Supplement series 3

The People & the Peoples. Syriac Dialogue Poems from Late Antiquity

Sebastian Brock

The conflict of the early Christian Church with Judaism found expression in a particular genre of liturgical literature: Syriac dialogue poetry.
In this book Sebastian Brock provides the Syriac texts of four anonymous dialogue poems, from between the fifth and eight centuries CE, together with fully annotated English translations and introductions examining their position within the context of other Syriac texts that specifically concern Judaism.
Their protagonists are, respectively, Synagogue and Church, Sion and Church, Jesus and the Synagogue, Jesus and the Pharisees.

These carefully selected dialogue poems are fresh critical editions based on the oldest Syriac manuscripts, and are published here together for the first time. The volume is enriched with illustrations based on some of the finest surviving illuminated Syriac manuscripts from late antiquity.

Reviews

Brocks publication of four anonymous Syriac dispute poems constitutes an essential resource for students of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The four poems, all of which stem from the Late Antique period, provide a wealth of information on the Christian intimacy with Jewish traditions, thusÊinviting further studies. These poems, moreover, provide insights into themes that take a central place in the Qur'an's understanding of Jewish-Christian polemics on issues ranging from the worship of the Golden Calf to the inheritance of God's promises.Ê
Holger M. Zellentin