed with l-agonesṭā ḥliṣā w-ḥayltānā ba-qrābēh d-māryā, “To the strong combatant and powerful one in the Lord’s battle.”

19

20

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

the earth…the world: we may note the opposition, perhaps only literary, between “earth” (arʿā) and “world” (tēvēl) in this sentence. the work: the word may equally mean “worship.” 2 our ears: Bedjan conjectures edna(y)n (“our ears”), and in the footnote he gives the manuscript reading enēn, “them” referring back to “our souls.” Bedjan’s emendation involves the scribe’s putative omission of just one letter, and semantically it fits the following infinitive verb well, so I follow it. reading aloud: the Syriac of Bedjan’s edition, with BL Add. 14733, has qāl, the reading of the manuscript being clear. It is a strange (i.e. unparalleled, as far as I know) expression, and so Bedjan conjectures ʿal. The translation given here is somewhat of a guess. With Bedjan’s conjecture it would seem to mean “to heed the story.” 3 by family: this kind of language in the transition to the story of the martyr itself is exemplary of standard martyrology, and it derives ultimately from literary conventions of Greek biography. the city of Atines, that is Tanis: Bedjan has in a note, “In the land of Egypt, Tanis?” This identification in the text may be an interpolation. As already mentioned, Fiey suggests for it Tanaos, or Athens,3 but, at least as the story has reached us, Tanis in Egypt is perhaps more likely, as discussed above in the Introduction under “Topography,” although the reference to the saint’s having been instructed in philosophy points at least to a more popular traditional interpretation of the name as in fact indicating Athens. From a historical point of view, though, one wonders considering the prior obsolescence of Athens as a living symbol of philosophical instruction, whether a mention of Alexandria would have been more fitting. I will get up and leave the world: this is a reference to removing oneself from human company and becoming a recluse. others: this word is not explicit in the Syriac text. The most recently named plural agents in the story are his parents, who are now dead, so the 3

Ass. chr. 2, 738.

ANNOTATION

21

plural subject here is probably to be understood simply as unnamed individuals, a usage equivalent to the singular passive voice, that is, “before others can lead me” = “before I can be led.” a wooden board: it would be surprisingly convenient if this expression were elsewhere explicitly used of Noah’s Ark, but it is not, so far as I can find. While the overall air of this part of the story reflects the story of the flood, this particular lexeme does not, at least not overtly. Of course, the paltry means of crossing the water indicated here are evocative of an ascetic way of life: this water-crossing saint does not even make an effort, or at least lacks the means, to shelter himself from the sun and storms as he traverses the water. the White Mountain: probably the modern Jabal al-Abyaḍ (with the same meaning as the Syriac here) in northwestern Iraqi Kurdistan. As mentioned above in the Introduction, this part of the narrative has several echoes of the Noah story in Gen 6–9: leaving the water, finding grace in God’s sight, the period of forty days, and ending up on a mountain. Mar Awgen: see the Introduction. combat: this abstract noun (atlēṭutā, a Greek base with a suffixed Syriac morpheme) and its base atlēṭā are commonly used in connection with asceticism and hagiography, not unlike agonesṭā (see § 1), a usage that echoes Greek practice.4 Monks and martyrs were considered warriors from early on in the literary culture surrounding these individuals,5 but the term atlēṭā is also applied to Christ.6 These and related terms as used across the martyr acts deserve a thorough study. 4 Ganbali: this is the only occurrence listed in Brock’s index of place names.7 Fiey wonders if this refers to Gerenoli, northwest of Mt. Judi.8 This mountain, near Cizre, is associated with Mt. Qardu(n), where Noah’s

4

See Lampe, 46, s.vv. ἄθλησις, ἀθλητής, ἀθλητικός. Cf. A. Vööbus, History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, vol. 1, CSCO 184 / Sub 14 (Louvain, 1958), 88. 6 S.P. Brock, “Greek Words in Ephrem and Narsai: A Comparative Sampling,” Aram 11–12 (1999–2000): 444–446. 7 Mar Maʿin, 118. 8 SS, 153. 5

