1 Introduction
Syriac exegetical collections present interpretations of scripture based on the works of Syriac and Greek Christian authors. This chapter focuses on the reception of Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs in the London Collection, a West Syrian exegetical collection that has been dated to the seventh century. Gregory interprets the Song as recounting the ascent of the bride (the soul or church), who longs for spiritual union with her bridegroom (Christ or God). The present chapter concentrates on the interpretation of Song 5:2–4 in the London Collection, in which the bridegroom and bride enter into a nightly dialogue. After a brief overview of the structure and content of the London Collection, I will examine how Gregory’s interpretation of the bridegroom’s words in Song 5:2 was abbreviated. Next, I will argue that Gregory’s explanation of the bride’s response in Song 5:3–4 was replaced with that of Severus of Antioch for exegetical reasons.
Compilations are increasingly studied not only for the access they provide to earlier sources, but also as literary works in their own right. This development has so far been especially visible in the fields of western medieval studies1 and classical and Byzantine literature.2 By approaching the London Collection from this perspective, the chapter aims to contribute to our knowledge of the role of compilations in shaping and transmitting interpretations of scripture among late ancient and early medieval Syriac Christians.
2 Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs in the London Collection
The London Collection is a West Syrian exegetical collection that was most likely compiled in the seventh century and is extant in a single eighth- or ninth-century manuscript (London, British Library Add. 12168).3 As a ‘multiple-text manuscript’,4 it consists of biblical commentaries mainly based on the works of Greek Christian authors and contains occasional material of a historical and moral character.5 Its compiler operated in two ways. He included abridged versions of Cyril’s Glaphyra, Athanasius’ Exposition of the Psalms, and Gregory’s Homilies on the Song.6 In other cases, the compiler created commentaries consisting of extracts from various authors alternated with summaries of the biblical books under consideration.7
The abbreviated version of Gregory’s Homilies on the Song of Songs is the longest section devoted to the Song in the London Collection.8 It is introduced as a ‘collection in short’ (
The abbreviated Homilies also contain marginal notes, which indicate the homily numbers and the subjects they address. The notes which indicate subjects may be divided into two categories.11 Some of them summarise the themes of Gregory’s spiritual interpretation, reading, for example: ‘Why God is incomprehensible in essence’,12 or: ‘Concerning the angelic powers and (why) it is right to become like them’.13 In other cases, the words of the Song explained in a specific section are highlighted, as in Song 3:7: ‘Concerning the bed of Solomon and the warriors that surround it.’14 In a similar vein, slightly longer notes identify, in staccato fashion, the spiritual significance of the Song’s imagery. For example, Gregory’s interpretation of Song 2:11–12 describes rain and winter as idolatry and temptation which have passed, after which the voice of John the Baptist points to the ‘flowers’ of virtue and announces the coming of Christ. The note in which this is summarised allows the reader to quickly capture the sense of Gregory’s explanation: ‘Winter: error. Rain: temptations. Flowers: the excellent life. The turtle dove: John the Baptist.’15
The practice of indicating themes in marginal notes is not a general feature of the London Collection. It seems likely that the notes were regarded as an especially useful addition to longer works referring to a single author, such as the abbreviated Homilies, whereas the Collection’s commentaries on other parts of scripture often consist of brief extracts from different authors which already have their own headings. The notes seem to have functioned as reading aids, guiding users through the abridged version of the Homilies and enabling them to navigate to sections of particular interest.16
To examine how Gregory was abbreviated in the London Collection, the following two sections concentrate on two contrasting examples. In the first, the London Collection follows Gregory relatively closely, whereas in the second it deviates from his views.
3 Gregory’s Interpretation of Song 5:2 and Its Abbreviation in the London Collection
In his eleventh homily, Gregory takes his audience on a night-time journey as he interprets the bride’s encounter with the bridegroom of Song 5:2–4.17 In the homily’s opening section, Gregory focuses on the importance of keeping watch and being ready for the return of the bridegroom, like the angelic and heavenly powers.18 The Song’s bride exemplifies these qualities. Gregory then emphasises that her ascent to God is without limit, as each further stage she reaches indicates a new beginning.19 Both parts are accurately and succinctly summarised in the London Collection. However, the compiler has chosen to leave out sections which repeat previous material or further illustrate Gregory’s views, such as an excursus on Moses’ encounter with God in the darkness as an example for the bride’s meeting with the bridegroom.20
Next, the London Collection follows Gregory’s interpretation of Song 5:2, in which the bride becomes aware of the bridegroom’s voice and cites his words: ‘The voice of the son of my sister21 knocks at the door: “Open for me, my sister, my close one, my dove, perfect one. Because my head is covered in dew and my curls with the drops of the night.” ’22 The following table includes Gregory’s interpretation both according to the Syriac translation of the full Homilies, based on its oldest manuscript, Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. Syr. 106, and in the abbreviated version of the London Collection:
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Syriac translation of Gregory’s Homilies23 |
London collection24 |
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‘For if you want the door to be opened and the gates of your soul to raise their heads so that the king of glories will enter,25 it is right for you to become a sister to me, while you receive my will inside you,’ just as he says in the gospel, that everyone who does his will is his brother and sister.26 ‘It is also right for you to come near to the truth to genuinely become close to it, while there will be nothing |
‘If you want the door to be opened and the gates of your mind27 to raise their heads so that the king of glories will enter,28 you ought to become for me a sister while you receive my will inside you,’ just as it was said in the gospel that everyone who does his will is his brother and sister.29 ‘And you will also |
