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Genesis 37 and 39 in the Early Syriac Tradition
Series: - Monographs of the Peshitta Institute, Volume: 20
Author:
The Syriac reception of the story of Joseph offers an unprecedented glimpse into late antique Syriac literary culture. The story inspired a diverse body of texts, written in prose, narrative poetry, dialogue poetry, and metrical homilies, including the greatest narrative poem written in Syriac. These texts explore and retell the story of Joseph with a combination of exegetical imagination, playful creativity, and a relentless focus on the exemplary virtues of the patriarch. Read through a typological lens, this study shows how the story also became an important locus of Christian-Jewish polemic.
Kristian S. Heal, Ph.D. (2008), University of Birmingham, is a Research Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University. He has published translations, edited volumes, and other studies on early Syriac literature, including Jacob of Sarug’s Homily on Aaron the Priest (Gorgias, 2022).
Preface: Pursuing Joseph in the Syriac Tradition
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction: Rewriting the Bible in the Early Syriac Tradition
Prose Narratives
Narrative Poetry
Verse Homily
Dialogue Poetry
Reading the Rewritten Bible
1 A Survey of the Sources
1. Peshitta Genesis 37–50
2. Aphrahat, Demonstrations
3. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), Commentary on Genesis
4. Syriac History of Joseph (CAVT 113; S 1229)
5. History of Joseph the King (S 1631)
6. Balai, On Joseph (S 931)
7. Narsai, On Joseph (S 1748)
8. Jacob of Serugh (451–521), On Joseph (Ten Memre)
9. Joseph Son of Jacob (S 1300, 1340)
10. Joseph and His Brothers in Three Meters (S 1587)
11. Joseph Tells Jacob and Dinah (S 1342)
12. Joseph Reveals His Identity to His Brethren
13. On Joseph when He was Revealed to His Brothers
14. Removal of Joseph’s Bones (S 932)
15. Removal of Joseph’s Bones
16. Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
17. Joseph and His Mistress
18. Joseph Rejects His Mistress
19. Soghithā on Joseph and Benjamin
20. On Joseph and His Brothers
21. Joseph Reveals the Dream to His Father
22. Joseph in the Market Place
23. The Brothers in Egypt
24. On the Sons of Jacob in the Metre of Mor Jacob
25. On the Death of Jacob
26. Benjamin and the Cup
27. Joseph and Asenath (CAVT 105; Syriac Version S 559)
28. Story of Asenath’s Origins (CAVT 109)
29. Ephrem Graecus, On Joseph the Most Virtuous
30. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph
31. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
32. Ps Romanos, Kontakion on Joseph
33. Ps Ephrem, Armenian Commentary on Genesis
34. Armenian Story of Joseph
2 Joseph as a Type of Christ
Early Syriac Lectionaries
Aphrahat
Joseph Son of Jacob
Balai
Narsai
Jacob of Serugh
Conclusions
3 Exemplarity and the Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)
The Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)
Omitting the Problem: Ephrem’s Commentary on Genesis
Expanding the Problem: Balai
Addressing the Problem: Narsai
Preaching the Problem: Jacob of Serugh, Christ, and Harran
Conclusions
4 Imagining Monstrosity (Gen. 37:5–28)
Enmity, or the Motive for Fratricide (Gen. 37:3–11)
Duplicity, or Why Joseph Was Sent to Shechem (Gen. 37:11–14)
Brutality, or a Portrait of the Capture and Sale of Joseph (Gen. 37:17–28a)
Conclusions
5 Mother, Merchants, and the Market Place (Gen. 37:29–36)
Mother
Merchants
The Market Place
Conclusions
6 Making a Syriac Woman Sinful (Gen. 39)
The Temptress (Gen. 39:7)
The Adorned Woman: Syriac History of Joseph
The Sinful Woman: Joseph Son of Jacob
Eve’s Daughter: Narsai
Conclusions
7 Scripting Seduction (Gen. 39:7–10)
Arguments Marshalled by Potiphar’s Wife (P1–12)
Joseph’s Responses (J1–7)
Conclusions
8 Entrapment and Betrayal (Gen. 39:11–20)
Was Joseph Tempted to Yield?
