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Not too long ago I pointed to a place in a Christian Palestinian Aramaic text translated from Greek where there was a conspicuous confluence of languages (see here). Here is a similar place in a Georgian hagiographic text translated from the Armenian version of a Syriac text, referring to a name in Arabic, that of the saint, ʿAbd al-Masīḥ.

Gérard Garitte published the Georgian text with a Latin translation in “La passion géorgienne de Saint ʿAbd al-Masīḥ,” Le Muséon 79 (1966): 187–237. If you wish to compare the Georgian with other versions of this text, here is the information: The Syriac was published by Corluy in AB 5 (1886): 5-52 (here, 43.11-44.5); the story is also in Bedjan’s AMS 1: 173-201. There are (at least) three recensions in Armenian, one of which is in Vark’ ew vkaybanut’iwnk’ srboc’ 1: 6-25 (here, 22.5-13). Finally, Peeters published the Arabic (tr. from Syr.) in AB 44 (1926): 270-341 (here, 332.4-9).

The Martyrdom of ʿAbd al-Masīḥ 22.1-3 (Garitte, p. 230)

22.1 ხოლო რაოდენისამე ჟამსა კუალად წარვიდეს ვაჭარნი იგი მასვე გზასა, და გულსმოდგინე იყვნეს ყოვლითა ღონისძიებითა რაჲთამცა ეუწყა სახელი წმიდისაჲ მის; და ვითარცა მიეახლნეს ადგილსა მას და იხილეს ეკლესიაჲ, განუკჳრდა და განიხარესცა;

• რაოდენი-მე some
• ჟამი time
• კუალი trace, step, foot (here adv., again, back; cf. Garitte’s note)
• წარ-ვიდ-ეს aor 3pl წარსლვა to leave, depart
• ვაჭარი merchant (cf. վաճառ, etc., < Parth. wāžār, MP wāzār)
• გზაჲ way, road
• გულსმოდგინეჲ anxious, eager
• ღონის-ძიებაჲ attempt, means
• -მცა particle used with indicative verbs to express a wish
• ე-უწყ-ა aor pass 3sg უწყება to tell, inform
• სახელი name
• მი-ე-ახლ-ნ-ეს aor N 3pl მიახლება to draw near
• ადგილი place
• ი-ხილ-ეს aor 3pl ხილვა to see
• გან-უ-კჳრ-დ-ა aor 3sg (indir. vb, w/ the CV -უ- for 3rd person, here pl, object) განკჳრვება to be amazed (for იხილეს და განუკჳრდა, as here, cf. Lk 2:48 and Acts 12:16). On the apparent confusion of impf and aor with -დ- in verbs of this kind, see Deeters, § 374, with this root on p. 202.
• გან-ი-ხარ-ეს aor 3pl განხარება to rejoice

22.2 და ვითარ შევიდეს ეკლესიასა მას, იხილეს ლოდი იგი საშუალ, და ზედა მისსა საუფლოჲ ჯუარი ბრწყინვიდა; ჰკითხეს მსახურთა ეკლესიისათა, ვითარმედ: «რაჲ სახელი ჰრქჳან წმიდასა ამას, ანუ ვითარ სახედ იყო წამებაჲ მისი?»

• შე-ვიდ-ეს aor 3pl შესლვა to enter
• ლოდი stone
• საშუალ there in the middle
• საუფლოჲ of the Lord, dominical (< უფალი)
• ჯუარი cross
• ბრწყინვ-ი-დ-ა impf 3sg ბრწყინვა to shine
• ჰ-კითხ-ეს aor 3pl O3 კითხვა to ask
• მსახური servant
• ჰ-რქჳან aor iter 3pl O3 რქუმა to say, name
• სახეჲ nature, thing

22.3 ხოლო მნეთა მათ ჰრქუეს: «სახელი მაგისი არს აბდალმესია, რომელი ითარგმანების ქრისტედოლე, ხოლო ქართულად მონაჲ ქრისტჱსი»; და აუწყეს ვითარ სახედ იწამა.

• მნეჲ administrator, chief (NB not მონაჲ servant, slave; Garitte tr. “Ministri”)
• ჰ-რქუ-ეს aor 3pl რქუმა to say
• ი-თარგმან-ებ-ი-ს pres pass 3sg თარგმანება to translate
• ქართულად in Georgian
• მონაჲ servant, slave
• ა-უწყ-ეს aor 3pl უწყება to tell, inform (contrast the CV of the form here with the form in 22.1 above)
• ი-წამ-ა aor 3sg წამება to bear witness, be martyred

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Jacob of Nisibis’s bug-bringing prayer. The lines below come from the Life of Jacob of Nisibis (cf. BHO 405-406 for Syriac, 407-411 for Armenian) in the famous Codex Šatberdiensis (S-1141): შატბერდის კრებული X საუკუნისა, ed. B. Gigineišvili and E. Giunašvili (Tbilisi, 1979). The text is available at TITUS here. The excerpt below is on p. 363.14-22 in this edition; for the corresponding (but not identical!) passages in Syriac and Armenian, see Bedjan, AMS IV 272 and Vark’ II 105. (See also the Arabic synaxarion here [Ṭūba 18], Gǝʿǝz synaxarion in PO 45.1, pp. 130-133 [Ṭǝrr 18], and Armenian synaxarion here [Arac’ 6], all with this incident reported.) An English translation follows the text and notes.

არამედ ესე ხოლო ილოცა, რაჲთა მოუვლინოს მათ ღმერთმან ზილი და ბზიკი ფესანგი, რაჲთა ამით განიბნინენ იგინი მიერ ადგილით, რაჲთა წარვიდენ მიერ და არავინ მათგანი მოისრას. და ისმინა ღმერთმან ლოცვისა მისისაჲ, ვითარცა მოსე წინაჲსწარმეტყუელისაჲ, და მყისა შინა მოუჴდა მათ გუემაჲ ესე ღმრთისამიერი ლოცვითა წმიდისა იაკობისითა. და გამოჴდა ქუეყანით მათ ზედა ზილი კაცთა ზედა და ბზიკი საჴედართა ზედა მათთა და მწრაფლ განაბნინა იგინი, რამეთუ იყო მათ თანა პილოვები-ცა მრავალი საბრძოლელად და მათ ზედა-ცა იყო ბზიკი იგი, ვიდრემდის ვერ დამდგომ იქმნნეს იგინი წინაშე ბზიკისა და ზილისა.