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which divides you from it like an obstacle. And next, you will imitate the nature of the dove while you possess perfection, that is, you will not be lacking in anything, but will be filled with complete perfection and purity. When, therefore, you will accept these names like keys, O soul, open with them an entrance for the truth, because you have become sister and close one and dove and perfect one. |
become to me a close one, when there is nothing which interferes and separates you from me. And next you are likened to a dove with perfection and purity from every evil. |
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Your profit from having received me and letting me dwell in your house will be this dew of which my head is full and the drops of the night which drop from my locks.’ We plainly learn that dew like this is a medicine of the soul from the prophet who said to God: ‘The dew which is from you is a medicine for them.’30 The drops of the night possess the meaning shown to us before with these things which were said.31 |
The profit to you, from receiving me and letting me dwell in your house, will be the dew of my head’ which, according to the expression of the prophet, is a medicine,32 |
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For it is not possible for someone who enters the sanctuary, where the invisible things are, to be worthy of the rain or the desire of knowledge, but he is blessed if his intellect will be sprinkled with the gentle and subtle drops of the knowledge of the truth, which is accomplished by means of holy, inspired persons, who pour out spiritual drops. For the locks which are arranged and placed on the head of the All are called, as I believe, prophets, apostles, and evangelists. Each one of them draws and takes as much as he is able from the hidden, concealed, and invisible treasures. These ones are rivers full of water to us, yet in respect to the truth they really are drops of dew, even though they overflow with an abundance and multitude of teaching like a flood. |
‘and the drops of the night, [which are] the divine visions33 which enlighten your intellect with true knowledge, these [with which] you were enlightened through the apostles and messengers of the gospel,34 which are the adornment of my head.’35 These [apostles and messengers] who, while to us they pour out the divine drink like rivers, are drops of dew as in respect to the source of truth. |
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In like manner, the blessed Paul was a river, who was lifted up and elevated above the heaven on the waves of the mind, until the third heaven, until paradise, until ineffable words not subject to the voice.36 And although he utters the riches of the message with all this greatness of speech37 like a sea, he indicates again that this word is a drop of dew in comparison to the true word with these things which he says: ‘We know a little of a part and we prophesy a little of a part.’38 And next: ‘If someone thinks that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.’39 And: ‘I do not think about myself that I have understood.’40 If, therefore, a drop of dew and a sprinkling from the locks are found to be rivers, seas, and billows when they are compared to our capacity of understanding, what ought one to think about the wellspring which says: ‘Let all who are thirsty come to me and drink?’41 Let everyone of us who listens, then, consider the wonder when estimating these things which were spoken. For if a drop was enough to bring forth rivers, what should one think the river of God to be as from the comparison of this drop? |
Just like even Paul, who was elevated until the third heaven and gained from there the greatness of expression of the divine message,42 says that he sees as in a mirror and symbol.43 |
Gregory’s interpretation consists of two elements. Firstly, he explains that the names of sister, close one, dove, and perfect one applied to the bride mean that she should carry out Christ’s will, make sure nothing separates her from the truth, and become pure and perfect. In the London Collection, attachment to the truth is not mentioned; instead, the bride is urged by Christ to become close to him. Secondly, the bridegroom tries to persuade the bride to let him enter by noting that his moist head and hair will be profitable to her. According to Gregory, dew refers to healing, while the drops of the night indicate knowledge of the divine. He emphasises that although the promised knowledge may seem like a river from a human perspective, it amounts to mere drops in comparison to the true, divine wellspring, which is unimaginably greater and deeper. Here, the London Collection partly replaces Gregory’s imagery of drops, rivers, floods, and springs with that of seeing and light, speaking of the ‘divine visions’ which will ‘enlighten’ the bride’s mind. Finally, Gregory uses Paul as example par excellence to illustrate his point: even Paul, who was elevated to heaven, only gained partial knowledge. The London Collection again uses the imagery of seeing by introducing a new, different reference to Paul who sees indirectly and incompletely as in a mirror. In this way, the London Collection represents the main elements of Gregory’s interpretation, while at the same time also expressing some of Gregory’s ideas in its own words.
4 Song 5:3–4 according to Gregory and the London Collection
In the second half of homily eleven, Gregory focuses on the bride’s response of Song 5:3, who says: ‘I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?’ Gregory understands this somewhat mysterious answer as indicating the ways in which the bride opened the door for the bridegroom.44 To him, the tunic indicates taking off the old human and putting on Christ as one’s new garment.45 Gregory also relates the new tunic to the bright and shining garment of Christ during his transfiguration on the mountain.46 As to the bride’s feet, these are now cleaned from all earthly defilement, which Gregory associates both with baptism and Moses taking off his sandals during his encounter with God.47
Gregory offers a double interpretation of Song 5:4 in which the bridegroom extends his hand through the door. Firstly, he notes that the bride does not yet fully encounter the whole bridegroom, but only his hand. To him, this shows that the intangible and infinite divine nature exceeds the limits of human understanding and is only known through its working or effect (
At this stage, the London Collection contains a surprise. The introduction to the interpretation of Song 5:3 still follows Gregory:52
ܢܚܙܐ ܕܝܢ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܥܢ̇ܝܐ ܠܗ ܠܚܬܢܐ ܗܝ̣ ܟܠܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ .ܐܝܟܢܐ ܦܬܚܐ ܠܗ ܬܪܥܐ ܠܡܥܠܬܐ .ܫ̇ܠܚܬ ܠܡ ܟܘܬܝܢܐ ܕܝܠܝ ܐܝܟܢܐܐܠܒܫܝܗ̇ .ܐܫܝܓܬ ܠܪ̈ܓܠܐ ܕܝܠܝ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܐܛܡܐ ܐ̈ܢܝܢ .
