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My colleague, Ted Erho, has informed me of twenty-one Ethiopian manuscripts (or related to Ethiopia, at least) in Frankfurt that have been digitized and made available: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/msorient/nav/index/all. Basic information about each item is in the main list, and on the page for each item, click on “Ausführliche Beschreibung” for the appropriate page(s) from the printed catalog. The manuscripts are readable online or downloadable as PDFs. Included are books mostly copied in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, even a couple written by the greatest early European éthiopisant, Hiob Ludolf (1624-1704). Hearty thanks to those in Frankfurt who made these items available: they are another reminder of how grateful we can be to have so many manuscripts at our fingertips nowadays, no matter where we are on the planet! So let’s get to work reading them!

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Given last night’s total lunar eclipse, mostly viewable in the Americas, the biblical references of the moon appearing blood-like are a great place to turn to now for some brief reading practice in Georgian. For good measure, I’ve included the Greek and Armenian verses, too.

First, here are the three verses in the venerable KJV:

• Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
• Acts 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
• Rev. 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Joel 2:31

Greek (where it is numbered 3:4) and Armenian:

ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.

արեգակն դարձցի ՛ի խաւա́ր եւ լուսին յարիւն, մինչչեւ եկեալ իցէ օր տ(եառ)ն մեծն եւ երեւելին։

• արեգակն sun
• դարձցի aor. subj. mid./pas. 3s դառնամ, դարձաւ to turn
• խաւար, -ի, -աւ dark(ness)
• լուսին, -սնի/-սնոյ moon
• արիւն, արեանց blood
• եկեալ ptcp. գամ to come
• իցէ pres. subj. 3s եմ to be
• երեւելի glorious, splendid

Oshki/Jer.:

მზჱ გარდაიქცეს ბნელად, და მთოვარჱ სისხლად ვიდრე მოსლვადმდე დღისა მის უფლისა დიდისა და განჩინებულისა.

• მზეჲ sun
• გარდა-ი-ქცე-ს aor. conj. 3s გარდაქცევა to change (NB version with -ი-)
• ბნელი dark(ness)
• მთოვარეჲ moon
• სისხლი blood
• მოსლვაჲ coming
• განჩინებული fixed, determined, appointed, set

Acts 2:20

ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.

արեգակն դարձցի ՛ի խաւա́ր՝ եւ լուսին յարիւն, մինչչե́ւ եկեալ իցէ օր տ(եառ)ն մեծ եւ երեւելի։

Both the Sinai (ed. Garitte) and AB (ed. Abuladze) redactions read in agreement:

მზჱ გარდაიქცეს ბნელად და მთოვარჱ სისხლად პირველ მოსლვადმდე დღისა მის უფლისაჲსა დიდისა და განჩინებულისა.

The differences between Acts 2:20 and Joel 2:31 are only two:

1. პირველ instead of ვიდრე (i.e. “before” in Acts, “until” in Joel)
2. უფლისაჲსა (gen. + gen.) instead of უფლისა (gen.)

Rev. 6:12

Καὶ εἶδον ὅτε ἤνοιξεν τὴν σφραγῖδα τὴν ἕκτην, καὶ σεισμὸς μέγας ἐγένετο καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἐγένετο μέλας ὡς σάκκος τρίχινος καὶ ἡ σελήνη ὅλη ἐγένετο ὡς αἷμα

Եւ տեսի յորժամ եբաց զկնիքն վեցերորդ՝ եղեւ շարժումն մեծ, եւ արեգակն եղեւ սեա́ւ իբրեւ զկապերտ այծեայ, եւ լուսինն բոլորովին եղեւ արիւն։

• տեսի aor. 1s տեսանեմ, տեսի, տես to see
• եբաց aor 3s բանամ, բացի to open. For this kind of verb, see Meillet, Altarmenisches Elementarbuch, § 113; for the augment, attached to consonant-initial (at least in early Arm.) forms in the aor that would otherwise be monosyllabic (3s), see Godel, Intro. Class. Arm., §§ 2.213, 2.31, 3.233, 5.3.
• կնիք, կնիքոց seal
• վեցերորդ six (“six” is վեց)
• եղեւ aor 3s եղանիմ to be(come)
• շարժումն (movement >) earthquake
• սեաւ black (cf. Georgian შავი)
• կապերտ, -ից linen, cloth, sackcloth
• այծեայ, -ծէից made of goat-hair
• բոլորովին totally, completely, entirely

Ed. I. Imnaišvili, 1961:

და ვიხილე, რაჟამს აღაღო მეექუსჱ ბეჭედი, და ძრვაჲ იქმნა დიდი, და მზჱ შავ იქმნა, ვითარცა ძაძაჲ ბალნისაჲ, და მთოვარჱ ყოვლითურთ იქმნა, ვითარცა სისხლი.

