A ^r:svicaitvi/ai- waae^jt^juu

III

n pi

^Ptypw jit

MM

II

ii'

fni'M !^
i

l l

iii ij' iit

.u

THE

GIFT OF

Alfred

<K.

Barnus.

Cornell University Library

BS1830.O3 S9 1909
Odes and Psalms
of

Solomon: now

first

pu

3 1924 029 308 669

olin

Cornell University Library

The

original of this

book

is in

the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright

restrictions in
text.

the United States on the use of the

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029308669

THE ODES AND PSALMS

OF

SOLOMON

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

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THE ODES AND PSALMS

OF

SOLOMON
NOW
FIRST PUBLISHED

FROM THE

SYRIAC VERSION
BY

J.

RENDEL HARRIS,
Hon. LL.D.
(Haverford),

M.A.
(Leiden),
College, Cambridge.

Hon.

D.Litt.

(Dubl.),

Hon. D.TheoI.

Hon. LL.D. (Birmingham), Hon^ Fellow of Clare

Cambridge
at tlie

University Press

1909

nAHpoycee eN nNeyMATi, AaAoyntec e&yToTc yAAMoTc

kaI
C{5A(SiTc

kai

y^noic
t(|J

nNeyMATiK&Tc, ^AoNrec

Kd,\

VciAAoNTec

rijl

KiSipAf^ii

ymcon
V.

KYpfcp.
^(!?

Ephes.

19.

OY
K&l

r'S'P

ecTiN H BACiAeiA toy Beoy Bpwcic ka) ndcic, aAAa

iir(t|)-

Aikmocynh

eipHNH Kdi XARA 6N nNCYMATI

^^

^o2. xiv. 17

PREFACE
come down when the document itself
original text,

not easy ITwhich has

is

to produce a satisfactory edition of a

to us in a single

work

document, especially is late in date, and represents not the but a version of the same, made by some unknown

hand.

Obscurities are sure to exist in a text so scantily attested

and of such an uncertain tradition. In spite, however, of these inherent difficulties, I hope that the translation and editing of these new Odes of Solomon (with their associated and already known Psalms of Solomon) will be satisfactory for, although late in date, the text is very well preserved, and the translation from the Greek into the Syriac appears to have been carefully and conscientiously made. If we could come across some more traces of the newly-recovered work in the writings of the Fathers, or if, by good hap, we might" find the lost Latin or a copy of
;

the original Greek,

much

that

is

obscure

in

our presentation of

Meanwhile we have done our best with the material as we found it and as we were able to reinforce it our thanks are due to scholarly friends who have assisted us with their keen revising eyes or their nimble emendating brains. My learned lady friends Mrs Lewis and Mrs Gibson have given
the Odes would disappear.
:

me much
Nestle has
points, of

assistance with the proofs

Mr

Glover has criticised

:

obscure passages and inadequate arguments

and Professor

made some brilliant

suggestions for the betterment of

the text, and traces of his skilled hand

may

be seen at several

which I note especially Ode 7, 12, Ode 38, 14, Ps. v. 16, and Ps. xvii. 31. I think it is very likely that a skilled Ps. vii. 4, Coptic scholar could also do something to improve either the text or the translation in those Odes which have been transferred
to the text of the Pistis Sophia.

RENDEL HARRIS.

Chetwynd, Selly Oak.

October^ 1909-

CONTENTS
PAGE

Introduction

88

Translation of the Odes Translation of the Psalms

Syriac Text of the Odes and Psalms
. .

138 139 154 ^

89
ai

INTRODUCTION
The present volume contains an important addition to our knowledge of the literature which immediately anticipates or directly follows the time of Christ. It contains, on the one hand, a hitherto unknown version of the Psalms of Solomon, a collection which has often been studied, from the standpoints both of the higher and lower criticism, and which is, by common consent, referred to the middle of the first century B.C. and on the other hand it presents a new collection which I have called, for the sake of distinction, and in harmony with the references they in ancient writers, by the name of the Odes of Solomon MS. in my own are here edited and translated from a Syriac possession and it will probably be no rash prediction to say that their value and antiquity will be at once recognized by students and critics, and that they will be assigned, either wholly or in
;
; :

century of the Christian era. The reasons for appear presently, but, apart altogether from the question of a half-century more or less in the dating of a
part, to the first
this belief will

document,

it

lies

outside controversy that the

new Odes
life,

are

marked

by a vigour and exaltation of

spiritual

and

a mystical insight, to which we can only find parallels in the most illuminated periods of the history of the Church. They
differ, in this respect,

from the extant associated in our

:

not much hope passed at the hands of the Romans in the Invasion of Pompey have left a gloom over the sky even in the moments of temporary relief and in the time of exultation over the fall of the great
oppressor: what
o. s. life

by the whole breadth of the firmament, Psalms of Solomon, with which they are MS. In these there is little originality, and the hard experiences through which Jerusalem

and

light there is

may

be traced to the
^

INTRODUCTION
and to the Messianic ...... severe morality of the traditional Pharisees, their times of affliction were the hopes for whose development and so far are they from appropriate and necessary nidus national in the expression of personal or religious originality many of the Psalms in question are little more experience, that than centos and expansions from the canonical Hebrew Psalter. In the Odes, on the other hand, we have few quotations or
;

adaptations from previous writings, whether Jewish or Christian; there is little that can be traced to the Old Testament, almost nothing that is to be credited to the Gospels or other branches
of the Christian literature.

Their radiance

is

no

reflection
is

from

the illumination of other days: their inspiration

first-hand

and immediate
Aristides

it

answers very well to the summary which

life of the early Christian Church when he described them as indeed 'a new people with whom something Divine is mingled.' They are thus altogether distinct from the extant Psalms of Solomon which are bound up with them in our MS. Whatever we may have to say of these latter is limited to the interest which arises in the discovery of an Eastern Version of a book whose Greek text is peculiarly difficult to edit, and whose original Hebrew text has altogether dis-

made

of the

appeared.

We

shall

show that the new Syriac version

;

is itself

a translation of the Greek we shall point out in what ways, if any, it serves to the betterment of the Greek text, and whether
it

gives

any assistance

to the detection of the lost

Hebrew
Odes.

text.

Our
found
lie,

chief interest, however, will be with the

We

shall discuss the quotations

and fragments of these which are

:

limits of time within

we shall try to determine the which the composition of the Odes must as well as the locality or Church from which they emanate:
in early Christian writers

we

shall try to find out also how they became attached to the Psalms, and whether they were originally composed in Greek shall

add a brief commentary and notes to the Odes as way we hope to clear up some perplexities m the historical tradition, while leaving, no doubt, a number of unsolved problems to those who shall follow after us. The MS. from which our texts come is a paper one of quite
translated.

and we

In this

a late period its age may be between three and four hundred years but as it is imperfect both at the begmning and ending, and so has lost both its preface and
Th^e Syriac
:


DESCRIPTION OF MS.
colophon,
3

we cannot

tell

who made
date.
It

the copy, nor can

how it was described by the person we say anything definite about the

has been lying on

my

shelves for

some

time, perhaps

for as long as

heap of leaves from various Syriac MSS. written on paper, which came from the neighbourhood of the Tigris. In spite of its relatively late date, the text is a good one it is carefully, if somewhat coarsely written, and is furnished with occasional vowels in the Nestorian manner, to which there have been added, probably by a later hand, sundry Greek vowels in the Jacobite manner. As we have said it is incomplete both at the beginning and the end: we can, however, make out pretty clearly what the original MS. was like.
years, along with a
:

two

The book
first

is

arranged in quires of ten leaves

:

of the

first

quire three leaves are missing

these three leaves contained the

and second Odes and the beginning of the third Ode. The Odes then run continuously till the fourth quire, where they stop on the verso of the fourth leaf: thus the Odes occupy roughly thirty-four leaves. Then the extant Psalms begin
they occupy the remaining six leaves of the fourth quire (say six leaves plus), the fifth quire, and the sixth quire, of which the
plus whatever was needed to complete the book from a seventh quire: and since the extant portion of the Psalms in our Syriac MS. takes us up to Ps. xvii. 38 there is not much Suppose we say that the Psalms to add from a seventh quire. occupied twenty-six leaves, and that four more leaves are required to complete the text, we have then approximately
last leaf is gone,

Odes = 34

leaves

Psalms = 30 leaves or Psalms and Odes = 64

leaves.

Now
rndodes
compared.

let

us turn to the accounts given us by ancient writers of the extent of the books in question first of all
:

Psalms of Solomon once we know that the .^ ^j^^ ^^^^^ Codcx Alexandrinus for in ^^^^^
18
:

the index to the

MS. we
^

find as follows:

ATroKoXinjri^ 'ladvvov

K'Xij /levTO'i iiricnoXrj

KX7yu,ei'T09 eTriaTok') /3

ofiov /3i/8Xta

"^aXfiol X6\o/j,(ovTO<;

itj'.

: :

INTRODUCTION
Here the eighteen Psalms stand
just outside the accepted

Christian books of the N.T., in the very

penumbra of

canonicity.

Next turn

to

the

Synopsis Sanctae Scripturae which passes

:

under the name of Athanasius

here

we

find as follows, after

the enumeration of the Antilegomena of the Old Testament

ffvv eicelvoi<; Se Koi

ravra
S'

>ipi0fir)VTai'

MaKKa^aiKo.
UToXefiaiKo,
'^aXfiol Kal

/St^SXia

aiSrj [1.

eoSat] SoXoyt4c3i'TO?

Xooaavva.

Here we

find the

Psalms

in the

company

of the Odes, and

forming a part of the disputed writings of the Old Testament from the supplementary manner in which they are introduced, following an unknown book on Egyptian history, we may perhaps describe their position as the penumbra of uncanonicity, or,

rather of deuterocanonicity.

The Psalms and Odes

are here (say in the sixth century) definitely grouped together.

Constantinople in the beginning of the ninth century

find as follows
1.
:

Next take the Stichometry of Nicephorus, the Patriarch of here we

:

2. 3.

Three books of Maccabees. The Wisdom of Solomon.

Ecclesiasticus.

4.

The Psalms and Odes

verses {arlxoi ,^p')-

of Solomon, containing 2100

5.

Esther.
Judith.

6. 7. 8.

Susanna.
Tobit.

Here we find our two books again grouped together, and very well placed amongst the Apocrypha of the Old Testament
they do not seem to have lost any dignity between the sixth and they have been carefully measured, and ninth centuries after the manner of books which are likely to be transcribed
;

and whose contents must therefore be estimated

recognized scale.
In the same connexion

on some
is

we have

list

of books which

found attached to the Questiones et Responsiones of Anastasius

STICHOMETRY OF THE ODES

the Sinaite, and

is commonly known as the Catalogue of the After the sixty canonical books, we have a list of nine deuterocanonical books, and then a list of twenty-five definitely apocryphal writings amongst these last we find

Sixty Books.

8.

Ava\,7)\lrii} MfBvcre&)9.

9.

'^aXfiol SoXo/A(i)i'T09.

10.

HXtov

aTTOKaXvyfri,';.

etc.

Here we cannot be certain whether Psalms means Psalms and Odes, nor is any estimate made of the extent of the composition. The book is not in such good company as it is
in the

Catalogue of Nicephorus.
correctness of the statement that the Odes and Psalms contain 2100 verses, let us now turn to the Greek texts of the eighteen Psalms, and see

Assuming the
Stichometry.

what the
(Cod.

scribes say about their compass.

X a-ri yjrv'

The Vatican MS.

of Gebhardt's edition of the Psalms) says that the book

:

contains

the Copenhagen MS. (Cod. H) says eVi? ,a; and the Paris MS. (Cod. P) says eirri TpiaKovra. Here, as Gebhardt says, Cod. P has misread A as A' so we have two
;

statements as to the length of the book.

verses, the other verses

One statement
is is

says

of Homer, but since that

there
If

what verses

mean

in

a stichometric reckoning,

no discrepancy
that the scribe

here except in the numbers.

of Cod.

as a/t, we have 950 verses for R which agrees closely with the reckoning in Cod. H. Suppose we say then that the 18 Psalms equal 950 verses. But then we are told by Nicephorus that the Psalms and Odes together make 2100 verses we have then the ratio of Odes to Psalms 11 50 to 950 or 23 to 19. Our estimate of the relative lengths in the Syriac was 34 to 30 or 17 to 15. The former estimate is V2i to i, the latter IT3 to i, which is suffi-

has misread the sign

we imagine for 900, ^,

ciently exact to

make

the verification that our

new Odes

are

and the other Canonists speak. It will be observed that Nicephorus has divided the Solomonic Proverbs, literature into two parts, the Canonical books, viz. Ecclesiastes and Canticles, and the Antilegomena which include the Wisdom of Solomon, perhaps Ecclesiasticus, and the Psalms and Odes of Solomon that is, there are three canonical books of Solomon, and at least two sub-canonical books. We put
those of which Nicephorus
: ;

6
it

INTRODUCTION
in

that way, because there

is

that Ecclesiasticus

was

also reckoned
it is

evidence in some quarters amongst the books of

Solomon. If, however, of Solomon.

not so reckoned,

we have

five

books

Now let

us turn to the Cheltenham Stichometry as published

by Mommsen'. Here we have the Solomonic writings introduced as follows

Psalmi David CLI.
ver. V.

Salomonis vef. v D. profetas maiores ver. XVI. CCCLXX. numero

This
is

llll.

Solomonic
rtiechurch

at first sight it seems as if the little perplexing Cheltenham list had only one book of Solomon, or several books reckoned as one, and that the tt^' extent of this book or books is 5500 verses
;

(reading

VD

for

D).

But,

as

Preuschen^ has
into

suggested, the real reckoning for

Solomon has got

vn. CCCXX.
nil.

the

next

line,

and we should read

Salomonis.
lib. v. ver.

profetas maiores
If this restoration

numero

be correct, we should have the Cheltenham for five books of Solomon, but without any clue list in evidence to the identification of the five books, or any means of comparison with the stichometry of the Psalms and Odes as given by
Nicephorus.

Now,

that Preuschen

is

correct as regards the

be seen from the

fact that the figure

which we find

in

Vulgate MSS.'
Proverbs

numbers may 7320 agrees with the count For here we have

1740

THE ODES AND THE CANON

are not

amongst the

five.

For our purposes,

therefore,

we may

dismiss the Cheltenham catalogue.

is

The

date of this catalogue

:

soon after A.D. 359, and it is North African in origin we may say that at this date the Psalms of Solomon were not recognized in Carthage.

The very same

list

thing follows from the consideration of the

Scriptures
in 397, for

of

Canonical

contained

in

Council of Carthage

the entry in
libri

Acts of the the list of Canonical

the

Books,

Salomonis

quinque

can hardly be referred to any other grouping than that which we have already described. The tradition of the Church is
steady that there are five books of Solomon. Thus we find Innocentius, writing at the beginning of the fifth century,
'

in

prophetarum

libri

sexdecim, Salomonis

libri

quinque,

PsalteriumV

and

in Cassiodorus, writing at the

'

end of the
;

fifth

century^,

Psalterium

librum

unum
'

Salomonis

libros

quinque

i.e.

Proverbia, Sapientiam, Ecclesiasticum, Ecclesiasten,

Canticum Canticorum
and so
in

other places.

Isidore, of Seville, in the early part of

the seventh century, divides the five Solomonic writings into

groups of three and two respectively, and explains that the two which he detaches (Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus) were really the works of Jesus the son of Sirach, but have been credited to

Solomon on the ground of

'

style':
libelli,

Duo quoque

illi

egregii et sanctae institutionis

Sapientiam dico et alium qui vocatur Ecclesiasticus

qui

dum

dicantur a Jesu

filio

Sirach

editi,

tamen propter
titulo

quandam
praenotati.'

eloquii similitudinem

Salomonis

sunt

There are no further references that I know of to the Psalms or Odes of Solomon in the lists of canonical books which have come down to us, unless there should be a cryptic allusion to them in the new book of Psalms written for Marcion, which the Muratorian Canon condemns (Saec. ii. iii.), or the ifraXfiol

Ad Exsuperium
De
Isidore,

(Galland, Bibl. vol.

viii.

pp. 561

ff. ).

"
'

insiit. div. liti. c. xiv.

De

m-dine

libb. S. Script.,

.P.L

Ixxxiii.

155

ff.

8
IBicoTiKol

INTRODUCTION

which the Council of Laodicea (c. 360 A.D.) prohibits from being used in the Church^. In the latter case we have the But opinion of John Zonaras in favour of the identification.

Zonaras engaged

in

the twelfth century was probably, like

ourselves,

in speculation.

On

the other hand,

if

we might

describe

the faXfiol IBocoTLKoi as meaning Psalms of personal experience, term would exactly suit our collection of Odes. Having now proved that we have the two books of Solomonic

Psalms and Odes in substantially the same compass (.jj^^. ^^ey Were known to the ancient Stichometers, we now pass on to consider what light is thrown on the matter by actual quotations from the book of Odes which are extant. We begin with a passage from Lactantius, which was first
Lactantius and the Odes.

noticed

by the learned Whiston^.

c.

In

the Divine Institutes

(Bk

iv.
'

12)

we

have the following pa.ssage

ita

Salomon

dicit

Infirmatus est

uterus Virginis et
facta
est
in

accepit

foetum

et

gravata
virgo.'

est,

et

multa

miseratione mater

And

in the

introduced by the words

this quotation there

Epitome of the Divine Institutes the passage is Apud Salomonen ita scriptum est; to

./>;

was added

in the

MSS.

of Lactantius the

words itt Ode undevigesimo^ or in Psalmo tmdevigesimo or in Psalmo vigesimo. These references to a 19th Psalm or Ode or to a 20th Psalm betray a knowledge of the book from which the quotation was taken on turning to the 19th Ode in our collection we find the very words quoted by Lactantius, the actual
:

Syriac text being as follows

.^:tLo
.rCr^'i'Xy K'jaaw'iB

Kl^s

^sjaoio

K'nio^a

ristiri

^ocno

' Origen's Canon, as contained in Euseb. H. E. vi. 25, has an entry of three Solomonic books. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Canticles ; with regard to this last he says'*"-^'''/*'*

only an alternative

But this is Origen condemns ; it has no suggestion in it of other Songs or Canticles. Origen is expressly enumerating the twenty-two books of the Hebrew Canon. The alternative title for Canticles is actually found in the Synopsis of Chrysostom, in John of Damascus {Dejide orthodoxa iv. 17) and elsewhere. ^ Authentick Records., i. 155.
dfTfidTOjv,
oii

yb,p tus irapa\a^^avov(ri tlves, "^fffjuTa qATfmTiov.

title vifhich

So

in the

Cambridge MS. Gg.

is

4.

24; but in the

MS. Kk.

4. 17

of the same

University the reference

wanting.

LACTANTIUS AND THE ODES

The only discordance

which
is

is

in

the

first

word of the passage,

difficult

certainly

wrong

in

the Latin', and very

to

interpret in the Syriac.

however, that Lactantius* is working from a book of Odes arranged in the same order as ours if he had both Psalms and Odes in his collection, then the
It is clear,
:

Odes preceded the Psalms. And further, since Lactantius quotes in Latin, the book was extant in a Latin translation in his time for when Lactantius quotes Greek books, as in the
;

case of the Sibylline verses, he quotes in Greek and does not offer a translation. From which it appears that by the beginning of the fourth century the Odes of Solomon must have been
translated into Latin'.

Ryle and James in their edition of the eighteen Psalms of Solomon drew attention, following Whiston, to this passage of
Lactantius, and

made

the correct inference from

at

it

that there

must have been more Solomonic matter

one time accessible

to Christian scholars than the eighteen Psalms.

And

since the

Ode quoted by

undoubtedly Christian, they suggest that the original collection of Psalms of Solomon was fitted with an Appendix of Odes of Solomon, the added matter being approximately equal in length to the original collection, and either Christian or marked by distinctly Christian interLactantius
is

right, as our MS. Only our book presents the matter of the Appendix in a different light: here it is the Odes that have the first place and the Psalms that are appended and possibly this was also the case with Lactantius' book of Solomon. We shall

polations.

So

far

they were undoubtedly

incontestably shows.

is reason to believe that the two books came together in both orders, in different lines of tradition, and that there was current not only a book of Odes and Psalms but also a book of Psalms and Odes*.

show, presently, that there

'

am

inclined to believe
'

it

is

simply a mistake for

'

insinuatus.

'

Just above

Lactantius says,
^

Descendens itaque de caelo sanctus

ille spiritus

dei sanctam virginem

cujus utero se insinuaret elegit.'

It is possible that these references to the

number of

the Psalm

may be

glosses

on

the original

text

in that case not

Lactantius, but at least two early scribes of

Lactantius, had the

^

book

in the

order in which
is

we

read

it.

We

shall

show

later that there

some probability

that Lactantius has been

influenced by our fourth

''

Note that the

five

Ode in a passage of Div. Inst. iv. 27. apocryphal Psalms published by Wright from the Syriac in
2

Proc. S. Bibl. Arch, for 1887 have nothing to do with our collection,
O. S.

lO

INTRODUCTION

In the MSS. of Lactantius there is some fluctuation between the numbers 19 and 20 for the quoted Psalm: an error of this kind is quite natural one has only to miss a Psalm in enumeratIf a special motive for the ing or drop a number in counting.
;

mistake were to be sought, I should look for it in the Psalm itself, which is very abrupt and discontinuous at the point where Lactantius begins to quote. Can it be that two Psalms have

been joined at this point ? If so, the fluctuation in the numberIt is not, however, a point of ing would be easily explained.

any great importance.

And now
The Odes and
the Pistis Sophia.

let us pass on to a more interesting question, the existence of extracts from the Odes of Solomon in *. /^i that curious Gnostic book, preserved in the Coptic
.

.11

^^^

^^^^

exactly, Thebaic) language,

and known

as the Fisiis

Sophia.

These extracts
us, in

will

be important, not
the

only because they give

the form of a version, a good deal

of matter that coincides with what

we have recovered from

an
earlier

Syriac, but because they present this matter at

time

than that of Lactantius, from

whom

our

first

quotation was made,

and the writer

who made

these quotations in the latter part of

the third century was not only quoting from the

Odes

of Solomon,

but from those Odes as forming a part of his accepted Biblical

We shall endeavour to make these points clear, and also show that in the Biblical text from which the writer quoted the Odes of Solomon were preceded by the Psalms of Solomon. If we can establish these points, the antiquity of the Odes will be made out, for it is on the one hand clear that they are traditional companions of the Psalms of Solomon for a considerable length of time and on the other hand it is quite improbable that a book written, say, as late as the end of the second century, should be a part of the accepted Egyptian canon in the latter part of the third century. To get into the canon at all, in any of the great centres of Christian life, a book must have a measure of antiquity on its side those
text.

to

books

which secured such canonicity, Clement's Epistle, or Barnabas' Epistle or the Shepherd of Hermas, obtained their position by the presumption of antiquity, and even then were
not easily rooted in the positions that they acquired, as the history of the Canon will show. Let us, then, try to establish the points

to which

we have

referred

above

and

first

with regard to the

THE ODES AND THE

made.

PISTIS

SOPHIA

II

date of the Pistis Sophia from which the extracts have been

The best investigation made by Harnack in Bd

into the Pistis

vii.

Sophia
u.

is

the one

of his

Texte
five
;

Untersuchungen
(i)

1891.

His treatise

is

divided

into

sections:

the

relation of the Pistis

Sophia to the N.T. (ii) the relation of the Pistis Sophia to the O.T. (iii) the biblical exegesis of the
;

general Christian and catholic elements; and (v) a discussion of the character, origin, time and place of production of the work in question. Under this last head
(iv) its

author;

origin,

Harnack comes and that

;

to the conclusion that the

it

was written

in the

book is of Egyptian second half of the third

century that its Gnosticism is Ophite in character, and betrays an origin in a Syrian rather than an Egyptian school i.e., it is an imported Gnosticism developed on Egyptian soil, and that
;

the actual school from which

allusions
tells

it

emanated can be detected from

us

made by Epiphanius in his treatise on Heresies. He of pertain Gnostics who had a Gospel according to

from which he makes a quotation which is quite in the Pistis Sophia, in which Philip appears as the principal scribe of the discourses; they had also inter alia, books called the Longer and Shorter Questions of Mary and as a large part of the Pistis Sophia is taken up with questions
Philip,

manner of the

addressed to Jesus by
it is

Mary Magdalene and

her

women

friends,

natural to regard at least a part of the Pistis Sophia (as

call it) as

coinciding with the books spoken of

we by Epiphanius.

But since Epiphanius gives us an extract from the Longer Questions which cannot be identified with the' Pistis Sophia (it is in fact, to judge from the extract, an obscene book, though it has many points of contact with the Pistis Sophia, which
definitely contradicts
its
is

obscenity),

we

are led to the conclusion

that the Pistis Sophia

identical, either

wholly or

in part,

with

the Shorter Questions of Mary.

In discussing these Gnostic heretics, Epiphanius

in his early

tells

us that

youth he came under their influence in Egypt, and that he was mercifully preserved from entanglement with them. He read their books, understood the sense of them, and then, like the virtuous Joseph from the house of Potiphar, he made his escape from their seductions and denounced the sect to the

12

INTRODUCTION

bishops of the province, and had the heretics expelled from the (See Epiphanius, Haer. 26, city in which he had met them.
c.

17,

18.)

We
as

thus succeed in locating in

Egypt a group, or

rather two

related groups of heretics,

who
uses

Sethites (Epiphanius
;

may be described as Ophites or several names to describe the

same groups)

one of these bands of Egyptian heretics the accurate Pistis Sophia may be referred and we thus get a fairly idea of the place, time and character of the people to whom the
to
:

book must be referred. It must not be supposed that all of Harnack's arguments For instance on under these heads are valid. loi he shows that the Gnostic writer uses an not^Gnts'tic Pand not Effvptian calendar, for he makes Jesus to be transJ ^j r Egyptian, figured before His disciples on the isth of the
'

month Tybi, when

the
:

moon

is

full

this suggests the use of

an Egyptian calendar

and then he goes on to say that Egypt is also betrayed by the fact that the book quotes, the Gnostic Odes of Solomon, which are probably of Egyptian origin, and
allude to the inundation of the Nile.
It is instructive

to enquire

how

the Odes of Solomon

came

to be suspected of Gnosticism,

and of references to Egyptian events. Amongst the passages quoted by the Coptic writer from the Odes of Solomon there is one which can be identified at once
with the sixth

Ode
if

in

our collection

it

describes a great over-

flow or inundation of the water of objective point,

at Jerusalem,

life,

which has

for its first

not

its

actual point of departure, the

all

Temple

and which flows out over

lands, bringing healing

and strength. The Psalm is a very beautiful one, and thoroughly Christian. But because it happens to describe the breaking out of the waters by the Greek word avoppoia, which the Coptic has carefully transliterated, and because this is a favourite word in the Pistis Sophia to describe a Gnostic Emanation, it has been assumed that the Ode was Gnostic and that the illustration of the efflux was borrowed from the rising waters of the Nile. In support of this it may be urged that the waters were fought by a professional class of water-restrainers, and that those who drank of them were, according to the Coptic, a people who lived

THE ODES NOT GNOSTIC

on the dry sand. It might, therefore, be maintained that this language suited Egypt better than Palestine. It is difficult,
however, to see

how Jerusalem comes

it

in, if

the scenery of the

Ode

would have been better to express the matter more cautiously, as was done by Ryle and James in their first attempt on the problem of the Odes. Their language was as follows^ Ode iii. (i.e. the third of the quoted Coptic Odes) is also Christian, and the employment of the term airdppoia seems to stamp it as Gnostic. But we cannot see that there is anything unmistakably Gnostic in the doctrine. The imagery employed is that of Ezek. xlvii., and of our Lord's words concerning the living water and the thing described appears to be the preaching of the Gospel, which no human effort can avail to hinder, and which brings life and health to a thirsty heathen world. If our theory of these Odes is correct, we have here a hymn of the second century at latest, and one filled with Johannine phraseology and ideas.' Thus far Ryle and James and I think we must say that There is no reason to take their judgment is a sound one. aTToppoia in a Gnostic sense, nor do the remaining Psalms of
is
:

Egyptian, and

'

our collection encourage the belief

in

a Gnostic origin

they are

as Gnostic as the New Testament, no more and no less. course I do not mean that the author of the Pistis Sophia

Of
will

take this colourless view of airoppota.

His business

is

to write

a book dealing with Gnostic philosophy, and with the Effluxes

and Emanations that cause the different strata of the spiritual world: so he will naturally employ the word airoppoia in his own But we sense, and will build a castle of cloudy words upon it. have no reason to follow him in any such architecture nor even to accept his foundation. Consequently we do not regard Harnack's
case as

made out with

regard to the Gnostic character of the

Odes of Solomon. If Gnostics could write such beautiful praises of God as we have in our recovered volume, we can only say
'

Would God

all

the Lord's people were Gnostics

'

But

this

they never were nor ever can be in the Valentinian, or Ophite With this deduction from the argument, or Sethian sense.

Harnack's general inferences from the

discussing are
analysis a
little

Ode which we have been

examine
his

so just

that

we
l.c.

are tempted to

more

closely.
'

p. 160.

14

INTRODUCTION
Let
US, in

view of the importance of the matters at

issue,

^^ sixth The Ode not

.

set

down a

translation of the sixth

Ode

as

it

stands

in Syriac,

and see what Harnack says by way of

Gnostic.

mterpretation.

'As the hand moves over the harp, and the strings speak, my members the Spirit of the Lord, and I speak by his love. For he destroys everything foreign, and everything that is bitter thus it was from the beginning and will be to the end, that nothing should be His adversary, and nothing should stand up against Him. The Lord has multiplied the knowledge of Himself, and is zealous that those things should be known, which by His Grace have been given to us^ And
so speaks in
:

the praise of His

Spirit.
'

name He gave

us

our spirits praise His holy

river great

For there went

:

forth a stream

and became a

and

broke up everything, and it brought [water] to the Temple and the restrainers of the children of men were not able to restrain it, nor the arts of those whose business it is to restrain waters for it spread over the face of
broad
it

flooded and

the whole earth and

filled

everything
it
:

and

all

the thirsty upon

and thirst was relieved and from the Most High was the draught given. Blessed then are the ministers of that draught who are entrusted with that water of His they have assuaged the dry lips and the will that had fainted they have raised up and souls that
earth were given to drink of
:

quenched

for

were near departing they have caught back from death limbs that had fallen they straightened and set up they gave strength for their coming (?) and light to their eyes for every one knew them in the Lord and they lived by the water
;
:
:

of

life for

ever.

Hallelujah.'

The

first

thing that

we

notice

when we
is

transcribe the
;

Ode

is

that the passage in the Pistis Sophia

only an extract

nearly

Consequently the word supposed to be the key to the character of the Psalm, is not in its opening sentence at all, but has been caught up by the Gnostic writer out of the middle of it. It is certainly not the key-word. The Psalmist (or Odist) is telling
diroppoia,

half of the

Ode

has been neglected.

which

is

in

of His Gospel.

very beautiful language the power of the Lord and the scope There is nothing Gnostic about this living
1

Cf.

Cor.

ii.

13.

THE ODES NOT GNOSTIC

water
:

IS

there

is

not, even,

Harnack wished

to interpret

anything Ecclesiastic about it, though it of the water of Baptism one

:

might as well say the fourth chapter of John's Gospel was Gnostic and that when the Lord promised the Samaritan woman the water of life, he wanted to baptise her I submit that the interpretation
!

of the

Ode
it

is

affected

(i)

by regarding

it

in its entirety, (ii)

:

by

connexion with the main body of the Odes and that when this is done, the supposed Gnosticism of the Ode vanishes away. Harnack, in fact, did not positively commit
regarding
in

himself on the point, and the greater part of his judgment

valid
'

is

thus on page 43 he says Das Lied ist ohne Zweifel christlichen

:

Ursprungs und
,

auch die christliche Herkunft der vier The Odes probably iibrigen Oden, als zu emer Sammlung gehorig, erwiesen. [I should not go quite so far, nor quite denn that] Ferner weist die Ode auf Agypten so fast as Verfasser das Bild der grossen Fluth von der offenbar hat der Uberschwemmung des Nils genommen, der bis iiber die Hauser

damit

ist

steigt,

said,

und das durstige Wiistenland Harnack is extremely doubtful

:

trankt.
tries to

[This, as I

have

make
Xa6<;,

it

easier

by

suggesting that
get rid of the

I'ad?

should be corrected to

which would

emendation.

Temple at Jerusalem, but it is not a necessary The Temple is, as we shall see elsewhere, very

much in the field of view of the Odists.] Endlich scheint mir auch der gnostiche Ursprung sehr wahrscheinlich, wenn auch [Here Harnack is wisely hesitant.]' nicht sicher. Again on page 45 Harnack sums up the case for the five Odes incorporated in the Pistis Sophia: (i) that the composer found them in his collection of Old Testament writings but he adds at once that (ii) that they are of Gnostic origin Gnostic character does not stand out clearly, and that the the Christian piety of the Ode is powerfully expressed and not discoloured by Gnostic language a statement which is much strengthened when we read the Ode in its entirety and not
: :

merely the part excerpted in the Pistis Sophia. Further Harnack admits (p. 46) that if the Odes are Gnostic, their Gnosticism is separated by a deep gulf from that of the Pistis Sophia; which is certainly a just statement: and that, since at the time of the composition of the Pistis Sophia the Odes must have been of considerable antiquity, we may perhaps refer

I6

INTRODUCTION
to the
first

them
little

half of the second century.

;

With

this

have

only I suggest that they earlier than Harnack's upper limit^

fault to find

may be

50 years

In order to understand
Use
of the
in the

more

clearly
,

what the writer of the

i

Odes

op

la.

been doing with the matter that r^ r rhe has borrowed from the Odes of Solomon, we jjjyg^. j-^y (-Q gg^ ^ bcttcr u tt d ers t and Ih g of the
Pistis Sophia has -'^

Gnostic book itself

At

first

sight this

is

a very repellent task,

Harnack for the book appears to be mere useless jargon. much when he first began to study it, for evidently thought as
he says
In der That kann man kaum etwas Verwirrteres und Ermiidenderes lesen als diese mit den Ausgeburten der gnostichen Phantasie bedeckten Blatter, die bei fliichtigerem Studium zum Zwecke der Verbreitung des systematischen Blodsinns
'

geschrieben zu sein scheinen.'

The impression

that the writer

is

is

busied with the propaga-

tion of systematic imbecility

certainly the result of a cursory

but there is method in the madness and meaning in the aberration, and after a while one begins to pick up threads of continuity and to see what the writer is aiming at.
or preliminary study
;

And then the underlying Christianity begins to assert itself through its Gnostic superincumbent weight. Let us see if we can get at the writer's argument. Jesus is sitting with His disciples, male and female, on the
Mount of Olives.
It is

the twelfth year after the Resurrection

for

eleven years Jesus has been teaching His disciples the mysteries of the Kingdom of God: at the end of that time He has ascended
to the place of the

Prime Mystery (which

;

is

the Gnostic expres-

sion for the

took place while on the Mount of Olives. He was suddenly transfigured before them. Light-Power, or Glory of tlie Supreme Being, descends from the twenty-fourth or highest
they were sitting with

Supreme God)

this ascension

Him

'

The same arguments

ii.

are repeated

Ijy

Harnack

in his Chronologie der altchrist.

he discusses the date of the Pistis Sophia and the related Gnostic writings in the Codex Brucianus. Here again he dates the Pistis Sophia in
Literatur,
193, where-

the second half of the third century, following the lines of his previous investigation. He remarks again on the use of the Odes of Solomon as an ancient book ranking

with the Old Testament, but says they are of Gnostic origin Salomos, die das Buch neben den alt-testamentlichen Psalmen

'

Die

fiinf

Oden

zitiert,

sind selbst

gnostichen Ursprungs, und werden doch wie alten Urkunden behandelt. hier also einen Gnostizismus, der iiber einem alteren auferbaut ist.'

Wir haben

THE ODES AND THE

PISTIS

SOPPUA

mystery and surrounds Jesus with splendour. The disciples were amazed and terrified at the sight. While they gazed on Him, Jesus ascended into Heaven. After a while Jesus, out of compassion for their fears, for they thought the end of all things was at hand, descended again and appeared to the disciples.

He He

begins to teach them further the secrets of the Kingdom.

explains to them their

own miraculous

births, the

miraculous

birth of

John the Baptist and His own incarnation. He tells them the story of His ascent through the various heavens and
'

the orders of spiritual beings,

virtues, powers.'

thrones, dominations, princedoms,

They proceed to interrogate Him on various points. The company consists of Peter, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, James, Bartholomew and Simon the Kanaanite: Mary the Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus, Martha and Salome are all mentioned. The chief place is given to the enquiring women, especially to Mary Magdalene, the lowest place to Simon Peter. Between Mary Magdalene and Peter there is
something
too
like a feud.

Peter complains that the

much and

that the

men

don't get a chance

women talk and Mary

complains that Peter hates our sex and wants to suppress us. advises Mary to make Jesus mediates gently between them
:

place for the brethren

but when the dispute breaks out again,

is

Jesus definitely takes the side of the women, and Peter

pressed^.

sup-

The meaning

of this

is

that there has been a conflict

:

over the place of women in the ministry of the Church it is even possible that the hostility of Peter may imply the attitude
of the

Roman Church
At
all

towards the prophesying

woman

of the

early centuries.
created,

events there has been an acute situation

which has found its reflection in the Gnostic circles in which our book was produced. Jesus answers a number of enquiries as to the worlds through which He has passed, and then we come to what is The sorrows
of Sophia.
|-]^g

kernel of the
or,

first

part of the book, the account

is

of the sorrows of Sophia,

Sophia.
'
'

as she

called in the book, Pistis

sitting

Jesus relates
crisis in

how He found Sophia

men and women
vav% est pocpos

below the
ut progrediar

The
vice

the feud between the

;

will

be found in P.S. i6i.

Progressa Maria dixit

:

mi domine, meus

omni tempore,

omni

mihi et

dicam solutionem verborum, quae dixit, iiKKa. timeo Petrum, quod cLireiXei Haec Se quum locuta esset, dixit ei primvmi ii,v<rTi)pi.ov odit nostrum genus.
:

unumquemque
horum, quae
O. S.

qui impletus fuerit wvev/ian luminis, ut progressus proferat solutionem

dico,

nuUus

KuXuirei.'

l8
thirteenth Aeon.

INTRODUCTION

She was mourning over her inability to rise further. Her path was blocked by fearful forms, named Trpo^oXai rulers av0aSov<; or Emanations of the Self-willed. They and the One of of the upper regions prohibit her advance and ascent. them had the face of a lion, half flame and half darkness. They her chase poor Sophia back into Chaos. But in the midst of addresses affliction, she sees Jesus passing by, and to Him she Repentances and Hymns. Jesus relates these suca series of The method of the composition cessively to His disciples. studied: we shall find the key in the must now be carefully
lock.

Sophia makes her penitence, let us say, from one of the But in using this, she carefully alters every canonical Psalms. instead of God, she says possible term in a Gnostic sense
:

Prime Mystery or Light of Truth instead of my adversaries, she says the Emanations of the Self-willed; by a series of substitutions of this kind she turns the Psalm Gnostic Tar_ ^_ gums in the into a Gnostic Targum, m which you can only pistis Sophia, ^g^g^^ ^jjg original by the expressions which re; .

main unaltered and by the general tenor of the confession. When Jesus has reported to the disciples what Sophia has said. He turns to the disciples and asks, Who knows what Sophia It is a game of guessing. Mary Magdalene or some said
'
.?

'

other of the

company

springs forward, begs permission to speak,

and then
is

what your Light-Power (the Light-Power Name) prophesied through David in the 69th Psalm,' or whatever the portion of Scripture may be that has been selected for disguise. Jesus gives an approbation and a blessing to the successful guesser. Sometimes, to make the matter still clearer, the Gnostic Targum is gone over again in detail with the text and explained sentence by sentence, so that we have the matter treated three times over: viz. the LXX. text, the Gnostic Targum, and the detailed commentary upon the text with the Targum. It is of the utmost importance that the method of the composition should be clearly grasped if this is understood, the major part of the Pistis Sophia will become
says, 'This is

a substitute for the Divine

intelligible.

To make
is

this quite clear

we

will transcribe a short

first

an extract from one of the repentance which Sophia utters^

passage: here
'

prayers of

P. S. ed. Schwartze and Petermann, p. 50 of

MS.

GNOSTIC TARGUMS ON THE ODES

Serva me propter apyovTai^, qui oderunt me meam et cruciatum meum, et fractam
:

I9

nam

tu sets

afflictionem

quam

abstulerunt a me.

Sunt cormn
iis

te

qui

meam vim, plantarunt me in

haec mala omnia.

voluntatem tuam. Vis mea prospicit e medio x^^^'i atque e medio tenebrarum. Exspectavi meam av^vyov, ut veniens pugnaret pro me, et haud venit. Atque exspectaveram, ut veniens daret mihi robur, ei haud
X/aw
ica-ra

reperi earn.

ginem

et

Et quum quaererem lucem, dederunt mihi calicum quaererem meam vim, dederunt mihi vXriv.

Nunc

igitur,

lumen luminum, caliginem

Sunto
iis
iis,

et vXrjv

duxerunt super
in

me
et

7rpo/3oXat avdaSov;.

insidiae et involvunto eas;

retribuas

ut aKavSaXi^waiv,

ne veniant

tottov

sui

av6aSov<;.
Xao'i

Manento

in tenebris, ne videant lucem.

Contemplantor

omni tempore, neve intuentor

in altitudinem.

Adduc

in eas

stiam vindictam et apprehendito eas

tuum

indicium.

case

Probably without the aid of the Virgin Mary, who in this is the successful guesser, one could have identified the
19.

following verses of the 68th (96th) Psalm

eveKa t&v i^Spcov fiov pvaai
cri/

fie

20.
fiov

lyap '^ovwcrKei^

tov oveihicrfiov fiov

koI rrjv alaxvvrjv

KoX Trjv evTpoirrjv

fiov.

ivavTiov crov Traz/re? ot OXl^ovre'i

21.

oveiSicrfiov irpoareSoKrjcrev

r)

'^v'^V
oi!%

/J^ov

KaljTaXanrwpiav
Kal

Kal

vwefiecpa

a-vWvirov/Mevov,

Koi

vTrrjp^ev,

irapa-

KoKovvTa Kal ov^, evpov. Kal eSmxav et? to ^pmfid 22.

fiov etroTtadv fie o^of.
23.
'yevrfdrfTdi
17

fiov xpKrfv, Kal elf rrjv Si^jrav

Tpdire^a avT&v ivwiriov avrdov

et?

et?

Trayi^a'

Kal eh avrairoSoo'iv Kal

24.

aKavBaXov.
firj

aKOTicrOrfTwaav ol 6(j)daXfiol avrSJv tov

^Xiireiv

Kal

TOV vSiTov avTwv Sia TravTO? avyKafi^^ov.

25.
(TOV

eK^eov

eV

avTOV'i ttjv opyrjV a-ov.

Kal 6

dvfib<; rij? opjrj'i

KaTaXd^ot avTovf. if we go over the Penitence of Sophia, with these texts from the Psalms, we shall easily pick up out of the Penitence the

Now

disjecta
I

membra

Psalmistae.

have

italicized

some of the words, which

are
I

either
said,

unchanged or almost unchanged. is Gnostic Targum.

The

rest,

as

have
of

The importance

of

the

underlying

equivalence

the

20

INTRODUCTION
text
is

Targum and

evident

We

are

dealing with Biblical

matter; Psalm after Psalm is treated in this way, and someIt is times short passages of the Gospels are similarly treated. single not even necessary that the discourse be limited to a

Targum. Sometimes two or three occur of short passages. For us, however, the important thing is that the Odes of Solomon are treated just like the Canonical Psalms, with which they stood in an equal honour in the Bible of the author of the This position of unassailed honour and unPistis Sophia. doubted confidence marks the antiquity and the prestige of the Odes of Solomon. And as there is no such thing as a Gnostic Bible, these Odes cannot be Gnostic Odes, as was at
first

surmised.

moreover, that in editing the portions of the Odes which occur in the Pistis Sophia we shall have to edit the Targums as well as the texts. We must print the excerpted
It is clear,

matter in double form, and

in cases

where there

is

a detailed
finally

commentary,

in

triple form.

And

in this

way we can

make a Coptic apparatus to the Syriac text of the Odes. One curious result will be arrived at almost immediately. The second of the passages taken from the Odes The missing
'-

first

Ode

of

Solomon by the author of the

Ptstis Sophia

is

definitely stated to
It

be from the nineteenth Ode.

does not find any place in our collection. Neither does it agree, except in its opening sentence, with its Targum. On
the other hand the

Targum does

agree with the

fifth

of the

Syriac Odes. The It is easy to see what has happened. Targum was made on the fifth Ode, but when the author came to transcribe the Ode on which he had been commenting, he took out of his Psalter another Ode with a similar opening.

This must, then, be one of the missing Odes at the beginning of

And since it is numbered 19, it will be the first of our collection, and will have followed directly on the eighteen
our book. extant Psalms of Solomon. The Gnostic author had, therefore, both the Psalms and the Odes in his Bible and the Psalms
;

stood before the Odes, and not as in our

Lactantius' Bible, after the

MS. and perhaps

in

Odes

this is
its

covery, and the study of the text with

an important disTargum has led to

the recovery of part of the missing matter at the beginning of

our MS.

RECOVERY OF FIRST ODE

21
side

To make
The Hymn
in

this clear
in

transcribe the

Targum

by

side

with the Syriac text,

order to show their coincidence:

of Sophia as contained

the

Gnostic
i/xveviv

Targum
115,
vis

of

the Pistis Sophia,

116.

The

Syriac

Odes of Solomon,
5,

Incepit

eiAiKptvijs
'Y/jivevovcra

Ode
For

ad
is

fii^

luminis, quae in
8c

a-o(j>ia.

my hope
is

meae

vi luminis,

quae

est corona

and

I will

upon the Lord, not fear and because

:

eius capiti, cecinit vjuvov Se dicens,

the Lord

my

salvation,

will

Lumen

est

corona

meo

capiti et

baud ero absque

ea, ut

ne privent
et,

me

irpo^oXai

avOaSov^

^uum
meae

motaefuerint vXai omnes, ego 8c /laud

movebor,
et

and he is a garland on my head, and I shall not be moved Even if everything should be shaken, I stand firm, and if all
not fear
:

quum

perierint

things

visible
:

should

perish,

vhxi omnes, ut

maneant
-rrpoPoXai

in chao,

shall not die

is

because the Lord

I

quas videbunt
ego 8e

avdaBovs,

with

me and

am

with Him.

kaud peribo, quod lumen est mecum, atque etiam ego ero cum
lumine.

Hallelujah.

Remembering
commented
on.

the

method of composition of the Targum,

it is

there can be no doubt that

It is

the

fifth

equally clear that the

is

Ode which is being Ode which is set as

the text to the

Targum and which

introduced as the 19th

it.

Ode

of

Solomon does not coincide with

It

runs as follows'
sicut corona,
veritatis,

Dominus super caput meum

eo
(ea).

Plexerunt mihi coronam

neque ero absque et ramos in me

germinare fecit. Nam non similis est coronae aridae quae non germinat sed vivis super caput meum, et germinasti super
;

caput

meum

fructus tui pleni et perfecti sunt, pleni salute tua.

is

Clearly this

not the right Psalm, except as regards the

opening sentence.

Probably the mistake arose

in

the

first

instance with the Targumist

who
for
is

copied a line out of a wrong

Ode, and thus made the way

wrong
missing
It is

place.
first

The
Ode.

inference

copying the whole Ode from a that we have recovered the

in our book of Odes for the openings to be similar or to be repeated. The most striking example will be the short 27th Ode, which appears again almost bodily at the

not

uncommon

'

Schmidt's rendering in Texte u. Untersuch.

vii.

2. 37.

22

INTRODUCTION

beginning of the 42nd Ode.

as suggesting the

The

coincidences are important,

same hand
is

at different parts of the book.

As
The Odes

our object
in

not so

much

the interpretation of the Pistis

s'ophia'ioilected.

SopMa, as the elucidation of the Syriac Odes, we must collect the matter which is quoted from the

Odes

in the Pistis Sophia, in order that the texts

may
be

be compared.
quoted.

It will

be convenient to do this in one place, rather

than under the heading of the separate Psalms that

may

For the text of the Odes, we have two translations, that of Schwartze-Petermann, and that which is emended from the original translation (Woide-Munter) by Schmidt, and is
given
side
in

Harnack's Texte
It is to

u.

Untersuchungen,

Bd

vii.

We may
Odes

quote these as S.-P. and W.-M.-S.

We

print these translations

by

side.

be observed that Schmidt did not revise

correcting the text of the
for

the Gnostic

Targums when

Harnack, no doubt because their importance was not sufficiently

recognized.
into

But he went on to publish a complete translation

of the Pistis Sophia, as well as of other Gnostic

German

books preserved in Coptic. We shall have to refer to this enlarged and emended translation, but I do not think it necessary to give the German text of the quoted and com-

mented Odes

in fulP

ODE
The
text
is

I.

introduced as follows
Se Maria,

Respondens

mater Jesu, dixit

luminis eVpo^T/Tei/cre de his verbis olim per

Mi domine, Salomonem

tua vis
in eius

decima nona ode

S.-P. p.

et dixit
116.

W.-M.-S. pp. 37, 38.

Dominus super meum caput

sicut corona,

Dominus super caput meum

neque ero absque eo mihi coronam veritatis, et ramos tuos in me germinare fecit. Nam non similis est coronae aridae, quae non gersicut corona,
(ea).

neque ero absque

eo.

Plexerunt mihi coronam a.\rj6ua?.

fecit tuos kAoSovs germinare me, quod non tulit coronam aridam, baud germinantem, dA.Xa vivis super meum caput et progerminas super me tui Kopirot pleni

Plexerunt

Et

in

minat, sed vivis super caput

et germinasti super

meum,

caput

meum

sunt

et

perfect!,

pleni

sunt tua

fructus tui pleni et perfecti sunt,

salute.
1

pleni salute tua.

by

There has also been a French edition by Amelineau, which has been employed Mead in his English edition of the Ftsiis Sophia. But as Amelineau is

THE ODES

IN

THE

PISTIS

SOPHIA

23

ODE
The Gnostic Targum on
:

s.

the closing verses of this

Ode
:

has

been already given I repeat it for completeness below the Targum on the rest of the Ode, and the text corresponding to it, are also found in the Pistis Sophia, as indicated. The text is
introduced as follows

Factum
fiadrjTaif,

Se est,

quum

Jesus finisset dicere haec verba suis

progressa Salome dixit: mi domine,

mea

vis

dvajKa^ei

me ad dicendam
Tua
S.-P. p.

solutionem verborum, quae dixit

Trio-rt? aoipia.

vis i-7rpo(f>r]Tevcrev olim per

114.
tibi,

Salomonem

dicens
p.

W.-M.-S.

37.

Manifestabo

me

domine,

Gratias tibi agam, quia tu es

quod

tu as meus deus. Ne sine me, domine, amplius, quod tu as mea iXiTLi; dedisti mihi meum ius gratis [P tuum iudicium] at server a ta
:

deus meus. domine, quia

Dedisti
libaratus

Na
tu

relinquas
es

spas

ma, mea.
et

mihi iudicium

gratis,

sum a

te.

Cadant

per-

labuntor
tegito
acjoos,

persequentas

me, nave

sequentes me, et non videant me.

vidanto me.

Nubes
iis,

caliginis ob-

Nubas fumi

tegat oculos

eorum

at

eorum oculos atque nebula

asto caligo

nebula aeris obtanebret eos, nave

videant diem, ne prehendant

nave vidanto

ma

diem, ut ne prehendant

ma
;

asto

consilium eorum

fiat

inafficax,

et

impotens aorum consilium, et quae deliberarunt, veniuntoin eos meditati

sunt consilium nave esto [P

et

non factum

est]

iis.

vicerunt

[P et vicerunt] eos Est

validi, et

quae

pararunt coUapsa sunt infra eos.

quae consultarunt, veniant super eos meditati sunt consilium, neve Et vicerunt aos succedat illis. potentas', et quae praepara varan in eos. malitiosa, descenderunt Spes mea est in domino, et non
:

mea

tXirts in

domino,
es

at

baud
deus,

timebo,

quia

tu

es

deus

meus,

timebo,

quod

tu

meus

servator meus.

meus

(Tionjp.

ODE
Cecinit
vjjlvov
te,

5.

TAe Gnostic Targum.

et clamavit

S.-P. p.

113.

sursum ad
sine

me

dicens

vnvevaw
lumn,

sursum ad

lumen, quod volo venire ad

servator.

te, v/j,veva-o) tibi,

nam

tu es

meus

Ne

me

in chao, libera

me, lumen

impossible in his paleography, and, I believe, an unsafe guide in other respects, I do I am not engaged upon the Pistis Sophia, except indirectly. not refer to him. Schmidt's German edition appeared in 1905 under the auspices of the Prussian

Academy
'

of Sciences, with the

title

Koptisch-Gnoslische Schriften.

Schmidt,

'Und

sie sind besiegt,

obwohl

sie

machtig

sind.'

24
altitudinis,

INTRODUCTION

nam
me.

tu

es,

cui vfivevo).

Misisti mihi

tuum lumen a

te

et servasti

Duxisti

me

in roirovi superiores chaus.

