Robert R. Phenix

Robert Phenix investigates the collection of twelve Syriac poetic sermons recounting the story of Joseph in Genesis 37 and 39-50. The authorship of these poems has been disputed, but this is the first study to attempt to argue from all aspects of the evidence that Balai of Qenneshrin is the author. The study then examines all of the data that can be associated with Balai: the religious environment of Qenneshrin and nearby Aleppo, Balai's connections with the monk-bishops of central Syria in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, particularly Acacius of Beroea/Aleppo and Rabbula of Edessa, the status of chorbishops, and the presence of Syriac speakers. Since it is argued in this study that Balai's source for the Sermons on Joseph was a Jewish text, this section also carefully examines the evidence for the Jewish community in Qenneshrin. As part of the background of the author, links between characters and the physical setting of the Sermons on Joseph and Qenneshrin are investigated. The relationship of the Sermons on Joseph to other Syriac Joseph sources and Joseph material in the Pseudepigrapha and at Qumran is discussed, followed by the question of the origin of the story, which is located in a lost Greek Jewish composition. The last section of the work examines the author's use of Hellenistic rhetoric and literary themes. The many speeches in the Sermons on Joseph reveal rhetorical arrangements that are strikingly close to the models of arrangement found in Late Antique handbooks, such as the Hermogenic Corpus . Several of these arguments are examined, as are the elaborate prefaces that introduce some of the individual Sermons on Joseph . The literary themes and motifs of the Sermons on Joseph are explored. It can be shown that some motifs known only in Syriac religious literature are employed in the Sermons on Joseph in non-religious literary contexts.

Rhetoric and Interpretation in Fifth-century Syriac Literature

The Sermons on Joseph of Balai of Qenneshrin

Cornelia B. Horn

John Rufus (Bishop of Maiuma)

This book makes available for the first time in English important works by the anti-Chalcedonian historian and biographer John Rufus on Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and Abba Romanus, three key figures of the Christian history of Palestine in the fifth and early sixth centuries C.E. The work offers a new critical edition of the Syriac text; the first-ever published English translation; a substantial introduction to Palestinian monasticism, the christological controversies of the time, and the life and writings of John Rufus; and ample annotations to a Syriac text whose Greek original is no longer available. By providing access to the Christian landscape (literally and metaphorically) in late antique and early Byzantine times, this volume offers a valuable counterbalance from a minority perspective to the biographical and historical writings of the Chalcedonian apologist Cyril of Scythopolis.

The Lives of Peter the Iberian, Theodosius of Jerusalem, and the Monk Romanus

Geoffrey Greatrex

Among the most important sources for the history of the church from the Council of Chalcedon in 451 to the early years of the reign of Justinian is the chronicle attributed to Zachariah of Mytilene. Though Zachariah's Ecclesiastical History was just one of a range of sources cited by this later compiler, so great was its influence that the resultant text bears his name. The chronicle covers both church and secular affairs and includes a wealth of important information about the fifth and sixth centuries, including a history of theological controversies, a catalog of the world's regions based on Ptolemy's Geography, and many eyewitness accounts of key historical events. The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor is the first translation of this seminal text to a modern language in over one hundred years, and the new edition benefits from improvements in Syriac lexicography and expanded research on the source. Contributions from two eminent Syriac scholars—Sebastian P. Brock and Witold Witakowski—and a detailed commentary further enhance the value of this book, as does the substantial bibliography. Beyond a mere translation, this book is a key resource for understanding the development of the modern dynamics of Christianity in Turkey, Iraq, and the Near East.

Robert R. Phenix

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