• ი-ლოც-ა aor 3sg ლოცვა to pray
• მო-უ-ვლინ-ო-ს aor conj 3sg მოვლინება to send
• ზილი gnat, mosquito (This and the following word are used in the text in the singular as collectives, with their verbs also singular.)
• ბზიკი wasp
• ფესანგი colored, variegated; here it must not refer to the color of the insects, which would be the word’s usual meaning, but rather to the mixed group of insects together (cf. ḥalluṭā [< ḥlaṭ to mix] in the Syriac text)
• გან-ი-ბნი-ნ-ე-ნ aor pass conj 3pl განბნევა to scatter, disperse
• წარ-ვიდ-ე-ნ aor conj 3pl წარსლვა to leave, depart
• მო-ი-სრ-ა-ს aor pass conj 3sg მოსრვა to kill off, eradicate
• ი-სმინ-ა aor 3sg სმენა to hear
• წინაჲსწარმეტყუელი prophet
• მყისა შინა suddenly, in a moment
• გუემაჲ beating, hitting, torture, torment
• ღმრთისამიერი divine
• მო-უ-ჴდ-ა aor 3sg მოჴდომა to come, fall on, come upon
• გამო-ჴდ-ა aor 3sg გამოჴდომა to come up out of
• საჴედარი mount, horse, ass
• მწრაფლ quickly
• გან-ა-ბნი-ნ-ა aor 3sg N განბნევა to scatter, disperse
• პილოჲ elephant (cf. M/Npers pīl, Syriac pīlā, Armenian փիղ [cf. Hübschmann, Arm. Gr. p. 255], Arabic fīl, etc.; NB that in Georgian the first consonant is unaspirated as in Persian and Syriac, in contrast to Armenian and Arabic)
• საბრძოლელი weapon, s.t. for fighting
• დამდგომი able to withstand, able to oppose
• ი-ქმნ-ნ-ეს aor pass 3pl ქმნა to make

Here is a rough ET:

But he prayed that God would send on them a swarm of gnats and wasps so that thereby they might scatter them from the place, that they should depart from there and none of them should perish. And God heard his prayer, as [he had heard the prayer] of Moses the prophet, and immediately this divine torment fell upon them by means of the prayer of Saint Jacob, and gnats came up from the ground upon the men and wasps [came] upon their mounts, and they quickly scattered them, for they had many elephants for the battle and the wasps were upon them, until they were unable to withstand the wasps and gnats.

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(Preface: Some time ago I came across the passage below in Armenian. I don’t remember the trail that led me to it, but in any case, it’s an interesting passage for its content and vocabulary and for the fact that both the Greek original and the Armenian survive and can thus be readily compared.)

Most of Philo’s Quaestiones in Genesim survives only in Armenian. Here is part of § 4.76 on Genesis, which is on Gen 23:6. This passage = Chrysippus, Fragmenta Moralia, № 681 (SVF 3, p. 170; available here). The Armenian text was edited and translated into Latin by Aucher/Awgerean, a copy of which from Google Books is accessible at Robert Bedrosian’s site here; unfortunately, some pages were improperly scanned, resulting in an almost surreal stretching of the text, but this particular excerpt (pp. 304-305) is still legible. There is an ET of the Armenian by Marcus, in LCL Philo, suppl. 1, p. 354 (available here).

It happens that the fragmentary Greek evidence for this work of Philo includes part of this text. The Chrysippus fragment cited above is given in SVF in Aucher’s LT. The Greek fragment, of course, would be closer to Chrysippus’ own language. The fragment appears in J. Rendell Harris, Fragments of Philo Judaeus, p. 36 (available here), alongside Aucher’s slightly modified LT.

Fruitful observations would, no doubt, result from a close comparison and dual reading of the Greek and the Armenian version — NB e.g. the Armenian doublet զհմուտն եւ զտեղեակն for τὸν ἐπιστήμονα at the end — yet nothing so involved is given here, only a basic initial meeting with the two texts. So here is the Greek fragment (but nothing for the first sentence), the Armenian text (Aucher, pp. 304-305), and Marcus’s ET, with vocabulary and notes for the Armenian. For comparison and completeness Aucher’s LT follows at the end.

Եւ երկրորդ՝ օրէնս դնէ բնաւորականագոյն. զոր ոմանք յայնցանէ որ միանգամ իմաստասիրականքն եղեն՝ վտարեցին.

And, in the second place, (Scripture) lays down a most natural law, which some of those who philosophize have rejected.

• երկրորդ, -աց second(ly)
• օրէն, օրինի law, rule, regulation, custom (later in pl.)
• դնէ pres 3sg դնեմ, եդի to lay, put, establish
• բնաւորականագոյն natural (Nor baṙgirk’ 498b)
• ոմն indef. adj./pron.
• յ-այնցանէ abl. pl. short form of այն that
• որ միանգամ whoever
• իմաստասիրական philosophical
• եղեն aor 3pl եղանիմ to become
• վտարեցին aor 3pl վտարեմ, -եցի to remove, expel, banish

Τῶν μὲν ἀφρόνων βασιλεὺς οὐδείς, καὶ ἂν τὸ πάσης γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης ἀνάψηται κράτος· μόνος δὲ ὁ ἀστεῖος καὶ θεοφίλης, καὶ ἂν τῶν παρασκευῶν καὶ τῶν χορηγιῶν ἀμοιρῇ, δι᾽ ὧν πολλοὶ κρατύνονται δυναστείας.

եւ օրէնքն են, զի յանզգամացն թագաւոր ոչ ոք, թէպէտ զամենայն երկրի եւ զծովու զօրութիւն առցէ. բայց միայն իմաստունն եւ ա՟ծասէրն. եւ եթէ կազմածոցն եւ պատրաստութե՟ցն մասն իցէ, ի ձեռն որոց բազումք զօրանան բռնութեամբ զօրութեամբք։

This law is that no one of the foolish (is) a king, even though he should be master of all the land and sea, but only the wise and God-loving man, even if he is without the equipment and resources through which many obtain power with violence and force.

• են pres 3pl եմ to be
• անզգան, -աց knavish, wicked; foolish, mad
• ոչ ոք no one, nobody
• թէպէտ even if, although
• զօրութիւն power, force
• առցէ aor subj 3sg առնում, առի to take, occupy, carry off
• միայն only, alone
• իմաստուն, -տնոց wise, intelligent, prudent, skillful
• աստուածասէր god-loving, pious
• կազմած, -ոց apparatus, preparation, equipment
• պատրաստութիւն preparation, disposition, attention
• մասն, -սին, -սանց part, portion, share, lot (this and the following word for Greek ἀμοιρῇ)
• իցէ pres subj 3sg եմ to be
• ձեռն hand, power, strength, etc. ի ձեռն by, by means of, through
• զօրանան pres 3pl զօրանամ to grow stronger, reign
• բռնութիւն violence, tyranny

Ὥσπερ γὰρ τῷ κυβερνητικῆς ἢ ἰατρικῆς ἢ μουσικῆς ἀπείρῳ παρέλκον πρᾶγμα οἴακες καὶ φαρμάκων σύνθεσις καὶ αὐλοὶ καὶ κιθάραι, διότι μηδενὶ τούτων δύναται χρῆσθαι πρὸς ὃ πέφυκε, κυβερνήτῃ δὲ καὶ ἰατρῷ καὶ μουσικῷ λέγοιτο ἂν ἐφαρμόζειν δεόντως·

Եւ քանզի որպէս նաւաստականին, կամ բժըշկականին, կամ երաժշտականին անփորձի՝ տարացոյց իրք են, քեղիք, եւ դեղոց եւ սպեղանեաց խառնուածք, եւ փողք, եւ քնարք. վասն զի ոչինչ յայսցանէ ի կիր առնուլ կարէ՝ առ որ բնաւորեցաւն. բայց նաւաստոյն եւ բժշկի եւ երաժշտականի ասասցի յարմարել եւ պատկանել։

For whereas the man ignorant of the art of the pilot or of the physician or of the musician has trouble with the rudders or with the compounding of drugs and ointments or with flutes and lyres, since he is unable to use any of them for its natural purpose, to the pilot, on the other hand, and the physician and the musician they may be said to be fitting and suitable.