CoUa-

buntor [P av6aSov<;, quae persequmiturme, neve veniunto

tit

delabuntor\ igitur in tottov? inferiores

chaus irpolSoXai

in tottov; superiores

videant me.

tuae vis, quam misisti mihi ad caligo ; neve me ut ne prehendant iterum m.e et eorum consilium servandam quod excogitarunt ad auferendam meam vim, ne fiat illis, et sicut
: ;

Et magna vidento me in lumine

caligo obtegito eas, et venito

Us obscura

[P Kara
aufer

modum, quo] dixerunt suum quoque loco mei

;

mihi, auferre
et

dixerunt auferre

meum lumen mihi, meum lumen

totum, neque poterant auferre id, quod tua vis luminis est mecum, propterea quod consilium ceperunt sine tuo statuto, lumen,
propter hoc non potuere auferre lumen
lumini, twn timebo, et

meum, quod iinaTevaa

neque timebo.

lumen

est metis servator,

S.-P.

us,

ii6.

'Tfivevovaa he

meae
;

vi luminis,

quae

est

corona eius

capiti,

cecinit v/jlvov he dicens

absque

ea^,

ut ne privent

Lumen est corona meo capiti, et haud era me Trpo^oXat avdaSov! et, quum motae
haud movebor,
et

fueritit vXai omnes, ego Be

quum

perierint

meae

vKai omnes, ut maneant

lumine.

in chao,

quas videbunt irpo^oKao av6aSov<;,

ego Se hatid peribo, quod lumen est mecum, atque etiam ego ero

cum

ODE
The
quae
text of this

6.
:

Ode

is

introduced as follows
:

Progressus Petrus dixit

dixisti, tua vis

mi domine, de solutione verborum

eirpocjiijTeva-e

luminis

olim per Solomonem

in eius (pSaif.
S.-P.

131.
facta
:

W.-M.-S.
est est

l.c.

p.

38.

Egressa

diroppota

Egressa est emanatio et facta

magnum
eos
in

flumen latum attraxit omnes, et conversam super

et

magnum

flumen
et

dilatatum.

Attraxit eos

omnes

conversa est
potuerunt
munitis
et

templum haud potuerunt capere

clausis

super templum'.
earn

Non
locis

in

locis

aedificatis,

capere in
:

neque potuerunt capere earn rex^ai capientium illos. Duxerunt eam

super
terram
totam,

hendit eos omnes.

'
'' '

atque preBiberunt ver-

neque potuerunt eam capere artes eorum qui intercipiunt (aquas). Duxerunt^ eam
aedificatis

super

omnem

terram,

et

ipsa

Schmidt, und nicht werde ich von ihm weichen.' s Schmidt, 'gegen den Tempel.' Schmidt, 'er wiii-de...gefuhrt.'

THE ODES
santes

IN

THE

PISTIS

SOPHIA

25
Bib-

super
sitis

arenam
soluta
est

aridam.
et

comprehendit eos omnes.

erunt
arida
;

Eorum
stmcta,

ex-

qui
sitis

habitabant

in

arena
est
et

quum

ab

excelso.
illius,

potus

dedissent iis potum Maxaptot sunt SiaKovoi quibus concredita est

eorum

soluta
illis

exstincta,

cum

daretur

potus
est

ab Altissimo.
potus
illius,

Beati sunt diaconi

aqua domini. Converterunt labia arida, sumserunt vigorem animi [P in me] hi, qui erant soluti
prehenderunt
i/'uxas,
(i.f.

quibus
erant,

credita

aqua domini. quae arida

Converterunt

labia,

accipiebant

confirmarunt)
ut

gaudium

cordis, qui soluti erant:

eicientes

halitum,

ne
col-

morerentur:
lapsa:
pria-ia,

erexerunt

jucXt;

comprehenderant animas, halitum inmittentes, ne morerentur. Restituernnt

rant,

dederunt robur suae Trapatque dederunt lucem suis

membra quae
robur
se

cecide-

dederunt
et

parrhesiae

quod isti omnes cognovere domino, atque servati sunt aqua vitae usque ad aeternum.
oculis,

eorum,

lucem
illi

se in

Nam omnes
domino
vitae

oculis eorum. cognoverunt in

et salvati

sunt per

aquam

aeternam '.

ODE
T^e Gnostic Targum.

6.

S.-P. pp.

128

130.
-v/rv^i?

Ego

igitur et altera vis, exiens a

me, necnon

quam

accepi a Sabaothe dyada>, venerunt ducentes se invicem, factae sunt aTToppoia una luminis, existens lumen quam maxime.

Vocavi Gabrielem desuper ab alcoaiv atque etiam Michaelem per KeKevcriv mei patris, primi /ivarrjpiov introspicientis, dedi
eis diroppotav luminis, feci

eos descendere in chaos, ut /SorjOaxri

TTKTTei (TojiLa ct uti fcrrcnt vires luminis,

irpo^oXai av0aBov<i, ut auferrent eas ab

arocj)ia
;

quas abstulerunt ab ea illis et darent Trto-ret

et

chaos, resplenduit
eius [P

tempore, quo duxerunt diroppqtav luminis desuper in quam maxime in chao toto et dilatata est in
;

eorum] TO'iroi<i omnibus et quum vidissent magnum lumen diroppoiat illius irpo^oXai avOahov;, timuerunt super se invicem, atque dtroppoLa ilia extraxit iis vires omnes luminis,
quas
abstulerunt a irKnei
a-otpia

neque

eToXfjLria-av

-TrpojSoXai

av0a8ov<; prehendere diroppoiav luminis

chao tenebrarum, neque prehenderunt earn re-^vy av6aSov^ dominantis in -rrpo^oXai;.

illius in

Michael attulerunt diroppoiav luminis in corpus vXi;? Tn.areco'i cro^ia^ et iniecerunt in eam lumina eius omnia, quam [P quae] abstulerunt ab ea, atque accepit lumen totum acofia
et
1

Et Gabriel

Schmidt,

'

Wasser ewigen Lebens.'

O.

S.

26
vX7j<;

INTRODUCTION
[P

lumen eius vires omnes, quae in ea, hae quae acceperunt suum lumen et cessarunt indigere luminis; nam acceperunt suum lumen, quod abstulerunt ab iis, propterea quod dederunt lumen Us a me. Et Michael et
atque
etiam acceperunt
Gabriel, qui SirjKovrjaav

+ eius]:

mihi, duxerunt d-iroppoiav

luminis in

chaos daturam
luminis
:

iis

fiva-Trjpia

luminis

kts concredita est diroppoia

Gabriel
TTto-Teo)?

hanc, quam dedi iis, intuli in chaos. Et Michael et non sumserunt quidquam luminis sibi in luminibus Factum aocf)ia^, quae abstulerunt a Tr/ao/SoXat? avOaSov;.

igitur est,

quum

diroppoia luminis intulisset in irKniv

s.

(j-o<j)iav

suas

vires

omnes

luminis, quas abstulerunt [P abstulit

abstulerat]

Trpo^okafi

av6ahov<;
in

facta

est

lux tota, atque etiam vires

luminis,
TTpo^okai,

quae sunt

TriaTei

cro<f>ia,

quas

haud abstulerunt
vivifi-

avdahov;, hilares

redditae

sunt iterum et impletae

sunt luminis, et lumina, quae iniecerunt in TriaTtv ao^uav,

carunt a-afia eius

est aut

uX???, in

qua nullum lumen, kaec quae peritura

omnes, quae
iis

haec quae

perit, et constituerunt eius vires

erant solvendae, et dederunt

sicut erant

vim luminis^ Factae sunt iterum,

ab

initio.

luminis, et vires

Atque etiam exaltatae sunt in alcrdrja-et omnes luminis cro(f)ia'i cognovere se invicem per
d'rroppoi,a<! illius.

diToppoiav luminis, et servatae sunt a lumine

I

have indicated some of the points where the Ode crops out: the broad stream of water has been replaced by an diroppoia of light, and this makes it difficult to follow the sequence of the

Ode,

satisfied thirst

having been replaced by illumination.

follows will

But

the detailed

commentary which

make

it all

clear.

ODE

6.

Tke Detailed Commentary.

S.-P.

131

135.

Peter explains the meaning of a prophecy which the vis

luminis had formerly

Audi

igitur,

made through Solomon. mi domine, proferam verbum in irapprjaia Kara

Solomonem
:

modum quo
egressa facta

tua vis eVpo^TjTeucre per

est

"

diroppoia

diroppoia luminis dilatata est in chao, in toitoi^ omnibus irpo^oXwv avdaBov; atque verbum iterum, quod tua vis dixit per Salomonen,
;

magnum flumen

latum;' quod

est

"attraxit eos omnes, duxit eos super templum,"

attraxit vires
^

quod

omnes luminis a
Schmidt, 'und sie

irpo^o\ai<i ai0aSov<;

est hoc quas abstule-

nahmen

sich eine Lichtkraft u.s.w.'

'

: :

THE ODES
runt in [a]
vice
;

IN

THE

PISTIS

SOPHIA
tticj-tiv

2/
cro(piav altera

Tria-rei

cro<j)ia,

et iniecit eas in

atque verbum rursus, quod tua vis

[/oca]

dixit, " /taud

"

potuerunt
est

capere earn

clausa

neque loca aedificata

quod hoc

irpo^oKai avOahovi haud potuerunt prehendere cnroppoiavlnmims

in
"

septis tenebrarum chaus, atque verbum iterum, quod dixit duxerunt earn} super terram omnem, et implevit res omnesl' quod hoc est: quum Gabriel et Michael duxissent earn [P earn super]

awfia
est

7ri(7T6o)?

a-o<f>ia<;,

intulit

in

earn

lumina

omnia, quae
[pr.
:

abstulerunt ab ea irpo^oXat, av6aBov<; atque splenduit

factum

lumen]

cra>fj,a

eius uXt;?

atque verbum, quod dixit

"biberunt

versantes in arena arida,"

quod est, acceperunt lumen quae sunt omnia in inaTei ao^ia quorum lumen abstulerunt {i.e. abstulerant) prius^ (i.e. antehac); atque verbum quod dixit " sziis eorum soluta est et exstincta" quod hoc est eius vires cessarunt indigere luminis, quod abstulerunt, [P om. quod abstulerunt] quoniam dederunt {i.e. datum est) iis lumen [P + suum], quod abstulerunt ab iis. Atque iterum Kara modum [P + quoque] quo dixit tua vis, "dederunt iis pottim^ ab excelso" quod hoc est: dederunt lumen iis ex airoppoia luminis, quae exiit a me, primo " (laKapioi sunt /xuo-TTjpift), et Kara modum, quo dixit tua vis SiaKovoi potus illius," quod est verbum, quod dixisti Michael et
:
:

Gabriel, SiaKovrjaravTet, duxerunt airoppoiav luminis in

chaos,

atque etiam duxerunt

eum

sursum.

Dabunt

iis

fiva-rripia

lumi-

nis altitudinis, quibus concredita est cnroppoia luminis, atque etiam

KaTa modum, quo dixit tua vis " verterunt labia arida',' quod hoc est Gabriel et Michael haud sumserunt sibi e luminibus Trto-T6(? ao^ia<i, quae eripuerunt npo^oXai'i avOaBovi, dWa iniecerunt ea in rna-Tiv ao^iav atque iterum verbum, quod dixit: "acceperunt vigorem* in me qui sunt soluti" quod est hoc aliae vires omnes rnareat; a-o^ia<;, quas haud abstulerunt Trpo^oXai avOaBov;, valde praeditae sunt vigore' et impletae lumine a suo socio lumine, quod iniecerunt ea in illas. Et verbum, quod tua vis dixit " vivificarunt yfrvxa'; eiicientes kalitum, ut ne morerentur',' quod hoc est quum iniecissent lumina in tticttiv ao<j)iav vivificarunt cra>/j,a eius v\rj<i a quo lumina sua abstulere prius, hoc, quod erat Atque iterum verbum, quod tua vis dixit " conperiturum. stituerunt fieXr] quae collapsa sunt, aut ut ne collaberentur" quod
: :

1 '
^

" Schmidt, friiher genommen war. Schmidt, 'er wurde...gefuhrt.' ^ Schmidt, Herzensfreude.' Schmidt, 'es wurde...gegeben.' Schmidt, sind sehr frohlich geworden.'
'
'

'

28

INTRODUCTION
:

hoc est

quum

intulissent in earn eius lumina, constituere

;

{i.e.

erexere) eius vires omnes, quae erant dissolvendae

:

atque etiam

Kara modum, quo tua vis luminis dixit " dederunt robur earum quod hoc est receperunt iterum illorum lumen irappricna " atque etiam verbum, atque factae sunt, sicut fuerunt prius " quod dixit dederunt lumen eorum ociilis" quod hoc est acceperunt aladijaiv in lumine et cognoverunt airoppoiav luminis, Atque etiam verbum, quod quod pertineat ad altitudinem.
;
:

omnes cognoverunt se in domino" quod hoc est vires ao^iw; cognovere se invicem per airoppoiav luminis: atque etiam verbum, quod dixit, "servati sunt aqua vitae usque ad aeternum'^," quod hoc est servatae sunt per airoppoiav luminis totius atque verbum, quod dixit attraxit eos omnes
dixit
:

" isti

omnes

7rL<jTea>'i

''

quum airoppoia luminis accepisset lumina omnia Trio-Tgo)? a-o<l)i,a<;,et quum

atroppoia luminis et attraxit eos super templum"^"

quod

est

eripuisset ea a irpajSoXait; avOaSov;, iniecit ea in -Triariv

crocfiiav,

atque conversa

est, exiit

a chao, 'ascendit in perfectionem [P vel

"super te"] quod tu es templum^

est solutio verborum oden Salomonis. Factum igitur, quum primum fivarripiov audisset haec verba, quae dixit Petrus, locutum est ei evje, /xaKupi.o'i Petre, haec est solutio verborum quae dixerunt [i.e. dicta sunt].

Haec

omnium, quae

dixit tua vis luminis per

ODE
This

22.
:

Ode

is

introduced as follows
Se

Respondens

primum
:

ij,va-Tvpiov dixit: KeXevco tibi,

ttio-tl^ aot^ia,

Mathaee,

ut proferas solutionem vfivov, quern dixit

Respon-

dens Se Mathaeus dixit de solutione vp,vov quem dixit Trto-rt? ao^ia tua vis luminis i'7rpo(j)7jTevaev olim in -mSr] Salomonis
:

S.-P. pp.

155156.

W.-M.-S.
exIs,

p.

39.

Qui deduxit
sursum in
locis
:

me

in

locis

qui duxit

celsis super caelum,

et duxit

me

locis altis,

me deorsum e coelestibus, et duxit me

in

quae

in

funda-

in

loca,

quae
Is,

fundamento
et docuit

in-

mento

inferiori

qui abstulit ibi

feriori.

qui abstulit ibi haec,

haec, quae in medio, et docuit

ea, qui dispersit

me

quae in medio sunt,

ea.
Is,

me
Is,

meos

inimicos, et

qui

dispersit

inimicos

meos

aVriSiKovs,
'

qui dedit

mihi

meos

et

adversaries

meos.

Schmidt, 'Wasser ewigen Lebens.' ^ Schmidt, 'riss alles an sich, und zog{?) es liber den Tempel.' ^"^ Schmidt, 'und kam iiber Dich, der Du der Tempel bist.'

'

THE ODES
i$ov(Tiav
ea,

IN

THE

PISTIS
dedit

SOPHIA

29

super vincula ad solverida

iirara^e

qui

mihi potestatem super

qui

serpentem

cum

vincula

septem capitibus meis

Constituit

manibus.
atque tu
in

me

super eius radicem,

o-n-ep/jLa

ut evellerem eius

eras niecum, adiuvans

me,

omni

ad solvenda ea. Is qui percussit serpentem septem capita habentem manibus meis constituit me super radicem eius, ut exstinguerem semen eius. Et tu
:

loco circumdedit

me tuum nomen.
venerium

eras
in

mecum,

adsistens mihi.

Omni

Dextra
huius,

tua

perdidit
dicit

loco

circumdedit

me nomen

qui

manus
tulisti

stravit

malum. Tua viam tuis irrToi5.

racj^oi^

tuum.

Redemisti eos e
eos e qui

et trans-

Dextra tua perdidit venemale loquentis. Manus tua planavit viam fidelibus tuis. Liber-

num
asti

mediis cadaveribus.
iis

eos e sepulcris et transtulisti

Sumsisti ossa mortua, induisti

oruifia

eos e medio cadaverum.

ti

Accepisiis

et

baud movent
vitae.

se,

ossa mortua, induisti

corpus,

dedisti

eis

ivepyeiav
est

Via
expers,

et,

qui non movent

se, dedisti eis

tua

facta

perniciei
duxisti

ivepyuav vitae.
expers tua
:

Via tua facta

et

est

atque tua
facies.

facie

[P
aioji'a

tua
in

perniciei,

etiam

facies

Duxisti]

tuum

duxisti

aeona tuum
"Et
iis

in per-

perniciem, ut dissolverentur

omnes et fierent novi, et uti tuum iumen sit duplicatum [P fundamentum] iis omnibus. Construxisti tuam
opulentiam per eos et habitaculum sanctum.
facti

niciem^ ut dissolverentur omnes

et

renovarentur.
duplicaretur

ut

lumen

tuum
eos,

omnibus,^

superstruxisti
effecti

divitias

sunt

sunt

tuas super habitaculum

sanctum ^-

ODE
T/ie Gnostic

22.

Targum.

S.-P.

153

155,
rursum
ad

Pergens 8e adhuc
dicens
:

nia'ri'i

(To<pia,

vfivevae

me
ab

" vfivevw

sursum ad

te hoc.

Tuo

statute eduxisti

me

aunvi excelso, qtd supra caelum, et deduxisti

feriores, atque

me ad

tottou? in-

etiam tuo statuto liberasti

me

e tottok inferioribus,

et per te abstulisti vXtjv ibi,

earn,

quae

est in

meis viribus luminis, et vidi

avOaSovi, quae affligebant

atque tu dispersisti a

me Trpo/SoXo?
et

me

et erant mim.ici mihi,

atque dedisti mihi e^ovaiav ut solverer

e vinculis

Trpo^oKav Adamae,
capitibus.

cum septem

Proiecisti [P eiecisti]
vXrjv.

eVarafa? serpentem basiliscum eum meis manibus,

Perdidisti earn, ut ne a-irepfia

et constituisti

me

super eius

suum surgeret inde ab hoc tempore, atque tu es qui eras mecum,

dans mihi vim
^"^
^

in his
'

omnibus, et tuum lumen circumdedit m.e

hast Deinen

in

Schmidt,

Du
'

Aeon

iiber

das Verderben gefuhrt.'

sei.'

Schmidt, und Dein Licht ihneii alien Fundament Schmidt, Du hast Deinen Reichtum auf sie gebaut.
'

30

INTRODUCTION
omnes
av6ahov<;

ToiroK omnibus, et per te reddidisti TrpoySoXas

impotentes, quod abstulisti vim sui luminis ab eis et direxisti meam viam ad educendam me ex chao, et transtulisti me e tenebris
iis, ^quarum lumen purum, et meis fieXeaiv omniabstulere^ Iniecisti in eas lumen bus, quibus nullum lumen, dedisti lumen purum ex lumine altitudinis, et direxisti viam iis, et lumen tuae inciei factum mihi Duxisti me sursum super chaos, locum est vita, pernicie vacua. (tottov) chaus et perniciei, ztt dissolverentur omnes vKav, quae in eo, quae sunt in Totra illo, et uti fiant novae meae vires omnes Posuisti lumen tuo lumine, et ut tuum lumen sit in iis omnibus. Hie Facta sum lumen purgatum." tuae aTToppoiai; in me.

vXiKUK

et

abstulisti

meas

vires

omnes ab

iterum est secundus

vfivoii

quem

dixit Tncrn';

cro(j)ia.

ODE

22.

Tke detailed Commentary.

Matthew then goes on to show in detail the parallelism between the Ode of Solomon and the hymn of the Pistis Sophia.
S.-P. pp.

156

160.

mi domine, est solutio vfivov quem dixit Trtcrrt? Audi igitur, dicam eam ingenue. Verbum quod tua vis a-o(f>ia. dixit per Solomonem: "qui deduxit me e locis excelsis quae super caelum, atque etiam duxisti me sursum in locis, quae in fundamento inferiori" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit iriaTi'; aocj)ia Tuo statuto duxisti me ex hoc alcovi vfivevo) sursum ad te hoc.
Haec,
igitur,

excelso, qui

super caelum, et duxisti

me

in Toirov<; inferiores,

atque etiam servasti

inferioribus.

me

tuo statuto, duxisti

vis

me sursum

in tottok
:

Et verbum, quod tua

:

dixit per

Solomonem

"qui abstulit ibi haec, quae in medio, et docuit me ea" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit ttio-tk; aocpia atque etiam per te abstulisti^ vXriv quae in media mea vi, et vidi eam atque etiam verbum,
:

quod tua
et

qui dispersit meos inimicos meos avTiBi/covi," ipsum est verbum, quod dixit Trto-rt? a-o<f>ia
vis dixit
:

per

Solomonem

"

et tu es, qui

dispersisti a

affligebant me, et

tua vis dixit

me irpo^oKa'i omnes avdaBov; quae quae erant inimici mihi et verbum, quod " qui dedit mihi suam ao^iav super vincula ad
;

^~^
^

Schmidt, 'deren Licht genommen war.' Schmidt, 'hast...reinigen lassen.'

1 : ;

THE ODES
solvenda ea
dedit mihi

IN

THE

PISTIS

SOPHIA

": ipsum est verbum, quod dixit TricrTK; aocfua; [+ et P] suam a-o(f>iav ut solverer e vinculis Trpo^oXwv illarum et verbum, quod tua vis dixit ''gut eirara^e serpentem cum septem capitibus meis manibus et constituit me super eius radicem' ut evellerem eius o-Trep/tta/' ipsum est verbum, quod dixit Tri<TTi<i
; :

bus

serpentem cum septem capitibus meis manisuper eius vXtjv, perdidisti cum, ut ne eius (Tirepfxa surgeret inde ab hac hora et verbum, quod tua vis " dixit et tu niecum eras, adiuvabas me" ipsum est verbum,
<Toj)ia
:

et iTraTa^a<;

et constituisti

me

quod dixit TricrTt? cro(f)ia et tu eras mecum, dans vim mihi in " et tuum nomen his omnibus et verbum quod tua vis dixit circumdedit me in omni loco" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit TTto-Tt? cro(j)i,a et tuum lumen circumdedit me in eorum locis " et tua dextera omnibus et verbum, quod tua vis dixit perdidit venenum huius qui dicit malum" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit ttictti,'; cro^ia et per te factae sunt impotentes n-po^oXai av6aBov<;, quod abstulisti lumen vis suae ab iis et verbum, quod tua vis dixit " tzta mantes stravit viam tuis iriaroK" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit Trto-ri? ao<^ia direxisti meam viam ad educendam me e chao, quod iiria-Tevaa tibi redemisti eos e Ta<^oi,<i et et verbum, quod tua vis dixit transtulisti eos e mediis cadaveribus" ipsum est verbum, quod
: ; : : ;
:

''

dixit

Tria-Tit;

ao^ia

et redemisti

me

e chao et transtulisti

me
vis

e tenebris uXt/cat? quae ipsae sunt irpo^oXai caliginis, quae in

chao, e quibus

suum lumen
iis

abstulisti

et

verbum, quod tua

dixit: " sumsisti ossa mortua, induisti eis awixa, et hi, qui non

movent se, dedisti

iria-Ti';
a-o(l>ia
:

evepyeiav vitae" ipsum est verbum,

quod

dixit

et abstulisti

meas

vires

omnes,

in

quibus nullum

lumen, et [om. et P] indidisti eis lumen purum, et meis fieXeanv omnibus, in quibus nullum lumen movetur, dedisti eis lumen vitae tua altitudine; et verbum quod tua vis dixit: "tua via facta est
pernicie vacua et tua fades" ipsum est verbum,
ao<j)ia; et direxisti

viam [+tuam
vacua
;

P] mihi, et
et

mihi est
" duxisti

vita, pernicie

quod dixit iriaTK; lumen tuae faciei facta^ verbum, quod tua vis dixit
dissolverentur ut fierent novi

tuum aiwva

in perniciem,

tit

omnes" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit TriarK <TO(f)ia; ''duxisti me, tuam vim, in chads et in perniciem^, ut dissolverentur iiXat omnes,
1

factum P.
Schmidt, 'Du hast mich, Deine Kraft, Uber das Chaos hinaufgefilhrt und uber

2-2

das Veiderben.'

32

INTRODUCTION

quae sunt [+ sursum P] in roircp illo, et ut fierent novae meae vires omnes lumine; et verbum, quod tua vis dixit, " ei tuum lumen duplicatwm [? fundamenttint] esf- Us omnibus" ipsum est verbum, quod dixit iriaTi.'i ao^ia et tuum lumen est in iis omnibus et
.
:

verbum quod tua

est

vis

luminis dixit per

Solomonem

^'
:

posuisti

^tuam opulentiam^ in eo, et factus est habitaculum sanctum'": ipsum verbum, quod dixit iri<T-Ti^ (To^ia firmasti lumen tuae a-Troppoia<s super me, et facta sum lumen purum. Haec igitur, domine
:

mi, est solutio vfivov, quern dixit TrtcrTt? ao^ia.

ODE
The
ut

25.
:

text of this
8e

Ode

is

introduced as follows
fivaTrjpiov dixit

Respondens
7na-Ti<;

primum

Thomae
:

KeXevai

tibi,

proferas solutionem vfivov,

Respondens Se vfivo) quem dixit Trto-rt? quod liberata est a chao: tua eirpo^rjTeva-ev olim per Salomonem, filium Davidis, in
ao^ia.
S.-P.
p.

quem vfivevaev sursum ad me Thomas dixit mi domine, de

vis luminis

eius caSat?
p.

150.

W.-M.-S.

/.

39.

Servatus

sum

a vinculis.

Fugi

Liberatus

sum
:

e vinculis.
fuisti

Fugi

domine, quod fuisti mihi dextraservans me,atqueservansme

ad
et

te,

ad

te,

domine

quia

mihi ad

dextram, salvans me.

[Et salvans

adiuvans me, eKwXvcras pugnan-

tes contra

me, neque apparuerunt,

me, prohibuisti adversarios meos, neque se maniet

me]

adiuvans

quod
vans

tua facies

mecum

erat ser-

festaverunt,
est,

quod tua

facies

mecum
Accepi

me

tua xap'Ti.

Affecta

sum

liberans

me me
:

giatia tua.

ignominia coram multitudine,atque

proiecerunt me.

contumeliam
et eiecerunt

coram multitudine,
fui sicut

Fui sicut plum-

plumbum

bum coram
vis a te
isti

iis.

Facta

mihi est

coram

iis.

Fuit mihi robur per te

adiuvans me, quod posu-

adiuvans

lucernas ad dexteram mihi et

ad sinistram mihi, ut ne quidquam

circa

me. Quia posuisti ludextram meam et ad sinistram meam, ne neutra parte

cernas ad
Texisti

me

esset

luminis

expers.

luminis expers essem.

me

'Eo-KeTrao-as

me
Tua

sub umbra
dextra

tuae

misericordiae et fui super vestes

pelliceas.

exaltavit

me

et abstulisti infirmitatem a

me

sub umbra gratiae tuae et ^superavi vestimenta pellicea^. Dextra tua exaltavit me, et abstulisti infirmitatem porro a me. Fui corroboratus
iustitia

Factus
sunt a
^

sum

validus tua

veritate,

veritate
tua.

tua,

purgatus

purgatus tua SiKaioo-wj;.

Remoti

Procul remoti sunt

me

pugnantes contra me,

me

adversarii mei, et iustificatus

.Schmidt, 'ist ihnen alien Fundament (geworden).' '~' Schmidt, Deinen Reichthum.'
'

^"^

Schmidt, 'ich wurde Uberhoben den

aiis

Fallen gemachten Kleidern.'

THE ODES
et iustificatus

IN

THE

PISTIS

SOPHIA

33

sum

tua

xPW''"'V''''->

sum

iustitia tua,

quia requies tua

nam

tua

quies est ad aeternum

est in saecula

saeculorum.

aeternitatis.

ODE
T/ie Gnostic

25.

Targum.
in

(S.-P.

148

149.)

Pergens
fjLadrjrai'i
:

Se

iterum
est,

sermone primum
"

fivcnrjpiov

dixit
in

Factum

quum duxissem
:

incniv a-o^iav

sursum

chao, exclamavit iterum dicens

vinculis caliginis.

Servata sum

in chao, et soluta e

Veni ad
et

parte mihi servans me,

lumen, quod fuisti lumen ex omni adiuvans me. Et trpo^oXa'i avOahov; quae
te,

pugttant contra me,

adpropinquare

tuo lumine, et /mud potuemnt quod erat tuum lumen mecum, et servahat me tua [P me in tua] dnoppoia luminis, quoniam yap irpo^oXai [P+av6aSov<i] affligentes me abstulerunt meam vim a me, iniecerunt me in orcos (chaos Plur.) nullum lumen habentem. Fui sicut vXt) gravis coram Us. Atque post haec vis airoppoia'i venit mihi a te servans me. Splenduit ad sinistram mihi et ad dextram mihi ; et circumdabat me, ex omni parte mihi erat, ut ne ullum fiepot; quo fui, essem [P esset] sine lumine, et obtexit [P obtexisti] me lumine tuae dTroppoiw; et purgasti in me omnes meas vXa? malas, et fui super meas JXa? omnes propter tuum lumen /et tuam diroppoiav luminis. Ista exaltavit me'^ et abstulit me Trpo^oKai<; avOaSovi dXi^ovcrai'; me. Atque fui confisa tuo lumini, nee non lumen purum [P lumini puro] tuae d-Troppoia^, et remotae sunt a me -irpo^oXai avdaSov; quae affligebant me, et facta sum lux tua magna vi, quod tu servas omni tempore.
eKcoXvaat;
m,ihi,

ODE
Thomas
follows
S.-P.

25.

The detailed Commentary.

explains that he will interpret openly the words

of the Pistis Sophia, and proceeds to speak eV Trapprjaia, as

150153vis luminis dixit

Verbum
"

igitur,

quod tua
vinculis.

per

Salomonem
est

Servatus

sum

Fugi ad
:

te,

domine," ipsum

verbum, quod dixit

i~'

n-i.a-Ti^-a-o^ia

soluta
ist es,

sum

e vinculis caliginis,

Schmidt,

'

und Dein Lichtabfluss

der mich erh6ht...hat.'

5

O.

S.

'

34
veni ad
te,

INTRODUCTION
domine [P lux]
:

" Fuisti mihi dextra servans

me
:

est

verbum, quod dixit Trto-rw et verbum quod tua vis luminis parte mihi et adiuvans me contra me, et hand apparuerunt" dixit eKO)\va-a<i pugnantes ipsum est verbum, quod dixit in<7ri,<; ao(j)ta et vrpo^oXa'; avOaSovt quae pugnant contra me, eKcoXvaaf tuo lumine, et baud potuerunt
:

verbum, quod dixit tua vis adiuvans me"\ ipsum iterum factus es lumen ex omni ao<^t.a
et
:

et

'

verbum, quod tua vis dixit, "quod tua fades mectnn erat servans me tua yapiTi" ipsum est verbum,
adpropinquare mihi":
et

quod
vans

quod tuum lumen erat mecum serverbum quod tua vis dixit, " ^contemnor eorjim multitudine et proiecerimt me^" ipsum est afflixerunt me irpo^oXaL verbum, quod dixit vrto-Tt? ao^ia avOahov; et abstulerunt meam vim a me, et contemta sum coram iis et proiecerunt me in chao expertem luminis. Et verbum, quod tua vis dixit " fui sicut plumbum coram iis," ipsum est verbum, quod dixit Trto-rt? a-o(f)ia quum abstulissent mea lumina a me, facta sum sicut vXy gravis coram iis. Et verbum, [+ rursus P] quod tua vis dixit, " et facta mihi est vis a te adiuvans me',' ipsum [+ quoque P] est verbum, quod dixit iricTi.'i
dixit Kiari<;
<jo(j)ia
:

me

tua airoppooa luminis: et

ao^ia et post haec

:

vis

luminis venit mihi a te servans

:

me "

et veret

bum quod

tua vis dixit

mihi, ut ne

" posuisti

lucernas

ad dextram mihi

quidquam circa me esset luminis expers,'' ipsum est verbum, quod dixit Trtcm? aocjiia, Tua vis luminis splenduit] ad dextram mihi et ad sinistram mihi et circum[P dans me ab omni parte, ut ne quidquam circa me esset luminis expers et verbum quod tua vis dixit " eV/teTracra? me umbra tuae misericordiae," ipsum iterum est verbum, quod dixit ircarK ao(pi,a: et obtexisti me lumine tuae avroppota? et verbum quod tua vis dixit: "-fui super vestes pelliceas^," ipsum iterum est verbum, quod dixit Trio-xi? cro^ta et eiecerunt a meas vXa? omnes malas, et verbum, quod tua vis dixit per et ''elevavi eas^ tua lumine

ad sinistram
-I-

Salomonem

"

tua dextra exaltavit

me

et abstulit iiifirmitatem
:

me," ipsum est verbum,

quod

dixit ttio-tk ao^ca

et tua diroppoia

luminis haec
7r/30/8oXa?

est,

quae exaltavit

av0ahov<; 6Xi^ovcra<;

me tuo lumine, et abstulit a me me et verbum, quod tua vis

;

dixit: "factus
'"^

sum

validus tua veritate et purgatus tua BiKaiocrvvr},"

Schmidt, ' ich wurde verachtet im Angesichte vieler und hinausgestossen.' ^~' Schmidt, 'ich wurde iiberhoben der aus Fellen gemachten Kleidern.' ^~' Schmidt, ich erhob miph uber sie,
'

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE ODES

ipsum
est

35

verbum, quod dixit

tuo lumine et

quod tua
est

vis

Trto-rt? cro(j)ia facta sum valida sum lumen purgatum tua airoppoia: et verbum, " dixit remoti sunt a me pugnantes mecum" ipsum
:
: :

verbum, quod dixit ttio-tc; ao^iia remotae sunt a me rrpo^oXai avOahovi, hae quae affligebant me, et verbum quod tua
vis luminis dixit per
(TTOTrjTi,

quod tua aeternitatis " ipsum est verbum, quod dixit ttccttk aocpLa: servata sum tua -x^prjcrroTrjTi quod tu servas unumquemque. Haec igitur, o mi domine, est
:

Salomonem et quies est ad aeterntLtn

''
:

iustificatus

sum

tua XPV-

solutio

tota p,eTavoia<;

quam

dixit ttiotk

cro(f>(,a

quum

servata

esset in chao et soluta est e vinculis caliginis.

These, then, are the extracts and comments on the Odes of

Solomon which

are contained in the Pistis Sophia.

We
Original

will

now examine what

language of
the Odes.

light they throw on the original form of the text, and we will also enquire as to the ^ language in which the book was originally circulated. , ^ We begin by comparing the Odes quoted in the
-^
,
.

Coptic book with their Syriac equivalents.

The presumption is that the Coptic is a direct translation from the Greek the number of Greek words that are embedded in the Coptic at once suggests this, and it is natural to carry back these Greek words into the text from which the Coptic is
:

derived.

A little caution is necessary, for it will be remembered that Greek words are often used in the Coptic to redeem the language from its linguistic poverty, and it will also be found that the Coptic does not always directly transliterate a Greek word it sometimes translates by another and more familiar Greek word. But with some reserve of this kind, the Greek elements in the text are sufficient evidence that the book was taken from the Greek to the Egyptian language and we know that the Psalms and Odes had a wide circulation amongst Greek speaking peoples. The Pistis Sophia, in which the Odes are imbedded, dates from the third century, and the author of the Pistis had, as we have shown, the Odes bound up with his Canonical Psalter at the time intimated there was no Coptic [Thebaic] Bible from which the extracts could have been made; so we may be sure the Odes were taken from a Greek Bible,
:
;

and, with almost equal certainty, that the Pistis Sophia itself

was a Greek book.

result.

Detailed examination leads to the same

36

INTRODUCTION

Suppose we examine the parts of the sixth Ode which we have preserved both in Coptic and in Syriac this is the Ode and in which Harnack thought we could detect both Gnostic Egyptian elements, the supposed Gnostic feature being the use of the word divoppoia, and the supposed Egyptian feature being and a sudden inundation, which sweeps over a whole country
:

defies professional attempts to regulate

it.

Near the end of the

Ode
world
wills

is

a beautiful passage describing the

life

way

in

which the

ministers of the water of

:

have assuaged the

lips,

thirst of the

they have given ease to dry

strength to paralysed

and weak limbs.

"

Then

the writer adds

up.

Members which had fallen they made straight and set They gave strength for their coming and light to
something awkward about

their eyes."

There

is

this

word 'coming'

and

when we

turn to the Coptic

we

find

" Restituerunt membra quae ceciderant. Dederunt robur Trapprjaia eorum et lucem oculis eorum."

This

is
'

almost as unintelligible as the former

'

what does he

mean by strength for freedom of speech ? found out that the Greek behind the Coptic read tji Trapprjaia avTwv; and it is not difficult to infer that the Syriac has rendered a Greek text t^ irapovaia avTwv. Now which of
these
is

However we have

correct

Neither of them makes good sense.

But

if

we

write

Ty Trapeaei avTcov

or

ry 'rrapaXvaei avrwv
for their paralysis,"

"they gave them strength

we can make

the passage intelligible, and

explain both the

Coptic and Syriac readings'.

This suggests that the Syriac as well as the Coptic has a

Greek text behind

detail presently.

it.

We

shall

examine

this point

more

in

We
word
;

are not limited to the occurrence of the single

Greek

be the right word or only a corruption) nor to the favourite word diroppoia which the Pistis Sophia has caught at, on account of its Gnostic associations.
jrapprjcria

(whether

it

The key

to
(Is.),

the

passage
cf.

is

Is.

xxxv.

= Heb.

xii.

ii;

lax'l'ci'Ti

.ybvara

TrapoKekvixiva

and

tA irapoKeKvijiva ybvara di'opSiiaaTe (Heb.).

GREEK TEXT OF THE ODES

The
the
tells

37

Syriac

tells

us that the flood could not be restrained

by

the professional restrainers, nor

by the

arts of those

who make
text

management
us

of floods

their business.

The Coptic

baud potuerunt capere Here the Syriac

but
it

in clausis et in locis aedificatis,

illos.

neque

potuerunt capere earn Te^vai capientium

is
'

somewhat
'

at variance from the Coptic,

'

is

clear that
is

capere

stands for the Syriac

'

restrain,'

and that Te^vai

restrainers.'

the Greek word for the Syriac

arts of the

The

Gnostic

Targum

has also worked

in

rexvai in the

following form

prehendere neque eToXfxrjcrav prehenderunt earn Texvy

airoppoiav

neque

Here
Syriac
'

'

restrain.'
I

Greek.
source,

if

capio,' and stands for the seems to come from the original should have said that eToXfjur^aav came from the same it were not that the text and the comment have

prehendo

'

is

the

same

as

'

Texvat,

'potuerunt' in

harmony with the

Syriac.
is

Another bit of the original Greek which answers to the Syriac,

'

picked up

in

the clause

Blessed are the ministers of that draught.'

Here the Coptic gives us, MuKapioi sunt SiaKovoi potus illius, and the Comment, as well as the Targum, explains that the So that ministers are Michael and Gabriel, ol ZiaicovrjaavTe';. we can restore the words MaKtipioi elaiv ol ^iukovoi ovtoc to the
Greek.

And
Were

so in other cases.

stage.

whether the Greek is the last Greek ? Or may we say, as for the eighteen Psalms, that they were translated into Greek from an original Hebrew? The possibility must at all events be kept in mind. But we can only advance by slow stages. The

But

this raises the question

the

Odes written

in

next step should be to confirm the suggestion that the Syriac has been translated from a Greek base by discussing the case
for the eighteen Psalms.

The

Here we should naturally expect dependence on the Greek. Fo'' '^ is HOW clearly made out, as Ryle and James Syriac of
'

the i8 Psalms depends on the Greek.

have shown, that the original Hebrew of these Psalms was donc into Greek at a very early period. For the Greek version of the nth Psalm is used by the author

38

INTRODUCTION
fifth

and this chapter is would be unreasonable to put the Greek of the eighteen Psalms later than the middle of the first century, when it is employed by Baruch writing, probably, not later than the end of the first century. So the Greek of these Psalms is available for translation into Syriac at a very early date we have to determine from the evidence before us whether it was so translated from the Greek. Let us see whether the Syriac confirms any conjectures either in Greek or in Hebrew that the editors have thought necessary
chapter,

of the book of Baruch in his

quoted at length by Irenaeus.

So

it

to the

understanding or betterment of the text.

30
the Syriac has

It

does not

confirm Hilgenfeld's brilliant suggestion of oplcop for 6pea>v in

Ps.
ii.
'
:

mountains and agrees with the Greek

'

tradition.

In Ps.
is

ii.

20 Gebhardt's emendation of Karicnraaev to

is

icaTecnrdcrOt^

confirmed by the Syriac JifiaawK'o, which

In Ps.
v.

rather a free translation.

ov r^ap

4 Gebhardt conjectures

Xijyfrerai, [rt?]
is

crKvXa Trapa avBpot BvvaTov

and the word added

confirmed by the Syriac, which adds

r^-xJTa (a son of man, a man): but then the Copenhagen MS. has (jKvKa avOpwiro';, and the Syriac might just as well be a
translation of this.

In Ps.

viii.

3 Hilgenfeld's

emendation
rfj

Kai enra
is

[ei-]

KapBca fiov

not confirmed
ev.

by the

Syriac,

which follows the MSS.

in

omitting

In Ps.
couplet,

X.

Fritzsche

made

a striking emendation to the

first

M.aKapio<; dvrjp ov o Kvpio<; ep^vrjaOrj ev iXe'yfiw,

Kai eKVKXcoOr} airo oBov irovqpd'i ev

fido'Ti.'yi,

by reading

eKcoXvOri for eKVKXwdr).

The

discarded

Syriac confirms this conjecture, which Gebhardt has in favour of a misunderstood Hebrew text. If this is

not a successful emendation on the part of a scribe, the Syriac at this point takes precedence of the existing Greek texts but that does not mean that it is not dependent on a Greek text. In Ps. xvi. 9 the Greek text
:

ra epya twv yeipwv

is

fiov

KaTevOvvov ev

totto) crov

altered in the Syriac to evioiriov aov which well as an easier reading.

seems a

better, as

SYRIAC TEXT OF THE PSALMS

In Ps. xvii. 16 where Gebhardt has
[Ka6w<} KoX
for T0U9 6^601;?
TO,

39

emended
rov aOevov^; ainmv
'

'iOvq iv rai'i TroXecrt]

avrwv of Cod P the Syriac reads their gods' with the rest of the Greek MSS. In Ps. xvii. 23 Gebhardt emends
et's

the cities of

Tov Kaipov ov elXov av, 6

6e6<;

for the current

ei9

Greek
rov Kaipov ov etSe?
o\ir<' r<'v*,
[tSe?, otSe?,
6l8a'i\.

The
This

Syriac has

which answers most nearly to

is

one of the places where Felix Perles found a trace of

the original Hebrew, which had been corrupted from

my

to

nyn\

i-e.

from

'

thou hast appointed

'

to

'

thou hast known.'

to

Most of the proposed emendations seem

ingenious than necessary.

me

to be

more

The

Syriac, at

all

events, does not

endorse them.
In Ps.
xvii.

32 the Syriac renders iv

eiria-rifiai

which throws light on the same expression in Ps. Syriac seems to have left the words untranslated, but there Felix Perles conjectured that they stood for an original Hebrew
^17^3-

by AvjKJi^, ii. 6, where the

The
ii.

Syriac seems, while

itself

following the Greek in

Ps. xvii. 32, to support this restoration of Perles for the

in Ps.
6.

Hebrew

In Ps. xvii. 37 Gebhardt has added conjecturally the word

Xaol<i in Koi

ttoWok [Xaoi'i]
'

ov crvvd^ei eKiTiha<;
shall not

eh ri/xepav iroXe/xov.
multitude for the

The
day of

Syriac has
war,'

and he

hope

in a

and so does not favour the emendation. So far, then, as these passages go, there is not much ground for taking the Syriac outside the grouping of the Greek MSS., and erecting There are one or two passages to it into a separate authority. be considered in which the Syriac gives us either an independent conjecture, or something nearer to the original text.
In Ps.
i.

6 the

difficult

Kal ovK IjveyKav

Singular read-

ingsofthe
^"^'^'

of the

MSS.

IS

replaced by O.^.T rc^.i, and the

sentence connected with the previous elnav by omission of the intervening matter, so as to read
'

And

they spake what they did not understand

'

40
whether
this

INTRODUCTION
was arrived
is

at in the first instance

:

by substituting

but the whole treatment of the text is too drastic to allow us to believe that the Syriac is Another suggestion is that the Syriac translator the original. eyvwv, and took it for a 3rd person plural instead read koX ovk
'i^vmKav for tfve^Kav

not quite clear

of a 1st person singular. In Ps.

ii.

29 the

difficult

Tov

elTrelv rrjv virep'q^avbav

tov opdKovro<;

appears in the Syriac as ajsavsal which makes excellent sense, from whatever quarter it is derived. Perles conjectures that the
original

Greek was Syriac might stand

In Ps.
ii.

Ta-rreivovv

it

is

just conceivable that the

for a translation of this.

41 for

evXo'^'qTO';

Kvpio^ et? rof alcSva ivwiviov BovXmv avrov

the Syriac has the equivalent of vwo toiv BovXav avrov, and a

glance at the previous line of the Greek will show that ivmiriov has

been accidentally borrowed from there, so that we may replace vTTo rS)v on the faith of the Syriac, which at this point establishes
a better Greek text.

In Ps.

iv.

25 for
Trapwpyicrav tov deov
rrj'i

Kai,

koX Trapw^vvav

e^dpai avTOVi airo

the Syriac reads

<yfj<i

Kal Trapwpryiaav LOV^Jir^J tov Oeov Kai TrapwpyiaOrj [ovsojjo<r<'aj i^dpai ktI.

Here the translator seems to have taken a slight liberty with his text, by translating the same word in two different ways, unless we prefer the explanation that irapw^vvOr) stood in
his copy, instead of -rrapospyicrdrj.

In Ps.

viii.

23 the clause

aTTciiXeaev a/a^^oz/ra?

avTwv Kal iravTa aoi^ov

iv ^ovKfi

has for

its last

words
because he

'

is

wise in counsel
Syriac text

'

it is,

however, only a blunder

in the

itself:

read A.^o

for

ai\^ and you have

the equivalent of the Greek.

SYRIAC READINGS

4I

The same
reads
'

thing has happened in Ps. x.

9,

where the Syriac

Israel

The

salvation of the
for

Lord

is

upon the house of

'

an eternal Kingdom
p'A> a.!i

a very slight change restores

in its turn,

oisa

for K'Aso.a.iai

and

gives us the Greek aan^poavvT^v as in Codd.

H (R).
J

This must,

be corrected to ev^poavvtjv with Codd.

L C.

Here the Syriac follows a corrupt Greek text, and has itself been corrupted. For more violent changes in the Syriac we

may

take the following

ii.

Ps.

37
evXoyeiTe top deov. ol (po^ovfievoi TOP Kvpiov ev iwL(TTrip,y

on

ro eXeo? KvpLov

eirl

tov<; (f)o0ovfievov<;

avTov

p,eTa Kplfiaroi;.

The Syriac
parallelism

reads iv

a^^^r/fiaTi

for
is

iv

e-iriaTr)firj

but the

shows that the Greek

8 for

right,

and perhaps the

the Syriac

Syriac T^jyx^sor^ should be corrected to

In Ps.
v.
/a?)

rtfll^ojjo.
i<f>'

^apvvrjv ti]v %et/3a a-ov

Tjfj,a<;

has

'

let

not thy hand be delayed from us

'

which appears to answer to

p,TJ

^pahiivrj^; rrjv

%etpa

(rov

a^'

vfJ-^v,

the error being due to a false transcription of the Greek. the correctness of the Greek,
parallels cited
:

For
35

the
I

Biblical
v.

we may compare Ps. by Ryle and James

8,

Sol.

ii.

24 and
i.
:

[Judg.

Sam.

Ps. xxxi. (xxxii.) 4].

In the
A,(/i09

difficult

passage Ps. xv.

Kal pop,(j}aia koX Odvaro^ airo SiKaiwv p,aKpav,

t09

(bev^ovTat yap

BtwKOfievoi TroXefiov

avo

octkov,

the Syriac boldly says in

the second clause, that

'they shall

flee as

death

flees

away from

life.'

Perles compares Lev. xxvi. 36

ical

^ev^ovTai

&)?

(pevyovre^ diro TroXefiov

which suggests that the original Hebrew.

o. s.

diro has

dropped from our

text,

and gives
6

42

INTRODUCTION

The

Syriac variation

is
:

very vivid, but

am

afraid

it

is

an

evasion of a difficult text

the parallelism would be spoilt

flees

by

saying that
life.'

'

death

flees

from the righteous, as death

to

from

The Greek seems

flee

be right as

it

stands,

'they shall
to
flee].'

from the saints as fugitives

and to mean of war [are wont

In Ps.

xvii.

1 1

Gebhardt

edits
6

ovK r/Xerjaev avTov<;

Kai OVK

deo^.

e^r/pevvfjcrev to airepfia
a(j)rJKev

avTwv
eva.

avTMV

The Syriac has a

imperatives
:

series of imperatives, or of futures equivalent to

so that

we ought

to

have

in the

Greek,

if

that were

the original of the Syriac,

OVK iXerjaeif avjovt;, 6
6e6<;.

eTrierKe-^ov [? e^epevvqaov] to cnrep/j,a avToiv,

Kai OVK a<f)r]aeK avTwv eva,

and since the

i^epevvrjaov

MSS. have iXeijaei, and two of them have we may, by the Syriac, bring the Greek into closer

agreement with what must have been its original form. So far, then, our investigation has not taken us sensibly out of range of the Greek MSS. There are one or two obscurities still to be cleared up, but the above are the principal cases. Here is one microscopic, but significant error. In Psalm v. i6 the
Syriac translator has definitely blundered over the word ov in
KUi ov ea-rlv
r)

e\,'rr\<i

iiri ae,

ov (peiaerai iv B6p,aTi.

Here he reads the

discard the second.

first

ov as a negative, and

is

obliged to

Cod.

also reads ovk for the first ov.

We may, then, conclude that the Syriac translator of the Psalms has worked from a Greek text and we will presently
;

amongst the existing MSS. In one or two cases the translator makes very successful paronomasiae in his translation, such as might almost deceive the very elect into a belief that he had recovered a play on words of the original Hebrew. For example in Ps. xi. 6, 7,
its

try to find out

nearest affinity

ot opvfioi

iaKiaaav

avToi<i iv rfj

irapohm avT&v,

irav ^vXov evwhla^ avireiXev avrol^ 6 0eo?.

RELATION OF SVRlAC tO GREEK

For the second
line the Syriac reads
r<f:sa itin-i

43

K'eolK' ^_ocnA .M^^ni"

pilu^is
-x*ir<'

riLftixo

Ajio

As

it

does not seem possible that

can be a direct

translation of avereiXev

we

are almost obliged to believe that

:
'

the writer has introduced a paronomasia

every tree of sweet

breath

upon them.' It cannot be original, for as Perles points out', Baruch read ivereiXev (cf. Bar. V. 8, -wav ^vXov eva)Sia<; tc3 'lcrpar]\ TrpoardyfiaTi), and this
to

God caused

breathe

can only be a variant of dvereiXev.

Another similar case

TTOMV

will

be found

in Ps. ix.

e\er)ij,oavvr]v 07)(7avpi^ei

^wr/p

avTM irapd Kvpiw,

which the Syriac renders by

As
speech,

this

>Kloo r^^enxoo cannot be a Hebrew form of

are obliged to admit that the play on words
is

we
let

due

to the ingenuity of the translator.

we can get a rough idea of the place which the Syriac text of the Psalms of Solomon Relation of r^ occupies amongst the Greek MSS. the Syriac The edition of Ryle and James is based upon is'psaimsto four MSS. of which the chief is the very beautiful Mss"^'' Copenhagen MS. But since the other three (at Paris, Vienna and Moscow respectively) have been shown by Gebhardt to be derived from the Copenhagen MS., the text of Ryle and James is reduced to a single authority, for the other three may be neglected. To this MS. Gebhardt adds four more, one from the Vatican, two from Mount Athos, and one from Monte Cassino. We have
us see whether
.
,

Now

/-^

-n

r-.

thus eight

MSS.

as follows

C = Codex

Casanatensis 1908.

H = Codex

Hauniensis 6

(the

Copenhagen MS.).

J = Cod. 555 L = a MS. in

'

of the Monastery at Iveron.

the Monastery of the Laura.

der Psalmen Salomos, p. g.

Zur Erkldrung

44

INTRODUCTION

M=a

Moscow MS.: Library

of the

Holy Synod

147.

P = Paris Gr. 2991 A. R = Vatican Gr. 336. V = Vienna: Theol. Gr.

11.

The

relations

between these eight MSS. Gebhardt reduces

:

to the following

scheme

Here z

is

the archetype

y,x,w

are uncial

connecting links between the existing texts, and

similar links in the shape of minuscule

MSS., which make v, u and h are

MSS.
numbering the Psalms,

The

first

thing

we
:

notice

is

that in

proceeds as follows
Psal. Sol.
I

= a'
thus missing one in the count.