22

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

Ark is supposed to have landed.9 This tradition is of course carried on in the exegetical literature in Syriac (and Arabic).10 Panak: or Phenek / Finik (cf. Fiey, SS, 153)? Brock’s index of place names (Mar Maʿin, 122) cites only this story for the name. According to Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 738, n. 6, it is located on the east bank of the Tigris about 12 km NE of Cizre. Simun: this is not spelled in Syriac like the name of the disciple (Šem‘on). For the name Simun as given here, we may perhaps compare the names Sima, Simas, and Simos.11 It is also spelled like the name of the antagonist Simon Magus in Acts 8:9, etc. he looks like a sheep: most likely a reference to a hair-shirt.12 The prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8) and John the Baptist (Mt 3:4, Mk 1:6) naturally come to mind as the hairy harbingers of the Bible, and there are other parallels between these figures, together with Daniel, and Mar Pinḥas. Like him, these biblical figures each opposed some authority figure and resolutely confessed fidelity to God before the ruler. Of these three, though, only John the Baptist was martyred, and that in a rather anticlimactic situation. This description, in addition to linking Mar Pinḥas to biblical antecedents, may also reflect the notion of ascetic proximity to nature, especially to animals. As an example of this latter phenomenon, we may cite the beginning of “The Life of Simeon the Mountaineer” in John of Ephesus’ Lives of the Eastern Saints: “The blessed 9

Gen 8:4 in Targums Onkelos, Neofiti, Pseudo-Jonathan; Peshitta; and Qurʾān 11:44, with which also see the commentaries of Baiḍāwī and al-Jalalayn ad locum. See also the Muʿ am al-Buldān of Yāqūt, s.v. al-Jūdī (vol. 2, 179–180, in the Beirut edition, Dār Ṣādir, n.d.), where part of the biblical text is given (in Arabic, of course), and Arthur Jeffery, The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’ān (Baroda, 1938), 106–107. 10 Cave of Treasures 19.6 (Su-Min Ri, La Caverne des trésors: Les deux recensions syriaques, CSCO 486–487 / Syr 207–208 (Louvain, 1987), 148–149 [Syr]; 56–57 [FT] (for the Arabic text see Carl Bezold, ed., Die Schatzhöhle [Leipzig, 1888], 99); J.-M. Vosté and C. Van den Eynde, Commentaire d’Išo‘dad de Merv sur l’Ancien Testament, I. Genèse, CSCO 126, 156 / Syr 67, 75 (Louvain, 1950, 1955), 120 [Syr], 130 [FT]; J.C.J. Sanders, ed., Ibn aṭ-Ṭaiyib, Commentaire sur la Genèse, CSCO 274–275 / Arb 24–25 (Louvain, 1967), 49 (FT), 52 (Arabic); E.A.W. Budge, ed. and trans., The Book of the Bee (Oxford, 1886, 32 [ET], 32 [Syr]). For other references to Mt. Qardu in Syriac, see PS 3731. 11 Ferdinand Justi, Iranisches Namenbuch (Marburg, 1895), 301. 12 Cf. Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 738.

ANNOTATION

23

Simeon then used to go about on the mountains like the wild beasts...”13 command him to come to you and confess your God and worship your idols: these lines, of which similar ones occur in a great number of martyr texts, are a literary stereotype. 5 the true shepherd: cf. Ezk 34; Jn 10:11, 14. the Spirit of God and his wisdom: 1 Cor 1:24. his rule shall never and ever be dissolved: cf. Isa 9:7, Lk 1:33. 6 You speak openly with an evident accent: two verbs are used here, the latter the common verb for “speak” and the former meaning “speak a foreign language.” (There is nothing in BL Add. 14733 to indicate that the second verb might be a gloss for the first.) The more specific verb, which I have rendered with the prepositional phrase “with an evident accent,” fits in well with the context of the saint having come from another country: he is an outsider, and it is evident even in the way he talks. Cf. perhaps Mt 26:73. the seventy-two gods: as mentioned in the Introduction, it is not clear how this phrase is to be understood. It is possible that the Syriac author has misunderstood a Persian belief here. The Yasna, the collection of Zoroastrian liturgical verses, is divided into seventy-two chapters, to which the seventy-two strands of the Kushti, the sacred cord of Zoroastrian ritual dress, correspond, and the Syriac narrator may be representing, intentionally or unwittingly, these seventy-two “divine passages” as seventy-two “gods”. A more remote possibility is some concept of this number of divine or divinely created entities, as in the text from Nag Hammadi conventionally called On the Origin of the World.14

13 14

Ed. and trans. E.W. Brooks, PO 17.1 (Paris, 1923), 229. B. Layton, ed., Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2–7, vol. 2 (Leiden, 1989), 45.

