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Ancient Syriac Documents
Relating to the Earliest Establishment of Christianity in Edessa and the Neighbouring Countries.
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From the History of the Church.29032903 By Eusebius of Cæsarea.—Tr. The ms. from which this extract from Eusebius is taken is numbered 14,639, fol. 15 b. It is described in Cureton’s Corpus Ignatianum, p. 350.
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The Story29042904 Book I. chapter the thirteenth.—Tr. Concerning the King of Edessa.29052905 Properly Urrhoi, or Orrhoi (***). It seems probable that the word is connected with Osrhoene, the name of the province in which Edessa held an important place, the correct form of which is supposed to be Orrhoene. The name Edessa (***) occurs only once in these Documents, viz., in the “Acts of Sharbil,” sub init.—Tr.
Now the story relating to Thaddæus was on this wise:—
While the Godhead of our Saviour and Lord Jesus
Christ was proclaimed among all men by reason of the astonishing
mighty-works which He wrought, and myriads, even from countries remote
from the land of Judæa, who were afflicted with sicknesses and
diseases of every kind, were coming to Him in the hope of being healed,
King Abgar29062906 “By this
title all the toparchs of Edessa were called, just as the Roman
emperors were called Cæsars, the kings of Egypt Pharaohs or
Ptolemies, the kings of Syria Antiochi.” Assem., Bibl.
Or., vol. i. p. 261. Assemani adds: “Abgar in
Syriac means lame.” Moses of Chorene, however, with
more probability, derives it from the Armenian Avag-aïr,
“grand homme, à cause de sa grande mansuétude et de sa
sagesse, et de plus, à cause de sa taille.” See below
the extract from his History of Armenia, book ii. ch.
26. also, who was
renowned among the nations on the east of the Euphrates for his valour,
had his body wasting away with a grievous disease, such as there is no
cure for among men. And when he heard and was informed of the
name of Jesus, and about the mighty works which He did,—for every
one alike bore witness concerning Him,—he sent a letter of
request by a man belonging to him,29072907 Eusebius has
δι᾽
ἐπιστοληφόρου.
See note on ταχυδρόμου
, on next page.—Tr. and
besought Him to come and heal him of his disease.
But our Saviour at the time that he asked Him did not comply with his request. Yet He deigned to give him29082908 Lit. “deemed him worthy of.”—Tr. a letter in reply: for He promised him that He would send one of His disciples, and heal his sicknesses, and give salvation29092909 Gr. σωτηρίαν: and so the Syriac word, meaning “life,” is generally to be translated in this collection.—Tr. to him and to all who were connected with him.29102910 Syr. “near to him;” Gr. τῶν προσηκόντων. Nor did He delay to fulfil His promise to him: but after He was risen from the place of the dead, and was received into heaven, Thomas29112911 His real name was Judas Thomas: see p. 8. the apostle, one of the twelve, as by an impulse from God, sent Thaddæus,29122912 The name is taken from Eusebius, but in the original Syriac treatises, which follow, he is called Addæus. who was himself also numbered among the seventy29132913 In The Teaching of the Apostles he is said to have been one of the “seventy two apostles.” His name, like that of Thomas, seems to have been the very common one, Judas. disciples of Christ, to Edessa, to be a preacher and proclaimer of the teaching of Christ; and the promise of Christ was through him fulfilled.
Thou hast in writing the evidence of these things, which is taken from the Book of Records29142914 These were kept in the archives of the kingdom, which were transferred by Abgar from Nisibis to Edessa when he made it the capital of his dominions. See Moses Chor. B. ii. ch. 27, infra. The archives appear to have been still kept at Edessa in a.d. 550. [Compare this fact with Tertullian’s statement, vol. iii. p. 164.] which was at Edessa: for at that time the kingdom was still standing.29152915 The kingdom of Edessa was brought to an end and entirely subjected to the Romans in a.d. 217 or 218. In the documents, then, which were there, in which was contained whatever was done by those of old down to the time of Abgar, these things also are found preserved down to the present hour. There is, however, nothing to prevent our hearing the very letters themselves, which have been taken by us29162916 The extract from the archives was probably made by Sextus Julius Africanus, and copied by Eusebius from his Chronographia. from 652the archives, and are in words to this effect, translated from Aramaic into Greek.
Copy of the letter which was written by
King29172917 Gr. τόπαρχος. Abgar to Jesus, and sent to Him by the
hand of Hananias,29182918 Called Hanan in
the original Syriac document; and so in Moses Chor.; Eusebius has
᾽Ανανίας, which is
copied here. the
Tabularius,29192919 Gr. ταχυδρόμου. But the post held by Hananias must have been one of more
dignity than that of a courier. He was probably a
Secretary of State. In The Acts of Addæus
(infra) he is called, in connection with the name Tabularius, a
sharir, or confidential servant.
