Adamantius

Rivista del Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca su

“Origene e la tradizione alessandrina”
*
Journal of the Italian Research Group on
“Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition”

27
(2021)
 Adamantius
Rivista del Gruppo Italiano di Ricerca su
“Origene e la tradizione alessandrina”
Journal of the Italian Research Group on
“Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition”

Comitato Scientifico
Scientific Committee
Brouria Bitton Ashhkelony (Jerusalem) René Bloch (Bern), Eberhard Bons (Strasbourg),
Marie-Odile Boulnois (Paris), Gilles Dorival (Aix-en-Provence / Marseilles),
Giovanni Filoramo (Torino), Alain Le Boulluec (Paris), Christoph Markschies (Berlin),
Claudio Moreschini (Pisa), Enrico Norelli (Genève), David T. Runia (Melbourne),
Guy Gedaliahu Stroumsa (Oxford / Jerusalem), Annewies Van Den Hoek (Harvard),
Robert Louis Wilken (Charlottesville, Virginia)

Comitato di Redazione
Editorial Board
Osvalda Andrei, Guido Bendinelli, Paolo Bettiolo, Paola Buzi,
Antonio Cacciari (vicedirettore), Francesca Calabi, Alberto Camplani (direttore scientifico),
Tessa Canella, Nathan Carlig, Francesca Cocchini, Chiara Faraggiana di Sarzana, Emiliano Fiori,
Tommaso Interi, Leonardo Lugaresi, Valentina Marchetto, Angela Maria Mazzanti, Adele Monaci,
Andrea Nicolotti, Carla Noce, Domenico Pazzini, Lorenzo Perrone (direttore responsabile),
Francesco Pieri, Teresa Piscitelli, Emanuela Prinzivalli, Marco Rizzi, Pietro Rosa, Agostino Soldati,
Daniele Tripaldi (segretario), Andrea Villani, Claudio Zamagni, Marco Zambon

Corrispondenti esteri
Foreign correspondents
Cristian Badilita (Romania), Marie-Odile Boulnois (France),
Harald Buchinger (Austria), Dmitrij Bumazhnov (Russia), Augustine Casiday (United Kingdom),
Tinatin Dolidze (Georgia), Samuel Fernández (Chile), Michael Ghattas (Egypt),
Anders-Christian Jacobsen (Denmark), Adam Kamesar (U.S.A.), Aryeh Kofsky (Israel),
Johan Leemans (Belgium), Joseph O’Leary (Japan),
Anne Pasquier (Canada), István Perczel (Hungary), Henryk Pietras (Poland),
Jana Plátová (Czech Republic), Jean-Michel Roessli (Switzerland),
Riemer Roukema (The Netherlands), Samuel Rubenson (Sweden),
Anna Tzvetkova (Bulgaria), Martin Wallraff (Germany)

La redazione di Adamantius è presso il Dipartimento di Filologia Classica e Italianistica, Alma Mater Studiorum –
Università di Bologna, Via Zamboni 32, I-40126 Bologna (tel. 0512098517, fax 051228172). Per ogni comunicazione
si prega di rivolgersi al Prof. Alberto Camplani (e-mail: alberto.camplani@uniroma1.it) o al Prof. Antonio Cacciari
(e-mail: antonio.cacciari@unibo.it). Il notiziario segnalerà tutte le informazioni pervenute che riguardino specifica-
mente il campo di ricerca del gruppo, registrando in maniera sistematica le pubblicazioni attinenti ad esso. Si prega
d’inviare dissertazioni, libri e articoli per recensione all’indirizzo sopra indicato.
 Indice

1. Contributi
1.1. Sezioni monografiche
1.1.1 La Philocalia: questioni filologiche, esegetiche e storico-letterarie 7
Ed. Matteo Monfrinotti
Matteo Monfrinotti, Introduction to the Thematic Section
Eric Junod, De l’anthologie de textes d’Origène, primitivement anonyme et sans titre, que la tradi-
tion intitula Philocalie et attribua à Basile de Césarée et Grégoire de Nazianze 11
Francesco Pieri – Chiara Faraggiana, La Philocalia prima e dopo l’ epoca di Fozio: indagini
sulla sua trasmissione 20
Giulia Sfameni Gasparro, Il Contra Celsum della Philocalia: le ragioni di una scelta 53
Johannes Arnold, Frammenti dell’ Alethes Logos di Celso nella Philocalia: spunti per una riva-
lutazione della ‘tradizione indiretta’ del Contra Celsum 80
Emanuela Prinzivalli, Il De principiis nell’ economia della Philocalia 95
Francesca Minonne, Filocalia 14 e la conoscenza dei λογικά per Origene 109
Francesca Cocchini, Philocalia: il Commento a Romani di Origene 129
Lorenzo Perrone, I commenti di Origene ai Salmi nella Filocalia: il primato dell’ermeneutica
spirituale e della grazia divina 150

1.2. Articoli
Gaetano Lettieri, Il giardino dialettico. Il Fedro nell'Epistola a Flora 166
Giulia Guerrato, Per la storia del Commento a Matteo di Origene: problemi d’attribuzione ed
echi origeniani nell’opera dello Pseudo-Pietro di Laodicea 203
Alessandro Bausi, The Treatise On the One Judge (CAe 6260) in the Aksumite Collection
(CAe 1047) 215
Bengt Alexanderson, Alessandro Rossi, Acta purgationis Felicis Episcopi Autumnitani. Edi-
tio critica 257
Roberto Vella, Conflitti religiosi nella Milano imperiale. Ilario di Poitiers e il programma neoni-
ceno in Occidente. Aussenzio di Milano e una reliquia dell’ omeismo latino 287
Josien Segers – Johan Leemans – Geert Roskam, A Cappadocian Paradise? Exploring the
Sermo De Paradiso (CPG 3127) 350
Bishara Ebeid, Abū Rāʾiṭah al-Takrītī’s Trinitarian Doctrine. Between Miaphysite Tradition and
Islamic Challenge 369

1.3. Note e Rassegne

Georgi R. Parpulov, Some New Patristic Scholia on the Gospel of Matthew 392
Raffaele Tondini, L’Origene di Ribera. Breve storia di un dipinto 396
Christoph Markschies, Laudatio für Lorenzo Perrone anlässlich seiner Ehrenpromotion in
München am 4. Mai 2022 403
Lorenzo Perrone, Origenes im Dialog: vom Disput zum Gebet (München, 4. Mai 2022) 409
 Adamantius 27 (2021)
2. Notiziario 421
2.1. Riunioni del Gruppo 421
2.2. Notizie su tesi e attività didattiche 426
Giuseppe Samuele Adorno, La salvezza a colpo d’occhio. La Lode degli antenati (Sir 44-50) e
le rassegne storiche del giudaismo medio (D. Tripaldi), 426; Simona Maria Benenati. Origene,
Omelia II al Salmo 36: il Codex Monacensis Graecus 314 e la versione di Rufino (N. Pace), 427;
Clary de Plinval, Les femmes de la généalogie matthéenne du Christ dans la littérature patristique
(M.-O. Boulnois), 430; Pierre-Marie Picard, Les Poèmes moraux de Grégoire de Nazianze : ju-
stification et présentation du corpus, édition et traduction annotée d’une sélection de poèmes (M.-O.
Boulnois) 432.
3. Repertorio bibliografico 434
3.1. Pubblicazioni recenti su Origene e la tradizione alessandrina (a cura di L. Perrone) 434
0. Bibliografie, repertori e rassegne; profili di studiosi; 1. Miscellanee e studi di carattere generale; 2.
Ellenismo e cultura alessandrina; 3. Giudaismo ellenistico; 4. LXX; 5. Aristobulo; 6. Lettera di Ari-
stea; 7. Filone Alessandrino (1. Bibliografie, rassegne, repertori; 2. Edizioni e traduzioni; 3. Miscella-
nee e raccolte; 4. Studi); 8. Pseudo-Filone; 9. Flavio Giuseppe (1. Bibliografie, rassegne, repertori; 2.
Edizioni e traduzioni; 3. Miscellanee e raccolte; 4. Studi); 10. Cristianesimo alessandrino e ambiente
egiziano (1. Il contesto religioso egiziano; 2. Il periodo delle origini; 3. Gnosticismo, ermetismo e ma-
nicheismo; 4. La chiesa alessandrina: istituzioni, dottrine, riti, personaggi e episodi storici; 5. Il mo-
nachesimo); 11. Clemente Alessandrino; 12. Origene (1. Bibliografie, rassegne, repertori; 2. Edizioni
e traduzioni; 3. Miscellanee e raccolte; 4. Studi); 13. L’origenismo e la fortuna di Origene; 14. Dionigi
Alessandrino; 18. Ario; 19. Eusebio di Cesarea; 20. Atanasio; 21. I Padri Cappadoci (1. Basilio di
Cesarea; 2. Gregorio di Nazianzo; 3. Gregorio di Nissa); 22. Ambrogio di Milano; 23. Didimo il Cieco;
24. Evagrio; 25. Rufino di Aquileia; 26. Teofilo di Alessandria; 27; Sinesio di Cirene; 28. Gerolamo;
29. Agostino; 30. Isidoro di Pelusio; 31. Cirillo Alessandrino; 32. Nonno di Panopoli; 33. Pseudo-Dio-
nigi Areopagita; 34. Cosma Indicopleuste; 35. Giovanni Filopono; 36. Massimo il Confessore.
3.2. Segnalazioni di articoli e libri 491
Antike Lebenswelten: Althistorische und papyrologische Studien, hrsg. von R. Lafer und K.
Strobel (P. Artz-Grabner), 491; Sharing and Hiding Religious Knowledge in Early Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam, ed. by M. Popović, L. Roig Lanzillotta, and C. Wilde (G.G. Strou-
msa), 492; Scribal Practices and Social Structures Among Jesus Adherents. Essays in Honour of
John S. Kloppenborg, ed. by W.E. Arnal, R.S. Ascough, R.A. Derrenbacker, Jr., and Ph.A.
Harland (C. Gianotto), 493; E. dal Covolo, ‘Semi del Verbo’ nella storia. Percorsi biblici e
patristici dal primo al quinto secolo (A.M. Mazzanti), 494; A. Chrysanthou, Defining Orphism.
The Beliefs, the ›Teletae‹, and the Writings (A. Bernabé), 497; E.H. Karaman, Ephesian Women
in Greco-Roman and Early Christian Perspective (M. Dell'Isola), 499; D.A. Meisner, Orphic
Tradition and the Birth of the Gods (M. Herrero de Jáuregui), 501; C.L. Crouch – J.M. Hut-
ton, Translating Empire. Tell Fekheriyeh, Deuteronomy, and the Akkadian Treaty Tradition (G.L.
Prato), 503; J. Hong, Der ursprüngliche Septuaginta-Psalter und seine Rezensionen. Eine Unter-
suchung anhand der Septuaginta-Psalmen 2; 88; 33; 49 und 103 (M. Pavan), 506; J. Cornillon,
Tout en commun? La vie économique de Jésus et des premières générations chrétiennes (R. Penna),
508; M. Labahn, Ausgewählte Studien zum Johannesevangelium. Selected Studies in the Gospel
of John 1998-2013 (M. Marcheselli), 510; Il Vangelo di Marcione. Testo greco a fronte, a cura
di C. Gianotto e A. Nicolotti (L. Arcari), 512; F. Simeoni, Trascendenza e cambiamento
in Filone di Alessandria. La chiave del paradosso (L. De Luca), 515; D. Frankfurter, Chris-
tianizing Egypt. Syncretism and Local Worlds in Late Antiquity (M. Addessi), 516; J. Gascou,
Églises et chapelles d’ Alexandrie byzantine. Recherches de topographie cultuelle (A. Martin), 520;
Eusèbe de Césarée, Chronique. I. Les Belles Lettres (O. Andrei), 524; Gregorius Nazianzenus,
Versio Latina I. Epistulae 102 et 101, ed. A. Capone (R. Schembra), 526; R. Schembra, Centoni
omerici. Il Vangelo secondo Eudocia. Introduzione, traduzione e commento (E. Magnelli), 528; L.
Mecella, Ciro di Panopoli. Potere, politica e poesia alla corte di Teodosio II (L. Focanti), 531; A.
Nigra, Il pensiero cristologico-trinitario di Giovanni di Scitopoli (J. Zachhuber), 533; Libératus

4
 Indice
de Carthage, Abrégé de l’ histoire des Nestoriens et des Eutychiens, Ph. Blaudeau, F. Cassinge-
na-Trévedy (H. Leppin), 536; Maître Eckhart, lecteur des Pères grecs, sous la direction de M.-A.
Vannier (A. Le Huërou), 536.

4. Comunicazioni 537
4.1. Congressi, seminari e conferenze 537
The Septuagint: Multilateral Focus on the Text. Facoltà teologica Università di Trnava, Bratislava,
22-23 aprile 2022 (L. Bigoni), 537; II Congreso internacional de Filón de Alejandría, University
La Pampa, October 21-22, 2021 (M. Alesso), 539.

5. Indici
5.1. Indice delle opere di Origene 543
5.2. Indice degli autori moderni 547

6. Indirizzario
6.1. Elenco dei membri del Gruppo 557

7. Libri e periodici ricevuti 561

8. Pubblicazioni del Gruppo 563

Annuncio delle sezioni monografiche di «Adamantius» 28 (2022) 566

5
 Adamantius 27 (2021)

Alle lettrici e ai lettori

Care lettrici e cari lettori,

con una lettera datata 30 novembre 2021 e indirizzata alla Presidente del G.I.R.O.T.A., Teresa Piscitelli,
ho rinnovato la mia disponibilità a coordinare le attività di Adamantius per il prossimo quadriennio. L’As-
semblea dei soci del G.I.R.O.T.A., riunitasi il 6 dicembre 2021, preso atto di ciò, mi ha rinnovato la fiducia
designandomi nuovamente come direttore all’unanimità. Di questo sono profondamente grato sia ai membri
del G.I.R.O.T.A., sia a quelli della redazione.
In tale lettera esprimevo le mie valutazioni sull’evoluzione di Adamantius. Facevo osservare come gli ultimi
anni abbiano visto un’ulteriore crescita della rivista dal punto di vista dell’impatto nel mondo scientifico e
della presenza nelle biblioteche e nelle università di tutto il mondo. Adamantius è divenuto una realtà cultu-
rale ormai ineludibile anche in virtù della scelta compiuta dalla redazione di collocarsi tra filologia e storia:
filologia della letteratura giudaica e cristiana antica, storia degli assetti culturali dei più diversi fenomeni
cristiani, con attenzione ai centri della produzione testuale così come alle periferie, con le loro peculiarità
linguistiche.
D’altra parte non ho nascosto i numerosi limiti organizzativi che ancora segnano il lavoro del direttore e della
redazione, che potranno essere superati con una distribuzione più razionale degli incarichi e una formaliz-
zazione dei processi editoriali.
Soprattutto, ribadisco che grandi appaiono le sfide metodologiche. Come già segnalavo nella mia lettera del
2017, la redazione dovrà prestare la più grande attenzione alle modalità della valutazione della ricerca scien-
tifica in Italia e nel mondo, nonché alla questione dibattutissima della fruibilità di contenuti (‘Open Access’)
che vengono pubblicati in Adamantius. Un primo tentativo è stato quello di una sezione monografica The
Coptic Book curata da Paola Buzi per il numero 24 del 2018.
Infine desidero ringraziare la redazione nel suo insieme, i revisori, i membri del comitato scientifico, per il
contributo da loro dato alla crescita della rivista, spesso facendosi carico di intere sezioni tematiche, o svol-
gendo un lavoro editoriale faticoso: mi riferisco in particolare a Antonio Cacciari, Daniele Tripaldi, Lorenzo
Perrone, cui si sono aggiunti più recentemente Andrea Villani e Julian Bogdani, ma anche ai molti che hanno
curato l’impaginazione di intere sezioni o hanno contribuito alla redazione degli indici.

Alberto Camplani

6
 The Treatise On the One Judge (CAe 6260) in the Aksumite Collection (CAe 1047)*
by
Alessandro Bausi

Along with the Ethiopic version of a portion of the History of the Episcopate of Alexandria (CAe 5064)
and a new Ethiopic version of the Apostolic Tradition (CAe 6240, CPG 1737), the treatise On the One
Judge (CAe 6260) belongs among the most interesting texts of the Aksumite Collection (CAe 1047). The
Aksumite Collection is an Ethiopic (Gǝʿǝz) canonical-liturgical multiple-text manuscript (a codex unicus
so far, here indicated as Σ), which also defines a corresponding collection in the sense the term is used in
canon law studies, since it presumably represents the earliest set of canon law and liturgical Ethiopic
texts, dating back to Aksumite times1. Most of the texts of the Aksumite Collection, if not all of them, ap-

* The research for this contribution was funded by the Langzeitvorhaben im Akademienprogramm (long-term project
in the program of The Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities), through a project of the
Academy of Sciences and Humanities of Hamburg, «Beta maṣāḥǝft: Die Schriftkultur des christlichen Äthiopiens und
Eritreas: eine multimediale Forschungsumgebung», at Universität Hamburg (2016-2040); by the Deutsche For-
schungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy, EXC 2176 «Under-
standing Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures», project no. 390893796
(2019-2025); by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, at University of Oxford, with the co-applicant Dr
Jacopo Gnisci), and by the DFG, project no. 672619, «Demarginalizing Medieval Africa: Images, Texts, and Identity in
Early Solomonic Ethiopia (1270-1527)» (2020-2024). The research was conducted within the scope of the Hiob
Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies (HLCEES) and of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures
(CSMC), at Universität Hamburg. Like in other occasions, my warm thanks go to Alberto Camplani for his friendly
encouragement and substantial support while I was working on this text: it is thanks to him if the attempt at under-
standing this challenging treatise has turned, as I hope, from the nightmare of an unsolvable puzzle to a modest schol-
arly contribution. My warm thanks also go to Jacopo Gnisci, for his advice and linguistic revision, and to Emiliano
Fiori, not only for the final editorial revision, but also for the generous suggestions on several points of the translation.
The work on the manuscript of the Aksumite Collection was made possible by the trust and joint cooperation of many
people and institutions (see in particular the acknowledgments in A. B – A. B – M. D B – D. N-
 – N. S – I. R, The Aksumite Collection or codex Σ (Sinodos of Qǝfrǝyā, MS C3-IV-71/C3-IV-73,
Ethio-SPaRe UM-039): Codicological and palaeographical observations. With a note on material analysis of inks,
COMSt Bulletin 6/2 (2020) 127-171: 159-162): to all of them, in particular to Jacques Mercier, Antonella Brita, Denis
Nosnitsin, and Marco di Bella, I renew here my warmest thanks. Grateful thanks are also due to the anonymous peer
reviewers of Adamantius for their remarks and suggestions. As always, particularly in this case, the responsibility for
any error and hypothesis remains exclusively with the author. For the references to the Clavis aethiopica (CAe), see
<https://betamasaheft.eu/works/list>.
1 This is not the place to recapitulate once more in detail the history of the research on the Aksumite Collection, some

important steps of which were hosted in the pages of this journal, see in particular A. B, New Egyptian texts in
Ethiopia, Adamantius 8 (2002) 146-151; I.. La Collezione aksumita canonico-liturgica, Adamantius 12 (2006) 43-70;
I. – A. Ci, The History of the Episcopate of Alexandria (HEpA): Editio minor of the fragments preserved in
the Aksumite Collection and in the Codex Veronensis LX (58), Adamantius 22 (2016, pub. 2017) 249-302, the two lat-
ter contributions containing a complete list of all texts of the collection, and the last one a complete bibliography to
2016. Another most essential contribution for the later fortune of the collection is A. B, The Aksumite background
of the Ethiopic ‘Corpus canonum’, in Proceedings of the XVth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Hamburg,
July 20-25, 2003, eds S. U – M. B – D. N – T. R (AethF 65), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2006,
532-541. A general overview of the codicological and palaeographic features of the manuscript, Ethiopia, Tǝgrāy,
north-eastern-Tǝgrāy district («East Tigray Zone») of Gulo Maḵadā, ʿUrā Masqal Church, C3-IV-71/C3-IV-73,
Ethio-SPaRe UM-039, with general updates, was provided in A. B – A. B  ., The Aksumite Collection or
codex Σ, cit. n. *; for the liturgical section, see also A. B, The Baptismal Ritual in the earliest Ethiopic canonical
liturgical collection, in »Neugeboren aus Wasser und Heiligem Geist«. Kölner Kolloquium zur Initiatio Christiana, eds H.
B – T. C – C. S (JThF 37), Aschendorff, Münster 2020, 31-83; see also A. M, Healing in
Christian Liturgy in Late Antique Egypt: Sources and Perspectives, Trends in Classics 13/1 (2021) 154-194; concerning a

Adamantius 27 (2021) 215-256

 A 27 (2021)

pear to be translations carried out on Greek models in the late antique period. The interest of this
Ethiopic collection is twofold: on the one hand, these texts are versions of Greek texts in some cases lost
in their original language; on the other hand, they offer a completely new perspective on the dynamics of
reception and transmission in Ethiopian Christianity of the kingdom of Aksum and its continuation
from the late antique to the early-Solomonic period in the thirteenth century, when more evidence con-
cerning textual transmission becomes available2. Unfortunately, we cannot assign any precise date to the
manuscript of the Aksumite Collection, but we can reasonably assume on palaeographic grounds that it is
datable to the thirteenth century at the latest.
Among the texts of the Aksumite Collection, the case of the treatise On the One Judge is peculiar for sev-
eral aspects:
(1) this text is the longest of all texts of the Aksumite Collection, if we exclude texts which are sub-
collections and results of juxtaposition; the treatise occupies almost thirteen leaves in the present pagina-
tion of the manuscript (ff. 88ra-100rb, see Fig. 1a-b); in the manuscript the text follows Athanasius’s
Epistle to Epictetus (ff. 80ra-88ra; CAe 1780, CPG 2095) and precedes a conciliar text, Council and names
of the fathers of Serdica (ff. 100rb-102va; CAe 6249, CPG 8571) 3;
(2) while all other texts of the Aksumite Collection have an immediately apparent character and can be
easily classified either as historiography (the Histor y of the Episcopate of Alexandria being the only case)
or pseudo-apostolical, canonical, or liturgical literature, or as texts related to specific theological issues,
the treatise On the One Judge escapes this simple categorization and rather has the character of a mysta-
gogical and exhortatory homiletic initiation to Christian life4 – as the text clearly states at the beginning

later fragmentar y witness to the same collection see I., Fratture e interferenze: filologia e linguistica della tradizione te-
stuale etiopica (Uno sguardo retrospettivo sulla ricerca degli ultimi decenni ), in Linguistica e filologia tra Oriente e Occi-
dente. Atti del XLIV Convegno annuale della Società italiana di glottologia ( Napoli, 24-26 ottobre 2019) . Università di
Napoli “L’Orientale”, Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Napoli “Suor Orsola Benincasa” , 2022, forthcoming.
2 On this essential phenomenon, see the following recent contributions: A. B, A Few Remarks on Hagiographic-

al-Homiletic Collections in Ethiopic Manuscripts, M anuscript Cultures 13 (2019, pub. 2020) 63-80; M . V, Filologia
e linguistica dei testi gǝʿǝz di età aksumita. Il Pastore di Erma (Studi Africanistici, Serie Etiopica 10), UniorPress, Na-
poli 2019; I., Exegesis and Lexicography in the Ethiopian Tradition: The Role of the Physiologus, COM St Bulletin 5/1
(2019) 5-15; T.M . E, A Fourth Ethiopic Witness to the Shepherd of Hermas, in Caught in Translation: Studies on
Versions of Late-Antique Christian Literature, eds M . T – D. B (TSEC 17), Brill, Leiden–Boston, M A 2020,
241-266 (I note here that I have collected evidence for the existence of a fifth Gǝʿǝz witness to the Shepherd of Her-
mas); M . V, Greek Gods and Christian Martyrs: Text-critical remarks on the Ethiopic Passio of Anicetus and Photius
( 12 Taḫśaś), RSEt, Serie terza, 5 (52) (2021) 201-233; I., The Ethiopic tradition, in The multilingual Physiologus: Stud-
ies in the Old Greek Recension and its Translations, eds C. M – J. G (I PM 84), Brepols, Turnhout 2021, 159-
196, 398-400, 468-475; A. B, Fratture e interferenze, cit. n. 1. For the historical context, see M .-L. D, L’énigme
d’une dynastie sainte et usurpatrice dans le royaume chrétien d’Éthiopie du e au e siècle (Hagiologia 14), Brepols,
Turnhout 2018; E., Before the Solomonids: Crisis, Renaissance and the Emergence of the Zagwe Dynasty ( Sev-
enth–Thirteenth Centuries), in A Companion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, ed. S. K, Brill, Leiden–Boston, M A
2020, 217-251.
3 The manuscript was restored in 2012. For all codicological details see A. B – A. B  ., The Aksumite

Collection or codex Σ, cit. n. *.

