Coptic Translation Research Articles

Critical Edition and Philological Analysis of the Isa 53 Text Based on the Coptic Manuscript of sa 52 (M 568) and Other Coptic Manuscripts of the Sahidic Dialect and the Greek Text of the Septuagint

The article is a critical edition, translation, and philological analysis of the Isa 53 text, prepared on the basis of the Coptic manuscript of sa 52 and other available manuscripts, written in the Sahidic dialect. Its first part outlines general information about the section of codex sa 52 (M 568) that contains the analyzed text. This is followed by a list and brief description of other manuscripts that contain at least some verses from sa 53. The most important part of the article is the presentation of the Sahidic text and its translation into English. The differences identified between the Coptic translation and the Greek Septuagint were presented in a table. It includes, for example, additions and omissions in the Sahidic translation, lexical changes, and semantic differences. The final part of the article aims to clarify more challenging philological issues observed either in the Coptic text itself or in its relation to the Greek text of the LXX.

The Coptic Translation of Epiphanius of Salamis’s Ancoratus and the Origenist Controversy in Upper Egypt

Abstract Two manuscripts from around the 9th and the 10th century bear witness to a Coptic translation of the Ancoratus, originally written in Greek by Epiphanius, bishop of Salamis, in 374. Like his more famous sequel to this work, the Panarion, the treatise defends Nicene orthodoxy from perceived heretics, mainly Pneumatomachoi, Arians, Manichaeans, and Origenists. The latter are said to be present in Upper Egypt, where they deny the resurrection of this material body in favor of a spiritual body. The present article argues that the Coptic translation likely took place shortly after the composition of the Greek original, indeed the work was in part commissioned to be used against Origenist monastics in Upper Egypt, thus furnishing a valuable testimony to monastic diversity in the Thebaïd and the lead-up to the Origenist Controversy.

Cruces Copticæ: sopra alcuni luoghi della versione copta del De anima et resurrectione di Gregorio di Nissa

The essay points out some loci in the surviving part of the Coptic translation of De anima et resurrectione, written in Greek by Gregory of Nyssa. It shows how the Coptic text can be useful not only for amending the Greek text but also for understanding better the underlying theology of the Alexandrian Church, which promoted the Coptic translation. In this way, a reading of Gregory’s fragment will be read for the first time using the Coptic version on its own terms and not merely as a translation of Ancient Greek.

Ježci v Septuagintě: Pojem ἐχῖνος v biblické literatuře

Hedgehogs in the Septuagint: The Term ἐχῖνος in the Biblical Literature The following article consists in greater part of a text which can be found in my master’s thesis called And Satyrs Shall Dance There. The Burden of Babylon (Isaiah XIII) as an excursus. It deals with fivefold occurrence of a term ἐχῖνος in Septuagint, with underlying Hebrew concepts and with the right understanding and translating of the Septuagintal translation itself. The author takes at the same time a stand against the common conception which finds support in lexicon works like Liddel-Scott’s or in the recent successor; The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek (2015). Assuming that one can take seriously a witness of Coptic translations of the Septuagint and ambiguity of its Hebrew template, conclusion can be made that ἐχῖνος is a synonym of word ἔχιδνα or ἔχις, i.e. snake or adder. Therefore, the question whether hedgehogs occur in the text of the Septuagint has to be answered negatively.

A Critical Edition and Philological Analysis of the Text of Isa 46–48 on the Basis of the Coptic Manuscript sa 52 (M 568) and other Coptic Manuscripts in the Sahidic Dialect and the Greek Text of the Septuagint

The article constitutes a critical edition and a philological analysis of the text of Isa 46-48, based on the Coptic manuscript sa 52 and other available manuscripts in the Sahidic dialect. The first part provides general information on this fragment of the codex sa 52 (M 568), which includes the text being elaborated. This is followed by a list and a brief description of the remaining manuscripts, containing at least some verses from Isa 46-48. 
 The most significant part of the article is the presentation of the Coptic text (in the Sahidic dialect) as well as its translation into English. The differences noted between the Sahidic text and the Greek Septuagint, on which the Coptic translation is based, are presented in a tabular form. It includes, i.a., additions and omissions in the Coptic translation, lexical changes and semantic differences. The last part of the article is devoted to more difficult philological issues, observed either in the Coptic text itself or in its relation to the Greek text LXX. Particularly noteworthy are those verses of Isa 46-48, which appear only in the manuscript sa 52.2 and have not been published anywhere so far.

