You who live in the shelter of the Most High (Ps. 91:1): The Use of Psalms in Jewish and Christian Traditions [1 ed.] 9783737012362, 9783847112365

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Poetik, Exegese und Narrative

Studien zur jüdischen Literatur und Kunst

Poetics, Exegesis and Narrative Studies in Jewish Literature and Art

Band 16 / Volume 16

Herausgegeben von / edited by Gerhard Langer, Carol Bakhos, Klaus Davidowicz, Constanza Cordoni

Die Bände dieser Reihe sind peer-reviewed. / The volumes of this series are peer-reviewed.

Ida Fröhlich / Nóra Dávid / Gerhard Langer (eds.)

You who live in the shelter of the Most High (Ps. 91:1) The Use of Psalms in Jewish and Christian Traditions

With 10 figures

V&R unipress Vienna University Press

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://dnb.de abrufbar. Veröffentlichungen der Vienna University Press erscheinen bei V&R unipress. © 2021, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Theaterstraße 13, D-37073 Göttingen Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Das Werk und seine Teile sind urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung in anderen als den gesetzlich zugelassenen Fällen bedarf der vorherigen schriftlichen Einwilligung des Verlages. Umschlagabbildung: JBA 9 (MS 2053/183) – a Jewish Babylonian Aramaic magic bowl that contains the Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa spell, including quotations from Ps 10:16, Ps 24:8, and Ps 104:20; ˙ © Professor Matthew Morgenstern and The Schøyen Collection – used with their kind permission. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage | www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com ISSN 2198-5200 ISBN 978-3-7370-1236-2

Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Dolores G. Kamrada (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) “All my bones are out of joint” (Psalm 22:14). The significance of weakness and disability in the Hebrew Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Ida Fröhlich (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) The Use of Psalm 91 in Qumran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Imre Kocsis (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) Die christologische Interpretation von Ps 8 und Ps 118 im Neuen Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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László Perendy (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) Arguing from the Psalms: Saint Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew . .

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Gerhard Langer (University of Vienna) Abraham at the Right Hand of God. Ps 110 in Rabbinic Tradition . . . . .

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Siam Bhayro (University of Exeter) The Use of Quotations from the Psalms in the Aramaic Magic Bowls . . .

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Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem. (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) Fundamental Role of Psalms in continuous Jewish and Christian Liturgical Tradition, up to the Systematic Development of thee Liturgy of Hours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Orsolya Varsányi (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) Psalms in 9th-century Arabic Christian (and Islamic) Apology . . . . . . .

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Contents

Zsuzsa Závoti (Pázmány Péter Catholic University) Usage of Psalms in Anglo-Saxon Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Michael Zellmann-Rohrer (University of Oxford) The Usefulness of the Psalms. Byzantine Manuals for the Ritual Exploitation of the Psalter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Zsuzsanna Olach (University of Szeged) Turkic translations of Psalm 130. A comparative analysis of three versions 147 Norbert Medgyesy S. (Katholische Péter-Pázmány-Universität) Die Textauffassungen und die Rolle der Psalmen in den katholischen Gesangbüchern und Mysterienspielen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert . . . . 171 Gábor Barna (University of Szeged) Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Szilvia Peremiczky (Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest) “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem …”. Psalm 137 as Literary Code and Cultural Emblem of Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Foreword

The studies presented here are based on the papers of the workshop held under the title The Use of Psalms in Jewish and Christian Traditions at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pázmány Péter Catholic University Budapest, on 3–4 November 2015. It reflects the increasing popularity of the poetry of the Psalms in our times. The biblical book of the Psalms is a common heritage of Jewish and Christian religions and the cultures interrelated with these religions. The collection comprising cultic songs written for the liturgy of the Jerusalem Temple and individual prayers has been serving liturgical purposes and meditations of individual religiousness since biblical times. Qumran writings reflect a special interpretation and liturgical use of the Psalms in the Essene community. Psalms were used by the earliest Christians in their worship, and some of their theological concepts were based on particular psalm texts. Compositions of the collection have been used in traditional Jewish and Christian worship in daily, weekly or monthly services throughout centuries. Penitential prayers and requests for protection were thought to have apotropaic and helping functions, and played a significant role in the life of individuals and communities. Psalm texts were quoted in magic bowls, written on personal objects, or included in apotropaic compositions (segullot); folkloristic texts with extracts from Psalms were composed and transmitted in various European languages; editions of guides for the use of the Psalms (Shimmush Tehillim) enjoyed a lasting popularity. These phenomena demonstrate that the texts of the Psalms – canonical and non-canonical – have been used in Jewish and Christian cultures with an apotropaic function, collectively and individually, from late antiquity until today. The conference aimed at studying the genre and the texts of the Psalms from new perspectives, examining the various types of the texts and their functions in different ages and communities, focusing on the use of these text in religious practice (in cultic liturgy as well as in individual religion) from antiquity to the present. Budapest, 12 February, 2020 Ida Fröhlich

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Foreword

November 3–4, 2015

THE USE OF PSALMS IN JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS International Conference Held at Pázmány Péter Catholic University Budapest The conference and the publication of this programme was funded by the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe Rothschild Foundation Grant No. 078/013 Hebrew and Jewish Studies at PPCU

The biblical book of the Psalms is a common heritage of Jewish and Christian religions and the cultures interrelated with these religions. The collection comprising cultic songs written for the liturgy of the Jerusalem Temple and individual prayers has been serving liturgical purposes and meditations of individual religiousness since biblical times. Qumran writings reflect a special interpretation and liturgical use of the Psalms in the Essene community. Psalms were used by the earliest Christians in their worship, and some of their theological concepts were based on particular psalm texts. Compositions of the collection have been used in traditional Jewish and Christian worship in daily, weekly or monthly services throughout centuries. Penitential prayers and requests for protection were thought to have apotropaic and helping functions and played a significant role in the life of individuals and communities. Psalm texts were quoted in magic bowls, written on personal objects, or included in apotropaic compositions (segullot); folkloristic texts with extracts from Psalms were composed and transmitted in various European languages; editions of guides for the use of the Psalms (Shimmush Tehillim) enjoyed a lasting popularity. These phenomena demonstrate that the texts of the Psalms – canonical and non-canonical – have been used in Jewish and Christian cultures with an apotropaic function, collectively and individually, from late antiquity until today. The conference aims at studying the genre and the texts of the Psalms from new perspectives, examining the various types of the texts and their functions in different ages and communities, focusing on the use of these text in religious practice (in cultic liturgy as well as in individual religion) from antiquity to the present.

Dolores G. Kamrada (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

“All my bones are out of joint” (Psalm 22:14). The significance of weakness and disability in the Hebrew Bible

Abstract When reading the book of Psalms, an interesting literary device leaps to the eye: images of weakness and disability are found throughout the Psalms. Yet this phenomenon is not unique to that biblical book. Some kind of physical infirmity or impediment forms part of the characterization of certain outstanding figures throughout the Hebrew Bible (cf. e. g. Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samson, and Eli). It is all the more striking because Lev 21:17–23 underlines that a disabled priest may not present the sacrifice in the temple: a man with a physical flaw must not profane the holy places of YHWH (cf. 2 Sam 6–8). Yet some of the most prominent biblical characters are depicted as suffering from physical problems (note especially Jacob/Israel, the eponymic hero of Israel). The paper will attempt to place the Psalmist’s disabling self-description within the framework of the Hebrew Bible and comparative religious studies. The analysis will highlight what kind of general patterns may have formed the basis for these concepts.

Susanne Gillmayr-Bucher has pointed out that among the various different forms of representation, body imagery is prevailing in the Psalms.1 Furthermore, images of bodily weakness, sickness and disability remarkably often occur throughout the Psalter. It is not surprising given the fact that this biblical book incorporates individual and communal laments over distress and thanksgivings offered when distress is relieved. Certain psalms, such as Psalm 38 and 41, give voice to the age-old belief that illness and misfortune overtake people because of their sins.2 According to this ancient belief, human sin evokes the wrath of the deity, and, as a consequence, divine wrath may afflict the sinner with various forms of misfortune. On the other hand, even these two psalms formulate a radically different view as well: the speaker proclaims his moral integrity. Psalm 22 powerfully pictures the torments of the righteous, innocent man. Significantly,

1 See Suzanne Gillmayr-Bucher, “Body Images in the Psalms,” JSOT 28 (2004): 301–316. 2 Cf. e. g. Rebecca Raphael, Biblical Corpora. Representations of Disability in Hebrew Biblical Literature, JSOTSup 445 (New York-London: T&T Clark 2008), 110–114.

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Jacob/Israel gets mentioned three times in this psalm.3 Psalm 44, which is a communal lament, also mentions Jacob, and sets his figure within a military context.4 This presentation seems typical of the Psalms, since they usually portray suffering in the context of strife with some enemies. How to interpret the radically different approaches to suffering and illness in the Psalter? It may be worthwhile to analyse some other biblical texts where all these sets of motifs found in the Psalms are also used. The shared and reused elements include some biblical characters, such as the above mentioned Jacob/ Israel and David, whose figure is all the more important because many psalms are attributed to him. In the following, I will attempt to place the Psalmist’s disabling self-description within the framework of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, since these sets of motifs are not unique to the Hebrew Bible, I will refer to some works of comparative religious studies which may shed some more light on this complex problem. As Rebecca Raphael claims in her book entitled Biblical Corpora, disability is a recurring motif related to prominent biblical figures. She even states that according to biblical texts disability is a near requirement for the patriarchal and matriarchal figures of Israel.5 One may think of the various kinds of disabilities and defects which are attributed to biblical personages, such as blindness, lameness, barrenness, defect of speech etc.6 Yet however much imperfection characterizes the most prominent biblical figures, the legal texts of the Hebrew Bible tend to portray disabilities in an unfavourable light. For example, Leviticus 21:17–23 lists the impediments that disqualify a person from being a priest: these impediments comprise various physical defects. 2 Samuel 5:8 even mentions that the blind and the lame are not allowed to enter the temple of Jerusalem. Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that a lot of important biblical figures do not meet these requirements. The best known biblical character whose story features disability as a central issue is the actual eponymic father of Israel. Jacob acquires his new name, Israel, through wrestling with a mysterious individual who dislocates Jacob’s hip while fighting. The text has a clear etiological purpose. It explains that the new name, Israel, refers to the fighting potential of Jacob: Genesis 32:29 reads “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” (NRSV) Regardless of the veracity of this etymological explanation, the narrative definitely derives the name Israel from the notion of fight, contest, struggle, and the like. Furthermore, the text associates fight with 3 4 5 6

Cf. vv. 4, 24. Cf. v. 5. See Raphael, Biblical Corpora, 132. Cf. e. g. Gen 27:1 (about Isaac); 1 Sam 4:15 (Eli); Gen 16:1 (Sarah); Judg 13:2 (Samson’s mother); 1 Sam 1:2 (Hannah); Exod 4:10 (Moses).

“All my bones are out of joint” (Psalm 22:14)

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disability, demonstrating that a severely injured person is capable of efficiently fighting against his enemy. The above-mentioned biblical verse even states that Jacob has actually prevailed. As for this presentation of Jacob/Israel, Kerry H. Wynn draws attention to the evidence found in the history of warfare: “There are many accounts of soldiers who have continued to fight when only to learn the severity of their wounds after the battle was over.”7 According to the biblical account, Jacob is strong enough and capable enough to achieve his goal, to win the day, even with a newly acquired disability. There are other biblical texts which present people with some physical defect or disadvantage as strong enough to fight back, to pose a significant threat to their enemies. The story of David and Goliath provides a classical example of that motif. David appears to be too small, short and young compared to the gigantic and powerful warrior, Goliath.8 Yet it is David who wins the duel. On the other hand, in a later phase of his life, David has to face some other extraordinary enemies. 2 Samuel 5:6–8 relates David’s conquest of Jerusalem mentioning that the inhabitants of the city said to David: “You will not come in here, the blind and the lame will turn you back.”9 Although David managed to conquer the city, these so-called blind and lame people seem to be so efficient in keeping him away that David is said to hate them.10 This ambiguous text has given scholars much food for thought. A lot of interesting reconstructions have been proposed including the theory of Jeremy Schipper, who identified the lame and the blind with the house of Saul and that of David.11 This theory is certainly worth considering. Still, another shade of meaning may also be discerned in this episode. Namely, with reference to this passage it may be worthwhile to consider a certain theory of George Dumézil. Dumézil has pointed out that the motif of the half-blind and the one-handed who effectively defend their city and people constituted a widespread belief among various Indo-European peoples. “Cocles and Scaevola, the Cyclops and the Left-hander, successively save Rome when it is besieged by Porsenna, one paralyzing the Etruscan army by the dazzling glance of his eye, the other sacrificing his right hand before the Etruscan leader in a heroic act of perjury. These two form a pair paralleling the one-eyed god and the one-handed god of the Scandinavians, Óᵭinn and Týr. The former of these, because he 7 Kerry H. Wynn, “The Normate Hermeneutic and Interpretations of Disability within the Yahwistic Narratives,” in This Abled Body. Rethinking Disabilities in Biblical Studies, ed. Hector Avalos, Sarah J. Melcher and Jeremy Schipper (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007), 91–101, esp. 98. 8 1 Sam 17:4–7, 42. 9 2 Sam 5:6b. 10 2 Sam 5:8b. 11 See Jeremy Schipper, “Reconsidering the Imagery of Disability in 2 Samuel 5:8b,” CBQ 67 (2005): 422–434. Cf. also Jeremy Schipper, Disability Studies and the Hebrew Bible. Figuring Mephibosheth in the David Story, JSOTSup 441 (New York-London: T&T Clark, 2006).

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sacrificed an eye, receives supernatural wisdom as compensation, while the other saves the gods by thrusting his right hand into the jaws of the demon-wolf.”12 While Dumézil has dealt with Indo-European material, in his book entitled Forgerons et alchimistes, Mircea Eliade has put this motif in a wider perspective.13 Eliade has pointed out that in various different cultures deities or heroes with physical defects (lame, half-blind, one-handed, dwarf-like, etc.) are associated with theme of heroism and warfare and especially with the so-called Männerbünde. In anthropology and comparative religious studies, the term Männerbund denotes a men’s society which usually specializes in physical combat and warfare. Initiation into a Männerbund often involved the endurance of physical hardships, sometimes even the mutilation of the body. Physically defected deities and heroes that are related to these Männerbünde include the figure of the smith. Smith deities often suffer from some bodily impairments and they are intimately related to the heroic world and warfare. It is not surprising, since the smith deities were thought to design and create the necessary military equipment, such as weapons, shields, and even chariots, for the gods and great heroes. One may think of the well-known smith god in classical Greek mythology, Hephaistos, who is portrayed as a lame and markedly disabled character. Yet he provides indispensable services to the gods and prominent heroes when they have to fight against their enemies. For instance, Hephaistos is said to create the characteristic weapons of Zeus, his thunderbolts, not to mention the construction of Achilles’ weapons.14 Ancient Greek mythological traditions offer another example when the services of a disabled man prove to be indispensable to achieve military success. The Iliad refers to this episode15 and Sophocles in his play Philoctetes related the story of this severely injured hero. According to the legend, although Philoctetes got crippled from a snake bite, without him and his bow Troy would have never fallen. One may interpret these mythological patterns comparing them with the evidence found in the history of warfare, as Kerry H. Wynn has claimed in his afore-mentioned remark: actually many soldiers do continue to fight even when severely wounded, and they may prevail against all odds.16 Especially in ancient times, nearly all veteran warriors bore some physical signs of their military life, such as scars, wounds or other physical defects. Still, these veterans were regarded as not only the most experienced but also the most able warriors. 12 Georges Dumézil, Archaic Roman Religion 1–2, trans. P. Krapp (Baltimore-London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 75–76. 13 Cf. Mircea Eliade, Forgerons et alchimistes, 2nd ed. (Paris: Flammarion, 1977), esp. chapter 10, “Forgerons, guerriers, maîtres d’initiation.” 14 Cf. the description of the shield of Achilles in the Iliad 18, 478–608. 15 See Iliad 2, 718–24. 16 Cf. n. 7 above.

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To put it in a broader perspective, I would conclude that all the aforementioned mythological and legendary stories seem to express the general idea that any kind of success comes at a price. One has to sacrifice something and/or endure hardships in order to achieve something noteworthy. Initiation rites as well as other rites of passage tend to convey very similar ideas by exposing the candidates to physical hardships. Jacob’s wrestling match in Genesis 32 indicates some initiation or rite of passage pattern as his name change shows. In a similar vein, Kerry Wynn interprets Jacob’s limping as the sign of the covenant for Jacob/Israel paralleling it to the circumcision of Abraham that is also understood as the sign of the covenant for Abraham.17 In this light, the remark in 2 Samuel 5 about the blind and the lame who can defend their city may be construed similarly. Taking the stories about the oneeyed, one-handed or lame gods and heroes into the account, I would infer that this remark may refer to either the actual Canaanite defenders of Jerusalem – perhaps among them some veteran warriors – or it may refer to some legendary/mythological stories of the Canaanite inhabitants about half-blind and lame gods or heroes who can deter the enemy and defend the city. Returning to the motif of Jacob’s limping, this motif seems to appear in another biblical text. 1 Kgs 18 – that is the Carmel episode – relates the contest between Elijah and the Baal prophets. The sentences under discussion read as follows: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If YHWH is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”18… “They (the prophets of Baal)… called on the name of Baal… ‘O Baal, answer us!’… they limped about the altar that they had made.”19 Hermann Gunkel and many other scholars since then have highlighted that verse 21 probably alludes to Jacob’s limping: here the term “limping” clearly refers to the people of Israel, who are limping between two opinions, actually between the cult of YHWH and that of Baal. In this text the motif of limping, or in other words indecision characterizes the people of Israel, and limping is actually the characteristic feature of their legendary forefather, Jacob-Israel. Furthermore, the limping of the Baal prophets seems to connect to the characterization of Israel, since the very same verb, ‫פסח‬, depicts the act of limping in both verses. Thus JacobIsrael and his limping seem to form a key motif in the Carmel narrative. All the more so because the text clearly names Jacob-Israel, the ancestor of the people of Israel.20 The narrative actually recalls and directly refers to the episode of Jacob at the Jabbok that is Genesis 32.21 According to the Carmel narrative (more precisely 1 Kgs 18:30–32), “Elijah…repaired the altar of YHWH… Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of 17 18 19 20 21

See Wynn, “The Normate Hermeneutic,” 100. See 1 Kgs 18:21. See 1 Kgs 18:26. Cf. 1 Kgs 18:31, 36. Cf. 1 Kgs 18:31–32 and Gen 32:29.

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YHWH came, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name.’” This is an unmistakable reference to Genesis 32. Moreover, Elijah calls unto the name of Israel. He says: “O YHWH, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel”.22 It is noteworthy that in the commonly used phrase “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” the latter name has been replaced by the name Israel – here Israel certainly lies at the centre of attention. In addition, the combination of altar construction with the phrase “Israel shall be your name” also occurs in Genesis 35.23 This narrative reports that Jacob built an altar in Bethel, “because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother”. The latter sentence alludes to the episode of Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28. Thus it seems that within the book of Genesis the episode at the Jabbok – that is Jacob’s wrestling match – and the two episodes commemorating Jacob’s dream about the heavenly ladder are mutually interrelated with each other. What is more, all these Genesis texts about Jacob relate to the Carmel account about Elijah’s contest with the Baal prophets. Another text that seems to join this network of complex intertextuality is 2 Kgs 2, the account of Elijah’s ascension into heaven. A certain key pattern appears both in the Carmel narrative and in the account of Elijah’s ascension: that is the motif of chariot. Elijah ascends into heaven in a fiery chariot and at the end of the Carmel account he manages to overtake king Ahab’s chariot, which has often been called a superhuman feat, given the fact that the war chariot represented the fastest possible vehicle in the Iron Age. Besides, it is repeatedly mentioned in both texts that Elijah is not to be found anywhere on the face of the earth.24 On the other hand, parallel motifs between the Genesis narratives about Jacob and the account of the ascension of Elijah include the direct encounter with the deity, facing death, the motif of crossing a river, and transition between the earthly and heavenly realms. Returning to the issue of limping, Herman Gunkel has already raised the question what the motif of limping possibly express in the Carmel narrative. The limping dance of the Baal prophets around the altar of Baal clearly appears within ritual context: it is one of the ceremonies performed by the Baal prophets so as to insure rainfall after a long period of drought. Accordingly, Gunkel and others have identified the limping dance as part of a rainmaking ritual.25 As is often mentioned concerning the Carmel narrative, both Baal and YHWH were portrayed as storm-gods riding in their heavenly chariot and thus insuring

22 23 24 25

1 Kgs 18:36. Cf. Gen 35:10–11, 14. Cf. 1 Kgs 18:10, 12; 2 Kgs 2:16–18. See Hermann Gunkel, Elijah, Yahweh, and Baal, trans. K.C. Hanson (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014), 18.

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rainfall.26 At the end of the narrative the long expected rain is falling just as Elijah is overrunning Ahab’s chariot in a superhuman feat.27 Since at the end of his life Elijah is taken up to heaven in the heavenly chariot of YHWH, the question arises whether he actually manages to overtake Ahab’s chariot in the heavenly chariot of YHWH. In this respect it is worth mentioning that Elijah appears as a folk character in his heavenly chariot insuring rainfall all over Central and Eastern Europe.28 As has been pointed out, Elijah requests rainfall by referring to JacobIsrael repeatedly, as if he asks for the arrival of YHWH’s heavenly chariot in the name of Jacob-Israel. This detail is all the more striking because when Elijah finally ascends in the heavenly chariot, the latter is called Israel’s chariot and its horseman by Elisha.29 The possibility arises that this remark also alludes to JacobIsrael. This supposition harmonizes well with some Jewish merkabah traditions concerning the heavenly chariot of YHWH: according to these traditions the heavenly chariot features the face of Jacob, or even that Jacob himself constitutes the heavenly chariot.30 These images relate to the traditions about Jacob’s Ladder, as well. Namely, both concepts address the issue of the transition between the earthly and heavenly spheres. As for the fiery chariot, several scholars including Eduard Lipinski have interpreted this image in terms of solar symbolism.31 How to harmonize the solar interpretation of the divine chariot with the storm imagery analysed earlier? Paul Dion has proposed that the figure of YHWH comprises both storm-god and sungod features.32 Accordingly, YHWH’s heavenly chariot can appear in the context of storm imagery as well as solar imagery. As for Genesis 32, Jacob’s wrestling match has also been construed in the context of solar symbolism by, for instance, Glen Taylor.33 Solar related elements certainly play a key role in this text,34 and in 26 See e. g. Alan Jon Hauser, “Yahweh versus Death: The Real Struggle in 1 Kings 17–19,” in From Carmel to Horeb: Elijah in Crisis, ed. Alan Jon Hauser and Russell Gregory, JSOTSup Bible and Literature Series 19 (Sheffield: The Almond Press, 1990), 9–89, esp. 55–56. 27 Cf. 1 Kgs 18:45–46. 28 See Linda J. Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief (New York: Routledge, 2015), 29–30; Robert Elsie, A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture (London: C. Hurst, 2001), 83. 29 2 Kgs 2:12. 30 See e. g. David J. Halperin, The Faces of the Chariot: Early Jewish Responses to Ezekiel’s Vision, TSAJ 16 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1988), 121; and esp. Elliot R. Wolfson, “The Image of Jacob Engraved upon the Throne: Further Reflection on the Esoteric Doctrine of the German Pietists,” in Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics, ed. Elliot R. Wolfson (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995), 1–62. 31 Edward Lipin´ski, “Shemesh,” in DDD (Leiden, Brill, 1999), 764–768, esp. 765. 32 Paul-Eugène Dion, “YHWH as Storm-God and Sun-God: The Double Legacy of Egypt and Canaan as Reflected in Psalm 104,” ZAW 103 (1991): 43–71. 33 J. Glen Taylor, Yahweh and the Sun. Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sun Worship in Ancient Israel, JSOTSup 111 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993), 239–241. 34 Cf. Gen 32:25b, 27a, 32a.

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the end Jacob-Israel is said to literally limp off into the sunrise.35 In relation to all this imagery it is worth noting that the charioteers of the heavenly chariots (or the inventors of the chariot) are typically described as lame figures in many different mythological systems.36 Besides, the phrase Israel’s chariot and its horseman certainly bears some military connotation, as parallel texts show.37 This phrase can also be associated with the term YHWH Sabaoth, which denotes the Lord of heavenly hosts. The term YHWH Sabaoth occurs in the David and Goliath story, and in the account of the capture of Jerusalem as well as in the Carmel narrative, and in another text of the biblical tradition about Elijah.38 In sum, I would conclude that the motif of disability plays a key role in the texts analysed in the present paper. For instance, Jacob’s limping can be interpreted as the sign of the covenant for Jacob-Israel and thus for the people of Israel. In various different biblical texts, images of weakness and suffering function as a meaningful sign that can create some kind of communication and relationship between human beings and the divine. This presentation of weakness and disability completely reinterprets the traditional view that attributes illness to sinful behaviour towards the deity.

Literature Dion, Paul-Eugène. “YHWH as Storm-God and Sun-God: The Double Legacy of Egypt and Canaan as Reflected in Psalm 104.” ZAW 103 (1991): 43–71. Dumézil, Georges. Archaic Roman Religion 1–2. Translated by P. Krapp. Baltimore-London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. Eliade, Mircea. Forgerons et alchimistes. 2nd ed. Paris: Flammarion, 1977. Elsie, Robert. A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture. London: C. Hurst, 2001. Gillmayr-Bucher, Susanne. “Body Images in the Psalms.” JSOT 28 (2004): 301–316. Gunkel, Hermann. Elijah, Yahweh, and Baal. Translated by K.C. Hanson. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014. Halperin, David J. The Faces of the Chariot: Early Jewish Responses to Ezekiel’s Vision. TSAJ 16. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1988. Hauser, Alan Jon. “Yahweh versus Death: The Real Struggle in i Kings 17–19.” Pages 9–89 in From Carmel to Horeb: Elijah in Crisis. Edited by Alan Jon Hauser and Russell Gregory. JSOTSup Bible and Literature Series 19. Sheffield: The Almond Press, 1990. Ivanits, Linda J. Russian Folk Belief. New York: Routledge, 2015.

35 Gen 32:32. 36 (Heavenly) charioteers who are lame: Auriga (heavenly charioteer), Erichthonios (king of Athen, inventor of the quadriga), Aruna (charioteer of the sun-god, Surya). 37 Cf. 2 Kgs 6:15–17, and 2 Kgs 13:14–19. 38 See 1 Sam 17:45; 2 Sam 5:10; 1 Kgs 18:15; 19:10, 14.

“All my bones are out of joint” (Psalm 22:14)

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Lipin´ski, Edward. “Shemesh.” Pages 764–768 in DDD. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Raphael, Rebecca. Biblical Corpora. Representations of Disability in Hebrew Biblical Literature. JSOTSup 445. New York-London: T&T Clark, 2008. Schipper, Jeremy. “Reconsidering the Imagery of Disability in 2 Samuel 5:8b.” CBQ 67 (2005): 422–434. Schipper, Jeremy. Disability Studies and the Hebrew Bible. Figuring Mephibosheth in the David Story. JSOTSup 441. New York-London: T&T Clark, 2006. Taylor, J. Glen. Yahweh and the Sun. Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sun Worship in Ancient Israel. JSOTSup 111. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993. Wolfson, Elliot R. “The Image of Jacob Engraved upon the Throne: Further Reflection on the Esoteric Doctrine of the German Pietists.” Pages 1–62 in Idem, Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1995. Wynn, Kerry H. “The Normate Hermeneutic and Interpretations of Disability within the Yahwistic Narratives.” Pages 91–101 in This Abled Body. Rethinking Disabilities in Biblical Studies. Edited by Hector Avalos, Sarah J. Melcher and Jeremy Schipper. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.

Ida Fröhlich (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

The Use of Psalm 91 in Qumran

Abstract 11Q5, the so-called Psalms Scroll from Qumran is ended by a summary of the psalms and songs attributed to David (11QPsApa =11Q5, XXVII.4–10). The list is added by four “songs for charming the demon-possessed with music” (sˇyr lngn ‛l hpgw‛ym) (11Q5 XXVII.10). One of the four songs is Psalm 91 while the other three songs are texts unknowns from other sources. The four songs “for the stricken” were recited, in all probability, as apotropaic prayers at the four liminal days, the equinoxes and solstices of the solar year. They were intended to avert demonic attaques which could materialize in seasonal plagues and demonic attaques. Psalm 91 belongs to the type of ’asˇre¯-psalms (Beatitudes), showing the characteristics of a special blessing form known from the Book of Psalms. The paper aims at discussing questions of the genre, functioning, and use of Psalm 91 in the life of the Qumran community, and the special role of blessings in ancient Jewish culture.

Qumran, a new agenda The closing part of 11Q5, the so-called Psalms Scroll from Qumran articulates a new ritual agenda for the community.1 The text gives a summary of the psalms and songs attributed to David (11QPsApa =11Q5 XXVII.4–10). The list enumerates 3600 compositions called psalms (thlh), and several compositions called songs (sˇyr): songs written to the regular days of the year (364 songs), compositions written to the occasions of the shabbats (52 songs), and those written to festive days of the year (30 songs). The record is added by four “songs for charming the demon-possessed with music” (sˇyr lngn ‛l hpgw‛ym, 11Q5 XXVII.10). The four songs written for the demon-possessed are to be identified with the four compositions contained by 11Q11, a fragmentary manuscript found

1 Its edition: James A. Sanders, ed., The Psalms Scroll of Qumrân Cave 11, DJD 4 (London: Clarendon 1965). For a summary on the the manuscript see James A. Sanders, “Psalms Scroll,” EDSS 2:715–717.

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in Qumran.2 The fourth composition of the set is identical with Psalm 91 while the rest of the songs are not known from any other source. The listing of the songs in 11Q5 according to the festivals, sabbaths, and days of the year reflects clearly a calendrical system. The agenda is given according to the system of a 364 days schematic or ideal calendar.3 The 364 day calendar is known from several Qumran texts like 1Enoch, the Temple Scroll and 4QMMT. It serves as a chronological scheme for the Book of Jubilees, a work known also from Qumran. However, the system is not the special calendar of a sectarian group. It is rather a schematic system of the solar year which makes easy the planning. It seems that the liturgical scheme outlined in 11Q5 is founded on the above system, and it served the same end as the use of this system in other works, namely, to systematize profane as well as holy time into an ideal frame. Schematic calendars consider the approximate number of the days of the solar year, and disregard the motion of the moon. The ideal calendar never changes its pattern and it comprises exactly 52 weeks; accordingly, new year and festivals always fell on the same days of the week.4 In the Qumran ideal calendar the year was divided into 12 months of 30 days (the sum of which is 360). An additional day was inserted at the end of each quartal. In Jewish liturgical calendar the beginning of the ritual year is determined by the autumn equinox and the first visibility of the moon subsequent to it. In the Qumran ideal calendar the same event coincided with the autumn equinox. Consequently, the additional days at the end of each quartal were the winter solstice, the spring equinox, and the summer solstice. One can conclude that the four songs “for the stricken” mentioned in 11Q11 were recited as part of the liturgies on these days: song 1 on the autumn equinox, song 2 on the winter solstice; song 3 was uttered at the spring equinox while song 4 was part of the liturgy of the summer solstice.5 Equinoxes and solstices are turning-points of the year and considered in various cultures as liminal days, periods of demonic harms and attaques. The special status of these days is reflected also in the heortology of 11Q5 which mentions them in addition to the 360 days of months. The four songs “for the stricken” were composed for these liminal period. They are labeled as “songs” (sˇyr) and not “psalms” (tehillim) – similarly to the compositions written for the 2 Émile Puech, “Les psaumes davidiques du rituel d’exorcisme (11Q11),” in Sapiential, Liturgical and Poetical Texts from Qumran, ed. Daniel K. Falk (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 160–181. 3 See Clemency Williams, “Signs from the Sky, Signs from the Earth: The Diviner’s Manual Revisited,” in Under One Sky, ed. John M. Steele (Münster: UGARIT-Verlag, 2002), 473–485. 4 If used regularly the ideal calendar was intercalated. 5 On the allotment of the songs in the calendar of the year see ld. Ida Fröhlich, “Healing with psalms,” in Prayer and poetry in the Dead Sea Scrolls and related literature: essays in honor of Eileen Schuller on the occasion of her 65th birthday, ed. Jeremy Penner, Ken M. Penner, and Cecilia Wassen (Leiden, Boston, MA: Brill, 2012), 197–215.

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52 shabbats, the 30 festival days, and the regular days of the year.6 The schema of the ritual agenda is determined by the calendrical, and not by the ritual principle; there is no hint to their relation to any sacrifice or ritual described in the Bible or in the Temple Scroll.7 The songs written for the four liminal days bear a special apotropaic function, averting demonic dangers.

The fourth song, Psalm 91 (11Q11 6.3–14) Psalm 91 is an asˇre¯-psalm or macarism attributed to David in the Qumran manuscript.8 The text in 11Q11 6.3–14 shows only minor differences with the Masoretic text of Psalm 91.9 Additions of two “selah” parts in the Qumran text10 show that the composition was commonly recited in an antiphonic form, in a liturgical context (“And they answer: Amen, amen, [selah]” wy‛nw ’mn ’mn slh) (11Q11 6.14).11 Psalm 91 consists of three sequences where plagues that may threaten humans are listed. Each sequence is closed by a statement affirming that the plagues listed above are not to smite the righteous. The three sequences comprise, respectively,

6 The term ˇsyr as religious song recited in worship is mentioned (together with thlh and hwdwt) in Neh 12:46, and as hll bsˇyr “to sing song” in Ps 69:31 The term is contained in several psalm ˙ cf. 2Chr 29:27 and Isa 42:10); ˇsyr mzmwr (Ps 48:1; 108:1) mzmwr ˇsyr titles: ˇsyr (Ps 46:1; 137:4; (Ps 30:1; 92:1). Other terms are: ˇsyr ydydt “love song” (Ps 45:1); ˇsyr hmʿlwt “song of ascent,” pilgrim song (Ps 120:1), ms´kyl ˇsyr ydydt (Ps 45:1). 7 No rests of a sacrificial cult were found at the Qumran settlement. On the question of sacrifice see Jodi Magness, “Communal Meals and Sacred Space in Qumran,” in Eadem, Debating Qumran. Collected Essays on Its Archeology (Leuven: Peeters, 2004), 81–82. 8 Named after the beginning of these compositions (’sˇry my, “beatus ille”, “blessed who”), followed by the description of persons who live with divine blessing and protection. Although the introducing words are not to be read in Psalm 91, the composition belongs to the above type. While ’esˇer/’asˇar “happiness,” “blessedness”; “blessed one” is to be found in various biblical books (e. g. Prov 14:21; 16:20; Isa 32:20, the expression ’sˇry my/’sˇr “blessed is who ” occurs most often in the Psalms. It opens the Psalter in 1:1, and is to be found in Ps 32:1–2; 33:12; 40:5; 41:2 etc. 9 These are mostly changes in the order of words, and omission of a part in 91:14–16. 10 One of them following verse 4 of Ps 91, as “Selah” (11Q11 vi.6), the second of which is supposed to be part of the concluding words “And they answer: Amen, amen, [selah]” (wy‛nw ’mn ’mn slh) (11Q11 vi.14). 11 The words “and they answer” (wy‛nw) refers that the prayer was recited in an antiphonic form, in a liturgical context (11Q11 6.14). Apotropaic role of the common ritual prayer is known from religions, Apotropaic role of the common ritual prayer is known from religions, see Roy Kotansky, “Greek Exorcistic Amulets,” in: Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, ed. Marvin W. Meyer, Paul A. Mirecki, RGRW (Leiden: Brill, 1995), 243–277, esp. 270–273. Cf. also Tob 8:4–8, the prayer of Tobias and Sarah, following the exorcism.

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three, four, and five names of plagues.12 Some of the plagues are to be identified with demonic beings as deber and qeteb, synonyms of pestilence.13 The list can be added by hwwt “destruction” (Ps 91:3) (11Q11 6.6) while ph yqwsˇ, “the fowler’s ˙ ˙ snare/trap” may refer to the paralyzing dread caused by a demonic attaque.14 The second series (Ps 91:5–8) enumerates: “nocturnal dread” (phd lylh), a fright ˙ caused perhaps by a dream-vision. The “arrow which flies by day” (hs y‛wp ˙˙ 15 ywmm) is a metaphor for the demonic mediators of illness. The third series of plagues (Ps 91:12–13) enumerates physical dangers16 and demonic animals (lion, adder). As it was told Psalm 91 might have been uttered at the summer solstice: A comparative example from Mesopotamia for the use of incantations against plague (pestilence) are the prayers uttered to Nergal at the summer (and winter) solstice. The god Nergal, symbolised by arrows, was a god of the burning heath of the sun, the nether world, and pestilence.17 Psalm 91, a blessing from YHWH assures protection from plagues and pestilence, as well as from physical assaults

12 The numbers of the members of the three series in Psalm 91 (3+4+5=12) seem to express the aim for a numeric symbolism. This aim would explain the repeated reference to certain plagues by different synonyms and metaphors. 13 “Pestilence coming in darkness” (dbr b’pl yhlwk), and “destruction devastating at noon” (qtb ysˇwd shrym) (11Q11 6.9–10). André Caquot, “Sur quelques démons de l’Ancien Testament ˙ ˙ Qeteb, Deber),” Semitica 6 (1956): 53–68. Caquot argues that the names are not (Reshep, simply personifications of diseases but they stand for demonic beings. 14 Although represented only by the first member of the list – ph yqwsˇ, “the fowler’s snare/ trap” – the first series of plagues is characterized as “Vogelwelt”,˙see Peter Riede, Im Netz des Jägers: Studien zur Feindmetaphorik der Individualpsalmen (Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag, 2000), 337; Erich Zenger, in Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger, Klaus Baltzer, Linda M. Maloney, Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51–100, Hermeneia: a critical and historical commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005), 433. On “the fowler’s trap” (ph yqwsˇ), see André Caquot, “Le Psaume XCI,” Semitica 6 (1956): 21–37, esp. 27–27. 15 Cf.˙ the “Epic of Erra”, where demons are represented as personified weapons of Erra. A touch of the sun is not excluded, cf. Job 6:4 where Job’s plague is caused by the arrows of God (called here also Shaddai). The heath of the arrows results in fever. The pestilence (loimos) in Homer, Iliad I is due to the arrows of Apollon Smintheus (a sun-god as well as a god of pestilence). 16 Namely “stone” (’bn), “lion” (sˇhl), “adder” (ptn); “young lion” (kpyr), and “serpent” (tnyn). ˙ All of them are for physical dangers, caused by natural obstacle (stone) and by animal onslaughts. Two animals (serpent, lion) are doubled by synonyms. It cannot be decided if these terms mean physical perils or some of them are intended metaphorically. 17 In Mesopotamia the arrow symbolized the deities Erra, Ninurta, and Nergal, the latter one described as “[bearing] bow, arrow, and quiver”, cf. Egbert von Weiher, Der babylonische Gott Nergal, AOAT 11 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Butzon & Bercker; Neukirchener Verlag, 1971), 71. Both Erra and Nergal were deities related to pestilence and demons, see, G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986), 5:120. The biblical metaphor for pestilence is the sword of YHWH’s angel, cf. 2 Sam 24:10–17.

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and animal attacks. According to medieval sources, the text of Psalm 91 was widely used in an apotropaic context against pestilence.18 Two elements of the psalm merit our attention as possible references to the background of the composition, and the worldview of its author. The first is the mention of an angelic helper of God (ml’kw) who guards the suppliant on his ways:19 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways (lsˇmwrk bdrkyk)” (Ps 91:11). The other one is the Deuteronomic metaphor of walking on a way (drk), used most frequently in Qumran (sectarian) texts, and referring to the religious practice of individuals and groups, governed by the right or erroneous interpretation of the Mosaic Law. Keeping the way, i. e. observance of the Torah is at the same time an ethical basis for deliverance. Verses 14–16 may refer to a group of the righteous honoured for their righteousness by God with rescue and long life: “Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.” As it was mentioned, Psalm 91 represents a piece of the psalm form called macarisms or ’asˇre¯-Psalms, named after the beginning of these compositions (’asˇre¯ my, “beatus ille” “blessed who”), followed by the description of persons who live with divine blessing and protection. Written in the form of blessings, setting out a list of the virtues of the righteous, these psalms are concluded with a statement of the future prospering of the righteous described in the text.20 Thus, blessing can be obtained only for those with ethical purity. Blessing, of course, is not only a speech act. Spoken words have a binding power which assures security and well-being for the object of the blessing. Blessing is irrevocable. Blessing issues from God, named in Psalm 91 on several names as ‛lywn, ˇsdy (Ps 91:1); YHWH (Ps 91:2, 9); and ’lhym (Ps 91:2) (= 11Q11

18 Thomas J. Kraus, “Septuaginta-Psalm 90 in apotropäischer Verwendung: Vorüberlegungen für eine kritische Edition und (bisheriges) Datenmaterial,” BN 125 (2005): 39–73; Idem, “Fragmente eines Amulett-Armbands im British Museum (London) mit Septuaginta-Psalm 90 und der Huldigung der Magier,” JAC 48–49 (2005–2006): 114–127. 19 Angelic helpers and mediators in Psalms are not common figures. Besides Ps 91 only Ps 34 and 35 mention angelic mediators: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” (Ps 34:7); “Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on. Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord pursuing them” (Ps 35:5–6). 20 Beatitudes (asˇre¯-psalms) are scattered throughout the collection, see Ps 1, 32, 33, 40, 41, 65, 84, 89, 94, 112, 119, 127, 128, 146, many of them from the Second Temple Period. “In blessings, the formulaic Hebrew term is baruk; in beatitudes, ’sˇry. The primary difference is that the blessing invokes God’s beneficient support of life, while the beatitudes points to and commends the conduct and character that enjoy it,” James Luther Mays, Psalms. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994), 41.

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6.3–4). The basis of the hope in the delivering act of God is the reference to His divine deeds, the examples for delivery of God (ky hw’h ysylyn mn). ˙ Songs 1–3 of 11Q11 are again attributed to David, and labeled also as incantation (lahasˇ). Differently with Song 4 (Psalm 91), they are hortatory in nature, invoking YHWH, creator of the universe as the source of the magical power (in one case there is a reference to the historiola, the mention of Solomon, probably as the first user of the incantation, in order to testify the particular effectivity of the text). This is followed by an exorcistic formula, the “fixation” of the demon, introduced by the term “[I’m] adjuring” (msˇby‘).21 The act of the disempowering of the demon is followed by a description of its lot: the demon will be sent to the nether world for being closed there. Following a repeated reference to the source of the magical power the compositions are closed by the formula “Amen, amen, selah”. It is beyond question that Song 4 (Ps 91) is a pre-qumranic and non-sectarian work, a composition widely known in ancient Judaism (it is Psalm 91 that is referred to by Satan at the temptation of Jesus in Mt 4:6; Lk:4:11). At the same time, the hortatory songs 1–3 of 11Q11 show “sectarian” motifs (references to the tradition of the Aramaic Enoch in 11Q11 5:6,22 and the mention of the “spirit of hostility/Mastemah” (rwh hms´tmh) in 11Q11 5:11–14).23 This leads one to sup˙ pose that Songs 1–3 were penned in the community. Although containing “sectarian” tradition these texts are not free compositions written in the community but rather adaptations of existing apotropaic formulae – this is shown by evidences for the independent use of some of the formules in later times, without the Enochic references.24 As it was mentioned, Songs 1–3 are termed as incantation (lahasˇ). This term is ˙ quite unusual in a Jewish liturgical context – however, the Qumran authors do not seem to have worried about the use of this term. It is a commonplace that magic was forbidden in biblical culture, and Biblical redactors – especially the Deuteronomists – are very dismissive with demonology and magic. Nevertheless, 21 It can only to suppose this word in the fragments of Song 1. 22 The demon is told to originate “from humans and from the seed of the holy ones” (11Q11 5:6), thus referring to the tradition of the Watchers and earthly women. 23 Qumran: ‘Who are you, [oh offspring of] man and of the seed of the ho[ly one]s? ([… m]’dm wmzr‛ hqd[wsˇy]m),’ (11Q11 5:6). Late antique magic bowls and genizah text mentions it as “offspring of man and of the seed of animals”, see Gideon Bohak, “From Qumran to Cairo: The Lives and Times of a Jewish Exorcistic Formula (with an Appendix from Shaul Shaked),” in Ritual Healing: Magic, Ritual and Medical Therapy from Antiquity until the Early Modern Period, ed. Ildiko Csepregi and Charles Burnett, Micrologus Library 48 (Florence: SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2012), 31–52. 24 It can be supposed that a formule related to a general belief and custom (the belief in a killerdemon and apotropaic practice related to the spring new year) was specifically adapted in a text related to the Qumran yearly liturgy. The beginning of the year was conceptualized as the time of the determination of the fates, and the events of the next year.

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the practice that was forbidden in biblical sources represents special kinds of foreign magic like hrsˇh, and ksˇph (translated as “magic and witchcraft”).25 The ˙ concept of magic in biblical context is better to understand in the light of Deuteronomy 28 (The Blessing and the Curse), a pair of lists of the blessings and curses containing respectively positive and negative statements. The curses refer to dangers of physical evil that were to be averted.26 Divine blessing and protection is an effective means to save the righteous from them. Magic in the biblical sense is “acting by word,” protecting against or dismiss evil forces by the power of words and symbolic acts. The source of the ritual power is God alone.27

Obtaining the blessing One of the ways to obtain blessing was making a vow.28 The practice of blessing and its role in Iron age Judaean religion is only sparsely documented from extrabiblical sources. Epigraphic material (dated to the 8the century BCE) from Kuntillet Ajrud provides reports about YHWH’s blessing obtained by various persons at a holy place (“I have blessed you by Yahweh of Samaria and [his] Asherah”). The reports are sandwiched into pieces of apotropaic iconography. The amulets from Ketef Hinnom (dated to the 6th century BCE) contain blessing forms, variants of the text of the Priestly blessing “May YHWH bless you and keep you from evil” (Num 6:24–26).29 The owner had the text written on silver 25 The second term refer to the kispu, the cult of the dead connected with necromancy; see Rüdiger Schmitt, “Theories regarding witchcraft accusations and the Hebrew Bible,” in Social Theory and the Study of Israelite Religion: Essays in Retrospect and Prospect, ed. Saul M. Olyan, RBS 71 (Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), 181–194. 26 The dangers/curses are: disaster, physical and mental human illnesses and plagues (pestilence, consumption, fever, inflammation, boils, ulcers, scurvy, itch, madness, blindness, and confusion of mind), natural catastrophes and plagues (fiery heat and drought, blight and mildew) as well as frustration in every human ventures as marriage, the building of a house, tillage, animal husbandry, farming; finally, subjection in social and national terms as subjection to enemy (panic). 27 André Lemaire, “Amulette phénicienne giblite en argent,” in Shlomo: Studies in Epigraphy, Iconography, History and Archaeology in Honor of Shlomo Moussaieff, ed. Robert Deutsch (Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center, 2003), 155–174. It seems that Qumran authors were well acknowleged both with blessing and hortatory forms, and they used them also in other compositions written against evil spirits. 28 Jacques Berlinerblau, The Vow and the “Popular Religious Groups” of Ancient Israel: A Philological and Sociological Inquiry, JSOTSup (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1996). 29 On similarities of Amulet I and the form of the prayers for deliverance in the Psalms, see Jeremy D. Smoak, “‘May YHWH Bless You and Keep You from Evil:’ The Rhetorical Argument of Ketef Hinnom Amulet I and the Form of the Prayers for Deliverance in the Psalms,” JANER 12 (2012): 202–236. Idem, “Amuletic Inscriptions and the Background if YHWH as Guardian and Protector in Psalm 12,” VT 60 (2010): 421–432 – reference to the smelting

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lamella collared on his/her neck. Blessing text as a means of divine protection was known in other West Semitic cultures, too, as it is documented by a silver lamella from Byblos (500 BCE), written for X, “son of Abda-Ashtart, the Byblian, who has vowed this vow”. The textual amulet assured for its owner pledged to the goddess her special protection against the harms listed in the text. Blessings are not equal to Beatitudes (asˇre¯-psalms) – the latter ones are scattered throughout the biblical collection of the Psalms (Ps 1, 32, 33, 40, 41, 65, 84, 89, 94, 112, 119, 127, 128, 146; many of these compositions are dated to the Second Temple Period). “In blessings, the formulaic Hebrew term is baru¯k; in beatitudes, ’asˇre¯. The primary difference is that the blessing invokes God’s beneficient support of life, while the beatitudes points to and commends the conduct and character that enjoy it”.30 The ’asˇre¯ texts are written for and speak of the righteous – those who enjoy the special protection of God, obtained by their conduct and virtues. (The Eight Beatitudes in Mt 5,1–2a is a New Testament example of this concept). The “Sitz im Leben” of the beatitudes and the special protection of certain persons and groups lays in the Temple practice. The so-called Aaronic benediction or blessing in Num 6:22–27 was probably used in the temple services. Pronouncing a blessing assured God’s protection for the person who was blessed. Protection meant to be protected against phenomena of physical evil as plagues: “No plague which I placed (s´ym) upon Egypt will I place (s´ym) upon you, for I am Yahweh your Healer” (Exod 15:26). The Jerusalem Temple was also a place for taking oaths/vows (neder, ˇsebu¯῾a, see Num 30:3 skk.) before priests, and for getting blessings from priests. The Qumran community was led by priests, and priestly tradition played an important role in their literature – and, supposedly, in their practice. At the heart of the ceremony of entering to the community lies the recitation of blessing and curse (1QS I.16–III.1). “Then the priests are to bless all those foreordained to God, who walk faultless in all of His ways, saying ‘May He bless you with every good thing and preserve you from every evil’” (1QS II.1–3). The list of the blessings is headed by wisdom: “May He enlighten your mind with wisdom for living, be gracious to you with the knowledge of eternal things” (1QS II.3–4). The preparation for the ceremony – a yearly renewal of the covenant with God – was the confession of sins, and repentence. Those who have entered into the covenant of the sect – they alone received the priestly blessing, while those belonging to the lot of Belial, who continued to adhere to their sins, remained cursed. Other texts mention the community as “the men of God’s lot who walk perfectly in all His furnace and protection – stock protective formula during the Iron Age. Imagery may have originated from the practice and inscribing metal amulets. 30 Mays, Psalms, 41.

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ways” (CD I.14ff). Recitation of the Priestly blessing related to Num 6:24–26 was also part of the ceremony.31 The model for this was the case described in Deut 27, the scene of Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal with the uttering of the blessings and the curses.32 The ceremony of the renewal of the covenant with God took place, to all probability, at Shavuot, following the festival of Passover (Pesah) by 50 days.33 The date of Shavuot precedes in the calendar the summer solstice when Psalm 91 was recited. Thus, the recipients of the blessing uttered in the psalm text on this occasion were members of a group of the blessed, those who pledged to God. After having practiced repentance they made a vow on the yearly ceremony of the renewal of the covenant, and obtained a special status of divine protection, that of the blessed (‘asˇre¯). They certainly considered themselves the equal of the group referred to in the address of Psalm 91, those “who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty”, and whose refuge and shelter is God (Ps 91:1–2). Consequently, they firmly believed that the divine protection against physical harms and pestilence offered to the pious in Psalm 91 was assured also to them, by the yearly recitation of the same apotropaic Psalm on their ceremony held at the summer solstice.

Literature Primary Sources Sanders, James A., ed. The Psalms Scroll of Qumrân Cave 11. DJD 4. London: Clarendon 1965. Puech, Emile. “Les psaumes davidiques du rituel d’exorcisme (11Q11).” Pages 160–181 in, Sapiential, Liturgical and Poetical Texts from Qumran. Edited by Daniel K. Falk. Leiden: Brill, 2000.

31 Bilhah Nitzan, Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry, STDJ 12 (Leiden: Brill, 1994), 133. 32 The form was added in Qumran with special references to wisdom and “walking” (i. e. observing religious prescriptions). “May He bless you with every good, and keep you from every evil; may He enlighten your heart with immortal wisdom and favor you with eternal knowledge. May He lift up His merciful countenance upon you for eternal peace” (1QS II.2– 4). See Nitzan, Qumran Prayer, 130. 33 On the ceremony of entering the sect see Lawrence H. Schiffman, Qumran and Jerusalem: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010), 154.

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Secondary Sources Berlinerblau, Jacques. The Vow and the “Popular Religious Groups” of Ancient Israel: A Philological and Sociological Inquiry. JSOTSup. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1996. Bohak, Gideon. “From Qumran to Cairo: The Lives and Times of a Jewish Exorcistic Formula (with an Appendix from Shaul Shaked).” Pages 31–52 in Ritual Healing: Magic, Ritual and Medical Therapy from Antiquity until the Early Modern Period. Edited by Ildiko Csepregi and Charles Burnett. Micrologus Library 48. Florence: SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2012. Botterweck, G.J. – H. Ringgren. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986. Caquot, André. “Le Psaume XCI.” Semitica 6 (1956): 21–37. Caquot, André. “Sur quelques démons de l’Ancien Testament (Reshep, Qeteb, Deber).” Semitica 6 (1956): 53–68. Fröhlich, Ida. “Healing with psalms.” Pages 197–215 in Prayer and poetry in the Dead Sea Scrolls and related literature: essays in honor of Eileen Schuller on the occasion of her 65th birthday. Edited by Jeremy Penner, Ken M. Penner, and Cecilia Wassen. Leiden, Boston, MA: Brill, 2012. Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, Erich Zenger, Klaus Baltzer, Linda M. Maloney, Psalms 2: A Commentary on Psalms 51–100, Hermeneia: a critical and historical commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005). Kotansky, Roy. “Greek Exorcistic Amulets.” Pages 243–277 in Ancient magic and ritual power. Edited by Marvin W. Meyer, Paul A. Mirecki. RGRW. Leiden: Brill, 1995. Kraus, Thomas J. “Fragmente eines Amulett-Armbands im British Museum (London) mit Septuaginta-Psalm 90 und der Huldigung der Magier.” JAC 48–49 (2005–2006): 114– 127. Kraus, Thomas J. “Septuaginta-Psalm 90 in apotropäischer Verwendung: Vorüberlegungen für eine kritische Edition und (bisheriges) Datenmaterial.” BN 125 (2005): 39–73. Lemaire, André. “Amulette phénicienne giblite en argent.” Pages 155–174 in Shlomo: studies in epigraphy, iconography, history and archaeology in honor of Shlomo Moussaieff. Edited by Robert Deutsch (Tel Aviv: Archaeological Center, 2003). Magness, Jodi. “Communal Meals and Sacred Space in Qumran.” Pages 81–112 in Eadem, Debating Qumran. Collected Essays on Its Archeology. Leuven: Peeters, 2004. Mays, James Luther. Psalms. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994. Nitzan, Bilhah. Qumran Prayer and Religious Poetry. STDJ 12. Leiden: Brill, 1994. Riede, Peter. Im Netz des Jägers: Studien zur Feindmetaphorik der Individualpsalmen. Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag, 2000. Sanders, James A. ‘Psalms Scroll,’ Pages 2:715–717 in EDSS. London: Oxford University Press, 2000. Schiffman, Lawrence H. Qumran and Jerusalem: Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the History of Judaism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010. Schmitt, Rüdiger. “Theories regarding witchcraft accusations and the Hebrew Bible.” Pages 181–194 in Social theory and the study of Israelite religion: essays in retrospect and

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prospect. Edited by Saul M. Olyan. RBS 71. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012. Smoak, Jeremy D. “Amuletic Inscriptions and the Background of YHWH as Guardian and Protector in Psalm 12.” VT 60 (2010): 421–432. Smoak, Jeremy D., “‘May YHWH Bless You and Keep You from Evil:’ The Rhetorical Argument of Ketef Hinnom Amulet I and the Form of the Prayers for Deliverance in the Psalms.” JANER 12 (2012): 202–236. Weiher, E. von. Der babylonische Gott Nergal. AOAT 11. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Verlag Butzon & Bercker; Neukirchener Verlag, 1971. Williams, Clemency. “Signs from the Sky, Signs from the Earth: The Diviner’s Manual Revisited.” Pages 473–485 in Under One Sky. Edited by John M. Steele. Münster: UGARITVerlag, 2002).

Imre Kocsis (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

Die christologische Interpretation von Ps 8 und Ps 118 im Neuen Testament

Es ist wohlbekannt, dass die Verfasser der neutestamentlichen Bücher das Alte Testament im Licht des Christusgeschehens betrachteten und interpretierten. Diese Feststellung gilt auch für die Psalmen. Die Tatsache, dass bestimmte Texte des Psalmenbuches, in denen der König von Israel oder der leidende Gerechte im Zentrum der Aufmerksamkeit stehen, auf Jesus Christus hin bezogen worden sind, mag uns nicht überraschen. Aber die christologische Auslegung solcher Psalmen, die sich mit anderen Themen (Schöpfung, Mensch, Geschichte Israels) beschäftigen, ist nicht mehr so selbstverständlich. Im Vortrag konzentriere ich auf zwei Psalmen (Ps 8 und 118): Zuerst stelle ich ihre ursprüngliche Botschaft dar und danach versuche zu zeigen, welche Einflüsse die neutestamentlichen Autoren dazu anregen konnten, einzelne Sätze dieser auf Schöpfung und Israel orientierten Psalmen auf Christus anzuwenden.

Psalm 8 Psalm 8 besteht aus einem Rahmen und einem Hauptteil. Im Rahmen, der als eine Art Antiphon das Gebet feierlich eröffnet und beschließt, wird Gott von der Gemeinde angesprochen: „Herr, unser Herrscher, wie gewaltig ist dein Name auf der ganzen Erde.“ Der Hauptteil, in dem ein Solist redet, enthält eine weisheitlich geprägte Meditation über die Schöpferherrlichkeit Gottes und über die privilegierte Stellung des Menschen in der Schöpfung. Wegen der theologischen Nähe zur priesterschriftlichen Schöpfungsgeschichte (Gen 1,1–2,4a) ist der Psalm wahrscheinlich in der frühen nachexilischen Zeit entstanden.1 Er zielt grund-

1 Vgl. Hans-Joachim Kraus, Psalmen 1–59, BKAT (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1978), 205; Erich Zenger, Psalmen. Auslegungen 1: Mit meinem Gott überspringe ich Mauern (Freiburg: Herder, 2003), 205. Vorsichtig urteilt Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1–50, WBC 19 (Nashville: Nelson, 2004), 106.

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sätzlich „nicht auf Belehrung, sondern auf dankende Vergewisserung.“2 Deshalb können wir ihn der Gattung „Hymnus“ zuordnen. Der Hauptteil des Psalms kann in zwei Teile gegliedert werden. Im ersten Teil (VV. 2b–3) steht Gottes Herrlichkeit im Vordergrund, im zweiten (VV. 4–9) hingegen wird die Aufmerksamkeit auf den Menschen gerichtet, der vom Schöpfergott besondere Würde und Aufgabe bekommen hat. Die Auslegung des ersten Teils ist sehr umschritten. Neben einem textkritischen Problem, dessen Besprechung hier nicht notwendig ist,3 bereitet V. 3 große Schwierigkeit: „Aus dem Munde der Kinder und Säuglinge hast du eine Festung errichtet um deiner Widersacher willen, um Feind und Rachgierigen zum Aufhören zu zwingen“. Meiner Meinung nach sollen wir den Ausdruck „Kinder und Säuglinge“ metaphorisch verstehen. Er bezieht sich auf solche Menschen, die im Bewusstsein ihrer Schwäche und Begrenztheit die alles überragende Herrlichkeit Gottes anerkennen und seiner Herrschaft sich freiwillig unterwerfen. Die Widersacher sind natürlich diejenigen, die solche Anerkennung und den damit verbundenen Gehorsam verweigern. Die kindliche Verehrung manifestiert sich im Lob, von dem Gott eine Art „Festung“, das heißt „eine bleibende Macht“ errichtet.4 Es ist erwähnenswert, dass die Septuaginta den Inhalt des besprochenen Verses in einfacherer Form wiedergibt: „Aus Munde von Kindern und Säuglingen schufst du dir Lob um deiner Widersacher willen, um Feind und Rachgierigen zum Aufhören zu zwingen.“ Statt „Festung“ (ʽo¯z) steht hier „Lob“ (ainos). Wir können jetzt einen kurzen Blick auf den zweiten Teil (VV. 4–9) werfen, dessen Text ich nach der Einheitsübersetzung zitiere: „Seh’ ich den Himmel, das Werk deiner Finger, Mond und Sterne, die du befestigt: Was ist der Mensch, dass du an ihn denkst, des Menschen Kind, dass du dich seiner annimmst? Du hast ihn nur wenig geringer gemacht als Gott, hast ihn mit Herrlichkeit und Ehre gekrönt. Du hast ihn als Herrscher eingesetzt über das Werk deiner Hände,

2 Zenger, Psalmen. Auslegungen 1, 205. 3 Das Problem besteht darin, dass der hebräische Text in V. 2, sofort nach der einleitenden Antiphon verderbt überliefert ist. Einem Relativpronomen folgt ein Imperativ (asˇer tenah; „welcher gib doch“), was syntaktisch nicht möglich ist. Der Text muss korrigiert werden. In den Sachbüchern finden sich verschiedene Vorschläge. Viele Exegeten lesen Perfekt statt Imperativ: „welcher gegeben hast“. Vgl. zum Beispiel, Kraus, Psalmen 1–59, 203; Lothar Hossfeld und Erich Zenger, Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1–50, NEechtB (Würzburg: Echter, 1993), 78. Eine andere, sehr erwägenswerte Lösung hat Mitchell Dahood vorgeschlagen: Man soll die zwei hebräischen Wörter zusammenfügen und die Konsonanten mit anderen Vokalen ergänzen. So bekommt man die Form asˇartannah, deren Bedeutung ist: „Ich will anbeten.“ Vgl. Mitchell Dahood, Psalms I (1–50), AB 16 (New York, Garden City: Doubleday, 1966), 49. 4 Kraus, Psalmen 1–59, 208.

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hast ihm alles zu Füßen gelegt: All die Schafe, Ziegen und Rinder und auch die wilden Tiere, die Vögel des Himmels und die Fische im Meer, alles, was auf den Pfaden der Meere dahinzieht.“

Das Textstück beginnt mit einer Behauptung, die sich auf die Schöpfungstätigkeit Gottes bezieht. Das Himmelsgewölbe und die Gestirne sind hier als „Handwerke“, ja sogar als durch Finger sorgfältig geformte „Kunstwerke“ Gottes vorgestellt. Durch das Anschauen des Himmels wird der Psalmist sich zwei Tatsachen bewusst: einerseits der Kleinigkeit und Nichtigkeit des Menschen, andererseits der Fürsorge Gottes, mit der er sich dem Menschen als schwachem Wesen gütig zuwendet. Der Grund dieser besonderen Zuwendung liegt darin, dass Gott den Menschen mit einzigartiger Würde beschenkt und als seinen herrscherlichen Repräsentanten auf der Erde eingesetzt hat. Eine besondere Aufmerksamkeit verdient die Formulierung in V. 7: Die Werke, die durch „die Hände“ Gottes geschaffen wurden, sind „unter die Füße“ des Menschen gelegt. Die Botschaft des zweiten Teiles des Psalms fasst Erich Zenger folgendermaßen zusammen. „Das Geheimnis des Menschen gründet darin, daß der biblische Schöpfergott allen (!) Menschen die Fähigkeit und die Aufgabe zutraut, wie Gott und wie ein guter König die Erde als Lebensraum zu schützen und als Ort heilvollen Zusammenlebens zu gestalten. Dem Mond und den Sternen hat Gott ihren festen Platz gegeben, dem Menschen aber eine Aufgabe.“5 Ich möchte diese treffende Behauptung nur mit einer kurzen Bemerkung ergänzen, und zwar im Blick auf den ersten Teil des Psalms. Der Mensch kann die vom Schöpfergott zugetraute Aufgabe nur dann in angemessener Weise erfüllen, wenn er die absolute Hoheit Gottes anerkennt und sie zum Objekt ständigen Lobes macht. Die Widersacher Gottes, von denen in V. 3 die Rede ist, verachten eigentlich ihre eigene Würde und Herrschaftsposition. In den Schriften von Qumran kann man eine Neuinterpretation des Hauptgedankens des Psalms wahrnehmen. Die große Würde des Menschen bezieht sich nicht auf die gegenwärtige Menschheit, sondern auf diejenigen Menschen, die in der Endzeit radikal erneuert sein werden: „Nur durch deine Güte wird der Mensch gerecht und durch dein reiches Erbarmen… Denn mit deiner Pracht stattest du ihn herrlich aus und setzt ihn über eine Fülle von Wonnen mit ewigen Frieden und langem Leben“ (1QH XIII 16–18).6 Im Neuen Testament werden nur einige Sätze aus dem Psalm zitiert, die in den Dienst der Christologie gestellt sind. In Mt 21,16 findet sich das Zitat von Ps 8,3 5 Zenger, Psalmen. Auslegungen 1, 208. 6 Die Quelle des Zitats: Johann Maier, Kurt Schubert, Die Qumran-Essener (München: Reinhardt, 1991), 230–231.

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(nach LXX) in einem Abschnitt, in dem über die heilende Tätigkeit Jesu nach der Reinigung des Tempels berichtet wird. Was ursprünglich von Gott, dem Schöpfer der Welt gesagt wurde, wird hier auf Jesus von Nazareth bezogen. Er ist von Gegnern umgeben und er wird von „Kindern und Säuglingen“ gepriesen.7 In Hebr 2,5–8 sind andere Sätze des Psalms zitiert: Denn nicht Engeln hat er die zukünftige Welt unterworfen, von der wir reden, vielmehr (dem Sohn, darum) heißt es an einer Stelle ausdrücklich: Was ist der Mensch, dass du an ihn denkst, oder der Menschensohn, dass du dich seiner annimmst? Du hast ihn nur für kurze Zeit unter die Engel erniedrigt. Du hast ihn mit Herrlichkeit und Ehre gekrönt, alles hast du ihm zu Füßen gelegt. Denn als er ihm alles zu Füßen legte, hat er nichts von der Unterwerfung ausgenommen. Jetzt sehen wir noch nicht alles ihm zu Füßen gelegt; aber den, der nur für kurze Zeit unter die Engel erniedrigt war, Jesus, ihn sehen wir um seines Todesleidens willen mit Herrlichkeit und Ehre gekrönt; es war nämlich Gottes gnädiger Wille, dass er für alle den Tod erlitt.

