In Stanzaic Syntax in the Madrashe of Ephrem the Syrian, which focuses on madrāšê V and VI in the Paradise cycle, Paul S. Stevenson looks at Ephrem’s poetic art from the point of view of a linguist. This study goes beyond the traditional levels of analysis, the clause and the sentence, and examines the structure of whole stanzas as units. The result is a surprisingly rich tapestry of syntactic patterning, which can justly be considered the key to Ephrem’s prosody. The driving force behind Ephrem’s poetry turns out not to be meter or sound play, but a variety of syntactic templates, which include even vertical patterning of constituents.

Ephrem, one of the earliest Syriac Christian writers, lived on the eastern outskirts of the Roman Empire during the fourth century. Although he wrote polemical works against Jews and pagans, and identified with post-Nicene Christianity, his writings are also replete with parallels with Jewish traditions and he is the leading figure in an ongoing debate about the Jewish character of Syriac Christianity. This book focuses on early ideas about betrothal, marriage, and sexual relations, including their theological and legal implications, and positions Ephrem at a precise intersection between his Semitic origin and his Christian commitment. Alongside his adoption of customs and legal stances drawn from his Greco-Roman and Christian surroundings, Ephrem sometimes reveals unique legal concepts which are closer to early Palestinian, sectarian positions than to the Roman or Jewish worlds. The book therefore explains naturalistic legal thought in Christian literature and sheds light on the rise of Syriac Christianity.

Ephrem is known for a theology that relies heavily on symbol and for a keen awareness of Jewish exegetical traditions. Yet he is also our earliest source for the reception of Nicaea among Syriac-speaking Christians. It is in his eighty-seven Hymns on Faith - the longest extant piece of early Syriac literature - that he develops his arguments against subordinationist christologies most fully. These hymns, most likely delivered orally and compiled after the author's death, were composed in Nisibis and Edessa between the 350s ans 373. They reveal an author conversant with Christological debates further to the west, but responding in a uniquely Syriac idiom. As such, they form an essential source for reconstructing the development of pro-Nicene thought in the eastern Mediterranean.

In this volume is a translation of a collection of hymns of Christ, composed by Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306-373), the most famous and prolific of the Fathers of the Syriac-speaking Church.

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Our Righteous Father Ephrem the Syrian was a prolific Syriac language hymn writer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, but especially among Syriac Christians, as a saint. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is January 28.

Jacob of Edessa (c.640-708) is considered the most learned Christian of the early days of Islam. In all fifteen contributions to this volume, written by prominent specialists, the interaction between Christianity, Judaism, and the new religion is an important issue. The articles discuss Jacoba (TM)s biography as well as his position in early Islamic Edessa, and give a full picture of the various aspects of Jacob of Edessaa (TM)s life and work as a scholar and clergyman. Attention is paid to his efforts in the fields of historiography, correspondence, canon law, text and interpretation of the Bible, language and translation, theology, philosophy, and science. The book, which marks the 1300th anniversary of Jacoba (TM)s death, also contains a bibliographical clavis.

The present book investigates three short late Mamluk treatises about land properties (waqf) in the Palestinian city of Hebron, which the prophet Muhammad granted to Tamīm al-Darī. The treatise entitled Ḍawʾ al-sārī li-maʿrifat ḫabar Tamīm al-Dārī by al-Maqrīzī (d. 845/1442) is the core of the book. It is edited here for the first time on the sole basis of the copy corrected by the author. A facsimile of the manuscript is also provided at the end of the book. In order to illuminate the discourse on property rights and donation that prevailed in the Mamluk period and al-Maqrīzī’s position, two additional treatises dealing with the same issue are included. The first is al-Ǧawāb al-ǧalīl ʿan ḥukm balad al-Ḫalīl by Ibn Ḥaǧar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852/1448). The second is al-Faḍl al-ʿamīm fī iqṭāʿ Tamīm by al-Suyūṭī (911/1505). The three texts are fully translated and annotated and preceded by a thorough introduction.

Fairacres Publications 149 St Ephrem the Syrian (306-376), a visionary poet and spiritual teacher of the early Christian centuries, is known chiefly as the author of numerous hymns. These examples of his ‘Table Blessings’, recalling the events of salvation history, combine lyrical delight in the good and beautiful things of creation with an outpouring of praise and thanksgiving to their Creator.