2=;3'

= --4 = 7'
3

S=S'
6
7

= e'

= 5-'
= 0'
thus missing a numeral:

8=r
9
after

which the count is regular. This error in the numbering of Ps. 5 has led its copy V astray, which has no number by the first hand, but has a wrong number S' on the margin by a later hand.

Now

turn to the Syriac

Psal. Sol.
I

MS.

we have
43 of the Syriac.

= Psalm

2= 3=

44
45

4=
&c.
all

47
in excess.

= &c.

the numbers being

now one

GROUPING OF
It will

MSS.

OF PSALMS

45

very nearly at the same place as Cod. H, and

error in

be seen that the Syriac numeration has gone wrong in correcting an one direction, the scribe has made a continuous line
This suggests that Syr. and

of errors in another direction.

H
us

are not very widely removed from one another.

Now

let

examine some
In Ps.
i.

special readings.

we have

RL J H
In Ps.
i.

Syr. for jtoXXtjv)

for TToXvv
j

4 we have

RJL
In Ps.
ii.

Syr. against

(BieXdoi).
]

we have L

Syr. for Kare/3aXe

for

RJ
this suggests that the Syriac

Kare^aXXej

comes on the diagram somewhere

between x and w.
In Ps.
ii.

22

iKavcoaov, Kvpie, tov

67rl 'lepovaaXriij,

0apvveadai %eipa

crov

iv eirayoo'yfj eOvwv.

Here

iiraywyrj

is
it

clearly right, but

some MSS. have

aTraycoyrj

the Syriac has

Syr. against H.

correctly:

thus the

MSS.

divide

RJL

and

In the same connexion

it

is

somewhat perplexing

to find

'

what seems to be a One would have expected the same reading to turn up in J, but perhaps it was corrected by the scribe. If Gebhardt's diagram is correct, it looks as if R and Syr. might be the original reading and not an error at all. In Ps. iv. 3 R and the Syriac are together in reading
both

and Syr.
for
'

in

common

error,

reading

Israel

'

Jerusalem.'

ajxapTOiXSiv against J

LCH

{afiapriSiv).

In Ps.

iv.

we have
J

LCH

Syr. (yofiov /Mera SoXov)

against

R
viii.

{(lovov /juera SovXov).

In Ps.

2i the Syriac seems to involve

a with
In Ps.

against a? of J

L C H.

are again together in reading i/xiavev. viii. 22 Syr. and In Ps. xvi. 12 the Syriac omits a clause by homoioteleuton,
in

company with

L.

46
In Ps.
against
xvii.

INTRODUCTION
8

the

Syriac reads

aXXd.yfj,aTo<;

with

RJ L

{dXaXdiyfiaro^).
xvii.

In Ps.

23 the Syriac reads etSe? with

RJ L

against

and the rest. These are the most striking of the non-singular readings of the Syriac, and they show clearly that the version belongs to an earlier strain of text than Cod. H, and that its place is with the group R J L, being perhaps intermediate between J and L. The singular readings and free translations on the part of the Syriac give us no assistance in regard to the grouping of the MSS., and we must leave the matter in the approximate manner
explained above.
to get

must be clear from the foregoing that we cannot expect any nearer to the original language of the Psalms by means of the Syriac. The original Hebrew must be sought in the emendations to the Greek text made by Wellhausen, Geiger, Ryle and James, and Perles. Let us turn in the next place to the Odes, and see whether ^^ ^^^ tracc their linguistic history. Here we The Syriac text of the havc HO Greek text extant, but we have the Coptic Odes taken from the text of Certain Odes and there are Greek words embedded; we have also traces of a Latin version, which we may assume, provisionally, to have been made from the Greek and we have the Syriac version. In Ode 6, v. 16, we have tried to explain the variation between a Coptic = irapprjcroa and a Syriac = irapovaia by reference to a misread Greek word. We can frequently detect Greek compounds in their awkward Syriac substitutes for example, in Ode 7, v. 26, excellent beauty of the Lord is an attempt to render the Greek /xeyaXoIt
'

'^

'

'

'Trpiireia^.

The

constantly recurring rciiaj* rSlA,

'

without correndering

ruption,' stands for

d^dapro^ and a^dapala. good instance is in Ode 9, v. 3, where the

'

literal

His thought

is

everlasting
is

life,

A nd

without corruption

your

perfection

'

probably stands for

Kai iv a^Oapaia to tcXo? vfi&v,
'

We may

compare with the LXX. of

Ps. Ixvii. (Ixviii.) 34

and the

Peshitta.

: '

SYRIAC ODES FROM THE GREEK

47

and should therefore be

'

translated,
is

And

your end
is

immortality.'
^ifloj*

somewhat
will

similar case
for the

the frequently repeated

a(j)Oovo<;,

r<\

which stands

Greek
in lips

d^dovax;^.

An

interesting
'

example

be found

Ode

ing waters touched

my

grudging'
at first

{i.e.

abundantly).
to

speak1 1, v. 6, where we read that from the fountain of God without In the passage just quoted I was
'

tempted
but
it is

emend

'the speaking waters

to

'

waters of

must not be done: the expression is the same as in Ignatius ad Rom. 7, vhap i^Siv koI \aXovv, which Lightfoot too hastily altered to fwi/ koX dWofievov and thus made a direct Johannine parallel. For talking water there are sufficient literary and folk-lore parallels.
flood,'

clear that this

'

Lightfoot quotes from Jortin [Ecc/. Hist.

to

i.

356] the reference

Anacreon

11 (13),

Ba<f>v'r]<popoio

^oi^ov \a\ov
to be

iriovTe^ vhmp,

for

the expression 'talking water' and for the prophetic in-

spiration that

was supposed

produced by drinking

it

but objects to Jortin's inference that, as there was one of these speaking fountains at Daphne, the famous suburb of Antioch,
'
'

Ignatius

may have borrowed

his

thinks the reference doubtful, even

image from thence. if the text were

Lightfoot
correct.
It

seems clear, from the language of the Ode, that the text, about which Lightfoot hesitated, is correct, and I think we may say that the Greek text lies behind the Syriac^ as to the inter;

pretation, that
'

may

require a

little

further deliberation.
be found in Irenaeus

An

interesting parallel to this series of translations will

text

(247)
"

where the Latin

shows a double translation

'

sine invidia largiter donans

hominibus.'
Lightfoot was quoting Jortin by way of Jacobsoh. A reference to Jortin himshows that Lightfoot has not done justice to Jortin, whose statement of the case I transcribe a part of it 'The for \aKovv and against dXX6/iepoi' is admirable. expression, S5wp XaXoCy, resembles the vacates undue which inspired the Poets and
self
:

Prophets.
Statius, Silv.
i. 1 1
.

6,

Et de

Pieriis

vocalem fontibus undani.

An

oracle of Apollo Delphicus given to Julian,

Ei'Trare Ti^ ^affiKeL,

and preserved by Cedrenus

SaidaKos aOXd.

x^f^^

ir^cre

Oi TToykv

\ix\odffa,v,

air^ff^ero Kal

XaXov

iidtap.

In these verses, which, to do them

justice, are elegant,

Apollo, to raise Julian's

48

INTRODUCTION

We may
Unity of Authorship?

pass on to discuss briefly the question of the unity or multiplicity of the authorship of the

now

Psalms.

are they a collection

over a period

Do they come from a single hand or made up out of various authors extending It is natural that we should be on our of time ?
:

guard against a too hasty belief that the whole of a collection for we like the present one comes from a single workshop have before our eyes the example of the traditional authorship of the Canonical Psalter, where the authors to whom the compositions are referred are far too few and where the Psalms are
often referred to periods

when

it

is

impossible to believe the

compositions can have been extant.

us, however, we can apply a number of and matter, and I think it will be evident that the majority of the Odes do come from a single hand. They are so often cast in the same mould, both as regards ideas and

In the case before

tests as to style

expressions, that

we

are obliged to recognize kinship in the

separate compositions ^

Moreover the very elevation of the

an index of a single personality
:

thoughts of the Odes

if

is

even
rare

we cannot

identify him,
spirits

we

are sure that the writer

was a

do not agree with multiplied authorship. our Odist is at his best, he is certainly one and not many. When A good way to test for unity of authorship is to group together those Odes which have the same ideas similarly expressed. For example, we are all familiar with the expression in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. xiii. 15) in which we are told to offer to God through Christ the fruit of our lips in a continual
spirit,

and rare

compassion, deplores the silence of his oracles, and of speaking streams. line read ^a<n\TJi.

In the

first

Anacreon

xiii.,

01 Si KXdpov Trap' SxSais

Aa<pin}<p6poLO

^oi^ou

AdXov

iriovre^ iiSwp

after discussing the passage iii Ignatius and its variant readings, he shows Greek Menaeum had both readings, and goes on to say, against Le Clerc, that 'the XaXoOv Sdup must not be altered: it is sufficiently confirmed by the citations of Cotelerius in this very note where he is inclined to reject it, and it is more elegant and proper than Le Clerc imagined.' References to Antioch and Daphne follow. Our seventh Ode shows the fitness of the Ignatian expression. It is not necessary to assume any connexion, either of place or authorship, with the Ignatian letters. 1 A good parallel case would be the modern recovery of the works of the

Then

that the

seventeenth century poet Traherne.

UNITY OF AUTHORSHIP OF ODES

sacrifice

49

xiv. 3

of
in

Is.

of praise. This expression is borrowed from Rosea according to the Septuagint, or perhaps from the Hebrew Ivii. 19. The expression is one which is already employed

the extant Psalms of Solomon, where

Ps. Sol. XV. 5
^jraX/xov Katvov fier
tcap-TTOV ')(ei\eaiv
<pBfj<s

we

find as follows

ev evcppocrvvt) KapBia<;,

iv opydvai rjpfjiocrp.evfp yXcoaarji;,

airap'yrjv )(ei\e(ov airo Kaphiat; oaia<; Kal 8iicaia<;.

Here the expression has caught the fancy of the Psalmist, who works it into a parallel between fruits' and firstfruits.'
'
'

Odes it is a very instances will show

In the

favourite expression, as the following

Ode

8.

'

Let your love be multiplied from the heart

and even
His
light.'

to the lips, to bring forth fruit to the Lord,

living fruit, holy fruit,

and to talk with watchfulness

in

Ode

my
I

12. 'Like the flow of waters flows truth from mouth, and my lips show forth His fruit' Ode 14. 'Teach me the Odes of thy truth, that

may bring Ode 16.

forth fruit in thee.'

'

to

my

lips

His

His love has nourished my heart, and even fruits He was pouring out'
'

The
author.

recurrence of the theme

the fruit of the lips

'

suggests

that this group of Psalms should be credited to a

common

The sixteenth Ode from which we just quoted is one of a group that begins with a similitude, something like those which we find in the Songs of Degrees in the Canonical Psalter. For instance we have

Ode

14.

'As the eyes of a son

Lord, at
is

to his father, so are

my
The

eyes,

all

times towards Thee.'

'

parallel to this

Ps. cxxiii. 2,

As

the eyes of servants to

the hands of their masters, and as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to the Lord our God.' Very similar is Ode 1 5.

'As the sun

break,
o. s.

is

a joy to them that seek for

its

day-

so

is

my

Joy the

Lord,' with

which we
7

may

50

INTRODUCTION
compare
Ps. cxxix. (cxxx.) 6,
'

more than they that watch

for the morning.'

Ode

6 begins something in the same way:

'As the work of the husbandman is the ploughshare: and the work of the steersman is the guidance of the my so also my work is the Psalm of the Lord ship occupation are in His praises.' craft and my
:
:

With

these three
'

Odes we may probably take Ode 28

the wings of doves over their nestlings, and the mouths of their nestlings towards their mouths, so also

As

are the wings of the Spirit over

my

heart.'

of these

Suppose we group these four together, viz. 14, 15, 16, 28: we have already 14 and 16 in the group 8, 12, 14, 16: so the six Odes 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 28, belong together and have a

common
Next

authorship.
let

us try the association and repetition of ideas

one

of the harshest symbols employed by the

of milk from the breasts of cidences
:

Odes

is

the figure

God

we have
I

the following coin-

Ode Ode Ode

8.

'

My own
my
'

breasts

prepared

for

them

that

they might drink

14.

holy milk and live thereby.'

are

With thee
is

my

breasts and
in

my

delight.'

19

contains

which Christ

extended form in the cup that contains the milk from the
a parallel

breasts of the Father.

With

this

we must probably take

Ode

35.

'I

was carried
milk, the

like a child

by

its

mother,

and he gave

me

dew

of the Lord.'

Lord

The same connexion between is found in Ode 4

'

the milk and the

dew

of the

distil

thy dews upon us and open the rich fountains

that pour forth milk and honey.'

Here then is a group of Odes, 4, 8, 14, 19, 35, which appear to belong together: but of these 8 and 14 are in the previous group, which must now be enlarged to
.4, 8,

12,

14,

IS,

16,

19,

28, 35.

1:

UNITY OF AUTHORSHIP OF ODES

In this

way

then,

we may form the Odes

into groups, as

a preliminary test for authorship.

gestions for grouping.
In

Here are some more sug-

Ode
'

6 we begin with

As

the hand moves over the harp, and the strings

speak, so speaks in

my members

the Spirit of the Lord.'

it

F"rom the use of an opening similitude,

that this belongs with the similitudes in

may

be suggested
the very

Odes already quoted

:

but the actual figure of the hand and the harp recurs next Ode has

Ode
sing to

7.

'they shall go forth to meet

Him and
'

shall

and

this

In

In

many notes Ode also opens with a similitude. Ode 14 we have Open to me the harp of thy Holy Spirit, all its notes I may praise Thee, O Lord.' Ode 26
with the harp of
' '

Him

that with

shall not

His harp is in be silent.'

my

hands and the Odes of His

rest

These four Odes may be taken together, and attached

previous group, which
4, 6, 7,
8,

to the

now
12,

contains
IS,
16,

14,

19,

26, 28, 35.

Ode 7 and Ode 10 are connected by the use of a curious

expression,
'

the traces of the Light

7.
'

'

thus

Ode Ode
heart.'

He
'

set over

it

the traces of His Light.'

ID.

The

traces of the Light were set

upon

their

seal of

Ode 4 and Ode God which is

8 are connected
set

by on His creatures
is

their reference to the

:

Ode
be hurt

4.
?

'

Who
On

there that shall put on thy grace and

is

For thy
8.
'

seal

known.'
I

Ode

their faces

set

my

seal

'

&c.

Ode 3 and Ode 8 are connected by the fact ihat both of them speak of Christ as {a) the Beloved, {b) the Living One. Ode 3 and Ode 17 have a common feature in that they speak of believers as the members of Christ.

52

INTRODUCTION

Ode
crown of

I,

S,

life

Odes

17,

9(?), 17 and 20(?) contain the doctrine of the which does not wither. 21, 40 and 41 speak of the transfiguration of the
:

face of the believer

e.g.

Ode
new

17.

'I

received the face and the fashion of a

person.'
21.

Ode

'The exultation of the Lord increased on

'

my

face.'

Ode Ode

40.

My

face exults with His gladness.'

in

41.

'

Let our faces shine

His

light.'

We

have now, tentatively, grouped together Odes

3>

I,

4,

5.

6, 7, 8, 9(?),
2o(.'),

10,

12,

14,

IS,

16,

17,

19,

21, 26, 28, 35, 40, 41.

No

doubt other coincidences and parallels

is

may
it,

be detected

the net result of this

the recognition that the majority of the

if

Odes come from a

school.
is

single hand, or

we

prefer

The

doubtful member, in

my judgment,

is

from the same Ode 19 which

as the other

far

too grotesque to be
It

by the same hand

compositions.

appears to

me

to be an imitation of the other

Psalms that speak of the breasts of God. It is tritheistic as well There will be some short Psalms that do not readily furnish material for identification, but even these short Odes will sometimes be capable of grouping thus the figure of the Cross in prayer is found in Ode 27, and reappears in a
as grotesque.
;

longer composition
believe that this
collection.

Ode 42. It is very difficult, however, to 42nd Ode belongs to the main body of the

Setting aside such small compositions and such as are late or

I believe it will be found that the internal evidence throw nearly all the Odes together, and that those which are thus grouped will be found to be Christian compositions, although at first sight many of them might seem to be Jewish, Their internal or not definitely marked one way or the other.

discordant,
will

parallelisms

enable us to say with confidence that they are

either Christian or at least Judaeo-Christian compositions.

Several of the longer

the others
:

Odes do not admit of grouping with amongst these we note

22,

Ode

which contains an account of the victory over

the dragon with seven heads.

HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS

53

Ode
a
Trinity.

23,

which records the descent from heaven of

letter,

mysterious

inscribed

with the

name

of

the

Ode 38, which records the preservation of the writer from various errors and deceits.
which explains the dangers which attend the how the believers walk firmly on their waves, following the footsteps and example
39,

Ode

rapid rise of great rivers, and

of Christ.

These are

also, in all probability, Christian;

but the question

of their authorship must be reserved and examined in detail.

We
The
. ,

now proceed
first

to

examine the
is

historical allusions in the

book of Odes.
thing that strikes us
the poverty of historical

background compared with that in the extant ^ ^ Historical allusions in Psalms of Solomon. In these known Psalms it is impossible to miss the historical situation which provoked them they were made under the stress of national exigency, and the troubles stand out from the Psalms with their Pompey is written large over several of the dates on them. Psalms, and when Rome is not expressly mentioned it is The great dragon of the Psalms of Solomon is distinctly felt.
:

We can tell him a mile away. Not only so, but when the history is recognized, the theology The Pharisaism of the Psalms is transalso becomes patent. parently clear, and the Messianism that went with it. So that it was with justice that some critics labelled the compositions Psalms of the Pharisees. That does not mean that all these Psalms are necessarily by one hand nor that all of them are decidedly marked. Some of them are, in fact, colourless, and
a classified specimen.
in

that

sense,

dateless

but the collection, as

a whole,

is

identified,

both historically and theologically.

The

case of the

Odes is very different. If there are any national disasters behind the songs, they have been lost in the songs. There is not a sad note, and there is hardly a vindictive note in the whole collection. And on the theological side, the leading characteristic is experience, and not dogma: and experience is much harder
to date than

dogma, and shows fewer of the weather-marks of

evolution.
rise

Sometimes, indeed, the expressions of the Odists to such a height that they catch from the object of their

S4
Faith something- that
It is difficult to

INTRODUCTION
is

everlasting rather than evolutionary.

man who has disclosed the fact that he is supremely happy and that God has made his face to shine with the light of heaven. The only way in which we could date such
date a

phenomenon would be to say that, if he is not an isolated specimen, the songs must proceed from some time of general
a
spiritual elevation
;

and since

it

is

historically verifiable, that

life
is

the experimental time of the bloom of Church

the

first

age

one hardly expects to find people generally rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy,' say, in the time of Constantine), then these hymns or odes must belong to the first days of the Church but even that way of dating them is somewhat indefinite. When we go in search of special historical details, we do not The most important cases get a very rich harvest. must be carefully examined. The first case is tofound^"^^ ^^^ 4' which has a reference to a proposal or Sanctuary suggestion to change the Sanctuary of God from Jerusalem to some other position, and it is a noble protest from a standpoint, which at least in part is a Jewish standpoint,
(for
'

against the suggestion.

'

The Ode begins

as follows

God, changes thy holy place and it is not possible that he should change it and put it in another place because he has no power over it for thy sanctuary was designed before thou didst make other places that which is the elder shall not be altered by that which is younger than itself.'
:
: : :

No man, O

Now

here

it

is

clear that

some change

in the value of the

Sanctuary at Jerusalem is threatened at the hands of man. The writer does not mean the same thing as the author of the seventh of the extant Psalms of Solomon, where he prays God
not to remove His tabernacle from amongst them,
lest

the

enemy
is

should tread the inheritance of the Sanctuary.

of

It is at

the hands

man

that

the

Sanctuary

is

threatened, and

the writer

confident that the Lord himself has never changed and never will

change.

His thoughts turn to the origin of the holy place.

it

That

holy place had a pre-existence and a corresponding eternity:

was a Sanctuary from the beginning.'

'

Here we are

certainly

HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS
face to face with Jewish beliefs
;

55

the writer of the

Ode may be

shown on other grounds

is

to be a Christian, but on this point he

betrayed as having Jewish sympathies.

And

his views with

regard to the

Temple

are not merely Jewish in a general sense,

but highly evolved.

The
mount
:

first

theories of the

been almost Platonic

in character

Heavenly Sanctuary appear to have there was a pattern in the

:

according to that pattern or idea the visible thing was fashioned but the idea was eternal, and pre-existent. This
;

Platonic idea underwent change at the hand of later Rabbins,

who came

to teach that the actual

Sanctuary had been created

before other things, and had been caught

away

to

Heaven and
c. 4,

disappeared.

Accordingly we find

in the

Apocalypse of Baruch,

that

the Lord explains the doctrine of the Sanctuary to the prophet, in language which depreciates the earthly sanctuary
:

Dost thou think that this is that city of which I said, my hands have I graven thee ? It is not this building which is now built in your midst it is that which will be revealed with Me, that which was prepared beforehand here from the time when I took counsel to make Paradise, and showed it to Adam before he sinned,
'

On

the palms of

but when

he transgressed the

commandment,

it

was

removed from him, as

Here, then,

also Paradise.'

we have

the view of a first-century writer

who
is

is

amazed
that

at the desolation of Zion,

and

like

our Odist,

con-

cerned with the problem of the deserted Sanctuary: he concludes it has been caught away, as Paradise was. The real city of
is that which was made at the beginning like Paradise, was only here temporarily what is left is not the real thing. Now our Odist does not go so far in despair as the writer of the Apocalypse, of whom he may have been a contemporary. He believes the Sanctuary was made at the very beginning

God
it

before other things, but

still

holds to the belief that Jerusalem

He does is the Holy City and the Temple the true Sanctuary. Hebrews, in drawing a not go so far even as the Epistle to the distinction between the tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and that which was made by man. His position appears to be very closely that of the great

S6

INTRODUCTION

Jewish Rabbis, who taught the pre-existence of the Sanctuary and its priority to the rest of the works of God, and who do not appear to have explained this pre-existence according to the
theory of Ideas, for
in that case where would the priority have been of the Temple amongst other works of God ? Their method of teaching can be seen from

Bereshith Rabbah, 20

Seven things were created before the world Thorah, Gehenna, the Paradise of Eden, the Throne of Glory, the Sanctuary, Repentance and the Name of iVIessiah.'
'
:

in Pirqe

Very nearly to the same Aboth vi. 10

:

effect

is

the dictum of Rabbi Meir

'

Five possessions possessed the Holy One, blessed

in
:

is

His world and they are these Thorah, one possession Heaven and Earth, one possession Abraham, one possession Israel, one possession the Sanctuary, one possession.'
He,
:

The

Scriptural proofs of these statements are important

is

the

case of the Sanctuary

'

proved as follows

written, "

The Sanctuary, whence is it proved ? The place, O Lord, which thou

in,

Because
hast

it is

made

for

thee to dwell
"

the

Sanctuary,

Lord, which thy

hands have established" (Exod. xv. 17): and it saith, And he brought them to the border of his Sanctuary,
even
to
this
"
'

mountain,

which

his

right

hand had

possessed

(Ps. Ixxviii. 54)-

That will suffice employed and it is

:

to

clear that the

show the nature of the Scripture proofs same beliefs were in the mind

of the writer of our Ode.

situation

The

question then arises as to the

which provoked his expression of faith. In the case of the Apocalypse of Baruch, to which we have
it

referred as a parallel,

is
is

clear that

it

is

the desolation of
:

Jerusalem by Titus which

is

and it some similar situation which is reflected in this fourth Ode. Only the language in this latter case seems to imply that some deliberate suggestion or attempt had been made by man to move the Sanctuary and against this the writer protests. The agent who makes or suggests the change cannot be the Roman
:

the historical background

HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS
conqueror
:

57

he might carry away the holy vessels, but that does not remove the Sanctuary, any more than it was moved in the

days of Nebuchadnezzar. So it must be a suggestion coming from Jewish or quasi-Jewish quarters. And the difficulty lies in
this
:

it

is

hardly possible that in the time of the last Jewish

wars, any

body of Jewish believers could have cherished the thought of a temple anywhere else than at Jerusalem. If the temple was gone, it was gone back to Heaven and to God it was
:

not to be sought elsewhere.

A.D.

It is

not easy to believe that in

at the

70 or

in A.D. 135,

under the hand of Titus, or

time

of Bar Cochba, the Jews would have thought of another temple.

For

this reason I

suggest that the writer

earlier

attempt which had been made in

is referring to an days to provide an

alternative Sanctuary to that at Jerusalem.

We

know
;

of at least three such attempts to change the

Holy Place

one, the Samaritan temple on Gerizim, another the

officials

Sanctuary at Assouan, whose

were

in friendly relations

with both Jerusalem and Gerizim, the third the temple of Onias

on the and designed as a substitute for it. Of these the Sanctuary on Gerizim was destroyed by John Hyrcanus in B.C. 128 the Sanctuary at Assouan was wrecked by the Egyptians, after the retreat of Cambyses the temple of Onias actually outlasted the temple at Jerusalem, and was destroyed in A.D. 73 by the Roman general Paulinus in consequence of the fears of the Romans that this temple also might become a rallying point for sedition and revolt. And I have suggested that it is the destruction of this temple, and not the
at Leontopolis in Egypt, said to be actually modelled

temple

at Jerusalem,

Jerusalem temple, that provokes the protest of the fourth Ode. Unless it can be shown that there is a probability that some one actually proposed building a new temple, soon after the great Jewish disasters, elsewhere than at Jerusalem, it seems to me that this is the likeliest solution: and it furnishes an exact
historical date.

There can be no doubt as to the writer's affection for the temple at Jerusalem: but he does not wail or lament: he is satisfied with the unchangeableness of God and the immutability of His promises. If he had been a Jew, he could not have displayed such equanimity: compare, for example, the language of the
o. s.

58

INTRODUCTION

Apocalypse of Baruch or of Fourth Ezra, to see how the real Jew would feel. It may be inferred that the writer of the Ode is a Judaeo-Christian. If his date was not, as I suggest, soon after A.D. 70, the only other possible date seems to be soon
after A.D. 135^.

The importance

of the temple at Leontopolis, in connexion

with the desecration of the temple at Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, as a factor in the decentralization of the Jewish
religion, is indicated
'

by Harnack in his History of Dogma. The spread of Judaism in the world, the secularization and apostasy of the priestly caste, the desecration of the Temple,
tke building of the Temple at Leontopolis, the perception brought about by the spiritualizing of religion in the Empire of Alexander the Great, that no blood of beast can be a means of reconciling God all these circumstances must have been

absolutely dangerous and

fatal,

both to the local centralization

of worship, and to the statutory sacrificial system V In view of this luminous statement, it is not difficult to

imagine the resentment of a Palestinian Jew against Leontopolis, nor the expression of such resentment in song, when the offensive institution had been swept away.

good idea of the theological position of the writer amongst the early Christian sects and schools, if we contrast his position with (i) that of the Ebionites on the one hand, and (ii) that of the author of the epistle of Barnabas on the
shall get a

We

other.

Irenaeus

tells us, for

example, that the Ebionites per-

severe in the customs of the law and in the Jewish

mode

of

life,

were the house of God'. Without pressing too closely the language of Irenaeus concerning the Ebionites, which may be coloured by polemical exaggeration,

and adore Jerusalem as

if it

there
fourth

is

certainly a

common ground between

the writer of the

Ode and

the

Ebionites, in their affectionate religious

attachment to the ancient Sanctuary.

Now turn to the sixteenth chapter of theveryanti-judaic epistle

for

The desecration of the Temple by Pompey in B.C. 63 is not a possible situation; no serious interruption of the Temple Worship took place, and therefore no acute religious problem was provoked. Nor can our Odes be referred to so early a period. We have shown that they belong, almost entirely, if not absolutely, to the Christian
'

period.
^ '

Harnack

l.c. i.

69 note, Eng. trans.

Ireu. (ed. Mass. 105).

THE UNCHANGEABLE SANCTUARY

59

which passes under the name of Barnabas. Barnabas begins by telling us that the poor wretches (sc. the Jews) are in error about the temple, which they take to be a house of God. They have almost consecrated God in a shrine, as the Gentiles do.

He

then quotes prophecies to show the vanity of the Jewish

In

belief.

the course of these quotations he has to explain

Isaiah xlix. 17, 'Behold those that have destroyed this temple
shall build
it

again,'

and affirms that

this is actually taking place

at

the hands of the Romans,

who had wrecked

against them.

the temple

because the Jews had

made war

But instead of
(to

drawing the
of

Ebionite conclusion

from

this

us)

obscure

historical allusion,

he

flies

off to prove that the only real

It is clear that

temple

God

is

a redeemed soul.

the writer of the

life,

fourth Ode, while accepting the spiritual interpretation of

would never express himself like Barnabas. As Dr Taylor says^ 'those who felt with Barnabas would have looked with disfavour upon the rebuilding of the- temple
at Jerusalem.'

There

is

another

way

in

of the writer of the fourth

which we can see that the position Ode is not that of the normal

Christian of Gentile extraction.

One

of the

commonest

exercises

of the early Christian was the demonstration to the orthodox

Jew by means of Testimonies from

religion

the Old Testament

that his

was no longer acceptable to God. From the traces of these early collections of Testimonies which have come to light,
easy to see that they involved special statements under the
' '

it is

heads that the Jews were to lose Jerusalem,' and that the old temple should pass away and a new one take its place.' The new temple was to be a spiritual one, but whether the new

temple was Christ or the

of the fourth

believer,

is

not quite clear.

The
(if it

writer

Ode

is

prepared with spiritual interpretations of

be the

the older religion, he spiritualizes the priesthood

same hand
cision

as wrote

Ode

20) and perhaps the rite of circum-

(cf. Ode 11), but he is not prepared to say that the Old Sanctuary was to pass away. His position, therefore, is an intermediate one, not wholly Gentile, though with strong Gentile

leanings, and, as

we

said above,

much

nearer to the doctrine of

the Ebionites than to that of the epistle of Barnabas.

Pirge Aboth

'

ed.

ii.

p. 153.

6o
In

INTRODUCTION
connexion with
the foregoing argument, it may be proper to examine the references made in the Odes to the prevalence of wars, and to determine whether
j.]^g

fefe^enc^e to

wars which have occurred.

writer

is

speaking of actual wars or only of j r n

spiritual

conflicts.

When we

read

the eighteen
;

Psalms of Solomon, the noise of war is common we can see the engines moved up for the siege, we can hear the thud of the instead of battering rams. These Psalms open in affliction there was heard the sound of war.' peace,' says the writer, Distress and the sound of wars,' so another Psalm begins, mine ears have heard, the sound of the trumpet, and the noise of slaughter and destruction.' When this writer says war he means war, and there is no alternative. But the case is not so clear in the Odes. The references to war are few, and
'
:

'

'

'

obscure.

In

Ode

we have

'The right hand of the Lord is with you, and He is your helper and peace was prepared for you, before ever your war was.'
:

How
Predestined

shall

we explain

this allusion

Does

it

simply mean

that the Divinc foresight had seen to the end of the

^""'

man's spiritual troubles and had designed for him

}

the happy issue out of them

it

The

objection to this

is (i)

that

somewhat forced (ii) that the language is evidently addressed to a community of persons who have passed through affliction together and are spoken of as those who have been despised, whose righteousness has now been exalted. But if it is addressed to a community, the distresses can hardly be
is
; ;

spiritual
it

and

it

is

possible,

though

should not like to affirm

are

positively,

that

the persons addressed

those Judaeo-

Christians at Bella,

by
to

flight,

in

who escaped from the siege of Jerusalem harmony with the evangelic precepts. The Ode
in
:

which we have been referring finds a striking parallel Ode 9, where we have as follows
'
:

For I announce to you peace, to you His saints that none of those who hear may fall in war, and that those again who have known Him may not perish There have been wars on account of the crown. Put on the crown in the true covenant of the Lord. And all

WARS SPIRITUAL OR CARNAL?

those

6l

who have conquered

book
is

shall be written in

His book.

For

their

victory.'

Is this spiritual or carnal warfare

sound

like the

? the concluding sentences language of the Apocalypse, To him that over'

cometh,' and

in

that

case,

are

spiritual.

But the
strife

openirig

sentences sound like an exemption from actual

dangers

and

this

and its might again be compared with the condition

of the Judaeo-Christians at Pella.

When we turn to Ode 29 we have again allusion to victory over one's enemies, and to war made by the word of the Lord.
But as
this

Ode

is

definitely Christian,

and

its

language

is

parallel

to the vigorous expressions of Paul about the casting

down

of

imaginations and the bringing of every thought into the captivity

of obedience to Christ,
victories are spiritual.
'

we may be sure that the warfare and Examine the following sentences

the

From

I laid

my

mouth of death he drew me back, and enemies low, and He justified me by His grace:
the

for

believed in the Lord's Messiah.'

spiritual
is

These are certainly

ence,

statements: justification by
in the

grace through faith in Christ

the record of spiritual experi-

and the victories must be interpreted and so must the following

same sense

'He gave me
that
I

the rod of His power: might subdue the imaginations of the peoples and the power of the men of might to bring them

cf.

Ps.cx.2
Cor.

cf. 2

^' ^

low:
to

make war by His word,

:

and to take victory by His power: And the Lord overthrew my enemy by His word and he became like the stubble that the wind carries
away.'

So
and a
carnal.

far,

then, as this 29th

Ode

is

concerned,

it is

a Christian
is

spiritual

product, and relates to a warfare that

not

We
The
fight

come now
with

to a

much more

difficult

Psalm of

conflict,

the story of a triumph over a dragon with seven

hcads.

the Dragon.

62

INTRODUCTION
In the twenty-second
'

Ode

the Lord

is

praised because

He

overthrew by

my

hands the dragon with seven

over his roots, that

heads

Thou

hast raised

me up

might

destroy his seed

Thy
Then
bodies,

right

hand destroyed

his

wicked poison,, &c.

&c.'

follows an account of the raising of an

like

army of dead

something
is

the

scene in

Ezekiel's valley of dry

bones.

The Ode

a striking one and attracted the attention of the

who found in the dragon with seven heads one of the Emanations that threatened the upward proauthor of the Pistis Sophia,
gress of Sophia.

she does

Sophia escapes from these Emanations, music of the ninety-first Psalm, in which it is promised that the believer shall tread on the lion and the dragon.
it

When

to the

And

the Pistis Sophia says

(p.

140):

'Conculcabat Trpo^oXrjv
septem erant capita
;

cum

facie basilisci serpentis, cui

et

conculcabat vim
Feci

cum facie

leonis et

cum

facie SpaKovTo<i.

iricrTiv crocjiiav

manere stantem

super Trpol3oX7]v avdahov;, quae habet faciem basilisci serpentis,

ad

sunt septem capita!

and

(p.

147)

Atque verbum quod tua vis luminis dixit per Davidem meabis super serpentem et basiliscum
'
:

super hos, qui sunt facie serpentis, et super hos, qui

facie basilisci serpentis, qiiibus septem

sunt

capita.'

And
The

then the

Ode

of

Solomon

is

Pistis

Sophia, therefore, has

annexed

quoted and commented on. this dragon with

seven heads and given him a spiritual interpretation. We may say that the dragon was the cause of the quotation of the Ode. As far as natural history goes, he is a lay figure. But is this the original idea ? We remember that in the eighteen Psalms
of Solomon, the dragon
himself,
is

palpable and tangible

and not a

spiritual force or

he is Pompey opposing influence.

:

Then there is an even closer parallel to our Ode, in the almost contemporary twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse a dragon with seven heads and ten horns persecutes the woman
;

THE DRAGON WITH SEVEN HEADS

who
brings forth the man-child.

63

And

the

to be intended in the seventeenth chapter,

same dragon appears where it is ridden by

the mystical Babylon

dragon stands
in the

for the

that makes war with the saints. The power of Antichrist^ exhibited especially
This, then,
is

adverse action of imperial Rome-

the nearest

parallel to the situation in our

Ode.

Now

the situation cannot be reduced to an actual war, as

when Rome subdues Jerusalem under Pompey, for in these wars Rome always wins so it must be some other form of conflict,
:

either the passive resistance

and triumph of the

saints in times

of persecution, or the conflict between truth and error, which

results in the defeat of heretical teaching.

The Odist
'

refers to the conflict as a personal

one carried on

from place to place by himself:

Thou
:

hast raised

me up

over his roots to destroy his

seed

thou wast there and didst help

me

and

in

every

place thy

name was

blessed

by me: thy

right

hand

destroyed his wicked poison.'

This is the story, not of a persecution, but of a conflict between truth and error: and the dragon with seven heads stands, not for a world-power nor an aggressive world-ruler, but
for the Antichrist

who

is

spreading the poison of false doctrine

city.

and must be confuted from city to

parallel situation

would be the conflict between Peter and Simon Magus in the Clementine Homilies. Who this Antichrist is, in the mind of the writer, or what is the special form of error that is combated, we have not sufficient information to decide: and for that reason must leave the historical situation somewhat obscure. The next Ode to be discussed, in the hope of finding some points of contact with history, is the twenty-third and it is the most difficult of all the Odes to interpret, and quite unlike any
:

of the other compositions in the

series.

The

After some opening sentences, affirming that Joy, Grace and Love are the marks of the elect of God, we are in-

mysterious

formed that a letter was mysteriously sent down from heaven to earth, as if it had been shot from a
Irenaeus, in denouncing the Gnostic leaders, such as

Thus

Simon Magus, and

is by his magic going to cast down from Heaven the third part of the stars ; that is, Simon and Carpocrates are rehearsals of the coming Antichrist. See Irenaeus (ed. Mass. 164).

Carpocrates, calls them expressly the precursors of the dragon,

who

64
bow.

INTRODUCTION
People rushed to read
it;

but

it

was talismaned by a
it

seal,

which none dared to break.

Like the tables of the law,

was

wholly written by the finger of

God and

the

name

of the Trinity

was on

it.

A
down

mysterious wheel
hands.
feet,

(?)

protects the letter from venturesome

or hostile

to the
is, it

This wheel with the sign upon it went along with the head. Perplexing as this

language

Hades:

for in

appears to be explained of Christ's descent into Ode 42, where there is an account of Christ's

under-world triumph, we are informed that death cast

Him

up,

and

Christ is the head, and the feet are /et;o the feet with the head. those members of His who are imprisoned in Hades. This explains our statement about the head going down to the feet. It seems, then, that the mysterious letter has something in it
relating to the Descensus

ad

Inferos.
little
it,

book in Apoc. v., which and read it here there Another are seven seals, which are to be broken successively. suggestive parallel would be the letter in the Bardesanian Hymn

We may

compare

it

with the

is

sealed so that no one can open

of the Soul, which

is

sent to rouse the King's

Son

in

Egypt\

This

letter
'

was

also talismaned with a powerful seal

This was on the cover,

Lest
it

my

letter,

sealed with the King's

own

seal

should

fall

in

the hands of the fierce Baby-

lonian Demons.'
It flew rapidly as
'

an eagle

High

it

flew as the Eagle,

King of the

birds of the

heaven,

Flew and alighted beside me, and spoke

of

in

the speech

my

country.'

one such

Such flying letters are not uncommon in Apocryphal literature: is sent by Baruch to Babylon, and carried by an eagle.
is

The machinery

not unlike that in our Ode.

We
It

have

not,

however, succeeded

in

finding a historical

situation for this

does not
;

collection

it

Ode and the implied document. seem to belong to the main body of the may, however, be connected with the fortyHymn, and
the translation of
it

^ See Acts of Thotnas for the Eastern Christianity.

in Burkitt,

Early

JEW OR GENTILE?
second Ode, and both of them than the rest of the book.

65

may

belong to a later period

in

We
and his

referred

above to the suggestions furnished

3-

Ode

22

form of gomc heretical teaching, whose poison was being widely diffused. This suggestion finds some further confirmation in Ode 38, where the writer refers to his pursuit of Truth and
The deceiver

of

Conflict

with

Antichrist

in

the

bride.

the protection which

it

gave him from the poisons and plagues

of Error.

He came

across a mysterious Bridegroom and Bride,

who

are corrupting the whole world, and giving

in

from a cup which,

understanding.
his

Circean manner, makes

them to drink away with their

The Odist

passion for Truth.

escapes by Divine Grace, and by But who are these that furnish the

blandishments that our writer succeeds in resisting ? It cannot be the language of a mere crusader in favour of celibacy, though we know there was a strong tendency in the early Church,
especially in the East, to regard
all

married

life

as a

form of

corruption

that was to be avoided. But here a mysterious Bridegroom and Bride spread a seductive table before the world, and after they have intoxicated their victims, they forsake them as soon as they have robbed them of their understanding. This can hardly be the language of a general hostility to marriage. And it seems more natural to regard the seducers
in the

Ode
' '

as real people,

who
'

are bewitching the world.

One
Anti-

thinks of

thy wife Jezebel sheep

'

in

Apoc.

ii.

20,

of

Simon Magus,

and

his

lost

Helena, or some other of the

description in the

many
too

christs with

whom

the Church had to contend in the

second centuries.
for a

The

Ode

is

and shadowy
first

more exact

identification.

In one passage in the Odes the writer speaks of himself in

JeworGentile?

a Gentile, and that he was looked upon by those

language which suggests that he was by birth \^

.,
, ,

he had joined himself with astonishment. The Ode to which we refer is the forty-first, where in the midst of a noble
to

whom

strain of Christian exultation

great day that has

'

dawned

in

and confession of Chnst and the Him, we find

:

Let us exult with the joy of the Lord. All that see me will be astonished for I am from another race the Father of Truth remembered me.'
:

The
o. s.

writer

is

explaining his position in a Christian com9

66

INTRODUCTION
faith in
souls.'

munity as a Gentile amongst Jews. He explains his a Saviour who makes alive and does not reject our
'

The language
and the Church

suits the first century better

in Palestine better

than the second,

in

than that

Asia Minor,

Greece or Egypt. In another Ode, Christ Himself makes something like an apology for the reception of the Gentiles. Thus in Christ receives
Gentiles.
'

Qdc
I

lO:

was strengthened and made mighty and took the

The Gentiles were gathered together who were scattered abroad. And I was unpolluted by my love They became my people for ever and ever.'
world captive

There can be no doubt that

to put
it

this

Ode
it

is

Messianic, and that,

in

the lowest possible terms,

is

explanatory of the
or, if

coming
it,

in of the Gentiles.

No

such explanation,

we
It

prefer

apology, would be natural in Corinth or in Ephesus.

belongs

farther East,

and seems to me

to savour, in

any

case, of the first

century.

Certainly the Gentile could not feel himself isolated,

nor have to be apologized for in the great Churches of the West,

nor
in

in

the second century,

itself.

when

Gentile bishops began to appear

Jerusalem

There
The coat
^"""^

is

another direction

in

which the writers of the Odes

that the teaching of the earliest
first

of

show

3.

curious contact with Judaism.

It is well

known

minded Jews of the a special study of the story of creation in the chapters of Genesis, which they systematically allegorised.
century

Christians and of the philosophically

made

first

We

have a statement of Anastasius the Sinaite that all the early Christian exegetes, from Papias onward, interpreted the Hexahemeron, or Six days of Creation, by reference to Christ and the
Church'.

And

those

who

did not

make

this direct

mystical

reference, especially the great Alexandrines, followed Philo in a general allegorisation of the narrative. Many of these ex-

Ihere

planations, whether Jewish or Christian, are well known. But is one case which is more obscure. The clothing of Adam

and Eve with coats of skins at the time of their expulsion from Paradise was a point that required explanation, and taxed the
ingenuity of Philo himself.
first

In his Questions upon Genesis he apologizes for the homely occupation attributed to the Most
'

See Routh,

Rell.

i.

15.

THE COAT OF SKIN

to purple

6^

High, and argues that at any rate simple leather garb is superior and fine linen, and then he boldly breaks away from the literal explanation and says that the coat of skin simply

means the human body, which

is

the receptacle for the

Mind

and the Life which God had already created.

Now this interpretation is not confined to Philo^ for there is a steady stream of Rabbinical opinion which has coloured the folk-lore of Eastern Europe that Adam had before his fall
a nature clothed in light, like
light,'

God Himself whose

'

robe

is

the

and that

after

his

fall

the

light

was replaced by the

ordinary integument.

It will be interesting to trace this belief, which agrees with that of Philo so far as to make the coat of skin to be the human body, and to see whether it has left its mark on early Christian circles of thought.

The origin of the belief appears to be indicated by a various reading of the passage. Gen. iii. 21, which is credited to a MS. belonging at one time to Rabbi Meir^ viz. that instead of
"liy

riiiMD

coats of skin

we should

read

liN niJnO

= coats

of light.

We

could then translate the passage,

"And

for

wife Jahveh

Elohim had made coats of

'

light

Adam and his and had clothed

It is quite possible that this may be the origin of the Rabbinical conceit as to the Light- Body of Adam. And the opinion is strongly reflected upon European folk-lore. It

them.'

'

appears also in Gnostic

circles

for

we

find in the

Bardesanian

Hymn

of the Soul which is embedded in the Acts of Thomas, that the Prince who forgets the Imperial Palace whence he came, in his journey to Egypt to find the Pearl of great price, had left behind him in the homeland the robe of glory with which he had been adorned. The account tells us

from me the glittering robe, which in had made for me, and the purple toga which was measured and woven to my stature.'
'

They took

off

their affection they

He
race
^

puts on the disguise of an Egyptian dress and forgets his

his country.
it,

and

When

the

young Prince comes

iii.

to himself

We
So

find

for

example, in the Encratite Cassianus in the second century,

14),
xiTiiiva.%

according to the testimony of Clement of Alexandria (Strom,

Sepfiarit/ovs iiy^'tTat o K.atTaiap&s
2

Si

ra

athfiara,

in

Midrash Rabboth

'In the Thorah of Rabbi Meir they found

are the garments of the
first

it

written. Coats of light: these

Adam.'

68
in the far country,

INTRODUCTION

he gets possession of the pearl, and promptly strips off from him the filthy and unclean dress in which he was On his way home, the robe came to meet him it fitted clad. him closely and seemed to be a mirror of himself. It was, in fact, his double, and had grown, with his growth, during his long
;

absence.

the

Prof Burkitt points out that this Heavenly Robe represents Body Celestial, it is our house which is from heaven' That which St Paul desired was no fixed " house " or "habitation" but a Heavenly Form. So here, too, the Robe is no
'

'

article of clothing,

but a Bright Form.

thing.

The Syriac word means

put
ofif "

The Bright or The Shining

It is "

and "put on"

by the

Soul^.'

Here, then, we have a companion to the belief in the Body of Light which belonged to Adam before he fell from celestial to The two ideas, that of the pre-existent soul that terrestrial life.

has to leave heaven for earth, and that of the unfallen creation
of God,

whose environment
it is

is

changed from a coat of

light to a

coat of skin, are evidently worked out on parallel

lines.

Now
is

not

diiificult

to recognise the traces of the clothing

of the Old
also the

Adam and the clothing of the original Man, who New Adam, in the New Testament. We have, for

example, the instruction to put off the Old Man, and to put on the New Man, or to put on (it is the language of clothing) the

Lord Jesus Christ. But what we want now to examine is whether there are any similar traces in our Odes. Is there any doctrine of a Light-Body or of a Skin-Body ? Let us see. For instance, in Ode 25, we have
'

In

me

there shall be nothing that

is

not light: and

was clothed with the covering of Thy away from me my raiment of skin!

Spirit,

and

cast

Here we have
explained
in

the very figure of the third chapter of Genesis, a spiritual manner of the conversion and regenerato this appears in

tion of the Soul.

Something similar
'

Ode

21,

put off darkness and clothed myself with light'

is

Very nearly the same idea

'

involved in
is
it

Ode
:

1 1,

I I

forsook the folly which

stripped
^

and

it

off

and cast

spread over the earth, from me and the Lord

p. 115.

Burkitt,

Early Eastern Christianity,

THE COAT OF SKIN

renewed me in His raiment me by His light.'
(cf.

6g

Ps. civ. 2)

and possessed
immediately
:

And

notice that this re-creating act of

God

is

followed

by the statement of Paradise Regained

we

are

engaged in an allegory of the third chapter of Genesis. I think it will be admitted that the writer (or writers) of the Odes knew
the allegorical explanation of the coat of skin with which

Adam

was
that

clad.

If this

be conceded, then
in

we must again

recognise

we

are

moving

Jewish
fai:

circles, for it is

very unlikely that,

at the early date required for our

Odes, a Jewish conceit could

have penetrated very

skin'
is

into the Gentile world.

The

'coat of

a significant proof of the Jewish or semi-Jewish author-

ship of the Odes'.

This allegorical treatment of the particular case

could not have continued very long
the coat of skin
the
in

in

question

use in the Church, because of the complication with the story of the fig-leaves if
;

is

human

body, what are the fig-leaves

itself
It

.''

Evidently the allegory will have over-reached

survive, however, in folk-lore
It

will

and

in Gnosticism.

may, perhaps, be objected that the interpretation of the human bodies might just as well be Gnostic as Judaeo-Christian. For instance, we have quoted above the language of Cassian the Gnostic for this very beliefs. But we have not only detected the equation of the coat of skin with the human body; we have also found traces of the belief in a coat of light which has been lost when the coat of skin was acquired, and have connected this belief with a various reading,
coats of skins as equivalent to
iii. 21. So that, some early forms of Gnosticism depend directly upon Palestinian teaching, we ought also to allow that the language of our Odes on this subject is very near to the source of the Gnosis, which is very nearly the same thing We will illustrate this by as saying that it is not Gnostic.

or a Rabbinical conceit, in the text of Gen.

while

it

is

quite likely that

^ For the curious developments of this belief in an original light-body of Adam which are current in Eastern Europe, we may consult Dahnhardt, Natursagcn ii. 225. The coat of light was held to be of the nature of horn, and this bright integument All that remains of it is the human nails fell away when Adam and Eve sinned. " We might also have quoted Valentinus, the prince of the Gnostics for according to Irenaeus' account of Valentinus' cosmogony, the Demiurge first fashioned the apffpoiTTO! xo''^'^' from some invisible and fluid substance, and then clothed him in the coat of skin which is ro alaBfirov aapKlov (cf. Iren. ed. Mass. p. 27).
;
' '

70

INTRODUCTION

showing another case of allegorisation of the text of Genesis, which might be claimed as Gnostic, if it were not a recognised
fact that the allegorising of these early chapters of

Genesis

is

common In Ode
Reclined and
herbs""^

to all the early Christian fathers.

1 1

we have

a beautiful sketch of the recovery of the

lost Paradise,

and of the blessedness of those who

'

are planted in that land (being considered as

trees

of rightcousness, the planting of the Lord') or

live

who

by the

fruit

of the trees (being considered as

those

who have
it

returned to the privileges of the unfallen Adam).

is

Incidentally

stated that such persons

'

have turned from

bitterin

wickedness to God's delights, and have turned back the

ness of the trees from them,

when planted
;

God's

land.'

are

is confused on the one hand the believers on the other hand they are the denizens of Paradise, who will have nothing to do with the bitterness of the

The metaphor
the
trees,

trees.

Disentangling the similitudes we see that the entry into

trees.

Paradise goes along with an avoidance of certain bitter trees or products of

Can we

find out

what

this

means

The

early

interpreters

of Genesis

had to face a Divine

injunction to eat of every tree in the Garden, with one single

exception of the Tree of Knowledge of

this injunction raised the question as to

Good and

Evil.

But

whether all the trees, herbs and fruits were fit to eat. What about the bitter herbs ? The answer could only be, either that there were no bitter herbs, or else that they were to be avoided as uneatable, being made for some other uses. The author of the Ode to which we refer evidently takes the latter view there are bitter herbs, but they are to be avoided. He does not think them useless, for nothing is useless in the Paradise of God. Now this doctrine of the avoidance of the bitter herbs had been credited to our Lord Himself, in a conversation between Himself and Salome, which has been preserved for us by Clement of Alexandria from the Gospel According to the Egyptians. The passage is strongly
:

Encratite. Salome asks how long death is to rule over men, and receives the answer that it is as long as women bear Then,' rejoined Salome enquiringly, T did well in not children. having any children ? to which suggestion our Lord replies, Eat every herb, but shun the bitter herb.' It is certain that this reply is based upon the language of Genesis, eg. Gen. 29
'

'

'

i.

PARADISE REGAINED
'
!

71

Behold I have given you every herb, whose seed is in itself on the face of the whole earth and all the trees... to you they shall be for food and Gen. ii. 9 And the Lord God had brought forth from the ground every tree that was fair to the sight and pleasant to the taste/ &c. It is clear, then, that the language of Jesus in the passage cited from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, refers to the Garden of Eden. What, then, is meant by shunning the bitter herb? If we examine the which Clement of Alexandria discusses the meaning passage in {Strom, iii. 9), we shall find that he is opposing a school of Encratites, who said that the bitter herb was marriage. Clement, himself, who is Anti-encratite will have none of this he challenges the opinion and affirms that marriage is not a sin,
' '
: :

nor

is

there anything bitter about the rearing or producing of

children.

So he

rejects the Encratite doctrine.