4 It is impossible to provide here a full bibliography on Christian initiation; for abundant and updated references see at

least the following contributions: E.C. W – M .E. J, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy (ACC 42), Re-
vised and expanded 3rd edn, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, M N 2003; B.D. S, Early and M edieval Rituals and
Theologies of Baptism: From the New Testament to the Council of Trent , Ashgate, Aldershot–Burlington, VT 2006; M .E.
J, The Rites of Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation, Revised edn, Liturgical Press, Col-
legeville, M N 2007; Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity = Waschun-
gen, Initiation und Taufe: Spätantike, frühes Judentum und frühes Christentum, I–III , eds D. H – T. V –
Ø. N – C. H (BZNW 176), De Gruyter, Berlin–New York, NY 2011; »Neugeboren aus Wasser und
Heiligem Geist«, ed. H . B– T. C – C. S, cit. n. 1. The best known and most important mystagogic-

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– where the basic concept repeatedly stressed is the central function assigned to God the Father, «the
One Judge»5;
(3) the text is marked by a feature which helps better understand the manuscript transmission of the col-
lection: one of the linguistic peculiarities of the codex unicus of the Aksumite Collection is the very fre-
quent presence of forms ending in –e in conjunctions, prepositions, and also, often but not always, in the
plural relative pronoun ʾǝlle, instead of the normal forms ending in –a (ʾǝlla in the relative pronoun),
which are known as an archaic feature occurring in early medieval manuscripts, as well as in epigraphic
Gǝʿǝz6. An analysis of the distribution of the phenomenon in the single texts of the manuscript reveals
that the –e forms are well present in all texts, with varying frequency, with the sole exception of the trea-
tise On the One Judge. In this treatise the –e forms never appear: which, since the codex was undoubtedly
written by a single hand and does not exhibit any palaeographic or material discontinuity whatsoever,
demonstrates that the –e forms (and lack of them) are not due to copyist’s initiative – at least: not of the
copyist of that manuscript – but, in that manuscript, they belong to the patina of the manuscript and are
a phenomenon of tradition which did not involve any automatic adaptation during the copying process7.
This conclusion is extremely important because it undoubtedly demonstrates the existence of what – in
the absence of a more adequate explanation – we can call different scribal schools, who applied different
linguistic standards that are still faithfully mirrored in the unique manuscript;

al text in the Ethiopic tradition is the Tǝmhǝrta Ḫǝbuʾāt (CAe 2444), literally, Doctrina arcanorum, in all likelihood
from a Greek Vorlage. It is also attested in a recension, known as ʾƎlmasṭoʾagyā (Mystagogy, from Greek μυσταγωγία,
CAe.3978) from an Arabic Vorlage; see overview and further references in B. B, Tǝmhǝrtä ḫǝbuʾat, in Encyclo-
paedia Aethiopica, IV, eds S. U – A. B, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2010, 914b–915a. This text does not
show any apparent similarity with the treatise On the One Judge.
5 The term for «Judge» is kʷannani (so spelt twice), presumably for kʷannāni (so spelt once), that is a participle pattern

(I.2 verbal stem), meaning «judex, condemnator, vindex» according to C.F.A. D, Lexicon linguae aethiopicae,
cum indice latino. Adiectum est vocabularium tigre dialecti septentrionalis compilatum a W. Munziger, Weigel, Lipsiae
1865, 856; W. L, Comparative dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic): Geʿez-English, English-Geʿez, with an in-
dex of the Semitic roots, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, 287, in addition to its verbal meaning, gives «ruler, governor».
The semantic field can be best appreciated considering the meanings reported by C.F.A. D, Lexicon, 857, un-
der the synonymous makʷannǝn, namely, inter alia, ἄρχων, ἡγούμενος, ἡγεμών, δυνάστης, μεγιστάν, τύραννος,
σατράπης, ἔπαρχος, τοπάρχης.
6 I shall not go into any detail here, aside from the fact that the Aksumite Collection definitely has also many –e forms

for the relative pronoun (ʾǝlle instead of ʾǝlla); see also the commentary at § 13, where for mǝsle (–e form of mǝsla) I
suggested the conjecture mǝ<ssā>le. Note that this is the opposite case of what noted for the Book of Enoch by L.T.
S – T.M. E, The Significance of Ethiopic Witnesses for the Text Tradition of 1 Enoch: Problems and
Prospects, in Congress Volume Aberdeen 2019, eds G. M – C.M. M – J. S (VT.S 192), Brill,
Leiden–Boston, MA, 2022, 416-434: 423, where the right reading mǝssāle (Greek παραβολή) is attested by a single
manuscript, against mǝsla of the vast majority: which reading, I guess, implies the normalization (mǝsle > mǝsla) of a
misunderstood mǝssāle (mǝssāle > mǝsle > mǝsla). These –e forms were discussed by G. L, Note linguistiche per la
storia dell’Etiopia antica, in Studia Aethiopica. In Honour of Siegbert Uhlig on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, eds V.
B – D. N – T. R – W. S – E. S, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2004, 67-78: 70-72; A.
B, Etiopico ʾellē: a proposito di un’ipotesi recente, in Varia Aethiopica: In Memory of Sevir B. Chernetsov (1943-
2005), eds D. N – S. F – L.E. K – B. L, Société des études byzantines et slaves, Byz-
antinorossica, Saint-Pétersbourg 2005 = Scrinium 1 (2005) 3-11; I., Ancient features of Ancient Ethiopic, Aethiopica 8
(2005) 149-169; M. B, Nota genitivi za- in Epigraphic Geez, JSSt 54/2 (2009) 393-419: 402, n. 19; summary in M.
V, Filologia e linguistica, cit. n. 2, 204-206; see also A. B, Fratture e interferenze, cit. n. 1. The forms in –e ap-
pear less frequently, but are still present, in the Epistle to Epictetus, some readings of which have been noted in the re-
cent new critical edition, see Athanasius Werke, Erster Band, Erster Teil: Die dogmatischen Schriften, 5. Lieferung: Epi-
stulae dogmaticae minores, ed. K. S, De Gruyter, Berlin–New York, NY 2016.
7 For the concept of patina, see P. T, Everything you Always Wanted to Know about Lachmann’s Method. A

Non-Standard Handbook of Genealogical Textual Criticism in the Age of Post-Structuralism, Cladistics, and Copy-Text,
Revised edition, Foreword by M.D. R (Storie e linguaggi), Libreriauniversitaria.it edizioni, Padova 2017, 229-235.

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(4) a further notable feature that characterizes this text, which was apparently completely dismissed and
no longer copied in the later manuscript tradition8, is that we have evidence that it circulated and was
still read until the first half of the fifteenth century9: the prolific writer and theologian Giyorgis of Saglā
(d.  1425/1426)10 explicitly quoted the title of the treatise On the One Judge in his Maṣḥafa mǝsṭir
(Book of the mystery, CAe 1952, accomplished in  1424 according to the author’s colophon), in a pas-
sage, dedicated to the identification of the eight books of Clement, of the thirtieth and last chapter of this
literary and theological masterpiece. Here is the core passage11:
The Sinodos (CAe 2317) of the Apostles (consists of) seven (parts): Rejoyce our sons! (Tafaśśǝḥu wǝludǝna,
CAe 2669) the first; Simon the Cananaean (Sǝmʿon qananāwi, CAe 2639/2671) the second; the Apostolic
canons (ʾAbṭǝlis, CAe 2677/2679) the third; After he ascended (ʾƎmdǝḫra ʿarga, CAe 2673) the fourth; the
Order concerning those who are baptized (Śǝrʿata habt baʾǝnta ʾǝlla yǝṭṭammaqu, CAe 6254) the fifth; On the
One Judge (Kama baʾǝnta 1 kʷannāni, CAe 6260) the sixth; Disposition ordered by Peter to Clement (Tǝʾǝzāz
zaʾazzaza P̣eṭros laQalemǝnṭos, CAe 2680) the seventh.
The passage goes on with an interesting polemical statement, which evokes topics that are to some extent
related to texts in the Aksumite Collection, namely the History of the Episcopate of Alexandria (dealing
with the Melitian schism) and Chalcedonian texts (the Aksumite Collection has a set of Canons of the
council of Chalcedon, CAe 6261, CPG 9008)12:
For this reason they say (that) the Book of Clement with the Sinodos (make) eight (books). As for those who
say that the Book of Clement by itself consists of eight parts, (they need only be reminded that) if the seven
(parts of the) Sinodos are added, the total would be fifteen; thus their mistake is evident since it exceeds the
eight parts that they have assigned to us. As for that book (full) of their lies, Peter never uttered it nor did
Clement write it down, but it was Yǝsḥaq Tǝgrāy, a usurper of the episcopate like Melitius. His ordination,

8 At variance with what happens with other texts of the Aksumite Collection, which are either completely integrated,
particularly in the Sinodos, or excerpted and rearranged in later works; for the case of a portion of the History of the
Episcopate of Alexandria turned into a homily for Saint Peter of Alexandria, see details in A. B, A Few Remarks on
Hagiographical-Homiletic Collections, cit. n. 2; for the case of the large Sylloge of Timotheus Aelurus (ff. 135v-160v), see
additional information in I., Three brief points on ‘bishops’ in the Ethiopic tradition, in Bishops and Bishoprics, eds
M.-L. D – R. S – A. T (JJP.S), University of Warsaw, Warsaw 2022, forthcoming.
9 See already (with this treatise being in some cases indicated as On the Unity or Concerning the Only Judge) in partic-

ular A. B, New Egyptian texts, cit. n. 1, 147, 149s. (on p. 149.39 correct “nrr. 8 and 10” to “nrr. 10 and 18”); I.,
The Aksumite background, cit. n. 1, 536; I., La Collezione aksumita, cit. n. 1, 49s.; and more extensively with further
details, A. B, Ethiopia and the Christian Ecumene: Cultural Transmission, Translation, and Reception, in A Com-
panion to Medieval Ethiopia and Eritrea, ed. S. K, cit. n. 2, 217-251: 239-251.
10 See G. C, Giyorgis of Sägla, in Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, II, ed. S. U, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005,

812a-b, with further references; for some integrations see A. B, Ethiopia and the Christian Ecumene, cit. n. 9, 240,
n. 64.
11 Passage adapted as far as transcriptions and the name of the treatise are concerned from A. B, Ethiopia and the

Christian Ecumene, cit. n. 9, 242s., in turn based on the translation by G H, Religious Controversies and
the Growth of Ethiopic Literature in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, OrChr 65 (1981) 102-136: 104s. The pas-
sage has been critically edited by Y B, Giyorgis di Saglā: Il libro del mistero (maṣḥafa mesṭir) (CSCO 515,
516, 532, 533, CSCO.Ae 89, 90, 97, 98), Peeters, Lovanii 1990–1993, II, 305 (text), 169 (transl.); see also the edition by
Ḥǝ ʾE [H E], Maṣḥafa mǝśṭir qǝddus ʾabbā Giyorgis zaGāsǝč̣č̣ā ʾǝndadarrasut (1357
ʿā/mǝ–1417 ʿā/mǝ) gǝʾǝzǝnnā ʾamārǝññā tǝrgum bamamhǝr Ḥǝruy ʾErmyās, n.pub., Qǝddus ʾabbā Giyorgis za-
Gāsǝč̣č̣ānnā qǝddus ʾabbā Baṣalota Mikāʾel ʾandǝnnat gadām 2009, 362a (§ 33).
12 See A. B, Ethiopia and the Christian Ecumene, cit. n. 9, 243. The passage was first noticed by C.F.A. D,

Lexicon, cit. n. 5, viii, who read it in a manuscript of the Book of the mystery preserved in Basle that is now lost («Cae-
terum varia Synodi exemplaria multum inter se differunt, et in M. M. f. 344 Isaac quidem Tigrensis incusatur, quod
Synodum consulto adulteraverit»); see also M  L, La versione etiopica dei canoni apocrifi del concilio
di Nicea secondo i codici vaticani ed il fiorentino, RSEt 2/1 (1942) 29–89: 33, erroneously giving coloumn «vii» for Dill-
mann’s quotation.

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too, came from the Melchites. For this reason his teaching is alien to our teaching, and his books, too, to our
books, because he brought it from a treasure of lies and translated it with lying words.
It is difficult to underestimate the importance of this evidence. The witness of Giyorgis of Saglā makes
apparent that our perception of the corpus of Ethiopic texts read in the fifteenth century – a period from
which a good number of manuscripts have survived providing a reliable representation of the textual
production, yet not necessarily of the textual circulation of the time – is strongly conditioned by process-
es of selection and filtering. These processes, in several cases, must have completely obscured a rich her-
itage dating back to previous, pre-medieval and probably Aksumite, times: this heritage was still available
to authors of the time of Giyorgis of Saglā, still transmitted by ancient manuscripts which have not been
preserved13. Through the resurfacing of dismissed texts, it is the Aksumite civilization and the Ethiopian
Christianity as a whole that receive a completely new light14.
From the general point of view, the theological positions expressed in the treatise can be easily compared,
within the set of works belonging to similar genres, to those set forth in the Constitutiones Apostolicae
(see particularly 7,34-39), where God is celebrated as the only Almighty15, and even earlier, concerning
creation, in the Epistula Clementis ad Corinthios (20)16. Comparing the treatise On the One Judge with
the Constitutiones Apostolicae we have also to note that this is not the only text of the collection that has a
relation to them, since the Aksumite Collection transmits other texts (besides the Apostolic Tradition17)
which have a much closer connection and correspondence with the Constitutiones Apostolicae, namely,
the Ecclesiastical canons (acephalous, ff. 1r-5r; CAe 6239, CPG 1739), the Parallel section to Apostolic
Constitutions VIII (ff. 29v-35r; CAe 1355, cf. CPG 1730), the treatise On the charisms (ff. 35r-38v;
CAe 2114, cf. CPG 1730), and the 81 Apostolic canons (ff. 63r-69v; CAe 2675, CPG 1740)18. In all likeli-
hood this is a relationship where the Aksumite Collection preserves pieces in an isolated form, which we

13 See in particular the important contributions by Ted Erho from the last years: T. E – W.B. H, The Ethiopic
Jannes and Jambres and the Greek Original, APF 65/1 (2019) 176-223; T.M. E, A Fourth Ethiopic Witness, cit. n. 2.
14 For some contributions that have seriously taken into account this new horizon of the Aksumite history, see A.

C, L’impatto istituzionale dello scisma meliziano sulle diocesi della valle del Nilo: il contributo delle recenti sco-
perte testuali in etiopico, in Esegesi, vissuto cristiano, culto dei santi e santuari. Studi di storia del cristianesimo per Gior-
gio Otranto, eds I. A – L. A – A. C – L. C – A. L (QVetChr 34), Edipuglia,
Bari-S. Spirito 2020, 129-140; I., Transmitting and Being Transmitted: The Spread and Reception of the History of the
Episcopate of Alexandria in Carthage and Aksum, in Intercultural Exchange in Late Antique Historiography, eds M.
C – M. M (Byz.B 23), Peeters, Leuven–Paris–Bristol, CT 2020, 65-94; Roman Egypt: A History, ed. R.
B, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MT 2021, 118, and passim.
15 See the useful summary of the theology of the Constitutiones Apostolicae in Les Constitutions Apostoliques, ed. M.

M, II (SC 336), Cerf, Paris 1986, 18-38 (§§ 215-249).

16 See the the edition, translation, and commentary in E. P – M. S, Seguendo Gesù: testi cristiani

delle origini, I (Scrittori greci e latini), Fondazione Lorenzo Valla–Arnoldo Mondadori, Roma–Milano 2010, 77-275,
449-541: 132s., 137s., and 481-483.
17 The Apostolic Tradition was edited and translated by A. B, La ‘nuova’ versione etiopica della Traditio apostolica:

edizione e traduzione preliminare, in Christianity in Egypt: Literary Production and Intellectual Trends in Late Antiquity.
Studies in Honor of Tito Orlandi, eds P. B – A. C (SEAug 125), Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum,
Roma 2011, 19-69; and on this basis new studies were published, see at least A. S, Hyppolytus. On the Apostolic
Tradition: An English Version with Introduction and Commentary (Popular Patristic Series 22), 2nd edn, St. Vladimir's
Seminary Press, New York, NY 2015; R. M, Die angebliche Traditio Apostolica. Eine neue Textpräsentation,
ALW 58-59 (2016-2017) 1–58; P. B, The Apostolic tradition reconstructed: a text for students (JLS/Joint litur-
gical studies 91) Alcuin Club and the Group for Renewal of Worship–Hymns Ancient and Modern, London–Nor-
wich–Norfolk 2021.
18 See details in A. B – A. B  ., The Aksumite Collection or codex Σ, cit. n. *; for the relationship to the

Constitutiones Apostolicae see also A. B, The ›so-called Traditio apostolica‹: preliminary observations on the new
Ethiopic evidence, in Volksglaube im antiken Christentum. Prof. Dr. Theofried Baumeister OFM zur Emeritierung, eds
H. G – A. M, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2009, 291–321.

