The Parables of Matthew in the East Syriac Exegetical Tradition

The Parables of Matthew in the East Syriac Exegetical TraditionSyriaca.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/DU22VCM9/tei

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2025-05-20-05:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Kevin J.BallThe Parables of Matthew in the East Syriac Exegetical Traditionhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/DU22VCM9https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/DU22VCM9https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/DU22VCM92024This dissertation explores the earliest extant and most influential exegetical commentary on the four Gospels written in the Arabic language. This work was composed by Abū al-Faraj ‘Abd Allāh Ibn al-Ṭayyib (d. 1043CE), a famous Christian scholar, philosopher, and medical doctor writing in Baghdad in the first half of the 11th century. His stated purpose in writing the Commentary on the Gospels was to preserve the East Syriac exegetical heritage, and to present the riches of this tradition in the Arabic vernacular for the Christian populace that was increasingly unable to read Syriac. In so doing, Ibn al-Ṭayyib selected, compiled, and arranged exegetical material from various Syriac sources into this extensive commentary. Most notably, the sources included two Greek fathers whose works were translated into Syriac, Theodore of Mopsuestia and John Chrysostom, as well as authors writing in Syriac over the centuries: Isho‘dad of Merv, Narsai, Ephrem, and others. Due to a lack of sources for comparison and changes in transmission, these sources are often difficult to identify; the Commentary on the Gospels also does not usually provide attribution of sources. The text of the six parables unique to Matthew’s Gospel are studied with an eye to the reception history of these texts and the method of Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s exegesis and interactions with his sources. These six parables include: the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. The complete Arabic text of these six parables from the Commentary on the Gospels is found in the Appendix with an English translation. In a case study, the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard is given the most extensive treatment of its reception history from the earliest Christian exegetes up to Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s Commentary on the Gospels. This chapter demonstrates that this commentary shows an awareness for many exegetical opinions outside of Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s own East Syriac tradition. Ball, Kevin J. “The Parables of Matthew in the East Syriac Exegetical Tradition.” Ph.D. dissertation, The Catholic University of America, 2024. Kevin J. Ball, The Parables of Matthew in the East Syriac Exegetical Tradition (Ph.D. dissertation, The Catholic University of America, 2024).