24

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

7 the sun, which darkened: see Mt 27:45. The subject in the following sentence is also the sun. The words “long” and “short” refer to the varying lengths of daylight during the year. In contrast with this fickle sun, the martyr maintains, God is stable and everlasting. whose chariot is cherubim: Ezk 10:9. A chariot figures in Mar Awgen’s vision early on in that saint’s story (AMS III, 379.3). watchers: a common way to refer to angels reaching back to the Aramaic phraseology of Daniel (4:13, 17, 23) with clear echoes in later Syriac literature.15 all the ranks of flame: cf. Heb 1:7. Get behind me, Satan: Mt 16:23. the fire that will never go out, prepared for your father, the devil, and his angels: Mt 25:41, Jn 8:44. The Syriac word for “devil” here — the verbal expression occurs also in biblical (Dan 3:8, 6:25) and other Aramaic dialects and goes back to Akkadian16 — means “slanderer, accuser” and is a common name in Syriac for the devil, both in the Bible and elsewhere.17 It often, but not always, translates διάβολος in all Syriac versions of the Gospels and in Acts (e.g. Mt 4:5 [Sinaiticus, Curetonianus, Peshitta], 4:11 [Cur., Pesh., Harclean]; Acts 13:10 [Pesh., Harc.]). 15

See Robert Murray, “The Origin of Aramaic ʿir,” Orientalia 53 (1984): 303– 317; ibid., “Some Themes and Problems of Early Syriac Angelology,” in R. Lavenant, ed., V Symposium Syriacum, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 236 (Rome, 1990), pp. 143–153; and Kathleen E. McVey, trans., Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns (New York, 1989), p. 229, n. 36. For some actual examples (other than Ephrem), and in a text not specifically devoted to an angelic theme, see Jacob of Sarug, The Second Homily on our Lord’s Combat with Satan (in Bedjan, Homiliae Selectae Mar-Jacobi Sarugensis, vol. 5 [Paris and Leipzig, 1910]), 614, l. 3 (there said of the angels that announced the birth of Jesus); 629, l. 13; 630, 4 lines from the bottom; and 631, l. 6. On the term and concept in ancient near eastern and biblical perspective, see J. J. Collins, “Watcher ‫ ”עיר‬in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (New York, 1995), 1681– 1685, and L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, (Leiden, 2002), 1946. 16 S.A. Kaufman, The Akkadian Influences on Aramaic, Assyriological Studies 19 (Chicago and London, 1974), 63; see also Koehler and Baumgartner, Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 1974. 17 PS 3756.

ANNOTATION

25

the city that’s above: that is, the heavenly Jerusalem. Similarly, Eusebius reports of a group of Egyptian martyrs, “And when he [their interrogator] asked them over again whence they came, they avoided speaking of the city to which they belonged on earth, and spake of the city which in truth is theirs, and said that they were from Jerusalem which is above in heaven, confessing that they were hastening to go thither. And because of these things the judge became the more enraged at them, and prepared himself against them with cruel scourgings, in order that he might accomplish his will upon them; but when he failed in his expectations, he gave command that one of them should receive the crown of victory.”18 I’m called after Christ: this identification with Christ through name is common in Syriac martyrology: see, as one instance among many, the similar line in the Syriac Martyrdom of Theonilla, § 1.19 8 wedges: in a note Bedjan equates this (esfinē [< Greek σφήν], vocalized espayānē in Bedjan) with Syriac sekkē (“nail, wedge,” etc.). He set them before the victorious Mar Pinḥas and said, “Look, Christian, look”: another common topos in martyrdom texts: the setting out of the implements of torture before the victim. The Syriac word here — as well as at the next occurrence, and elsewhere — for Christian is nāṣrāyā. On a likely interpretation of the difference between this term and krisṭyānā, particularly as they relate to Christians in Persia.20 was enflamed with the Holy Spirit: this is perhaps meant as an example of following Eph 4:26 (citing Ps 4:4), “Be angry and sin not...” In any case, Mar Pinḥas’ behavior is clearly meant as a foil to Simun’s anger a few lines later. 9 Nothing can separate me from the love of Christ: Rom 8:38–39. 18

W. Cureton, ed. and trans., History of the Martyrs in Palestine, by Eusebius, Bishop in Caesarea, Discovered in a Very Ancient Syriac Manuscript (London, Edinburgh, and Paris, 1861), 38–39 [= Syr., 41]; cf. also in the ET of the same text, 40, ll. 30–34. 19 A. McCollum, “The Martyrdom of Theonilla in Syriac,” AB 128 (2010): 323. 20 See S.P. Brock, “Some Aspects of Greek Words in Syriac,” 91–95 (reprinted as ch. IV in Syriac Perspectives on Late Antiquity [London, 1984]).