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find rearranged and combined at various degrees in the Constitutiones Apostolicae. Conversely, the ab-
sence in the treatise of any reference to ranks or functions of the church is absolutely striking; the word
itself for church (beta krǝstiyān) never occurs in the text; and the term «Christian» (krǝstiyān) appears
only once (§ 1). Ecclesiological references are completely absent from the treatise and it is difficult not to
think that this absence points to a very early date of composition and circulation. Language and
metaphors are relatively complex; in several instances the combined effect of style, syntax, and non-
standard grammar challenges the understanding of the text to the point that even the basic literal mean-
ing is extremely difficult to assess. For these reasons, even in the absence of an identified Vorlage and in
the hypothesis that the codex unicus of the text is largely affected by corruption, it is very difficult to ad-
vance the hypothesis that the treatise is an original Ethiopic composition, even if we admit that the au-
thor was inspired by, and tried to imitate, foreign models, or even that the treatise as it is is the result of
conflation of different sources.
The ambition of the present edition is limited: it intends to offer nothing more than a readable text in a
decent form for further analysis of its contents to specialists of ancient Christian literature. As previously
said, even though the treatise exhibits some features – a linguistic patina different from that of all other
texts of the Aksumite Collection – which would leave open the hypothesis of an origin of its own, the
presence of neologisms and expressions which seem to be calqued upon Greek militates in favour of a
mirror-type translation19. I will quote here only the example of nǝʾus ʿālam (§ 22), in all likelihood «mi-
crocosm», a calque after the Greek μικρὸς κόσμος (nǝʾus «small» and ʿālam «world»). The motif, as is
well known, resumed from the Greek philosophical tradition, appears reworked in Gregory of Nyssa, it is
prominent in Nemesius of Emesa, has been particularly studied in Maximus the Confessor, and can be
traced also in John of Damascus20. Like others of Neoplatonic coin which surface in the text – for exam-

19 See some recent contributions on translations, also with focus on translation into Ethiopic, for example Egitto croce-
via di traduzioni, ed. F. C (ΔΙΑΛΟΓΟΙ 1), EUT Edizioni dell’Università di Trieste, Trieste 2018; Caught in
Translation: Studies on Versions of Late-Antique Christian Literature, eds M. T – D. B, cit. n. 2; A.M.
B, From Syriac to Arabic to Ethiopic: Loci of Change in Transmission, in Circolazione di testi e superamento delle
barriere linguistiche e culturali nelle tradizioni orientali, eds R.B. F – F. F – C. M – M. M
(Orientalia Ambrosiana 7), Milano 2020, 21-57; The multilingual Physiologus, eds C. M – J. G, cit. n. 2.
20 See Greg. Nyss., hom. opific. (CPG 3154), PG XLIV, 124-256, and cf. G. M, «Come un indovinello»: doppia

creazione e immagine di Dio nel De opificio hominis di Gregorio di Nissa, Adamantius 24 (2018) 416–434; Nemes., nat.
hom., 10 (CPG 3550), PG XL, 504-817: 532C-533B, cf. M. M, Nemesii Emeseni De natura hominis (BSGRT),
Teubner, Leipzig 1987, 15-16, Engl. transl. by R.W. S – P.J.   E, Nemesius: On the nature of man
(Translated texts for historians 49), Liverpool University Press, Liverpool 2008, 49-51; also W.W. J, Nemesios
von Emesa. Quellenforschungen zum Neuplatonismus und seine Anfängen bei Poseidonios, Weidmannsche Buchhand-
lung, Berlin 1914, 133-137; W. T, Cyril of Jerusalem and Nemesius of Emesa (LCC 4), Westminster Press, Phil-
adelphia 1955, 251-257; clear synthesis in M. S – E. P, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica,
EDB Edizioni Dehoniane, Bologna 2010, 346; Max., myst. (CPG 7704), PG XCI, 657-717: 685A; see H.U. 
B, Kosmische Liturgie. Das Weltbild Maximus’ des Bekenners, Johannes Verlag, Einsiedeln – Trier 1988, 171-
175; Engl. transl. I., Cosmic liturgy: the universe according to Maximus the Confessor, transl. B.E. Daley (A Communio
book), Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA 2003, 173–177; L. T – A.M. A, Microcosm and Mediator:
The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor, 2nd edn, Open Court Publishing Company, Chicago, IL
1995, 132–143, including the motif of man as mediator; Io. D., volunt. (CPG 8052), PG XCV, 128-185: 144B, this last
being the only occurrence recorded by G.W.H. L, A Patristic Greek Lexicon, At the Clarendon Press, Oxford
1961, 870. A search on the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (© Digital Library, ed. M.C. P, University of Califor-
nia, Irvine, http://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu accessed 12 February 2022) for the words μικρός, κόσμος, and ἄνθρωπος has
provided results until the seventh century for Democritus (fifth/fourth c. BC), Rufus Med. (third/second c. BC), Pseu-
do-Galenus Med. (post second c. AD), Achilles Tatius (second c.), Clemens Alexandrinus (second-third c.), Gregorius
Nyssenus (fourth c.), Gregorius Nazianzenus (fourth c.), Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus (fourth c.), Synesius (fourth/fifth
c.), Hermias Phil. (fifth c.), Olympiodorus Alchem. (fifth/sixth c.?), Proclus Phil. (fifth c.), Leontius Theol. (fifth-sixth
c.), Olympiodorus Diaconus (sixth c.), Olympiodorus Phil. (sixth c.), David Phil. (sixth c.), Cosmas Indicopleustes

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ple the creation of the visible world according to models which are visible by ascending on a «ladder»
(maʿārǝg, § 8) – it would deserve to be analyzed in detail, which is not possible here in a tentative editio
princeps.
Nor is it possible to carry out a systematic analysis of other motifs which could have parallel in the hexa-
emeric literature. This genre is well widespread in the Ethiopian tradition. In the end, this literature
draws on the exegesis to Genesis, but among the various streams which merge in it, there feature also
mediated contributions from the Greek philosophical tradition21. In this literature we do not find, to my
knowledge, the precise concept of man as microcosm, but the doctrine of the four natural elements (fire,
water, earth, and wind) is prominent. Yet we do find a few interesting examples where God is explicitly
qualified as ‘the Judge’, in one text with the same word (kʷannāni) used in the treatise here edited. The
subject is largely underresearched and here I can offer only one example. It is taken from two published
versions of the Sǝna fǝṭrat or The Beauty of the Creation (CAe 2314), a large corpus of texts identified by
this generic title that serve as cathechisms on the doctrine of creation22. Both versions hitherto edited
and translated, one Old Amharic and one Gǝʿǝz, define God as ‘the Judge’. Here is the passage according
to the Amharic version, which uses the term kʷannāni23:

(sixth c.), Maximus Confessor (sixth-seventh c.), Georgius Pisides (seventh c.), Theodorus Syncellus (seventh c.), and
Johannes Damascenus (seventh-eighth c.). No less than twenty-five further Byzantine and Greek authors are recorded
until the nineteenth c., the latest among them being Neophytus Ducas (nineteenth c.).
21 The first text of the genre to be published was the translation from an Arabic Vorlage of the Hexaëmeron attributed

to Epiphanius of Salamis, and known as ʾAksimāros (CAe 1046), see E. T, Das Hexaëmeron des Pseudo-Epipha-
nius. Äthiopischer Text verglichen mit dem arabischen Originaltext und deutscher Uebersetzung (ABAW.PP 16/2), Verlag
der Akademie in Commission bei G. Franz, Akademische Buchdruckerei von F. Straub, München 1882; A. H,
Das Hexaëmeron des Pseudo-Epiphanius, OrChr 10-11 (1920-1921, pub. 1923) 91-145; S. W, Aksimaros, in
Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, I, ed. S. U, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, 173a-b. Essential are still the concise
but comprehensive remarks by R.W. C, Ethiopian Biblical Interpretation: A Study in Exegetical Tradition and
Hermeneutics (UCOP 38), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1988, 122-128. For recent updates, see S. D,
Ms. Cerulli 165 in the Light of the Aksimaros’ Manuscript Tradition, in Aethiopia fortitudo ejus: Studi in onore di Mon-
signor Osvaldo Raineri in occasione del suo 80° compleanno (OCA 298), ed. R. Z, Pontificio Istituto Orienta-
le, Roma 2015, 163-180; E., “Remapping Paradise”: Manuscript Evidences of Ethiopian Cosmological Models and of
Visualizations of the Paradisiacal Garden, or the Quest to Find Examples of Early Ethiopian Mapmaking, in Movements
in Ethiopia, Ethiopia in Movement. Proceedings of the 18th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, eds É. F-
 – A.H. O – T. O, I, Tsehai Publishers, Los Angeles, CA 2016, 103-116; W. W, Cain, Abel
and their sisters in Ethiopian tradition, in Studies in Ethiopian Languages, Literature, and History: Festschrift for Getat-
chew Haile Presented by his Friends and Colleagues, ed. A.C. MC (AethF 83), Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden
2017, 525-550.
22 See G H, Śǝnä fǝṭrät, in Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, IV, cit. n. 4, 618b-619b; related to this is also the

Ṭǝnta haymānot, that is The Beginning of the Faith, see S. W, Ṭǝntä haymanot: Mäṣḥafä ṭǝntä haymanot, in
Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, IV, cit. n. 4, 918b-919a.
23 The passage in G H – M A, Beauty of the creation ሥነ፡ ፍጥረት። (Śǝnä fǝṭrät)

(JSSt.M 16), The Victoria University of Manchester, Manchester 1991, 4s (Amharic with interspersed Gǝʿǝz expres-
sions) ʾƎgziʾabǝḥer fǝṭratātǝn yǝfaṭr zand mǝn nagar ʾataggāw yālu ʾǝndahon; sǝlārāt nagar naw mǝnǝnnā mǝn naw
yālu ʾǝndahon kahāli naw, bāʿǝl naw, fatāḥi naw, kʷannāni baṣǝdq fatāḥi barǝtʿ rǝkub zaʾiyǝtrakkab naw. ʾƎlleḵ ʾarāt-
tu ʾǝndāllubbat yāṭayyǝq zand faṭṭara, with the occurrence of the term kʷannāni, 41 (transl.), and 53 (Gǝʿǝz text)
waʾǝmma tǝbe mǝnt ʾaṣḥaqqo laʾƎgziʾabǝḥer yǝfṭǝr fǝṭratāta ʾǝbǝl baʾǝnta 4nagar wǝʾǝtu ʾǝsma ʾƎgziʾabǝḥer kahāli
wǝʾǝtu. Wa bāʿǝl wafatāḥi warǝkub zaʾiyǝtrakkab wǝʾǝtu. Wabaʾǝntazǝ ʾǝnza yāṭeyyǝq kama ʾǝllu 4ḍotā hǝllǝwān
bottu, ṣǝḥqa faṭira fǝṭratāt, 77 (transl.) «If you ask, “What urged God to create the creations?”, I say it is for four reas-
ons: (It is) because God is omnipotent, he is wealthy, a (just) judge, and comprehensible (but also) incomprehensible.
For this reason (that is) to demonstrate that in him there are these four attributes, he was urged to create creations». A
third version in Amharic (much longer and ignored in all contributions quoted above), available in translation only,
explicitly mentions the quality of justice in God, see L. F, Il Sena-feṭrat in un manoscritto inedito, in Etiopia e
oltre. Studi in onore di Lanfranco Ricci (Studi Africanistici, Serie Etiopica 1), eds Y B – R. F – P.

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 A 27 (2021)

If one asks, «What urged God to create the creations?», it is for four reasons. If one asks, «What and what are
(these)?», he is omnipotent, he is wealthy, he is a judge – one who judges in righteousness and sentences up-
rightly (kʷannāni baṣǝdq fatāḥi barǝtʿ) – (and) he is comprehensible (but also) incomprehensible. He created
(the creations) to demonstrate that in him there are these four (attributes).
Well aware that an identification of an extant text for the treatise On the One Judge (Greek or in other
languages) is possible, I admit that this, at the moment at least, is out of reach for my possibilities. Hav-
ing thus spent, per multa, sed brevissima intervalla, not a few years trying to make sense of a text that at
first sight appeared absolutely impenetrable to my understanding, I think that lack of time for further
work in the immediate future imposes that this not irrelevant piece be made available to specialists at
least in this form. This is what has been done in similar cases, where the publication made the identifica-
tion of the text possible – such is the case, comparable from many points of view, of the homily In sanc-
tum Pascha by Philo of Carpasia edited by Osvaldo Raineri and Tedros Abraha, eventually identified by
Sever Voicu as belonging to Pseudo-Hippolytus24. One of Voicu’s essential observations deserve to be re-
ported here25:
Ai due curatori va riconosciuto subito un coraggio eccezionale. Il testo […] si presenta come un enigma,
quasi un’accozzaglia di parole ed espressioni che fanno continuamente violenza alla grammatica e alla sintas-
si abituali in una lingua semitica e rendono aleatorio qualsiasi tentativo di comprensione e di interpretazione.
Il motivo di questa situazione anomala, […] è che, con ogni probabilità, il testo «etiopico» (le virgolette sono
d’obbligo) è una traduzione letteralissima dal greco, una sorta di «mirror translation» eseguita quando il geez
non disponeva ancora di una prassi traduttoria organica e che deve aver preso la forma di una glossa conti-
nua, parola per parola, del modello greco. Una volta perso il contatto con l’originale sul quale è stata eseguita,
la traduzione è rimasta condannata all’oscurità e all’incomprensibilità. Le occasionali correzioni introdotte
nei quasi nove secoli che separano la traduzione (V secolo) dal più antico testimone manoscritto (B, del
1339/40), avranno potuto soltanto allontanare dal suo modello greco un testo le cui convenzioni linguistiche
rimanevano inesorabilmente fuori dalla portata dello scriba più volonteroso e competente.26

M – A. T, Istituto Orientale di Napoli, Dipartimento di Studi e Ricerche su Africa e Paesi Arabi, Na-
poli 1994, 69-91: 74s., with quotation of Ps 97:2 (LXX 96:2). The extensive Amharic commentary (so-called
ʾandǝmta) to Genesis provides a further example, see M A, The Ethiopian Commentary on the Book of
Genesis. Critical Edition and Translation (AethF 73), Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2011, 250 (Gǝʿǝz text followed
by Amharic commentary on Gen 30:5) wabaʾǝntazǝ samayatto sǝmo Dān. Sǝlazzih nagar sǝmun Dān ʾalāččaw. Dān
mālat fǝtḥa ʾƎgziʾabǝḥer mālat naw, but with the textual variant of MS B, Dāññā ʾƎgziʾabǝḥer fatāḥi baṣǝdq, 554
(transl.) «Therefore she called his name Dan. That is why she named him Dan. Dan means God’s judgment», with the
textual variant of MS B (my translation): «God is judge (dāññā), judging (fatāḥi) with justice».
24 See O. R – T A, Filone di Carpasia: un’omelia pasquale trasmessa in etiopico, in ΕΥΚΟΣΜΙΑ.

Studi miscellanei per il 75° di Vincenzo Poggi S.J., eds V. R – L. P, Rubbettino Editore, Soveria Mannelli
2003, 377-398; and S. V, Filone di Carpasia e Pseudo Ippolito: di un’omelia pasquale tramandata in etiopico, Aug.
44/1 (2004) 5-24; see also I., Vincenzo e Vito: note sulla Collezione aksumita, in Aethiopia fortitudo ejus: Studi in ono-
re di Monsignor Osvaldo Raineri in occasione del suo 80° compleanno, ed. R. Z (OCA 298), Pontificio Istituto
Orientale, Roma 2015, 479-492.
25 See S. V, Filone di Carpasia e Pseudo Ippolito, cit. n. 24, 5s. Concerning MS Collegeville, MN, Hill Museum and

Manuscript Library, Ethiopian Manuscript Microfilm Library no. 1763, see an update on the state of the art in A.
B, A Few Remarks on Hagiographical-Homiletic Collections, cit. n. 2, 74s.
26 My translation: «The two editors must be acknowledged for their exceptional courage. The text […] presents itself

as an enigma, almost a jumble of words and expressions that continually do violence to the grammar and syntax cus-
tomary in a Semitic language and render any attempt at comprehension and interpretation haphazard. The reason for
this anomalous situation, […] is that, in all likelihood, the “Ethiopic text” (inverted commas are a must) is a very liter-
al translation from Greek, a sort of “mirror translation” performed when the Gǝʿǝz did not yet have an organic trans-
lation practice and which must have taken the form of a continuous word-for-word gloss of the Greek model. Once
contact with the original on which it was performed was lost, the translation was condemned to obscurity and incom-
prehensibility. The occasional corrections introduced in the almost nine centuries separating the translation (fifth

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 A B – e Treatise On the One Judge

Save for the date – the fifth century could work well also as a terminus ad quem for the translation of the
treatise On the One Judge, but we must admit that we are not yet able to establish any firm chronology of
the translations into Gǝʿǝz in Aksumite times according to typology – Voicu’s remarks can be extended
also to the present text.
Due to the nature of the text and its obscure character in several passages, I think it is useful to provide a
summary of its contents with reference to the numbered paragraphs I have introduced for the sake of ref-
erence.
(§ 1) Those who are introduced to the mystery of piety and to Christian life must learn first about the One Judge, who
is above everything, creator and maker of all. (§ 2) This truth is attested to by the Scriptures as well as by the consis-
tent reflection of human intelligence, which is a faculty donated by God, who is one and is above everything. (§ 3) If
there was more than one God, like those evil ones of the pagans, he could not be superior. (§§ 4-5) God is not equal to
anyone else and is distributed among many. (§ 6) God is recognized thanks to his superiority, he is not comparable,
and he is not a creature. (§ 7) The unique God has created the visible world with his intelligence, assuming the invisi-
ble world as a model. (§ 8) The world shows God’s power and craftmanship, in the animal, vegetal, and heavenly
world, up to the stars. (§ 9) He created the moon, searching its image with the eye of the soul in the invisible world
and bringing it into the visibile. (§ 10) The creatures are beautiful, magnificent, and of every kind, including the an-
gelical ranks, all perfectly related one with the other. (§ 11) The summit of the creation is conceived by everyone in
the image of the sun. (§ 12) All animals shine according to the favour they enjoy; the sun of justice is visible above all
creatures. The aspect that is known reveals what is not known, and the intelligence of both reveals the sun of justice,
that is the only Son of God. (§ 13) The word of the prophets attributes nobility and power to the Son, who is the as-
pect of the invisible God. (§ 14) The God of the visible and invisible world showed to those who live piously what he
inherited. (§ 15) He is the first word of God, whose birth was neither according to the body nor according to the
coitus. (§ 17) The man is generated by the union of a man with a woman, but God does everything he wants, he is the
One Judge. (§ 18) The Son obeys the will of the Father, but he is not a mediator. (§ 19) This is the usual error of the
Jews, whereas God does not diminish from his dignity, and the Son places true dignity with the Father. The Father re-
mains in the divine ways while the Son saves man: let us preach one God and creator of all things, one Son obedient in
everything to the Father. (§ 20) The Apostles attest that one is God the Father and one is the Lord Jesus Christ. (§ 21)
The Creator did not diminish in perfection for the birth of the Son. (§ 22) The soul is immortal, rational, communica-
tive, judgmental and pre-cogitating, in the likeness of God, and the body of man is a microcosm of the world. (§ 23)
Endowed with free will and blessings, man came into the world. (§ 24) There would have been no law, religious prac-
tices, or justice without free will. (§ 25) Nature constrains free will. (§ 26) The bee is dominated by nature. (§§ 27-32)
God has provided free will and regulated creation, the sun, and the alternation of seasons for the benefit of man.
(§§ 33-34) The Son is excellent and God has duly rewarded man. (§§ 35-36) He created the sea with animals, for trav-
elling and fishing, and the land for ploughing. (§§ 37-38) The greatest thing of creation is the son of man and we have
therefore to acknowledge the favour of God and respect the law that has been given, but man violated God’s law,
falling into idolatry. (§ 39) God had indulgence towards the pious like Noah. (§ 40) God was patient, established
Moses as the lawgiver, and sent prophets and teachers. (§ 41) Announce that God has made the world righteous and
all the gods of the nations are demons. (§ 42) God foretold and predicted the coming of the Saviour. (§§ 43-44) The
error of idolatry was denounced and there will be curse and violence for those who have not understood. (§ 45) The
error of an uncreated world was denounced. (§§ 46-47) Lift up jubilation and bring glory and dignity to God. (§ 48)
The whole world testifies to the power of God. (§ 49) The law of God is pure and will make man wise. (§ 50) The Jews
transgressed this law. (§ 51) When the coming of the Saviour is announced, let them prepare their souls for the accep-
tance of the doctrine anticipated by the prophets. (§ 52) He showed righteousness in advance through the prophets,
and his coming was according to the dignity attributed to man. (§ 53) He lowered himself, having taken the features
of a servant, having with grace united the nature of the divinity and having taken the body like a man. (§ 54) The
word became a Gospel, truly in the flesh as regards birth. (§ 55) God manifested himself and became man for us.
(§ 56) He gave birth according to the body of man, the only Son of God having descended into the womb of the Vir-

century) from the oldest manuscript witness (B, from 1339/40), could only have distanced from its Greek model a text
whose linguistic conventions remained inexorably beyond the reach of the most willing and competent scribe.»

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 A 27 (2021)

gin. (§ 57) Man is like a tower where soul and body have merged, and like a mirror of the Father. (§ 58) God, thanks
to the body, is visible to the eye of man and operates for him driving out the demons. (§ 59) He who has no strength
and is a sinner cannot fight these gods, but those who remain in their customs overcome the disease. (§ 60) God does
not heal by either magical or natural means, but by miraculous power. (§§ 61-62) He heals sickness and gives a second
birth. (§ 63) He did not calculate the gift according to the need, but he can give more. (§ 64) He put reins to the sea
and gave intelligence to the invisible soul. (§ 65) Wonders and a voice from heaven testify to him. (§ 66) What is
greater, he resurrected many who had died, and he himself rose on the third day. (§ 67) The Father resurrected the
Son and granted him the power to resurrect mankind in the last days; he corrected the laws that were necessary for
heavenly life. (§ 68) Likewise he did with regard to the commandment of marriage and sexual union, consoling with
the promise of resurrection from the dead, and having shown the incorruptible aspect of the nature, the kingdom of
heaven, and the eternal life. (§ 69) For this he taught all magnificence under guidance of the knowledge and faith with
the Father. (§ 70) The Lord is will of the Father, exists from before the world, and is testimony of the Father. The ap-
propriate thing was prepared for everyone, and what saves is faith in the knowledge of God, the One Judge. (§ 71)
Christ the Son, the firstfruits of all creation, exists from before everything, in the image of the one who generated him.
Believing in the Holy Spirit, man becomes virtuous, and in this way the Saviour ordered to baptize in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (§ 72) Believing in different names we do not disperse the power of creation and
we have faith in the image of the Son of one birth. (§ 73) The new birth of the Son is the second after the Father, and
the Holy Spirit is the third one. (§ 74) According to the Scriptures, we will not make the one who has been generated
passible nor make the uncreated as if he had been made. (§ 75) The first thing to know is for whom he generates and
not that he has been generated, and that he creates what he wants. (§ 76) The scriptures have woven the Son to him
who created. (§ 77) It is therefore convenient that we believe in the work of pure life, after the Saviour’s order to bap-
tise.

Fig. 1a-b. Ethiopia, Tǝgrāy, north-eastern-Tǝgrāy district («East Tigray Zone») of Gulo Maḵadā, ʿUrā Masqal Church,
C3-IV-71/C3-IV-73, Ethio-SPaRe UM-039, the Aksumite Collection: ff. 87va-88rb. On f. 88ra, incipit of the treatise On
the One Judge. Photo 2012 by Denis Nosnitsin for the project Ethio-SPaRe © Universität Hamburg.

