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.
The Headings of the Psalms 515
17t3
yP) l( oYdwMw .lBBBd )M( twL wr(tS)d )NcLw)^ l(
*
hrKt) dK )YqzX l( p) rYM)w )hL)L nwhYNwp
lQt$)d l(
About the calamities that were done to the people in Babylon and they
praised God on account of their return. And spoken about Hezekiah
when he was sick about what was taken away.
In this instance the heading in the oldest and most important
manuscripts reflect a double historical situation. Some of the other
manuscripts have the one historical situation, and others the other
situation, with a considerable amount of variety. A younger
manuscript like 17t3 has both the situations, but with a different
formulation.
In the following sections a number of important variants in 6t1,
18>8dt1 and 12t4 will be discussed in different groups.
2. Longer reading in 6t1 supported by 18>8dt1 and 12t4
In many instances 6t1 has a longer reading than some of the
younger manuscripts, especially 13t3, M428 and M. In most of these
instances this reading is supported by 18>8dt1 and/or 12t4.
Examples of this occur in many Psalms, such as Psalm 2, 9, 15, 16,
18, 23, 24, 29, 30, 32, 33, and many more.
Psalm 2 is a typical example. 6t1 and 12t4 have the following
heading:
)YdwhY oM nrMd h$XB rOtS)d oYLY) l( )BNtM
*
htw$N) l( p) oL Dh(Mw
He prophesies about the things that were to be done by the Jews during
the Passion of our Lord and he reminds us of his human nature as well.
M428 and M have:
.)YdwhY oM nrMd h$xB r)tS)d lK l( )BNtM
*
He prophesies about everything that was done by the Jews during the
Passion of our Lord.
(M428 omits the last two words in the Syriac as well).
The difference between the two headings is very typical of this
kind of variant, with the longer heading consisting of more than one
phrase, while only the first phrase is retained in the shorter heading.
Such variants led Vosté, followed by Bloemendaal, to conclude that
the main variants in the East Syriac headings are shortened versions
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