• նաւաստական, -աց sailor (Nor baṙgirk’ 408b)
• բժըշկական medical
• երաժշտական musical; musician
• անփորձ, -ից inexperienced, untried
• տարացոյց example, model, idea, design, paradigm (Nor baṙgirk’ 855c)
• իր, -ի, -աց thing, affair
• քեղի, -ղւոյ, -ղեաց rudder
• դեղ, -ոց/-ից remedy, medicine
• սպեղանի poultice, salve, ointment
• խառնուած, -ոց mixture, compounding
• փող, -ոց trumpet, horn, reed, pipe
• քնար, -աց/-ից lyre, harp (cf. Syr. kennārā, Geo. ქნარი)
• ի կիր առնուլ to put to use
• կարէ pres 3sg կարեմ, -րացի to be able
• բնաւոր natural, innate
• նաւաստ, -տւոյ, տեաց sailor
• բժիշկ, բժշկի, բժշկաց physician
• ասասցի aor subj m/p 3sg ասեմ to say
• յարմարել inf յարնարեմ, -եցի to adapt, accommodate, arrange
• պատկանել inf պատկանեմ to adapt, adjust, suit, apply

οὕτως, ἐπειδὴ τἐχνη τίς ἐστι βασιλικὴ καὶ τἐχνων ἀρίστη, τὸν μὲν ἀνεπιστήμονα χρήσεως ἀνθρώπων ἰδιώτην νομιστέον, βασιλέα δὲ μόνον τὸν ἐπιστήμονα.

Յիրաւի այսպէս. վասն [305] զի արուեստ իմն է թագաւորականն, եւ արուեստից առաքինին. քանզի այն որ անգէտն է եւ անտեղեակ պիտոյից մարդկան, տգէտ համարելի է, եւ գեղջուկ. բայց թագաւոր՝ միայն զհմուտն եւ զտեղեակն։

And this is proper, since there is a certain kingly art, and it is the most noble of the arts. For he who is ignorant and unversed in the needs of men must be considered a layman, while only he (can be considered) a king who is knowing and experienced.

• յիրաւի justly, deservedly, in truth
• արուեստ, -ից art, trade, study
• թագաւորական royal
• առաքինի, -նւոյ, -նեաց virtuous, honest (also valiant, courageous)
• անգէտ ignorant, unlearned, stupid
• անտեղեակ ignorant, unlearned, unskillful
• պէտք, պիտոյից needs, necessity, use, business
• մարդիկ, մարդկան people, the human race
• տգէտ ignorant, unlearned, untaught, illiterate
• համարելի counted, considered (< համարեմ, -եցի to count, consider, reckon, esteem; on the adjectival form derived from the infinitive, see Meillet, Altarm. Elementarbuch, § 105e)
• գեղջուկ, -ջկի, -ջկաց peasant, villager, rustic
• միայն, -ոյ, -ով only, sole
• հմուտ well-versed, learned, experienced, skillful
• տեղեակ well informed, skilled, expert

Aucher’s LT of the Armenian:

Secundo vero legem statuit nimis naturalem, quam nonnulli philosophorum sibi conciliarunt. Lex autem est, ut ex insipientibus nullus sit rex, quamvis terrae et maris totam vim subiugarit, sed solus sapiens et dei amans, praeter partes apparatuum armorumque, quibus multi proficiunt per vim violentam. Etenim sicut nauticae vel medicinae vel musicae si quis imperitus sit, pro argumento sunt ei clavus et medicaminum commixtura et tibia et lyra (nullum enim istorum usurpare potest ad usum destinatum, at nauarcho et medico ac musico dicatur omnino convenire) ita profecto, siquidem ars est quaedam regium hoc munus et artifex homo virtute praeditus. Nam qui imperitus est et nescius rerum homines iuvantium, rudis atque rusticus est censendus, rex autem dicendus solus peritus gnarusque.

More bibliography

On Philo in Armenian generally, see R.W. Thomson, Bibliography of Classical Armenian Literature to 1500 AD, pp. 75-76; and “Supplement to A Bibliography of Classical Armenian Literature to AD 1500: Publications 1993–2005″, Le Muséon, 120 (2007), 163–223, here, p. 177. More recently, several important studies appeared in:

Lombardi, Sara Mancini and Paola Pontani, eds. 2011. Studies on the Ancient Armenian Version of Philo’s Works, Studies in Philo of Alexandria 6. Leiden: Brill.

Earlier work by Marcus remains important. These are available at Bedrosian’s site mentioned above.

Marcus, Ralph. 1930. “The Armenian Translation of Philo’s Quaestiones in Genesim et Exodum.” Journal of Biblical Literature 49: 61-64.

Marcus, Ralph. 1933. “An Armenian-Greek Index to Philo’s Quaestiones and De Vita Contemplativa.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 53: 251-282.

Marcus, Ralph. 1948. “Notes on the Armenian Text of Philo’s Quaestiones in Genesin, Books I-III.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 7: 111-115.

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Again I have found the Sarjveladze and Fähnrich dictionary to be of interest even as a reading-book of isolated passages. (See similarly these posts here, here, and here.) The isolated quotation this time comes from I. Imnaišvili’s ქართული ენის ისტორიული ქრესტომათია II (Tbilisi, 1963), 96.15-16, found in the Altgeorgisch-Deutsches Wörterbuch on p. 724b, s.v. მკბენარი and p. 872b, s.v. მწიხნარი.

ეჩუენა ეშმაკი მსგავსად ცხენისა ბოროტისა და მწიხნარისა და მკბენარისა

Ihm erschien der Teufel in Gestalt eines bösen, ausschlagenden und beißenden Pferdes.

• ე-ჩუენ-ა aor 3sg ჩუენება to appear
• მსგავსად similar to, corresponding to, as (here adv.)
• ცხენი horse
• მწიხნარი kicking (< წიხნა to kick)
• მკბენარი biting, stinging (< კბენა to bite, sting)

So in English:

The devil appeared to him as an evil horse, kicking and biting.

I don’t have a copy of Imnaišvili’s Chrestomathy here, so I don’t know where this quote comes from, but with such an equine satanic apparition, it’s bound to be an interesting tale! (For other malicious super-equine horses we may mention Keśi and the Mares of Diomedes.)

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Here are two passages with some related vocabulary for writing &c. For Job, I give the Greek, too, not least because of two differences in number between the texts. The grammar offers no difficulties.

Job 19:23-24

23 τίς γὰρ ἂν δῴη γραφῆναι τὰ ῥήματά μου, τεθῆναι δὲ αὐτὰ ἐν βιβλίῳ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

23 ვინ მომცნეს მე დაწერად სიტყუანი ჩემნი და დადებად იგინი წიგნთა შინა უკუნისადმდე

• მო-მ-ცნ-ე-ს aor conj 3sg O1 მოცემა to give
• დაწერა to write
• დადება to put, set, lay
• წიგნი book, document, inscription (NB pl in Georgian here, sg in Greek; also sg in Armenian: մատեան)

24 ἐν γραφείῳ σιδηρῷ καὶ μολίβῳ ἢ ἐν πέτραις ἐγγλυφῆναι;

24 საწერელითა რკინისაჲთა და ბრპენისაჲთა, გინა თუ კლდესა შინა გამოწერად?

