Institute of Ethiopian Studies

Preliminary Notes on the baläandəm Commentaries

Author(s): ROGER COWLEY
Source: Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 9, No. 1 (JANUARY 1971), pp. 9-20
Published by: Institute of Ethiopian Studies
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41965819
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Preliminary Notes on the baläanctam
Commentaries
by ROGER COWLEY

The body of literature known as baläandsm consists of Amharic

commentaries on Geez texts. The comment records the complement-
ary or dissenting opinions of various teachers, introducing them by
andam (and (there is) one (who says)), or bo (there is (one who says) ).
The texts are those taught in the mäshaf bet (the highest stage of
Church teaching), namely the New Testament', the Old Testament2,
the Fathers3 and the books of the Monks4; and also the Liturgy 5 and
Canon Law6'7. These commentaries have attracted little attention from

1. The whole N.T. has been printed, as follows :-

(D'il A ' * AA., 1916 E.C. reprinted 1959 E.C.
Ä0WWP AA., 1948 E.C.
«"UÇ+ « rh>L<VÌ- 1 ríx-u t hA/fr ! » ŤCéL * AA.,
1951 E.C. (i. e. Acts, Catholic Epistles and Revelation).
2. 0D-H oo-¿ : 1 M ' 'bPKfirtì * AA., 1950 E.C.
s s (dCk¿-Yí * AA., 1917, (i.e. Proverbs, Tägsas
(Prov. 25-31), Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus).
<r°K<h¿* - * Mí s OJAÄ- s hçA* * Dire Dawa, 1916 E.C.
This leaves the bulk of the O.T. unprinted - i.e. in MS.
3. Pvíťíf I ' h¿* • (DCfr i 'frllK s AA., 1915 and 1924 E.C.
fvhlfl s h<L * a>C& * Ä-C« 5 AA., 1923 E.C.
s hūah ! is the principal work in this category, but its com-
mentary, and that on ! etc., is as yet not printed.
4. * AA., 1920-22 E.C. (i.e. "7C « * ¿.Ml
Mil s and h ¿P<£ s
5. s ļMfl, s AA., 1918 and 1926 E.C.
īruc-t* s s JWM* ! Ml * AAě
flMrt» s : ! : AA., 1915 E.C. (subsequently
reprinted).
« "ICfF* s XQ : ¿hCf&tl i 1915 E.C. (subsequently reprinted ).
6. «Ríhrh ! Vi/"* í AA., 1958 E.C.,
7. Further details on the pre - 1936 books (all of which, unless reprinted, are
hard to obtain), will be found in S. Wright, Ethiopian Incunabula, A A., 1967
A.D. The books are usually headed '• * A «©££* !
íVP¿£" s ^ooa'a^ : *>niWr s ! etc., to distinguish them
from the translations without commentary known as VmA '
These published versions are not exactly the same as the MSS in use
in the schools in Gondar (usually the difference is in the order,
rather than in the thought expressed). Such MSS could be used to
determine the amount of editorial revision that had been made in
preparation for publication.

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 foreign scholars, or, outside the immediate circle of the mäshaf bet,
from Ethiopians ; nevertheless, they exhibit a number of noteworthy
features.

