Religion

This work is concerned primarily with the treatment of the demonic within early Christian literature, but also incorporates evidence from various other world religions, especially early Judaism and paganism.

A comparative work on the nature and various roles of the lesser deities, the so-called angels, in the Ugaritic texts and the Hebrew Bible. Sang Youl Cho insists on the necessity for a comparative study between the two religious literatures from Ugarit and ancient Israel. The present study is interested in their membership in the heavenly council, their kinship among the deities, and their roles such as messengers, warriors, mediators, or servants, which have numerous similarities in the Ugaritic texts and the Old Testament.

This book is Dr. Ameer’s reflection on growing up within the small community of Assyrian Christians in Yonkers, New York. He uses the year 1946 as an orientation for his discussion of that ethnic community, city, and time in history. The book enables readers to reflect on those aspects of community critical to civic support and on the process of successful assimilation in mid-twentieth century America. The author describes the experience of living in an ethnically, religiously, and racially diverse society. This will be of particular interest to people concerned with sustaining the idea of community in American life.

An excellent translation follows a critical essay, which argues that the Christian elements of the text do not point to a Christian author, but rather indicate that this work is a Christian recension of a Graeco-Jewish original.

Casey’s survey reveals not only his adept insights into Clement’s thought but also the great breadth of his knowledge of the Greek philosophers and the early Jewish and Christian theologians in the Roman Empire.

In this book the Syriac texts along with translations of the tales of the martyrs themselves as well as the miraculous deliverance of Euphemia are introduced by Professor Burkitt with a commentary focusing on the historicity of the different accounts.

A sensitive and evocative treatment of the role of the Holy Spirit in worship. With a keen awareness of the tradition of Syrian Christianity, Brock begins his exploration with the role of the Holy Spirit in the Syriac Bible. A striking aspect of this tradition is the imagery used for the Spirit, including: compassionate mother, fire, olive oil, as well as the more common image of dove. Brock also summarizes commentaries and other literature on the baptismal rite, touching on Syriac literature and works translated from the Greek.

In this thoroughly provocative book, the late Eugene Seaich makes a detailed study of the intractable mystery of the Jerusalem temple. Using historical sources and ingenious detective work, Seaich suggests that the cherubim in Solomon’s temple were portrayed in a copulatory embrace. Aware that this thesis is not entirely novel, the author builds a substantial case in its favor and traces the influence of the atonement (at-one-ment) theology behind the concept through Israel’s wisdom school, New Testament and Gnostic sources, up through the Middle Ages.

The issue of science versus religion is as old as the Renaissance. A new bombshell was brought to this issue when Charles Darwin discovered natural selection as the mechanism of evolution. Known as “Darwin’s bulldog”, Thomas Huxley anticipated modern-day discussions on the issue of science and religion. Among the topics included here are evolution versus Genesis, the authorship of the Pentateuch, and a history of paleontology. Huxley’s final offering is an anthropological study of the evolution of theology. For the student who wishes to trace the history of this debate, Huxley is essential reading.

This work of Theodor Nöldeke is an extremely rare find. Its scarcity should not be taken as a reflection on its authority or usefulness, however. In this original 1868 edition, Nöldeke lays out the basics of Neo-Syrian as it was used in Kurdistan and the area of Uremia. This valuable study, essentially unique to this day in its coverage of underrepresented language studies, provides a substantial, German introduction to the dialects described, followed by a thorough study of the languages themselves, also in German.

In this book the Syriac texts along with translations of the tales of the martyrs are introduced by Professor Burkitt with a commentary focusing on the historicity of the different accounts.

This book provides the Syriac text along with a translation of the tale of Euphemia and the martyrs’ deliverance of her from the Goth.

A philological study of the usage of Memra, Shekinah, and Metatron in Tragumic and Cabbalistic literature that combats nineteenth century Christian attempts to read these as references to the Second or Third Persons of the Trinity.

This edition of the Syriac-Arabic glosses of Isho Bar Ali is a publication difficult to locate. These glosses are located in the second part of Bar Ali’s lexicon, as the first part had been previously published. Bar Ali, a physician as well as a lexicographer, produced this noted Syriac-Arabic dictionary showing the meanings of Syriac words in Arabic. This historic step in the development of Syriac lexicography is analyzed here according to the glosses of the numerous manuscripts cited in the forward.

