Jacob of Edessa (or James of Edessa) ( syr, ܝܥܩܘܒ ܐܘܪܗܝܐ, Yaʿqub Urhoyo) (c. 640 – 5 June 708) was

Bishop of Edessa Early bishops The following list is based on the records of the ''Chronicle of Edessa'' (to ''c''.540) and the ''Chronicle of Zuqnin''. Jacobite (Syriac) bishops These bishops belonged to the Syriac Orthodox Church. During the later period there ...

and prominent

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

writer in

Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

language, also known as one of earliest Syriac grammarians. In various works, he treated

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

subjects, and contributed significantly to scholarly and literary development of

Syriac Christianity Syriac Christianity ( syr, ܡܫܝܚܝܘܬܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܬܐ / ''Mšiḥoyuṯo Suryoyto'' or ''Mšiḥāyūṯā Suryāytā'') is a distinctive branch of Eastern Christianity, whose formative theological writings and traditional liturgies are ex ...

. He is considered to be one of the most important scholars of the Christian-Aramean tradition.

Life

Jacob of Edessa was born in Aindaba (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: عيندابا) at 50 km west of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, around 640. He studied at the famous monastery of

Qenneshre Qenneshre (also ''Qēnneshrē'' or ''Qennešre'', Syriac for "eagle's nest"; Arabic ''Qinnisrī'') was a large West Syriac monastery between the 6th and 13th centuries. It was a centre for the study of ancient Greek literature and the Greek Fath ...

(on the left bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

) and later at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

."St. Jacob (James) of Edessa (+ June 5th, 708)", Syrian Orthodox Church in America
/ref> On his return from Alexandria he became a monk at Edessa, where he was known for his learning. Ordained a priest in 672, he was appointed metropolitan of Edessa by his friend Athanasius II,

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

. He held this office for three or four years, but the clergy opposed his strict enforcement of the Church canons. He was not supported by Julian II, the successor of Athanasius. In response to Julian's suggestion that he temporize his criticisms, he publicly burned a copy of the neglected canons in front of Julian's residence and retired to the monastery of Kaisum near

Samosata Samsat ( ku, Samîsad), formerly Samosata ( grc, Σαμόσατα) is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Eusebona where, for eleven years, he taught the Psalms and the reading of the Scriptures in Greek. Towards the close of this period Jacob again encountered opposition, this time from monks who despised the Greeks. Jacob left Eusebona and proceeded to the great convent of Tel Ade (

: تل عدا), one of several Syriac Orthodox monasteries on the 'mountain of Edessa' (? modern Tellgdi, northwest of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

), where he spent nine years in revising and amending the

Peshitta The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

version of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

with the aid of the various Greek versions. Jacob played a prominent part in the synod Julian convened in 706. He was finally recalled to the bishopric of Edessa in 708, but died four months later.

Doctrinal allegiance

Jacob belonged to the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

and his writings have a definite

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the " Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' ('' physis'')." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian posi ...

character. In the literature of his country he holds much the same place as St. Jerome does among the Latins.

Assemani Assemani is a surname. "Assemani" is an Arabic patronymic which means son of Simeon. Notable people with the surname include: * Giuseppe Simone Assemani (1687–1768), Lebanese Maronite Orientalist * Stefano Evodio Assemani (1709–1782), ne ...

tried hard to prove him orthodox (''B.O.'' i. 470 sqq.) but changed his opinion on reading his biography by

Barhebraeus Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional primat ...

(ib. ii. 3–7). See especially Lamy, ''Dissert. de Syrorum fide'', pp. 206 sqq. i Text at Leipzig 1889 (''Das Buch der Erkenntniss der Wahrheit oder der Ursache aller Ursachen''): translation (posthumously) at Strassburg 1893.

Language

Jacob of Edessa wrote in

language, a literary and liturgical variant of

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

, that originated in the region of

Osroene Osroene or Osrhoene (; grc-gre, Ὀσροηνή) was an ancient region and state in Upper Mesopotamia. The ''Kingdom of Osroene'', also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" ( syc, ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܐܘܪܗܝ / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to ...