GENERAL FEATURES OF BOOKS

They represent an Amharic literary tradition (as distinct fro

Geez one), written in MS on paper (rather than on parchment
In overall form they consist of introduction and text with co
ment. Most of the printed ones have an Imperial preface in Am
relating the difficulty of obtaining books in Old Testament time
activity of Ezra, the translation of the Septuagint, the translatio
the Scriptures into Geez and their interpretation into Amhar
destruction wrought by Gran, the preservation of the Christian
in Ethiopia and the Emperor's desire to have Christian books prin
After this (at the beginning of the MSS), there is the Am
preface to the book itself, in general giving the writer's name an
meaning, the reason for his name, his ancestry, the matters
which he spoke, the sections into which his book is divided,
concluding, "His book was counted among the 81 which the ap
listed for Clement. It was not written in vain, but in order th
might be advised by it, Romans 15 v. 4."
The Pauline epistles have introductions in Geez (know
Mdkanyat or as Mäqddmä mäh' akt), beginning "The reasons
Paul wrote to the . . are many", and proceeding to list them
gospels are preceded by the substantial work Mäqdama Mänge
to be written by Ammonyos and Awsabyos (Ammonius Sacca
Eusebius of Caesarea). It treats of the Holy Trinity, 'salvation-hist
(after the manner of Tamhsrta hdbuat), the former system of ch
division in the gospels, the tables showing material common t
gospels, and the times, places and languages of the writing o
gospels.
The presentation of text and comment follows a standard pattern.
A sentence of the Geez text is followed by its Amharic 'translation',
often somewhat periphrastic or interpretative. This maybe followed
by comment, introduced by andam or bo when it contains alternative
interpretations, by batata or tdč when it is a note on an unfamiliar
custom, the length of a king's reign, the meanings of a word etc., or
by tarik when a story illustrating the point is introduced. When the
andam is extensive, it may be introduced by - bdläh mälhs' meaning
'go back to - -, start again and hear the alternative'. In the printed

8. The MSS are usually written in large ledgers, or in a collection of

school exercise books sewn together.

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editions Bible references are given, but these are usually lacking from
the MSS.
Similarly, the language itself is stylized.
1 .

Geez text. E.g. in the Amäkdn

fthlllto s ---M'IVA s YìCil-f
that htt-lb s WHIM i or hf
has selected the former alte
translating into Amharic accor
2.

'And if any one should wonder why - , t

3. - - lalut / - - laläw usually cites t
preceding statement. E.g. after 'marriage
adds ' Ctì tì ' AA « meaning "(This is directed against)
those who said that marriage was unclean."10
4.

'because (there were those

5. - - yaläwn ydsal emph
a named error. E.g. flj «' rt
, meaning 'H
very God, who truly becam
merely rested on him are
6. - - andiĶu ) / - - sndalä
a preceding comment.
7. - - yaläwn yastäräggw
says - and explains that a s
of a named point precedin
8. - - bimätu - - is used
'if you apply this to - E.g. ' ti00"} • íl^nv - -means
'if you interpret this of the intermediate times (early Church
period) - - . " 1
9. - - bil yätämäccä quotes the preferred choice from among
stated alternatives.

10. - - yalläbbät näw quotes a word which is considered to be

implicit in the text.12
11.
back to what he said - - . ' 1 3

9. Part of Sar' at ä qaddase.

10. From Amäkdnyo zähawardyat. All these referenc
from the relevant printed books unless they are st
11. Rev. 6 v. 8 etc.
12. E.g. see Ezek. 18 v. 12.
13. E.g. see Ezek. 1 v. 1.

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The use of these and similar formulae leads to a considerable economy
of expression.
In its general flow the language usually has an unmistakable style.
It often presents parallel pairs, eg. }y}f. s CiL ¿Y '• fltf'C * KìP* '• *fl7
$9° '• 2M7Î '• '(God is not like Jacob) having
a first-born like Reuben and an "end to desire" like Benjamin
may even be in effect rhyming,14 or have a skilful interweavi
question and answer15. This all makes it very easy to memorize.

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

1 . A source for old Amharic

From the time that Geez ceased to be a spoken language, Geez

texts must have been interpreted into Amharic and the body of semi-
traditional comment handed down. Gondar church teachers consider
the commentaries to have reached substantially their present form in
the days of the Gondar kingdom; and whether this is true or not, and
even though teachers and copyists will have 'modernised' the language,
the material can be expected to contain old linguistic features.

However, some peculiarities of the language result from efforts to

render the Geez fairly literally. E.g. the occasional appearance of a
direct object with the verb 'to be' follows Geez; zänd is very frequent
in the translation of the Geez zänd anqäs16. Also, since osmä clauses
often follow the main verb in Geez, but sdlä clauses precede it in
Amharic, the construction verb + dnna is common, as it may follow
the main verb, and also be used with compound tenses (e.g .fälhgoah-
nna - because he has wanted).