Das Zitat stammt aus Ps 8,4–7.8 Der Verfasser des Briefes zitiert treu den Text der Septuaginta, nur den Halbvers Ps 8,7a lässt er aus. Die Anwendung ist zweifelsohne sehr bemerkenswert: Was ursprünglich von jedem Menschen behauptet wurde, wird jetzt auf einen einzigen Menschen, auf Jesus Christus bezogen. Ihn hat Gott mit „Herrlichkeit und Ehre“ gekrönt und ihm ist alles zu Füssen gelegt worden. Aber die Aussage des Psalms ist in einen ganz anderen Horizont gestellt, denn Christus wurde die ganze Schöpfung und nicht nur die Tierwelt unterworfen.9 Er ist der König des Kosmos und nicht nur der Erde geworden.10 Es darf nicht unbeachtet bleiben, dass es hier um den Menschen Jesus bzw. um den menschgewordenen Sohn geht, der „um des Todesleidens willens“ diese besondere Herrschaftsposition erreicht hat. Vom diesem Jesus Christus wird auch Folgendes gesagt: „Denn es war angemessen, dass Gott, für den und durch den das All ist und der viele Söhne zur Herrlichkeit führen wollte, den Urheber ihres Heils durch Leiden vollendete.

7 Eine ausführlichere Analyse findet sich in den Kommentaren zum Matthäusevangelium. Vgl. auch Josef Zemanek, Psalmentheologie in den synoptischen Evangelienschriften (Heiligenkreuz: Be&Be Verlag, 2011), 261–273. 8 Neben den Kommentaren zum Hebräerbrief vgl. auch Friedrich Schröger, Der Verfasser des Hebräerbriefes als Schriftausleger (Regensburg: Pustet, 1968), 250–260; Simon Kistemaker, The Psalm Citations in the Epistle to the Hebrew, 2nd ed. (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2010), 29–31. 9 Eine ähnliche Perspektive zeigt sich auch in 1Kor 15:25–27, wo Paulus Ps 8,9 in Verbindung mit Ps 110,1 zitiert. Eine Anspielung an Ps 8,7 kann man auch in in Ef 2,20 und 1Pt 3,22 finden. 10 Es ist umschritten, ob der Ausdruck „Sohn von Menschen“ (huios anthro¯pou) hier ein Hoheitstitel ist oder nicht. Vgl. Erich Grässer, An die Hebräer I (Hebr 1–6), Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament XVII/1 (Zürich: Benziger; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1990), 117.

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Denn er, der heiligt, und sie, die geheiligt werden, stammen alle von Einem ab; darum scheut er sich nicht, sie Brüder zu nennen.“ (Hebr 2,10–11.)

Die Menschen sind hier als Brüder von Jesus Christus vorgestellt. Sowohl seine Erniedrigung als auch seine Verherrlichung geschah um ihretwillen. Deshalb können wir behaupten, dass der ursprüngliche Protagonist des zweiten Teils von Ps 8 nicht ganz außer Acht bleibt. Aber der Verfasser des Briefes ist sich der Macht der Sünde bewusst, die den Menschen daran hindert, echter Repräsentant Gottes auf der Erde zu sein. Gerade durch die Solidarität Jesu mit seinen Menschenbrüdern in der Versuchung und in dem Todesleid (Hebr 2,10.18) ist die Befreiung von dieser erniedrigenden Macht möglich gemacht. Was bedeutet die christologische Interpretation für das Lesen und Beten von Ps 8? Der christliche Leser kann und muss den ursprünglichen Sinn des Psalms auch weiterhin vor Augen halten, das heißt er ist aufgefordert, Gott, den Schöpfer und Herrn der Welt mit kindlicher Gesinnung zu loben sowie die vom Schöpfergott gegebene Aufgabe mit voller Verpflichtung zu erfüllen. Er darf aber nicht vergessen, dass dieses Lob auch Jesus Christus, dem eschatologischen Offenbarer Gottes und dem Erlöser der Menschheit gebührt. Der Christ muss stets auf seinen mit Herrlichkeit und Ehre gekrönten „erstgeborenen Bruder“ (Röm 8,29), der „zum Erben des Erdalls eingesetzt“ (Hebr 1,2) wurde, schauen. So wird ihm bewusst, dass er von Gott nicht nur dazu berufen ist, auf Erden eine Aufgabe zu erfüllen, sondern auch dazu, „Miterbe Christi“ (Röm 8,17) in einer neuen Welt zu sein.

Psalm 118 Psalm 118 können wir als eine Dankliturgie betrachten. Ebenso wie Ps 8 besteht er aus einem Rahmen (VV. 1–4 und V. 29) und einem Hauptteil (VV. 5–28). Der Rahmen ist litaneiartig gestaltet: Einer Aufforderung zum Lob folgt die Begründung. Sowohl am Anfang als auch am Schluss des Psalms steht der folgende Satz: „Danket dem Herrn, denn er ist gütig, denn seine Huld währt ewig.“ Im anfänglichen Teil des Rahmens wird die Aufforderung mit kleinen Änderungen dreimal wiederholt. Den Hauptteil (VV. 5–28), der sich durch die überwiegend vorkommende Ich-Rede vom Rahmen abhebt, kann man in zwei Abschnitte aufteilen. In der ersten Einheit (VV. 5–18) findet sich ein Bekenntnis, das als IchRede formuliert ist, während der zweite Abschnitt (VV. 19–28) ein Wechselgespräch zwischen der Gemeinde und den Priestern enthält. Wer ist die Person (das „Ich“), welche in VV. 5–18 spricht? Die Bibelwissenschaftler haben verschiedene Vorschläge gemacht, von denen ich hier nur einige erwähne. Nach vielen Exegeten handelt es sich um einen König der davidischen Dynastie oder um einen berühmten Amtsträger, der nach einer gelungenen

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Kriegsaktion oder nach der Erfüllung einer besonders wichtigen und schwierigen Spezialaufgabe im Tempel von Jerusalem, von größerer Menge umgeben, seinen Dank für die erhaltene Hilfe ausspricht.11 Es gibt auch Identifikationsversuche. Alfons Deißler dachte zum Beispiel an Nehemia bei der Weihe der wiedererrichteten Stadtmauer von Jerusalem.12 Ich bevorzuge jene Deutung, welche das hier sprechende „Ich“ mit Israel identifiziert. Die Gründe, die Erich Zenger für diese Interpretation aufführt, halte ich für sehr überzeugend.13 Im Abschnitt finden sich mehrere Anspielungen auf das Siegeslied am Schilfmeer, in dem ebenso in der ersten Person Singular die Rettung von Israel beschrieben und gefeiert wird. Die Einzelzüge in der Beschreibung sowohl der Not als auch der Rettung übersteigen den individuellen Rahmen (Bedrohung durch „alle Völker“; Jubelgesang „in den Zelten der Gerechten“). In den einleitenden Ausrufen (VV.1–4) wird die das ganze Volk vertretende Gemeinde dazu aufgefordert, Gott wegen seiner Güte zu danken. Das ist nur dann wirklich verständlich, wenn diese Güte von dem ganzen Volk bzw. von einer bedeutenden Gruppe erfahren wurde.14 Im liturgischen Gebrauch wurde dieser Abschnitt freilich von einem Solisten ausgesprochen. Einerseits erinnert er mit großem Nachdruck an die verschiedenen Bedrängnisse Israels, andererseits drückt er, ebenso mit großem Nachdruck, das starke Vertrauen auf Gott, den Retter seines Volkes aus. Die Güte Gottes, die in den ersten Zeilen des Psalms gepriesen wird, manifestiert sich gerade in den Bedrängnissen und Leidsituationen. Wie ich früher schon sagte, ist der zweite Abschnitt des Hauptteiles als ein liturgisches Wechselgespräch gestaltet.15 In diesem Abschnitt begegnet wiederum ein Hinweis auf die schweren Bedrängnisse Israels: Der Stein, den die Bauleute verwarfen, er ist zum Eckstein geworden.

11 Vgl. Mitchell Dahood, Psalms III (101–150), AB 17 A (New York, Garden City: Doubleday, 1970), 155; Leslie C. Allen, Psalms 101–150, WBC 21 (Nashville: Nelson, 2002), 164. 12 Alfons Deissler, Psalmen (Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1993), 218 (Fußnote 230). 13 Vgl. Erich Zenger, Psalmen. Auslegungen 2: Ich will die Morgenröte wecken (Freiburg: Herder, 2003), 119. An das Volk Israel denkt auch ein jüdischer Kommentator. Vgl. Abraham Cohen, Psalms: Hebrew Test. English Translation and Commentary (London: Soncino, 1945), 389– 393. 14 Es ist interessant, dass der oben genannte Erich Zenger in einem anderen Kommentar schon so formuliert: „Möglicherweise wurde ein individuelles Danklied aufgenommen und zu dem nun vorliegenden kollektiven Dankpsalm mit seinem universalen und in die Zukunft weisenden Horizont ausgestaltet.“ Frank-Lothar Hossfeld, Erich Zenger, Die Psalmen III. Psalm 101–150, NEechtB (Würzburg: Echter, 2012), 687. 15 Das in vv. 19–20 genannte „Tor der Gerechtigkeit“ ist vermutlich jenes Tor, durch das man vom äußerem Tempelhof in den inneren Tempelhof eintreten konnte.

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Das hat der Herr vollbracht, vor unseren Augen geschah dieses Wunder (Ps 118,22).

Die Bauleute der irdischen Geschichte haben das unbedeutend erscheinende Volk Israel missachtet und misshandelt, aber JHWH, der der wahre Bauherr der Geschichte ist, hat es zum „Eckstein“ jenes Hauses gemacht, das er selbst erbaut. Mit dem zitierten Sprichwort wird wahrscheinlich auf die Rettung aus dem babylonischen Exil hingewiesen. Diese wunderbare Erfahrung regt die Gemeinde dazu an, auch im Hinblick auf die Zukunft um Rettung (ho¯ˇs¯ıah-na’) und Gelingen zu bitten. Auf dieses Gebet antworten die Priester mit der Segensformel, die an den aaronitischen Segen erinnert: Gesegnet sei er, der kommt im Namen des Herrn. Wir segnen euch vom Haus des Herrn her. Gott, der Herr, erleuchte uns (Ps 118,26–27a).

Ps 118 erhielt eine neue Perspektive dadurch, dass er Teil der Gruppe „Pesach-Hallel“ (Ps 113–118) geworden ist. So wird nicht nur für die vergangene Befreiung gedankt und nicht nur im Allgemeinen um Hilfe gebeten, sondern man blickt voraus und wartet auf die endgültige Befreiung durch den Messias, auf den der Segensspruch „Gesegnet sei er, der da kommt im Namen des Herrn“ sich bezieht.16 Wenn wir diese messianische Orientierung des Psalmschlusses vor Augen halten, mag uns die christologische Interpretation im Neuen Testaments nicht mehr überraschend und fremd erscheinen. Gemäß den Erzählungen über den feierlichen Einzug Jesu in Jerusalem wird Jesus von den Jüngern und von den übrigen Pilgern gerade durch die oben zitierten Sätzen begrüßt (vgl. Mk 11,9–10; Mt 21,9; Lk19,38; Joh 12,13).17 Darüber hinaus bezeugt Mk 14,26, dass auch Jesus in seinem Abschiedsmahl vor seinem Tod gemeinsam mit den Jüngern den Psalm gesungen hat. Es darf jedenfalls nicht außer Acht bleiben, dass die Autoren der neutestamentlichen Bücher nicht nur jene Sätze auf Jesus hin deuten, die im damaligen Judentum messianisch ausgelegt wurden. Eine christologische Interpretation bekam auch der Spruch über den „verworfenen Stein“.18 Sein Zitat findet sich in den synoptischen Evangelien am Schluss des Gleichnisses von den bösen Win-

16 Vgl. Zenger, Psalmen. Auslegungen 2, 115. 17 Das Wort „Ho¯sanna“ hat jedenfals eine andere Bedeutung als im ursprüglichen Psalmtext. Es ist ein Heilsruf geworden. 18 Eine messianische Interpretation des Spruchs ist erst in den Schriften von Raschi zu finden. Vgl. Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch I (München: Beck, 1922), 876.

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zern (Mk 12,10 par), in der Apostelgeschichte als Element einer Petrusrede (Apg 4,11) sowie im ersten Petrusbrief als Teil einer Argumentation (1Pet 2,7).19 Wie gesagt, beschrieb dieser Spruch ursprünglich die Missachtung von Israel durch die großen Völker der damaligen Welt. Seine Anwendung auf Christus zeigt: Die ersten Christen hielten Jesus für solchen eschatologischen Retter, der seine Retter-Funktion gerade dadurch ausübte, dass er in seiner Person das Schicksal des erwählten Volkes teilte. Besonders im Matthäusevangelium sieht man, dass viele Momente des Lebens Jesu in Hinblick auf die Ereignisse der Geschichte Israels vorgestellt werden: der Aufenthalt im Ägypten (2,15), die Versuchungen in der Wüste (4,1–11) und die Theophanie auf dem Berg (17,1–7). Auch die Verwerfung und die Rehabilitierung vonseiten Gottes sind gemeinsame Punkte, doch mit dem Unterschied, dass die Verwerfung Jesu gerade durch die Führerschaft Israels geschah. Trotzdem ist die Parallele zwischen dem Schicksal von Israel und dem von Jesus nicht zu vergessen. Die Geschichte Jesu ist mit der Geschichte des Gottesvolkes des Alten Testaments am engsten verbunden. Vermutlich darin liegt der Grund dessen, dass in der Urkirche bisweilen auch solche Hoffnung ausgesprochen wurde, dass am Ende der Zeiten auch Israel Jesus als Erlöser annehmen wird. Neben Röm 11,26 könnte man auch auf den Spruch hinweisen, der sowohl bei Matthäus als auch bei Lukas begegnet. Ich zitiere die lukanische Variante: „Ich sage euch: Ihr werdet mich nicht mehr sehen, bis die Zeit kommt, in der ihr ruft: Gesegnet sei er, der kommt im Namen des Herrn!“ (Lk 13, 35; vgl. Mt 23,39). Ich muss anerkennen, dass die Auslegung des Spruchs sehr umstritten ist, weil er am Ende einer Gerichtsrede steht. Trotzdem kann ich die Möglichkeit nicht ausschließen, dass die im Spruch erhaltene Begrüßung ein Zeichen der Umkehr sei.20 Auch in Bezug auf Ps 118 stelle ich die Frage: Was bedeutet die christologische Interpretation für das Lesen und Beten des Psalms? Auch in diesem Fall gilt, dass der ursprüngliche Sinn nicht unberücksichtigt bleiben darf. Im Psalm wird für die fürsorgende und rettende Güte Gottes Dank gesagt, die Israel in seiner Geschichte erfahren hat. Der christliche Leser kann sich eingeladen fühlen, sich diesem Dank anzuschließen, aber immer in der Überzeugung, dass Gottes rettende Güte in vollem Masse sich durch Jesus Christus manifestiert hat. Deshalb ist es selbstverständlich, dass auch das Christusgeschehen in die Danksagung einbezogen, ja 19 Vgl. die Kommentare sowie Michel Berder, La pierre rejetée par les bâtisseurs. Psaume 118,22–23 et son emploi dans les traditions juives et dans le Nouveau Testament (Paris: Gabalda, 1996); Zemanek, Psalmentheologie, 89–128. 20 Ähnliche Meinung vertreten Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14–28, WBC 33B (Nashville: Nelson, 1995), 681; François Bovon, Das Evangelium nach Lukas II (Lk 9,51–14,35), EvangelischKatholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament III/2 (Düsseldorf: Benziger, NeukirchenVluyn, Neukirchener, 1996), 460; Peter Fiedler, Das Matthäusevangelium, Theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 1 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2006), 358–359.

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sogar für den Hauptgrund des Dankes gehalten wird. Der Dank soll sich mit dem Bekenntnis verbinden: Christus als verworfener Stein ist durch die Auferstehung zum „lebendigem“ Eckstein geworden. Durch ihn werden alle, die an ihm glauben zu „einem geistigen Haus“ (1Pet 2,5) – das heißt zu einer Kirche – das zugleich Ort des gemeinsamen Gebets und der gemeinsamen Liturgie ist. Diese dezidiert christliche Auffassung darf weder zu Arroganz noch zu Distanz gegenüber denen führen, die diese christliche Glaubensansicht nicht teilen. Ich denke hier besonders an das Judentum. In Röm 11,29 sagt der Apostel Paulus eindeutig: „unwiderruflich sind Gnade und Berufung, die Gott gewährt.“ Das besagt, dass die ewige Güte Gottes, die das Hauptthema von Ps 118 ist, auch den Juden gilt, die die christliche Botschaft nicht akzeptieren. Und diese ewige Güte richtet sich nach wie vor auf das Heil.

Literatur Allen, Leslie C. Psalms 101–150. WBC 21. Nashville: Nelson, 2002. Berder, Michel. La pierre rejetée par les bâtisseurs. Psaume 118,22–23 et son emploi dans les traditions juives et dans le Nouveau Testament. Paris: Gabalda, 1996. Bovon, François. Das Evangelium nach Lukas II (Lk 9,51–14,35). Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament III/2. Düsseldorf: Benziger; Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener, 1996. Cohen, Abraham. Psalms: Hebrew Text. English Translation and Commentary. London: Soncino Press, 1945. Craigie, Peter C. Psalms 1–50. WBC 19. Nashville: Nelson, 2004. Dahood, Mitchell. Psalms I (1–50). AB 16. New York, Garden City: Doubleday, 1966. Dahood, Mitchell. Psalms III (101–150). AB 17 A. New York, Garden City: Doubleday, 1970. Deissler, Alfons. Psalmen. Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1993. Fiedler, Peter. Das Matthäusevangelium. Theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 1. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2006. Grässer, Erich. An die Hebräer I (Hebr 1–6). Evangelisch-Katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament XVII/1. Zürich: Benziger; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1990. Hagner, Donald A. Matthew 14–28. WBC 33B. Nashville: Nelson, 1995. Hossfeld, Lothar and Erich Zenger. Die Psalmen I. Psalm 1–50. NEechtB. Würzburg: Echter, 1993. Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar and Erich Zenger. Die Psalmen III. Psalm 101–150. NEchtB. Würzburg: Echter, 2012. Kistemaker, Simon. The Psalm Citations in the Epistle to the Hebrew. 2nd. ed. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2010. Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Psalmen 1–59. BKAT. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1978. Maier, Johann und Kurt Schubert. Die Qumran-Essener. München: Reinhardt, 1991. Schröger, Friedrich. Der Verfasser des Hebräerbriefes als Schriftausleger. Regensburg: Pustet, 1968.

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Strack, Hermann L. and Paul Billerbeck. Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch 1. München: Beck, 1922. Zemanek, Josef. Psalmentheologie in den synoptischen Evangelienschriften. Heiligenkreuz: Be&Be Verlag, 2011. Zenger, Erich. Psalmen. Auslegungen 1: Mit meinem Gott überspringe ich Mauern. Freiburg: Herder, 2003. Zenger, Erich. Psalmen. Auslegungen 2: Ich will die Morgenröte wecken. Freiburg: Herder, 2003.

László Perendy (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

Arguing from the Psalms: Saint Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho the Jew

Abstract Saint Justin was born at the beginning of the second century near the ruins of ancient Shechem, in Flavia Neapolis of Samaria, a colony established by Vespasian in 72 A. D. Justin was executed together with some of his disciples in Rome in about 165, under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He is often forced into the category of ‘apologist’, but it is remarkable that his Dialogue with Trypho the Jew is more voluminous than his two Apologies together. This work is a rendering of a public debate lasting for two days in Ephesus a few years after the Bar Kokhba revolt. The arguments of the participants are firmly based on biblical passages. A great number of the books of the Bible are quoted in this dialogue. The Book of Psalms also plays an important part in the discussion. Altogether 21 psalms are used by Justin – some of them quoted several times – to support his arguments concerning true sacrifices, the vocation of the Gentiles, but particularly to present Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah. In my contribution I intend to analyse especially Psalms 44, 71, and 109, whose exegesis is connected to the interpretation of the apparition of the three angels to Abraham at the oak of Mamre.

Most of the information about Justin’s life in the Church history of Eusebius1 can be found also in his own works. He was born at the beginning of the second century near the ruins of ancient Shechem, in Flavia Neapolis of Samaria, a colony established by Vespasian in AD 72, now called Nablus. Eusebius confirms that he was converted from philosophy to Christianity, but continued to wear the philosopher’s cloak in order to show that in Christianity he had found the most perfect form of philosophy. He lived in Rome for a considerable length of time. The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Justin, Chariton, Charites, Pæon and Liberianus states that at the time of his trial he was staying in the capital for the second time.2 He was beheaded together with six pupils of his when Junius 1 Hist. eccl. 4.8.3–5; 4.11.8–11; 4.16.1–4.18.10. 2 Craig D. Allert thinks that Justin, like several contemporary teachers of philosophy and religion, “did not establish a permanent school in Rome, but that he was more of an itinerant teacher who travelled while using Rome as more of a base.” See his Revelation, Truth, Canon

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Rusticus was the prefect of Rome (162–168), i. e. under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He wrote several works, but only three of them have survived: his two Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew.3 His works against heresies have been lost, but some sections of them may have survived in his extant writings. In the context of this conference it is interesting that one of his lost works was titled Psalte¯s, so he dedicated a tractate to the Book of Psalms itself. The exact date of the composition of the Dialogue cannot be determined. As he refers in it to his own First Apology, which was probably written between 151 and 154, the Dialogue must have been composed after 154.4 Justin has often been forced into the category of the so-called apologists, but we have to note that the Dialogue is more voluminous than his two Apologies together. This work is a rendering of a public debate in Ephesus a short time after the Bar-Kokhba revolt was crushed by Hadrian in 135. Trypho, Justin’s companion in the Dialogue is not known from other sources. For several reasons he cannot be identified with the famous Rabbi Tarphon. It is remarkable that the time interval between the actual meeting of the participants of the dialogue in Ephesus and its literary formation is about 20 years or even more. The text of the Dialogue is extant in Codex Parisinus Graecus 450, a manuscript dated 1363. Unfortunately, the text is seriously mutilated. There is a lacuna of considerable length in Dialogue 74.3. In Chapter 73 the exposition of Psalm 96 is suddenly interrupted.5 Internal evidence shows that the discussion between Justin and Trypho lasted for two days6, but the extant text shows no trace of the end of the first day and the beginning of the second day. Chapters 79 to 81 seem to be an independent unit. Eric Francis Osborn appreciates Pierre Prigent’s

3 4 5

6

and Interpretation: Studies in Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 64 (Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, 2002), 30. On the genre of dialogue in Christian antiquity see Bernd Reiner Voss, Der Dialog in der frühchristlichen Literatur, Studia et testimonia antiqua 9 (München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1970). Cf. Allert, Revelation, Truth, Canon and Interpretation, 34. The reliability of the biblical quotations in the Dialogue was questioned by several renowned scholars at the beginning of the 20th century either because of the poor condition of the only extant codex or on account of the alleged inexactness of Justin himself. However, the discovery of a scroll with some fragments of the Greek text of the Minor Prophets in 1953 and that of Papyrus Bodmer XXIV (containing the text of Psalms 17–118) in 1967 threw a new light upon the undeniable difficulties. On this set of problems see the well-balanced analysis of Dominique Barthélemy in this contribution: Appendice 1: “Justin et le texte de la Bible”, in Justin Martyr, Œuvres complètes: Grande apologie, Dialogue avec le juif Tryphon, Requête, Traité de la résurrection. Introd. Jean-Daniel Dubois. Trans. G. Archambault, L. Pautigny, Elisabeth Gaché. Notes by A.-G. Hamman and D. Barthélemy, Bibliothèque 1 (Paris: Migne, 1994), 369– 377. Dialogue 56.16; 85.4; 95.2.

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theory7 “that Justin’s use of the Old Testament in this work points to a frequent reliance on the lost work against heresies. He supports this account by showing that the apparent dependence of Irenaeus and Tertullian on the Dialogue is better explained as dependence of Irenaeus, Tertullian and the Dialogue on Justin’s treatise against the heresies. (…) [T]he theory makes good sense of the relationship between Justin and his successors and of the use of scripture which they each show.”8 The Dialogue does have a definite plan, but deviation from it often occurs whenever he takes over material from another work of his in order to fulfil the total plan. After a biographical introduction Justin talks about the two covenants and the two laws, the transcendence of the risen Christ, the pre-existence of Christ, and his birth from a virgin. After talking about recapitulation as the work of Christ, he returns to the topic of resurrection. Then a long section is dedicated to the theme of wood, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. The exposition of Ps 22 can be found in the next eight chapters. Then the theme of resurrection returns, and Jesus is presented as the new Joshua. The final topics are the calling of the Gentiles, the pre-existence of Christ, and universal salvation.9 The arguments of the participants are strongly based on biblical passages. The following books of the Septuagint are quoted: Genesis, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 1–2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, Job, Jonah, Malachi, Wisdom, Proverbs, but the Book of Psalms also plays an important part in the discussion. Justin quotes altogether 21 psalms (some of them several times) to support his arguments concerning true sacrifices, the rejection of Israel, and the vocation of the Gentiles, but especially in order to present Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah. In my contribution I intend to analyse Psalms 110, 45, and 72, whose exegesis is connected to the interpretation of the apparition of the three angels to Abraham at the oak of Mamre (Gen 18–19), discussed in Dialogue 56.14. Ps 110 appears several times in the Dialogue in various contexts. In 32:6 and 63:6 the citations follow the Septuagint, but in 56:14, 83:1–4, and in 127:5 Justin cites from another source.10 In Dialogue 33:1–2 and 83:1 Justin does not accept the Jewish way of exegesis, which applies the first verses of this psalm to King Hezekiah, but he demonstrates with them the pre-existence of Christ. The king was not a priest in the way Melchizedek was. However, we are not in the possession of a Talmudic source, which would have applied this psalm to Hezekiah. 7 Pierre Prigent, Justin et l’Ancien Testament (Paris: Gabalda, 1964). 8 Eric Francis Osborn, Justin Martyr, Beiträge zur historischen Theologie 47 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1973), 12. 9 Ibid. 10 For a more detailed study of these citations see Oskar Skarsaune, The Proof from Prophecy. A Study in Justin Martyr’s Proof-Text Tradition: Text-Type, Provenance, Theological Profile, Supplements to Novum Testamentum 56 (Leiden: Brill, 1987).

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A. H. Goldfahn and the commentary of Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck11 are of the opinion that this idea was a Jewish reaction to the application of this psalm by the Christians for Christological purposes.12 In the Septuagint text we read: eipen ho kyrios to¯ kyrio¯ mu¯. Justin says that the first kyrios is God the Father, and the second is God the Son. In the translation of Symmachus we read: eipen ho kyrios to¯ despote¯ mu¯. Despote¯s, however, is mostly applied to human rulers, and not to God. In the Masoretic text the first kyrios is the Tetragrammaton, the second is l’adoni. If we examine the rabbinic sources, we shall see that several of them interpret this verse in a Messianic sense. In Midrash Tehillim Rabbi Judan – quoting this psalm – says to Rabbi Hama that in the future God will set the Messiah on his right, and Abraham on his left. In Avot d’Rabbi Natan 34 we read that Rabbi Simeon ben Gamaliel shares this opinion. It is difficult to tell when these rabbis lived. Rabbi Judan lived probably in the 4th century. If Simeon is the son of Gamaliel II, he was a member of the second Tannaitic generation (about the middle of the 2nd century), which means that he was Justin’s contemporary. If he was the son of Gamaliel I, he lived in the second half of the 1st century. However, Justin does not regard this psalm only as a Messianic prophecy in general, but he wants to prove also the pre-existence of the Messiah with it. In Dialogue 56.12–15 he cites three biblical passages (Gen 19: 24, Ps 110: 1, and Ps 45: 7) in order to prove that the Messiah existed already before creation. Leszek Misiarczyk is of the opinion that already at the time of Justin probably existed a socalled Christological Testimonium, which – connecting these three biblical passages – wanted to prove the pre-existence and the divinity of Jesus the Messiah.13 In the New Testament Ps 110 is quoted several times (Mark 12: 35–37 et par.; Acts 2:33–35; Heb 1:13; 10:12–13; 1 Pet 3:22). In Heb 5: 6 Ps 110: 4 is clearly applied to Christ the eternal Priest. In Mark 12: 35–37 et par. Jesus, using a rabbinic method, asks a question about the identity of the Messiah. The Messiah is considered to be the Son of David, whom David calls his Lord, which means that the “second Lord” cannot be identical with God the Father, but he is the Messiah. We must suppose that this psalm was interpreted already in Justin’s time in a Messianic sense, at least by some Jewish exegetes, otherwise his partners in the dispute would not have understood his question and the discussion itself would have been without much sense. After analysing the other references in the New Testament and in the Letter of Barnabas in detail, L. Misiarczyk comes to the conclusion that what Justin does here is the explanation of tradition of the New 11 Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch (Munich: Beck, 1922–61) 4:458. 12 See Leszek Misiarczyk, Il Midrash nel Dialogo con Trifone di Giustino Martire (Płock: Plocki Instytut Wydawniczy 1999), 109. 13 Misiarczyk, Il Midrash, 113–114.

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Testament for an audience which could have known about the messianic interpretation of this psalm. Misiarczyk suggests that a Qumranic text (4Q246) – in which a king of Israel fights the Assyrians and the Egyptians, and is called the Son of the Most High – can be helpful for us to have an insight into the 1st century efforts to interpret Ps 110. Hezekiah did fight the Assyrians, so in some circles he could have been identified with the king mentioned in this fragment. In Luke 1:32–35 we find practically the same terms applied to Jesus (e. g. kai hyios hypsistu¯ kle¯the¯setai). Even if Luke’s dependence on this fragment cannot be proven,14 together with other testimonies (e. g. some expressions are present also in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, e. g. hu ho blastos theu hypsistu¯, as pointed out already by Marinus de Jonge)15 this fragment of Qumran proves that already in pre-Christian times the Messianic King was called, at least in some circles, the Son of God.16 In Dialogue 56.14 Justin cites the Septuagint version of Ps 45:7–8. Here the word God appears twice, in Hebrew: elo¯him elo¯he¯ka. In both cases the Septuagint reads ho theos. However, in the translation of Aquila first we find ho thee, i. e. the vocative form, and Justin himself understands one of the occurrences of ho theos as a vocative. He understands the text as the God the Father talking to his Son, who is also God. So he knows about a certain tradition which understood elo¯him as a vocative. We can observe a similar phenomenon in Matt 27:46, where the evangelist translates the words of Jesus praying Ps 22 on the cross (e¯li, e¯li lema sabakhtani) in the following way: thee mu¯, thee mu¯, while Mark 15:34 translates ho theos mu¯ ho theos mu¯. The targum on this psalm interprets this passage in a Messianic sense, but it does not say anything about the supernatural character of the Messiah. The dates of the final redaction of the targum cannot be decided, but there are some signs showing that some elements of the tradition contained in it could have existed already in the first century. After a detailed analysis of the various traditions reflected also in the interaction with Targum Palestinense Gen 49:10–11, L. Misiarczyk comes to the conclusion that the existence of various interpretations in the first and second centuries offered an opportunity for Christian exegetes to give a Trinitarian interpretation to these verses. Heb 1:8–9 quotes Ps 45:7–8 together with Ps 110:1 as an argument for the superiority of Christ, the Son of God over the angels. As Albert Vanhoye pointed out that the word ’elo¯him in Ps 45:7–8 can mean

14 See Émile Puech, “Fragment d’une apocalypse en araméen (4Q246 = pseudo-Dand) et le ‘royaume de Dieu’,” Revue Biblique 99 (1992): 98–131. 15 Marinus De Jonge, “Christian Influence in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” Novum Testamentum 4 (1960): 182–235. 16 Cf. Misiarczyk, Il Midrash, 117.

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either God himself or supernatural beings in general.17 The grammatical structure of the Hebrew text does not exclude the reading of the Letter to the Hebrews, which understands the first occurrence of ’elo¯him as a subject of the verb, and the second one as a vocative. So the author of the letter, while intending to prove the superiority of Christ over the angels, in an indirect way also confirmed the Messianic interpretation of the text. Obviously, Heb 1 was an optimal starting point for Justin, even if we cannot find a direct quotation of the Letter to the Hebrews in the Dialogue. Misiarczyk points out that Justin was able to connect Ps 45 to Ps 110 through the application of a midrashic technique called gezera ˇsawah, using the opportunity that the word rhabdos (stick, rod) can be found in both. Rhabdos is one of the Messianic titles, as e. g. Isa 11:1ff. demonstrates. Together with Gen 19:24, also Pss 45 and 110 could have been present in the ancient Testimonium about the pre-existence and the divinity of the Messiah. That collection of texts probably had already applied the technique of gezerah shawah, when collecting the Biblical texts where the same Messianic term could be found. In connection with Ps 45 we can draw the conclusion that while in the 1st century Heb 1: 8–9 presupposed a special Messianic interpretation of Pss 45 and 110, giving the Messiah a divine status, in the 2nd century the Dialogue makes this kind of interpretation explicit, using some elements of the exegetical tradition present already in the ancient part of the Targum on Ps 45. Ps 72 (particularly verses 5 and 17) is the third psalm with which Justin argues on several occasions for the pre-existence of the Messiah. In Dialogue 34.2–6 and 64.6 he does not accept the interpretation which applies this psalm to King Salomon. In 64.5 he refers to Ps 72:17, because this verse explicitly says that the Anointed One existed already before the sun, so obviously he cannot be identified with Salomon. In Dialogue 45.4 we find the combination of Ps 110:3 and Ps 72:5, 17 in order to demonstrate that this Christ is the Son of God. Finally, in Dialogue 76.7 he reminds the audience that David announced his generation before the sun and the moon. We have to observe that this psalm is not used in the New Testament to prove the pre-existence of the Messiah, so Justin must be using other sources in his exegesis. In Midr. Teh. 72.1 – among other interpretations – we find that on the basis of the 1st verse this psalm is applied to Salomon. It is important to note that in Dialogue 34.2 Justin also mentions this verse as a basis for this kind of contemporary Jewish interpretation. Midr. Tehillim is the only Jewish source mentioning this interpretation. As we know, Midr. Tehillim is a late collection of materials, among which, however, some parts may be very ancient. In this case

17 Albert Vanhoye, La situation du Christ, Hébreux 1–2, Lectio divina 58 (Paris: Cerf, 1969), 184– 194.

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Justin’s Dialogue is the only outside witness that this tradition existed in second century Judaism. Justin understands the expression pro te¯s sele¯ne¯s in verse 5 and the pro tu¯ he¯liu¯ diamenei in verse 17 of the Septuagint text in a temporal sense, i. e. as a proof of the pre-existence of the Anointed One. The translations of Aquila and Symmachus, which were made in AD second century, substitute pro with other expressions (eis proso¯pon or emprosthen). The cause of this substitution is not clear. We cannot exclude the possibility that the changes were a result of a reaction to the Christian, temporal understanding of pro. The Septuagint translates the Hebrew word lifne¯ in both verses with pro. Both lifne¯ and pro have several meanings, among them the temporal one. The Aramaic word used in the Targum on the Psalms again can have not only a temporal meaning, so in this case it does not help us to make a decision. However, this same Aramaic word is used in the Targum in the passage where the pre-existence of the Torah is stated. So the temporal reading suggested by Justin is not arbitrary, but legitimate.18 Besides the kind of rabbinic exegesis which thinks that this psalm talks about Salomon, a Messianic interpretation also can be found in Midr. Teh. Verses 3, 4, 5, and 17 are understood in a Messianic sense. In the case of verses 3 and 4 the 1st and 4th verses of Isaiah come to the help of the rabbinic tradition to refer these sentences to the Messiah. Which is the more ancient interpretation: the one referring to Salomon, which existed in the time of Justin, or the Messianic? Could they have existed side by side at the same period of time, or their presence in Midr. Teh. is the result of the lengthy process of redaction? According to Midr. Teh. and other rabbinic sources (b. Ned. 39b and b. Pes. 54) commenting on Ps 72:17, the Torah is among the seven things which existed before the sun: “Before the Sun was, his name existed (Ps 72:17), seven things existed before the creation of the world: the name of the Messiah, the Torah, Israel, the Garden of Eden, the Gehenna, repentance, the Temple.”19 One of our rabbinic sources speculating about the name of the Messiah is the school of Rabbi Yannai, who professed that the name of the Messiah is jinne¯, which is a reference to the proliferation of the rod of Jesse in Isa 11:1. Rabbi Yannai, about whom we know that he closely followed the steps of his master, lived in the late 2nd or early 3rd century, so these speculations about the name of the Messiah and its pre-existence may well have been known already at the time of the writing of the Dialogue. Given the fact that in a Semitic linguistic environment the name expresses the essence of the person, a Christian (especially someone who had converted from Judaism) could have easily transformed these speculations about the pre-existence of the name of the 18 Misiarczyk, Il Midrash, 121–123. 19 William G. Braude, The Midrash on Psalms, 3rd ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 1:267.

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Messiah into an argument for the pre-existence of Christ himself. Considering other rabbinic sources, e. g. the speculations of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi about the age of the Messiah (also based on the exegesis of Ps 72), we can come to the conclusion that the Messianic interpretation of this psalm in Judaism was widespread already in Justin’s time. So in this case Justin is not relying on neotestamental sources, but on the Messianic interpretation of this psalm, which was probably well known for his contemporaries. But Justin was referring to it not only as a proof of the pre-existence of the name of the Messiah, but also as a testimony to the eternity of the person of the Anointed One, i. e. Christ. I hope that with this contribution I have been able to demonstrate some methods and aspects of the second century exegesis of the Book of Psalms, which was used by Justin as an important source to argue for specific elements of his Christian faith. Perhaps we have been encouraged also to use with the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew as a source to clarify some aspects of the history of the rabbinic tradition present in the Mishnah and the targums.

Literature Primary Sources Justin Martyr. Œuvres complètes: Grand apologie, Dialogue avec le juif Tryphon. Requête. Traité de la résurrection. Introd. Jean-Daniel Dubois. Trans. G. Archambault, L. Pautigny, Elisabeth Gaché. Notes by A.-G. Hamman and D. Barthélemy. Bibliothèque 1. Paris: Migne, 1994.

Secondary Sources Allert, Craig D. Revelation, Truth, Canon and Interpretation: Studies in Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 64. Leiden; Boston; Köln: Brill, 2002. Barthélemy, Dominique. Appendice 1: “Justin et le texte de la Bible.” Pages 369–377 in Justin Martyr, Œuvres complètes: Grand apologie, Dialogue avec le juif Tryphon. Requête. Traité de la résurrection. Introd. Jean-Daniel Dubois. Trans. G. Archambault, L. Pautigny, Elisabeth Gaché. Notes by A.-G. Hamman and D. Barthélemy. Bibliothèque 1. Paris: Migne, 1994. Braude, William G. The Midrash on Psalms. 3rd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. Jonge, Marinus De. “Christian Influence in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” NovT 4 (1960): 182–235. Misiarczyk, Leszek. Il Midrash nel Dialogo con Trifone di Giustino Martire. Plock: Plocki Instytut Wydawniczy 1999.

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Osborn, Eric Francis. Justin Martyr. Beiträge zur historischen Theologie 47. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1973. Prigent, Pierre. Justin et l’Ancien Testament. Paris: Gabalda, 1964. Puech, Émile. “Fragment d’une apocalypse en araméen (4Q246=pseudo-Dand) et le ‘royaume de Dieu’,” RB 99 (1992): 98–131. Skarsaune, Oskar. The Proof from Prophecy. A Study in Justin Martyr’s Proof-Text Tradition: Text-Type, Provenance, Theological Profile. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 56. Leiden: Brill, 1987. Strack, Hermann L. and Paul Billerbeck. Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch. Munich: Beck, 1922–1961. Vanhoye, Albert. La situation du Christ, Hébreux 1–2. Lectio divina 58. Paris: Cerf, 1969. Voss, Bernd Reiner. Der Dialog in der frühchristlichen Literatur. Studia et testimonia antiqua 9. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1970.

Gerhard Langer (University of Vienna)

Abraham at the Right Hand of God. Ps 110 in Rabbinic Tradition

Abstract and Introduction “Any discussion of the problems relating to Messianism is a delicate matter, for it is here that the essential conflict between Judaism and Christianity has developed and continues to exist.”1 With this view, Gershom Scholem addressed highly complex issues. Many books on Jesus – also the Jewish ones – emphasize these in their chapters and almost every talk in Christian – Jewish discussion meetings at some point revolves around the importance of Christ and his Messiahship. Certainly, most of the rather constrained talks between Christians and Jews deal with the question of Jesus’ Messiahship. A modern Christian – Jewish dialogue focuses more on the knowledge and the conveying of Judaism and inquiries about the key aspects of a Jewish “theology”. This brought to light that the question about the Messiah isn’t the core of a Jewish relationship with God. As opposed to the Christian belief which mainly focuses on the importance of Jesus, it is the Torah with all its nuances on which Jews place emphasis. This also shows that focusing on the question of the Messiah2 was more of a Christian parameter Jewish dialogue partners had to react to. Modern biblical hermeneutics now realize that exegesis shouldn’t only rediscover the intrinsic value of the writings of the Old Testament, but also focus on the twofold post-history of the Old Testament in Christian and Jewish traditions in scientific research. This way, Christian exegesis opens a dialogue with its Jewish counterpart. This dialogue should be stimulating and, if the exegetes are willing to, also critically question the Christian tradition of exegesis. This applies mainly to the source texts of the New Testament describing Christ, which are subjected to this twofold questioning. Related to the question of Jesus’ Messiahship are

1 Gershom Scholem, Toward an Understanding of the Messianic Idea in Judaism (New York: Schocken, 1971), 1. 2 Of course the meaning of the very idea of the Messiah in Jewish theological history cannot be denied. Undoubtedly many hopes for a future where equity and freedom prevail cling on to various ideas of a Messiahship. That in some ways texts about the Messiah might have been influenced by Christian conceptions was shown in recent times by Peter Schäfer, e. g. in his book: The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012). I will also mention the oeuvre of Daniel Boyarin on Jewish and Christian relations in the Late Antiquity and on Jesus from a Jewish point of view, e. g. in his The Jewish Gospel. A Story of the Jewish Christ (New York: The New Press, 2012).

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Psalms 2 and 110.3 Ps 110:1 is the text in the Old Testament most commonly referred to or directly quoted from in the New Testament.4 I concentrate on rabbinic exegesis as the decisive continuation of biblical Judaism. The main focus of this rabbinic exegesis of Ps 110 is on Abraham. The interpretation of Gen 14 within an intertextual context together with Isa 41 und Ps 110 justifies a series of exegeses, also due to its use in the synagogue. Most of the texts are found in the Tanhuma literature and bear no hint to a messianic figure. Ber. Rab. contains a lesser amount of texts, it mentions Ps 110:2 only once as an indication of a kinglike Messiah. Also other later texts in Midrash Tehillim, Avot de Rabbi Natan, Bemidbar Rabba, Eliyahu Rabba and the Targum give no indication of an anti-Christian attitude. They deal with a kinglike Messiah in a non-polemic way, who will appear as a scholar of Torah and a judge. Starting point of my observation is the use of Gen 14:1–2 in synagogal reading. It will show that an important hermeneutic key, also to the exegesis of the Psalm, can be obtained from it.

I.

Synagogal Reading

To realize the importance of this psalm to rabbinic Judaism, one must approach another text, Gen 14, beforehand (here in the King James Version): And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

This text marks the Seder of an approximately three-year reading cycle of antique synagogues.5 Jacob Mann6 deals with it as Seder 11. Isa 41:2–13 is the Prophetic reading (Haftarah) of the Seder. Rabbinic tradition finds a hint here to Abraham’s victory over the four kings: “Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule 3 About Psalm 2, see also the article by Paul Maiberger, who did the research on the Septuagint, the Targumim, Qumran texts, the New Testament as well as on early Judaism, while emphasizing on the exegesis in “Midrash Tehillim: Das Verständnis von Psalm 2 in der Septuaginta, im Targum, in Qumran, im frühen Judentum und im Neuen Testament,” in Beiträge zur Psalmenforschung, ed. Josef Schreiner, FB 60 (Würzburg: Echter, 1988), 85–151. 4 See Martin Hengel, “‘Setze dich zu meiner Rechten!’ Die Inthronisation Christi zur Rechten Gottes und Psalm 110,1,” in Le Trône de Dieu, ed. Marc Philolenko, WUNT 69 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1993), 108–194. Enumeration of evidence (21) 119. 5 The term of the three-year Palestinian cycle is only correct in comparison to the Babylonian year cycle. The number of Sedarim and therefore the length of reading cycles varies in different communities until the Middle Ages and might have taken up to four years. See Günter Stemberger, Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch, 9th ed. (Munich: Beck 2011), 266–267. 6 Jacob Mann, The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue. Volume I, The Palestinian Triennial Cycle: Genesis and Exodus, Prolegomenon by Ben Zion Wacholder, The Library of Biblical Studies (Cincinnati: Ktav, 1971), 104–112.

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over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow” (Isa 41:2). Abraham appears explicitly in V. 8: “But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.”

Due to a case of Al-tiqri, some parts in V. 2 – my he‘yr (with ‘ayyn) my – myzrah ˙ tzedeq – are being read as my he’yr (with’aleph) my – myzrah tzedeq7 and ˙ identified as Abraham, whose righteousness shines. God’s comforting and hopeful devotion to Abraham’s offspring in verses 11 to 13 also renews the words in Genesis for the present and the future of the Jewish communities. How does Ps 110 come into play here in this context? In Mekhilta de Rabbi Yishmael (MekhY Shira 6 to Ex 15:7–8), parallel to Tanhuma Beshallah 16, it says exemplarily: “Thou hast shown Thyself exceedingly great against those that rose up against Thee” (Exod 15:7). And who are they that rose up against Thee? They that rose up against Thy friends. And in what manner? “Against Chedorlaomer king of Elam,” etc. (Gen 14:9); “And he divided himself against them by night” (Ibid. v. 15); “Who hath raised up one from the east … his sword maketh them as the dust” (Isa 41:2). And what does it say further? “He pursueth them and passeth on safely,” etc. (Ibid. v.3). And so it also says: “The Lord saith unto my lord … The rod of thy strength the Lord will send out of Zion … Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy warfare … The Lord hath sworn and will not repent,” etc. (Ps 110:1–4). And what does it say following this? “The Lord at thy right hand,” etc. (Ibid. v. 5).8

How can a reference to Ps 110 be deduced from this text and what does it mean? It is undoubtedly the linguistic proximity that led to the connection of Gen 14, Isa 41 and Ps 110. Melchizedek9 (resp. Zedek) appears in Gen 14:18, Isa 41:2 and Ps 110:4; peoples and king(s) in Gen 14:1–9, Isa 42:2 and Ps 110:5–6. There is a connection between Gen 14:15 and Isa 41:3 (pursuit) and then again between Isa 41:3 und Ps 110:1 (feet). The element of help by the right hand of God appears in Isa 41:10 and Ps 110:5. The relationship between Gen 14:18 und Ps 110:4 is also very important. This is a typical example of a hermeneutic principle that displays rabbinic exegesis: intertextuality. In a nutshell, this means that all the biblical texts are in a dialogue with each other. Connections can be made between single texts that shed a light on the source text, answer unanswered questions, fill the gaps, and serve the overall purpose of a comprehensive interpretation by means of keywords and 7 See also e. g. Ber. Rab. 2.3; 43.3; Shem. Rab. 15.26. 8 Translation Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael: A critical edition on the basis of the MSS and early editions with an English translation, introduction and notes (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2004), 1:198. 9 b. B. Bat. 14b explains that David wrote the Psalms by using templates that Melchizedek contributed to. Tradition (e. g. Rashi) deduces from that, that it can only be Psalm 110 Melchizedek wrote.

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guide words as well as hermeneutic rules and all kinds of “exegetic tools”. In our case, Gen 14 might be source text connected to Isa 41 and Ps 110. All three of them gain importance because of the description of Abraham’s victory over the kings, especially Isa 41 for the hope of God’s aid and Israel’s victory over its enemies. The connection with Abraham and the story told in Gen 14 is echoed in the quantity of the document texts for Ps 110. According to the aforementioned connection of Ps 110 with Abraham, evidence can be found first and foremost in the Midrashim of the Pentateuch, especially in the Midrash Tanhuma10 and in Bereshit Rabba (Ber. Rab.).11 I would like to use the array of the biblical text as a raster to show the references to Ps 110. The headers serve as directives without covering the abundance of assertions.

II.

The use of Psalm 110

The unconditional trust in God Gen 12:1 is the prominent beginning of the story about the patriarchs and their wives. Document texts such as Ber. Rab. 39.8 and its parallel text Tanhuma B Lekh 4 (30b–31a) emphasize on Abraham’s fight against idolatry and his function as the “maker” of proselytes. The intertextual exegesis of the language used is very important, especially lk, which is used twice. In Tanhuma it says: Another interpretation (of Gen 12:1): “Go” (lk lk). The Holy One said to him: I sought (sˇhr) you (lk) early. Thus R. Joshua ben Qorha said: David said: “Your people (ՙmk) offer ˙ ˙ themselves willingly in the day of your warfare (hyl)… (from the womb of the dawn) ˙ (sˇhr). Yours (lk) is the dew of your youth.” (Ps 110:3): The Holy One said to him: I was ˙ with you (’mk) on the day that you armed your forces (hyl). What is the meaning of ˙ “yours (lk) is the dew of your youth”? R. Aha said: R. Hanina said: At the age of three years Abraham knew his Creator. Where ˙ ˙ is it shown? Where it is said: “because (ՙqb) Abraham heeded my voice” (Gen 26:5): By gematria ՙQB = 172 (years), and all the days of Abraham are 175 (years). Hence you learn that at the age of three years Abraham knew his Creator. The Holy One said to him: I am making all the evil deeds which you did in those three years like this dew. Ergo “Yours is the dew of your youth”.

10 Tanhuma is a homiletic collection of Midrashim for the Pentateuch and comes in two editions. The common one (Tan) is geared to the first print Constantinople 1520–22, Salomon Buber’s edition to Ms Oxford Neubauer 154 und some others. Mss. to Genesis and Exodus strongly vary in the editions. The core of the collection developed in Palestine around the 5th – 7th century CE, with further subsequent enhancements being made. 11 Ber. Rab. is an exegetical Midrash to Genesis, most likely written in Palestine in the 5th century.

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Another interpretation (of Gen 12:1): “Go”. For your sake I created the world. R. Tahlifa said: The Holy One said: I looked at you when I created the world. Thus it is said (in Gen 2:4): “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created” (Gen 2:4). What is the meaning of “when they were created” (bhbr’m)? Through Abraham (b’brhm) he created them.12

According to this, Gen 26:5 (“because Abraham heeded my voice and kept my charge: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws”) refers by Abraham’s “listening” and “obeying” the commandments, laws and orders to his observation of the whole of the Torah, which was given only later to Israel via Moses. This way, Abraham becomes the prototype of the Torah-observant Jew. From the word ՙqb, which is actually unnecessary for the comprehension of the text, the gematria deduces the assumption that Abraham observed the Torah already at the tender age of three. According to rabbinic hermeneutics, every single word of the Bible bears a meaning that has yet to be discovered. This way, especially words that seem redundant for the comprehension of the text and merely look like recurrences or duplications, turn into a means of exegesis. According to the interpretation of the rabbis, Gen 26:5 should be read this way: “At the tender age of three, Abraham heard My call and observed the whole of My Torah.” The combination of God’s assistance in Abraham’s fight with the kings and his awareness of the Torah shows the strong bond between God and Abraham, which should later turn into the archetype and general principle of Judaism. It even depicts Abraham as the “co-creator”, by reading in Gen 2:4 bhbr’m as b’brhm (“through Abraham”). The parallel text in Ber. Rabb. interprets this paragraph this way: It is written: “Your people (‘ammekha) will offer themselves willingly (nedabot) in the day of your warfare (helekha). From the womb of the dawn, yours is the dew of your ˙ youth” (Ps 110:3): (This means): I was with you (‘ymmekha) when you willingly offered (nadavta) for my name’s sake to enter the fiery furnace. “In the day of your warfare”: when you brought me all those bands. “Arrayed in holy splendor (be-hadre qwdesˇ)13”: out of eternal majesty did I sanctify you. “From the womb of the dawn (me-rehem mysˇhar)”: from out of the womb of the world ˙ ˙ have I sought you (sˇyhartykha) for me. ˙ “Yours is the dew of your youth”: because Abraham was afraid and said to himself, Perhaps I bear guilt for having worshipped idols all these years, God reassured him: “Yours is the dew of your youth”: even as dew evaporates, so have your sins evaporated

12 Translation John T. Townsend, Midrash Tanhuma. Translated into English with Introduction, ˙ Genesis (Hoboken, NJ; New York: Ktav, 1989), Indices and Brief Notes (S. Buber Recension). 63–64. 13 Ms. London reads be-harre qodesh and refers to the holy mountain, probably an allusion to the Mount Moriah.

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(disappeared); as dew is a sign of blessing to the world, so are you a sign of blessing to the world.14

Abraham is a role model for faith. His commitment is a commitment to God as the one and only and to his fight against idolatry Abraham himself committed as a youngster15. Literature about the second temple already tells the story of Abraham’s testing in the furnace16 which became a part of the standard repertoire of the Jewish Abraham narrative.17 According to that, Abraham survives the fire he was thrown into by Nimrod, thus proving God’s uniqueness. The reference to the furnace is deduced from the rabbinic identification of Amraphel with Nimrod, like in Ber. Rabb. 42.4. (See also the passage in Rashi). Abraham’s testing and commitment lead to the gathering of the armies that can be seen figuratively as proselytes. The reference to Gen 22 follows from the linguistic echo (e. g. lk). The eternal mountain, the womb of the world, is in fact Mount Moriah, where Abraham intended to sacrifice his son. Abraham’s exodus, his fight against the hostile kings and his readiness to sacrifice his son all show his willingness to believe und trust in the one God who will not desert him. Tanhuma B Lekh shows that Abraham would have given his life for Kiddush ha-Shem, the sanctification of God’s name. In Jewish tradition, the Aqedah of Isaac turns into a symbol of martyrdom. God’s dedication on Abraham’s side gives hope to a Jewish people pursued and confronted with martyrdom in many ways. In the end, the oppressors will be defeated because of God siding with the Jewish people. This is also how Gen 14 should be read. It is God’s battle he is leading. He defeats his enemies with the help from Abraham. Tanhuma B Lekh 12 (36a) in combination with a quote in Zech 14:3 leads to the conclusion that a future commitment of God can be expected. This will be a necessity, because the peoples will revolt against him in an eschatological battle (Ps 2). Their aim is Israel as the image of God.

Abraham and God’s battle for Israel The Tanhuma literature provides many important documents in the passage about the persecution of the kings. Tanhuma Lekh 13 and Tanhuma B Lekh 17 (37b) tell the tradition as part of the exegesis of Gen 14:17. The “valley of kings” is a keyword in Tanhuma that deduces Abraham as the king. God lets Abraham sit 14 Translated by myself. 15 Apart from the pointer to the three years, Ber. Rab. 64.4 and 95.2 pass down in relation to Gen 26:5 a variant where Abraham was actually 48 years old when he renounced idolatry. 16 See Ps.-Philo, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum VI.1–8. 17 See Ber. Rab. 38.12; b. Pesahim 118a.

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at his right hand (Ps 110:1), when the kings threaten him. The hurry in Isa 41:3 (yyrdephem ya‘abwr ˇsalwm orah be-raglaw lw yabw) leads to the conclusion that Abraham chased the kings with giant steps of four miles each and stayed unharmed. Later, the passage 19 (38b) tells about Abraham’s regret about him causing the death of Shem’s sons. Shem is identified with Melchizedek.18 He doesn’t only forgive Abraham for his deed, but even blesses him in Gen 14:19f. Looking back, the death of Shem’s sons is depicted as an event full of miracles. Within this context, Gen 15:1 with “God’s shield” as its keyword as well as the wording in Isa 41:2 should be borne in mind: “yytten ke-‘aphar harbw ke-qasˇ ˙ niddaph qasˇtw” (“He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow”). The events are seen as God’s war, where he creates a shield that smites his enemies. Abraham as a warrior gains magic powers. He throws dust on his enemies which turns into swords and chaff turn into bow and arrow. The letter k in ke-‘aphar and in ke-qasˇ is read as a b (in, from, of), meaning “he turns dust into his sword and driven stubble into his bow.” Abraham’s concern about the killing of the idolaters is being rejected by God himself (cit. Gen 15:l), furthermore, Abraham is promised a reward. The keyword “blessing,” deviated also from Hos 3:5, leads to further interpretations of Zion which appears as a help and a blessing for Israel (Ps 14:7; 133:3; 20:3; 134:3). Ber. Rab. 43.3 interprets Gen 14:15 with the help of Isa 41:2. Here, the tradition of the hasty pursuit is picked up and interpreted as one to three miles per step19. It also mentions the miraculous story about dust and stubble. Here it says that the enemies threw swords at Abraham, which turned into dust. This version derives from the legitimate linguistic objection that in Isa 41:2 it is written yytten ke‘aphar harbw which must be read as “makes his sword to dust”. ˙ The parallel in the Babylonian Talmud, b. Sanhedrin 108b,20 is a short version of Tanhuma B Lekh 17 to 19. R. Hana b. Livai refers to a conversation between Shem and Eliezer, one of Abraham’s servants. Eliezer tells that Abraham sat at the right hand of God during the attack. They both threw dust and chaff on the enemies, which turned into swords and arrows. This is followed by a citation of Ps 110:1 and Isa 41:2. This way, a historical chronology was created by inferring: 1. first the threat by the kings in Gen 14 2. then God’s reaction and the consequences 3. the miraculous transformation of dust and chaff in Isa 41:2.

18 See also Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer 8. 19 The word ˇsalwm is read as ˇslwsˇ myllym (three miles). 20 See the subsequent miracle stories about Nahum of Gimzo.

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The unconditional loyalty of God towards Abraham as his protective shield in danger is the decisive theological message of this passage. This loyalty corresponds to Abraham’s trust.

Abraham puts God at the center Further in the text, Gen 17 about the covenant through circumcision is another important passage about Jewish identity. This is addressed in Wayiqra Rabba (Way. Rab.) 25.6 (and its parallels Ber. Rab. 46.5 and b. Nedarim 32b). Ber. Rab. and Way. Rab. 25.6 distinguish between different kinds of ‘orlah (= the one to be circumcised)21 and by association get down to a narrative about Abraham. He could deduce from Gen 17:2 the part of his body where he should be circumcised. The keyword “multiply” is followed by a narrative of the school of R. Ishmael (in b. Nedarim 32b slightly altered and anonymous). According to Gen 14:18, Shem (Melchizedek) should have been made precursor of priesthood. But in V.19 he fatally blessed Abraham before God. Abraham didn’t want to accept this because he put God’s honor first. Thereupon, God bestowed priesthood upon Abraham, which can be deduced from Ps 110:4. The keyword here is ‘al dybraty and can be interpreted as “after the speech” (of Melchizedek). Here again, Gen 14 and Ps 110 are connected, as Abraham is put at the center. It further explains the peculiar words of “Melchizedek’s order.” The logic arises from the priesthood that circumcision can only be referring to the foreskin, because the lack of it is not seen as a blemish and does not render the person unclean. Ber. Rab. 46.5, citing Ps 110:4, also refers to this topic, but omits the narrative about Melchizedek’s mistake. Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer 8 traces back the priesthood of Shem (according to Ps 110:4) to his primogeniture and his steady willingness to sacrifice. He also fixed the yearly calendar, a very important measure for the celebration of holidays, which is a sign of great authority. Abraham allegedly adopted it and passed it on.

God puts Abraham and his offspring at the center After the circumcision, the Bible tells about Abraham’s encounter with three heavenly men who promise the birth of Isaac. Tanhuma B Wa-yera 4 (3b) (and Aggadat Bereshit 19) discuss Abraham’s behavior in this situation.

21 See Lev 19:23 about trees that must not be eaten from the first three years because they are seen as “uncircumcised.”

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When the Holy One was revealed to him, he was sitting, as stated (in Gen 18:1): “Then the Lord appeared unto him. As he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day”. Abraham went to stand up. The Holy One said to him: Do not trouble yourself to stand up. Sit down! It is so stated (in Ps 110:1): “The Lord (God) said to my Lord (Abraham): Sit down at my right hand.” Abraham said to him: is this good manners for me to be sitting while you are standing? The Holy One said to him: Do not trouble yourself. You are an old man of a hundred years. Sit down! The Holy One said to him: By your life, because you are sitting while I stand, your children at the age of three years, at the age of four years, are going to be sitting in the academies and in the synagogues with me standing over them. Thus it is stated (in Ps 82:1): “God stands in the divine congregation”. Abraham began to praise God (according to Ps 18:36 [35]): You also gave me the shield of your salvation, when the kings had pursued me. It is so stated: “Fear not Abram, I am your shield” (Gen 15:1). “Your right hand sustained me” (Ps 18:35), when you grasped the foreskin along with me as I was cutting. “And your condescension magnified me” (Ibid.) – in that I was sitting while you were standing.22

Abraham is both priest and king – more than Moses With Gen 22:1 starts a prominent passage of great importance to Abraham, the Aqedah-story. It is closely related to Gen 12 and provides a keyword important for its exegesis: hynenny. Ber. Rab. 55:6 and Dev. Rab. 2:7 both take it as a comparison between Abraham and Moses. Abraham supposedly expressed with the term hynenny his readiness for priesthood and kingship, and received both immediately from God. The priesthood derives from Ps 110:4, while the kingship derives from Gen 23:5 and 14:17 resp. In Exod 3:4, Moses too tried to claim both in his own words, but failed. He never became a priest nor was he allowed to set foot on the land.

Jacob in Abraham’s footsteps Further on, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham appears, who, under the name of Israel, will turn into an important role model for the people. In Gen 27:28, a dying Isaac wishes for him the dew of heaven as a gift while blessing him. The Palestinian Talmud detects a reference to the dew as God’s gift to Abraham that he is passing on to his offspring in y. Berakhot 5,2,9b. Proof texts are Gen 27:8 and Ps 110:3–4.23

22 Translation Townsend, 91–92. 23 Also y. Ta‘anit 1,1,1a sees the dew as a present for Abraham because of his model behavior according to God’s will.

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Tanhuma B Toldot 2 (66b) also starts with Gen 27:8. It deals with the strong symbiosis of Jacob-Israel and God. In Jer 10:16, Jacob becomes the creator of the universe, while Ps 110:3 praises his power and strength. Everything God creates, he creates together with his righteous: “So may the God give to you [from the dew of heaven]” (Gen 27:28). “A God” is not written here but THE God. When the God accomplishes his fulfillment, He will give you the blessings with which I have blessed you. Why? Because Jacob was collaborating with his creator in every matter. R. Pinhas bar Hama the priest said in the name of R. Reuben: Look what is written: “Not like these (idols) is the portion (i. e., the God) of Jacob, for he has formed everything, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance…” (Jer 10:16). David also gives praise: “Your people offer themselves freely in your day of valor” (Ps 110:3). Now where is it shown that the righteous were collaborators with the Holy One when he formed a model? Where it is so written: “These were the formers, (even) the inhabitants of Netaim” (1 Chr 4:23). These are (the ones who are) the collaborators with God in all creation, as stated: “They dwell there along with the king at his work” (Ibid.) – they dwell along with the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, at his work, and create creation. The Holy One said: it is not enough that I do nothing without their knowledge, but which I make in this world and in the world to come is prepared for them. That is what David said: “How abundant is the good which you have laid up for those who fear you…” (Ps 31:19).24

Ps 110 is related to Abraham in all the verses except the last one. He sits at the right hand of God when He subjects the kings to him. Gen 14 and Isa 41 continue to have an effect in the background. The Tanhuma literature, Ber. Rab. and Way. Rab. and both the Talmudim contain no reference to the Messiah. Priesthood and kingship refer to Abraham. He appears as a fighter against idolatry and a collector of proselytes. There is also no anti-Christian element. The liturgical background and the close linguistic relationship of the texts create a reference to Abraham. Out of the close connection of Gen 27:28 and Ps 110:3 grows the possibility in Tanhuma B Toldot to relate the Psalm to Jacob and Israel (or at least to the righteous persons in Israel). This way it gets a democratizing and collectivizing touch.

Judas’s and Aaron’s staff and the Messiah The term “Messiah” appears first in Ber. Rab. 85:9 as an exegesis to Gen 38:18: “And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.” The Rabbis interpret Juda’s pledge to Tamar

24 Translation Townsend, 156.

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allegorically. The signet equals kingship (Jer 22:24), the bracelets are a reference to the Sanhedrin (Num 15:38) and the staff refers to a king-like Messiah (Ps 110:2). The Midrash Way. Rab, often related to Ber. Rab, refers in 24.4 to Ps 110:2, but focuses on the importance of Zion only (see Ps 20:2f.; 14:7; 110:2; 134:3; Joel 2:15; Ps 133:3; Isa 2:3). All the future blessings, the Torah, salvation and the eternal life will come out of Zion. There is no reference to the Messiah. In Shemot Rabba (Shem. Rab.) 9.2 the staff in the Psalm is put in a context with the staff of Aaron. Again, there is no reference to a Messiah. Furthermore, God reigns over the peoples as if he would use a staff, since their behavior is similar to the behavior of dogs as is written in Ps 59:6. In Bemidbar Rabba (Bem. Rab.) 18.23, the keyword “staff” is used in connection with a reference to the Messiah. According to Num 17:23, it started to blossom and bear fruits. It is being told that Moses cut twelve similar staffs out of one trunk, so that Aaron’s enemies won’t blame him for having received a moist staff that would sprout. God himself would make His name appear on the staff. So it was made a tool to punish Levi’s enemies. The kings allegedly owned the very same staff until the destruction of the Temple. It is now hidden until the coming of king Messiah, according to the interpretation of Ps 110:2. Aaron’s staff served as a symbol of the insurgents. It should be kept right beside the deed of the covenant. The kings as the custodians of the staff should call this to mind and refer to the connection of kingship and priesthood. It would certainly be the task of the Messiah to interrelate these two. There is no anti-Christian element to be found, only a jibe at internal Jewish quarrels. The extra-talmudic tractate Avot de-Rabbi Natan A 34 also refers to priesthood. This short text intends to find an answer to the question in Ps 110:7, if the Messiah will be higher ranked than the eschatological high priest. Zech 4:14 doesn’t give a hint, but Ps 110:4 provides an answer, because it is written: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”. Since the name Melchi-zedek (= Hebr. malky-tzedeq) contains the word melekh, “king”, this would lead to the conclusion that the priest will be lower ranked than the king Messiah. The context in which the Psalm is interpreted is made up of peculiarities of the text of some biblical passages that need further explanation. According to the Rabbis, in Judg 18:30 Jonathan is introduced as the son of Manasseh (Hebrew consonants: m-n-sˇh) and not the grandchild of Moses (Hebrew consonants: m-sˇ-h), because he wasn’t deemed worthy. It was sufficient to simply add an n. Zech 4:14 serves as a proof in a positive sense, since not only sinners are named after sinners, but also the righteous after the righteous, here Zerubbabel as the anointed after David and Joshua as anointed after Aaron. Ps 110 has to solve the question if both are actually equal. Again, no anti-Christian attitude or a connection to the Epistle of the Hebrews can be detected.

