The Odes of Solomon are a most ancient pearl of christian poetry, as their text stems from the beginning of the second century AD. The text of these hymns is preserved first of all in Syriac, with fragments also in Coptic, Greek and Latin. Until now only a small number of the forty-two odes have been translated into Polish from these original languages. More translations have been executed from other modern languages, but never for the entire text. This paper introduces basic questions concerning the Odes of Solomon, presenting an up-to-date bibliography on the topic and offers a translation of five odes, never before translated from Syriac into Polish, with a brief textual commentary. This work announces a publication (inpreparation) of the whole collection of the Odes of Solomon in Polish.
Is it necessary to refer literally to all the words in order to translate a text faithfully? The ancient Syriac-speaking church already lived this dilemma. In no ancient language can we have access to a series of translations from different centuries in order to follow the diachronic development of the translation technique so closely. This paper presents for the first time to a Polish reader the process of transformation of the New Testament translations into Syriac from reader-oriented to source-oriented type. Contemporary categories of dynamic and formal equivalence help us to describe the characteristic features of particular translations, in which different assumptions and goals lead to a new reception of the text. The translation technique is analyzed on the example of John 3:1.2.16.17 in three Syriac translations from different epochs: Vetus Syra, Peshitta, Harklean. A broader supplementary bibliography on the topics discussed is also presented.
The Syriac commentaries analysed in the article are characterised by an original method, rarely appearing in the Latin or Greek exegesis. Both Aphrahat the Persian and Ephraim the Syrian, as well as Ishodad of Merv and Theodore bar Koni juxtaposed various propositions and interpretations of one Biblical event. In the view of these exegetes, the affirmation of diversity was the evidence of the knowledge of the essence of Holy Scripture. Such a mosaic of interpretations constitutes a primary feature proving the originality of the Syrians’ Biblical commentaries. Most significantly, it was the astute observation of the work of creation that provided them with the material for their interpretations. It is also possible that the knowledge of Judaism and exegetical techniques of rabbis played a crucial role in the adopted hermeneutical methodology. The analyses of Ishodad of Merv’s and Theodore bar Koni’s commentaries led to the discovery of the evolution in Nestorian exegesis, dominated by Antiochian tradition. East Syrians from the 8th and 9th centuries widely employed the interpretative method of diversity, previously used by Aphrahat and Ephraim the Syrian in the 4th century.
Demonstration On Christ, who is the Son of God is the seventeenth exposition in Aphrahat’s work. The Persian sage continues and develops his polemic against Judaism in general and the teachings of the rabbis of the Babylonian diaspora in particular. The truth about the divinity of Messiah, Christ, who fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament, is a focal point of his whole argument. Aphrahat consequently refutes critique formulated by the Jews who accuse Christians of fraudulent interpretation of Old Testament prophecies and attributing a divine status to Jesus what they maintain a blasphemy. The demonstration is not a lengthy work. This fact raises a question if it is not the exact reason why Aphrahat, aware of the weakness of this argument on Jesus, Son of God, broke the literary conventions of acrostic and supplemented his work with the twenty-third demonstration, extensive Demonstratio de acino (On the Grapecluster).
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Mowa O Chrystusie, Synu Bożym jest siedemnastym wykładem w całym dziele Afrahata. Mędrzec perski kontynuuje i rozwija polemikę z nauczaniem judaizmu i rabinów babilońskiej diaspory. Osią argumentacji jest prawda o bóstwie Mesjasza-Chrystusa, Syna Bożego, w którym wypełniły się prorockie zapowiedzi Starego Testamentu. Perski Mędrzec konsekwentnie odpiera żydowską krytykę, w której chrześcijanie są oskarżani o fałszowanie proroctw Starego Testamentu i bluźnierstwo przypisywania Chrystusowi boskiej godności. Relatywnie niewielka objętość tego chrystologicznego przedłożenia może rodzić pytania i wątpliwości. Możliwe, że Afrahat uświadomił sobie ułomną fragmentaryczność swojego wywodu na temat Chrystusa, Syna Bożego, i łamiąc zasady literackiej konwencji akrostychu, dodał do całości dzieła dwudzieste trzecie bardzo obszerne Demonstratio de acino.
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