The language does also show some genuinely older features.

14. E.g. from Romans introduction, t (DU : 4*7 * rt/fl

s ''^°h « WPCX> ! h-M " TfťS s 7i-fe » f>0 s
(Dm * u>¿ - - PPÓ : IT'S » Ttxf&tiih ' -Í1A s Th^AÝ I h Wtfř :
m?; : UIC - * Cia* ¡ (DjĻjt s <l¿v ■ « a>M :
il* : ! IU^ ! TC ' IT ?AŤ
15. E.g. on Isaiah 1 v. 11, ao/txpò-VJ '• iì/MT s
Alfil ! VP* ' *AÇAlT* * "DAMI « fhlMl : 1 '•
AT> : 0o/*><?òm ! Mïc-i IAU ! -flATA ! ^A*^ s MU n (Ipaì.hfr «
' ť9V*ÝCíH h s - 411^ s * ïw* hti *
*flrh»C "(Israel asks), 'While we bring sacrifices to yo
chieftains of Sodom and people of Gomorra? God repl
to me, "To you who call us chieftains of Gomorra, we
will bring you sacrifices'," what use to me is the m
which you bring while you remain in your sins?'"
16. E.g. (Jkämä) ydqtdl - ydgädl zänd ; wäzähallawo ydku
y allow, see Rev. 1 v. 19.

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 1. andiyawq is used both for 'in order that he know' and for
'as he knows', where modern Amharic uses andämmiyawq for the
second17.

2. The construction sndä +past tense zänd is sometimes used

to make clear the meaning 'as (it) was"8. Modern Amharic would
omit zänd.

3. anji is found in positions it does not normally occupy in

modern Amharic. E.g. hJg; ' í'-'í-fl • t'Y?u '
Víd- ss "It is none other than the Holy Spirit who makes them one".19
£*fí"Y • «"MAT ' MX ' ! ï®- *, meaning in effect, "I query
whether there is such inequality as you have implied."20
4. ks + contingent is sometimes found, where modern Amharic
would have kämma. E.g. ' (DT'tíD' s s hô' "t ' H/^Art* - -
T'J'fc*} ' ihn '• s WIM s iifahgfr -, QfahX-t ¡ ÍI+ÍTA^ÍD's
« "Rather than forsaking the gospel for the law

than knowing the gospel, that ancient rule of ri

have been better for them if they had not know
5. mässälä (without ala) is used more freely
than modern Amharic commonly does. E.g. •
A-flH* ' oog-piji* i <lif* s THM '• GBkáCx^- » "Because it see
to her that she would be cured - ".22

6. There are many sentences which do not read as mo

Amharic, though it is difficult to find a precise reason. E.g. ttoof

17. see G. Goldenberg, Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa

1965, p. 10.
18. E.g. s V*ilA ' htt ' *11 > • y. : MX; : hü 19° : X?
OA * JiO'l* ' A& '-i "As (Christ) had formerly been
begotten of the Father without a mother, so even now he was born of
mother without a father". From MS of Yäsälotä haymanot andam
(Nicene Creed).
19. From MS of fn. 18.
20. From Yätamhartä hdbuat andam , chap. 5. The whole passage is of interest ;
I 'VlKavh'iioo'W ' MlAIÎ s s MH s s ílMiVC :
! aoooftYi : s 9»? : "7</»A*l ? : JtAíl'lh? s MW « hti
a A- ! Villah* î i'(D%.V : Vfl>- * M£:9° i tl -> tyfr ¡ aoonfiTís
MFíd-Ç S s s Ï (D'I" (ÌA s s s ^A s
* £^"7 ! "DÍIAAT Î « fl/TC ! VÍD- s ÍLA* s ^HAATA :
Ýfl9° * XCA " n ¿-¿ÍŤOb : OD+<p<Dptfaht ï ! '/(O* *
"One teacher explains 'Faultless like this' by saying that the Person
of the Word praised the Father. If one asks, 'The Person of the Word
is to be praised; what is there for him to praise, that it should say
this?', the praise given is while he is in the flesh. Another teacher says
that it is because even in Heaven they are praised, as it says, 'That Word
cries out and says, "Holy, Holy, Holy". ' But if one asks, 'Surely this
means one is greater than another - is there such inequality?', there is
no inequality, for this quotation explains their mutual recognition".
21 2 Peter 2 v. 21.
22. Introduction to D arsati zäyohannas afä wäre/.