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The corpora Aggadat Bereshit, Eliyahu Rabba and Midrash Tehillim The aforementioned Midrashim, especially the Tanhuma texts, had a long growing and developing process. Many corpora followed in the Middle Ages that processed material and added something new, such as the Aggadat Bereshit, a collection of 28 homilies around the turn of the first millennium that is strongly oriented towards Tanhuma B. It also reflects how the rabbinic exegesis of Ps 110 puts Abraham in the center. It offers several proofs (18; 19; 21; 24; 27; 30) for Ps 110:1. 18 talks about Gen 24:27 actually referring to Abraham in Ps 110. Abraham sits at the right hand of God in order to show him all the good that God does for the people of Israel. V. 21 refers to Gen 13:7 and the destruction of Sodom. Abraham serves at God’s advisor from the beginning. God gives him the whole world as a gift and advises him on its destiny (see Tanhuma B Wa-yera 7). According to 25, Abraham receives a place of honor at the right hand of God, because he held the Torah and served justice.25 V. 27 only interprets the staff of Juda as a hint towards the Messiah, the signet is seen a symbol of Zerubbabel (Hag 2:23) and the bracelets represent the temple (according to Ezek 40:3). Again it shows that Ps 110:1, of great importance to Christology, refers solely to Abraham, while V.2 might partly point towards a future Messiah from the house of David. The Midrash Tehillim is, of course, of great importance for the exegesis of the Psalms. It is not a homogeneous text, but most likely grown in a long development process. It collects texts from many sources. The Midrash Tehillim provides documents in connection with Ps 2; 9; 18 and 111. In Ps 9 and Ps 111, the emphasis is put on God’s justice, He who judges the people (Ps 101:6) and demands the martyr’s blood. There is an interesting variant of a collective exegesis to Ps 2: “I will declare of the decree of the Lord. He said unto me: Thou art My son” (Ps 2:7): The children of Israel are declared to be sons in the decree of the Law, in the decree of the Prophets, and in the decree of the Writings: In the decree of the law it is written: “Thus saith the Lord: Israel is My son, My first-born” (Exod 4:22). In the decree of the Prophets it is written: “Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high” (Isa 52:13), and it is also written: “Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth” (Isa 42:1). In the decree of the Writings it is written, “The Lord said unto my lord: Sit though at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Ps 110:1), and it is also written: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of days, and he was brought near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him” (Dan 7:13–14).26 25 The Torah is mentioned in Deut 33:2–4, justice in Ps 48:11 together with the right hand of God. 26 Translation William G. Braude, The Midrash on Psalms I, 3rd. ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 40–41.

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At this point, the generation of the exodus, God’s servant, and the son of man of the Book of Daniel are all identified with Israel. Israel is placed at God’s right hand. This way it takes over the role of Abraham. Tanhuma B Toldot 2 (66b) already connected God and Israel as His co-creator. Aforementioned passage in the Midrash Tehillim is still the only explicit interpretation of Ps 110:1. Ps 18 provides an exegesis to Ps 110:1, which places the Messiah at God’s right hand for the first time. This exegesis is also closely geared to Abraham. R. Yudan said in the name of R. Hama: In the time-to-come, when the Holy One, blessed be he, seats the lord Messiah at His right hand, as is said: “The Lord saith unto my lord: Sit though at My right hand” (Ps 110:1), and seats Abraham at His left, Abraham’s face will pale, and he will say to the Lord: My son’s son sits at the right, and I at the left! Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, will comfort Abraham, saying: Thy son’s son is at my right, but I, in a manner of speaking, am at your right. “The Lord [is] at thy right hand” (Ps 110:5). Hence: “Thy gentleness hath made me great.”27

The passage begins with the exegesis of Gen 18:3 and tells of situations, when God or the Shekhinah faced the people. Abraham plays an important part in all this. He was the one sitting during the encounter with the three men, while God was standing. The hint to the Messiah shows that God will also act humbly towards him. Normally the most important person – if three people are sitting – sits in the middle. It seems clear that God sits in the center. But after Abraham′s complaint God argues that he is now sitting to the right of Abraham due to the great honor of Abraham. The very meaning of the passage though is the way God exercises the values of modesty and humbleness. The exegesis of Ps 110 in Midrash Tehillim upholds the tradition of Abraham. It cites Ps 110:1 in connection with Isa 41:2. Abraham hosts the strangers and turns them into proselytes. A further interpretation of the Psalm is connected with Isa 41:1–3. The miracle story of dust turning into swords and chaff into arrows is being told, just like the tradition of the speed in which Abraham pursuits the kings. Abraham’s pangs of conscience about maybe having killed some righteous are refuted because God has led his own wars (Ps 110:1c). Only now, Isa 16:5 is cited associatively and referred to the Messiah. Once all the enemies are destroyed, God will erect a throne he will sit on. His assignment will be solely the study of the Torah, which is seen as the only truth according to Ps 19:10 und Prov 23:3. From it, the Messiah will draw the right and judge. God is leading the wars Himself. This passage obviously reminds of the Targum to Ps 110, where David is introduced as the king of the world to come, who will be made judge over the peoples.

27 Translation Braude 1:261.

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The Midrash Eliyahu Rabba (maybe 9th century) and its chapter 18 belong to the same kind of interpretation, therefore is can be assumed that the exegesis of King David at the end of day, together with his function as a judge is mentioned relatively late. The Midrash Tehillim might have been a trigger for that. R. Shallum ha-Levi connects Ps 110:1c directly to David. The verse states that David was waiting for Saul’s regency to end before he crowned himself king, even though he was already designated to take this position according to 1 Sam 16:1. The verb “sitting” is interpreted here as “waiting”, according to Targum (Onqelos) to Num 22:19, which is derived from Targum (Onqelos) to Num 22:19, where ˇsbw is being translated as ‘arakh (“waiting”). Ps 110:1c is being read as “wait for Saul the Benjamenite.” Eliyahu Rabba 18, the aforementioned passage, provides two documents for Ps 110. One for V.1 (Friedmann 90): the whole subsection (about Lam 2:19) interprets 2 Sam 7 and sees V.18 as a hint to the future Messiahship of David. Because of his good deeds he is promised a seat at the right hand of the Shekhinah. In a parable, David is being compared to a servant who loves his lord and is willing to do good deeds for him every day. But he is in no way standing out because of outstanding actions. He is “doing a little bit of Torah” and praises God for it, since the Torah made Israel, which is “God’s servant,” superior everywhere in the world. About V. 4 (Friedmann 94) it says that evildoers tried to wrest the kingship from David and therefore caused him to ponder and to change. Because of his repentance, the Shekhinah came to him, stood above him and cited this Psalm verse. The power of this chance is praised elaborately. When reading both texts from an intertextual point, one can see that David’s change and repentance are actually considered good deeds that guarantee him a place at the right hand of God. This is why this passage fits into the discussion about humbleness and condescension like it is written about in the Midrash Tehillim.

III.

Analysis

Rashi’s comment on Ps 110: “Our masters have laid it out that it refers to Abraham, our father, and I will lay it out according to their view” aptly describes the main focus of the rabbinic exegesis of Ps 110. Abraham is at the center. The interpretation of Gen 14 within an intertextual context together with Isa 41 und Ps 110 justifies a series of exegeses, also due to its use in the synagogue. Most of the texts are found in the Tanhuma literature, but bear no hint to a messianic figure. Ber. Rab. contains a lesser amount of texts, it mentions Ps 110:2 only once as an indication of a kinglike Messiah. Also other later texts in Midrash Tehillim, Avot de Rabbi Natan, Bemidbar Rabba, Eliyahu Rabba and the Targum give no indication of an anti-Christian attitude. They deal with a kinglike Messiah in a

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non-polemic way, who will appear as a scholar of Torah and a judge. This cannot be seen as a proof that Jewish tradition tried to distance itself from the Christian notion of the Messiah. This attitude would not pay respect to the specific interests of a Jewish interpretation of the Psalms. The rabbinic interpretation of the Psalm was led by other motives, which, if any, only indirectly might be directed against Christian theology. By connecting it to Abraham, the Psalm bears various messages to the Jewish people:

About the image of God God, as it shows, is the righteous who stays at His people’s side even in hard times and will continue to punish the murderers. This declaration gained importance after many experiences of persecution and the Shoah. God pledged himself towards Abraham to be an everlasting protection and shield.

About Abraham as a role model Abraham is a role model in more than one way for the believers. He is the prototype of the believer, who passes even the hardest tasks because of his faith in God’s help. Out of this faith grows the firm stance against idolatry. Abraham becomes a role model for all the Jews persecuted because of their religious belief. In this light, the texts become somewhat of an explosive force against Christianity since they describe the Jewish people as Abraham’s offspring as defenders of an absolute monotheism. Nimrod, who throws Abraham into the furnace, can be seen as the symbol of Christianity that persecuted and killed Jews because of their faith. The furnace gained additional significance after the Shoah. Abraham is a role model for Israel by possessing additional charisma because of his faith and he attracts people because of his commitment to the one God. He convinces others by being a living example of his own belief instead of using force. Abraham the child already recognizes God and commits himself to Him. Thus he intuitively acts according to the Torah and becomes a role model for scholars of Torah as well.

About Abraham as God’s confidant In a certain way, Abraham excels all other human beings, even Moses, as God’s special confidant. He is called the co-creator, an honor that is eventually expanded to Jacob. Abraham sits at the right hand of God, while he is leading his

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wars. This is a continuous symbol of Judaism hoping for God’s never ending help and support. Israel can be seen as the people at God’s right hand (Midrash Tehillim 2). In Midrash Tehillim 110 – in the “triune” picture – Abraham, God, and the Messiah are sitting side by side. This context shows that this trinity is not a polemic against Christianity, but rather a speech on humbleness and modesty where God serves as an example. No motives of “sovereign titles” in the exegesis of Ps 110 can be detected by looking for references to the Messiah. It is more about Abraham as the prototype of Judaism. Abraham poses a challenge to the generations of and after the Shoah as a man of unshakeable faith in a committed and saving God. He nurtures belief that suffering and martyrdom are not the end of the story.

Literature Primary Sources Bar Ilan responsa project. https://www.responsa.co.il/home.he.aspx. Ma’agarim. http://hebrew-treasures.huji.ac.il/. Braude, William G. The Midrash on Psalms. 3rd rd. New Haven: Yale University Press,1976. Buber, Salomon. Midrash Tanhuma. 2 vol. Vilna, 1885, repr. Jerusalem, 1964. Friedmann, Meir. Seder Eliahu rabba und Seder Eliahu zuta (Tanna d’be Eliahu). Jerusalem: Bamberger & Wahrmann, 1960. Jacobson, Howard. A Commentary on Pseudo-Philo’s Liber antiquitatum biblicarum. With Latin Text and English Translation. 2 vol. AGJU 31. Leiden: Brill, 1996. Lauterbach, Jacob Z. Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael: A critical edition on the basis of the MSS and early editions with an English translation, introduction and notes. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2004. Sperber, Alexander. The Bible in Aramaic. Based On Old Manuscripts and Printed Texts. The Pentateuch according to Targum Onkelos (= 882–1238). Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2004. Teugels, Lieve. Aggadat Bereshit. Translated from the Hebrew with an Introduction and Notes. Leiden: Brill, 2001. Theodor, Julius and Chanoch Albeck. Genesis Rabbah. 3 vol. Jerusalem: Wahrmann, 1965. Townsend, John T. Midrash Tanhuma. Genesis. Translated into English with Introduction, ˙ Indices and Brief Notes (S. Buber Recension). Hoboken NJ; New York: Ktav, 1989.

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Secondary Sources Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospel. A Story of the Jewish Christ. New York: The New Press, 2012. Hengel, Martin. “‘Setze dich zu meiner Rechten!’ Die Inthronisation Christi zur Rechten Gottes und Psalm 110,1.” Pages 108–194 in Le Trône de Dieu. Edited by Marc Philolenko. WUNT 69. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1993. Maiberger, Paul. “Midrash Tehillim: Das Verständnis von Psalm 2 in der Septuaginta, im Targum, in Qumran, im frühen Judentum und im Neuen Testament.” Pages 85–151 in Beiträge zur Psalmenforschung. Edited by Josef Schreiner. FB 60. Würzburg: Echter, 1988. Mann, Jacob. The Bible as Read and Preached in the Old Synagogue. Volume I, The Palestinian Triennial Cycle: Genesis and Exodus, Prolegomenon by Ben Zion Wacholder. The Library of Biblical Studies. Cincinnati: Ktav, 1971. Schäfer, Peter. The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Scholem, Gershom. Toward an Understanding of the Messianic Idea in Judaism. New York: Schocken, 1971. Günter Stemberger, Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch, 9th ed. (Munich: Beck, 2011).

Siam Bhayro (University of Exeter)

The Use of Quotations from the Psalms in the Aramaic Magic Bowls

Abstract This paper discusses certain problems with the history of the study of Jewish magic, before moving on to consider the engagement of rabbis and scribes with magic in Late Antiquity. It then looks at the use of Biblical quotations in the Aramaic magic bowls, with a particular focus on the quotations that are drawn from the Psalms. Finally, this paper considers one textual problem, namely a problematic quotation from Ps 24:8 that occurs in the formula of Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa; a new text that preserves a Ps 24:8 quotation that accords with the ˙ Masoretic Text is described.

Jewish Studies and the Study of Magic Like the study of magical sources in general, the study of the Aramaic magic bowls has been plagued by misconceptions and prejudices from the very start. In an excellent summary of the history of scholarship on the magic bowls, Natalie Polzer observes keenly how two pioneers of the study of Jewish magic, James Montgomery and Joshua Trachtenberg, clearly struggled to overcome their respective Christian and Jewish prejudices:1 Both Montgomery and Trachtenberg were extremely reluctant to admit that a true form of “Jewish magic” existed at any early period… This reluctance is undoubtedly apologetic in origin: it made them uncomfortable to assign the existence of Jewish magic to periods in Jewish history that produced authoritative holy texts, the Bible and the Talmud. Interestingly enough, Montgomery, a Christian to whom the Old Testament, but not the Talmud, is an authoritative holy text, assigns the beginnings of Jewish magic to the Mishnaic period. Trachtenberg, a Jew, for whom both the Old Testament and Talmud are authoritative holy texts, assigns the beginnings of real Jewish magic only after the Talmudic period!

1 Natalie C. Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls (MA thesis submitted to McGill University, 1986), 46. It will become clear that I am very much indebted to Polzer’s excellent thesis, which surely merits much more attention.

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In the face of all the evidence relating to the existence of Jewish magic in Late Antiquity, particularly in the Babylonian Talmud, such an approach was not sustainable, so an alternative strategy developed. Again, Polzer well summarised the typical approach thus:2 The Magic Bowls, and other forms of magic, were doubtless used by Jews, but these Jews were members of the common, ignorant masses. The educated class, the Rabbis and their entourages, did not practice magic and opposed it.

The problem of rabbinic engagement with magic, however, was not so easily dismissed, so various solutions emerged. Thus, while Saul Lieberman tried to mitigate the problem by suggesting that the rabbis rejected magic but sometimes erred through a lack of scientific knowledge, Judah Goldin argued that they simply tolerated magic for pragmatic reasons. Regarding the magic bowls, while Charles Isbell argued that they represent the efforts of common folk, Jacob Neusner elevated them to the domain of an elite magicians’ guild, whose activities contrast with the rabbinic elite’s Torah-based magic.3 As far as I can see, Polzer was the first to argue for a position that completely contradicts all these approaches, e. g.:4 Contrary to popular scholarly opinion, the magic of the Aramaic Magic Bowls has more in common with Rabbinic culture than has hitherto been thought. This conclusion is significant for our understanding of Jewish society in the Talmudic period, as it broadens our conception of Rabbinic beliefs and culture.

She does, however, highlight one important distinction between the magic of the bowls and the magic of the Babylonian Talmud, namely the eclectic (albeit not syncretic) nature of bowl magic – demonstrated in the invocation of pagan deities etc. – something not present in Talmudic magic.5 It is clear that subsequent work has confirmed how Polzer was, broadly speaking, correct and certainly well ahead of her time in making such an assertion. I would suggest, however, that it is important to distinguish (albeit not in the same way as Neusner did) between the rabbis and the scribes, who were members of two distinct guilds in late antique Judaism.6

2 3 4 5 6

Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 57. See the summary in Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 57–61. Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, iii. Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 208. Although the distinction was sometimes blurred– see Catherine Hezser, The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1997), 467–475.

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The Rabbis, Magic and the Magic Bowls It is now widely accepted that the rabbis were not averse to a bit of magic – this is something made very clear in the Babylonian Talmud.7 We also now have very clear evidence that this rabbinic engagement with magic included the use of magic bowls. Thus Shaul Shaked discusses a number of identifications of rabbis in the magic bowls, concluding that ‘the rabbis, among them possibly some who were prominent scholars, were just as much involved in the process of using incantation bowls, as other members of the Jewish community’.8 A particularly striking example, edited by Shaked, is a bowl that was made for a certain Rav Ashi son of Mahlafta, which may (Shaked’s emphasis) have been ˙ made for Rav Ashi, the late fourth-/early fifth-century Talmudic sage who was head of the Sura Academy and reputed to be one of the first redactors of the Babylonian Talmud.9 Several elements in the text of the bowl come across as particularly learned: there are echoes of the Hekhalot literature; there is one passage that contains what may have been an ancient midrash on the drowning of the Egyptian charioteers in the Red Sea; and, finally, there are several quotations of biblical verses, including Psalm 55:9 and Psalm 115:1 (see below).10 Thus Shaked remarks:11 If this sage is the same person who ordered the bowl in question, this has great significance, for it would place this bowl in a place and a time. Besides, to find the famous Rav Ashi ordering a magic bowl (if he is indeed the owner of this bowl), puts the attitude of the Talmudic sages to the practice of bowls and to what we call magic in a new light. It is of course quite likely however that the Talmudic sages who made use of bowls would not have agreed to the use of the term “magic” in this context, for applying such designation to the bowl practice would have made them responsible for committing a very grave sin.

Shaked later adds, “The bowl spells may indeed have been regarded as a form of piety, invoking as they do God and His angels”.12 The use of biblical quotations, including those from the Psalms, in the magic bowls, therefore, should probably be viewed in this light – as an expression of

7 See, as most recently, Shamma Friedman, “Now You See it, Now You Don’t: Can SourceCriticism Perform Magic on Talmudic Passages about Sorcery?,” in Rabbinic Traditions between Palestine and Babylonia, ed. Ronit Nikolsky and Tal Ilan (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 32–83. 8 Shaul Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” in The Archaeology and Material Culture of the Babylonian Talmud, ed. Markham J. Geller (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 97–120, at 116. For the list of identifications, see 104–108. 9 Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” 106. 10 See Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” 112–113. 11 Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” 106. 12 Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” 116.

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piety, on the part of both the client and the practitioner, which, we may assume, was intended to strengthen the effectiveness of the bowl text.

The Scribes, Magic and the Magic Bowls The use of magic bowls by rabbis, however, does not mean that rabbis were producing them. There is now compelling evidence that suggests that the bowl texts were written by members of the scribal guilds rather than the rabbinical academies, which would accord with the process of the scribalisation of Jewish magic described most recently by Gideon Bohak.13 This evidence includes the following elements: the occurrence in many bowls of a text that was written in a clearly well-trained scribal hand;14 the appropriation of legal terminology, particularly relating to divorce,15 but also in respect of oaths;16 and the observance of scribal conventions for the writing of particular words in a particular context.17 The second and third points both chiefly relate to the Jewish divorce document, the production of which pertained exclusively to the scribal guild.18 This places the production of the bowls firmly within the purview of the scribes who were at the very centre of late antique Judaism. In terms of the mechanics of how a particular bowl text was produced, it appears that the scribes utilised written sources but also quoted from memory.19 13 See Gideon Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 281–285. 14 See Shaul Shaked, “Jews, Christians and Pagans in the Aramaic Incantation Bowls of the Sasanian Period,” in Religions and Cultures: First International Conference of Mediterraneum, ed. Adriana Destro and Mauro Pesce (Binghamton, NY: Global Academic Publishing, 2002), at 64. 15 See Shaul Shaked, “The Poetics of Spells. Language and Structure in Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity. 1: The Divorce Formula and its Ramifications,” in Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives, ed. Tzvi Abusch and Karel van der Toorn (Groningen: Styx, 1999), 173–195; see also Shaul Shaked, James Nathan Ford, and Siam Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls Volume One (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 97–275. 16 See Dan Levene, “‘If You Appear as a Pig:’ Another Incantation Bowl (Moussaieff 164),” JSS 52 (2007): 59–70. 17 See Siam Bhayro, “Divorcing a Demon: Incantation Bowls and BT Gittin 85b,” in The Ar˙˙ J. Geller (Leiden: chaeology and Material Culture of the Babylonian Talmud, ed. Markham Brill, 2015), 121–132. 18 See Hezser, Social Structure, 468–469. 19 See Shaul Shaked, “Transmission and Transformation of Spells: The Case of the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls,” in Continuity and Innovation in the Magical Tradition, ed. Gideon Bohak, Yuval Harari and Shaul Shaked (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 187–217, at 205. For possible evidence of written transmission in the bowl spells, see Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 103. The evidence for the scribes writing from memory is ubiquitous across the corpus.

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In addition to the magic handbooks, which would have contained lists of recipes,20 the scribe had a range of other sources at his disposal, including the Bible,21 the Targumim,22 the Mishnah,23 various Midrashic sources,24 the Hekhalot literature,25 the emerging Jewish liturgies,26 and perhaps even remnants of the earlier cuneiform magical traditions.27

Biblical, especially Psalm, Quotations in the Bowls In terms of the biblical quotations, it appears, from the near ubiquitous use of matres lectionis and the presence of other orthographical variations, that the scribes were very often quoting from memory.28 This may explain the choice of quotations, which, in many cases, accords with the use of the Bible in Jewish liturgy. Happily, for those interested in the biblical quotations in the Jewish Aramaic magic bowls, we have the catalogue recently published by Christa Müller-Kessler, which describes (I believe) all known examples in published texts up to and

20 See Shaked, “Transmission and Transformation of Spells,” 205; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 6–7. 21 In addition to Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, see also: Christa Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations in Jewish Aramaic Incantation Bowls,” in Studies on Magic and Divination in the Biblical World, ed. Helen R. Jacobus, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Philippe Guillaume (Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2013), 227–245; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 18–20; and, most recently, Peter T. Lanfer, “Why Biblical Scholars Should Study Aramaic Bowl Spells,” Aramaic Studies 13 (2015): 9–23. 22 See Stephen A. Kaufman, “A Unique Magic Bowl from Nippur,” JNES 32 (1973): 170–174; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 20; Shaked, ‘Rabbis in Incantation Bowls’, 113. 23 See Levene, “If You Appear as a Pig,” 65; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 22– 23. 24 See Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 20–21; Siam Bhayro, “On Early Jewish Literature and the Aramaic Magic Bowls,” AS 13 (2015): 54–68. 25 See Shaul Shaked, “‘Peace Be Upon You, Exalted Angels:’ On Hekhalot, Liturgy and Incantation Bowls,” JSQ 2 (1995): 197–219; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 23– 27; Christa Müller-Kessler, “Eine ungewöhnliche Hekhalot-Zauberschale und ihr babylonisches Umfeld: Jüdisches Gedankengut in den Magischen Texten des Ostens,” Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 38 (2013): 69–84. 26 See Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 21–22; Dan Levene, Dalia Marx, and Siam Bhayro, “‘Gabriel is on their Right:’ Angelic Protection in Jewish Magic and Babylonian Lore,” Studia Mesopotamica 1 (2014): 185–198. 27 See Siam Bhayro, “The Reception of Mesopotamian and Early Jewish Traditions in the Aramaic Incantation Bowls,” AS 11 (2013): 187–196. 28 See Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 18.

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including the year 2010.29 To these we can now add those published since 2010,30 to give the following list of Psalms quotations or partial quotations in the bowls:31 Ps 10:16 Ps 24:8 Ps 32:7 Ps 55:9 Ps 69:24 Ps 69:26 Ps 72:18f. Ps 89:53 Ps 91:1 Ps 91:7 Ps 91:10 Ps 91:11 Ps 104:20 Ps 104:31 Ps 106:47 Ps 106:48 Ps 115:1 Ps 116:6 Ps 121:7 Ps 125:2

JBA 1:12; JBA 3:13; JBA 4:12; JBA 5:10; JBA 6:12; JBA 7:12–13; JBA 9:12; JBA 10:12; JBA 11:15–16; JBA 12:15 JBA 1:11–2; JBA 3:12–13; JBA 4:12; JBA 5:10; JBA 6:11–2; JBA 7:12; JBA 9:12; JBA 10:12; JBA 11:15; JBA 12:14; JBA 28:10 (?); M 156:11 JBA 55:13–14 JBA 55:14; Rav Ashi bowl:7 (?) AMB Bowl 9:6 AMB Bowl 9:6 M 108:6–8 M 108:4 AMB Bowl 11:6; Schwab Bowl O Gordon C:9 Gordon C:9 M 6:15; M 164:13 JBA 1:9; JBA 2:9; JBA 3:10; JBA 4:9–10; JBA 5:7–8; JBA 6:9; JBA 7:9–10; JBA 8:5–6; JBA 9:8–9; JBA 10:9; M 156:8 M 108:9 M 108:1 M 108:4–5 Rav Ashi bowl:17 JBA 56:10; M 164:13 Montgomery 12:12 Gordon G:10

29 See Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations.” 30 I.e. in Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells; and in Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls.” 31 I have inserted (?) after two references, as it is questionable whether they really should count as biblical quotations. Please note: AMB = a bowl published in Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity (third edition; Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, 1998); JBA = a bowl from the Schøyen Collection published in Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells; M = a bowl from the Moussaieff Collection published (except for M 6 and M 164) in Dan Levene, A Corpus of Magic Bowls: Incantation Texts in Jewish Aramaic from Late Antiquity (London: Kegan Paul, 2003); Montgomery = a bowl from the University of Pennsylvania Museum published in James Alan Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum, 1913). For the Rav Ashi bowl (=Müller-Kessler’s ‘Tarshish Bowl JA1’), see Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls;” for Gordon C, see Cyrus H. Gordon, “Aramaic Magical Bowls in the Istanbul and Baghdad Museums,” ArOr 6 (1934): 319–334; for Gordon G, see Cyrus H. Gordon, “An Aramaic Exorcism,” ArOr 6 (1934): 466–474; for M 6, see Shaked, “Peace Be Upon You, Exalted Angels;” for M 164, see Levene, “‘If You Appear as a Pig;’” for Schwab Bowl O, see M. Schwab, “Coupes à inscriptions magiques,” Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology 13 (1891): 583–595.

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As more bowls are published, it is certain that many more biblical quotations, including quotations from the Psalms, will be discovered.

General Observations regarding the Psalm Quotations32 Before discussing once specific textual problem, I would like to make some general points regarding the Psalm quotations in the magic bowls. Müller-Kessler identifies three distinct ways in which biblical quotations are used in the Jewish Aramaic magic bowls.33 The first category is that of bowls that contain only biblical quotations – Müller-Kessler discusses four such bowls in detail.34 I would suggest that the use of the Psalms in M 108 accords best with this first category. Even though M 108 contains a brief clause that names the client, the rest of the bowl consists solely of six biblical quotations, five of which are from the Psalms.35 So, for all intents and purposes, it is a category one bowl. The second category is that of bowls with formulas that contain biblical quotations.36 A good example of this is the formula that contains the motif of the historiola of Hanina ben Dosa (which is discussed in more detail below). This ˙ historiola describes an encounter between Hanina ben Dosa and a female evil ˙ spirit, during which the rabbi quotes Ps 104:20 against her. All the magic bowl quotations of Ps 104:20 hitherto discovered occur in the context of this historiola. The quotation of Ps 115:1 in the Rav Ashi bowl also belongs to this category, with the words being placed in the mouths of the Egyptian charioteers who are about to perish at the Red Sea. As Shaked notes, this quotation begins in Hebrew, in accordance with the MT, but then continues with an hitherto unattested Aramaic Targum.37 32 In what follows, my use of terms such as “incantation,” “formula,” “motif” etc. is intended to accord with the conventions established in Shaked, “Transmission and Transformation of Spells,” 188–191. 33 Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations,” 227–228. At some point, a comparative study should be made with reference to late antique Egyptian amulets and the medieval magical texts from the Cairo Genizah – see Joseph Sanzo, Scriptural Incipits on Amulets from Late Antique Egypt (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014); Dorothea M. Salzer, Die Magie der Anspielung. Form und Funktion der biblischen Anspielungen in den magischen Texten der Kairoer Geniza (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010). See also the contributions on Qumran by Ida Fröhlich in this volume. 34 See See Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations,” 229–234. 35 See Levene, A Corpus of Magic Bowls, 71–74. The brief clause reads: ‫הדין קמיעה למיסר שידי דיוי‬ … ‫“ וסיוטי וסטני מן הדין ביתיה דאדיב בר בתשבתה בשום‬This amulet is for the binding of demons, de¯vs, and frights, and satans, from this house of Adib son of Bat-Sˇabbeta. In the name of … (biblical verses).” 36 Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations,” 228. 37 See Shaked, “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls,” 113.

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The third category is that of bowls that use biblical quotations at the beginning or the end of a formula.38 Most of the Psalm quotations in the magic bowls fit into this final category, and are used at the end of (or following) a particular formula: Ps 10:16; Ps 24:8; Ps 32:7; Ps 55:9; Ps 91:1, 7, 10 and 11; Ps 116:6; Ps 121:7; and Ps 125:2. It is important to remember, of course, that bowls can contain more than one formula, so this category does not necessarily mean that the quotation will occur at the end of the incantation. The tendency of the bowls to fall into the third category was observed already by Polzer, who noted that this practice held a “special magical significance” that possibly lay in the use of biblical quotations as a kind of seal, invoking the authority of the Bible to seal and thus guarantee the effectiveness of the formula.39 Although Polzer was naturally rather cautious in making this suggestion, I think it makes a lot of sense. In this respect, the use of the biblical quotation could be compared to the use of the phrase ‫“ שריר וקים‬sound and established”, another symbol of scribal authority and effectiveness.40 There is one notable exception to the above three categories – AMB Bowl 9, which is a remarkable example of an aggressive magic bowl that uses a series of biblical quotations in a concerted effort to curse a victim called Judah son of Nanay.41 The use of quotations from Ps 69:24 and 26 occurs in this context.42 The fact that the use of biblical quotations in this bowl does not rest easily in any of the above three categories is probably a result of this bowl’s purpose, which is comparatively rare in the bowls.43 Having said that, although this bowl contains much more than just biblical quotations, the use of these quotations probably accords best with Müller-Kessler’s first category.

38 Müller-Kessler, “The Use of Biblical Quotations,” 228. 39 See Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 88 and 107. 40 E. g. in JBA 25:11 – see Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 142. For the use of this phrase as a scribal guarantee of effectiveness in a legal context, see Mordechai A. Friedman, Jewish Marriage in Palestine. A Cairo Geniza Study. Volume 1. The Ketubba Traditions (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1980), 478; for a medical context, see Siam Bhayro, “Theory and Practice in the Syriac Book of Medicines: The Empirical Basis for the Persistence of Near Eastern Medical Lore,” in In the Wake of the Compendia: Infrastructural Contexts and the Licensing of Empiricism in Ancient and Medieval Mesopotamia, ed. J. Cale Johnson (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015), 147–158, at 154. 41 See Naveh and Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls, 174–179. 42 Polzer mentions a similar use of these verses in the midrashic text Esther Rabba 7:9 – see Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 159. 43 Although more aggressive magic bowls will doubtless come to light, Dan Levene has collected and edited (or reedited) thirty such texts in Dan Levene, Jewish Aramaic Curse Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia: “May These Curses Go Out and Flee” (Leiden: Brill, 2013). This includes a new edition of AMB Bowl 9 (pp. 126–127). On the comparative rarity of aggressive magic bowls, see p. 1.

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The use of quotations from Psalm 91 in several bowls is particularly interesting, especially in light of the magical use of this same psalm in prior, contemporary and subsequent Jewish traditions.44 Ida Fröhlich has discussed its clear use in 11Q11, an incantation discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls,45 while Arnold Anderson had previously suggested that its use against demons goes back further, even to the biblical period.46 Several references in the Babylonian Talmud discuss the use of Psalm 91 against demons, as do many later midrashic texts.47 In her analysis of 11Q11, Fröhlich identified the numeric pattern 3+4+5=12. I have subsequently suggested that this underlies the phrase ‫תלתיכין ארבעתיכין חמישתיכין‬ “the three of you, the four of you, the five of you” in the magic bowls.48 The bowls, therefore, clearly reflect a well-established and persistent Jewish practice.49 A final observation should be made regarding the liturgical nature of many of the Psalm quotations in the magic bowls. Two examples should suffice to illustrate this: first, in the introduction to his edition of M 108, Levene notes that the biblical verses quoted in the bowl “can be found in Seder Amram and seem… to have been specifically borrowed from the weekly evening prayers, the Arvit and the Keriʾat Shema al ha-Mittah, which include petitions for protection from dangers of the night”;50 second, in the introduction to the Hanina ben Dosa ˙ bowls, Shaked notes that the phrase ‫“ יהוה מלך יהוה מאלך יהוה ימלך לעולם ועד‬The LORD is king, the LORD reigns, the LORD shall reign for ever and ever”, which is apparently derived from Ps 10:16 and Ex 15:18, is a “combination often used in Jewish liturgy”.51 Peter Lanfer thus states, “the bowl spells do provide an intriguing point of reference with respect to the development of the Jewish prayer book and the influence of the synagogue liturgy in a practical context”.52

44 For more details, see Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 160–161. 45 See, e. g., Ida Fröhlich, “Magical Healing at Qumran (11Q11) and the Question of the Calendar,” in Studies on Magic and Divination in the Biblical World, ed. Helen R. Jacobus, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Philippe Guillaume (Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2013), 39–50, at 44–46. 46 See Arnold A. Anderson, The Book of Psalms (London: Oliphants, 1972), 657. 47 Polzer gives a number of examples from the Babylonian Talmud, including BT Shev 15b; BT Ber 5a and 55b; BT San 103a; and from the midrashim, including Midrash Tehillim 104:3; BaMidbar Rabba 12:3; Pesikta Rabbati 5:10 – see Polzer, The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls, 176. 48 See Bhayro, “The Reception of Mesopotamian and Early Jewish Traditions,” 193–194. 49 See also Gideon Bohak, “From Qumran to Cairo: The Lives and Times of a Jewish Exorcistic Formula (with an Appendix by Shaul Shaked),” in Ritual Healing: Magic, Ritual and Medical Therapy from Antiquity until the Early Modern Period, ed. Ildikó Csepregi and Charles Burnett (Florence: SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2012), 31–52, who discusses further the relationship between 11Q11 and the Aramaic magic bowls. 50 Levene, A Corpus of Magic Bowls, 71. 51 Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 55. 52 Lanfer, “Why Biblical Scholars Should Study Aramaic Bowl Spells,” 17.

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One Textual Problem: Hanina ben Dosa ˙ I would now like to revisit one textual problem that has puzzled me for some time. As already mentioned, several of the bowls contain a quotation from Ps 24:8b, which reads: MT

‫יהוה עזוז וגבור‬ ‫יהוה גבור מלחמה‬ the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in (lit. ‘of ’) battle

Most of the bowls with this quotation, however, have the following reading: E.g. JBA 7:1253

‫יהוה עיזוז וגיבור‬ ‫יהוה גיבור ומלחמה‬ the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in (lit. ‘and’) battle

While the presence of matres lectionis in the words ‫ עיזוז‬and ‫( גיבור‬twice) is unsurprising, the use of a seemingly superfluous and, dare I say, erroneous ‫ו‬ prefixed to ‫ מלחמה‬is rather puzzling. This problematic reading occurs in all the bowls hitherto published that contain the historiola of Hanina ben Dosa.54 The quotation itself is part of a series ˙ of juxtapositioned biblical excerpts that are introduced as an invocation towards the end of the text: ‫בשמיה דיהוה יהוה איש מלחמה יהוה שמו יהוה עיזוז וגיבור יהוה גיבור ומלחמה יהוה מלך יהוה מאלך‬ ‫יהוה ימלך לעולם ועד‬

By the name of the LORD, ‘the LORD is a man of war, the LORD is his name’ (Exod 15:3). ‘The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle’ (Ps 24:8b). ‘The LORD is king, the LORD reigns, the LORD shall reign for ever and ever’ (Ps 10:16 and Exod 15:18; see above). This text is (more or less) found in the following bowls, all of which appear to have been written by the same scribe for two clients: JBA 1, JBA 3, JBA 4 and M 156, for Mahdukh daughter of Newandukh; JBA 5, JBA 6, JBA 7, JBA 9 and JBA 10, for Mihranahid daughter of Ahat.55 Given that the same scribe produced all these ˙ 53 See Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 75. For a photograph of this portion of text, see IMG_9499.jpg on the Virtual Magic Bowl Archive. 54 For this historiola, see Shaul Shaked, “Form and Purpose in Aramaic Spells: Some Jewish Themes (The Poetics of Magic Texts),” in Officina magica: Essays on the Practice of Magic in Antiquity, ed. Shaul Shaked (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 1–30, at 11–16; Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 53–85. 55 See note 31 for references. This leaves JBA 11 and JBA 12, which are discussed below, and JBA 28, which contains a questionable, at best truncated, quotation and is thus excluded from this analysis.

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texts, and that the two clients may have been related, it is not surprising that they all share the same problematic quotation of Ps 24:8b. My previous attempt to explain the superfluous ‫ ו‬was not at all successful, leading Lanfer to remark, ‘Nonetheless, the frequency of this error requires some explanation, as the replacement does not make linguistic or syntactic sense’.56 Having given this further thought, I would now suggest that, given that one scribe is probably responsible for all these bowls, the frequency of this error is actually a red herring. The reading ‫גבור מלחמה‬, in accordance with MT, is found in two published bowls: JBA 11 and JBA 12. These two bowls, which were written by a single scribe who differed from the scribe who wrote the majority of the Hanina ben Dosa ˙ bowls, contain a version of the formula that appears to have been corrupted at an earlier stage of transmission. Thus the reference to the historiola of Hanina ben ˙ Dosa is omitted by haplography, and, crucially for our present topic, the quotation of Ps 24:8b errs, having ‫ עיין‬for MT ‫עזוז‬.57 We are left, therefore, with a rather sorry situation – none of the published Hanina ben Dosa type bowls contain a correct quotation of Ps 24:8b. The attested ˙ forms, pertaining to two distinct scribes, contain distinct errors that we can reasonably associate with each scribe. Recently, however, I had occasion to survey the magic bowls in the possession of Mr Barakat, at his London gallery, and came across another parallel text containing the historiola of Hanina ben Dosa. It was written by a third scribe, in a ˙ hand that is clearly distinct from that of the previously known scribes, meaning that we have the possibility of a new version of the formula. The bowl, labelled BG LO.831, contains a text that is faded towards its centre, so its beginning is largely erased.58 Lines 9–10 of BG LO.831 is sufficiently clear, however, to read the following text:59 ‫בשמיה דיה יהוה יהוה איש מלחמה יהוה שמו יהוה שמו יהוה שמו יהוה איש מלחמה יהוה עיזוז וגיבור‬ ‫יהוה גיבור מלחמה יהוה מלך יהוה מלך יהוה ימלך לעולם ועד‬

By the name of YH, the LORD, ‘the LORD is a man of war, the LORD is his name’ (Exod 15:3), the LORD is his name, the LORD is his name, the LORD is a man of war. ‘The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle’ (Ps 24:8b). ‘The

56 See Lanfer, “Why Biblical Scholars Should Study Aramaic Bowl Spells,” 15. Lanfer (pp. 14–15) rightly rejects my suggestion that the problematic ‫ ו‬was phonetically equivalent to postvocalic ‫( ב‬something attested later in manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah). 57 See Shaked, Ford and Bhayro, Aramaic Bowl Spells, 89–96. 58 I am currently preparing an edition of Mr Barakat’s Hanina ben Dosa bowls for publication ˙ elsewhere. 59 I am grateful to Mr Barakat, for permission to work on his collection of magic bowls, and also to Matthew Morgenstern, who generously shared his photographs of this collection with me.

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LORD is king, the LORD reigns, the LORD shall reign for ever and ever’ (Ps 10:16 and Exod 15:18). It is clear, therefore, that BG LO.831 contains a version of the historiola of Hanina ben Dosa type text with a quotation of Ps 24:8b that lacks the problematic ˙ readings of the other two scribes and thus accords with the MT. The previously published versions, written by two other scribes, are clearly corrupt, but remain essential for restoring the faded areas of BG LO.831. We can now be sure, therefore, that a version of the historiola of Hanina ben Dosa formula with a ˙ correct quotation of Ps 24:8b did in fact exist, and that the errors that occur in the previously published bowls are clearly secondary idiosyncrasies peculiar to those two scribes.

Literature Primary Sources Shaked, Shaul, James Nathan Ford, and Siam Bhayro, ed. Aramaic Bowl Spells: Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls Volume One. Leiden: Brill, 2013.

Secondary Sources Anderson, Arnold A. The Book of Psalms. London: Oliphants, 1972. Bhayro, Siam. “The Reception of Mesopotamian and Early Jewish Traditions in the Aramaic Incantation Bowls.” AS 11 (2013): 187–196. Bhayro, Siam. “On Early Jewish Literature and the Aramaic Magic Bowls.” AS 13 (2015): 54– 68. Bhayro, Siam. “Divorcing a Demon: Incantation Bowls and BT Gittin 85b.” Pages 121–132 ˙˙ in The Archaeology and Material Culture of the Babylonian Talmud. Edited by Markham J. Geller. Leiden: Brill, 2015. Bhayro, Siam. “Theory and Practice in the Syriac Book of Medicines: The Empirical Basis for the Persistence of Near Eastern Medical Lore.” Pages 147–158 in In the Wake of the Compendia: Infrastructural Contexts and the Licensing of Empiricism in Ancient and Medieval Mesopotamia. Edited by J. Cale Johnson. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2015. Bohak, Gideon. Ancient Jewish Magic: A History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Bohak, Gideon. “From Qumran to Cairo: The Lives and Times of a Jewish Exorcistic Formula (with an Appendix by Shaul Shaked).” Pages 31–52 in Ritual Healing: Magic, Ritual and Medical Therapy from Antiquity until the Early Modern Period. Edited by Ildikó Csepregi and Charles Burnett. Florence: SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2012. Friedman, Mordechai A. Jewish Marriage in Palestine. A Cairo Geniza Study. Volume 1. The Ketubba Traditions. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 1980.

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Friedman, Shamma. “Now You See it, Now You Don’t: Can Source-Criticism Perform Magic on Talmudic Passages about Sorcery?” Pages 32–83 in Rabbinic Traditions between Palestine and Babylonia. Edited by Ronit Nikolsky and Tal Ilan. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Fröhlich, Ida. “Magical Healing at Qumran (11Q11) and the Question of the Calendar.” Pages 39–50 in Studies on Magic and Divination in the Biblical World. Edited by Helen R. Jacobus, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Philippe Guillaume. Piscataway: Gorgias, 2013. Gordon, Cyrus H. “Aramaic Magical Bowls in the Istanbul and Baghdad Museums.” ArOr 6 (1934) 319:-334. Gordon, Cyrus H. “An Aramaic Exorcism.” ArOr 6 (1934): 466–474. Hezser, Catherine. The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1997. Kaufman, Stephen A. “A Unique Magic Bowl from Nippur.” JNES 32 (1973): 170–174. Lanfer, Peter T. “Why Biblical Scholars Should Study Aramaic Bowl Spells.” AS 13 (2015): 9–23. Levene, Dan. A Corpus of Magic Bowls: Incantation Texts in Jewish Aramaic from Late Antiquity. London: Kegan Paul, 2003. Levene, Dan. “‘If You Appear as a Pig:’ Another Incantation Bowl (Moussaieff 164).” JSS 52 (2007), pp. 59–70. Levene, Dan. Jewish Aramaic Curse Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia: “May These Curses Go Out and Flee.” Leiden: Brill, 2013. Levene, Dan, Dalia Marx, and Siam Bhayro. “‘Gabriel is on their Right:’ Angelic Protection in Jewish Magic and Babylonian Lore.” Studia Mesopotamica 1 (2014): 185–198. Montgomery, James Alan. Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum, 1913. Müller-Kessler, Christa. “The Use of Biblical Quotations in Jewish Aramaic Incantation Bowls.” Pages 227–245 in Studies on Magic and Divination in the Biblical World. Edited by Helen R. Jacobus, Anne Katrine de Hemmer Gudme and Philippe Guillaume. Piscataway: Gorgias, 2013. Müller-Kessler, Christa. “Eine ungewöhnliche Hekhalot-Zauberschale und ihr babylonisches Umfeld: Jüdisches Gedankengut in den Magischen Texten des Ostens.” Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 38 (2013): 69–84. Naveh, Joseph and Shaul Shaked. Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity. 3r ed. Jerusalem: Magnes, 1998. Polzer, Natalie C. The Bible in the Aramaic Magic Bowls. MA thesis submitted to McGill University, 1986. Sanzo, Joseph. Scriptural Incipits on Amulets from Late Antique Egypt. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014. Salzer, Dorothea M. Die Magie der Anspielung. Form und Funktion der biblischen Anspielungen in den magischen Texten der Kairoer Geniza. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. Schwab, Moïse. “Coupes à inscriptions magiques.” Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology 13 (1891): 583–595. Shaked, Shaul. “‘Peace Be Upon You, Exalted Angels:’ On Hekhalot, Liturgy and Incantation Bowls.” JSQ 2 (1995): 197–219.

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Shaked, Shaul. “The Poetics of Spells. Language and Structure in Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity. 1: The Divorce Formula and its Ramifications.” Pages 173–195 in Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives. Edited by Tzvi Abusch and Karel van der Toorn. Groningen: Styx, 1999. Shaked, Shaul. “Jews, Christians and Pagans in the Aramaic Incantation Bowls of the Sasanian Period.” Pages 61–89 in Religions and Cultures: First International Conference of Mediterraneum. Edited by Adriana Destro and Mauro Pesce. Binghamton, NY: Global Academic Publishing, 2002. Shaked, Shaul. “Form and Purpose in Aramaic Spells: Some Jewish Themes (The Poetics of Magic Texts).” Pages 1–30 in Officina magica: Essays on the Practice of Magic in Antiquity. Edited by Shaul Shaked. Leiden: Brill, 2005. Shaked, Shaul. “Transmission and Transformation of Spells: The Case of the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic Bowls.” Pages 187–217 in Continuity and Innovation in the Magical Tradition. Edited by Gideon Bohak, Yuval Harari and Shaul Shaked. Leiden: Brill, 2011. Shaked, Shaul. “Rabbis in Incantation Bowls.” Pages 97–120 in The Archaeology and Material Culture of the Babylonian Talmud. Edited by Markham J. Geller. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Szabolcs Anzelm Szuromi, O.Praem. (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

Fundamental Role of Psalms in continuous Jewish and Christian Liturgical Tradition, up to the Systematic Development of thee Liturgy of Hours*

Abstract The Psalms were recited in the Temple of Jerusalem at seven times as part of the ancient liturgical cult, expressing the adherence to the Covenant. The various Psalms had become one of the most interpreted and referred text of the Old Testament for the patristic authors from the Early Christianity which is testified by numerous sermos and homilies by many – including the greatest – Christian writers and thinkers. Thanks to the profound scientific research on the institutional correlation between the “Old Testamental Nation” (Israel) and the “New Testamental Nation” (the Church) is known well that the praying of the Psalms and the structure of the daily liturgy of the Temple of Jerusalem made important influence on the early ecclesiastical prayerful life and liturgical customs. The zeal of the Divine Office was – and still is – the same what we can recognize in the Jewish tradition too: to consecrate the entire day by prayers in arranged and structuralized form. This is the guarantee for the continuous prayerful life of the faithful. Between the 4th and 10th centuries the developing process of the Divine Office had speeded up, and in this evolution the most significant period was the 5th to the 6th century. During these marked two centuries many structural, doctrinal, and disciplinary questions had resolved, thanks in particular to Pope St. Gregory the Great (†604).

Pope Paul VI in his Apostolic Constitution on the promulgation of revision of the Divine Office points out: “The Liturgy of the Hours gradually developed into the prayer of the local church, a prayer offered at regular intervals and in appointed places under the presidency of a priest (…) The book of the Divine Office, gradually enlarged by many additions in the course of time, became a suitable instrument for the sacred action for which it was designed (…).”1

* This article was written in the International Canon Law History Center (Budapest) and was presented at the international conference: The Use of Psalms in Jewish and Christian Traditions (Budapest, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, November 3rd 2015). This research was supported by the OTKA K 106300 and the KAP-3.6–14/003 projects. 1 The Liturgy of Hours According to the Roman Rite, Vol. 1 (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975), 11.

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The Psalms were recited in the Temple of Jerusalem at seven times as part of the ancient liturgical cult, expressing the adherence to the Covenant. The various Psalms had become one of the most interpreted and referred text of the Old Testament for the patristic authors from the Early Christianity which is testified by numerous sermos and homilies by many – including the greatest – Christian writers and thinkers. Thanks to the profound scientific research on the institutional correlation between the “Old Testamental Nation” (Israel) and the “New Testamental Nation” (the Church) is known well that the praying of the Psalms and the structure of the daily liturgy of the Temple of Jerusalem made important influence on the early ecclesiastical prayerful life and liturgical customs. The custom of praying with Psalms at seven occasions consecrate the entire day not only the Jewish people but also of the Christian faithful in the first four centuries. This daily prayerful activity and the many theological interpretations correlating with that particular prayer of the Church had gradually crystallized as the structuralized form of prayer of the Church. It is called Divine Office, or by later terminology: the Liturgy of Hours. The Catholic Church still prays this ancient liturgy – reformed at several times throughout the centuries – as one of the oldest link to the Jewish prayerful – liturgical life.

I.

The Psalms in the religious life of Israel

The Hebrew text of the Old Testament contains 150 Psalms (the Septuaginta has 151 and even the numeration is altered as compared with the so called Masoretic text; the Latin Vulgata also follows the numeration of this text-form).2 Citing Huba Rózsa’s summarizing statement regarding the original date of the corpus of Psalms, we can say “some part of the Psalms springs without doubt from the time before the Babylonian captivity. The recent researches support the antiquity of the Psalm-poetry in the Ancient East, even in Israel.”3 It is well approved by those results which have been discovered concerning the early history of Israel, including the age of settlement of the Israelite tribes, when the pre-Israelite community was located on the high land of central Palestine. The recital of their various daily prayers – consecrating every section of the day – was a basic liturgical activity of every family at central-Palestine which kept together the community in faith of the only one recognized God.4 This custom later on should make a strong, essential and indispensable influence on the liturgy of the Temple 2 Huba Rózsa, Az Ószövetség keletkezése. Bevezetés az Ószövetség könyveinek irodalom- és hagyománytörténetébe, 2nd ed. (Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1996), 2:321–322. 3 Rózsa, Az Ószövetség keletkezése, 2:328–329. 4 William Foxwell Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity, 2nd ed. (New York: Doubleday, 1957), 209–236.

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of Jerusalem. Based on Hermann Gunkel’s (†1932) research is clear that the very location of the Psalm-poetry is the divine worship, the cult; nevertheless, he identified some Psalms which were made for the expression of personal devotion.5 We classify five genres of psalms: lamenting-psalms (personal, collective); praising-psalms; hymnal-psalms; royal-psalms; and finally as the fifth a miscellaneous category which contains historical-psalms, liturgical-psalms, prophetical admonitions, and psalms of wisdom.6 It seems that every single category has relation to the cult and to the divine worship. The above indicated correlation crystal-clearly supported by Psalm 118 (119):161–168 “Lies I hate and detest / but your law do I love. / Seven times a day I praise you / for your just decrees. (…) My soul obeys your will / and loves it dearly. / I obey your precepts and your will / all that I do is before you (…).” The expressively emphasized “seven times” is in contrast as compared with the contents of Psalm 55:18 and Daniel 6:11 where we can be found “three times”.7 The above indicated quotation shows perfectly on one hand the custom of the seven times praying – personal or later on linked to the Temple of Jerusalem, moreover during the Babylonian captivity in the Jewish community, then (after 515 BC) in the rebuilt Temple of Jerusalem –, on other, it expresses the faithful Israelite daily life which is consecrated to God through prayer. Therefore the entire life of the faithful happens before God and it motivates every single human activity. Naturally, we can list several other examples to support the relation between structuralized prayerful daily life and the teaching of the Old Testament, like Ezra 9:5; Daniel 9:21; Judith 9:1; or Numbers 6:7;8 however, these are only references to prove the indispensable role of the Psalms in the daily life of the faithful Jewish people.

5 Cf. Hermann Gunkel, Ausgewählte Psalmen, 4. verbesserte Aufl. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1917). 6 Rózsa, Az Ószövetség, 2:335–342. 7 About this question cf. Leslie C. Allen, Psalms 101–150, Rev. ed., WBC 21 (Dallas: Word, 2002), 192. 8 Guy M. Oury, “Office Divin – I. En Occident,” in Dictionnaire de spiritualité, ascétique et mystique, doctrine et histoire. Tome XI, Nabinal-Ozanam (Paris: Beauchesne, 1982), 685–707, esp. 686.

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II.

The Psalms in the daily life of the Church

1.

Fundamental role of Psalms

The scientific research classifies three epochs of the developing process of the Divine Office. 1) during the first centuries; 2) between the 4th and 10th centuries; 3) finally, from the 11th up to the 21st century.9 Obviously, here we focus basically on the first epoch. The Catholic Encyclopedia (published in New York between 1913 and 1914) dedicate a short part of article to the development of the Divine Office in the Church. This text emphasizes that “(…) The celebration of the Eucharist was preceded by the recital of the psalms (…) Probably this part of the Mass was the first form of the Divine Office (…).” Ever so impressive this hypothesis, we cannot accept it, because tradition for the faithful to pray the Psalms and the celebration of the Holy Mass – even its earliest form – have essentially different institutional historical origins, which are well approved by the primary written sources. It is obviously true, that the community prayer of psalms received an exclusive place in the vigil, before – or even within – the Holy Mass in the early time of the Church, but it does not mean the only appearance of the “primitive” Divine Office in the day to day life of the Church. There is no doubt, that the custom of daily praying of psalms is one of those continuous liturgical traditions which have been inherited from the Jewish tradition as it is enlightened in Peter Erdo˝’s analysis of the institutional historical correlations between Israel and the Christian Church.10 We have quite exact information about the life of the first Christians in Palestine, particularly in Jerusalem and in its neighborhood. The disciples continued their faithful customs which included the daily visit of the Temple to do their regular prayer which should contain the Psalms. Nevertheless, in the same time they had their own Christian gatherings – by technical term: synaxes – firstly at private houses. There – on the vigil before Sunday – they celebrated the Eucharist which always was combined with reading of the “Script” (the Torah and the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Messiah), remembering (reciting) Jesus’s acts, teaching, reading letters of the Apostles (even those which were addressed to different Christian communities), and praying the Psalms. These listed elements had crystalized the structure of the Holy Mass. The institutionalization of the Divine Office had happened in line with this described process. It is certainly supported 9 Cf. Polikárp Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum. Complectens theologiae sacramentalis et dogmata et leges iuxta novum codicem rubricarum, 2 vols. (Roma; Freiburg im Breisgau; Barcinone: Herder, 1961), 1: 413. 10 Péter Erdo˝, Teología del derecho canónico (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2002), 92–94.

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by the traditional acts of the vigil (vigilia); however, we recognize these acts as elements of an independent liturgical practice which through prayers expresses the affection to God by the faithful. As we have already pointed out, the Sunday vigil prayer could precede the early form of the Mass, but sometimes it was said without the following Mass.11 Nowadays, the early structure of this gradually organized community prayers is quite well known, thanks to that profound research which particularly focused its development and original – primary – written sources and textual witnesses from the end 19th century. The masterpieces of this research process were written by Pierre Batiffol (†1929)12, Henri Leclercq (†1945)13, Josef Andreas Jungmann (†1975)14, and Policarp Radó (†1974).15 These precise research aroused a new scientific interest concerning the “nucleus” of the Divine Office, which inspired many new works, e. g., the indispensable projects and new results of Roger E. Reynolds (†2014)16. Based on their work it is clear that even in the first four centuries the Divine Office was not reserved only for successors of apostles, presbyters and deacons, but for the entire assembly of faithful. It seems, that at the beginning this “nucleus” form of Divine Office – which unambiguously followed the concept of the community prayers of the Temple of Jerusalem – was not prayed at every day. We have also many data about the private daily – family, small communities at home – prayers of that epoch. Among them we must indicate firstly the so called “matutina” which contained the praying of Psalms and was combined with another prayer, namely the “laudes”.17 It can be read in detail at St. Athanasius (†373)18, in his work, entitled De virginitate.19 Tertullianus (†after 220) expressively speaks in his work De ieiunio20 about the three daily prayers: tertia, sexta, nona.21 Liturgical historians reckon among the origin of the Divine Office the “lucernarium” which developed from the celebration of the true light: Jesus Christ. In this last liturgical act we 11 Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum, 1:413. 12 Pierre Batiffol, Histoire du Bréviaire Romain (Paris: Alphonse Picard et Fils, 1895). 13 Henri Leclercq, “Bréviaire,” in Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétenne et de liturgie, II/1 (Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1910), 1262–1316. 14 Josef A Jungmann, “Beiträge zur Geschichte der Gebetsliturgie,” ZKT 47 (1950): 66–79, 223– 234, 360–366, 481–1486; 48 (1951): 85–92. 15 Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum, 1: 413–416. 16 Roger E. Reynolds, “The ‘Isidorian’ Epistula ad Leudefredum: an Early Medieval Epitome of the Clerical Duties,” Medieval Studies 41 (1979): 252–320 = in Idem, Clerical Orders in the Early Middle Ages, Variorum Collected Studies Series CS 670 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999), 252– 330. 17 Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum, 1:413. 18 László Vanyó, Az ókeresztény egyház és irodalma, Ókeresztény írók 1 (Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1988), 565–579. 19 PG 28:251–281, esp. 276. 20 CSEL 20 (Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1890), 219–273. 21 Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum, 1:413–414.

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could see already – besides the praying of Psalms – some readings from the Sacred Texts, moreover the “Gloria”. As a general opinion, we shall refer one stronger movement which made fruitful influence on the development of the Divine Office to be daily and more frequent. This is the monasticism which from its beginning – including the time of Pachomios (†346)22 – payed particular attention to the prayerful consecration of the day and this practice enriched the day to day form of the developing Divine Office with many supplements.23

2.

Interpretation of Psalms by the patristic authors prior the institutionalized Divine Office

Besides the narration of the Gospels and the Acts of Apostles in the written heritage of the early customs of the early Church we can find the practice of praying in the Didaché – i. e. The teaching of the Twelve Apostles –, as the oldest canonical collection, which had been composed at the very beginning of the 2nd century in Syria or Palestine.24 Its text recommends the “Prayers” at three times on Sundays (Did. 8,3). Based on the context it would seem that the meaning of “Prayers” is the praying of the Psalms.25 We cannot list every single pseudoapostolic collection, conciliar collection26, writing of significant patristic author from the first four centuries which contain rules, references, recommendations, instructions, etc. regarding to the structure of the daily prayers, including in particular those original sources which references very possible pertain to the structuralized praying of the Psalms, sometimes already supplemented by other Biblical texts or hymns. Nevertheless, we must indicate here the Traditio Apostolca (very early 3rd century)27; St. Clement of Alexandria (†about 215) and his Stromateis (Stromata); and St. Cyprian’s work (†258)28, entitled De dominica

22 Adalbert de Vogüe, “Saint Pachôme et son oeuvre d’après plusieurs études récentes,” Revue d’Histoire Ecclésiastique 69 (1974): 425–453; Philip Rousseau, Pachomius: the Making of a Community in Fourth-Century Egypt (Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 1985). 23 Oury, Office Divin, 691–692. 24 Edition: Willy Rordorf, André Tuillier, eds., La Didaché, SC 248 (Paris: Cerf, 1978). 25 Oury, Office Divin, p. 687. 26 In detail cf. Jean Gaudemet, Les sources du droit de l’Église en Occident du IIe au VIIe siècle (Paris: Cerf, 1985), 15–28. 27 Edition: Bernard Botte, La tradition apostolique de Saint Hippolyte. Essai de reconstruction, Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forsschungen 39, 5, verb. Aufl. (Münster: Aschendorff, 1989). 28 Andreas Hoffmann, Kirchliche Strukturen und Römisches Recht bei Cyprian von Karthago, Rechts- und Staatswissenschafliche Veröffentllichungen der Görres-Gesellschaft, Neue Folge 92 (Paderborn, München, Wien, Zürich: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2000), 22–32.

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oratione.29 However, it is important to dedicate more attention to St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Ambrose of Milan. St. Hilary of Poitiers (†368) who had profound Biblical studies, dedicated one of his most important exegetical work to the analysis of the Psalms, i. e. Commentary to the Psalms.30 This particular work had got important role in the patristic literature regarding the Psalms, especially through St. Jerome’s (†420) references. He fruitfully used St. Hilary’s commentary, basically for the interpretation of Psalms 9, 13, 14, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 and 91.31 Concerning these Biblical texts Jerome cited extensive descriptions from St. Hilary, therefore we can confirm that well considered opinion, that St. Jerome’s comments to the Psalms and his sermos on the same topic are essentially dependent from St. Hilary’s conception.32 Nevertheless, we must underline, that Hilary’s work and commentary basically depends from Origen (†254)33 which is clearly recognizable by the used ideas and pictures. Origen commented the entire Bible and wrote so-called “scholia” to the single books of the Old Testament, including the Psalms.34 Naturally, we still do not have a well-supported concept about that Latin text of the Psalms which could be the basis for Hilary’s work, and we must notice that even this commentary of him was written in the anti-Arian period of the Church Fathers.35 The scientific debate concerning the Latin text-forms of the Psalms is precisely explained and presented by László Vanyó in 2002, but even the research projects of the last more than one decade have not been able to define more accurately the possible text.36 Another significant patristic author regarding the interpretation of Psalms, is St. Ambrose of Milan (†397).37 He has two composed works on Psalms, but he frequently used the Psalms as reference to his other writings. The Enarrationes in XII Psalmos davidicos we can read collected homilies about twelve Psalms which were given at the end of his life.38 The author is basically arguing on the messianic meaning of the analyzed sources with particular attention to explain the moral teaching of the Church. Maria Grazia Mara underlines that in the argumentation 29 CCSL 3/A (Turnhout: Brepols, 1976). 30 Angelo di Berardino and Johannes Quasten, Patrología, Biblioteca de autores cristianos 422, vol. 3, La edad de oro de la literatura patrística latina (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1981), 42–45, 56, 58–60. Critical edition: CSEL 22 (Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1891). 31 di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología 3:58. 32 di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología 3:59. 33 Cf. Joseph W. Trigg, Origen. The Bible and Philosophy in the Third-century Church (London: SCM Press, 1983), 120–128. 34 Vanyó, Az ókeresztény egyház, 403–404. 35 di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, III. 59–60. 36 Cf. László Vanyó, Az egyházatyák bibliája és az ókeresztény exegézis módszere, története (Budapest: Jel Kiadó, 2002), pp. 168–173. 37 di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, 3:166–211; Vanyó, Az ókeresztény egyház, 758–768. 38 di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, 3:188.

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is clearly recognizable the influence of St. Basil the Great’s (†379) concept.39 The second combined work is the Expositio Psalmi CXVIII which contains twenty-two homilies about Psalm 118 (119).40 This very Psalm is dedicated – as it is well known – exclusively to laudation of the law, which is the will of God. This basis inspired St. Ambrose to explain the importance of the law-abiding actions of faithful, and this law is the one which is given by the Creator and was clearly testified by Jesus Christ and his action. Therefore keeping the law means keeping the covenant, following Christ’s example.41 Based on the two presented significant patristic authors – St. Hilary and St. Ambrose – we can work up not only a general impression on the role and interpretational method and intention of the early epoch of the Church’s history, but also these sources are extraordinary help to understand why the regular prayers of Psalms remained in the day to day tradition, gradually institutionalizing that particular form of common prayers which is called by technical term: Divine Office. The ancient (i. e. Jewish origin) and new (the concrete structure of celebration of the liturgy of hours) consecrating form of the day has received essential influence through the interpretations of Psalms by several patristic writers. It has not remained only interpretation of the text, but some of them – in brief form – took place in the structure of the prayer in order to help to understand the “nucleus” of the Divine Office, namely the Psalms.

III.