• საწერელი writing instrument
• რკინჲ iron
• ბრპენი lead
• კლდეჲ rock (this time sg in Georgian, but pl in Greek! Armenian again agrees with Greek in the number: վէմս)
• გამოწერა to portray, draw, write

Jer 17:1

ცოდვაჲ იუდაჲსი დაწერილ არს წიგნთა შინა რკინისათა ფრცხილითა ადამანტიანისაჲთა; გამოდგმულ არს მკერდსა ზედა გულთა მათთასა, და კიდესა ზედა ტაბლათა მათთასა ესრეთ.

• ცოდვაჲ sin
• დაწერილი written
• ფრცხილი (finger)nail, claw
• ადამანტიანეჲ diamond
• გამოდგმული fastened, stuck, pressed on, stuck on
• მკერდი breast
• კიდეჲ side, edge
• ტაბლაჲ table

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Lot’s unnamed and ill-fated wife appears in Gen 19:26 and Lk 17:32. We can start with the latter verse, a simple injunction:

Lk 17:32 Ad მოიჴსენეთ ცოლისა ლოთისი.

• მო-ი-ჴსენ-ე-თ aor impv 2pl მოჴსენება to remember. NB the gen obj.
• ცოლი wife

And now the report of what happened to her as Lot’s family was fleeing Sodom:

Gen 19:26 Oshki და მიიხილა ცოლმან ლოთისმან მართლუკუნ და იქმნა იგი ძეგლ მარილის.

• მი-ი-ხილ-ა aor 3sg მიხილვა to look
• მართლუკუნ back, backwards
• ძეგლი monument, sculpture
• მარილი salt

The version of this verse in the Jerusalem Lectionary differs only a little:

და უკუ-მოიხილა ცოლმან ლოთისმან და იქმნა იგი ძეგლ მარილისა.

• უკუ-მო-ი-ხილ-ა aor 3sg უკუ-მოხილვა to look back

I suppose Dylan’s “She’s an artist, she don’t look back” might be მხატვარი არს, არა უკუ-მოიხილავნ (iter pres, or perh. the aor iter უკუ-მოიხილის). The term მხატვარი painter (cf. ხატი picture, image, and ხატვა to paint, draw) occurs in Gregory of Nyssa’s De opificio hominis (თქუმული კაცისა შესაქმისათჳს) 5 (ed. Abuladze [Tbilisi, 1964], p. 149.24 and 150.4) for Greek γραφεύς and ζώγραφος.

The flight from Sodom, with Lot’s wife turned into salt. Vindobonensis Palatinus 1191, f. 10v. 14th century. Source.

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Today is the commemoration of Saint George across many Christian traditions, so it occurred to me that it would be suitable to offer a brief look at the text of his martyrdom in Sin. geo. 62, specifically the beginning, the end, and the scribes mini-colophon. These two short passages will not only grant us an opportunity to study some grammar and vocabulary, as usual, but also, since images of the manuscript are easily accessible at E-corpus (along with other manuscripts, Georgian and otherwise, from Saint Catharine’s, but not the new finds), an opportunity to study Georgian scripts and handwriting, mostly nusxuri, but also some asomtavruli. For a detailed treatment of this tenth century manuscript, where the Saint George martyrdom is found on ff. 29rb-38vb, see Gérard Garitte’s Catalogue des manuscrits géorgiens littéraires du Mont Sinaï, CSCO 165, Subs. 9 (Louvain, 1956), pp. 197-209. Images of the manuscript are available here, images 30-40; I include one image of the last few lines below, but I encourage you to have a look at the other parts, too.

This Georgian version is close, but not identical, to BHG 672, published by Krumbacher, Der heilige Georg in der griechischen Überlieferung, pp. 41ff. (This volume is available at Hathi Trust here, where it is readable, but one must have a partner login to download the book. I have not yet found the volume openly downloadable anywhere else.) For convenient comparison, here are the two Greek passages from Krumbacher that correspond to those given below in Georgian:

p. 41 (introductory parag. is not in Georgian) : ἐγένετο τοίνυν κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν τῆς σατανικῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἐπικρατούσης κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βασιλεῦσαι Διοκλητιανὸν τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς λοιμόν τινα καὶ θῆρα ἄγριον γενόμενον κατὰ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνης ἡττώμενον σφόδρα τῇ πλάνῃ τῶν ματαίων εἰδώλων.

p. 51: ἐγὼ δὲ Πασικράτης ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ ἁγίου Γεωργίου ἀκολουθήσας τῷ ἐμῷ δεσπότῃ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν τὰ ὑπομνήματα βεβαίως συνέταξα· καὶ μακάριος ὁ πιστεύσας Χριστῷ τῷ ἀληθινῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρι, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

In what follows, I give a line-by-line transcription of these passages from the manuscript in whatever script they appear there, followed by a transliteration into mxedruli, some vocabulary and notes, and finally an ET. Abbreviations are resolved and indicated by parentheses. (For the asomtavruli and nusxuri to be visible on your machine, you must have a font that includes them.)

[29rb, eight lines from bottom]

ႠႮႰႨႪႱႠ ႩႢ ႼႠႫႤႡႠჂ

Ⴜ(ႫႨ)ႣႨႱႠ ႢႤႭႰႢႨႱႠ:

Ⴞ(ⴍⴊⴍ) ⴐ(ⴀ)ⴏ(ⴀⴋ)ⴑ ⴈⴂⴈ ⴃⴀⴄ<ⴎ>ⴗⴐⴀ ⴉⴄⴐⴎ

ⴇⴋⴐⴀⴞⴍⴣⴐⴄⴁⴀⴑⴀ ⴄⴘⴋⴀⴉ

ⴈⴑⴀⴑⴀ ⴗ(ⴍⴅⴄ)ⴊⴈ ⴑⴍⴔⴄⴊⴈ ⴈⴗⴍ

ⴁⴄⴐⴛⴄⴌⴇⴀ ⴆ(ⴄⴃ)ⴀ ⴋⴄⴔⴡ ⴐ(ⴍⴋ)ⴊ(ⴈ)

ⴑⴀ ⴑⴀⴞⴄⴊⴈ ⴄⴐⴕⴍⴓⴀ ⴃⴈⴍⴉ

ⴊⴈⴒⴈⴀⴌⴄ ⴋⴤⴄⴚⴈ ⴋⴛⴣⴌ

[29va]

ⴅⴀⴐⴄ ⴂ(ⴀ)ⴌⴋⴐⴗⴍⴣⴌⴄⴊⴈ ⴑⴀ

ⴋⴜⴗⴑⴍⴇⴀ ⴕ(ⴐⴈⴑⴒ)ⴄⴑⴇⴀ

აპრილსა კგ წამებაჲ წ(მი)დისა გეორგისა

ხ(ოლო) რ(ა)ჟ(ამ)ს იგი დაე<პ>ყრა კერპთმსახურებასა ეშმაკისასა ყ(ოვე)ლი სოფელი იყო ბერძენთა ზ(ედ)ა მეფჱ რ(ომ)ლ(ი)სა სახელი ერქუა დიოკლიტიანე მჴეცი მძჳნვარე განმრყუნელი სამწყსოთა ქ(რისტ)ესთა

• და-ე-პყრ-ა aor pass 3sg დაპყრობა to take, possess, grab, grip (for the CV -ე- and passives, see Deeters § 160)
• კერპთმსახურებაჲ idol worship (კერპი idol [here with the pl-marking -თ] + მსახურებაჲ service > worship [cf. λατρεία])
• ბერძენი Greek, Roman
• მჴეცი wild beast
• მძჳნვარი raging, angry, furious
• განმრყუნელი corrupting, perverting
• სამწყსოჲ flock

April 23: The Martyrdom of Saint George

Now when the whole word was gripped with diabolical (lit. of the devil) idolatry, there was a king over the Romans whose name was Diocletian, a raging beast corrupting the flocks of Christ.