A Critical Edition and Philological Analysis of the Text of Isa 44:6–45:25 Based on the Coptic Manuscript sa 52 (M 568), Other Manuscripts Written in the Sahidic Coptic Dialect, and on the Greek Text of the Septuagint

This paper contains a critical edition and philological analysis of Isa 44:6–45:25, which were worked out primarily on the basis of the Coptic manuscript sa 52.2 and other available manuscripts of the Sahidic dialect. Particular attention is paid to these verses since they occur only in manuscript sa 52.2 and so far have never been published. The first part presents general information on the fragment of codex sa 52 (M 568) that includes the discussed text. The next part provides a list and brief characteristics of the other manuscripts containing at least some verses of Isa 44:6–45:25. The focal section of the paper is a presentation of the Coptic text (in the Sahidic dialect) and its translation into English. The differences between the Sahidic text and the Greek text of the Septuagint, on which the Coptic translation is based, have been pointed out in tables. They include additions and omissions in the Coptic translation, lexical changes, and semantic differences. Finally, the paper is devoted to difficult philological questions observed in the Coptic text itself or in its references to the Greek text of the LXX.

Plato in Bad Company? Plato’s Republic (588b–589b) in the Nag Hammadi Collection: A Re-Examination of Its Background

Abstract The Coptic translation of a passage from Plato’s Republic (588b–589b) found in the sixth Codex of the Nag Hammadi collection has received very limited academic attention in comparison with other tractates from the same Codex. This paper argues that placing this passage within Clement of Alexandria’s polemic with Christian Platonists Carpocrates and his son Epiphanes, may provide a fresh and insightful comment on the use of Republic, with its anthropology and ethics among various second-century Christian teachers. This passage allegorizes various passions within the human soul and warns against injustice. According to Clement of Alexandria the subject of justice, or righteousness, was one of the subjects which attracted the attention of Epiphanes. I propose that the origin of the Coptic passage goes back to the second-century effort to assimilate Platonic ideas about the human soul into Christian ethics. Although various apologists accused Carpocrates and Epiphanes of sexual immorality, I focus on the possibility that Christians with Platonic tendencies were exploring the nature and power of human passions and considering how they could be controlled. The place of the excerpt in the Nag Hammadi collection is not coincidental but goes along other mythological and didactic treatises within.

A Critical Edition and Philological Analysis of the Text of Isa 42:1–44:5 on the Basis of the Coptic Manuscript sa 52 (M 568) and Other Coptic Manuscripts Written in the Sahidic Dialect of Coptic and the Greek Text of the Septuagint

This paper provides a critical edition and philological analysis of Isa 42:1–44:5, which were worked out on the basis of the Coptic manuscript sa 52.2 and other available manuscripts of the Sahidic dialect. The first part presents general information on the fragment of codex sa 52 (M 568) that includes the discussed text. The next part gives a list and brief characteristics of the other manuscripts containing at least some verses of Isa 42:1–44:5. The focal section of the paper is a presentation of the Sahidic text and its translation into English. The differences between the Sahidic text and the Septuagint, on which the Coptic translation is based, have been presented in tables. They include additions and omissions in the Coptic translation, lexical changes and semantic differences. Finally, the paper examines difficult philological questions observed in the Coptic text. Of special attention are the verses of Isa 42:1–44:5, which occur only in manuscript sa 52.2, and so far have not been published.

«Ищу человѣка» (ветхозаветные пророки в творчестве протопопа Аввакума)

Avvakum made extensive use of the Prophetic Books, their symbols, images and language; he quoted and commented on them. He often cited biblical excerpts not in the redaction intended for reading but in the one used at church services. This was natural for a hereditary priest who had extensive liturgical practice. Avvakum also referred to apocryphal legends. In the “Book of Conversations”, denouncing moral decline, he cited the parable of the prophet Jeremiah, who in the daytime walked around Jerusalem with a burning candle in a fruitless search for a man. The parable is close to the Coptic translation of the apocrypha ”Chronicle of the Prophet Jeremiah”, made from the Greek original. The Old Slavic translation of this apocrypha from Greek (“Paralipomena Jeremiah”) is known in two redactions. However, this episode is not found in any of them. Obviously, Avvakum knew some other, possibly oral, intermediate source.

Visionary Experience and Ritual Realism in the Ascent of the Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth (nhc vi,6)

The Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth (nhc vi,6) is a dialogue between Hermes Trismegistus and his son, during which they experience visions of the eighth and ninth spheres, above the seven planetary spheres. The paper aims to show that such experiences were not merely literary fiction, but actively pursued and allegedly obtained by those who followed the course of spiritual formation known as the Way of Hermes. A comparison with the Greek and Demotic magical papyri shows that these texts all show signs of “ritual realism,” meaning that correct ritual performance necessarily provides direct access to the divine realm, which should be experienced as real. It is furthermore argued that the Coptic translation of the text, and its presence in the Nag Hammadi codices, might be explained by the interest of Egyptian monks in visions of the divine.