The crystallization of the Divine Office

The crystallization process – as we have already seen – has begun without interruption as a Christian form of praying of Psalms in community or privately. The prayer schedule of the Temple of Jerusalem can be recognized in structuralizing the Divine Office into matutinum (vigil prayer), tertia (midmorningprayer), sexta (midday-prayer), nona (midafternoon-prayer), and vespera (evening-prayer). Already from the 4th century we have information about the prima, separated from the matutinum, receiving its common name as laudes (morningprayer). From the same time, in the manuscripts appeared that prayer which close the concrete daily prayerful service, named completorium (night-prayer). This entire complete list can be read in St. John Cassian’s (†435) work, De institutis coenobiorum as a fixed custom of the religious community.42 It means that for the end of the 4th century the basic structure of the praying times and 39 40 41 42

di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, 3:188. di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, 3:189. di Berardino, Quasten, Patrología, 3:189. CSEL 17:1–231; cf. Dictionnaire de spiritualité, ascétique et mystique, 2: 214–276.

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their terminology was already evolved in general, at least in the monastic life. We would like to underline again the importance of the monasticism and their rules in the formation process of the Divine Office. In this process has an indispensable position St. Benedict of Nursia (†543), whose Rule dedicates an independent chapter to the prayers of Psalms (i. e. Caput XX: De disciplina psallendi), which part deals with the structure of prayer office of the day.43 Nevertheless, we cannot forget the parallel development at the cathedrals or parish communities too.44 Based on the analysis of the many textual witnesses from these two basic fields, we can assert that the essential elements of every single hour of prayer had been already formed before the so called “golden age” of its evolution.45 The zeal of the Divine Office was – and still is – the same what we can recognize in the Jewish tradition too: to consecrate the entire day by prayers in arranged and structuralized form. This is the guarantee for the continuous prayerful life of the faithful. There were among these early elements of the single prayer the Psalms; oratio (prayers) and hymns composed by anonym or known ecclesiastical writers, which was supplemented with some Biblical texts and antiphon (cantus antiphonicus).46 Between the 4th and 10th centuries the developing process of the Divine Office had speeded up, and in this evolution the most significant period was the 5th to the 6th century. During these marked two centuries many structural, doctrinal, and disciplinary questions had resolved, thanks in particular to Pope St. Gregory the Great (†604).47 This period is the one when the already crystallized Divine Office has become common in the new territories where the Christianity has appeared.

Epilogue Consecrating every part of the day by prayers: it kept together more than three thousand two-hundred years ago the pre-Israelite people at the Middle-Palestine highland; it gave a common basis for the Jewish people on the day to day life, attaching their prayerful activity to the cult of the Temple of Jerusalem; it helped for Israel to remain together in faith at the Babylonian captivity and return as a 43 Cf. La Règle de S. Benoît, ed. Adalbert de Vogüe, Jean Neufville, SC 181–186 (Paris: Cerf, 1971– 1972) 185: 544–545. 44 P. Salmon, P. Regan, J.A. Gurrieri, “Liturgy of Hours,” in New Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Berard L. Marthaler (Washington D.C: Catholic University of America Press, 2004), 8:729–736, esp. 729–730. 45 Oury, Office Divin, 693–694. 46 Radó, Enchiridion liturgicum, 1:414, 416. 47 Willibald M. Plöchl, Geschichte des Kirchenrechts, I: Das Recht des ersten christlichen Jahrtausends. Von der Urkirche bis zum großen Schisma, 2nd enl. ed. (Wien, München: Herold, 1970), 121–123.

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faithful community to rebuild the Temple. However, it was that tradition which has continues in the life of the Christians who recognized themselves as “New Testamental Nation”. The crystallization of the Divine Office kept together the developing Christian community and has become that institutionalized prayer which continuously expresses the laudation and fidelity toward God. As the General Instruction of the current Liturgy of Hours emphasizes: “In the course of time other hours came to be sanctified by common prayer. These were seen by the Fathers as foreshadowed in the Acts of the Apostles. There we read of the disciples gathered together at the third hour (…) This kind of common prayer gradually took shape in the form of an ordered round of Hours. This Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, enriched by readings, is principally a prayer of praise and petition (…).”48

Literature Primary Sources Cassianus, De institutis coenobiorum, CSEL 17:1–231. La Didaché, ed. Willy Rordorf et André Tuillier. SC 248. Paris: Cerf, 1978. Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani opera, pars I: De spectaculis. De idololatria. Ad nationes libiri duo. De testimonio animae. Scorpiace. De oratione. De baptismo. De pudicitia. De jeiunio adversus psychicos. De anima. CSEL 20. Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1890. S. Hilarii episcopi Pictauiensis tractatus super Psalmos. CSEL 22. Vienna: F. Tempsky, 1891. Sancti Cypriani episcopi opera. Pars II: Ad Donatum. De mortalitate. Ad Demetrianum. De opere et eleemosynis. De zelo et livore. De dominica oratione. De bono patientiae. CCSL 3/A. Turnhout: Brepols, 1976. Athanasius, De virginitate: Opera omnia quae exstant. Tomus quartus. Athanase d’Alexandrie (Ps.-). Cols. 251–281 in PG 28. Paris: Garnier, 1886. The Liturgy of Hours According to the Roman Rite, Vol. 1. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. La Règle de S. Benoît. Edited by Adalbert de Vogüe, Jean Neufville. 6 vols. SC 181–186 Paris: Cerf, 1971–1972.

Secondary Sources Albright, William Foxwell. From the Stone Age to Christianity. 2nd ed. New York: Doubleday, 1957. Allen, Leslie C. Psalms 101–150. Rev. ed. WBC 21. Dallas: Word, 2002. Batiffol, Pierre. Histoire du Bréviaire Romain. Paris: Alphonse Picard et Fils, 1895. 48 “General Instruction,” in The Liturgy of Hours, 21–22.

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Berardino, Angelo di and Johannes Quasten. Patrología. Biblioteca de autores cristianos 422, vol. 3, La edad de oro de la literatura patrística latina. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1981. Botte, Bernard. La tradition apostolique de Saint Hippolyte. Essai de reconstruction. Liturgiewissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen 39. 5. verb. Aufl. Münster: Aschendorff, 1989. Dictionnaire de spiritualité, ascétique et mystique. Tome II, Cabasilas-Cyril de Scythopolis. Paris: Beauchesne, 1953. Erdo˝, Péter. Teología del derecho canónico. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2002. Gaudemet, Jean. Les sources du droit de l’Église en Occident du IIe au VIIe siècle. Paris: Cerf, 1985. Gunkel, Hermann. Ausgewählte Psalmen. 4. verbesserte Aufl. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1917. Hoffmann, Andreas. Kirchliche Strukturen und Römisches Recht bei Cyprian von Karthago. Rechts- und Staatswissenschafliche Veröffentllichungen der Görres-Gesellschaft. Neue Folge 92. Paderborn, München, Wien, Zürich: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2000. Jungmann, Josef A. “Beiträge zur Geschichte der Gebetsliturgie,” ZKT 47 (1950): 66–79, 223–234, 360–366, 481–486; 48 (1951): 85–92. Leclercq, Henri. “Bréviaire.” Pages 1262–1316 in Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétenne et de liturgie, II/1. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1910. Oury, Guy M. “Office Divin – I. En Occident.” Pages 685–707 in Dictionnaire de spiritualité, ascétique et mystique, doctrine et histoire. Tome XI, Nabinal-Ozanam. Paris: Beauchesne, 1982. Plöchl, Willibald M. Geschichte des Kirchenrechts, I: Das Recht des ersten christlichen Jahrtausends. Von der Urkirche bis zum großen Schisma. 2. erw. Aufl. Wien, München: Verlag Herold, 1960. Radó, Polikárp. Enchiridion liturgicum. Complectens theologiae sacramentalis et dogmata et leges iuxta novum codicem rubricarum. 2 vols. Roma, Freiburg im Breisgau, Barcinone: Herder, 1961. Reynolds, Roger E. “The ‘Isidorian’ Epistula ad Leudefredum: an Early Medieval Epitome of the Clerical Duties,” Medieval Studies 41 (1979): 252–320 = Pages 252–330 in Clerical Orders in the Early Middle Ages, by Roger E. Reynolds. Variorum Collected Studies Series CS 670. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999. Rousseau, Philip. Pachomius: the Making of a Community in Fourth-Century Egypt. Berkeley CA: University of California Press, 1985. Rózsa, Huba. Az Ószövetség keletkezése. Bevezetés az Ószövetség könyveinek irodalom- és hagyománytörténetébe. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1996. Salmon, P., P. Regan, John A. Gurrieri, “Liturgy of Hours.” Pages 729–736 in New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by Bernard L. Marthaler. Vol. 8. Washington D.C: The Catholic University of America 2003. Trigg, Joseph W. Origen. The Bible and Philosophy in the Third-century Church. London: SCM Press, 1983. Vanyó, László. Az egyházatyák bibliája és az ókeresztény exegézis módszere, története. Budapest: Jel Kiadó, 2002. Vanyó, László. Az ókeresztény egyház és irodalma. Ókeresztény írók 1. Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1988.

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Vogüe, Adalbert de. “Saint Pachôme et son oeuvre d’après plusieurs études récentes.” RHE 69 (1974): 425–453.

Orsolya Varsányi (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

Psalms in 9th-century Arabic Christian (and Islamic) Apology

Abstract The use of Psalms in Arabic Christian tradition is a relatively understudied field, to which this chapter contributes through an examination of the appearance and use of Psalm texts in apologetic texts of the 9th century, i. e. of the period which the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament in Arabic date from, and when the first Christian theological, apologetic and polemical campaign in Arabic begins. Apologists made the scriptures the focal point of their attempts to demonstrate the credibility of the Christian doctrines in Arabic, so their works offer opportunity for the examination of the availability of Biblical texts, and provide information on the purpose these texts were used for. Psalms texts are especially intriguing in this respect, given that the authority of David was accepted by both Christian and Muslim apologists. The study focuses on the works of two representative authors: the Jacobite Christian Habı¯b ibn Hidmah Abu¯ Ra¯’itah al-Takrı¯tı¯ (d. after 830), and a convert to ˙ ˙ ˘ Islam with a Christian background: ʿAlı¯ Ibn al-Rabba¯n al-Tabarı¯ (d. 861), both of whom ˙ come from a Syriac environment. The aim of this contribution is to get a general outlook th concerning the degree of the knowledge 9 -century Christians had of the psalm texts and their access to them either in Arabic or in other languages.

Introduction The use of Psalms in Arabic Christian tradition is a relatively understudied field. Considerable research has mostly been conducted in related areas, 1, just as the history of the translation of the Bible into Arabic and 2, in the comparison of Psalm texts and Qur’a¯n verses with the aim of drawing conclusions concerning the origins of the latter. After referring to some major results in these fields, my approach and investigations are going to be limited to the appearance and use of Psalm texts in 9th-century apology. The reason for concentrating on this period is that this is the phase of the earliest documentary evidence for the translation of the Gospels into Arabic; and the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament

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– among them the first Psalm text – in Arabic also date from this time.1 It is also the era when the first Christian theological, apologetic and polemical campaign in Arabic begins. No wonder that the two tendencies appeared together, since apologists made the scriptures the focal point of their attempts to demonstrate the credibility of the Christian doctrines in Arabic.2 Apology thus offers a good opportunity for the examination of the availability of Biblical texts, and provides information on the purpose these texts were used for. Psalms texts are especially intriguing in this respect, given that the authority of David as a prophet was mutually accepted by both Christian and Muslim apologists. The latter considered him as one of the prophets of the ahl al-kita¯b, all honoured figures as precursors to Islam, who were sent by God with a message,3 therefore his figure could become a major point of reference in debates. However, while for Christians Psalms (called al-Maza¯mı¯r, i. e. the plural of Mazmu¯r) meant actual texts, Muslims only had a vaguer understanding of this Scripture: they meant by it a divine message given to David; a scripture that coexists with the Torah (al-Tawra¯t) given to Moses and the Gospel (al-Injı¯l) given to Jesus. Repeated Qur’anic references to the Scripture given to David by the term zabu¯r4

1 Sidney H. Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic: An Inquiry into its Appearance in the First Abbasid Century,” Oriens Christianus 69 (1985): 126–167, esp. 134. See also Griffith’s reference to Anton Baumstark, “Der älteste erhaltene griechisch-arabische Text von Psalm 110 (109),” Oriens Christianus 31(1934): 55–66; esp. 62., where Baumstark suggests that both the Gospels and the Psalter were translated in Pre-Islamic times; however, relying on recent evidence, Griffith seeks to establish that both were written in a language that was comparable to the one used in the ninth and tenth centuries in Southern Palestine. 2 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic,” 127, 128, 132; Idem, “Comparative Religion in the Apologetics of the First Christian Arabic Theologians,” Proceedings of the PMR Conference 4 (1979): 63–87. 3 Sandra Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth” in the Early Islamic Period. The Christian Apologies of Abu¯ Ra¯’ita, History of Christian-Muslim Relations 4 (Leiden: Brill, ˙ 2006), 76. 4 The term appears in two middle Meccan surahs: i. e. in 17:55: “Wa-Rabbuka aʿlamu bi-man fi’lsamawa¯t wa-l-ard, wa-la-qad faddalna¯ baʿad al-nabiyyı¯n ʿala¯ baʿad, wa-atayna¯ Da¯wu¯da Za˙ Lord is most˙knowing ˙ ˙ and the earth. And We bu¯ran.” (And your of˙whoever is in the heavens have made some of the prophets exceed others [in various ways], and to David We gave the book [of Psalms]. Sahih international translation: http://quran.com/17/55 (last accessed: 11/ 10/2016 – all Quran translations are cited from this version, unless otherwise indicated.) and in 21,105 “Wa-la-qad katabna¯ fi’-l-zabu¯r min baʿd al-dhikr anna al-ard yarithuha¯ ʿiba¯dı¯ al˙ [previous] mention sa¯lihu¯na” (And We have already written in the book [of Psalms] after the ˙that˙ the land [of Paradise] is inherited by My righteous servants. https://quran.com/21/105– 115 last accessed: 11/10/2016); and a Medinan one: 4,163 “Inna¯ awhayna¯ ilayka ka-ma¯ ˙ awhayna¯ ila¯ Nu¯h wa’l-nabiyyı¯n min baʿdihi, wa-awhayna¯ ila¯ Ibra¯hı¯m wa-Isma ¯ʿı¯l wa-Isha¯q wa˙ ¯ b wa’l-Asba ˙¯ t wa-ʿI¯sa¯ wa-Ayyu¯b wa-Yu¯nus wa-Ha ˙ ¯ ru¯n wa-Sulayma¯n, wa-atayna¯ Da ˙ ¯ wu¯da Yaʿqu ˙ Zabu¯ran.” (Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. And we revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Descendants, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the book [of Psalms]. https:// quran.com/4/163–173 last accessed: 11/10/2016).

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suggest that it had become a technical term by the 7th c.5 However, there was no independent and canonized Islamic corpus of Psalms; reference was made to these texts in a general sense. Those authors who turned to actual texts did so relying on texts from the Christian or Jewish traditions. The most recent general study in the first field (i. e. history of the translation of the Bible into Arabic) is that of S. H. Griffith, The Bible in Arabic that gives a thorough examination of the following questions: what can be known about any presence of the Bible in Pre-Islamic Arabia; how the Bible appears in the Arabic Qurʾa¯n; what the earliest translations of the Bible into Arabic are. The author then discusses details concerning Christian and Jewish translations of the Bible into Arabic.6 As a more specific field, Meira Polliack’s extensive study should be mentioned, which elaborates on the Karaite Tradition of Arabic Bible Translation.7 S. H. Griffith also investigated the more restricted question of Gospel translation into Arabic in an article;8 while studies in the volume edited by D. Thomas, The Bible in Arab Chrisianity,9 examine a variety of related questions: among them the Arabic versions of Gospels, the use of Biblical quotations in polemical and apologetic writings. It is agreed upon that by the time of Muhammad, Jews and Christians had ˙ lived in Arabia for centuries. Christian missionaries and then Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or Syriac-speaking rabbis and Christian clergy must have transmitted the Biblical and homiletic literature orally in Arabic,10 and translated at least the lessons to be read at the Liturgy (Gospel and the Psalms).11 However, Aramaic was widely understood, which hindered the written translation of Scriptures;12 in fact, manuscripts containing Biblical material are dated much later.13 The appearance 5 Angelika Neuwirth, “Qur’anic readings of the Psalms,” in The Qur’a¯n in Context: Historic and Literary Investigations into the Qur’a¯nic Milieu, ed. Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 733–778, esp. 734–735; and Eadem, “Glimpses of Paradise,” in: Eadem, Scripture, Poetry and the Making of a Community. Reading the Qur’an as a Literary Text (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 76–101, esp. 79. 6 Sidney H. Griffith, The Bible in Arabic. The Scriptures of the ‘People of the Book’ in the Language of Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013). 7 Meira Polliack, The Karaite Tradition of Arabic Bible Translation. A Linguistic and Exegetical Study of Karaite Translations of the Pentateuch from the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries CE (Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1997). 8 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic.” 9 David R. Thomas, The Bible in Arab Christianity (Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2007). 10 Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 8–9, 11, 43. 11 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic,” 154; Idem, The Bible in Arabic, 41–42, 47–48. 12 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic,” 159; John S. Trimingham, Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times, (London, New York: Longman, 1979), 225–226. 13 Arthur Vööbus, Early Versions of the New Testament: Manuscript Studies, Papers of the Estonian Theological Society in Exile 6 (Stockholm: Estonian Theological Society in Exile, 1954). Reference found in Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,” 300, note 3; Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 41–42.

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of the written Qurʾa¯n might have provided the impetus for the first written translations of the Bible.14 Muslim scholars of the first Islamic century who were renowned for their knowledge of the traditions and scriptures of the Jews and Christians alluded to the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel relying on early converts to Islam as sources.15 However, most early Muslims did not have access to more than some passages, often taken out of their context and quoted with no knowledge of the verses immediately preceding or following them, which renders a full translation of the Old Testament unlikely. It is generally established that the earliest extant manuscripts of the Old Testament in Arabic – among them the first Psalm text (the dual language MS fragment from Damascus which contains a large portion of Psalm 78) – date from Abbasid times,16 and the works of ninthcentury Muslim scholars (e. g. the historian al-Yaʿqu¯bı¯ (d. 897/8)) indicate that these authors already had a significant knowledge of Jewish and Christian exegetical traditions, which in turn allows the hypothesis that by that time a translation had been accessible.17 The second field of research, which, through the comparison of psalm texts and Qur’a¯n verses seeks to draw conclusions concerning the origins of the latter, is explored by such studies as e. g. Angelika Neuwirth’s Qur’anic readings of the Psalms.18 It is demonstrated that a lot of psalm verses are reflected in the Qur’a¯n, and the presence of these intertexts implies that at least an oral translation must have been present in 7th-century Arabia.19 It is likely that the contents of individual psalms were transmitted orally, and even not necessarily in Arabic, given that these could spread from the liturgy of Syrian churches that was shaped by the Psalms, or from Jewish liturgical traditions.20 To sum up the results of these two fields, the contents of the Psalms must have been known by the 7th century in Arabia, and it is also attested that parts of it were quoted almost literally during the centuries that followed, however, first evidence for the existence of actual written translations originates in the 9th century. 14 Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 53. 15 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic,” 149–151. See also Griffith’s reference (Ibi, 149, n. 79) to Raif Georges Khoury, “Quelques réflexions sur les citations de la Bible dans les premières générations islamiques du premier et du deuxième siècles de l’Hégire,” BEO 29 (1977): 269–278, esp. 272, n. 13. 16 Griffith, “The Gospel in Arabic,” 134. 17 Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,” 299; see also the reference on p. 300, note 6 to Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, Intertwined Worlds: Medieval Islam and Bible Criticism (Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1992), 118. 18 Neuwirth, “Qur’anic readings of the Psalms.” In a wider contexts see also Eadem, “Glimpses of Paradise;” John E. Wansbrough, The Sectarian Milieu. Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1978). 19 Neuwirth, “Qur’anic readings of the Psalms,” 733, 735–736.; Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 14– 15, 41–42. 20 Neuwirth, “Glimpses of Paradise,” 80.

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It is against this background that I seek to investigate the extent to which Psalm texts were known and used in the ninth century, with the aim of complementing the picture with the results offered in the specific field of apologetics. I am going to introduce the use of Psalms in 9th-century apologetics through the works of two representative authors: the Jacobite Christian Habı¯b ibn Hidma Abu¯ ˙ ˘ Ra¯’itah al-Takrı¯tı¯ (d. after 830), and a convert to Islam with a Christian back˙ ground: ʿAlı¯ Ibn al-Rabba¯n al-Tabarı¯ (d. 861), both of whom come from a Syriac ˙ environment. We may thus get a general outlook concerning the degree of the knowledge 9th-century Christians had of the psalm texts and their access to them either in Arabic or in other languages. Through al-Tabarı¯’s examples, we may get ˙ a glimpse of the Islamic attitude, as well.

Psalms in Christian usage as seen in the works of Habı¯b ibn Hidmah ˙ ˘ Abu¯ Ra¯’itah al-Takrı¯tı¯ ˙ Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, a famous lay theologian, whose native language was probably Syriac, ˙ is an ideal representative of the earliest generation of Arabophone Christians living under Abbasid rule in Iraq. His extant texts which were edited and ˙ translated to German first by Graf, then, recently, edited and translated to English by S. T. Keating,21 include pieces written against Muslims and Melkites.22 We can find Psalm citations in three of his works, all composed to refute Islam, and as such, are generally dialectical, seeking to offer answers to questions asked by Muslims about Christian doctrine. In these works, Abu¯ Ra¯’itah relies on ˙ scripture, traditional apologetic methods, and principles of Hellenistic philosophy.23 His using Psalms benefits from David’s authority due to the reasons mentioned above. The first such work, the Shaha¯da¯t min qawl [al- Tawra¯t] wa’l-anbiya¯’ wa’lQiddı¯sı¯n24 [Testimonies from the Sayings of [the Torah], the Prophets, and the Saints] is a list of short quotes from the Bible showing either that the Trinity was foreshadowed in the Torah, or substantiating the Incarnation. Psalm texts ac21 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah: Georg Graf, ed., Die Schriften des Jacobiten Habı¯b ibn Hidma ˙ ˘ Abu¯ Ra¯’it˙ a, CSCO 130, ˘Scriptores Arabici 14 (Louvain: Peeters, 1951); and ˙Toenies Keating, ˙ the “People of Truth.” Defending 22 Sandra Toenies Keating, “Abu¯ Ra¯ʾita l-Takrı¯tı¯” in Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 1 (600–900) ˙ed. David R. Thomas, Barbara Roggema et alia, CMR 11 (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 567–581; esp. 567; and Sidney H. Griffith, “Habı¯b ibn Hidma Abu¯ Ra¯’ita, ˙ (1980): 161–201, ˙ ˘ a Christian Mutakallim of the First Abbasid Century,” OrChr 64 esp. 164– 165. 23 Tonies Keating, “Abu¯ Ra¯ʾita l-Takrı¯tı¯,” 568. 24 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn H˙idmah, Die Schriften, 94–104; Toenies Keating, Defending the ˙ 299–334. ˘ “People of˙ Truth,”

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cordingly either speak of the activity of one or more hypostaseis,25 or refer to the Suffering, and Death;26 and Signs, Wonders and Victory of the Messiah.27 Given that the passages are drawn from the Old Testament, and have been used to verify teachings challenged by Muslims, this document is probably a testimonia list prepared for those who engaged in confrontation with Muslims, or for clergy faced with the rising tide of conversions to Islam. The source of the translations is the Old Syriac version of the Bible,28 and inconsistencies and similarities between these translations and those in Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah’s other writings imply that they are his original translations.29 The second work, the al-Risa¯lah al-u¯la¯ fi’l-Tha¯lu¯th al-Muqaddas [The First Risa¯lah on the Holy Trinity]30 starts with a list of divine attributes affirmed by both Christians and Muslims; and then elaborates on the triune nature of God, using the principles of Aristotelian logic and analogy with a terminology that parallels the one used in Muslim discussions. The treatise concludes with references to scripture and analogies,31 and we encounter Psalms quotes in this part. When arguing for the triune God, Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah relies first on citations from the books of Moses and Daniel, quoting passages where singular and plural verb forms are used alternately. He then draws parallels with the Qur’anic plural forms, and turns back to Moses and the Torah. He introduces pronouncements by David only after that, i. e. in the context of Old Testament quotations. The Risa¯lah li-Abı¯ Ra¯’itah al-Takrı¯tı¯ fı¯ ithba¯t dı¯n al-nasra¯niyyah wa-ithba¯t al˙ ˙ Tha¯lu¯th al-Muqaddas [A Risa¯lah of Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah al-Takrı¯tı¯ on the Proof of the ˙ Christian Religion and the Proof of the Holy Trinity]32 is a handbook of responses to potential questions of Muslims that seeks to prevent conversions to Islam. Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah follows the arguments and structure of Syriac apologetics, relying on ˙ logic, reason, and scriptural proofs, acceptable to both a Christian and a Muslim reader, by prophets recognized in the Qur’a¯n.33

25 Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,” 301. 26 Including Ps 22:17–19; 41:6–8, 10; 69:22; 78:65; 88:5. 27 Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,”. 302, including Ps 8:1–2; 15:3; 24:7–8; 46:6, 9; 56:6; 67:2, 5, 19, 25, 33–34; 106:43; 118:22–23. 28 Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,”. 300, note 7: “It has long been recognized that the version of the text which underlies the earliest available translations of the scriptures into Arabic is the Old Syriac.” 29 Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of Truth,” 299–306. 30 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 1–26; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People ˙ ˙ 165–215. ˘ of Truth,” 31 Tonies Keating, “Abu¯ Ra¯ʾita l-Takrı¯tı¯,” 572–73. ˙ 32 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 131–161; Toenies Keating, Defending the ˙ ˙ ˘ “People of Truth,” 82–144. 33 Tonies Keating, “Abu¯ Ra¯ʾita l-Takrı¯tı¯,” 571–572, and Eadem, Defending the “People of Truth,” ˙ 73–81.

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In these three works, Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah uses altogether twenty-seven Psalm cita˙ tions, some of them recurring in two or all three works. In this paper, six representative examples are going to demonstrate the general characteristics of Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah’s usage of Psalms; among them two that appear in all three works, two ˙ that can be found in both the Shaha¯da¯t and the Proof, and two in both the Shaha¯da¯t and the Trinity. Let us examine those occurrences first that appear in all three works. 56,1034 is cited in Shaha¯da¯t in the following way: “Wa-qa¯la aydan bi-Kalimati Alla¯hi ˙ usabbih” (“And he also said: “The Word of God I will praise.””);35 while it appears ˙ in a slightly different form in the Trinity: “Thumma annahu wasafa fı¯ mawdiʿ ˙ ˙ a¯khar min kita¯bihi tahqı¯qan bi-anna Kalimata Alla¯h ila¯h haqq haythu qa¯la: li˙ ˙ ˙ Kalimati Alla¯hi usabbih. A-fa-ka¯na Da¯wu¯d mimman yusabbih li-ghayri Alla¯h?” ˙ ˙ (“Then, in another place in his book he [David] confirmed that the Word of God is true God, when he said: “I give praise to the Word of God.” Now, can David be among those who give praise to something other than God?”)36 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah’s ˙ introduction to the quote is an interpretation: “wasafa … tahqı¯qan bi-anna ˙ ˙ Kalimata Alla¯h ila¯h haqq,” ie. “he confirmed that the Word of God is true God.” ˙ which is followed by the citation that serves as the proof. The rhetorical question whether David can be among those who give praise to something other than God is part of the verification, since the expected answer cannot be but a negative. Finally, in the Proof the verse appears again in a short form (“Wa-qawluhu aydan ˙ li-kalimati Alla¯h usabbih”)37 in the third part of the work, i. e. among biblical ˙ witnesses in support of the doctrine of the Trinity. The form of the citation is mostly the same in all three works,38 and it is always used in order to substantiate the Trinity by referring to the existence and divinity of the 2nd hypostasis on the authority of David. 107,2039 is cited in the Shaha¯da¯t in the following way: “Wa-qa¯la aydan: arsala ˙ Kalimatahu, fa-abra’ahum wa-khalasahum min al-hiba¯l.” (And he also said: “He ˙ ˙ 34 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.” (C.f. e. g. http://www.christnotes.org/bible.php?q=Psalm+56& ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). All English Bible translations are quoted from this page, unless indicated otherwise. 35 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 95.; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ ˘ Truth,” 312–313. 36 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 22; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ (text and ˙ ˘ English translation). Truth,” 204–207 37 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 147–148; Toenies Keating, Defending the ˙ ˘ “People of˙ Truth,” 118–119. 38 Only the preposition differs, which is bi- in the first and li- in the other two cases. 39 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” (C.f. e. g. http://www.christnotes.org/ bible.php?q=Psalm+107&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016).

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sent His Word to heal them and save them from the snares.”)40 In the Trinity, he cites the same locus with minor modifications: “Thumma annahu qa¯la fı¯ mawdiʿ ˙ a¯khar: arsala Kalimatahu fa-shafa¯hum wa-khalasahum min al-mawt.” (“Then ˙ he says in another place: “He sent his Word, healing them and rescuing them 41 from death,””). However, given that this work is more than a testimonia list, Abu¯ Ra¯ʾitah does not stop here: his purpose, i. e. the point he seeks to prove with citing ˙ the phrase is revealed when he adds: “li-taʿlamu¯ anna ‘l-Kalima al-mursala dha¯t ka¯mila min dha¯t ka¯mila.” (“so that you might know that the Word which was sent is a perfect being from a perfect being.”)42 Here we witness a technique Abu¯ Ra¯’itah uses in most cases: he cites a small phrase from the Scriptures, especially ˙ by an authority who is expected to be accepted by the opponent, and adds his own interpretation. In this case, by doing so, his purpose is to establish the divine quality of the Word/Son, while indicating the existence and activity of two hypostaseis out of the three, as well. In the Apology, he gives the same verse in yet another form, placing it in the part of the book that substantiates the Incarnation in order to point to its motivation and outcome: Wa-min qawlihi: arsala Kalimatahu wa-abra’ahum wa-khalasahum min al-fasa¯d (“And [it is] from his ˙ [David’s] sayings: “He sent His Word, and exonerated them and saved them from corruption.””)43 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah cites the same verse in three different forms: either ˙ the verbs, or the object is translated with a different word, but the main structure and the underlying meaning are firmly preserved. The variety suggests that he had no ready written Arabic version of the Psalms texts at hand, but probably translated the locus himself. Turning to psalm verses that are cited in only two of the works, we can first examine 33,644 that can be found in the testimonia list, i. e. in the Shaha¯da¯t in the following form: “Wa-qa¯la Da¯wu¯d al-Nabı¯: bi-Kalimati Alla¯h khulikat al-samawa¯t wa-bi-Ru¯hin fı¯hi kull quwwa¯tiha¯” (I.e.: “And David, the Prophet, said: “By ˙ the Word of God the heavens were created, and by the Spirit of His mouth all of His hosts.””)45 It is significant that David is called a prophet (Nabı¯), so that his authority – accepted by both Christians and Muslims – should be enhanced. The 40 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 95; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 312. translation: p. 313. 41 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 22; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 206. translation: p. 207. 42 Ibid. 43 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 152; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 128. translation: p. 129. 44 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (C.f. e. g. http://www. christianity.com/bible/bible.php?q=Psalm+36&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). 45 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 95; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 312. translation: p. 313.

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citation in Trinity reads the same way: “Wa-inna Da¯wu¯d qa¯l fı¯ kita¯bih: bi-Kalimat Alla¯h khulikat al-samawa¯t wa-bi-Ru¯hin fı¯hi kull quwwa¯tiha¯” (“By the Word of ˙ God the heavens were created, and by the breath in it all of their hosts.”)46 But, as in the previously examined case, Abu¯ Ra¯’itah’s interpretation follows the quote ˙ quickly here, as well: “Wa-qad la-fasaha Da¯wu¯d bi-thala¯that aqa¯nı¯m haythu qa¯la ˙ ˙ ˙ “Alla¯h wa-Kalimatuhu wa-Ru¯huhu.” Fa-hal zidna¯ fı¯ wasfina¯ ʿala¯ ma¯ wasafa ˙ ˙ ˙ Da¯wu¯d?” (I.e.: “Now David clearly expresses the three hypostaseis when he says God, and His Word, and His Spirit. In our description, are we adding to what David describes?”)47 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah thus uses a Psalm text to prove to the Muslim ˙ interlocutor that the existence of the three hypostaseis is not a Christian innovation, founding his argument on the quote, i. e. on the authority of the Prophet David. By referring to the mutually accepted authority of David, he seeks to gain authenticity for his point. His individual ingenuity lies in the interpretation that he adds to the quote, namely in that he shifts the emphasis of the phrase “bi-Kalimat Alla¯h khulikat al-samawa¯t wa-bi-ru¯hin fı¯hi kull quwwa¯tiha¯.” ˙ He does so taking advantage of the fact that the same phrase might be interpreted in a way acceptable for Muslims, because of the presence of Kalimat Alla¯h and ru¯h in Islamic terminology, as well. As for the first expression, ‘Kalimat Alla¯h,’ ˙ namely ‘the word of God,’ it is used widely in Islamic phraseology, where it often indicates the divine order of kun, the “Be!” word that brings into existence in accordance with Quranic terminology.48 This interpretation is confirmed by the context, where the creation of the world is performed through the Kalima. Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, however, by using the same term, refers to a Christian meaning, i. e. the ˙ Logos. As for the second term, the “ru¯h,” it could merely be interpreted as an ˙ appellative, suggesting a creative divine “blow;” which would be acceptable for a Muslim reader. However, by the very term accepted by the opponent, Abu¯ Ra¯’itah ˙ refers to the Holy Spirit. He uses the psalm verse in order to substantiate the Trinity, relying on a phraseology that parallels Muslim discussions of theological matters. The other citation that appears both in Shaha¯da¯t and in Trinity is 110,1.49 In Shaha¯da¯t, we can read it this way: “Wa-qa¯la: Qa¯la al-Rabb li-Rabbı¯: ijlis ʿan yamı¯nı¯” (“And he said: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right’.””)50 In the 46 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 22; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 204. translation: p. 205. 47 Ibid. 48 C.f. “Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” (Quran, 2,117). 49 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (C.f. e. g. http://www. christnotes.org/bible.php?q=Psalm+110&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). 50 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 97; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ (Text and ˙ ˘ translation). Truth,” 312–313

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Trinity, the verse is cited in a more complete form: “Thumma annahu qa¯la: Qa¯la al-Rabb li-Rabbı¯: ijlis ʿan yamı¯nı¯ hatta¯ adaʿa aʿda¯’aka taht mu¯ti’ qadamayk.” ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ (“Then he said: “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies beneath the footstool for your feet.’””).51 That may be due to the fact that the previous work is meant to be a testimonia list, while the Trinity elaborates more completely on the issue. In this latter work, the relevance of the quote becomes clear when we read Abu¯ Ra¯’itah’s following interpretation: “Yaʿnı¯ bi˙ dha¯lika qawl al-Ab li’l-Ibn min baʿd tajassudihi.” (“By this, he means the speech of the Father to the Son after His Incarnation.”)52 Relying on David’s authority, Abu¯ Ra¯’itah aims at proving the existence of two hypostaseis. ˙ Our next example appears in Shaha¯da¯t and in the Proof. In the former, 119:8953 reads in the following way: “Wa-qa¯la aydan: ila¯ al-abad anta ayyuha¯ al-rabb, wa˙ kalimatuka tha¯bita fı¯ al-sama¯’.” (“And he also said: “For eternity are You, o Lord, and Your word is forever in heaven.””)54 In the Apology, a longer form can be found: “Thumma anna Da¯wu¯d al-Nabı¯ haqqaqa qawlahu bi-anna al-Kalima ˙ dha¯t qa¯’ima ila¯h haqq min ila¯h haqq la¯ kala¯m muntaqad idh yaqu¯l fı¯ qawlihi li˙ ˙ ˙ rabbihi bi-annaka rabbuna¯ abadan qa¯’ima kalima¯tika mawju¯da fı¯ al-sama¯’.” (“Then, David, the Prophet, verified [Moses’] statement, that the Word [of God] is a [self-]existent being, true God from true God, not an inconsistent Word, when he said in speaking to his Lord: “You are our eternal Lord, Your existent Word is present in heaven.””)55 We see Abu¯ Ra¯’itah using a double verification, given that ˙ the citation by David is meant to confirm a statement by Moses. Two authorities are used to establish the Word as a self-existent being, while the quote is also a means to speak of the existence of two hypostaseis. Though not recurrent in the treatise on the Trinity, yet, this verse serves as a proof for the Trinity, more specifically for the activity and existence of the Father and the Word. Before summing up what could be seen in the previous examples concerning Abu¯ Ra¯’itah’s use of Psalms, let us briefly look at a last example. In most cases, ˙ Abu¯ Ra¯’itah refers to the “book or the utterance of Da¯wu¯d” instead of maza¯mı¯r ˙ or zabu¯r. There is a single occurrence of the name Maza¯mı¯r, in a quote that we can find in the Proof: “Qa¯la nabı¯ Alla¯h Da¯wu¯d fı¯ kita¯bihi al-musamma¯ al-Maza¯mı¯r tadarruʿan minhu ila¯ subha¯nihi wa’stiʿa¯natan wa-ikhba¯ranʿamma¯ yaku¯nu ˙ ˙ 51 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 22; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ (Text and ˙ ˘ translation). Truth,” 206–207 52 Ibid. 53 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” (C.f. e. g. http://www.christnotes.org/bible.php?q=Psalm+119&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). 54 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 95–96., Toenies Keating, Defending the ˙ ˘ (Text and translation). “People of˙ Truth,”. 312–313 55 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 147; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ (Text and ˙ ˘ translation). Truth,” 118–119

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qabla kawnihi ka-hadd al-nubuwwa al-sa¯diqa: Rabbuna¯ ta’ta’ al-samawa¯t wa˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ anzala wa-azjara al-jiba¯l ka-l-dukhkha¯n” (“The Prophet of God, David, said in his book called “the Psalms” imploring God, may He be praised! and asking for help, reported what happened before [his very eyes] in accordance with [other] authentic prophets: “Our Lord inclined the heavens and descended and drove back the mountains, like smoke.””)56 The lack of the reference to the title as Mazmu¯r/Maza¯mı¯r according to the Christian usage may be due to Abu¯ Ra¯’itah’s ˙ effort to use a phraseology shared by the Muslim adversary. However, the Islamic name, Zabu¯r is also avoided, the exceptional reference reflects Christian usage. Abu¯ Ra¯’itah never specifies the source (exact loci have been identified by the ˙ modern editors). As we could see, his quotations are used in order to verify the doctrine of the Trinity (the existence or activity of one or more hypostaseis), or the Incarnation, on the basis of a wider Old Testament context, so the use of Psalms is placed in the framework of proving the verity of Christian teachings. As for the availability of the text, it can be established that the textual variants and the lack of references indicate the lack of a written version that Abu¯ Ra¯’itah could have relied on. ˙

Islamic use After taking into consideration the way a Christian author used the Psalms in his apologetic pieces, let us now turn our attention to the way ʿAlı¯ Ibn al-Rabba¯n alTabarı¯ used them. He was born to a Christian family in Merv. Being a servant of ˙ successive caliphs, under al-Muʿtasim (833–842), or al-Mutawakkil (847–861) he ˙ converted from his East-Syrian Christianity to Islam. His major works include the Raddʿala’l-Nasa¯ra¯ [Refutation of the Christians (written probably around 850)] ˙ and the Kita¯b al-dı¯n wa’l-dawla [‘The Book of religion and empire’ (written around 855)].57 The latter is a defence of the prophetic status of Muhammad, ˙ based on a range of arguments including loci interpreted as predictions of him in various books of the Old and New Testaments.58 I am going to cite examples from the latter work.

56 Abu¯ Ra¯’itah, Habı¯b ibn Hidmah, Die Schriften, 152; Toenies Keating, Defending the “People of ˙ ˙ English ˘ Truth,” 128, translation: p. 129. 57 David R. Thomas, “ʿAlı¯ Ibn al-Rabba¯n al-Tabarı¯,” in Christian-Muslim Relations, 669–674, ˙ esp. 669–670. 58 Ibid., esp. 672–673, and Alphonse Mingana, The book of religion and empire. A semi-official defence and exposition of Islam written by order at the court and with the assistance of the Caliph Mutawakkil (A.D. 847–861), by Ali Tabari (Manchester: University Press; Longmans, Green, 1923).

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In this piece, in some cases, there is a mere reference without an actual quotation. E. g. when al-Tabarı¯ describes the Qur’a¯n as a miracle, he compares it ˙ to or contrasts it with other scriptures, among them the Psalms: “Wa-amma¯ alzabu¯r fa-fı¯hi akhba¯r wa-tasa¯bı¯h wa-maza¯mı¯r ba¯riʿat al-husn, fa¯’iqat al-hala¯wa, ˙ ˙ ˙ wa-laysa fı¯ha¯ shay’ min al-sunan wa-l-shara¯’iʿ.” (“As to the book of the Psalms, it contains historical events, praises and hymns of high beauty and sublime character, but it does not contain any laws and prescriptions.”)59 Interestingly, the name of the book is first given as zabu¯r, i. e. al-Tabarı¯ uses an Islamic term. ˙ However, when eliciting its contents, al-Tabarı¯ refers to maza¯mı¯r, meaning ˙ hymns. As it is illustrated in this example, he adopts himself to the terminology of the Islamic community in the major outlines, but uses the Christian terms, as well, in course of any further specification. On the other hand, this example indicates a slight difference between zabu¯r and maza¯mı¯r. According to this presentation, the scripture given to David is a compilation of records of historical events (akhba¯r), as well as pieces of glorification (tasa¯bı¯h), and only a part is ˙ dedicated to actual hymns or Psalms, as the term maza¯mı¯r indicates it. To turn to actual citations, we may first mention an example of Ps 71:15 (according to the Peshitta Version)60 that comes to be quoted in the following context. Dealing with the question of the Prophet’s illiteracy that is reproached by Christians, al-Tabarı¯ writes that every prophet gained some gifts from God, ˙ mentioning David and his eloquence.61 After this, al-Tabarı¯ specifies these ˙ prophets’ talents, and then turns to David, in order to show that it is not contradictory to be sent by God with a mission and a talent and – at the same time – to be illiterate: “wa-minhum ummı¯ mithla Da¯wu¯d, fa-innahu qa¯la fı¯ zabu¯rihi: “min ajli innı¯ lam aʿrif al-kita¯ba”” (“And some were unlettered, such as David, who said in his Psalter: ‘Because I did not know how to write.’”)62 As illustrated in this example, al-Tabarı¯ sticks to the use of Islamic terminology when calling the ˙ Psalter zabu¯r, however, his quoting the Psalm, and especially his relying on the Peshitta version both attest to his former Christian background. His citing 59 al-Tabarı¯, ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl Rabba¯n, Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa’l-dawla, fı¯ ithba¯t nubuwwat al-nabı¯ Mu˙ ˘ adı¯da, 1973), 101. English translation: Mingana, The book ¯ fa¯q al-G hammad (Bayru¯t: Da¯r al-A ˙of religion and empire, 51. 60 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.” (C.f. e. g. http://www.christianity.com/bible/bible.php?q=Psalm+71&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/ 2016). 61 Cf. al-Tabarı¯, ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl Rabba¯n, Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa’l-dawla, 104, and Mingana, The book of religion˙ and empire, 54: “The answer to this objection is that the most high God has qualified each one of them with what He pleased. Some of them were excellent speakers, such as David … .” 62 al-Tabarı¯, ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl Rabba¯n, Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa’l-dawla, 105; Mingana, The book of religion and˙ empire, 55.

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technique is similar to that of Abu¯ Ra¯’ita in that both authors simply reverberate a ˙ Biblical statement, without further classifying the source, and also in that both authors add interpretations to the text in order to elucidate what their intention is, c.f. as al-Tabarı¯ continues: “wa-lam yuzra dha¯lika bihi.” – he was not re˙ proached because of that.63 The author then takes a mutually accepted authority, and claims that if David can be accepted as a messenger despite of his illiteracy, then Muhammad could also be accepted. The use of a Psalm text is intended to ˙ invalidate a polemical argument of the opponent (i. e. the Christians). Later, in the concluding part of his work, al-Tabarı¯ quotes Old Testament testi˙ monia that are interpreted to be foretelling Muhammad’s mission. al-Tabarı¯ mostly ˙ ˙ approaches the issue on an etymological basis. There is an entire chapter dedicated to “The Prophecies of David about the Prophet”, where al-Tabarı¯ makes references ˙ to psalm verses even indicating the number of the Psalms – according to the Peshitta version. For the sake of brevity, his practice is going to be illustrated on the basis of two examples. (The first one is a rendering of 48:1–264): “Wa-qa¯l Da¯wu¯d … fi’l-mazmu¯r al-tha¯min wa’l-arbaʿı¯n: inna Rabbana¯ ʿaz¯ım, mahmu¯d ˙ ˙ jiddan, wa-fı¯ qarya Ila¯hina¯ wa-fı¯ jabalihi quddu¯s a-muhammad, wa-ʿammat al-ard ˙ ˙ kulluha¯ farahan” (“And David … said in the forty-eighth psalm: Great is our Lord, and ˙ He is greatly Mahmud; and in the city of our God and in His mountain, there is a Holy One and a Muhammad – and the joy hath come to the whole earth”).65

al-Tabarı¯’s technique is similar to that of Abu¯ Ra¯’itah: he relies on the authority of ˙ ˙ a mutually accepted prophet and then adds an interpretation from which the cause he intends to support can be seen: “Fa-ha¯dha¯ min nubuwwa Da¯wu¯d – ʿalayhi al-sala¯m – huwa al-iba¯na wa-l-tasrı¯h alladhı¯ la¯ tula¯bisuhu shuku¯k, fa-qad ˙ ˙ samma¯ al-Nabı¯ tasmiyatan” (“This prophecy of David – peace be with him – is clearness and explicitness itself which cannot suffer any ambiguity. David has indeed mentioned the Prophet by name”).66 However, if we look at his work as one written by a Muslim author for an Islamic case, al-Tabarı¯’s usage is unique, ˙ since other Muslim authors did not quote Biblical passages. This practice of his might be considered representative of the transmission of such texts: it is quite

63 Ibid. 64 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King” (C.f. e. g. http:// www.christianity.com/bible/bible.php?q=Psalm+48&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). 65 al-Tabarı¯, ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl Rabba¯n, Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa-l-dawla, 138–139; Mingana, The book of religion and˙ empire, 88. To the name Muhammad Mignana adds the following footnote: “A not very ˙ natural rendering of a Syriac sentence meaning “in the city of our God and in His holy and glorious mountain.” Strictly speaking, however, it can have the meaning given to it by the author.” 66 Ibid.

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likely that converts like him quoted Biblical passages, and the Muslim audience gained knowledge of them from such apologetic-polemical contexts. The next passage, 110,5–767 reads in the following way: “Wa qa¯l Da¯wu¯d fi’l-mazmu¯r al-mi’a wa’l-ʿashara: inna al-Rabb ʿan yamı¯nik, wa-huwa yaksir fı¯ yawm rajzih al-mulu¯k wa-yudʿif rukn al-mulk, wa-yahkum baynahum bi’l˙ ˙ haqq, wa-yukthir al-qutla¯ wa-l-jayf, wa-yaqtaʿ ru’u¯s bashar kathı¯r fi’l-ard, wa-yashrab fı¯ ˙ ˙ ˙ safari min ma¯’ al-awdiya, min ajl ha¯dha¯ yasmu¯ li’l-maʿa¯lı¯ ra’suh” (“And David – peace be with him – said in the hundred and tenth psalm: “The Lord is at thy right hand, and He shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath; (He shall weaken the prop of the kingdom), and shall judge among them in justice. He shall multiply the (dead bodies) and the corpses, and shall cut off the heads of many people in the earth, and shall drink in his journey from (the water of) the valleys; therefore, His head shall be lifted up (to the heights).”68

In this case, the same technique as the one used by Abu¯ Ra¯’ita can be seen, given ˙ that the quotation is quickly followed by an interpretation: “Fa-ha¯dhihi aydan ˙ sifa ka’l-iʿya¯n …” (“This is also a description as clear as something seen with the ˙ eye.” And the interpretation goes on in the following way: “Who is the one at whose right hand the Lord was, who judged in justice, who cut off heads, and who multiplied dead bodies and corpses, except him – may God bless and save him – and his nation?)”69 By these implicit questions, al-Tabarı¯ seeks to lead the reader ˙ to the understanding of that the description is only true for Muhammad; so alTabarı¯ uses a Psalms text, as well as the authority of David to demonstrate that the ˙ Prophet’s advent was foretold. To sum up al-Tabarı¯’s practice, we may say that he either uses Psalms texts in ˙ order to invalidate counterarguments from the Christian side as far as Muhammad’s prophethood is concerned, or he uses the same practice that Christian authors do: citing from the Scripture and adding interpretations, he seeks to convince the opponent relying on a mutually accepted authority.

67 Its modern English translation reads in the following way: “The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.” (C.f. e. g. http://www.christianity. com/bible/bible.php?q=Psalm+110&ver=kjv. Last accessed: 19/11/2016). 68 al-Tabarı¯,ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl Rabba¯n, Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa-l-dawla, 139; Mingana, The book of religion and˙ empire, 89. 69 Ibid.

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Conclusion As a conclusion, we may say that both authors relied on Syriac texts at their disposal, which they probably translated themselves for the given apologetic or polemical works. It indicates that though Psalms texts were of importance and could be used as proof texts, their translation had not been completed yet, or there was not a widely known and accessible complete written version. However, the translation was on its way, e. g. in such fragmentary form as could be seen in the examples taken from the examined works. Abu¯ Ra¯’itah used short quotes without ˙ further specification, while al-Tabarı¯ used longer quotes, referring to exact loci ˙ th according to the Peshitta version. Using Psalms in 9 -century apologetics seems to be an accepted and prominent practice, however, it is never present without the wider Old Testament context. Both Christian and Muslim authors use them in order to substantiate their doctrines, expecting both Christians and Muslims to accept David’s authority. As a consequence, to use S. Griffith’s phrases: “even the apologetic and polemical use of selected passages from the” Psalms “wove a web of enduring biblical connections between Arabic-speaking … Christians and Muslims … resulting in a situation that may be characterized as one of ‘intertwined scriptures’ or better, intertwined Bible history.”70

Literature Primary Sources Die Schriften des Jacobiten Habı¯b ibn Hidma Abu¯ Ra¯’ita, ed. Georg Graf. CSCO 130. ˙ ˙ ˘ Scriptores Arabici 14. Louvain: Peeters, 1951. Kita¯b al-Dı¯n wa’l-dawla, fı¯ ithba¯t nubuwwat al-nabı¯ Muhammad [al-Tabarı¯, ʿAlı¯ ibn Sahl ˙ ˙ ˘ adı¯da, 1973. ¯ fa¯q al-G Rabba¯n]. Bayru¯t: Da¯r al-A

Secondary Sources Baumstark, Anton. “Der älteste erhaltene griechisch-arabische Text von Psalm 110 (109).” OrChr 31 (1934): 55–66. Griffith, Sidney H. “Habı¯b ibn Hidma Abu¯ Ra¯’ita, a Christian Mutakallim of the First ˙ ˙ ˘ Abbasid Century,” OrChr 64 (1980): 161–201. Griffith, Sidney H. “The Gospel in Arabic: An Inquiry into its Appearance in the First Abbasid Century.” OrChr 69 (1985): 126–167.

70 Griffith, The Bible in Arabic, 4.

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Griffith, Sidney H. The Bible in Arabic. The Scriptures of the ‘People of the Book’ in the Language of Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013. Griffith, Sidney H. “Comparative Religion in the Apologetics of the First Christian Arabic Theologians.” Proceedings of the PMR Conference 4 (1979): 63–87. Keating, Sandra Toenies. Defending the “People of Truth” in the Early Islamic Period. The Christian Apologies of Abu Ra’ita. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 4. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2006. Khoury, Raif Georges. “Quelques réflexions sur les citations de la Bible dans les premières générations islamiques du premier et du deuxième siècles de l’Hégire.” BEO 29 (1977): 269–278. Lazarus-Yafeh, Hava. Intertwined Worlds: Medieval Islam and Bible Criticism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992. Mingana, Alphonse. The book of religion and empire. A semi-official defence and exposition of Islam written by order at the court and with the assistance of the Caliph Mutawakkil (A.D. 847–861), by Ali Tabari. Manchester: University Press; Longmans, Green, 1923. Neuwirth, Angelika. “Glimpses of Paradise.” Pages 76–101 in Eadem, Scripture, Poetry and the Making of a Community. Reading the Qur’an as a Literary Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Neuwirth, Angelika. “Qur’anic readings of the Psalms.” Pages 733–78 in The Qur’a¯n in Context: Historic and Literary Investigations into the Qur’a¯nic Milieu. Edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx. Leiden: Brill, 2010. Polliack, Meira. The Karaite Tradition of Arabic Bible Translation. A Linguistic and Exegetical Study of Karaite Translations of the Pentateuch from the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries CE. Leiden, New York, Köln: Brill, 1997. Thomas, David R. “ʿAlı¯ Ibn al-Rabba¯n al-Tabarı¯.” Pages 669–674 in Christian-Muslim ˙ Relations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 1 (600–900). Edited by David R. Thomas, Barbara Roggema et alia. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 11. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Thomas, David R. The Bible in Arab Christianity. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2007. Toenies Keating, Sandra. “Abu¯ Ra¯ʾita l-Takrı¯tı¯.” Pages 567–581 in Christian-Muslim Re˙ lations. A Bibliographical History. Volume 1 (600–900). Edited by David R. Thomas, Barbara Roggema et alia. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 11. Leiden: Brill, 2009. Toenies Keating, Sandra. Defending the “People of Truth” in the Early Islamic Period. The Christian Apologies of Abu Ra’ita. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 4. Leiden: Brill, 2006. Trimingham, John S. Christianity Among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times. London, New York: Longman, 1979. Vööbus, Arthur. Early Versions of the New Testament: Manuscript Studies. Papers of the Estonian Theological Society in Exile 6. Stockholm: Estonian Theological Society in Exile, 1954. Wansbrough, John E. The Sectarian Milieu. Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1978.

Zsuzsa Závoti (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)

Usage of Psalms in Anglo-Saxon Medicine

Abstract Vernacular medical compendia written down by Christians around the tenth century give us a good glimpse of Anglo-Saxon medicine. The texts shed light upon an era of syncretism, that of Christianity and Anglo-Saxon paganism, when these categories were fluid, and when Christian elements and native Anglo-Saxon elements alike were put to use in pursuit of healing. The manuscripts reveal that remedies for various ills consisted of herbal, verbal and ritual treatments. Verbal elements include gibberish, Latin prayers and Old English charms. Psalms were used in the treatments for a wide array of ailments, and while they functioned undoubtedly only as vox magica for many, there is reason to believe that they had both performative and interpretative purposes. This paper seeks to understand the role of psalms in Anglo-Saxon medicine, and attempts to demonstrate that their usage was conscious and purposeful.

A snapshot of Anglo-Saxon medicine around the tenth century is well preserved in three medical compendia called Lacnunga, Bald’s Leechbook and Leechbook III. These manuscripts written down by Christians in Old English contain remedies that are mixtures of herbal, verbal and ritual treatments. A number of remedies deploy the purported healing power of words – both intelligible and unintelligible. Psalms in Latin run cheek by jowl with gibberish texts, thus making them similar to vox magica. The power of vox magica lies in its uninterpretable nature: its unsimilarity to the hearers’ mother tongue elevates it to the language of transcendental beings, and its obscureness imbues them with mystery. However, there is reason to believe that the psalms in Anglo-Saxon recipes had both performative and interpretative purpose apart from the magical and the religious. This paper seeks to understand the usage and place of psalms in AngloSaxon medicine. For this purpose, we shall first introduce our sources: the leechbooks. We will then give a background about disease etiology in AngloSaxon medicine. After this, we will discuss the terminology that is used for various types of performative texts used in recipes. Lastly, we will analyze the

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recipes containing psalms along with their ancillary texts and ritual acions, of which we will finally draw the conclusions. The Old English leechbooks are collections of recipes written down around the tenth century preserved in MS London, British Library, Royal 12D. Their name derives from the Old English word læce, which means doctor, physician.1 They consist of three segments: Bald’s Leechbook I, Bald’s Leechbook II and Leechbook III, each three with a numbered table of contents. Bald’s Leechbook II ends with a verse colophon in Latin referring to a person called Bald; hence the first two of the Leechbooks are referred to as “Bald’s Leechbook”. The manuscript was presumably read throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as it appears from the marginalia and the frequent nota signs appearing throughout the folios.2 The recipes rely heavily on Classical Latin and Greek medical texts. Following classical tradition, they present diseases and their cures in a downward order, from head to toe. In this system, diseases and their treatments were vertically mapped onto the body, starting with different types of headaches and finishing with the ills of the feet. Even though Latin was the language of science, these texts were written in the vernacular, which is exceptional amongst contemporary medical texts and suggests they were regularly used in medical practice. The other Old English medical compendium is Lacnunga which literally means remedies.3 It was also written around the tenth or eleventh centuries and it is extant in London, British Library, MS Harley 585. Its organization is less systematic, the head-to-toe pattern is barely recognizable as the sequence of remedies is rather higgledy-piggledy. It shows the highest rate of magico-religious traits compared to the other three books we have mentioned, and it also contains references to gods and supernatural beings that are believed to belong to the Anglo-Saxon pagan past. The Lacnunga also contains the so-called Nine Herbs Charm which mentions Woðan, the god shared by both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian pagan culture. The leechbooks, especially the second part of Bald’s Leechbook show a strong influence of the antique Graeco-Roman line of medicine, while Leechbook III and Lacnunga demonstrate more elements of what we call “supernatural medicine.” By “antique Graeco-Roman” medicine, we mean the materialistic-organic-humoral approach to medicine that is associated with e. g. Hippocrates or Galen. Within this approach, disease etiology and treatment bore a materialistic-organic nature in the sense that the origin of the various physical states were considered to be deriving from the ratio and quality of humours and their effect on the 1 Bosworth, Joseph and Toller, T. Northcote, eds. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1898, 607. 2 Ker, Neil Ripley. Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957, 332. 3 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 604.

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organs. Both physical and mental diseases were thought to be caused by organic malfunctions. Conversely, organic malfunctions were caused by disharmony of the humours, by excessive coldness, heat, dryness or moistness. Imbalance of the humours, and excessive coldness, heat, dryness and moistness, on the other hand, could be caused by alcohol, food, drugs, insomnia or stress.4 Therefore, the ultimate cause of a disease may not have always been materialistic, but the direct cause and the antecedent cause were always materialistic: organic malfunction originating in imbalance of the humours or excess of the four characteristics, as the table below shows.

Alcohol/drug consumption, poisoning, excessive food, insomnia, stress

Not necessarily materialistic

Imbalance if humours, excessive coldness / dryness / heat / moistness

Materialistic

Organic malfunction

Materialistic

Disease

Table 1: Graeco-Roman disease etiology based on Ahonen’s summary.

Bald’s Leechbook bears resemblance to this approach and it makes reference to the antique concept of the four humours and the four elements; however, Leechbook III rather resorts to treatments we would today consider supernatural. In Bald’s Leechbook, diseases are treated by salves made of herbs or sometimes of animal origin with a few exceptions; even surgery is implemented in some cases. Even though certain herbs were definitely used for their purported magical properties, the antique materialistic approach rather applies them based on their “chemical” effects on the malfunctioning organs and humours: a disease arising

4 Marke Ahonen, Mental Disorders in Ancient Philosophy, Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind 13 (Cham: Springer, 2014), 14.

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from excessive moistness was combatted with a plant that was thought to have drying effect and so on. Conversely, medicine with “supernatural” elements presupposes, on the one hand, transcendental beings that intervene with human life, inflict or cease diseases; and on the other hand, it presupposes forces imperceptible and inconceivable, yet not untameable to the human world. These spiritual forces and beings can be addressed by religious and by magical means; the main difference being that religion supplicates the spiritual forces while magic coerces these forces.5 Whether Anglo-Saxon recipes apply Christian elements like psalms and holy water as religious or magic means is a question, but a question only for the modern reader and most plausibly not for the Anglo-Saxon performer. As Jolly explains, Anglo-Saxons around the tenth century were conscious about their Christianity, but they unconsciously amalgamated “folklore notions predating Christianity,” hence, they often combatted the “evils of ancient Germanic tradition” with Christian liturgy.6 The very first instance of a magico-religious element in Leechbook I is entry 45.1: implementation of holy water with herbs against poison: “Wið attre betonican 7 þa smalan attorlaþan do on halig wæter drinc þat wæter 7 et þa wyrta”.7 The entry further offers recipes against poison, snake bite, as well as something described as “that which comes from shot,” and the recipes contain more magico-religious elements. The ensuing recipes using Christian elements are for “flying venom,” “restraint,” “lent disease,” “fiend sick man,” “lunatics,” “rune magic,” “elves,” “elf-shot” and “nightmare.” In Leechbook II, which bears the most traits of the antique materialistic-organic medicine, the magico-religious element first occurs as late as recipe 53, which proposes holy water as an ingredient for a “light drink:” “To leohtum drence ælfþonan gyþrifan betonican þa clufyhtan wenwyrt eoforþrotan, heah hioloþan ealehtran eolonan twa snæda clatan wegbrædan ontre cropleac to wætan healf halig wæter healf sie hluttor eala”.8 From then on, various types of ailments are treated with Christian elements, such as elf-shots, dysentery, and jaundice. Contrastingly, the magicoreligious element in Leechbook III is apparent from the very first recipe, which prescribes a treatment for head troubles and at the same time for “temptation of 5 Richard Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 15. 6 Karen Louise Jolly, Popular Religion in Late Anglo-Saxon England: Elf Charms in Context (London: University of North Carolina Press, 1996), 115. 7 Osawld Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, vol. 2 (London, 1865), 110. Against poison: put in holy water betony and the small atterlothe, drink the water and eat the worts, Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 111. 8 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 274. For a light drink, use elfthon, githrife, betony, the cloved wenwort, everthroat, horse heal, lupins, two proportions of helenium, clote, wayboad, ontre, cropleek, for liquid let half be holy water, half clear ale see Cockayne, Leechdoms,Wortcunning, 275.

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the devil,” “nightwalkers” whose meaning is still debated, and various types of evil magic: “To þon ilcan sec lytle stanas on swealwan bridda magan … do on þone mon þe him þearf sie him biþ sona sel hi beoþ gode wiþ heafod ece 7 wiþ eagwærce 7 wiþ feondes costunga 7 nihtgengan 7 lencten adle 7 maran 7 wyrtforbore 7 malscra 7 yflum gealdor cræftum”.9 Leechbook III also contains the highest number of Christian elements as means of healing and supernatural beings as sources of illness. As noted earlier, the leechdoms in our sources employ various therapies to treat diseases. Beside herbal and ritual remedies, we often come across remedies where there is an emphasis on the verbal element. The verbal element can be gibberish, or a Biblical text, a prayer, a Christianity-themed narrative, or even a charm that apparently has no connection in subject with Christianity. The leechbooks use various terms for these verbal elements: galdor, which means incantation, charm, sorcery, and its verb galan means to sing, enchant;10 gebed means prayer;11 leoð means song, poem, lay and its verb leoðian to sing, to sound;12 and finally, sealm means psalm.13 The term that occurs most frequently in the leechdoms is galdor. As penitentials and legislative texts show, galdor was punished, on the one hand, on the grounds that it was lethal or injured people. On the other hand, it was forbidden as a pagan practice. The word galdor, however, is also used throughout our medical compendia whenever an incantation or prayer is to be sung which does not strictly belong to liturgy. In some cases, galdor is expressively distinguished from gebed (prayer) when they occur in the same remedy. In other cases, they emphatically stand together and apparently are even blurred together, like, for instance, in the remedy for snakebite: “Wiþ nædran slege do of þinum earan þat teoro 7 smire mid ymb 7 sing þriwa þæs halgan Sce Iohannes gebed 7 gealdor”.14 Elsewhere, psalms are applied together with gibberish texts denoted as galdor. Furthermore, galdor can also denote a charm that has intelligible words but are not Christian in theme like leechdom 86 in Lacnunga that has to be recited or 9 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 306. For that ilk: seek in the maw of young swallows for some little stones … put them on the man, on whom thou wilt, him who hath the need, he will soon be well. They are good for head ache [sic], and for eye wark, and for the fiends temptations, and for night goblin visitors, and for typhus, and for the night mare [sic], and for the knot, and for fascination, and for evil enchantments by song. Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, 307. 10 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 359. 11 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 371. 12 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 634–5. 13 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 851. 14 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 112. For stroke of viper, remove from thine ear the wax and smear around therewith, and say thrice the prayer [and galdor] of Saint John. Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 113.

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rather sung in the patient’s ears and upon the crown of the head in case of severe fever. Thus, galdor can be Christian or non-Christian, intelligible or non-intelligible. It is used for all sorts of texts that have to be recited, especially those which do not explicitly pertain to a Christian context. Galdor does not necessarily denote a harmful act. It is more of a name of a ritual act, a method something has to be uttered, and this method often assumes a spiritual nature: it is a way in which transcendental forces can be addressed. Moving on to gebed, its etymology goes back to “request, asking for something”.15 It is mostly used for various texts that are expressively Christian in theme: for instance, “common” prayers such as the Pater Noster; or texts quoted from the Bible; but also apocryphal texts as for example leechdom 64 in Lacnunga, that tells the story of Saint John, who was challenged by a high priest to demonstrate the power of God by drinking a cup of poison without dying after having seen two men die from it. However, gebed is also used occasionally for gibberish texts that are not expressively Christian. Leoð is used only twice in our sources. Once, it is used practically as a synonym of galdor: “Wið ðon þe mon oððe nyten wyrm gedrince, gyf hyt sy wæpnedcynnes sing ðis leoð in þæt swiðre eare … ‘Gonomil orgomil marbumil …’ Sing nygon siðan in þæt eare þis galdor 7 ‘Pater noster’ æne.”16

The usage of leoð in the second instance is somewhat ambiguous. Leechdom 62 in the first part of Bald’s Leechbook, which we will discuss later in more detail, commands to concoct a herbal salve and to write the first few sentences of John’s Gospel onto a paten. Then it says “Þweah þonne þat gewrit mid halig wætre of þam disce on þone drenc. Sing þonne credo 7 pater noster 7 þis leoþ. Beati Inmaculati [sic] þone sealm mid ad dominum þam xii gebed sealmum” [italicization mine].17 And then comes an adjuration of frigores et febres, alias the fever demons, after which comes three lines of the work Carmen Paschale of Sedulius, a Christian poet of the first half of the fifth century. Thus, syntactically it is not entirely obvious whether the word leoð refers to the psalm Beati immaculati, 15 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 371. 16 Edward Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585: The ‘Lacnunga’, 2 vols (Lewiston and Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001), 14. In the event that man or beast drinks an insect, if it is male sing this [leoð] which is written hereafter into the right ear … : ‘Gonomil orgomil marbumil …’ Sing this [galdor] nine times into the ear and the Our Father once. Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 15. 17 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 136. Then wash the writing with holy water off the dish into the drink, then sing the Credo, and the Paternoster [sic], and this lay, Beati immaculati, the psalm; with the twelve prayer psalms, I adjure you, etc. Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 136.