* * *

[38va, seven lines from bottom]

Ⴃⴀ ⴋⴄ ⴁⴀⴑⴈⴀⴌⴉⴀⴐⴒⴍⴑ ⴋⴍⴌⴀ

ⴜ(ⴋⴈ)ⴃⴈⴑⴀ ⴂ(ⴈⴍⴐⴂ)ⴈⴑⴀ ⴘⴄⴍⴣⴃⴄⴂ ⴍ(ⴣⴔⴀⴊ)ⴀ

ⴙⴄⴋⴑⴀ. ⴃⴀ ⴀⴖⴅⴜⴄⴐⴄ ⴜⴀ

ⴋⴄⴁⴀⴢ ⴄⴑⴄ ⴋⴈⴑⴈ ⴝⴄⴘⴋⴀⴐⴈ

ⴒⴀⴃ ⴃⴀ ⴍⴣⴕⴚⴄⴅⴄⴊⴀⴃ. ⴃⴀ

ⴌⴄⴒⴀⴐ ⴀⴐⴑ ⴐ(ⴍⴋⴄ)ⴊⴑⴀ ⴠⴐⴜⴋⴄⴌⴄⴑ (letters ⴀⴐ of ⴀⴐⴑ wr. supralinearly)

ⴕ(ⴐⴈⴑⴒ)ⴄ ⴖ(ⴋⴄⴐ)ⴇⴈ ⴝⴄⴘⴋⴀⴐⴈⴒⴈ.

[38vb]

ⴃⴀ ⴋⴤⴑⴌⴄⴊⴈ ⴙ(ⴍⴣⴄ)ⴌⴈ ⴐ(ⴍⴋ)ⴊⴈⴑⴀ

ⴀⴐⴑ ⴃ(ⴈⴃⴄ)ⴁ(ⴀ)ⴢ ⴇⴀⴌⴀ ⴋⴀⴋⴈⴇ ⴃⴀ

ⴑⴍⴣⴊⴈⴇ ⴜ(ⴋⴈ)ⴃⴈⴇⴍⴣⴐⴇ.

ⴍ(ⴣ)ⴉ(ⴍⴣⴌⴍⴣⴇ)ⴈ ⴍ(ⴣ)ⴉ(ⴍⴣⴌⴈⴑⴀⴋⴃ)ⴄ ⴀ(ⴋⴡ)ⴌ

და მე ბასიანკარტოს მონაჲ წ(მი)დისა გ(იორგ)ისა შეუდეგ ო(ჳფალს)ა ჩემსა და აღვწერე წამებაჲ ესე მისი ჭეშმარიტად და უქცეველად და ნეტარ არს რ(ომე)ლსა ჰრწმენეს ქ(რისტ)ე ღ(მერ)თი ჭეშმარიტი. [38vb] და მჴსნელი ჩ(ოჳე)ნი რ(ომ)ლისა არს დ(იდე)ბ(ა)ჲ თანა მამით და სულით წ(მი)დითურთ. ო(ჳ)კ(ოჳნოჳთ)ი ო(ჳ)კ(ოჳნისამდ)ე ამ(ჱ)ნ

• შე-უ-დეგ aor 1sg შედგომა to follow
• აღ-ვ-წერ-ე aor 1sg აღწერა to write
• უქცეველად without changing anything
• ჰ-რწმენ-ეს aor conj 3sg O3 რწმენა to believe (indir. vb) (cf. Jn 7:38 Ad რომელსა ჰრწმენეს ჩემდამო ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμέ; Jn 20:29 Ad რამეთუ მიხილე და გრწმენა; ნეტარ, რომელთა არა უხილავ და ჰრწმენეს ὅτι ἑώρακάς με πεπίστευκας; μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες καὶ πιστεύσαντες)
• მჴსნელი saving, rescuing > savior

And I Basiankartos [Gr. Pasikrátēs], the servant of Saint George, followed my master and I wrote down this his martyrdom truthfully and without changing anything, and blessed is he who will believe in Christ, the true God, and our savior, to whom the glory belongs, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

* * *

Sin. geo. 62, f. 38vb, lines 1-4

And finally, the scribe’s mini-colophon, written small, has one line in asomtavruli then one again in nusxuri:

ႫႭႫႨჄႱႤႬႤ Ⴜ(ႨႬႠႸ)Ⴄ Ⴖ(ႫႰႧ)ႨႱႠ

ⴜ(ⴋⴈⴃⴀ)ⴍ ⴂ(ⴈⴍⴐⴂ)ⴈ ⴃⴀ ⴋⴄ(ⴍ)ⴞ ⴂ(ⴍⴣⴄ)ⴗ(ⴀ)ⴅ ⴀ(ⴋⴡ)ⴌ

მომიჴსენე წინაშე ღმრთისა წმიდაო გიორგი და მეოხ გოჳეყავ ა(მჱ)ნ

• მო-მ-ი-ჴსენ-ე impv 2sg O1 მოჴსენება to remember (cf. Lk 23:42 Ad მომიჴსენე მე, უფალო, რაჟამს მოხჳდოდი სუფევითა მით შენითა μνήσθητί μου ὅταν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν σου [მოხჳდოდი (მო-ხ-უიდ-ოდ-ი) is pres conj 2sg მოსლვა])
• მეოხი intercessor, helper
• გოჳ-ე-ყავ aor imv 2sg O1pl ყოფა to be; to do (with the previous word, to intercede)

Remember me in God’s presence, Saint George, and intercede for us! Amen.

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For this installment we have a simple text that is part of a larger fascinating narrative in the Life of David Garejeli (of Gareja). David Garejeli (დავით გარეჯელი) was one of the fabled Thirteen Syrian Fathers (Tarkhnišvili, Geschichte, pp. 410-412) who are credited with establishing monastic communities and ascetic practice in Georgia in the sixth century. (Cf. the similar story of Nine Syrian Fathers in Ethiopia in the late fifth or early sixth-century. For details see Antonella Brita’s article in Encyclopaedia Aethiopica 3: 1188-1191.) For a visual realization of the dragon (ვეშაპი) mentioned in these lines, see the image at the end of the post, although one wonders if this δράκων should really have legs. (See here for another Georgian sentence in this series with a ვეშაპი.)

