H.F. van Rooy, «The Headings of the Psalms in the East Syriac Tradition Reconsidered», Vol. 89 (2008) 505-525
In the first half of the previous century the headings of the Psalms in the East Syriac tradition received a lot of attention, with important contributions by scholars such as Devreesse and Vosté. In 1960 Bloemendaal published an edition of these headings. Since 1960 a number of important new manuscripts became available, as well as a translation of the commentary of Theodore and a translation of the commentary of Diodore on the first fifty Psalms. This paper deals with the light shed on the history of the East Syrian headings particularly by two manuscripts not available to Bloemendaal. The examples discussed lead one to the conclusion that 6t1, used by Bloemendaal, must not be regarded as the paradigmatic witness in all instances.
506 H.F. van Rooy
ascribed to Theodore. The other important manuscript is 18>8dt1, a
copy from the Eighteenth Century of a manuscript from the Eighth
Century. The headings in this manuscript are the oldest from an Eastern
manuscript, 6t1 being a Western manuscript. This manuscript is the
only representative from the time between 6t1 and the Eastern
manuscripts from the Twelfth Century and later. This paper discusses
the headings in these two manuscripts, and their importance for the
history of the Eastern headings.
I. History of research
The most complete discussion of the headings of the Psalms in
the different manuscripts and editions of the Peshitta, as well as in a
number of commentaries on the Psalms, is still Bloemendaal’s.
Bloemendaal distinguishes four groups of manuscripts or editions
with regard to the headings (4), which serve as useful starting point
for the discussion:
• The headings of the East Syrian Church. These headings are the
subject of this contribution.
• The headings of the West Syrian tradition, contained in the codex
ambrosianus, and manuscripts following that tradition.
• The headings contained in editions such as those of Sionita, the
Polyglots and Lee.
• Manuscripts with a mixture of headings, in some instances
related to more than one of the first groups.
It is well known that the East Syrian titles are related to the
important commentary of Theodore of Mopsuestia on the Psalms (5).
Theodore rejected the headings of the Psalms in the Hebrew and the
Greek. His influence was however so important not only in the East
Syriac Church, but in all the Syriac speaking churches that the vast
majority of Peshitta manuscripts of the Psalms do not reflect the
titles of the Psalms in the Hebrew Bible. At the moment only two
Peshitta manuscripts are known to have preserved something of the
Hebrew titles. Manuscript 12t4 has already been referred to, with its
Hebrew headings as one of the four sets of headings to each Psalm in
(4) BLOEMENDAAL, Headings, 2-3.
(5) Cf. A. BAUMSTARK, Geschichte des syrischen Literatur (Bonn 1922)
102-104.
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