Andrew Hayes: A First Look at the Manuscripts and Themes of Jacob of Serugh’s Metrical Homily “On the Adultery of the Congregration”

Among the unpublished works of Jacob of Serugh is a collection of metrical discourses on Moses. The longest of these, “On the Adultery of the Congregation,” addresses at length the incident of the golden calf (Ex. 32). This short communication offers a first look at the manuscript tradition of the text, as well as its thematic contents.  Two of the manuscripts differ significantly from one another in length, and the finding aids are not in agreement with the manuscript to which they refer. For this reason, some preliminary notes on the collation of three of its manuscripts (Vat. Syr. 114 and 117 and one from the Church of the 40 martyrs in Mardin) are offered.  As for the text, although references to the golden calf incident are common in the Syriac patristic tradition, this one is unusually detailed and well-developed.  Indeed, to the author’s knowledge, it is the only surviving sustained homiletic treatment of the golden calf epsiode in pre-Islamic Syriac tradition. Its length compared to its companion pieces also suggests that this narrative held special fascination for Jacob.  Its themes shed light on Jacob’s views of salvation history and the Church, and clarifying its situation in the manuscripts will pave the way for further study.