26

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

the God who made heaven and earth, and all that is in them: Ps 146:6. sent his beloved son to save me and gave himself to death for our sake: Jn 3:16. 10 head first: the Syriac is bātar rēšēh.21 Nisan: that is, April. with praises and songs of the Holy Spirit forever: with this conclusion the narrator himself steps in noticeably with a comment, and the remainder of the story is local, even though he uses the words “in the four corners of creation.” 11 Padam: as with some other toponyms occurring here, Brock’s index of place names cites Padam only for this story.22 in their house: this could be a church, but relics (here, body parts) are sometimes placed in homes. Mar Yabh: another one of Mar Awgen’s disciples (AMS III, 472.15). Zawitha on the Sarya River: once again, Brock’s index of place names cites this toponym only for the present story,23 but the river is also mentioned in The History of Mar Saba: “He [Shapur] gave to Adhorprazgard [the area] from Nisibis to the Sarya River.”24 The other places mentioned in the present narrative are near Cizre, which is just over 100 km from Nisibis, so it must be some part or tributary of the Tigris, which mostly surrounds Cizre. Indeed, Fiey identifies it as one the seasonal courses of water that separate Nisibis from Cizre, and he notes that one such watercourse is still called Seriya.25 seven monasteries: or “the seven monasteries.”26

21

See PS cols. 626–627 for more examples (cf. SL 196). Mar Maʿin, 122. 23 Mar Maʿin, 119. 24 AMS IV, 224; the reference is given in Brock’s index, Mar Maʿin, 121. 25 Nisibe, 167, n. 32. 26 For the syntax of numerals, see Th. Nöldeke, Compendious Syriac Grammar, trans. J. Crichton (Winona Lake, Ind., 2001 [orig. 1904]), § 238. 22

ANNOTATION

27

at the hands of the holy angels: as it is said that a man (Syriac gavrā) took the relics just a few lines later, this must mean that it was at the instigation of the angels, or under their watch, that the relics were removed. This part of the story has the ring of an etiology for the monastic monopoly on relics. 12 Mar Aḥa: another of Mar Awgen’s supposed disciples, he is listed immediately after Mar Pinḥas in the record of them in The History of Mar Awgen.27 On this monk and the monastery associated with him, see the note below at the beginning of the next section. Awṣar: that is, Ḥawṣar, only in this story among the Persian Martyr Acts.28 It is located about 11 km from Cizre.29 his collar: on bar ṣawrā see also the lemma in Bar Bahlul’s Lexicon.30 the pearl: is this term meant to be taken literally, or rather to refer simply to a precious object of any kind, here a certain relic? The Syriac word is also used, for example, of the eucharistic bread.31 In Jewish Palestinian Aramaic32 and Greek,33 it may also mean “soul” (cf. Mt 13:45–46). In any case, pearls carry a significant symbolic weight in Syriac tradition.34

27

AMS III, 473.9. Brock, Mar Maʿin, 116. 29 See Fiey, SS, 153, and his Ass. chr. 2, 738, n. 8, which adds a reference to A. Andrus, Carte de Jebel Tur (no date or further info, but perhaps see the map in Oswald H. Parry, Six Months in a Syrian Monastery, London, 1895). For this site, see further A. Socin, “Zur Geographie des Ṭur ‘Abdīn,” ZDMG 35 (1881), 244–245. 30 Duval, Bar Bahlul, col. 433. 31 Tomā Awdo, Simtā d-Lešānā Suryāyā (Mosul, 1897), 561; and Jibrāʾīl AlQardāḥī, Al-Lubāb: Qāmūs Suryānī-ʿArabī, (Beirut, 1891), 686), like μαργαρίτης in Greek (Lampe, 827). 32 M. Sokoloff, Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, 2d ed. (Ramat-Gan, 2002), 327–328. 33 Lampe, 827. 34 S.P. Brock, The Luminous Eye, Cistercian Studies 124 (Kalamazoo, 1992), 106– 108. 28

28

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

13 Zarnuqa: on Mar Aḥa and this monastery, see Fiey covers the highlights of its history from its foundation to its apparent demise at the beginning of the seventeenth century, there having been a revival there around 1490.35 It is in Beth Zabdai, the region where Cizre is.36 The Chronicle of Seert §3837 specifically names Mar Aḥa as its founder (and that he was also buried there) and its location in Beth Zabdai; the name Zarnuqa is said there to be due to the fact that the monks (before a miracle) were having trouble drawing water with the zurnūq.38 A similar story in Syraic, also mentioning Mar Aḥa and this particular monastery, will be found in a text published by P. Bedjan at the end of his edition of the Book of Governors.39 Around 1220, Yāqūt mentions the monastery as having gardens and a notable quantity of wine;40 according to Fiey, Yāqūt’s remarks are derived from Al-Šābuštī (around 1000).41 Abuna: this form of address indicates either that he was an abbot at this monastery, or, as in later usage, that he was a bishop. they had taken it in theft: theft of saints’ relics is often mentioned in hagiographical literature.42