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distinguishing it from the others; or to the Sedulius quotation along with the adjuration. Finally, the word sealm turns up five times in our medical sources. Unlike the previous words whose boundaries of meaning are somewhat fuzzy as we have demonstrated, the word sealm only denotes verses belonging to the Book of Psalms in the Bible. Although the word itself is written only five times in the sources, the number of instances where psalms are used is seven. Twelve psalms are referred to, some of which are used several times. The psalms are referred to by their first few words, so anyone using the leechbooks had to be familiar with the whole text of the psalms too. Furthermore, psalms are never used alone in remedies, other texts are also utilized beside them, often accompanied by ritual actions. The table below illustrates the conditions where psalms are applied, the number of psalms that are used within one remedy, the location of the remedy and the psalm itself that is used for a particular ailment. Table 2: Number, locations and titles of psalms used in recipes for various ailments Ailment

Σ of psalms Location

ælfsiden – “elfmagic,” sickness induced by elves + feondes costnung – devil’s probation”

6

Lcn, xxix

feond seoc – “devil sickness”

3

BL I, lxiii

fever

2 (12)

BL I, lxii

bone-salve

1

Lcn, xxxi

holy salve

1

Lcn, lxiii

lung disease in cattle

1

Lcn, cxxxiii

þeor – probably a type of skin condition

1

BL I, xlvii

Psalm Miserere mei, deus 50 (51); Deus in nomine tuo 53 (54); Deus misereatur nobis 66 (67); Domine deus in adiutorium 69 (70); Domine Deus 87 (88); Inclina domine 85 (86) Beati immaculati 118 (119); Exurgat 67 (68); Salvum me fac deus 68 (69) Beati immaculati 118 (119); Ad dominum 119 (120); 12 unnamed psalms Benedictus Dominus Deus Meus 143 (144) Beati immaculati 118 (119) Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore 33 (34) Miserere mei, deus 50 (51)

As the table shows, psalms were used against a wide range of conditions. As noted earlier, malignant supernatural beings and their inflictions were an obvious target of Christian liturgical cures. Hence, psalms were applied in case of attacks of the ælf and devils. Feond seoc means “devil-sick,” while feondes costnung is usually translated as “temptation of the devil” or “probation of the devil.” The term feond seoc is related to deofol seoc (also “devil sickness”), which also denotes

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a condition influenced by devils. We do not know exactly what these terms mean, however, they frequently occur in the Gospels and in hagiographical texts describing demoniacs. In addition, another medical compendium called the Old English Herbarium explains the word gewitleaste (“people who lost their minds”) with doefulseocnys: “Wið gewitleaste, þæt is wið deofulseocnysse, genim of þam lichoman þysse ylcan wyrte mandragore”.18 The Old English Herbarium is a translation of a Latin work, where the original Latin of this sentence uses the phrase “Ad epilempticos, hoc est daemoniacos et qui spasmum patiuntur,” that is “for epileptics, that are demoniacs and who suffer convulsions”.19 Thus, the Latin terms for epileptics and demoniacs are identified in Old English with the “devilsick.” Ælfsiden, on the other hand, is an even more obscure condition. It can be roughly translated as “magic of the ælfe,” as siden denotes a form of magic.20 The condition is associated with fever and a delusional or hallucinatory state.21 However, psalms were not only resorted to in case of supernatural attacks but in case of ordinary diseases too, such us lung disease in cattle or when concocting a salve strengthening the bones. Whenever psalms are used in a recipe, they are always accompanied by other texts and ritual actions as well. The table below shows which psalms were used for what ailments, and what ancillary texts and ritual actions were employed. Entry 29 in Lacnunga describes how a halga drænc (holy drink) is to be prepared against elf-magic (ælfsiden) and devil’s probation (feondes costnung). Firstly, parts of the Gospel are to be written on a paten along with psalms, then a drink is to be prepared of herbs, wine and running water that was to be fetched in silence by a virgin. The words of the Gospel are then to be washed off into the drink, and the drink is to be used after having masses and psalms sung over it: … Ber þon to ciricean; læt singan mæssan ofer, ane ‘Omnibus’, oðre ‘Contra tribulatione’, þriddan ‘Sancta Marian’. Sing ðas gebedsealmas: ‘Miserere mei Deus’, ‘Deus in nomine tuo’, ‘Deus misereatur nobis’, ‘Domine Deus’, ‘Inclina Domine’, 7 ‘Credo’, 7 ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, 7 letanias, ‘Pater noster’; 7 bletsa georne in ælmihtiges Drihtnes naman 7 cweð. ‘In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti sit benedictum’; bruc syþþan.22 18 Hubert Jan De Vriend, The Old English Herbarium and Medicina de Quadrupedibus (London: Oxford University Press, 1984, 172. Against the mindless, that is, against devil-sickness take this same herb, mandragora, on the body (translation mine). 19 De Vriend, The Old English Herbarium, 173. 20 Alaric Hall, Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2007), 119. 21 Hall, Elves in Anglo-Saxon England, 122–3. 22 Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 16. Then carry it to church; have masses sung over it, first ‘By all [the saints]’, second ‘Against trouble’, third ‘Holy Mary’. Sing these precatory psalms: ‘God have mercy on me’, ‘God in your name’, ‘May God have mery on us’, ‘Lord God’, ‘Turn, Lord’, and the Creed, and ‘Glory to God in the highest’, and litanies, the Our

Write on paten, wash off into drink Sing psalms, Sedulius Prepare herbs Sing masses Make patient sing psalms Drink concoction out of churchbell

Beati immaculati 118 (119); Exurgat 67 (68); Salvum me fac deus 68 (69)

Beati immaculati 118 (119); Ad dominum 119 (120); 12 unnamed psalms

Benedictus Dominus Deus Meus 143 (144)

feond seoc – “devil sickness”

fever

bone-salve

Credo Pater noster Adiuro uos frigores et febres… Sedulius’ Carmen Paschale Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel (Luke 1:68) Magnificað (Luke 1:46) Credo Matheus, Marcus, Lucas, Iohannes (uncertain)

Other text In principio erat verbum (John 1:1–5) Et circumibat Ihesus totam Galileam Write on paten parts of the Gospel (Matthew 4:23–5) Prepare drink from herbs Deus misereatur nobis (opening of litanies) Virgin fetches running water Credo Words written on paten washed into Gloria in excelsis deo drink Letanias Masses + psalms sung over it Pater noster Drink ‘In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti sit benedictum’ Prepare herbs Sing masses Domine sancte pater omnipotens Make patient sing psalms Drink concoction out of churchbell

Ritual actions

Miserere mei, deus 50 (51); Deus in nomine tuo 53 (54); Deus misereatur nobis 66 (67); Domine deus in adiutorium 69 (70); Domine Deus 87 (88); Inclina domine 85 (86)

Psalm

ælfsiden – “elf-magic,” sickness induced by elves + feondes costnung – “devil’s probation”

Ailment

Table 3: Ailments, psalms, ancillary ritual actions and texts

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Beati immaculati 118 (119)

Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore 33 (34)

Miserere mei, deus 50 (51)

lung disease in cattle

þeor – probably a type of skin condition

Psalm

holy salve

Ailment

Table 3 (Continued)

Make 5 crosses with [cassuc], place around cattle Sing Benedicam, psalm Sprinkle holy water Burn frankincense Bring money to Church Sing prayers while digging out herbs Prepare herbs and psalms Drink concoction

Prepare herbs Churn butter of animal of one colour Carve name of 4 evangelists on stick Stir concoction with stick Sing upon psalm and prayers

Ritual actions

Gloria in excelsis Pater Noster

Benedicite Letanias Pater noster

Gloria in excelsis Deo Credo Letanias Deus meus et Pater In principio… Wyrmgealdor Galdor: Acre arcre arnem none… Exorcisms and blessings

Other text

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The psalms thematically fit the circumstances: the first one begs for forgiveness as the disease could be interpreted as a punishment from God. In addition, the condition denoted as “temptation” or “probation of the devil” might have been interpreted as something sinful that had to be repented. The second psalm asks for God’s protection against enemies that can be interpreted as the attacking supernatural beings. The third one is ambiguous as there is no psalm that opens with these words. The reference might point to Psalm 66 (67), however, if we consider “nobis” an erroneously written “nostri.” The topic of this psalm along with the remaining three is mercy and the speaker’s desperate situation. All the mentioned psalms are in line with the situation of the patient: the sufferer of the ælfsiden or the feondes costung condition is attacked by “foes,” the supernatural beings, and begs for God’s mercy and help. The presence of running water is debated: it can either have hygienic purpose, as running water is less likely to have harmful bacteria that can further worsen the patient’s state; on the other hand, it might also point to the Anglo-Saxons’ pre-Christian tradition of venerating wells and waterfalls. Likewise, the emphasis of the virgin has both Chrisitan and pagan connotations, so the recipe clearly demonstrates what Jolly calls the unconscious amalgamation of Christian and pre-Christian folklore elements. Entry 53 in Leechbook I provides recipes for somewhat similar conditions to the previous ones: it describes what actions are to be taken in case of feondseocnys, bræcseocnys and weden heorte. We have briefly touched upon feondseocnys already; bræcseocnys and weden heorte are most plausibly akin to the other three conditions, hence the co-occurrence. Bræcseocnys probably denoted an epilepsy-like condition as bræc means humour, phlegm,23 and in the Middle Ages epilepsy was thought to be closely connected to phelgm. Weden heorte is an enigmatic term: it can be literally translated as a mad heart, as wede means mad, furious.24 As Hall noted, wede- is “a transparent, if morphologically somewhat problematic, derivative of wod ‘mad’ also found in wedehund (‘mad dog’)” .25 The psalms, however, are employed only against feondseocnys. A salve is to be concocted of herbs and holy water, masses are to be sung over the herbs, and the drink is to be drunk out of church bell while the patient is to sing three psalms, after which a priest is to sing a benediction over the patient. The first psalm applied here is one of the longest psalms and thematically it is loosely related to the disease. Father; and zealously bless [it] in the name of almighty God and say, ‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit let it be blessed’; then use it. Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 17. 23 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 119. 24 An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 1181. 25 Alaric Hall, Madness, “Medication – and Self-Induced Hallucination?: Elleborus (and Woody Nightshade) in Anglo-Saxon England, 700–900,” in Magic and Medicine, ed. Carole Biggam = Leeds Studies in English 44 (2013): 43–69, esp. 47.

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However, each of its stanzas stand for a letter in the Hebrew alphabet and as such, it could bear certain magical powers just like the words that are washed off into the liquid in the previous recipe. The second and third psalms beseech God to scatter one’s enemies: the patient suffering from the infliction of devils sings the psalms to God, imploring Him to rid the patient of the torturing demons. As we have already mentioned, the condition ælfsiden is strongly associated with fever. Hence, it is not surprising that there is another remedy that employs psalms against fever and the condition called lenctenadl (lent disease). Lenctenadl has been identified as malaria (Cameron 10), thus the “fever” in entry 62 in Leechbook I was most plausibly not a simple fever but a tenacious and fierce one, possibly with mental symptoms, similarly to malaria. Thus, the symptoms could be similar to those of a devil or an ælf possession. The prescribed steps are strikingly similar to those of Lacnunga 29: a herbal drink has to be prepared with holy water, the opening lines of John’s Gospel has to be written on a paten, the writing has to be washed into the drink accompanied by prayer and psalms, and finally, the drink has to be consumed by both the patient and the leech. þis mon sceal writan on husldisce 7 on þone drenc mid halig wætere þwean 7 singan on. In principio erat uerbum et uerbum erat aput deum et deus erat uerbum. Hoc erat principio aput deum omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Þweah þonne þat gewrit mid halig wætre of þam disce on þone drenc. Sing þonne credo 7 pater noster 7 þis leoþ. Beati Inmaculati [sic] þone sealm mid ad dominum þam xii gebed sealmum. Adiuro uos frigores et febres per deum patrem omnipotentem et per eius filium iesum cristum per ascensum et discensum Saluatoris nostri ut recedatis de hoc famulo dei et de corpusculo eius quam dominus noster in luminare instituit uincit uos leo de tribu iuda radix Dauid. Uincit uos qui uinci non potest + Cristus natus, + Cristus passus + Cristus uenturus, + aius, aius, aius, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. In die salutiferis incedens gressibus urbes oppida rura uicos castra castella peragrans. Omnia depulsis sanabat corpora morbis. 7 þriwa þonne onsupe þæs wæteres swelces gehwæþer þara manna.26

The act of involving both the patient and the leech in drinking the salve demonstrates that the power of the ritual itself was at least as (if not more) important as the medicament. The words written on the paten become akin to the Host and by washing them into the drink they endow it with sacred power. The prayers and psalms further bless the drink and when the healer and patient thus drink it, the act symbolically becomes a communion. Storms says of this remedy that “[w]riting itself

26 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 136. A man shall write this upon the sacramental paten, and wash it off into the drink with holy water, and sing over it… In the beginning, etc. (John i. 1.) [sic] Then wash the writing with holy water off the dish into the drink, then sing the Credo, and the Paternoster [sic], and this lay, Beati immaculati, the psalm; with the twelve prayer psalms, I adjure you, etc. And let each of the two men then sip thrice of the water so prepared. Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 137.

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was a form of magic power, the paten represents power, and the words derived power from their religious associations, their contents and their rhythm.”27 The two psalms named in this recipe are Beati immaculati and Ad dominum, however, the text instructs the user to sing twelve other psalms. There is no reference as to which these twelve psalms should be, and it is uncertain whether the user of this recipe knew it; in fact, the text does not even make it clear whether the psalms should be randomly chosen or if they are specific twelve psalms. Beati immaculati again emphasizes the magical properties of words, while in Ad dominum, the speaker addresses God in his misery. Beside the psalms, the Creed and the Our Father also have to be sung along with an adjuration of frigores et febres, and part of the Carmen Paschale from Sedulius. The recipe for a bone-salve prescribes an elaborately prepared salve that should be smeared on the head first, disregarding where the pain is. Psalm 143 (144) is to be sung over the salve along with the Creed, the Magnificat, and a prayer beginning “Matthew, Marc, Luke, John.” Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel is also mentioned beside psalm 143 (144) as þone oþerne (the other), which implies that it is a psalm too. However, there is no such psalm that begins with these words. Entry 63 in Lacnunga for a holy salve instructs to churn butter of milk coming from an animal of one color and to mix it with herbs. The names of the four evangelists should then be carved on a stick, and the concoction made of the butter and herbs should be stirred while singing psalm Beati immaculati along with other prayers and galdors: … Styre þonne mid ðy sticcan ða buteran, eal þæt fæt; ðu sing ofer ðas sealmas: ‘Beati inmaculati’ … , [sic] ælcne ðriwa ofer, 7 ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, 7 ‘Credo in Deum Paterm’, 7 letanias arime ofer, þæt is ðara haligra naman 7 ‘Deus meus et Pater’, et ‘In principio’, 7 þæt wyrmgealdor; 7 þis gealdor singe ofer: ‘Acre arcre arnem nona ærnem beoðor ærnem nidren. arcun cunað ele harassan fidine’. Sing ðis nygon siðan, 7 do ðin spatl on, 7 blaw on, 7 lege ða wyrta be ðæm ceace, 7 gehalgie hy syððan mæssepreost …28

27 G. Storms, Anglo-Saxon Magic (Nijmegen: Springer Science+Business Media, B.V., 1948), 260. 28 Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 32. Then stir the butter with the stick, stir the whole vessel; sing these psalms over it, ‘Blessed are the undefiled’… each one three times over it, and ‘Glory to God in the Highest’, and ‘I believe in God the Father’, and recite litanies over it, that is the names of the saints and ‘My God and Father’, and ‘In the Beginning’ and the ‘worm’-incantation; and sing this incantation over it: ‘Acre arcre arnem none ærnem beoðor ærnem. nidren. arcun. cunað ele harassan fidine.’ Sing this nine times, and put your spittle on it, and blow on it, and lay the plants by the bowl, and then let a priest consecrate them … Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 33.

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Interestingly, this recipe not only uses Biblical or liturgical texts beside psalms, but a galdor and a so-called wyrmgaldor as well. The galdor might be corrupt Old Irish and the text itself turns up in several manuscripts, all in connection with poisons and wounds. The wyrmgaldor, which literally means a worm-charm, is referred to as though it was obvious for the user of the remedy what they should chant. The psalms are used together with elements of folk medicine not overtly Christian, and references made to both psalms and galdors reveal that practicioners of medicine had to be familiar with both groups. Efforts have been made by modern scholars to decipher the galdors, and they believe that parts of the galdors were originally intelligible Old Irish sentences probably concerning relevant topics like wounds and poisoning. However, presence of the remaining gibberish parts suggest that the texts were not primarily utilized because of their meaning, but rather because they were vox magica. This poses the question whether psalms and the other prayers were also used as vox magica or whether they were used because of their meanings. Remedy 133 in Lacnunga for lung disease in cattle advises to make five crosses of a hitherto not identified herb and to place it around the cattle. In addition, holy water should be sprinkled and frankincense should be burnt while psalm 33 should be sung.29 Lastly, the remedy for þeor in Leechbook I prescribes that while a drink is being prepared, the psalm Miserere mei should be sung over it twelve times.30 As a conclusion, we can see that ritual actions, Christian liturgical texts and non-Christian folkloric texts played equally important roles in the performance of the treatments. In the majority of the cases, the psalms were thematically chosen to fit the circumstances. Nevertheless, the fact that Biblical and liturgical texts were written down in leechbooks does not necessarily mean that they were understood by those who used it. Gibberish texts were also written down, and there is a less than slight chance someone understood those. The leechdoms for elf-magic and fever show that the power of words was not necessarily set in motion only if the words were uttered: washing off the mere writing into the drink was believed to cure the patient. This demonstrates that words themselves were believed to be effective enough regardless of their meaning or whether they were heard and understood by the subject. Whether the words washed off into the drink were really believed to bear power because of what they meant or because they were part of the Bible can be debated – but most probably it was both. On the other hand, seeing the abbreviated references of the texts to be used gives us the impression that the person who performed the healing was well accustomed with the texts, so much so that we are tempted to think it must have 29 Pettit, Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers, 96. 30 Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, 116.

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been a member of the Church. Long quotes from the Bible that are to be used are referred to by the opening words and the closing words only. Also, the choice of psalms matches thematically the conditions; the graver the condition, the more elaborate the remedy was and the more psalms it required. We also have evidence that psalters were studied extensively: by far the largest number of extant glossed and translated works are the psalms.31 Interlinear translation glosses that run through psalters indicate that the books often served an educative purpose, and monks were expected not only to learn and memorize the words of the psalms but also to understand them: they had to know and convey what these sacred texts meant in their own tongue. As a conclusion, we can state that psalms were a very well defined and recognized phenomena in the Anglo-Saxon culture compared to the other fuzzy genres appearing in the medical sources. The extensive usage of psalms in medicine indicates their popularity. They were also easily paired up with charms which perhaps had non-Christian origins and they were also complemented by rituals. Their occurrences suggest that they were matched with ailments based on their meanings, however, it was not exclusively and not necessarily their meaning that was believed to help the patient. The psalms themselves carry the power; and every aspect of their texts was used: the text as prayer, addressing and beseeching God; the text as a physical object that can be concocted into a salve and used as an ingredient with special powers; and finally the text as ritual, the means of bringing the transcendental accessible to human beings.

Literature Ahonen, Marke. Mental Disorders in Ancient Philosophy. Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind 13. Cham: Springer, 2014. Bosworth, Joseph and Toller, T. Northcote, eds. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 1898. Brown, George H. “The Psalms as the Foundation of Anglo-Saxon Learning.” Pages 1–24 in The Place of the Psalms in the Intellectual Culture of the Middle Ages. Edited by Nancy Elizabeth Van Deusen. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Cameron, Malcolm Laurence. Anglo-Saxon Medicine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Cockayne, Osawld. Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, vol. 2, London, 1865.

31 George H. Brown, “The Psalms as the Foundation of Anglo-Saxon Learning,” in The Place of the Psalms in the Intellectual Culture of the Middle Ages, ed. Nancy Elizabeth Van Deusen (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999), 1–24.

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De Vriend, Hubert Jan. The Old English Herbarium and Medicina de Quadrupedibus. London: Oxford University Press, 1984. Hall, Alaric. Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2007. Hall, Alaric. “Madness, Medication – and Self-Induced Hallucination? Elleborus (and Woody Nightshade) in Anglo-Saxon England, 700–900.” Leeds Studies in English 44 (2013): 43–69. Jolly, Karen Louise. Popular Religion in Late Anglo-Saxon England: Elf Charms in Context. London: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. Kieckhefer, Richard. Magic in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Ker, Neil Ripley. Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957. Pettit, Edward. Anglo-Saxon Remedies, Charms, and Prayers from British Library MS Harley 585: The ‘Lacnunga.’ 2 vols. Lewiston and Lampeter: Mellen, 2001. Storms, G. Anglo-Saxon Magic. Nijmegen: Springer Science+Business Media, B.V., 1948.

Michael Zellmann-Rohrer (University of Oxford)

The Usefulness of the Psalms. Byzantine Manuals for the Ritual Exploitation of the Psalter

Abstract and Introduction The Psalms, it would be no exaggeration to say, were a treasured inheritance in Byzantine civilization. Here I hope to offer a contribution to the study of a somewhat obscure corner of that inheritance, uses of the Psalms for what can conveniently be termed magic. That is, ritualized and goal-oriented use, beyond the realm of private devotion and the liturgy prescribed by the Orthodox Church. My main focus will be written recipes for such an approach to the Psalms in medieval and early modern Greek manuscripts, a genre that has received little attention from Byzantinists.1 These I will also examine in light of the comparable and much better studied Jewish tradition of shimmush tehillim, known from the medieval Cairo Geniza and traced in some form as far back as the Talmud, but most voluminously attested in a dedicated treatise, the late medieval and early modern Sefer shimmush tehillim elucidated by Bill Rebiger.2 Finally I will attempt to set the Greek material in its contemporary context and comment on the social position of its users. But first it will be useful to introduce the career of the Psalms in the Byzantine and later Greek tradition more broadly.

The Psalms in Byzantine practice The Psalter was surely among the most important portions of the scriptures in the Byzantine tradition. In its Greek translation it was widely read, and frequently copied on its own as a freestanding book, sometimes in deluxe, lavishly illustrated codices. The Psalms provided material for chanting and singing in the liturgy of the Church, and for the composition of further liturgical hymns. They 1 See briefly Karl Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Literatur von Justinian bis zum Ende des oströmischen Reiches, 2nd ed. (Munich: Beck, 1897), 631, and more recently Michael Zellmann-Rohrer, “‘Psalms Useful for Everything:’ Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Manuals for the Amuletic Use of the Psalter,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 72 (2018): 113–168, with editions and translations of some relevant texts. 2 See Bill Rebiger, Sefer Shimmush Tehillim. Buch vom magischen Gebrauch der Psalmen (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), for the later texts and a good introduction; the Geniza texts are edited in MTKG III nos. 78–82, with a synoptic discussion at 10–13.

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also served personal piety, spiritually beneficial private reading and recitation by laity, ecclesiastics, and monks. Around the Psalter grew up a rich exegetical tradition, on difficulties of grammar and vocabulary and more elevated questions of theological interpretation. In one telling example, an annotated Psalter in a tenth-century codex, it is not unusual to find an entire page’s worth of marginal commentary encircling a single half-verse.3 The Psalms also played a key role in education. Along with select other scriptures they came to rival or even replace Homer as the core Greek school texts. This educational use included memorization, as part of the rudiments of training in reading and writing the Greek language.4 A collection of prayers in a fifteenth-century manuscript includes one for help in a child’s learning the Psalter, which invokes the exemplum of the divine grace visited upon David as composer of the Psalms.5 Monastic communities also called for members to memorize the entire Psalter, for practical use in prayer and to promote the spiritual benefits of the contemplation of its texts.6 The Psalms were on display in Byzantine epigraphy. Outside of their common appearance on the walls, mosaic floors, and even liturgical implements of churches,7 Byzantine Christians drew on analogous passages for inscriptions of 3 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France cod. gr. 139, e. g. f. 149r with Ps 72(73):14b. 4 See for example the question of a pious layman posed to the holy man Barsanuphios of sixthcentury Palestine, whether his ability to memorize the Psalms, despite being otherwise “slow at learning” (βραδὺς ὢν ει᾿ς μάθησιν), is due to divine or demonic influence: Letters 402, edited by François Neyt, Paula de Angelis-Noah, and Lucien Regnault, Barsanuphe et Jean de Gaza. Correspondance 2.2 (Paris: Cerf), 466 (confirming the former explanation). 5 Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana cod. gr. III 12, f. 481r, “Prayer for a child given (i. e. sent to a teacher) to be a pupil” (εὐχὴ ἐπὶ παιδίου διδομένου ει᾿ς τὸ μαθητεύεσθαι). The relevant portion runs, “(God) who graced your servant David with the spirit of the grace of hymning you, the true God, with Psalms and hymns and spiritual odes, even now … guide your servant so-andso to the learning of the Book of Psalms” (ὁ τῷ σῷ δούλῳ Δαυὶδ χαρισάμενος τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος τοῦ διὰ ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς ὑμνεῖν σὲ τὸν ἀληθινὸν θεόν, καὶ νῦν … καθοδήγησον τὸν δοῦλόν σου δεῖνα ει᾿ς τὴν μάθησιν τῆς βίβλου τῶν ψαλμῶν). A similar prayer in a sixteenth-century manuscript, preceded by the singing of Ps. 33(34) as the practitioner holds the head of the child, again invokes David but is directed at the learning of scripture more generally: Venice, BNM cod. gr. XI 20, f. 302r, “A prayer when you are to give a child (to a teacher) to learn letters” (εὐχὴ ὅταν ὀφείλῃς δοῦναι παιδίον ει᾿ς μαθησίαν γραμμάτων). 6 The fourth-century Pachomian Rule required memorizing at least the New Testament and Psalms, and the compulsory education of unlearned entrants began with 20 Psalms (see Jerome’s Latin translation, c. 139, PL 23:78B). Any prospective member was to be kept outside the monastery itself until he had been taught as many Psalms as he could learn (and the Lord’s Prayer, as a preliminary to other tests and further instruction before admittance: c. 49, PL 23:70 A–B). For the Psalter in book form as a monk’s prized possession, see the tenth- or eleventh-century Life of St. Neilos the younger, c. 31, ed. Germano Giovanella, Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Νείλου τοῦ Νέου (Grottaferrata: Badia di Grottaferrata, 1972). 7 Ps 140(141):2 on a metal incense burner from Byzantine Egypt: SEG LI 2200; Ps 28(29):3 on a silver ewer for baptism: SEG LVI 685, part of a treasure found at Vrap in modern Albania, dated to the seventh century. On the use of scripture in inscriptions in the late ancient and early

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prayerful and protective intent on clothing;8 clay lamps;9 water vessels, cisterns, and fountains;10 lintels and floors of homes;11 and epitaphs.12 All this use and practice bred a deep familiarity. The Psalms influenced Byzantine literature of all genres and levels, as manifested in verbatim citations and broader reminiscences in secular texts from historiography to fictional narrative to technical treatises. This familiarity is visible not only in authors but among the populace more broadly. When the emperor Justinian II regained power in 705 after an earlier overthrow and exile, his enemies Apsimar and Leontios were paraded in disgrace through the streets of Constantinople. In a ritual gesture they were thrown at the feet of the victorious Justinian, who stepped on their necks. To accompany this act, the people of the city are said to have chanted the thirteenth verse of Psalm 90(91), “You will tread on the asp and the basilisk and trample the lion and the serpent.”13 The selection of this particular verse showcases the intimate familiarity of the Byzantine people with their Psalter: beyond the obvious reference to trampling upon enemies, there is a pun on the names of the two foes, Apsimar and Leontios, with the Greek words ἀσπίδα (aspida, asp) and λέοντα (leonta, lion) in the Greek text. Byzantine theology recognized another utility of the Psalter, as a potent weapon against demons. In an early Byzantine hagiographical narrative, a monk explains that contemplation and recitation of the Psalms disturbs demons more than any other part of scripture. All scripture is useful against demons, he says,

8 9 10

11 12

13

Byzantine periods see in general Antonio E. Felle, Biblia epigraphica. La sacra scrittura nella documentazione epigrafica dell’orbis christianus antiquus, III–VIII secolo (Bari: Edipuglia, 2006) [SEG LVI 2126]. Evidence for inscriptions featuring the Psalms in Greek in a Jewish context is more limited. For a monumental inscription of Ps 135(136) in Greek translation (perhaps that of Aquila), decorated with a menorah, possibly from a synagogue in late ancient Asia Minor, see Alison Salvesen, “Psalm 135(136):25 in a Jewish Greek inscription from Nicea,” in Semitic Studies in Honour of Edward Ullendorff, ed. Geoffrey Khan (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 212–221. Ps 8:6–7 on a textile fragment from Byzantine Egypt: SEG LI 2198. Early Byzantine ceramic lamps from Palestine: Ps 26(27):1, SEG XXXIX 1617; Ps 118(119):105, LVIII 1754 and LX 1706 (3). Ps 28(29):3 on a cistern from Moab, SEG LX 1756; fountains from Limassol on Cyprus, SEG XLV 1862, and Paphlagonia, SEG LIX 1463; and on a water-jar from Kourion on Cyprus, SEG LVII 1759, all of the fifth to seventh century. For the apotropaic role of this verse, in shielding water and its drinkers from demonic influence, see further below. Ps 4:8 in a fifth-century floor mosaic in a villa at Caesarea Maritima, CIIP II 1173; Ps 26(27):1 on the lintel of a house at Apamea in Syria; likewise Ps 120(121):8 on Samos, IG XII.6 (2) 952. Ps 24(25):1 from Zoora (modern Jordan), I.Pal.Tertia Ia. 296; Ps 33(34):1 from northwest Syria (‘Amaykhan), IGLS II 651; Ps 34(35):2, from Kythera on Cyprus, SEG LV 1530; Ps 28 (29):2 and 117(118):15 and 20 in mosaic medallions from the floor of a tomb at Paphos on Cyprus, SEG LIV 1561. The episode is reported by the later Byzantine historian Kedrenos, active in the twelfth century (Georgius Cedrenus, ed. Immanuel Bekker, Tomus Prior [Bonn: Weber, 1838], 780– 781); the verse is cited, ἐπὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον ἐπιβήσῃ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

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but the Psalter is the most useful of all.14 This utility lies in its comprehensiveness. Those who practice the Psalms deploy at the same time the speech-acts contained in them, the monk continues: some Psalms act as personal prayers, others as curses against demons. He goes on to specify five verses that have this effect of cursing demons, two of which come from Psalm 67(68),15 which in fact also has a history of use to ward off demons in the Jewish shimmush tehillim tradition.16 One of the most famous monks in the Byzantine Church, the hermit St. Anthony of Egypt, was said to have used this same Psalm as a demonifuge, and also to have sung the eighth verse of Psalm 19(20) to repel demons who took the form of horses, selected by analogy for its mention of the vain hopes of the godless placed in horses and chariots.17 Already in late antiquity Christians were putting certain Psalms to use for personal protection in a manner that went beyond the private devotion encouraged by the Church. One text was favored above all, Psalm 90(91), which was combined with various textual and pictorial motifs and inscribed on amulets, found around the Mediterranean – indeed at least one mold for the large-scale production of such amulets in metal survives –,18 and also figured in apotropaic inscriptions on buildings.19 In one early Byzantine metal amulet just the first four letters of the Psalm were 14 The Spiritual Meadow of John Moschos, gathered in the late sixth and early seventh centuries: here the story is of an abba Markellos, native of Apamea and later resident in a monastic community at Skete in Egypt (c. 152, PG 87c:3017–20). 15 Ps 67(68), verses 2 and 31d. The others are Ps 36(37), verses 15 and 35–36; and 7, verses 16–17. 16 MTKG III nos. 80f. 1a.23–25, 81f. 4a.1–2, 82f. 1a.1–3; Rebiger, Sefer, §75. 17 The Life of St. Anthony c. 13.7 and 39.3 respectively, Athanase d’Alexandrie, Vie d’Antoine, ed. Gerhard J.M. Bartelink (Paris: Cerf, 2004). The saint also marshals Ps 26(27):3 and 117 (118):10 against demons: op. cit. c. 9.3 and 13.7. Noteworthy too is his use, in his own words, of the term καταψάλλω, “sing Psalms against,” in the course of this combat (to make a demonic apparition disappear: op. cit. 40.5). 18 For the mold see Campbell Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950), no. 328, and for the Greek amulets in general, the important preliminary study of Thomas J. Kraus, “Psalm 90 der Septuaginta in apotropäischer Verwendung – erste Anmerkungen und Datenmaterial,” in Proceedings of the 24th International Congress of Papyrology, Helsinki, 1–7 August, 2004, ed. Jaakko Frösén, Tiina Purola and Erja Salmenkivi (eds.), 2 vols. (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 2007), 1:497–514, who is preparing a comprehensive collection of the texts. For a recentlypublished text from excavations at Kibyra in Asia Minor, dated to the sixth or seventh century, see Ünal Demirer and Thomas J. Kraus, “Ein Bronze-Amulett aus Kibyra mit Reiterheiligem und griechischem Psalm 90,1,” ZPE 195 (2015): 58–62. This preference did not exclude other Psalms from appearing on amulets, e. g. a hematite found in the vicinity of Aleppo in Syria with Ps 120(121):8: IGLS I 223. 19 Lesbos: SEG XXXIV 848; Cyprus: SEG XXXIV 1428; cf. also SEG XXXII 1479, painted in red on masonry blocks from Porphyreon (Syria), and IGLS II 675, painted in red over the lintel of a house in northwest Syria (Ruwayha). On Psalms in Coptic amulets, see Siegfried G. Richter, “Verwendung von Psalmen im koptischen Christentum,” in Ritual und Poesie. Formen und Orte religiöser Dichtung im alten Orient, im Judentum und im Christentum, ed. Erich Zenger (Freiburg: Herder, 2003), 283–292, esp. 288.

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deemed sufficient to achieve the protective effect.20 Later Byzantine ritual instructions attest the continued use of this Psalm for personal protection.21 Hagiographical texts are careful to point out that such use is only effective in the right hands. In a narrative of the twelfth or thirteenth century a vain monk believes that he will be able to cast out demons, too confident in powers deriving from his ability to read the Psalter. The demons overpower him all the same.22 But when in the right hands the Psalms have power beyond simple protection: another hagiographer tells how a saint opens the locked doors of a church with verse 19 of Psalm 117(118), “Open for me the gates of righteousness.”23

The Psalms in personal ritual and “magic” Before discussing the Greek treatises dedicated to instructions for use of the Psalms in personal ritual, I will review the evidence for instructions of this sort included in treatises of broader scope. We might compare the segullot in the Jewish tradition, attested as early as the medieval Cairo Geniza,24 ritual recipes which prescribe Psalms but alongside other scripture and ritual text, and independent from the more specialized Sefer shimmush tehillim. There is an even older Rabbinic tradition about the apotropaic use of the third verse of Psalm 28 (29),25 to protect against demonic influence on water, which may be reflected in early Byzantine inscriptions of this same verse on water vessels, cisterns, and fountains, and more explicitly in later Byzantine ritual instructions.26 20 SEG LV 1939, ὁ κατ- (for κατοικῶν). 21 It is prescribed in its entirety in an anonymous collection of ritual recipes in a fifteenth century manuscript, for protection in a confrontation with an enemy (Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 348v; for a separate, full-standing treatise on ritual use of the Psalms from this same manuscript see below). Verse 13 on its own is recommended as part of an apotropaic procedure in a sixteenth-century manuscript: Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana cod. Vat. gr. 1538, ed. Aleksander I. Almazov, “Chin nad beˇsnovatmi,” Leˇtopis’ istoriko-filologicˇeskago obsˇcˇestva pri Imperatorskom Novorossijskom Universiteteˇ 9 (1901): 92 (without folio reference). 22 Theodosios Gudeles, Life of Leontios, Patriarch of Jerusalem, c. 42–43, The Life of Leontios Patriarch of Jerusalem, ed. Demetres Tsougarakis (Leiden: Brill, 1993). 23 The ninth-century Life of Peter of Atroa, c. 3, La Vie merveilleuse de saint Pierre d’Atroa, ed. Vitalien Laurent (Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1956). 24 Geniza: e. g. MTKG no. III 84, and the Judeo-Iranian fragment edited by Saul Shaked, “An Early Geniza Fragment in an Unknown Iranian Dialect,” Acta Iranica 28 (1988): 219–235 (includes Psalms 10 and 16). 25 bPes 112a, with Rebiger, Sefer, 7. 26 It is not picked up by the Sefer shimmush tehillim in either the Geniza or western forms, which instead put this Psalm towards activating a potion of water for the healing of a person already troubled by a demon (MTKG no. III 79f. 1a 12–19; Rebiger, Sefer, §33). A Byzantine manuscript of the fifteenth century, which also transmits an extensive treatise on the ritual use of the

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At least 40 Psalms are prescribed in independent recipes of this kind in the Greek tradition. Most often they are in an excerpted form of one or two verses, but they can also be prescribed in full, or conjoined with other Psalms or other scripture. This branch of the Byzantine tradition had a relatively early beginning, judging by the inclusion of such recipes in the sixth-century medical compendium of Aetios of Amida, and in the Geoponika and Hippiatrika, influential Byzantine collections on agriculture and veterinary medicine drawing heavily on late ancient sources.27 It continued through the post-Byzantine period and into modern Greece.28 Frequently the instructions prescribe the writing of the Psalm text to create a ritually activated substance, instead of simply speaking or singing, a significant divergence from orthodox liturgical and devotional use, which for its part also found organization in dedicated treatises since early on in the Byzantine tradition.29 The present contribution cannot provide a detailed study of this corpus, but a cursory survey shows a dominant concern with healing and protection for human users, in which help with the conception and birth of children is prominent. A smaller but significant category is agricultural, for the benefit of crops and livestock. There were also Byzantine procedures for detecting thieves by Psalms (see further below), contains a narrative as the prologue to a prayer attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus (προσευχὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου τοῦ θεολόγου), in which the archangel Michael recommends this same verse for protection whenever one drinks water at night, along with the invocation of the angel Melchisedek, said to preside over rivers and wells (or cisterns: τὸν ἄγγελον τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τῶν φρεάτων): BnF cod. gr. 2316, ff. 433r–436v at 433v–434r (excerpts are printed by Richard Reitzenstein, Poimandres. Studien zur griechisch-ägyptischen und frühchristlichen Literatur [Leipzig: Teubner, 1904], 296–297, with other fragments in a later manuscripts published by Fritz Pradel, Griechische und süditalienische Gebete, Beschwörungen und Rezepte des Mittelalters, RVV 3.3 [Giessen: Töpelmann, 1907], 18, and Aleksandr I. Almazov, “Apokrificˇeskija molitvy, zaklinanija i zagovory,” Leˇtopis’ istoriko-filologicˇeskago obˇscˇestva pri Imperatorskom Novorossijskom Universiteteˇ 9 [1901]: 303–305; I have identified several further versions and fragments of this text, which I hope to give a full edition). Instructions for the procedure also circulated independently, as witnessed in a prescription in another fifteenth-century manuscript “for water” (ει᾿ς τὰ ὕδατα) to be performed at night: the utterance of the same verse three times, followed by an imprecation of “the name of Melchisedek” (Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek cod. theol. gr. 244, f. 210v). 27 Aetios: Ps 1, to protect crops from pests, Iatrika 13.54, ed. Skevos Zervos, “Ἀετίου Ἀμιδηνοῦ περὶ δακνόντων ζῴων καὶ ι᾿οβόλων,” Ἀθηνᾶ 18 (1906): 289–290. This Psalm is also taken up for the same purpose by the Geoponika (10.87.8), which adds Ps 33(34):9 for preserving stored wine (7.14). The Hippiatrika also recommend Ps 1, to promote fertility in mares (excerpta Lugdunensia 202, ed. Eugen Oder and Karl Hoppe, Corpus hippiatricorum Graecorum, 2 vols. [Leipzig: Teubner, 1924–1927]), as well as Ps 47(48) to ease the birth of a foal (ibi, Hippiatrica Cantabrigiensia 10.3). 28 E. g. Ps 136(137):7 to ease human birth, found e. g. in the fifteenth-century Vatican, BAV cod. Vat. gr. 952, f. 165r, ed. CCAG V.4:120, where it is combined with a direct address to the recalcitrant child drawing on the call of Jesus to Lazarus in John 11:43. 29 A fourth-century epistolary treatise of Athanasios of Alexandria, “On the interpretation of the Psalms,” PG 27:12–45, analyzes the Psalter into various occasions for prayer.

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forcing the suspects to ingest analogous Psalm-text, most commonly Psalm 9:28 (10:7), inscribed on prosphora-bread or written in ink on a vessel and then dissolved, which would cause the guilty party difficulty in swallowing or digestion.30 A final group is broadly aggressive, concerned with influencing or controlling other human parties.31 Dramatic instances are the use of Psalm 41(42) for erotic magic, applied by a man to a woman, specifically the reference in the second verse to the thirsty doe that desires water,32 and of the third verse of Psalm 67(68), a simile of the evanescence of smoke, for the destruction of enemies, along with the analogous ritual inscription and deposition of the target’s name in a tomb.33 Many, and some of the most popular, seem to have developed independently in the Greek tradition, as certain verses suggested themselves as analogous to the situation targeted by the recipe. Others were probably due to influence from the Jewish tradition, and a few are directly comparable to sections of the Sefer shimmush tehillim.34 The related use of the Psalter in divination in the Greek tradition was surely motivated by its status as an especially holy and efficacious text. The earliest firm evidence for the practice comes in two Psalter codices of the eleventh century, but the tradition likely goes back to late antiquity.35 In one instance, prognoses have 30 Ps 9:28 (10:7) on prosphora-bread: e. g. the recipes from fifteenth-century manuscripts published by Émile Legrand, Bibliothèque grecque vulgaire 2 (Paris: J. Maisonneuve, 1881), 10 and Armand Delatte, Anecdota Atheniensia 1 (Liège: H. Vaillant-Carmanne, 1927), 609; to which add Paris, BnF cod. gr. 1603, f. 354r (written on cheese). Ps 10(11):6b is also attested, dissolved in sacramental wine: Paris, BnF cod. gr. 1603, f. 354r. Surviving attestations of these recipes do not appear until the fifteenth century, but a twelfth-century jurist, Theodore Balsamon, recalls the punishment of a contemporary priest for using certain Psalms in bibliomancy to find the culprit in cases of theft: PG 137:724 (commentary on canon 61 of the Trullan Council), with Gideon Bohak, “Catching a Thief: The Jewish Trials of a Christian Ordeal,” JSQ 13 (2006): 344–362, esp. 354. 31 Compare the unfortunately vague censure applied by the Byzantine jurist Matthew Blastares, writing in 1335, to the use of the Psalms by “sorcerers” (γόητες): Syntagma M 1, ed. Georgios A. Rhalles and Michael Potles, Σύνταγμα τῶν θείων καὶ ἱερῶν κανόνων τῶν τε ἁγίων Ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν οι᾿κουμενικῶν καὶ τοπικῶν συνόδων καὶ τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἁγίων πατέρων, 6 vols. (Athens: G. Chartophylax, 1852–1859), 6:357. An eighteenth-century prayer seeks protection against “cursing and Psalm-cursing” (ψαλμοκατάρα, i. e. done via the Psalms): Paris, BnF cod. gr. 825, f. 6v, ed. Delatte, Anecdota, 230–231. 32 In the fifteenth-century Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2419, f. 199r (ed. Delatte, Anecdota, 467), and the eighteenth-century Paris, BnF cod. suppl. gr. 696, f. 2v (ed. Ibid., 548). 33 Ed. Manoles Papathomopoulos and Manoles Varvounes, Βερναρδάκειος μαγικὸς κώδικας (Athens: Grapheion De¯mosieumato¯n te¯s Akade¯mias Athe¯no¯n, 2006), 175 (from f. 294r–v of a nineteenth-century manuscript, in private possession). 34 The seventeenth-century St. Petersburg, Rossijskaja Nacional’naja biblioteka cod. gr. 575, f. 9v (incipit and desinit in CCAG XII:26) gives a similar prescription for Ps 18(19):1, to facilitate childbirth, as the Sefer shimmush tehillim in Rebiger, Sefer, §23 and MTKG no. III 81. 35 It may well have grown out of the use of verses from Homer in divination (on which see Suppl.Mag II 77), and in any case the existence of an analogous tradition in the medieval West suggests a common late ancient ancestor. Gregory of Tours describes bibliomancy including

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simply been added in the top margin of the page accompanying the beginning of each Psalm, usually corresponding to the content of the Psalm itself, and it appears that a catarchic divination procedure lay behind them, in which the user opened the book to a random page with some question in mind and thereby received an answer.36 A version of that procedure is spelled out more clearly in the second manuscript, where essentially the same prognoses are gathered in a single list preceding the Psalter, with instructions that the user should fast, keep the question in mind, say a liturgical acclamation three times, and open the book, then apply an arithmetical operation to the number of the resulting Psalm to obtain the answer from the list.37 There is indirect evidence for the practice in the tenth century from a hagiographical text, in which a young man contemplates becoming a monk and prays for guidance. Opening the Psalter at random, he lands upon Psalm 10(11), which he interprets as an affirmative answer.38 This Psalm is indeed taken by the later bibliomantic tradition in exactly the same sense, and instructions paralleling this simpler procedure of reading the prognosis directly from the Psalm text are also known.39 No less a personage than the emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos in the early fourteenth century is said to have had recourse to such divination when troubled by a rebellion led by his grandson. Opening a Psalter he landed upon verse 15 of Psalm 67(68), “when the heavenly one appoints kings over them, they will be whitened with snow on Selmon,” which he takes to indicate that the rebellion has divine support, and he therefore attempts a peaceful settlement and

36

37 38 39

the Psalms among the early medieval Franks: the ritual requires three separate volumes (the Psalter, Kings, and the Gospels), each of which is opened to a random page after incubation at the tomb of a saint, Historia Francorum 5.14, PL 71:330 A–C. The twelfth-century cleric Peter of Blois practiced dream interpretation by a similar method with the Psalter alone (reuolutio psalterii): alighting on Ps 98:6 confirms the veracity of a dream in which his friend is invested as bishop (Letters 30, PL 207:102). Paris, BnF cod. gr. 164, on which see Georgi R. Parpulov “Psalters and Personal Piety in Byzantium,” in The Old Testament in Byzantium, ed. P. Magdalino and R. Nelson (Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2010), 88; id., Toward a History of Byzantine Psalters (Plovdiv: [G.R. Parpulov,] 2014), appendix F. . Compare the magical “Zweckangaben” added in the margins of Jewish Psalters: Rebiger, Sefer, 30–31. Produced at Constantinople in 1083, now in Washington, Dumbarton Oaks Library cod. 3, f. 2r. The acclamation is the trishagion, and the procedure bears the title, “A true revelation of desires, as to whether they are done with assurance [or not].” Louis Petit, “Vie de Saint Michel Maléinos,” Revue de l’Orient chrétien 7 (1902): 543–603, esp. 552 §5 (cf. BHG 1295; Parpulov, Byzantine Psalters, 56). E. g. a method of dream interpretation attributed to “the prophet Daniel” in a fifteenth century manuscript (Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2315, f. 239r): the date of the apparition of the dream, transformed via the addition of the present date and of the numeric values of the names of the patient, the four evangelists, and Daniel himself, is used to select a Psalm number, which, when read, will provide the “solution” (λύσις).

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power-sharing arrangement.40 Attestations of the use of the Psalms in similar divinatory procedures continue through later Byzantium and into modern Greece.41 Dedicated handbooks for magical use of the Psalms do not appear in the Greek tradition until the fifteenth century, but it seems highly likely that earlier witnesses have been lost, or await identification.42 Others from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries show the survival of the tradition beyond Byzantium. The earliest handbook, in a fifteenth-century manuscript, is also the most detailed and gives a total of 45 recipes covering 63 Psalms.43 The treatise forms a relatively small portion of a large codex of primarily medical content, with an orientation towards practical use, including medical astrology. The treatise’s title in the 40 Nikephoros Gregoras, Roman History, ed. Immanuel Bekker and Ludwig Schopen, Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, 3 vols. (Bonn: Weber, 1829–1855), 1:358. Apparently the verse in question was at the top of the page on which he landed. The procedure is justified with an allusion to Ps 48(49):5, “Hence he decided he ought to ‘set open in the Psalter the proposition’ of his own difficulties” (ὅθεν ἀνοίξειν ἔκρινε δεῖν ἐν ψαλτηρίῳ τὸ πρόβλημα τῶν οι᾿κείων ἀποριῶν). 41 One format featured an arrangement of the Psalm numbers in a spiral figure from which a random selection could be made, followed by interpretative notes arranged in sequence, all copied and circulated independently from the Psalter, e. g. Oxford, Bodleian Library cod. Barocci 111 (from fifteenth-century Crete), ff. 205v (the spiral) and 216r–219r (the prognoses). From this example there is clear proof that the prognostics were in fact copied from a Psalter with the prognoses distributed throughout the text: for Ps 82(83) there is a note that “it did not have an inscription” (i. e. at the top of the page: σημειοῦ· πβ′ οὐκ εἶχεν ἐπιγραφήν, f. 217v). As has so far gone unnoticed, the method may be attested much earlier, in the form of a spiral figure filled incompletely with the Greek numerals through 113, copied as a draft on scrap papyrus from Byzantine or early Islamic Nessana in Palestine (P.Ness III 185; I am currently preparing a new edition of the relevant texts). It also passed into the Slavic tradition, on which see Robert Mathiesen, “Magic in Slavia Orthodoxa: The Written Tradition,” in Byzantine Magic, ed. Henry Maguire (Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 1995), 165. Geomantic divination also borrowed the Psalter as a convenient randomization device, e. g. CCAG IV:74 (Turin, cod. C VII 10, from fourteenth-century Lesbos, f. 4r–v). An eighteenth-century Greek manuscript from Rhoumania includes divination by dice, for which the text of the prognoses themselves are drawn from the Psalter: Meteora, Mone¯ te¯s Metamorpho¯seo¯s cod. 666, pp. 52–70, ed. Demetrios Z. Sophianos and Manoles G. Varvounes, Λαογραφικὰ τοῦ κωδίκα 666 τῆς μόνης Μεταμορφώσεως Μεγάλου Μετεώρου (Athens: Typeion De¯mosieumato¯n te¯s Akade¯mias Athe¯no¯n, 2011), 52–62. 42 For a comparable problem in the sources for divination in Byzantium see the introduction in The Occult Sciences in Byzantium, ed. Paul Magdalino and Maria Mavroudi (Geneva: La Pomme d’or, 2006). 43 Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, ff. 429r–432v, from which excerpts were published by Legrand, Bibliothèque, 20–24; for an overview of the contents of the codex see CCAG VIII.3:32–43, cod. 44. As Legrand neglected to mention in his edition, the text in the Paris manuscript is incomplete: the beginning is missing, part of a sequence of 12 folia cut out of the original at some point in the seventeenth century. Since the delivery of the conference version of this paper, I have identified the missing pages, which are now in Vienna (ÖNB cod. hist. gr. 129), and prepared a new edition of the text in its reconstituted form, along with the rest of the comparable Greek Psalm-treatises discussed here and some more recent finds; this study has now appeared: Zellmann-Rohrer, “‘Psalms Useful for Everything’”.

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manuscript, which has informed my title, runs “Psalms useful (ὠφέλιμοι) for every thing (πρᾶγμα),” or we might also say, “for doing anything.” The Psalms are introduced in numerical order in a consistent form: Psalm number, with added rubrication for easy reference, followed by indication of use and accompanying ritual procedure; sometimes multiple Psalms are combined in the same procedure. There are no other copies of this treatise itself known to me, but some prescriptions are found as independent excerpts in one later manuscript, which could suggest a wider circulation.44 I have also identified several other handbooks, each one largely independent from the rest. In a fragment of three folia from a sixteenth-century manuscript, clearly belonging to a larger collection of recipes including healing and apotropaic incantations and amulets, pharmacological prescriptions, and procedures for the detection of thieves, there are in fact three distinct treatises following each other in succession, providing in total a further 53 recipes covering 60 Psalms, although the instructions are generally less detailed than in the earlier manuscript.45 The second case is in a manuscript of the early seventeenth century once in the library of the monastery of Iviron on Mt. Athos, of theological and astrological content.46 It is quite short, five recipes on two pages, but is clearly intended as a stand-alone work, and perhaps represents an excerpt of a larger collection. The final case comes in a codex copied in the late seventeenth century by a monk at the monastery of St. Nikolai in Moscow, surely from earlier sources.47 It adds a further 12 recipes. In these handbooks there is a noteworthy diversity, such that no single canonical handbook emerged, and a trend towards compactness, selecting a smaller group of Psalms of particular interest. In the evidence from the handbooks as a whole, a little over a hundred prescriptions, we see much less concern with agriculture, as in the independently circulating recipes, and more with the broad category of healing and protection, about two thirds of the total. Health complaints are a prominent subset, which are generally identified by medical terminology, albeit quite vague in some cases; demons, on the other hand, are mentioned in only three cases.48 Also represented 44 St. Petersburg, RNB cod. gr. 575, e. g. Ps 46 (47) at f. 11v, incipit and desinit in CCAG XII:26. 45 Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Mscr. Dresd. Da. 63, ff. 4v–6v; for texts and translations of this and the following witnesses see now Zellmann-Rohrer, “‘Psalms Useful for Everything’”. 46 Moscow, Gosudarstvennyj Istoricˇeskij Musej, cod. Sinod. gr. 261, ff. 230v–231r, incipit and desinit in CCAG XII:72. 47 Filial Instituta Rossijskoj Istorii Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk, cod. sine numero, ff. 55v–60r, excerpts in CCAG XII:18–19 with 122–123. 48 The fifteenth-century treatise, for Ps 28(29): Vienna, ÖNB cod. hist. gr. 129, f. 12v, to chase an “evil spirit” (κακὸν στοιχεῖον) out of the house; similarly in the sixteenth century treatise for Ps 34(35), Dresden, SLUB Mscr. Dresd. Da f. 5v, with another procedure Ibid. for Ps 27(28), to be spoken in the ear of a demoniac.

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are various modes of manipulation of third parties, such as reconciliation and the pursuit of favor, success in general and before powerful officials in particular, and liberation from captivity, alongside more subversive goals such as the usurpation of a position of power or the destruction of a personal enemy. I note two eccentric prescriptions peculiar to the Greek tradition: Psalm 64(65) for fertility in a man’s first intercourse with a new wife, and Psalm 62(63) in a sort of “methyomancy,” or divination by alcohol.49 To predict the whereabouts of an absent acquaintance, you should speak it over some wine, then drink it, and if you get drunk, the person whom you have in mind is coming to you; if not, he or she is staying put. Analogy appears to have operated in the selection of both, fertility getting prominent mention in the former Psalm, and thirst and drinking in the latter.

Byzantine practice in context This medieval Greek tradition did not appear out of nothing, but was the result of developments that can be traced in Greek sources as early as late antiquity. There is another medieval tradition of magical use of the Psalms that demands comparison, as mentioned at the outset, the Jewish shimmush tehillim and its codification in the dedicated Sefer. Analogous practices can be found as early as the Rabbinic writings, and in the Cairo Geniza the recipes themselves first appear, along with the earliest version of the Sefer in the eleventh century, which covers only select Psalms. It also appears in European manuscripts, where over time the text was expanded to cover the entire Psalter, culminating in the first printed edition in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century, a tradition studied in detail by Bill Rebiger. The general picture from the Byzantine evidence is consistent with a common original for the Greek and Jewish traditions, which has been suggested before and which also seems to hold true for comparable traditions in Christian Arabic and Syriac.50 There are Greek instances of what seems to be direct borrowing from the Sefer shimmush tehillim or the broader shimmush tehillim tradition. These are in the minority, however, in comparison to the rich independent development of the Greek tradition in general. Aside from originality in pairing of Psalms and uses, this development takes the form of the addition of ritual means to heighten the efficacy of the Psalms themselves. In the European tradition of the Sefer shimmush tehillim, a similar goal is pursued through the assignment of “magical” names, by which the Psalms themselves are ritually addressed, and in the Arabic tradition, 49 Fertility: from the sixteenth-century treatise, Dresden, SLUB Mscr. Dresd. Da f. 5r. Methyomancy: the fifteenth-century treatise, Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 430r, ed. Legrand, Bibliothèque, 22. 50 See Rebiger, Sefer, introduction, and MTKG III, 10–13.

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through the application of numerological principles. The Byzantine recipes are more likely to add charakte¯res (χαρακτῆρες), non-phonemic signs invested with ritual efficacy (fig. 1). These charakte¯res have a long history in the Greek tradition since late antiquity, recommended in ritual handbooks on papyrus from Roman Egypt, the so-called “magical papyri,” and inscribed on amulets and other ritually activated objects in a variety of media.51 A further innovation in the Byzantine texts is the added exegesis of the magical signs, for example in the fifteenth-century handbook, accompanying a prescription for Psalms 102(103) and 103(104) for protection against storms. The charakte¯res are there said to express “holy names” including the Aramaic words of Christ at the crucifixion.52

Fig. 1: Charakte¯res to accompany a procedure for the reconciliation of a quarreling husband and wife via Psalm 60(61), from Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 430r (source: the author’s drawing).

The Greek treatises are particularly fond of adding other ritually efficacious texts to accompany the Psalms, for speaking out loud or writing down. In the example just given from the fifteenth-century manual, the Psalms are accompanied by the reading of the first chapter of the Gospel according to John, which is also written on paper along with the charakte¯res, torn up, and cast into the sea to calm its waves. Other sources are liturgical hymns, or motifs from the Greek tradition of incantations, often with explicit reference to Christian figures. Against insomnia, a recipe in the same manual prescribes writing Psalms 132(133) and 133(134) and placing them underneath the pillow, and also writing on an olive leaf the names of the so-called seven sleepers of Ephesus, legendary early Christian saints said to have fallen asleep for several hundred years in a cave near that city.53 The goals with which the recipes are concerned, finally, are well integrated with Byzantine society, as responses to characteristically Byzantine formulations of problems, for example that impotence or marital strife can be caused by ritual binding performed against a married couple by a jealous third party.54 When 51 On the charakte¯res and their long tradition see the study of Richard Gordon, “Charaktêres Between Antiquity and the Renaissance: Transmission and Re-Invention,” in Les savoirs magiques et leurs transmission de l’Antiquité à la Renaissance, ed. Véronique Dasen and JeanMichel Spieser (Florence: SISMEL, 2014), 253–300. 52 Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 430v, ed. Legrand, Bibliothèque, 22–23. 53 Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 431v, ed. Legrand, Bibliothèque, 24. On these saints see Henri Leclercq, “Sept dormants d’Éphèse,” in Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. Ferdinand Cabrol 15.1 (Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1950), 1251–1262. 54 On the concept and its Byzantine and later tradition see Phaidon I. Koukoules, “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι,” Λαογραφία 8 (1921): 302–346; idem, “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι. Μέρος β′,” Λαογραφία 9.1 (1926): 52–108; and idem, “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι. Μέρος γ′,” Λαογραφία 9.3 (1928): 450–506.

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there are clear cases of direct borrowing from the Jewish tradition, the Greek texts make additions to maximize efficacy in their new context. A recipe in an early seventeenth-century manual almost certainly borrows a procedure for the use of Psalm 22(23) to obtain a divinatory dream vision attested in the Sefer shimmush tehillim already in the eleventh-century Geniza fragments. But the ritual is re-set in the context of the Byzantine veneration of icons: the user reads the Psalm at the iconostasis, the sacred space in the home where the icons are kept, and adds ritual actions including the burning of aromatic substances and the lighting of candles.55 Indeed the ritual co-option of the iconostasis is attested elsewhere in the Byzantine tradition: in a middle Byzantine hagiographical biography set at Constantinople, a ritual specialist attempts to help a woman regain the fidelity of her husband by procedures including the activation of a lamp and some oil, ignited and then placed among the icons in the woman’s house.56 The general goals also differ from the European Jewish tradition in a few significant respects. The procedures have exclusively individual concerns, that is, there are no procedures on behalf of an army, city, social community, or religious community,57 and the background is one of religious homogeneity, with no references to conflict between the faiths, or any faith at all besides Christianity.58 Indeed the concerns of the users of these Greek treatises were for the most part quotidian: work, personal health, facilitation of interpersonal relations. Appearance in court or before magistrates was exceptional and made ritual assistance all the more appealing. The manuscript context of the handbooks confirms this general picture. Their owners and users gathered texts from a wide range of sources to aid themselves in providing services of broad scope in healing and protection, including magical ritual but also pharmacological medicine and astrological prognostication. Some were priests or monks; the fifteenth-century text was perhaps for a specialist whose primary training was as a physician. He in 55 Moscow, GIM cod. Sinod. gr. 261, ff. 230v–231r, cf. CCAG XII:72; the rubric calls for “Psalm 23,” probably by error for 22 (i. e. 23 in the Masoretic text). For the parallels in the Sefer, for Ps 23 (MT), see Rebiger, Sefer, §27 and 81f. 1b.17–19, in which one fasts and purifies oneself for a day before the simple utterance of the Psalm, and MTKG III no. 79f. 1a.2–5, in which one simply says the Psalm seven times before going to sleep. In another Geniza fragment, MTKG I, T.-S. K 1.28, f. 1b (p. 136), the directions come closer to the Byzantine procedure: fast three days, stand at night in front of a house in which there is a woman, say the Psalm and an exorcism of the woman, then go to sleep, and the woman will appear in your dreams and answer your questions. 56 Life of Andrew the Fool, c. 35, ed. Lennart Rydén, The Life of St. Andrew the Fool (Uppsala: L. Rydén, 1995). 57 E. g. Rebiger, Sefer, §95, Ps 87 and 88 (MT); §122, Ps 113, to combat idolatry; §124, Ps 115, when one prepares to dispute with Christians. 58 The Christian users evidently felt safe from perils like forced baptism (cf. Rebiger, Sefer, §80, Ps 73 in S 1551) or other harassment from non-Jews, the repulsion of which might even call for lethal measures (Rebiger, Sefer, §113, Ps 104 in L34).

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fact speaks in the first person in reference to a recipe for the use of Psalms 34(35) and 35(36) for the pacification of enemies: the Psalms “are efficacious,” he says, “and I myself am a witness.”59 These users probably practiced in rural areas and smaller towns, for the benefit of a primarily agrarian society with some engagement in seafaring, in contrast to the more urban background of the Jewish tradition, at least as reflected in the Geniza fragments and the western Sefer shimmush tehillim. It is instructive, finally, to consider the users of the texts of the Syriac and Arabic traditions of ritual exploitation of the Psalms. The two known Arabic texts are quite late, dated to the eighteenth century or thereafter. Of one we know only that it had been for many years, and likely since its writing, in the possession of the Coptic Christian monastery in Cairo where its modern editor found it.60 For the other, found by its editor around the same time, in the early 1970s, we know rather more: the manuscript was acquired by a tailor for his own use in the Egyptian city of Achmim.61 This tailor exploited his ability to read and write by offering as a sideline a variety of ritual services for healing, protection, blessing, and defense against enemies, the key to which was this and similar books. He would choose the correct formula from his books when clients came to consult him, who paid a modest fee. The single known witness to the Syriac tradition suggests similar use by one who took up such work as a sideline: in this case, a priest from Midyat in the southeast of modern Turkey, who copied it as part of a book of theological and liturgical content.62 The treatise follows an exegetical commentary on the Psalms, and blank space on the last page after the end of the treatise is filled in by the same writer with notes in Garshuni on the medicinal properties of plants. These, like the Psalm treatise, were surely included by this priest with a practical aim in mind, for his personal benefit and that of his parishioners, or clients.

59 Paris, BnF cod. gr. 2316, f. 429r, ed. Legrand, Bibliothèque, 20, ὁ λδ′ ψαλμὸς καὶ ὁ λε′ ἐνεργεῖ καὶ ἐγὼ μάρτυς. 60 Antoine Khater, “L’emploi des Psaumes en thérapie avec formules en caractères cryptographiques,” Bulletin de la Société d’archéologie copte 19 (1967–1968): 123–176. 61 Nessim H. Henein and Thierry Blanquis, La magie par les Psaumes (Cairo: IFAO, 1975). 62 Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin cod. Sachau 218, ed. Carl Kayser, “Gebrauch von Psalmen zur Zauberei,” ZDMG 42 (1888): 456–462; David Simonsen, “Ein Nachtrag zu der Abhandlung über ‘Gebrauch von Psalmen zur Zauberei,’” ZDMG 42 (1888): 693–694, rightly points out the association with the Jewish tradition, but the form of this particular Syriac witness does not support a direct derivation from the Sefer shimmush tehillim. The Garshuni text is printed in the catalogue entry by Eduard Sachau, Verzeichniss der syrischen Handschriften der Königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin: A. Asher, 1899), 609–616 no. 188 (at 611).

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Conclusion

Fig. 2: The shield-raising of King David, from Paris, BnF cod. gr. 139, f. 6v, with the legend “The coronation of David” (ὁ Δαυὶδ στεφόμενος) (source: Bibliothèque nationale de France).