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 A B –e Treatise On the One Judge

Criteria adopted in the edition and translation

The text has been subdivided in paragraphs for the sake of internal reference and structuring.27 In consideration of
the peculiar orthography and language of the text and manuscript of the Aksumite Collection, I have adopted the fol-
lowing method: when there is evidence for consistent non-standard forms in nominal building, morphology or or-
thography, I have left the non-standard form in the text and marked the standard form preceded by pro in apparatus
( ). When the form is correct, but the syntax would require, in particular, a marked accusative or
construct state, I have left the transmitted form in the text and marked the expected form in apparatus with expect.
(that is, expectaveris); note that in the more rare reciprocal cases of an apparent accusative or construct state (for ex-
ample with –a ending), where a nominative is expected, I have generally opted for an explicit conjectural emendation,
marked in the text in angular brackets (< >), with the reading of the manuscript in apparatus. Note, however, that in
case of palaeographic neutralization of first and sixth orders – mostly ta/t(ǝ), but also ḥa/ḥ(ǝ), sa/s(ǝ), qa/q(ǝ)28 – I
have preferred to select tacitly the expected order, without marking the ambiguity in apparatus: yet, bear in mind that
every ta in particular can potentially be read tǝ/t and the other way round. From this point of view, the apparatus criti-
cus serves as a linguistic commentary to the text as far as orthography and morphology are concerned; some aspects
of syntax are dealt with in the commentary to the translation. Conjectures are also adopted aside from these cases, in
the attempt to avoid the crux desperationis. There is no need to say – as this is the task and responsibility of the editor
– that, despite the method declared, some decisions might appear arbitrary; yet my intention was to make my inter-
pretation of the text as transparent as possible. A separate apparatus () notes punctuation marks, but punc-
tuation in square brackets is my conjecture. The translation, which intends to provide a readable and, wherever possi-
ble, clear text, follows the same rules of transparency, and whenever it appeared necessary I have explicitly motivated
my choices in the commentary ( ); most evident biblical quotations and allusions have been
noted in a dedicated apparatus (   ), which also contains one non-biblical refer-
ence. Suggestions kindly provided by Alberto Camplani, who examined an early version of the translation even before
the annotation work started, are accordingly marked and credited with «(A.C.)»29.

Alessandro Bausi
Asien-Afrika-Institut
Universität Hamburg
alessandro.bausi@uni-hamburg.de

27 Note that the first reference is given to the paragraph and to the line within the paragraph, separated by a comma;

next references within the same paragraph are only by line number; first reference in a new paragraph is given again
by paragraph and line.
28 I have called attention to this phenomenon in all studies I published on the Aksumite Collection; for the most recent

contributions on this phenomenon in ancient manuscripts, see K.J. K, The Diachronic Development of the
Dǝggwā: A Study of Texts and Manuscripts of Selected Ethiopic Antiphon Collections, A dissertation submitted to the Fac-
ulty of Humanities at the Universität Hamburg for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg
2022, 141-143; M.A. K, Leiden Or. 14.692 (Hebr. 293) and the Ethiopic Text of Ezekiel 37:23-48:13, in Studies on
the Ethiopic Old Testament: Prolegomena to a Critical Edition of the Jeremiah Cycle, eds M. H – S. W
(Supplement to Aethiopica 11), Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag 2022, 65-77; D. N, An ancient Ethiopic treat-
ise on computus and chronology: A preliminary evaluation, in L’Africa nel mondo, il mondo in Africa. Africa in the World,
the World in Africa (Africana Ambrosiana 5), eds A. G – F. V, Accademia Ambrosiana, Milano 2022, 41-70.
29 References to biblical passages are according these editions: C.F.A. D, Biblia Veteris Testamenti Aethiopica,

Tomus Primus, sive Octateuchus Aethiopicus, Sumptibus Fr. Chr. Guil. Vogelii, Lipsiae 1853; J.O. B, The Octateuch in
Ethiopic, Part I: Genesis (Bibliotheca abessinica 3), E.J. Brill – The University Library, Leyden – Princeton, NJ 1909;
Mḫ Ḥ Fǝ H, Bǝluy Kidān Nagaśt, Bakokaba ṣǝbāḥ beta māḫtam, ʾAśmarā 1981; R. Z-
, Novum Testamentum Aethiopice: The Synoptic Gospels, III: The Gospel of Matthew (AethF 55), Harrassowitz Ver-
lag, Wiesbaden 2001; M.G. W, Evangelium Iohannis Aethiopicum. Textus (CSCO 617, CSCO.Ae 109), In aedibus
Peeters, Lovanii 2005; S. U – H. M, Novum Testamentum Aethiopice: Die Gefangenschaftsbriefe (ÄthF 33),
Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1993; T A, The Ethiopic versions of 1 and 2 Corinthians, n.pub., Roma 2014;
Ḥaddis kidān. Wangel qǝddus, 2nd edn, Taḫatma dāgǝma baḫāllǝyota miśśyon kātolik, ʾAśmarā 1960.

225
 A 27 (2021)

[በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ኰነኒ፡]

1 በእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ኰነኒ፡ ለእለ፡ ይበውኡ፡ ውስተ፡ ምስቲር፡ ዘሠናይ፡ አምልኮ፡ ወሀሎ፡ Σ 88ra
ይኩን፡ ክርስቲያን፡ መፍትው፡ ቅድመ፡ እምኵሉ፡ ይትወፈዩ፡ ዘበእንተ፡ አሐዱ፡ ኰነኒ፡
አእምሮ፡ ወይትመሀሩ፡ በኵሉ፡ ጥይቅና፡ ከመ፡ አሐዱ፡ ውእቱ፡ ዘለዕለ፡ ኵሉ፡ እግዚአ፡
ብሔር፡ ፈጣሪ፡ ወገባሬ፡ ኵሉ፡ ይሄሉ<።>
2 ዘንተ፡ እንከ፡ ይሜህሩ፡ እሙነ፡ መንክራን፡ መጻሕፍት፡ ይሜህሩ፡ እንከ፡ ዘአሐቲ፡ ፍጥረተ፡
ሰብእ፡ ሕሊናት፡ እስመ፡ እምነ፡ አሐቲ፡ ሕልና፡ ሐሊዮሙ፡ ኵሉ፡ ሰብእ፡ ለዘበአማን፡ ሐሊ
ዮሙ፡ ዘለበው፡ አስተኃይጾ፡ ዘእምእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ተወህበ፡ ዘይኄይስ፡ እም|ኵሉ፡ ይኩን፡ Σ.88rb
እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይትአመኑ፡ ፍጹም፡ በኵሉ፡ ይሄሉ። ወኢበአሐቲ፡ ወኢበምንትኒ፡ ይፈ
ቅድ፡ ለእለ፡ አሐቲ፡ እንከ፡ ዘተናግረ፡ ሕሊናት፡ አሐዱ፡ ወኪያሃ፡ ይኩን፡ ዘለዕለ፡ ኵሉ፡
እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ያርኢ።
3 ወሶቤሰ፡ ይከውን፡ ክልኤ፡ ወእማአኮ፡ ሠለስቱ፡ ወእማአኮ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ካልኣን። በከመ፡ ረሲ
ዓኒሆሙ፡ ለአረሚይ፡ እለ፡ ኢኮኑ፡ አምላክ፡ እመ፡ ኢኮነ፡ አሐዱ፡ እምውስቴቶሙ፡
ፍጹመ፡ ወኢይፈቱ፡ ባዕድ፡ ረዳኢተ፡ ውስተ፡ አሐቲ፡ በግብር፡ እንከ፡ ይትፈቀድ፡ ኢይትከ
ሀል፡ ኅዩስ፡ ይኩን፡ ወኢይፈደፍድ፡ እምበዕዳን፡ እለ፡ ይትዓረ<ዩ>፡ ምስሌሆሙ።
4 እስመ፡ እንከ፡ ዘለዕለ፡ ኵሉ፡ ይኄይስ፡ እንዘ፡ ይፈደፍድ፡ እምኵሉ፡ አኮ፡ ዕሩይ፡ ምስለ፡
ብዙኃን፡ | ዘይዔሪ፡ በከመ፡ ስሕተቶሙ፡ ለአረሜ፡ ዕሩይ፡ ይከውን፡ አሐዱ፡ ለአሐዱ፡ ወለበ Σ.88va
ዕዳንሂ፡ ከማሆሙ፡ እላ፡ አኮ፡ ዘይፈደፍድ፡ ዘይመስል፡ ወእመአኮ፡ በአየያተ፡ ህ<ላው>ያተ፡
ሰብእ፡ ዝሰ፡ ተነክረ፡ በዘ፡ ኮነ፡ ግብር፡ ያ<ፈደፍድ>፡ ተንእዶ፡ እምባዕዳን፡ ወእምከመስ፡
ይትነከር፡ ውስተ፡ ብዙኃን፡ ይትከፈል፡ እንዘ፡ ይትወሀብ<።>
5 አሜሃ፡ እንከ፡ ዘበዲበ፡ አሐዱ፡ ዋሕድ፡ አስተርአየ፡ በሱታፌ፡ ብዙኃን፡ እንዘ፡ ያኀጽጽ፡
ወመጠኔዝ፡ ፈድፋድ፡ ውሑደ፡ ይከውን፡ መጠነ፡ እንከ፡ ውስተ፡ ብዙኅ፡ ግብር፡ ይትከ
ፈል።
6 እንከሰኬ፡ ወበእንተ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔርኒ፡ ከማሁ፡ ከመ፡ አሜሃ፡ እንከ፡ ዘሠናይ፡ ወክብር፡ ወኅ
ዩስ፡ ዘበአማን፡ ይትዐወቅ። ሶቤ፡ አሐዱ፡ ወበሕቲቱ፡ ይሄሉ፡ ወአሐተ፡ ምኵናነ፡ ወሙቃሠ፡
ወመንግሥት፡ ዘበ፡ አማ|ን፡ በተድላ፡ ለመለኮት፡ ዘአልቦ፡ መምሰለ፡ ኀበ፡ ኵሉ፡ ነኪረ፡ ፈድ Σ.88vb
ፋድ፡ ወኢበዝ፡ ኢኮነ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ወኢበዕበይ፡ ኀይሉ፡ እንዘቦ፡ መነኒ፡ ዘይዔሪዮ።
7 ከመዝ፡ እንከ፡ ጥቀ፡ ዘእምተነግረ፡ አሐዱ፡ ዘለዕለ፡ ኵሉ፡ ይትአመኑ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።
ገቢሮ፡ ይሠርዕ፡ ኵሉ፡ በዘ፡ ዚኣሁ፡ ሕሊና፡ ኵሎ፡ እንከ፡ እነግር፡ ዘየስተርኢሂ፡ ዘእም
እሉ፡ ይኄይስ፡ እንከ፡ ፍጥረቶሙ፡ ለእለ፡ ኢየስተሬኢዩ፡ ወዕዉቅ፡ እንከ፡ ዘየስተርኢ፡ አእ
ሚሮ፡ በእንተዝ፡ ግብር፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ ዓለም፡ እመ፡ እንከ፡ ንቀ<ድ>ም፡ ጠይቆ፡ ወዘቦ፡ ውስ
ቴቱ፡ ግብር፡ በከመ፡ መዓርግ፡ ዘኮነ፡ ነሢእነ፡ እምዝ፡ ኀበ፡ ዘየስተርኢ፡ ንወድስ፡ ሕሊና።
እስመ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ እምዝ፡ <ኢ>ያስተርኢ፡ ፍጡነ፡ ዝህልወ፡ ይንሠእ፡ አእሚሮ፡ እንከስኬ፡

 : 1,1 ኰነኒ፡] pro ኰናኒ፡ Σ | ምስቲር፡] fort. pro ምስጢር፡ Σ | 3 ዘለዕለ፡] pro ላዕለ፡ Σ
2,3 ዘለበው፡] pro ዘለበዉ፡ Σ | 5 ዘተናግረ፡] pro ዘተናገረ፡ Σ | ዘለዕለ፡] pro ዘላዕለ፡ Σ | 3,4 እምበዕዳን፡] pro
እምባዕዳን፡ Σ | ይትዓረ<ዩ>፡] con.; ይትዓረይ፡ in ይትዓረዩ፡ em. (fort. prima manus) Σ | 4,1 ዘለዕለ፡] pro ላዕለ፡ Σ
2 ወለበዕዳንሂ፡] pro ወለባዕዳንሂ፡ Σ | 3 እላ፡] pro አላ፡ Σ | ህ<ላው>ያተ፡] ህለወያተ፡ Σ | 4 ያ<ፈደፍድ>፡] coni;
ያፍድፈደ፡ Σ | 5,2 ፈድፋድ፡] Σ; ፈድፋደ፡ expect. | 6,2 ወበሕቲቱ፡] pro ወባሕቲቱ፡ Σ | 3 ፈድፋድ፡] pro
ፈድፋደ፡ Σ | 4 ወኢበዕበይ፡] Σ; ወኢበዕበየ፡ expect. | መነኒ፡] pro መኑኒ፡ Σ | 7,1 ዘለዕለ፡] pro ዘላዕለ፡ Σ | ኵሉ፡] Σ;
ኵሎ፡ expect. | 2 ዘየስተርኢሂ፡] pro ዘያስተርኢሂ፡, et sic passim, Σ | 4 ዘያስተርኢ፡] Σ; ዘ<ኢ>ያስተርኢ፡ fort.
coni. | ንቀ<ድ>ም፡] coni.; ንቅደም፡ Σ | 5 ነሢእነ፡] pro ነሢአነ፡ Σ | 6 እምዝ፡] Σ; እምዘ፡ expect. | <ኢ>ያስተርኢ፡]
coni.; ያስተርኢ፡ Σ | ዝህልወ፡] Σ; ዘህልወ፡ expect. | ይንሠእ፡] pro ይንሣእ፡ Σ; vel ይ<ነሥ>እ፡ vel ይ<ት>ንሠእ፡
(pro ይ<ትነሣ>እ፡) coni.

: 1,1 በእንተ፡…ኰነኒ፡] rubrum Σ | 2,6 ያርኢ።] ። Σ | 3,1 ካልኣን።] ። Σ | 4 ምስሌሆሙ።] ። Σ

5,2 ይትከፈል።] ። Σ | 6,2 ይትዐወቅ።] ። Σ | 4 ዘይዔሪዮ።] ። Σ | 7,1 እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።] ። Σ | 5 ሕሊና።] ። Σ

226
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 1 – 3

[On the One Judge]

On the One Judge. For those who are introduced to the mystery of piety, and for the one who is 1
going to become (fully) Christian, before everything it is necessary that they assimilate the
knowledge about the One Judge and that they learn with full awareness that there is only one God
who is above everything, creator and maker of all.
This indeed the extraordinary Scriptures teach as a true fact, (this) the intelligences of the one 2
human nature teach: having indeed all human beings thought (on the basis) of the same
intelligences, having thought in a true well-conceived analysis – which (faculty) was donated by
God, better than anything (else) – they believe that God is perfect, he is found in everything; and
he does not need any single thing and anything. The fact that he spoke to these intelligences one
(and the same) thing shows (that he is) one and that he is God, who is above everything.
If it were two (gods) or even three or even still many more, like those evil ones of the pagans, who 3
are not the (real) God, one among them would not be perfect; another one will not desire help in

   : 1,1 mystery…piety,] cf. Tim 3:16 (τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον).

 : 1,1 On…Judge.] These first words (baʾǝnta ʾaḥadu kʷannani) seem to be a title. As noted in
the introduction, this title is mentioned by Giyorgis of Saglā in his Book of the mystery, see Y B, Giyorgis di
Saglā: Il libro del mistero, cit. n. 11, II, 305 (text), 169 (transl.), as Kama baʾǝnta 1 kʷannāni: the Book of the mystery
has the same wording for the three words which open the treatise (save for the numeral ʾaḥadu which is expressed by
a digit, 1), but it preposes the preposition/conjunction kama. | Judge.] kwannani, for the expected kwannāni (occurring
in § 70), appears thrice in this form in the treatise (twice here in § 1 and once in § 16). Grammars do not provide any
such nominal pattern (see J. T, Classical Ethiopic: A grammar of Geʕez, including sample texts and a glossary, tr.
R. Hasselbach-Andee (Languages of the ancient Near East), Eisenbrauns, University Park, PA 2021, which is particu-
larly generous in providing lists of noun patterns). | are introduced] yǝbawwǝʾu, literally, «enter». | mystery] mǝstir,
term which alternates with mǝsṭir, possibly, due to interference with the root satara, «occult». Another occurrence of
the same spelling is found in the Aksumite Collection, f. 56va, in the Prayer over fraction from the Euchologion: kama
yahabanna barakata nǝnśāʾ zaqǝddus mǝstir «that we take with blessing of the holy mystery (mǝstir)». I suspect that
the same phenomenon also occurs at the beginning of the recently published Gǝʿǝz fragment of the apocryphon
Jannes and Jambres, where in the mutilous Gǝʿǝz [ ze]ntu yǝkunka [wasa]tira taʿqab ʿuq kama ʾitǝḍāʾ (so integrated
by Ted Erho), the term [wasa]tira corresponds to the Greek (attested in the papyrus P.Chester Beatty CBL BP XVI) ἐν
μυστηρίῳ, see T.M. E – W.B. H, The Ethiopic Jannes and Jambres, cit. n. 13, 181, 183s., 195. | piety,] śannāy
ʾamlǝko corresponds to εὐσέβεια, here usually rendered as «piety», see also at § 40, and «pious» the corresponding
ajective, see at § 14 śannāyāna ʾamlǝko; see C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 152. | 2 Christian,] quite surprisingly,
this is the only occurrence of the term «Christian» (krǝstiyān) in the treatise; as noted above, the term «church» (beta
krǝstiyān) never occurs, as never occur terms related to church offices. | 3 Judge] kwannani, as above. | God] always
spelt ʾǝgziʾa bǝḥer, in all texts of the manuscript of the Aksumite Collection. | 2,1 extraordinary Scriptures] expression
that occurs several other times and possibly rendering, τὰ θαυμαστὰ Βιβλία. The term is in agreement with masculine
and feminine gender in the text, and with singular in other passages; here it is with the masculine (mankǝrān).
3 intelligences,] ḥǝllǝnā «thought, mind», in the treatise translated «intelligence», instead of the standardized spelling
ḫǝllinā, as is found in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 579, and in normalized editions. The spelling with ḫ never
occurs in the manuscript of the Aksumite Collection, where there are over forty occurrences of ḥǝllinā alternating with
thirteen occurrences of ḥǝllǝnā; ḥǝllinā is the more usual form and definitely the oldest attested one in Gǝʿǝz texts; for
a short but signficant survey of the early evidence, see A. B, Il Gadla ʾAzqir, Adamantius 23 (2017, pub. 2018)
341-380: 349s. | well-conceived] ʾastaḫayǝṣo, if understood as a gerund, would be a possible ortographic and/or
phonetic variant for ʾastaḫayiṣo, in the singular, which would pose some problems. It could be alternatively
understood as an infinitive: «examining in depth, which (is) the best thing that was donated by God». | 4 they…
perfect,] yǝkun ʾǝgziʾa bǝḥer yǝtʾammanu fǝṣṣum: this is probably one of the not isolated cases of subjunctive in a
subordinate clause that is not introduced by any conjunction; see one more case at § 9. Yet, the frequente exchange of
forms make any evaluation more than difficult. | 3,1 pagans,] ʾaramiy and below ʾarame, are rendered here with
«pagans», in order to distinguish them clearly from the «nations» (ʾaḥzāb), here preferred to the also possible
«Gentiles». | 2 God,] here is ʾamlāk and not ʾǝgziʾa bḥer, rendered with «God», whereas «Lord» is reserved for ʾǝgziʾ.

