The Arabic Life of John the Merciful and Its Relationship with the Syriac Version and the Greek Text

The Arabic Life of John the Merciful and Its Relationship with the Syriac Version and the Greek TextHugoye: Journal of Syriac StudiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/9PH3KGHN/tei

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2025-05-20-05:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.GuidoVenturiniThe Arabic Life of John the Merciful and Its Relationship with the Syriac Version and the Greek Texthttp://syriaca.org/cbss/9PH3KGHNhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/9PH3KGHNhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/9PH3KGHNHugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies26:22023467-532The study of the Arabic version of the Life of John the Merciful, originally written in Greek by the Byzantine hagiographer Leontios of Neapolis towards the middle of the 7th century, offers the opportunity for an overall reconsideration of the entire manuscript tradition of the work. The importance of the Arabic Life in the history of the transmission of Leontios’ hagiography is primarily connected to its central position among the oriental versions (including Syriac and Georgian), the Greek original, and the medieval translations into Latin. This contribution aims to clarify the origin of the Arabic version (from Greek or Syriac). It offers a definitive clarification of the mutual relationship between the ancient translations of the Life of John the Merciful. After outlining the status quaestionis and the latest advancements on the topic, the article will study the Arabic version from an ecdotic point of view. By focusing on the most relevant loci critici of the work, the author will show the close connection between the Arabic, Syriac, and Latin versions. Excluding their common dependence on a lost Greek Vorlage, the author will provide evidence of the direct relationship between Arabic and Latin on the one hand, and between Syriac and Arabic on the other. Finally, the Arabic text will be studied as an indirect witness of the Syriac manuscript tradition by comparing it with the multiple forms of the Syriac version. Venturini, Guido. “The Arabic Life of John the Merciful and Its Relationship with the Syriac Version and the Greek Text.” Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 26:2 (2023): 467–532. Guido Venturini, The Arabic Life of John the Merciful and Its Relationship with the Syriac Version and the Greek Text, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 26:2 (2023): 467–532.