Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/418
Context
Ishoʿdad was born in the early ninth-century C.E. in Merv, an ancient
capital of Khorasan, a city now in modern day Turkemistan. At some point he travelled
westward to upper Mesopotamia, where in 837 C.E he was named bishop of Ḥdatta, a city
southeast of Mosul. Taking the name Ishoʿdad of Merv, he eventually became a prolific
Syriac commentator. The testimonium is from a comment on Matthew 28:1 in which Ishoʿdad
records several different explanations for the name of Mary Magdalen, which he ties to the Aramaic word Magdala, meaning "tower".
Text
ܡܪܝܡ ܡܓܕܠܝܬܐ ܒܪܬܗ ܕܫܡܥܘܢ ܓܪܒܐ: ܘܚܬܗ ܕܠܥܙܪ . ܡܓܕܠܝܬܐ ܕܝܢ ܐܬܟܢܝܬ : ܐܝܟ
ܐܢܫܝܢ̈ ܥܠ ܕܒܡܓܕܠܐ ܕܐܣܛܪܝܛ ܥܡܪܐ ܗܘܬ . ܐܝܟ ܐܚܪܢܐ ܡܢ ܡܓܕܠܐ ܠܡ ܕܫܝܠܘܚܐ ܐܚܪܢܐ ܕܙܢܝܬܐ ܗܘܬ ܡܪܝܡ
ܚܬܗ ܕܠܥܙܪ . ܕܐܬܩܪܝܬ ܡܓܕܠܝܬܐ ܡܢ ܡܓܕܠܐ ܕܒܢܬ ܠܗ̇ ܡܢ ܐܓܪܐ ܕܙܢܝܘܬܐ: 1
Translation
Mary Magdaletha was the daughter of Simon the leper and the sister
of Lazarus; but she was called Magdaletha, according to some, because she had lived in
Magdala Stratonis; [or] according as others [say], from the
tower of Shiloah ; [still] others [say], that Mary the sister of Lazarus was a harlot,
who was called Magdaletha from the tower which she built for herself with the wages of
harlotry2
Translation Note
Translation revised by D. Michelson from Gibson 1911Works Cited
- 1 Ishoʿdad of Merv, The Commentaries of Ishoʿdad of Merv, Bishop of Ḥadatha (c. 850 A.D.) in Syriac and English: Matthew and Mark in Syriac, ed. Margaret Dunlop Gibson, Horae Semiticae 6 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1911), p: ܩܨܗ.
- 2 Ishoʿdad of Merv, The Commentaries of Ishoʿdad of Merv, Bishop of Ḥadatha (c. 850 A.D.) in Syriac and English: Volume I, Translation, trans. Margaret Dunlop Gibson, Horae Semiticae 5 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1911), p: 116.
Additional Bibliography
- Lucas Van Rompay, Ishoʿdad of Merv, in Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition (Beth Mardutho, The Syriac Institute/Gorgias Press, 2018)
How to Cite This Entry
David A. Michelson et al., “Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published October 24, 2022, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/418.
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Bibliography:
David A. Michelson et al., “Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2022. Entry published October 24, 2022. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/418.About this Entry
Entry Title: Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1”
- David A. Michelson and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Ishoʿdad of Merv, Commentary on Matthew 28:1”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by Joseph L. Rife
- URNs and other metadata added by David A. Michelson
- Electronic text added by David A. Michelson
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife
- Translation and commentary by David A. Michelson