Solving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem

Solving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic ProblemJournal of the American Oriental SocietySyriaca.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/XRNXBIE4/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.YonatanMossFlaviaRuaniSolving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic Problemhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/XRNXBIE4https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/XRNXBIE4https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/XRNXBIE4Journal of the American Oriental Society143:32023581-606Within the rich literary tradition of the West Syrian (i.e., Syriac Orthodox) Church, two ninth-century authors stand out thanks to a curious problem. The authors are the bishops John of Dara, who lived in the first half of the century, and Moses bar Kepha, who died in northern Iraq in 903. The problem is the literary relationship between several of the texts transmitted in their names. Applying a three-pronged approach to this synoptic problem, this article offers a path toward a solution. On the basis of biographical, stylistic, and philological arguments, it is argued that at least one text that goes under John’s name, <i>On Heretics</i>, was not in fact written by him. The author of that text, likely operating in the tenth century, drew heavily from Moses bar Kepha’s treatise <i>On Paradise</i>, while reshaping the material from Moses, and also incorporating additional material from other sources. Moss, Yonatan, and Flavia Ruani. “Solving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 143:3 (2023): 581–606. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.143.3.2023.ar023. Yonatan Moss and Flavia Ruani, Solving the Ninth-Century West Syrian Synoptic Problem, Journal of the American Oriental Society 143:3 (2023): 581–606, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7817/jaos.143.3.2023.ar023.IX CEJacobitesJohn of DaraMoses bar KephaVII-XVIII CEX CEauthorshipheresiography