In so doing, he
it

has shown us that the doctrine existed and that spread interpretation.

was a wide-

What

shall

we

say, then, of the writer of

our eleventh
of Paradise

Ode If he says that the saints restored to the life have nothing to do with the bitter trees, must we not allow that he, too, is allegorising and that he holds Encratite views with regard to marriage? Such views were wide-spread in the early Christian Church, and survived in Gnostic circles, as
."

in the

but

Old Syrian Church, and amongst the followers of Tatian, do not see that they need to be especially labelled Gnostic,
first

since they spring quite naturally out of the allegorical treatment

of the

chapters of Genesis, or attached themselves easily to

bitter herbs

that particular form of interpretation ^

This case of the

'

'

'

and the previous one of the

need to

coat of skin,' are the closest points of contact of primitive

I

teaching with Gnosticism.

do not see that we

definitely attach the Gnostic label.

We
the

shall .see presently that the writer of the

main body of

Odes does not keep the Sabbath and

gives very early

Christian reason for his neglect of that Jewish duty.

We may

now go on

to

discuss

the traces of Christian

Scriptures in our book of Odes, and the dogmatic and ecclesiastical position

of the writer or writers involved.

^ We may compare the Acts of Thomas, where the King's son and his bride are persuaded by our Lord to renounce marriage, and the care of children, the end of whom is bitter sonovf .' The bride explains to her mother, 'I have not had intercourse
'

with a husband, the end whereof

is bitter

repentance.'

72

INTRODUCTION

When we examine
Use of scriptures.

the Odes to see how far they are under the influence of the Scriptures of the Old Testa-

mcnt, we find the problem

is

is

quite different from

that which presents itself in the eighteen Psalms.

In these the

use of the Old Testament

quotation, as one can see

patent both in language and in

Psalms which are printed

ment.

by examining the portions of the in uncial type by Ryle and James, in

order to mark the coincidence of language with the Old Testalatter part of Isaiah,

Moreover certain parts of the prophets, especially the have been closely studied and followed:
the recognition of this fact that has suggested to Felix

and

it is

his most attractive emendations through the supposed original Hebrew^ But in- the case of the Odes we are at a loss we cannot tell

Perles

some of

what Greek lies behind the Syriac, except in a very few cases and this makes linguistic identifications difficult and almost impossible nor does the examination of the ideas which the
:

writer expresses lead to a large harvest of coincidences with the

Canonical Psalter or the Hebrew Prophets.

Perhaps

this

is
it

natural, in view of the originality of the writer, with

whom

was

easier to say inspired things than to report them.

When we
surprising
:

turn to the

New

Testament, the result

is

is

equally

the

name
in

of the Gospel

not found, nor the

name

of Jesus

direct historical references are limited to those events

which are recorded

the Creed, to which

we may perhaps add

Not a

an oblique allusion to Christ's power to walk on the waters,

with a possible allusion to the
single saying of Jesus
is

Dove

at the Baptism.

though there seem to be one or two indirect references. For instance Christ's yoke is spoken of in Ode 42 (' my yoke was over those that love me') and there is one passage in Ode 22, which looks like a reflexion from the words on this rock I will build my church
directly quoted,
'

'

(Matt. xvi.

18)^:

only

in

this case

if

coincidence were more

than accidental, the

Ode

has the substitution of

for
it

Kingdom

for

Church, which
language.

suggests

priority

over

the

Evangelic

Setting aside for the

moment

the question of the use of

Johannine writings, and of the Apocalypse, we find next to

Pedes Zut Erklarung der Psalmen Salomos. Berlin, igo^. That the foundation of everything might be thy rock and on build thy Kingdom.'
'
:

I.e.

'

it

thou didst

NEW TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS

nothing from the Pauline Epistles
:

73
a sentence in

there

is

Ode

3,

'The Lord is zealous that those things should be known, which by His grace have been given to us,'
which

may

perhaps be an echo of

Cor.

ii.

12 'that

we may

know some

the things which are freely given us of God.'

We have also
i

doubtful references to

not be separated from Him') and

be shaken,
divide

stand firm')

viii. 35, 36 in Ode ('I shall Ode 5 (' If everything should and Ode 28 ('The sword shall not

Rom.

me from Him,

nor the scimitar

'),

allusions to salvation

and

justification

and there are occasional by Divine Grace. There

are also frequent allusions, which have a Pauline ring, to Christ

as the
is

Head, to whom believers are the members. The figure worked out so as to include the souls in Hades, who are

Christ's feeti.

Frequent allusions to a living crown can be illustrated from 12 and Apoc. ii. 10, but no direct 4 and from Jac. quotations can be established. They may all run back into a primitive Logion, I will give thee a crown of life.' The chief coincidences with the Apocalypse are in the title of 'the Living One' (Apoc. i, 17) given to Christ (but this was
I

Pet. V.

i.

'

also at the beginning of the

book of Sayings of
its trees,

Jesus^)^ in

some

of the expressions of victory over spiritual enemies, and the

possession of Paradise and
as well as in the allusion to

an opposing dragon with seven heads, and perhaps to the story of It is doubtful if any of these parallelisms can the Sealed Book. be pressed to the point of established quotation the dragon with seven heads is, perhaps, the best case for an identification but it will be remembered that dragons are a common feature of apocalyptical machinery in the period to which the Odes
:

must belong.
It

that

We

when we come to the Gospel and Epistles of John we find the community of ideas to be the most pronounced. have clear statements that Christ is the Word, that He is
is
;

before the foundation of the world

;

that

He

bestows living
;

water abundantly that He is the door of everything that He stands to His people in the relation of Lover to Beloved that
:

As

in

Ode

^2.

'These are the [wonderful] words which Jesus the Living One spake': a form of introduction which is imitated in the Coptic Book of Jeu.
2 I.e.

O.

S.

10

74
they love

INTRODUCTION

Him

because

He

first

loved them (for so

' :

interpret the language of

Ode

we may should not have known

how

to love the Lord,

if

He had

not loved
friends

me

'),

that their love

to the Christ

makes them His

(Ode

8).

These and
but do they
is,

similar phrases betray a Johannine atmosphere:

betray the use of the Fourth Gospel?

The problem

on a

wider scale, whether Valentinus the Gnostic used the Fourth Gospel.
polytus
tells

something
us

like that

which

arises in the discussion

Hip-

in his Refutation of Heresies (p.

'

185) that

the Father was all love, but love no object of love. So the Father begat two emanations, vov<; and aKr)6ua^! Now is that a case of the Fourth Gospel or not ? The serious critic would hesitate to affirm it; yet the language is very like that of our third Ode and it would probably be wise to hold the judgment in suspense with regard to the use of the Fourth Gospel in the Odes, especially when it is so difficult to trace any other Gospel

Valentinus taught that

is

God
is

not love where there

quotation or incident, or Saying of Jesus.

But

think

it

will

be conceded that

we

are in a Johannine atmosphere.

One
is

coincidence has been detected between the Odes and the

'

Ignatian Epistles, in the allusion to

talking water

; '

but there

no need to assume quotation on either side, the language being sufficiently explained by the folk-lore of the time.

The
Church.
early

net result of these comparisons

in

is

to place the collection

of Odes at a very early period

the history of the Christian

to the

One

or two of

them had already been referred

part of the second century, on account of the almost

canonical use made of them in the Pistis Sophia. The main body of the Odes, when studied, takes us in the same direction, only perhaps somewhat further. We come now to the question of the underlying doctrines
Dogmatic of
the Odes.

which cau be traced in the Odes. We have already alluded to Christ's pre-existence^ to His
in the

pre-eminence

Church', and to the spiritual union between

Himself and believers*. have also pointed out some references to His yoke, and to the foundation of His Kingdom, and
to

We

His power to walk upon the stormy waters.

'

'AyiTT]

ydp,

(priirli',

^v

o\os,

Sk
^

iyiirri

oiK

(ctiv

iydini,

iav

/iij

^ t4

d7a7rii/xe)'oi'.
^

As

in

Ode

31,

Ode

33, &c.

''

As As

in

in

Ode Ode

28,
3,

Ode 41, &c. Ode 42, &c.

CHRISTOLOGY OF THE ODES

75

One
the

of the strongest expressions with regard to the nature of

Christ will be found in

Ode 41, where He is called 'the Son of Most High, who appeared in the perfection of His Father, ...the Word that was before-time in Him, the Messiah or Christ who is truly one, and was known before the foundation of the
world.'

In the words The Christ is truly one,' taken in connexion with the other statements as to His pre-existence,
'

we have
in the

suggestions of controversy, over a division

in

the
is

nature of Christ, of which, perhaps, the earliest

first

known

trace

Epistle of John'

i^-irav

irvevfia

o
fj,rj

fj-rj

o/MoXoyei tov

'Irjaovv)

where the various reading, Xvet

is

for

6fio\oyel, if not

primitive,

certainly very early.

it

This

Ode cannot come from

to

Docetic, nor can

easily be

referred

an Adoptionist be detected
in

source'^

An
'

equally pronounced

Christology

may

Ode 29 where
I

the writer says,

believed in the Lord's Messiah,

it

And

appeared to

me

that

He

is

the Lord.'

must not too hastily assume that all these statements come from one hand, and we must be prepared to find, along
with variety of authorship
(if

We

that can be

made

out), a variety

There are some Odes which are on orthodox lines, because they a little hard of explanation appear to use Adoptionist language^ But if this suggests
also of theological definitions.

subordination of Christ to the Father, in another

are told

Ode

it

is

the

(Ode 24) that Holy Spirit that is subordinate, for we 'the Dove fluttered over the Messiah, because He was her Again in the Ode previously quoted (Ode 36) it head''.' appears to follow that the Holy Spirit was the Mother of
Jesus,

which we know to have been a feature of Ebionite belief These variations suggest that theology had not fixed her landmarks nor laid down her definitions. On the other hand, it is clear that the Odes do not regard Christ as a mere man, but as
' I

John

iv. 3.

Cf. Novatian, Z>e Trinitate 30.

Irenaeus (M. 206

est,

et

passim):

'Non

ergo alteram

Filium novit evangelium nisi hunc qui ex Maria Christum avolantem ante passionem ab Jesu.'
'

qui et passus est, sed neque

As
is

in

Ode

36.

In later ages this would be

known as

the heresy of Macedonius, but the language

here

innocent of heretical intention.

'

^6

INTRODUCTION

a pre-existent being and as the Divine Logos.

One Ode

has

the doctrine of the Trinity under a grotesque form worthy of the Middle Ages. But this Ode we are unwilling to class with the rest of the book.

In regard to the points of early

occur in the Odes,
alluded
is
it

Christian belief which

is

is

clear that the Crucifixion

;

definitely

to, less clearly

the Resurrection

but what surprises us

in
is

the extraordinary emphasis upon the Virgin Birth and the

Descent into Hades.

as painless^,
details

The former of
:

these
:

is

a state of

evolution beyond the Canonical Gospels

the birth

explained

and unexpected
in

we

are on the very verge of the

which occur

the apocryphal Gospels of the Infancy.

is

The

other Article of the Creed, the Descent into Hades,

also treated with picturesque detail, very

much

as in the Gospel

of Nicodemus.

Just as in the latter gospeP

feels

Hades complains of
in

the inward pain which he

and which intimates an apmiserable: death cast

proaching discharge of imprisoned souls, so

told that
'

Hades saw me and was

Ode 42 we me

are
up,

and many along with me.' But the prayer of the Souls in Hades is very fine, and has no vulgar suggestions of Jonah and the Whale about it, such as we find in the byways of Patristic
literature.
It will,

perhaps, be said that the advanced state of evolution

of these two

dogmas renders
we

it

impossible that the collection

first
;

should be referred to the end of the

'

century'.

There

is,

Here,

at all events,

are in the region of folk-lore

the Chinese legend of the

and conception of Hou-tsi, the founder of the dynasty of Tchii, runs on the same line. His mother brought him forth as a tender lamb without effort, without pain and without pollution. See amongst the Chinese Classics, the Shi-King in. ii. 1, which has been Englished as follows
birth
:

'Lo! when her carrying time was done.

Came

'like

a lamb her first-born son,

No No
Cf.

pains of labour suffered she

hurt,
c.

no pain, no

injury.'

Ev. Ps. Matthaei,

13 'Nulla poUutio sanguinis facta est in nascente,

nuUus

dolor in parturiente.'
'

officia

Tischendorf, Evan. Apocrypha, p. 396 'Contremui perterritus pavore, et omnia mea simul mecum conturbata sunt.

B.
are in

H. Cowper, Apoc. Gospels, commotion and my belly

I.e.

p.
is

305 'For lo I see that all I have ever swallowed in pain' (Jonah ii. 2); which is taken from the
!

Greek Descensus, see Tisch.

*

p. 327.

The Descent

notion

Hades is a first century doctrine. Harnack says of it: 'the of a descensus ad inferna .commenAeA itself on the ground of Old
into
.

Testament prediction.

In the

first

century, however,

it

still

remained uncertain.

CHURCH ORDER AND DISCIPLINE

however, an
instance,

TJ

alternative suggestion,

that
it

the 42nd

Ode,

for

may

be a
life

later product:

for

has not been demonor time.

strated that all the

Odes come from the same hand

The
Church Order and
Discipline.

organic

of the Church can hardly be detected in the book of Odcs. The Church itself is not mentioned.
unless
tt

it

should
/-.
i

be in the reference to a Pure

Ode 33 who stands and proclaims the invitation of the Gospel. The figure of the Pure Virgin is well known' to have been a common one in the first and second
Virgin in
centuries,

and has influenced the

New

Testament

itself.

But

the Pure Virgin

may

equally well be the Divine

Wisdom who

stands and calls men^.

There
the

is

also the implication of corporate unity in the figure of

Head and the members': this may be directly derived from St Paul. Of Church officials there are only,() the writer of Ode 20 who calls himself a Priest of God and defines his priesthood as any mystic might, as the offering to God of the sacrifice of his
thought, and {b) there are a body of persons engaged in carrying

the water of
or Blessed

life

to the thirsty,
6):

Deacons (Ode

who are called Blessed Ministers we may compare the language of

Perpetua concerning 'Tertius and Pomponius, blessed deacons ^\\o

us,' who bribed the gaolers and obtained us relief. But the writer of the Odes does not necessarily mean anything so highly evolved as the ministry of the African Church at the beginning of the third century. His ministers have a commission to preach the word and are counted happy in so doing. Of Sacraments the Odes do not seem to know much. The only directions in which one could look for references to Baptism would be (i) the Living Water,

ministered to

(ii)

the allusion to the Seal.

It is

Of

the former

it is

unnecessary to

speak.

frankly impossible that the living water which the

thirsty are invited in the Scriptures to

:

come and take freely can be any outward affusion but perhaps something ought to be said of the Seal, because although, in the New Testament, this
Hist, of

lying on the borders of those productions of religious fancy which were not at once

able to acquire a right of citizenship in the communities.'

Dogma,

i.

202,

Eng.
'

tr.

e.g. 2

the Churches of
iveylvero
2 Cf.

and cf. Hegesippus in Euseb. ZT. . iv. 22. In the letter of Lyons and Vienna (c. 12) the Virgin Mother is the Church (rai voWti xapd tj TrapBivif fitfTpl). ' As in Ode i. Ode 17, &c. Proverbs viii. I, 2.
Cor.
xi. 2,

78
is

INTRODUCTION
a term used of the gift of the Holy Spirit,
it is

often

employed
{e.g.

in Patristic writers to

denote baptism and the baptised

in

the epitaph of Abercius and elsewhere).

Odes we have plenty of reference to seals we have Hades sealed up with the Lord's seal in Ode 24 we have the mysterious Letter from Heaven sealed with a magic seal in Ode 23 and we have in Ode 4 a statement of the talismanic power of the Seal of God, which angels as well as men possess and which all creation knows and fears. And in Ode 8 the Lord says He has set His seal upon the faces of His But people, just as we have in the Apocalypse (vii, 3, xiv. i).
In the
:

the abysses of

in

the Apocalypse, as

Dr Swete
it

points out, the seal

is

not

sacramental.
sect.

Perhaps

was a taboo-mark of some Jewish

is any scriptural reference in this doctrine of the must be sought in Ezekiel ix., and the ink-mark which an angelic scribe is told to set on the righteous \ This seal is alluded to in the extant Psalms of Solomon (Ps. Sol. xv. 6) where we are told that the sign (arjfielov) of God is upon the

If there
it

Seal,

'

righteous for Salvation.'

It

is,

therefore, a pre-Christian con-

Here Perles very naturally compared Ezekiel ix. 6 ception. and supplied the Haggadic explanation from Shabbath 55% as
follows

'God spake to Gabriel: Go and stamp on the forehead of the righteous a mark of ink, that the destroying angels may have no power over him'': and on the forehead
of the hypocrites a
angels

mark of

blood, that the destroying

may

acquire power over them.'

sign (with which the archangels are
is

From

this talismanic

here entrusted), there was developed, as

well

known, the

doctrine of the talismanic virtue of the sign of the cross in

baptism.

But

this

development (arising out of an interpretation

of the use of the letter

later

Tau

as the sign in Ezekiel)

is, I

think,

than what we have in the Odesl

There does not seem,

therefore, to

be any definite allusion to Baptism.

it is still

We

can see

'
=>

In the East
Cf.

common
is

to seal with ink.

Ode

4. 7,

'who

there that shall put on thy grace

and be hurt?
is

for thy

seal is
=

known.'

'

have it in Tert. Adv. Marc. iii. ^^ where the letter the very form of the Cross which was foretold to be the sign

We

Tau

explained to be

upon our foreheads.'

THE SEAL OF GOD'S OWNERSHIP

the later interpretation very clearly in Lactantius, Div. Inst.
27,

79
iv.

says that the gods cannot approach those in whom they see the heavenly mark, nor hurt those whom the sign as

who

an impregnable wall protects, which is very like Ode 4. 7, 8. Perhaps Lactantius has here a reminiscence of the Ode^ As to the Eucharist, I can find no allusion whatever there are no references to the religious use of bread and wine the
:

writers of the

Odes seem
of

to prefer milk

and honey

but these
alle-

are

not

spoken

sacramentally, but mystically and

gorically.

The allegorical use of the terms milk and honey is natural enough in view of the Old Testament descriptions of the Land of Promise but it should be remembered that there are traces of a milk-and-honey sacrament in the early Church. For example in the Epistle of Barnabas^ we have a question raised as to the meaning of the milk and honey in the Old Testament. And after some preliminary allegorising to show that the believers in Jesus are themselves the good land, he asks, Why milk and honey ? And the answer is that the young child is first quickened with honey and then with milk.' Probably this refers in the first instance to a folk-lore custom in connexion with newly-born children, but it seems to have very
' '
:

'

'

'

early developed into a Christian sacrament for

new

converts,

who

had been born again into the Kingdom of God It does not, however, seem that the milk-and-honey passages

The 19th will bear the sacramental interpretation. example, has no suggestion of a recent conversion Ode, for The only one where it seems possible to make about it. connexion with the new-birth is Ode 8, where the Lord says, My own breasts I prepared for them that they might drink my this might perhaps, in view of the holy milk and live thereby previous reference to the seal upon the faces,' be interpreted
in the

Odes

'

'

'

sacramentally, but

sacrament, as
'
'

we

does not seem likely. The baptismal have shown, is not milk but milk and honey.
it

viderint, nee

Sed quoniam neque accedere ad eos possunt, in quibus coelestem notam iis nocere, quos signum immortale munierit, tanquam inexpugnabilis

mums.'
2
=*

e. 6.

Besides Barnabas,

we may
ii.

refer to TertuUian,
:

De
i.

corona, u. 3 (inde suscepti,

14: Clem. Alex. Paed.
i.

lactis et mellis

concordiam praegustamus)
46, &c.

Adv. Marc.

6,

p. :28:

Coptic Canons,

8o

INTRODUCTION

in

The only allusion to wine is Ode 38, who lays plots for

in

the account of the Seducer

the elect and wishes,

by an

intoxicating cup, to rob them of their reason. enquiry has gone, the Odes are hardly to be quoted in the they ought, therefore, to belong history of the Sacraments to an early period of evolution in the organic life of the Church.
;

So

far as the

There
The
lost

is

still

something to be said with regard to the

jg Pgalms of

missing portions of our

^f
^-j^g

Second Ode.

MS. The closing portions Solomon are preserved for us

adequately in the Greek, but the lacuna at the beginning of the

Odes
It

is

serious,

and involves the whole of the second Ode, and

to

the beginning of the third Ode.

has

occurred

me

that

perhaps

sentence

from
:

this

second

Ode may

be preserved in Clement of Alexandria.

For

in his Protrepticus (p. 5)

we have
6

the following sentence

/Mev
Bfj

o Se eV

Aa^iB, Kol wpb avrov,

TO, dylrv-^^a

rov @eov X070?, Xvpav

kuI

Ki6dpav,

opyava,

virepiBayv, KOfffMov he TovSe,

y}rv)(ijv

koI

kul

Tov (TfUKpov Koafiov Tov dvdpaJTTOv,

a<yia>

re koI awfia avrov,

Trvevfiari dpfj,oad/j,evo<;, yjrdWei

tu)

rw eaJ

Sia tov 'iro\v(^wvov

opydvov Koi irpoadheL jovtw

opydva,

tc3 dvdpwiru),

u <yap el Ki6dpa koX avXb'i Koi vao^ ifib^. Thus according to Clement the Word of God made music of
loftier instrument than music was produced from the macrocosm of creation and the microcosm of the body and soul of man to this instrument of many strings, it sings and addresses the instrument itself, saying to it
its

own, earlier than David and upon a harp and lyre

;

his

for

its

''Tis

thou
is

my

harp,

and

flute

and temple

art.'

Now this
we may
'

a quotation from some poetical composition, and

it is a fragment of an early Psalm or hymn. Accordingly Potter notes on it as follows

infer that

Christi verba, ut videtur, a sacro

if
it

hymno

citata.'

But

is
it

suggest that

of the features
that the singer

a hymn, there are two considerations which came from the Odes of Solomon first, it is one of these Odes (often causing no little perplexity) makes his Psalm, either wholly or in part, in the
:

name

of Christ

second, the reference to the harp or flute in

describing Christ's music,

and the representation of the mind of

is

man

as an opyavov iroXiKfxovov

thoroughly

in

the

manner of

IRENAEUS AND THE ODES

the Odes.

with a harp of
'

in Ode 7 believers go forth to meet the Lord many strings in Ode 14 the writer says Open to me the harp of thy Holy Spirit, That with all its notes I may praise Thee,'
:

Thus

and the same

spiritual

music

is

in the

opening of Ode

6,

'As the hand moves over the harp... So speaks in my members the Spirit of the
Here So it
shall
is
it is

Lord.'

the Spirit that plays upon the

human

instrument.

is

quite possible that Clement's

little

quotation

may

be

part of the missing matter of our Odes.

To which

of them

we refer it? The first Ode is already identified, the third almost complete, and it is unlikely that Christ should be the speaker in the opening of the third Ode, when He is not so in
the closing portion.

So

the suggestion arises that the sentence

comes from the second Ode. This is a speculation, and must not be taken too seriously, in view of the insufficiency of the evidence. But it can do no harm
to record
it,

with the necessary Valeat quantum.

It will,

perhaps, be enquired whether the use of the Odes of

'

Solomon by early writers can be detected in cases ^ where there are no introductory formulae or definite We have just suggested that a fragallusions. ment of the second Ode may be preserved in an anonymous quotation by Clement of Alexandria. Are there any similar
The Odes

known to

traces to be identified in the early Patristic literature?

difficulty of

The

making such
'

identifications
'

is

well known.

We had

a case in the use of

writer of the Odes.

talking water by Ignatius and by the Such an expression to us in the present

;

day seems very

medical spring
inspiration,
is

striking

but a draught from a magical or

probably a

common

folk-lore

way

of obtaining

and need not imply any dependence of one of the coincident writers upon the other. Here is a somewhat similar case from Irenaeus, in which
the evidence
tion
is

rather in the direction of recognising a quota-

on the part of that writer from the Odes. discusses^ the question why God made man and why
the fathers doctrine that God, for His part, had no need of
'

Irenaeus

He

chose

and why

He

called the saints.

He

begins by the

man: 'non quasi

II

Lib. IV.

c.

XXV.

(p.

243, Mass.),

O. S.

82
indigens hominis,

INTRODUCTION
plasmavit Adam.'

This sentiment of the

Divine independence of His works is in our fourth Ode. It is, however, so common an expression in Greek philosophy and

we should pay no attention to its occurrence in were not that it is the key-note of the section and that he returns to it with an added amplification, which is also found in the fourth Ode. For he says that the less God needs man, the more man needs God and His fellowship:
theology, that
Irenaeus,
if it

quantum enim Deus nullius indiget, Dei communione.'

'in

in

tantum homo indiget

as the

expression of man's need, which

'

Here we have the thought of fellowship with God, we have in Ode 4

It

Thou hast given us thy fellowship was not that thou wast in need of

us,

but that

we were down

in

need of

thee.'

A
God

little

lower

Irenaeus returns to the

same thought

distributed His prophets over the earth to habituate

men

to

the reception of His Spirit and to fellowship with Himself:

Himself was

in

need of no

man

but on those that

'He needed Him,

He

bestowed His fellowship!

Here we have the same thought,

and since
is
it

in closely

coincident terms

is

the fundamental thought of the chapter,

we

suggest that Irenaeus

recur in

may be working from

form
' :

a text, and the text

Nihil

a verse from the Odes of Solomon.

The same sentiments

enim
illi
:

Bk

V.

c. ii.

in the following

ante

dedimus, neque desiderat aliquid a nobis, quasi indigens

nos

autem indigemus

eius quae est

'

ad euin cominunionis
; '
:

et propterea

benigne effudit semetipsum

where the last clause may be compared with what follows in the Ode Distil thy dews upon us and open the rich fountains that pour forth milk and There
is
still,

honey.'

however, something abrupt in the transition

from the discussing of the Holy Place and the Holy People to the general question of whether God has any need of man corresponding to the need which man has of God. We may detect the motion of the writer's thought in passing from one subject to the other in the following manner.

From Irenaeus we see that while God has no need man has need of communion with God. The language

of man,
is,

as

we

ANTI-JUDAIC TRACES

83

have shown, so closely parallel to that of our Ode as almost to amount to a quotation. But at an earlier time than that of Irenaeus the thought of communion with God was not detached from the thought of communion by means of a Holy Place, and by sacrifice offered there.

We

get this thought brought out clearly in the prayer of the

priests in 2
'

Mace.

xiv. 15

Thou,

Lord of the universe, who

in thyself hast

need of nothing, wast well pleased that a sanctuary of thy habitation should be set amongst us so now, O Holy
:

Lord of

all

hallowing, keep undefiled for ever this house

*

that hath been lately cleansed.'

Here the 'sanctuary of the Divine habitation' is an earlier form of the Christian 'communion with God' which we find in
Irenaeus. When, therefore, the writer of the Ode, who began by chanting the inalienable sanctity of the Temple, says that God,

who

did not need us, has given us His fellowship, he

is

is

still

thinking of the fellowship that

associated with one special

holy place.
clear

He

cannot think that

void.
his
is

abandoned or made
it

that this
is

this form of communion is The opening verses of the Ode make key-note. The parallel in the New

Testament
24, 25),
is

in Paul's

'God dwelleth not

speech before the Areopagus (Acts xvii. in temples made with hands, neither

Our

worshipped of men's hands, as though He needed anything! writer would say, 'He dwells in a Temple, because we need

Him.'

And
the

as

we have pointed

out, the situation

is

for

our

writer Judaeo-Christian.

At
dMs

same time we
ment.

see clearly that the writer

is

is

not really

a Jew, though he
not''" accept Jewish customs.

in a

Judaeo-Christian environ-

We see this in
First
.

^^^

indirect.

a number of ways, both direct we had his definite statement

as to his being of a different race, which

must

surely mean that he among the Gentiles to a community of Judaean we had his peculiar apologetics, in the person
is a proselyte, in

the Christian sense, from

origin.

Then

of Christ, for

love to the Gentiles.

But even more striking is his indirect argument against the necessity of the maintenance of the Sabbath. I have drawn attention to this under Ode 16, by pointing out that the sequence of thought in the words

'

4
'

INTRODUCTION

He rested from His works And created things run in their courses and do their And they know not how to stand and be idle And His '"heavenly Hosts are subject to His word'
Trypho

works

contain the argument of Justin with of the Sabbath, on the ground that
'

for the non-validity

the elements, o-Tot%6ta (or more exactly, the heavenly

bodies'),

do not

idle or

keep Sabbath.'
from the very
taught him, in

And Justin tells Trypho that he learnt this old man to whom he owed his conversion, who
reference
to

the Sabbath and

Circumcision,
is

that

he should

remain as he was born..

This

very early teaching on the

It

subject of the leading Jewish practices.

does not necessarily

abandonment of the Sabbath by Jews. Our author stands where Justin stood, and both of them employ an argument He is no of the more liberal-minded in the primitive Church. more a Jew than Justin is.

mean

the

It will

be asked whether he argues against circumcision as

well as against the Sabbath.

It

This is more difficult to answer. depends upon the interpretation of the opening sentences
II.

of

Ode

If our alternative translation

is

correct, the writer

work of Divine Grace which he has experienced as circumcision of the heart, a figure of speech which is justified a by the Old Testament references to Israel as uncircumcised in heart and earsV and by the Pauline affirmation that 'we are the true circumcision,' and that he is not a Jew who is one
refers to the
' '

outwardly, nor

is

circumcision in the

letter,

but

in

the

spirit.'

In this sense our writer

may be

held to affirm that, although not

an Israelite by birth, he is one of the spiritual Israel. And this would agree exactly with the other statements to which we have
alluded.

We
But
j^^

found no allusions by which

if

we could

identify the

Gospels used by the Odists.

there are no references of a direct character to the

Gospels, and only scanty allusions to the historical

incidents which

uncanonical

there

is
is

phal Gospel, which

make the framework of the Gospels, one indirect reference to an early Apocryof the first importance. We have discussed
and be not any more
stiffhecked.

Gal.

iv. g.

Cf. Deut. X. i6, 'Circumcise your hearts

USE OF AN APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL

85

under the 24th Ode the question whether the reference of the Ode is to the Baptism of Jesus or to some other unknown incident connected with His crucifixion, and have decided that the allusion to the fluttering of the Dove over the head of the Messiah must mean the events at the Baptism, although there was in the context matter which seemed to suggest the descent into Hades rather than the Baptism. The reason for this conclusion lies in the coincidence of the expression of the Odist

with the language employed by Justin Martyr

with Trypho
literally
'

in his

dialogue
is

(c.

88).

The
upon

Syriac of the opening verse

The Dove

flew

[or over] the

Messiah

'

and

this curious

phrase answers exactly to the word which

Justin twice uses in his account of the Baptism.

The

repetition

of the word has long since provoked a suggestion on the part of

the critics that

and that

it

we had here a fragment of Justin's actual gospel, was not one of the canonical Gospels, though Justin

himself refers his account to the Apostles of the Lord.

And

when

it

was

observed that the

same peculiar verb turned up

elsewhere in Greek Patristic accounts of the Baptism, a very

strong case was

made
we

out for the use of an actual document

of a non-canonical character.
in the Syriac

of an apocryphal,

or, at all events,

When,
justified in

therefore,

detect the

same expression
is

text of the Odes, the coincidence

so striking that

we

are

removing the allusions to the Baptism of Jesus from the matter credited to the canonical Evangelists, and assigning It will be it instead to a lost Gospel of a very early date. convenient to collect^ under one view the cases in which it may reasonably be held that the Greek word eTrtTrTrjvai is used of the Descent of the Dove (Justin Martyr Dial. 88)
:

avaBvvTO<;

aytov vvevfia eTTtTTTrjvai

avrov airo tov vBaTO<;, to? Trepia-repav to ett avTov ejpa'yp-av 01 airoaroKoi
r)flS)V.

aVTOV TOVTOV TOV H-piCTTOV

Ibid:
TO TTvevfia
oiiv

to ayiov Kal Bia Tovf dvOpcoirov^,

co?

Trpoe^rjv, iv etSei 7repiaTepd<; eireirTr] avToi.

'

See Resch, Aussercanonische Paralleltexte zu Luc.

p. 15.

86
Celsus
(v.

INTRODUCTION
Origen contra Celsum
i.

41):
1.

\ovofiev(p, (prjai, croc jrapa toS 'Iwavvrj [v.

(fxicrfxa

'lopSavrj]

opvido<;

e'f
i.

aepoi Xeyei<; eTTtTrrrjvai.

Origen

(c.

Celsimi

40):

e^Tjf ^^ tod'toi? airo tov Kara Mar^atoi', rd^a Se Koi rmv Xoiirmv evayyeXiav, \a^wv ra irepl t^9 iTri7rTaar]<:

tS aaiTrjpL fia-TTTi^ofievo) irapa tov Sta^dWeiv ^ovXerai.

Origen
(in Joan. torn.
ii.

'laxivvov

7repicrTepd<;

11):
e'lSei

ore Tc3

awfjiaTLKw

oicrei

irepKTTepa

e^nnaTai

fiETa TO XovTpov aVTO).

Orac. Sib.
^A, Xvplri

vii.

64

70
^oidLkosv viraTov dvhpSiv,
KeiTai Bi/pi/Tta? aXfir],

ko'iXt),

or?

iTrepevyop.ei'r]

TXijfjicov,

ovK eyvux; tov aov ew, 0? itot

eXovaev
etr'

lopBdvov ev vBaTeaui, koI eTrraro Trvevfia

'^dpK

avTw.

ivBvcrd/xevo^,

rd^v^ eirTaTO ITarpo?

e? oikov<;.

To

the foregoing coincidences from Greek sources, Resch

in

adds a number of suspicious coincidences

Tert. adv. Valent.
'

Latin

c.

27
in baptis-

Super hunc itaque Christum devolasse tunc

matis Sacramento Jesum per effigiem columbae.'

Hilarius in Ps. Hv. 7
'
:

Nam

et in

columbae specie Spiritus

in

eum

volando

requievit...ut volando requiescat.'

Hilarius in Matt.
'

ii.

6:

post aquae lavacrum et de caelestibus portis sanctum

in

nos spiritum involare!

de ritibus baptismi, p. 24,
p.
'

Severi

ed.

Boderianus (Resch,

Agrapha,

363):
sanctitatis
in

Et Spiritus

similitudinem
filii.'

columbae

volans descendit mansitque super caput

These references are not of equal value

in the

determination

of the language of a primitive account, but taken together, they

CONCLUDING REMARKS
certainly
in

87

make a very strong impression in favour of the belief an uncanonical account of the Baptism, and it is to that account that the first line of Ode 24 must be referred.
But what are we to say of the
Messiah
follows
?

Spirit

singing over the

?

Is this also

from the uncanonical source

it

We may
:

sum up

the investigation as far as

has gone as

There can be no reasonable doubt of the antiquity of the That which seems to be the latest composition amongst them is attested already by Lactantius in
recovered Book of Odes.
the beginning of the fourth century as having the place in the
collection

of the

which it occupies in our Manuscript. The portions Odes which have been transcribed by the author of

the Pistis Sophia towards the end of the third century, are evidently taken from a book which was either canonical
in

the

writer's
;

judgment, or
it is

not

very

far

canonicity

so that

quite easy to carry the

removed from Odes back into

who have studied the extant fragments of them before the recovery of our Manuscript have,
the second century, and those
in fact, referred

them

to the earlier part of the second century.

Our own

investigations have

shown that the Odes agree

statistical

in

the

extent of their composition with the

data for their

measurement, preserved
also

in the early Stichometries.

We

have

shown

that they agree in sentiment with the beliefs and

practices

of the earliest

Ages of the Church.

of Christians,

It

came out
was most

clearly in the investigation that the writer, while not a Jew,

member
is

of a

Community

who were

for the

part of Jewish extraction and beliefs, and the apologetic tone

which
earliest

displayed, in the

Odes, towards the Gentiles, as a

is

part of the Christian Church,

ages,

only consistent with the very

and with communities like the Palestinian Churches where Judaism was still in evidence and in control. We think, therefore, that it will be admitted on all hands, that the discovery of this collection of Odes and Psalms is not only
valuable for the fact that it presents us, for the first time, with the Syriac version of the extant Psalms of Solomon, but that
the Syriac text of the Odes of of the
first

Solomon

is in itself

a memorial
beliefs

importance for rightly understanding the experiences of the Primitive Church.

and
the

We

have expressed our

belief that in part, at

least,

88

INTRODUCTION
;

collection belongs to the last quarter of the first century

it

but

if

should be objected that this is too early a date, it cannot be very many years in excess. Even if the writings do not fall
within the actual time of the composition of the bookg of the

New

Testament, they scarcely

fall

outside the

limits

of the

same, and we may, therefore, be sure that the Christian Church

of to-day has

been enriched by the discovery of a literary

Apart, also, from
less
'

monument

of the highest value.

all

critical

questions concerned with the

little

or
or
'

little

more of a
there
'

determined date, or with the

assigned locality,

'

Lo

here

Lo

of an

we have

in

our Odes the language of Christian

experience upon the highest levels of the Spiritual Life, and

we

should have to go far afield to find such expressions of the

Joy of the Lord

Songs.

as recur in almost every

one of these Spiritual

have no means of knowing who it was that in the first them to Solomon, nor have we any clue at present to their actual authorship, but we may be sure that whatever Solomon did, or did not, in the composing of Odes, with which he has been credited to the number of one thousand
instance ascribed

We

and

five,

according to the insistent accuracy of the Jewish

Chronicler,

we may say

of these new-found compositions, that

not even Solomon at his very best could have been spiritually

arrayed like one of these.

ODE
The Lord
without
is

I.

{Pistis Sophia ii6.)

on

my

head
in

like

a crown, and

shall not

be
it

Him^

'^They wove for

me.

me
^

a crown of truth, and

it is

caused thy branches to bud

For

not like a withered

crown which buddeth not: but thou livest upon my head, and thou hast blossomed upon my head. * Thy fruits are full-grown and perfect, they are full of thy salvation.

Ode
it

I.

This

Ode

is

not in our Syriac

it is

text,
1

but in the Coptic version

I

of the Pistis Sophia, where

said to be the

9th Ode.

have identified

with the missing

first

Ode

of our collection, on the supposition that

in the collection of

Sophia, the eighteen Psalms of

Solomonic Psalms known to the author of the Pistis Solomon stood first, and not, as in the
5.

Syriac collection, in the last place.

length,

under Ode

The question is The argument of the Psalm

discussed,
is

more
is

at

that

God

the

crown of the soul, whose supreme experience is the knowledge of His truth. This crown is of the amarant variety ; it fadeth not away. On the contrary, it buds and blossoms and is full of immortal fruit. The similitude is not uncommon in the book of Odes to which we have placed this Psalm as an introduction.

ODE ODE
I

2.

{Deest},

3.

{Priora desunt.)

put on:
I

on them do

hang, and

known how who is able

there also

to love

And his members are with him. And He loves me ^ for I should not have the Lord, if He had not loved me. *For
2
:

to distinguish love, except the one that

is

loved.

^I love the Beloved, and

my soul loves Him:

is

am

^and

I shall

High and Merciful

there

^and where His rest is, be no stranger, for with the Lord Most no grudging. ^ I have been united
1

Or

it.

O. S.

12

90
^to Him"'S because
I

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

I

shall find love to the Beloved, ^

is

and because
'^
;

shall love
is

Him
;

that

the Son, that

that
is

may be

a son=

for

he that

joined to

Him

immortal, will also himself

become immortal "and he who is accepted in the Living One^, ''^This is the Spirit of the Lord, which will become living^.
doth not lie, which teacheth the sons of men to know His ways. ^^Be wise and understanding and vigilant. Hallelujah.
verses have disappeared two Psalms, is evidently a Christian product ; the author is a mystic with a doctrine, or rather an experience, of union with the Son. With him his whole nature has
3.

Ode

This Psalm, of which the

first

along with the leaves that contained the

first

become mingled,

as water is mixed with wine. In Pauline language, he has been joined to the Lord, and has become one spirit with Him'. In Johannine language, because the Beloved lives, he himself lives also^.

He
it

has, at least in

hope and

faith,

attained immortality through union

is

with the Living One.

the Apocalypse ('I

The name

here given to Christ

One')', and

very ancient,

has been detected by the Revisers of the English

New
it

am

the

Living

is

Testament in found in the

opening sentences of the Sayings of Jesus, recovered in recent years from Egypt: ('these are the words which Jesus the Living One
spake
etc.')

Other Johannine touches are the doctrine that 'we love Him because He first loved us'.' For the Psalmist tells us that 'he should not have known how to love the Lord if the Lord had not loved him.' It would be a mistake to suppose that we have here any direct
quotations or that the language necessarily involves acquaintance with

In translating the Syriac, I have not two words for love which are used even if it could be inferred that the Greek had used ayairu! and <^iA.w, as in the 2 1 St chapter of John's Gospel, it would be a mistake to indicate this in the translation by a subtlety which is now exploded. For the Syriac makes no such distinction, nor need we imagine it in the original Aramaic spoken by Jesus. When the Syriac translators turn back our Lord's words in John xiv. 21, 'He it is that loveth me, and he that
the text of the

New

Testament.

tried to distinguish the

loveth

me

shall

be loved of

my

Father,' although the

Greek word
call

is

consistently aya-mS, they use both the available Syriac words, without
distinction,

and where they do not

distinguish

we have no

to

over-refinement.
^ 2 *
^ '

Mingled with

(as

water with wine)

'>

cf. i

Cor.
'in

vi. 17.

Or Or
I

the Son. the living One.

vi. 17.
i.

The MS. has

John xiv. 19. J John iv. rg.

life.'

Cf.

Apoc.

i.

17.

Cor.

*
8

Apoc.

17.

1:::

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

ODE
^No man,

4.

thy holy place; ^and it is not change it and put it in another place because he hath no power over it ^for thy sanctuary thou hast designed before thou didst make [other] places *that which is
[possible] that he should
:

O my God, changeth

the elder shall not be altered

itself.

by those that are younger than

^Thou
is

hast given thy heart,

fail,

Lord, to thy believers

never wilt thou

Faith

nor be without
all

fruits: ^for

one hour of thy

more precious than

:

days and years.

Tor who
^For thy

is

there that shall put on thy grace, and be hurt?

is

seal

and thy creatures know it and thy [heavenly] hosts and the elect archangels are clad with it. ^Thou hast given us thy fellowship it was not that thou wast in need of us but that we are in need of thee ''"distil thy dews upon us and open thy rich fountains that pour forth to us milk and honey "for there is no repentance with thee that thou shouldest repent of anything that thou hast promised: ^^and the end was revealed before thee for what thou gavest, thou gavest freely ''^so that thou mayest not draw them back and take them again ^^for all was revealed before thee as God, and ordered from the beginning before thee and thou, O God, hast made all things.
:

known

possess

it:

Hallelujah.

collection,

This Psalm is one of the most important in the whole on account of the historical allusion with which it commences. The reference to an unsuccessful attempt to alter the site of the Sanctuary of the Lord can only be explained by some unknown movement to carry on the Jewish worship outside the desolated and proscribed sanctuary, or by the closing of the Jewish temple at
4.

Ode

Leontopolis in Egypt, which was, perhaps,

built

itself in

the

first

instance
in

under

the

pressure

of

the situation which

rather than

resulted

the

desecration of the temple at Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes.

the latter explanation leans on
fact,

As

on hypothesis, we may accept it provisionally as the real interpretation of our Psalm, which is thus dated soon after a.d. 73 when the temple of Onias was closed and dismantled by the Romans. The writer of the Psalm, if not of Jewish origin is, at least, Jewish in sympathy he holds the Jewish belief that the Sanctuary at Jerusalem was older than the world in which it stood it was, according to Rabbinic teaching, prior to all other created
:

things

thus

we

find

in

Bereshith Rabbah that

'

seven things were

created before the world, Thorah, Gehenna, the Garden of Eden, the

92
Throne of Glory,

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the Sanctuary,

The

proofs of these pre-existent creations can easily be

:

Repentance and the name of Messiah.' made from the

God had planted a garden in Eden from 8)^ and so on. The matter is discussed with some detail in Pirqe Aboth vi. lo 'Five possessions possessed the Holy One, blessed is He, in His world and these are they Thorah, one
Scriptures
e.g.
'

the Lord

afore-time' (Gen.

ii.

possession
sion
:

Heaven and

Earth, one possession

;

Abraham, one possesit

Israel,

one possession

the Sanctuary, one possession:

...The Sanctuary: whence

place,

[is it

proved]? Because

is

written,

The

Lord, which thou hast

made

for thee to dwell in, the Sanctuary,

And He

Lord, which thy hands have established (Exod. xv. 17): and it saith, brought them to the border of His sanctuary, even to this
Ixxviii. 54).'

mountain, which His right hand had possessed (Ps.

This

Rabbinical belief has affected the mind of our Psalmist,

who comments

upon the fall of the Egyptian temple unsympathetically, and evidently He has his heart set amongst the ruins of the Sanctuary at Jerusalem.
does not think the covenant between
disannulled
;

God and

the people of Israel

;

is

all

God's promises are irrevocable

His

gifts

and

callings

are without repentance

But there are no lamentations on the temple which is in his thoughts has not developed a wailing-place. God has sealed His own people with the marks of His ownership. All creation, and both worlds, recognise this seal. And He is able to pour out blessings on His chosen, comparable to the dew of heaven, and the milk and honey of

on His

part.

the part of the writer over the ruins of Jerusalem

the earth.

If
it

we

please,

we may

definitely call

it

a Judaeo-Christian

might very well have been composed by one of the refugees at Pella. It is not easy to see how it could have been written outside Palestine, nor by a purely Jewish hand.

Psalm

and

Rom.

There are no Scripture references perhaps the nearest parallel is xi. 29 ('the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,'
;

d^cTa/xcXr/Ta).

The thought

that

God

does not need

us,

but
is

common
Greek

religious expression in this period,

and

we need God, is a found constantly in

;

literature. We may compare the Apology of Aristides, c. i, and his vero qui Irenaeus (ed. Mass. 244) 'ipse quidem nullius indigens indigent eius, suam praebens communionem,' which is very near

indeed to the language of our Ode, and

quotation.

may almost be

taken as a

The

opposite sentiment can be illustrated from Schiller

'

Freudlos war der grosse Weltenmeister,

Fiihlte

Mangel, darum schuf er Geister,

Sel'ge Spiegel seiner Seligkeit.'

tion

Clement of Rome, Ep. i. ad Cor., c. 52, takes an intermediate 'The Lord needs nothing... except our praise.'
:

posi-

So Jerome: a

principio.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

93

ODE
^

5.

will give

thanks unto thee,

Lord, because

love thee

'^O

most High, thou wilt not forsake me\ for thou art my hope: ^freely I have received thy grace, I shall live thereby: *my persecutors will come'' and not see me: ^a cloud of darkness and an air of thick gloom shall darken shall fall ""on"" their eyes them ^and they shall have no light to see that they may not take hold upon me. '^Let their counsel become thick darkness^ and what they have cunningly devised, let it return upon their own heads: ^for they have devised a counsel, and it did not succeed* they have prepared themselves for evil", and were found to be empty. ^For my hope is upon the Lord, and I will not fear, and because the Lord is my salvation", I will not fear: 'and He is as a garland on my head and I shall not be moved
;
: :

even
all

if

everything should be shaken,

I

stand firm; ''^and

if

things visible should perish,

is

shall not die:

because the

Lord

with

me and

am

with Him.

Hallelujah.

Ode 5. The interest of this Psalm lies in the fact that at this point we begin to strike the region of coincidences with the Gnostic book, known as the Pistis Sophia. The Ode has been used, apparently, in the composition of two Odes or Prophecies of Solomon, quoted respectively by Salome and the Virgin. Salome recites nearly the whole of the Ode, with some slight and it is possible that one or two clauses variations and expansions may be missing in the Syriac and may be capable of restoration from
:

the Coptic.

The remaining portion of the Ode before us appears, at first sight, from the parallelism of the first sentence, to be the same as what is given in the Pistis Sophia as the recitation of the Virgin from the 19th Ode of Solomon. And this ascription and numbering led Ryle and
James
1 ^
''

astray, to identify the matter in question with the sentences

about

the Virgin quoted by Lactantius', as from the igth

Or, as in the Coptic, do not thou forsake me.

Ode

of Solomon.

Or, as in the Coptic,

let

my

persecutors come, etc.

* lit. and it became not to them. which expands as follows Et vicerunt eos potenies et Und quae paraverant malitiose, descenderunt in eos. Cf. the German of Schmidt sie sind besiegt, olnvohl sie machlig sind, und was sie boswillig (kokus) bereitet haben,

Copt, weakness.

lit.

evilly, as in the Coptic,

'

ist

auf
*

sie herabgefallen.'

Copt, quia tu es deus meus, salvator meus. ^ Ode ^ Psalms ii. [of the Coptic Odes] should be another of Solomon, p. 160. fragment of that quoted by Lactantius, the 19th Ode. Here alone is a number

: :

94

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

have, however,

We
in

shown elsewhere

that Lactantius' quotation

is

really

our 19th Ode, so that Lactantius does not appear in the discussion, having been found in another quarter. And we have suggested that the supposed 19th Ode of the Coptic writer is the first of our collection,

and

The mistake that it followed on the eighteen Psalms of Solomon. can be traced, by comparing, in the Pistis Sophia, the text and the Gnostic comment upon it ; it will be found that a wrong Ode has been copied out for the text of the Gnostic comment, in consequence of two
Odes, the
first

and the

fifth,

having some similar sentences.

The

difference can be exhibited thus

Coptic [ = our
'

Ode Ode
is

19
i]

Syriac

Ode

5.

The Lord

on

my head
not be
a crown of

'

He
if

is

like

a crown

on

my
be
all

like a

crown, and

I shall
:

head and

shall

not be moved,

separated from
truth has been

Him

Even
things

everything
:

should

woven

for

branches were planted in they did not bear a crown that was dried up, and without a shoot: but thou livest upon my head and thou growest upon me thy
: :

me my me for
:

shaken, I stand firm

visible
:

and

if

shall not die

is

should perish, I because the Lord

I

with

me and

am

with Him.'

fruits

are

full

and

perfect

they

are filled with thy salvation.'

The comment upon

the foregoing Coptic

Ode

follows the text of

the Syriac Ode, by an unconscious error of the writer

who mistook one

hymn

for the other.

It is clear, then, that the

are two different Odes, as

Coptic 19th Ode and the Syriac 5th Ode we have explained above. We thus recover
Christian or not, does not appear decisively opens in a rather Jewish strain of praise,
If there is a
singer's

the missing

first

Ode

of our collection.

Whether
at the
first

this fifth

Ode
It

is

reading.

accompanied by prayer

for the discomfiture of enemies.

it

definite Christian feature, perhaps

is

the garland

upon the
is

head, which appears in several other Odes. In the example, we get the same figure, and here the theme

17th Ode, for

the praise of

the Messiah for His triumph over Hades.

Christian.

This must, of course, be

The crown
this

that

is a crown of life, that is a living crown or garland and meaning is carefully brought out in the Coptic Ode, which explains the crown does not wither, but (like Aaron's rod), it buds and
:

bears
given.

fruit.

We

have similar allusions and explanations to the crown

it

The

Virgin, be

noted,

is

the reciter here,, and the Virgin

is

the subject of

Lactantius' quotation.'

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

of life in the New Testament, as in i Pet. glorious crown, which does not fade away.'
v.

95
'

a crown of glory, or

The

close of the

Ode

is

noble expression of trust in the Lord, amidst adverse circumstances,

which one

instinctively

of the Epistle to the

Christian, as well as

compares with the close of the eighth chapter Romans. It may be regarded as a Christian
its affinity its

composition, on account of

with other Odes that are certainly

intrinsic spiritual value.

on account of

ODE
^so speaks in

6.

^As the hand moves over the harp, and the

strings speak,

I speak and everything that is bitter': *for thus it was from the beginning and will be to the end, that nothing should be His adversary, and nothing should stand up against Him. ^The Lord has multiplied the knowledge of Himself, and is zealous that these things should be known, which by His grace have been given to us*. And the praise of His name He gave us': our spirits praise His holy Spirit. '^For there went forth a stream and became a river great and broad ^for it flooded and broke up everything and it brought [water] to the Temple^: ^and the restrainers of the children of men were not able to restrain it, nor the arts of those whose business it is to restrain waters ^for it spread over the face of the whole earth, and filled everything ^and all the thirsty upon earth were given to drink of it; ''^and thirst was relieved and quenched: for from the Most High the draught was given. ''^Blessed then are the ministers of that draught who are entrusted with that water of His: ^^they have assuaged the dry lips^ and the will that had fainted they have raised up ^*and souls that were near departing they have caught back from death': ^^and limbs that had fallen they straightened and set up ^^they gave strength for their feebleness' and light to their eyes: ^^for everyone knew them in the Lord, and they

my members
^For

the Spirit of the Lord, and

is

by His

love.

He

destroys what

foreign,

lived
'

by the water of

life" for ever.

Hallelujah.

^'^ i Cor. ii. 12. Cod. and everything is of the Lord. His praise He gave us to His name. * i.e. the temple at Jerusalem. Schmidt vifandte sich gegen den Tempel. ~^ Schmidt: es tranken, die sich auf dem trockene Sande befinden. Cf.Is. xxxv. i. *" Schmidt Herzensfreude haben empfangen die Entkrafteten. Sie haben Seelen erfasst, indem sie den Hauch hineinstiessen, dass sie nicht sturben. ^ lit. by living water. " Cod. ex errore ' for their coming.'
' lit.
: :

96

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

Ode
6.