Let us see how the holy bride answers the bridegroom, how she opens the door to him for [his] entrance: ‘I have taken off my tunic, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?’
However, the London Collection then offers a new interpretation, which focuses on the bride’s caution (
ܘܟܕ ܫܡ̣ܥܬ ܟܠܬܐ ܒܝܕ ܩܠܗ ܕܚܬܢܐ ܗܘ̇ ܕܢܩ̣ܫ ܒܬܪܥܗ̇ :ܕܫܡܗܗ̇ ܝܘܢܐ ܘܚܬܐ ܘܩܪܝܒܬܐ :ܐܝܟ ܚܕܐ ܕܝܢ ܘܡܫܡܠܝܬܐ :ܘܝܕܥܐ ܕܬ̣ܛܪ ܛܟܣܐ ܕܫܡ̈ܗܐ ܘܕܣܘܥܪ̈ܢܐ ܐܝܟ ܚܟܝܡܬܐ܆ ܗܝ̇ ܕܫܠܚܬ ܟܘܬܝܢܗ̇ ܠܒܪܢܫܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ ܥܡ ܣܥܘܪ̈ܘܬܗ ܡܫܟܪ̈ܬܐ :ܘܐܫܝܓܬ ܪ̈ܓܠܝܗ̇ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬܐ ܕܚܛܝ̣ܬܐ ܒܝܕ ܣܚܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ :ܘܗܘܬ ܚܬܐ ܘܩܪܝܒܬܐ ܠܚܬܢܐ ܡܢ ܓܢܘܢܐ ܕܟܝܐ ܕܡܥܡܘܕܝܬܐ :ܘܝܘܢܐ ܕܟܝܬܐ ܡܢ ܡܘܗܒܬܐ ܕܪܘܚܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ܆ ܡܩܒܠܐ ܘܡܘܕܝܐ ܛܝܒܘܬܐ ܘܡܟܪܙܐ ܠܫܦܝܥܘܬ ܪ̈ܚܡ̣ܐ ܕܠܘܬܗ̇ .ܗܝ̇ ܕܝܢ ܕܐܝܬܝܗ̇ ܡܫܡܠܝܬܐ :ܣܘܥܪܢܐ ܕܒܝܕ ܥܡ̈ܠܐ ܛܒ̈ܐ ܡܬܬܪܨ :ܘܒܥܡ̈ܠܐ ܪ̈ܘܪܒܐ ܘܢܛܘܪܬܐ ܚܬܝܬܬܐ ܕܦܘ̈ܩܕܢܐ܆ ܠܗܕܐ ܕܫܥܬܐ ܠܐ ܡܩܒܠܐ ܟܕ ܙܗܝܪܐ ܒܩܢܘܡܗ̇ .ܫܡ̣ܥܬ̇ ܓܝܪ ܠܡܫܝܚܐ ܕܐ̇ܡܪ܆ ܕܡܐ 54ܕܥܒܕܬܘܢ ܐܢܬܘܢ ܟܠܗܝܢ ܐܝܠܝܢ ܕܦܩܝ̈ܕܢ ܠܟܘܢ܆ ܐܡܪܘ̣ ܕܡܕܡ ܕܚܝܒܝܢ ܗ̇ܘܝܢ ܠܡ̇ܥܒܕ ܥܒܕܢ .ܝܕܥܐ ܗܘܬ ܬܘܒ ܘܠܗܘ̇ ܕܒܪܡܘܬܐ ܢܦ̣ܠ ܡܢ ܫܡܝܐ܇ ܘܒܗ̇ ܐܦ ܠܒܪܢܫܐ ܩܕܡܝܐ ܐܛܥ̣ܝ ܘܐ̣ܦܩ ܡܢ ܦܪܕܝܣܐ .ܘܡܛܠ ܗܢܐ ܟܕ ܥܝܪܐܝܬ ܫܗܪܐ ܘܢ̇ܛܪܐ ܢܦܫܗ̇ ܐܡܪܐ܆ ܫܠܚܬ ܟܘܬܝܢܝ ܒܝܫܘܬܐ ܩܕܡܝܬܐ :ܐ̇ܫܝܓܬ ܪ̈ܓܠܝ ܡܢ ܛܡܐܘܬܐ ܕܚܛܝܬܐ܆ ܐܝܟܢܐ ܡܢ ܠܐ ܙܗܝܪܘܬܐ ܠܘܬ ܗܠܝܢ ܡܢܕܪܝܫ ܬܬ̣ܗܦܟ .ܟܕ ܒܗܕܐ ܡܠܦܐ ܐܦ ܠܢ܆ ܕܙܗܝܪ̈ܐ ܢܗܘܐ ܡܢ ܡܟܝܢܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܫ̣ܐ܇ ܗܘ̇ ܕܟܕ ܚܫܘܟܐ ܗܘ ܘܣܢ̇ܐ ܠܢܘܗܪܐ܇ ܡܣܬܟܡ ܒܕܡܘܬܐ ܕܢܘܗܪܐ ܐܝܟ ܕܢܛܥ̇ܐ .ܘܟܕ ܒܗܠܝܢ ܠܘܬ ܡܟܝܟܘܬ ܬܪܥܝܬܐ ܚܟܝܡܐܝܬ ܐܬܩܦܣܬ :ܘܗܝ̇ ܕܪܚܝܡܐ ܠܚܬܢܗ̇ ܥܒܕܬ܆ ܩܒܠܬ ܐܝܕܗ ܗܝ̇ ܕܡܢ ܢܩܒܐ ܙܥܘܪܐ ܐܘܫܛ ܠܗ̇܇ ܕܐܝܬܝܗ̇ ܝܕܥܬܐ ܕܒܪܝܬܐ ܗܕܐ ܕܗܫܐ ܒܡܢܬܐ ܐܝܬ ܠܢ܇ ܕܣ̣ܦܩܐ ܒܪܡ ܕܐܦ ܥܘܡܩܐ ܕܬܪܥܝܬܢ ܬܢܗܪ :ܘܕܡܢܗ̇ ܒܛܟܣܐ ܠܘܬ ܐܘܡܢܐ ܘܥܒܘܕܐ ܢܬ̇ܥܠܐ .