35

Nisibe, 194–197. See the map at the beginning of Andrew Palmer, Monk and Mason on the Tigris River (Cambridge, 1990), and also Fiey, Ass. chr., 1, 149, n. 2. 37 Text in PO 5: 252. 38 See E.W. Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, (London, 1863), vol. 3, 1229. 39 Liber superiorum (Paris, 1901), 442 (no. 6). 40 Muʿ am al-buldān, s.v. Dayr al-zarnūq (Beirut ed. cited above under § 4, vol. 2, 511–512). 41 Nisibe, 196. Zarnuqa is also noted in P. Peeters, AB 27, 181, n. 13, where A. Socin, “Zur Geographie,” 264, who gives Zärnōka (sic, no. 89 in his list of place names), is cited. 42 Theodoret, History of the Monks of Syria (ed. and trans. Pierre Canivet and Alice Leroy-Molinghen, Histoire des moines de Syrie II, Sources Chrétiennes 257 [Paris, 1979]) 15.5; 16.4; 17.10; 21.5, 9; in the The Life of Rabbula, the saint’s body is put in a wooden coffin to prevent the people from tearing it apart (see Robert Doran, Stewards of the Poor: The Man of God, Rabbula, and Hiba in Fifth Century Edessa, Cistercian Studies 208 [Kalamazoo, 2006], 104 = Syr., J.J. Overbeck, ed., S. Ephraemi Syri, Rabulae Episcopi Edesseni Balaei Aliorumque Opera Selecta [Oxford, 1865], 207.26– 208.3); also S.P. Brock, “Notes on Some Monasteries on Mount Izla,” 11; and 36

ANNOTATION

29

14 Azyak: only here;43 it is located about 34 km east of Cizre.44 a daughter of the covenant: this is the later usage of “sons / daughters of the covenant” (i.e. simply for monks or, in this case, nuns), which has a notable history in Syriac asceticism.45 the convent was named — as it is to this day — for Mar Pinḥas: I know of no references to this convent. 15 monasticism: Syriac ʿanwāyutā. This remark on the second “crown” that Mar Pinḥas obtained reinforces the interpretation of the story as an etiology for relics and monasticism. Whoever departs from his own work and commemorates him: this expression is not completely clear. I take it perhaps to mean a person who does not spend his or her efforts on personal interests, but rather gives especially close attention to remembering the story of Mar Pinḥas. This commemoration perhaps refers to participation in a commemorative mass for the saint, and the following prayer for blessing on the household may point to lay devotion. May the sinner who has written…: this closing benediction reflects the ritual context of reciting the story aloud.

[Anonymous], “Passio antiquior SS. Sergii et Bacchi Graeca nunc primum edita,” AB 14 (1895): 374–95 (395, § 29). 43 Brock, Mar Maʿin, 116. 44 See note above for Awṣar in § 12; Fiey, Ass. chr. 2, 738, n. 7, and ibid., SS, 153. 45 For the earlier usage, see R. Murray, Symbols of Church and Kingdom (London, 1975), 13–16, and R.A. Kitchen under the entry “Bnay Qyāmā, Bnāt Qyāmā,” in GEDSH (Piscataway, 2011), 84–85.

INDEX INDEX OF PROPER NAMES Mar Aḥa § 12, 13 Aniḥa § 4, 8, 9 Atines § 3 Mar Awgen § 3 Awṣar § 12, 14 Ayzak § 14 Barṭakša § 11, 12 Ganbali§ 4 Padam § 11 Panak § 4, 11

Sarya River § 11 Satan § 7, 11 Shapur § 4 Simun § 4, 5, 7 Tanis § 3 White Mt. § 3 Mar Yabh § 11, 12, 13 Zarnoqa § 13 Zawitha § 11

INDEX OF BIBLICAL VERSES Genesis 6–9 § 3 2 Kings 1:8 § 4 Psalms 4:4 § 8 Isaiah 9:7 § 5 Ezekiel 10:9 § 7 34 § 5 Daniel 3:8 § 7 4:13, 17, 23 § 7 6:25 § 8 Matthew 3:4 § 4 4:1, 5, 11 § 7 6:9 § 1 13:39 § 7

16:23 § 7 25:41 § 7 27:45 § 7 Mark 1:6 § 4 Luke 1:33 § 5 4:1, 13 § 7 John 3:16 § 10 8:44 § 8 (bis) 10:11, 14 § 5 Acts 9:15 § 1 13:10 § 7 Romans 8:15 § 1 8:38–39 § 9 1 Corinthians 1:24 § 5 31