In

this

Psalm again we are fortunate

:

in

of the Coptic text preserved to us

and, as

is

common

having a large part in Coptic texts,

But this very also preserved by it. circumstance has led Ryle and James to a wrong supposition as to the They recognize that it is existence of Gnostic elements in the Psalm.

some Greek words have been

a Christian Psalm but suggest, hesitatingly, that the use of the word diroppoia may stamp it as Gnostic. It is quite unnecessary to pay this
little

tribute to Gnosticism.

Neither here nor anywhere else

is

there

anything definitely Gnostic in the book.

right in saying,

And
is

'we cannot see that there

Ryle and James are anything unmistakeably

Gnostic in the .doctrine.'

They

are also clearly right in saying that

'

what is described in the Psalm is the preaching of the Gospel which no human effort can avail to hinder.' We must also recognize a reference to the waters in Ezekiel which go forth from the temple. But there is a suggestive difference in our Psalm from the parable in
Ezekiel
:

in the Syriac text the stream appears to rise elsewhere than in

and part of its function is to water the temple. It is a river deep and broad before it reaches the temple. If this be what is intended, then the restrainers who build dykes to keep waters out or cisterns to keep them in are very likely the Temple officials themselves, who were often hard put to it to hinder the propaganda of the new
the temple,
religion within the limits of the

Holy
:

Place.
;

The

writer

is

exultant in his universalism

all

the stream of living

water has gone out into

the earth

thirsty souls

everywhere have

been refreshed by

it

dying souls have been revived^.

The writer is as universal as St Paul. But he is not so detached from Judaism as not to know that the living water was connected with the temple. Perhaps, then, he is a Judaeo-Christian of an enlightened Ryle and James suggest for him a date not later than the type.
second century, and intimate the presence of Johannine phraseology
ideas. We think the date is too late the Johannine features do not appear to us to be directly due to the Gospel if such a long composition had been under Johannine influence, it would have

and

betrayed
it

its

ancestry

more
the

definitely.

seem possible

definitely to convict the

Neither here nor elsewhere does Psalms of having borrowed

from St John.
recalls a
'

there is one expression which where the writer says that God is zealous that those things should be known, which have been given us by His

On

other hand

sentence in

Cor.,

grace': this

is

very like

Cor.

ii.

12,

'that

we may know

the things

that have been freely given

us of God.'

Whether the coincidence

Harnack, who has missed the meaning of

(Bis/, of

this

hymn,

calls
it

hymn

Dogma,

i.

207 note).

It is not

Gnostic and

it a Gnostic baptismal has nothing to do with

baptism.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

should be pressed
further

97

will depend to some extent upon the existence of and similar echoes of New Testament speech. Near the close of the Psalm the Greek word irapp-quLa occurs in the
;

Coptic
Fi'siis

coming suggests Trapova-ta. Ilapprjcria, as the one of the words which the Coptic transliterates so we must retain it, or else find a Greek word which may be misread either as n-appiyo-ta or irapovaia. We have suggested that ira/pa\vcris is the right word. This is confirmed by the preceding clause, Members that had fallen they straightened and set up.' Here the Coptic has erexere for the two Syriac words which we render by straightened and set up.' The Syriac has been translating a compound verb by two simple verbs; and the original was evidently a.v<ap6io<jav. We may now compare Is. xxxv. 3 and Heb. xii. 1 2 ; especially note ra irapaXtXviJiiva yovara dvopOuxrari. We now see the meaning of the words which follow, 'they gave strength to their paralysis'; it is a reflexion from
' '

but the Syriac

is

Sophia shows,

'

'

L(r)(u<TaTi,

yovara

irapaXikvixiva.

The
'

correctness

of

the
'

reference

to Isaiah

may be
It

further seen from the following words

and, light to

their eyes,'

which are a reflexion from

is

then shall the eyes- of the blind

is working from Isaiah and not from Hebrews: and in that case the d-rroppoia of which the /'m/w Sophia makes so much is the stream of water which, in the prophecy, makes glad the wilderness and the solitary place. We can now The 'dry explain the variation between the Syriac and Coptic in v. 10. sand is the iprjp.o'i Suj/wa-a of Is. xxxv. i, and the Syriac should be all

be opened.'

clear then that the writer

'

'

upon

the thirsty land drank of

it.'

ODE

7.

^As the impulse of anger against

evil,

so
its

is

the impulse. of

without rejoy over what is lovely, and brings in of straint: '^my joy is the Lordand my impulse is toward Him': this ^for I have a helper, the Lord. "-He hath is my excellent path caused me to know Himself, without grudging, by His simplicity:
fruits
:

^He became the greatness of His kindness hath humbled me. like me, in order that I might receive Him: ^He was reckoned
order that I might put Him on; ^and I trembled saw Him because He is my salvation^ ^Uke my not when nature He became that I might learn Him and like my form, that ^the Father of knowledge is I might not turn back from Him 'He who created wisdom is wiser than the word of knowledge His works "and He who created me when yet I was not knew
like

myself
I

in

lit.

my
s.

running: cf.Cant.
cf.

i.

3.

' fit, in

likeness as myself.^

3 lit.

mercy:

Luke

U. 30 (Pesh.).

o.

13

98

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

I

what
pitied

should do

when

came

into being

''^wherefore

He
that

me in Him and to

His abundant grace: and granted

receive from His sacrifice^
:

me

to ask from

^^because

He

it is

is

incorrupt, the fulness of the ages

and the Father of them.

that

them that are His, ''^in made them and that they might not suppose that they came of themselves" ^^for He hath appointed to knowledge its way, He hath widened it and extended it and brought it to all perfection "and set over it the traces of His light, and it goeth from the beginning even to the end. ^^For by Him it was wrought, and it was
^"^He hath given
to be seen of

Him

order that they

may

recognize

Him

resting in the Son, and for

its

salvation
shall

He

will

take hold of

everything
to

''^and the

Most High

be known in His Saints,

announce to those that have songs of the coming of the Lord ^that they may go forth to meet Him, and may sing to Him with joy and with the harp of many tones^: ^Uhe seers shall come before Him and they shall be seen before Him, ^^and they shall praise the Lord for His love: because He is near and beholdeth, ^^and hatred shall be taken from the earth, and along with jealousy it shall be drowned ^^for ignorance hath been destroyed, because the knowledge of the Lord hath
; :

arrived.

'^^They
;

who make songs

:

shall sing the grace of the

^^and they shall bring their songs, and their heart shall be like the day and like the excellent beauty* of the Lord their pleasant song ^''^and there shall neither be any
:

Lord Most High

thing that breathes without knowledge, nor any that

'^^for

is

dumb
ye His

He

hath given a mouth to His creation, to open the voice

to praise

of the

mouth towards Him,

7.

Him

'^^confess

power, and show forth His grace.

Hallelujah.

Ode

In
;

this

the Incarnation

Psalm the writer dilates joyfully on the theme of and the combination of lowliness and wisdom that are

involved therein.

only a sympathetic approach to

welcome.

The condescension of Christ to human form is not human conditions, it is a divine He says 'Come unto me' by coming unto us. 'Like

my
'

nature
Gk.

He became
: :

that I might learn of Him.'

:

dvcrlas

Nestle conjectures
8. 16.

ToS

fiij

ovTOS elvai ij/ms

oi<rlas cf. Clem. Ep. ii. ad Cor. i. and the verse of the Ode that precedes, ' when

IjBiXricrev iK

came

into

being.'
2

Also Ode
c. 3.

Ps.

/jy_

voices.

*
^

Gk. fieyaXowpitrem

as in Ps. Ixvii. (Ixviii.) 34.

'

The opening

sentence about the

i.

impulse against evil

i-ya6(},

'

may be

illustrated
t)

from

Clem. Alex. Paed.

8, p.

140 ItreTai

tQ

ipiaet

&ya66s iariv,

iiLcroTovripla,

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

But the incarnate Messiah
things, in
is
still

99
sustainer of all

the

maker and

The knowledge of this revelation produces praise and expectation, praise for those who sing His advent, expectation for those who look for His triumphant rule among men. All evil is to pass away, and all hate. The saints who sing are already exulting in the new life which He has bestowed upon them^ For the argument with which the Ode opens we may compare
all

whom

things consist.

Lactantius, de Div. Inst.

et infimis

iv.

26

'is,

qui humilis advenerat, ut humilibus

salutis ostenderet,

opem
fuit,

ferret, et

omnibus spem

afficiendus

quo humiles

et infimi solent,

eo genere ne quis esset omnino, qui

eum non

posset imitari.'

ODE
Open
let

8.

^and

ye, open ye your hearts to the exultation of the Lord your love be multiplied from the heart and even to the lips, ^to bring forth fruit to the Lord, living ^fruif, holy '"fruif; and to talk with watchfulness in His light. *Rise up, and stand erect, ye who sometime were brought low: ^tell forth ye who were in silence, that your mouth hath been opened. ^Ye, therefore, that were despised, be henceforth lifted up, because

your righteousness hath been exalted. ''For the right hand of the Lord is with you: and He is your helper: ^and peace was prepared for you; before ever your war was. ^Hear the word of truth, and receive the knowledge of the Most High. 'Your neither have Cf. flesh has not known what I am saying to you
:

Is

your hearts^ known what I am showing to you. '''Keep my ''^keep my faith, ye who are secret', ye who are kept by it kept by it. ''^And understand my knowledge, ye who know me ''^Love me with affection, ye who love: ''^for I do not in truth. turn away my face from them that are mine; ^^for I know them, and before they came into being I took knowledge of them, and
:

Ixiv. 4-

" I fashioned their members my I set my seal prepared for them that they might drink my holy milk and live thereby. ''^I took pleasure in them and am not ashamed of them: ''^for my workmanship are they and the
on their faces
: :

own

breasts

of 'seers' and 'singers' is peculiar, and belongs to a veryChurch History ; it would be best illustrated by the saints in the beginning of Luke's Gospel, who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem, if we could imagine that peculiar religious society continued and extended.
^

The combination

early period in

2 3

The MS. by an
Clrni. Horn. xix.

error of transcription reads, 'your raiment.'

20

and Clem. Alex. Strom,

v. 10,

apparently from a

lost

Gospel.

lOO
Strength of
^^ I

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

my

thoughts

^Owho then
is

shall rise

handiwork, or
willed

who

is

there that

not
:

subject to

up against my them ?
:

and by

and fashioned mind and heart and they are mine, right hand I set my elect ones '^^and if my righteousness had not been before them' and they shall not be deprived of my name, for it is with them. ^^Ask, and abound and abide in the love of the Lord, ^'''"and"' ye beloved

my own

ones in the Beloved

shall

those

who
all

are kept, in that

Him

that liveth
;

'^^and they that are saved in

Him

was saved
the

^Sand ye
of your

be found incorrupt
Hallelujah.
8.

in

ages to

name

Father.

Ode
direct

This Psalm again

But, even

is

expressions.

when

this is

Johannine in many of its ideas and conceded, it is difficult to prove a

dependence on the Fourth Gospel.

is,

The Psalm

like

a number of others, marked by a sudden transi-

tion of personality from the Psalmist or

after the writer
affliction

Prophet to the Lord Himself

lifted up out of and have found peace after war, he suddenly in prophetic manner, cries out, 'Hear the word of the Lord,' 'Receive the heavenly knowledge,' and then proceeds to speak in the person of the Lord. The same abrupt transitions are found in the canonical Psalter, and

has addressed those

who have been

they appear to have characterized the Montanist inspirations. It will be remembered that Montanus describes his own spiritual exaltation in the words Behold the man is as a lyre, and I sweep over him as the plectrum. The man sleeps and I wake. Behold it is the Lord, who estranges the souls of men from themselves, and gives men souls.' The same address by the Lord in the first person is in the utterance of Maximilla, the Montanist prophetess, who said, I am chased as a I am no wolf; I am word, and spirit, wolf from the midst of the flock. and power.'
'
: !
'

'

The
harp,

language of Montanus finds a close parallel in the opening of

the sixth Psalm, where the writer says, 'As the

hand moves over the

the Spirit of the

and the

strings speak, so speaks in

my members

This might easily be claimed as a Montanist utterance, and I can imagine that on account of these and similar sayings, the whole Psalter might be claimed as a Montanist product. But the sentiments are
Lord.'

and we must not one of the chief characteristics of Montanism is its attempt to perpetuate the life of the primitive Church. Towards the end of the Psalm the prophet returns abruptly to speech in his own name. There seems to be some breach of continuity in the discourse, as well
forget that
'

simply Christian, on a high experimental plane;

Something missing.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

lOI

as a change of personality, and I have suggested that a .sentence has dropped in the Syriac text.

do not know whether the allusion to an actual war, from which the have emerged or escaped, is to be taken literally. If it be a literal, and not a spiritual reference, the choice will lie between the Jewish war .under Titus or that under Hadrian; in either case, we should be in Judaeo-Christian circles. It is, however, quite possible that the war and the 'peace refer only to spiritual experiences. The injunction in z;. ii to keep the Lord's secret {fivcrnjpiov ifi.o\)
I

saints

'

'

'

is

frequently quoted in the Fathers.

vii.

striking- instance, will

be found

in Lactantius, Div. Instit.

26: 'nos defendere hanc [doctrinam]

ut quieti ac silentes
..

publice atque asserere

non solemus, Deo jubente,

arcanum

ejus in abdito atque intra nostram conscientiam teneamus.

abscondi enim tegique mysterium

guam

fidelissime oportet,

maxime a

fiobis,

qui nomen fidei gerimus.'

of the Ode, quotations
Isaiah xxiv.
'

The last sentence is very like the language Keep my secret ye who are kept by it.' These Patristic may be traced ultimately to a variant translation of 16, which has crept into some texts of the LXX from the

is

Hexapla of Origen. But there are a nuraber of cases where the qitation not directly from Isaiah, but from a saying of our Lord in an uncanonical Gospel. Thus in Clem. Alex. Strom, v. 10 we have oi
yap
c^^ortov,
(jirjai,

TraprjyyuXtv 6 Kvpio's ev nvL tvayyc\iif

/j.vcTTrjpiov ifiioy

ifiol Ktti

Tois Diois Tov oLKov fiov.

Agdiu

in

Clem. Horn.
oSs

xix.

20 we have,
i?rv
ij/iiv;

Ixi/jLVT/jixeOa

TOV Kvpiov qfiwv

e/xol

/cat

StSacricaXov,

tvTcXXo/tevos
It

Tci ix,v(TTripia.

Koi rots uiois /iov <^vA.a^aT.

seems that the Odist

has been working from the same source as Clement of Alexandria and
the Clementine Homilist
:

and

if
is

this

be the case, the un-canonical

Gospel of which he makes use find quoted in the 24th Ode.

very likely the same which

we

shall

ODE
^Open your
souls that
I

9.

ears

and

will

speak to you.

Give

me

your

may

also give

you

my

soul,

^the w^ord of the Lord

and His good

pleasures, the holy thought which

He

has devised

concerning his Messiah, ^por in the will of the Lord is your salvation^ and His thought is everlasting life; and your end
the Father, and ^Be strong and bels. 7. redeemed by His grace. ^For I announce to you peace, to you cf. Ps. '''^''''- 9His saints; ^that none of those who hear may fall in war, and those again who have known Him may not perish, and that
is

immortality^.

*Be enriched

in

God

receive the

thought of the Most High.

lii.

those
1

who
lii.

receive

may

not be ashamed,
'

^An
is

everlasting crown
your
perfection.'

life.

Or, and without corraption

102
for ever
is

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

Truth.

who set it on their heads and there have been wars on account of the crown. 'And righteousness hath taken it and hath given it to you. " Put on the crown in the true covenant of the Lord. ''^And all those who have conquered shall be written in His book. ''^For their book is victory which is yours. And she, (Victory) sees you before her and wills that you shall
Blessed are they
is
it
;

^a stone of great price

be saved.

Hallelujah.
This Psalm
is,

Ode

9.

from a

historical point of view,

somewhat

colourless.

The

only definite points are the allusions to the Lord's

:

Messiah, or Christ

and a promise of peace and deliverance from war,

which
it is

is

made
it

to the saints.

Of the

first

of these allusions,
this

we may

say

that while

makes the Psalm a Messianic one,

not Christian. The promise of everlasting life be the holy thought of God concerning the Christ.
definitely

does not mean that which follows must

And

this

seems to

mark out the Psalm as Christian. What then are we to say of the wars and
;

victory to

which the Psalm

?

refers

are they spiritual or are they outward, or a mixture of both

have the same problem before us in other Psalms. From the fact that Victory is personified and writes a book, with which we may compare Apoc. iii. 5 (' He that overcometh shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life '), we
shall

We

may perhaps conclude

This
is

that the Victory

spoken of

is

a spiritual one.

and to These are Christian expressions. On the other hand the promise that none of those who obey the Lord's word shall fall in war might have been very strikingly illustrated in the case of the Christians who escaped to Pella. But even then the Psalm is a Christian one, and it remains an open question whether outward allusions may not have been coupled with inward
in

harmony with the

references to redemption by grace

the will of Victory that the saints should be saved.

victories.

The

alternative rendering for the third verse suggests that the Syriac
koI iv d<f>6ap(Tia to reXos v/ikov.

words answer to a Greek sentence,

ODE
hath opened

10.

'The Lord hath directed my mouth by His word: and He my heart by His light: And He hath caused to dwell in me His deathless life ^and gave me that I might speak the fruit of His peace: ^to convert the souls of them who are willing to come to Him: and to lead captive a good captivity for freedom. ^I was strengthened and made mighty and took
;

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the world captive

IO3

^and Most High, and of God

;

it

became

to

my

Father.

me for the praise of the ^And the Gentiles' were

abroad.

gathered together
unpolluted by

who were
love
''for

scattered

'^And

was
in

my

them"',

because they confessed

me

and the traces of the light were set upon their heart: ^and they walked in life and were saved and became my people for ever and ever. Hallelujah.
high places
:

Ode 10. In this vigorous little Psalm Christ must Himself be accounted the speaker through the mouth of His prophet; unless we should prefer to say that any of the opening sentences are spoken in the Psalmist's own name, and that after them there is an abrupt
alteration of personality,
certain,

such as we have already referred

to.

It

is

however, that the one

:

who

gathers the peoples together by his

love

must be the Messiah

'(unto

him

shall the

gathering of the

peoples be^).'

And

it

can be no psalmist or prophet who declares

his people for ever
is

that the Gentiles

became

and

ever.
:

goes forth to lead captivity captive

again the Christ

The one who we have in the

;

New Testament (Eph. iv. 8) the Messianic interpretation of Ps. Ixviii. 18, He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and the same
'
'

explanation underlies the

Christian one
Still
:

Ode

before us.
is

The Ode

is,

therefore, a

But we are where apologetic is necessary for the reception of the Gentiles, and where it does not suffice to quote a verse of the Old Testament and say that such reception was foretold. In our Ode

and

its

soteriology

universal in character.

in the region

Christ explains that the reception of the Gentiles has not polluted

Him.

Such language does not belong to the Hellenic world, nor, we think, But it is quite natural in a Judaeo-Christian to the second century. community in Palestine in the first century. The fact that prophets spoke in the person of God or of Christ was a common observation with the early fathers a good illustration may be seen in Justin's Apology'^, where Justin explains that the opening sentences of Isaiah ('The ox knoweth his owner... but my people doth not consider ') are a case of the kind ; and then goes on to explain that the words 'all day long I have stretched out my hands' are to be
:

understood of the prophet speaking in the person of Christ. In the canonical Psalms also the same feature was easily traced, and those

who composed

the early books of Testimonies against the Jews con-

stantly point out that the real speaker is not the prophet,

but

One

whom
cause

he impersonates.
difficulties

It is inevitable that this

impersonation should

of interpretation, due to the obscurity of personality

'

Christ has accepted the Gentiles.

^ s

Gen. xlix. 10. I At. 37, 38.

104

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

psalrii.
tell

involved in the different parts of the prophecy or

And we must

not be surprised

if

we

sotnetinies find

it

hard to

in the text of our

Odes who

is

to

be regarded as the speaker.

ODE
^My
heart was cloven ^
in
it
:

II.

sprang up

and its floWer appeared; and grace brought forth fruit to the Lord, ^for the Most High clave 'my heart"'^ by His Holy Spirit and searched rhy affection towards Him*: and filled me with His love. ^And His opening'' of me became my Salvation and I ran in His
and
it
;

way

in

His peace, even

in

the

way

of truth:

'^from the be:

ginning and even to the end I acquired His knowledge ^and I was established upon the rock of truth, where He had set me up ^and speaking waters" touched my lips from the fountain
:

of the Lord without grudging: '^and

drank and was inebriated

with the living water that doth not die; and ^my inebriation was not one without knowledge, but I forsook vanity and turned
to the

Most High
it

my

God, and ^I was enriched by His bounty,

;

and is diffused over the earth and cast it from me ^and the Lord renewed me in His raiment", and possessed me by His light, and from above He gave me rest in incorruption ''^and I became like, the land which blossoms and rejoices in its fruits: ^'^and the Lord was like the Sun shining on the face of the land; ''^He lightened my eyes, and my face received the dew and my nostrils' enjoyed the pleasant odour of the Lord ''*and He carried me to His Paradise where is the abundance of the pleasure of the Lord ^^and I worshipped the Lord on account of His glory and
I
I

forsook the folly which

off

stripped

and

said, Blessed,

Lord, are they

who

are planted in thy

land! and those

who have

a place in thy Paradise; ^^and they

grow by the
darkness to

fruits
light.

of thy trees.
''^Behold
!

And

they have changed from

fair, who do good works, and turn away from wickedness to the pleasantness that is thine: ^^and they have turned back the bitterness of the trees from them, when they were planted in thy land ''^and

all

thy servants are

^ 5 * "

Or, circumcised.
Hi. revealed

'^

AV. clave
i.

me
vii.

or circumcised me.
g
:

my

reins: of. Sap. Sol.

= '

Ps.

Ps.

Ixii. (Ixi.)

Apoc.

ii.

23.

Or, circumcision.

Cf. Ignatius

ad Rom.

C5up

ffflc

koX XaKouv.

Cp. Ps.

civ. 2.

U(.

my

breathing.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

everything became like a
ever of thy faithful works.
Paradise,
filled

I05

relic

of thyself, and a memorial for

is

^opQj. there

abundant room
'^^
;

in thy

and nothing
fruit
;

is

useless^ therein

am

altogether

with

glory be to thee,
Hallelujah.
is

God, the delight of

Paradise for ever.

Ode

1 1.

This lovely Psalm

altogether personal

and experimental:

the writer describes the visitations of Divine Grace, which he calls the
cutting open^ of his heart,
eternal truth.

and his establishment upon the rock of renewed by these visitations, as if he had been newly clad in light and had already reached the eternal rest. He becomes like a land that drinks in the dew of heaven, and brings forth He finds himself at last in the Paradise of God and fruit to God. amongst the fragrant trees of a new creation. He breaks out into exultant praise of the good things which God has prepared for them

He

is

that love him.

There are no Scriptural references in the Psalm that can be claimed however closely the language approximates to that of the Perhaps the nearest parallel would be the promise ancient Scriptures. in Apoc. ii. 7, that the one who overcomes, shall eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
as quotations,

ODE
iRe hath
the
;

12.

filled

me

with words of truth; that

may speak

same ^and like the flow of waters flows truth from my mouth, and my lips show forth His fruit. ^And He has caused His knowledge to abound in me, because the mouth of the Lord is the true Word, and the door of His light *and the Most High hath given it to His worlds, [worlds] which are the interpreters of His own beauty, and the repeaters of His praise, and the confessors of His counsel, and the heralds of His
;

thought,

and the chasteners

of

His
its

servants^

^For the

swiftness of the
is

Word*
and
it.

is

inexpressible,

and
it

like its expression

its

swiftness

force;

^and
its

course

Never doth
nor the

it fail,

but

it stands sure,

and

knows no limit. knows not descent

work is, so is its end: for it is ^and by it the worlds* talk light and the dawning of thought one to the other and in the Word there were those that were

way

of

'^For as

Orid\e=&py6i.
Or, works.
o. s.
'

'

Cf. Sap.

2 ^^^^^^j the circumcising. * Or possibly, the aeons. SoL vii. 24.

14

I06
silent
;

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

;

^and from it came love and concord and they spake one to the other whatever was theirs and they were penetrated by the Word ^and they knew Him who made them, because they were in concord for the mouth of the Most High spake to them; and His explanation ran by means of it: "for the
; ; ;

dwelling-place of the
"^Blessed
everything,
are

Word

is

man

and
His

its

truth

is

Love.

who by means and have known the Lord

they
This Psalm
rises to

thereof have
in

understood
Hallelujah.

truth.

Ode

12.

a high level of spiritual thoughts, but

for that very reason its language is occasionally obscure.

The
become

writer
filled

describes his

own

inspiration

and how

his heart

and

lips

found in the lips of the faithful, and we are often reminded in these Psalms of the expression which is borrowed in Heb. xiii. 15, from the prophet Hosea, about offering to God the 'fruit of lips that confess to His name.' From the general thought of the words of God, the writer rises to the abstract idea of the Word of God, or Logos, which is the totality of God's revelation and which interpenetrates all things, so that even things that are silent find their speech in it. But especially this Word, which is both truth and love, finds its dwelling-place in man. Happy are they that have come to know Him. Here, perhaps, we are nearer to Gnostic ideas, such as the doctrine of the Word and the Silence, than in any other part of the Psalter: yet there is nothing that can fairly be called Gnostic. We are also very close to the doctrine of the Logos as we have it in John, where the Logos becomes flesh and dwells amongst us but it is not the Johannine thought of the Incarnation that is imitated or reproduced. The dwelling of the Logos with man is personal and not collective; and we cannot infer from this Psalm a
with the words of God.

Here, as elsewhere, God's

fruit is

direct statement of the doctrine of Incarnation, for the writer does not

go beyond Inspiration; but his thought is noble, even said, it is sometimes obscure, at least in a translation.

if,

as

we have

ODE
^Behold! the Lord
is

13.

them

in

Him and
:

learn the
:

our mirror': open the eyes and see manner of your face ^and tell forth
:
:

and wipe off the filth from your face and love His holiness, and clothe yourselves therewith: ^and be without stain at all times before Him. Hallelujah.
1

praises to His spirit

Cf.

Clem. Alex. Paed.

i.

9, p.

172 T6 SaoTrrpov

rifi

alffxpv oi KaKbv,

Sn

SeiKvieL

airbv of6s iffrw.

Cp. Jac.

i.

24.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

Ode
we
13.

107

This strange

little

Psalm

is

an exhortation to holiness

beauty of His holiness, but we are also to see ourselves reflected in God as in a mirror; then we shall behold our natural face in an unexpected glass and know what manner
in the

are to behold the

Lord

of

men we
and

are

and

in that glass

we

shall cleanse the dirt

from

off

our

faces,

attain to purity.

We

are reminded of St Paul's statement

that

we

behold, as in a mirror, the glory of our Lord and are transfigured

into the

same image; though here the thought

is

is

not as high as in

Corinthians, where holiness

found by the Vision of

God

rather than

by the scrutiny of ourselves. We may also in this connexion refer to a remarkable passage which is found in a tract falsely ascribed to Cyprian, and known as De Montibus Sina et Sion. We are reminded in this passage first that Christ is the Unspotted Mirror of the Father, as is said of Wisdom in the book called the Wisdom of Solomon'. Hence the Father and
the Son see one another by reflexion.
follows
:

The

writer then continues as

even we who believe in Him see Christ in us as in a mirror, Himself instructs and advises us in the Epistle of His disciple See me in yourselves, in the same way as any one John to the people of you sees himself in water or in a mirror ; and so he confirmed the saying of Solomon about Himself, that he is the unspotted mirror of
"

And

as

He

'

'

'

the Father.'"

Here we have the doctrine of dual

the Father sees himself in the

vision in a mirror, as

though the

mirror saw the observer as well as the observer the mirror; in this

way
in

Son and the Son

sees himself in the

Father

and then we are

told of something said

by John, speaking

the person of Christ, in a lost epistle, that ourselves as in a glass.

we

are to see Christ in

This

is

something

like the

doctrine of our
really

Psalm

that

we

are to see ourselves in Christ.

If

we could

be

sure of the correctness of the reference of the supposed Cyprianic tract

to St John,

we should have more confidence

:

in saying that here also

we

are in the region of Johannine ideas

but, even in that case, there

would seem to be no question of Johannine writings^.

1

direct quotation

from canonical

Sap. Sol.

vii. 26.

The passage

in Ps.-Cyprian is so curious, that for

convenience

I transcribe the

Latin:

De Mont.

Sina

et

Sion 13
patris

speculum

inmaculatum

ipsum Saluatorem per Salomonem esse dictum, eo quod sanctus spiritus Dei filius
: '

Ita inuenimus

geminatum

se uideat, pater in

filio et filius

in patre, utrosque se in se uident

ideo

speculus inmaculatus.

Nam

et

nos qui

speculo uidemus, ipso nos instruente et

credimus Christum in nobis tanquam in monente in epistula lohannis discipuli sui ad

illi

me in nobis uidete, quomodo quis uestrum se uidet in aquam aut in speculum," et confirmauit Salomonicum dictum de se dicentem, "quis est speculus inmaculatus patris."'
populum: "ita

'

I08

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

ODE As
(lit.

14.

at all times

the eyes' of a son to his father, so are my eyes, O Lord, towards thee. ^For with thee are my consolations ^jurn not away thy mercies breasts) and my delight,

Lord: and take not thy kindness from me. ^Stretch out to me, O Lord, at all times thy right hand: and be my guide ^ even unto the end, according to thy good pleasure. 5 Let me be well-pleasing^ before thee, because of thy glory and because of thy name: ^Let me be preserved from evil, and let
from
me, thy meekness,

Lord, abide with me, and the

fruits

of thy love.

^Teach me the Psalms of thy truth, that I may bring forth fruit in thee: ^and open to me the harp of thy Holy Spirit, that
with
all its

notes

may

praise thee,

Lord.

^And

according

to the multitude of thy tender mercies, so thou shalt give to

me

and hasten to grant our petitions

needs.

and thou

art able for all our

Hallelujah.
14.

Ode

In

this

Psalm the canonical Psalter

is

is

somewhat more

closely imitated than

generally the case with our collection.

cxxiii. 2,
'

The

opening sentences

recall Ps.

As

the eyes of servants to the

hands of

their masters,

and

as the eyes of a

mistress, so are our eyes to the

maid to the hand of her Lord our God.' The prayer that the

Lord

will
is

be 'my guide even

to the end,' recalls Ps. xlviii. 14, 'This

God

our

death.'
Psalter,

and ever: he will be our guide even unto But the Psalm is by no means a cento from the canonical
for ever
it

God

even though

does not contain anything that could, at the

first

reading, be definitely labelled as Christian.

ODE
^As the sun
so
is is

15.

my

joy the Lord

have lifted me from my face. ^In Him I have acquired eyes and have seen His holy day: *ears have become mine and I have heard His truth, ^xhe thought of knowledge hath been mine, and I have been delighted by means of it. ^jhe way of error I have left,
1

the joy to them that seek for its daybreak*, ^because He is my Sun and His rays up"; and His light hath dispelled all darkness
;

Ps. cxxiii. 2.
=ei5apetrTi',

Ps. xlviii. 14.

v.

'

walk

before God, as

Enoch, Gen.
5

24 etc.;

cf.

Peshitta.

Ci. Ps. cxxx. 6.

Or,

made me

rise up.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

109

and have walked towards Him and have received salvation from Him, without grudging, ^^nd according to His bounty He hath given to me, and according to His excellent beauty' He hath made me. ^I have put on incorruption through His name and have put off corruption by His grace. ^ Death hath been destroyed before my face and Sheol hath been abolished by my word 'and there hath gone up deathless life in the Lord's land, ^and it hath been made known to His faithful ones, and hath been given without stint to all those that trust in Him.
: :

Hallelujah.

Ode 15. This beautiful Psalm, like so many others in the collection, opens with a similitude: these openings are characteristic of the book,
single writer. This does not mean that they do not sometimes imitate the opening of the Canonical Psalms. In the present case the 130th Psalm seems to have furnished the key-note, viz. the watchers for the morning. It is an experimental Psalm of the first order:

and betray a

the

Sun has
all

risen

upon the soul of the

:

writer.

Eyes, ears and heart

:

been opened. Salvation has been realized the comeliness of the Lord has been put upon him death has lost its terrors, the grave
have
its

power.

There is one passage which is either obscure, incorrect or extravagant where the writer says that 'Sheol has been abolished by my word.' Unless there has been a transition of personality, this seems extravagant, and invites the correction has been abolished at His word.' In any case, I think the Psalm is a Christian one, though the positive or dogmatic identifications are not forthcoming, apart from the victory
'

over death and the grave.

ODE
As
the work of the
the work of the steersman
is

16.
is

husbandman
:

the ploughshare

and

the guidance^ of the ship: ^so also

my

work

is

the Psalm of the Lord

my

craft

and

my

occupation

are in His praises^: ^because His love hath nourished

my

heart,

and even to my lips His fruits He poured out. *For my love is the Lord, and therefore I will sing unto Him ^for I am made strong in His praise, and I have faith in Him. ^I will open my mouth and His spirit will utter in me ^the glory of the Lord
:

'

=Gk.
lit.

ixeyaKoTrpiim.a.

^ lit. traction.
3

In His praises

is

my

craft

and

in

His praises

my

occupation.

; : :

no

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

and His beauty; the work of His hands and the operation of His fingers ^the multitude of His mercies and the strength of His word. ^For the word of the Lord searches out' all things, both the invisible and that which reveals His thought; ''for the eye sees His works, and the ear hears His thought, ''^He spread out the earth and He settled the waters in the sea: ^^He measured the heavens and fixed the stars and He established the creation and set it up ''^and He rested from His works ''*and created things run in their courses, and do their works ^and they know not how to stand and be idle'' and His ^^The treasure""heavenly"" hosts are subject to His word. chamber of the light is the Sun, and the treasury of the darkness is the night: and He made the Sun for the day that it may
:

be bright, but night brings darkness over the face of the land and their alterations one to the other speak' the beauty of the Lord and there is nothing that is without the Lord for He
:

was before any thing came into being: and the worlds were made by His word, and by the thought of His heart. Glory and honour to His name. Hallelujah.

Ode
and
it is

1 6.

This Psalm

is,

in its closing sentences, specifically Christian,

from the same author as those that have immediately The theme is the beauty of God's creation especially the preceded. writer considers the heavens which are the works of God's fingers, he
clearly
;

contemplates the
refrains

'

spacious firmament

on

high.'

We

frequently catch

from the story of Creation. But curiously the writer appears to avoid the mention of the moon instead of saying that God appointed the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night, he says that
:

'

the treasure of the light

'
:

is

the sun, and the treasure of the darkness

is

the night
the

and he

tries to

work out

this

broken

parallel

statement about the offices of the sun and the darkness.

perhaps, too

by a further It would be,

assume that he had some reason for neglecting is curious. The Psalm is certainly a beautiful one, especially in its opening verses. These find an appropriate parallel in Clement of Alexandria, who tells us*: 'We do not force
to

much

moon

but the omission

the horse to plough nor the bull to hunt, but we allure each species of animal to the craft that suits it. So we also invite man to the vision of the open heaven, and to the knowledge of God, because he is of
celestial
1

birth

Plough, indeed,
:

if

ploughman thou
and the revealed,
s

be,

but

know

Or, searches out

Justin, Dial. 2i.

everything, the invisible

(is)

his thought.

Cod. complete; but read ..W >~

Clem. Alex. Protrept. p. 8o.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

God
while thou ploughest
;

III
seas,

sail,

if

thou love to voyage the

high.'

but

make thy appeal to the steersman on The opening verses of this Ode
thought in one of
the praise of
its loftiest
is

find also a close parallel to Stoic

;

expressions

for,

according to Epictetus,
'
:

Seeing that most of you are blinded, should there not be some one to fill this place, and sing the hymn to God on behalf of all men?... Were I a nightingale, I should do after the manner of a nightingale. Were I a swan, I should do after the manner of a swan. But now, since I am a reasonable being, / must sing to God ; that is my proper work: I do it, nor will I desert this my post, as long as it is granted to me to hold it and unto you I call to
the greatest of occupations
:

God

join in this self-same

hymn'

(Epictetus, Discourses,

i.

i6).

am

almost

tempted to believe that our Odist knew this saying of Epictetus, and had Christianised it. It may well have been a popular religious
quotation in the latter part of the
anity were, as
is first

century.

Stoicism and Christi-

; and this passage is one of the finest of Epictetus' sayings '. On examining the Ode more closely we detect an unmistakeable

well-known, very near neighbours

case of anti-Judaic polemic.

creation

The

writer after describing the beauty of

and the Lord's rest from His works, goes on to say something which shows that he does not mean to deduce the Jewish Sabbath from the statements in Genesis. 'Created things run in their courses, and do their works and know not how to stand or be idle.' Suppose we turn to Justin's Dialogue with Trypho, c. 22, where Justin is arguing with Trypho for the non-necessity of circumcision and the Sabbath I will declare to you and to those who may wish to become proselytes,' says Justin, a divine word which I heard from the old man to whom I owe
:

'

'

my

conversion.

He

said,

"you observe
Remain,
i6th

that the heavenly bodies do

not idle nor keep sabbath"^.

therefore, as

you were born, do

Sabbath
'

not keep sabbath nor practise circumcision."'

It is clear, then, that the

Ode means
;

to say that the

is

and as it goes on to say and the [Heavenly] hosts are subject to His word,' it follows that God is regulating the motions of the worlds on the Sabbath days as well as on the week-days: a point which Justin expressly makes in c. 29, 'God undertakes the regulation of the world on this day, exactly as on other
not kept by the Heavenly bodies

days^'

The
^

writer then is a Christian of the type of Justin Martyr,

who
and

T. R. Glover (Conflict of Religions, p. 165) refers to this saying of Epictetus

'

Epictetus announces a Stoicism was never essentially musical. to Zeus, but he never starts the tune.' Certainly the language of the Ode is

remarks that

hymn much

loftier

and more musical than that of Epictetus.

(7T0(Xa o^K apysi o^5e <ra/3^aW^et.
aiTTjv
SiolK7i<nv

^ Lc, Tct
^

6 Bebi T7IV

toO K6(r/iOV o/jmIus Kal ev rair-Q ry

Tj/i^pq,

ireirolTiTaL

KaOiirep iv Tois

aWais andaais.

: :

112

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

accepts the Gospel without the obligation of the Law, and makes a quiet intimation of the position which he takes towards the stricter

Judaism.

But we

notice, further, that the

;

argument which underlies

it is contained in the reply of the his verse is older than Justin Martyr ancient Christian whom Justin consulted on the question of sabbath

and circumcision; he
It

calls it a Divine Word or Oracle (deiov \6yov). may, then, have come from some early Christian handbook; but, whether this be the case or not, it is a dictum of the first century ; for the very old man who talked with Justin was not inventing a solution for immediate perplexities, but giving him a rule which prevailed in the

Church to which he belonged. So it seems clear that the Ode

Christianity
is
it.

is

really Christian,

and

that

its

of a very early type, to judge

from the arguments

involved in

ODE
:

17.

U was crowned by my God: my crown is living: ^and I was justified in my Lord my incorruptible salvation is He. 3 1 was loosed from vanity, and I was not condemned: "'the choking bonds were cut off by her^ hands I received the face and the fashion of a new person and I walked in it and was saved ^and the thought of truth led me on. And I walked after it and did not wander: and all that have seen me were amazed and I was regarded by them as a strange person ^and He who knew and brought me up is the Most High in all His perfection. And He glorified me by His kindness, and raised my thought to the height of '"His"' truth. ^And from thence He gave me the way of His precepts' and I opened the doors that were closed, ^and brake in pieces the bars of iron; but my iron melted and dissolved before me; ^"nothing appeared closed to me because I was the door of everything. ^^ And I went over all my bondmen to loose them that I might not leave any man bound or binding ''^and I imparted my knowledge without grudging and my prayer was in my love ''^and I sowed my fruits in hearts, and transformed them into myself: and they received my blessing and lived '''*and they were gathered to me and were saved because they were to me as my own members and I was their head. Glory to thee our Hallelujah. head, the Lord Messiah.
: : ;
:

Query his?

a Ui. steps.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

Ode
1 7.

II3

one that we alluded to above in connexion been put upon the writer's head. That it is a Christian Psalm is evident: the Messiah or Christ is definitely referred to, and he is spoken of as being to believers in the relation of the head to the members. But we have again in this Psalm the peculiar change of personality this time it comes so imperceptibly that we might be tempted to doubt the reality of the transition, if it were not for the abruptness of the return from it at the close of the
is

This Psalm

with 'the crown of

life'

that has

The breaking of the bars of iron must surely refer to the Messiah it need not be an allusion to the descent into Hades ; for the problem of liberation of souls is stated in general terms all men are to be free ; there is to be no more one that binds and one that is bound.
Psalm.
: :

The

transformation of believers into Christ's nature

is

also referred

to; 'I

transformed them into myself

they became

my own

members.'

ODE
^My
was enlarged
:

18.

heart was lifted up in the love of the

that
I

Most High and

might praise

Him

for

His^ name's sake.

'^My members were strengthened that they might not fall from His strength. ^ Sicknesses removed from my body, and it stood

Lord by His will. For His Kingdom is true. "^O Lord, sake of them that are deficient do not remove thy word ^ Neither for the sake of their works do thou restrain from me from me thy perfection! ^Let not the luminary be conquered by the darkness nor let truth flee away from falsehood.
to the
for the
!

^Thou wilt appoint me right hand^ And thou

^and thou

to
wilt

victory;
receive

our

Salvation
all
:

is

thy

men from

quarters,

my
it

God.
is

wilt preserve whosoever is held in evils ^Thou art ^Falsehood and death' are not in thy mouth '"for
:

thy will

perfection; and vanity thou knowest not, '''nor does

''^

know thee. ''^And error thou knowest not, neither does it know thee. ''*And ignorance appeared like a blind man*; and
foam of the sea, ^^and they supposed of that vain thing that it was something great ''^and they too came in likeness of it and became vain and those have understood who have known and meditated; ''^and they have not been corrupt in their imagination for such were in the mind of the Lord ^^and they mocked at them that were walking in error ''^and
like the
;

'

Cod. my.
'

Or,

To
I

Victory

may

thy right hand bring our Salvation.

Perhaj^s Falsehood and the like.

slight change.

Or by a
O. s.

And

appeared

like a

bhnd man without knowledge.

15

114

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

they spake truth from the inspiration which the Most High breathed into them Praise and great comeliness to His name.
;

'

Hallelujah.

Ode
known
for

1 8.

The

writer of this

the Divine visitation,

body, in the dispelling

to

Psalm speaks as a prophet, who has and has felt its effect both on mind and He prays of error and the healing of disease.

gift for the sake of the needy people he gives his message. He has evidently been regarded by them as a light and foolish person, whose talk is like the foam on the But there are others who are inspired like himself, wave of the sea.

a continuance of the heavenly

whom

and who mock

the
subject

at the unbelievers for their stupidity

catch the echo of

of

some

serious controversy
is

the

dispute

and ignorance. We upon religious matters, but unknown. There are no definitely

Christian features in the Psalm.

ODE
^A cup

19.

of milk was offered to

sweetness of the delight of the Lord.

He who was milked is the Him because His breasts were full, and it was necessary for Him that His milk should be sufficiently released *and the
: ;

me: and I drank it in the ^The Son is the cup, and Father: ^and the Holy Spirit milked

Holy

Spirit

opened

His''

bosom and mingled the milk from

;

the

two breasts of the Father and gave the mixture to the world without their knowing: ^and they who receive in its fulness are the ones on the right hand. ^[The Spirit]^ opened the womb of the Virgin and she received conception and brought forth and the Virgin became a Mother with many mercies.; '^and she travailed and brought forth a Son, without incurring pain; ^and because she was not sufficiently prepared ^ and she had not sought a
;

midwife, (for

He

she were a man, of her

openly, and acquired
in

brought her to bear), she brought own will; ^and she brought

forth, as if

Him

forth

Him

with great dignity, '""and loved

Him

His swaddling clothes^ and guarded

in

Him

kindly,

and showed

Him

Majesty.
19.

Hallelujah.
is, it

Ode
1

Fantastic as this Psalm

might

at first sight

have been

discarded as being out of harmony with the lofty spiritual tone of the
Gk.
iJ.eya\oirp4ireia.
iv.
2

Lact. Div. Instit.

iyeKoXirtaSri
:

12; Epii. Div. Instit.

^IBJ).

MS. her bosom. c. 44. The

sufficient.

original

perhaps
*
IS

= Aram.
for

Greek was

perhaps

and because there was not (pain) she was

'^'n'So'^.

Reading iii^=Tnii

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

rest of the collection.

II5

But

it

in the

MSS. of

his

Divine

Institutes

happens to be attested by Lactantius, and we have not only a quotation from

the Psalm in regard to the painless delivery of the Blessed Virgin, but

we have

also the number of the Psaltn given, either as 19 or 20. So it was found in .the collection known to Lactantius. The harshness of the opening figure with regard to the bosom of the Father does not necessarily detach it from the rest of the collection ; for we have had already allusion to the breasts of God. Thus in Psalm 8, the Lord is represented as saying My own breasts I prepared for them that they might drink my holy milk and live thereby.' The eighth and the nineteenth of our Psalms appear therefore to be connected together by a common authorship. For the figure of the
:

'

breasts of

God

in the literature of the early

in the

Church we may
{lib.
t.

refer to
24), has

Clement of Alexandria who,

Paedagogus

c. 6, p.

a long discussion of the milk with which Christ's babes are nourished.

Our nourishment, he

says, is the

Divine Word,

it

is

'

the milk of the

Through the Word 'we have believed in God, to whose care-allaying breast we have fled.' And again (p. 125) 'to the babes, who seek for the Word, the breasts of the
Father, by which only the babes are fed.'
Father's kindness supply the milk' {jok
TCLTpiKoX
Trjs

t,r]Tovcn

vqTrLoL<s

tov Adyov ai

(fiiXavOpwTria';

^ijXai

^opr]yov<Ti

to

ydXa).

So Clement
its

comes very near

to

the figurative language of the Ode, without

crudity of expression.
tritheistic character of

The harshness of the figures employed and the theology may be paralleled in writers of

the the

middle ages, whose repute in the Church is very wide. For is it not St Bernard who expounds the Evangelic statement that the beloved disciple leaned on Jesus' breast in the words 'hausit de sinu Unigeniti quod de paterno hauserat ille ? but if John imbibed from the breast of the Only-begotten what He had imbibed in like manner from the
'

say that a very lofty theology is presented in a very but we cannot dismiss St Bernard as unworthy of harsh metaphor; And if it comes to tritheism, with which all the further notice.
Father,

we can only

Ages are more or less discoloured, where shall we find it more pronounced than in John Tauler's great sermon on the coming of the Bridegroom, where God the Father presides over the nuptials of Christ and the Church, and where the Holy Spirit acts as cup-bearer at the feast a representation which is not so very remote from what we have in our Psalm, when wine has been substituted for milk. But I am Further than this, we must admit afraid the matter is past apologetic. the doctrine seems too highly that it is in many ways perplexing period of evolved to allow us to reckon the Psalm to the same
Christian
: :

of milk production as the rest of the book. When the writer speaks he evidently means the two covenants, or from the two breasts of God, But that exegesis implies that the writer is no Marcionite testaments.

Il6

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

rejecting an old covenant in the interests of a new, or else

he wishes an old covenant to us to understand that he is no Jew, clinging to And he seems to imply that the the neglect of the new covenant. Christians whom he represents are distinguished from some other body Is it the Jews from of believers by being on the right hand of Christ.

whom

be distinguished or is it the Marcionites ? The Ode It is must be, at the earliest, a product of the second century. conceivable that the allusion to the Cup of Milk may cover an early Milk-Eucharist. Wine is nowhere mentioned in the religious language he wishes
to

of our Psalter.

Turn
as

in the next place to the account of the Virgin Birth,

follows the parable of the cup of milk,

which and can almost be detached

presents

separate

composition.

It

certainly

the

miraculous

and birth in a form which has already undergone that the birth was painless was a very considerable development
conception
early
;

corollary

to

the

statement that

it

was

supernatural;

in

the

commentary of Ephrem on the Gospel there was a statement that 'it was indecent that she who had been a habitation of the Spirit should and this must have been a very bring forth with pains and curses^ But our writer early reflection upon the statement of the Virgin Birth. he dispenses with the usual aids to goes much further than that child-birth, and introduces details for which we find parallels in the
;
' :

Apocryphal Gospels of the Infancy.

evolved
in the first century.

And

it is

frankly impossible that

the doctrine of the Miraculous Birth should have

become

so highly

So that the doubts raised by the first part of the Psalm are reinforced by a study of its latter half. As far then as this Psalm is concerned, it seems as if we must refer it to a later date than the majority of those which we have been discussing. We detected something like polemical tendency in the first half of the composition, if as if the writer turned aside to rebuke either Jews or Marcionites we might assume tendency in the latter half, it must be directed against
:

persons

especially trans- Jordanic Palestine

the Virgin Birth. Palestine and would furnish opponents of all the classes mentioned; so that, if we should be obliged to depress the date to the second century, we have no reason to remove the composition to another locality than that which has already been suggested.

who did

not

believe

in

ODE
^I

20.

am a priest of the Lord, and to Him I do priestly service: Him I offer the sacrifice of His thought. ^For His thought is not like ''the thought of the world nor '"the thought of
and to
'

J.

R. Harris, Ephrem on the Gospel, p.

31.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the
flesh,

17

nor like them that work carnally,

is

^j^g

sacrifice of
'''Present

the Lord

righteousness, and purity of heart and

lips.

your reins before

a stranger

Him

blamelessly

and

let

not thy heart do

shalt not acquire

violence to heart, nor thy soul to soul.

^Thou

by ^the

price of thy silver"^^ neither shalt thou seek

to devour thy neighbour^", ^neither shalt thou deprive

him

of the

covering of his nakedness^: ^But put on the grace of the Lord

without stint garland from

and come into His Paradise and make thee a ^and put it on thy head and be glad and recline on His rest, and glory shall go before thee, ^and thou shalt receive of His kindness and of His grace; and thou shalt be flourishing' in truth in the praise of His holiness. Praise and honour be to His name. Hallelujah.
;

its tree,

Ode

20.

This Psalm

is

a mixture of ethics and of mysticism, of

life.

the golden rule and of the tree of

Christian,
priest
is

The

writer,
;

whether Jew or
calls

wholly detached from external ritual

he

himself a

means the thinking of God's He thought, and that the sacrifice he offers is the pure heart and life. might be an Essene, one of that strange company who did not frequent the temple because they had purer sacrifices of their own. He drops a few ethical maxims, such as we find in the Pentateuch, protests against the owning of slaves (another Essene tenet) and against taking the neighbour's garment in pledge. Then he leaves morals and is away in search of the honey-dew and milk of Paradise. There glory waits the
of God, but explains that this
soul that enters into the Divine rest.

Psalm, but one could not say of it, taken by itself, was necessarily Christian ; though its affinities are with Psalms For the sacrifices which the good man that are definitely Christian. Donum offers to God we may compare Lactantius, Div. Instit. vi. 25 si enim Deus non est integritas animi ; sacrificium, laus et hymnus
It is a beautiful
it

that

'

videtur, ergo

iis

rebus coli debet, quae non videntur.

Nulla

igitur

alia religio est vera, nisi

quae

virtute et justitia constat.'

ODE

21.

up to the Most High, even to the grace of the Lord because He had cast off my bonds from me and my Helper had lifted me up to His Grace and to His Salvation: ^and I put off darkness and clothed myself with light, ^and my soul acquired a body^ free from sorrow or affliction or pains. *And
I lifted
: :

My arms

'
''

I correct the Syriac,

which

is

faulty.
*

Cf. Exod. xxii. 24.

Exod.

xxii. id.

* lit. fat.

' lit.

there

became members

to

my soul,

etc.

Il8

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the thought of the Lord, and His ^and I was lifted up in His light; and fellowship in incorruption: praising and I served before Him, ^and I became near to Him, over and was found in my mouth: confessing Him ^my heart ran and it arose upon my lips; and the exultation of the Lord in-

increasingly helpful to

me was

creased on

my

face,

and His praise

is

likewise.

Hallelujah.

Ode
'

21.

This Psalm

short,

and somewhat obscure.

The

reason

assuming a mystical explanation of the coats of skin in the third chapter of Genesis, which are held to represent the ordinary human body which has replaced a body originally
for this lies in the fact that the writer is
'

clad in

light.

See

Ode

of a Light-Body, and of
pressed.
It
is

its

25 where the same idea of the acquisition freedom from pain is more definitely ex-

impossible to decide definitely from the reading of the Psalm whether it is Christian or Jewish if he was a Christian, he was a very joyous Christian ; if he was a Jew, he knew the salvation of
:

Israel that

comes out of Zion, and had the dew of Heaven upon

his

vineyard.

