Philippus Botha - The exegesis and polemical use of Psalm 110 in the Pseudo-Ephremitic Sermon on Palm Sunday (Ephrem the Syrian, Sermones II, Sermon 3)

To the authors of the writings of the Early Church, Psalm 110 served as one of the most important sources for the interpretation of Jesus’ status as Son of God, of his divinity, resurrection, and eternal priesthood. This paper proposes to summarise the exegesis and polemical use of Ps 110 in one of the Sermones which have been attributed to Ephrem the Syrian, and to compare this to Ephrem’s interpretation of Ps 110 in his authentic works. The purpose of this is to show that the interpretation found in the sermon reflects the theological thinking of a time shortly after that of Ephrem. Similar to the genuine Ephrem, this document contains anti-Jewish and anti-Arian polemic. It argues that Jesus’ divinity was hidden within his humanity. Israel should have known this, since the prophets and “David” communicated it clearly. “David” also testified to the eternal priesthood of Christ. God therefore rightfully rejected the Jews as his people. According to this sermon, “David” clearly announced in Ps 110:3 that Christ was born in holy rays from the bosom of the being. Ps 110:3-4 are combined with Ps 144:13 and 45:11 to argue that Israel should have recognized her king and accepted him with joy.