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.řA i « n » K?£A,A • ©T-FA* • jwjsa » d®« »
"Understand that written prophecy no longer retains its ch
of foretelling, but has been in fact fulfilled".23

2. A source of rare lexical items

These commentaries not only contain many Geez words, expres-

sions and forms mixed with the Amharic, but many Amharic words
of rare occurrence, some of which lack lexical attestation, and others
of which would be welcomed by a lexicographer as corroboratory
evidence. Here is a handful of examples
OC^ I I MilC I fyfiC í names of divisions of soldiers24.
I I PÏÏ I I 4-A i kinds of witchcraft25.
•feéVI. í l Kūih. I names of winds26.
• small fast (pirate) ship27.
ncîfr I (walking) stick, support28.
ea.iijý' l part of door (f s '• » as
translation of °^bVi '• i/J&ilA) 29.
' headship (of synagogue)30.
X-flV s Wtnftnti : magnet31.
! fine embroiderer32 (as translation of
A rough count shows that in a commentary th
on Acts, about 60 items of lexical interest would
predominantly in the story sections.

3. A witness to Geez texts

The texts have an existence independent of the commentaries, but

in the comment many variant readings have been preserved. E.g. in
Daniel 11 v. 2 the text reads (DūhK'iP't ' "fldA* '• and the
comment preserves the variants iDdh-flìf/hf ' "flôA* í '•
-MA* I h9°£rt¿ » hfclP* - «fldA- 1 KW Tr¿ « Mlîfrii+ « HÒA- s
and hilôf-t '• -ÍIÔA* « In Isaiah 1 v. 23 the text reads «wfH-ÇÂ-
Yfi s and the variants I </Dft*l*'í-'Píi"í : and o°{l'lui '•
are preserved. Some variants may be superior readings (though not
necessarily original); e.g. Acts 1 v. 19 reads rh^A '• '• in the text

23. 2 Peter 1 v. 20.

24. Amäkdnyo zähawarsyat , see also Acts 10 v. 1.
25. Acts 7 v. 22.
26. Acts 27 v. 14.
27. 2 Cor. 11 v. 26.
28. Heb. 11 v. 21.
29. Acts 7 v. 10.
30. Acts 9 v. 14.
31. Acts 19 v. 36.
32. Acts 10 v. 6.

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(Greek Akeldamakh), and the comment notes the variants
I JiAAOTt l hYW 7*7 : and htlAWI «
The texts33 on which the comment is based offer some glosses
of no textual authority, but interesting for the material they contain.
E.g. Rev. 9 v. 11 begins 'his name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in
Greek Apollyon', and continues, 'and in Coptic armaqton, in Arabic
sanaser and in Geez mahagwäW. Acts 28 v. 31, having said 'and no
one prevented him' continues, 'because having visited Nero for the
first time, he (Paul) convinced him; he went about peacefully and
stayed after this a full two years, and went to another place. Returning,
he baptized Nero's relations. He became a martyr at his (Nero's) hand,
by the sword. Thus far was written by Luke in his history. What is
lacking from this is what you will find in the first explanation of the
letters of Paul, the History of the Acts of Paul. The book of the acts
of the envoys is finished. Praise be to God'. In addition to such
glosses, a number of books have titles and colophons.
In effect, three editions of the Geez text of the Bible are currently
available - the 'Orthodox', represented by recent MSS and the
baläanddmoc, the 'Roman Catholic', represented by F. da Bassano's
Geez Old Testament34, and the 'Critical', represented by the editions
of Dillmann, Lofgren and others. The problems raised have been
discussed by E. Ullendorff35, and he draws the tentative conclusion
that in general the Geez Bible was translated from Greek and Syriac,
and that revisions, mainly from Arabic, took place later.
F. da Bassano's aim was to provide a straightforward useful
text. He has assimilated the versification to that of the Vulgate (and
so sometimes altered the meaning). However the relation of his text
to the MSS, and to the LXX and Vulgate is not simple. Comparison
of his and of Lofgren's edition of the minor prophets36 shows that his
text generally agrees with the Paris MSS d'Abbadie 55 and 35, but
that he has smoothed out difficulties. However, in Hosea 6 v. 7 (9),
for instance, where the Orthodox text reads • fl ¥*9°