And when the bride heard through the voice of the bridegroom who knocked at her door that he called her dove and sister and close one as well as perfect—and she knows that she will guard the order of names and actions as one who is wise, who has taken off her tunic, the old human with its disgraceful actions,55 and has washed the uncleanness of sin from her feet through the holy bath and has become sister and close one to the bridegroom through the pure marriage bed of baptism, and pure dove through the gift of the holy spirit—she receives and acknowledges the grace and proclaims the abundance of mercy towards her. But that she is perfect—the effect which is reached through good toils and with great toils and the exact observance of the commandments—she does not accept this now, because she is careful about herself. For she listened to Christ who said: ‘When you have done all the things which were commanded to you, say: “What we owe to do we have done.” ’56 Next, she also knew the one who had fallen from heaven in pride and with it also deceived the first human and sent [him] out of paradise. And because of this, while she keeps watch vigilantly and guards her soul (saying: ‘I took off my tunic, the first evil, and I washed the uncleanness of sin from my feet’), how could she turn again to these things out of carelessness,57 when she also teaches us with this that we should keep away from the harm of evil, which, while it is dark and hates light, assumes the likeness of light in order to deceive? And when because of these things she prudently receded to humility of mind and did what is pleasing to her bridegroom, she accepted his hand which he stretched out to her through the small opening,58 [the hand] which is the knowledge of this creation which we now have in part, but which suffices to illuminate even the depth of our mind, so that by it we will also be elevated in an orderly way to the Craftsman and Maker.59
This pericope contains several parallels with Severus of Antioch’s Cathedral Homily 108, suggesting that Gregory’s interpretation was replaced with that of Severus.
5 ‘Because She Is Careful about Herself’: Severus of Antioch and the London Collection
Severus addressed Song 5:2–4 in his Cathedral Homily 108 as part of his response to a deacon named Philip, who had asked Severus to explain four difficult passages of scripture.60 The question he grapples with is how to make sense of the bride’s response after the bridegroom knocked at her door; what do her references to the tunic and feet indicate and why did she not open at once?61
In the same way as our pericope in the London Collection, Severus interprets the tunic that has been taken off as the old human with his actions62 and relates the washing of the feet to the ‘divine bath’, that is, baptism (
While she thus accepts the first three names given to her, the epithet of ‘perfect one’ troubles her. According to the London Collection, the bride is careful and recalls the words of Christ to his disciples in Luke 17:10, implying that she has only done what is expected of her and therefore deserves no praise. This section has a clear parallel in Severus who states:
But when she heard the one who says: ‘Open for me, my sister, my close one, my dove, my perfect one,’ concerning the term perfection, she became weak and tarried as she was now called this for the first time, and she thought what is moderate and humble and recalled the bridegroom and teacher who said to his disciples: ‘When you do all the things that are commanded to you, say: “We are useless servants, because that which we owe to do we have done.” ’67
Furthermore, just like the London Collection, Severus states that perfection is reached ‘through the toils of virtue’ and ‘through great works and the exact observance of the commandments’.68 Yet, the bride does not wish to put on again the old tunic and soil her washed feet by claiming something of which she falls short.69 She therefore cannot accept that she is called perfect.70 She fears that she is deluded by the devil, who fell because of pride,71 deceived (
By behaving carefully (
The final phrase of our pericope, according to which humans will be ‘elevated in order to our Craftsman and Maker’ appears not to have been used by Severus. Perhaps it was formulated on the basis of his threefold division of believers. Severus distinguishes between 1) the category of the servants who are beginners and obey out of fear, 2) those who do what is commanded to gain their promised reward like mercenaries or people who are ‘hired’ (
Severus concludes his interpretation of Song 5:3–4 with a lesson not included in the London Collection. Humans should not think too quickly that they are favoured with special revelations from God or saints.83 Like the bride, they should remain prudent and not open the door too quickly to avoid letting in a foe in the form of a friend.84
6 The Syriac Translations of Severus’ Cathedral Homilies
Severus’ Cathedral homilies were transmitted in Syriac in an initial translation from the sixth-century and in a revised version by Jacob of Edessa.85 Some preliminary observations may be made on the version of Homily 108 used in the London Collection and the stage at which it may have been included in the abbreviated version of Gregory’s eleventh homily.
