Mara bar Serapion Mara bar Serapion ( syc, ܡܪܐ ܒܪ ܣܪܦܝܘܢ) was a Syriac Stoic philosopher in the Roman province of Syria. He is only known from a letter he wrote in Syriac to his son, who was named Serapion,''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Int ...

was a

Stoic philosopher Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century Common Era, BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asser ...

from the

Roman province of Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into tetr ...

. He is noted for a letter he wrote in

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 in ...

to his son, who was named Serapion.''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament'' by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 page 110''Evidence of Greek Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian'' by Ute Possekel 1999 pages 29-30 The letter was composed sometime after 73 AD but before the 3rd century, and most scholars date it to shortly after 73 AD during the first century. The letter may be an early non-Christian reference to the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

. The letter refers to the unjust treatment of "three wise men": the murder of

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

, the burning of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...

, and the execution of "the wise king" of the Jews. The author explains that in all three cases the wrongdoing resulted in the future punishment of those responsible by God and that when the wise are oppressed, not only does their wisdom triumph in the end, but God punishes their oppressors. The letter has been claimed to include no Christian themes''Studying the Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research'' edited by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998 pages 455-457 and many scholars consider Mara a pagan, although some suggest he may have been a

monotheist Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...

. Some scholars see the reference to the execution of a "wise king" of the Jews as an early non-Christian reference to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

. Criteria that support the non-Christian origin of the letter include the observation that "king of the Jews" was not a Christian title, and that the letter's premise that Jesus lives on in his teachings he enacted is in contrast to the Christian concept that Jesus continues to live through his

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

. Scholars such as

Robert Van Voorst Robert E. Van Voorst (born June 5, 1952) is an American theologian and educator. He retired in 2018 as a Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan, and has published scholarly works in early Christ ...

see little doubt that the reference to the execution of the " king of the Jews" is about the

death of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...

.''Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence'' by Robert E. Van Voorst 2000 pages 53-55 Others such as

Craig A. Evans Craig Alan Evans (born January 21, 1952) is an American biblical scholar. He is a prolific writer with 70 books and over 600 journal articles and reviews to his name. Career He earned his Bachelor of Arts, B.A in history and philosophy from Cla ...

see less value in the letter, given its uncertain date, and the ambiguity in the reference.

The passage and its context

Mara Bar-Serapion's letter is preserved in a 6th or 7th century manuscript (''BL Add.'' 14658) held by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, and was composed sometime between 73 AD and the 3rd century. Nineteenth century records state that the manuscript containing this text was one of several manuscripts obtained by

Henry Tattam Henry Tattam (28 December 1789 – 8 January 1868, Stanford Rivers, Essex) was a Church of England clergyman and Coptic scholar. Life Tattam was Rector of St Cuthbert's Bedford, 1822–1849, and from 1831 to 1849 also Rector of Great Woolston ...

from the

monastery of St. Mary Deipara The Monastery of Saint Mary El-Sourian is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun in the Nitrian Desert, Beheira Governorate, Egypt. It is located about 500 meters northwest of the Monastery of Saint Pishoy. The monastery is de ...

in the Nitrian Desert of Egypt and acquired by the Library in 1843.

William Cureton William Cureton (180817 June 1864) was an English Orientalist. Life He was born in Westbury, Shropshire. After being educated at the Adams' Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire and at Christ Church, Oxford, he took orders in 1832, became chapl ...

published an English translation in 1855. The beginning of the letter makes it clear that it is written to the author's son: "Mara, son of Serapion, to my son Serapion, greetings." The key passage is as follows: In this passage the author explains that when the wise are oppressed, not only does their wisdom triumph in the end, but God also punishes their oppressors. The context of the letter is that the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

had destroyed Mara's city in a war, taking him prisoner along with others. The letter was written from prison to encourage the author's son to pursue wisdom. It takes the form of a set of rhetorical questions which ask about the benefits of persecuting wise men. Mara hints that the occupation of his land will in the end bring shame and disgrace on the Romans. His letter advises the pursuit of wisdom to face the difficulties of life.