33. The Biblical text has been reproduced photographically in «n>X7h<ř '
iïv.fi » ('iònr; íi we8? ' WA¿. ? London, 4 volumes. Parts of the
text are more easily available in:-
• Asmara, 1953 E.C. ¡ rhTC^) * (The N.T.).
! Vl Pñ * Asmara, 1955 E.C. ("V'ïfl*! * ã ťPCffr) ' (Octateuch and
Jubilees).
If Cud' : Cowley, R., AA., 1962 E.C. (Hosea only).
34. Asmara, 1922/3 - 1925/6 A.D.
35. Ethiopia and the Bible, London, 1968, ch. I.
36. Lofgren, O. Jona , Nahum , Habakuk , Zephanja , Haggai , Sacharja und
Maleachi äthiopisch unter Z ugr un delegung des Oxforder MS Huntington
625 nach meheren Handschriften herausgegeben , Uppsala, 1930.

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da Bassano reads W't/hÇ0^ '• A®?ř • . LXX reads tarassousa hudor,
Vulgate supplantata sanguine, and Hebrew ' aqubba middam ; here,
at least, da Bassano, presumably following his MSS, has a reading
which agrees with the LXX against the Hebrew and Vulgate, although
the 'better' reading (as far as the Hebrew is concerned) is found in
many Ethiopian MSS.
A comparison of Lofgren's edition36 with the 'Orthodox'
text shows that the latter usually agrees with London MS Add. 24,991
and Oxford MS Bruce 74, the readings of which are cited by Lofgren
but frequently rejected, although as far as the Hebrew is concerned
they are often superior. E.g. in Zechariah 1 v. 8 the 'Orthodox' text
reads "ïKhA « Ììfrh. * hò*P9° « Hh&ÏÏ9° da Bassano reads
"?MlA » Ylfoh, ' ' (although the Vulgate has inter myrteta ),
and Lofgren "YfthA t Jt£*nC ' • LXX has ana meson ton oreon,
presumably having read ben haharim for ben hahadassim of the Hebrew.
A grammatical feature over which the MSS differ is the use of a
direct object after albo. E.g. in Zechariah 9 v. 1 1 both Lofgren and da
Bassano read H h AO '• whereas the 'Orthodox' text reads
HÄAO : s and present-day Ethiopian Geez scholars consider
it wrong to use an object after albo31. If found today in a MS, a gram-
matical feature such as this would almost certainly be 'corrected' by
the scribe.

In addition to the Biblical texts, the books of the Monks, the

Liturgy and Canon Law etc. offer a large and relatively untouched
field for comparative textual study.

4. A witness to scholarship in Ethiopia

1. A high level of Geez scholarship, and of the understanding

and interpretation of the texts, is amply attested throughout these
commentaries.

2. Some comments show a knowledge of Hebrew. E.g. on Isaiah

9 v. 1, ! Aťj-Ař I s « XCò « Vfl>- * 041
atirti- s Ti ' « <hf9° > &4A * Kl¿. s HřhC i "Mih » V®* »
"And the rest of Pärahyu; it says Pärahyu or Parahya. This is Greek,
but the Hebrew says hof hay am ; it means the edge of the sea." The
LXX does read paralian ; but the Hebrew of this verse actually has
derek hayyam, not chof hayyam, though the translation of the latter
into Geez has been made correctly by the commentator.