• ვ-ი-ხილ-ე aor 1s ხილვა to see (cf. ხილვით ვიხილე Acts 7:34 [Sinai] for ἰδὼν εἶδον!)
• აღ-ა-ღ-ო aor 3s აღღება to open
• მეექუსეჲ sixth (“six” is ექუსი)
• ბეჭედი seal (also “ring”)
• ძრვაჲ (movement >) earthquake
• შავი black (cf. Armenian սեաւ)
• ძაძაჲ rough garment, mourning garment, sack
• ბალანი skin, pelt, animal hair
• ყოვლითურთ totally, completely, entirely

___________________________________

It was too cloudy here last night to see it, but hopefully some of you got to view the eclipse!

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The translation of the Georgian Life of Adam is said to have been made not directly from Greek, but via Armenian, probably before 607 (see Mahé, 229-230, following Kekelidze, but cf. further M.E. Stone, “History of the Forefathers, Adam and his Sons and Grandsons” JSAS 1 (1984): 79-91, here 89, n. 4).

The lines chosen for today’s reading come from p. 113.15-17 in the edition of K’urc’ikiże (= the part Mahé numbers as part of XX in his translation):

აღდგა ადამ და მისდევდა კუალსა მას მისსა, და ვითარცა მოვიდა მისა დასავალით კერძო, სადაცა იყო ევა, და ვითარცა იხილა ადამი ევამან, ტიროდა ტირილთა დიდითა

Vocabulary

• აღ-დგ-ა aor 3s აღდგომა to get up, arise
• მი-ს-დევ-და impf 3s მიდევნა to follow
• კუალი mark, trace, track
• მო-ვიდ-ა aor 3s მოსლვა to come
• დასავალი west
• ი-ხილ-ა aor 3s ხილვა to see
• ტირ-ოდ-ა impf 3s ტირილი to cry, weep

ET:

Adam got up and was following her [Eve’s] tracks, and when he reached her, toward the west, where Eve was, and when Eve saw Adam, she wept greatly.

Mahé’s tr., p. 236:

Adam se leva et il suivit ses traces; puis quand il fut arrivé près d’elle, du côté du couchant, là où était Ève, quand Ève vit Adam, elle pleurait des pleurs abondants…

Bibliography

K’urc’ikiże, C’iala (ქურციკიძე, ციალა). “ადამის აპოკრიფული ცხოვრების ქართული ვერსია.” ფილილოგიური ძიებანი 1 (1964): 98-136.

Mahé, J.-P. “Le livre d’Adam géorgien.” In R. van den Broek and M.J. Vermaseren, eds. Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions. Leiden, 1981: 227-260.

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The name of the later fourth-century author and bishop Nemesius of Emesa may not often pass the lips even of those closely interested in late antique theology and philosophy, but his work On the Nature of Man (Περὶ φύσεως ἀνθρώπου, CPG II 3550), to judge by the evident translations of the work, attracted translators and readers in various languages. What follows are merely a few pointers to these translations and some related evidence in Greek, Armenian, Syriac, Georgian, and Latin (bibliography below), with renderings of the book’s incipit in the versions.

For Arabic, I don’t have any texts ready to hand, but with attribution to Gregory of Nyssa, Isḥāq b. Ḥunayn (d. 910/911) translated it into Arabic (GCAL I 319, II 130), and Abū ‘l-Fatḥ ʕabdallāh b. al-Faḍl (11th cent.) apparently writes in connection to the work in chs. 51-70 of his Kitāb al-manfaʕa al-kabīr (GCAL II 59). (Note also the latter’s translation and commentary to Basil’s Hexaemeron and its continuation by Gregory of Nyssa [GCAL II 56].)

Greek

Morani, Moreno, ed. Nemesii Emeseni De natura hominis. Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana. Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1987.

Older ed. in PG 40 504-817.

