The Armenian Commentary on Genesis attributed to Ephrem the Syrian Arm. 24, V.

by Ephrem the Syrian, Elsbeth G. Klein, Edward G. Mathews Jr.

In the various early Christian traditions of the life of Ephrem the Syrian, he was widely known even more for his biblical commentaries than his poetry, for which he is now so highly regarded. Only three commentaries have survived in his native Syriac, and only the Commentary on Genesis survives in a complete version. A large corpus of commentaries has survived in Armenian and all these were long considered to be genuine. A study of the Armenian Commentary on Genesis has demonstrated that at least the Old Testament commentaries were influenced by Syriac traditions based on the exegesis of Jacob of Edessa (d. 708). Thus, these commentaries rather reflect a medieval Armenian exegesis strongly influenced by Syriac traditions. Armenian commentaries on Exodus-Deuteronomy attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, with their first ever translation into any modern language. These volumes constitute the second of three installments of the Old Testament commentaries attributed to Ephrem the Syrian. These commentaries should be of interest to anyone interested in the history of biblical interpretation, and to those interested in the history of Syrian-Armenian ecclesiastical relations.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ephrem the Syrian was a Syriac deacon and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century from the region of Syria. His works are hailed by Christians throughout the world, and many denominations venerate him as a saint. He has been declared a Doctor of the Church in Roman Catholicism. He is especially beloved in the Syriac Orthodox Church.

Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as prose biblical exegesis. These were works of practical theology for the edification of the church in troubled times. So popular were his works, that, for centuries after his death, Christian authors wrote hundreds of pseudepigraphal works in his name. Ephrem's works witness to an early form of Christianity in which Western ideas take little part. He has been called the most significant of all of the fathers of the Syriac-speaking church tradition.