As the London Collection has used and rewritten Severus’ interpretations rather freely, some of the differences reflect the activity of the compiler rather than dependence on one particular Syriac translation. For example, when the bride fears that it is not Christ but the devil who is addressing her, the sixth-century translation reads Satan (
In another instance, however, it seems that the text of the London Collection is closer to the sixth-century translation than to Jacob. In the final phrase of our pericope in the London Collection, it is noted that the bridegroom’s hand suffices even to illuminate the depth of human minds (
It is a matter for further research, but if it could be shown that the pericope based on Severus in the London Collection indeed contains traces of the sixth-century translation; this could indicate that Severus was already introduced at an early stage93 by the person responsible for the abbreviation of Gregory or the compiler of the London Collection.94
7 An Exegetical Motivation for Replacing Gregory
This leaves us with the question why Gregory was replaced by Severus in the London Collection. It seems likely that the change was made for exegetical reasons. Severus offers a way of understanding the bride’s surprising response in Song 5:3, in which she seems to hesitate. This is something Gregory did not recognise. In contrast, a key element of Severus’ explanation is that the bride deliberately delayed her response, at first speaking to the bridegroom ‘as to a stranger’ (
Severus’ elaborate discussion of the bride’s caution thus offers a new perspective. According to Gregory, the bride accepted the names of sister, dove, close one, and perfect one as keys with which to open her door. He emphasises that God is not wholly perceivable and intelligible and that the bride, however eager she is to meet the bridegroom, only gains partial knowledge of him. To Severus, the central issue is rather that, because the bride always remains humble, she will remain close to God. By focusing on the bride’s point of view, Severus departs from the interpretations of other Greek Christian authors, doing justice to the dialogical character of the Song, as René Roux has noted.97 In this way, Severus’ interpretation may also have served to remind the audience of the London Collection of the need of humility and prudence in spiritual matters.
Collecting interpretations from diverse authors in a compilation can lead one to a certain sense of polyphony. This is decidedly not what happened in the case of Song 5:3–4. Severus’ interpretation, various parts of which are brought together in the London Collection, was perhaps deemed too long to enrich the abbreviated version of Gregory in the form of a marginal note or additional extract. Although the interpretation of Severus was favoured, it was transmitted under the name of Gregory, so that its origin may not always have been apparent to later audiences.
Finally, that Severus was preferred in the London Collection does not mean that Gregory’s interpretation of Song 5:3–4 was generally rejected as wrong or unsuitable. Its inclusion in the Collection of Simeon, a West Syrian exegetical collection from the late ninth century, is testimony to its continued circulation in Syriac.98
Conclusion
Studying exegetical collections can reveal surprises. This chapter examined part of Gregory of Nyssa’s Syriac afterlife by focusing on his reception in the London Collection, in which his long Homilies are made available in a shorter, more easily accessible form.
As the case study of Song 5:2 showed, the compiler represented the main elements of Gregory’s interpretation of the bridegroom’s words, all the while excluding Gregory’s illustrations, summarising statements and excursus. By introducing the imagery of light and adding a reference to Paul, the compiler also expressed some of Gregory’s ideas in his own way. As I have attempted to demonstrate, Gregory’s interpretation of Song 5:3–4 was then replaced with that of Severus of Antioch. With this creative adaptation, the London Collection served new exegetical needs. On the basis of Severus’ Cathedral Homily 108, the Collection provided an attractive explanation of the bride’s hesitation in Song 5:3, a matter which Gregory left unaddressed.
In Gregory’s case, the abbreviated version of the Homilies did not replace the transmission of his complete work in Syriac.99 It seems both could exist side by side. Perhaps, it was even because Gregory’s interpretation of the Song was available in a short and accessible form that his work remained known, which may in turn have positively influenced the continued transmission of the complete Homilies.100
In conclusion, the short version of Gregory’s Homilies in the London Collection shows that in the reception of their Greek Christian predecessors, Syriac authors and compilers could go beyond abbreviation.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the organisers and participants of the international workshop ‘Florilegia Syriaca. Mapping a Knowledge-Organizing Practice in the Syriac World’ (Venice, 30 January–1 February 2020) for their valuable and inspiring comments and observations. The research on which this chapter is based was funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) as part of a Ph.D. project on commentaries on the Song of Songs in two West Syrian exegetical collections from the first millennium.
See, for example, the ‘Storehouses of Wholesome Learning’ series, especially Rolf H. Bremmer and Kees Dekker, eds., Foundations of Learning: The Transfer of Encyclopaedic Knowledge in the Early Middle Ages (Mediaevalia Groningana New Series 9; Leuven: Peeters, 2007). See also, more recently, Sabrina Corbellini, Giovanna Murano, and Giacomo Signore, eds., Collecting, Organizing, and Transmitting Knowledge. Miscellanies in Late Medieval Europe (Bibliologia 49; Turnhout: Brepols, 2018).
Several important contributions are: Marrietta Horster and Christiane Reitz, eds., Condensing Texts—Condensed Texts (Palingenesia 98; Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 2010); Peter Van Deun and Caroline Macé, eds., Encyclopedic Trends in Byzantium? Proceedings of the International Conference Held in Leuven, 6–8 May 2009 (OLA 212; Leuven: Peeters, 2011); Jason König and Greg Woolf, Encyclopaedism from Antiquity to the Renaissance (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013); Sébastien Morlet, ed., Lire en extraits: Lecture et production des textes, de l’Antiquité à la fin du Moyen Âge (Paris: SUP, 2015); Reinhart Ceulemans and Pieter De Leemans, eds., On Good Authority: Tradition, Compilation, and the Construction of Authority in Literature from Antiquity to the Renaissance (LECTIO 3; Turnhout: Brepols, 2015); Stephan Dusil, Gerald Schwedler, and Raphael Schwitter, eds., Exzerpieren—Kompilieren—Tradieren: Transformationen des Wissens zwischen Spätantike und Frühmittelalter (Millennium-Studien 64; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017).
The manuscript is described in William Wright, Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum Acquired Since the Year 1838 (3 vols.; London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1870–1872), 2:904–908. As Wright and Bas ter Haar Romeny have noted, the Collection was compiled after the year 616/617 because it uses the Syro-Hexapla. Wright dates the work to the first half of the seventh century because of a note in which it is assumed that the last Sasanian king, Yazdgerd III, was still alive, Wright, Catalogue, 2:905–906. Romeny has noted that it is possible that the Collection was created slightly later: Bas ter Haar Romeny, “The Greek vs. the Peshitta in a West Syrian Exegetical Collection,” in The Peshitta: Its Use in Literature and Liturgy. Papers Read at the Third Peshitta Symposium (ed. R.B. ter Haar Romeny; Monographs of the Peshitta Institute 15; Leiden: Brill, 2006), 298. Romeny discusses possible references to contemporary events in the London Collection, which speaks of war and upheaval. Bas ter Haar Romeny, “The Identity Formation of Syrian Orthodox Christians as Reflected in Two Exegetical Collections: First Soundings,” PdO 29 (2004): 111–112.
