Emmanuel Bar Shahhare’s Hexaemeron: An Edition and Translation of the Third Mēmrā with Commentary on the Fall of Angels

Abstract

The present thesis attempts to introduce and study a Syriac text known as the Book of the Six Days, or Hexaemeron, written by the 10th-century East Syrian poet Emmanuel Bar Shahhare. This thesis focuses on the third homily (mēmrā), which includes interpretation of the events of the first day of creation. The thesis consists of two main parts. The first part, composed of three chapters, provides an introduction to the text and an analysis of its content. The first chapter offers a general discussion of Emmanuel’s place within the broader tradition of Christian hexaemeral literature, and the second chapter explores the text’s main exegetical themes, including the creation of light, the creation of angels, their number, their hierarchy, and the story of their fall. The third chapter offers an analysis of one of the key themes of the homily: the story of the fall of angels. Primarily aiming to identify the sources the authors relied on to shape his interpretation of the story, this chapter compares Emmanuel’s version of the story of angels’ fall with the works of earlier Syriac poets, Ephrem, Narsai, and Jacob of Serugh, and also a Syriac text known as the Cave of Treasures. The fourth chapter introduces the manuscripts that have been used for the edition, and finally, the two chapters of the second part offer an edition of the Syriac text of the homily, along with an English translation.