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 A 27 (2021)

ፈቂዶ፡ | እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ ይግበር፡ ዓለም፡ ብዙኀ፡ እንከ፡ ከልእ፡ ወካልእ፡ ይግ Σ.89ra
በር፡ ውስቴቱ፡ ፈቀደ<።>
8 እንከስኬ፡ ዘሀሎ፡ ዘዚኣሁ፡ አእምሮ፡ ወኃይ<ል>፡ በብዙኅ፡ ግብር፡ ዘተፈጥረ፡ ያርኢ፡
ፈቃዶ፡ ወበውስተ፡ እሉኒ፡ ብዙኅ፡ እንከ፡ በዲበ፡ ምድር፡ በአፍቅሮ፡ ተኬንዎ። እንስሳ፡ ዘዚ
ኣሁ፡ ገቢሮ፡ ተዘምደ፡ ወዕፀ፡ ዘፍሬ፡ ብዙኀ፡ ወዘእንበለ፡ ፍሬ፡ ዘአልቦ፡ ዘይትናገር፡
ኍልቍ፡ አርኢዮ፡ ወጸገያተ፡ አእላፍ፡ አንቅዐ፡ ፍጥረተ፡ ወፍሬ፡ ሠናየ፡ ካልአ፡ ወካልአ፡
ገቢሮ፡ ወፈድፋደሰ፡ እንከ፡ መንገለ፡ ዘሰማይ፡ ጽሂቆ፡ ዓለም፡ ፈድፋደ፡ እንከ፡ በዘ፡ ከዋክ
ብት፡ መኅበር።
9 ዘንተ፡ አሰርገወ፡ ወዐቢየ፡ እንከ፡ ለወርኅ፡ አውደ፡ ሠዐለ። ወእምኵሉስ፡ ፀሐይ፡ አርአየ፡ በ|ዕ
በይ፡ ወበሥን፡ ወባዕዳን፡ ኵሎ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ እንዘ፡ ይኄይል፡ ወእመስቦ፡ ዘፈቀደ፡ እምዝ፡ Σ.89rb
የስተርኢ፡ ሐሊዮ፡ ይኀሥሥ፡ እንከ፡ በዐይን፡ ነፍስ፡ ኀበ፡ ኢየስተርኢ፡ ርእየ፡ ወእምዘ፡
እንከ፡ ተነግረ፡ መትሎ፡ ለእመቦ፡ ዘለዕሉ፡ ዘይመስል፡ ይንሣእ፡ አርአያ<።>
10 ብዙኅ፡ እንከ፡ እብል፡ ዘበህየ፡ ኮነ፡ ወዓዲ፡ ሥነ፡ ወዕበይ፡ ዘውስቴቶን፡ ካልአ፡ ወካልኣ፡
ብዓዴ፡ ፍ<ጡ>ነ፡ <ያ>ሬኢ። ብዙኅ፡ እንከ፡ እምዝ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሥጋ፡ ዘተገብረ፡ ፍጥረት፡
ዘዚኣሁ፡ እንከ፡ ለዝ፡ ርእዩ፡ ዘበቤናቲሆሙ፡ ዘቦሙ፡ ረእየ፡ ወእምውስቴቶሙ፡ ዘይዐቢ፡ ወእ
ምውስቴቶሙ፡ ዘይቴሕት፡ ወእምውስቴቶሙ፡ መአከለ፡ ዘትእ<ዛ>ዘ፡ ዘከመ፡ ዘንብል፡ ዘመ
ልእክተ፡ ሰራዊት። ወዘሊቃነ፡ መላ<እ>ክት፡ ክብረ፡ ዓዲ፡ መናብርታት፡ | ወአጋእስት፡ ወመ Σ.89va

 : 7,7 ዓለም፡] Σ; ዓለመ፡ expect. | ከልእ፡] pro ካልእ፡ Σ | 8,1 ወኃይ<ል>፡] coni.; ወኃይለ፡ Σ
2 ዘዚኣሁ፡] Σ; ዘዘዚኣሁ፡ expect. | 6 መኅበር።] pro ማኅበር፡ Σ | 9,3 በዐይን፡] Σ; በዐይነ፡ expect. | 4 ዘለዕሉ፡] pro
ዘላዕሉ፡ Σ | ይንሣእ፡] Σ; ይነሥእ፡ expect., vel ይ<ት>ንሣእ፡ (pro ይ<ትነ>ሣእ፡) fort. coni. | 10,1 ወዕበይ፡] Σ;
ወዕበየ፡ expect. | 2 ብዓዴ፡] Σ; ቡዓዴ፡ fort. coni. | ፍ<ጡ>ነ፡] coni.; ፍጠነ፡ Σ | <ያ>ሬኢ።] coni.; ይሬኢ፡ Σ
3 ዘዚኣሁ፡] Σ; ዘዘዚኣሁ፡ expect. | ረእየ፡] pro ራእየ፡ vel ርእየ፡ Σ | 4 ዘትእ<ዛ>ዘ፡] coni.; ዘትእዘዘ፡ Σ
ዘመልእክተ፡] Σ; ዘመላእክተ፡ fort. legendum | 5 መላ<እ>ክት፡] coni.; መላክት፡ Σ | መናብርታት፡] con.;
መናብርታ፡ ት፡ Σ

: 8,2 ተኬንዎ።] ። Σ | 6 መኅበር።] ። Σ | 9,1 ሠዐለ።] ። Σ | 10,2 <ያ>ሬኢ።] ። Σ | 5 ሰራዊት።] ።= Σ

   : 10,5 the4 …6 dominions,] cf. Col 1:16.

another…3 anything:] tentative translation of a very difficult passage. One cannot exclude that instead of bāʿd
(«another», in the sense of «a different one»), masculine, we have the feminine, bāʿǝdd (< *bāʿǝdt) in agreement with
radāʾit. | 4,3 analogy] ʾayayāt, possibly for ʾayāyāt, not attested in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, but attested in
W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 51b, «equality, likeness, resemblance, analogy, allegory, example,
conformity, harmony». | 5 being1 …many.] this image recurs also later. | 5,2 less,] wǝḥuda, for wǝḫuda; unless one
thinks of an unattested form wǝḥud, with the same meaning as wāḥǝd «only». | 6,4 and…creature,] the first negation
is certainly pleonastic and anticipates the one that follows. | 7,4 it…5 visible.] a very difficult passage; ʾaʾmiro, an
active form, is rendered in the translation with a passive, assuming that it has an impersonal meaning. Alternative
translations are possible, for example: «having well known what is visible, (it is) necessarily thanks to this that the
world is visible». | 7 because…8 known.] a difficult passage, the general sense of which can be guessed, but difficult to
determine in the syntactical relationship; if the form is correct, there would be here an independent subjunctive,
yǝnśaʾ (for yǝnśāʾ); yet an emendation to yǝnaśśǝʾ, if not also yǝtnǝssaʾ, according to an imperfect pattern yǝt1ǝ22a3
(III.1 verbal stem), frequent in this manuscript and in this text, could not be excluded. | 8,4 he…5 sprout,] ʾanqǝʿa,
usually and more commonly meaning the springing of water. | 9,4 (its) aspect] I take here rǝʾy as a substantive,
alternative form of the more frequent rāʾy; see other occurrences below. | 5 he…image.] zayǝmassǝl yǝnśāʾ ʾarʾayā:
the translation admits of the subjunctive as the mode of the subordinate sentence for which there appear to be some
further examples; even in this case, a form yǝtnǝśśaʾ could not be excluded; in these cases, the subjunctive is not
introduced by subordinative conjunctions (kama, ʾǝska); see already a similar possible case at § 2. | 10,2 different…
<fast>.] bǝʿāde in the text, not attested in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, but attested in W. L, Comparative

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 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 3 – 10

anything: then, it is necessarily impossible that he is superior; and he is not more than the others to
whom he is equal.
Indeed, who is better above everything, being more than everything, is not equal to many; who is 4
equal, according to the errors of the pagans, is equal one to one and to others as well, but it is not
that he appears superior, and in any case (he would be superior) by analogy of human qualities. But
this one was admired for it was necessary (that) he would be much more praised than the others;
and besides being admired, while he was given, he was being distributed among many.
At that moment, who appeared unique above another, diminishing in the association with many, all 5
the more becomes less, the more he is necessarily distributed among many.
Then, even as far as God is concerned, it is thus: that (only) then can goodness, dignity, and 6
superiority be really recognized: when there is only one and he is alone, and one trial, (one) court
of justice and (one) government, that truly in the divine favour has no comparison at all, (he is)
extraordinary with respect to any (other) thing; and not for this (reason), he is not a creature, since
there is nobody who equals him in the majesty of his power.
According to this principle then, (even) much beyond what was stated, let them believe in a unique 7
God who is above everything. Having made (the creation), he disposes everything with his
intelligence: I say, everything that is visible among these things. Superior, however, is the creation
of those things that are invisible: it is well known what is visible, having become well known thanks
to this the world that is necessarily visible. If, then, we start to examine the work that is found in it,
having taken like a ladder, from this (ladder) towards the visible, we will praise the (divine)
intelligence: because he immediately takes the true visible essence of the visible from the <in>vis-
ible, having he well known. God, then, having desired to make the visible world, wanted to make
many things within it.
In fact, what exists, having been created with much work of (his) knowledge and (his) power, shows 8
his will also in these things. Indeed, much on earth (was made by) his loving ingenious craftsman-
ship. Animals of every kind, after he made them, were coupled; and having shown (very) many
fruit trees and (trees) without fruits, the number of which cannot be told, he made thousands of
flowers sprout, having made the creation, and many and many (more), but most of all engaging
himself for the heavenly (beings) and (even) more for the gathering of the stars.
This (gathering) he adorned, and he painted the great circle of the moon. And more than 9
everything else, he made the sun appear in greatness and beauty and superior to any other visible
thing. And if there was anything he desired of the visible, after having conceived (it), he searched
with the eye of the soul (its) aspect in the invisible and in keeping with what has already been said,
if there was anything above, that was similar (to it), he would take the image.
Many are (the things), I tell you, that were there; and besides, a beauty and a magnificence which 10
<showed> in them different sorts that changed <fast>. Many creatures were then made without a
body: their aspect (was) of different kinds, each among them having an aspect (of its own); and
among them (there was) a major one, an inferior one, and a middle one, of the order according to
which we say of the service of the armed ranks and the dignity of the archangels, of the thrones, of
the dominions, of the principalities, of the powers, all these having their own measure, magnifi-
cence, and relationship; and still someone is necessarily better than everything (else).

dictionary, cit. n. 5, 83, from S. G, Supplément au Lexicon linguae Aethiopicae de Auguste Dillmann (1865) et
édition du lexique de Juste d’Urbin (1850-1855), Imprimerie nationale, Paris 1952, 190. | 6 powers,] sǝlṭān, in the
singular, in this translation is usually rendered with «faculty». | 7 and2 …(else).] this is a diriment passage which helps
understand the importance of the respect of the linguistic code that results from every other passage of the text:
(1) the application of the «ʾǝnka rule», which states that the word preceding the particle ʾǝnka always marks the

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 A 27 (2021)

ኳንንት፡ ወስልጣን፡ እንዘ፡ እሉ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ዐቅመ፡ ቦሙ፡ በቤናቲሆሙ፡ ወዐቢየ፡ ወትዝ
ምደ፡ አሐዱ፡ እንከ፡ ዘኮነ፡ ዘእምኵሉ፡ ይሤኒ፡ ግብር።
11 ወባሕቱ፡ እምኵሉ፡ ርኡሰ፡ ልደት፡ በከመ፡ አምሳለ፡ ፀሐይ፡ እንዘ፡ ይትሔለይ፡ ከመቦ፡
ውስተ፡ ዘይትዐወቅ፡ ዕበየ፡ መጠነ፡ ፀሓይ፡ እንከ፡ በውስተ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ እምከዋክብትቦ፡ ወበ
ከመ፡ ከዋክብት፡ በሌሊት፡ በአምጣነ፡ ብርሃኖሙ፡ ዘይለምዱ፡ ብርሃነ፡ እንዘ፡ ይትቀነይ፡
ግብተ፡ እንከ፡ አስተርኢዮ፡ ፀሓይ፡ ዘከዋክብት፡ ብርሃን፡ አጥፍአ፡ ወሌሊተ፡ ጽልመት፡
ከማሁ፡ በአምሳል፡ በእንተ፡ መካንኒ፡ ዘይትሔለይ፡ በግብር።
12 ኵሉ፡ እንከ፡ ባዕድ፡ እንስሳ፡ በዘ፡ ዚኣሁ፡ ዐቅም፡ በአምጣነ፡ ተድላሁ፡ ይበርህ፡ ወ|ሶቤስ፡ Σ.89vb
እንከ፡ ዘጽድቅ፡ ፀሓይ፡ የስተርኢ፡ በከመ፡ ከዋክብት፡ በኵሉ፡ ይትኀደግ፡ ፍጥረት፡ በዕበየ፡
ስብሓት፡ እንዘ፡ ይሴወሩ፡ እንከስኬ፡ እምነ፡ ዘይትዐወቁ፡ ርእይ፡ ዘኢይትዐወቅ፡ የስተርኢ፡
ፍጥረት፡ ወእምሕልና፡ ክልኤሆሙ፡ ዘጽድቅ፡ ፀሓይ፡ ይትአመር፡ ከማሁ፡ እንከ፡ ዘአሐዱ፡
ወልደ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።
13 ቃል፡ ነቢያት፡ በእንተ፡ ዘተነግረ፡ ም<ሳ>ሌ፡ ዘይሴብሑ፡ መጠነ፡ ውእቱ፡ በክብር፡ ወበኀ
ይል፡ ኵሉ፡ ዘይትዐወቅ፡ በጽሐ፡ መጠነ፡ ዘፀሓይ፡ አርአየ፡ ምስለ፡ አዕቆ፡ በከመ፡ ተጠየቀ፡
ሥርዐት። ዘእንከ፡ ዐቢይ፡ ወክብር፡ ዘአብ፡ ግብር፡ ወአሐደ፡ ወልደ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እም
ቅዱሳት፡ መጻሕፍት፡ ይሰመይ፡ በፍጻሜ፡ አምሳለ፡ ዘወልዱ፡ ኵሎ፡ ነሢኦ፡ ኀይለ፡ ከመ፡
በኵሉ፡ ኪያሁ፡ ርእየ፡ እግ|ዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘኢየስተርኢ፡ ይስበክ፡ በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ ሐዋርያ፡ Σ.90ra
መንክር፡ ሐዋርያ፡ ዘውእቱ፡ ርእዮ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘኢየስተርኢ፡ በኵሉ፡ ፍጥረተ።
14 እስመ፡ ይደሉ፡ እንከ፡ ለዘ፡ ኵሎ፡ ይክል፡ ገቢር፡ ሠናይ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘለኵሉ፡ የስተ
ርኢ፡ ወኵሎ፡ ዘኢየስተርኢ፡ ዘይነግሥ፡ ልደተ፡ ያርኢ፡ ቅድመ፡ ለኵሉ፡ ለእለ፡ ሀለዉ፡
ሠናያነ፡ አምልኮ፡ ወዘእምቅድመ፡ ክብር፡ ኅቡረ፡ ወረሰ<።>
15 ወበእንተዝ፡ እንከ፡ በኵሉ፡ ኪያሁ፡ ይስምዩ፡ እምኵሉ፡ ግብር፡ ወኪያሁ፡ ይኩን፡ ቀዳሜ፡
ቃለ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይሜህሩ፡ እስመ፡ እምቅድመ፡ ቃል፡ ኀበ፡ ኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡
ወእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ውእቱ፡ ቃል፡ ዘውእቱ፡ ቀዳሚሁ፡ ኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ | ኵሉ፡ ቦቱ፡ Σ.90rb

 : 11,4 አስተርኢዮ፡] coni.; አስተርአርኢዮ፡ Σ | ብርሃን፡] Σ; ብርሃነ፡ expect.

12,3 ዘይትዐወቁ፡] Σ; ዘይትዐወ<ቅ>፡ fort. coni. | 13,1 ቃል፡] Σ; ቃለ፡ expect. | ም<ሳ>ሌ፡] coni.; ምስሌ፡ Σ
5 ይስበክ፡] pro ይሰበክ፡ Σ

: 10,7 ግብር።] ።= Σ | 11,5 በግብር።] ። Σ | 12,5 እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።] ። Σ | 13,3 ሥርዐት።] ። Σ
6 ፍጥረተ።] ። Σ

   : 12,2 sun…justice] cf. Mal 3:20 (ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης) (A.C.). | 13,1 The…3
order.] cf. Sir 42:6. | 4 «only…God»] cf. Luke 1:32 (A.C.). | 5 preached…God:] cf. Col 1:15, where Paul ‘preaches’ of
Christ his being image of the invisible God (A.C.); 1 Tim 1:17. | 6 Apostle2 …God.] cf. 2 Cor 12:2-3. | 15,2 he…3
everything] paraphrasis of John 1:1-4. (A.C.).

beginning of a new sentence or period: in this case, applying the rule, we have a nominal sentence in which the
subject is ʾaḥadu and the predicate is the relative verb zaʾǝmkʷǝllu yǝśenni, «which is above everything», «superior to
everything»; zakona is not to be understood as a relative verb, but as an expression of the indefinite pronoun, as is well
clarified by C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 864, for zakona or zakona kawino, «quicumque fuerit», «quicumque
vel ullus»; see also W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 299, «whoever, whatsoever, whatever happens,
whosoever he may be». To prescind from the «ʾǝnka rule» means to risk misunderstanding the passage completely;
(2) another essential point is the meaning and function of gǝbr, which in A. D, Lexicon, 1164 actually means
«necessario vel ad significandum oportet, necesse est», which adverbial sense is not apparent in W. L, Comparati-
ve dictionary, 178 under the many meanings provided for gǝbr. Both cases are absolutely pre- or protoclassical usages,
not being in any way frequent in medieval Gǝʿǝz. | 11,4 and…5 place.] hypothetic translation and interpretation; in
the sequence zakawākǝb<t> bǝrhān(a) ʾaṭfǝʾa walelit(a) ṣǝlmat kamāhu baʾamsāla baʾǝnta makānǝni zayǝtḥellay

230
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 11 – 15

Yet, (the reason why) the summit of genesis is conceived by everyone as the image of the sun, (is) 11
that it has a measure in a known greatness: indeed, the sun in the visible (world) is among the stars,
and providing (its own) light, like the stars at night according to the light they are used (to provide);
once it has suddenly appeared, the sun makes the light of the stars disappear; and the night of
darkness must be necessarily conceived like that, in consideration of the resemblance of the place.
All other animals, in fact, in their own way, shine according to the favour they enjoy; and when the 12
sun of justice becomes visible, like the stars, the creation is completely abandoned by the magnifi-
cence of the glory, as (the stars) remain obscured. From the aspect of what is known, then, the
creation that is not known appears visible; and from the intelligence of both, the sun of justice is
made known: like it, the Son of God, who is one.
The word of the prophets on the above said <similitude>, who glorify how well distinguished he is 13
in all dignity and power, reached the measure that the sun showed, by the evidence according to the
well-recognized order. It was therefore necessary that he was called «the great (one)», «dignity of
the Father» and «only Son of God» by the holy Scriptures, perfectly by similitude of the fact that his
Son, having assumed every power, would be himself preached like the aspect of the invisible God:
as the extraordinary Apostle said, the Apostle who saw the completely invisible creation of God.
Indeed, it is appropriate for one who can do everything, the good God, who reigns on all that is 14
visible and all that is invisible, to show, first to all those who live piously, the generation and what,
before the dignity, altogether he inherited.
Because of this it is absolutely necessary that they call him (greater) than anything (else); and (that) 15
they teach that he is the first word of God, because the Word (was) before where God is and God
was the Word, that was (at) the beginning with God, in whom was everything; and besides him
there was nothing nor anything that would touch the only Son of God: indeed Lord over

bagǝbr, also walelit(a) ṣǝlmat could be interpreted as depending from ʾaṭfǝʾa «makes disappear the light of the stars
and the darkness of the night in the same way», but what follows remains then very difficult to explain; it is much
more economic to think of a polarized expression, on the one hand on the sun as source of light which is superior to
the stars, and on the other hand on the stars as second term of the speech, which, however, is not completed by a
description, but only hinted at by symmetry. | 12,1 the2 …2 justice] see above. | 3 From…known,] ʾǝmǝnna zayǝtʿaw-
waqu rǝʾy: again, taking rǝʾy as a substantive and not as the imperative, or infinitive, rǝʾǝy, «see». | 13,1 The word] one
would expect, like many other cases, a construct state. It is also possible to understand it as an absolute form: «The
word, spoken on the similitude, that the prophets sing glory» etc., but it appears preferable, like in many other
passages, to understand as an unmarked construct state. | <similitude>,] mǝ<ssā>le: this is a necessary conjecture for
the transmitted mǝsle. In favour of the conjecture there is the support of the linguistic evidence which in this text, at
variance with all other texts from the same manuscript, does not exhibit archaic forms of prepositions and conjunc-
tions with –e ending, instead of the standard –a. This is an exceptionally important evidence to determine: (1) that
such forms are not due to the patina of the copyist; (2) that they demonstrate the existence, at least for this phenome-
non if not for others, of several linguistic layers transmitted in the different texts attested in the manuscript. In this
specific context, these elements are a strong evidence for the necessity of the conjecture mǝ<ssā>le against the
transmitted mǝsle, which, even independently from palaeographical aspects (easy confusion between sā and sǝ),
would be completely incompatible with the patina of the text, which never has forms in –e. | 2 evidence] ʾaʿǝqo,
infinitive, probably hapax, for the expected ʾaʿwǝqo (II.1 verbal stem) of ʿoqa «know», here used as an abstract
substantive. | 5 would…preached] yǝssǝbbak, for the expected yǝssabbak, from *yǝtsǝbbak instead of *yǝtsabbak,
according to an imperfect pattern yǝt1ǝ22a3 (III.1 verbal stem). | aspect] rǝʾya, substantive and not infinitive, as
above. | 6 Apostle2 …God.] a complex sentence, with, probably, the omission of a relative particle in the genitive
construction, that is, one would have expected: rǝʾyo la<za>ʾǝgziʾabǝḥer zaʾiyastarǝʾi bakʷǝllu fǝṭrat(a); a corruption
is possible due to the presence of the relative pronoun also on the following verb, which could have caused a simplifi-
cation and the omission of one occurrence of za; an error in the phase of the translation, with rǝʾyo governing directly
laʾǝgziʾabǝḥer «he saw God», could also not be excluded, but it seems quite unlikely given the extremely difficult text
that would result. The emendation at the end, with the explicitly marked accusative, fǝṭrat<a>, instead of the
transmitted fǝṭrat, is not necessary, since the language of the text often neutralizes this opposition.