Scrutiny of manuscript material reveals a broad and varied, albeit more recently rather neglected, tradition of ritual uses for the Psalter in Byzantine and later Greek practice. This tradition follows on the status of the Psalms as especially

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sacred and efficacious, reflected also in their use in devotion and divination. There are clear precedents for both the general concept of Psalm-magic and many of the specific applications in the Jewish tradition. A clear pronouncement on the extent of the dependency of the Greek tradition on the latter must await the full edition and study of the Greek witnesses now identified. In any case, this preliminary survey shows that the Byzantines readily and thoroughly appropriated the material as their own, as they did with the Old Testament and its interpretation in general. It seems fitting to end with a parallel from the decorative arts, a deluxe tenthcentury Byzantine Psalter showing the purported author of that text, King David, at his coronation raised aloft on a shield, the same manner in which the Byzantine army acclaimed new emperors, and otherwise iconographically assimilated to a Byzantine ruler (fig. 2).63

Abbreviations BHG CCAG CIIP II

IG XII.6 (2)

IGLS I

IGLS II

I.Pal.Tertia Ia

MTKG

François Halkin, ed. Bibliotheca hagiographica Graeca, 3rd ed. Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1957. Catalogus codicum astrologorum Graecorum, 12 vols. Brussels: H. Lamertin, 1891–1936. Walter Ameling, Hannah M. Cotton, Werner Eck, Benjamin Isaac, Alla Kushnir-Stein, Haggai Misgav, Jonathan Price, and Ada Yardeni, eds. Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Volume II. Caesarea and the Middle Coast. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2011. Klaus Hallof and Angelos P. Matthaiou, eds. Inscriptiones Graecae insularum maris Aegaei praeter Delum. Fasciculus VI. Inscriptiones Chii et Sami cum Corassiis Icariaque. Pars II. Inscriptiones Sami insulae. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2003. Louis Jalabert and René Mouterde, eds. Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie. Tome Premier. Commagène et Cyrrhestique. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1929. Louis Jalabert and René Mouterde, eds. Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie. Tome Second. Chalcidique et Antiochène. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1939. Yiannis E. Meimaris and Kalliope I. Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou, eds. Inscriptions from Palaestina Tertia. Vol. Ia. The Greek Inscriptions from Ghor es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora). Athens: National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2005. Peter Schäfer and Saul Shaked, eds. Magische Texte aus der Kairoer Geniza. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1994–1999.

63 On shield-raising see Christopher Walter, “Raising on a Shield in Byzantine Iconography,” Revue des études byzantines 33 (1975): 133–175.

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PG PL P.Ness. SEG Suppl.Mag.

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Patrologia Graeca. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 162 vols. Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1857–1886. Patrologia Latina. Edited by J.-P. Migne. 217 vols. Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1844– 1864. Casper J. Kraemer, Jr., ed. Excavations at Nessana. III. Non-Literary Papyri. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958. Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, 63 vols. Leiden: Sijthoff; Amsterdam: Gieben; Leiden: Brill, 1923–. Robert W. Daniel and Franco Maltomini, eds. Supplementum Magicum, 2 vols. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1990–1992.

Literature Almazov, Aleksandr I. “Chin nad beˇsnovatmi.” Leˇtopis’ istoriko-filologicˇeskago obsˇcˇestva pri Imperatorskom Novorossijskom Universiteteˇ 9 (1901): 1–96. Almazov, Aleksandr I. “Apokrificˇeskija molitvy, zaklinanija i zagovory.” Leˇtopis’ istorikofilologicˇeskago obsˇcˇestva pri Imperatorskom Novorossijskom Universiteteˇ 9 (1901): 221– 340. Bartelink, Gerhard J.M. Athanase d’Alexandrie, Vie d’Antoine. Paris: Éditions du Cerf 2004. Bekker, Immanuel, ed. Georgius Cedrenus: Tomus Prior. Bonn: Weber, 1838. Bekker, Immanuel, and Ludwig Schopen, eds. Nicephori Gregorae historiae Byzantinae, 3 vols. Bonn: Weber, 1829–1855. Bohak, Gideon. “Catching a Thief: The Jewish Trials of a Christian Ordeal.” Jewish Studies Quarterly 13 (2006): 344–362. Bonner, Campbell. Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950. Delatte, Armand. Anecdota Atheniensia 1. Liège: H. Vaillant-Carmanne, 1927. Demirer, Ünal, and Thomas J. Kraus, “Ein Bronze-Amulett aus Kibyra mit Reiterheiligem und griechischem Psalm 90,1.” ZPE 195 (2015): 58–62. Felle, Antonio E. Biblia epigraphica. La sacra scrittura nella documentazione epigrafica dell’orbis christianus antiquus, III–VIII secolo. Bari: Edipuglia, 2006. Giovanelli, Germano, ed. Βίος καὶ πολιτεία τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Νείλου τοῦ Νέου. Grottaferrata: Badia di Grottaferrata, 1972. Gordon, Richard. “Charaktêres Between Antiquity and the Renaissance: Transmission and Re-Invention.” Pages 253–300 in Les savoirs magiques et leurs transmission de l’Antiquité à la Renaissance. Edited by Véronique Dasen and Jean-Michel Spieser. Florence: SISMEL, 2014. Henein, Nessim H., and Thierry Blanquis. La magie par les Psaumes. Cairo: IFAO, 1975. Kayser, Carl. “Gebrauch von Psalmen zur Zauberei.” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 42 (1888): 456–462. Khater, Antoine. “L’emploi des Psaumes en thérapie avec formules en caractères cryptographiques.” Bulletin de la Société d’archéologie copte 19 (1967–1968): 123–176. Koukoules, Phaidon I. “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι.” Λαογραφία 8 (1921): 302–346.

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Koukoules, Phaidon I. “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι. Μέρος β′.” Λαογραφία 9.1 (1926): 52–108. Koukoules, Phaidon I. “Μεσαιωνικοὶ καὶ Νεοελληνικοὶ κατάδεσμοι. Μέρος γ′.” Λαογραφία 9.3 (1928): 450–506. Kraus, Thomas J. “Psalm 90 der Septuaginta in apotropäischer Verwendung – erste Anmerkungen und Datenmaterial.” Pages 497–514 in volume 1 of Proceedings of the 24th International Congress of Papyrology, Helsinki, 1—7 August, 2004. Edited by Jaakko Frösén, Tiina Purola, and Erja Salmenkivi. 2 vols. Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 2007. Krumbacher, Karl. Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur von Justinian bis zum Ende des oströmischen Reiches. 2nd ed. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1897. Laurent, Vitalien. La Vie merveilleuse de saint Pierre d’Atroa. Brussels: Société des Bollandistes, 1956. Leclercq, Henri. “Sept dormants d’Éphèse.” Columns 1251–1262 in volume 15, part 1 of Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie. Edited by Fernand Cabrol. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1950. Legrand, Émile. Bibliothèque grecque vulgaire 2. Paris: J. Maisonneuve, 1881. Magdalino, Paul, and Maria Mavroudi, eds. The Occult Sciences in Byzantium. Geneva: La Pomme d’or, 2006. Mathiesen, Robert. “Magic in Slavia Orthodoxa: The Written Tradition.” Pages 155–177 in Byzantine Magic. Edited by Henry Maguire. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1995. Neyt, François, Paula de Angelis-Noah, and Lucien Regnault, eds. Barsanuphe et Jean de Gaza. Correspondance 2.2. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2001. Oder, Eugen, and Karl Hoppe, Corpus hippiatricorum Graecorum, 2 vols. Leipzig: Teubner, 1924–1927. Papathomopoulos, Manoles, and Manoles Varvounes, eds. Βερναρδάκειος μαγικὸς κώδικας. Athens: Grapheion De¯mosieumato¯n te¯s Akade¯mias Athe¯no¯n, 2006. Parpulov, Georgi R. “Psalters and Personal Piety in Byzantium.” Pages 77–106 in The Old Testament in Byzantium. Edited by Paul Magdalino and Robert Nelson. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2010. Parpulov, Georgi R. Toward a History of Byzantine Psalters. Plovdiv: [G.R. Parpulov,] 2014. . Petit, Louis. “Vie de Saint Michel Maléinos.” Revue de l’Orient chrétien 7 (1902): 543–603. Pradel, Fritz. Griechische und süditalienische Gebete, Beschwörungen und Rezepte des Mittelalters. Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten 3.3. Giessen: A. Töpelmann, 1907. Rebiger, Bill. Sefer Shimmush Tehillim. Buch vom magischen Gebrauch der Psalmen. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. Reitzenstein, Richard. Poimandres. Studien zur griechisch-ägyptischen und frühchristlichen Literatur. Leipzig: Teubner, 1904. Rhalles, Georgios A., and Michael Potles, eds. Σύνταγμα τῶν θείων καὶ ἱερῶν κανόνων τῶν τε ἁγίων Ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν οι᾿κουμενικῶν καὶ τοπικῶν συνόδων καὶ τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἁγίων πατέρων, 6 vols. Athens: G. Chartophylax, 1852–1859. Richter, Siegfried G. “Verwendung von Psalmen im koptischen Christentum.” Pages 283– 292 in Ritual und Poesie. Formen und Orte religiöser Dichtung im alten Orient, im Judentum und im Christentum. Edited by Erich Zenger. Freiburg: Herder, 2003.

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Rydén, Lennart. The Life of St. Andrew the Fool. Uppsala: L. Rydén, 1995. Sachau, Eduard. Verzeichniss der syrischen handschriften der Königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin. Berlin: A. Asher, 1899. Salvesen, Alison. “Psalm 135(136).25 in a Jewish Greek inscription from Nicea.” Pages 212– 221 in Semitic Studies in Honour of Edward Ullendorff. Edited by Geoffrey Khan. Leiden: Brill, 2005. Shaked, Saul. “An Early Geniza Fragment in an Unknown Iranian Dialect.” Acta Iranica 28 (1988): 219–235. Simonsen, David. “Ein Nachtrag zu der Abhandlung über ‘Gebrauch von Psalmen zur Zauberei.’” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 42 (1888): 693–694. Sophianos, Demetrios Z., and Manoles G. Varvounes, Λαογραφικὰ τοῦ κωδίκα 666 τῆς μόνης Μεταμορφώσεως Μεγάλου Μετεώρου. Athens: Typeion De¯mosieumato¯n te¯s Akade¯mias Athe¯no¯n, 2011. Tsougarakis, Demetres. The Life of Leontios Patriarch of Jerusalem. Leiden: Brill, 1993. Walter, Christopher. “Raising on a Shield in Byzantine Iconography.” Revue des études byzantines 33 (1975): 133–175. Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael. “‘Psalms Useful for Everything:’ Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Manuals for the Amuletic Use of the Psalter.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 72 (2018): 113– 168. Zervos, Skevos. “Ἀετίου Ἀμιδηνοῦ περὶ δακνόντων ζῴων καὶ ι᾿οβόλων.” Ἀθηνᾶ 18 (1906): 264– 292.

Zsuzsanna Olach (University of Szeged)

Turkic translations of Psalm 130. A comparative analysis of three versions

Abstract and Introduction This study presents three different Turkic translations of Psalm 130. Each translation was created from different source languages. The Armeno-Kipchak text was composed from Classical Armenian, whereas the Psalm found in the Hebrew Bible was the basis for the Trakai Karaim translation. For the Chuvash version, besides the Hebrew original, a Russian translation was consulted. The three Turkic translations will be compared first with each other, then with the source language versions. Considering linguistic properties and proportions of adjustments occurred in the Turkic Psalms, an attempt will be made to define the possible Bible translation type of each version. Although the overwhelming majority of present-day Turkic-speaking peoples are neither Christians nor Jews, they have been exposed to the Bible, or segments of it, from an early stage in their history. For example, portions of the biblical texts appeared in a Kipchak Turkic source (called Codex Cumanicus) composed in the 14th century. From the 17th century onwards, the Bible has been translated into almost all Turkic languages. The purpose of Turkic Bible translations often varies (e. g. missionary purposes, better understanding of the holy text, etc.) and this influences the type of translation produced (e. g. word-by-word translations, interpretative translations). A comparative analysis of various Turkic Bible translations will provide several useful insights that will inform the history of cultures, translation studies, and linguistics. This paper will present the results of such an analysis using different Turkic versions of the same biblical text. A general introduction to the classification of translations will first be provided, followed by information on the versions of Psalm 130 that will be analysed in this paper, and then a consideration of the people whose languages these translations have appeared in. In the second part of the paper, a comparative linguistic examination of the texts will be conducted. The Turkic translations will be compared first with each other, then with the (probable) source language versions.

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Translation types Translations, or target texts, are derived from their source text “in accordance with a particular translation strategy (or a set of norms) which may differ widely between cultures, schools or even individual translators.” Target texts differ from each other in the extent to which they show concordance with the norms of the target language. They can also have different functions; for instance they can be “read as a target language original or as a faithful reproduction of the source language original”.1 Scholars have adopted different approaches towards the classification of translations in terms of translation strategies, translation procedures, and so on. For instance, regarding applied strategies, House distinguishes between overt and covert translations2 whereas Larson uses the terms literal translation and idiomatic translation.3 Translations can be direct or indirect depending on how they are produced.4 In this study, Sebastian Floor’s classification, which was established specifically for Bible translations, will be used.5 Floor uses two main criteria to distinguish between four major types of archaic and modern Bible translations. Translations containing fewer adjustments of the source language are considered more closed, whereas translations with a greater number of adjustments are more open. The other aspect to address concerns the resemblance of the translation to the semantics of the source language. A translation that is closer to the semantics of the source language is a resemblant translation, while one that renders the information in the source language more explicit is an interpretative translation. 1. The four main types of Bible translation according to Floor (2007)

Proportion of adjustments (open or close)

more fewer

Representation of the semantics of the source language (resemblant or interpretative) closer more explicit open resemblant open interpretative close resemblant close interpretative

1 Mark Shuttleworth and Moira Cowie, eds., Dictionary of Translation Studies (London-New York: Routledge, 2014), 164. 2 Juliane House, A Model for Translation Quality Assessment (Tübingen: TBL Verlag Gunter Narr, 1977). 3 Mildred L. Larson, Meaning-based Translation: A Guide to Cross-language Equivalence (Lanham: University Press of America, 1984). 4 Gideon Toury, In Search of a Theory of Translation (Tel Aviv: The Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics, 1980). 5 Sebastian J. Floor, “Four Bible translation types and some criteria to distinguish them,” Journal of Translation 3.2 (2007): 1–22.

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Eight further criteria, mainly syntactical and lexical in nature, also assist in the classification of different Bible translations.6 1. The first criterion concerns the order of clauses and phrases. The receptor language may retain the original order of the source language, or it may make slight adjustments to, or even disregard, the ordering features of the source language. 2. The next criterion is sentence length. The receptor language may or may not reflect the original length of sentences. 3. Rendering of reference disambiguation and tracking is the next criterion. Reference disambiguation of the source language may be preserved in the receptor language texts. 4. Translations can also be classified according to the concordance of lexical items. For example, there are translations with full concordance, i. e. one receptor language word corresponds to one source language word. Limited concordance, i. e. when few receptor language words correspond to a word in the source language, can also be seen in translations. Some translations show no concordance at all. 5. Bible translations also differ from each other in terms of the treatment of key biblical terms and unknown terms in the source language. These depend on the cultural background and the lexical stock of the receptor language. 6. Figurative usage and idioms is the next criterion. Figures of speech, e. g. metaphors and idioms, can be translated literally into the receptor language; however, functional equivalents or explanations can also be used. Additionally, some translations also use loose restatements. 7. Transitions between paragraphs, sentences, and verses can be translated in different ways. A translation may preserve the boundary features of the source language, rework the transitions in the receptor language, or use the transitions of the source language inconsistently. 8. Rendering the information structure of the source language is the final criterion. The topic and focus of the source language may be preserved even if this structure is not typical of the receptor language. A receptor-languageoriented translation, however, makes changes to the way the information structure is ordered. The terminology developed by Floor will be used to describe the different types of translation represented in the Turkic versions of Psalm 130, namely the ArmenoKipchak, the Trakai Karaim, and the Chuvash translations. Because the corpus is limited to one single psalm, conclusions regarding translation types must be

6 Floor, Four Bible translation types, 8.

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viewed as hypothetical and this will be confirmed by the analysis of further portions translated into the given Turkic languages.

The Armeno-Kipchaks, the Karaim and the Chuvash The Armeno-Kipchak, the Karaim, and the Chuvash people had/have all been living in Eastern Europe in Christian surroundings and among non-Turkic speakers. Such circumstances have had important effects on the language, the culture and the religion of the Armeno-Kipchak, Karaim, and Chuvash people. The Armeno-Kipchaks were a group of Turkic-speaking people who have now vanished. They lived in the territories of the present-day Ukraine between the 11th and 17th centuries. Their main centres were Kamenets-Podolsk and Lviv. Armeno-Kipchak is considered a Kipchak Turkic language of the Middle Kipchak period. The Armeno-Kipchaks were followers of Armenian Christianity.7 Trakai Karaim are one of the traditional minority groups of Lithuania. From the 14th century onwards, they have lived in the territories of present-day Lithuania and Poland. There are now only a few hundred Karaim left and only approximately 50 people can speak their Turkic mother tongue. Their vernacular belongs to the Western Kipchak Turkic group. They are followers of Karaite Judaism, and thus acknowledge the Hebrew Bible while rejecting post-biblical literature.8 The Chuvash people live mainly in the Volga region: in the Chuvash Republic, in the Tatar Republic, and in the Bashkir Republic. The capital of the Chuvash Republic is Cheboksary. The Chuvash people are relatively large in number with an overall population of approximately 1.8 million. Chuvash is the only existing Oghur-Turkic language, which means that it alone constitutes a branch of Turkic. The Chuvash people are Orthodox Christians.9

7 Árpád Berta, “Middle Kipchak,” in The Turkic languages, ed. Lars Johanson, Éva Á. Csató (London; New York: Routledge, 1998), 158; and Omeljan Pritsak, “Das Karaimische,” in Philologiae turcicae fundamenta 1, ed. Jean Deny, Kaare Grønbech, Helmuth Scheel, Zeki Velidi Togan (Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1959), 81. 8 Éva Csató, “The smallest group of Turkic-speaking people,” in The Turkic speaking world. 2000 years of art and culture from Inner Asia to the Balkans, ed. Ergun Çagatay (Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2006), 384–403; and Éva Csató, “Lithuanian Karaim,” Tehlikedeki Diller Dergisi [Journal of Endangered Languages] 1.1 (2012), 33–45. 9 Boeschoten, Hendryk, “The speakers of Turkic languages,” in The Turkic languages, ed. Lars Johanson and Éva Á. Csató (London; New York: Routledge, 1998), 7–8.

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The Armeno-Kipchak, the Karaim, and the Chuvash Bible translations Although the Armeno-Kipchaks, Trakai Karaim and Chuvash people share some common ground in terms of religion, such as the Scripture and some basic dogmas, the translations of sacred texts into their vernaculars sometimes differ significantly. In this study, the nature of these differences will be discussed with references to translations of Psalm 130. These three translations have been composed from very different source languages. Therefore, a brief review of translations of the Bible into ArmenoKipchak, Trakai Karaim and Chuvash will first be presented. Armenians were christianised in the 4th century AD and a Classical Armenian translation of the Bible occurred in the first half of the 5th century. Mesrob Mashtots, Isaac and their assistants created the translation from Greek using the newly established Armenian alphabet. In the 6th century the translation was revised, however Mesrob and his assistants’ version was the one that became widely used. This translation was printed at a much later stage when, in 1565, the Psalter was published in Rome. The entire Bible was printed in 1666 in Amsterdam. Further editions then appeared in Istanbul, Venice and Serampore during the 18th and 19th centuries.10 Translations in the two main literary dialects of Armenia (Eastern and Western Armenian) were published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in the 19th century. Dr. Zohrab’s translation into Western Armenian (published in Paris in 1825) was created from the Classical Armenian translation. Furthermore, American missionaries published the Old Testament in Western Armenian in 1846 and this has since been reedited by the American Bible Society several times.11 Armeno-Kiphcaks therefore had access to copies of the Classical Armenian translation and maybe also to the Psalter (1565). Therefore, it is highly probable that the source language of the Armeno-Kipchak version was Classical Armenian, although no written sources provide any information on this issue. In European libraries, three copies of the Psalter, nine prayer books, and the Epistles of Paul written in Armeno-Kipchak are known to exist.12 One copy of the Psalter is kept in the Czartoryski Museum of Krakow and was published in Lviv in 1575. Another copy can be found in the Austrian National Library of Vienna. This copy is related to Deacon Lussig and was published in 1580 in Lviv. A third copy, 10 William St. Clair Tisdall, “Armenian versions of the Bible,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, ed. ed. James Orr, John L. Nuelsen, Edgar Y. Mullins, and Morris O. Evans, Vol. 1 (Chicago: The Howard-Severance, 1915), 249–50. 11 St. Clair Tisdall, “Armenian versions,” 250. 12 Nadejda Chirli, Alg˙ıs¸ Bitigi. Ermeni Kipçakça Dualar Kitabı [An Armeno Kipchak Prayer Book] (Haarlem: Turkestan and Azerbaijan Research Centre, 2005), 16.

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published in 1581 and edited by Deacon Lussig, is preserved in the Mekhitarist Library of Venice.13 Two other editions are also kept in the Mekhitarist Library.14 The Karaim have a long tradition of translating biblical texts because the Hebrew Bible and its translations have all constituted the basis of their religion. Zaja˛czkowski, for instance, claims that the first translations were created in the 11th century, although there is no documentary evidence available to support this claim.15 Portions of the earliest translation (1687) were edited and published by Michał Németh.16 Since then, translations of the Tanakh, the Torah or the Prophets from Biblical Hebrew have appeared in all three sub-varieties of Karaim (Trakai Karaim, Halich Karaim, and Crimean Karaim).17 The aim of these translations was to provide a Karaim biblical text that was as close to the original Hebrew as possible.18 Consequently, the Karaim translations are very close to the source language. Nevertheless, differences – sometimes significant differences – can be detected even in translations into the same sub-variety of Karaim.19 Orthodox Christianity was spread among Chuvash people by Russian missionaries from the 18th century onwards. Although pre-Christian traditions have to some extent been maintained, most of the Chuvash people are now Christians.20 A short Catechism and prayers (1804–1808) were the first to be translated, following which the four Gospels were translated into Chuvash and published by

13 Armenian-Qypchaq Psalter written by deacon Lussig from Lviv 1575/1580, ed. Alexander Garkavets and Eduard Khurshudian (Almaty: Desht-i Qypchaq, 2001), XV–XVI. 14 Armenian-Qypchaq Psalter, XII. 15 Włodzimierz Zaja˛czkowski, “Karaimische Übersetzungen des Alten Testaments,” Folia Orientalia 21 (1980): 161. 16 Michał Németh, “A Crimean Karaim handwritten translation of the Book of Ruth dating from before 1687. Another contribution to the history of Crimean Karaim and to the question of the stemma codicum of the Eupatorian printed edition of the Tanakh from 1841,” Türk Dilleri Aras¸tırmaları 26.2 [FS H. Jankowski] (2016): 161–226. 17 For the manuscripts and edited versions of Karaim Bible translations, see the following literature. Crimean Karaim: Henryk Jankowski, “Translations of the Bible into Karaim,” Religion Compass 3.4 (2009): 502–523. Halich Karaim: Zsuzsanna Olach, A Halich Karaim translation of Hebrew biblical texts, Turcologica 98 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2013). Trakai Karaim: Tadeusz Kowalski, Karaimische Texte im Dialekt von Troki (Kraków: Polska Akademja Umiejetnos´ci, 1929). ˙ analysis of the impact of Hebrew on a Halich Karaim translation; see Olach, A 18 For a thorough Halich Karaim translation. 19 Zsuzsanna Olach, The Jewish culture and its literature among Karaim. The Song of Moses, Studia Uralo-Altaica, (Szeged: University of Szeged, forthcoming). 20 For more information on pre-Christian traditions and their transformations, see Chapter 5: The transformation of the Old Chuvash Faith in Alison Ruth Kolosova, “Narodnost’ and Obshchechelovechnost’ in 19th century Russian missionary work: N. I. Il‘minskii and the Christianization of the Chuvash,” (PhD diss., Durham University, 2016), 178–249. Available at Durham E-Thesis Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11403/.

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the Russian Bible Society in 1820.21 Due to the intellectual influence of Nikolai Ivanovich Ilminskii, Ivan Yakovlev, who was of Chuvash origin, then translated the Gospel of Matthew. Moreover, in the process, he also went to Chuvash villages where he could make corrections with the help of local people. The corrected translation, together with Bible stories, prayers and folk stories, was published as the Chuvash Primer in 1871.22 Iakovlev continued his work in conjunction with his students from the Simbirsk Chuvash School. Together they translated biblical and liturgical texts that were later sent to Kazan “for editing by Hebrew and Greek scholars working in collaboration with Ilminski, but were also sent to teachers, and later priests, in the villages where they were edited by the village people.” Four Gospels edited this way were published in 1890. The complete New Testament and the Psalter were published in 1911 “in collaboration with the British and Foreign Bible Society who funded the publication of Chuvash Scripture from 1874.” The Old Testament was also translated, however, historical circumstances (the First World War and the Revolution) prevented its publication. In 2009, a new and complete Bible translation by the famous autheress Eva Lisina was published by the Russian Bible Society.23

The corpus The Armeno-Kipchak version of Psalm 130 is part of the prayerbook Alg˙ïsˇ Bitigi published in Lviv in 1618.24 The manuscript of the prayerbook is kept in the library of Leiden University.25 The transcription of Psalm 130 referred to in this study was published by Nadejda Chirli.26 A transcript of the Trakai Karaim translation of Psalm 130 was published by ˇ ozMykolas Firkovicˇius in 1994 in a volume entitled David´ Bijnin´ Machtav C machlary. Psalme˙s (King David’s praising songs. Psalms). Unfortunately, Firkovicˇius states that he only used old Karaim manuscripts from the 18th and 19th 21 These translations were carried out by Russian priests. Because most of the Chuvash people of that time were illiterate, the translations did not fulfil their goals and Slavonic continued to be used in liturgical life, see Kolosova, Narodnost’ and Obshchechelovechnost’. 22 Alison Ruth Kolosova, “The development of an indigenous Orthodox clergy and liturgical life among the Turkic Chuvash people,” http://www.bogoslov.ru/en/text/2802034.html (last access: 05. 03. 2018. 23 Kolosova, “The development of an indigenous Orthodox clergy.” 24 Edmond Schütz, “An Armeno-Kipchak print from Lvov,” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 15 (1962): 291–309 (291). 25 Chirli, Alg˙ıs¸ Bitigi, 16. 26 The transcription of the Armeno-Kipchak text basically follows Chirli’s transcription but the Turkish orthography based letters have been replaced: ï instead of ı, cˇ instead of ç´, ǰ instead of c, x instead of h, see Chirli, Alg˙ıs¸ Bitigi, 33–34. ˘

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centuries for the publication, however no further information about the author or the date of the manuscript is given.27 The Chuvash Psalm can be found in the Chuvash Bible (Bibli. Sa˘vapla˘ ´sïra˘va˘n avalhi tata ´se˘ne˘ halal ke˘nekisem) which was published by the Russian Bible Society in 2009.28 The Chuvash translation was composed by the Chuvash author, Eva Nikolayevna Lisina, with the help of a special team from the Russian Bible Society.29 Although the translation is based on an earlier Russian Bible translation, the original Hebrew text was also referred to during the translation process.30

The linguistic characteristics of the Turkic translations of Psalm 130 A few major differences can be observed in the three Turkic translations. For instance, the translators often applied different verbal predicates i. e. differences in tense, mode, and the use of first/third person perspectives. Different approaches toward the use of genitive construction can also be seen. For example, when the possessor is given by a personal pronoun, the processor+Genitive marker may be omitted from a genitive construction. However, as will be illustrated, the translators employed various strategies for translating such genitive constructions. This section will conclude by considering the religious terminology of Psalms 130.

Differences in verbal predication In line 1, the Armeno-Kipchak translator employs a simple past form of the verb (AKip. sarna:dï:m [cry:pst:1sg] “I cried”), while the simple present form can be observed in the Trakai Karaim and in Chuvash translations (TKar. cˇahïr:a:mïn [cry:pres:1sg] “I cry,” Chuv. tarxasl:at:a˘p [pray:pres:1sg] “I pray”). Simple present verb forms in Trakai Karaim and in Chuvash are also used in lines 4–5 (TKar. isˇan:a:mïn [believe:pres:1sg] “I believe,” TKar. isˇan:a:dïr [believe: pres:3sg] “he believes,” TKar. umsun:a:mïn [trust:pres:1sg] “I trust,” Chuv. ˇsan: 27 In this study, a Turcological transcription was used for the Trakai Karaim text. For the text written with the modern Lithuanian based orthography, see Mykolas Firkovicˇius, David´ bijnin´ machtav ˇcozmachlary. Psalme˙s (Vilnius: Danielius, 1994), 153. 28 Bibli. Sa˘vapla˘ s´ïra˘va˘n avalhi tata s´e˘ne˘ halal ke˘nekisem (Sankt-Peterburg: Ras´s´ej Bibli Pӗrlӗhӗ, 2009). 29 I would like to express my gratitude to Eva Nikolayevna Lisina, Melinda Takács (a PhD student at the University of Szeged) and Professor Klára Agyagási (University of Debrecen) for their enormous help in obtaining a copy of the Psalm and analysing the Chuvash text. 30 The Chuvash text in the original publication is written with Cyrillic letters. In the present study, however, the text is given in a Turcological transcription.

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at:ap [hope:pst:1sg] “I hope,” Chuv. ˇsan:sa ta˘r:at:ap [hope:sa.conv stand: pres:1sg] “I do hope”), where the simple past, the imperative and the aorist form of the verb appear in the Armeno-Kipchak version (AKip. toz:du:m [hope: ˙ pst:1sg] “I hoped,” AKip. toz! [hope:imp2sg] “hope!” and AKip. umsan:ur [trust: ˙ aor3sg] “he trusts”). The optative form of verbs is used in line 2 in the Armeno-Kipchak text while the imperative is used in the Trakai Karaim and in the Chuvash version (AKip. bol:gay [be:opt3sg] “it shall be!”; Chuv. ilt:sem:cˇcˇe˘ [listen:imp2sg:sem:cˇcˇe] ˙ “listen (please)!” TKar. bol:sunlar [be:imp3pl] “they shall be!”). Thus, there is also a difference in both the number and person, as the third person singular form is used in the Armeno-Kipchak version, the third person plural suffix is attached to the verb in the Trakai Karaim text, and a second person singular form is used in the Chuvash psalm.

The genitive constructions In Turkic languages, genitive relations can be expressed by a genitive construction, i. e. a possessor + genitive marker followed by the possessed item + possessive suffix, while the possessor in the genitive might be omitted.31 In the translation of Psalm 130, however, the Armeno-Kipchak translator used genitive constructions in an inverse order throughout (AKip. awaz:ïm:a menim [voice: poss1sg:dat I:gen] “to my voice;” AKip. xulax:ïn senin [ear:poss2sg you:gen] “your ear;” AKip. alg˙ïsˇ:ïm:niŋ menim [plea:poss1sg:gen I:gen] “of my plea;” AKip. torasizlik‘:im:ni menim [iniquity:poss1sg:acc I:gen] “my iniquity (acc);” ˙ AKip. aln:ïn:a seniŋ [front:poss2sg:dat you:gen] “to the front of you;” AKip. at: ïn ucˇun seniŋ [name:poss2sg for you:gen] “for your name;” AKip. ǰan:ïm menim [soul:poss1sg I:gen] “my soul;” AKip. soz:uŋ:a seniŋ [word:poss2sg:dat you: ˙ gen] “to your word;” AKip. vaxt:ï:ndan erta:nïŋ [time:poss3sg:abl morning: gen] “from the time of morning;” AKip. tarlïx:larï:ndan alar:nïŋ [distress: poss3pl:abl they:gen] “from their distress”). The Trakai Karaim translator, however, omits the personal pronoun in the genitive as the noun + possessive suffix in these cases also denotes the possessor (TKar. awaz:ïm:nï [voice:poss1sg:acc] “my voice (acc);” TKar. esituw:lär:ij [hearing:pl:poss2sg] “your hearings;” TKar. yalbarmax:lar:ïm:nïn [prayer:pl: poss1sg:gen] “of my prayers;” TKar. ǰan:ïm [soul:poss1sg] “my soul;” TKar. yazïx:larï:ndan [sin:poss3pl:abl] “from their sins”). The personal pronoun in the genitive only occurs once in the text, when the possessor is God: TKar. soz:u:nä Anïn [word:poss3sg:dat he:gen] “to his word.” Furthermore, like the Armeno31 Lars Johanson, Structural factors in Turkic language contacts (Richmond: Curzon, 2002), 25.

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Kipchak translation, the order is non-Turkic; in this case the possessed item + possessor. As these examples illustrate, full genitive constructions are preferred in Chuvash (Chuv. Sana˘n xa˘lx:u [you:gen ear:poss2sg] “your ear;” Chuv. Sana˘n umanta “in front of you;” Chuv. Una˘n sa˘max:ne [he:gen word:dat-acc] “to His word;” Chuv. Mana˘n cˇuna˘m [I:gen soul:poss1sg] “my soul”).32 The possessor marked by a genitive marker is only omitted in two cases (Chuv. sassa˘ma “my voice (acc.);” Chuv. cˇunam “my soul”), and the order of the possessor and the possessed item is always Turkic.

The lexicon A few religious terms also occur in the Psalm. The word “God” is used only in the Trakai Karaim translation (Ten´ri), whereas the word Lord occurs in the other versions (Biy/Eya in Armeno-Kipchak and S´ülxus´a in Chuvash). A word meaning “soul” appears in all the translations (AKip. ǰan, TKar. ǰan, Chuv. cˇun) and reflects a lexical item of Persian origin33 (< ja¯n “soul, vital spirit, mind”). Two other terms (“mercy” and “salvation, redemption”) are also used in all three versions of Psalm 130. The Armeno-Kipchak and the Chuvash translations apply words of Turkic origin in both cases (AKip. yarlïg˙amax “mercy” < OT yarlïka- “to be gracious” from yarlïg “a command from a superior to an inferior;” sometimes with some connotation of “a grant of favour from a superior to an inferior;”34 Chuv. ïra˘la˘x “mercy” < OT arïg “clean, pure”35 and AKip. xutxarmaxlïx; Chuv. xa˘tarassi “redemption” (see xa˘tar- ‘redeem’)36 < OT kurtg˙ar- “to rescue”37. In the Trakai Karaim translation, an Arabic word ˇsevahat “mercy” is used38 (< Ar ‫ˇ ﺷﻔﻖ‬safaq, ˇsafaqa-t “feel compassion with, have mercy upon, pardon”) and also the Turkic yuluw “redemption” (< OT yulug “tearing out, tearing up”).39 32 In Chuvash, the 3rd person possessive marker disappears before the dative-accusative suffix, see Larry Clark, “Chuvash,” in The Turkic languages, ed. Lars Johanson, Éva Á. Csató (London–New York: Routledge, 1998), 438. 33 Francis J. Steingass, A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1892), 352. Available online on http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/steingass/. 34 Gerald Clauson, An etymological dictionary of pre-thirteenth century Turkish (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), 966–67, 968. 35 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 213. ˇ eboksary: C ˇ uvasˇskij gosu36 Mihail R. Fedotov, E˙timologicˇeskij slovar’ cˇuvasˇskogo jazyka (C darstvennyj institut gumanitarnyh nauk, 1996). 2:336–337. 37 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 649–650. 38 Francis J. Steingass, The student’s Arabic-English dictionary. Companion volume to the author’s English-Arabic dictionary (London: W. H. Allen, 1884), 547. 39 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 925.

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A word for “sin, iniquity” occcurs twice in the Trakai Karaim translation, where a Turkic (yazïx < OT yazuk “sin”)40 and a Persian (TKar günax “sin” < Per ‫ ﮔﻨﺎﻩ‬guna¯h “sin, crime, error”)41 word both alternate in the text. The etymology of the Chuvash word ´sïlaxla “sin, sinful” has been much debated. For instance, Malov – quoted in Fedotov – suggests it is of Hebrew origin,42 whereas Fedotov relates the word to yaŋluq/yaŋïluq “mistake, error” < yaŋïl- “to make mistake.”43 As an equivalent, a lexical item of Turkic origin torasizlik‘ “unfaithfulness” ˙ occurs in the Armeno-Kipchak translation (< töru¯¨ “traditional, customary, unwritten law;”44 and törüsüz “contrary to the rules”).45 The modern Turkic texts also include a word derived from “to forgive” in line 4: TKar. bosˇatlïx ‘“orgiveness” < OT bosˇut- “to release;”46 Chuv. qas´arata˘n “you forgive” < OT kecˇür- “to make (someone) cross (something), to pass (something) through (something), to pass (time) to forgive (sins);”47 see also Fedotov on qas´-,48 whereas a term related to moral cleansing, arïnmaxlïx, is used in the Armeno-Kipchak translation (< OT arïn- “to cleanse oneself”).49 The religious lexicon, in general, is Turkic in all three Psalm translations, although the Trakai Karaim version also contains three foreign elements used to describe the key terms “soul,” “sin” and “mercy.” The other two translators, however, used words of Turkic origin for these terms. The following table presents the religious terminology found in the three Turkic versions of Psalm 130.

soul mercy salvation Lord plea sin unfaithfulness forgive(ness) clearing

Armeno-Kipchak ǰan yarlïg˙amax xutxarmaxlïx Biy/Eya alg˙ïsˇ torasizlik‘ -˙ arïnmaxlïx

Trakai Karaim ǰan ˇsevahat yuluw yalbarmax yazïx/günah bosˇatlïx -

Chuvash cˇun ïralax xa˘taras S´ülxus´a ´silaxla qas´ar -

40 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 985. 41 Steingass, A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, 1097. 42 Evfimij A. Malov, O vlijanii evrejstva na cˇuvasˇ. Opyt ob‘msnenija nekotoryh cˇuvasˇskih slov (Kazan’: 1882). 43 Fedotov, E˙timologicˇeskij slovar’ 2:152–153. 44 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 531. 45 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 553. 46 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 378. 47 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 698–99. 48 Fedotov, E˙timologicˇeskij slovar’, 1:236–237. 49 Clauson, An etymological dictionary, 235.

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The relationship between the original and the Turkic versions In the following section, the Turkic versions of Psalm 130 will be compared with the original texts used for the translations. This makes it possible to define how the linguistic characteristics and semantics of the original text are represented in the various Turkic translations and will help in classifying the Turkic translations of Psalm 130.

Comparison of the Armeno-Kipchak text and the Armenian original50 Only a few adjustments were made in the Armeno-Kipchak version and these were due to typological differences between the Turkic Armeno-Kipchak and the Indo-European Classical Armenian languages. Because Turkic languages do not have prepositions, the prepositional constructions of the Classical Armenian text are rendered either with suffixes (e. g. in line 5: ClArm. i Te¯r [prep Lord] “to Lord;” AKip. biy:ga [Lord:dat] “to Lord”) or with postpositional constructions (e. g. in line 4: ClArm. vasn anuan k‘o [prep name: gen:def you:gen (sg)] “for your name;” AKip. at:ïn ucˇun seniŋ [name: poss2sg for you:gen] “for your name”). Consequently, in the case of postpositional constructions, the word order properties differ from those in the original Armenian.51 Sometimes there are also differences in number. For instance, the Armenian original text contains a plural in the first verse (ClArm. i χoroc‘ [prep deep: abl.pl] “from depths”) and in the second verse (ClArm. akanǰk‘ k‘o [ear:nom.pl you:gen.sg] “your ears”). However, singular forms can be found in the ArmenoKipchak translation (AKip. teranlik‘:tan [depth:abl] “from depth;” AKip. xulax: ïn senin [ear:poss2sg you:gen] “your ear”). Only one addition in the Armeno-Kipchak text has no counterpart in the Armenian Psalm: this is the word cˇax “very” in the expression Vaxtïndan ertanïŋ cˇax kecˇaga dinra “from the time of morning until the late night” in line 6. This can be compared to the original Armenian: ClArm. i pahe¯ ar˙awo¯tu mincˇew yerekoy “from the moment of morning until evening.” Thus, it can be concluded that the Armeno-Kipchak translation of Psalm 130 represents a close resemblant translation of the Armenian text.

50 I would like to thank Goran Hakobian (PhD student at the Russian-Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia) for her revision of Classical Armenian examples in the section The comparison of the Armeno-Kipchak text and the Armenian original. 51 For the Classical Armenian version, see http://www.arak29.am/bible_28E/tPs_129.htm (cited: 24 March 2018).

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Comparison of the Trakai Karaim text and the original Hebrew The Trakai Karaim translator developed a close interpretative translation of the Hebrew original. This characteristic can be observed at both the lexical and phrasal level. There were, however, some adjustments in the translation. In line 4, a nominal predication (qorxuncˇlu:sïn [fearsome:cop2sg] “you are fearsome”) can be seen rather than the verbal predication that would be expected given the niphal verb form of the Hebrew text (tiwwärë′ [fear.v:niph. iprf.masc2sg] “you would be feared”).52 No systematically applied translational equivalents were given for the Hebrew verbs qiwwütâ “she waits for” and hôHäºlTî “I wait” in verse 5, and the verb yaHël “wait!” in line 7. Furthermore, although hôHäºlTî and yaHël are derivations of the same root, they are translated using different Karaim verbs: umsun- “to hope, trust, wait”53 in verse 5 and isˇan- “to believe, trust” in verse 7.54 The word qiwwütâ is also translated with the verb isˇan- “to believe, trust.” In line 6, the word “morning” is in the accusative (tannï “morning (acc)”), however if it is connected to isˇan- “to believe, trust,” it should have been in the dative (tang˙a “to/for the morning”). Instead, in conjunction with the phrase “wait for,” it is in the accusative. The ellipsis of the Hebrew text therefore causes difficulties in this translation. The Hebrew text of verse 6 contains a repetition misˇˇsomrîm labboqer ˇsomrîm labboqer, literally meaning “from watchmen to the morning, watchmen to the morning.” This repetition, however, is not part of the Trakai Karaim translation (artïx saklawcˇulardan tannï “more (than) the guards (wait for) the morning”). There are also a few additions in the Trakai Karaim translation, thus no equivalent in the original Hebrew could be found. For example, the word esituw: ˙ lär:iy [hearing:pl:poss2sg] “your hearings” is inserted into verse 2, whereas the verb isˇan:hïn! [believe:imp2sg] “believe! trust!” is added to the text in verse 6.

Comparison of the Russian and Chuvash translations An analysis of the Chuvash translation is rather complicated because both the Russian translation of the Psalm and the original Hebrew version were consulted. In this section, however, the Chuvash and Russian translations will be compared. With the Russian text as the source language, more adjustments in the target 52 The transcription and the glossing of the Hebrew text are based on the analysis provided in Bible works 8. Software for biblical exegesis & research (Norfolk, VA, 2010). 53 Nikolaj A. Baskakov, Ananiasz Zaja˛czkowski, and Seraja M. Szapszal, Karaimsko-russkopol’skij slovar’. (Moskva: Russkij Jazyk, 1974), 578. 54 Baskakov, Zaja˛czkowski, Szapszal, Karaimsko-russko-pol’skij slovar’, 211.

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language (Chuvash) can be seen and the Chuvash Psalm can therefore be classified as a more open type of translation. For instance, the Chuvash translator uses the typical Turkic SOV word order in her translation. For example, in verse 8, the Chuvash order is SOV (Chuv. Wa˘l Izrail:e xa˘tar:e˘ [he Israel:dat-acc redeem: fut3sg] “He will redeem Israel,” as opposed to the Russian и Он избавит Израиля [and He redeem:fut3sg Israel:acc] “and He will redeem Israel”). Some differences in the lexicon can also be observed. In the Russian text, the expression из глубины [prep depth:gen] “from the depth” is used in verse 1, whereas cˇun:tan-war:tan [soul:abl-middle:abl], meaning “from soul and depth,” occurs in the Chuvash translation. In verse 4, there is no word that means “fear” in the Russian version (Russ. благоговеют [pay reverence:pres3pl] “they pay reverence”), but there is such a word in the Chuvash text (Chuv. xa˘rasa ta˘cˇ: cˇa˘r [fear:imp3pl] “they shall fear!”). In verse 2, the word ‘ear’ is in plural in the Russian version but is translated into a singular form in Chuvash (Russ. уши Твои [ear:pl you:gen] “your ears,” vs. Chuv. Sana˘n xa˘lx:u [you:gen ear:poss2sg] “your ear”). In the same line, a nominal form is used in the Russian text (к голосу молений моих [prep voice:dat prayer:gen:pl I:gen:pl] “to the voice of my prayers”), whereas a participle occurs in the Chuvash translation (Chuv. Ya˘la˘n:aqan sass:a˘m:a [cry:akan voice: poss1sg:acc] “my imploring voice”). A nominal form occurs in the Russian text in verse 4 (Russ. прощение “forgiveness”), while a verbal form is used in the Chuvash translation (Chuv. qas´ar:at:a˘n [forgive:pres2sg] “you forgive”). There are also additions in the Chuvash text in verse 6. In the Russian text, the verb “to wait” does not occur in the second and the third clauses (Russ. Душа моя ожидает Господа более, нежели стражи – утра, более, нежели стражи – утра. “My soul waits for the Lord, more than the guards the mornings, more than the guards the mornings”), but does occur in the Chuvash translation (Chuv. Mana˘n cˇuna˘m S´ülxus´ana ke˘tet – xurals´a˘sem tul ´suta˘lassa ke˘tnincˇen ïtlarax – xurals´asem tul ´suta˘lassa ke˘tnincˇen ïtlarax ke˘tet “My soul waits for the Lord – more than the guards wait for the dawn -it waits more than the guards wait for the dawn”). Compared to the Russian original, additions can also be found in verse 8. For instance, there is no Russian equivalent for the expression xa˘tare˘ “He will redeem” at the end of the verse. In the Chuvash translation, we find ´sïla˘xla˘ e˘´se˘ncˇen “from his sinful thing,” whereas от (всех) беззаконий “from all his iniquity” is used in Russian. Thus, in the Chuvash version, the word e˘´s “thing” is an addition that needed to be made because of the adjective ´sïla˘xla˘ “sinful.”

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Final remarks The three versions of Psalm 130 that have been analysed demonstrate the extent to which translations of the same text into different varieties of Turkic can vary. There are three main reasons for this: the different attitudes of the translators, the different purposes of translation, and the use of various source languages. The Armeno-Kipchak and the Trakai Karaim translations are much more focused on the source language while the Chuvash translation is more focused on the target language. Given the circumstances in which the translations have been produced, such differences in focus are understandable. Because little is known about the history and circumstances surrounding the conversion of the Armeno-Kipchaks, it can only be assumed that the translation of Psalm 130 strictly follows the Armenian original. As for the Karaim, the language of the Hebrew Bible has been regarded as a holy language for centuries and the original aim of the Karaim Bible translations was to help community members understand what was written in the Hebrew original. Consequently, the Karaim Bible translations generally map the Hebrew text in the most accurate way possible during the translation process, i. e. with the focus on the Hebrew language – the source language. The aim of the Chuvash translator, however, differs from that of the other two translators. She aimed to create an intelligible translation that represents a high standard of use of her mother tongue. Consequently, this translation is more open and differs from the Russian version upon which it was based.

Literature Primary Sources Armenian-Qypchaq Psalter written by deacon Lussig from Lviv 1575/1580. Edited by Alexander Garkavets and Eduard Khurshudian. Almaty: Desht-i Qypchaq, 2001. Bible works 8. Software for biblical exegesis & research. Norfolk, 2010. Bibli. Sa˘vapla˘ ´sïra˘va˘n avalhi tata ´se˘ne˘ halal ke˘nekisem. Sankt-Peterburg: Ras´s´ej Bibli Pӗrlӗhӗ, 2009.

Secondary Sources Baskakov, Nikolaj A., Ananiasz Zaja˛czkowski, and Seraja M. Szapszal. Karaimsko-russkopol’skij slovar’. Moskva: Russkij Jazyk, 1974.

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Berta, Árpád. “Middle Kipchak.” Pages 158–165 in The Turkic languages. Edited by Lars Johanson and Éva Á. Csató. London; New York: Routledge, 1998. Boeschoten, Hendryk. “The speakers of Turkic languages.” Pages 1–5 in The Turkic languages. Edited by Lars Johanson and Éva Á. Csató. London–New York: Routledge, 1998. Chirli, Nadejda. Alg˙ıs¸ Bitigi. Ermeni Kipçakça Dualar Kitabı [An Armeno Kipchak Prayer Book]. Haarlem: Turkestan and Azerbaijan Research Centre, 2005. Clark, Larry. “Chuvash.” Pages 434–452 in The Turkic languages. Edited by Lars Johanson and Éva Á. Csató. London; New York: Routledge, 1998. Clauson, Gerald. An etymological dictionary of pre-thirteenth century Turkish. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972. Csató, Éva. “The smallest group of Turkic-speaking people.” Pages 384–403 in The Turkic speaking world. 2000 years of art and culture from Inner Asia to the Balkans. Edited by Ergun Çagatay. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2006. Csató, Éva. Lithuanian Karaim. Tehlikedeki Diller Dergisi [Journal of Endangered Languages] 1.1 (2012): 33–45. ˇ eboksary: C ˇ uvasˇskij Fedotov, Mihail R. E˙timologicˇeskij slovar’ ˇcuvasˇskogo jazyka. 2 vols. C gosudarstvennyj institut gumanitarnyh nauk, 1996. Firkovicˇius, Mykolas. David´ bijnin´ machtav cˇozmachlary. Psalme˙s. Vilnius, 1994. Floor, Sebastian J. “Four Bible translation types and some criteria to distinguish them.” Journal of Translation 3.2 (2007): 1–22. House, Juliane. A model for translation quality assessment. Tübingen: TBL Verlag Gunter Narr, 1977. Jankowski, Henryk. “Translations of the Bible into Karaim.” Religion Compass 3.4 (2009): 502–523. Johanson, Lars. Structural factors in Turkic language contacts. Richmond: Curzon, 2002. Kolosova, Alison Ruth. “Narodnost‘ and Obshchechelovechnost‘ in 19th century Russian missionary work: N. I. Il‘minskii and the Christianization of the Chuvash.” PhD diss. Durham University, 2016. Available at Durham E-Thesis Online: http://etheses.dur.ac. uk/11403/. Kolosova, Alison Ruth. “The development of an indigenous Orthodox clergy and liturgical life among the Turkic Chuvash people.” http://www.bogoslov.ru/en/text/2802034.html (last access: 05. 03. 2018.) Kowalski, Tadeusz. Karaimische Texte im Dialekt von Troki. Kraków: Polska Akademja Umiejetnos´ci, 1929. ˙ Larson, Mildred L. Meaning-based translation: A guide to cross-language equivalence. Lanham: University Press of America, 1984. Malov, Evfimij A. O vlijanii evrejstva na cˇuvasˇ. Opyt ob‘msnenija nekotoryh cˇuvasˇskih slov. Kazan’, 1882. Németh, Michał. “A Crimean Karaim handwritten translation of the Book of Ruth dating from before 1687. Another contribution to the history of Crimean Karaim and to the question of the stemma codicum of the Eupatorian printed edition of the Tanakh from 1841.” Türk Dilleri Aras¸tırmaları 26.2 [FS H. Jankowski] (2016): 161–226. Olach, Zsuzsanna. A Halich Karaim translation of Hebrew biblical texts. Turcologica 98. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2013. Olach, Zsuzsanna. The Jewish culture and its literature among Karaim. The Song of Moses. Studia Uralo-Altaica. Szeged: University of Szeged, forthcoming.

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Pritsak, Omeljan, “Das Karaimische.” Pages 318–340 in Philologiae turcicae fundamenta 1. Edited by Jean Deny, Kaare Grønbech, Helmuth Scheel, and Zeki Velidi Togan. Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1959. Schütz, Edmond. “An Armeno-Kipchak print from Lvov.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 15 (1962): 291–309. St. Clair Tisdall, William. “Armenian versions of the Bible.” Pages 249–250 in International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Edited by James Orr, John L. Nuelsen, Edgar Y. Mullins, and Morris O. Evans. Vol. 1. Chicago: The Howard-Severance, 1915. Steingass, Francis J. The student’s Arabic-English dictionary. Companion volume to the author’s English-Arabic dictionary. London: W. H. Allen, 1884. Steingass, Francis J. A comprehensive Persian-English dictionary, including the Arabic words and phrases to be met with in Persian literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1892. Available online on http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/steingass/. Toury, Gideon. In search of a theory of translation. Tel Aviv: The Porter Institute for Poetics and Semiotics, 1980. Walfish, Barry D. and Mikhail Kizilov. Bibliographia Karaitica. An annotated bibliography of Karaites and Karaism. Karaite Texts and Studies 2. Études sur le judaïsm médiéval 43. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2010. Zaja˛czkowski, Włodzimierz. Karaimische Übersetzungen des Alten Testaments. Folia Orientalia 21 (1980): 161–162.

Abbreviations Languages AKip Ar Chuv ClArm Per Russ

Armeno-Kipchak Arabic Chuvash Classical Armenian Persian Russian

Glossary of examples 1sg 2sg 3sg 1pl 3pl abil abl acc akan

First person in the singular Second person in the singular Third person in the singular First person in the plural Third person in the plural A suffix which marks possibility or ability Ablative Accusative Present participle in the form –(Ø)AkAn

164 aor as cop cˇcˇe dat dat-acc def fut gan gen hyp imp inf iprf masc neg niph ni nom opt pl poss prep pres pst sa sassan sem sg v

Zsuzsanna Olach

Aorist Future participle in the form –(Ø)As Copula Intensifying particle Dative A suffix denoting dative-accusative in Chuvash Definite Future tense marker -(G)An Genitive Hypothetical mood Imperative mood Infinitive Imperfect Masculine Negation Niphal verb form in Biblical Hebrew Verbal noun in the form -ni Nominal Optative Plural Possessive Preposition Present tense marker Past tense marker Converb -sA Converb –sASSAn marking clauses of time Politeness particle Singular Verb

Appendix 1 The Armeno-Kipchak version of Psalm 130 1. Teranlik‘:tan sarna:dï:m sana, biy! depth:abl cry:pst:1s you:dat Lord “From depth, I cried to you, Lord!”

Turkic translations of Psalm 130. A comparative analysis of three versions

2. Biy, isˇit awaz:ïm:a menim. Lord listen:imp2sg voice:poss1sg:dat I:gen “Lord, listen to my voice!”’ Bol:gay xulax:ïn senin isˇit:ma ˙ be:opt3sg ear:poss2sg you:gen hear:inf “Shall your ears hear” avaz:ï:n alg˙ïsˇ:ïm:niŋ menim voice:poss3sg:acc plea:poss1sg:gen I:gen “the voice of my plea!”

3. Egar torasizlik‘:im:ni menim terga:sa:n, biy, ˙ if unjust: poss1sg:acc I:gen search:hyp:2sg Lord, “if you would search my unfaithfulness, Lord” biy, evet k‘im bol:ur tur:may aln:ï:na seniŋ ˙ Lord, but who be:aor stand:neg. front:poss3sg:dat you:gen “Lord, but who would stand in front of you?”

4. zera sen:dan:dïr arïnmaxlïx. because you:abl:cop3sg clearing “because the clearing is from you.” At:ïn ucˇun seniŋ toz:du:m biy, ˙ name:poss2sg for you:gen being to hope:pst1sg Lord “I was hoping for your name, Lord” toz ǰan:ïm menim soz:uŋ:a seniŋ, ˙ ˙ being to hope:imp2sg soul:poss1sg I:gen word:poss2sg:dat you:gen “be to hope, my soul, to your word”

5. umsan:ur ǰan:ïm menim biy:ga. trust:pres3sg soul:poss1sg I:gen Lord:dat “my soul trusts in Lord.”

6. Vaxt:ï:ndan erta:nïŋ cˇax kecˇa:ga dinra, time:poss3sg:abl morning:gen late night:dat until “From the time of the morning until late night,”

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vaxt:ï:ndan erta:nïŋ umsan:dï israyel biy:ga. time:poss3sg:abl morning:gen hope:pst3sg Israel Lord:dat “from the time of the morning, Israel hoped in Lord.”

7. Eya:mïz:dan:dïr yarlïg˙amax k‘op, an:dan:dïr xutxarmaxlïx, Lord:poss1pl:abl:cop3sg mercy lot˙ he:abl:cop3sg redemption “There is a lot of mercy from our Lord, from him, there is redemption.”

8. da ol xutxar:dï israyel:ni barcˇa tarlïx:lar:ï:ndan alar:nïŋ ˙ save:pst3sg Israel:acc all and he trouble:pl:poss3sg:abl they:gen “and he saved Israel all from their troubles.”

Appendix 2 Trakai Karaim version of Psalm 130 1. Sˇïra:sï ol maala:lar:nïn55. song:poss3sg the56 ascent:pl:gen “Song of the Ascents” Terän´ orun:lar:ï:ndan, cˇahïr:a:mïn Saja e Ten´ri. deep place:pl:poss3sg:abl cry:pres:1sg you:dat oh God “From deep places I cry to you, oh, God.”

2. Ten´ri esˇit:kin´ awaz:ïm:nï God hear:imp2sg voice:poss1sg:acc “God, hear my voice!” bol:sunlar esituw:lär:ij qulax salïn:han:lar, awaz:ï:na be:imp3pl God’ ear:pl:poss2sg hearken:gan:pl voice:poss3sg:dat yalbarmax:lar:ïm:nïn. prayer:pl:poss1sg:gen “Shall your ears listen to the voice of my prayer!”

55 The word maala is a global copy of the Hebrew word ma‘ála¯h ‘step, stair, what comes up’. See also the original Hebrew Psalm. 56 In Turkic languages, there is no definite article whereas in the Karaim Bible translations the demonstrative pronoun ol ‘that’ is used as the translational equivalent of the Hebrew definite article. See Olach 2013 (68–71) for more information about this feature.

Turkic translations of Psalm 130. A comparative analysis of three versions

3. Eger gunäx:lär:ni saqla:se:y e Ten´ri, Ten´ri kim tural:ïr. if iniquity:pl:acc mark:hyp2sg oh God, God who stand:fut3sg “If you mark iniquities, oh God, God, who shall stand?”

4. Ki birgä ol bosˇatlïx, anïn ücˇun´ korxuncˇlu:sïn. for with the forgiveness it:gen for dreadful:cop2sg “For with (him) there is the forgiveness, therefore you are dreadful.”

5. Isˇan:a:mïn Ten´rigä isˇan:a:dïr ǰan:ïm, believe:pres1sg God:dat trust:pres3sg soul:poss1sg “I believe in God, my soul believes,” da ´soz´:u:nä Anïn umsun:a:mïn. and word:poss3sg:dat he:gen hope:pres1sg “and I hope in his word.”

6. Isˇan:hïn ǰan:ïm Ten´ri:gä, artïx saklawcˇu:lar:dan tan:nï. believe:imp3sg soul:poss1sg God:dat more guard:pl:abl morning:acc “Believe, my soul, in God, more (than) the guards (wait for) the morning!”

7. Isˇan:hïn Yisrael´ Ten´ri:gä ki Ten´ri bïla ol ˇsevahat, believe:imp3sg Israel God:dat for God with the mercy “Believe, Israel, in God, for the mercy is with God,” da k′op:t′ur birgä:si:nä yuluw. and lot:cop3sg with:poss3sg:dat redemption “and there is a lot of redemption with him.”

8. Da Ol yulu:r Yisrael´:ni, bar yazïx:lar:ï:ndan. and he redeem:fut3sg Israel:acc all iniquity:pl:poss3g:abl “And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

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Appendix 3 Chuvash version of Psalm 130 1. Sana cˇun:tan- war:tan tarxasl:at:a˘p, S´ülxus´am:a˘m. you:dat soul:abl middle:abl pray:pres1sg Lord:poss1sg “I pray to you from soul and depth, my Lord.”57

2. S´ülxus´ama˘m! sass:a˘m:a ilt:sem:cˇˇce˘ ya˘la˘naqan Lord:poss1sg voice:poss1sg:dat-acc listen:imp2sg:sem:cˇcˇe imploring sass:a˘m:a voice:poss1sg:acc “My Lord, listen to my voice, please, my imploring voice,” Sana˘n xa˘lx:u timle˘ ilt:in:cˇˇce. you:gen ear:poss2sg carefully listen:opt3sg:cˇcˇe “your ear shall listen carefully!”

3. ˇsuta iles´ pul:sassa˘n, Ey S´ülxus´a, ese˘ ´sïla˘xla˘ e˘´s:sen:e oh Lord you sinful thing:pl:dat-acc take into consideration:sassan “Oh, Lord, when you take into consideration the sinful things,” ey, S´ülxus´a! Kam cˇa˘t:sa ta˘r:ay:e˘? oh Lord who stay:sa stand:abil:fut3sg “oh, Lord, who could stay?”

4. Ancˇax ese˘ qas´ar:ata˘n Sana˘n umanta xa˘rasa ta˘cˇ:cˇa˘r. but you forgive:pres2sg you:gen front:poss2sg:loc fear:imp3pl “But you forgive, they shall fear in front of you!”

5. ˇsan:at′ S´ülxus´ana ˇsan:atap, cˇunam Lord:dat hope:pres1sg soul:poss1sg hope:pres3sg “I trust in the Lord, my soul hopes,” Una˘n sa˘maxne ˇsansa ta˘ratap. he:gen word:dat hope:pres1sg “I trust in his word.” 57 The word S´ülxus´a literally means ‘heaven-possessor’.

Turkic translations of Psalm 130. A comparative analysis of three versions

6. Mana˘n cˇuna˘m S´ülxus´ana ke˘t:et – I:gen soul:poss1sg Lord:dat wait:pres3sg “My soul waits to Lord,” xurals´a˘sem tul ´suta˘l:as:sa ke˘t:ni:n:cˇen ïtlarax guard:pl for lighten:as:acc wait:ni:abl more “more than the guards waiting for lightening” xurals´asem tul ´suta˘l:as:sa ke˘t:ni:n:cˇen ïtlarax ke˘t:et. guard:pl for lighten:as:acc wait:ni:abl more wait:pres3sg “more than the guards waiting for lightening, he waits.”

7. Izrail′ S´ülxus´ana ˇsan:sa ta˘:ta˘r Israel Lord:dat believe:sa stand:imp3sg “Israel, trust in the Lord!” ïra˘la˘x – S´ülxus´ara ya˘ltax xa˘tar:as:si te – Unra. mercy Lord:dat all redeem:as:poss3sg also he:dat “The mercy (belongs) to Lord, also all redemption (belongs) to Him.”

8. Wa˘l Izrail:e xa˘tar:e˘, he Israel:dat-acc rescue:fut3sg “He will rescue Israel,” pur ´sïla˘xla˘ e˘´s:e˘:ncˇen te xa˘tar:e˘. all sinful thing:poss3sg:abl also redeem:fut3sg “He will also redeem from all the sinful things.”

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Die Textauffassungen und die Rolle der Psalmen in den katholischen Gesangbüchern und Mysterienspielen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert

Abstract und einführende Fragen Im Mittelpunkt meiner Untersuchungen stehen die Psalmen bzw. ihre strophischen Paraphrasen. Ich beschäftige mich mit der Frage, in welcher Form sie in zwei Gattungen im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert in Ungarn präsent sind. Eine der behandelten Gattungen ist der katholische religiöse Volksgesang, er wird zusammen mit den Gesangbüchern untersucht, in denen diese zu lesen sind. Zur anderen Quellengruppe gehören die barocken Mysterienspiele. Da stellt sich die Frage, was für eine Funktion die Psalmen als Volksgesang hatten? In welchem Maße waren sie mit der Liturgie verbunden? Oder sind sie als Paraphrasen zum Teil der Paraliturgie geworden? Wie haben die Dorfschulmeister, die den Gesang leiteten, die Psalmen verändert? Auf welche Weise haben die Lehrer, die die Dramen schrieben, die Psalmen in die geistlichen Spiele eingebaut? Sind die Psalmen in der originalen Textfassung zu lesen oder sind sie in strophischen Paraphrasen erhalten geblieben?