, centered in

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroe ...

, and flourished from the 3rd to the 8th century, as standardized language of

. His translations of various Greek works into Classical Syriac, followed by formation of appropriate terms and expressions, contributed significantly to the overall development of his native language. Since he was born in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

proper, whose local dialect was somewhat different from the literary language, those distinctions made him interested in questions related to dialectal diversities of Aramaic language, and he expressed that interest in his linguistic works. Preserved fragments contain several terms, used by Jacob as designations for his language. When referring to ''our language'', as native language of "''us Arameans or Syriacs''", he used several regional designations, like ''Nahrayan language'' (mamlā nahrāyā, leššānā nahrāyā), a term derived from choronym (regional name) Bet-Nahrayn, an Aramaic name for

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

in general. When referring even more directly to the literary language, he used the term ''Urhayan language'' (mamlā urhāyā, leššānā urhāyā), derived from the Aramaic name (Urhay) of the city of

, that was the birthplace of

. Since he belonged to generation that already accepted the long-standing Greek custom of using Syrian/Syriac labels as designations for Arameans and their language, he also used term ''Syriac'' language (sūryāyā), as a designation for the language of his people in general, both literary and vernacular.

Writings

Most of his works are in prose. Few have been published. In 1911 most of the information available was to be found in Giuseppe Simone Assemani's ''Bibliotheca Orientalis'' and

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

's ''Catalogue of Syriac MSS in the British Museum''.

Biblical works and commentaries

Jacob produced a revision of the Bible, based on the

calls this a curious eclectic or patchwork text. Five volumes survive in Europe (

, ''Catalogue'' 38). This was the last attempt at a revision of the

in the

. Jacob was also the chief founder of the Syriac Massorah among the Syrians, which produced such manuscripts as the one (Vat. cliii.) described by Wiseman in ''Horae syriacae'', part iii. He also wrote commentaries and

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

on the Bible. Specimens of these are given by Assemani and

. They are quoted a lot by later commentators, who often refer to Jacob as the "Interpreter of the Scriptures". He also wrote a ''Hexahemeron'', or treatise on the six days of creation. Manuscripts of this exist at

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

and at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

. It was his last work, and being left incomplete was finished by his friend

George, bishop of the Arabs George (Syriac ''Giwargi''; died 724) was the Syriac Orthodox bishop of the Arabs around Aleppo and the upper Euphrates from 686 or 687 until his death. A polymath steeped in ancient Greek philosophy, his writings are an important source for Syriac ...

. He translated the apocryphal ''History of the Rechabites'' composed by Zosimus from Greek into Syriac (

, ''Catalogue'' 1128, and Nau in ''Revue semitique'' vi. 263, vii. 54, 136).

Canons and Liturgy

Jacob made a collection of ecclesiastical canons. In his letter to the priest Addai we possess a collection of canons from his pen, given in the form of answers to Addai's questions. These were edited by Lagarde in ''Reliquiae juris eccl. syriace'', pp. 117 sqq. and

Thomas Joseph Lamy Thomas Joseph Lamy ( Ohey, Belgium, 27 January 1827 – Leuven, 30 July 1907) was a Belgian Biblical scholar and Orientalist. Biography Lamy was ordained a priest in 1853 after completing his studies at Floreffe and at the seminary of Namur, he ...

in ''Dissert''. pp. 98 sqq. Additional canons were given in

's ''Notulae syriacae''. All of them have been translated and expounded by Carl Kayser,
Die Canones Jacobs von Edessa
' (Leipzig, 1886). He also made many contributions to Syriac

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

, both original and as translations from Greek. As a liturgical author, Jacob drew up an anaphora, or liturgy, revised the Liturgy of St. James, wrote the celebrated "Book of Treasures", composed orders of baptism, of the blessing of water on the eve of the Epiphany, and of the celebration of matrimony, to which may be added his translation of Severus's order of Baptism.