231
 A 27 (2021)

ኮነ፡ ወዘእንበሌሁሰ፡ አልቦ፡ ዘኮነ፡ ወኢምንትኒ<፡> ዘይገስስ፡ አሐዱ፡ ወልደ፡ እግዚአ፡

ብሔር፡ ለኵሉ፡ እንከ፡ እግዚእ፡ ወተአዛዜ፡ ለአብ፡ መንክር፡ ነገር፡ ይ<ስ>ብክ፡ መፍትው፡
እንዘ፡ ትሰምዑ፡ ወልደ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወኢበሥጋ፡ ወኢበሩከቤ፡ ኢትትሐዘቡ፡ ልደቶ።
16 ሰብእሰ፡ እንከ፡ በትድምርተ፡ ብእሲ፡ ኀበ፡ ብእሲት፡ ወፍት<ወተ>፡ ፍጥረት፡ ወእምክዕወተ፡
ኀይል፡ ዘልደት፡ ደቂቅ፡ ይትገበር፡ ወእግዚአ፡ ብሔርሰ፡ ወኢሱታፌ፡ ባዕዳን፡ ይፈቅድ፡
ወለዘ፡ ፈቀደ፡ ኵሎ፡ ይገብር፡ ዘፈቀደ፡ ኵሎ፡ ኂሩተ፡ ዚኣሁ፡ በንጹ<ሕ>፡ ለወልዱ፡ አር
አዮ፡ ይቀውም፡ እንከ፡ ጥዩቀ፡ ቃል፡ አሐዱ፡ ኰነኒ።
17 ወኢካልአ፡ ቀደምት፡ ዘኢኮነ፡ እንዘ፡ ንብል፡ ንዴምር፡ ለእግዚ|አ፡ ብሔር፡ ደእሙ፡ Σ.90va
ወልድ፡ ዘአሐዱ፡ ልደቱ፡ ንሴብክ፡ ዘበኵሉ፡ ይትኤዘዝ፡ ወይትለአክ፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ለፈ
ቃደ፡ አብ፡ ከመ፡ በሕቲቱ፡ መኰንነ፡ ይኩን፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በኵሉ፡ እንከ፡ እንዘ፡
ይትኤዘ<ዝ>፡ ወልድ፡ ዘይደሉ፡ ክብር፡ ያቅም፡ ለአብ፡ ወእምአሐቲ፡ ምኵናነ፡ ዘኢይኀ
ጽጽ፡ ሶቤሃ፡ እንከ፡ ዘይደሉ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይትዐቀብ። <እ>መ፡ እምኀበ፡ ዐራቂ፡
ወልደ፡ ኵሎ፡ በውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ይገብር፡ ዘሰ፡ ትሑት፡ ወኢዐራቂ፡ ለኵሉ፡ ያመስል፡
ይሀሉ፡ ዘለዕለ፡ ኵሉ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።
18 ለአይሁድሰ፡ ዘልማድ፡ ስሕተቶሙ፡ ወነኪራን፡ እንከ፡ ለተድላ፡ ክብር፡ አኃዜ፡ ኵሉ፡
እንዘ፡ ይወርድ፡ በዘ፡ ኢተድላሁ፡ ውስተ፡ ግብር፡ ዘይሠርዕ፡ ብዙኀ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢይኀጽጽ፡
እምክብሩ፡ ወእንዘ፡ ወልድ፡ በእንተ፡ ምሕረቶ|ሙ፡ እንዘ፡ ይወርድ፡ ያቅም፡ ክብረ፡ ዘበአ Σ.90vb
ማን፡ በኀበ፡ አብ፡ ፈቃደ፡ ትእዛዝ፡ ወለዘ፡ እምኀቤሁ፡ ጽህቀተ፡ <መል>እክት፡ ወጽሕቀተ፡
ተአዝዞ፡ በተፋቅሮ፡ ፍቅረ፡ ዘእምኀበ፡ አብ፡ አኮ፡ በግብር፡ ትሕትና፡ አመሰ፡ ገብ<ረ>፡
ዘኮነ፡ በእንተዝ፡ አስተሠናእዎ፡ ዘዚኣሁ፡ ወፍጥረተ፡ ልደተ፡ ሠናየ፡ አርእዮ፡ ለአሐዱ፡
ወልድ፡ ወለዘ፡ ኵሉ፡ አሚኖ፡ ሥርዐት<።>
19 ወውእቱሰ፡ እንከ፡ ውስተ፡ ዘይደሉ፡ ይሄሉ፡ ግዕዘ፡ መለኮት፡ እንዘ፡ ይ<ከ>ብር፡ እምኀበ፡
ወልድ፡ ወበኀቤሁ፡ ኵሉ፡ ሕሊና፡ አብ፡ እንዘ፡ ወልድ፡ ያድኅን፡ በውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ወበእ
ንተ፡ በቍዔተ፡ ሕሊና፡ ለዘ፡ በኵሉ፡ ይኩን፡ ፈቃዴ፡ በዘ፡ ለዘሂ፡ ይድኅን፡ ወይሄሉ፡ ዘኮነ፡
ወሀበ፡ ስልጣን፡ ከመዝ፡ እንከ፡ እንዘ፡ ንሜህር፡ አሐደ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወገባሬ፡ ኵሉ፡ | Σ.91ra
አሐደ፡ ንስብክ፡ ወልድ፡ ተአዛዜ፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ለአብ።
20 በከመ፡ እንዘ፡ ቃለ፡ ሐዋርያት፡ አሐዱ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ አብ፡ ዘእምኔሁ፡ ኵሉ፡ ወአ
ሐዱ፡ እግዚእ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ዘቦቱ፡ ኵሉ፡ ኮነ፡ ወአልቦ፡ ዘይትኤገል፡ በነጊር፡

 : 15,4 አሐዱ፡] Σ; አሐደ፡ expect. | 5 ይ<ስ>ብክ፡] coni.; ይሰብክ፡ Σ | 16,1 ወፍት<ወተ>፡
ፍጥረት፡] coni.; ወፍትውተ፡ ፍጥረት፡ Σ | 3 በንጹ<ሕ>፡] con.; በንጹሐ፡ Σ | 17,1 ደእሙ፡] pro ዳእሙ፡ Σ
3 በሕቲቱ፡] pro ባሕቲቱ፡ Σ | 4 ይትኤዘ<ዝ>፡] coni.; ይትኤዘዘ፡ Σ | 5 <እ>መ፡] coni.; አመ፡ Σ | 6 ያመስል፡] Σ;
<ይ>መስል፡ fort. coni. | 18,4 <መል>እክት፡] coni.; ለእክት፡ Σ | 5 በግብር፡] Σ; በግብረ፡ expect. | ገብ<ረ>፡] coni.;
ገብር፡ Σ | 19,1 ይ<ከ>ብር፡] coni.; ይክብር፡ Σ | 4 ስልጣን፡] Σ; ስልጣነ፡ expect. | 5 ወልድ፡] Σ; ወልደ፡ expect.
20,1 እንዘ፡] Σ; እን<ከ>፡ fort. coni.

: 15,4 ወኢምንትኒ<፡>] ። Σ | 6 ልደቶ።] ።= Σ | 16,4 ኰነኒ።] ።= Σ | 17,5 ይትዐቀብ።] ። Σ

7 እግዚአ፡ ብሔር።] ። Σ | 19,5 ለአብ።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ

   : 20,1 «One…2 came»] cf. 1 Cor 8:6.

 : 15,5 while…6 God»] interpreted here as a direct speech. | 16,5 Judge.] kwannani, again an
attestation of the –i form (see above, § 1). | 17,1 Neither…add] a very difficult passage (waʾikālǝʾa qadamt zaʾikona
ʾǝnza nǝbǝl nǝdemmǝr), for which an interpretation is proposed here with all caution. The «first ones» could allude,
more than to the previous gods of the pagans, to a pair of gods, a hypothesis which seems to have little ground and
must be immediately dismissed. Alternative explanations cannot be excluded, even if they require even more complex
hypotheses: interpreting waʾikonna (and not waʾikona) as a first person plural, we could get a completely different

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 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 15 – 20

everything and obedient to the Father, extraordinary fact, (that) it is desirable to preach, while you
hear «Son of God»; and do not imagine his birth according to the body nor according to the coitus.
The human being, instead, (is generated) by the union of a man with a woman and by natural 16
de<sire>; and from the effusion of the generative power the children are produced. But as to God,
on the one hand he has no need of union with others, and on the other hand, for (those) whom he
wants, he does everything he wants: all his virtue he has showed with purity in his Son. He stands
high, then, well fixed in (his) Word, (as the) One Judge.
Neither a second one among the first ones – who, as we are saying (it), is not – will we add to God, 17
but we will (instead) preach the only begotten Son, who absolutely obeys and serves in everything
to the will of the Father, so that the Father be judging alone; (and so that,) absolutely obeying, the
Son set up the dignity which is convenient to the Father, that is not less (than what is convenient
for) a court of justice. Then, let what is fitting for God be observed: <if> of a mediator he had made
a Son, all in all, God, who is above all else, had to make (him) appear to all a subordinate and not a
mediator.
(This is) the usual mistake of the Jews. For indeed they are alien to the favour of dignity, while the 18
Almighty descends, by the fact that in (his own) work he disposes not for his favour, not much
diminishing from his dignity; and while the Son descends for their mercy, he places true dignity
with the Father, the will of the commandment and the <aspiration to service> and the <aspiration>
to obedience that come from him, in a mutual loving exchange that comes from the Father; not out
of a need for humility, when he <has done> something, for this work of his reconciliation; and
having shown the good nature to the only Son and (having) had faith in the (good) disposition of
all things.
He (the Father) remains in the divine ways which befit (him), while being honoured by the Son and 19
with him all the Father’s intelligence, while the Son saves (man) in everything and, with the advant-
age of intelligence, whoever is absolutely willing; therefore he has also given some faculty to those
who are saved and remain. Teaching thus (according to this doctrine): let us preach one God and
creator of all (things), one Son obedient in everything to the Father.
According to the word of the Apostles: «One is God Father from whom everything (comes), and 20
one is the Lord Jesus Christ, for whom all things came»; and there is no one who can fraudulently

interpretation: «Neither a second one – since we say, we are not those of before (the pagans) – will we add».
3 judging] the term is here makwannǝn. | 5 <if>…7 mediator.] Another extremely difficult passage, here only
tentatively translated. It is clear, however, that the passage alludes to and discusses an adoptionist doctrine. The
emendation ʾama to <ʾǝm>ma («when» to «if») introduces a small amelioration, but it is not decisive for the interpre-
tation; ʿarāqi is rendered with «mediator»; and tǝḥut «low, inferior, humble» with «subordinate» (cf. C.F.A.
D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 553, where the nexus tǝḥut bǝʾǝsi, appears in the Qerǝllos to define the doctrine of Paul
of Samosata); «all in all» refers to the Son and must be interpreted as endowed with all his properties; one cannot
exclude that yāmassǝl has to be emended to <yǝ>massǝl, with a similar meaning, but with a different construction,
«<If> of a mediator he had made a Son, all in all, he had <to appear> to all subordinate to God, who is above all else,
and not a mediator». Even here, like in other previous passages, there is the subjunctive as the simple mode of the
subordination, a use that is not attested in classical Gǝʿǝz. | 18,3 and…4 Father,] again, an extremely complex and
uncertain paragraph. In the hypothetical interpretation I suggest, there would be again an evidence for the indepen-
dent use of a subjunctive: waʾǝnza wald baʾǝnta mǝḥratomu ʾǝnza yǝwarrǝd yāqǝm kǝbra zabaʾamān baḫaba ʾab,
with a repetition of the conjunction ʾǝnza and the main verb with the subjunctive yāqǝm. | 4 the4 …5 obedience] the
two emendations suggested in this passage are both more palaeographic explicitations than actual emendations,
because they concern the reading as ṣǝḥ<qata> of what is presumably written ṣǝḥǝqt, with an uncertain distiction
between qa/q(ǝ) and ta/t(ǝ). | 19,1 remains] literally, «is, stays, exists», exactly like below, «remain» (yǝhellu).
20,1 «One…2 came»] at great variance with the Ethiopic text of 1 Cor 8:6: ለነሰኬ፡ አሐዱ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አብ፡ ዘኵሎ፡
እምኔሁ፡ ወንሕነኒ፡ ቦቱ።, ed. T A.

233
 A 27 (2021)

አሐደ፡ ተወኪፍነ፡ ወልድ፡ ወበብዙኅ፡ እንዘ፡ ንትአመን፡ ልደት፡ በከመ፡ እንከ፡ ዘአሐዱ፡
እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ግብረት፡ እንከ፡ ይአክል። በከመ፡ እንከስ፡ ዘብዙኅ፡
ሱታፌ፡ ከማሁ፡ እንዘ፡ አሐዱ፡ ትእዛዝ፡ ፍጹም፡ እምኀበ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዘለተልአኮ፡ ኮነ፡ ፈድ
ፋደ፡ ግሙራ፡ ዘብዙኃን፡ ትድምርት፡ ወእምአኮ፡ እምዝ፡ የስተርኢ፡ ከዋክብት፡ እንከ፡ በብ
ዙኅ፡ በከመ፡ በውስተ፡ መኅበር፡ ኅቡረ፡ ተጋቢእነ፡ ዘ<ኅ>ጸተ፡ ፍጥረቶን፡ ውስተ፡ ብር|ሃን፡ Σ.91rb
እንዘ፡ ይፌጽማ፡ በብዙኅ።
21 ፀሐይሰ፡ አሐዱ፡ ባሕቲቱ፡ እምኃበ፡ ፈጣሪ፡ ተገብረ፡ ዘይአክል፡ ረኪበ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ለዘ፡
ይትፈቀድ፡ አኮ፡ እንከ፡ ወኢእምዝ፡ አብ፡ ፍጻሜ፡ ወኢምንትኒ፡ ዘወልድ፡ ኢይኀጽጽ፡
ልደተ፡ እስመ፡ አኮ፡ በኅጸተ፡ ኀይል፡ ወኢለመፍቀድ፡ ግብረ፡ ዘተነግረ፡ ይግበር፡ ልደት፡
እላ፡ በብዝኀ፡ ኂሩት፡ ዘከመዝ፡ አርኢዮ፡ ለወልድ፡ እንዘ፡ አኮ፡ መፍቀድ፡ ይፈጽም፡
ለአብ፡ ወዘእምኀቤሰ፡ ክብር፡ ተወክፈ፡ ከዊኖ፡ እንከ፡ ኵሉ፡ እምኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በክ
ርስቶስ፡ ኮነ፡ ምስለ፡ ኵሉ፡ ሰብእ፡ እንዘ፡ ይገብር፡ እንከ፡ በዘ፡ አብ፡ ወእንዘ፡ ይትኤዘዝ፡
ወልደ፡ በከመ፡ ተነግረ። ንግበር፡ ሰብአ፡ በአርአያ፡ ዚኣነ፡ ወበአምሳሊነ፡ ከመ፡ እንከ፡ አር
አያ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔ|ር፡ በከመ፡ ዘውስጥ፡ ክብረ፡ ሰብእ<።> Σ.91va
22 እስመ፡ እንከ፡ ነፍስ፡ ኮነት፡ ዘኢይመውት፡ ወዓዲ፡ እንዘ፡ ይእቲ፡ አማሪት፡ ወተናጋሪት፡
ወመኰንንት፡ ወመቅድመ፡ ሐላይት፡ ወከዕበ፡ ምስለ፡ ዘተነግረ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ በአምሳለ፡ እግ
ዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወበግብረተ፡ ሥጋ፡ ኀበ፡ ፍጥረተ፡ ዓለም፡ ትምስልት፡ እስመቦ፡ ሰብእ፡ እለ፡
ንኡስ፡ ዓለም፡ ይስመዩ፡ ርእሶሙ፡ ወነሥአ፡ እንከ፡ ለርእሱ፡ ስልጣነ፡ በአምሳለ፡ ዘገብሮ፡
እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እስመ፡ ለአሐዱ፡ አኃዚ፡ እንከ፡ ለአኃዜ፡ ኵሎ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በው
ስተ፡ ስልጣነ፡ ርእሱ፡ ነሢ<ኦ>።
23 ከዊኖ፡ እንከ፡ ግዑዘ፡ በፈቃዱ፡ በእንተ፡ በቍዔት፡ ዘገብሮ፡ ውስተዝ፡ ዓለም፡ መጽአ፡
እንዘ፡ እምኵሉ፡ ይትወሀብ፡ በረከት፡ እምኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይፈግዕ፡ በመብ|ል<ዕ>፡ Σ.91vb
ወይነብር፡ በሕግ፡ ወይሐዩ፡ በኵሉ፡ ኂሩት፡ ለክብረ፡ ዘገብሮ፡ ወለዘ፡ ዐረዮ፡ እግዚአ፡
ብሔር።
24 ወእመ፡ ኢቆመ፡ እንከ፡ ለሕርመትነ፡ ሕግ፡ ሶበ፡ ኢነሥአት፡ ፍጥረትነ፡ ቅድመ፡ ስልጣነ፡
ውስተ፡ ዘይከውን፡ ግዑዘ፡ ወኢውስተ፡ ውዳሴ፡ ወኢውስተ፡ ዝርካዬ፡ እመ፡ ኢተዐውቀ፡
መካን፡ ወለክብር፡ ወለኵነኔ፡ እመ፡ ኢቆመ፡ ጽድቅ፡ ኢሀሊዋ፡ ስልጣነ።
25 ወእንዘ፡ ስስልት፡ ስልጣን፡ ውስተ፡ ዘኢይፈልስ፡ መካን፡ ዘበግብር፡ መትለው፡ እንዘ፡ እስ
ርት፡ በፍጥረት፡ ወውስተ፡ ዘኢይትዐወቅ፡ ግብር፡ ተኀየሉ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ውዳሴ፡ እንከ፡
ውስተ፡ ኄራን፡ ወዘእንበለ፡ ዝንጓጔ፡ ውስተ፡ እኩያን፡ እስመ፡ ቅኑይ፡ ውእቱ፡ ለፍጥረት፡
ወዘእንበለ፡ ዝኒ፡ ኢለብዎ፡ ሠናይ፡ ለእመ፡ እምፍጥ|ረቱ፡ ይመስል፡ ከመቦ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ Σ.92ra
አበ<ሳ>፡ እንከ፡ ለዘ፡ ይአኪዮ፡ እስመ፡ አኮ፡ ዘእምፈቃደ፡ ዘዚኣሁ፡ ዘይከውን፡ እስመ፡ እም
ኀበ፡ ዘይጸንዖ፡ በኀይል፡ ይስ<ሐ>ብ።
26 ወእስመ፡ ዘይገብር፡ ኢያአምር፡ በከመ፡ አምሳለ፡ ዘውስተ፡ ንህብ፡ እንተ፡ ውስተ፡ ግብረተ፡
መዐር፡ ጥበብ፡ ዘእምፍጥረት፡ ወበግብር፡ እንከ፡ ወበእንተዝ፡ ለዘ፡ ይከውን፡ እንዘ፡ ኢት
ሁብ፡ አእምሮተ፡ ትምህርታ፡ የዐውቃ፡ እንከ፡ እለ፡ ዘእምፍጥረቶን፡ ድልዋት፡ በአሥዋክ፡
ዘልፈ፡ እንከ፡ ውስተ፡ መንሱት፡ ይገብራ፡ ዘእምውስተ፡ ፍጥረቶን፡ በዘ፡ ዚኣሆን፡ ወለሞት፡

 : 20,3 ተወኪፍነ፡] pro ተወኪፈነ፡ Σ | 5 ዘለተልአኮ፡] pro ዘለተልእኮ፡ Σ | 7 ተጋቢእነ፡] pro
ተጋቢአነ፡ Σ | ዘ<ኅ>ጸተ፡] coni.; ዘኀጸተ፡ Σ | 21,1 ፍጥረት፡…2 ይትፈቀድ፡] Σ; <ለ>ፍጥረት፡ ዘይትፈቀድ፡ fort.
con. | 4 እላ፡] pro አላ፡ Σ | 22,2 ወከዕበ፡] pro ካዕበ፡ Σ | 6 ነሢ<ኦ>።] coni.; ነሢአ፡ Σ | 23,2 በመብል<ዕ>፡] coni.;
መብልዐ፡ Σ | 25,5 አበ<ሳ>፡] coni.; አበሰ፡ Σ | 6 ይስ<ሐ>ብ።] pro ይሰሐብ፡ coni.; ይስ<ሕ>ብ፡ Σ | 26,2 ኢትሁብ፡]
Σ; dubium an pro ኢት<ትውሀ>ብ፡ (pro ኢት<ትወሀ>ብ፡)

: 20,4 ይአክል።] ።= Σ | 8 በብዙኅ።] ።= Σ | 21,3 ዘተነግረ፡] ። Σ | 22,6 ነሢ<ኦ>።] ። Σ

23,3 እግዚአ፡…4 ብሔር።] ። Σ | 24,3 ስልጣነ።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ | 25,6 ይስ<ሐ>ብ።] ።= Σ

234
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 20 – 22

argue by saying, «we have received one Son and we believe in many births, since the work of one
God in all things is sufficient». All the more so since (to suppose) the participation of many (is) like
that (preceding statement), while one (is) the perfect commandment, for which all have been in
service, an absolute union of many. And if not, it is clear from this: the stars, like us, who are so
many, united together in gathering, bring to completion the diminishing of their nature in the light
in (so) many.
Even the sun was made only one by the Creator, who is capable to find what is required for the 21
creation: not for this reason, in fact, the Father diminishes in perfection, nor (for) the birth of the
Son; for neither for the diminishing of power nor for the need for action was it said that he would
make the birth, but for much virtue, having shown such a thing, the Son; whereas there was no
need for him to complete the Father; and he accepted what came from dignity. Therefore, having
everything been from God, in Christ he was with all human beings, doing therefore for what is of
the Father and obeying as it was said of the Son: «Let us make man in our image and in our
likeness», like the image of God, in fact, according to the dignity of the inner human being.
Indeed, the soul is immortal, in fact, being also rational, communicative, judgmental, and pre-co- 22
gitating, which therefore appears, similarly to what has been said, in the likeness of God; and with
the workmanship of the body (it is) in the likeness of nature of the world, since there are elements
in the human beings for which they are called «microcosm». He has therefore assumed upon
himself the faculty in the likeness of God who made him, the only powerful one, the almighty God,
<having taken> (him) in his own faculty.

   : 21,7 «Let…8 likeness»,] cf. Gen 1:26 (A.C.).