32 Ephesians 4:26 § 8

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS Hebrews 1:7 § 7

APPENDIX: ADDAI SCHER’S ARABIC VERSION OF THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS As mentioned above, Addai Scher published in his two-volume collection of saints’ lives in Arabic a brief version, his own, of the story of Mar Pinḥas. Since Scher’s work, even in this age of reprints and widely available electronic versions of books published long ago, is very hard to find, and since the Arabic text not only recounts most (but not all) of the essential elements as found in the Syriac version of the story, but also does so in simple, but fine, Arabic idiom, I have deemed it worthwhile to devote a few pages of this slim volume to reprinting his Arabic text along with an English translation. Where the Arabic version differs from the Syriac is especially at the ending: there is nothing remarkable about Pinḥas’ relics and their subsequent adventures in Scher’s Arabic version. The Arabic text is given almost exactly as in Scher’s book: I have not provided the more obvious vowel signs he supplies (e.g. ُ‫) له‬, but I have added a few vowel markers and diacritics that are absent from his text. The punctuation is Scher’s. In the translation I have made no attempt at literary perfection or even embellishment, but on the other hand I have not confined myself rigidly to exact arrangement of the Arabic sentences. For the proper names in the translation, including that of Mar Pinḥās himself, I have purposely given a specifically Arabic form in order to impart a tone to this translation of the narrative slightly distinct from that of the translation of the Syriac version given above. The successive page numbers are indicated in both the Arabic text and the English translation.

33

‫‪THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS‬‬

‫‪34‬‬

‫‪ARABIC TEXT‬‬

‫مار فنحاس الشهيد‬ ‫)في اواخر الجيل الرابع(‬ ‫كان سقط راس مار فنحاس في مدينة اثيناس وكان كريم النسب ‪.‬وتخرّج في‬ ‫علم الفلسفة ‪.‬ول ّما بلغ السنة العشرين من عمره توفّى والداهُ ‪.‬فتف ّكر في زوال‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫مالذها ‪.‬فترك الوطن وانطلق الى‬ ‫الدنيا وتع ّشقُ الفضيلة ‪.‬فأراد ان يزهد في‬ ‫مار اوجين فتتلمذ له ‪.‬وفي م ّدة قليلة أحرز فضائل الرسل األ ّولين ‪.‬ث ُّم ترك‬ ‫جبل االزل ‪.‬فاتى بالد قردو وسكن في جبل يقال له حوارا اي ابيض ‪.‬وبقي‬ ‫فيه مدة ثالثين سنة مواظبًا على الصوم والصلوة ‪.‬فكان هدفًا لح ُّر الصيف‬ ‫]‪ [٢٤‬المذيب وق ُّر الشتاء الشديد ‪.‬وكان يمشي حافيًا وليس على بدنه ّ ُ‬ ‫اال‬ ‫نسيج غليظ من شعر المعزى ‪.‬وهيّج عليه الشياطين محارب ُةً شديد ُةً فنصره‬ ‫هللا عليها‬ ‫وكان قريبًا من الجبل الساكن فيه قرية تدعى جنبالي ‪.‬وكان فيها رجل اثيم‬ ‫يبغض النصارى بغضًا شديدًا ويزعج الق ّديس ويقلقه دائ ًما ‪.‬وكان له إخاء‬ ‫ومو ّدة مع حاكم مدينة فنك الذي كان يدعى سيمون وكان يضطهد النصارى‬ ‫رجال يسجد‬ ‫ًُ‬ ‫إن في جبلنا‬ ‫وقتل منهم ج ًّما غفيرًا فانطلق اليه انيحا وقال له‪ُّ » :‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫للذي صلبه اليهود في اورشليم ‪.‬وعليه نسيج من شعر فكأنه خروف ‪.‬وهو‬ ‫يحث المجوس أن يعتنقوا نظيره الديانة النصرانية «‪ .‬فل ّما سمع الحاكم هذا‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫المكالم أمر بإحضار الق ّديس ‪.‬فقبض عليه وأحضر ق ّدام الحاكم ‪.‬فقال له ‪:‬‬ ‫ي ‪.‬وليسوع المسيح أسجد وهو هللا الح ُّ‬ ‫ق‬ ‫»من انت؟ « قال‪ » :‬إنّي نصران ُّ‬ ‫وليس للملكه انقضاء «‪ .‬فقال له الحاكم‪ » :‬أضرب عن الديانة الباطلة‬ ‫المتمسك انت بها واسجد معنا للشمس فأكرمك الكرامة كلّها «‪ .‬قال الق ّديس‬ ‫بشجاعة ال مزيد عليها‪ » :‬كيف أسجد للشمس التي أظلمت حزنًا على موت‬ ‫ملكي ٰ‬ ‫وإلهي يسوع المسيح من الساعة السادسة الى الساعة التاسعة وهي‬ ‫ل تتحرّك ‪.‬فلستُ أسجد ّ ُ‬ ‫إال‬ ‫عديمة الحيوة والروح وإنّما بقوة هللا ع ُّز وج ُّ‬ ‫ل الذي سلطته ال تزول وملكه ال يفنى ‪.‬وله يسجد جميع األرواح‬ ‫لخالق الك ُّ‬ ‫السمويّة «‪ .‬قال الحاكم‪ » :‬إنُ لم تعمل يا منكود الحظ بما أمرتك به‬ ‫اذهبن عني يا شيطان انت‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫]‪ [٢٤‬موتًا شنيعًا تموت «‪ .‬قال له الق ّديس‪» :‬‬ ‫وآلهتك الكاذبة الى النار المؤبَّدة المع ّدة لك ‪.‬وا ّما انا فمستع ُّد للموت من اجل‬