37. This feature is also found in the Confession of Claudius as published by

Ludolf, H. in Commentarius ad suam Historiam Aethiopicam , Frankfort,
1691, p. 237 if. in cd^AO « ¡.This is quoted
from the Nicene Creed.

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On the word o»-ÇA ' in Ezekiel 41 v. 1 1 it says, 5
¿»•¿V' }.? * VTIAï «
y©*« "Munnah is Hebrew for v
"the tenth day of the m
řlCf' Ih '• (Dlóťí ' 'hHAA'f
day of forgiveness and release"
having been assumed to be t
names of Daniel, Isaiah, Eze
preserved.39
3. Knowledge of the meanin
on. E.g. on Acts 1 v. 1, I
ÝA?" s Vid- sä ¿,' •- ao^¿ t
Theophilus); Filatawo would b
Fila means 'friend', and Tawo
4. Knowledge of the num
Hebrew alphabet. E.g. on Rev.
as aoQļ°j>*ppt' :, the letters
to 666.40

It is not surprising that so

E.g. on Ezekiel 41 v. 1 1, the co
he reproduces were actually
1 v. 11, having correctly ex
(dispersion), the comment furt
On Rev. 1 v. 8 the comment
'Alpha and Omega', but fails
letters of the Greek alphabe
books remain a monument to

5 . Principles of exegesis

The intention of the balāan

to the meaning and teaching
The methods of interpretation

38. This is probably personal kn

ksfle, rather than a tradition w
s AVA®* s (Olii « (Di^Tiniì « s íh^fi s AA., 1948 E.C.,
p. 631, he notes * or s or tn^ç^ : under the root :
and adds that in Hebrew it is (Hiphil ptc. of nuach).
39. In the introductions to the respective books. References to Daniel and
Isaiah are all to MSS in the writer's possession.
40. i.e. 2 mem , 1 each of resh , yod, vav , ayin , shin =2x40-1-200+10+6+70
+ 300=666. The name märmdyawa'os is not explained, but might be
a corruption of the Greek hermeneuomenos.
41. This account is excerpted from the introduction to the Pauline epistles
(see fn. 1).

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 1. zäydbe, 'that which it says', straightforward translation.
2. yäzäydbe awwätat, alternative periphrases.
3. yäzäydbe säyyaf maqnat, correction of grammatical error.
In 1-3, zäydbe refers to the Geez text.
4. gatdm, 'poetry', i.e. rearranging the text in parallel statements
to make the meaning clearer.
5. awwäraräd, 'continuation', i.e. showing the similarity of
parallel statements.
6. ard'zst, 'heads, title', i.e. pointing out with what reference a
statement is made.

7. wdt{t)dn čārraš, 'completion of what was begun', i.e. filling

in words implied, but not written in the text.
8. ansar, 'opposite, comparison', i.e. explaining the example
(säm) first, and the truth it is used to illustrate (wärq) after-
wards.

9. masmamat, 'bringing to agreement', i.e. quoting texts which

express a similar idea.
10. hatäta 'examination', e.g. of distinctions in the meaning of
words.

11. tarik, 'story' especially retelling an Old Testament story

briefly referred to in the New Testament.
12. 'zrq, 'reconciliation', i.e. explanation of apparent discrepancy.
13. mas tir, 'meaning'.

Methods 1-12 are merely some of the ways to clarify the meaning
without introducing error.

To a foreigner the results of this exegetical effort often seem

meagre. However, because they are expressed in a manner indigenous
to Ethiopia, Ethiopians often find the explanations much more satis-
factory than they would find an explanation that seemed 'clearer' to
a foreigner. E.g. in John 20 v. 17 the words 'to my Father and your
Father' may make it seem that two different fathers are meant. The
comment makes it clear that the Father is one, but that his fatherhood
is of two kinds:- s -flA» s ? A-7 ' A&Ť » Wl¿ » řiíK « ?hah ¡
ťhCfr « ?QňiC, '• "HD- Î JilMlO»- s .PA®* s f5? s f&P ' V®* ""
! M s s t h^Mnììov t '
s il Te •- « "In saying my Father' he
spoke of his own begottenness. He said 'my Father' as son
of his own nature; he said 'your Father' as our sonship is o
Because in the flesh he was created, he said 'my God'; becau
creation of the world and in the new birth he created us,
'your God'.