ხოლო ქუემო კერძო პარეხისა მის, რომელსა შინა იყოფებოდეს წმიდანი იგი, იყო სხუაჲ პარეხი, რომელსა შინა იყოფებოდა ვეშაპი დიდი და საზარელი, რომელსა ესხნეს თუალნი სისხლის ფერნი და რქაჲ იყო შუბლსა და ფაჩარი ფრიად ქედსა მისსა.

OldGeoHag 1 231.25-28, available at TITUS (cf. Lang, Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints [avail. here], p. 85)

• ქუემო (to) underneath
• კერძო to, toward
• პარეხი cleft, break, fissure (also step); here used for a hole in a larger rocky area where David and his companions are dwelling
• ი-ყოფ-ებ-ოდ-ეს impf pass 3pl ყოფა here, to take up residence, stay (cf. Rayfield et al. 773b)
• სხუაჲ another, second
• ი-ყოფ-ებ-ოდ-ა cf. იყოფებოდეს above, here 3sg
• ვეშაპი δράκων (cf. Arm. վիշապ, etc.; see H. Ačaṙian, Arm. Etym. Dict., IV 341-342, and E. Benveniste, “L’origine du višap arménien,” Revue des Études Arméniennes 7 [1927]: 7-91)
• საზარელი abominable, terrible, detestable, hideous
• თუალი eye
• სისხლი blood
• ფერი color, kind
• რქაჲ horn
• შუბლი brow
• ფაჩარი hair, mane (the generic word for hair is თმაჲ, e.g. Jn 11:2 Ad წარჰჴოცნა ფერჴნი თმითა მისითა “wiped his feet with her hair”; in mod. Georgian, ფაჩარი is specifically pubic hair [Rayfield et al., 1278b], but cf. ფაჩუნიერი hairy)
• ქედი neck

18th-cent. (?) miniature. Source.

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Previously I have highlighted some Georgian manuscripts that the Bibliothèque nationale de France has graciously made freely available online. Here is a list of Judeo-Persian manuscripts from the BnF that I have been able to find at Gallica. (If I happen to have missed one, please let me know.) They mostly come from the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries, some of them with colophons. While these manuscripts obviously fall outside of the delimiter “eastern Christian” that guides most of the posts appearing here, I know that at least some readers of the blog have, just as I do, broader interests than that delimiter allows. Most of the texts here are biblical; for details about published biblical texts in Persian (Judeo-Persian and otherwise), see my hitherto incomplete bibliography here.

These manuscripts often have a verse in Hebrew followed immediately by a Persian translation. For the Catalogues des manuscrits hébreux et samaritains de la Bibliothèque Impériale (Munk, Derenbourg, Franck, and Zotenberg) see at Gallica here and archive.org here. The few remarks I give below rely on this volume.

Un grand merci à la BnF de partager ces manuscrits!

70 Pentateuch http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9002771d (catalog)

BnF héb 70, f. 22v, end of Gen 14 in Heb and Judeo-Persian

71 Pentateuch http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90027700 (catalog)

• The Persian text of №s 70-71 is said to follow Targum Onqelos closely.

90 Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064442x (catalog)

• Probably the same scribe as №s 70-71.

97 Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (to 10:3), with David Kimḥi’s commentary http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064631t (catalog)

100 Jeremiah http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90644470 (catalog)

• Different from the version in № 97. Like some of the other JP translations, this one follows Onqelos more than the MT.

101 Minor Prophets, Lamentations http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90644151 (catalog)

• The margins have some of the Persian in Perso-Arabic script.

116 Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064448d (catalog)

117 Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064446k (catalog)

BnF héb 117, f. 1v, the beginning of Proverbs in Heb and Judeo-Persian

118 Job, Lamentations, Jeremiah http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90644544 (catalog)

120 Job http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064420b (catalog)

121 Job http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90644188 (catalog)

127 Esther, benedictions, and a Purim song (Heb and Pers) http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064444r (catalog)

129 Daniel http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90645658 (catalog)

130 Tobit, Judith, Bel and the Dragon, Megillat Antiochos[1] http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b9064465x (catalog)

BnF héb 130, f. 58r, colophon in Persian in Perso-Arabic and Hebrew script

The colophon (f. 58r) reads as follows:

نبشتة (!) شد این کتاب در موضع لار سال هزار و نوه صد ودوازده

נבשתה שוד אין כתאב דר מוצׄע לאר סאל הזאר ונוה צד ודואזדה

nevešte šod in ketāb dar mawẓiʿ-e Lār sāl-e hezār o noh sad o davāzdah

This book was written in the village of Lār in the year 1912 [AG, = 1600/1].

[1] The Aramaic text, for whatever it’s worth (Kaufman’s comments here), is available at the CAL site sub Late Jewish Literary Aramaic, text 81406.

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Readers of this blog are undoubtedly aware of the recent reports of the destruction of the Monastery of Mar Behnam and Sara (see here, here, and elsewhere). The fate of the monastery’s manuscripts is now unknown. Not long ago, at least, HMML and the CNMO (Centre numérique des manuscrits orientaux) digitized the collection. A short-form catalog of these 500+ manuscripts has been prepared for HMML by Joshua Falconer, and I have taken a more detailed look at a select number of manuscripts in the collection. From this latter group I would like to highlight a few and share them with you. The texts mentioned below are biblical, hagiographic, apocryphal/parabiblical, historical, poetic, theological, medical, lexicographic, and grammatical. Here I merely give a few rough notes, nothing comprehensive, along with some images, but in any case the value and variety of these endangered manuscripts will, I hope, be obvious.

These manuscripts, together with those of the whole collection, are available for viewing and study through HMML (details for access online and otherwise here).

MBM 1

Syriac Pentateuch. Pages of old endpapers in Syriac, Garšūnī, and Arabic. Very many marginal comments deserving of further study to see how they fit within Syriac exegetical tradition. The comments are anchored to specific words in the text by signs such as +, x, ~, ÷. According to the original foliation, the first 31 folios are missing.

• Gen 1r-58v (beg miss; starts at 20:10)
• Ex 59r-129v
• Lev 129v-180v
• Num 181r-241r
• Deut 241r-283v (end miss; ends at 28:44)

MBM 1, f. 105v, with marginal note to Ex 28:37, with the Greek letter form of the tetragrammaton.

MBM 1, f. 275v, with marginal note on Dt 25:5 explaining ybm as a Hebrew word.

MBM 20

Syriac texts on Mary and the young Jesus. Folio(s) missing, and the remaining text is somewhat disheveled. In addition, some pages are worn or otherwise damaged. Colophon on 79v, but incomplete.

• The Book of the Upbringing of Jesus, i.e. the Syriac Infancy Gospel, 1r-12v. Beg. miss. See the published text of Wright, Contributions to the Apocryphal Literature of the New Testament, pp. 11-16 (Syr), available here.
• The Six Books Dormition 13r-79r (beg and end miss?). See Wright, “The Departure of my Lady from this World,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record 6 (1865): 417–48; 7: 110–60. (See also his Contributions to the Apocryphal Literature) and Agnes Smith Lewis, Apocrypha Syriaca, pp. 22-115 (Syr), 12-69 (ET); Arabic version, with LT,by Maximilian Enger, Ioannis Apostoli de transitu beatae Mariae Virginis liber (Elberfeld, 1854) available here. In this copy, the end of the second book is marked at 24v, and that of the fifth book on 30v. As indicated above, there are apparently some missing folios and disarranged text.