The term ‘multiple-text manuscript’ was introduced by Michael Friedrich and Cosima Schwarke, “Introduction—Manuscripts as Evolving Entities,” in One-Volume Libraries: Composite and Multiple-Text Manuscripts (ed. M. Friedrich and C. Schwarke; Studies in Manuscript Cultures 9; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016), 8–11, 15–16, and may be understood as a ‘production unit’ planned by the same persons as part of a single process to create a new work out of two or more independent texts.
For example, the London Collection recounts the story of the translation of the Septuagint and its revisions, contains a section from Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, and illustrates the importance of prayer: Wright, Catalogue, 2:904–907 and Bas ter Haar Romeny, “Les Pères grecs dans les florilèges exégétiques syriaques,” in Les Pères grecs dans la tradition syriaque (ed. A. Schmidt and D. Gonnet s.j.; ES 4; Paris: Geuthner, 2007), 70.
The abbreviated version of Athanasius was edited and translated by Robert W. Thomson, ed. and tr., Athanasiana Syriaca IV: Expositio in Psalmos (CSCO 386–387, Scriptores Syri 167–168; Leuven: Secrétariat du CorpusSCO, 1977). On the use of Cyril’s Glaphyra in the London Collection, see Romeny, “The Greek vs. the Peshitta,” 303–305.
On the London Collection as building a West Syrian exegetical tradition mainly based on Greek Christian works of biblical interpretation, see Romeny, “The Identity Formation,” 106; Romeny, “The Greek vs. the Peshitta,” 297–298; Bas ter Haar Romeny, “Greek or Syriac? Chapters in the Establishment of a Syrian Orthodox Exegetical Tradition,” SP 41 (2006): 89–96; Romeny, “Les Pères grecs dans les florilèges,” 70–73; Bas ter Haar Romeny, “The Formation of a Communal Identity among West Syrian Christians: Results and Conclusions of the Leiden Project,” Church History and Religious Culture 89 (2009): 1–52 (13–20).
Add. 12168 fol. 118r–135r, reaching up to Song 6:9. I am currently preparing a critical edition and English translation of the text.
As has been established by Ceslas Van den Eynde, La version syriaque du Commentaire de Grégoire de Nysse sur le Cantique des Cantiques: Ses origines, ses témoins, son influence (Louvain: Bureaux du Muséon, 1939), 50–56, Gregory’s Homilies are extant in the manuscript Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. Syr. 106 dated to the sixth century, Sinai, Saint Catherine Syr. 19 and its membra disjecta dated to the eighth century and (olim) Diyarbakır, Chaldean Archbishopric 20 dated to the twelfth century. Van den Eynde provides an overview of the manuscripts: Van den Eynde, La version syriaque, 9–15. On the Sinai manuscript, see also Sebastian Brock, “Mingana Syr. 628: A Folio from a Revision of the Peshitta Song of Songs,” Journal of Semitic Studies 40 (1995): 39–56 and Paul Géhin, Les manuscrits syriaques de parchemin du Sinaï et leurs membra disjecta (CSCO 665, Subsidia 136; Leuven: Peeters, 2017), 58–60. Van den Eynde was mainly interested in the materials that were transmitted together with Gregory’s Homilies in Syriac but are not extant in Greek or have no Greek counterpart. He edited and translated the interpretation of Song 6:10–8:14 based on the work of a certain Symmachus, as well as two letters in which the Syriac translation of the Homilies was requested and the translator explained his rendering of Gregory’s scriptural references: Van den Eynde, La version syriaque, 69–126. On the Syriac translation of Gregory’s Homilies and its reception, see also Marion Pragt, “Sacred Spices. The Syriac Translation of Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs,” in Caught in Translation: Versions of Late-Antique Christian Literature (ed. D. Batovici and M. Toca; Texts and Studies in Eastern Christianity 17; Leiden: Brill, 2020), 104–121.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 126r outer column l. 34–fol. 126v outer column l. 6.
On different types of glosses and their importance for tracing the development of Syriac florilegia, see the contribution of Moss in this volume.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 121r.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 131r.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 126r.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 124r.
The origin of the marginal notes is unknown, and it is unclear at present whether they were introduced by the compiler of the London Collection, or already part of his source material, or a later addition.
Overviews of Gregory’s interpretation are given by Franz Dünzl, Braut und Bräutigam: Die Auslegung des Canticum durch Gregor von Nyssa (Beiträge zur Geschichte der biblischen Exegese 32; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1993), 167–171 and, more briefly, Giulio Maspero, “The In Canticum in Gregory’s Theology: Introduction and Gliederung,” in Gregory of Nyssa: In Canticum Canticorum Analytical and Supporting Studies. Proceedings of the 13th International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (Rome, 17–20 September 2014) (ed. G. Maspero, M. Brugarolas and I. Vigorelli; VChr Supplements 150; Leiden: Brill, 2018), 15. The interpretation of Song 5:2–4 is part of homily eleven (or memra twelve, according to the full Syriac translation and the London Collection, in which Gregory’s preface is counted as the first homily). For reasons of clarity, I follow the numbering system of the Greek edition.