ODE
He who
brought

22.

me down from on high, also brought me ^and He who gathers together the things that are betwixt is He also who cast me down ^He who scattered my enemies and my adversaries: ^He who gave me ^He that overauthority over bonds that I might loose them
up from the regions below
; :

hands the dragon with seven heads^ and thou hast set me over his roots that I might destroy his seed. ^Thou wast there and didst help me, and in every place thy name was blessed by me. ^Thy right hand destroyed his wicked poison and thy hand levelled the way for those who believe in thee: ^and thou didst choose them from the graves and didst separate them from the dead. ^Thou didst take dead bones and didst
threw by
: ;

my

cover them with bodies; '"'they were motionless, and thou didst

give

'"them"' energy for life. "Thy way was without corruption, and thy face brought thy world to corruption that everything might be dissolved^ and then renewed, ''^and that the foundation for everything might be thy rock^ and on it thou didst build thy Kingdom ; and thou wast the dwelling-place of the saints.
:

Hallelujah.
'

Cf.

Apoc.

xii.
iii.

Cf. 2 Pet.

II.

3: and Pistis Sophia: see Introd. pp. 61 63. 3 cf_ M^tt. xvi. 18.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

of

II9

Ode 2 2. In this Psalm we seem to be nearer to the known Psalter Solomon than elsewhere. There is a pointed reference to a dragon with seven heads whose seed is to be destroyed, and whose wicked
poison has found
its

antidote in the Divine power.

We

think at once
difficult to

of the description of

Pompey

as the great dragon in the second of the

published Psalms of Solomon.

identify.

But dragons generally are

the dragon in Ps.

14 whose heads are broken? Is it Tiamat the Babylonian cosmic monster or the Leviathan whom the faithful are to eat in the last day, or is it a real person? In Ezekiel xxix. 3 it is Pharaoh of Egypt that is called the
for instance,
is

Who,

Ixxiii. (Ixxiv.)

great dragon in the midst of the waters, but

say which Pharaoh

it might not be so easy to monster may be a beast or a dragon so in the present case we have to hunt around among the fallen gods to find him. There has evidently been a great slaughter of Jews for the
:

any

political

writer uses the imagery of the Valley of

show
of
all

that

God can

things

Dry Bones in Ezekiel, in order to up His people from the gates of death the ruin becomes the occasion for a new Kingdom founded upon
raise
:

the rock.
is one of those which are transferred to the pages of the where it is recited by Matthew from an Ode of Solomon. It is suggested by Ryle and James that the opening sentences are of a Gnostic character, from the allusion to things above and things below and things between. But the whole tenor of our Psalms is foreign to Gnosticism, and I do not see any reason to introduce it as a factor in If the Psalm is really the expression of some person the interpretation. triumphing over a fallen tyrant, or of Israel personified in such a. situation, we have to search the political crises for such a time of tria,l and recovery. It is not easy to find the solution. The Hadrianic wars are too late, and they were followed by no recovery on the part of Antiochus Epiphanes is too early, in every the Jews in Palestine. respect. The next cases to examine are those of Pompey and Titus.

The Psalm

Pistis Sophia

Pompey
dragon

is

already

known

as the dragon,

and the destruction of the

is a triumphant dragon nor does there seem to be in his case a sufficient recovery of Judaism to justify the triumphant language of the Psalm. The statement that God levelled the way for those who believe in Him seems to imply a return from exile, in greater or less degree;

is historical.

Titus on the other hand

:

without a subsequent collapse

but this also

is

not easy to justify from a historical point of view.

We

leave the question for the present unsolved, under a general sense that

the situation described

is

and the Roman power.

If this

one of the many collisions between the Jews is the wrong direction in which to look,

we should have
There
is,
it

to try the Descensus

ad

Inferos.

except that

however, nothing definitely Christian about the Psalm, It seems is found in the company of Christian Psalms.

to be a Jewish product, or at least the

work of a Judaeo-Christian.

120

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

ODE
Joy
alone?
is

23.

of the saints! and

is

who

shall

put

it

on, but they

and who shall receive it except those who trust in it from the beginning? ^Love is of And who shall put it on except those who have the elect possessed it from the beginning? *Walk ye in the knowledge of the Most High without grudging: to His exultation and to the perfection of His knowledge. ^And His thought was like a letter His will descended from on high, and it was sent like an arrow which is violently shot from the bow ^and many hands rushed to the letter to seize it and to take and read it ''and it escaped their fingers and they were affrighted at it and at the seal that was upon it. ^Because it was not permitted to them to loose its seal for the power that was over the seal was greater than they. ^But those who saw it went after the letter that they might know where it would be loosed, and who should read it and who should hear it. ''But a wheel received it and came over it: ^^and there was with it a sign of the Kingdom and of the Government: ''^and every thing which tried to move the wheel it mowed and cut down: ^^and it gathered the multitude of adversaries, and covered the rivers and crossed over and rooted up many forests and made a broad path. '''^The head went down to the feet, for down to the feet ran the wheel, and that which was a sign upon it. ^^The letter was one of command, for there were included^ in it all districts ^^and there was seen at its head, the head which was revealed, even the Son of Truth from the Most High Father, ^'^and He inherited and took possession of everything. And the thought of the many was brought to nought, "^and all the apostates hasted and fled away. And those who persecuted and were enraged became extinct. ^^And the letter was a great volumeS which was wholly written by the finger of God ^Oand the name of the Father was on it, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to rule for ever and
^Qj-^ce

of the

elect!

ever.

Hallelujah.

This is the most difficult of all the Psalms in the collection, 23. have almost despaired of being able to explain it. It describes the descent from heaven of a sealed document, with a message from

Ode
I

and

'

a.

gathered.

pr

tablet.

: :

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

God

121

in it. The description is something Hke that of the Httle sealed book in the Apocalypse, which no one can open, except the triumphant Lamb'. If the allusion in the Apocalypse is to some previous document which the author has incorporated, perhaps the same thing may be true

Some book may have been published, claiming Divine Authority. What can it have been? A Gospel? An Apocalypse? It appeared
here.

suddenly, unexpectedly, and

universal acceptance.
feet.

It

met with opposition rather than with came from the head and it went down to the

If we may use the language of a later Psalm in which the saints Hades are called the feet of Christ, we should say that the mysterious little book conveyed a message to those below from one above, and that in
it

interpreted the region below to include the invisible world.

Was

the

Httle

book then a
It

'

with certainty. the Trinity, for

Descensus ad Inferos ? It is impossible to decide contained some pronounced statement concerning

'

are expressly told that it had the name of Father, Son and Holy Ghost upon it. When any one writes in cipher, about a document which itself appears to have been written in cipher, for that is the natural meaning of a sealed book, we ought not to be surprised if it is not quite obvious, two thousand years later, what the writer meant or what he was referring to.

we

ODE
The Dove
head
;

24.

fluttered over the Messiah, because

He was
:

her

and she sang over

Him and

her voice was heard

^and

the inhabitants were afraid and the sojourners were

moved

^the birds dropped their wings, and

their

all

creeping things died in

and the abysses were opened which had been hidden and they cried to the Lord like women in travail *and no food was given to them, because it did not belong to them''; ^and they sealed up the abysses with the seal of the Lord. And they perished, in the thought, those that had existed from ancient times for they were corrupt from the beginning; and the end of their corruption was life": ^and every one of them that was imperfect perished for it was not possible to give '"them'^ a word that they might remain ^and the Lord destroyed the imaginations of all them that had not the truth with them. ^For they who in their hearts were lifted up were deficient in wisdom, and so they were rejected, because
holes
; : ; :
:

'

Hymn
^ '

Another parallel would be the letter sent from the home-land in Bardesanes' of the Soul in the Acts of Thomas. Or perhaps. Because that which was non-existent belonged to them. Or, was the life of all and whatever of them, etc.
;

O. S.

16

122

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the truth was not with them.

'"'For the Lord disclosed His way, and spread abroad His grace: and those who understood it,

know His
Ode
24.

holiness.

Hallelujah.
with a reference to the Baptism of the

The Psalm opens

Dove on the head of the Messiah. The occasion was one of great dread to all created things, man and beast and creeping things shared the terror.
Lord, when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a

The

abysses, personified as living creatures, cried out in pain.

They
the

were sealed up and ended, as belonging to the order of non-existent

things.

Men
this

also

whose hearts were proud were

rejected,

when

way

of the Lord was revealed and His holiness known.

Psalm with its reference to the abysses, and the things which and are brought to nought, we seem to be nearer to the world of Gnostic ideas but it would be difficult to say that any of the catchwords or peculiar terms of Gnosticism are here. If we are right in referring the Psalm to the Baptism of the Lord, we are only furnishing one more proof of the extraordinary prominence given to that event in the early Church, for which it was the beginning of the Gospel and we need not be surprised that the event should be treated in many ways, both theological and hymnological. If it is not the Baptism that is alluded to, it must be the Crucifixion, and in that case we must assume an unknown incident connected with the Crucifixion, comparable with the appearance of the Dove at the
In
are not
:

Baptism.

In that case the plaint of the abysses

is

another allusion to

the descent into Hades.

But there is a special reason why I feel sure that the Baptism must be the incident to which reference is made I think we can say that a written Gospel has here been employed, but not a Canonical Gospel. It will be remembered that Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho,
:

c.

88, takes his account of the

:

Baptism from a source which

interpolated.

is

either

uncanonical

or, if

canonical,

is

When

Jesus went

down

into the water, a fire

was kindled in the Jordan, and when He came up from the water, the Holy Spirit, like a dove, fluttered upon Him {imTTT-qvai, iTT avTov 0)9 irepia-Tepdv to ayiov 7rvv/xa): and Justin says expressly that this was recorded by the Apostles of our Christ {iypa\j/av 01
aVoo-ToXoi avTov tovtov tov Xpicrrov
ly/iuv). This ' fluttering down of very near indeed to the language of our Ode. It is well-known that the account of the Baptism by Justin has been the centre of serious controversy, on account of the apocryphal
'

the dove

is

expansions of the narrative, especially the reference to the Fire which appeared at the Jordan and it has been argued, reasonably enough, that Justin cannot have used our Canonical Gospels, or at least must have used an uncanonical Gospel with them. The same difficulty turns
:

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

up
in the descent of the

23

Justin,

Dove, for the word iTmrrqvat., which recurs in must come from the written source which the author is using.
to

A reference

Resch, Aussercanonische Parallele zu Luc.

is

p.

15, will

show

the wide diffusion of the account from which Justin

working \
authors.

The

word e-irnrT-^vai can be traced book of Sibyllines, as well

inference, therefore,
is

in Celsus

and

in

Origen and in the seventh

as

in a

number of Latin
is

The

that a very early written Gospel

responsible for

the detail

and

it

is

this early

Gospel that has been employed by the

is

writer of the

Ode.

We

conclude, then, that the reference

to the

Baptism and that it is taken from a lost primitive Gospel. There is, however, a possible suggestion that the Psalm may refer to the Descent into Hades, and to the Baptism, as events happening in
close connexion.
I

mean

that

it is

not out of the region of reasonable

criticism to suggest that in the earliest times the

Baptism of Christ was

find suspicious hints of

the occasion of His triumph over Hades.

this in the

We

Descensus ad Inferos. Thus in c. xx^ we have a statement made by Seth concerning his father Adam that he will receive the oil of
healing from Paradise in the last days
filius
'
:

veniet enim amantissimus dei

de caelis in mundum,
in eum.'

et

baptizabitur a Johanne in

flumine, et tunc recipiet pater tuus

Adam

Jordane de hoc oleo misericordiae et

omnes credentes

we find Jesus talking to John the Baptist concerning Descent into Hades Ego Johannes vocem patris de caelo super eum intonantem audivi et proclamantem. Hie est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacuit. Ego ab eo responsum accept quia ipse
in
c.

And

xxi

his

'

descensurus esset

ad

inferos.'

Here

are two curious references connecting the Baptism

and the

Descent into Hades.

And

the question arises whether this 24th

Ode

may not

look in the same direction.

inadequate, but the statement of the

The evidence is, of case may perhaps lead

course,
to the

discovery of fresh evidence in the same direction.

ODE
I
was rescued from

25.

bonds and unto thee, my God, hand of my Salvation and my helper. ^Thou hast restrained those that rise up against me, *and I shall see him no more because thy face was with me, ^But I was despised and which saved me by thy grace. rejected in the eyes of many and I was in their eyes like lead',

my

fled

^for thou art the right

'

See Introd. pp. 84, 85.

Tischendorf, v. Apoc. p. 425.
Cf. Sap. Sol.
ii.

^
'

16 eU kI^StiXov eXoyladTfix^v

aCrri^.

124

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

^and strength was mine from thyself and help. ''Thou didst me a lamp^ at my right hand and at my left and in me there shall be nothing that is not bright^: ^and I was clothed with the covering of thy Spirit, and thou didst remove from me my raiment of skin'*; ^for thy right hand lifted me up and removed sickness from me: ''"and I became mighty in the truth, and holy by thy righteousness and all my adversaries were afraid of me ''''and I became admirable by the name of the Lord, and was justified by His gentleness, and His rest is for ever and ever. Hallelujah.
set
: ;
;

In this Psalm we are back again in the region of personal and there is no allusion to any definite historical event. The writer, whether Christian or Jew, has been brought out of spiritual bondage into liberty he has had to face contempt and scorn, but the Lord has filled him with brightness and covered him with beauty, and given him health of mind and body his enemies have turned back, and his portion is with the justified saints of the Most High. It is possible that this Psalm may be meant to express the experience of the Messiah, emerging from His conflicts into victory in that case it need not be the Christian conception of the Messiah, but it might conceivably be such a human representation as we find in the Psalms of the Pharisees (.f.^. Ps. 1 7, which is our Ps. 60). But our collection, as
25.

Ode

experience,

to

its

first

block of Psalms,

is

certainly

of a later period than the

Pharisee Psalms, so

we ought

to hesitate before ascribing the

same
to

Messianic ideas to the two parts of the hymnal. the 'coat of skin,' see Introd. pp. 66 70, and cf

For the allusion

Ode

21.

ODE

26.

n poured out praise to the Lord, for I am His: '^and I will speak His holy song, for my heart is with Him. ^For His harp
is

in

my

hands, and the Odes of His rest shall not be

silent.

from my whole heart: I will praise and exalt Him with all my members. ^For from the east and even to the west is His praise ^and from the south and even to the
*! will cry unto
:

Him

north

is

the confession of

to their

utmost bound

is

Him: ^and from the top of the hills His perfection, s-^yj^o can write the
?

Psalms of the Lord, or who read them

1 "
iii.

^or
2

who

can train his

Ps. cxxxii. 17.

iit_ i|gjjt_

Cp. Clem. Alex. Paed.

i.

6, p.

117 r^s

/ca/tias ^(cSuo-d^ei/oi

ihv xirfii-a

and Gen.

11.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

soul for
life,

125

that his soul

may
his

be saved,

'"'or

who can

rest

on

mouth he may speak? "Who is able to interpret the wonders of the Lord ? ''^For he who could interpret would be dissolved and would become that
the

Most High, so that with

which
for
in

is

interpreted".

''^For

it

suffices to
'"^jike

know and

to rest^:

rest

the

singers

stand,

a river which

has an
it'.

abundant fountain, and flows to the help of them that seek

Hallelujah.

Ode
but
all

26.

This beautiful song of praise recounts the goodness and

All within the writer magnifies the great
to tell out

greatness of the Lord.

Name,

praise

His widespread to the utmost bound of earth and beyond the bound of the everlasting hills. The creature cannot express God's praise perfectly if he could, he would be no longer a creature he would be the Word, and not the interpreter of the Word. So it suffices
is

within

insufficient

what waits

to

be

told.

is

to

know and

to rest, while at our feet the river of grace rolls on,

an

unchanging flood
Labitur et labetur in
It is rest

omne

volubilis

aevum.

impossible to say whether the Psalm, as detached from the

is

of the collection,

Jewish or Christian.

ODE
I
stretched out

27.
:

my

extension of

my

hands

hands and sanctified the Lord ^for the is His sign ^and my expansion is the
:

upright tree {or cross).

Ode
world
:

27.

This tiny Psalm

is

Christian,

and

is

based upon the early

mast and yards of

Christian fondness for finding the Cross everywhere in the outward

in the

handle of the labourer's plough,

;

in the

the seaman's ship

and

in the

human

body,

when

the

man

stands erect
therefore,

in the act of prayer with outstretched arms.

There can,

be

no doubt that
which
it

this is
is

employs
in

a Christian Psalm, and the figurative language characteristic of the second century and not
century.

unknown
'

the

first

Justin

Martyr, for example, sees the

Cf. Lactantius,
if

and man,
^

human

Div. Inst, praef. ; ' there would be no difference between God thought could reach to the counsels and arrangements of that
i.

eternal Majesty.'

Cf Clem.
rrjs

Alex. Paed.
t)

(p.

115) utrre

17

nh

yvSa-is iv ti? (pwTt<T/xan' rd 8^

w^pas
"

yviiaeus,

dvdwava-LS.

Cf. Lactantius,

Div.

Inst. iv.

detritos lacus deferatur, qui

30 'Si quis aquam vitae cupiat haurire, non ad non habent venam, sed uberrimum Dei noverit fontem, quo

irrigatus perenni luce potiatur.'

126

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

Moses in the battle against Amalek and the same thought is involved in the

Cross, in the outspread arms of

but so does Barnabas also

conclusion of the Teaching of the Apostles, where an outspread cross in the sky is one of the signs of the Advent and answers to the Sign of

Son of Man in Matthew. So it is very likely that the figure in our Psalm is one of the oldest forms of Christian symbolic teaching. We shall find it used again in the 42nd Psalm which may, therefore, be by otherwise it would be an imitation the same hand as the present one
the
:

of

it.

Those who care

spread
Christian
altgnostisches

to have a Gnostic
figure,
(I.e.

will

find
:

Werk

p.

336)

"

example of the use of this wideone in Schmidt, Unbekanntes Die Haare seines Gesichtes sind

die Zahl der ausseren Welten, die Offenbarung des Kreuzes."

und

die Ausbreitung seiner

Hande

ist

ODE
As

28.
;

the wings of doves over their nestlings

and the mouth

of their nestlings towards their mouths, ^so also are the wings of

the Spirit over

like

my
who

heart:

^my

heart

is

delighted and exults:

of his mother'':
'''I

the babe
;

exults^ in the
I

womb

believed
I

therefore

was

at rest

for faithful is

He

in

whom

have believed: ^He has richly blessed me and my head is with and the sword shall not divide me from Him, nor the scimitar; ^for I am ready before destruction comes: and I have

Him

on His immortal' pinions ^and immortal life will come and give me to drink, and from that life is the spirit within me, and it cannot die, for it lives. ^They who saw me marvelled at me, because I was persecuted, and they supposed that 1 was swallowed up: for I seemed to them as one of the lost; ^and my oppression became my salvation and I was their reprobation because there was no zeal in me'; ^"because I did good to every man 1 was hated, ^^and they came round me like mad dogs", who ignorantly attack their masters, ''^for their thought is corrupt and their understanding perverted. ^^But I was carrying water in my right hand'', and their bitterness I endured
been
set
:

forth

by

my
1

sweetness; ^"^and

did not perish, for

was not

their

brother nor was

Or, leaps.

my

birth like theirs, ^^and they sought for

2

my

cf.

Luke

i.

41.

* lit.
* "

pinions without corruption.

'

perhaps because I was not a Zealot. query ''that I might put out their flame.^

Ps. xxii. 16.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

death and did not find
it
:

27

for I

them

''^and vainly did

they

make

was older than the memorial of attack upon me' and those
: :

who, without reward, came after me'' ''''they sought to destroy the memorial of him who was before them ^^for the thought of the Most High cannot be anticipated and His heart is superior Hallelujah. to all wisdom.
:

Ode
separabit

28.
?
'

This exquisite Psalm has the music

of

in

it

of the

'

Quis

Romans

viii.

Nor sword nor

scimitar divide the believer

from the Lord.

In some respects the Psalm appears to be Messianic

in a Christian sense, for the writer concludes his exulting strain over

enemies who had come round him like mad dogs and had left him for dead, with the remark that it was not possible for them to blot out the memory of one who existed before them, and who was of a different He also speaks of their attacks as having been birth from theirs.
directed against his followers as well as himself

Perhaps, then, the

writer is speaking, in these verses, as if in the person of Christ.

ODE
''The

29.

hope: in Him I shall not be confounded. '^For according to His praise He made me, and according to His goodness He gave unto me: ^and according to His mercies He exalted me: and according to His excellent beauty He *and brought me up out of the depths of set me on high Sheol: and from the mouth of death He drew me: ^and I laid

Lord

is

my

my
I

enemies low, and

He

justified

me by His
it
:

grace,

spoj.

appeared to me that His sign and He led ^that of His power and the power I might subdue the imaginations of the peoples of the men of might to bring them low ^to make war by His word, and to take victory by His power. ''And the Lord overbelieved in the Lord's Messiah': and
;

He is the Lord ^and He showed him^ me by His light, and gave me the rod
:

threw my enemy by His word and he became like the stubble which the wind carries away; "and I gave praise to the Most High because He exalted ""me"^ His servant and the son of His
;

handmaid.

Hallelujah.
this

Ode
Christ

Some one wrote 29. and had recognised Him

1

Psalm,

who was

a follower of the
great conflicts

to be the Lord.

Out of

the

2 3

Or,

margin suggests, slaughtering me. who came after me. To no purpose they sought,
^

etc.

Or, Christ.

query

m^l

128

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

:

he had been brought into the place of victory his enemies had become wind he has passed through deep distresses, which he speaks of figuratively as the pains of Sheol and the gates of death. But for the reference to the Lordship of the Messiah and to faith in Him, we might have imagined this Psalm to belong to the ancient Psalter we shall be justified in regarding it as a Judaeolike the straw before the
:
:

Christian composition.

ODE
^

30.

ye waters for yourselves from the living fountain of the it is opened to you ^and come all ye thirsty, and take the draught; and rest by the fountain of the Lord. ^For fair it is and pure and gives rest to the soul. Much more
Fill

Lord, for

pleasant are

its

vi^aters

than honey
it.

''and the
it

honeycomb of
is

bees
lips

is

not to be compared with

^For

flows forth from the

its

of the Lord, and from the heart of the Lord

it

^And
in the

came

infinitely

and invisibly

midst they did not

know

it;

name. was set^ ^blessed are they who have

:

and

until

it

drunk therefrom and have found

rest thereby.

Hallelujah.

Ode
the

30.

The Psalm
Isaiah
Iv.

is

manner of

The

an invitation to the thirsty, somewhat in water of life, which here is explained to

is

be the teaching of the Lord,

'

flowing from an open fountain, whose

waters, to use the language of the 19th

Psalm

in the canonical Psalter, are

The Ode is not so far removed from Old Testament thought and expression that we can positively call it a Christian composition. The writer is fond of the similitude of honey and the honeycomb we find it, for instance, again in our fortieth Ode, where we have it for the opening similitude 'Like the honey that drops from the comb of the bees so is my
sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.'
:
:

hope on But

thee,
this

God.'
also,

Psalm,

appears, at

first

sight,

to

be destitute of
limit,

specific Christian colouring.

The
invisibly,

fountain,

however,

whose waters come without

and

corresponds to the unexpected appearance of Christ and Christ's teaching in the world, when there stood in the midst One whom they knew not.

ODE

31.

^The abysses were dissolved before the Lord: and darkness was destroyed by His appearance: ^error went astray and
^

lit.

given.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

perished at His hand
:

29

and folly gave no path to walk in, and was submerged by the truth of the Lord. ^ He opened His mouth and spake grace and joy and He spake a new song of praise to His name *and He lifted up His voice to the Most High, and
:
:

offered to

Him

the sons that were with

Him^

was

justified, for

thus His holy Father had given to Him.

^And His face Come

forth, ye that have been afflicted and receive joy, and possess your souls by His grace and take to you immortal life. ^And they made me a debtor when I rose up, me who had not been a
;

and they divided my spoil, though nothing was due to ^But I endured and held my peace and was silent', as if not moved by them. ^But I stood unshaken like a firm rock which is beaten by the waves and endures. ''And I bore their bitterness for humility's sake: ''Mn order that I might redeem my people, and inherit it, and that I might not make void my
debtor^
:

them.

promises to the
their seed.

fathers'*,

to

whom

promised the salvation of

Hallelujah.

Ode
fulfilled

31.

The Psalm

is

Messianic, and records

how

the Christ
to the

the promises which, in a pre-existent state,

He had made

fathers.

He

has closed the abysses and banished error and vanity.

in

His mouth. He appears before God with the children His similitude is the rock against which the waves had beaten in vain. It stands firm, whether the waves advance

With a new song

whom God
or
retire.

has given Him.

Stoics.

One

Here Christian speech comes near to the language of the thinks of Marcus Aurelius, and his advice to be like the
'

promontory against which the waves continually break, but

firm

it

stands

and tames the fury of the water around it^' One thinks also of For Ignatius, and his advice 'to stand steady like the beaten anviF.' the opening sentences about the destroying of the abysses, we must compare the language of the 24th Psalm of our collection, where the abysses cry out in pain at the time of the Baptism of the Lord. These Psalms are by the same Christian hand.

ODE

32.

To the blessed
Him
1 ' *

there

is
:

joy from their hearts, and light from

'^and
18;

that dwells in
///. I

them
Cf. Is.

words from the Truth, who was

Heb.
*
ii.

in

His hands.
ii.

viii.

13.

^2
Luke
i.

Cor. v. 21.

Pet.

23.
"

Rom.

xv. 8;

55.

Medii. iv.49.
O.
s.

ad Polyc.

3.

17

130
self-originate ':
for

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

He

is

the Most High: and

Hallelujah.

He

strengthened by the holy power of is unperturbed for ever and ever.

Ode 32. Joy, Light, Inspiration, Strength and Calmness belong to the believer through Him that dwells within.

ODE
Him
;

33.

Again Grace ran and forsook corruption, and came down in to bring it to nought ^and He destroyed perdition from before Him, and devastated all its order; ^and He stood on a lofty summit and uttered His voice from one end of the earth to the other ^and drew to Him all those who obeyed Him and there did not appear as it were an evil person, ^but there arose a perfect virgin^ who was proclaiming and calling and saying, ^O ye sons of men*, return ye, and ye daughters of men, live ye: ^and forsake the ways of that corruption and draw near unto me, and I will enter in to you, and will bring you forth from perdition, ^and make you wise in the ways of truth you shall not be destroyed nor perish ^hear ye me and be redeemed. For the grace of God I am telling among you and by my means you shall be redeemed and become blessed. ^I am your judge; and they who have put me on shall not be
:

new world that is incorrupt '''my chosen ones walk in me, and my ways I will make known to them that seek me, and I will make them trust in my name.
injured
:

but they shall possess the

Hallelujah.

Ode
named.
his

33.

Apparently

this

Psalm

is

Messianic, though Christ

is

not

He

must be the one

that rises

from the dead and sends forth

triumphant voice to the ends of the earth.

virgin also stands

and
is

proclaims,

who must be

either the

Divine

Wisdom

(the language

very like that of the eighth chapter of Proverbs) or the Church'-

She

promises salvation by Divine Grace and immortality in a new world to those that walk in her ways.
1

Gk.

ouTO0if^!, as in the oracular reply to the enquiry as to the

Divine Nature,
7.

aiTotpv-qi, aSldaKTOf, ^iiiyrap, da-Tvipi\tKTos.

" 5

See Lact. Z>e Div. Inst.

i.

Prov.
Cf.

viii. 2.
i.

Prov.
(p.

viii. i.

* Prov. viii. 4.

Clem. Alex. Paed.

aiT^v KoKelv.

123)

ida.

U nbv-q ytverai. ixip-np HapSivov

p. 77.

'EkkXt;-

(xlav i/wl <pi\ov

See also Introd.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

131

ODE
there any

34.

^No way is hard where there is wound where the thoughts

in

a simple heart. are upright

:

^Nor
is

is

^nor

there

any storm
is

the depth of the illuminated thought: *where one

is

surrounded by every beautiful place, there

nothing that
the one that
is

is is

divided, the likeness of

what
is

is

below:

^He
is

is

above;
but
the
^ Grace

for

everything

above:

what
are

below

nothing

imagination of
Hallelujah.

those that

without knowledge.
Believe and live

has been revealed for your salvation.

and be saved.

Ode

34.

All the hard things are easy, where the soul itself

is

right

no storms invade the hidden place of communion with God. Evil itself becomes unreal, and that which is beneath exists not before that which
is

above.

ODE

35.

"The dew of the Lord in quietness He distilled upon me: ^and the cloud of peace He caused to rise over my head, which guarded me continually ^it was to me for salvation everything was shaken and they were affrighted *and there came forth from them a smoke and a judgment; and I was keeping quiet in the order of the Lord: ^more than shelter was He to me, and more than foundation. ^And I was carried like a child by his mother and He gave me milk, the dew of the Lord ^and
;
:

grew great by His bounty, and rested in His perfection, ^and I spread out my hands in the lifting up of my soul and I was made right with the Most High, and I was redeemed with Him.
I
:

Hallelujah.

Ode
Psalm
:

35.

The dew

lies

on the branch of the man

that sings this

Divine Peace guards him like a sheltering cloud. The Lord is Mother's arms are his place and his sure defence in the day of evil.
mother's milk his portion.
'

No

cradled child more softly

lies

than

Come

soon, eternity.'

ODE
I

36.
:

Lord and ''the Spirit"' raised ^and made me stand on my feet in the height of the Lord, before His perfection and His glory, while I was
rested on the Spirit of the
:

me

on high

132
praising '"Him"'

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

by the composition of His
songs.

^'"The Spirit""

me forth before the face of the Lord: and, although a son of man, I was named the Illuminate, the Son of God while I praised amongst the praising ones, and great was
brought

amongst the mighty ones. ^For according to the greatness of the Most High, so He made me and like His own newness He renewed me; and He anointed me from His own perfection: ^and I became one of His neighbours and my mouth was opened, like a cloud of dew '^and my heart poured out as it were a gushing stream of righteousness, ^and my access ""to Him"i' was in peace; and I was established by the spirit of His
I
:
;

government.

Hallelujah.

Ode
view.
It

36.
is

This

is

a perplexing Psalm, from a theological point of

is

almost impossible to determine whether the Psalmist

speaking in his

own name,

or in that of the Messiah

or whether

it is

an alternation of one with the other. It seems almost a necessity, when the Holy Spirit is spoken of as a Mother, that the offspring should be the Son of God and that such was the theology of certain early believers we know from the fragment of the Ebionite Gospel, in which Christ speaks of being taken by the hair of His head by His mother, the Holy Spirit, and carried to Mount Tabor. If this be the right interpretation, then the Illuminated Son of God is Christ. But the latter part of the Psalm seems to be in too low a strain for this interpretation to be one of those who are near to God is certainly not orthodox theology, though it may conceivably be Adoptionist and the
: : :

heart that pours out righteousness

and makes

its

offering in

peace
in

seems rather
Israel.

to

be the language that describes one of the pious

ODE
I stretched

37.

my hands to my Lord: and to the Most High ^and I spake with the lips of my heart and He heard me, when my voice reached Him^: ^His answer came to me, and gave me the fruits of my labours ^and it gave me rest by the Grace of the Lord. Hallelujah.
out
:

raised

my

voice

Ode 37. A colourless Psalm, something like one of the shorter and more elementary Psalms of the Hebrew Psalter. The writer has cried to God: his prayer has been heard: his heart has appealed, and an answer has come. His work has been followed by Divine
blessing.
^

Or perhaps, my

offering.

lit. fell

to

Him.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

133

ODE

38.
:

I went up to the light of truth as if into a chariot '^and the Truth took me and led me: and carried me across pits and gulleys and from the rocks and the waves it preserved me: ^and it became to me an instrument of Salvation and set me on the arms of immortal life *and it went with me and made me rest, and suffered me not to wander, because it was the Truth ^and I ran no risk, because I walked with Him; ^and I did not make an error in anything because I obeyed the Truth. ^For Error flees away from it, and meets it not but the Truth proceeds in the right path, and ^whatever I did not know, it made clear to me, all the poisons of error, and the plagues which announce the fear of
: :

saw the destroyer of destruction, when the bride who adorned and the bridegroom who corrupts and is corrupted; ^and I asked the Truth, 'Who are these?'; and He said to me, This is the deceiver and the error: '''and they are alike in the beloved and in his bride and they lead astray and
death: ^and
is

corrupted

is

2 Joh. 7.

'"^and they invite many to the corrupt the whole"' world banquet, ^^and give them to drink of the wine of their intoxi'

and remove^ their wisdom and knowledge, and 'so they"' make them without intelligence ^*and then they leave them seeing and then these go about like madmen corrupting they seek for it. '^And that they are without heart, nor do I was made wise so as not to fall into the hands of the Deceiver and I rejoiced in myself because the Truth went with me, ^^and I was established and lived and was redeemed, ^^and my because He foundations were laid on the hand of the Lord '^For He set the root and watered it and fixed established me. ''^It struck deep it and blessed it; and its fruits are for ever. and sprung up and spread out, and was full and enlarged 20and the Lord alone was glorified in His planting and in His husbandry: by His care and by the blessing of His lips, 21 by the beautiful planting of His right-hand^: and by the discovery Hallelujah. of His planting, and by the thought of His mind.
cation,
; ; :
:

Ode 38. The Psalm opens with a beautiful description of the power of the truth over those that surrender to it. Truth becomes to them guidance in all difficult and rough and dangerous places. But
1
lit.

they vomit up.

^ Is. Ix. 21.

134

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

the Psalm is not merely a Psalm of the Truth, it is a Psalm concerning Truth and Error. They appear to stand like Christ and Antichrist. We are tempted to believe that the writer had at one time been brought face to face with some special outbreak of erroneous teaching, one of There are some things which the many Antichrists of the first century.

suggest
faithful.

Simon Magus and

It
is,

his Helena,

who went about

to mislead the

closely.

however, useless to try and define the situation more Whatever form the attractions of Truth and Error took to the
tells

Psalmist, he

us that he escaped the Circean blandishments, and

sailed past the Sirens.

his

His foundations were in the holy mountain;

watered,

growth was in

gave the increase.

God and of God. God planted, God The Father was the husbandman.

God

ODE

39.

rivers are the power of the Lord': '^and they carry ^ Great headlong those who despise Him and entangle their paths ^and they sweep away their fords, and catch their bodies and destroy their lives. '^For they are more swift than lightning and more rapid, and those who cross them in faith are not moved; ^and those who walk on them without blemish shall not be afraid. ^For the sign in them is the Lord and the sign is the way of those who cross in the name of the Lord ^put on, therefore, the name of the Most High, and know Him and you shall cross without danger, for the rivers will be subject to you. ^The Lord has bridged them by His word and He walked and crossed them on foot^: ^and His footsteps stand '"firm"' on the water, and are not injured they are as firm as a tree that is
: ; : :

truly set up.

And

the waves were lifted up on this side and

on

but the footsteps of our Lord Messiah stand firm and are not obliterated and are not defaced. ^^ And a way has been appointed for those who cross after Him and for those who
that,

perfect

the course of faith in

Him and

worship

His name"

Hallelujah.

Ode 39. When I first read this Psalm I thought that we had another historical landmark, in the allusion to some great accident connected with the sudden rise of one of the great Oriental rivers. But
upon
reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the writer is speaking of disasters generally, under the natural figure of a rising and
^

Isaiah

xliii.

i.

Matt. xiv. 25.

Cf. Matt. xiv.

-28.

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

rushing river.

35

In such times of flood the unbelievers find no footing

:

and are swept away their Lord and with

Isaiah
thee.'
vi. 5,
xliii.

believers
their

Lord.

on the other hand walk the waters like Perhaps there is a reference to
I will

2,

'

When

thou passest through the waters

be with

The same promise appears to be quoted in Psalms of Solomon 'When he passeth through rivers, yea, through the surge of the
is

Their feet stand firm where His feet had Here the background of the teaching is the account of our Lord's walking on the sea of Galilee. The reference is valuable', for we have hardly any other allusion to events recorded in the Gospel, beyond the Birth, Baptism and Crucifixion, to which we have already referred. The paucity of parallels to the New Testament in the new
sea,

he

not affrighted.'

stood unmoved.

Psalter should be

one of the strongest reasons

for believing that, as

regards the major part of the collection,

early material.

we

are

dealing

with very

ODE
^As the honey
distils

40.

from the comb of the bees, ^and the

that loves her children^; ^so also
is

milk flows from the

woman

my

God. ^As the fountain gushes out its water, ^so my heart gushes out the praise of the Lord and my lips utter praise to Him, and my tongue His psalms. ^And my face exults with His gladness, and my spirit exults in His love,

hope on Thee,

my

and my soul shines in Him '^and reverence confides in Him and redemption in Him stands assured ^and His abundance is immortal life, and those who participate in it are incorrupt.
:

Hallelujah.

Ode 40. An exquisite Psalm from what St Bernard would call the anima sitiens Deum.' Praise flows out of his life and from his lips as honey drops from the comb or milk from the breast. God's gladness makes his face without to shine, and his soul within to be radiant. If There mortality is not quite swallowed up of life, it is irradiated by it. is assurance of faith and the confident hope of immortality.
'

ODE
truth of His faith.
'

41.

^All the Lord's children will praise

Him, and
shall

will collect the

^And His children

is

be known to Him.

Moreover,

if

Peter's walking

il

is

not Mark's gospel that

on the sea is involved in the reference of the Odist, being quoted, nor any of the canonical four except
119) (pi\o(TT6pyoK Tiryd^ovira liauToh.

Matthew. ^ Cf. Clem. Alex. Paed.

i.

(p.

136

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

we
will sing in
:

His love ^we live in the Lord by His grace and life we receive in His Messiah *for a great day has shined upon us: and marvellous is He who has given us of His glory. ^Let us, therefore, all of us unite together in the name of the Lord, and let us honour Him in His goodness, ^ and let our faces shine in and let our hearts His light
Therefore
: :
:

meditate in His love by night and by day. ^Let us exult with the joy of the Lord. ^All those will be astonished that see me. For from another race am I ^for the Father of truth remembered
:

me He who
:

possessed

me from

the beginning
:

''for

His bounty

begat me, and the thought of His heart ''^and His Word is with us in all our way ''^the Saviour who makes alive and does not
;

reject our souls

''^the

man who was humbled, and

exalted by

His own righteousness, '"'^the Son of the Most High appeared in the perfection of His father j ''^and light dawned from the Word and that was beforetime in Him ''^the Messiah is truly one'
;
;

He was known

before the foundation of the world, ''^that

:

He

might save souls for ever by the truth of His name Hallelujah. '"arises"' from those who love Him.

new song

Ode
The

41.

This Psalm, again,

is

Messianic, but certainly not in the

that the

prophetic sense.

Son of God is come. dawned the dayspring from on high has become the noontide glory. Christ who was humbled is now exalted the Word, who existed before the foundation

The

writer

knows

glorious day of which prophets spoke has

of the world, has appeared.

The language

finds

its

nearest parallel in

the Johannine theology.

It is not, at first sight,

quite clear what the writer

Is
it

sprung from another

race^.

that he

is

of Gentile

means by being origin and

persuaded to dwell in the tents of

sufficiently

Shem ?

That would agree well with

In that case he has become
in a Zionite

the general Palestinian origin of the Psalms.

Hebraized to sing Zion's songs

night

manner

and

to

praise
it

God

and

day,

where a Gentile would naturally have done

by day and night.

ODE
U
stretched out
stretching of

42.

my hands and approached my Lord: '^for the hands is His sign: ^my expansion is the outspread tree which was set up on the way of the Righteous One. *And P became of no account to those who did not

my

Cf. Ign.

ad Magii.

7 els iara/ 'IijiroCs XpL<7T6s.

^

But see Introd. pp. 65, 66.

Christ speaks.

: :

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

take hold of

37

me and
;

shall be with those

;

who

love me.

^^n
;

and they sought after me who supposed that I was alive ^and I rose up and am with them and I will speak by their mouths, ^por they have despised those who persecuted them ^and I lifted up over them the yoke of my love ^like the arm of the bridegroom over the bride, '"'so was my yoke^ over those that know me "and as the couch that is spread in the house of the ^'"bridegroom and bride"'^,
persecutors
are
:

my

dead

^^so

is

my

love over those that believe in me.

I

''^And

was not

rejected though

was reckoned
'"if

to be so.

''^I

did not perish,

though they devised

against me.

'^Sheol saw

me and was

made miserable

^^death cast

me up and many

along with me.

^^P had gall and bitterness*, and I went down with him to the utmost of his depth '^and the feet and the head he let go, for they were not able to endure my face '^and I made a congregation of living men amongst his dead men, and I spake with them by living lips ^ because my word shall not be void ^^and those who had died ran towards me: and they cried and said, Son of God, have pity on us, and do with us according to thy kindness, ^^and bring us out from the bonds of darkness and open to us the door by which we shall come out to thee. ^^For we see that our death has not touched thee. '^''Let us also be redeemed with thee: for thou art our Redeemer. ^^And I heard their voice and my name was heard over their heads ^^for they are free men and they are
:

mine.

Hallelujah.
42.
:

This Psalm concludes the collection of Odes ascribed to what follows is the extant book of Solomonic Psalms. The collection up to the present point is marked in each case with a final Hallelujah. The remaining Psalms, with one accidental exception, are not marked this way. So we may add the editorial remark at the

Ode

Solomon

end of
ended.'

this

Psalm, that

'

the

Odes of Solomon, the Son of David,

Christian

are

The concluding Psalm

is

is

and Messianic

its

main theme

the descent of Christ into

:

Hades
it

in order to liberate the imprisoned

souls of the fathers

and

should be read along with the extant

this subject.

apocryphal books that deal with

^

Matt.
Cf.

xi. 29.

^"^

lit.

bridegrooms.
crucified

Descensus ad Inferos 4

'They

him,

' Cod. He. and gave him

gall

and

vinegar to drink.
O. S.

Be ready,

therefore, to hold

him

firmly

when he

cometh.'

138

THE ODES OF SOLOMON

:

Almost the whole of the Psalm is ex ore Christi the writer begins, as in the short 29th Ode, with the statement that his lifted hands make the figure of the Cross of the Righteous One. But he soon -diverges
into the harrowing of hell.

The imprisoned

souls cry out for release to

Him over whom death,

of saints
is

which binds them, has no power.

A congregation

gathered in the place of the dead. They become Christ's free men. Incidentally an expression is used of their relation to the Lord which appears to be employed elsewhere they are called, not
:

the members, but the feet of the Lord.

Hades
;

disgorges both the

head and the

feet

the head

is,

of course, Christ

and the

feet are the

saints of old time^.

The Psalm is too highly evolved, in its imaginary treatment of the Descent into Hell, to be reckoned as belonging to the same period as the main body of the collection. Still it cannot be very much later, for
is in close agreement with many of the most Psalms before us and the union of Christ with the Church, under the figure of the Bridegroom and the Bride, is expressed its

mystical language

beautiful of the

with great beauty.

suggestive for his

Incidentally the textual critic will find something

Testament apparatus. The writer speaks of 'the couch that is spread in the house of the bridegrooms,' marking the plural by dots in the usual Syriac manner it is evident that he means 'in the house of the bridegroom and the bride.' Perhaps, then, the curious Western reading of Matt. xxv. i, 'went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride,' may be due to a more accurate interpretation of an Aramaic original than what we find in the received and edited
:

New

texts.
1

Cf.

Ode

23.

PSALM
I

43

= Psalms of Solomon
when

r.

I was in affliction at my end upon me ^fov suddenly there was heard before me the sound of war for He will hear me, because I am filled with righteousness: ^and I reckoned in my heart that I was filled with righteousness in the day that I became rich and was with the multitude of my children. ^Their wealth, however, has been given to the whole earth and their glory as far as the ends of the earth. ^They were lifted up as high as the stars and they said, ^speaking without knowledge. ''For their sins were in secret, and I knew them not: ^and their wickedness exceeded that of the nations that had been before them and they defiled the sanctuary of the Lord with pollution.

cried unto the Lord,

and

to

God when

sinners set

..

PSALM

44 = Psalms of

Solomon

2.

"In the insolence of the sinful man, he cast

down with
and were ^For the

battering rams'^ the strong walls and thou didst not restrain him.

^And

the Gentile foreigners went up on thy

it

altar,

trampling on

with their shoes in their insolence.

children of Jerusalem had polluted the

Holy House

of the Lord:

and they were profaning the offerings Ho God^ with wickedness. * Wherefore He said. Remove them, cast them away from me. ^And He did not establish with them the beauty of His glory it was rejected before the Lord and they were utterly torn in pieces. ^Her sons and her daughters were in bitter captivity: and on ^according their neck was put the sealed yoke of the Gentiles for He suffered them to to their sins, so He dealt with them pass into the hand of him that was stronger than they ^for He turned away His face from His mercy: young men and old men
: :
:

'

Hi. great beams.

^"^ Hi- of

God.

I40

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

their children together: ^because they also
:

had worked evil together, that they might not hearken unto me ^and the heaven was mightily angered, and the earth rejected them: "because none in the earth had done therein like their doings ''^and that the earth may know all thy righteous judgments, O God. ''^They set up the sons of Jerusalem for mockery within her, in the place of harlots and every one that transgressed^ was transgressing as if
and
: ;

before the sun

while they
in

made
the

sport in their villainies.

''^For as

they were used to do,

of
their
villainies.

the face of the sun they

made

show
were

And

daughters
''^for

of Jerusalem

polluted

according to thy judgments

they had polluted

themselves in lustful intercourse.

My
I

belly and

my

bowels are

pained over these things.

the uprightness of
righteousness,

^^But
;

will justify thee,

in

Lord, in
is

my

heart

because

thy judgments
sinful

thy

O God.
:

''^For thou dost

reward

men

accord-

ing to their deeds

and according

to their

wicked and

bitter sins.

^Thou

didst disclose their sins, in order that

:

Thy judgment

might be known ''^and Thou didst blot out their remembrance from the earth. God is a judge and righteous, and accepteth no man's person. ^opQj. jjjg Gentiles reproached Jerusalem, in their
wickedness, and her beauty was cut off from the throne of His^

was covered with sackcloth instead of and there was a rope on her head instead of a crown. ^^She cast off from her the dazzling" glory which God had put upon her: ^^^nd in contempt her beauty was cast away on the ground. ^4^^,^ j beheld and I besought the face of the Lord, and I said Enough Thou hast made thy hand heavy, O Lord, upon Israel, by the bringing in of the Gentiles 25for they have mocked and not pitied, in anger; ^e^nd in reproach they are consumed, unless thou, O Lord, shalt restrain them in thy wrath, "poj. jj ^^g ^^^. jj^ ^eal that they did '"this"',
glory.
2^

And

she

beauteous raiment

but in the lust of the soul: ^sthat they might pour out their wrath upon us in plundering us. But thou, O Lord, delay not to

recompense them upon

their

own heads
so ^nd
I

29to cast

down

the pride

delayed not until the Lord showed me his insolence smitten on the mountains of Egypt and despised more than him that is least on land and on sea ^^ and his body coming on the waves in much contempt, and none to bury
:
:

of the dragon to contempt,

1
''

Or, passed by.

Gk.

her.

Gk. her diadem of glory.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

'"him"'.

I4I

For he did scorn. end shall not be esteemed. ^^ For he said I will be lord of land and sea and he knew not that the Lord is God, great and mighty and powerful, ^*and He is King over Heaven and over Earth: and He judges kingdoms and princes, 35 He who raiseth me up in glory and layeth low'
^^Because
rejected

He had
is

him with
his

not consider that he

;

a man.

And

the proud in contempt, not temporal but eternal

because they

knew Him 'nof3^And now, behold, ye

of the Lord, for

great ones of the earth, the

judgment
is

He

is

a righteous King, and judges what

under

the whole heaven.

:

ye the Lord, ye who fear the Lord reverently for the mercies of the Lord are on them that fear Him with judgment, ^^to separate between the righteous and the
^'^Bless
sinful,

and to reward the sinful for ever according to their deeds 3^and to be gracious to the righteous after their oppression
:

by sinners
is

and to reward the sinful for what he has done that Lord is kind to those that call upon Him in patience, to do according to His mercy to His saints to cause Blessed is them to stand before Him at all times in strength. the Lord for ever by His servants.
:

right: * because the

'*''

PSALM
^Why
'^Sing a

45

= Psalms of Solomon

3.

sleepest thou,
to

my

soul,

and dost not

bless the

Lord?

God and keep vigil in His watch. For a psalm is good '"to sing"' to God out of a good heart. ^The righteous will ever make mention of the Lord in confession and in righteousness are the judgments of the Lord. ^The righteous
new song
:

because is chastened by the Lord always before the Lord. ^The righteous stumbles and justifies God he falls and I wait' what the Lord will do to him. And he looks to see from whence his salvation comes. ^The for in the stability of the righteous is from God their Saviour
will

never neglect ^ when he

is

his will

house of the righteous there does not lodge sin upon sin ''because He always visits the house of the righteous to remove
the sins of his transgressions.

^And He

delivers his soul, in

whatever he has sinned without knowledge, by fasting and by humiliation and the Lord purifies every holy man and his house.
:

'

Gk.

(toi/tlfwp

and so Syr.
cf.

=Gk.

iXiyup-qaei:

Prov.

iii.

ii;

Heb.

xii. 5.

Read, 'and he

waits.'

142
9 But

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

the sinner stumbleth and curseth his
:

own

life,

in

which he was born and the birth-pangs of his he adds sin upon sin to his life he falls, and because his fall for the destruction of the sinner grievous, he rises not again
;
:

and the day mother ^and

is
is

'''

for ever:

and

He
Lord

will

righteous: ^^this

is

not remember him when He the portion of sinners for ever. But those
visits

the

who
be

fear the

shall rise to eternal life

and

their life shall

fail

in

the light of the Lord, and he will not

any more.

[Hallelujah!.]

PSALM
Why

46 (47)

= Psalms of Solomon

4.

wicked man, in the congregation of the and by thy righteous: and thy heart is far removed from God anger the God of Israel, ^exceedwickedness thou provokest to ingly by thy words, and exceedingly by thy '"outward"' signs, more than all men ? He who is severe in his words in his consittest thou,
;

demnation of sinners in judgment, ^and his hand is the first to be on him, as though '"he acted"' in zeal and he is guilty himself of all kinds of sinful crimes *his eyes are upon every woman immodestly: and his tongue lies when he answers with oaths. 5 In the night and in the darkness, as if he were not seen by the eyes of man, he talketh with every woman in the cunning of wickedness ^and he is quick to go into every house with joy, '^God shall remove those who as if he had no wickedness.
:
:

judge with respect of persons

the corruption of his
will disclose the

but
in

He

lives

with the upright,

life.
:

in

body and
:

the poverty of his

^God

deeds of those

who

are men-pleasers

in scorn

and derision are his works ^and let the saints justify the judgment of their God, when the wicked shall be removed from before the righteous: ithe accepter of persons who talks law with guile, ^and his eyes are on a house, quietly like a serpent, to dispel the wisdom of each one by words of villainy ''^his words are with an evil intent, with a view to the working of the lust of the wicked ^^and he does not remove until he has scattered in bereavement, and has desolated the house because of his sinful '*And he supposes in his words that there is none that lust. sees and judges ^^and he is filled with this sinfulness and his
: : : ;

an addition by the scribe, under the influence of the Odes which' he has been copying.
!

This

is

of,

Salomon,

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

eyes are on another house to devastate
it

I43

with words of prodi''^For all

in
in

gahty: and his soul

these
things,
;

is,

like

Sheol, never satisfied.

let

'"his

dishonour
Lord,
in
let let

let his

portion"'^ O Lord, be before thee going out be with groans and his coming

with curses: ^^in pains, and in poverty and in destitution,

let his life

be:

let his

sleep be in anguish and his

waking

vexation:

''^let sleep be removed from his eyelids by night him fall from every work of his hands in dishonour; ''^and him enter his house empty-handed and let his house be
:

destitute of everything that can satisfy his soul: 2and from his

offspring let not one

draw near unto him:

22 let
:

'^Uet

the flesh of the

hypocrites be scattered by wild beasts; and the bones of the wicked

be before the sun in dishonour:

of those

the ravens pick out the eyes

who

are men-pleasers

^^because they have laid waste

:

many
lust
:

houses of
'^'^and

men

in

dishonour

and have scattered them

;

in

they remembered not

;

God

nor feared

God

in all

these things

destroy them from the earth

that fear the

^^and they provoked God, and he was angered to because with crafty intent they had
;

played the hypocrite with innocent souls.

^eBjegsed are they

innocency: ^^and the Lord will save them from all the cunning and wicked men''. '^^May God destroy all them that work fraud with pride^: .for a strong judge

Lord

in their

is

the Lord our

all

God

in righteousness; ^sjet

thy mercy,

Lord,

be upon

them

that love thee.

PSALM

47 (48)

= Psalms of Solomon

5.

Lord my God, I will praise thy name with exultation, amongst those that know thy righteous judgments. ^For thou art gracious and merciful, and the place of refuge of the poor. ^When I cry unto thee, be not thou silent unto me. *For one
does not take spoil from the strong

man

^or

who

shall take

ought from what thou hast made, unless thou give it him ? ^Because he is man, and his portion is before thee in the balance and he shall not add ought to better it apart from thy judgment, O God. '''In our afflictions we call thee to our help: and thou hast not turned away our petition for thou art our God. ^ Delay not thou thy hand from us: lest we be strengthened
:

Syr. let him.

Hi. excess.

Gk. dw6

Travrtis (raj'6d\ou irapnj/i/ixou.

144
to sin
:

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

^and turn not away thy face from
thee: but to thee
us,

lest

we remove
if I
:

away from
be hungry,
wilt

we

will
I

come:
cry,
fish

''"for

should

Lord,
''^For

unto thee will

the
fowl

O God

and thou

bestow.

and the

thou dost feed.