Die Psalmen unter den Volksgesängen Das erste größere, in Ungarn gedruckte katholische Gesangbuch war das Cantus Catholici. Es wurde 1651 in Leutschau/Leutsovia veröffentlicht, dann in veränderter Form und mit neuen Texten ergänzt 1674 in Kaschau/Cassovia, danach 1675, 1703 und 1738 in Tyrnau/Tyrnavia wieder herausgegeben. Die andere Hauptquelle der Kirchenlieder ist das Cantionale Catholicum von Johannes Kájoni. Das Cantionale wurde im Jahre 1676, später in ergänzter Form im Jahre 1719, im franziskanischen Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó gedruckt. Schomlenberg war im 18. Jahrhundert zugleich das Zentrum des Mysterienschauspiels. Schomlenberg, die berühmte Marienkultstätte in Siebenbürgen, liegt in den Ostkarpaten, auf dem Gebiet des historischen Szeklerlandes. Seit ihrer Gründung in den 1440er Jahren wurde sie durchgehend von den Mitgliedern der Observanten, einem Zweig des Franziskanerordens, betreut. Die Bibliothek aus der Zeit des Klosters ist im Laufe der Jahrhunderte unversehrt geblieben. Ein wichtiger Meilenstein in ihrer Geschichte war das Wirken des Kirchenmusikers, Orgelbauers und Provinzials Johannes Kájoni in der zweiten

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Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts, der das örtliche Gymnasium (1667) und die Druckerei (1675) gründete. Darüber hinaus stellte er das Cantionale Catholicum, ein Gesangbuch mit 1400 Gesängen, zusammen, das er im Jahr 1676 in Schomlenberg auch herausgab. Dieses Gesangbuch bestimmt grundsätzlich bis heute die Volksgesangskultur Ungarns, Siebenbürgens und der Moldau.1 An dieser Stelle möchte ich darauf hinweisen, dass ungarnsprachige Psalmenübersetzungen in Schomlenberg bereits vor der Tätigkeit von Kájoni, schon aus dem Mittelalter bekannt sind. Das siebenbürgische Franziskanische Psalterium ist im 14. Jahrhundert entstanden. Dem Possessor-Eintrag nach ist es im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert in Szeklerland, genauer in Gyergyó und in Schomlenberg genutzt worden.2 Aus dieser Zeit können wir in diesem Kodex je den ersten Vers der Psalmen 18; 39; 43; 44; 45; 52; 56 und Ps 46 auf Ungarisch lesen.3 Das Cantionale von Kájoni enthält das Kapitel Szent David Soltari (Die Psalmen Davids), welches im Hinblick auf das untersuchte Thema von grundlegender Bedeutung ist. Das Kapitel besteht aus insgesamt 50 Liedern, aber wir finden auch solche Psalmen (Ps 2; 9; 22; 33; 45; 56), die in zwei Paraphrasen vorkommen. Der Text der Psalmen 146 und 147 werden in ein einziges Lied zusammengezogen. Demzufolge enthält das Kájoni-Cantionale die strophischen Paraphrasen von 46 Psalmen.4 Der alten Tradition folgend ist der Lobgesang der drei jungen Männer (Benedicite) aus dem Buch Daniel im Alten Testament auch bei Kájoni unter die Psalmen eingeordnet.5 Der Psalm 2 wird in zwei Formen zum Singen angegeben (1. Szent Dávid Proféta második énekében…; [In dem zweiten Gesang des Propheten David…] 2. ZUgódik, dúl, fúl magában e’ Világ… [Diese 1 Pál Péter Domokos, Hrsg., „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…“ Kájoni János: Cantionale Catholicum, Petrás Incze János: Tudósítások, [„… ich wollte für meine süsse Heimat dienen…“: Kájoni János: Cantionale Catholicum, Petrás Incze János: Tudósítások [Berichte], = katholische Volksgesangbuch-Editionen von Domokos Pál Péter] (Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1979). Aktuelles zum Thema der Melodien in Ko˝vári Réka, A Deák–Szentes kézirat [The Deák– Szentes Manuscript] (Budapest: MTA BTK Zenetudományi Intézet–Magyarok Nagyasszonya Ferences Rendtartomány, 2013). Mehr zum Fortleben der Melodien des Cantionale Catholicum in der Volkstradition in Réka Ko˝vári, „Zenetörténet és népzene – egy XVIII. századi csíki ferences kézirat dallamai a népzenei gyu˝jtésekben“ [Musikgeschichte und Volksmusik], in Mozart–Liszt–Bartók-tanulmánykötet, [Mozart–Liszt–Bartók Sammelband] (Szeged: JGyTFK Ének-Zene Tanszék, 2007), 84–85. 2 „Liber iste pertinet ad me Thomam nadaras est de sede gergio, nunc uitam gerens in pa(go) somlio 1580“ (f. 7.), und „Anno 1661 die 16. Aprilis Pater Georgius Thomasi Archidiaconus sedium Siculicalium Csik Gyrgio et Kaszon necnon Parochus Nagy Boldogasszonyiensis reuidit et religit hoc Psalterium quod eximie approbauit,“ in Radó, Polikárp, Libri liturgici manuscripti bibliothecarum Hungariae et limitropharum regionum (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1973), 256–257, nr. 59. 3 Op. cit. 4 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni …,“ 987–1071, nr. 676–726. 5 Canticum Trium Puerorum. Benedicite omnia opera Domini Domino etc., hrsg. v. Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1072–1073, nr. 727.

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Welt murrt, wütet und schäumt vor Wut in sich…). Die erste Variante bezieht den heiligen Text auf das Leben, die Verkörperung und die Kreuzigung Jesu Christi. Im Cantionale von Kájoni können wir die Paraphrase der sieben Bußpsalmen des Königs David (Ps 6; 31; 37; 50; 101; 129; 142) nach den Psalmen unter dem Titel „Szent Davidnak Hét Penitentia-tartó Soltari“ lesen.6 Aus den Bußpsalmen war der Psalm 50 am beliebtesten. Dieser erscheint im Kájoni-Cantionale in dreierlei Paraphrasen: 1. Unter den Psalmen mit dem Titel „Miserere mei Deus, secundum etc.“, mit dem Hinweis auf die Singweise „O, mely félelem“ und mit der Anfangszeile HAborúsága Dávid Királynak egykoron nagy vala… [Der König David führte ehemals große Kriege…].7 Das Lied besteht aus sechzehn Strophen. Innerhalb einer Strophe gibt es immer drei Verse, die Silbenzahl der Verse ist jeweils sechzehn. In der Paraphrase kann der ursprüngliche Psalmentext nur in einigen Versen vorgefunden werden. Der Inhalt des Gedichts entspricht dafür dem Inhalt des originalen Textes, so ist er flagellantisch und reuevoll. 2. Unter den sieben Bußpsalmen finden wir die nächste Paraphrase mit dem Titel „Psalmus L. Miserere mei Deus etc.“, mit dem Hinweis auf die Singweise „Nota: Bóldogok a’kiknek, undok etc.“ und mit der Anfangszeile VEgetlen irgalmú, oh, te nagy hatalmú Isten, légy már kegyelmes… [Oh du barmherziger, mächtiger Gott, sei bitte gnadenvoll…]. Sie besteht aus dreizehn Strophen und die Silbenzahl der Verse ist jeweils neunzehn.8 3. Unter den Totenliedern gibt es nur eine einzige Psalmenparaphrase, die wiederum der Psalm 50 ist. Der Titel heißt „Psalmus 50. Miserere mei Deus. Nota: Drága dolog az Úr Istent dicsirni“. Das Lied enthält dreizehn Strophen, eine Strophe besteht aus vier Versen und eine Verse aus elf Silben. Bei dieser Paraphrase handelt es sich um eine stark umgeschriebene Variante. Trotzdem sind die charakteristischen Redewendungen des 50. Psalmes erhalten geblieben: „Isten, könyörülj“, „Szemem-elött vagyon mindenkor vétkem“, „Uram, rám csak egy kis Isóp-vizet hints“, „Uj szivet teremts én-bennem, új szivet“.9 Der Psalmenabschnitt Circumdederunt… ist in der Liturgie zur Eröffnungsantiphon der Beerdigung geworden. Im Kájoni-Cantionale finden wir unter den

6 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1074–1080, nr. 728–734. 7 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1032–1033, nr. 702. Als Tonaufnahme: Éva Takács, Vágyódva hív szívem. Magyar egyházi népénekek (Debrecen: Új Remény Baptista Gyülekezet, 2012), Track 13. 8 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1077–1078, nr. 731. 9 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1154–1155, nr. 776.

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Totenliedern noch eine zehnstrophige Paraphrase mit der Anfangszeile Környülvöttek halálnak sérelmi…10

Die Volksvesper in den Gesangbüchern Aus den Forschungen von Pál Péter Domokos und László Dobszay stellt sich heraus, dass die Kleinen Offizien im 17. Jahrhundert, genauer angegeben während der Tätigkeit von Kájoni entstanden sind.11 Das Rezitieren der Psalmen bildet nämlich die Grundlage des Stundengebetes. In einem Unterkapitel des Cantionale von Kájoni finden wir die Sonntagsvesper (Dominica ad vesperas). Das Gesangbuch enthält außer den Lamentationen zur Karwoche, also den Klageliedern Jeremias kein anderes Stundengebet. Bei der Sonntagsvesper folgt der Franziskaner Kájoni der profanen (nicht monastischen) Form der römischen Liturgie. Im Cantionale werden ganze Psalmentexte zum Singen angegeben. Die Einteilung der Psalmen, die am Sonntagabend in der Liturgie verwendet wird, wurzelt in der altchristlichen Zeit. Das Stundengebet beginnt mit dem Bittruf (Deus in adjutorium). Danach kommen die Psalmen 109 (Dixit Dominus); 110 (Confitebor); 111 (Beatus vir); 112 (Laudate pueri Dominum); 113 (In exitu Israel de Aegypto) sowie das Kapitel (Capitulum: Benedictus Deus), der Hymnus (Lucis creator optime) und schließlich das Magnificat, der Lobgesang Marias (Canticum Beatae Mariae). Der Psalm 116 (Laudate Dominum omnes gentes) wird getrennt aufgezählt.12 Der Grund dafür liegt wahrscheinlich darin, dass er statt des Psalmes 113 nur an bestimmten Feiertagen, z. B. zu Weihnachten gesungen wird. Kájoni gibt hier keine Antiphonen an. Unter den Kirchenliedsammlungen, die aus dem 18. Jahrhundert als Manuskript erhalten geblieben sind, finden wir Vesper nur im Gesangbuch von Márton György Paksi.13 Paksi war Dorfschulmeister in Öttevénysziget, heute Kunsziget, 10 Dieser kirchliche Volksgesang ist in der ersten Ausgabe der Kájoni-Cantionale (1676) auf Seite 664, in der zweiten Ausgabe (1719) auf Seite 564 zu lesen. Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1108–1109., nr. 749. Nota: Angyaloknak nagysagos etc. 11 Mehr zum Thema in Dobszay László, „A római officium [Das Offizium von Rom],“ Magyar Egyházzene 5 (1997/1998): 133–153. 12 Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1211–1217, nr. 802–809. 13 Paksi Márton György-énekeskönyv (Öttevénysziget [Kunsziget], 1760–1761). Fundort: Im Bestand des Xantus János-Museums in Gyo˝r. Mf: OSZK FM 1/2203; MTAK A 2669/I. Stoll Béla: A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek és versgyu˝jtemények bibliográfiája (1542–1840) [Die Bibliographie der Manuskripte von ungarischen Gesangbüchern und Gedichtsammlungen (1542–1840)] (Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2002), Nr. 261. Weitere: Stoll, A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek. Zur Person von Paksi siehe Regina Sallai, „A pestisszentek tisztelete Paksi Márton György énekeskönyvében és a Gasztonyi-énekeskönyvben [Die Verehrung der Pestheiligen im Gesangbuch von Márton György Paksi und dem Gasztonyi-Gesangbuch],“ in

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in der Gespanschaft Raab/Gyo˝r. Er hat seine Kirchenliedsammlung zwischen 1760 und 1761 geschrieben. Die Sammlung besteht aus 721 Seiten und auf den Seiten 709–714 ist die Sequuntur vesperæ zu lesen. Die Einteilung der Psalmen folgt der alten kirchlichen Tradition, deshalb entspricht sie auch der Einteilung von Kájoni. Im Manuskript von Paksi wird angedeutet, dass die Psalmen 109; 110; 111; 112; 113 auf Latein und mit dem ganzen Text gesungen werden sollen. Kein Kapitel, kein Responsorium und keinen Hymnus werden hier vorgeschrieben. Als Antiphon wird immer der erste Vers des darauffolgenden Psalmes angegeben. Die Melodie der römischen Psalmentöne erscheint in drei Partien.14 Das Manuskript von Márton György Paksi enthält die bereits völlig folklorisierte Form der Vesper: der Handschrift nach werden nur der Text und die Melodie der fünf Psalmen und des Magnificats gesungen. Das soll als Beweis für die liturgische, volkstümlich-gregorianische Religionsübung von Öttevénysziget (Kunsziget) um 1760 dienen.

Psalmenparaphrasen des handgeschriebenen Gesangbuches von György Szoszna Demeter Der Dorfschulmeister Szoszna hat sein umfangreiches Manuskript zwischen 1714 und 1715 auf dem ungarischen Martinsberg/Pannonhalma zusammengestellt. Er konnte sehr gut Ungarisch, Latein und Slowakisch. Trotz der bisherigen Untersuchungen ist es wegen Quellenmangel noch unklar, ob Szoszna den Benediktinern angehört hat oder er eine Zivilperson war.15 In die erste Hälfte seiner handgeschriebenen Kirchenliedsammlung hat Szoszna Demeter ein 1703 herausgegebenes Exemplar des Cantus Catholici, des oben erwähnten Gesangbuches gebunden. Darin können wir die Paraphrasen der sieben Bußpsalmen (Ps 6; 31; 37; 50; 101; 129; 142) mit Noten lesen. Darüber hinaus finden wir noch den Text Régi magyar népénekek és imádságok. [Alte ungarische Volksgesänge und Gebete], ed. Judit Bogár, Pázmány Irodalmi Mu˝hely, Lelkiségtörténeti tanulmányok 11 (Budapest: MTA–PPKE Barokk Irodalom és Lelkiség Kutatócsoport, 2015), 223–239; Norbert Medgyesy S., „Kisiskolák, tanítómestereik és kéziratos énekeskönyveik a 18. századi gyo˝ri egyházmegyében. [Volksschulen, ihre Schulmeister und deren handschriftliche Gesangbücher aus der Gespanschaft Raab/Gyo˝r im 18. Jahrhundert],“ in Primus inter omnes. Tanulmányok Bedy Vince születésének 150. évfordulójára [Primus inter omnes. Studien zum Jubiläum anlässlich des 150. Geburtstags von Vince Bedy], ed. György Arató, Gábor Nemes und Ádám Vajk, A Gyo˝ri Egyházmegyei Levéltár kiadványai, Források, feldolgozások 25 (Gyo˝r-Raab: Gyo˝ri Egyházmegyei Levéltár, 2016), 383–407. 14 Paksi Márton György-énekeskönyv (1760–1761), 709–714. 15 Emilián Gacs, Szoszna Demeter György kéziratos énekeskönyve (1714–1715), [Das handschriftliche Gesangbuch von György Szoszna Demeter (1714–1715)], Pannonhalmi füzetek 20 (Pannonhalma, 1938), 10–14.

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und die Melodie zweier, zu jener Zeit ebenfalls beliebter Psalmen: des Psalmes 41 (Mint a szép hives patakra…) und in zwei Varianten des Psalmes 22 (Der gute Hirte). Die Zusammenstellung endet auch hier mit dem Benedicite.16 Die Texte der Psalmenparaphrasen dieser Cantus Catholici-Auflage (herausgegeben in Tyrnau, 1703) entsprechen genau den Texten des Kájoni-Cantionale (herausgegeben in Schomlenberg, 1676). Die handgeschriebenen, in den Schulen zusammengestellten Kirchenliedsammlungen aus dem 18. Jahrhundert vergleichend enthält das Szoszna Demeter György-énekeskönyv,17 das Gesangbuch von Szoszna die meisten Psalmentexte bzw. die meisten aus deren Paraphrasen. Am Anfang des Bandes, vor dem gedruckten Cantus Catholici, ist ein handgeschriebener Teil auf dem Leerblatt zu finden. Darauf steht der Psalm 73 (Hogy Jeruzsálemnek drága Templomát), der mit dem Text im Kájoni-Cantionale identisch ist. Es ist sehr wahrscheinlich, dass der Psalm 28 (A Szent Dávid Istennek hajlékot építvén) die Übersetzung eines bisher unbekannten Verfassers ist. Ähnlich dazu ist der Psalm 71 (Én ugy kivánkozom az Úr Istenhez),18 dessen Schreiber ebenfalls unbekannt ist, weil die Schrift auf dem Leerblatt der Schrift von Szoszna nicht entspricht.19 Am Anfang des SzosznaManuskripts sind auch die Psalmen 57; 35; 120; 126 Übersetzungen des unbekannten Verfassers. Aufgrund des Kájoni-Cantionale teilt der Abschreiber den Psalm 91 (Melly igen jó az Úr Istent dicsirni) nur bruchstückhaft mit. Die einheitliche Psalmengruppe ist auf den Seiten 725–849 des Gesangbuches von György Szoszna Demeter zu lesen. Der Titel des Kapitels heißt Sequuntur Psalmida. Der Schulmeister von Martinsberg hat in diesem Teil die Texte von insgesamt 43 Psalmen niedergeschrieben. Einige Psalmentexte (der Text der Psalmen 4; 10; 45; 53; 69; 133) sollen in zwei Melodienvarianten gesungen werden. Der Psalm 50 erscheint auch hier an zwei Stellen. Es stellt sich die Frage, an welchen Anlässen hat man diese 43 Psalmen gesungen? Der Abschreiber des Gesangbuches gibt diese Anlässe aber nicht an. Wir wissen nur über drei Psalmen, in welcher Funktion sie verwendet worden sind. Außer der Psalmida sind diese Psalmen im Band folgenderweise zu finden: a.) Das Manuskript schreibt die allbekannten Verse des Psalmes 144 für das gemeinsame Vergnügen vor: Tempore Convivi, Nota: Halgass megh etc. Oculi omnium in te sperant Domine – Mindenek szemei tebenned bíznak, Uram!20

16 „Szent David Soltari,“ in Cantus Catholici (Nagyszombat, 1703), 213–226. 17 Szoszna Demeter György. Fundort: Fo˝apátsági Könyvtár, Pannonhalma BK +202. (Stoll, A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek [Die handschriftlichen Gesangbücher von Ungarn, Nr. 178). 18 Szoszna Demeter György, Deckblatt IX–X. 19 Szoszna Demeter György, Deckblatt V–IX. 20 Szoszna Demeter György, pag. 203. Maschinelle Numerierung: 153.

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b.) In der Reihe der Totenlieder wird der Text des Psalmes 129 angeführt: De profundis clamavi ad te Domine – Kiáltok én nagy mélységbu˝l.21 c.) Das Singen des Psalmes 112 mit der Anfangszeile Laudate pueri – No, dicsirjétek nagy fel szóval… wird bei der Beerdigung der Kleinkinder empfohlen.22 Die Quelle der Psalmen im Gesangbuch von Szoszna ist die Sammlung von István Illyés, des Domherrn von Gran/Esztergom. Der Titel dieser Sammlung heißt Soltari Énekek A’ Szomorú Temetések alkalmatosságára [Psalmen, die zum Anlass trauriger Beerdigungen gesungen werden sollen].23 Der Band ist 1693 in Tyrnau/Tyrnavia erschienen. Szoszna hat insgesamt 66 Lieder aus der Sammlung von Illyés abgeschrieben.24 Den Text des Psalmes 50, den das Kájoni-Cantionale in drei Paraphrasen aufbewahrt hat, hat man in der Schule auf dem Martinsberg/ Pannonhalma nicht nach Kájoni gesungen, sondern mit der Anfangszeile Ne szálly po˝rbe én velem… („Eötvönedik Sóltárbúl valo Ének“). Diese in der Volkstradition weitverbreitete Variante ist in der Sammlung von Illyés zu lesen. Sie ist im ganzen Land, von der Gespanschaft Ödenburg bis zum Szeklerland oft als Bußgesang und als Gesang der Leichenwärter gesungen worden.25 Auch in den anderen zwei aufbewahrten Gesangbüchern aus der Region Nordwesttransdanubien finden wir Psalmenparaphrasen. Das Gesangbuch von Écs (Écsi énekeskönyv) aus der Gespanschaft Raab/Gyo˝r wurde zwischen 1700 und 1725 vom örtlichen Schulmeister niedergeschrieben. Das Liederbuch enthält die folgenden Psalmen: Dicso˝ült helyeken, mennyei paradicsomban…: (Ps 148, S. 71–74.), Meg ne fegy engem, Uram…: Psalmus VI., Psalmus 33. (S. 110–112.), Psalmus 129. (S. 112–113.), Psalmus 142. (S. 114–115.), Psalmus 22. (S. 116–120.), Psalmus XLII. (S. 154–155.), unter dem Titel: „Szent Dávid Soltári“ (S. 264–265.), Psalmus 31. (S. 266–267.), Psalmus 31. (Incipit: Meg ne fegy engemet…, S. 267– 268.).26 Das andere Gesangbuch Maracskó Anzelm-énekeskönyv, das in der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts niedergeschrieben wurde, enthält insgesamt fünf 21 Szoszna Demeter György, pag. 577., nr. 301. 22 Szoszna Demeter György, pag. 607–608., nr. 311. 23 István Illyés, Soltari Énekek A’ Szomorú Temetések alkalmatosságára (Nagyszombat, 1693), RMK I. 1446. 24 Mehr zum Thema: Gacs, Szoszna Demeter György, 24–28. 25 Mehr zum Thema: László Lajtha, Sopron megyei virrasztóénekek [In Vigilien gesungene Volkslieder aus der Gespanschaft Ödenburg/Sopron] (Budapest: Editio Musica, 1956). 26 Écsi énekeskönyv (1700–1725) [Gesangbuch von Écs (1700–1725)]. Fundort: Pannonhalma, Bibliothek der Erzabtei Pannonhalma, 10a E 29/3. Mf: OSZK FM 1/2187 (Stoll, A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek, Nr. 159.) Die Person des Abschreibers des Manuskripts und die Entstehungsgeschichte des Bandes wurden von Péter Jusztin erforscht. Mehr dazu in Péter Jusztin, Az Écsi énekeskönyv [Das Gesangbuch von Écs]. Diplomarbeit. Gutachter: László Szelestei Nagy (Piliscsaba: Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem BTK, Magyar Irodalomtudományi Intézet, 2011).

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Psalmenparaphrasen: „Cantio de Tempore super Psalmum 142.“ mit den Anfangsworten Istenem nem hágy engem… (S. 32–33.); den berühmten Psalm 42 mit dem ersten Vers Mint a szép híves patakra (S. 84–85.); den Psalm 6 „Psalmus“ mit dem Incipit Meg ne fegy… (S. 86–87.); den Bußpsalm (Ps 50) mit der Anfangsformel Miserere mei… (S. 90–92.) und schließlich den wiederum wohlbekannten De profundis (Ps 129, S. 94–96).27

Die Funktion der Psalmen in den Mysterienspielen Das Franziskanergymnasium von Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó stellt in der Geschichte des ungarischen Dramen- und Theaterspiels ein einzigartiges Erbe dar: innerhalb seinen Mauern sind die Texte von 104 im barocken Stil verfassten Schuldramen in ungarischer Sprache der Nachwelt erhalten geblieben, von denen 41 Stücke Mysterienspiele über die Leidensgeschichte am Karfreitag darstellen. Die mit apokryphen Szenen durchwobenen Passionsspiele sind zwischen 1721 und 1786 von Lehrern des Franziskanergymnasiums verfasst und von den dort lernenden Szekler-Schülern aufgeführt worden. Die Mehrheit der mit gutem Recht berühmten und außerordentlich wertvollen Franziskaner-Schuldramen von Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó aus dem 18. Jahrhundert sind in der Handschrift28 mit dem Titel Liber Exhibens Actiones parascevicas aufbewahrt. Das Manuskript besteht aus 1344 Seiten und ist in abgeschriebener Form zusammengefasst und im Jahre 1774 fertiggestellt worden. Die Bearbeitung der Dra27 Maracskó Anzelm-énekeskönyv [Maracskó Anzelm-Gesangbuch] (aus der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts). Fundort: Pannonhalma, Bibliothek der Erzabtei Pannonhalma BK 51; Mf: OSZK FM 1/2202. (Stoll, A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek, Nr. 227). 28 Liber Exhibens Actiones parascevicas. Ab anno 1730 usque ad annum 1774 diem aprilis 27. Libellus, Scholarum Csik Somlyoviensium, nihilominus Mediam Syntaxeos, ac Grammatices signanter, specialiter concernens, et continens Repraesentationem, Enucleationem Mysteriorum Passionis Dominicae, seu Actiones Tragico-Parascevicas, Devoto Populo ad aedificationem quott Annis exhiberi solitas, in usum faciliorem Moderatorum sedulo congestas. Confectus Csíksomlyó, Csíksomlyói Ferences Kolostor Könyvtára, A VI 6/5274 [Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó, A VI 6/5275], 1774, 1344 p. (im Folgenden Liber Exhibens…). Die bibliographische Beschreibung des Kodexes mit den die weiteren Dramen enthaltenden Handschriften: Muckenhaupt Erzsébet, A csíksomlyói ferences könyvtár kincsei. Könyvleletek 1980–1985 [Die Schätze der Franziskanerbibliothek von Csíksomlyó. Bücherfunde 1980–1985] (Budapest: Balassi Kiadó; Kolozsvár: Polisz Könyvkiadó, 1999), I. 15–I. 19., I. 24., I. 26–I. 50. Titel, 106–108, 112–125. Im gleichen Jahr, also im Jahr 1774, entstanden zwei weitere handgeschriebene Dramensammlungen in Csíksomlyó, Actiones Comicae, Csíksomlyó, Csíksomlyói Ferences Kolostor Könyvtára, A VI 8/5276. [Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó, A VI 8/5276.], 1776–1780, und Actiones Tragicae, Csíksomlyó, Csíksomlyói Ferences Kolostor Könyvtára, A VI 6/5274. [Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó A VI 6/5274.] 1776–1780; diese präsentieren dem Leser sieben bzw. sechs Dramentexte.

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mentexte für den Druck läuft seit 1997 in der Forschungsgruppe für Alte Ungarische Dramengeschichte des Literaturwissenschaftlichen Instituts der Ungarischen Akademie der Wissenschaften unter der Leitung des Theater- und Dramenhistorikers István Kilián. Als Ergebnis der bisherigen Arbeit entstanden aus dem Dramenkorpus von Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó eine populärwissenschaftliche29 und eine kritische Ausgabe30. Außerdem sind in den vergangenen Jahren Doktorarbeiten31 und Monographien32 erschienen, die an das gleiche Material anknüpfen. Die meisten Psalmenparaphrasen in den Mysteriendramen von Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó sind folgende: 1. In den Passionsspielen, vorgeführt im Jahre 1721 (Feretrum primum) und im Jahre 1723 (Statio 8.), betet Peccator, der Sünder mit den Worten des Psalmes 50.33 2. In der Prophezeiung des Psalmes 21 geht es um die Verlassenheit des leidenden Messias. In der Liturgie der Karwoche wird dieser Psalm mehrmals gesungen. Dieser ist einer der am meisten zitierten Psalmentexte auf der Bühne der Mysterienspiele in Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó. Im Passionsspiel des Jahres 1746 (Scena 12.) singt Jesus vor Pilatus einige Verse dieses Psalmes.34 In den Aufführungen der Jahre 1733, 1755 und 1769 zitiert König David in den Szenen des himmlischen Prozesses, bei dem über die Erlösung entschieden wird, immer den Psalm 21. 3. In dem Passionsspiel aus dem Jahre 1753 singen zwei Engel zum Schluss der Szene über die Verkündigung des Herrn die interessanten Paraphrasen des

29 Demeter Júlia, hrsg., „Nap, Hold és csillagok, velem zokogjatok!“ Csíksomlyói passiójátékok a 18. századból [„Sonne, Mond und Sterne, weinet mit mir“] (Budapest: Argumentum Kiadó, 2003). 30 Ferences iskoladrámák I. Csíksomlyói passiójátékok 1721–1739, Régi Magyar Drámai Emlékek XVIII. század 6/1. [Schuldramen der Franziskaner I. Passionsspiele von Csíksomlyó 1721– 1739.], bearbeitet: Demeter Júlia, Kilián István und Pintér Márta Zsuzsanna (Budapest: Argumentum Kiadó; Akadémiai Kiadó, 2009). 31 Nagy Szilvia, Két csíksomlyói iskolai színjáték kritikai szövegkiadása és szövegtudományi vizsgálata, Dissertation [Textkritische Ausgabe und philologische Untersuchung zweier Schuldramen von Csíksomlyó, Doktorarbeit/PhD] (Miskolc: Miskolci Egyetem BTK, 2010). 32 Pintér Márta Zsuzsanna, A ferences iskolai színjátszás a XVIII. században, [Schuldramen der Franziskaner im 18. Jh.] (Budapest: Argumentum, 1993); Medgyesy S. Norbert, A csíksomlyói ferences misztériumdrámák forrásai, mu˝velo˝dés- és lelkiségtörténeti háttere [Die Quellen und der kultur- pietätsgeschichtliche Hintergrund der Mysterienspiele der Franziskaner von Csíksomlyó], Fontes Historici Ordinis Fratrum Minorum in Hungaria – Magyar Ferences Források 5; PPKE BTK Mu˝velo˝déstörténeti Mu˝hely, Monográfiák 1 (Piliscsaba: Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem BTK; Budapest: Magyarok Nagyasszonya Ferences Rendtartomány, 2009). 33 Hrsg. in Ferences iskoladrámák I, 79–80 (1721), 199–200 (1723). 34 1746. április 8. Scena 12. Liber Exhibens… S. 1333.

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Psalmes 148.35 In der ursprünglichen Form hat es János Kanizsai Pálfi (?– 1641), dem Prediger der Familie Batthyány und dem reformierten Bischof in Transdanubien niedergeschrieben. Das Lied besteht aus zehn Strophen und erscheint zum ersten Mal im Jahre 1611 im Detsi-Kodex (1609–1613, 86b–88a). Es war äußerst berühmt in den protestantischen und den katholischen Quellen.36 Aus den katholischen Kirchenliedsammlungen des Szeklerlandes sind das gedruckte Kájoni-Cantionale (1676, 1719)37 und zwei Manuskripte, der Mihál Farkas-kódex (1677–1687, 76a–77b) und das Gesangbuch Bocskor 35 Csíksomlyó, 20. April 1753 (Karfreitag). Scena 1. Liber Exhibens… S. 63–64. Regiehinweis zum Gesang: „Hic Clausam Scenam Gabriél discedit, accedunt duo Angeli: Cherubim et Seraphim, alternatim Concinnantes. Manet Maria in loco suo.“ In: Liber Exhibens… S. 63. Unter Mitwirkung von Márta Zsuzsanna Pintér erschienen: Demeter, „Nap, Hold és csillagok, velem zokogjatok,“ 313–314. 36 Der Gesang erscheint in den folgenden geschriebenen und gedruckten Gesangbüchern aus dem 17. und 18. Jahrhundert: Keresztyeni Isteni Dicseretek (Lo˝cse/Leutschau, 1635), 437–438; Lo˝cse/Leutschau, 1675, 163–164.), Isteni Ditseretek (Kolozsvár/Clausenburg, 1632, 685–688; 1697, 532–534.), Istenes énekek (Bártfa/Bartfeld, 1635–1640 k. 77–81.), Istenes énekek (Bécs/ Wien, 1635–1636 k. 39–41.), Hajnal Mátyás: Az Jesus szivét szeretö sziveknek ájtatosságára… megmagyaráztatott könyvecske (Bécs/Wien, 1629, 155–156.), Kádár-Gesangbuch (In der Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts, 66a–67b, 78b–79b), Debreczeni Péter: Tizenket idvösseges Elmelkedesec (Leyden, 1637, 493.), Kecskeméti graduál (1637–1681, 604–606.), Balogi cantionale (1659, 563–565.), Cantus Catholici (Lo˝cse/Leutschau, 1651, 179–181.), Imadsagos és Enekes kézbe hordozo Könyvetske (Kolozsvár/Clausenburg, 1700, 95–96.), Bathó Mihály-Gesangbuch (1728, 53–55.). Die Lieder erschienen in: Régi Magyar Költo˝k Tára XVII/8. Bethlen Gábor korának költészete. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet von Tibor Komlovszki und Béla Stoll (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1976), 182–183, 532., nr. 55. Weitere Ausgaben von protestantischen Gesängen: Régi Magyar Költo˝k Tára XVII/17. Evangélikus és református gyülekezeti énekek (1601–1700). Hrsg. von Gabriella H. Hubert. Texten: István Vadai. Noten: Zsuzsanna Ecsedi. (Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2016). Wie beliebt die Gesänge waren, zeigen auch die Sammlungen der Volkslieder im 20. Jahrhundert. Psalmenparaphrasen wurden bzw. werden in der Volkspraxis in den folgenden Ortschaften gesungen: Vorgetragen v. János Jakocs, der blinde Bettler, Zetelaka (Komitat Udvarhely), gesammelt v. Domokos Pál Péter, 1928. Die Melodie erschienen in: Domokos, édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni, 1268; unter den Katholiken finden wir Beispiele dafür nur in Siebenbürgen, die Melodie folgt der Manuskript Deák– Szentes-kézirat (Csíksomlyó, 18. Jh., Vgl.: Ko˝vári 2013. op. cit.): Vorgetragen v. Istvánné Lázár, geb. Róza Egyed (70), Lövéte (Komitat Udvarhely), gesammelt v. Forrai Magdolna, 1963. Weitere Beispiele aus der protestantischen Tradition: Vorgetragen v. Irma Szabó (52), Pozsonyboldogfa (Komitat Pozsony), gesammelt v. Lajos Kiss, 1965. Hrsg. v. Janka Szendrei, László Dobszay, Benjamin Rajeczky, XVI–XVII. századi dallamaink a népi emlékezetben I– II., [Unsere Melodien aus dem 16–17. Jahrhundert im volkstümlichen Gedächtnis] (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979). II/171/a, b, c; A Magyar Népdaltípusok Katalógusa (MNdtK) – stílusok szerint rendszerezve I. [Katalog über Typen Ungarischer Volkslieder – I.] Die Einführung, das zweite und das vierte Kapitel wurde von László Dobszay, das erste und das dritte Kapitel von Janka Szendrei zusammengestellt (Budapest: MTA Zenetudományi Intézet, 1988). IV (F) 367/Typ a. 37 Der Titel dieses Gesanges: „Psalmus CXLVIII. Laudate Dominum de coelis etc.“ Dieser kirchliche Volksgesang ist in der ersten Ausgabe der Kájoni-Cantionale (1676) auf Seite 635, in der zweiten Ausgabe (1719) auf Seite 539 zu lesen. Hrsg. v. Domokos, „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…,“ 1070–1071.

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János-énekeskönyv (1716–1739, 119b–121a),38 welche das Lied enthalten. Der Text des Dramas (1753) entspricht völlig dem Text des Liedes im KájoniCantionale. Der einzige Unterschied zwischen den zwei Quellen (dem Gesangbuch und dem Dramentextes) ist nur, dass die Variante im Drama statt des Namens Gottes folgerichtig den Namen Mariä, der Mutter Gottes verwendet. Auf diese Weise ist die ursprünglich reformierte Psalmenparaphrase nach dem Franziskaner Lehrer-Regisseur Ince Xánthos zum Grußgesang Mariä geworden. 4. Der Psalm 22 (Der gute Hirte) wird in der Eucharistie-Diskussion, vorgeführt im Jahre 1727, von den Engeln zitiert: „asztalt terítesz nekem.“39

Zusammenfassung Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die katholischen Kirchenliedsammlungen aus dem 17. und 18. Jahrhundert die Psalmen in den Fällen wortwörtlich zitieren, wenn sie in liturgischen Rahmen gesungen werden. Der Hauptanlass dafür ist die Vesper. Im Cantionale von Johannes Kájoni (Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó, 1676) können wir die ganze Sonntagsvesper lesen. Das Manuskript Paksi Márton György-énekeskönyv (Öttevénysziget, heute Kunsziget, 1760–1761), das Gesangbuch von Paksi bewahrt die Vesper mit den üblichen fünf Psalmen (Ps 109–113) und dem Magnificat schon in folklorisierter Form, aber ohne Antiphon, Kapitel, Responsorium und Hymnus. In den katholischen Gesangbüchern des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts erscheinen die Psalmen außer der Vesper in strophischen Paraphrasen. Die Versform des biblischen Psalmes ist ‚ungebundenes‘ Gedicht. Im Fall der Gesangbücher können wir trotzdem von strophischen und gereimten Paraphrasen reden. Ihre Länge und ihr Rhythmus sind unterschiedlich. Die ersten Strophen geben auch die Aufschrift der biblischen Psalmen an. Die meisten Psalmenparaphrasen finden wir im KájoniCantionale (1676) aus Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó: die Paraphrasen von 46 Psalmen und die sieben Bußpsalmen können daraus gesungen werden. Das Manuskript Deák–Szentes kézirat (18. Jh.) stammt auch aus Schomlenberg/Csíksomlyó und enthält die Melodien von elf Psalmenparaphrasen.40 Im Cantus Catholici sind die sieben Bußpsalmen in strophischer Form zu lesen.

38 Der Gesang erscheint in Bocskor János énekeskönyve 1716–1739 [Gesangbuch von János Bocskor 1716–1739]. Aus dem Nachlass von Pál Péter Domokos in Druck gegeben von István Csörsz Rumen (Kolozsvár: Kriterion Kiadó, 2003), 152–154. 39 Karfreitag, 11. März 1727; Fundort der Eucharistie-Diskussion: Liber Exhibens…, 768–777. Hrsg. v. Ferences iskoladrámák I. 401–419. 40 Ko˝vári, A Deák–Szentes kézirat, 223–231, nr. 157–168.

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Aus den handgeschriebenen Kirchenliedsammlungen bewahrt das Gesangbuch (1714–1715) des Schulmeisters György Szoszna Demeter aus Martinsberg/ Pannonhalma die meisten Psalmenparaphrasen. In einem Block befinden sich insgesamt 43 Paraphrasen. Aber den Anlass, zu dem sie gesungen worden sind, gibt Szoszna nicht an. Im Fall der drei Psalmen, die wir außer dem PsalmidaKapitel finden, teilt uns Szoszna auch die Funktion dieser Psalmen mit: es empfiehlt sich den Psalm 144 (Oculi omnium) als Tischgebet vor und nach dem Essen, den Psalm 129 (De profundis) als Totengesang und den Psalm 112 (Laudate pueri) bei der Beerdigung eines Kindes zu singen. Die franziskanischen Verfasser der Passionsspiele von Schomlenberg/ Csíksomlyó haben die Texte im 18. Jahrhundert wiederum in Paraphrasen, in strophischer Form der Psalmen verewigt. Am meisten werden Verse aus dem Bußpsalm (Ps 50) und dem Psalm 21, der den leidenden Messias prophezeit, von den Schülerschauspielern auf der Bühne zitiert. Der Psalm 148 ist zur Ehre von Maria umgeschrieben worden. Sowohl die liturgischen als auch die Kirchenlieder haben im Prozess des Dramenschreibens immer neuere Funktion erhalten. Die Psalmen haben sich in der Form der strophischen Paraphrasen, vor allem als Teil des Dienstes für Verstorbene (z. B. Vigilie, Beerdigung) in der Volkstradition verwurzelt. Sie sind zum wichtigen Teil der Paraliturgie geworden.41 Übersetzt von Elisabeth Bán

Literatur Actiones Comicae. Csíksomlyó, 1776–1780. Fundort: Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó (Schomlenberg, Siebenbürgen). A VI 8/5276. Actiones Tragicae. Csíksomlyó, 1776–1780. Fundort: Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó (Schomlenberg, Siebenbürgen). A VI 6/5274. Écsi énekeskönyv [Gesangbuch von Écs] (1700–1725). Fundort: Pannonhalma, Bibliothek der Erzabtei Pannonhalma. 10a E 29/3. Mf: OSZK FM 1/2187. Illyés, István. Soltari Énekek A’ Szomorú Temetések alkalmatosságára. Nagyszombat, 1693. RMK I. 1446.

41 Am Ende meines Konferenzvortrags habe ich dem Publikum eine ursprüngliche volkstümliche Vesper vorgespielt. In der Tonaufnahme haben wir Frau Anna Bejczi, geborene Hittaller (1928–2015), die Vorsängerin der Gemeinde Perenye/Prennensdorf im Komitat Vas gehört. Sie hat die lateinische Volksvesper ihrer Gemeinde in der alten Psalmenordnung (mit Psalmen 109–113 und dem Magnificat), in örtlichem, volksgregorianischem Psalmenton gesungen. Diese Aufnahme habe ich veröffentlicht in Ecclesia Agathae. A 250 esztendo˝s perenyei templom tanulmánykötete és népének-hanglemezei. [Ecclesia Agathae. Studien zur 250jährigen Kirche und deren Volksgesang-Schallplatten], hrsg. von Norbert Medgyesy S. (Budapest: Magyar Napló Verlag, 2011), CD Track 26; CD-ROM Track 005a-005b4.

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Liber Exhibens Actiones parascevicas. Ab anno 1730 usque ad annum 1774 diem aprilis 27. Libellus, Scholarum Csik Somlyoviensium, nihilominus Mediam Syntaxeos, ac Grammatices signanter, specialiter concernens, et continens Repraesentationem, Enucleationem Mysteriorum Passionis Dominicae, seu Actiones Tragico-Parascevicas, Devoto Populo ad aedificationem quott Annis exhiberi solitas, in usum faciliorem Moderatorum sedulo congestas. Confectus Csíksomlyó, 1774. 1344 p. Fundort: Bibliothek des Franziskanerstiftes von Csíksomlyó (Schomlenberg, Siebenbürgen). A VI 6/5275. Maracskó Anzelm-énekeskönyv [Maracskó Anzelm-Gesangbuch] (aus der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts). Fundort: Pannonhalma, Bibliothek der Erzabtei Pannonhalma. BK 51; Mf: OSZK FM 1/2202. Paksi Márton György-énekeskönyv [Paksi Márton György-Gesangbuch]. Öttevénysziget [Kunsziget], 1760–1761). Fundort: Im Bestand des Xantus János-Museums in Gyo˝r. Mf: OSZK FM 1/2203; MTAK A 2669/I. Szoszna Demeter György-énekeskönyv [Szoszna Demeter György-Gesangbuch]. Pannonhalma, 1714–1715. Fundort: Pannonhalma, Bibliothek der Erzabtei Pannonhalma, BK +202.

Bearbeitungen A Magyar Népdaltípusok Katalógusa (MNdtK) – stílusok szerint rendszerezve I. [Katalog über Typen Ungarischer Volkslieder – I.] Die Einführung, das zweite und das vierte Kapitel wurde von László Dobszay, das erste und das dritte Kapitel von Janka Szendrei zusammengestellt. Budapest: MTA Zenetudományi Intézet, 1988. Bocskor János énekeskönyve 1716–1739 [Gesangbuch von János Bocskor 1716–1739]. Aus dem Nachlass von Pál Péter Domokos in Druck gegeben von István Csörsz Rumen. Kolozsvár: Kriterion Kiadó, 2003. Demeter, Júlia, Hrsg. „Nap, Hold és csillagok, velem zokogjatok!“ Csíksomlyói passiójátékok a 18. századból [„Sonne, Mond und Sterne, weinet mit mir“]. Budapest: Argumentum Kiadó, 2003. Dobszay, László. „A római officium [Das Offizium von Rom].“ Magyar Egyházzene 5 (1997/1998): 133–153. Domokos, Pál Péter, Hrsg. „édes Hazámnak akartam szolgálni…“ Kájoni János: Cantionale Catholicum, Petrás Incze János: Tudósítások, [„… ich wollte für meine süsse Heimat dienen…“: Kájoni János: Cantionale Catholicum, Petrás Incze János: Tudósítások [Berichte], = katholische Volksgesangbuch-Editionen von Domokos Pál Péter]. Budapest: Szent István Társulat, 1979. Ecclesia Agathae. A 250 esztendo˝s perenyei templom tanulmánykötete és népének-hanglemezei. [Ecclesia Agathae. Studien zur 250jährigen Kirche und deren VolksgesangSchallplatten von Perenye]. Hrsg. von Norbert Medgyesy S. Budapest: Magyar Napló Verlag, 2011. Ferences iskoladrámák I. Csíksomlyói passiójátékok 1721–1739. Régi Magyar Drámai Emlékek XVIII. század 6/1. [Schuldramen der Franziskaner I. Passionsspiele von Csíksomlyó 1721–1739.]. Bearbeitet von Júlia Demeter, István Kilián und Márta Zsuzsanna Pintér. Budapest: Argumentum Kiadó; Akadémiai Kiadó, 2009.

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Gacs, Emilián. Szoszna Demeter György kéziratos énekeskönyve (1714–1715), [Das handschriftliche Gesangbuch von György Szoszna Demeter (1714–1715)] Pannonhalmi füzetek 20. Pannonhalma, 1938. Ko˝vári, Réka. A Deák–Szentes kézirat – The Deák–Szentes Manuscript. Budapest: MTA BTK Zenetudományi Intézet; Magyarok Nagyasszonya Ferences Rendtartomány, 2013. Ko˝vári, Réka. „Zenetörténet és népzene – egy XVIII. századi csíki ferences kézirat dallamai a népzenei gyu˝jtésekben [Musikgeschichte und Volksmusik].“ Seiten 84–85 in Mozart– Liszt–Bartók-tanulmánykötet [Mozart–Liszt–Bartók Sammelband]. Szeged: JGyTFK Ének-Zene Tanszék, 2007. Lajtha, László. Sopron megyei virrasztóénekek [In Vigilien gesungene Volkslieder aus der Gespanschaft Ödenburg/Sopron]. Budapest: Editio Musica, 1956. Medgyesy S., Norbert. „Kisiskolák, tanítómestereik és kéziratos énekeskönyveik a 18. századi gyo˝ri egyházmegyében. [Volksschulen, ihre Schulmeister und deren handschriftliche Gesangbücher aus der Gespanschaft Raab/Gyo˝r im 18. Jahrhundert].“ Seiten 383–407 in Primus inter omnes. Tanulmányok Bedy Vince születésének 150. évfordulójára [Primus inter omnes. Studien zum Jubiläum anlässlich des 150. Geburtstags von Vince Bedy]. Herausgegeben von György Arató, Gábor Nemes und Ádám Vajk. A Gyo˝ri Egyházmegyei Levéltár kiadványai, Források, feldolgozások 25. Gyo˝r-Raab: Gyo˝ri Egyházmegyei Levéltár, 2016. Medgyesy S., Norbert. A csíksomlyói ferences misztériumdrámák forrásai, mu˝velo˝dés- és lelkiségtörténeti háttere [Die Quellen und der kultur- pietätsgeschichtliche Hintergrund der Mysterienspiele der Franziskaner von Csíksomlyó], Fontes Historici Ordinis Fratrum Minorum in Hungaria – Magyar Ferences Források 5. PPKE BTK Mu˝velo˝déstörténeti Mu˝hely, Monográfiák 1. Piliscsaba: Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem BTK; Budapest: Magyarok Nagyasszonya Ferences Rendtartomány, 2009. Muckenhaupt, Erzsébet. A csíksomlyói ferences könyvtár kincsei. Könyvleletek 1980–1985 [Die Schätze der Franziskanerbibliothek von Csíksomlyó. Bücherfunde 1980–1985]. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó; Kolozsvár: Polisz Könyvkiadó, 1999. Nagy, Szilvia. Két csíksomlyói iskolai színjáték kritikai szövegkiadása és szövegtudományi vizsgálata [Textkritische Ausgabe und philologische Untersuchung zweier Schuldramen von Csíksomlyó/Schomlenberg) PhD Dissertation, Miskolc: Miskolci Egyetem BTK, 2010). Jusztin, Péter. Az Écsi énekeskönyv [Das Gesangbuch von Écs]. Diplomarbeit. Gutachter: Szelestei N. László, Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem BTK, Piliscsaba, 2011. Pintér, Márta Zsuzsanna. A ferences iskolai színjátszás a XVIII. században, [Schuldramen der Franziskaner im 18. Jh.]. Budapest: Argumentum, 1993. Radó, Polikárp. Libri liturgici manuscripti bibliothecarum Hungariae et limitropharum regionum. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1973. Régi Magyar Költo˝k Tára XVII/17. Evangélikus és református gyülekezeti énekek (1601– 1700). Hrsg. von Gabriella H. Hubert. Texte: István Vadai. Noten: Zsuzsanna Ecsedi. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2016. Régi Magyar Költo˝k Tára XVII/8. Bethlen Gábor korának költészete. Zur Herausgabe vorbereitet von Tibor Komlovszki und Béla Stoll. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1976. Sallai, Regina. „A pestisszentek tisztelete Paksi Márton György énekeskönyvében és a Gasztonyi-énekeskönyvben [Die Verehrung der Pestheiligen im Gesangbuch von Márton György Paksi und dem Gasztonyi-Gesangbuch],“ Seiten 223–239 in Régi

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magyar népénekek és imádságok. [Alte ungarische Volksgesänge und Gebete]. Herausgegeben von Judit Bogár. Pázmány Irodalmi Mu˝hely, Lelkiségtörténeti tanulmányok 11. Budapest: MTA–PPKE Barokk Irodalom és Lelkiség Kutatócsoport, 2015. Stoll, Béla. A magyar kéziratos énekeskönyvek és versgyu˝jtemények bibliográfiája (1542– 1840) [Die Bibliographie der Manuskripte von ungarischen Gesangbüchern und Gedichtsammlungen (1542–1840)]. Budapest: Balassi Kiadó, 2002. Szendrei, Janka, Dobszay, László und Rajeczky, Benjamin. XVI–XVII. századi dallamaink a népi emlékezetben I–II., [Unsere Melodien aus dem 16–17. Jahrhundert im volkstümlichen Gedächtnis]. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979. Takács, Éva. Vágyódva hív szívem. Magyar egyházi népénekek. Debrecen: Új Remény Baptista Gyülekezet, 2012.

Gábor Barna (University of Szeged)

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Abstract For a long while in Roman Catholic communities the psalms were used in Latin by the clergy and monks. They were little used in Catholic folk religion in the vernacular. Catholic translations of the psalms were rare in the 17th to 19th centuries, and the few that existed were mainly reworkings in verse of Protestant texts. Halotti és Soltári énekek (Requiems and Psalms) by István Illyés was a popular publication in the period, reissued numerous times. The custom of “zsoltárolás” (psalm singing) practised at vigils for the dead in Csépa, a settlement on the Great Plain may have been partly based on that collection. The hymns sung on such occasions were collected in manuscript song books in the 19th century. The paper examines this custom that died out by the mid-20th century as well as the manuscript song books.

Laments, wake songs, farewells to the dead and ballads of lament or farewell are classified among the occasional-ritual genres of Hungarian musical-lyrics for the dead.1 These were sung and used after a death at different times and places during the funeral ceremony. Given that the funeral ceremony was under church/denominational control until quite recent times, these texts reflect strong church/ denominational influence. The secular authorities also exercised a similarly strong influence through regulation of the circumstances of laying out and burial of the dead. All this also influenced the custom of wakes or vigils for the dead, when songs of various genres were used including psalms and psalm paraphrases. The body of songs used for wakes is complex, stratified and originates from various periods. Some text types can be traced back to the 15th or 16th centuries. They were performed in the home where the person had died, where family members and acquaintances gathered beside the bier for one or two evenings 1 Imre Katona, “Halottas énekköltészetünk tiszta és átmeneti mu˝fajai,” in Halottkultusz. Elo˝munkálatok a Magyarság Néprajzához 10, ed. Mihály Hoppál and L. Novák (Budapest: MTA Néprajzi Kutatócsoport, 1982), 133–144, esp. 133–135.

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before the funeral to take leave of the deceased with prayers and songs. This is the wake or vigil. Although the form differed from one region to another, the basic structure of the wake was similar: beside the bier in the room it was mainly women who sang and prayed under the direction of a song leader, generally until midnight, while in another room, such as the kitchen, the men talked and played cards then after midnight they continued the singing and prayers. The people of the house served them food and drink in the manner customary in the settlement – this also differed from one region to another. In most settlements the custom was restricted or ended when the state authorities banned laying out of the dead in the home and in the 1950s to 1970s it was made compulsory to build mortuaries in the cemeteries. People no longer went out to the cemetery to sing and pray and they did not gather at the home of the deceased. In all Christian denominations (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Unitarian) there were occasions for collective prayer at the wake. The songs and prayers used were regulated and set by each denomination. However, in the case of Catholics the songs sung here could also be used on other occasions: at the ceremony held on the anniversary of the death, at the mass said for the repose of the dead, on All Souls’ Day (2nd November). In many places wakes are held only for adults, in the case of the death of a child the immediate family and relatives bid farewell in a less ceremonial form. Elsewhere only women go to wakes for children. This influences the content and nature of the songs and prayers and the duration of the vigil rites. The prayers and singing are always led by a song leader in what is known as dictation: the singer recites a line of the song that is then repeated by the others. This practice is often followed even in the case of a well-known text that everyone knows by heart. This is because singing with recitation is regarded as more ceremonious. In most places the song leaders at wakes also lead the singing on other occasions: on pilgrimages, at prayer sessions without a priest before and after church services, at prayer meetings in private homes. The singers may also make their own collection of the most popular songs associated with various cases of death, writing them down in manuscript songbooks. This resulted – and still results today although less frequently – in manuscript handbooks of various composition, strongly dependent on the place and time. The content of the wake songs is always largely the same, they proclaim the teachings of the Christian churches on death, the afterlife and resurrection. They all speak of the inevitability of death, of the difficult situation of the survivors, their mourning, but contrast all this with the consolation of eternal life, the joyful event of Christ’s resurrection bringing salvation for the dead. Since a long period of time is available for songs and prayers, long songs with many stanzas are popular. It is of special note that many of these songs are the common treasure of

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all Christian denominations (Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Unitarian). The psalms also appear in this text context.2 For a long while in Catholic communities the psalms in Latin were used mainly by the clergy and the cloistered orders. However, among the few examples of mediaeval Hungarian that have come down to us are four complete Hungarian psalter manuscripts.3 This indicates that the use of the psalms in the Hungarian language could have arisen from mediaeval traditions.4 In the mid-16th century Calvinist songbooks the Hungarian-language psalms appear as psalm paraphrases, that is, they appear as an independent genre, in the form of singable strophic verse. Béla Holl concluded that the psalm songs became popular among the common people regardless of denomination and remained in use among Catholics too right up to the end of the 18th century.5 The manuscript songbooks surviving from the period show that text variants also arose.6 The Cantionale Catholicum published in 1676 under the title Szent Dávid soltarai (Psalms of Saint David) contains 60 psalm paraphrases, 52 of which are of Protestant origin. These can also be found in the Lutheran and Calvinist songbooks.7 A popular book of the period that went through many editions was a collection compiled by István Illyés: ’Soltári és halottas énekek (Psalms and Funeral Songs), that contained 169 songs and 36 musical scores. Researchers recognise the enormous significance of this in Catholic psalm singing. According to Béla Holl this publication was a comprehensive collection of the psalms sung in the Catholic churches and well known by the common people in the course of the 17th century.8 Another researcher, Anna Farmati attributes less importance to the book, and stresses that singing psalms in Hungarian played a smaller role in Catholic vernacular religiosity.9 However, I do not regard István Illyés’s remarks on psalm singing as a sign of “lack of experience” as Anna Farmati writes, but agree with Béla Holl in that they strengthened traditions.10 Kálmán Csomasz Tóth11 has written an excellent synthesis on the tradition of psalm singing and the history of Calvinist psalm singing (text and melody). He 2 Katona, “Halottas énekköltészetünk,” 137. 3 Béla Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének katolikus hagyománya,” in Idem, Laus Librorum. Válogatott tanulmányok, METEM könyvek 26 (Budapest: METEM, 2000), 47–52, esp. 47. 4 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 47. 5 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 48. 6 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 50. 7 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 50–51. 8 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 51. 9 Anna Farmati, Már régi ének. A XVII. századi katolikus népénekköltészet szövegtípusai és motívumrendszere (Kolozsvár: Verbum, 2009), 79–80. 10 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 51. 11 Kálmán Csomasz Tóth, A református gyülekezeti éneklés (Budapest: Református Egyetemes Konvent, 1950), 204–216.

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devoted a separate chapter to the 16th century Hungarian translations of the psalms and the work of Albert Szenczi Molnár,12 in which he translated the verses of the Königsberg Lutheran lawyer Ambrus Lobwasser into Hungarian with French melodies.13 István Illyés (1650–1711) studied philosophy in Vienna and theology in Rome. He was a Roman Catholic priest, Esztergom chaplain, grand provost and then titular bishop. His songbook with musical scores, ’Soltári és halottas énekek (Psalms and Funeral Songs) published in 1693 was reissued numerous times. (Fig. 1) It contains 200 songs with 367 melodies and is divided into three main sections: psalms, (Fig. 2) funeral songs and “preparation for a good death” (Fig. 3). He himself summed up the aim of his book in the introduction: “I produced this modest work by translating into Hungarian rhymed verse the songs that are to be sung above the bodies of the sick according to the funeral psalms of the Church of Christ and its customary rites, that is, the prayer for the dead: Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine etc. So that our singing above the bodies of the dead is not just an act of the body but one of spiritual mercy for our dead who would perhaps suffer without it; and so that others act for us after our death.”14 Another important part of his aim was to give cantor teachers a Catholic songbook in which Catholic works of sung poetry dominate. However, he thought he could achieve this aim by taking Calvinist psalm translations, making changes to them and altering the order of the verses so that their Calvinist origin could not be recognised.15 But on doing so he preserved the traditional songs of the period. The majority of his songs can be found in other books of the same period, including in Protestant collections. His scores appear to be reliable notations of contemporary living practice.16 The Illyés book was used in a succession of editions right up to the 20th century, and variants of the funeral songs it contained could be found in living song practice up to the recent past.17 The book contains 77 psalm paraphrases, mainly of Protestant origin. At the end of the book he

12 Csomasz Tóth, A református gyülekezeti éneklés, 221–222. 13 Károly Friedrich, A magyar evangélikus templomi ének történetének vázlata (Budapest, 1944), 83. 14 István Illyés, ’Soltári és halottas énekek a magyar anya-szent-egyház vigasztalására, mellyeket a szomorú temetések alkalmatosságára, és a jó meg-halásra nagy szorgalmatossággal a sz. irás értelme szerént készített Illyés István szent tamási prépost és esztergomi kanonok. Meg-jobbitott új-kiadás. Budán, 1817. Nyomtattatott a’ Királyi Magyar Universitás Betu˝ivel. I used this 19th century edition. 15 Ferenc Schram, Bevezeto˝ népénekeinkhez (Budapest: Történeti Múzeum Rotaprint, 1958), 20– 21. 16 László Dobszay, Magyar zenetörténet (Budapest: Gondolat, 1984), 172–173. 17 László Dobszay, s.d. A magyar népének I. Csomasz Tóth Kálmán emlékének (s.a.e.l.s.d. [1995]), 20–21.

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compiled a separate table of the psalms suitable for everyday services or feast days, so that cantors could choose appropriate psalms.18 The custom of a vigil beside the dead practised in Csépa, a Hungarian village on the Great Plain was based on this book by István Illyés; the songs sung at the vigils were collected in manuscript songbooks in the 19th century.19 This custom of a vigil beside the dead lived right up to the mid-20th century. Csépa was a mixed denominational village: around 95 % of the inhabitants were Roman Catholics and 5 % Lutherans. However the name used for the psalm singing – zsoltározás/ zsoltárolás – was not borrowed from the small minority of Lutherans,20 it was probably taken from the title of István Illyés’s book. My paper examines this custom that died out by the mid-20th century and its manuscript songbooks. It was characteristic of the society of Csépa that the inhabitants of the village were members of the nobility, the village was a so-called curial settlement.21 The vigil in Csépa was held on two evenings before the funeral, generally until midnight. The room where the deceased was laid out was darkened and the mirror covered with a black cloth. In Csépa men and women sang psalms together. The leader of the singing had the book from which he selected psalms, dictating the text. On the day of the funeral, the singers gathered again at the house of the deceased an hour before the ceremony to sing.22 Up to the early 20th century the singing was led by men, but then their role was increasingly taken over by women.23 During fieldwork in Csépa in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I saw that a number of families still had manuscript songbooks used at vigils.24 I can analyse only two of these here. One is from the legacy of László Óberna, a singer and song leader. The inscription on the title-page reads: “I wrote this psalm and funeral songbook for László Óberna for service beside the dead, for the salvation of their souls and ours: Amen. Written by Ferentz Tiller and finished on January 19 of the year 1885–1886 in Csépa.” (Fig. 4) The book measuring 19x12 cm contains 229 numbered pages, as well as 6 pages of “Index table”. Pages have been torn out of 18 Holl, “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének,” 51. 19 Judit Benczéné Mezo˝, “Adatok Csépa népzenei életéhez,” in Csépa. Tanulmányok egy alföldi palóc kirajzás népéletébo˝l II, ed. Gábor Barna (Eger, Szolnok: Damjanich Múzeum 1982), 415– 515, esp. 417–419. 20 Benczéné Mezo˝, “Adatok Csépa népzenei életéhez,” 418. 21 János Botka, Egy tiszazugi falu, Csépa története, Levéltári Füzetek 3 (Szolnok: Szolnok Megyei Levéltár, 1977). 22 Benczéné Mezo˝, “Adatok Csépa népzenei életéhez,” 418. 23 Gábor Barna, “Ünnepi szokások és hiedelmek Csépán,” in Gábor Barna (ed.) Csépa. Tanulmányok egy alföldi palóc kirajzás népéletébo˝l II (Eger, Szolnok: Damjanich Múzeum, 1982), 363–412, esp. 399. 24 Barna, “Ünnepi szokások,” 399.

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the book in several places: pages 11–14, 83–86 and 239–242 are missing, so a number of songs are also missing from the book. The table of contents proves that they must have existed. The person who wrote the book, Ferenc Tiller added tiny, varied ornamentations – especially at the beginning of the book – to separate the different units. There are no ornamentations in the second half of the book. The pages are dog-eared and soiled, a good indication of the popularity of the psalms and songs in the book and of how frequently it must have been used. The writer ended each song with an “Amen”. The table of contents sets out the songs in the book in alphabetical order. On two empty pages following the index table, unknown hands have written in pencil the text of the offering after the rosary and some of the mysteries of the rosary. On the last page 15 names have been inscribed, probably the members of a rosary group. The other manuscript book belonged to Ferenc Rozmis, it is forty years older than the one just mentioned. According to the inscription on the title-page: “This book of psalms and funeral songs was ordered by; ‘Noble Ferentz Rozmis. From Imre Gortva; to the glory of the One Living God; for our prayers for the dead; it is my wish that those prayers will not be in vain; but may the Lord of Heaven hear our songs; this I wish with all my heart. Amen. My friend, should this book be mislaid; my good-hearted friend, return it to me because it belongs to me. I had it made in the year 1848. It was finished on the 15th of February. This book belongs to Noble Ferencz Rozmis, who lives in the noble curial village of Csépa.”25 (Fig. 5) This book measures 23x15 cm and has 208 numbered pages, and 3 unnumbered pages followed by the 4–page table of contents. Judging by how soiled and worn the pages are, this one must have been used more often and for longer than the songbook belonging to László Óberna. The table of contents lists the songs in the book in order by page number. Compared to the previous, smaller book, the letters are only very slightly larger in size. And the book is 20 pages shorter. Each song ends with an “Amen”. The writer of this book also uses ornamentations between the songs, perhaps fewer than Ferenc Tiller, the writer of László Óberna’s songbook. The two manuscript books came into being under differing social circumstances. The older book, written in 1848, still found it important to note that its user was a nobleman, and the village itself was a curial, that is, a noble settlement. Forty years later these are no longer important considerations. In the intervening period – precisely in 1848 – feudal society together with the distinction between noble and serf ceased to exist. But it is also worth noting that a nobleman did not consider it below him to lead the singing at funerals. It was during these years,

25 Mrs Mihály Csetényi allowed me to examine and analyse this book. The book entered her husband’s family in the early 20th century.

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193

after the earlier constant conflicts, that relations between the Roman Catholic parish of Csépa and the local population became more harmonious.26 The two manuscript books are not identical. They differ in content and the order of the songs is not the same. However, both were also used in the 20th century as indicated by the more recent song texts entered at the end of the books and the scribbling by children. At the very end of Ferenc Rozmis’s book there is a prayer for rain and a song written for someone who died young. On the first page of the book someone has entered in unidentifiable handwriting, in pencil, the weather at Christmas and the state at Christmas of the winter wheat for the years 1881–1887. On pages 206 to 208 the songs are written in purple ink, then follow a further two song texts written in an entirely different, unpractised hand, then there is an entry that reads: “On Christmas day, the twenty-fifth of December, eighteen ninety four and on the fast day the weather was clear and fine […] written by Julianna Mészáros, András Gortva”. The book passed by inheritance into the possession of the Csetényi family, which explains why the names László Csetényi and Mihály Csetényi appear in it several times. (Fig. 6–7) (Table 1) The manuscript songbooks contain only 10 songs that originate from psalm paraphrases in István Illyés’s collection while the other fifty in his book were not borrowed. In addition to the psalm paraphrases, there are also many funeral songs in the manuscript books. 72 of those songs are also found in István Illyés’s Psalms and Funeral Songs, while the song leaders in Csépa took 77 songs from other sources. (Table 2) There is a notable precedent for the manuscript songbooks in Csépa: in 1769 Gáspár Kuczora, a schoolmaster in Szolnok wrote a cantor’s book for József Szabados the cantor in Csépa. The original manuscript of that book is preserved in the Somogyi Library in Szeged, and there is a typewritten transcription of it in the library of the Museum of Ethnology. The book contains mainly songs for the major church feasts, there are no funeral or mourning songs in it. But as a handwritten book it could have served as a model for others.27

Summing up These manuscript books served local needs in Csépa in the 19th century. The psalm singing was based on the practice of earlier centuries. Although the use of psalm paraphrases, that is, psalms sung in verse form, had ceased among 26 János Fekete, Adatok a csépai plébánia történetéhez. MTA-SZTE Vallási Kultúrakutató Csoport – Helytörténeti Múzeum, Szeged – Kunszentmárton, 2015, passim. 27 It is quite possible that this 18th century cantor’s book may have come from Csépa to the Somogyi Library through the collecting trip in the Tiszazug region made by Lajos Kálmány, a Catholic priest and important collector of folklore in the 19th century.

194

Gábor Barna

Catholics by the end of the 18th century, in the village of Csépa examined here it survived right up to the mid-20th century. In an area where Catholics are in a minority, people cling to Catholic community traditions more strongly than in other settlements, as a way of defending the faith. In the course of the 19th century a change occurred in the order of community singing. A different kind of order came to the fore, one that was linked to the church year and the feast days of the saints and adapted to the different parts of the mass. However, it was helpful for churchgoers to be able to follow the course of the Latin mass with songs sung in Hungarian. Parallel with the liturgy in Latin, an order of singing in the national language took shape. This gradually replaced the sung psalms. While the Church Songbook published by Mihály Szentmihályi in 1797 still contains 43 psalm paraphrases, there are none in the Catholic Songbook with Musical Notations published in the same year by Mihály Bozóki. (Fig. 8) The sung psalm paraphrases in verse appeared only in a few isolated places, in Catholic vernacular religion, and even there they survived in the cult of the dead, as our examples from Csépa show.

Literature Primary sources Illyés, István. ’Soltári és halottas énekek a magyar anya-szent-egyház vigasztalására, mellyeket a szomorú temetések alkalmatosságára, és a jó meg-halásra nagy szorgalmatossággal a sz. irás értelme szerént készített Illyés István szent tamási prépost és esztergomi kanonok. [Psalms and Funeral Songs for Consolation of the Hungarian Holy Mother Chruch and Good Dying Prepared with Great Diligence by Illyés, István Provost of Szent Tamás and Canon of Esztergom] Rev. ed. Buda: Királyi Magyar Universitás 1817.

