The Primordial Language in Ephrem the Syrian

The Primordial Language in Ephrem the SyrianHugoye: 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/XQ9MBPMA/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.YuliyaMinetsThe Primordial Language in Ephrem the Syrianhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/XQ9MBPMAhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/XQ9MBPMAhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/XQ9MBPMAHugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies25:22022313-363This article contributes to the discussion on the primordial language in the late antique Syriac tradition, specifically in the legacy of Ephrem the Syrian (c.306–373). The important milestone is the <i>Cave of Treasures</i>, a pseudepigraphal historical narrative ascribed to Ephrem but dated to the mid-sixth or early seventh century. The text emphatically asserts the priority of Syriac over Hebrew. The idea would later become popular among both Eastern and Western Syriac intellectuals. Some scholars have taken it as a testimony of Ephrem’s views or an indication that these ideas had been in circulation in his time. However, the authentic writings of Ephrem the Syrian are surprisingly equivocal concerning the pre-Babel language. We can partially reconstruct his views by collating the bits of information from indirect statements in his hymns and his Commentary on Genesis. Analyzing Ephrem’s discussion on the tower of Babel and language confusion helps rectify the assumption that Ephrem championed Syriac primordiality. Minets, Yuliya. “The Primordial Language in Ephrem the Syrian.” Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 25:2 (2022): 313–63. Yuliya Minets, The Primordial Language in Ephrem the Syrian, Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 25:2 (2022): 313–63.EphremGen 11:7-9GenesisIV CEIV-VII CEOld TestamentSyriac languageTower of Babelexegesis