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 315 l. 15–319 l. 5. All references to the Greek version of the Homilies are from Hermann Langerbeck (ed.), In Canticum Canticorum (Gregorii Nysseni Opera VI; Leiden: Brill, 1960). Gregory refers back to the final verse treated in homily ten: ‘I am asleep but my heart is awake’ (Song 5:2a).
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 320 l. 8–321 l. 5.
Exod. 20:21.
Inspired by the Syro-Hexapla, the London Collection refers to the bride’s beloved with the term ‘son of my sister’ (
Verses from the Song of Songs are cited as they appear in the London Collection, which reads the Song according to the Syro-Hexapla. The full Syro-Hexaplaric version of the Song of Songs is preserved in Codex Ambrosianus C. 313 Inf. Antonio Maria Ceriani, ed., Codex Syro-Hexaplaris Ambrosianus photolithographice editus (Monumenta Sacra et Profana 7; Milan: Biblioteca Ambrosiana, 1874), fol. 70r–72r.
Vat. Syr. 106 fol. 130v inner column l. 50–fol. 131r outer column l. 19. In the translations, quotation marks are used for direct speech, scriptural citations are indicated in italics, and brief additions to clarify the Syriac are placed between square brackets. Unless otherwise indicated, the translations are my own.
Add. 12168 fol. 131r outer column l. 20–fol. 131v outer column l. 16. Small differences in word choice in the London Collection when compared to the full Syriac translation are indicated in the footnotes.
LXX Ps 23:7, 9.
Mark 3:35.
The London Collection reads
LXX Ps. 23:7, 9.
Mark 3:35.
Gregory bases his association of dew and healing on the appearance of dew as a sign of the divine in the Hebrew Bible, with specific reference to Isaiah 26:19 (
Gregory refers to a previous section in which he described Moses as encountering God in the darkness. Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 323 l. 1–9.
Isa 26:19.
The ‘divine visions’ (
Whereas Vat. Syr. 106 has
The phrase ‘adornment of my head’ (
Cf. 2 Cor. 12:2–4.
Franz Dünzl takes Gregory’s mention of
1 Cor 13:9.
1 Cor 8:2.
Phil 3:13.
John 7:37.
Cf. 2 Cor 12:2–4.
Cf. 1 Cor 13:12. Gregory refers to the ‘mirror’ (
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 327 l. 18–19 (
Hans Boersema, Embodiment and Virtue in Gregory of Nyssa: An Anagogical Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 89–90.
Cf. Matt 17:1–2; Mark 9:2–3; Luke 9:28–29. Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 329 l. 10–12, where he speaks of putting on:
Cf. Exod. 3:5.
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 334 l. 15–335; Vat. Syr. 106 fol. 133r middle column l. 37.
Gregory’s christological interpretation of Song 5:4 is discussed in further detail by Miguel Brugarolas, “The Incarnate Logos: Gregory of Nyssa’s In Canticum Canticorum Christological Core,” in Gregory of Nyssa: In Canticum Canticorum Analytical and Supporting Studies. Proceedings of the 13th International Colloquium on Gregory of Nyssa (Rome, 17–20 September 2014) (ed. G. Maspero, M. Brugarolas and I. Vigorelli; VChr Supplements 150; Leiden: Brill, 2018), 212–215.
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 338 l. 15–16; Vat. Syr. 106 fol. 133r middle column l. 28–29.
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 339 l. 9–11. Gregory’s Homilies are characterised by a certain multiplicity in which different interpretations can be juxtaposed. See Joseph Verheyden, “Polysemy and Repetition in Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs: Two Short Comments,” in The Song of Songs in its Context: Words for Love, Love for Words (ed. P. Van Hecke; Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 310; Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 577–592 on Gregory’s interpretation of Song 2:15, 4:1–4 and 6:4–7.
Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 327 8–9 (
This theme is also introduced in a marginal note placed next to the passage, which reads: ‘Concerning the carefulness of the church’ (
BL Add. 12168 reads
Cf. Col. 3:9.
Luke 17:10.
By ‘these things’, the text refers to the tunic and the uncleaned feet of before, to which the bride would not carelessly return, as she is more advanced now.
Cf. Song 5:4.
BL Add. 12168 fol. 131v outer column l. 22–inner column l. 37. In the manuscript, the beginning and end of our pericope are marked with series of alternated black and red dots. After the passage, the Collection cites Song 5:5 and Gregory’s interpretation of the verse as part of the abbreviated version of homily twelve.
The Cathedral homilies of Severus were transmitted in Syriac in a translation from the sixth century attributed to Paul of Callinicum and in a revision by Jacob of Edessa. In this paper, I cite Severus according to the edition of Maurice Brière in the PO, which is based on Jacob’s revised translation. As Severus’ interpretation of the Song is quite extensive—taking up approximately 238 lines of Syriac in the PO—it is not cited in full here. Instead, the following section offers an overview of his interpretations, indicating the correspondences with the London Collection. On Jacob’s revision, see Christopher J.A. Lash, “Techniques of a Translator: Work-Notes on the Methods of Jacob of Edessa in Translating the Homilies of Severus of Antioch,” in Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen (ed. F. Paschke; Texte und Untersuchungen 125; Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1981), 365–383 and Lucas Van Rompay, “Jacob of Edessa and the Sixth-Century Syriac Translator of Severus of Antioch’s Cathedral homilies,” in Jacob of Edessa and the Syriac Culture of His Day (ed. R.B. ter Haar Romeny; Monographs of the Peshitta Institute 18; Leiden: Brill, 2008), 189–204. The attribution of the earlier translation of the Cathedral homilies to Paul is uncertain: Van Rompay, “Jacob of Edessa and the Sixth-Century Syriac Translator,” 190–191. Paul’s significance as a translator of Severus and his translation technique are studied in Daniel King, “Paul of Callinicum and his Place in Syriac Literature,” LM 120 (2007): 327–349. The earlier translation of Cathedral Homily 108 is extant in manuscripts Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. Syr. 143, dated to the year 563, and Vat. Syr. 256, from the sixth century. Van Rompay, “Jacob of Edessa and the Sixth-Century Syriac Translator,” 190.