Secondary sources Barna, Gábor. “Ünnepi szokások és hiedelmek Csépán.” [Festive Customs and Beliefs in Csépa]. Pages 363–412 in Csépa. Tanulmányok egy alföldi palóc kirajzás népéletébo˝l II. [Csépa. Studies in the Folk Life of a Palóc Diaspora on the Great Plain II]. Edited by Gábor Barna. Eger; Szolnok: Damjanich Múzeum, 1982. Csépa. Tanulmányok egy alföldi palóc kirajzás népéletébo˝l I–II. [Csépa. Studies in the Folk Life of a Palóc Diaspora on the Great Plain I–II]. Edited by Gábor Barna. Eger; Szolnok, Damjanich Múzeum, 1982. Benczéné Mezo˝, Judit. “Adatok Csépa népzenei életéhez.” [On Folk Music in Csépa]. Pages 415–515 in Csépa. Tanulmányok egy alföldi palóc kirajzás népéletébo˝l II. [Csépa. Studies

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195

in the Folk Life of a Palóc Diaspora on the Great Plain II]. Edited by Gábor Barna. Eger; Szolnok: Damjanich Múzeum, 1982. Botka, János. Egy tiszazugi falu, Csépa története. [History of Csépa, a Village in the Tiszazug Region]. Levéltári Füzetek 3. Szolnok: Damjanich Múzeum, 1977. Csomasz Tóth, Kálmán. A református gyülekezeti éneklés. [Calvinist Congregation Singing]. Budapest: Református Egyetemes Konvent, 1950. Dobszay, László. Magyar zenetörténet. [History of Hungarian Music]. Budapest: Gondolat, 1984. Dobszay, László. A magyar népének I. [Hungarian Folk Song I]. Csomasz Tóth Kálmán emlékének. s.d. , s.a.e.l., [1995]. Farmati, Anna. Már régi ének. A XVII. századi katolikus népénekköltészet szövegtípusai és motívumrendszere. [An Old Song. Text Types and Motifs of 17th Century Catholic Popular Song Poetry]. Kolozsvár: Verbum, 2009. Fekete, János. Adatok a csépai plébánia történetéhez. [Data on the History of the Roman Catholic Parish in Csépa]. Szeged; Kunszentmárton: MTA-SZTE Vallási Kultúrakutató Csoport; Helytörténeti Múzeum, 2015. Friedrich, Károly. A magyar evangélikus templomi ének történetének vázlata. [Outline of the History of Hungarian Lutheran Church Singing]. Budapest, 1944. Holl, Béla. “A magyar nyelvu˝ zsoltárének katolikus hagyománya.” [The Catholic Tradition of Psalm-singing in Hungarian]. Pages 47–52 in Laus Librorum. Válogatott tanulmányok. [Laus Librorum. Selected Studies]. METEM könyvek 26. Budapest: Magyar Egyháztörténeti Enciklopédia Munkaközösség, 2000. Katona, Imre. “Halottas énekköltészetünk tiszta és átmeneti mu˝fajai.” [Pure and Transitional Forms of Hungarian Lament Poetry]. Pages 133–144 in Elo˝munkálatok a Magyarság Néprajzához 10. [Preparatory Studies for Ethnology of the Hungarian People, 10]. Budapest: MTA Néprajzi Kutató Csoport, 1982. Schram, Ferenc. Bevezeto˝ népénekeinkhez. [Introduction to our Folk Songs]. s.a.e.l. s.d. [1958].

196

Illustrations

Fig. 1: Title page of Illyés’ book, edited in 1904

Gábor Barna

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Fig. 2: Inside title page, second chapter, 1817 edition

197

198

Fig. 3: Inside title page, third chapter, 1817 edition

Gábor Barna

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Fig. 4: László Óberna’s book

199

200

Fig. 5: Ferenc Rozmis’ book

Gábor Barna

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Fig. 6: Psalm CXLIII. from the 1817 edition

201

202

Fig. 7: Psalm CXLIII. from László Óberna’s book

Gábor Barna

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Fig. 8: Title page Mihály Bozóki’s song book, 1797

203

204

Gábor Barna

Table 1: Comparison of content of the songbook of Illyés István with the handwritten songbooks of Óberna and Rozmis Psalm-paraphrases taken from Illyés István’s book Psalms not taken from Illyés István Funeral songs taken from other sources, not from Illyés Funeral songs taken from Illyés István’s book Number 1. 2.

Incipit Adj üdvösséges kimúlást A jóhitu˝ ember szelíd

3. 4.

Aki az Istent megismerheti A koponyák ezt kiáltozzák

89

130

5. 6.

A Krisztus Jézusnak vérével nyert A megfoghatatlan nagy fájdalmi

73 94

118

7. 8.

Adj Uram örök nyugodalmat neki Álnok világ, gyenge ág

1 21

9. 10.

A nap feljövén immáron A nap nagy haragnak napja

158 216

11. 12.

A Szent Dávid Istennek hajlékot A Szent Dávid nagy háborúságban

43 7

13. 14.

A Szent Dávid ötödik énekében A tenger fövenye ki sok

10 251

15. 16. 17. 18.

Az ártatlan bárány, jegyesem Az halál gyors, sebes nyilával Az Izraelnek népe régenten Az örök élet mi légyen Az Úr énnékem o˝rizo˝ pásztorom

19. 20.

Óberna

Rozmis

Illyés

139

180

107 118

82 83

243

74

253 129 321

Az Úr Isten áll minden bíráknak

36 105

21. 22.

Az Úr Isten nékem édes táplálóm Az Úr Istent magasztalom

34 100

23. 24.

Benned bíztam Úr isten Bizonytalan voltát világ

25. 26.

Bizonyos, tudjuk, halál Boldog az olyan ember az Istenben

27. 28.

Boldog az olyan ember e világon Boldog az olyan ember o˝ lelkében

29. 30.

Boldogok azok, akik az Istent félik Boldogtalan bu˝nös lelkek

48

31. 32.

Buzgó keresztények, látom hívségteket Bu˝nnek az o˝ zsoldja a halál

59 175

33.

Csudálkozom, álmélkodom

126

6

28

159

203

47 212 211 1 52 122 132

93 278 168

298

205

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Table 1 (Continued) Number 34. 35.

Incipit Dávid Doég gonoszságát Dávid prófétának imádkozásából

36. 37.

Dicsérd Isten te hív Dicsérd az Istent mostan Dicsérjétek Istent az o˝ szenteiben

38. 39.

Dicso˝ült helyeken

Óberna

Rozmis

142

183

206 139 149 147

192 189

40. 41.

Drága dolog az Úr Istent dicsérni Ébredjél fel világ bu˝neidbo˝l

42. 43.

Egek titkos szent csillaga E világ nagy alkotmányában

44. 45. 46. 47.

El vagyon végezve Élet adó halál ura Életemnek végso˝ napját Elmegyek a sírba

48. 49.

El vagyon végezve E világ nagy alkotmányában

244 21

50. 51.

Ember, bármire vessed Ember, emlékezzél a szomorú

233

52. 53.

Ember, emlékezzél utolsó Emlékezz én Uram

54. 55.

Emlékezzünk mi keresztény népek Engedelmességben Krisztust Én is vo˝legény vagyok

56. 57. 58. 59.

62. 63.

Frissen lakó dúsgazdagnak Gyakorta való buzgó könyörgést

64. 65.

Gyarló világ, romlandó ág Háborúsága Dávid királynak Ha gondolod élo˝ ember

66. 67.

152 21 201 101

143

203 179 197 166

177 110 257 63 69 103

186

287 261 314 32

117

162

326 76

155

197

232 275

151 10

2

Hagyjátok el hív keresztények

68. 69.

Hajtsd meg füleidet Halál adósságát én immár

70.

Hálát adunk tenéked édes Istenünk

263 264

239

Felséges Isten, néked jelentjük Figyelmetes keresztények, kik most Föltették a szu˝zkoszorút

146 144 140 307

Én úgy kívánkozok az Úr Istenhez Ero˝s várunk nekünk az Isten

60. 61.

Illyés 81 45

274

206

Gábor Barna

Table 1 (Continued) Number 71. 72.

Incipit Halandó emberek, kik földön Harc ember élete

Óberna

Rozmis

73. 74.

Hitünk szerint a világ Hogy Jeruzsálemnek drága templomát

86

24

75. 76.

Hogy panaszolkodik az hatalmas Hol vagy én szerelmes

77. 78.

Ide Ádám maradványi Ifiu ember itt nem sokáig

173 85

79. 81.

Így fizet az álnok világ Illik nékünk arról emlékeznünk

162

81. 82. 83. 84.

Ily nagy útra indul ember Ím, látjátok, hogy változom Ím, látod a halál mindeneket Ím, látod világ voltát

113 38

85. 86.

Immár gyarló testem Irgalmasságnak atyja

206 199

87. 88.

Irgalmasságot és ítéletet Irgalmazz Úristen immáron énnékem

137

89. 90.

Jaj, mely gyarló élete embernek Jaj, melly hamar múlik világ dicso˝sége

92 16

135 71

91. 92.

Jaj, siralmas szomorú szó Jer, emlékezzünk keresztény népek

28

82

93. 94.

Jer, mi szóljunk Jer, örvendezzünk az Úr Istennek

152

95. 96.

Jerusálem, dicsérjed Istened Jézus az én reményem

97. 98.

Jézus, Istennek báránya Jézus Krisztus Isten fia Jézusomnak kegyelmébo˝l

99. 100.

Illyés 222 183 97 72

240 246 270 174 157 19

324 205 253

227 220 116 87 254 127 194

172 174 142

271 249 261 30

89 264

Jézus szent vérével

101. 102.

Kaszás e földön az halál Kelj föl bu˝neidbo˝l

190

211

291 203

103. 104.

Kérésünk hallgasd meg Keresztfán kínt vallott

202 103

45

248

105. 106.

Kérésünk hallgasd meg Keresztények ki e földön

107.

Kérlek keresztények, példát vegyetek

229 124 204

207

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Table 1 (Continued) Number 108. 109.

Incipit Kérlek és intlek ember tégedet Kiáltok én nagy mélységbo˝l

Óberna

Rozmis

Illyés 304 272

110. 111.

Ki fontolhatja meg Kik az itéletro˝l még keveset

105

146

318 308

112. 113.

200

271 218

114. 115.

Koporsóba zárjatok Könyörgo˝ szemekkel síránkozó Könyörülj Istenem én bu˝nös lelkemen Könyörülj, Istenem, a kimúlt híveken

198

116. 117.

Környül vettek halásnak sérelmi Krisztus, ki vagy nap és világ

118. 119. 120. 121.

Krisztushoz készülök, szerelmes szüléim Krisztusnak hívei, kik most jelen Krisztusnak hív keresztényi Lásd meg Uram én ügyemet

122. 123.

Már elmegyek az örömben Már földbe indultam Már megszu˝njél te ember a gonosztól

51

96

Megfizettem már én

174

226

124. 125.

155 187 159 182 178

205

296 60

126. 127.

Meg kell halnom, el kell múlnom Meghallgassad az én imádságomat

128. 129.

Mely igen jó az Úr istent dicsérni Megszabadultam már én a’ testi

130. 131.

Ments meg engem, Uram Mennybéli nagy Istent hozzád kiáltunk

248

132. 133.

Mennynek királynéja, Úrjézus Mido˝n az Isten segítségül hívtam

275

134. 135.

Miért sírtok kedvesim Mi a világ öröme, csupa álom

136. 137.

Micsoda érzés vonz e világhoz Mikor Dávid volna keseru˝ségben

138. 129.

Mikor Dávid nagy búsultában Mikor Senacherib a Jerusalemeet

140. 190.

Mikor Szent Dávid kegyetleneknek Seregeknek szent Istene

191. 192.

Serkenj fel álmodbul Serkenj fel hát s a mély álmot Serkenj fel már ember nu˝neidbo˝l

193.

284 280 260 65

262 91 2

27

109 176 149 9

80 46

127 89 232 37 84 66

99

141

5

141 167

111 271 250 181

208

Gábor Barna

Table 1 (Continued) Number 194. 195.

Incipit Siess nagy Úr Isten én segítségemre Siralmas nékünk földön életünk

196. 197.

Sokan vannak most is olyan emberek Sok emberek vannak ez árnyék

28 49

198. 199.

Sok jótéteményén nagyon csudálkozván Sok nyilvánvaló bizonyságoktól

9 56

200. 201.

Sok nyomorúsággal élete embernek Sok rendbeli népek, kik most

64

114

185 225

202. 203.

Sok rendbéli próbák vannak Sokat írtak bölcsek

53

97

194 200

204. 205. 206. 207.

Szabadíts meg és tarts meg Uram isten Szállj alá gyarló testem Szállj be immár gyarló testem Számkivetésre Dávid megyen

208. 209.

Szegény gyarló ember, jaj, mely Szent Dávid király bu˝nei ellen

227 12

210. 211.

Szent Dávid királynak háborúságában Szent Dávid próféta második énekében

27 3

212. 213.

Szent Pál apostolnak írása Szerelmes Istenem, ha már el kell mennem

170

64

214. 215.

Szólít minket Krisztus urunk Szomorú az halál az embereknek

40

37

216, 217.

Szomorú az halál az gyarló Szomorú gyászos pompa Szörnyu˝ halál, íme, hol áll

76 171

122 62, 224

239

121

56

188 30

193 209

263

218. 219220. 221.

Óberna

Rozmis

130

50

25 234 236 14

237 207

Tarts meg Uram engem Te kisded nagy kedvet nyertél Tehozzád kiáltok Mária, Szu˝zanyám Tehozzád teljes szívbo˝l kiáltok

222. 223.

Tekints rám Istenem nyavalyámban

224. 225.

Teljes Szentháromság isteni Teljes szívembo˝l Tenéked

226. 227.

Teremtett állatok, minden alkotmányok Ti keresztények dicsérjétek Istent

228. 229.

Úr Isten kérünk a’ te Szent nevedért Úr Jézus, Isten fia

230.

Úrnak szolgái, no, dicsérjétek

Illyés 95 267

154 23 96

66 20 148 136

14 23

69 8

82 135

209

Use of Psalms in The Roman Catholic Folk Religion (19th–20th Century, Hungary)

Table 1 (Continued) Number 231. 232.

Incipit Valaki éltednek ülsz gyász székében Van egy temeto˝hely özvegyek számára

Óberna 42

Rozmis 40 255

Illyés

233. 234.

Véletlen ember utolsó órája Világ büszke fia

60

105 230

220

235. 236.

Világ kegyes magzatja Zúgódik, dúl-fúl magában

18 5

Table 2: Comparison of the hand-written books with Illyés’ book Comparision the handwritten books with Illyés’ book Óberna Rozmis psalm-paraphrases from Illyés Palms from other sources vigil songs from Illyés vigil songs from other sources

Illyés 10

from other sources 50

72 77

Szilvia Peremiczky (Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest)

“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem …”. Psalm 137 as Literary Code and Cultural Emblem of Identity

Abstract The Book of Psalms not only impacted the Jewish and Christian theological traditions, but also world literature, principally as a source of poetic inspiration down through the ages. Psalm 137 in particular inspired medieval Jewish Jerusalem-poetry hallmarked especially by the work of Yehuda Halevi; became a literary code for expressing Jewish identity at times when that identity had to be concealed; and also came to serve as literary symbol and depiction of the sorrows of exile in the Jewish diaspora, the basic experience of Jewish history for millennia. That has been especially so in medieval Hispania, where the inspiration of Psalm 137 enabled giving poetic expression to the twin bonds that bound Hispanic Jewry to both Jerusalem and their native Spain, whether harmoniously aligned or in conflict with one another. While Yehuda Halevi was inspired to express the sorrows of exile from Jerusalem, Moshe ibn Ezra, another great Jewish poet in medieval Hispania, used the inspiration of Psalm 137 for expressing the sorrows of exile from Granada. After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, poets who were most probably conversos, such as the Portuguese Luis Vaz de Camões, used the text of Psalm 137 as a kind of coded rallying cry to the remaining crypto-Jews among their fellow conversos. In our own time, Psalm 137 inspired modern Israeli Jerusalem-poetry, such as that of Yehuda Amichai and Naomi Shemer, while the Hungarian poet Ágnes Gergely adapted Psalm 137 to express an equal devotion to both Hungarian and Jewish identity and culture.

The Book of Psalms is one of those books of the Bible that significantly contributed to the development of Jewish and Christian culture not just in the domain of theology, but also in the domains of aesthetics and poetry. It is a book of poetry par excellence which has been instrumental in inspiring countless works of literature and art throughout the ages, among them many masterpieces. Psalm 137, which is perhaps the most quoted, paraphrased and adapted of all psalms, had served as poetic code and emblem of Jewish identity not just as of itself, but in numerous literary echoes and interpretations down through the ages in world literature. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. / We hanged our lutes upon the willows in the midst thereof…”

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are the lines with which Psalm 137 opens (in the King James version of the English Bible). The richness of its imagery, the captivating, bucolic beauty of its setting, the Jerusalem-centric theology it proclaims, and the sense of diaspora, of life in the galut (exile) that it conveys have all served as virtually inexhaustible sources of inspiration for works of literature in Western Civilisation. Throughout the course of all the transformations and threats to Jewish identity over time, Psalm 137 inspired giving voice not just to a condition of homelessness, of the sense of loss and yearning of a people longing for their national homeland, but also to immortal expressions of personal religious turning points, of moments of truth, and the search for a spiritual way forward in difficult times. The aim of this paper, then, is to examine the situation, images, thoughts and feelings of Psalm 137 that had resonated with posterity throughout history and were many times echoed in literary works throughout different periods in world literature, and above all in Jewish literature. Adaptations of Psalm 137 or allusions to it range from poems by Yehuda Halevi and Moshe ibn Ezra in medieval Spain, to Lutheran hymns and sixteenth century works by the Spanish Catholic cleric John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz), as well as the likewise sixteenth century works of the Portuguese Bernardim Ribeiro, Jorge de Montemor (Spanish: Montemayor) or those of Luis Vaz de Camões, considered to this day Portugal’s greatest poet. Psalm 137 also inspired numerous poets from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, among them Byron, Nathan Samuely from Galicia, the Italian Salvatore Quasimodo, the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges and the Israeli Yehuda Amichai and Naomi Shemer, as well as Hungarian poets, including Emil Makai, Ignotus, Endre Ady, Ágnes Gergely and József Patai. Then there is Nabucco, the opera by Verdi, in which The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Va, Pensiero) explicitly echoes the words and sentiments of Psalm 137. Toward the end of the twentieth century, adaptations of Psalm 137 or allusions to it also began to appear in various registers of popular culture, as for example in the Rastafari song Rivers of Babylon performed by the Euro-Caribbean vocal group Boney M, or in Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei (By the River Piedra I sat down and wept), a novel by Brazilian pulp fiction writer Paolo de Coelho, where the title is a straightforward adaptation of the first line of Psalm 137. Psalm 137 is the founding text, the first written record of the genre of Jerusalem-poetry that attained its highest literary achievements first in the 12th century works of Yehuda Halevi and then in the works of Yehuda Amichai in the 20th century. What the solemn oath of “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning”, and the powerful imagery underpinning it in Psalm 137, signify is that Jerusalem as the capital city of the Holy Land is, and had always been, a historic spiritual focus of the Jewish people, and the injunction to remember, cherish and uphold the sacred memory of Jerusalem in the exile of

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the diaspora is among the core tenets of faith in Judaism. The meaning of these tenets was and is crystal clear to every Jewish person, even to those among them who might not have had the benefit of a Jewish upbringing and education. A particularly powerful example of this was the way that the text of Psalm 137 was able to serve so admirably as poetic code for the expression of Jewish identity and solidarity for Jews practicing their faith in secret after 1492 in a post-expulsion Catholic Spain and Portugal ruled by Inquisition terror. With its melancholy voice of longing for Jerusalem and pars pro toto for the Holy Land, Psalm 137 captures the desolate and disconsolate emotional state of the poet in exile, who in a moving expression of the poetic essence of Psalm 137, is impelled to ask “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” But Psalm 137 is not just a powerfully evocative depiction of the disconsolate desolation of exile and alienation, the sorrows of a people having to live uprooted from its homeland and subject to alien rule, but has served as a potent source of inspiration for conveying these feelings, again and again anew, about life in the galut in all historical periods and situations. In particular, it was a serendipitous coincidence for converso authors – Jewish converts to Catholicism (mostly under extreme duress exerted by the Inquisition) or their descendants – intent on communicating their forbidden Jewish identity and yearnings in a Catholic Spain and Portugal beset by vicious intolerance of Jews and Judaism, that the lyric setting in Psalm 137, the image of a sorrowful figure lamenting by the side of a river, happened to remarkably resonate with similar kinds of melancholy pastoral and bucolic imagery popular in the literature of the late Renaissance and Baroque periods. The first great period of the literary echoes and references of Psalm 137 occurs in medieval Hispania, followed by the late Renaissance and Baroque periods, which also saw the emergence of converso literature. In that period, references to Psalm 137 generally conveyed longing for the end of exile in the classical religious sense of the psalm, and as such, were part of the corpus of religious poetry produced in those periods. However, the poem “How long in the Galut?” ‫)עד אן‬ (‫בגלות‬, written by Moshe ibn Ezra around the turn of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, forms an interesting exception to this rule. The poet, who was forced to flee Granada, but was longing to return, echoes Psalm 137 in the wonderful poem – “let my right hand forget her cunning” (‫ – )תשכח ימיני‬albeit the object of his longing was not Jerusalem, as one might have expected, but Granada, the memories of the place and of the friends he left behind there: ‫תשכח ימיני אם שכחתימו ואם‬ !‫בלתי פניהם אתאוה לשמוח‬ ‫אם עוד ישיבני אלוהים אל הדר‬ .‫רמון דרכי יצלחו צלוח‬

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Let my right hand forget her cunning, if I were to forget them, and if I Desired happiness without beholding their faces! If by some chance Divine Providence would direct me back to HadarRimon again, my life would once more flourish and become a success.

Hadar-Rimon, the Hebrew name for Granada, means “a splendour of pomegranates”.1 As perhaps the most typical representative of an assimilating Andalusian Jewish elite that used Arabic as their first language and were thoroughly immersed in Arab culture, it is not at all surprising that Moshe ibn Ezra would have used imagery from Psalm 137 to convey a longing for Granada, rather than Jerusalem. Thus, for the first time ever in Jewish literature, the contents of a poetic text do not just abandon Jerusalem, but give voice to a Jewish identity that places emphatic priority on its bonds with a locality other than Jerusalem, and with the majority culture prevailing in that locality. Moshe ibn Ezra was a close friend and one-time patron of Yehuda Halevi who stands out as perhaps the greatest among all medieval Hebrew poets. In sharp contrast to Moshe ibn Ezra, the poetic point of view expressed by Yehuda Halevi is firmly based in the Jerusalem-centric essence of Psalm 137, thus resolutely opposed to the poetic philosophy of Moshe ibn Ezra. Yehuda Halevi rejects the acculturing, cultural assimilationist preferences of the intellectual elite of Andalusian Jewry, and thus of Moshe ibn Ezra, fearing that the dominance of Arabic culture and the primacy of its rationalist tradition in philosophy would ultimately estrange Andalusian Jewry from Jerusalem – the essence of their Jewish identity – and make them excessively comfortable with living in the galut. In response to this cultural assimilationist trend, Yehuda Halevi became the originator of the Jewish literary genre of Zionides (also known as Jerusalempoetry), and its most significant exponent until the twentieth century. In poem after poem, he poured his longing and yearning for Jerusalem into immortal poetic expression, in effect giving moving renditions of the very same vision and emotions that Psalm 137 evokes, though in contrast to the plaintive and indeed hapless lament of Psalm 137, in which a return to Jerusalem is not even contemplated as a possible course of action, Halevi himself was determined to take whatever steps and personal sacrifices in order to move to Jerusalem in actual reality, and not just in his imagination. The opening line of one of his greatest Zionides is My Heart is in the East (‫)ליבי במזרח‬. Its second line reminds of the injunction spelled out in Psalm 137 with anguished exclamations of “How can I find savour in food? How shall it be sweet to me?” (‫)איך אטעמה את אשר אכל ואיך יערב‬. Although the poem is not an adaptation of Psalm 137, and does not quote one or another of its lines, it is 1 Hebrew text from benyehuda.org; English translation by Szilvia Peremiczky, as are all other translations where no translator is named.

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nonetheless very closely related to Psalm 137 in at least three respects: in the poetic expression of a profound sorrow and desolation, in the expression of the agonies of an exile that forms the experiential base of the poem, and in the expression of a fervent longing and yearning for Jerusalem, a most profoundly felt emotion that the poet fully shares with the author of Psalm 137. ‫לבי במזרח ואנכי בסוף מערב‬ ‫איך אטעמה את אשר אכל ואיך יערב‬ ‫ בעוד‬,‫איכה אשלם נדרי ואסרי‬ ‫ציון בחבל אדום ואני בכבל ערב‬ ‫ כמו‬,‫יקל בעיני עזב כל טוב ספרד‬ ‫יקל בעיני ראות עפרות דביר נחרב‬ My heart is in the east, and I in the uttermost west– How can I find savour in food? How shall it be sweet to me? How shall I render my vows and my bonds, while yet Zion lieth beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains? A light thing would it seem to me to leave all the good things of Spain – Seeing how precious in mine eyes to behold the dust of the desolate sanctuary.2

The poem also of course presents an exquisite portrayal of Halevi’s deeply conflicted self between living a life of prestige and luxury in Spain and his profound longing for Jerusalem, to which he felt he must owe his first loyalty as a Jew. Ultimately, the poetry and life of Halevi did indeed become fully aligned in a holistic unity, when towards the end of his life he joyously assumed the burden of the solemn injunction of Psalm 137, abandoned his former life of wealth and renown in Spain, and set out on the arduous journey to Jerusalem, where according to legend he met his death immediately upon arrival at one of the gates of the city. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the renderings and adaptations of Psalm 137 became more popular than ever in Spanish and Portuguese literature and in English poetry. The reason for this probably lay in the drastic changes that were taking place during this period, as a result of which the medieval worldview commonly prevailing until then was shaken to its foundations due to the great geographical discoveries of the age, the scientific paradigm changes that were taking place, and the battles between the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The simultaneous occurrence of all these major changes created not only a situation of great intellectual ferment, but also an enormous spiritual crisis in which the message and imagery of Psalm 137 – also interpretable as depicting a people forced to give up their previous way of life and identity under coercive

2 Translation by Nina Salaman (1924); http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Zionism/ halevi.html.

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compulsion by some external power – was offering an extended metaphor of the defining spirit and mood of the times brought about by the upheavals of the age. Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, and subsequently from Portugal, those who opted to stay were baptised under duress: they became the so-called conversos. In contrast to the Jews who have physically exited Spain and Portugal into a world of external exile, the exile of these conversos was an internal, intellectual and spiritual exile. Many among them suffered great mental anguish from their forced conversion, and secretly continued to cling to their Jewish identity, which however they had to carefully conceal from friends, neighbours and above all the Inquisition. They could assume a Jewish identity and practice their Jewish faith only in the greatest secrecy, just as they had to maintain the utmost secrecy in keeping in touch with one another. Medieval Spanish and Portuguese Jews had historically considered themselves descendants of the elite from Jerusalem, so a continued belief in the idea and significance of Jerusalem, as captured in Psalm 137, in all probability served as a powerful cohesive and consoling force among the crypto-Jewish conversos, who stayed behind, rather than go into exile. The basics of the lyric setting of Psalm 137 may be summed up as a riverbank, lamentation and a lute, which was also characteristic of fashionable literary forms of the period, such as the pastoral idyll, chivalric romance and certain folkloristic forms. This made it particularly fitting for the crypto-Jews among the conversos to utilize this lyric setting for literary avowals of their secret Jewish identity. However, whilst this may have facilitated deflecting possible suspicions by the Inquisition at the time, it also rendered much more difficult for posterity the interpretive task of identifying which literary works of the period may be attributed to conversos and which may not. However, one thing is for certain: whether converso or not, in both the Jewish and non-Jewish literature of the period there are many references to Psalm 137 and in particular to the basic lyric setting of the psalm, with their authors ranging, among others, from the Portuguese Ribeiro and Camões to the Spanish Cervantes and San Juan de la Cruz (Saint John of the Cross). In the case of Bernardim Ribeiro, prominent literary historians with authoritative subject matter expertise, such as José Teixeira Rego, Hélder Macedo or Isabel de Sena, generally agree that Ribeiro was a converso author who most likely descended from an illustrious Portuguese or indeed Spanish Sephardi Jewish family.3 However, even though various attempts to identify him scruti3 Cf. Isabel de Sena, The Sentimental Romance in Spain and Portugal: Towards a Poetics of the Genre at the Turn of the Sixteenth Century (PhD dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1994); Macedo Hélder, Do Significado Oculto da Menina e Moça (Lisboa: Editores Moraes, 1977); Jóse Teixeira Rego, Estudos e Controvérsias (1931); Csilla Ladányi-Turóczy, Tu˝z

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nized all of the greatest Sephardi Jewish families, to date his origins remain an enigma as no evidence has so far been found to convincingly substantiate the thesis of his Sephardi Jewish origins. The title of his likewise enigmatic major work is Menina e Moça ou Saudades or Menina e Moça for short, which is usually rendered as Maiden and Modest in English. It is a novela amatoria with a complex, many-layered text that takes it well beyond the usual intricate order of generic baroque allegories. It tells the story of the tragic fate of a number of couples in love who are constantly on the run from some looming, sinister presence that remains unidentified. The mysterious aura of the book is further heightened by several variants of its text, including a strange, subsequently added concluding chapter with an emphatically Catholic worldview – most likely the work of some other author – that seem to have been appended obviously in order to deflect possible unwelcome attention by the Inquisition. It was perhaps quite deliberate by Ribeiro to leave his novel unfinished, and if he did indeed do so deliberately, it might well be suspected that he did so in remembrance of Jerusalem. In deference to the injunction in Psalm 137 to “let my right hand forget her cunning […] If I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy”, Jewish tradition commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem in numerous ways with deliberate acts of imperfection, such as breaking the wineglass at the conclusion of a Jewish wedding ceremony or leaving part of the wall unplastered in a traditional Jewish home. After all, Jerusalem is destroyed, lying in ruins, therefore Jewish tradition and identity cannot be complete, and it is in this sense that the incompleteness of the book may also symbolize the loss of Jerusalem. One of the characters of the novel is sitting on a riverbank while remembering his one-time home: “[…] determinei ir – me para o pé deste monte que de arvoredos grandes o verdes ervas o deleitosas sombras cheio é, por onde um pequeno ribeiro de água de todo o ano, que nas noites caladas o rugido dele faz, no mais alto deste monte, um saudoso tom, que muitas vezes me tolheu o sono a mim. Onde eu vou muitas vezes deixar as minhas lágrimas, onde também muitas infindas as torno a beber […] Mas eu […] passei além, e fui-me assentar de sob a espessa sombra de um verde freixo, que para baixo um pouco estava […]”4 […] I decided to come to this place which abounds in tall trees, green grass and exquisite shaded corners, and where a little river of water is purling throughout the year. In the silence of nights that I spent upon the top of the mountain, the gurgle of the water seemed so plaintive that time and again it robbed me of my sleep. I used to frequent its banks to shed my tears into its waters, from which I take endless turns drinking over and

és víz között – gender és szerkezet Bernardim Ribeiro ‘Menina e Moça’ címu˝ regényében. (PhDdissertation, ELTE, Budapest, 2006), 34–36. 4 Bernardim Ribeiro, Menina e moça ou saudades (Estarreja: Mel Editores, 2009), 50.

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again […] But I […] went beyond it and walked me across to sit under the thick shade of a green ash, which was standing slightly lower down […]

Textual interpretation of literary works by a number of sixteenth and seventeenth century Spanish and Portuguese authors who one way or another adapted or otherwise utilized the text of Psalm 137 has led to the emergence of a line of thought among some prominent literary historians specialising in the era, which attributes a converso background to those authors, and a converso reading to their works. One example is Menina e Moça by Bernardim Ribeiro, as just discussed above. Another possibility is Los siete libros de la Diana (The Seven Books of the Diana), a pastoral romance written in Spanish by the Portuguese author Jorge de Montemor (Spanish: Montemayor). A third possibility involves a series of poems by Luis Vaz de Camões, who the Portuguese consider their greatest national poet. Regardless of whether or not it were possible to interpret the body of Camões’ work as that of a converso, his two poetic adaptations of Psalm 137 are truly outstanding sonnets, which convey a depth of melancholy and pain that attest to enormous internal tension and suffering. Interestingly, according to A Vida Ignorada de Camões (Ignored Aspects of the Life of Camões), a book by José Hermano Saraiva, the prominent Portuguese literary historians Jorge de Sena and José Benoliel both consider that Camões would most likely have descended from a converso background.5 According to Zoltán Rózsa, what actually is being conveyed in the first of these sonnets – Here in festering Babylon (Ca nesta Babilónia, donde mana) – is the poet’s sense of despair over the decline and dissolution of the value-system of old-time, feudal Portugal and the birth of a new, rationalist order ruled by capital.6 Camões appears to have first encountered this new world order in Portuguese Goa, where he was in exile for a time, and what these changes heralded in the ways of the world he found impossible to accept. It is an open question of course as to what extent it might be justifiable to talk of the birth of the capitalist world in sixteenth and seventeenth century Portugal, but the fact is that the poem reveals the spiritual crisis of a man who deeply feels the significance of – to him – ominous changes emerging in an age that as a poet he can neither condone, nor bring himself to sing praises to: Cá nesta Babilónia, donde mana / matéria a quanto mal o mundo cria; / cá onde o puro Amor não tem valia, / cue a Mãe, que manda mais, tudo profana; […] cá neste escuro caos de confusão, / cumprindo o curso estou da natureza, / Vé se me esquecerei de tí, Sião! 7

5 Cited in Ladányi-Turóczy, Tu˝z és víz között, 24. 6 Luis de Camões, Poemas/Költemények (Budapest: Kráter Mu˝hely Egyesület, 1993), 12–13. 7 Ibid. 72–76.

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Here in this Babylon, that’s festering / forth as much evil as the rest of the earth; / Here where true Love deprecates his worth, / as his powerful mother pollutes everything. [...] / Here in this murky chaos and delirium, / I carry out my tragic destiny, / but never will I forget you, Jerusalem.8

His magnificent second sonnet, By the Rivers of Babylon (Sobre os rios que vão por Babilônia), which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry by Camões, is in turn described by Zoltán Rózsa as “a dramatically beautiful and heart-rending testimonial of the religious crisis of the poet.”9 But what could have been the cause of this religious crisis? Having become conflicted about the life he previously led? An outcome of his philosophical studies? The influence of Indian and Far Eastern religious thought which he would have encountered in the course of his Goan exile? Or the sense of guilt, remorse and inner conflict that so often tormented the conscience of conversos? […] Eu, qu’e estas cousas senti, / n’alma, de mágoas tão cheia, / ’Como dirá, respondi, / quem tão alheio está de si / doce canto em terra elheia?’ / Como poderá cantar / quem me choro banha o peito? / Porque, se quem trabalhar / canta por menos cansar, / eu só descansos enjeito. // […] E se eu cantar quiser / em babilónia sujeito, / Hierusalém, sem te ver, / a voz, quando a mover, / se me congele no peito. / A minha lingua se apegue / às fauces, pois te perdi, / se enquanto viver assi, / houver tempo em que te negue / ou que me esqueça de ti. // (…) No grão dia singular / que na lira o douto som / Hierusalém celebrar, / lembrai-vos de castigar / os ruins filhos de Edom. / Aqueles, que tintos vão / no pobre sangue inocente, / soberbos co poder vão; / arrasai-os igualmente, / conheçam que humanos são.10 […] Sensing all these matters, / I was also able to respond accordingly: / How can one sing, – give me an answer, / to him who is alienated from himself! – / a sweet song in an alien land? / How could my bosom sing a song / when it is soaked in tears? / Because he who is coerced in this manner so as to sing / and then he indeed does so just to be left in peace and save himself trouble / I on the other hand renounce that kind of tranquillity // […] and if I sung my song as though I was some instrument in the hands of Babylon / while I have never even seen you, O Jerusalem / Let the song that would start up be frozen within my bosom. / Let my tongue cleave / to the roof of my mouth, because I have lost you / and if I must consent to live in such a miserable way / year after year denying you / Or with the fact that I had forgotten you. // […] On that special, grand day / when poetry and scholarship / are celebrating Jerusalem / I shall remember the punishment meted out to / the wicked sons of Edom. / Those who shed / the blood of the poor innocent / and were proud of that / destroy them all equally / even though I realize that they too are kind of human.

8 Translated by William Baer, Luis de Camões, Selected Sonnets, ed. and transl. William Baer (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005), 73. 9 Ibid. 8–9. 10 Ibid. 102–122.

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The text of the poem blends a tone of melancholy with feelings of nostalgic longing for times past. If it was indeed the case that Camões was a converso, then it becomes patently obvious that the alienation and sense of exile of the poet is powerfully amplified by his internal exile, and that his sense of crisis is also a consequence of being forced to suppress his inner Jewish self, the true core of his identity. Jerusalem therefore becomes the emblem of a true and openly lived Jewish identity aspired to by the poet, a reading that would firmly locate the poem within a proper Jewish context. This interpretation would appear to be strongly supported by the thought implied by the line in which the poet writes of “to him who is alienated from himself” (“quem tão alheio está de si”). The question is why would anyone physically exiled be also alienated from himself, however much he might feel a stranger in the land of his exile? After all, this kind of physical estrangement is between the person and the alien external world in which he finds himself, and it does not follow at all from this external circumstance that his personality would thereby be also conflicted and become alien to himself. However, if the poet was indeed alienated from his true inner Jewish self, that would then explain why he chose to express his feelings by means of an adaptation of the self-imprecation voiced in Psalm 137. In contrast to Camões or indeed Montemayor11, Psalm 137 is actually taken as reflecting and reinforcing profound Catholic convictions for Fray Luis de León12 and San Juan de la Cruz13, Catholic clergymen and theologians of converso descent, whose familiarity with Judaism is fully integrated with their Christian worldview. Fray Luis de León, a member of the Augustinian Order of clerics, was an outstanding Hebraist active in translating various Old Testament texts, including the Song of Songs, who also produced a number of psalmodic writings, including an adaptation of Psalm 137. The literary historian Millas Vallicrosa also considers it quite certain that Fray Luis de León would have been quite familiar with the works of Solomon ibn Gabirol, Moshe ibn Ezra, Yehuda Halevi, as well as those of other medieval Spanish Jewish poets.14 San Juan de la Cruz descended from a converso family on his father’s side, and in all likelihood he would have been exposed to Jewish culture within his family. In contrast to the customary coded messages conveyed by converso authors, 11 On the converso background of Montemayor, cf. Luis André Nepomuceno, “Jorge de Montemor, um exilado português na corte espanhola,” VEREDAS 18 (2012): 31–52. 12 On the converso background of Fray Luis de León, cf. Dániel Végh, “Fray Luis de León – a converso author,” Palimpszeszt 25: https://www.prae.hu/prae/palimpszeszt.php?menu_id= 93&jid=6&jaid=29. 13 On the converso background of San Juan de la Cruz, cf. Norman Roth, Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain (Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), 157, 413. 14 José M. Millas Vallicrosa, “Probable influencia de la poesía sagrada hebraicoespañola en la poesía de Fr. Luis de León,” Sefarad 15.2 (1955): 261–286.

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Super Flumina Babylonis (By the Rivers of Babylon) is a poem in which Saint John of the Cross shows no intention whatsoever to console Jews or to advocate a continued existence for Jewry. The poem starts out with a perfectly conventional adaptation the Jewish reading of Psalm 137, wherein sitting on the shores of the rivers of Babylon, the distraught poet recites a deeply felt lament about the sorrows and desolation of a Jew exiled from Jerusalem. He then experiences a dark night of the soul in the agonies of a spiritual crisis in which the pull of Jewish heritage proves wholly inadequate in his spiritual struggle with the promise of a spiritual rebirth and salvation by Jesus. In the end, there is a ringing proclamation by the poet of a programmatic break with Judaism in favour of Catholicism and Christianity: y juntará sus pequeños y a mí, porque en ti esperava a la piedra que era Christo por el qual yo te dexaba. [Debetur soli gloria vera Deo]. […] he will bring his little ones, to me; he wept for you at the rock which is Christ I left you for him. [Debetur soli gloria vera Deo].15

San Juan de la Cruz thus does not by any means disregard the role of Zion within his own Christian belief system, though it is for Jesus that he returns from Babylon to Zion. Evoking Psalm 137, he symbolically breaks with Judaism and with the Jewish idea of Jerusalem in terms that amount to an open declaration of his abandonment of the Judaic belief system. The Judaic belief system was however destined to be preserved even though supplanted, and in taking this position, San Juan de la Cruz was strictly following the attitude of the Church to its Judaic roots, which Pope Leo the Tenth proclaimed as “We confirm, but we do not assent” (“Confirmamus sed non consentimus”). Following the Spanish and Portuguese centuries – which were perhaps greatest period of adaptations of Psalm 137 – the number of works referencing Psalm 137 gradually decreased in both Jewish and non-Jewish literature, even though writing such works never actually ceased through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. From the nineteenth century on, however, new interpretations appear in Jewish poetry: Zionism and Israeli poetry interpret Psalm 137 from within the framework of a traditional Jewish identity, while assimilationist Jewish poets use adaptations of Psalm 137 to express a simultaneous commitment to both their 15 Translated by Willis Barnstone, The Poems of Saint John of The Cross (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972), 80–81.

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Jewish origins and to a full and loyal membership of the majority society in which they live. The poems of the Italian Samuel David Luzzato or the Galician Nathan Samuely are written from within the framework of traditional Jewish identity, and as such, express a traditional religious nostalgia for Jerusalem. In Samuely’s case, there is actual quoting of lines from Psalm 137 in an epic poem of his, which recounts the destruction of Jerusalem. In the poem, a dying warrior who fought in the battles of Jerusalem is playing the song of Zion for the last time, recounting the story of the devastation of the City; with his death the orphaned lutes of Jerusalem cease their singing, as no one is left any longer to play on them the songs of Zion. The motif of the lute in Psalm 137 is not that of a straightforward musical instrument, but that of a medium of musical expression consecrated to Jerusalem, and as such, playing songs of aliens would be beneath its dignity. The motif is further elaborated in the renowned line of “Let me be the lute for all your songs” (‫ )אני כנור לשיריך‬from Yehuda Halevi’s Zion, Do not Ask (‫ הלא תשאלי‬,‫)ציון‬. in which he yearns to merit the honour of being the lute playing all the songs of Jerusalem. But it was not only Nathan Samuely who would also build into his poem this transformed and further elaborated lute-motif from Psalm 137; it also recurs in perhaps the best-known Israeli song, Jerusalem of Gold.(‫)ירושלים של זהב‬ Based on a Basque folk-melody, both the lyrics and music of the song were composed by the Israeli poet and songwriter Naomi Shemer, who passed away in 2004. The song quotes the famous “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” (‫)אם אשכך ירושלים‬ line from Psalm 137, and also contains numerous classical motifs, allusions, and quotes from Jewish Jerusalem-poetry, including further references to Psalm 137 that once again elaborate the lute-motif: ‫אך בבואי היום לשיר לך ולך לקשור כתרים‬ ‫קטונתי מצעיר בנייך ומאחרון המשוררים‬ .‫כי שמך צורב את השפתיים כנשיקת שרף‬ ‫אם אשכחך ירושלים אשר כולה זהב‬ ‫ירושלים של זהב ושל נחושת ושל אור‬ ‫הלא לכל שיריך אני כינור‬ But as I sing to you, and you with crowns adorn, I am the least of all your children, and the last among the poets born. Your name will scorch my lips for ever, like a seraph’s kiss, If I forget thee, Jerusalem, that all of it is gold. Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light, I am for sure the lute for all your songs.16

Although numerous and some remarkably beautiful Jerusalem poems and adaptations of Psalm 137 had been written after Halevi too, it was only in the 16 Translated by Chaya Galai. http://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-yerushalayimshelzahav.htm.

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second half of the twentieth century that a Jewish poet appeared who was able to call into being a Jerusalem image that was fully as complex as Halevi’s, though wholly novel and modern in approach and perspective. The Jerusalem of Yehuda Amichai is no longer a city to long for, but the everyday reality of a dream fulfilled, though rent with religious and political tensions while also full of the normal, everyday issues that form an inevitable part of living in a great modern city. Thus, the solemn exclamation of “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem” also undergoes a radical reinterpretation in Amichai’s poetry. In his eponymous poem also titled If I forget Thee, O Jerusalem, Amichai elaborates this famous line from Psalm 137 without however any of the dissociation between the concepts of forgetting and remembering in conventional Jerusalem poetry. If the right hand is forgotten, the left must remember, because the two concepts are closely intertwined and must always be in equilibrium, an equilibrium that is furthermore part of an ordinary, everyday reality for one living in modern Jewish Jerusalem: ‫ יפתח‬,‫ תסגור ימינך‬,‫תזכור שמאלי‬/ ,‫ תזכור שמאלי‬,‫ תשכח ימיני‬/ .‫ תשכח ימיני‬/ ,‫אם אשכחך ירושלים‬ / .‫ לא אסלח לעצמי‬,‫ לא אסלח לים‬/ .‫ לא אמחל לחומות‬,‫ אם רוח מערב לא תבוא‬/ […] .‫פיך ליד השער‬ ‫ בפעם השניה‬/ ‫ יתחלף קולי‬/ .‫ אשכח את שלי‬,‫ אגע במצחך‬/ .‫ תשכח דמי‬/,‫ ירושלים‬,‫]…[אם אשכחך‬ .‫ או לאלם‬/‫ לקול נורא מן הקולות‬/ ‫והאחרונה‬ If I forget thee, Jerusalem / Then let my right be forgotten. / Let my right be forgotten, and my left remember. / Let my left remember, and your right close / And your mouth open near the gate. […] // If the west wind does not come / I’ll never forgive the walls, / or the sea or myself. […] If I forget thee, Jerusalem, / Let my blood be forgotten. I shall touch your forehead, / Forget my own, / My voice change / Fort he second and last time / To the most terrible of voices – / Or silence.17

Among the treatments of Psalm 137 by non-Jewish poets, it is especially the reinterpretations by nineteenth and twentieth century poets that are particularly outstanding. Byron, one of the most influential poets of English Romanticism, adapts Psalm 137 in his Hebrew Melodies, a song cycle written at the request of his friend, the publisher Isaac Nathan, who wanted to compile a collection of traditional synagogue melodies with lyrics written for them by famous poets of the time. Byron, who always had a lively interest in the Bible, was enthusiastic in accepting Nathan’s request.18 Before Byron, there has never been a non-Jewish poet who wrote with such affinity and compassionate insight about the Jewish people, and with such profound understanding of the pain of exile. Indeed, acording to Joseph Slater, a literary historian, some among the Hebrew Melodies may well be regarded as proto-Zionist.19 The principal motifs of his By the rivers 17 Translated by Assia Gutman. Yehuda Amichai, Poems of Jerusalem – A Bilingual Edition [Hebrew and English] (Jerusalem; Tel Aviv: Schocken Books, 1987), 12–13. 18 Leslie A. Marchand, Byron: A Portrait (London: Pimlico Publishers, 1993), 192–193, 201. 19 Ibid. 201.

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of Babylon we sat down and wept reflect two recurring themes of Romanticism: on the one hand the nostalgic remembrance of past glory and on the other, the longing for national freedom that so dominated the spirit of the nineteenth century: We sate down and wept by the waters / Of Babel, and thought of the day / When our foe, in the hue of his slaughters, / Made Salem’s high places his prey; / And ye, oh her desolate daughters! / Were scatter’d all weeping away. // While sadly we gazed on the river / Which roll’d on in freedom below, / They demanded the song; but, oh never / That triumph the stranger shall know! / May this right hand be wither’d for ever / Ere it string our high lute for the foe! // On the willow that lute is suspended, / Oh Salem! Its sound should be free; / And the hour when thy glories were ended / But left me that token of thee: / And ne’er shall its soft tones be blended / With the voice of the spoiler by me!20

A century later, it is Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian poet and novelist, who elaborates on Psalm 137 as well as the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah in his poem Israel 1969. Borges had a lively interest in Jewish philosophy and mysticism, admired the work of Gershom Sholem, and was well known for his philosemitic, pro-Zionist and pro-Israel stance. Borges was a politically conservative intellectual in the classical liberal mould, a strong believer in small government and robust individualism.21 His pro-Israel attitudes were influenced both by his profound romanticism and by his admiration of the self-defence efforts of the young nation. The poem, then, reflects his romantic enthusiasm for the Zionist ideal of the builder and soldier working and fighting side by side with his brother and sister Jewish Israelis. The principal consideration of the poem is that forgetfulness must also make its entrance into Jewish history; the routines of diasporic existence must be forgotten so the yearnings and longings of Psalm 137 may culminate in a reality that would no longer be transcendent, confined to the realm of religious thought, but an earthly reality operating within the domain of world history: Temí que en Israel acecharía / con dulzura insidiosa / la nostalgia que las diásporas seculares acumularon como un triste tesoro / en las ciudades del infiel, en las juderías, / en los ocasos de la estepa, en los sueños, / la nostalgia de aquellos que te anhelaron, / Jerusalén, junto a las aguas de Babilonia, / ¿Qué otra cosa eras, Israel, sino esa nostalgia, / sino esa voluntad de salvar, / entre las inconstantes formas del tiempo, / tu viejo

20 George Gordon Byron, The Works of Lord Byron (Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1994), 81–82. 21 Cf. Richard Burgin, Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges (New York: Rinehart and Winston Holt,1969), 104; Florence Yudin, Nightglow: Borges’ Poetics of Blindness (Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia, 1997), 31; Gene Bell-Villada, Borges and His Fiction (Chapell Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981), 13; Bradford Tuckfield, The Conservatism of Jorge Luis Borges: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2015/12/the-conservatism-of-jorge-luis-borg es.html.

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libro mágico, tus liturgias, / tu soledad con Dios? / No así. La más antigua de las naciones / es también la más joven./ […] Israel les ha dicho sin palabras: / olvidarás quién eres. / Olvidarás al otro que dejaste. / Olvidarás quién fuiste en las tierras / que te dieron sus tardes y sus mañanas / y a las que no darás tu nostalgia. / Olvidarás la lengua de tus padres y aprenderás la lengua del Paraíso. / Serás un israelí, serás un soldado. / Edificarás la patria con ciénagas: la levantarás con desiertos. / Trabajará contigo tu hermano, cuya cara no has visto nunca.22 I feared that in Israel there might be lurking, / sweetly and insidiously, / the nostalgia gathered like some sad treasure / during the centuries of dispersion / in cities of the unbeliever, in ghettoes, / in the sunset of the steppes, in dreams, / the nostalgia of those who longed for you, / Jerusalem, beside the waters of Babylon. / What else were you, Israel, but that wistfulness, / that will to save / amid the shifting shapes of time / your old magical book, your ceremonies, / your loneliness with God? / Not so. The most ancient of nations / is also the youngest. / […] You have not tempted men with gardens or gold, / and the emptiness of gold / but with the hard work, beleaguered land. / Without words Israel has told them: / Forget who you are / Forget who you have been / Forget the man you were in those countries / which gave you their mornings and evenings / and to which you must not look back in yearning. / You will forget your father’s tongue / and learn the tongue of Paradise. / You shall be an Israeli, a soldier, / You shall build a country on wasteland, / making it rise out of deserts. / Your brother, whose face you’ve never seen, / will work by your side. / One thing only we promise you: / your place in the battle.23

In Hungarian literature too, there are numerous examples of adaptations and reinterpretations of Psalm 137 by both Jewish and non-Jewish poets. Endre Ady, who regarded the Bible as one of his most important sources of inspiration, included among his so-called divinity poems an adaptation also of Psalm 137. In his case, the longed for Jerusalem would most likely have signified the idea of a spiritual and poetic abode where a no longer alienated poet could feel completely at home. In the period around the turn of the twentieth century, a nostalgic longing for Jerusalem was also an important motif in the works of Jewish poets, whether they were Jewish by religion, but assimilationist in their social and political aspirations, or Jewish nationalists who turned toward Zionism as the way forward for the Jewish people. Poems, as for instance “A 137. zsoltárhoz” (On Psalm 137) by Ignotus24 or “A 137. zsoltár” (Psalm 137) by Emil Makai25 are outstanding works by poets who were assimilationist in their orientation. Makai’s poem links Psalm 137 and the annual ritual on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, which is held in remembrance of the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, as well as all of the other catastrophes of Jewish history. 22 Jorge Luis Borges, Poesía completa (New York: Vintage Espanol, 2012), 323. 23 Translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. Jorge Luis Borges, In Praise of Darkness (New York: EP Dutton, 1974), 323. 24 Hugo Ignotus, “A 137. Zsoltárhoz,” IMIT Évkönyv (1895): 149–150. 25 Emil Makai, “A 137. Zsoltár,” Magyar Zsidó Szemle (1889): 21–22.

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On the other hand, a strikingly new Zionist utilisation of the imagery of Psalm 137 is offered by József Patai, one of the leaders of the minuscule Zionist movement in Hungary in the early decades of the twentieth century, and founding managing editor of Múlt és Jövo˝ (Past and Future), a prestigious literary and socio-political monthly of Zionist orientation, published between 1911 and 1944. His Jeremiah’s Epistle to the Exiles in Babylon is a jeremiad rooted in the spirit of Psalm 137, but with a twist. Patai’s poem was published in 1907, in the waning years of the golden age of Hungarian Jewry, as a warning note to fellow Hungarian Jews at a time when Zionism held very little attraction to a robustly confident community of Jews in Hungary. Tragically, the prophetic message of this poem proved utterly prescient of the mass murder of Hungarian Jews some three and a half decades later, in the course of the Hungarian Holocaust. The prophet Jeremiah berated the Jews in Babyloniann exile for their sins of commission and omission in pre-exilic Jerusalem, invoking the Divine hand of retribution as explanation for the misery and pain of exile visited upon them, which is in turn so movingly captured in Psalm 137. The twist to all this is that in contrast to the prophet Jeremiah, Patai’s polemic berates an extremely well-off diaspora Jewry for its proneness to virtually ignore its heritage and roots in a desolate Jerusalem and in a sorely suffering Land of Israel, whilst merrily wallowing in the sensual pleasures and plentiful pots of meat26 in what to them could no longer be called an exile. Patai points to the dangers inherent in a situation where the well-being or even survival of diaspora Jews in a host society is entirely dependent on the degree to which that host society continues to tolerate them. Historical circumstances can quickly change for the worse and instantly transform tolerance into deadly hostility, so any new Babylon of hedonistic pleasures can easily turn into a catastrophic trap for Jews unfortunate enough to have got caught in its attractions. Whilst Patai uses the imagery of Psalm 137 to underscore his essentially political message, in this poem the message of passivity and longing prevalent in traditional literary echoes and adaptations of Psalm 137 is replaced by fervent urging of his fellow diaspora Jews to take action and break with Babylon, where menacing dangers threaten, both potentially and ultimately. Thus, in striking contrast to the respective messages conveyed in either the Book of Jeremiah or Psalm 137, Patai’s poem ends on a note of optimism and faith in a Zionist future full of hope in the Land of Israel: Készüljetek, hogy késo˝ ne legyen! / (…) Ma még kegyelnek ottan Babilonban, / De holnap tán már pallos fenyeget, / Tiértetek csak Ción szíve dobban, / Örökké híven csak anya szeret.27 26 Cf. Exod 16:3. 27 József Patai, “Jirmija levele a babyloni számu˝zöttekhez,” Magyar Zsidó Szemle 24/1 (1907): 87.

“If I forget thee, O Jerusalem …”

227

Be ready, so you do not run out of time! / (…) Today they still look upon you with favour, there, in Babylon, / But tomorrow the broadsword could already be threatening you, / Only the heart of Zion beats for you / Only a mother loves ardently forever.

Nineteenth and twentieth century interpretations and reinterpretations of Psalm 137 however no longer gave voice to only Jewish national sentiment, a nostalgia for an ancient Jerusalem that was no more, or to emotions stirred by the bitterness of life in alien exile, but in some cases also affirmed a dual national identity – Jewish, as well as that of a citizen of the nation-state – an option that emerged in response to the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment that followed in the footsteps of European Enlightenment and aimed at bringing about the integration of Jews into European society. Among literary works affirming a modern dual identity, the adaptation of Psalm 137 by Ágnes Gergely offers perhaps the most striking poetic expression of the essence of living with the dual identity of “Jewish by religion, Hungarian by nationality.” The poem, which carries the title of Psalm 137, probes the questions of what it means to be Hungarian and what it means to be Jewish, how to endure living with the burdens of a terrible past, and what should coexistence and codependence mean. Historically, equal devotion to both Jewishness and Hungarianness remained very much the rule for Hungarian Jews from the midnineteenth century until the Second World War. That situation had however met a catastrophic end with the indescribable twentieth century tragedy of the Shoah, the Hungarian Holocaust, which to this day remains an acutely problematic and utterly unprocessable issue for the Hungarian public. In her poem, Ágnes Gergely undertakes to poetically resolve and reconcile the tensions inherent in a dual Jewish and Hungarian identity in contemporary Hungary, and in doing so produces a beautiful and moving ideal of the coexistence and co-dependence of Jewishness and Hungarianness. Reinterpreting the biblical Psalm 137 in a resolute spirit of “nonetheless, and despite all,” she anchors her case in the works of the great Hungarian poet János Arany, to provide a contrapuntal node to Jerusalem in the composition of a dual Hungarian and Jewish identity: Ültünk Babylon folyópartjain. / Sírtunk. Babylon tenger nélkül él. / Hárfánk a fu˝zfán. Másképp szól a kín. / To˝lünk verejték kell, nem szenvedély. / S nem érv, erünkbo˝l miért do˝lt itt a vér. / Hát kihu˝lt jobbom legyen rá az ámen, / Ha elfeledlek egyszer, Jeruzsálem. // Jelünk itt falba karmolja a nép. / Kik bíztatják, sem tudják, mért teszik. / Királyi jel, sok más jelet tulélt. / Ne ródd fel, Uram, vétekül nekik! / Ne vágasd falhoz szép kisdedeik…! / És fájó orcám rángjon majd a számhoz, / Ha elfeledlek egyszer Arany János.28 We sat on the banks of the rivers of Babylon. / We wept. Babylon lives without a sea. / Our lute is on the willow tree. The agony speaks differently. / Sweating exertion is needed from us, not passion. / And it is neither just nor right why blood had to pour from our 28 Gergely Ágnes, Útérinto˝ (Budapest: Múlt és Jövo˝, 2006), 284.

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veins over here. / Let my withered right hand be the amen to it, / If I ever forget thee, O Jerusalem. // Our sign is scratched into the wall here, by the people. / Even those who urge them on, do not know why they do so. / A royal sign that outlasted many other signs. / Do not take this, my Lord, as a sin on their part! / Do not have their beautiful infants be smashed against walls…! / And let my aching face be convulsed into sticking to my mouth, / If I ever forget thee, O János Arany.

Literature Primary Sources Amichai, Yehuda. Poems of Jerusalem – A Bilingual Edition [Hebrew and English]. Translated by Assia Gutman. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv: Schocken Books, 1987. Amichai, Yehuda. Shire Yerushlayim. Tel Aviv: Schocken Books, 1989. Baer, William. Luis de Camões: Selected Sonnets. Edited and translated by William Baer. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005. Barnstone, Willis. The Poems of Saint John of The Cross. Translated by Willis Barnstone. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972. Borges, Jorge Luis. In Praise of Darkness. Translated by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. New York: EP Dutton, 1974. Borges, Jorge Luis. Poesía completa. New York: Vintage Espanol, 2012. Byron, George Gordon. The Works of Lord Byron. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, 1994. Carmi, T., ed., The Penguin Book of the Hebrew Verse. New York: The Viking Press, 1981. Camões, Luis de. Poemas/Költemények. Budapest: Kráter Mu˝hely Egyesület, 1993. Cole, Peter. The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain 950– 1492. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007. Fleischer, Ezra. Hebrew Poetry in Spain and Communities Under Its Influence. Edited by Shulamit Elizur and Tova Beeri. Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute for the Study of the Jewish Communities in the East; Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi; the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2010. Gergely, Ágnes. Útérinto˝. Budapest: Múlt és Jövo˝, 2006. Ignotus, Hugo. “A 137. zsoltárhoz,” IMIT Évkönyv (1895): 149–150. Ibn Ezra, Moshe. ‫אוצר שירת ישראל בספרד‬. Edited by Chaim N. Bialik and Chaim Ravnitzky. Tel Aviv: Davir, 1928. Ibn Ezra, Mosheh. Antología poética. Edición bilingüe. Madrid: Hiperión, 1993. Ibn Ezra, Moshe. “‫ ”תשכח ימיני‬http://benyehuda.org/. Keresztes Szent János. A lélek éneke. Válogatta és fordította Takács Zsuzsa. Budapest: Helikon, 1988. Makai, Emil. “A 137. zsoltár,” Magyar Zsidó Szemle (1889): 21–22. Patai, József. “Jirmija levele a babyloni számu˝zöttekhez,” Magyar Zsidó Szemle 24/1 (1907): 87. Shemer, Naomi. “Jerusalem of Gold”.http://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-yerushalayim shelzahav.htm, 1967. Tanakh. ‫תנ''ך‬. 1994. IMIT reprint. Budapest: Makkabi.

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Secondary Sources Bell-Villada, Gene. Borges and His Fiction. Chapell Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981. Burgin, Richard. Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. DeKoven Ezrahi Sidra. “‘To What Shall I Compare You?’: Jerusalem as Ground Zero of the Hebrew Imagination?” Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 122.1 (2007): 220–234. Grossberg, Daniel. “Yehuda Amichai’s Jerusalem.” Midstream (2004) May/June: 38–40. Gunkel, Hermann. The Psalms: A Form-Critical Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967. Halkin, Hillel. Yehuda Halevi. New York: Nextbook-Schocken, 2010. Ladányi-Turóczy, Csilla. Tu˝z és víz között – gender és szerkezet Bernardim Ribeiro ‘Menina e moça’ címu˝ regényében. PhD-dissertation. ELTE Budapest, Romanisztika Program, 2006. Ladányi-Turóczy, Csilla. “Converso mu˝faj-e az ibér szentimentális regény.” Múlt és Jövo˝ 21.4 (2010): 25–34. León, Fray Luis de. El cantar de los Cantares de Salomon y poesías. Madrid: Club Internacional del libro Madrid, 1994. Macedo, Hélder. Do Significado Oculto da Menina e Moça. São Paulo: Editores Moraes, 1977. Marchand, Leslie A. Byron: A Portrait. London: Pimlico Editions, 1993. Millás Vallicrosa, José M. “Probable influencia de la poesía sagrada hebraicoespañola en la poesía de Fr. Luis de León.” Sefarad 15.2 (1955): 261–286. Nepomuceno, Luis André. Jorge de Montemor, um exilado português na corte espanhola. VEREDAS 18 (2012): 31–52. Santiago de Compostela: Associação Internacional de Lusitanistas, 2012. Omer-Sherman, Renan. “Yehuda Amichai’s Exilic Jerusalem,” Prooftexts 26.1–2 (2006): 212–39. Peremiczky, Szilvia. “Kísérlet a spanyol-portugál converso-irodalom meghatározására.” Múlt és Jövo˝ 21.4 (2010): 44–54. Peremiczky, Szilvia. “‘Kilenc méro˝ szépség és kilenc méro˝ fájdalom’ – Jehuda Halevi, Cion trubadúrja,” Palimpszeszt 25 (2006): http://www.prae.hu/prae/palimpszeszt.php?menu_ id=93&jid=6&jaid=61. Peremiczky, Szilvia. “Az álomtól a félálomig – az izraeli irodalom vázlata.” Múlt és Jövo˝ 21.1 (2010): 76–90. Peremiczky, Szilvia. Jeruzsálem a zsidó irodalomban. Gondolat: Budapest, 2012. Ribeiro, Bernardim. Menina e moça ou saudades. Estarreja: Mel Editores, 2009. Roth, Norman. Conversos, Inquisition, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. Saraiva, José Hermano. Vida Ignorada de Camo˝es. 2S¸ ediça˘o, revista e acrescentada, MiraSintra – Nem Martins: Publicaço˝es Europa-América s/d, 1980.

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Sena, Isabel de. The Sentimental Romance in Spain and Portugal: Towards a Poetics of the Genre at the Turn of the Sixteenth Century. PhD dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1994. Sena, Jorge de, Da Poesia Portuguesa, Lisboa, Ed. Ática. Sena, Jorge de. Estudos de Literatura Portuguesa II, Ediço˝es 70, Lisboa, 1988. Teixeira Rego, José. Estudos e Controvérsias. 1931. Tuckfield, Bradford. 2015. The Conservatism of Jorge Luis Borges. https://theimaginative conservative.org/2015/12/the-conservatism-of-jorge-luis-borges.html. Végh, Dániel. “Fray Luis de León – egy converso szerzo˝?” Palimpszeszt 25 (2006): http:// magyar-irodalom.elte.hu/palimpszeszt. Yudin, Florence. Nightglow: Borges’ Poetics of Blindness. Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, 1997.

List of Contributors

Barna, Gábor (Professor, University of Szeged) [email protected] Bhayro, Siam (Associate Professor, University of Exeter) [email protected] Fröhlich, Ida (Professor Emerita, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Kamrada, Dolores G. (Lecturer, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Kocsis, Imre (Professor, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Langer, Gerhard (Professor, University of Vienna) [email protected] Medgyesy S., Norbert (Associate Professor, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Olach, Zsuzsanna (Academic Staff Member, University of Szeged) [email protected] Peremiczky, Szilvia (Associate Professor, Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest) [email protected] Perendy, László (Professor, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected]

232

List of Contributors

Szuromi, Szabolcs Anzelm, O.Praem. (Professor, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Varsányi, Orsolya (Senior Lecturer, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Závoti, Zsuzsa (PhD-candidate, Pázmány Péter Catholic University) [email protected] Zellmann-Rohrer, Michael (Researcher, University of Oxford) [email protected]

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