When thou givest rain in the desert to cause the grass to spring up, '2 to prepare food in the wilderness for every living thing, and if they shall be hungry, unto thee will they lift
and rulers and peoples thou dost and the hope of the poor and the miserable, who is it except thyself, O Lord: ''^and thou wilt answer him, because thou art kind and gentle and thou wilt ''^For the satisfy his soul by opening thy hand in mercy. kindness of a man is with parsimony to-day and to-morrow and if it should be that he repeats his gift and does not grumble, 'well!"" that is a wonder! ^^But thy bounty is plenteous in kindness and in wealth and there is no expectation towards

up

their

faces:

''^

kings
:

provide

for,

O God

thee that

He

will

be sparing

in gifts \

"For over
is

all

the earth

is

thy mercy,
his

Lord, in kindness.

''^Blessed
:

the

man whom

the

Lord shall remember in poverty for that a man should exceed measure means that he will sin. ''^Sufficient is a low estate with righteousness^: 2 for those that fear the Lord are pleased with good things and thy grace is on Israel in thy Kingdom
: :

2^ blessed be the glory of the Lord, for

He

is

our King.

PSALM
^Blessed
is

48 (49) = Psalms of

Solomon

6.

the

man whose
:

heart

is

prepared to

call

upon the

^and when he shall remember the name of the Lord, he will be saved. ^His ways are directed from before the Lord and the works of his hands are preserved by his God ''and '"in"' the evil vision of the night his soul shall not be moved, because he is His: ^and his soul shall not be affrighted in the passing through the rivers, and in the tumult of the seas. ^For he rose from his sleep and praised the name of the Lord, ^and in the quiet of his heart he sang psalms to the name of the Lord and he made request from the face of the Lord concerning all his house: ^and the Lord hears the prayer of every

name

of the Lord

The Gk. 06 icmv iiri ire has been misread as oi iirnv ktL The Syriac has omitted a sentence of the Greek by a common transcriptional error. Add ''and herein is the blessing of the Lord that a man be satisfied in
^

righteousness"'.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

I45

one that is in his fear, and every petition of the soul that trusts in him; and the Lord fulfils it. ^ Blessed is he who doeth mercy upon them that love Him in truth.

PSALM
rise

so (49)

= Psalms of Solomon

7.

^Remove not thy tabernacle from us, O Lord, lest those up against us who hate us without a cause ^for thou hast put them away, O God, that their foot may not tread the inheritance of thy sanctuary. ^Thou in thy good pleasure
:

chasten

me and
;

deliver us not over to the Gentiles.

it

*For

if

thou shouldest send death,

against us

is

thou

who

givest

it

command

^for thou art the Merciful One, and wilt not be angry so as to consume us utterly. ^For because of thy Name that encamps amongst us, mercies shall be upon us: and the Gentiles shall not be able to prevail against us, '^for thou art our strength and we will call upon thee and thou wilt answer us ^for thou wilt be gracious to the seed of Israel, for ever, and thou wilt not forget him^: ^thou wilt establish us in the time of thy help, to show favour to the house of Jacob, in the day that is
:

prepared for them.

PSALM

51 (50)

= Psalms of Solomon

8.

Distress and the sound of war mine ears have heard, the sound of the trumpet, and the noise of slaughter and destruction: ^the sound of much people like a mighty and frequent wind like the tempest of fire which comes over the wilderness. ^And I said to my heart: where will he judge him.'' *I heard a sound in Jerusalem, the Holy City; ^the bonds of my loins were loosed at the report^ and my knees trembled, ^and my bones
: :

were moved

like flax.

'^And

said,
I

They

will

make

straight

remembered the judgments of the Lord, from the creation of the heaven and the earth and I justified God in all His judgments from the beginning^ ^But God laid bare their sins before the sun: and to all the earth was made known the righteous judgments of the Lord. ^For in
their paths in righteousness

and

'

The

Syriac has dropped the sentence: 'and

we

are under thy

yoke

for ever,

and

under the scourge of thy chastening.' ^ Gk. adds and my heart was afraid.
:

Hi-

from eternity.

o. s.

19

146

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

had

secret places of the earth were they doing evil; 'the son

connexion with the mother and the father with the daughter: 11 and all of them committed adultery with their neighbours' wives and they made solemn covenants amongst themselves concerning these things '"^they were plundering the House of God's Holiness, as if there was none to inherit and to deliver. ^And they were treading His sanctuary in all their pollutions, and in the time^ of their separation they polluted the sacrifices, as common meat '''^and they left no sins which they did not
:

commit, and even worse than the Gentiles. ''^For this cause God mingled for them a spirit of error, and caused them to drink a living cup for drunkenness: ^^He brought him from the other side of the world, the one that afflicts grievously: "and he
decrees war against Jerusalem and against her land
:

''^and the

judges of the land met him with joy: and they said to him: thy

path

shall

be ordered, come, enter

:

in peace.

''^They levelled

the lofty paths^ for his entering

they opened the doors against

walls.
2

Jerusalem

and they crowned the

:

And
:

a father into the house of his children, in peace

feet '"there"^ in great firmness
^^

he entered like and he set his

and they took possession of the

towers and the walls of Jerusalem. '^^For God brought him in assurance against their error: ^^and they destroyed their
princes because he

was cunning

in counsel

and they poured

out the blood of the dwellers in Jerusalem like the water of uncleanness '^^and he carried off their sons and daughters, who
:

had been

pollution, ^^and had wrought their pollution even as also their fathers had done, ^e^^jj Jerusalem defiled even those things that were consecrated to the name of God
'"born"' in

27 and

God was
midst.

the earth,
in

His judgments upon the nations of ^Sand the saints of God were as innocent lambs
justified in

their

29Qq(]

jg

^-q

j^g

praised

earth in His righteousness.

3Behold,

who judges all -the God, thou hast shown

us '"thy judgments"" in thy righteousness, ^land our eyes have

seen thy judgments,

that
is

O God and we have justified thy name honoured for ever. ^^For thou art a God of righteousness who judgest Israel with chastening. ^^Turn thy mercy towards us and be gracious to us 34and gather the dispersion of Israel, in mercy
: : :

lit.

blood.

lit.

paths of elevation.

'

Cod. om.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

and
in

47

kindness

^^for thy faithfulness

is

with us

and we are

^^do not desert us, O our God lest the Gentiles should swallow us up, as though there were none to deliver ^^and thou art our God from the beginning, and upon thee is our hope, O Lord: ^^and we will not depart from thee, for thy judgments are good ^^upon us
stiff-necked,
! : ;

and thou

art our chastener:

and upon our children is thy good will for ever, O Lord God, our Saviour, and we shall not be shaken again, for ever. ^"The Lord is to be praised for His judgments by the mouth of His saints and blessed is Israel from the Lord for evermore.
:

PSALM 52 (s I) = Psalms of Solomon 9. When Israel went forth into captivity to a strange
because they departed from the Lord their Saviour
:

land,

^then we^-e

they cast

out from the inheritance that God gave them amongst all the Gentiles was the dispersion of Israel, according to the word of God, ^that thou mightest be justified, O God, in

thy righteousness over our wickedness

*for thou

art a just

Judge over all the peoples of the earth. ^For there will not be hidden from thy knowledge any one who doeth wickedness ^and the righteousnesses of thy upright ones, O Lord, are before thee. And where shall a man be hidden from thy knowledge, O God ? '^For we work by free-will and the choice of our own souls to do either good or evil by the work of our hands ^and in thy righteousnesses thou dost visit the children of men. ^For he who does righteousness lays up a treasure of life with the Lord and he who does wickedness incurs judgment upon his soul in perdition. ''For His judgments are in righteousness upon every man and ^^ his house. For with whom wilt thou deal graciously, O God, ^^por he purifies unless with them that call upon the Lord confession, ''^because shame is on us and the sins of the soul by
: :
:
.''

our faces because of

remit
sins

all

these things.

except

to

those

that

^*For to whom will He have sinned.^ ''^For the

righteous thou dost bless, and dost not reprove them for any of
is on those that have sinned when they have repented. ''^And, now, thou art our God and we are thy people whom thou hast loved behold and have mercy, O God of Israel for thine are we remove not thy compassions

their sins; for thy grace

148

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

:

thou Jiast from us, lest the Gentiles should set upon us '''for the Gentiles, '^and chosen the seed of Abraham rather than all and thou wilt not thou hast put on us thy Name, O Lord is Thou didst surely covenant with our fathers remove for ever, of our concerning us and we hope in thee, in the repentance of the Lord, mercies over the house of Israel are
: :

souls.

201-he

now and

evermore.

PSALM

S3 (52)

= Psalms of Solomon

10.

man whom God remembers with reproof: and He has restrained him from the way of evil by stripes: so as to be purified from his sin, that he may not abound '"therein"'. 2 For he who prepares his loins for beating shall also be purified
Blessed
is

the

His chastening. ^For the and His chastisement does not turn it aside. "^For the face' of the Lord is upon them that love Him in truth, and the Lord will remember His servants in mercy. ^For the testimony is in the law of the everlasting covenant: the testimony of the Lord is in the ways of the ^ Righteous and upright children of men, by '"His"' visitations. is our God in all His judgments: and Israel will praise the name
for

He

is

good

to those that receive

is

way

of the righteous

straight,

'^And the saints shall give thanks in and on the poor the Lord will have mercy, in the gladness of Israel. ^For God is kind and merciful for ever: and the congregations of Israel shall praise
of the Lord with joy.

the congregation of the people

the

name

of the Lord: ^for of the Lord

Israel,

is

the salvation upon the

house of

unto the everlasting kingdom^

PSALM
^Blow ye
saints
:

54 (53)

= Psalms of Solomon

ii.

""the

trumpet'' in Zion, the certain trumpet of the

proclaim in Jerusalem the voice of the heralds, because

^

God

is

merciful to Israel in His visitation.

Stand up on
all

high',

Jerusalem, and behold thy children,

who
:

are
:

being gathered

from the East and the West by the Lord '^and from the North they come to the joy of their God and from the far-away islands God gathereth them. ^ Lofty mountains has He humbled
1 '

Gk. mercy (IXeos). Baruch c. 6, 5 8.

''

Gk. gladness,

(iippo<njviji>.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

;

49

and made plain before them and the hills fled away before their entrance: the cedar' gave shelter to them as they passed by: and every tree of sweet odour God made to breathe^ upon them ^in order that Israel might pass by in the visitation of the glory of their God. ^O Jerusalem, put on the garments of thy glory and make ready thy robe of holiness. For God speaks good things to Israel, now and ever. ^May the Lord do what He hath spoken concerning Israel and concerning Jerusalem may the Lord raise up Israel in the name of His glory. May the mercies of the Lord be upon Israel, now and evermore.
:
;
: :

PSALM

ss (54)

= Psalms of Solomon

12.

O Lord, save my soul from the perverse and wicked man and from the whispering and transgressing tongue, that speaks ^For in the response of his words is the lies and deceit. tongue of the transgressor^ for he shows like one whose deeds are fair, and kindles fire among the people. ^For his sojourning
:

is

to

fill*

(set fire to)

houses by his lying talk

for the trees of his tongue^'' that

his delight

he

will cut

down with

the flame

^'"of

does lawlessly.
gressors

He
:

has destroyed the houses of the translips

:

by war

*and the slandering"

God

has removed

from the innocent, the lips of transgressors and the bones of the slanderer shall be scattered far from those who fear the
Lord.

^By flaming

fire

He

will

destroy the slanderous tongue

from among the upright, and their houses.

shall preserve the soul of the righteous
evil
:

^And

the Lord

who

hateth them that are

that

And

the Lord shall establish the

''Of the
for ever

man
is

the house of the Lord.

Lord

salvation

makes peace in upon Israel

His servant

before the face of the

and the sinners shall perish together from Lord and the saints of the Lord shall
:

inherit the promises of the Lord.

PSALM
^

56 (55)

= Psalms of Solomon
:

13,

The
Gk.

right

of the Lord has spared us

'

hand of the Lord has covered us the right hand ^and the arm of the Lord has saved
:

ol Spv/iol,

the groves.

Gk. avhuXev, caused

to rise.

The Greek of this passage is obscure. The translator read e/iTXrjcai for ^/JTrpflirai.
Cod. om.
" /zV.

*~^

whispering.

150

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

the spear that goes through and from famine and the and with ^gvil beasts ran upon them pestilence of sinners,

me from

and with their jaw-teeth were their teeth were breaking their bones. But us the Lord has delivered from all these "-But the wicked man was troubled on account of his things. transgression lest he should be broken along with the evil men. 5 Because dread is the fall of the wicked but to the righteous not one of these things shall be reckoned. ^For one cannot compare
tearing their flesh
; : :

the chastening of the righteous

with the overthrow of

righteous
is

evil

who have rsinned"" men who sin knowingly.

ignorantly
''^For

the

chastened' so that the sinner will not exult over him. ^For the righteous will inherit Him as His beloved son^; and his chastening is like that of the first-born ^for the Righteous One
:

will spare His saints, and their transgressions He will blot out by His chastisement. For the life of the righteous is for ever.

iBut sinners shall be cast into perdition and their memorial '''But upon the saints shall be the shall no more be found.
:

mercy of the Lord.

He

will cherish all

them that

fear

Him.

PSALM

57 (56)

= Psalms of Solomon
that love
to

14.
:

^The Lord is faithful to them them that abide His chastening:

ness in His
life
:

Him

in truth

even to

them who walk

in righteous-

commandments

He

and the

saints of the

Lord

has given us the Law for our shall live thereby for ever.
life,

The Paradise
up
all

of the Lord, the trees of

is

are His saints

^and

the planting of them

sure for ever

nor shall they be rooted

For the portion of the Lord and is Israel. ^Not so are the sinners and evil men, those who have loved a day in the participation of sin for in ^ and they did not the brevity of wickedness is their lust remember God that the ways of the children of men are open before Him continually: and the secrets'* of the heart He knoweth
the days of the heaven.

His inheritance

before they

come

to pass

^therefore their inheritance

:

is

Sheol,

and Perdition and Darkness and righteous they shall not be found.
shall inherit life in delight.
1-1

in the

day of mercy upon the '^For the saints of the Lord

Or perhaps
'

For the righteous

is

chastened secretly.

(See Ryle and James,

' lit.

ad

loc.)
2

Corr.

He

will cause the righteous to inherit

Him.'

secret places.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

151

PSALM
^In

58 (57)=

Psalms of Solomon

15.

on the name of the Lord, and for of Jacob and I was delivered, because thou, O God, art the hope and the refuge of the poor. ^For who that is strong will praise thee in truth ? and what is the strength of a man, except that he should praise thy name? ^A new song with the voice in the delight of the heart: the
affliction I called

my
I

my

help

called on the

God

fruit

of the lips with the instrument attuned to the tongue of the lips from a heart that
is

the

firstfruit

holy and
evil

just.
:

*He
it

that doeth these things shall never be

moved by

the flame

of

fire

and the anger of sinners

shall not touch them,

^when

goeth forth against the sinners from before the Most High to
root up
is

all the roots of sinners ^because the sign of the Lord upon the righteous for their salvation ''death and the spear and famine shall remove from the righteous; for they
:

from them, as death flees from life: ^but they shall pursue after the wicked and catch them and those who do evil
shall flee
:

shall not escape

from the judgment of the Lord

:

^for they will

them like skilled warriors for the sign of destruction upon their faces. ^ And the inheritance of sinners is Perdition and Darkness and their iniquity shall pursue them down to the lower hell. "And their inheritance shall not be found by their
get before
is
:

children

for their sins shall lay

waste the houses of sinners

^^and sinners shall perish for ever in the day of the Lord's judgment: when God visits the earth with His judgment. ''^And

upon those who

they shall

fear the

Lord there

shall

be mercy therein

and
shall

live in

the compassion of our

God

and sinners

perish unto eternity'-

PSALM
^

59 (58)

= Psalms of Solomon
little

16.

When my soul

declined a

from the Lord,

;

had almost

been in the lapses of the sleep of destruction and when I was far away from the Lord, ^my soul had almost been poured out to death, hard by the gates of Sheol along with the sinners:

^and when my soul declined from the God of Israel, unless the "-He Lord had helped me by His mercy which is for ever

lit.

the time of eternity.

::

152

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

pricked me, like the spur of the horseman, according to His watchfulness my Saviour and Helper at all times is He He
: :

saved

God, because thou hast helped me with thy salvation and hast not reckoned me with sinners ^ Withdraw not thy mercy from me, O God: for destruction. and let not the remembrance of thee remove from my heart until I die ''save me, O Lord, from the wicked sinful woman, and from

me

^I will praise thee,

:

every wicked

the beauty of a wicked

is,

woman who sets traps for the simple ^and let not woman lead me astray, nor any sin that
: :

and ^and establish the work of my hands before thee my walk in the remembrance of thee. '"'My tongue anger and and my lips in words of truth do thou establish unreasonable passion do thou remove from me: '''grumbling and little-mindedness in affliction do thou remove from me for if I
preserve
: :

shall sin
^'^but

when thou hast chastened me,

establish

it
:

is

for repentance

by thy good-will

my

soul

and when thou shalt

strengthen
for

my

soul,

me:

^^for if

whatever has been given shall be sufficient thou strengthenest me not, who can endure thy
''''for

chastening in poverty?

a soul shall be reproved in his flesh

:

shall

and by the affliction of poverty ^^and when a righteous man endure these things, mercy shall be upon him from the Lord.

PSALM
O

60 (S9) = PsALMS OF

Solomon

17.

^O Lord, thou art our King, now and for ever: for in thee, God, our soul shall glory. 2j/\^nd what is the life of man upon the earth? for according to his time, so also is his hope. ^But we hope on God our Saviour for the stronghold of our God is for ever according to mercy: '''And the Kingdom of our God is over the Gentiles for ever with judgment. ^Thou, O Lord, didst choose David for king over Israel and thou didst swear to him concerning his seed, that their kingdom should not be removed from before thee. ^But for our sins sinners rose up against us and they set upon us, and removed me far away they to whom thou gavest no command have taken by violence, ^and have not glorified thy honourable name with praises and they have set up a kingdom instead of that which was their pride. 8 They laid waste the throne of David in exultation of their change'. But thou wilt overthrow them, and wilt remove their
:

reading aXXd^/iaros.

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

seed from the earth
a
:

53

even ^when there shall rise up against them was a stranger to our race. '' According to their sins, thou wilt reward them, O God: and it shall befall them according to their works. '''And thou wilt not have mercy upon them, O God. Command their seed, and do not leave a single one of them. '"^The Lord is faithful in all His judgments which He has done upon the earth. ^^The wicked man' has devastated our land, so that there is none to dwell therein. They have destroyed both young and old and their children together. ''^In the splendour of his wrath he sent them away to the West, and the princes of the land to mockery without sparing. ''^In his foreign way the enemy exults, and his heart is alien from our God. '^And Jerusalem did all things^ according as the Gentiles

man

that

did

in

their cities to their gods.

in the

''^And the children of the

covenant took hold of them

Jerusalem.
their nests

midst of the mingled Gentiles:

in

and there was none amongst them that did mercy and truth

''^They that love the assemblies of the saints fled

away from them

:

and they flew like sparrows who fly from ^^and they were wandering in the wilderness, in
:

order to

save their

soul

from

evil

and precious

in

their

eyes was the sojourning with them of any soul that was saved

from them.
wicked.

2 Over all

the earth they were scattered

by the

Therefore were the heavens restrained that they should

not

send

down
:

rain

upon the
there

earth,

^''and

the everlasting

fountains were restrained, both the abysses, and from the lofty

mountains

because

was none among them who did

;

righteousness and judgment

gression,
^^

them they were sinning in and the judge

Behold,

from their ruler to the lowest of everything. ^^The king was in transin

wrath,

and

the

people in

sin.

Lord, and raise up to them their king, the Son of

:

Him

David, according to the time which thou seest, O God and let reign over Israel thy servant, ^^and strengthen Him with

power that

He may humble

the sinful rulers: ^^and

may
:

purify

Jerusalem from the Gentiles who trample her down to destrucand to tion, ^^so as to destroy the wicked from my inheritance break their pride like a potter's vessel to break with a rod of
:

iron all their firmness

:

^^to destroy the sinful Gentiles with the

word of His mouth at His rebuke the Gentiles shall flee from before His face and to confute sinners by the word of their
:

'

Gk.

avofios,

not

&ve/ios.

'

Gk. = oira

iirol-qaev 'IspovaaX-fiti..

O. S.

20

154
heart: ^sthat

THE PSALMS OF SOLOMON

He may

exult in righteousness

gather together a holy people that shall and may judge the tribes of the people
:

Lord His God sanctified ^Sand He shall not any more suffer sin to lodge amongst them; and no more shall dwell amongst them the man that knoweth evil. 3 For He knoweth them that they are all the children of God, and He shall divide them according to their tribes upon the earth ^land the sojourner and the foreigner shall not dwell with them for He will judge the Gentiles and the peoples in the wisdom of His righteousness ^^and He shall possess a people from among the Gentiles and they shall serve Him under His yoke and they shall praise the Lord openly over all the earth: ^^and He shall purify Jerusalem in holiness, as it was of old time: ^^that the Gentiles may come

whom

the

from the ends of the earth to behold His glory: bringing her sons with them as an honourable gift those who were scattered from her,3^and to see the glory of the Lord wherewith He hath glorified her: and He the righteous king, taught of God, is over them ^^and there is no wicked person in His days amongst them, because they are all righteous, and their king is the Lord Messiah: ^^for He will not trust on horsemen nor on chariot nor on the bow nor
;
:

shall

He multiply to
on a multitude

himself gold and silver for war: nor shall

in the

He

rely

day of war

^^for the

Lord

(Caetera desunt?}

ERRATA
p. p. p. p.
'a,

1.

6 for

>io3oa\

read

^orom

fl,

1.

8 for T^iijco read t'wiac.o

3 from end, for -r^S^vr- read <i-i.TJc

^,
-,

1.

1.

4
6

yi?/-

javJLaj ^^a^

-KCTd^-z-Sis

p.

,^^,

1.

^r .^ojs^
to note
"
:

rea^ .^osvoil^
'

p. ijsn.
p.

Add
1.

which seems to answer to

*CxJvt=n''

Ji=n,

for ^a\iJ

r^a;? i<i.^iJ

A,!

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[l7

i^^oeoiicuL* cni^ rCA^iai

rr.\ziJtrj jx*T.2)al
A\\i>i=j

.rS'i*An

^^^^^

_cuii^
.^A>\
,;>M

nnA.^<v-.

.cosaook

rdioA- rdsisi^ o.-usosal^

(i?J

~.

relx^l

o.ia^salo'^

.,cn<vap' ^.VJ

r^saio..^

J3Q^ rdio^^
i5q2>.j

.cncn\K'r<L.'tS9 .s..an=a.T rilsa^l K'AuaTi- __o:WO

.=30^

r<lio

^^_ocn^x= k'^ij^m

>^as^.f

jq-i

.\y^*g3^

ocnso^ i^a^J l\ r<L>i^0.io

peLsDA\oA\o3i

.rl^W-ss
_J5|^!.T

r<llnJo32

.cn^cuv>i\.i r^hy.'siUixs K'AtftSOr^O r^lAin;^

,oaocuxajuo .cnixJ
>i
\

^xu^

,cnanj\<M.l

r^-'ai

ighs.y

r^-^o^

T.iortfl^

ooaA.VAO^^

.rilJk.ipe'

aaA-a_3

AurtfjA^

rl*i.saA

Qrm-i\

(<'iiL*n:'

^liuM

.TS.^

.cnivuazix.^ rc't-MSaX

.ptHj^. ire's

,en t<Lv.l coA\aax.i\ r<'v*5aXo3S

.^oaiia oi.ia^K'.i

.ojco
tf -i

K'eoAr^

.^A:s3 tr^n

..it

><''V\

sq

ocno

K'ca.ip*' f"

t i

V^ rda.T
.^r<'

Ay^*a 37

.T<L.i.S3
.

rt'-.m

t ga __ocqaLs3q
r<li.flocifio
*

* -i "

.K'ixxa A&. rtllo

.

rCLs^i A^. r<llo

j-nvt^n

A;^ iaaal rtilo

.rSl^'ix..1o

rdavA

r^:3r<lfl90 r<l=3cn.i

cnl r<l^>=i9

p^

ix^

riL.is338

.relaini rdsaoxs p^rC-u^Do

Caetera destint
'

Gk. vTroaraaiv.

Cf. Ps. xv.

7.

"

vid. SUp. Ps. xvi. 14.

Gk. ov a.<f>riyrj(reTaL. y Gk. Xaovs c^i/oJv.

^

"

The

translator read ert as on.

^""^ The Gk. is (jtipovre's Siapa roiis l^-qtrOivrjKOTa^ i;tovs avr^s. The Svriac seems to render a Gk. i^oxTdevTas, which is a better reading, though perhaos
it

may be a

conjecture.

17]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON
rtl^ire'.T

.ai

rXa KlMtOa,!

(n>iAo

.pdaisjsal kIss.t^

^^^r^

^i&l

rCT^.^

vyr^ CUT^o

r^.ifieuj.1

r^^\z.CU^ ooon ^iSOuil

_^coTiCl=> rS'ocn Kl^irc'

oaiAn^

i.

OcnlSQ dftocp r^_oiakA\..T

.r^^cxna.lt .T3J^l .^_oca=j r<'ooo iul.-i jA^ra

.Ki^o'i rC'-icOL

sao

_^caaisal
Aa.
.

,__aeai ya^nr^a rtlii^a >V^^

.rS'eaAptf'

.r^Au^^jxs rt'JMSk.o
.TQ.1.T
.vv:i=i2k.

vA^ai.i

AviK*

r<'v.l*l

r^J-=>V=>

Ofsial

f<Llo^..l r<*ii vv&sai.l

kIIxjas >crxiJ3VuO^

A^K'iflaa

^
'

The

translator read

iiroirjo-ev

[- iv]

'lepova-aXrjfj.

and omits

oa-a.

Reading

rots ^eois or tovis ^eous with

JLH

for

which Gebhardt con-

jectured Tov adevovs.

" This
a-aX'qf).

agrees with Gebhardt's reading ovk ^v iv airots o ttokSv iv 'lepov-

IXeos kol dXrjOeiav.

The Gk. MSS.

vary between o irouuc

it

iv /Acra) iv

avTois iv

and

d TToioJv er aTjTois iv fx-iaw.

May

not, however,

be the case that

the Syr. ,^<7jflM=a stands for iv

^J^TJC

(?).

/acVo) iv airots ?

For ^^iTJt. the MS. has

"

The

translator has referred iTr\av<ovTo to the sparrows.

For wapotKtas
Gk.
elSes (JL).
ei/

if/yxv

the translator read vapoiKia

p

ij/vxrj's.

Cf note

'

on

previous page.
1
^

Gk.

iv diruO^ia.

Gebhardt conjectures
:

e'Aov.

'

= Gk.

KaOapio-ai.
v.

Gk. adds

o-o^ta, ev SiKatoo-wiy

probably by an eye-error to

31.

relJ

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[l7

PSALM
nc'enlpc'

17 (= Ps. 60).
.^:A:=a

v^s A\pi ."^oliAo Klteo

,cncuw^

acn AupS*
.^.T>.l

rel-is>3^

As.

t^Tlrc'ja.i

^^^K*

r<'-i.S30^

,-icnriiu.^

rda^Hii^ A^.
.AjK'ifia^
vy.93.tii

^V^A

__o^r<'.T
.t>0.-|A

on^Cl^ljsao^

.rdJSiM'is
A\Jr^5

poLbA

Aa.

r<*'^\'ai

Avia\^
.cn:!k.ii

rCli.S3
A^k.

.r<li_,.v3

^^

r<1^2k.^^

r<A.i

coA

iuJBia

h\ir^a

^A^

cooAoo

.r^'i'\>j ^A.v.

asao

^.1

yjon^MLao^ ^^_ocn^cui\sa'^
f^A.i

asjao-i

K'iiAynn

i._cioaA

^.viSk

^^_aico

t-iojxuirc'a

rc'^ci^i.sa asnoots .r^A\M.->r.Auj t<'tb^:=>9

v^ozA

aw-ix.^ rtllo

r^TMr3C\JL=3

O'O.i.i

criAjJoio^

assiwK'^

i.^oca-saai

^1.m

f.'Si

f<L>i&CU

K'ia.^ ^_ooni\v

;ioOjxJ

i^o^
.

.re'.Si-'ir*'

^^

.K'ctAr^ i^^aJK*

.Sxav^^

.^_oonA'ca\gj*

vyp^'"

A."l

K'AvsaTJt.

..tjj

relAo .^col-Sa jaciaz.^

r^lAo ,^_ocaSh.it

.laa^'^

.r<'cnAr<'

.rl.^ir<'

A_^
oAslw

.13.^.1
.oo

>cno.iLi'.-i

|.1=3

ocaA.^a

r^l^i^sq

fi)a*ca.S3'^

rtlJulA^
is-x.

A^

.adrun

^2k.ir<'

r^lci:^
1

.STu(<'

'3

cnv^oil'
Gk.
is

K'i^ojca'*
aliova
etc.
koi.

.r^x-M~^r^ .^^_^cn
ISI thlh-

i.ao

r^liu^o

'^

Tov
ix.

Iti

= Heb.
<=

For the Syriac rendering

V.

supra, Ps.
I'

20

Gk. o xpovos
in v. 7.
6eos.
is

^co'^s.

and so
f

Gk. + d

d Gk. /Sao-tXetov Cod. aj-MQ=3 airoS Gk. d\Aay;u.aTos but the Copenhagen MS. dXaXayjoiaTos. g Gk. eAciforets or i\er](raL.

The Gk.
The Gk.
airoB.

iirjpevvrj(Te...Ka'L

ovk a^^Kei/... which the Syr. has turned into

is

imperatives.
'

The meaning
is tv opyrj

of acuaSk

obscure.

KaWovs

avrov, for

which the

Syr. has

read

iv icdWci

opyrj'i

l6]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

.A^rti'ifiaa.i

ooorAr'^

>T^l

iu&i^r^

.l&O^ .i^-JL^m po^. Acuz..!

.OCR

^\

A^=} tJi.-Uk^Mo M3oisi

>.idi^i.i^n A\^~'

.cn^oix^aA
.t<'crAr<'

r^Ujao 0.00.1

re'^cust

r^o

.vyXoici^a

vA

p^.iorC^ .>ijj,r<"'

.r^^asoA

kLss.v^.

>

nX ^jm
.r<'^z.A3

vOT-^o.i

i l.yi

re'Ao

.K'cfAr^

r^^^K' A^
r^A<Aup';i
j.Ti'r^"

^O

K'^vi^^

^^
Aa

rc:^i:93^

>XLaoi&7

cni^cM.

t.L2>.izJ^

rAo^

PC'-taxA*

rdAxA_S3i K'iutLn

.va-^

,^04x^*09 [.JAur^.t^ rS'ofii^

riA

Ap^ .rtf'^O^

.jjsa

jXMir^ ^rcA\\_S3 riAs'^ rC'^.^OMO rc'v^^i

.^.isA>r'

<'i-s

ii^ ^^j^"

.yisa juj'ire' i^jJiorSlrj ^r^Lx^ki ^o-io^.to^ p^Li^^i^'

pe'Axo.iiia

JTHyii

cuijsa

.>.i\

A<

rdi

't*.^ _ni'.i

A5i^jsa''3

r<li^oK^o

eoTflaa.3 ^p<:i.^i^ ^_oaA>A\ .t^^*

r<lj3.<.i\

.^nc'A^arajao.sia
.

>cnciV^ ...oooni .^cras

VUJaaJ .T&o'^

CD^CU.^fia.sa.'l

1=

Gk. Kvpwv

Oeov.

<"

Cod. HiU''^.
Gk.
atfipova.
ciTrd

"^

Cod.

bis 71^1-.

"^

Gk.

o ^os.

'^

Gk.

airaTryo-ara) /it.

A paraphrase
= ivWTTlOV

for Kai irai/ros woKet/nerov

a/iaprtas avtoc^eXoCs.

'

(TOV for

Gk.

CJ/

TOTTO) CTOV.

i'"^ '"'

A literal rendering of a\oyov. A literal rendering of oAtyoi/fux'atranslator has omitted the difficult line [iv
-q

" The
,..a=ii:\i:\,

tS

iXeyxea-Oai] tpvxrjv iv

Xeipt o-aTTptas avTov-

SoKLfia(ria

aov; but perhaps iv

iXey^ai.

riS iXiyx^crOat is

latent in
I

for in Ps. xvii. 27

<^\

he renders koI

by cwo^ixAo.

have

added the word fi r

to

make

the text clear.

^sn

PSALMS

OP'

SOLOMON

[l6

.r<'.A>.1\o

r<Ufiau r<lzA

K'^O^fio.l r^^jXa'i

.Kllxla

^niiSQ.i

jaci^.l jA^sarS'^

i__ocaA ^iis^l r<li rl\a^.-i rC'v^^io

rC'ioi.T

__a^.iTi

.rdlM*

^.

pS'AiaSo^ jii^.l
i^

vyr*" ^_Oonvrq

^
^."i

redoArtisivo

^.ia.:L.i

^trC'o

airs'

.^..OAViia
cni^.i

rdlcL^

lAua

ij^ >.^iii vyK* i^_^ea*ar<' A^ Kli.Tar^.t

^_^otiii\icL.o"
K'Av=
.7i\s\
^Au.i.i

.r<liio.T
r<'irt<'.i

^J .^^Ojit:^

rii

AAj5a^

^^^ajpf ._os3.\nJ

x'^^M^
i*^
cax*.i.-i

AcujcA
'3

relsnrw^k.

.^aJr*"

^o.iii

0.aTMLl
rt'-.iio.i

._Ocai'cn\^*

^^^cqi'i'-i\

.jjl&Auu

r^

KtiaaArj KlxA^u ._o^r<iJO

pel^Tre'
K'cqXi<'
i^Ji:0.i

.r<f.'i'.Vjj.i

^it^* A^.o'S
^

.caij.\=j

>AvS3r<"*
^jsa

cn^oisajjijsaa

AuKLio

.cha r^LsoMl

^ocQi

r<L>i:39

^
"

Gk.

Kvpiov.

"=

Gk.

iirdo-racrtv, cf.

Ps. xvii. 26.

"^

Gk.

^col.

Perhaps

<i<isi\osn, i.e.

Gk.

Xoi/ips.

The MSS. have

s

[aTro] Xt/AoS

which

Gebhardt emended to a7ro iroXc/iou. f Probably an error for T<iiOQi

Gk. tov Oeov

aircui'.

PSALM
.Sk.

16 (= Ps. 59).

.rd^v^Q
^

f^

Avnjjir*'

.1^0^

rtf'-Vam
is

K'Avii-a

r<Ak.*ijcs3
paraphrastic,

The
o.

translation of the difficult

opening verses

somewhat

but the Greek can be seen through the Syriac.

s,

"
14. IS]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

.MSn

.re^Tio.T

,cno.9iMi

.^oacni

,^.i r"

rtlxfiau

A*^

ocniT^o.l

PSALM
^^_ajm\
.r<''i'i.z.a

14 (= Ps. 57).

cnA

^1

-1,

w *wi

^xi^nflX

r^L^vsn

>:sacn.:a'

K'^o.A^.iva

^i_&-icQ..=a.i

_OJoa.\

.cn^o.iVM

^T^.fioj^n.i

rf_.i.sj.T OD^i^n.i

A.\^^i9

.pc'k'g3T,.i

K'^sacvi ^__ocq1a ^__otq^.Au

^^ftleb

.r^AcL^cv K'V.V**
ci3^oia,:^V=>

relJAcn

r^Ao* .Aar^T^a^ cnAio^i*o

r<:.\.

i__^

.i<'caA-*."i

icuaa

r^Lsaa.

an.MK'.i

i<^l.l

r<Lioo^o

.^jyV^a

>cna.sq.'U3

^xit<'

^^

r^^ZJK*

>JL3.i

r^

relaA'\.1

rdlJ-M.i

ri23tt-*.ria

.r<lAa,-XjjO

r<li."T-=r<'o

Gk.

ippLi^oy/j.evr].

PSALM

15

(=Ps.

58).

a a Gk.

ju.17

i^ofj-oXoy^a-aa-Oai crol iv akqdfia.

VX

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[13 "^ ^

^^o

.rido^

relxixe.-i

.rdjiil-tvi'

re'T'sA

r<L.i=a

tV^o^

rt^i.si3.i

,cno.Au*o

.KUi-sa.i

.cncLaK'

yax^

f-sa

.re'.vuAi^

Gk. adds

cv airopia,

Gk. omits.

'

Gk.

t/o-ux'ov'.

"^

Gk. omits.

PSALM
crr^i.-io^

i3(=Ps.

S6).

.^Av

h\.sat

r<\in:{

onl,i*saj ^^^^vxfia^ relti-SS.!

cali=a'

i.._ocn*2aT^^oocn
r^l^^z.'i^ ^.1

^,

^.. n*w K'^CUi'Uao i^oeoiaaa >oeo >^iu5)9

.^^\^^r^4 .kl.v ^\Si. ^cai^

>-*.
^.1

^cn

^*.-i

l\.-sa^

.rcAav.
r'.Tu

i3A<iu*'

rcJsoA.i.i

.cn^\v.iax.

A\
rell

^00
r^.l.l

^-M

r^n^.iA

.rdlcw..!
reA.i

K'^lo^sa
A^"^ ^
.

,03 rdjcis.i

relj3^'.i\.i

re'A^o.TTJsa r^*aiMLa
r<'i\2i-.-u=>.t<i7

.is^uu^''

i_^

p^.TiAisa^

.rClicU.3
k'.'ujlI

riLSuiLttA

.rc'^v^.ixs
rclxK.it

,cnO.<^ii<J.-i^

l^sa^

.rcda^- crA

kiI.i

vyK*
rr'n-n

vy(<'

cnwo.iTioa

.re^soxMi

covaA.i

vyrS*

i.e.

Gk.

da-e^iji as in

Codd. and not

=

evo-e/Jjy's

as

Wellhausen conjectured,
c

t
"1

Perhaps for

t=:(^

(= Gk.

(7w/*xapa\r7;it<^e^).

c^^j ^ic=xjA\Ai
f

= Gk.
Gk. O

v irepio-ToXiJ ?

Syr. begins verse here.

Gk.

voveerifo-ci.

KVplOS.

'

12]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

ccsa

Koi-^

re'iisa'io^

i^_acQX

A.^x.o vy^93

r^i^n'i

rfiaV^S

.p^eoir*'

A-Ay

.r^oriAr<'

_ocn\

.M^irti"^

ri"M*Qi.-i

rti^tx^i.l

r<*Or>n

^^^ocncnArc'.i

cDivMaa.z.^.1
.

KLJT.ii.Q tn

A-trtf*^ tw

ia\.i.i

rtli^yWr^ >-i^o

>&A\Mek:ax.^.l

r^JrcC'sa

;:iaix.'ioT<'

,JLs\h\r^^

A^o

.A^rc'ifiaa

.1^

AAjsan

^i.T^si

r^i-sa

oa^i^

.'^ToAjtAo

f^\v\r>
"=

rtfltoo^ A-r^ifio.
^

A^

rl.ii3.i

,ooa,5a-i

Gk.

01 Spv/j-oi.
CIS

Gk.

dvTiXv, (= Syr. ^-u.i'i^

11?1 d'?!;'?

?).

"=-=

Gk.

Tov aiujva Kat eti

=-.

= Heb.

ut supra,

f-f

Gk. as in note

PSALM
^.sao

12 (= Ps. 55).

.redexA-o

rslaLiacn rsTiiiV.

f^

i-*-^-ii

oo^a

rei^iia

.rtfA^o r^AxcAi^S ALsa.T

.ri:.^^^^! i^:.a

.rellJe_jAso

reiutA

re-Avi

s^areT^*

.^r^Jaasai

vxi-l

rsii.iiixa'^

cosonsass

rellL'rer

jiMlK' .nCAvxii-lsa r'Aa&aa^

.reTjiiia rslflocoai A:^ .inJ^i

had difficulty, as every one else, with this he had a text very near to the Gk. i2(rfftp iv passage but it seems cSo-Trcp iv It seems natural to correct this to \a(3 TTvp dvd-n-Tov KCiXX.6vrjv avTov. is clear for Syr. d\^ wvp dvdnrov KaKdM" With the Copenhagen MS. But the which it prefixes (^^aocn). Xa<S, and it suggests KaWov-qv aiTov by the clause Gk. iKKo^at 'b i.e. ii^.'TX-rj.Tai (H) for ip.7rpij.7a1 (RJLC).

The
:

Syriac translator has

clear that

"=

d-d Gk. iv

</>Xoyi 7rapav6p.ov?

Gk.

(Tvyx^ai.

Cod. ^iiyoS^a

orea

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[lO, II

PSALM

lo (=Ps.

53).

Ti.ii^^

>cb r<'-.*'iA3

.pc'ixo.TVSa

^ti'aa'sq.i

^L.f<l\ ^*\^ P -^Jv

r^-ooaso-is
relTJpf
)JLrj.T

i-i-^

rS'Aio.iotiflo^

r<'.sa.*>''i=

>crio.iiis.A

r<l*T=a
re^saxa.i

K'Avjj'iort'-rj

ri'.iVSs.T

ooAxoacniso

.^liA.i

.^,cnoiL.i ^_c^cQlAiD ^.^^OTiK'

^i^o

Ctcp rSJn-.n^

.r<^-i&.afia=3

.)ai^

re'ca^K'

^JSiuVSSQ

oqa

^oxfiosn

AJ\^.93^

.Ajr<'i on

i.i

ii.^om

rclti-san^ .r<l*T-=>3n coSozX ^ja-jU A^r<'iiia.-i

K'^x.cli&o

^
>

Cod. T^*<MSiJBQin=3
1.

Gk.

iv eAey/tU).

iK(oXv6rj as

suggested by Fritzsche, for cku/cXw^i; of the

"^

MSS.

'=

Gk. adds Gk.

Gk.

6 Kv'pios.
17/XU)V.

Gk. to IXeo? (=ojnu, cf

14).

^
f

O KVpLOS
ei'

s Gk. d 6cds. avTov and adds cis tov aiwva. Perhaps we should read ^siaio^cuin answering to the Gk. crwi^podvvrjv.
Kplfi.aa'Lv

PSALM
^alacioKla Ot^i^rS'^
.cnJVk.a.i3a=> A^r^'TflO'
.rClzJi'.lfl.-i

II

(=Ps.

54).

r^Ax,Sk-..T''

reHina ^_cueo-o oin'

A.\,sa
.rdiHa-fiasa.i t<lla

A^. pS'cqIk' >.ui.i

"

Gk.

o-iy/xacria;.

ti

Gk. da-dwa^ (= Heb.

mn3

).

9]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

ISO

.pC'ofArc'

v\iu^.i^

^SO

ptlxjrfirs rtfLxA^ivl r<l&^r<llo

vUSSOa

^\jr^
priLso

T.:k..flo

vy^Aoa.lVso^
rc'ivauflo

.^^i^W.i

r<'.i

a ^ -)

r<'A\

-lO

r<lj[j.i

.r<'^o.xL>.i\

.ta:!L:i

^^ ocn^

.rg'-x.vVva
oral

caz^j.i Aa.i J3r<lu oqri relAo:^ .la^.i

ocno .r^^xsn i\o\

.od^vaso TJr'i=
^jixi.T

Aa A^

t<^cux.-iv=3

ix^^jcnaL.t'"
^r<l^i

.<li:i=jr<:=

^_a.iorA

^^
.^cn

r^r^

.ri'calrS'

'**-^

oxsoA"

i-N

ny

"-riX 14

...^ooal^

A^

^j^rtllo

>cn

(<'^^cas.i

v\^aa.j^^

.ftVy^.t 7i.Vi

A^

.^_oea\ AuK* qoaso'^ rcAo vviaso

^'A.rS'

AupS* ptf'jt.cno'^

.oojAv.K' Cka-t^.i^ r^iw ^-V'^-f

)t-u

A^

^*\.

cncnlr^ ^OMia
rtA.i
.i=>9

.Axa.MK'.T

cioo

vv^a^. ^Imo i_cnAr<' oeo

vJu>.-i.-v

vyxJisoui

juji^

ru

.^1m

A!^sa

.A^K'ifia^.i

v^az. ^'^

Axsofloo'^

rd'sa.aa^ .^^ociA^

v^^

.^cniarc'.i
.(<L.i:ss

iv^xiirc' reSaina'^

.^qAjA

Klsa.T^

reJut-Ax^

r<Ao

Klx.eo'

AaK'i-fla-^.T

K'Aua

A.*^

rtlso-aji

^_aipe'

reL.iia.T^
TaistAo

l'

Gk. adds
Gk.

KVpiov.

'^

Gk. adds

ev e^ayopiats.
'^

"i
,

tiJSvi'trs.

'
'^

Gk.
i.e.

xP'JO'toVtjs.

Cod.

ci=3\:>

Gk. om.
Gk.
is

ov KaTairavcni^, as in Cod. R.

'

Tov

ai(3i/a Ktti ert

= Heb.

IV) chv'^

'

.^ia

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[9

..__ocaisjt<'Ar<'.i vvr<'^ori4apelsai^ o.-ia^o""^ r^hxard'.'sa^

m'nx\ ooen
.relSk.'iK',!

^xJL.iii-Ssn

^AjLrtfd

Ape* ^Ix.iortf' A\<l2a\^0^

j3.1."H<'o^
.K'eoirC'.T

rdsnags-i

,cnox>li^

K'ctAp^

,L__omivJju3

rClsiJLss^

pC'ijsorS'

vv-K'

r^eoArCs

icncuaoijo^

ocn

^re'.t

A!^^32

.^,gn\s.\

rtf'ixusa

vOajL. ^.110
.r<'^CLja->.l\.'l

.t^ciAr^

.r^Aio.TVSoa
.

Ajpc*! on

Aulr^

.J5'.1.1

K'coAk'
vv^cnrtf'^^

Ajrc'ifliLi.l

oni.ioa
-t^*^^

t-A^o^

.^Ouo

vy.'SOu'i

^iVv.

^iXB ^IwO

VV^CUSOaCn.! A!^^3^
peiX^e

.PS'A<Q-1i\nO

k^somts

i.^ertaK' ^^iJX

Klsacn^
.jiiii.i

.^r^*

^O.ii

iuirCo

.^.ia
r^laalni

^^oArt' ^iK'o^^
r<ll
.^xl=3

^A.i vyr^
oqa

rtf'.sa^sa^

^A^Aaj

^LmQ^^

reL>i:=)9

^^^-acw
v>a3u.i

vyi\vo

Aiiae^ja
.

^jsa

^r^
JLuTJ

A^.O ^i\s

39

.^^OJrC'

^in\.l A.\^'M
rCLiijsa

vyl.S9

.^^\^^ KlA

.=10^0

.^OT^
>cnoJL.i-3

T<'oQlr<'

>n\s\

v0.is^
.^n-2i^A

.icnoioMi Klsqa^s)

r^i^\:sn

oqa

m-it'w^"

m Cod. n1^

"

Gk.

l/iiavav,

(not as in Cod.

/j,tavev).

Cod. om. TO

Kplfxa crov.

PSALM
aAuir<' .1^
J3CfL>.l

9 (= Ps.

52).

.(<'^i&04
T<'^O^i<

r^.:^iT<L\ tr^iiT-i
CU.livLrti'^

A^K'ifio^

p^<

.<&

>cn

^^^ocrxoai^

r<L>i.99

^^
vyre*

.Aar'ia>.l

eni-TAs p^oen rC^'ais. ^^^oorAaa .pfenir^^ .oen\

K'cTiiK'

.vryi\cu3.>.iv=)

A.int^.i

AA^-sa^

.K'crArS'.i

'ca&\iM

Gk.

Kvpto's.

8]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

.3S3

.OOcn

.A

'

tr^*'"

.opAi.= ^Q^.

rtflsK'O
>.XJ

.caiap*'

)a^

ri'i.a'"

ocniujLS osoxnr^a i^^^ca^'iajj

^.t'S^-MLSw
rt'co.lrc'.i
cnz..-icii>

oooa ^T^^_oea\Ao"

.oocn

iun'^

.^on

A..^

^ rfJsaJLii

ml^a

oAsL^cn^ oocn

t .to^3

.jiiAo ^v>.i ^vAi ocn

\ti^r^

.r^iHasn^ ^sp
t^ax.rtf'o
.

\*^c\ o:tri^ r^.l r^cri\^

cvuzix. ccIaq''^

.r^rtlsaV^

p^A<ft,is.^a

r^Luoi r<'otAr^ .__aenl .\v5a rdJcn A^gSo'S

Aj^o

>\jt.iar<' As*,

r^aia i

r^ao'^

^r^xr a

^rV.i

r^.j^-iK's

t^iuiioK' o^ajLo'^
<x\i&o
Ti^ar^'cv

.f<l:=a\,.z.s

Aci.^.
.

r^^

.vyMior^ >aj3^^'
r^lssi^.^
.oi^'-iax.

7aix.ior^ Aa. r<l^.i^

.

cuj^

cn^o.ii:^:Mi

r<'J5a\T.3 ,a3CUs.-i rS'Avial

rdsK" ^^^rC

A^o^

cfu*'iAx.o
AjSk.

mA.T.^;;^

os.*p^o^'

.re'r^^^

rCiijLsi

,onaA-^i

reUjioAurs

,eoft-.4u.r<''^

K'coArS'.i

AA^^
^^

.>A.x.ior'a

pa_i_^M.i

AL.93^

.^^ocnAj-Xj-i

o."i.30r^o^3

oeoA\aj_j_sJ^j
.^rilAjLSa^

rslLsa

vyrC

>Ax.ior<'."l

ax^'icusm^i relsoa o.ix.rt'o

^
f
>

Cod. ex errore

.^m^ a-^N

Gk. adds
Gk. to

ei*

irapopyio-/x,a!.

Gk. adds Gk.

/iTa opKou.

s
'

^'vo-iao-rjjpior KapLov.

o'vov aKparov.

Gk.

iirevKTij.

Cod. jOJoV^t^

'-'

Gk.

/cat

Travra

(ro<t)ov

iv

^ovXy.

This requires that we correct -^V"

to

.^oao.

f<Sn

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[j,

PSALM

7 (=Ps. so).

iJj.li

vOUa^
V^>jAi

Avl(<3

.vrJL.TCUJ.I

K'^oA\V.

Ocnl^^

iJLO.l^

vyr^

klXo

p*li5aAi.20

ocn

Avjp<'i

.\^*a

.^xA.^ coX

.^^^

Auk* vv^a.\

r<in.i

^iwo^

.^ita^*^

am

AvirCi A^^ta
Ai^'sa^

."^icncxx^^^^ rcAo

)al^\

A..r<'iQit..i

cn^ivl ._a*A> Auk's

KLsacuX .aonv.i

cnAxixaLA

^4JL=a\

voi.icu^.l rtliava ^xiaA>A<^^

^
"=

Cod. .^oriioo'a
Cod.
fj;

b
cf.

Cod.
o-ii

ivao'n'n
n-epi
-ijfx.ijji'.

errore jasmin,

Gk.

ivreXy avroi

'^

Gk.

v7repacr7r7T7;s.

'

The
Tov

Syriac has dropped the following sentence

Koi fj-dcmya TratSeias trov.
f

koI

r]fi.L<;

viro

^vyov

arov

[cis]

aliova.

Cod. ^inm*^

PSALM
rf-JL\io
Kliiii.T'*

8 (=Ps. si).
>.i:sax.

Kiln

i.ire'

KIstd.! K'Ano KLi-.\oK^

.

Kluoi vyK" r^Kli^Jo

Ail.

peCia.:!*.!

K'Aji^

pdJ.TJK'.Ta K^A^^.l
K'AllA.X.Sk.

KL.A^K'.I

K'iO-l.T
..^K'.l

P^\s. 1'^

VyK"

.K'A\r<'_i^Ja

K'Vo'*

.cni

>.^

r^-^^r^^

-i\\

ifjiiarCo^

.r^i^.via

,^

,'-W=aajj

t'iAuLK'Q^

.KAvxt.ia K'Avu.iJsn

^oLLiorda Av^^^z.
kI^jsix. Jsp
A>i.'SaK'o7

KljAva. \fs^r^ >s>3''i^ OA>.\AxA\K'o^ '^Jiswi >.^-iaao.

.K'AtacL>.iV-=>
^^

Atv^.1A^K'o
Avii.ito
a

oonAvMioK ..^o iAu

.K'-:^iK'o KLiSoi. a.aTaA^K' :i^ ,.W.t

>

.KLi.=o.i" >cncaj'.i
jnov.
<=

Cod. *i=3Ta3:\
O. S.

Syr.

om.

l^tofi-qOri

jj

KupSta

Gk.

Otov.

6]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

yt

vy.^aui

ix^

pe'-^it<' tiiV^ jL^'''

.rc'^ricnasars 000,4x1.1 vv^ol.i

.

icnoa'i.&.-iiui.-i

r^-XJi^A

.cnanaAj'^

r^^a 1

\y.3

r<ltaa

ceaflaaiM-C^'

.W4^aJu.^v^
vvAxa
rtfl^'iss.i

K'Axa.i^aasa'^ ri'txa.^^

.oA

t^V ><i

A^r^h

fla 1

Oa.