On Severus’ interpretation of the Song, see René Roux, “Severus of Antioch at the Crossroad of the Antiochene and Alexandrian Exegetical Tradition,” in Severus of Antioch: His Life and Times (ed. J. D’Alton and Y. Youssef; Text and Studies in Eastern Christianity 7; Leiden: Brill, 2016), 163, 175, and René Roux, L’Exégèse biblique dans les Homélies Cathédrales de Sévère d’Antioche (Studia Ephemeridis Augustinianum 84; Roma: Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, 2002), 57–64.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 710 l. 7.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 710 l. 9.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 708 l. 1–2. According to the London Collection, the bride became a dove by the gift of the holy spirit (
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 708 l. 2–7. In an earlier part of his homily, Severus has already explained that the bride is also called ‘sister’ because she has become related to the bridegroom through baptism. Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 703.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 701, l. 11–13.
Luke 17:10. Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 707 l. 9–14. The London Collection’s description of the bride as ‘careful about herself’ is not used by Severus here, although he describes her as acting carefully and watchfully throughout his homily, e.g., Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 10.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 708 l. 8–9 (
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 710 l. 11–12.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 10–11 (
Whereas the London Collection reads
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 5.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 7–9.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 5–6 (
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 13–14.
London Collection:
London Collection:
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 712 l. 9–10 (
See section 4 above.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 711 l. 5.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 715 l. 3–10.
Severus does not refer to a particular verse of the Song here. Early Christian authors commonly divide believers into those who act out of fear of punishment, hope for reward, and love of goodness when interpreting the queens, concubines, and young women without number of Song 6:8. Such interpretations are for example given by Gregory of Nyssa, Song of Songs, 460–461 and Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Song of Songs, PG 81: 172.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 713 l. 9–14.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 711 l. 13–14. Severus’ interpretation also has a polemical aspect. He directed himself against ‘the abominable Lampetius’ by emphasising that even if a person has been changed for the better, they may lapse into sin, so that caution and fear remain necessary. Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 716 l. 14–717 l. 9. This polemical aspect has not been included in the London Collection.
See note 60.
Vat. Syr. 143 fol. 38r outer column l. 26. As Vat. Syr. 256 has several displaced folios; I mainly refer to Vat. Syr. 143.
See note 74.
See note 71. Vat. Syr. 143 fol. 39r inner column l. 1; Vat. Syr. 256 fol. 30v l. 3.
See note 68. Vat. Syr. 143 fol. 38r inner column l. 19–20.
See note 74. Vat. Syr. 143 fol. 38r outer column l. 28.
See note 78.
Vat. Syr. 143 fol. 39v outer column l. 5–10.
If, in contrast, the passage based on Severus showed the influence of Jacob’s revision, this would suggest that the section was introduced at a later stage in the Collection’s transmission, in the course of the eighth and perhaps ninth century. The London Collection may have been compiled in the first half of the seventh century (also see note 3), whereas Jacob’s revision, at least of homilies 44–91, was completed in 700/701: Van Rompay, “Jacob of Edessa and the Sixth-Century Syriac Translator,” 189.
It seems likely that the abbreviation of Gregory and the compilation of the London Collection were not carried out by the same person, but rather that the compiler of the London Collection used already existing abridged versions as the basis for his commentaries. See Romeny, “The Greek vs. the Peshitta,” 305, with particular emphasis on the abridged version of Cyril’s Glaphyra in the London Collection.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 11.
Severus, Cathedral homilies, 108, 709 l. 2–3.
Roux, L’Exégèse biblique, 63; Roux, “Severus of Antioch at the Crossroad,” 175. The possibility that the bride might let in opposing powers is acknowledged by Origen. However, to him, the bridegroom’s explicit request to open the door ‘for me’ seems to have served as sufficient reassurance that the bride would only let in Christ: Origen, Fragments on the Song of Songs, fr. 47, 202 l. 9–10 (
The Collection of Simeon, preserved in the manuscript Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. Syr. 103, contains the Commentary of the Monk Severus together with additions in the main text, as well as marginal notes added by Simeon of Ḥisn Manṣur. The title ‘Collection of Simeon’ was proposed by Romeny, “The Identity Formation,” 107. For Gregory’s interpretation, see Vat. Syr. 103, fol. 179v l. 1–8. On the commentary on the Song in the Collection of Simeon, see Marion Pragt, “Love for Words in a Ninth-Century Syriac Commentary on the Song of Songs,” in The Song of Songs in its Context: Words for Love, Love for Words (ed. P. Van Hecke; Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 310; Leuven: Peeters, 2020), 509–522.
See note 9.
On this phenomenon in classical antiquity, including the creation of ‘auto-epitomai’ in which authors deliberately abridged their own works to guarantee the correct reception of their ideas, see Markus Mülke, “Die Epitome—Das Bessere Original?,” in Condensing Texts—Condensed Texts (ed. M. Horster and C. Reitz; Palingenesia 98; Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 2010), 69–89.
Bibliography
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Procopius of Gaza, Epitome on the Song of Songs = Auwers, Jean-Marie, ed. Procopii Gazaei Epitome in Canticum Canticorum. Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca 67. Turnhout: Brepols, 2011.
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