The Sentences of Sextus and the Origins of Christian Asceticism. By DANIELE PEVARELLO.

The current popularity of often overtly ‘pagan’ guides to self-improvement indicates the value of an awareness of the varied Greek influences on Christian asceticism as ideals already naturalized in the wider inherited Mediterranean tradition. This careful and perceptive study investigates the likely and specifically Pythagorean sources of The Sentences of Sextus (sources found chiefly in Clitarchus and The Pythagorean Sentences). Sextus is here read as a Christian ‘apologetically’ marrying admired traditional philosophical ideals of disciplined restraint and self-sufficiency with emergent second-century Christian faith and insights in various surviving texts. The setting for the assembly of the Sentences is persuasively argued as most probably Alexandria, with explicit references in Origen, and the discovery of a (fragmentary) Coptic translation at Nag Hammadi, along with resonances in Philo, and more. There is a conventional but informative survey of the history of scholarship, including both attention to origins and to explicit or plausibly discernible echoes in later Christian authors elsewhere, clearest in Rufinus (who translated the Sentences into Latin) and Jerome. The latter could disparage them as encouraging Pelagius but also cite them with approval. Two independent Syriac translations have survived.

ποταμοφόρητος (Rev 12 : 15) – from Etymology to Theologoumenon

Grecki przymiotnik ποταμοφόρητος występuje w Piśmie Świętym tylko raz – w Ap 12, 15. Polski przekład Biblii Tysiąclecia zdanie celowe, w którym ποταμοφόρητος występuje, oddaje jako: „żeby ją rzeka poniosła”. G. Schneider, autor hasła ποταμοφόρητος w Exegetisches Wörterbuch zum Neuen Testament, proponuje korektę znaczenia tego słowa, koncentrując się na domniemanym celu porwania przez wodę, czyli spowodowaniu zatonięcia. Aby rozstrzygnąć zaistniały problem, podejmujemy w pierwszej kolejności studium etymologii terminu ποταμοφόρητος (pochodzi od rzeczownika ποταμός – „rzeka” i utworzonego od czasownika φορέω przymiotnika φορητός – „niesiony, dający się unieść”) oraz przegląd kompositów z przymiotnikiem φορητός (nie zawierały one idei śmiertelnego zagrożenia). Do przełomu XIX i XX wieku ποταμοφόρητος był poświadczony poza Biblią tylko w pochodzącym z przełomu V i VI wieku leksykonie Hezychiusza, który mógłby stanowić uzasadnienie propozycji G. Schneidera. Odkryte i opracowane na przełomie XIX i XX wieku papirusy egipskie, w których ποταμοφόρητος jest odnoszone do wylewów Nilu, pozwalają tę propozycję poddać w wątpliwość, lecz problemu nie rozstrzygają. Następne pole poszukiwań stanowią starożytne przekłady Apokalipsy (VL, Wg, syryjskie i koptyjskie), dostarczające poparcia to jednej, to drugiej możliwości, oraz łacińskie i greckie komentarze patrystyczne, w których uzasadnienie znajduje dotychczasowy polski przekład. Komentatorzy rzekę mającą porwać Niewiastę rozumieją jako obraz prześladowań Kościoła i chęć ich prowodyra, by Kościół sobie podporządkować. Jedna z wersji przekładu VL (typ I) zwraca poszukiwania w kierunku pierwowzoru, jakim była prawdopodobnie rzeka Nil. W świetle starożytnych opinii na temat przyczyn wylewów Nilu (wiatr od strony Morza Śródziemnego miał powodować, iż Nil zaczynał płynąć w górę swego biegu) oraz czytelnej wówczas paraleli Ez 29, 3. 6 można przypuszczać, że to właśnie ta rzeka była modelem dla autora Apokalipsy. Dane te na tle starożytnych przekładów i komentarzy pozwalają na potwierdzenie słuszności dotychczasowego polskiego tłumaczenia słowa ποταμοφόρητος.