Philosophy

Jacob's chief original contribution was his ''Enchiridion'' or ''Manual'', a tract on philosophical terms (

, ''Catalogue'' 984). Translations of works of Aristotle have been attributed to him. However these are probably by other hands (

, ''Short History'' p. 149; Duval, ''Littérature syriaque'', pp. 255, 258). The treatise ''De cause omnium causarum'', which was the work of a bishop of Edessa, was formerly attributed to Jacob; but the publication of the whole by Kayser has made it clear that the treatise is of much later date.

History

Jacob also wrote a ''Chronicle'', as a continuation of the ''

Chronicon In historiography, a ''chronicon'' is a type of chronicle or annals. Examples are: * ''Chronicon'' (Eusebius) * ''Chronicon'' (Jerome) *'' Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham'' *''Chronicon Burgense'' *'' Chronicon Ambrosianum'' *'' Chronicon Compostellan ...

'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

. This is described and quoted from by

Michael the Syrian Michael the Syrian ( ar, ميخائيل السرياني, Mīkhaʾēl el Sūryani:),( syc, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܣܽܘܪܝܳܝܳܐ, Mīkhoʾēl Sūryoyo), died 1199 AD, also known as Michael the Great ( syr, ܡܺܝܟ݂ܳܐܝܶܠ ܪܰܒ݁ܳܐ, ...

in book 7 of his own ''Chronicle''. John of Litharb wrote a continuation of Jacob's chronicle down to 726, also described by Michael. The original text of Jacob's continuation has unfortunately perished apart from 23 leaves in a manuscript in the British Library. Of these a full account is given in

, ''Catalogue'' 1062, and an edition of these has been published in CSCO by E.W.Brooks.

Grammar

Jacob is most famous because of his contributions to the Syriac language and the West Syriac script (Serto). In early Syriac vowels are either not shown, or else shown by a system of dots, used erratically. Jacob borrowed five vowel signs from Greek, which he wrote above the line as miniature symbols. This caught on, and is a feature of West Syriac writing even today. He also elaborated the system whereby some consonants could stand for vowels. Jacob also tried to introduce the Greek practice of writing the vowels on the line, the same way as is done for the consonants. This was resisted by his countrymen and did not come into effect. In his letter to George, bishop of Serugh, on Syriac orthography (published by Phillips in London 1869, and by Martin in Paris the same year) he sets forth the importance of fidelity by scribes in the copying of minutiae of spelling.

Other

As a translator Jacob's greatest achievement was his Syriac version of the ''Homiliae cathedrales'' of

Severus Severus is the name of various historical and fictional figures, including: ;Emperors of the Roman empire *Septimius Severus (145–211), Roman emperor from 193 to 211 (rarely known as ''Severus I.'') *Severus Caracalla (188–217), Roman emperor f ...

, the monophysite patriarch of Antioch. This important collection is now in part known to us by E. W. Brooks's edition and translation of the 6th book of selected epistles of Severus, according to another Syriac version made by

Athanasius of Nisibis Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

in 669. ( Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre says 677; but Athanasius was patriarch only 684–687.) A large number of letters by Jacob to various correspondents have been found in various MSS. Besides those on the canon law to Addai, and on grammar to George of Serugh referred to above, there are others dealing with doctrine, liturgy, and so forth. A few are in verse. In 675, he revised

Paul of Edessa Paul of Edessa (died 30 October 526) was the Syriac Orthodox bishop of Edessa from 510 until his death with the exception of two periods of exile in 519 and 522–526. Paul was consecrated in 510, succeeding Peter. In the first year of his episcop ...

's translations of the hymns of

John Psaltes John Psaltes was the abbot of Qenneshre in the late 6th century. He wrote hymns in Greek that were translated by Paul of Edessa into Syriac, probably while he was on Cyprus in the 620s. The Syriac text was revised in 675 by Jacob of Edessa. Around ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Syriac writers 7th-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishops Bishops of Edessa Syrian Oriental Orthodox Christians Christian anti-Gnosticism Year of birth uncertain Christian apologists 640s births 708 deaths 8th-century Syriac Orthodox Church bishops Arameans 7th-century people Christians from the Umayyad Caliphate