It would seem that Tabularius has
been confounded with Tabellarius, a letter-carrier.—Tr. to
Jerusalem:—
“Abgar the Black,29202920 Or “Abgar
Uchomo.” The epithet was peculiar to this King Abgar.
He was the fourteenth king: the eleventh was called Abgar Sumoco,
or “the Red.”
The occasion of the name
“Black” is doubtful: it can hardly have arisen from
the fact that Abgar was suffering, as Cedrenus asserts, from the black
leprosy.—Tr.
sovereign29212921
“Head,” or “chief.”—Tr. of the country,
to Jesus, the good Saviour, who has appeared in the country of
Jerusalem: Peace. I have heard about Thee,29222922 Comp. Matt. iv. 24; “And His fame went throughout all
Syria,” etc. See also Moses Chor. B. ii. c. 30. and about the healing which is wrought
by Thy hands without drugs and roots. For, as it is reported,
Thou makest the blind to see, and the lame to walk; and Thou cleansest
the lepers, and Thou castest out unclean spirits and demons, and Thou
healest those who are tormented with lingering diseases, and Thou
raisest the dead. And when I heard all these things about Thee, I
settled in my mind one of two things: either that Thou art God,
who hast come down from heaven, and doest these things or that Thou art
the Son of God, and doest these things. On this account,
therefore, I have written to beg of Thee that Thou wouldest weary
Thyself to come to me, and heal this disease which I have. For I
have also heard that the Jews murmur against Thee, and wish to do Thee
harm. But I have a city, small and beautiful, which is sufficient
for two.”
Copy of those things which were written29232923 Gr. ἀντιγραφέντα, “written in reply.” by Jesus by the hand of Hananias, the Tabularius, to Abgar, sovereign of the country:—
“Blessed is he that hath believed in me, not having seen me. For it is written29242924 [John ix. 39, and xx. 29, 31; Hab. i. 5; with Isa. lii. 15, liii. 1.] concerning me, that those who see me will not believe in me, and that those will believe who have not seen me, and will be saved. But touching that which thou hast written to me, that I should come to thee—it is meet that I should finish here all that for the sake of which I have been sent and, after I have finished it, then I shall be taken up to Him that sent me; and, when I have been taken up, I will send to thee one of my disciples, that he may heal thy disease, and give salvation to thee and to those who are with thee.”
To these letters, moreover, is appended the following also in the Aramaic tongue:—
“After Jesus was ascended, Judas Thomas sent to him Thaddæus the apostle, one of the Seventy. And, when he was come, he lodged with Tobias, son of Tobias. And, when the news about him was heard, they made it known to Abgar: “The apostle of Jesus is come hither, as He sent thee word.” Thaddæus, moreover, began to heal every disease and sickness by the power of God, so that all men were amazed. And, when Abgar heard the great and marvellous cures which he wrought, he bethought himself that he was the person about whom Jesus had sent him word and said to him: When I have been taken up, I will send to thee one of my disciples, that he may heal thy disease. So he sent and called Tobias, with whom he was lodging, and said to him: I have heard that a mighty man has come, and has entered in and taken up his lodging in thy house: bring him up, therefore, to me. And when Tobias came to Thaddæus he said to him: Abgar the king has sent and called me, and commanded me to bring thee up to him, that thou mayest heal him. And Thaddæus said: I will go up, because to him have I been sent with power. Tobias therefore rose up early the next day, and took Thaddæus, and came to Abgar.
“Now, when they were come up, his princes
happened to be standing29252925 Cureton,
“were assembled and standing;” nearly as Euseb.:
παρόντων
καὶ
ἑστώτων. But in
2 Sam. xx. 1, the only reference given by Castel for
the word *** is used for the Heb. נקרא, “he
chanced.”—Tr. there. And
immediately, as he was entering in, a great vision appeared to Abgar on
the countenance of Thaddæus the apostle. And, when Abgar saw
Thaddæus, he prostrated himself before him.29262926 ***, like the
προσεκύνησε
of Eusebius, may be rendered
“worshipped.”—Tr. And astonishment seized upon all
who were standing there: for they had not themselves seen that
vision, which appeared to Abgar alone. And he proceeded to ask
Thaddæus: Art thou in truth the disciple of Jesus the Son of
God, who said to me, I will send to thee one of my disciples, that he
may heal thee and give thee salvation? And Thaddæus answered
and said: Because thou hast mightily29272927 ***; Gr.