This biography of Severus, the patriarch of Antioch from 512-518 CE, attributed to his schoolmate Zachariah of Mytilene, gives unique information about life in Mediterranean region in the second half of the 5th century. These two young men from wealthy families became involved with a Christian movement, the "philoponoi," "those devoted to work" who combined asceticism with theological study. The work, originally in Greek, survives only in Syriac, which this volume presents alongside the first English translation of it. It is an important source for studies on Ancient Biography, Late Antiquity, and Early Christianity.

Believing that a firm basis for understanding Jesus could be found in the sources of the Bible, Purinton undertook to justify such sources as Paul’s letters and the gospels as authentic source material for the life of Jesus. He examined all the books of the New Testament, but with the realization that not all of the Epistles add to our knowledge of who Jesus was. Purinton wished to make Jesus accessible by means of a scholarly study of his life, in this venture his book has few equals even today.

Concerned with the continuing, and growing, anti-Semitism of his day, Jacobs laid out a statement of the Jewish contribution to civilization. Beginning with the convention of Jewish self-recognition as the people of the book, he sketches the relationship between the church and the Jews. He notes that Jews in the Middle Ages were intellectual intermediaries and their works had a profound impact on Medieval thought. Their roles in commerce and capitalism are explored. Noting the contribution throughout history of Jews to the cause of liberality, Jacob makes a profound case for seeing the deep impact Judaism has made on the modern world.

A rare edition of Lagarde’s Syriac ephemera, this volume is a linguist’s delight. Introduced in Latin and Arabic, the descriptions and annotations to Syriac manuscripts that constitute this book will seldom be found elsewhere. The various Syriac codices included in the collection are presented in Syriac without translation. For the student of Syriac who is seeking the authentic experience of reading Syriac materials, this study will be a treasury of material. Over the decades, Legarde’s works have become increasingly difficult to locate, and Gorgias Press is pleased to be able to offer this collectable again.

The astute observations of linguist Paul de Lagarde on Persian manuscript in Europe predating 1700 make an essential catalogue for anyone interested in the state of the field in the late 19th century. Citing each manuscript, Lagarde provides an annotated catalogue of 61 pieces that include descriptions from the initial publication of each text as well as his own observations. His study gives a sense of importance of each piece considered, demonstrating their relationships with other known documents. Also included in this unique study are the Judeo-Persian versions of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (the latter only through chapter 9).

Originally published in two volumes, this edition of the Arabic translation of the Pentateuch stands as one of Lagarde’s lasting contributions to biblical scholarship. Critical editions make frequent reference to this work. Included are two translations of Genesis into Arabic, along with a single version of the remaining pentateuchal books, also in Arabic. The first translation of Genesis represents the tradition of the Paris Polyglot, translated directly from the Hebrew, while the second is a cantena text from the Syriac tradition, representing two-thirds of Genesis. Lagarde’s study provides a valuable text-critical tool and easy access to the Arabic versions of the material.

Written in the scholarly Latin of his day, Lagarde considers in this brief study the questions Jerome raises on the Hebrew of the book of Genesis. In an abridged commentary form, Lagarde follows the questions in the order in which the book of Genesis presents the material. Beginning with the creation, Lagarde skips along to the phrases of Jerome’s text that raise questions and provides his insights about them. Presuming that the reader of the Vulgate will understand the Latin of the original, the comments on the material are likewise written in Latin.

Written in the days when textual criticism was still relatively new, and the great mass of manuscripts commonly used by present-day biblical scholars had not yet been plumbed, Lagarde spent many years making these exotic manuscripts available to scholars who previously had no access to them. In this volume are combined two manuscripts: the Pentateuch translated into Coptic, and the Gospels translated into Arabic. Despite the relatively recent dates of the manuscript sources for both collections, the material contained in these translations dates back to earlier days. Each of these translations is introduced in German with some critical notes about the readings included.

This piece provides an introduction, translation and commentary to a previously unstudied lectionary text, which provides deeper insight into early liturgical practice and the conception of the canon; and includes an index of the lessons according to books of Scripture.

Zeitlin’s masterful work supplies the Megillat Taanit’s text and a translation as well as a deft reading of this source’s utility for the history of the Jews from the Maccabees to the Great Revolt.

This work focuses on the literary and textual concerns of the Georgian and Armenian recensions of the Barlaam and Josaphat legend, and provides translations of all that remains of the Georgian text and the relevant Armenian parallels.