‫‪35‬‬

‫‪APPENDIX‬‬

‫فاصنعن بي‬ ‫ُّ‬ ‫ٰإلهي فلست اخاف من تهديداتك وهي عندي شبه طنين الذباب ‪.‬‬ ‫ما شئتُ «‬ ‫فتقلّى الحاكم على جمرات الغضب وأمر بإحضار سكاكين ومسامير‬ ‫وأمشاط ومناشير حديديّة ‪.‬ووضعها ق ّدام الق ّديس وقال له‪ » :‬إنّي بهذه اآلالت‬ ‫أن ّكل بك ‪.‬فإن لم تخضع طوعًا أكرهتك بالتعذيب قسرًا «‪ .‬قال الق ّديس » هلل‬ ‫ما احلى التعاذيب ‪.‬إنّي لتائق الى مجد احتمالها الجل يسوع المسيح ‪.‬فافعل‬ ‫ن غيظًا وأمر‬ ‫ما بدا لك أيّها الفاجر وال تتأ ّخر «‪ .‬فاستشاط الحكيم غضبًا وج ُّ‬ ‫بأن يقطع لسانه بالسيف وتنشر لحمانه بالمنشار ‪.‬فتق ّدم اليه أنيحا الفاجر وقال‬ ‫أنزل به النكال بتباريخ العذاب «‪ .‬فأجاب‬ ‫له‪ » :‬سلّم هذا النصران ُّ‬ ‫ي بيدي فانا ِ‬ ‫الى سؤاله وقال له » ‪:‬خذه من هنا وأ ِذقه ضروب العذابات «‪ .‬فقال أنيحا‬ ‫وإال فألذيقنّك‬ ‫للق ّديس‪ » :‬امتثل أمر الحاكم واسجد لآللهة التي يسجد هو لها ‪ُ ّ .‬‬ ‫ن فاك أيّها الشرّير الفاجر وال تكلّمني بهذا‬ ‫أم ُّر ال ِميتات «‪ .‬قال الق ّديس « ‪:‬س ّد ُّ‬ ‫ل ما فيها‬ ‫الكالم الخبيث ‪.‬كيف أنبذ اإلله الذي خلق السماء واالرض وك ُّ‬ ‫وأرسل ابنه الوحيد فبذل نفسه عنّي لكي يخلّصني من عبوديّة الشياطين‬ ‫معبوداتكم ‪.‬وهو مزمع أن يأتي ثاني ُةّ في انقضاء العالم بمجد عظيم ال‬ ‫يوصف ليدين االحياء واالموات فيثيب االبرار ]‪ [٢٢‬بالملكوت السموي‬ ‫وأ ّما الخطاة الذين هم نظيرك فيلقيهم في نار ال تطفأ «‪ .‬فكاد أنيحا يتم ّزق‬ ‫غيظًا فأمر بالق ّديس فكبِّل بسالسل ثقيلة وعلِّق من َّكس الرأس على الجلمود ‪.‬‬ ‫وكان الق ّديس يسبّح هللا تعالى ‪.‬فأمر الحاكم أن يرشقوه بالسهام ‪.‬فكانت السهام‬ ‫والحجارة تتساقط عليه مثل المطر ‪.‬وهو لم يكن يفتأ يسبّح هللا ويعظّمه‬ ‫بصوت عالُ ‪.‬فأمر به أنيحا فحلّوه وأنزلوه على األرض ‪.‬وهجموا عليه‬ ‫وقطّعوه إربًا إربًا ‪.‬وكان استشهاده في ‪ ٤٢‬نيسان ‪.‬وأخذ عضو من أعضائه‬ ‫المق َّدسة ونقِل الى قرية أزياخ ووضع في هيكل بنِي على اسمه ‪.‬ثم صار‬ ‫ذلك الهيكل ديرًا للراهبات وع ِرف بدير مار فنحاس وذكره عند الكلدان في‬ ‫الجمعة الثانية من القيامة‬ ‫‪ENGLISH TRANSLATION‬‬ ‫‪Mar Finḥās’ birthplace was in the city of Athens. He was of noble lineage‬‬ ‫‪and he advanced in the knowledge of philosophy. When he reached the‬‬ ‫‪twentieth year of his life, his parents died, and he considered the cessation‬‬ ‫‪of the world and loved virtue and wished to abstain from the world’s pleas‬‬‫‪ures. He therefore left his country and went to Mar Awğīn and became his‬‬