μεγάλως, lit.
“greatly;” C. “nobly.” But nothing more
than intensity is necessarily denoted by either word.
Compare, for the Syriac, Ps. cxix. 107, 167; Dan. ii.
12.—Tr. believed on Him that sent me, therefore
have I been sent to thee; and again, if thou shalt believe on Him, thou
shalt have the requests of thy heart. And Abgar said to
him: In such wise have I believed on Him, that I have even
desired to take an army and extirpate those Jews who crucified Him;
were it not that I was restrained by reason of the dominion of the
Romans.29282928 Compare
the letters of Abgar and Tiberius, infra. And
Thaddæus said: Our Lord has fulfilled the will of His
Father; and, having fulfilled it, has been taken up to His
Father. Abgar said to him: I too have believed
653in Him and in His
Father. And29292929 In another
piece, The Teaching of Addæus, i.e., Thaddæus, we have
a portion of the original Syriac from which Eusebius’ translation
was made. The only portions that correspond are: in the
present piece, from this place to “—accept that of
others,” near the end; and, in the following one, from the
beginning to “—that which is not ours.” Some of
the variations are worthy of notice. Thaddæus
said: Therefore do I lay my hand upon thee in His name. And
when he had done this, immediately he was healed of his sickness and of
the disease which he had. And Abgar marvelled, because, like as
he had heard concerning Jesus, so he saw in deeds by the hand of
Thaddæus His disciple: since without drugs and roots he
healed him; and not him only, but also Abdu,29302930 See note 9,
p. 657, infra.
son of Abdu, who had the gout: for he too went in, and fell at
his feet,29312931 This answers
sufficiently well to the Greek: ὁς
καὶ
αὐτὸς
προσελθὼν
ὑπὸ τοὺς
πόδας αὐτοῦ
ἔπεσεν; but, as the original
Syriac, p. 12, reads “he too brought his feet to him, and he laid
his hands upon them and healed him,” the Greek translation must
have been at fault.
For brought read
presented.—Tr. and when he
prayed over him he was healed. And many other people of their
city did he heal, and he did great works, and preached the word of
God.
“After these things Abgar said to him: Thou, Thaddæus, doest these things by the power of God; we also marvel at them. But in addition to all these things I beg of thee to relate to me the story about the coming of Christ, and in what manner it was; and about His power, and by what power He wrought those things of which I have heard.
“And Thaddæus said: For the
present I will be silent;29322932 The original
Syriac has “I will not hold my peace from declaring
this.” but, because I
have been sent to preach the word of God, assemble me tomorrow all the
people of thy city, and I will preach before them, and sow amongst them
the word of life; and will tell them about the coming of Christ,
how it took place; and about His mission,29332933 So Euseb.
The orig. Syr. has “His sender.” for what purpose he was sent by His
Father; and about His power and His deeds, and about the mysteries
which He spake in the world, and by what power He wrought these things,
and about His new preaching,29342934 The orig. Syr.
has “the certitude of His preaching.” The error seems
to have arisen from the Greek translator confounding *** with ***.
More probably with ***, “newness
(of his preaching),” which was freely translated by him
(περὶ)
τῆς
καινῆς αὐτοῦ
κηρύξεως; and this,
again, was by the Syrian re-translator rendered literally, as in the
text.
The word certitude (above)
may be rendered unerring truth. —Tr. and about His
abasement and His humiliation, and how He humbled and emptied and
abased Himself, and was crucified, and descended to Hades,29352935 Or
“Sheol,” as in Hebrew. The orig. Syr. gives
“the place of the dead.” and broke through the enclosure29362936 Eph. ii. 14. which had never been broken through
before, and raised up the dead, and descended alone, and
ascended with a great multitude to His Father.29372937 Comp.
Matt. xxvii. 52.
“Abgar, therefore, commanded that in the morning all the people of his city should assemble, and hear the preaching of Thaddæus. And afterwards he commanded gold and silver to be given to him; but he received it not, and said: If we have forsaken that which was our own, how shall we accept that of others?”
These things were done in the year 340.29382938 Valesius says
that the Edessenes commenced their era with the 117th Olympiad, the
first year of the reign of Seleucus. The year 340 corresponds,
therefore, with the fifteenth year of Tiberius.
It should be the beginning
of the 117th Olympiad.—Tr.
In order, moreover, that these things may not have been translated to no purpose word for word from the Aramaic into Greek, they are placed in their order of time here.
Here endeth the first book.
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