"iiiNy^o

K'Ava^-i
,cn

kI^t-Sss

^onoJLu.i

i*^

CUOCD.i

A!\^93

cn^MOajL.^

nL^^^a^

.\fs.^Ci\\ "vis

^
'

Gk.

^eo's.

Gk. av^^erpla. avTapxeias.

Syr. omits

Gk. to

fiirpiov.
1;

'

by oixoioriKiVTov the words

Kat cv tovtui

evXoyCa tov Kvpcov

is vXrjUjj,ovrjv iv SiKaioavvrj.

PSALM
.K'-.'i.sa.i

6 (= Ps. 49).
.i&\^.).-i

oaa.z^

r<'in:M.i cr^i.A

rOtJT-a.\ iCdclaaV'

^ia

.__ iiita

coAv*""icvr'a3

.ji^Au

pcLiiso.T onsax.

i&.-i^

.iSkO^

cn^ljjo^'^

.oDGiAr^'^

tcno.-upf.i t<'.%=i^. ^ii^^rsao

A^Ji^tss

.r^\s>i ^.oii

cnJC^JO

.am

coLt.i.i

.t^>^\^^ r<^ rcuAA^.l rC'^x.x^

\sn\ cnaA.i r<'iujLxiso^

.rtfliia.i

cn^^zA .wit o cn^z.

Jsp

^*\.

Aao

.*^oqn

an^Lu.ia.l A^.i m^xn-^-^

.cnsj

.iijai.

reL^isaa^

co^as

vyi^'

.r<l*i. r<lA=a.r.=ao

rc'intw'aa.i rtlzso.i r^hAr^JX.

.1

ocn
after

"The
^2:^1^^.
*

text

is

in confusion

we should read ^\ui=, and add mr^\

missing in the Greek.

The words ooj Cod. T^ni^-i

Gk. adds
(9eov.
:

oA^'a'n .^^=n are

"^

Gk. To5 5eov auTov.

d
^

Cod. ex errore

/5w caA.

J^

PSALMS OF SOLOMON
.crA AAi Aori'.^__i<;r<d<'
.A."sii^.T
>."IS3

[S

S^^
^cvfloi

Aa

^=?>

;*"

rSllo

re^VoAcsm

,ep

vvAxoA cnAxJJsao

r>tfjt_lr<'

i^.i

.^i.lcwsA vvi^iii fJ\orf_=^ .rfcairf

.v^.l

^2 .VIA OTOViOttai

rsd^^ ^^_oAr<' ocp

Aup<'.l

A\s3 ^_^ftSi-3

AvSLaonre'

f<d Auri'o

.^_r<''

.K'Aireli vv&\Cki rsdr*"

vypa

jxii rid.i

^isa vy*at<'

.A^^
AA^Ai

Aure"
."VA

r'caAr<'

r^'votV

vy^oA

r^_.i.5a

^Si^r^ "*-*-^

.Au1p'

r^LaiiO
-a .r^

AxJrC

rtflJCulo

^-*-^ rt'AujTAX"

K'AAaAr<l=n aai^*al
._osa.ij vvAtol

Ms-.i

rc'Au^.osaX K'ia.va i<''iA^

.p<'A\ctMj

.^_oAa.Aj

,^j^o'^

AaA

ns'irj.Ts

reliuiAaQ ooo Aupg* pclaaSisN o rdJ^'ioiAo relalsiA^^ ^^^^coiaK'

AurS" ^.^rC
.

r^re' .Aisn .'^t^Tin.io

ocn
AuK.i

rCliAfla^o.i

ooittwo .K'crAr^
.r^UxJSi
-tviA.>%

i<Uft.uo

K'.ri,cn.-i

A^^-rg

,cno-vi^Aio''^

caA<a.TtV'^

t^.'w mHsj vy.Ttr^ oral

mAv&Ai .ia cojc^J ,v

ooo

re'o

.TiJuSOO ^'M&i

-Sot

r^.lflcuxri

.rt'.xJK' is.!

i*^

vyAvacncxso'^
(^iaiio

.ocn rCousnAi i^Licno

.

-^V r^o

AAvsA

rcliAu.i

AuAo^

rt'AtO^.a.so ^

t<'A<ftai^n (<'r<LA^

vOu.i ^.i

" i.e. ^
'^

iJLri

fipaSvvg^, the
ifa

Greek
fir/

is fir; fiapvvri's,

(=TJ3oa\ '^-^).

paraphrase for

8i

avayK-qv a/xapru/Acv.

The

Syriac here varies from the

Greek
iva

(xai iav

firj

iTncnpiif/y^ i//xas, oijk

text.

a.<\)i^6jxfBa),

whether by conjecture or by the tradition of a better

jU,^

It

stands for xai

^
^

a7ro(7Tpi/^ijs

a.<j)

qfJLuyv,

ju,'^

af^i^tofnQo. diro crov.

Gk.

irevrjTOs.

Cf. Matt. V. 45.

passage of

some

difficulty.

The

Syriac supports Ryle

their

emendation
Koi

[a-tj/jiepov

koi] avpiov.
:

And
'

it

certainly reads ^iS<o.

is

and James in But

:

the emendation
(fteiSol
t;

is
:

unnecessary

Gebhardt's text

right or nearly so

iv

avpLov

omit a

i;,

and

translate.

Human

kindness

is

scant and of

to-morrow
marvel.'
s

and

if

man
f

repeats a kindness without grumbling,

Sic Cod.
ov.

why

'tis

Lege ^ni\ai-iao (= Gk.

irXouo-iov).

Misreading Gk. oJ as

S]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

^
.i&o'^
Aa> SB

CD 91.13
.

ixfiau

rc'ocaio

.cndtml Ao^J

tcno.v^'K' '^jo^'itt

>CnOjjaix]J .Tm ^i<:\ CD.tL

^0^

.rtfJt^l

v-^cwm'^

.^.vM

r<'reLJ[.^jfl(>

re'&va

CUs'VmK'.i

Ai^^^S

.rd&JuiaA ^i&.i.i
.r<''T.^-.3

^A^t^'.i

O'VAlA^r*'

r^o^
.^eoisk

.pS'Ax.^^
^Aonta

tCDoi.i^Q

rOtJlrCl
.pe'en\r<'A
.r<'cn,\pcA
'i'*wA<

av^irS'o^S

re'orAre' ,ija

oIm.i r^Ao

K'l^&iA.-i A\^^a .T<l2k.ir<' ^sa .__eur^ .tsjcu.i

.

d^sau^K'o
t
> -an -i

^^co-ISiK^

afla

t<'A\ ^,.i..acp

t^Av

-i

rfAi^a

^^_ocn^osa.^^qi\=) (<L>i:a
.reA 0.211.0
^a'3.v..i

^Am:i.1

^>1jp<iA

.^

ocrxvsa\^ 26
r^^%.'s3

r^-i^Aoaa
r^'cnlrc'

r^*i.au^ ^9 ^_aJr' jioi.^J

A^

.laorc*^ .r^Ao:^.-! pAoz&sa Aa>

f<Li.>.i.i

^ ^i&Jo
r^aJsnoJi^

ocb

reUijsa

i^.ii.3e.:>-

\\''n

.(<'^ov>iujLa

'

Cod. ex errore ^nis CQ Cod. om. i*^.

The

translation

is

a free paraphrase of

iv /jLovwuei

arCKi'tas to yijpas aijTOi) cts avaXr/xj/iv.

'

Accidentally omitted in passing from one page to the next.

PSALM

(=Ps.

48).

coxoOT^ Av*30
kA.i ALsa*

.^SOjj'TSao >iiOft-i Axir^.i

AA^^

.r<lxL>il vy-l^'-l
KliftJJasa.i

..is>3

j>o4ulA> rid vvAxoA r<ls.^r^ ^3

v\

PSALMS OF SOLOMON
.r^ijo-a

[4
rdxjj.l

cn."i_.r'o3

f^V\ij \

Q3i.u*gi^

,cnai.sa=>

oeo

003

vyp<'

r<'i<o.i*.=

r<'A\i=

A^rs

A.:=a\

A.Ano^
.

pS'^tia.l
cn=j

relar^a

^rcf.fiasis.i

^AtrfA

pc'cair*' )a*ir<'7

K'^xxa

^A.i

(<'^CU.fla^Sa=3

cni^^.i

rCAraCLjjuss

re**iAi ^2k. ^.T

riUij" .^ui.l

cni^.l

rcLvflaw^ .__a,ci.lV->o^
.r<La.'*.it

.>cnc\-Tii^

rt'.utcta.ao

r<l^.MCV.^p

.3.00^'

>.Tn

rd^ifi .__a;a*iA\A\i s^ i_^cncnirC.i

.

'rC'^VLS

A^k.

tcncul^^o^'
."U*.!

r^ll^iT)
K'ax-'sai

rdjcv;2ai

AVsasn.i

r^^t^^
pc'A^aAxa

r^Asara

xa

rS'Avsa^jj

.rd^ajj

vyr^
.

,;^_cca_.iv-.r<'

Klrks

rt'-i.i.Q-ijLSi

,encca.\^Ava'^
.

rc'A\aAaj!k..T

i.T^.I^ rCl.=31J^'3
.3JtiAM<'o''*

jj^

ri'Ao

rc:lo.s>..i

p'A\^.T

r^ \

\ qa\

.r<Acu.s rC'Av^i A2^^39 pS'ivia ^ijjK'o

.

.rCA^asiAurj

.reAo^.

rellcorj ^VsaAxK'o^^

^^j^.^o

rc'iu.-i

cujsq iul.i rtlAsoa

r^^AuiSi.-l rdVsis

cn^OsTMSa^ r^^MrC
.Aa.xx.

K'^vis A:^ >cna.i*^o

K'ocn^ ^cnV^ ^\cns'^

vyr^

orucAJ r<lA=a^'93 i^lo

cn^isn''

fOT<\v~no r<'^ijLi^U3 oQixi&iM .KfyoaxB r<'a^.^a rtL^^sa

K"^!!. vJai^i^^o'^

.rt^O^s

cn^cv'Vi.St.o

K'^n.v-) cnAviz. ^^^ooorU

"^

Gk.

ei'

viroKpi<Tei ^(ovras /actoi octliov.

The Gk. which

Cod. viioQu
Gk.

has omitted KplvovTo.^ carried back the next words to the

left

previous sentence and

e

the sentence
f

irevt'o,

ktI.

without a head,

Gk. adds dvSpo^.

'^

eviKTiaev crKOpTriVat.

Cod. om.

4]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

ol

i^^^oaaaTa
>

p'cnXr<'

^.to

(.'sa

rclni'.ili K'tti.^
rci-n.".'.ll.T

.camia.^

K'A^r^'J

\*ga^

.rt'iu^^M Aik. K'^xV^u

rS'AvAaia K'^j:=i iji\^

rfA

rd^aoAo
Asb.

tcnailMLA

^\o

r<Acv^.

^i Ao^^K""
rcAjLjjAo
.cn=i

.cn^xalo
.T-i-a^K'.l

K'm^^
r<:.\o

AflooK'o'^

,cn.'Sar<'.i

.^OaJ
iskXD.i

cn^ici&sa

reLzxn.i

AV^'sao Aa^i'^

.,cr3a.IiA

K'm^^
r^.irjrS'

t^vsar^ i^.-i^ rcAo''*

.acp ;;ai^ K'Acisw.l

T*^

.(<l>aiAcn'^
^
'i

.jiiV^^i

.30^ r<Ao
'^

r<L>TMi cnionciia
^o's.

ciTro/SXeTro)

for fXTro^Xiwu.

Kvptos for

An

addition by the transcriber, due to reminiscence from the Odes.

PSALM
vvnXo
.rdii'>.i\.i

4 (=

Ps. 47'').

pCAvx.Q.l^B

^K*

^^

rd^wLX-i

^Jr^

rellSoA'

Either the numeration has gone wrong, or a Psalm 46 has been dropped.
that the former

The Greek shows

^

must be the correct explanation.

marginal note says that one copy reads ruiin.

O"
KlA

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

[3

K'^Vmq

.am rtlur^

vs.t

nxjji^pS'

i*^

<^

.iVv^-^

K'^cL&iso .^^K'.TO

.relii-ir^

Aa.o

r<l.>su.

Aa- rtlaAsa A*ocno34

.,cno.!^:i.

""rcA.i^l

A\s3 .K'i^^^

>xis^ ridK" rsLi.-ii^P r<d

ooxiaio-i ov*> p^x-ooo^s
.^^K'.io
.r<Lxi*.n

r<l^\sa.i A1^99

.f<L>i.S9.i oai<n

re!.2. ire's

r^-^isai cuki=j37

.rf-iSai.

a\A

^u^l\
r^ji.=a
.pcii^.-ja

oen

icnataMTi Aa^sq

.r^JX-^Jior^Ls^

^.

.iVij.i.i

_^uco
r<l>V>9.-|

.r<Ao.2k.O r^nli'.lt ^Misi .x.ia.'Sal^S

.cnoiii.T Ajk.

.r<lait^ .la^-.i .Alij r<Acl^\

.^i&soAo

.KlXcL^.l rl2k&<x:a

^\ Aas

tCoas>3:in

^n.^ai

>cnoQfw\

>cno.'saM''i

vyK*

.la^JsaA

The

Syriac

corresponds exactly to the Greek

this difficult

KoiiJi.it,<jiv.

In spite of

Ryle and James' advocacy of

lator's blunder..

The

Syriac itself

must be a transsuggests the emendation A *^"Ta=n^ (and

word,
I

think

it

lowers the proud).

p

This looks like a corruption for i>^n=3Ti_\ (=

it

eJs a.Tru>\iav)

but with

the added f^-\t^

"

makes good

sense.
(rxof-o-ri?).

Cod. joja^tv.^ -^V^

Gk.

iv liTKTTriixri (read as

Im

The

translator has misunderstood or misread the Greek.

PSALM

(= Ps.

45).

AA^JS3
^

.ooA\oi-i-Si-=>

,Vi.^A>A<p^o ti-^at

.K'ori.ircA ^ r<'A\s-i

The

translator or scribe has

dropped the words

ij/dKaTi [t<o ^coi]

t<3

2]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

."!

.vOu.i .^.-la^l.l A,\^2Q

^^

oaxcn2^ ivA^'^

.r^i>'-i=no

rtlzla

>i

T.iopdX i<lsa,.sa_^ i._^ o.ioaM^

.rtlansla

.a.

at

r<ll.io

.cnivMO.ajL.^.1

QoOJoi^

mi&ox.^ Afio&^K'o

^^_ocri^jL.ais'

ocn '^r^^uioajc^.l

r<'cu\'^

miss

'b^J3l^^r^^^

.r<l\A& .&iu cax*i

^vsar^o

ptCji-so.l

cna^r<' Axis-io

^vm

rtllc<'o^

.rSl^ir^
ji>nf)

r^^ax>^.A:i=>

A.>r^iAx>

Aj^ (<L>T-'k vyo-'i^ ^Voorc'

.vvv^ova

,;^

oca=3 K'r^ia.Ax i<L>isa

Aur^

r^ r<\r^

.^tsa^a^

,CUj.1

Klso.TS^ Axiua^x.r*' r<'_io3

.rc^iik.=1

reUxl^.i

cnicnaox.

r^drtrC'.l^ ^.1

cni^^O^'

rel'SXt

A.^O

rdik.irC'

A^.

>\ 07*39

r<'i^

caAaor^:t

A.\^^

.iaii.l

ivAo

.re'pflt^gg

rC'Vk.^

Klli^A^

We

s
'

Cod.

should restore ^ o oMconra which answers to the Greek KaTavaTqini. h-h Q]j fiirpav 80^7/s. TOTiajio.

'

^ Syr. om. /xeTo. ixrivia-fuis KaL Cod. ut videfur -tray^'v^^. This answers to the unintelligible Greek toC ciTreti', which Geiger (to destroy)

explained as a misunderstanding of -\2~h in the sense of 131?

and which Wellhausen explained by taking

T'P^

-idn^ as a late

Hebrew form

for

-i'pn^.

Cf.

Hos.

iv. 7.

""

Kvpios for Scos.

"

The

Syriac evidently had opemv, and not as Hiigenfeld suggested opiwv.

A4
.p<'caAr<'.i
.,j.=>a

psalms of SOLOMON

[2

icnoJ-smn oooo ^rd.'n^sso

.

.p^L.'VSO.i
Ai^'sa'*

otai-.vxi~S3

.^^oipe" o.Tx. a.nuirc'.i*'

tsars'

reUeo

.K'A^aia^a

^.UJ \^flor<'
p<^.

coA\mc\3.t.A<.i pc'iao.r. __ooa5a^

sjliira^
.

^Aip^

relio
.

13..X.3

cn^Uso

r<'Ai.\

riliaoi*-

OT.^^rS'o

r6t=

rclsisa:^.!

r^Jsi^^M r^iu ,cnai2b. ^liOo __ocni.v>o

.r<'i*is3

las.

t<ll.T

A!^S3" i^^^nc' A\*Lp^ rilswir^o

v^-.tA^.to'^
.o.-ra-^.i

.^sioi
Tt-ir<'

r<.tSax.

..^ooal:^

K'.^b^.iri'

vyrs* on As.

i^ Aa

r^L^ua^i
rC'ocn

^Ll-ioK'.T omi-aX CVSauarc"^

.K'ctiir*' r<Lii..1\ vvxlLi'.l

'i.a.:L

.K'ocn i-S^.i

^Jsa

A..&0

.r^iuJX

^Jtu

.aa 0,^=1

citfloJA

r<lxjsaz.

Aancu

.ooeo ^.is^t;jaix.icvK'.T

^_^en

J^r^A vyrc'^t

.vyX>.i

vyrC* ^^rr^'gi^^K'

m^U-rao

i^_^enAo\Q,^

AV-aa ^'^ .K'cnArC' vv^O.O'.it

vrvLr>.T=i.i

Ai^sn

.>,a.\.i

cn^o^i^us

double translation to express

aTropi\paTe....iJMKpav.

Here the

division of the sentences follows the

T7J^

Greek

MS

ovk cuoScukci/

awTOts TO

KoXXo'i

Sofi^s

avToi"

i^ovdevdOfj

ivcairiov

tov

Oeov,

For the

emendation (Hilgenfeld's) of the passage (ovk

Sd|ijs ailroB

cu'Sokw iv aurot?- to xa'AXos t-^s

in loc.

[so Syr., not avrijs]) see

Gebhardt

The

Syriac

^nm^^
is

appears to be a rough translation of

^

eijo'Scokev.

The
in

Syriac has twice

^r^u^r^

for icraVa^,
:

the

Greek word which

'

found

Daniel as the rendering of

mna

eio-aVa^

must mean

together,'

and

the Syriac must have very nearly restored the original word employed by the
Psalmist.
o. s.

!>-]

PSALMS OF SOLOMON

PSALM

(= Psalm 43 of

MS.).

^a.ZM^rf'o^

.r^Aiai!..!! ^jisi^r^.i
.l-ik

A^ai
\

ii.^^ ..li^sixi .rel=Dio.i

,\

^-<ocno

i\i^^

.r<'4<a_a._..T\ Av.i

rqAAfV.!

""'^

-^ \

05>i*iA\A\t<'^

r<L:k.it<'.l

aoA^cUkA^

rtlss.v:^

.^_oeoAufftaut.A\o

pC^or^-saV-a
^
''

pC-aisa.T

cni&jcnl or<l5a\^o i^^acaiSa.ia.T

re^isorn:^

-^5^=" is superfluous,

being repeated from the previous clause.

Reading
m(Tii)(Tiv,

io-xdruiv for iorxa-Tov.

'^

Here the Syriac has dropped a sentence, corresponding

^Koi l^vfipiuav Iv Tois dyaSots avrtov.

to the

Greek

ov

jiTj

The Greek

here has the

difficult, if

not unintelligible koX ovk rjvtyKav

the Syriac appears to have read this as koi ovk eyvwKav.

correct oi^:i Ti_^:\ to a^.:i it^-Ao

We

should perhaps

PSALM

(= Psalm

44).

oocn
Aii=3*'

..y- l-Mft re'-a'i&O.l

rlS151^
Jl=j.t

V>mMl3.1='3

A^. AxilflSO^

^A&

OfOaJu palx-ioK"

A^^3

rc'^oion-iT-i ^^acnAiaasasi

^ i.e. KarcySaXe.
'^

For ^fli'ii.3i^= read

><^'i

n^

->
,

wU/i great beams.

TO.

ayia

the Sanctuary.

r\

ODES OF SOLOMON

[42

o
Auk*.!

A.^^

.voi^

^i*

Ar<' jiii^Au^'^

.,__A\a5o

v^

^ioAxsw

Cod., ut videtur,

av:

42]

ODES OF SOLOMON
r<'iii..T

^
rSLl'UjK'
K'-ftili^

.>J'i:k.TA<r<'

T*^

r<lrir<'9

.rillri'

pas

>_.iA\A\t<'o
t< - i V .^qftjco
'

.v<^^J^r^.i

p'i-a..iy^'3

,;^^,T

\ 1

pdi

ftirga

rslia
j.TV-a

iV-u^K' t^-SajiJsai eoi-rj'4

.cwA.t.i

r<'A<a

^ocn cos

;)a*SJai3.T ,cn r^AxAso ^sa .*xli

K'ioDOJo'S

.,cnciat<'.i

ODE

42.

v&cisi __ooaVa. o^usa^

>1 ^i-m'ga.i

_^jeo AxcA

re'oenri'a

.>\

^*.\jr<ll

Ti^cu.\.cor'7

.^^ocaiSaQAa Alsare'o i^^ocnsa^ ,^r^o

K'Ao^'*

A'i=iA\ar<' ^ArS*

A\A'4\oor^ r<A'3

.^3 ^xl=a*ca>.- ^AtK'

^Avmjo
r<lx>io

.crA

^lOoa K'iisao
.

rcliu'^

>a2b.

K'r^'.JL^AAa ijua^^rc'

(<A^io'^

ptfLnSWCUk.

en=

r<'oen

Aui^.i

r<''n^

cnsn^
.>^ir<'

A:JA-cv^9

.Ao^iA

ovs.xSo.'diA
.

omAS-v^ rsAa

AA^

rC^O^tta .^octxsi^ ^AA.=ao

,cooA\ i-yx-t kLJlm.i

rC^x.cu^

ODES OF SOLOMON

[4,

r<ASaa

r^..!,jsaa^

.r^ii-xja
^.*.T

^AwJ.T

ni'.fla.ui

v^*r<'

^*ca*d\*ri'

r^-MLxJC.99

._aiJ3.T

ooAva-Ji^o
rd.V.a,(<

.r<Ll-I.^ cvocn

^ia*iwa\.So

AwijjmA^A^K'o"

.,iii*Av.=>3

^j\jLA\=o rsAo

.^r^

,.ax*j3

r<'^^cn\

^jiSaVi..!

.^ ojcq\o

ooiiv= ^i.aj^.T ^a-LreLi

r<'_ic\<'

ODE
t**-'\t'

40.
(.S3

K'sio^

.K'AuHa.3.1.1
Ar":"

r<'A\ii^^
.

kIttjm .^^.i

VVf<''
^isa

oqp
,

vvA^.
rtLflfl^

>inflo

rCLl^co^

CTI1.V -a

drcaui

K'AxAxip^

-'V

KLiAeo^ .icnas3 rC^aa.!33 rilfla^i

v^.^r!'*

.,cnir^

.iiAvjTJ

cars

i<'-i-niaa>o

A.^^^J

cn..=>

p^lLu.io^

.00.=

K'icni

ODE

41.

VMVi

pC-icn

A^^^n .,cno.is

cn^a\

^__a5.."i.*Avio^

cn^o.i2a^cn.i

scn^.i

ocp cnisn^o
Asb.
rc'.tjjL^rc'

.A
^1^

ioairc' p^-ai

i*^

ri,2na..4

eaajLAX-Sin
Ai
-jj

cnsUL.

Ax;&od K'oAuijS

m\.,./\-iT

.cnicncua ^x^r^ ^^JiaxUa^

.cn^orA^s tcncuixixio

.rdj^.i

^
39]

ODES OF SOLOMON

.JJL&

iiia.kjjA^K'o^^

.cnX

.aSw=j

i*-^ r^A AK*

.rdlxi^,^

.relaX

,^__oeoa
rtf'A.I

Aul

AtK*.! A}^99 >.z&aA

^i.tmO

i.li'r!=)

^1^

r^r^

ocn.T

AA^Jsa

K'_.i_J.i

cnn-*r<' A_^
.

>..aor^^z.

aiJLi3oi\A\f<'o'7

.co^iao
K'JLsaa

cTilflAxK'o

ooxax.rC'o

p<'ijDA.

yxSo

ix^

000^^

>..i-=i

.,h\^a

ja.jaorc'o

A.=a.s>.'^

.^ocn

)Q_L2b..l

,ODQir<l&o
.

cn^.=9^.x.a

,cno.io.4jb.L3
.CD^cx^fiD.i

pL.vs>3

jjl^Aujcpc'o^

.sioiAxK'o

t^^3^=3^'

T<'^\^ic\naa cn^Ci^A^.ia

.cnlMAci^no

<"

Cod.

^^:U32^

ODE
,onciL^
^^ifiaa.'M.I

39.

^i^relAO^

rl.i.5>3.T

cnli.u

rCLliisw

r<'A\o"'icni^

i__o en iv Jc.a.1
^^izajL.i

^xl=ijjt:Mo

,._octi."i.^a

^xaj^o

,^_^c3A\4.a*^'aj

,^_aicno

.^Li.iflQ

r^.ava ^. Tj.^ ^.^aJK" ^x^^t^m^

^^^oira

r^i^\r^^

A^M

i.

ajjil.i^)

r^A

r^.'siA'Si

rcA.T

_^ca=i

casax= fxizuL.i .^ico.i

r^Uiiop^ KlxQcn K'^K'o^

.oop piL.i'so
.rt^xvsa.i

^oiaik-Aio

.,otxxia,s^.TO ptlsixvsa.i ca^ar.

Ax^cn axsX^
.1^

^.OiaI
33

^xj;ax^!^Av.)

K'AiO'ioal

.__^Ooai

.oocUQUxja r<A.T
.^

.^_^jr^ i.a.^o

vAoDO

.cn^sas

rslxi-sa

curs'

vx^^

lA
.or3a\cu.l.sn.z.M

ODES OF SOLOMON
^sp
^iM.x.'sia
.>.iar\.i.M

[37,

38

c^o^.lCku

vy^r^o

.>.Ao).t3-^.

pS'ocoo^

.r<'^CUx>.l\.1

K'AiAfloiy^

vyr^

>.=A

rtf'Jii^o^

.p^Arci^.l

ODE
.jLa Avjsa_*in:' rCJsa.ti.sa

37.
.,'-'

^<vAo

A<c\.A

j.i-i'K'

Av^jua'

.cn^cA
^criiO^

.\j3

A.^

.-u^

viii^^OLO

.>.a.\.i

cn^ci^fias
r<:?A>r^

^lA-^ncv^

.vLsa^.l ri'injia

jacn^.T

.,^a\

cnJSi^Ava^

.r<L>c\.VAcn

.r^'.i'i.sn.i

enA\a.a.i^= '^ tf ' vi

ODE
K'ttjc O'i-a.io^
..
' .

38.

r<'A\aA.T.^.l

vy^rC K'ii.x.i r<'icncu.\ ^lAsb'

^
..
.

..

>.^n-iT.

rl\o

v\

.jjuxlK'o

W=a^ AlrS'o*

.K'A^a.sa

ril.\.l

r<lj!u.l

vi

rCoen

r<'Ac\5

.Ooo rc'ocn jOaoAv^rS' K'iix.a

*\ "^

ril^A-r^.l

;p.t:=a.=3

^.x-^A^

kAo*^

.^ocn vAm.^Q
rtloijiL
^.i
.

cnsa^^.i

oocViJoi.ij.0

r<'Ao

.K'AxOja^ cQiia Ta^ctA

cni

^::k.=n^i.r<'.l

A\ "^

.K'Ai^.tAa r<Uior^;=s rc'ocn

Ixrf
.cai

rS'iix.^

.cni

^ocn

rtlswir^

^__oofAaA
>oo

f<oen k'o.jjlM
^ji-iaQoa

^ocn

.^:i.I

r<A.i

;;n:-'sai^o^
r^'jsisiiflo

k'^cuIm.!
.t^

.__^ucn K'.v^^Ao K'A^ais.^yi

r<'VM
r<'_Lajj.i

K'ifiai^sj
Avir<li.o'

Auocb

cniLa.4a,\ o ^

K'A^a.Jsas
r^Avisk

.Aa.w^^c\

Aiim,99.i

rdi^uo

r^Aa.M&usa.t
Jsa:t

.K'^cu^^^o p^^isN^'w aico

^a.jL930
r<ls>3,l:^

isir<'a

^\en _air^

r^ii-xA

^xvA^Sao

.cn^l^so

rtL3,xa.4jLa ^^93.1^=730'^

'

34

36]

ODES OF SOLOMON

O^

ODE

34.

om

cuocD^ .^u^\i om.i

7i.".t3

cn^o,si9.i

..^^l&.i

)a.T-=a

ens ivA
.

r^Ari"

AiA

^M^i

.ocp

A.s.i

i-x^

^.T.^a.Ljk

A2A.1

.r<lA Alien

.o.oi&^rtf'o a.xMO cv.i=a^cn ;:_^L&j^io,&,l

ODE
"^tsir^ r^SaXx.^ rtflu^o^

35.

.Aii- Aiii^K' r<'^ML.vl=3 pC*i.).i cnAixfloi

.pi'J.a.io

rtliiAx

_^caiS3 jx^Jo'^ .a.= cniA<r^o A^ .i^^t^^K' .A

.r<l,i:s3.T

reASii^

^W

i.Av*o5
rf-x-L^^

ca^a^Ava
.

^000
^^

pC'.LL

rdjri'o

CTLSOr^

vyK'o'^
(''Aj^

rc'AvoopS'Axx.

'T.i^aO

K'oqa

AvxaiAiK'o^
cncAa.fla=}

.r^^iso:?

p^-aLiij

.acaiO

.^ocn ^^^vso
cn^acncooa

t.t^'rc'

A^z^o^

.caxXsnciza ^>jLijdf)^r<'c\

ODE

36.

aia

r^Htxnx^n.:!

r^Llp**

jjbS.z^73

.t^^

.K'orAp^.T

cni.=)

pS'TactH

cn^
^.lO^z.K'.-i

ODES OF SOLOMON

[32, 33

.^^cn

.r<'AcniJr<'

yX^'i

^cd.i

rCj.icicvxA

jjiosn!'

ODE
T.sa^.1
c\cn

32.

S3

K'icoa.io

^^^cuixai

^sa

k'wo.im

r<X=>a,^\'

.ri'-.cdlcn

^.iSalsA

>1jA

ODE
COS

33.

^^vmJO

rellLiijjLi

dfuiaz.0

r^^oa-x^ .so^

^4.1

i\!A^qpi'

mxSSiCuao
^j.L.ri'

^ss

cnic jiruco
coA^cA
.r<'.Xi=)

T<^i

r<lz<i

A.2k.

paao^ .cnloo^
r<:so.T^o
.orA

cala^

A^\
KICK'S

:i.^o'^

.caxS^osc\

.rCli^iK'.i
CV.i^SnAucrc'.T

dfv^a

vyrc*

^Vu^K*

ri'Ao

rciaur^ ,JL=*

.rc'isapi'a

retina K'li^sa.T

.re'Axi.sa^ r^'AAoAua

._^O.lLiiAA

rfA

.r^i^x-.l

r'A\A'"iorC'_3

._a^2aAjr'o^
,;^_cv.T=>r<'A<

ri^.iar^

ii^

oD^aa.x\^

.o.ai^^K'o

t^a.i>JS30jL.^

r^A

ak*

rtf'A

>.Jcxxa.\.i

,__a_iena

.t^-r^

rcUrc'

_jx^1j..i^

.r^Jiraa^^

O. S.

30, 3l]

ODES OF SOLOMON

l^

ODE

30.

.Vk

rtf'4\r<'a^

cnsox.

rel."tn."i

cnal

^.aia

.ji^

ptl.'isa.t

cn^oiLfis

i^LiOjAcn

COS

ODE

31.

^Ai^
.cnsozl

cassci^^

.r<L>T:a.i

oniix.

^99

JrUk.a^^o

r<'^&\cn

r<l\

rC^.iM i^AuioajL.^ Alsao

.(<'^o.1mo k'A/^ -

A.V930
po^ir^o'^

^_a^ca T^JLis
.sea* r<llAcn.i

coA

.iai_ao

r<lsi*i:n

^oA
.rOca.ia

coJLii

A\^

.co^a^is^
._OJcD

A.l.ltrtf'a^

.OQcn >ono.Tyr^3.t
,mciar<'
cnl

ft\-ino
<:Jlm

o^r<'^f<'.i
CkrifiBO

OxiO^^
.'ua

^^^ctaA

rCAtai i\

..^^^z^ o^T>o .K'^qtu

^__ocrA

.axw^^sa

r^

yaxsa

o^

>d>v=i

Ci^&o
^ianitt

-^-'rr""
^.1
rtf'Jtr^^

.^^\^^r^ ru.l

vyK"

.^Az.o

^iiAuLO

^.^oeo^oiaisa

dAaJ3oo'

rtf'iiitirftqo

r<l\l^

K'.i^^^a.T

-\^

ODES OF SOLOMON

[29

>cn

aicD

.r^ina

r<liii&
.^^

vyrC* >JO'i.T*o"
Oori-Un

AvuAvsir^

rCAvai^

>^\ - T-*i

A^^'^

Aj^ ^Att^ rC^^.T* rd^.ts.!

rtfAo'^

.,^cvAajL3

^1^^ .^jacn^oi'isaAO

.>aa.^ni-i

^ocii

xx-x-Di

A\^
oeo.T

.cujA.z.rc'

kAo

1^0.99

euk=jo'^

^.^ooD^a&rtf'

^^.1

rdJvAo.T

-(-^^pa

ooen
.

>^^\^

f-?'-"'

^iJUrcto^^
^^^cixisa.tis
.re:sx>t=a.l

cn^vUk.!^ r^-ss.ta^sa rdi.i A^ra ^^

.i<^o.\loD
.rsast.M

0.1=3 asa\

"v

A^
a

oop iivxsa cm,\o

Marg. ^oo20

ODE

29.

v^->r<'o^

.>A

.scrLt

.^T<'

TrJl.i-Acn

cn^ojaj^

vyr<'o

,'t^v

tXnxor^a^

.>.i=a'i:ai

cn^a^T^lt
ca_ic\&

^Oai vyr^O
^-^ct
.

.>isa^ir<'

>cdc01m1
>so

.>^.1-^

rc'^cvjsa.i

Aq,.h..i

co-^jisgckSk.

cai

>o,uo^

.KLiso

ci^acn.!
>1

>v-u^(^o

.r^l^isq.i

""wT*n->
chh\r^

.CDo^oJOxJUu.l

i^'i^O.u

.sca^o
.

.cnicncos

iJia.io

.ASL^sa^x^ r<''iaii\s r<liz.cUi.o

re'jsodi^.i

rc'ivaicM.ss

rtaj^K'o^

cnaiors'a

A^

.nSiaaisa.^

k'^ojix.^

4v3eti*o"

.rcuoi crA

27. 28]

ODES OF SOLOMON

.:aA

.^cn\

rt'io.i

a^jx

arc'

.r<:*i.m
.rtfliui

cn^HA^Tat

^^.i
cu=o

axs3 8

0050 ar^i

.eax^

tja'i^^^.l

cnxaa rs'sis

ar^9

.M&z.M CU.S3" .casaoA

AAsu.t .r^lssuxsn

\^

.^xlh\^ysn^

.^n-saA

i-i-^ ji^su^^

.)a^iirAxs3.i

ocn

rs'oca.ia

.i^iAup

r<L>0,iAcn

cnl

ODE
cnAiri'

27.

jsiWa

re'-u&xsa.i

Ai^ss^

.>i-^

A\i..Ti30

,."i'f<'

Ail^zak'

ODE

28.

.iusi.en4
.cars

.cn=are's

r^-acias
^sa<ca99.i

-rc'ss

rCAoA. vyf^
.Avjjui^jrxK'

.-k'.icv
rtf'joo

>aA
A!i^99

^iL>aD.i

ocn

AA^sa

>A^A.^OT
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26

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l=PisHs

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148 153].
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8.

Copt,

'et texisti

sub umbra gratiae tuae et superavi

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V.

II.

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Copt, venerium hujus qui

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Copt,

Here the Coptic texts have gone astray, under the influence mind of the writer, who brings in the hght from the The text of Schwartze is et uti lumen sit dupHcatum story of Pistis Sophia. iis omnibus': and the Gnostic Targum is 'ut tuum lumen sit in iis omnibus.' But Petermann notes that for 'duplicatum' we should read 'fundamentum.'
22, V. 12.

Ode

of the Gnosticism in the

'

'

'

This brings the text nearer to the Syriac, which may be taken as correct
in

these concluding sentences.

is

The Coptic

'

opulentiam
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'

for

the

Syriac

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German

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.vyaciAj.T >cno""ir<lao

>iicA r^oxi^ r<l*i.sa vvotO-mlaIo

Kl,

ODES OF SOLOMON

[l2

^saoa=3^re'o .rtllrel^
.casa^.ii^

A an >&o^'Uio
.

.'icpir^ >ils.'3

.rtf.i.irS'.i

iLaoK'a^'*

r<'_.i:S3.T

tx^*giiOr>-i

cajju^i-n

,i\.=aJU

.v^JalL>.lTaJ^

k'iAm^ ^^aoraa

AxiPC*.!

,__oicoo .vy^ire*.^ ^xTl^^.I

^i%>tno .r<liu^

r^'-iii^.

^^.is^i .^ix^z. vy.i^& .^_ocnl& t^cn'^

.rcCiSO^'cnSa

vy.l^i^i

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r<UAV>

v/v>r^

.Ax^s.t ^.T-sa can

^Ao

.v^iaoaii^a r<'iA<K'

i*^

oco >.^flo^

ODE

12.

ocis

rC^Sa^^At^

rdai^q.l

caMO.i.i

Ai^

ar]^:i^.-u

>=>

i-^flor^o^

>0Ba5n\s\

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oa=3ca.>o'^

.oaioncu.i

r^Lr^i^o

.K'iaiz.

ol.io^

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K'Ak' Asii
vvp^^

cn^aSula

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r<li&cn

okuJo^

vyrC'o

)an93
cn.Tiv

>3oiv:93

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.cn^^en

oa.>iur^ rdfL^aiu

.ca*'ior<'

r^A^r:' cn^Axsq a..t* r<lAO

.Tarda oco

lO, IlJ

ODES OF SOLOMON

ODE

lo.

isa^r<'o .cnicna,i=i >.al jii^v^o .cn^lsoa r^-^vsn tSnoA ^i^'

.ooSaLci re'irtlA AXsaK*.! >1 ^cn^o^ .r^hsosn
re^OLZ-taio
A<i-lT.a
rtf'A.i

,eoalu >^

.cn^cvl

rC'^r^.^aA

^^s*'-!

f^r^^

,^z.&Jl <\i\ZSx\^

^IZ.^^rc'O iAuj^K'4

.r<'^Qir<'-M,\

r^h\^x^

r^hu^x,

ODE

II.

.rSx^.1ij

oa*OT=J

>Jiv\,

T-*-i<. reLsa^i-SO^

.<L.ii)i\

r^irda

.cnix^:w
.^AUjAire*

AuutoJ
ocn.1

rs'Av^'Ujre'A
rtflA-.pe'

rdsa^i^a

r^Avix.i
A-i^

^.4

.K'iii-.i

.re''ii.x-.i

Klswo-x-

AxiiAiire'oS
6

^As 1-^

rclls

t<Uj*

rilljsa

,.-50

Av.*oio
rcA.T

Ax^AvLrS'o^

TiXUm

.K'^CUL.io)

AvJaa.!.

rslAri'

.r'iu>.."U

Aioco rili .A^CUoio^

.mh\=>coo=a.s

AxiAv^o^

..onArS'

ri'.'aaai^
rdU.ix.

A\a\

AvU-^Axr^^a
A\ii=uco

cbAu.vx.o

cbAvjjltO

.ril^irS' As^

rCAxCVx^xA

re'.uaz.i

rei^k-irC

w-K" Auoeoo"

.Aijj

rdl.i

.OmUK' laA

A
.A0l3.^o Auii^
rtflVire'o^

ODES OF SOLOMON

[9

rdalo
Avsaa

rtfL^.TSS

rillre'^i

i_oeA

<

vns\ Axai

rtfli.l

.>.a^

>l..i

ri'-i.i.'sa*

^o

i_ooo*Aur<'

.L..io

.reLmisaa

ot3&v:iA)i.r3

ocuao a^flsr^a^ ai^^s .ocp ^_acax^.i

Cod.

cvifcjiio^

ODE
Are*.!

9.

..^OAx^i

.=>cn

i^OA^

AlLsarti'o

_aA*i'.ir^ CUs^vak'

,cncUi.=3^o

reL*i:.i

enio..^^a^

.^x^^
A<rc'.t

.^.a^A
r<'^>.To

lh\t<

r^Llre'

ia\^ cai^a^zs^
r<A.io .^\s\.7

.cajjLxx:=a
f^^JuAi

A^

.-i.r

K'Axit mra
rclAi.sa.i

cn^^i^o

i.^oco.Av.K' ^^^a^ji**

.coA<Q-ii\.-i

ciai&^rc'o 0.1i.M^r<'^

.r<^S)a.>t=a.l

cn^x^i^ oXajiO

.>CDO;^:u.l

ao^

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.Klains ^_a\'M
..^aajaai.i

r<li ^x:>JSaz..i

^x^r^
rtA

p<Ax\.A^
crA

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r<A

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,^.crj_3r<li
rt'ii.i.

^xJM.xsb.i

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^\v\ i

osauso" .cniupcn..
OJi\.-i

^a^a

rt'^axu.-it enAi=jQaja'
.reLxT.=Q.l
ptf'iix.

.oocn

t^AA^
rcAA^

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caJSi^xna

O. S.

8]

ODES OF SOLOMON

J4

.r<'->ayXcn

ODE

8.

r^'iriiSk

0^iuda\3

.r<'i>tv^aal
.

reLw.i^o rdaX
.rdz^'.i-a

^..sa

^^^^sAm
KL^vsaA

.cnicnai.3

r^A<oi. >

^ .3 aWn-aaAo

rdLu

Vi.^

caixJSOa^

i^_OAA\ciJi.."i\

Jpcsa^i^^K'.i

asa>i^^f<' Aa&s3
r<l*iia.T

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^,_aA_A

r^oeb

oeoo

.,03

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r<^' .rclsaai^a.l

cniui..v>

aiVa.)0

.r^ii-x..!

r<la^iv& cajsu,^

^ii^iiv.sa.'l

^_ajoo

>\'ir<'

ot^^" ^_a^^

rOri" r^OMSa^ ^.\.S3

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>..iftsi*0'i ^4

.>A

^x^.i'

rS'ii.x^.l

^_Aicn

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i^^vocfxJ
rt^r^'''

r^.i

>.Vo ^-93a
-^X
rehire'

.^^^vonA

r'_lr<'

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^\ikdui0i<'

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ocas

hu^\^r^^^
r^.vi^

.=>

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>i-.1

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Axcor)

r^-iVu

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i*^
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.

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rido

op^

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^

Ao&cn cusa^

t^^z-jjLjss.i

r<lLu*o

Cod. ex errore .^a^Jt-aril

ODES OF SOLOMON
p^Atci-sa.va^

[7

^iuor^

ooocunxone'.i

,\

\ ^g

,h\a^r^

r^'aoo^

vy|>r<'o

.>cnax^\(<.-i

A.^=q

r<'ocn

>.ix^

vyK*^

.>J.lu

cuocn.i

^.T-50

.^:vi

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r^

.t-^

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oeoo"

.>cDoaii^

^so

i^_oeocu3t<o
A_\^S3^S
^-^.1

r^.sri\,v.i relAaackx.

.pCLla-M rdA.i >eooA\*rc' o^ocn.i

r<'V-A>iv-J.i

^^^oirs'

caA_*.i.i

^..i.L.pdX

caA

.rjca_.^4

^__oiaflai

rClX.ia

i^^oiK'

i^*- 1

ocn.\

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oxiiv&rt'

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comIOK'

T*^

r<'Ak..'uX'^

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^^onT ^ 1

ix^ cnisa'^
.ia.Mr<la

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r^'ocn

^&\cno

.onicnai.i

caiaio.^ A^tno

.jjLirao

.r^aca ^mlAs^

^A^r^A oiajia.si\
__ajaAi.l ^

.,o3a.z.'>'.Tci.=>

r<lsa*i.s9

.^.i^^a^^ .ytxsa Ask

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^rtf'.i

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cn^'^30.1
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cn.1

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000

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00 ^^.T>

oA

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A^^

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..._^^a'ici5aw

^^^aaiajo^

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rtAa

rC'^^.iA

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7]

ODES OF SOLOMON

f^--AOD

"S

Oca,

r<iia^fli>

cufctir^'is

.,ends3

CUia* en Airs'.!
.TJLsa.t

._cuen
re:i*=>-.o

ri'-.Ax.xia
.rrf^xl^xj,

^io.i
oocn

K'Auta.ia'4

.asixoK' k'oco

^*^.t

rtlaj.icno'S

.^^^^ a.TwrS' rcAicos ^aj ji^:ii ,oen

rs'icocua

.^.c^cnAi^Airclsai

redxw

ciacn.*^^

.coiL*j3r<'o

o-iA\

ODE

7.

.rCg

iST

v*'ior<'

ptf'.icn

.cnAiCLA

>.^cnio

Ow

r^-^vso

,Aos*^

,Afi^\(<'

coAxQSaiQ}-)

ix^

cnA^cxai

cnA\a\^jje.&r3 4

.rtlsuaa^M

Ode
Coptic
'

6, V.

10.

The
has

Syriac seems to have abbreviated slightly; for the

Targum

'biberunt versantes in arena arida,' and the text has

biberunt qui habitabant in arena arida.'

V.

13.

The Coptic shows some

in

variation: the

comment has
'

'acceperunt

vigorem

me

hi qui sunt soluti,'

and the

text has

accipiebant gaudium

cordis, qui soluti erant.'

v. 16. The Syriac has irapovcrta where the Coptic has Trapp-qtxia. Neither Greek word makes very easy reading. Perhaps the Greek was irapeo-et avrwv or irapaXva-ii avTwv, in which case we translate 'they received strength for

their paralysed state

v. 17.

and

light for their

[darkened] eyes.'
:

The

Syriac 'lived by,' answers to the Coptic 'were saved by'

the

Greek being

itri^Oricrav

or icrto^ovro Sta Tov vSaro's

rrjs ^fo^s.

en

ODES OF SOLOMON

[6

A.\^o
>xva

.Afti.-ir^

rclio

.>injao

ii^ ocb
.A.M.Tri'

p*'_."i=o

Aii-^

.^jaV]o

."^

am

A.Ak

vyK*^"

r^

tJ-oio^

oeo

reL.i:.i

ODE
K'^Skco^
.cn=>o.jjL3

6 \=PisHs Sophia, pp. 131

.r<'i^xi3o
re'.-ur*'

135].

^Usass

rtf'jjsbo

rel^oiio.i

v\j.f<"

re^K' Ai:,.Mo
7i.T:=)a.\_&0

.r^ijso.i

cnMoi >sb.iGaa rdlLsaJSn

)a.T>

.ocn
r^A.i

r^i.i.sai'^

.ti-^CU

tj.^ oeo

.T-rjftJsa^

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r^'-Sasi.-o

^xz^is ^sa K'oeo

Kilo
.rC*,*

Tj^

rfJAeo*

.cnAnO-CLA
cn^a.aj.\^ri.i

)aa.iu

^."VM

-)An.fla:i

K'ocoJ

^x=a

.^Acn ^rty^i.i
.cn^a..zA

^^o

.rel^V^ eniu^ru .^^k'^

^^_^uoi^
K'-ienCLl

.=3orx>

eD^w0..3.x.^o
ji&l^
.^jii.a.W

.^

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cnuoi-A
r^lai

(^oopo r<L:&^

^-^

r<lz_>.iii

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jiur^o jxmJCO
.relx-irC

^.v'=>iV^

^^ Ai^
b

.r<L>&\io

pdl Apc'o

,.JL=3.i

rdiAiL

lenoKlV^ A-M-^JCre* rtlio'

Cod. ^=30i-^i<:
vicerunt

Cod.

^-i=r>Ti

Ode
Ode

5,

V. 8.

The Coptic expands

I

the second clause thus

'et

eos potentes, et quae paraverant malitiose, descenderunt in eos.'

6, V. 8.
it is

should suggest an emendation to the Syriac, jiuE.T<f for

-out-^, but

not borne out by the Coptic, which has in the

Targum

'et

duxit eos super templum,'

'

and

in the text

'

et

conversa est super templum.'

Duxit

'

would answer to the Syriac

-^^,

but an object to the verb

'

is

wanting.
V. g. The Coptic text suggests that a line has dropped in comment has haud potuerunt capere eam [loca] clausa neque
'

the Syriac

the

loca aedificata,'

and the

text has

'non potuerunt eum capere

in locis munitis et aedificatis.'

4. S]

ODES OF SOLOMON

ODE
CDai\\,.MXl.i

4.

r^o^

.,cnl(<'

K^.-ui vvi^rtf' .^\uiT.aB

vJrti'

t<\^

.^^ocallsk

^^

r^i^ux-sa

v\h\ai:sa^co^

K'iv^jc

i-t-^

pc'.-u*^

.)n\\Aoo
t

.v<LA\A3.i\y

Ti\< i-x^
t

cu.^a''
""

r<*"i's.T.o
"^

r^iv.S9<U
t

ii=ioa>^ .onX '^oocn^ ^iTi-aX r^*!:).^

reS^rUM >s'io .cnA

^.'Umcc'

r^H'iuk.

vy^-c\,a.S)9

m^o

.vyw'i'wi

oooi^

.vO-

vA

A\Ocn re'j.Si^ r^ii0^^

.iv.soivi,r^.l
.iv=>cTx>

^o.vss

A^

r'aA>A.T

.sjto^o

^o^^
T^-.i-'sa

A.x^93 reli.i'^
K'orArs!'

f^^
i^i^^

A3ca*."i

i*^ ^o.tsoo
l^'*

.vvl
it.va^.

ri'ocn

^T-Ls^

v^rS'

^i.TSS

.^ri'

Av^o

.vv-*-2a.To

Axxtia

^ia

K'aoo

^ovjmo
.JL&

.r^CUacn
^

Cod. ^^ja.o

ODE
rtfsiL.is32

[=Ftstis Sophia, pp.

:xi*.i.T

113 117].

.vA
\_-^3

relire'

A\wi

.reL."i^

vA

reliri'

r^TiOSa^

Auiau
.vUOVMii

.ocn

ivJrS'

ti-ruo.l

l\-9

> 1

n-3T ,A<

rcA

redo i^o.ii
ire'ri'o

._oArili'*
""Isi^
^

.oa-U=o

ptfjire*

v>y^a:i.x^
rciiia^S

rdVaii-S

i^ocalixa^

AskA

rell\saa-.t

r^S

^_ovmJ-"

re'icncu

i^octA K'acni riAo^ i__air^ vOLmJ

ODE
l

I.

= Pzsiis

Sophia Ii6

(tr.

Schmidt)

Texts

u.

Untersuch. Bd.

VII. pp. 37, 38.]

[Dominus super caput

eo.
fecit.

meum

sicut corona,

neque ero absque

in

Plexerunt mihi coronam

veritatis, et

ramos tuos

me

germinare
;

Nam

non

similis est

coronae aridae quae non germinat

sed

vivis super

caput meum.

Et germinasti super caput

meum

fructus

tui pleni et perfect! sunt, pleni salute tua.J

ODE

2.

Deest.

ODE

3.

Priora desunt.

.rli.2a\

^awi-sal

^ocn
jjL&Jt.99

Jk.:i

"^'^
.>,\

^^ -A
>*ii

.a.-UL'sgo

rcLir*'

.K'Avsaui Jci&SiA

aiS34

rs'ocn

rtflX

ona airs'

K'oenri'

r^Aa^

.,iv.*r<'

KLipf

Artf"

caM.xi.i
iv-i,A.i

r^.^jnr'a^
A..\n^='a

.>.ji.&j

.K'JSa-T.so

r^'-.i-sa

AxoA

i<lsafia.M

.r^i^cu

ocnA

rtfLsaJji

jjl.^i.k'.i

A_^-sa

Au^^-saA^r**^

.r^liix^vsao
.i<l=aui
.i^xuAos.i

U^^ocn'" .K'Ta rfocnpC

.ri'aofU

.pc't= cicrA ^outk'.I

A^=a^
ocrA

f^A^aso t^A.i
,co

oeo

AK"
r^lxu

.Am<Lj

rtA.i

oQMoi

K'.Tcn"
per.

.re'ooQj
-

.f<'-\,^S3

riUjjLSj.i''

acno"
rel.'vsa.T

..^ajk-.T-il

T .i.'i.i

rd^A-Sss

.i-cA^a-V-^s

red.i

.r^-aailcD
^

.aix^^^r^o

o.Si.:io

asa^M^r<''3
>

.cnAui'iot^'

Cod. prima

manu

^inncTso, sed ipse correxit.

Cod. *iiu=a:(