Joseph in the Street (Gen. 39:12b)
The Accusation is Formed (Gen. 39:13–16)
The Trial and Sentence (Gen. 39:17–20)
Conclusions
Conclusion: Promise and Betrayal
Bibliography
Index of Manuscript Citations
Index of Incipits
Index of Ancient Sources
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction: Rewriting the Bible in the Early Syriac Tradition
Prose Narratives
Narrative Poetry
Verse Homily
Dialogue Poetry
Reading the Rewritten Bible
1 A Survey of the Sources
1. Peshitta Genesis 37–50
2. Aphrahat, Demonstrations
3. Ephrem the Syrian (d. 373), Commentary on Genesis
4. Syriac History of Joseph (CAVT 113; S 1229)
5. History of Joseph the King (S 1631)
6. Balai, On Joseph (S 931)
7. Narsai, On Joseph (S 1748)
8. Jacob of Serugh (451–521), On Joseph (Ten Memre)
9. Joseph Son of Jacob (S 1300, 1340)
10. Joseph and His Brothers in Three Meters (S 1587)
11. Joseph Tells Jacob and Dinah (S 1342)
12. Joseph Reveals His Identity to His Brethren
13. On Joseph when He was Revealed to His Brothers
14. Removal of Joseph’s Bones (S 932)
15. Removal of Joseph’s Bones
16. Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
17. Joseph and His Mistress
18. Joseph Rejects His Mistress
19. Soghithā on Joseph and Benjamin
20. On Joseph and His Brothers
21. Joseph Reveals the Dream to His Father
22. Joseph in the Market Place
23. The Brothers in Egypt
24. On the Sons of Jacob in the Metre of Mor Jacob
25. On the Death of Jacob
26. Benjamin and the Cup
27. Joseph and Asenath (CAVT 105; Syriac Version S 559)
28. Story of Asenath’s Origins (CAVT 109)
29. Ephrem Graecus, On Joseph the Most Virtuous
30. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph
31. Romanos (485–555), Kontakion on Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
32. Ps Romanos, Kontakion on Joseph
33. Ps Ephrem, Armenian Commentary on Genesis
34. Armenian Story of Joseph
2 Joseph as a Type of Christ
Early Syriac Lectionaries
Aphrahat
Joseph Son of Jacob
Balai
Narsai
Jacob of Serugh
Conclusions
3 Exemplarity and the Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)
The Problem of Favouritism (Gen. 37:3–4)
Omitting the Problem: Ephrem’s Commentary on Genesis
Expanding the Problem: Balai
Addressing the Problem: Narsai
Preaching the Problem: Jacob of Serugh, Christ, and Harran
Conclusions
4 Imagining Monstrosity (Gen. 37:5–28)
Enmity, or the Motive for Fratricide (Gen. 37:3–11)
Duplicity, or Why Joseph Was Sent to Shechem (Gen. 37:11–14)
Brutality, or a Portrait of the Capture and Sale of Joseph (Gen. 37:17–28a)
Conclusions
5 Mother, Merchants, and the Market Place (Gen. 37:29–36)
Mother
Merchants
The Market Place
Conclusions
6 Making a Syriac Woman Sinful (Gen. 39)
The Temptress (Gen. 39:7)
The Adorned Woman: Syriac History of Joseph
The Sinful Woman: Joseph Son of Jacob
Eve’s Daughter: Narsai
Conclusions
7 Scripting Seduction (Gen. 39:7–10)
Arguments Marshalled by Potiphar’s Wife (P1–12)
Joseph’s Responses (J1–7)
Conclusions
8 Entrapment and Betrayal (Gen. 39:11–20)
Was Joseph Tempted to Yield?
Joseph in the Street (Gen. 39:12b)
The Accusation is Formed (Gen. 39:13–16)
The Trial and Sentence (Gen. 39:17–20)
Conclusions
Conclusion: Promise and Betrayal
Bibliography
Index of Manuscript Citations
Index of Incipits
Index of Ancient Sources
All interested in the reception history of the Bible, rewritten Bible, early Christian literature, Syriac Christianity, the Syriac version of the Bible and its reception, and the Bible during Late Antiquity.