Some Philological Notes on the Mäṣǝḥafä ‘Ǝräfǝtä läMaryam “Liber Requiei” (LR)

Abstract

The article deals with the Gǝ’ǝz version of the Liber Requiei (The Book of [ Mary’s ] Rest), the Mäṣǝḥafä ‘Ǝräfǝtä läMaryam. There is little doubt that the Gǝ’ǝz translation was performed on a lost Greek text, an aspect which together with the paucity of witnesses of the Gǝ’ǝz makes this work a privileged research item. The Gǝ’ǝz version of the Liber Requiei is an indispensable avenue for the reconstruction of the lost Greek original, a term of comparison for the Syriac versions that descended from it and an important example of archaic translation practice from Greek into Gǝ’ǝz. The linguistic quality of the Gǝ’ǝz text is so harsh that the work is virtually unknown to the vast majority of Ethiopian church men and scholars. The pioneering edition and Latin version of Victor Arras (upon which two Italian translations were produced) has the merit of unearthing a text which otherwise would have probably fallen into oblivion. A re-edition of the manuscripts with a fresh faithful translation of the Mäṣǝḥafä ‘Ǝräfǝtä läMaryam would be very useful.