From 'God' ( EO ) to 'God' (NO TE): A New Discussion and Proposal Regarding John 1:1C and the Sahidic Coptic Version of the New Testament

Due to the antiquity of the Sahidic Coptic version of the New Testament among early versions of the New Testament, it is a significant resource for New Testament textual criticism, reception history, and the history of interpretation. This article explores the manner in which the Sahidic Coptic version translates the anarthrous nominative singular (AnNS) qe0, and its effect on a key passage regarding the understanding of Jesus’ divinity. It does so by answering two distinct but related questions: (1) Did the Sahidic Coptic translators uniformly translate the AnNS qe0? (2) How can the assessment of the Sahidic Coptic translation pattern inform the discussion of the history, transcription, and translation of

A New Fragment of Athanasius's Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter: Heresy, Apocrypha, and the Canon

Athanasius of Alexandria's thirty-ninth Festal Letter remains one of the most significant documents in the history of the Christian Bible. Athanasius wrote the letter, which contains the first extant list of precisely the twenty-seven books of the current New Testament canon, in 367 c.e., during the final decade of his life. Like many of his annual Easter letters, the thirty-ninth was fairly long, but only a small portion of the text survives in Greek.1 The Greek excerpt contains Athanasius's lists of the books of the Old and New Testaments, which he calls “canonized,” and a list of a few additional books, like the Shepherd of Hermas, which he says are not canonized, but are useful in the instruction of catechumens. Most studies of the formation of the Christian canon, including very recent ones, examine only this Greek fragment and so discuss only the contents of the lists. But already in the late-nineteenth-century fragments of the much more extensive Coptic translation had been published, and a few scholars, such as Carl Schmidt and Theodor Zahn, used them to write penetrating studies of the letter.2 In 1955 Lefort published all the then-known Coptic fragments in his book of Coptic Athanasiana, and then in 1984 Coquin published another long fragment.3 These served as the basis for my 1995 translation and my 1994 article in this journal on the social context of canon formation in fourth-century Egypt.4

Some Pecularities of the Coptic (Sahidic) Translations of the Gospel of John

Some Pecularities of the Coptic (Sahidic) Translations of the Gospel of John

The Life of Antony, and: The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and: Encomium on Saint Antony, and: A Letter to the Disciples of Antony (review)

Reviewed by: The Life of Antony, and: The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and: Encomium on Saint Antony, and: A Letter to the Disciples of Antony James E. Goehring The Life of Antony by Athanasius of Alexandria; The Greek Life of Antony, The Coptic Life of Antony, and Encomium on Saint Antony by John of Shmün, and A Letter to the Disciples of Antony by Serapion of Thmuis. Translated by Tim Vivian and Apostolos N. Athanassakis with Rowan A. Greer. [Cistercian Studies Series: No. 202.] (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. 2003. Pp. lxvi, 290. $27.95 paperback.) The influential Egyptian ascetic Antony, made famous by Athanasius in his Life of Antony, served also as the subject of two additional early Egyptian narrative texts: a letter of consolation sent by Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, to Antony's disciples shortly after his death in 356 A.D., and a florid encomium filled with metaphors praising the saint attributed to John, Bishop of Shmun, dated ca. 600 A.D. The present volume offers English translations of all three texts, including both the Greek and Coptic versions of the Life of Antony, an extensive introduction, and a good selective bibliography. Serapion's letter and John's encomium appear here for the first time in English. The volume is constructed around the translations of the Life. As such, the extensive introduction to the volume is, in fact, an introduction to the Life, illustrating once again its role in shaping most portraits of the saint. The introduction is separated from the translations of the Life by the translations of John's encomium and Serapion's letter, each with its own separate brief introduction. As such, the two shorter texts seem to intervene in the flow of the volume, though not seriously. The Greek and Coptic translations of the Life are set on facing pages, allowing the reader to compare the two and see to some degree how the Coptic translator worked. Vivian offers some exploration of the differences in the introduction, most notably perhaps the alteration of the famous line in the Greek Life, "the desert was made a city by the monks," to "the desert filled with monks" (so too the Syriac version). While numerous English translations of the Greek Life exist, this is the first based on Bartelink's new and much improved 1994 critical edition (Sources chrétiennes, 400) and as such important. The translation of the Sahidic Coptic version of the Life, based on Garitte's 1949 edition, improves on Vivian's earlier 1995 translation (San Francisco: International Scholars Publications). The authors present these texts not only for those interested in the late antique world of early Christian Egypt, but also as spiritual guides still relevant today. The introductions and notes are useful for both purposes, referencing in particular biblical citations and allusions. The more critical, language-oriented notes in Vivian's earlier translation of the Coptic Life are, however, reduced in the current edition. Scholars will naturally want to consult the critical editions. Nonetheless, the present volume offers easy initial access to the texts in translation. While the authors set the individual texts in their appropriate historical setting, they understand and interpret Antony's quest in terms of the human [End Page 893] predicament. The texts become thereby forever relevant. They make this point explicit at the end of their introduction, noting that "since we are probably not going out into the desert, we need to bring the desert home to us. . . . we need to see enough of Antony's landscape in our own (and ours in his) to make his journey recognizable." As such, this volume continues Vivian's impressive effort, here aided by Athanassakis, not only to make the Coptic accounts of the desert fathers available in English, but to encourage their broader reading both for historical study and individual growth. James E. Goehring University of Mary Washington Copyright © 2007 The Catholic University of America Press

The Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) and the Embodiment of Wisdom

A Coptic translation of the Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) was discovered in 1896 in Cairo. This Gospel is not quoted by the church fathers, and it apparently went missing in the fifth century AD. Its existence seems to have been restricted to Egypt, which gives it an African flavour. Here, in this essay, the Gospel is not read as a gnostic text, but as one conveying an indigenous form of stoic wisdom. Ultimately it is asked whether the wisdoms embodied in the Gospel of Mary (Magdalene) can give women today greater insight and help them to become wiser. Can it bring about a wiser society, a society that honours balance, mutuality, the entitlement of all its members and the deconstruction of cultural stereotypes?

Ancient Myths and Modern Theories of the Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins

The discovery of any manuscript is always a joyous occasion, not least when the manuscript is a venerable document that makes a difference in our understanding of religion and culture. In the past century two such discoveries, each fifty years apart, have provided us with the opportunity to pause, take stock of our studies, and reassess what we know about the beginnings of Christianity. I am referring, of course, to two separate discoveries of the same early Christian text: the Gospel According to Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas is an anthology of 114 sayings preserved in the name, and under the authority, of Jesus. Fragments of three different manuscripts of the Greek text of Thomas (P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655) were discovered nearly one hundred years ago in a garbage dump in the ancient town of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and published at the turn of the century. Fifty years later, a Coptic translation of the entire gospel was discovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, where it was buried (in a large storage jar) in the fourth century, unearthed in 1945 (by Muhammad Ali), and published the next decade. Thomas quickly became the subject of intense scholarly debate. Since no fewer than 68 of the 114 sayings in the text have biblical parallels, establishing a connection between Thomas and the New Testament was thought to have far-reaching consequences. The outcome is not restricted to the narrow confines of biblical source criticism. Broader issues are at

The Three “Matthean” Aphorisms in theDialogue of the Savior53

TheDialogue of the Savior(NHC 3, 5) is a literary dialogue between “the Savior” and a group of disciples, among whom three are named and have speeches attributed to them (Matthew, Judas, and Mary). Originally written—or better, compiled—in Greek, perhaps early in the second century CE, the writing is preserved only in a Coptic translation made before the end of the fourth century. Only recently has a critical edition been published; hence scholarship on this important document is in its infancy.

The Theology of the Teachings of Silvanus

The Nag Hammadi Library has surprised the scholarly world with a great number of previously unknown writings. One of them is the fourth treatise of Codex VII, entitled The Teachings of Silvanus, which was recently published with a French translation and a commentary.' The research into this text has already led to some conclusions which seem to be generally accepted: a) despite some gnosticizing elements, the work as a whole is not gnostic; there are even some anti-gnostic polemics;2 b) it is a specimen of Christian Wisdom literature;3 c) it is a document of Christian Alexandrian theology;4 d) it is to be dated about A.D. 200, in the last decades of the second or the first of the third century.5 Though the work is extant in a Coptic translation only, it was originally written in Greek. Its terminus ante quem is about A.D. 350, for the cover of the codex contained a dated papyrus of the year 348.6 The question of the date of composition of the original Greek text can only be answered on the basis of internal evidence, since Silvanus is neither mentioned himself nor his work referred to by any ancient author. His work consists for the greater part of ethical admonitions of a teacher to his pupil, who is mostly addressed as my son. But these exhortations to moral virtue are interrupted, often very abruptly, by theological expositions on the relationship between the Father and the Son, on God and Man in Christ, the Incarnation, and the salvation of man. Until now, this theological material has received only little attention.7 The ethical portions of the work contain much which is not typically Christian: there are strong influences of Jewish sapiential and Greek philosophical (Stoic and Platonic) traditions. In these parts there are striking parallels with Clement of Alexandria, and there is, indeed, little which does not fit the proposed date of A.D. 200. However, the situation becomes quite different if we look more closely at Silvanus' theological ideas, especially those concerning the relationship between