 : 21,1 who…2 creation:] the text could be corrupt; if taken literally it should be translated:
«which is capable to find the creation that is required», which could also provide an acceptable, but not ideal meaning.
I suppose, however, that there has been an attraction caused by the relative verb and the text could in the end be
sound as it is, even though the function of la– would be similar to that of a postposition (zayǝʾakkǝl rakiba fǝṭrat laza
yǝtfaqqad, to be actually ordered: zayǝʾakkǝl rakiba lafǝṭrat zayǝtfaqqad). | 7 «Let…8 likeness»,] the Ethiopic text of
Gen 1:26 is slightly different: ንግበር፡ ሰብአ፡ በአርአያነ፡ ወበአምሳሊነ፡, ed. C.F.A. D; ed. J.O. B. | 8 the2 …
being.] the proposal of translating this nexus as «inner man» I owe to A.C. The nexus is zawǝsṭ kǝbra sabʾ, where
zawǝsṭ («inner, of inside») is probably to be referred to the second element of the construct state, sabʾ «man».
22,1 the…6 faculty.] an Italian translation of this paragraph was published in A. B, (S)Proporzioni etiopiche: pochi
appunti per un contributo mai scritto, in (S)proporzioni. Taglia e scala tra testo e immagine, eds P. P – G.
C – U. C. L M – M. L R – I. S (Consonanze 27, Ledizioni – LEDIpublishing, Milano
2021, 83-94: 90s. | the…fact,] nafs konat zaʾiyǝmawwǝt: with a notable lack of agreement in gender of the relative
feminine verb (konat) that introduces the masculine predicate, also a relative verb (zaʾiyǝmawwǝt «immortal, that
does not die»); yet the feminine is immediately resumed in the long list of nominal predicates (ʾamārit watanāgārit
wamakʷannǝnt wamaqdǝma ḥallāyǝt) introduced by a pronominal copula (yǝʾǝti). One can speculate whether the first
masculine predicate postulates a substantive, that is «The soul is in fact an immortal being». | the…immortal,]
maqdǝma ḥallāyǝt, very likely a calque on a Greek compound starting with προ-, for example, προνοέω, «perceive
before, foresee, preconceive», see H.G. L – R. S, A Greek-English Lexicon. With a Supplement, Clarendon
Press, Oxford 1968, 1490s. | 2 likeness…God] The likeness of God is the soul of man, which has free will, as suggested
by A.C. | 3 the3 …world,] tǝmsǝlt, ἅπαξ, probably «similitude, likeness», from a very productive pattern (tǝ12ǝ3t) for
abstract substantives; «similitude to» with the term of comparison anticipated and introduced by the preposition
ḫaba: ḫaba fǝṭrata ʿālam tǝmsǝlt. | there…4 «microcosm».] nǝʾus ʿālam, in all likelihood, is a calque after the Greek
μικρόκοσμος (nǝʾus μικρός and ʿālam κόσμος). A literal translation could be: «there are human beings who are
themselves called microcosm» (ʾǝsmabo sabʾ ʾǝlla nǝʾus ʿālam yǝssammayu rǝʾǝsomu), but it is much more likely that
the relative clause ʾǝlla nǝʾus ʿālam yǝssammayu is the result of a compact relative construction; one would have
expected one more ba– and possibly one more relative pronoun, for example: ʾǝsmabo sabʾ ʾǝlla baʾǝlla (or simply:
baʾǝlla) nǝʾus ʿālam yǝssammayu rǝʾǝsomu, but there is probably no need of supposing a corrupted text.
6 <having…23,1 his] a complex clause, which comes at the end of a relatively clear statement; one wonders whether

235
 A 27 (2021)

ይረውጻ፡ እንዘ፡ ይለክፋ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ግጋጼ፡ ዘእምግብር፡ እንዘ፡ ይገብራ፡ ወበእንተ፡ ተኀ

ይሎ፡ እንዘ፡ ይገብራ፡ ወትኅይልት፡ ፍጥረት፡ | ወበእንተ፡ ጥሪት፡ ኢያእምሮቶን። Σ.92rb
27 በእንተዝ፡ እንከ፡ ዐቢይ፡ ኮነ፡ እምእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘተወሀበ፡ ጸጋ፡ ስልጣን፡ በዘ፡ ከመዝ፡
እንከ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ለሰብእ፡ አስርጊዎ፡ ወበሕገ፡ ትእዛዝ፡ ሐጺሮ፡ ፍጥረተ፡ በብዙኅ፡ እንከ፡
ኪያሃ፡ ወበዐቢይ፡ ሕይወት፡ ወሀበ፡ ዕረፍተ፡ ምድር፡ እንከ፡ ሎቱ፡ አርሐበ፡ በኀዲር፡ ዘእን
በለ፡ ጻዕቅ፡ ወለግብር፡ ዘይበቍዕ፡ አስተዳለወ፡ ባሕር፡ እንከ፡ ፀመረ፡ ለዘ፡ ቅድመ፡ ተነግረ፡
ቁመት፡ እንዘ፡ አልቦ፡ ዘተኀጽጽ፡ ውስተ፡ ዘመፍትው፡ ግብር፡ እየር<።>
28 በፍጥረት፡ እንከ፡ እንዘ፡ ይቀጥን፡ በመእከለ፡ ቁመታት፡ ተሳፊሓ፡ ኀደገ፡ ላዕሌሁ፡ ይትር
ዐይ፡ ሰብእ፡ በከመ፡ በውስተ፡ ሕፅነ፡ እማት፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሐዘን፡ እንዘ፡ የስተነፍስ፡ ዘየአክሎ፡
እምኀቤሁ፡ እንዘ፡ ይ|ሴሰይ፡ ብርሃነ፡ እንከ፡ እምለዕሉ፡ አኅቲዎ፡ ብዑለ፡ ወሃቤ፡ ላእክ፡ ዘቅ Σ.92va
ድመ፡ ተናገሮ፡ ሠርዐ፡ ፀሐይ፡ መዐልተ፡ እንከ፡ ወሌሊተ፡ ለዘ፡ ዚኣሆሙ፡ ሥርዐት፡
ፈጠረ።
29 አሐቲ፡ እንከ፡ ውስተ፡ ጊዜ፡ ግብር፡ ወሀበ፡ ወአሐቲ፡ ለዕረፍተ፡ ሕማም፡ ሠርዐ። ወእለሰ፡
ዘእምዝ፡ ጊዜ፡ ዘኢይበርህ፡ ግሙራ፡ ይግበሩ፡ ይፈቅዱ፡ በብዙኅ፡ ከዋክብት፡ በከመ፡ ማኅ
ቶት፡ ውስተ፡ ዐቅመ፡ ብርሃኖሙ፡ ሠናየ፡ አብርሃ፡ ከመ፡ ለእለ፡ ይፈቅዱ፡ አሐደ፡ ግብር፡
ይ<ር>ከቡ፡ ውስተ፡ ዘይበቍዕ፡ ለመክፈልተ፡ ሌሊት፡ ወኢ<ም>ንተኒ፡ እንዘ፡ ይ<ከ>ልእ፡
ኀጥአተ፡ ብርሃን<።>

 : 27,2 አስርጊዎ፡] pro አሰርጊዎ፡ Σ | 5 እየር<።>] pro አየር፡ Σ | 28,3 እምለዕሉ፡] pro
እምላዕሉ፡ Σ | 4 ተናገሮ፡] Σ; ተና<ግ>ሮ፡ fort. coni. | ፀሐይ፡] Σ; ፀሐየ፡ expect. | 29,4 ይ<ር>ከቡ፡] coni.; ይረከቡ፡
Σ | ወኢ<ም>ንተኒ፡] coni.; ወኢመንተኒ፡ Σ | ይ<ከ>ልእ፡] coni.; ይክልእ፡ Σ

: 26,6 ኢያእምሮቶን።] ። Σ | 28,5 ፈጠረ።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ | 29,1 ሠርዐ።] ። Σ

   : 24,2 and…4 choose).] cf. Justin, I Apol. 43:8 (A.C.).

this is an absolute genitive that the translator misundertood, leaving the hanging la- at the very beginning of the
sentence. The position of ʾǝnka after kawino is in favour of the conjecture of naśi<ʾo> (gerund) instead of the
transmitted naśiʾa (infinitive), which does not provide any satisfactory meaning. | 23,3 for…4 equal.] instead of
lakǝbra zagabro walaza ʿarrayo ʾǝgziʾbǝḥer one would expect lakǝbra ʾǝgziʾbǝḥer zagabro walaza ʿarrayo, but it
appears that, even in this case, the relative verb with adjectival function is tolerated between the two terms of a
construct state. | 24,1 And…been] in this conditional clause and in the following ones, ʾǝmma must be interpreted as
the particle (with common form ʾǝm–) introducing the apodosis (main clause of the conditional sentence), whereas
the protasis is introduced by soba; see C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 727 («part. conditionalis, sc. ἄν, usitata in
apodosi enuntiationis conditionalis ejus, in qua id, quod non factum est nec facile fiet, sumitur, sive protasis a
scriptore addita sit sive omissa»), whereas W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 21s., does not provide the
essential information that the archaic form of this ʾǝm is ʾǝmma. | religious practice,] ḥǝrmatǝna, with ḥǝrmat
meaning «religious ceremony» or «religious practice». | 3 faculty…4 choose).] that is, the αὐτοεξούσιον, of which he is
speaking (A. C.). | 25,2 remained…3 constrained,] taḫayyalu, in the rare meaning, but here certain, of «undergo a
violence, be oppressed, be subdued»; below, a similar example with the verb in the same meaning. | 5 there…evil,] the
order of the elements in the sentence is not certain and there are alternative possibilities, which do not alter the
general sense. | 6 he…dragged] the transmitted text looks more likely to be yǝsǝḥǝb, than the emended yǝssǝ<ḥa>b,
but we have to consider that palaeographically ḥa and ḥ(ǝ) are extremely similar. The form that fits in the context is
from an imperfect pattern yǝt1ǝ22a3 (III.1 verbal stem), here with the expected assimilation of ts > ss (*yǝtsǝḥab >
yǝssǝḥab); yet, we must honestly acknowledge that also the confusion between sa and s(ǝ) is common, so that not even
a conjecture yǝ<ssaḥa>b could be excluded. | 26,3 although…provide] ʾǝnza ʾitǝhub, probably sound text, with tǝhub

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 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 23 – 29

Having therefore become free with his own will, for the benefit that he provided to him, he came 23
into this world, being granted all blessings from God, being gladdened with food, dwelling accord-
ing to the Law, and living with every virtue, for the dignity of God who created him and made him
equal.
And there would therefore have been no law for our religious practice, if our nature had not first 24
taken the faculty to be free; and there would have been no place known for praise or offence, nor
would there have been justice for honour and (right) judgment, since there was no faculty (to
choose).
Since the faculty (of free will) was chained in a place from which it cannot leave, as it is necessarily 25
a consequence of being bound by nature and in an unknown necessity, they (would have) remained
constrained, without praise to the pious and without blame to the wicked, because (this condition)
is subordinate to nature. Without this (there would be) no awareness of good, if it depends on one’s
own nature; there seems to be absence of guilt, therefore, for the one who has evil, because it is not
that it is of his own will, (but) because he is dragged by an overwhelming force.
In fact, he does not know what he does: in the likeness of the wisdom placed in the bee for the 26
production of honey, which is (given) by nature. Necessarily and for what it must be (then),
although (nature) does not provide (any) knowledge by education, (the bees), endowed with stings
by their nature, know well: in danger they always do what is according to their nature, each one
their own, and run to death, attaching themselves without hesitation, acting out of necessity and
acting for the fact that they are constrained; and constraint (is) nature and their ignorance (is) in
view of a gain.
For thus great is the grace of the faculty which has been given by God, having provided for the 27
human being with such a nature and having therefore delimited nature by the law of the command-
ment. In abundance and with magnanimity he granted rest. Then he widened the earth for him,
allowing him to dwell without anguish, and prepared what was useful to the need. He stopped the
sea at a predetermined height, while the atmosphere did not diminish for the convenient necessity;
while in creation (the atmosphere) attenuated, having spread among the heights, he allowed the 28
human being to pass like in the womb of mothers, without pain, recreating himself, feeding himself
of that for what he needed. Having lit up a light, a powerful announcer, {of which he had said
before,} he regulated the sun: he therefore created the day and the night, each according to its own
order.
He gave the first for the time of work and the other he arranged for rest from fatigue. And as for 29
those who wish to work outside of this time, when there is absolutely no light, he made a beautiful
light with many stars like a lamp, in the assigned place of their lights, so that those who wanted it
would necessarily find one, usefully, for midnight, the lack of light being of no impediment.

(III fem. sing.) referring to the «nature» that does not provide bees with knowledge by education, but by nature. The
sense is clear, but the construction is clumsy. | endowed…4 well:] here and in the following, the «bees» are explicitly in
agreement with III fem. plur. verbs. | 6 constraint] tǝḫǝyyǝlt, not attested in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5,
attested in W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 269, but only in the sense of «duress, violence, oppression»,
while here «constraint» appears to be the right meaning. | 27,3 magnanimity] baʿabiy ḥǝywat, with ʿabiy ḥǝywat (lit.
«great life») which seems to be a calque built after μεγαλοψυχία «magnanimity». | 5 predetermined] laza qǝdma
tanagra: «aforesaid», with the same construction probably to render Greek προ-, in this case, maybe, προειρημένον.
28,1 attenuated,] ʾǝnza yǝqaṭṭǝn, from qaṭana «be thin, be fine, be lean, be subtle, not attested in C.F.A. D,
Lexicon, cit. n. 5, but attested in W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 453. | 3 {of…4 before,}] one wonders if
this an interpolation referring to what is stated in §§ 9, 11, and 12 concerning the sun, and if this does not belong to
the primary text; yet, we cannot exclude that the verb erroneously renders a passive of the Vorlage; or that an tanāgaro
is an innovation for the previous tanāg<ǝ>ro, with zaqǝdma tanāg<ǝ>ro meaning «of the previous discourse».

237
 A 27 (2021)

30 ከማሁ፡ እንከ፡ ሠናየ፡ አሐዱ፡ ርሒብ፡ ለሰብእ፡ ኵሎ፡ ዓለም፡ ገቢሮ፡ ለዝሉፉ፡ ቆመ፡
ዘይአክል፡ ወሂ<ቦ>፡ ዘእምኀበ፡ ሕሊና፡ ሥርዐት፡ ሚጠተ፡ ሰዓታት፡ በደቡት፡ ወበበ፡ | ሕቅ፡ Σ.92vb
እንዘ፡ ይመይ<ጥ><።>
31 ወከመ፡ ኢያሕዝን፡ ለሕይወተ፡ ሰብእ፡ ሠርዐ፡ ፍሬ፡ ብዙኅ፡ ለበቍዔት፡ ገብረ፡ ዝናመ፡
በበ፡ ጊዜሁ፡ ይስቂያ፡ ለምድር፡ ወዘእንበለ፡ ዐቅም፡ ያማስን፡ ወኢበኀጣእ፡ <ያ>ማስን፡ ትው
ልድ፡ ፍሬ። በመስፈርት፡ እንከ፡ ቅዉመ፡ አርኢዮ፡ ጊዜ፡ ዘይበቍዕ፡ ዘእምዝናማት፡ መዝ
ግብ፡ ወርቡዕ፡ ሰዓታት፡ ዘዓመት፡ ገቢሮ፡ መትሎ፡ ክልኤ፡ እንከ፡ ዘዘ፡ ዚኣሆሙ፡ ሠሪዖ፡
ዘክረምት፡ ወዘሐጋይ።
32 ወክልኤ፡ መእከለ፡ ካዕበ፡ በከመ፡ ምእክ<ል>ና፡ ወዲዮ፡ ዘመፀው፡ ወዘጸደይ፡ ወበምእክልና፡
አላ፡ ለእለ፡ ብዓዳተ፡ አስተቃሪቦ፡ አ<ሐ>ቴኔ፡ ዘኵልንታሁ፡ ዓመት፡ ኆሠ፡ ዐቂሞ፡ ወአ
ሐቲ፡ አሐቲ፡ እንከ፡ ሳዐታተ፡ ይሀብ፡ ዘእምኃቤሆን፡ ለሰብእ፡ ሠርዐ፡ ዘመፀውስ፡ ኵሎ፡
ጽጌያት፡ | ይእቲ፡ ታነቅዕ፡ ወለእለ፡ ፍሬሂ፡ ታበዝኅ፡ ለወይን፡ ወለዕፀውሂ፡ ታቌጽል፡ ወብ Σ.93ra
ዙኅ፡ ዘዘዚኣሁ፡ በከመ፡ እምዘ፡ ኮነ፡ ዘእምንግሥት፡ ሰርጎ፡ እንዘ፡ ታበርህ፡ ሕብረ፡ ወዓዲ፡
ፈድፋደ፡ ዘእምኵሉ፡ ሜላት፡ እንዘ፡ ትመውእ፡ በሥነ፡ አርእዮት፡ እንከ፡ ለፍሬ፡ በመንክር፡
ኪን፡ ዘኢኮነ፡ በኪን፡ እድ፡ ተስርዒዋ፡ እለ፡ እምኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በከመ፡ ዘኢይትሔ
ስው፡ ቃለ፡ መድኅን፡ ከማሁ፡ በፈቃዱ፡ አልቢሶ፡ ፍጥረተ።
33 ወእመስኬ፡ ለስሎሞን፡ ዘዕሩይ፡ ኢተኅደገ፡ ሎቱ፡ መካነ፡ ወዘእምቀደምት፡ ነገሥት፡ ዘዘንተ፡
አልባስ፡ ዐረዘ፡ ስርጐሂ፡ ምኩሕ፡ ዘለብሰ፡ ወዘዐቢየ፡ ክብረ፡ ያሰግር፡ ጸህቀ፡ ዘእምስብሓት፡
ዝየ። ይቤ፡ እንከ፡ እግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ እብለክሙ፡ ኢስሎ|ሞን፡ በኵሉ፡ ክብሩ፡ Σ.93rb
ኢለብሰ፡ ከመ፡ እሉ፡ አሐዱ፡ መንክር፡ እንከ፡ ወድሙረ፡ በከመ፡ እምዝ፡ ኮነ፡ ዘዚኣሁ፡ አፈ
ዋተ፡ መዐዛ፡ ይጼኑ።
34 በከመ፡ ተብህለ፡ ናሁ፡ ጼናሁ፡ ለወልድየ፡ ከመ፡ ጼና፡ ገዳም፡ ፍጹም፡ ዘባረኮ፡ እግዚአ፡
ብሔር። ወዘሐጋይስ፡ እንከ፡ ዘ<ቀ>ሥም፡ እንዘ፡ ያሔርግ፡ እምፍሬ፡ ወታቀርብ፡ ለበሲል።
ወዘክረምትስ፡ እንከ፡ ለዕረፍተ፡ ጸማ፡ ወለጽጋብ፡ ለእለ፡ ሐሙ፡ ወሀበ፡ <ከ>ማሁ፡ እንከ፡
ሳዐታትኒ፡ ለተድላ፡ ሰብእ፡ ሠናይ፡ ጠየቆ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በከመ፡ ዘይግእዝ፡ ፈድፋድ፡
ብዕልተ፡ ማእደ፡ ያቀርብ፡ እምፈቃዱ<።>
35 ብዙኀ<፡> እንከ፡ እምባሕር፡ አተለወ፡ መዕበለ፡ ዘእምልማድዝ፡ ሕይወት፡ አጥረየ፡ ሲሲተ፡
ኢየአክል፡ እንከ፡ ነገሮ፡ እንዘ፡ ብዙኅ፡ ውእ|ቱ፡ ንነግር፡ ዝክሮ፡ ወባሕቱ፡ እስመ፡ ምስለ፡ Σ.93va
እሉ፡ ኵሉ፡ ዘእምድር፡ ይበቍል፡ ወእንስሳኒ፡ ወሀበ፡ ለፍጥረት፡ እምውስቴቶሙ።
36 ለባሕርስ፡ ወቦ፡ ለመንገድ፡ ወቦ፡ ለአሥግሮ፡ በኵሉ፡ ወቦ፡ ለዘ፡ ዚኣሁ፡ ሐውዘ፡ ጸጊዎ፡
ጥሪተ፡ ወለህምሰ፡ ተቀንየ፡ ለሐራሲ፡ ወሀቦ፡ በኀይል፡ ለግብር፡ እንዘ፡ ይትቀነይ፡ ለምድር፡
ወአፍራስ፡ እንከ፡ ለፈጥን፡ በእንተ፡ ጐንዳየ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወሀበ፡ ባሕር፡ እንከ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢትኀ
ልፍ፡ እምፍጥረታ፡ እንዘ፡ ታኀልፍ፡ ረስያ፡ በኪን፡ አኮ፡ በመቅደፍት፡ ባሕቲቱ፡ ዘይኃልፍ፡

 : 30,2 ወሂ<ቦ>፡] pro ውሂቦ፡ coni.; ወሂበ፡ Σ | 3 ይመይ<ጥ><።>] coni.; ይመይጠ፡ Σ
31,2 <ያ>ማስን፡] coni.; ይማስን፡ Σ | 3 መዝግብ፡] pro መዝገብ፡ Σ | 32,1 ምእክ<ል>ና፡] coni.; ምእክና፡ Σ
2 አ<ሐ>ቴኔ፡] pro አሐተኔ፡ coni.; አሕቴኔ፡ Σ | 3 ዘመፀውስ፡] pro ዘመፀውሰ፡ Σ | 7 በኪን፡] Σ; በኪነ፡ expect.
ተስርዒዋ፡] pro ተሰርዒዋ፡ Σ | 33,1 ወእመስኬ፡] pro ወእመሰኬ፡ Σ | 2 አልባስ፡] Σ; አልባሰ፡ expect. | ምኩሕ፡] Σ;
ወምኩሐ፡ expect. | ጸህቀ፡] pro ጽህቀ፡ Σ | 4 እምዝ፡] Σ; እምዘ፡ expect. | 34,2 ዘ<ቀ>ሥም፡] coni.; ዘቅሥም፡ Σ
3 <ከ>ማሁ፡] coni.; ክማሁ፡ Σ | 4 ፈድፋድ፡] pro ፈድፋደ፡ Σ | 35,1 መዕበለ፡] pro ማዕበለ፡ Σ | 36,1 ለባሕርስ፡] pro
ለባሕርሰ፡ Σ | 2 ወለህምሰ፡] pro ወላህምሰ፡ Σ | 3 ጐንዳየ፡] Σ; <ዘ>ጐን<ደ>የ፡ fort. coni. | 4 ረስያ፡] pro ረሰያ፡ Σ

: 31,3 ፍሬ።] ። Σ | 5 ወዘሐጋይ።] ።= Σ | 32,8 ፍጥረተ።] ። Σ | 33,3 ዝየ።] ። Σ | 5 ይጼኑ።] ።= Σ

34,1 እግዚአ፡…2 ብሔር።] ። Σ | 2 ለበሲል።] ። Σ | 35,1 ብዙኀ<፡>] ። Σ | 3 እምውስቴቶሙ።] ። Σ

238
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 30 – 34

So therefore, since only one created the whole world, wide for man, it remained forever what was 30
enough to give, turning with an intelligent disposition the recurrence of the hours, properly and
regularly.
In order not to sadden human’s life, he arranged abundant fruits for (its) benefit. He created rain, 31
so that at the right time it might irrigate the earth; and (if it rained) without moderation it would
have ruined the generation of the fruits, and for lack (of rain) it <would have> ruined (it as well):
with right measure, he therefore showed the fixed time, he made a useful storage of the rains and
quadruple hours of the year in sequence; he instituted two (hours) different one from the other, of
the winter (of the rains) and of the summer (of the dry season);
and also two in the middle, as if he had inserted a mean grade, of spring and autumn; and with the 32
mean grade, however, by matching things that are different, he mixed with careful measure the
whole year. And then he decided to give the human beings something for each hour: spring, it
makes all the flowers sprout; those (flowers) which (give) fruits, it multiplies them; it makes the
vine and the trees grow branches, making many colours shine, of every kind, like the clothing of a
queen, and surpassing by far every byssus for the beauty of the appearance of the fruits: with a
marvelous art, which was not set up with the skill of the hand: things that (come) from God, like
the never false Word of the Saviour: so by his will he had clothed the creation.
And if even for him who is equal to Solomon no place was left, (for him) who (descended) from 33
ancient kings, who wore these garments, who wore glorious ornaments, and who endeavoured to
gather great dignity, (superior) to the glory of here: he said therefore, Our Lord Jesus Christ: «I say
to you, not even Solomon with all his magnificence dressed as one (of) these». Extraordinary and
mixed like with perfumes each one with its own essence, he smelled.
As has been said: «Behold, the smell of my Son (is) like the smell of a perfect desert place that God 34
has blessed». In summer, therefore, he granted (the season) for the harvest, which from the fruits
produces the sprouts and (brings them) to maturity; and in winter (the season) for rest from the
hardships and for the satisfaction of those who have suffered. Thus God also had full count of the

   : 33,3 «I…4 these».] cf. Matt 6:29. | 34,1 As…2 blessed».] cf. Gen 27:27.

