Book of the Bee
The Book of the Bee (Syriac: ܟܬܒܐ ܕܕܒܘܪܝܬܐ / Ktābā d-debboritā) is a historiographic and theological compilation, containing numerous Biblical stories. It was written around 1222, by Solomon of Akhlat, who was Bishop of Basra, within the Church of the East. It is written in Syriac language.[1][2]
The book is a collection of theological and historical texts, and consists of 55 chapters discussing various topics including the creation, heaven and earth, the angels, darkness, paradise, Old Testament patriarchs, New Testament events, lists of kings and patriarchs, and the final day of resurrection. The book was very popular among local Christian communities, and it was transmitted up to the 19th century.[3][4]
The author, Solomon of Akhlat,[5] was a bishop of the Church of the East during the first half of the 13th century. He was a diocesan bishop of Basra (Basrah, Bassora), now in Iraq, and was present at the consecration of Patriarch Sabrisho IV in 1222.[6] He dedicated the book to his friend, bishop Narsai of Beth Waziq.[7]
The book was written in Classical Syriac, a literary form of Aramaic language, and it was also translated into Arabic. The author held his native Syriac language on high regard, and adopted a notion of some older authors that it was the oldest language.[8] In the Book of the Bee, Solomon designated his language as Aramaic or Syriac,[9] and his people as Arameans or Syrians,[10] insisting that they did not take part in events that led to the condemnation and crucifixion of Christ:
"Touching the writing which was written in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, and set over Christ's head, there was no Aramean written upon the tablet, for the Arameans or Syrians had no part in (the shedding of) Christ's blood, but only the Greeks and Hebrews and Romans; Herod the Greek and Caiaphas the Hebrew and Pilate the Roman. Hence when Abgar the Aramean king of Mesopotamia heard (of it), he was wroth against the Hebrews and sought to destroy them."[10]
The book was translated into Latin and published in 1866, by Joseph Schönfelder (d. 1913).[11] In 1886, Syriac text was published with English translation, by British orientalist Ernest A. Wallis Budge (d. 1934).[12]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Budge 1886, p. III-X.
- ^ Teule 2012, p. 193-195.
- ^ Baumstark 1922, p. 309.
- ^ Weltecke & Younansardaroud 2019, p. 705.
- ^ Loopstra 2011, p. 378.
- ^ Wright 1894, p. 282.
- ^ Fiey 1993, p. 68.
- ^ Budge 1886, p. 36, 39, 42.
- ^ Budge 1886, p. 39.
- ^ a b Budge 1886, p. 99.
- ^ Schönfelder 1866.
- ^ Budge 1886.
Sources[]
- Baumstark, Anton (1922). Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, mit Ausschluss der christlich-palästinensischen Texte. Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber Verlag.
- Brock, Sebastian P. (1989). "Three Thousand Years of Aramaic Literature". Aram Periodical. 1 (1): 11–23.
- Budge, Ernest A. Wallis, ed. (1886). The Book of the Bee: The Syriac Text Edited from the Manuscripts in London, Oxford, and Munich with an English Translation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Fiey, Jean Maurice (1993). Pour un Oriens Christianus Novus: Répertoire des diocèses syriaques orientaux et occidentaux. Beirut: Orient-Institut.
- Loopstra, Jonathan A. (2011). "Shlemon of Baṣra". Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. p. 378.
- Schönfelder, Joseph M., ed. (1866). Salomonis episcopi Bassorensis liber Apis: Syriacum Arabicumque textum Latine vertit notis illustravit. Bamberg: Reindl.
- Teule, Herman G. B. (2012). "Solomon of Basra". Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History. Vol. 4. Leiden-Boston: Brill. pp. 193–195.
- Weltecke, Dorothea; Younansardaroud, Helen (2019). "The Renaissance of Syriac Literature in the Twelfth–Thirteenth Centuries". The Syriac World. London: Routledge. pp. 698–717.
- Wright, William (1894). A Short History of Syriac Literature. London: Adam and Charles Black.
External links[]
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