MBM 20, f. 24v. End of bk 2, start of bk 3 of the Six Books.

MBM 120

Another copy of Eliya of Nisibis, Book of the Translator, on which see my article in JSS 58 (2013): 297-322 (available here).

MBM 141

Bar ʿEbrāyā’s Metrical Grammar. Colophon on 99r: copied in the monastery of Symeon the Stylite, Nisan (April) 22, at the ninth hour in the evening of Mar Gewargis in the year 1901 AG = 1590 CE.

MBM 144

Bar ʿEbrāyā’s Metrical Grammar, d. 1492/3 on 78v. Clear script, but not very pretty.

MBM 146

Bar ʿEbrāyā, Book of Rays. Lots of marginalia in Syriac, Arabic, and Garšūnī.

MBM 152

Bar Bahlul’s Lexicon, 18th cent. Beg. miss. Some folios numbered by original scribe in the outer margin with Syriac letters, often decorated. Nice writing. Beautiful marbled endpapers, impressed Syriac title on spine.

MBM 152, spine.

MBM 152, marbled endpapers.

MBM 172

The Six Books Dormition, Garšūnī, from books 5-6, 16th cent. (?).

MBM 207
Hagiography, &c., Garšūnī, 16th/17th cent. According to the original foliation, the first eleven folios are missing from the manuscript.

• 1r end of the Protoevangelium Jacobi (for the corresponding Syriac part, cf. pp. 21-22 in Smith Lewis’s ed. here). Here called “The Second Book, the Birth”.
• 1r-31v Vision of Theophilus, here called “The Third Book, on the Flight to Egypt…” Cf. GCAL I 229-232; Syriac and Arabic in M. Guidi, in Rendiconti della Accademia dei Lincei, Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche, 26 (1917): 381-469 (here); Syriac, with ET, here.
• 31v-37v book 6, The Funeral Service (taǧnīz) of Mary
• 37v-39r Another ending, from another copy, of this book 6
• 39r-62r Miracle of Mary in the City of Euphemia
• 62r-72v Marina and Eugenius
• 72v-96r Behnam & Sara (new scribe at ff 83-84)
• 96r-104r Mart Shmoni and sons
• 104r-112v Euphemia (another scribe 112-114)
• 112v-124v Archellides
• 124v-131r Alexis, Man of God, son of Euphemianus
• 131v-141v John of the Golden Gospel
• 141v-147v Eugenia, Daughter of the King/Emperor (incom)

MBM 209

19th cent., Garšūnī, hagiography. Not very pretty writing, but includes some notable texts (not a complete list):  Job the Righteous 3v, Jonah 14v, Story of the Three Friends 24r (?), Joseph 73r, Ahiqar 154v, Solomon 180v, and at the end, another Sindbad text 197v-end (see the previous posts here and here).

MBM 209, f. 197v. The Story of Hindbād and Sindbād the Sailor.

MBM 250

Medical, very nice ES Garšūnī. Includes Ḥunayn’s Arabic translation of the Summary of Galen’s On the Kinds of Urine (fī aṣnāf al-bawl), ff. 1v-8r; cf. here. For a longer Greek text, see Kuehn, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia (Leipzig, 1821-33), vol. 19, pp. 574-601. These now separate folios seem originally to have been the eighth quire of another codex.

MBM 250, f. 1v. Beg. of Ḥunayn’s Arabic translation of the Summary of Galen’s On the Kinds of Urine.

MBM 270

John of Damascus, De fide Orthodoxa, Arabic (cf. Graf, GCAL II, p. 57, this ms not listed). Fine writing. 16th/17th cent.

MBM 270, f. 5v. John of Damascus, Arabic.

MBM 342

A late copy (19th cent.), but with a fine hand, of the Kitāb fiqh al-luġa, by Abū Manṣūr ʿAbd al-Malik b. Muḥammad al-Ṯaʿālibī, a classified dictionary: e.g. § 17 animals (82), § 23 clothing (155), § 24 food (173), § 28 plants (205), § 29 Arabic and Persian (207, fīmā yaǧrá maǧrá al-muwāzana bayna al-ʿarabīya wa-‘l-fārisīya).

MBM 364

Syriac, 15th cent. (?). F. 10v has quire marker for end of № 11. The manuscript has several notes in different hands:

• 29v, a note with the year 1542 (AG? = 1230/1 CE); Ascension and Easter are mentioned
• 31v, note: “I had a spiritual brother named Ṣlibā MDYYʾ. He gave me this book.” (cf. 90v)
• 66v, note: “Whoever reads this book, let him pray for Gerwargis and ʿIšoʿ, the insignificant monks.”
• 90v, note: Ownership-note and prayer-request for, it seems, the monk Ṣlibonā (cf. 31v)
• 132v, longish note similar to the note on 168v
• 157r, note: “Theodore. Please pray, for the Lord’s sake.”
• 168v, note: “I found this spiritual book among the books of the church of the Theotokos that is in Beth Kudida [see PS 1691], and I did not know [whether] it belonged to the church or not.”

For at least some of the contents, cf. the Syriac Palladius, as indicated below.

• Mamllā of Mark the Solitary, Admonition on the Spiritual Law 1r-17r
  Second memra 17r
  Third memra 41v
  Fourth memra 48r
• Letters of Ammonius 67r-78v (see here; cf. with Kmosko in PO 10 and further CPG 2380)
• “From the Teaching of Evagrius” 78v-100r
• Confession of Evagrius 100v
• Abraham of Nathpar 101r-117v
  2nd memra 105r
  3rd memra 109v
  4th memra 110v
  5th memra 115v
• Teachings of Abba Macarius 117v
• Letter (apparently of Macarius) 130r-130v
• Letter of Basil to Gregory his Brother 131r-139v
• Letter from a solitary to the brothers 139v-142r
• Sayings of Evagrius 142r-146v
• Gluttony 147v
• The Vice of Whoring (ʿal ḥaššā d-zānyutā) 147v
• Greed 148r
• Anger 149r
• Grief 149v
• On the Interruption of Thought (ʿal quṭṭāʿ reʿyānā) 149v
• Pride 150r
• From the Tradition (mašlmānutā) of Evagrius 151r
• On the Blessed Capiton (here spelled qypyṭn) 151r (cf. Budge, Book of Paradise, vol. 2, Syr. text, p. 223)
• The Blessed Eustathius 151v
• Mark the Mourner 151v
• A student of a great elder in Scetis 152r
• A student of another elder who sat alone in his cell 155v
• A student of a desert elder 156r
• (more short saint texts) 157v-161r
• Tahsia 161r-164r (cf. Budge, Book of Paradise, vol. 2, Syr. text, p. 173)
• An Elder named Zakarya 164r
• Gregory 168r
• Daniel of Ṣalaḥ 180v
• Philemon 180v (cf. Budge, Book of Paradise, vol. 2, Syr. text, p. 427)
• One of the Blessed Brothers 181r
• Pachomius, with various subtexts and miracles 182v
• Didymus 188v-190v

MBM 365

Arabic, 15th century (?). Second, but probably contemporaneous with the first, scribe begins at 80r.

