The “Who Is He?” Commentary Attributed to St. Gregory of Narek [Արուսյակ Թամրազյան. Գրիգոր Նարեկացուն Վերագրվող Մեկնութիւն Ո՞վ Է Դա-ի երկը] by Arusyak T‘amrazyan

Abstract

Reviewed by: The “Who Is He?” Commentary Attributed to St. Gregory of Narek [Արուսյակ Թամրազյան. Գրիգոր Նարեկացուն Վերագրվող Մեկնութիւն Ո՞վ Է Դա-ի երկը] by Arusyak T‘amrazyan Arpi Nakashian (bio) Arusyak T‘amrazyan, The “Who Is He?” Commentary Attributed to St. Gregory of Narek [Արուսյակ Թամրազյան. Գրիգոր Նարեկացուն Վերագրվող Մեկնութիւն Ո՞վ Է Դա-ի երկը]. Yerevan, Nairi, 2019, 512 pp. Available online at https://www.matenadaran.am/ftp/el_gradaran/A.T'amrazyan.pdf. The scholarly world is indebted to the late Hrach‘ya T‘amrazyan, former head of the Matenadaran, for his extensive research and writing on the Narekean School, particularly for his three volumes of essays entitled Grigor Narekats‘i and the School of Narek [Գրիգոր նարեկացին եւ նարեկեան դպրոցը], published by Nairi in 2013, 2016 and 2017. Now, his daughter, Matenadaran research scholar Arusyak T‘amrazyan, has added to that legacy with a new volume on one of Grigor Narekats‘i’s lesser-known works: his commentary on Job 38–39, a passage often referred to by its first words, “Who Is He?” Edited by Abraham Terian and Gohar Muradyan, the book comprises four chapters, a full transcription of the Narek text, five appendices, and is followed by a bibliography of manuscript and printed sources (pp. 499–508). The subject of T‘amrazyan’s work is a significant but understudied piece attributed to St. Gregory of Narek on the Book of Job. Her writing is a valuable addition to the various works already existing on the Book of Job in Armenian, including Claude Cox’s study of the [End Page 187] Armenian Book of Job1 and more recently, Elya Saribekyan’s article on “Theological Issues in Grigor Tat‘ewats‘i’s Scholia on Job.”2 The four chapters of the volume make up a loosely constructed description of various aspects of the evolution of the commentaries on the Book of Job 38–39 in the Armenian tradition, beginning with their basis in Cyril of Jerusalem’s catechetical lectures. Each chapter section is a short, unique argument that can stand alone or serve as a stepping-stone to the next. The author uses her footnotes to provide a running subtext. T‘amrazyan’s greatest contributions in this volume are two: the first is her reconstruction of the Narek text. Narek’s commentary was published in volume 12 of the series Armenian Classical Authors [Մատենագիրք Հայոց], pp. 885–910, with a one-page introduction by Hakob K‘yoseyan. However, the printed text is based on the only surviving manuscript of the work, Venice ms. 1030/339, dated 1299. The manuscript is severely damaged in many places, and the first pages are entirely missing. T‘amrazyan reconstructs significant parts of the defective text, based both on close physical examination of the manuscript and on comparative study with other commentaries that make use of the Narek material. An extensive footnote at the beginning of the reconstructed text (n. 360, pp. 358–359) describes T‘amrazyan’s reconstruction process. Facsimile fragments from the manuscript are included on pp. 115–116, with a detailed description. T‘amrazyan’s second major contribution in this volume is her comparison of the Narek commentary on Job 38–39 with other relevant works. In chapter 1, she primarily highlights resonance between the commentary and Grigor Narekats‘i’s other works, in particular his Book of Prayers, Festal Odes, and Commentary on the Song of Songs. Among her observations, she emphasizes that the underlying theme of the Book of Prayers is Job’s story, and that Narek, in the persona of Job, is the subject of his own narration. In chapter 2, [End Page 188] she traces references to Job 38–39 in Narekats‘i’s works. She examines themes and symbolism, focusing special attention on the themes and imagery of fragrance and sacrifice. The closing section of the chapter briefly suggests a connection between the sacrifice imagery found in the commentary and the reading of Job 38–39 during Lent. In addition, she discusses the themes’ biblical background or context and compares them with themes that appear in Armenian hymnography. While chapters 1–2 focus on the interconnections within Grigor Narekats‘i’s own works, chapter 3 explores connections with the commentaries of other Church fathers who have written on the Book of Job. The chapter begins with an introduction to the sole surviving manuscript...