Abstract
The poetry of Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306–373 C. E.) shows a marked predilection for composing beatitudes, usually in the form, “Blessed is the one who . . .” Careful study of these formulas, particularly when they predominate in certain madrāšē, shows that Ephrem uses the device deliberately and creatively to signal the creator-creature polarity, and in that context, the balancing of its tension via the transference of the creature to a medial or liminal state between God and humanity. They also signal creatures’ consequent ability to mediate between God and other creatures. Ephrem carefully limits the formula to created entities and distinguishes between the epithets and concepts brīḵā and ṭūḇānā, a subtlety that has not typically, but should be, respected in English translation, because it is integral to the dynamic they express. Ephrem’s beatitudes are often associated with personification and balance. Thus, when applied to biblical entities, they form a way in which he rhetorically brings the polarity between God and man to life in his own teaching, and seeks to dramatize the experience of closeness to God in his community’s present time. A complete reference list of Ephrem’s beatitudes in his extant madrāšē is included.
Acknowledgements
Completing this article was made possible by the generous support of a research fellowship from the Institute of Christian Oriental Research at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. The author also gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments and suggestions made by the anonymous reviewer. Any errors that remain are the author’s own.
Appendix: Table of Beatitude Citations in Ephrem’s madrāšē
Beatitude Citations in Ephrem’s Poetry (refrains counted once each)
cycle | poem / location | stanzas |
Carmina nisibena | 46 | 7 |
Carmina nisibena | 49 | 17 |
Carmina nisibena | app. (De mortuis) | 11 |
Florilegium | 78 | n/a |
Hymni Contra haereses | 5 | 17, refrain |
Hymni Contra haereses | 56 | 8 |
Hymni De azymis | 6 | 3 |
Hymni De crucifixione | 3 | 2–5,9–13,18 |
Hymni De crucifixione | 8 | 1–3,5,6,8,11,12,15,16 |
Hymni De crucifixione | 9 | 1,2 |
Hymni De ecclesia | 9 | 8,18 |
Hymni De ecclesia | 16 | 1–5,9–11 |
Hymni De ecclesia | 17 | 1–9 |
Hymni De ecclesia | 28 | refrain |
Hymni De ecclesia | 29 | refrain |
Hymni De ecclesia | 38 | 18 |
Hymni De ecclesia | 39 | refrain |
Hymni De ecclesia | 51 | 1–3 |
Hymni De fide | 2 | 1–24 |
Hymni De fide | 3 | 1–13,16 |
Hymni De fide | 49 | 6 |
Hymni De ieiunio | 1 | 13 |
Hymni De ieiunio | 7 | 13, refrain |
Hymni De nativitate | 8 | 6,16 |
Hymni De nativitate | 17 | 5 |
Hymni De nativitate | 25 | 1–14,16 |
Hymni de paradiso | 1 | 6,7 |
Hymni de paradiso | 2 | 1 |
Hymni de paradiso | 5 | refrain, 12 |
Hymni de paradiso | 6 | 12,18,19 |
Hymni de paradiso | 7 | 4,24 |
Hymni de paradiso | 8 | 2 |
Hymni de paradiso | 10 | 14 |
Hymni de paradiso | 13 | 11,13,16 |
Hymni de paradiso | 14 | 1,5–8,10,11 |
Hymni De virginitate | 14 | 1,2,4,10 |
Hymni De virginitate | 15 | 1–7 |
Hymni De virginitate | 16 | 1–4,6–9 |
Hymni De virginitate | 17 | 1–10 |
Hymni De virginitate | 18 | 1,5,6,8–10 |
Hymni De virginitate | 19 | 1,2 |
Hymni De virginitate | 20 | 1,2 |
Hymni De virginitate | 21 | 1,2,11 |
Hymni De virginitate | 22 | 1–5 |
Hymni De virginitate | 23 | 1,2,5,7,8,10,11 |
Hymni De virginitate | 24 | 1–14 |
Hymni De virginitate | 25 | 2,13,15,16 |
Hymni De virginitate | 26 | 2–7,10–13,16 |
Hymni De virginitate | 27 | 4 |
Hymni De virginitate | 31 | 2–15 |
Hymni De virginitate | 33 | 2,6 |
Hymni De virginitate | 35 | 8 |
Hymni De virginitate | 40 | 5 |
Total | 241 |
Note: De ecclesia 26 and 27 are interesting cases: the former reflects on divine blessings, frequently employing the root ṭ-w-b; the latter reflects on the blessings and woes Jesus uttered. Neither use the macarism formula per se. Contra haereses 51 likewise reflects on blessings and woes, but without using beatitudes directly.
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