(ed. Morani, as quoted in Zonta, 231):
Τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ ψυχῆς νοερᾶς καὶ σώματος ἄριστα κατεσκευασμένον

Armenian

See Thomson, Bibliography of Classical Armenian, 40. The Venice, 1889 ed. is available here.

title: Յաղագս բնութեան մարդոյ

Զմարգն ի հոգւոյ իմանալւոյ եւ ի մարմնոյ գեղեցիկ կազմեալ

• մարդ, -ոց man, mortal, human being
• իմանալի intelligible, perceptible; intelligent
• մարմին, -մնոց body
• գեղեցիկ, -ցկի, -ցկաց handsome, agreeable, proper, elegant, good
• կազնեմ, -եցի to form, model, construct, arrange

Latin

C. Burkhard, ed. Nemesii Episcopi Premnon Physicon sive Περὶ φύσεως ἀνθρώπου Liber a N. Alfano Archiepiscopo Salerni in Latinum Translatus. Leipzig: Teubner, 1917. At archive.org here.

It was translated into Latin by Alfanus of Salerno (fl. 1058-1085), and in the Latin tradition it is known by the Greek title πρέμνον φυσικῶν, “the trunk of physical things”. This seems to be the usual title (spelled variously in Latin letters, of course), and a marginal note has “Nemesius episcopus graece fecit librum quem vocavit prennon phisicon id est stipes naturalium. hunc transtulit N. Alfanus archiepiscopus Salerni.” The text begins thus:

A multis et prudentibus viris confirmatum est hominem ex anima intellegibili et corpore tam bene compositum…

Georgian

Gorgadze. S. ნემესიოს ემესელი, ბუნებისათჳს კაცისა (იოანე პეტრიწის თარგმანი). Tbilisi, 1914. The text from this edition is at TITUS here.

The translation is that of the famous philosopher and translator Ioane Petrici (d. 1125; Tarchnishvili, Geschichte, 211-225).

კაცისა სულისა-გან გონიერისა და სხეულისა რჩეულად შემზადებაჲ

• გონიერი wise, understanding
• სხეული body
• რჩეული choice, select
• შემზადებაჲ preparation

Syriac

The witness to a Syriac translation is fragmentary. It has been studied by Zonta. The incipit of Nemesius’ work appears in two places, and differently.

1. from Timotheos I (d. 823), Letter 43, as given in Pognon, xvii:

ܥܩܒ  ܬܘܒ ܘܥܠ ܣܝܡܐ ܕܐܢܫ ܦܝܠܣܘܦܐ ܕܡܬܩܪܐ ܢܡܘܣܝܘܣ ܕܥܠ ܬܘܩܢܗ ܕܒܪܢܫܐ ܘܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܪܫܗ ܗܢܐ. ܒܪܢܫܐ ܡܢ ܢܦܫܐ ܡܬܝܕܥܢܝܬܐ ܘܦܓܪܐ ܛܒ ܫܦܝܪ ܡܬܩܢ
Brock’s ET (“Two Letters,” 237): “Search out for a work by a certain philosopher called Nemesius, on the structure of man, which begins: ‘Man is excellently constructed as a rational soul and body…’”

2. from Iwannis of Dara (fl. first half of 9th cent.), De anima, in Vat. Syr. 147, as given by Zonta, 231:

ܒܪܢܫܐ ܡܢ ܢܦܫܐ ܝܕܘܥܬܢܝܬܐ ܘܦܓܪܐ ܡܪܟܒ

Bibliography

(In addition to the already cited editions, etc.)

Brock, Sebastian P., ”Two Letters of the Patriarch Timothy from the Late Eighth Century on Translations from Greek”, Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 9 (1999): 233-246.

Motta, Beatrice, ”Nemesius of Emesa”, Pages 509-518 in The Cambridge History of Philosophy in Late Antiquity. Edited by Gerson, Lloyd Phillip. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Pognon, Henri. Une version syriaque des aphorismes d’Hippocrate. Texte et traduction. Pt. 1, Texte syriaque. Leipzig, 1903.

Sharples, Robert W. and van der Eijk, Philip J., Nemesius. On the Nature of Man. Translated Texts for Historians 49. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2008.

Zonta, Mauro, ”Nemesiana Syriaca: New Fragments from the Missing Syriac Version of the De Natura Hominis”, Journal of Semitic Studies 36:2 (1991): 223-258.