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 A certain amount of laboured or inaccurate comment is also to
be found. E.g. on Isaiah 1 v. 3, on 'the ass knows its crib and its master's
house ( betä 3gzi'u)' there is comment aimed at explaining why
dgzVd has the article (i.e. 'Who is the Lord?'). It tells the story of the
animals who warmed Christ at his birth. The place in which he was
born had been built by the former kings of Jud ah, who had used
salt in its foundations; animals had come looking for salt, licked it up
and demolished the house.

6. Story content
1. ' Local colour'

E.g. on Acts 19 v. 32, to illustrate the confusion of the Ephesian

crowd, it says 'just as the sound echoes round to Fit Abbo42 when a
Qdmant girl stands shouting at Darä gända'
On Rev. 5 v. 1, to illustrate a sealed book, it says 'like the
Däbrä Barhan Gospel, like the Atatami41 Hawi'.
On Rev. 8 v. 10 it says 'rivers' are 'like mâgâç and gumara',
and 'springs' like 'qdha and angäräb "*4.
The Fitha Negest45, to illustrate 'as with a eunuch from his
mother's womb' says 'like all the seven sons of Abba Bay diu,
who were born with penises the size of the point of the seed of a chick
pea created for them'.
Most, if not all, of this local material is Gondar based.
2. Biblical stories

Especially in the New Testament and Psalms, and there particul-

arly in chapters like Acts 7, Hebrews 1 1 and Psalm 82 (83), Old Testa-
ment stories briefly referred to in the text are elaborated in the com-
ment, or stories not explicitly referred to are used as illustrations.46
Perhaps of greater interest are the retold stories from the 'apocry-
phal' books - e.g. of the Maccabees on Psalm 43 (44) v.l and 78(79)
v. 1, of 'Wisdom is greater than all' (I Esdras 3-4) on Psalm 140 (141)
v. 6 and of the book 4 Baruch47 on Psalm 128 (129) v. 8.
3. Non-Biblical stories

Most of the introductions contain stories relating to the writing,

transmission or preservation of the books they introduce. Of greater

42. A church in an exposed position at one end of the hill range on

which Gondar stands.
43. Däbrä Bdrhan Sallase and Atatami Mika' el are Gondar churches.
44. These are all in the Gondar - Dembiya region.
45. F.N. chap. 34, section 2, part 8.
46. E.g. Esther as illustrating Psalm 65 (66), stories of Noah and Elijah
on Wdddase Maryam for Wednesday.
47. This is a story of Jeremiah, Baruch and Ebedmelech, contained in the
book Täräfä Barok, printed in Amharic as Lamentations 7 v. 6-1 1 v. 63 .

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interest are stories illustrating the comment, e.g. the phoenix story on
Isaiah 40 v. 31, the story of Abba Filogos and Epifanyos on Isaiah
58 v. 8, the note on Romans 9 v. 23 that the tower of Babel was blown
down by the wind, the ancestry of Melchizedek on Ezekiel 16 v. 3, the
story of Arsanyos and his nephews as a warning of the troubles that
attend high office on Fihksyus sect. 1 ch. 3, and of Alexander the
Greats' seizing of Scihcid'at on Rev. 9 v. 1 .

4. Spiritual allegories

E.g. in Arägawi mänfäsawi4S , a garden is made the example and

divine help likened to warmth and dew, hardship to frost and burning
heat, the hermit's body to the plants etc.
It may be felt that the points above are of sufficient potential
interest that a project to compile a systematic index to this body of
literature would be welcomed by students; this would facilitate its
consultation by those engaged on Biblical, theological, textual, lexical,
grammatical and historical studies, and would slightly alleviate the
difficulty caused by the fact that about half the material is as yet
unprinted, and that about half of the printed volumes are hard to
obtain.

48 Ara'astä a'smro. dar san 1 .

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