Historical analysis

The letter has been claimed to include no Christian themes and a number of leading scholars such as

Sebastian Brock Sebastian Paul Brock, FBA (born 1938, London) is a British scholar, university professor, and expert in the field of academic studies of Classical Syriac language and Classical Syriac literature. His research also encompasses various aspects of ...

consider Mara a pagan.Sebastian Brock in ''The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13'' edited by Averil Cameron and Peter Garnsey (Jan 13, 1998) page 709''The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.-A.D. 337'' by Fergus Millar page 507 A small number of scholars suggest that Mara may have been a

.Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). ''Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence''. Eerdmans Publishing. pages 53-56 The non-Christian origin of the letter is supported by the observation that "king of the Jews" was not a Christian title during the time period the letter was written. The statement in the letter that the wise king lives on because of the "new law" he laid down is also seen as an indication of its non-Christian origin, for it ignores the Christian belief that Jesus continues to live through his

. Another viewpoint is that he could be referring to the resurrection recorded in Jesus's teachings which say he lived on, thus establishing his "new law" (possibly paralleling the "

New Covenant The New Covenant (Hebrew '; Greek ''diatheke kaine'') is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 31:31-34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...

"). This means that it is impossible to infer if Mara believed the resurrection happened or not, and leaves it up to speculation whether he was a Christian or a non-Christian who agreed with Christians as regarding Jesus as a "wise king" according to the Gospels. Given that the gospel portraits of Jesus' crucifixion place much of the blame for the execution of Jesus on the Roman procurator

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

(with the Jewish mob merely acting as agitators), some Gospels do agree with the Jews being to blame. And referring to "king of the Jews" rather than the Savior or Son of God indicates that the impressions of Bar-Serapion were not formed by Christian sources, although Jewish Christians did call him the king of the Jews. Theologian

sees little doubt that the reference to the execution of the " king of the Jews" is about the

. Van Voorst states that possible reasons for Bar-Serapion to suppress the name of Jesus from the letter include the ongoing persecutions of Christians at the time and his desire not to offend his Roman captors who also destroyed Jerusalem. Others such as

sees less value in the letter, given its uncertain date, and the possible ambiguity in the reference.''Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies'' by Craig A. Evans 2001 page 41

Bruce Chilton Bruce D. Chilton (born September 27, 1949 Roslyn, NY) is an American scholar of early Christianity and Judaism. He is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, former Rector of the Church of St John the Evangelist and formerly Li ...

states that Bar-Serapion reference to the "king of Jews" may be related to the

INRI In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as '' Basileus ton Ioudaion'' (). Both uses of t ...

inscription on the cross of Jesus' crucifixion, as in the Gospel of Mark (15:26 paragraph 1). Van Voorst states that the parallels drawn between the unjust treatment of three men, and the destruction of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...

leads to the conclusion that Bar-Serapion viewed the

destruction of Jerusalem The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Jud ...

as punishment for the Jewish

rejection of Jesus There are a number of episodes in the New Testament in which Jesus was rejected. Jesus is rejected in Judaism as a failed Jewish messiah claimant and a false prophet by all Jewish denominations. New Testament Hometown rejection In the sixth ...

. Evans, however, argues that unlike the references to Socrates and Pythagoras, bar Serapion does not explicitly mention Jesus by name, thereby rendering the actual identity of the "wise king" in the letter less than certain. The letter was written after the AD 72 annexation of

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.Maurice Sartre Maurice Sartre (born 3 October 1944) is a French historian, an Emeritus professor of ancient history at the François Rabelais University, a specialist in ancient Greek and Eastern Roman history, especially the Hellenized Middle East, from Alexand ...

, Catherine Porter and Elizabeth Rawlings (Apr 22, 2005) page 293 Most scholars date the letter to shortly after AD 73 during the first century.

References

External links

* Text of the letter of Mara at Wikisource {{Jesus footer, state=collapsed Syriac literature Ancient Roman writers on Jesus de:Mara Bar Serapion it:Lettera di Mara Bar Serapion pt:Mara Bar-Serapion

The passage and its context

Historical analysis

See also

References

Further reading

External links