The Sahidic Tripartite Isaiah: Origins and Transmission within the Coptic Manuscript Culture

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-406
Author(s):  
Alin Suciu
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Manuscript Culture ◽  
Book Of Isaiah

Abstract This study shows that the book of Isaiah was sometimes divided by Coptic scribes into three parts, each of them being copied individually into a separate manuscript. By surveying the available evidence, the author argues that this practice originated in the 4th century CE and was in use until the 8th century CE. The origins and eventual disappearance of tripartite Isaiah must be connected with the transformations that affected Coptic codices and scribal traditions from late antiquity to the medieval period.

The Magi and the Star

2020 ◽  
pp. 212-223
Author(s):  
D. H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Illuminated Manuscripts ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
The West ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World

Matthew’s account of the Magi (magoi) is unique in the Bible and has led to a great many questions about their identity and what we should make of the ‘star’ that prompted their trip in the first place and led them to Christ. Exactly when Christian writers first ascribed the Magi as kings is unknown, but attribution of royalty to the Magi appears to have been established by the onset of the sixth century. Thereafter, the three ‘kings’ become commonplace in European illuminated manuscripts and art. Although it is generally assumed that the Magi were three in number, because they presented three gifts, three is not the only accounting. In the later Eastern sources, especially in Syria, the names of twelve Magi are also listed. But in the West, three names prevailed: Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, with different spellings. By Late Antiquity, it was commonly thought that each of the Magi had a separate country of origin: each one signified one of the three parts of the world—Africa, Asia, and Europe—and that these were linked with the sons of Noah, who fathered the three races of Earth. Writers perpetuated this construct through the medieval period.

RABBINIC MIDRASH: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE

2002 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Porton
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Literary Phenomenon

AbstractThis paper argues that Rabbinic Midrash is a definable literary phenomenon that has its primary locus within the Rabbinic schoolhouses of late antiquity. It argues against the claim that much of our current Rabbinic Midrash originated in the Rabbinic sermons of late antiquity. While some rabbis may have delivered sermons in synagogues or to the "community" in different public settings, we shall see that there are few specific indications of that fact. When we find rabbis within the context of synagogues, they most often are not delivering sermons. And when rabbis "preach" to the community, it is often in cities known for their Rabbinic academies. It therefore is unclear exactly to whom these "sermons" were delivered. Medieval and early modern sources indicate that Rabbinic sermons were a part of synagogue activity on Sabbaths as well as on special occasions, such as weddings and funerals. Even during these periods, however, the exact content of these sermons is in many cases far from certain. Also, changes that occurred within the Jewish communities and in their surrounding environments help to explain why Jewish sermons appear at that time. The existence of Rabbinic sermons during the medieval period accordingly does not testify to their presence in late antiquity.

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