Articulating marriage: Ephrem's legal terminology and its origins

Yifat Monnickendam

doi:10.1093/jss/fgt003

Articulating marriage: Ephrem's legal terminology and its origins

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Comparing Ephrem's legal terminology on issues of betrothal, marriage, adultery and divorce with that used in contemporary and earlier Jewish, Christian and Roman sources reveals the deep influence of rabbinic terminology on Ephrem's terminology. This influence is apparent in two aspects of Ephrem's language: his vocabulary and the semantic coverage of his terminology. In both these areas, he has more in common with rabbinic terminology and its usage, than with that of Roman law and Christian writers. Furthermore, in some cases it is possible to determine that Ephrem's legal terminology is closely related to Palestinian terminology in particular. This conclusion emphasizes the distance between Ephrem and his Greek and Latin Christian contemporaries, and reflects his deep ties to Jewish legal traditions, ties which are a result not only of similar language but also of similar legal views.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	257-296
Number of pages	40
Journal	Journal of Semitic Studies
Volume	58
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgt003
State	Published - Sep 2013
Externally published	Yes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Cultural Studies
Language and Linguistics
History
Religious studies
Linguistics and Language
Literature and Literary Theory

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10.1093/jss/fgt003

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title = "Articulating marriage: Ephrem's legal terminology and its origins",

abstract = "Comparing Ephrem's legal terminology on issues of betrothal, marriage, adultery and divorce with that used in contemporary and earlier Jewish, Christian and Roman sources reveals the deep influence of rabbinic terminology on Ephrem's terminology. This influence is apparent in two aspects of Ephrem's language: his vocabulary and the semantic coverage of his terminology. In both these areas, he has more in common with rabbinic terminology and its usage, than with that of Roman law and Christian writers. Furthermore, in some cases it is possible to determine that Ephrem's legal terminology is closely related to Palestinian terminology in particular. This conclusion emphasizes the distance between Ephrem and his Greek and Latin Christian contemporaries, and reflects his deep ties to Jewish legal traditions, ties which are a result not only of similar language but also of similar legal views.",

author = "Yifat Monnickendam",

note = "Funding Information: *This paper is a revised version of a chapter from my dissertation, Y. Monnickendam, {\textquoteleft}Halakhic Issues in the Writings of the Syriac Church Fathers Ephrem and Aphrahat{\textquoteright} (Bar Ilan 2011). It was written under the supervision of Prof. Aharon Shemesh and Prof. James Kugel (Kaduri), whose comments nourished this paper. I would also like to thank Prof. Robin Darling-Young, Prof. Brachyahu Lifshitz, Dr Matthew Morgenstern, Prof. Steven Muir and Prof. Michael Sokoloff for their comments, Prof. Kristian Heal for searching the database of the BYU-Oxford Syriac Corpus project for me, and Mr Nicholas Kaufman for his insightful editing. Responsibility for any errors is of course mine. This study was conducted with the support of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and the Rotenstreich Fellowship, the Council for Higher Education.",

year = "2013",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1093/jss/fgt003",

language = "الإنجليزيّة",

volume = "58",

pages = "257--296",

journal = "Journal of Semitic Studies",

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AU - Monnickendam, Yifat

N1 - Funding Information: *This paper is a revised version of a chapter from my dissertation, Y. Monnickendam, ‘Halakhic Issues in the Writings of the Syriac Church Fathers Ephrem and Aphrahat’ (Bar Ilan 2011). It was written under the supervision of Prof. Aharon Shemesh and Prof. James Kugel (Kaduri), whose comments nourished this paper. I would also like to thank Prof. Robin Darling-Young, Prof. Brachyahu Lifshitz, Dr Matthew Morgenstern, Prof. Steven Muir and Prof. Michael Sokoloff for their comments, Prof. Kristian Heal for searching the database of the BYU-Oxford Syriac Corpus project for me, and Mr Nicholas Kaufman for his insightful editing. Responsibility for any errors is of course mine. This study was conducted with the support of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and the Rotenstreich Fellowship, the Council for Higher Education.

PY - 2013/9

Y1 - 2013/9

N2 - Comparing Ephrem's legal terminology on issues of betrothal, marriage, adultery and divorce with that used in contemporary and earlier Jewish, Christian and Roman sources reveals the deep influence of rabbinic terminology on Ephrem's terminology. This influence is apparent in two aspects of Ephrem's language: his vocabulary and the semantic coverage of his terminology. In both these areas, he has more in common with rabbinic terminology and its usage, than with that of Roman law and Christian writers. Furthermore, in some cases it is possible to determine that Ephrem's legal terminology is closely related to Palestinian terminology in particular. This conclusion emphasizes the distance between Ephrem and his Greek and Latin Christian contemporaries, and reflects his deep ties to Jewish legal traditions, ties which are a result not only of similar language but also of similar legal views.

AB - Comparing Ephrem's legal terminology on issues of betrothal, marriage, adultery and divorce with that used in contemporary and earlier Jewish, Christian and Roman sources reveals the deep influence of rabbinic terminology on Ephrem's terminology. This influence is apparent in two aspects of Ephrem's language: his vocabulary and the semantic coverage of his terminology. In both these areas, he has more in common with rabbinic terminology and its usage, than with that of Roman law and Christian writers. Furthermore, in some cases it is possible to determine that Ephrem's legal terminology is closely related to Palestinian terminology in particular. This conclusion emphasizes the distance between Ephrem and his Greek and Latin Christian contemporaries, and reflects his deep ties to Jewish legal traditions, ties which are a result not only of similar language but also of similar legal views.

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Articulating marriage: Ephrem's legal terminology and its origins

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