36

THE STORY OF MAR PINḤAS

disciple. In a short period of time he gained the virtues of the first apostles and then left Mt. Izla and came to the country of Qardu and dwelled on a mountain called Ḥawārā (that is, “white”), where he remained for a period of thirty years, persistent in fasting and prayers. He was exposed to the melting heat of summer [42] and the intense cold of winter. He would walk around barefooted and there was nothing on his body but a thick garment of goat hair. The devils provoked him with fierce combat, but God made him victorious over them. Near the mountain where he dwelled was a village called Ğanbālī, where there was a wicked man named Anīḥā, who greatly despised the Christians, and he harassed the saint and always agitated him. He had fraternity and friendship with the ruler of the city of Fanak, whose name was Sīmūn; he would persecute the Christians, of whom he had killed an abundant throng. Anīḥā went to him and said, “There is a man on our mountain who worships the one whom the Jews crucified in Jerusalem. There is a hair garment on him and he is like a sheep. He incites the Zoroastrians to adopt the Christian religion like him.” When the ruler heard these words, he commanded the saint’s presence. The saint was arrested and brought before the ruler, who said to him, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am a Christian, and Jesus Christ I worship: he is the true God, and there is no end to his rule.” The ruler said to him, “Renounce this false religion to which you are adhering, and worship the sun with us; then I will render you great honor.” The saint said most courageously, “How can I worship the sun, which darkened in sadness at the death of my king and my god, Jesus Christ, from the sixth to the ninth hour, and that without life or spirit, but it moves with the power of God, who is powerful and majestic? I only worship the Creator of everything, whose authority does not end and whose rule is not extinguished. Him all the heavenly spirits worship.” The ruler said, “If you don’t do, O unlucky one, what I have commanded you, [43] you will die a hideous death.” The saint replied to him, “Depart from me, O devil, you and your false gods, into the eternal fire prepared for you! As for me, I am ready to die for my god and I am not afraid of your threats, which are to me as the buzzing of flies, so do with me as you will.” Then the ruler was cooking on the burning coals of anger and commanded that knives, nails, combs, and iron saws be brought, and he placed them before the saint and said to him, “I will punish you with these instruments. Since you’ve not submitted in obedience, I will compel you in force by torture!” The saint said, “How sweet to God is torture! I am longing for the glory of enduring it for Jesus Christ. Do what seems good to you, O libertine, and don’t delay!” Then the ruler was enraged with anger and

APPENDIX

37

went crazy with wrath; he commanded that the saint’s tongue be cut out with the sword and his flesh be lacerated with the saw. The libertine Anīḥā advanced toward the ruler and said, “This Christian was handed over by me, so may I be the one that will inflict painful agonies on him?” The ruler answered his question and said, “Take him away from here and make him taste varieties of pain!” So Anīḥā said to the saint, “Obey the ruler’s command and worship the gods that he worships; but if not, I will make you taste the bitterest kind of death.” The saint said, “Shut your mouth, O wicked libertine, and don’t speak to me with these malicious words. How can I reject the God who created heaven and earth and all that is in them, sent his only son, and gave himself freely to save me from the servitude of the devils served by you? He is resolved to come again at the end of the world in great and indescribable glory to judge the living and the dead, and he will repay the pious [44] with the heavenly kingdom, but as for sinners like you, he will cast them into undying fire.” Then Anīḥā was almost torn up in anger; he gave a command and the saint was shackled with heavy chains and hung with his head upside down on the boulders. The saint was praising God, may he be exalted, and the ruler commanded them to shoot him with arrows, and the arrows and rocks fell down one after another on him like the rain, but he did not cease praising God and magnifying him with a loud voice. Then Anīḥā gave a command and they released him and let him down onto the ground, and they attacked and cut him up limb by limb. His martyrdom was on the twenty-eighth of Nīsān, and each one of his holy body parts was taken and carried to the village of Azyāḫ and placed in a temple built in his name. This temple then became a convent for nuns and it was known as the Convent of Mar Finḥās. The Chaldeans remember him on the second Friday of the Resurrection.