• 1r-34r Pss 38:17-150 (end)
• 34r-79v maqāla 11 by Saint Simʿān, maqāla 12 by Simʿān, … maqāla 16 by Simʿān on 67r. There is some apparent disarray and missing folios: the end of this group of texts seems really to be 78v, but 79r has “Sayings and Questions of Abū ‘l-qiddīs Simʿān”
• 80r-114r Jn 7:20-21:25 (i.e. end of the Gospel)

MBM 365, f. 79r, the beginning of the Saying and Questions of Saint Simʿān

MBM 367

Two loose folios of an Arabic tafsīr of the Gospels, one of which has the quire marker for the original thirty-first quire (so numbered with Syriac letters). Perhaps 16th cent. From Mt 10, with commentary (qāla ‘l-mufassir), on 1v (image below); Lk 6:20 ff. on f. 2r.

MBM 367, f. 1v. Mt 10:19-23 with the beginning of the commentary.

MBM 368

Garšūnī (very nice, clear script). Memre and other texts on theological, monastic, and spiritual subjects.

MBM 386

17th cent., Garšūnī, hagiography. Note the Qartmin trilogy beginning on 105v.

• The Book of the Ten Viziers / Arabic version of the Persian Baḫtīār Nāma 1r (beg miss). (On this work, see W.L. Hanaway, Jr., in EIr here.) It is a frame story spread over several days with a boy (ġulām) telling smaller stories (sg. ḥadīṯ) to a king. As it now stands in the manuscript, it begins in the eighth day, ending on the eleventh. (ET of the Persian here by William Ouseley; ET by John Payne of an Arabic version with Alf layla wa-layla here, eighth day beg. on p. 125). Here are the subdivisions:
  The Story of [the city of] Īlān Šāh and Abū Tamām 1v
  Ninth day 7r
  King Ibrāhīm and his son (on 9r, marginalia in Arabic: “this is an impossible thing!”)
  Tenth day 14r
  Story of Sulaymān 15v
  Eleventh day, 29v
• Infancy Gospel of Jesus 33v-55r
• John of Dailam 55r-68v
• Behnām and Sara 68v-73v
• Mar Zakkay 73v-105r (at 105r it says Mar Malke)
• Mar Gabriel 105v-132r (much of f. 111 torn away; partly f. 127, too)
• Mar Samuel 132v- (folios miss. after ff. 141, 157)
• Mar Symeon -163v (begins where?)
• Memra of Ephrem on Andrew when he entered the land of the dogs 163v
• Miracle of Mary 170v
• Miracle of Mark of Jabal Tarmaq 172v

MBM 388

17th cent., ES Garšūnī, mostly hagiography. Colophon on 135v.

• Story of Susanna
• Ephrem on Elijah 14r
• Story of a Jewish Boy and what happened to him with some Christian children 31v (hands change at 34r)
• Story of some royal children 40v (some Syriac, hands change at 47r)
• Story of Tatos the martyr (f.), martyred in Rome 51r
• Story of a Mistreated Monk 58v
• Story of Arsānīs, King of Egypt 66v
• John of the Golden Gospel 70v (folio(s) missing after 70v)
• Elijah the Zealous 88v
• Andrew the Apostle 100v
• Text by Eliya Catholicos, Patriarch 111r
• Zosimus and the Story of the Rechabites 116r
• Story of the Apple 131r (several other copies at HMML: CFMM 350, pp. 717-722; CFMM 109, ff. 179v-182r; CFMM 110, 182v-185v; ZFRN 73, pp. 382-390 and more)

MBM 390

17th cent., WS Garšūnī, some folios missing, hagiographic, homiletic, &c.

• Ahiqar 1r (on 27r dated 2006 AG in Arabic script)
• Merchant of Tagrit and his Believing Wife 27v
• Chrysostom, On Receiving the Divine Mysteries 34r
• Chrysostom, On Repentance and Receiving the Divine Mysteries 44v (s.t. miss. after 51v)
• Ephrem, (beg. miss.) 52r ? (s.t. miss. after 67v)
• Jacob of Serug, On Repentance 69v (s.t. miss after 69v)
• Ephrem ? 94r
• From the Fathers, That everyone has a guardian angel 102v (hands change just b/f this)
• Story of Petra of Africa 110r (no other Arabic/Garšūnī at HMML; for Syriac, see CFMM 270, pp. 291-302)
• Zosimus and the Story of the Rechabites, 119v-132r
• Life of John the Baptist 132r
• Five Miracles of John the Baptist 150r
• Story of Macarius (end miss) 152v-153v

MBM 469

Ecclesiasticus, Garšūnī, with some Turkish-Arabic/Garsh equivalents at beginning.

MBM 469, f. 1v. Turkish words with Arabic/Garšūnī equivalents.

Here are the forms on this page, first in Turkish, then Arabic:

• ıslattı naqaʿa [he soaked]
• aramış fattaša [he searched]
• aradın fattašta [you searched]
• aradım fattaštu [I searched]
• aramışlar fattašū [they searched]
• işitti samiʿa [he heard]
• içti šariba [he drank] *The Turkish root here is written with š for ç, as in Kazakh; on the previous page the verb also appears and is spelled ʾyǧty, i.e. içti (Garšūnī ǧīm = Turkish c or ç.)

Note that for the forms of aramak [to search], the third person forms are past indefinite, while the first and second person forms are past definite.

MBM 485

From a Gospel lectionary, Syriac, Estrangela. Here is f. 6v, with Mt 18:15-17, 20:1-3.

MBM 485, f. 6v. Mt 18:15-17, 20:1-3.

MBM 489

French drama translated into Syriac by Abraham ʿIso in Baghdad, 1972-1974.

• [5r] title page
• [6r-7v] introduction
• pp. 5-122 Athalie by Racine
• pp. 125-244 Le Cid by Corneille
• pp. 247-380 Polyeucte by Corneille
• pp. 381-463 Esther by Racine

MBM 489, f. 74r = p. 125. Title page to the Syriac translation of Corneille’s Le Cid.

With the first page of the Syriac Le Cid cf. the original text here. Note that the Syriac translation is in rhyming couplets like the French.

MBM 489, f. 77r = p. 131. The beginning of the Syriac Le Cid.

MBM 509

19th cent., Arabic. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baġdādī. Starts with excerpt from Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿa on him (cf. the end of the ms). On 14r begins the K. al-Ifāda wa-‘l-iʿtibār fī ‘l-umūr wa-‘l-mušāhada wa-‘l-ḥawādiṯ al-muʿāyana bi-arḍ Miṣr. See De Sacy’s annotated FT here.

Here is the part from ch. 4, on monuments (beg. 30r), about the burning of the library of Alexandria by ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ “with the permission of ʿUmar” and on the Pharos of Alex (bottom of 34v = de Sacy p. 183).

MBM 509, f. 34v.

MBM 514

Printed work. Mariano Ugolini. Vasco de Gama al Cabo das Tormentas, dodecasillabi siriaci con versione italiana. Rome, Tipografia Poliglotta, 1898. “Poesia letta in Roma nella solenne accademia per le feste centenarie della scoperta delle Indie, il giorno 21 Maggio 1898.” 6 pages. Bound with Rahmani’s Testamentum Domini.

Here are the first six lines:

MBM 514, p. 4.

And the same in Italian:

MBM 514, p. 5.