Under the name of Isaac of Antioch, also known as Isaac the Great, or the Teacher, more than 200 memre, as well as some madrashe, exist. While there has been question, at least since the time of Jacob of Edessa, exactly who this Isaac was, and if the name in fact referred to more than one person, there is no doubt that he is a star of Syriac literature and takes his place near Ephrem, Jacob of Sarug, and Narsai. In this volume, Bedjan produces the (vocalized) Syriac text of 67 of Isaac’s memre. The work is prefaced with a short introduction (in French) in which Bedjan touches on what is known of Isaac from Syriac literature, the question of his identity (or identities), and the style and content of his homilies. Some of these homilies had been edited prior to Bedjan’s edition, but 43 of them appear here for the first time.
PaulBedjan
Paul Bedjan (1838-1920) was a Chaldean priest. A committed Orientalist, he worked with and collected many Syriac manuscripts. Many of his works are available from Gorgias Press.