 : 31,4 he1 …showed this and the following are gerunds of subordinate clauses, extremely
frequent in this text like in all pre-classical texts with a Greek Vorlage (see for the New Testament W.B. M, The
Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission, and Limitations, Clarendon, Oxford 1977, 247s.; O.
K, Reflections on the Ethio-Semitic Gerund, in K F – E K – M S,
eds, Ethiopia in Broader Perspective: Papers of the XIIIth International Conference of Ethiopian Studies, Kyoto, 12–17
December 1997, Shokado Book Sellers, Kyoto 1997, I, 492-498: 494s.), but for the sake of clarity they are translated
here with indicative forms of independent clauses; while it is not necessary to hypothesize here an independent
gerund as attested in Tǝgrǝññā, since these forms can be explained on the basis of the influence of the Vorlage, it is
possible that this use, occasionally recorded in medieval Gǝʿǝz, is not unrelated to the influence that such texts might
have exerted; see on the phenomenon P. M, L’edizione critica dei testi etiopici: problemi di metodo e reperti
linguistici, in Linguistica e filologia. Atti del VII Convegno Internazionale di Linguisti tenuto a Milano nei giorni 12-14
settembre 1984, Sodalizio Glottologico Milanese - Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, eds G. B – V. P,
Paideia, Brescia 1987, 347-356: 350s.; I., Il Gadla Latṣun, EVO 10/2 (1987) 121-160: 140, n. 14. | 32,4 makes2 …5
branches,] tāqʷeṣṣǝl «makes grow», from ʾaqʷaṣṣala (II.2 verbal stem), so far unattested. | 8 he…creation.] this form is
also a gerund, that for the sake of clarity is translated with an indicative form. | 33,3 «I…4 these».] the Ethiopic text of
Matt 6:29 is slightly different: እብለክሙ፡ (ከመ፡ add. B-, D-, and E-Text) ሰሎሞን፡ ጥቀ፡ በኵሉ፡ ክብሩ፡ ኢለብሰ፡ ከመ፡
አሐዱ፡ እምእሉ፡, ed. R. Z. | 34,1 «Behold,…2 blessed».] the Ethiopic text of Gen 27:27 is slightly different:
ናሁ፡ ጼናሁ፡ ለወልድየ፡ ጼና፡ ገዳም፡ ጥቀ፡ ዘባረኮ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡, ed. C.F.A. D; ናሁ፡ ጼናሁ፡ ለወልድየ፡ ጼና፡
ገዳም፡ ጥንቁቀ፡ ዘባረኮ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡, ed. J.O. B. | 3 produces] yāḥerrǝg «produce the sprouts», from ʾaḥarraga (I.2
verbal stem), so far unattested, probably a denominative verb from ḥarag «vine shoot, twig».

239
 A 27 (2021)

አሕማር<፡> እለ፡ በነፋስ፡ ርቱዕ፡ በከመ፡ አክናፍ፡ እንዘ፡ ይ<ጸ>ውር፡ ይኀልፍ፡ እንተ፡ ማዕ
በለ፡ ወሀበ፡ ለሰብእ<።>
37 ወመጠኔዝ፡ እንከ፡ ዘኪረነ፡ በረከት፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ዘተኀድገ፡ ሀሎ። እስመ፡ ብፁዕ፡ ነቢይ፡
መጺኦ፡ | ውስተ፡ ሕሊናሁ፡ ምንት፡ ውእቱ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወዘከመ፡ እፎ፡ ኮኖ፡ ተድላሁ፡ ለመን Σ.93vb
ክር፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወዘእምበረከት፡ ዐቢየ፡ ጸጋ፡ መጠኔ፡ ነገሮ፡ ይቤ፡ ምንት፡ ውእቱ፡
ሰብእ፡ ከመ፡ ትዝከሮ፡ ወልደ፡ እጓለ፡ እመሕያው፡ ከመ፡ ትዝከሮ፡ ሕቀ፡ ክመ፡ አኅጸጽኮ፡
እምላእክቲከ፡ ስብሐተ፡ ወክብረ፡ ከለልኮ፡ ወሤምኮ፡ ውስተ፡ ግብረ፡ እደዊከ፡ ወኵሎ፡ አግረ
ርከ፡ ታሕተ፡ መከየደ፡ እገሪሁ<።>
38 መጠኔዝ፡ እንከ፡ ጸጋ፡ አትሊዎ፡ ብዝኅተ፡ አልቦ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ዘፈቀደ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ባሕቱ፡ ናአ
ምር፡ በቋዔ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር<፡> ወአኰቴተ፡ ጸሎት፡ ንፈኑ፡ ወበከመ፡ ተድላሁ፡ ንሕዮ፡
ወንንበር፡ በከመ፡ ተውህበ፡ ትእዛዝ፡ ሕግ፡ ወበሕቱ፡ እምውስተ፡ ዘመጠኔዝ፡ ወአምጣነስ፡
በቍዔት፡ ዘእንበለ፡ አኰቴ|ተ፡ ሰብእ፡ ስብሐት፡ ወኢለቢዎ፡ ትፄወወ፡ ወዘእንበለ፡ ሕግ፡ ተዘ Σ.94ra
ለፈ፡ ውስተ፡ ደኃሪት፡ <ር>ስዓን፡ ተስሒቦ፡ ለገባሪ፡ ወለበቋዒ፡ ወመድኀኒ፡ ረሲዖ፡ ለእግ
ዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወኀበ፡ አምልኮ፡ አጋንንት፡ ወዲቆ፡ ለጣዖት፡ ገቢኦ፡ በስሕተት፡ እብነ፡ ወዕፀ፡
አምሊኮ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ነፍስ፡ እንዘ፡ ንሡእ፡ ዘቅድመ፡ ተነግረ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ወዘንተ፡ ነሢኦ፡ እም
ኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወ<አ>ጥረየ፡ ኪያነ፡ ከመ፡ ይርከብ፡ በእንተዝ፡ ሲሲት፡ ኮነ፡ ለወ
ሃቢ፡ በርስዓን<።>
39 እለ፡ እንከ፡ ዐቢየ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ አፍቅሮ፡ ሰብእ፡ ወእንዘ፡ ይኤብሱ፡ ይምሕክ፡
ወመጠኔዝ፡ አርኢዮሙ፡ ስሕተተ፡ ወለገቢረ፡ ዘመፍትው፡ ኵነኔ፡ ኀደ<ጎ>፡ ወለአእምሮ፡ ስሕ
ተተ፡ አግብኦ፡ ወለአርትዖ፡ ስሕተተ፡ <ጸውዖ>፡ | በእንተዝ፡ ለጻድቅ፡ ኖሕ፡ ታቦተ፡ ይግ Σ.94rb
በር፡ አዘዘ፡ ወቦቱ፡ አይኅ፡ ይመጽእ፡ አቅደመ፡ ነጊር።
40 ወበተግሣጽ፡ ኵነኔ፡ እንዘ፡ ይኄሩ፡ ተዘምደ፡ ወመጠኔዝ፡ ትዕግሥት፡ ኮነ፡ ለኅድገት፡ እስከ፡
ምእት፡ ወዕሥራ፡ ኵሎ፡ ዓመታት፡ ያኑኅ፡ አፍቀረ፡ ሰብእ፡ ቅድመ፡ ውስተ፡ ንስሓ፡ ለእለ፡
አበሱ፡ በእንተዝ፡ ሙሴሂ፡ እንዘ፡ ሐጋጌ፡ ሠናየ፡ አምልኮ፡ አ<ቀ>መ፡ ወነቢያት፡ ወመምህ
ራን፡ አማነ፡ ይፌኑ፡ ወኵሎ፡ እንከ፡ ይኤዝዝ፡ ይስበክ፡ አማነ፡ ወለረሲዓን፡ ይዝልፍዎሙ፡
ስሕተቶሙ፡ ወግ<ቡ>አነ፡ ይግብሩ፡ ለእቡሳን።
41 በሉ፡ እንከ፡ ለሕዝብ፡ ከመ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ነግሠ፡ እስመ፡ እንከ፡ አርትዓ፡ ለዓለም፡
ከመ፡ ኢተንቀልቀለ፡ ወይኰንን፡ አሕዛብ፡ በርትዕ፡ ወሕቅ፡ እምቅድ|ም፡ እሉ፡ ውስተ፡ Σ.94va
ውእቱ፡ መዝሙር፡ ዜንዉ፡ ለአሕዛብ፡ ስብሐቲሁ፡ በውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ አሕዛብ፡ መንክር፡
እስመ፡ ዐቢይ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወስቡሕ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ወግሩም፡ ውእቱ፡ እምኵሉ፡ አማል
ክት፡ እስመ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ አማልክተ፡ አሕዛብ፡ አጋንንት<።>
42 ወእግዚአ፡ ብሔርሰ፡ ሰማያተ፡ ገብረ፡ አኮ፡ ዘንተ፡ ክመ፡ ባሕቲቶ፡ እ<ላ>፡ ዘመድኅን፡ መጽ
አቶ፡ አቅደመ፡ ዜንዎ፡ ወነጊር፡ ንዜኑ፡ ዕለት፡ እምዕለት፡ መድኃኒቶ፡ ወኀበ፡ ብፁዕ፡ ኤርም
ያስ፡ ምንተ፡ ይቤ፡ አማልክት፡ እለ፡ ሰማየ፡ ወምድር፡ ኢገብሩ፡ ይትሕጐሉ፡ እምድር፡

 : 36,5 እለ፡] Σ; አላ፡ fort. coni. | ይ<ጸ>ውር፡] coni.; ይጻውር፡ Σ | 37,4 ትዝከሮ፡2] Σ; fort. cor-
ruptum, cf. Ps. 8:5-7 ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ | 38,3 ትእዛዝ፡] Σ; ትእዛዘ፡
expect. | ወበሕቱ፡] pro ወባሕቱ፡ Σ | ወአምጣነስ፡] pro ወአምጣነሰ፡ Σ | 5 <ር>ስዓን፡] coni.; ረስዓን፡ Σ
8 ወ<አ>ጥረየ፡] coni.; ወጥረየ፡ Σ | በእንተዝ፡…9 በርስዓን<።>] fort. corruptum | 39,2 ኀደ<ጎ>፡] coni.; ኀደጉ፡ Σ
3 <ጸውዖ>፡] coni.; ጽወዐ፡ Σ | 40,2 ሰብእ፡] Σ; ሰብአ፡ expect. | 3 አ<ቀ>መ፡] coni.; አቅመ፡ Σ | 5 ወግ<ቡ>አነ፡]
coni.; ግብአነ፡ Σ | 41,2 አሕዛብ፡] Σ; አሕዛበ፡ expect. | 3 ዜንዉ፡] Σ; ዜነዉ፡ expect. | 42,1 እ<ላ>፡] pro አላ፡ coni.;
እለ፡ Σ | መጽአቶ፡] pro ምጽአቶ፡ Σ | 2 ንዜኑ፡] Σ; <እ>ን<ዘ፡ ን>ዜኑ፡ fort. coni. | 3 ወምድር፡] Σ; ወምድረ፡ ex-
pect.

: 36,5 አሕማር<፡>] ። Σ | 37,1 ሀሎ።] ። Σ | 38,2 እግዚአ፡ ብሔር<፡>] ። Σ | 39,4 ነጊር።] ።= Σ
40,5 ለእቡሳን።] ። Σ

240
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 34 – 38

hours destined for the pleasure of the good human: like the one who reproaches much, he then
prepares a rich table of his own will.
From the sea, he made many waves follow one another, which, as a result of this habit of life, he 35
acquired (so) as (to be) food. Since this is too much, it exceeds the faculty of expressing it and we
mention (only) a notable example. Yet, in addition to all these things that came out of the earth,
from among them also the animals he gave to the creation.
As for the sea, it exists for travelling, for fishing, absolutely, and for his own pleasure, having made 36
grace of gain; and the ox serves the ploughman, and he endowed it with strength for labour, serving
the land; and the horses, he gave them for speed, due to the slowness of the human beings. He has
made the sea, with wise art, not to pass beyond its nature, and to be passable: not only that rowing
ships pass by, he has bestowed upon the human beings that they pass with favourable wind through
the waves, carrying (them) as (on) wings.
And although we mentioned so great things, there is an even greater blessing that has been left out 37
(so far). Indeed, the blessed prophet, having come to his mind what the human being is and how,
how the favour of the miraculous God and the great grace of blessing was for him, as far as he
could express it, said: «What is the human being, that you remember him, the son of man, that you
remember him; you have made him little inferior to your angels, you have crowned him with glory
and dignity; you have placed him in the work of your hands, and everything you have subdued
under the footprints of his feet».
Therefore, having made such a great grace follow, there is nothing he wanted more than our 38
acknowledging God’s favour, sending a prayerful thanksgiving, and living according to his
pleasure, and remaining as the commandment of the law has been given; yet, from such a great
thing and according to the measure of the favour, without human thanksgiving, (without) glorifica-
tion, and not having understood, (the human being) was taken prisoner and without law was
reprimanded, dragged into extreme ungodliness, having been ungodly toward the creator, the
benefactor, the saviour God: having fallen into idolatry, he returned to idols, having erroneously
worshipped stones and soulless woods, the creation being taken as we have said before and having
received this from God; and <redeemed> us to find (the reason why) by ungodliness we became
birds of prey towards the (munificent) giver.

   : 37,4 «What…7 feet».] cf. Ps 8:5-7.

 : 5 reproaches] zayǝgǝʾǝz: this is the meaning of the verb; it seems unlikely that we have here
a graphic variant of zayǝgǝʿǝz, «leave, move the camp», which does not grant any satisfactory meaning. | 35,1 From…
2 food.] the interpretation of this passage is very uncertain. Also the punctuation in the manuscript would separate
bǝzuḫa from ʾǝnka, which appears very unlikely, and has been emended by connecting bǝzuḫa to what follows. The
term for «food» is sisit, that also has the meaning of «falcon», see W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 516,
which the context does not allow. | 36,3 slowness] the text has gʷandāya sabʾ, but a noun gʷandāy is unattested; either
we postulate a non-attested noun gʷandāy or we have to emend the text, for example to baʾǝnta (za)gʷandaya
«because the human being is slow». | 37,4 «What…5 him1] the text does not correspond to the quotation (Ps. 8:5
ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ) and repeats the verb tǝzkaro, or more likely,
tǝzzǝkkaro, according to an imperfect pattern yǝt1ǝ22a3 (III.1 verbal stem), *tǝtzǝkkaro > tǝzzǝkkaro. | 38,8 being
taken] nǝśuʾ seems to be the participle of naśʾa, «take», while a connection with the root of śawwǝʿa, «sacrify» in a
graphic variant (ʾ for ʿ) seems to be excluded, because the context does not allow any such interpretation. | 9 <redee-
med>…10 giver.] this passage is extremely obscure and probably corrupt. The emendation in «redeemed» is minor
(waṭraya to wa<ʾa>ṭraya). There are several uncertainties in what follows: sisit, which occurred also before with the
meaning of «food», is interpreted here in the meaning of «falcon, bird of prey», which also exists, see W. L,
Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 516; the verb is interpreted as konna (I plur.), not kona (III masc. sing.), in keeping
with the I plur. introduced by kiyāna.

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 A 27 (2021)

እምታሕተ፡ ሰማይ፡ ካልእኒ፡ እምነቢያት፡ ይብል፡ ወይሜህር፡ እምኀበ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡

ነሢኦ፡ ሥርዐተ፡ ጥዩቀ፡ ለካልእ፡ ኀበረ፡ እንዘ፡ ያዐቅብ፡ ትእዛዘ<።>
43 እስመ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ እንከ፡ | በከመዝ፡ እምአሐዱ፡ አፍ፡ ለእለ፡ ያጣዕዉ፡ ይዛለፉ፡ ስሕተ Σ.94vb
ቶሙ፡ ወእንዘ፡ ያግህድዋ፡ ለእከይ፡ ወለጕንደየ፡ ንስሓ፡ እንዘ፡ ያነክሩ፡ ይብሉ፡ ደቂቀ፡
እጓለ፡ እመ፡ ሕያው፡ እስከ፡ ማእዜኑ፡ ታከብዱ፡ ልብክሙ፡ ለምንት፡ ታፈቅሩ፡ ከንቶ፡
ወተኃሥሡ፡ ሐሶተ።
44 ወከዕበ፡ እንከ፡ ይሜህሩ፡ በእንተ፡ ስሕተተ፡ ጣዖት፡ ይብሉ፡ አማልክቲሆሙ፡ ለአሕዛብ፡
ወርቅ፡ ወብሩር፡ ግብር፡ እደ፡ ሰብ<እ>፡ አፍ፡ ቦሙ፡ ወኢይነቡ፡ ዓይን፡ ቦሙ፡ ወኢይሬ
ኢዩ፡ እዝን፡ ቦሙ፡ ወኢይሰምዑ፡ ወቦ፡ እ<ለ>፡ ዐውሩ፡ ተናግሮ፡ ዝነገር፡ ከማሆሙ፡ ለይ
ኩኑ፡ እለ፡ ይገብርዎሙ፡ ወለኵሎሙ፡ እለ፡ ይትአመንዎሙ፡ ወበዝልፈት፡ ቅድመ፡ አዕይ
ንተ፡ አንቢሮሙ፡ ለስሕተት፡ ኢለቢዎ፡ ወበእንተ፡ ፍርሀተ፡ መርገም፡ አር|ቲዖ፡ እንዘ፡ ይሌ Σ.95ra
ብዉ፡ ለእለ፡ ይትማ<ሰ>ሉ፡ ቦሙ፡ ርግመት፡ ቦሙ፡ ኀይለ፡ ለእሉ፡ ኢለቢዎ፡ ግሙራ፡ ዘበእ
ንተ፡ ዘይኄይስ፡ ፈውሰ።
45 ከዕበ፡ ለእለ፡ ያመስሉ፡ ከመ፡ ኢተገብረ፡ ዝዓለም፡ ለእለ፡ ያመስሉ፡ ከመ፡ ለሊሁ፡ ኮነ፡ ይሜ
ህሩ፡ እንከ፡ ይጌሥጹ፡ ሰብሕዎ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እምሰማያት፡ ወሰብሕዎ፡ ሰማያተ፡ ሰማ
ያት፡ ወማይኒ፡ ዘመልዕልተ፡ ሰማያት፡ ይሴብሑ፡ ለስመ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እስመ<፡>
ውእቱ፡ ይቤ፡ ወኮኑ። ወውእቱ፡ አዘዘ፡ ወተፈጥሩ።
46 ወከዕበ፡ የብቡ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ኵሉ፡ ምድር፡ ተቀነዩ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በትፍሥ
ሕት፡ ባኡ፡ ቅድሜሁ፡ በሐሤት፡ አእምሩ፡ ከመ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ውእቱ፡ አምላክነ። ወው

 : 43,3 ልብክሙ፡] pro ልበክሙ፡ Σ | 44,1 ወከዕበ፡] pro ወካዕበ፡ Σ | 2 ሰብ<እ>፡] coni.; ሰብአ፡
Σ | 3 እ<ለ>፡] coni.; እሉ፡ Σ | 5 ኢለቢዎ፡] Σ; ኢለቢዎ<ሙ>፡ fort. coni. | አርቲዖ፡] Σ; አርቲዖ<ሙ>፡ fort. coni.
6 ይትማ<ሰ>ሉ፡] coni.; ይትማስሉ፡ Σ | 45,1 ከዕበ፡] pro ካዕበ፡ Σ | 46,1 ወከዕበ፡] pro ወካዕበ፡ Σ

: 43,4 ሐሶተ።] ። Σ | 44,7 ፈውሰ።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ | 45,3 እስመ<፡>] ፤ Σ | 4 ወኮኑ።] ። Σ
ወተፈጥሩ።] ። Σ | 46,2 አምላክነ።] ። Σ

   : 39,3 For…4 come.] cf. Gen 6:5-8:21. | 42,3 «The…4 heaven».] cf. Jer 10:11.
43,2 «Human…3 lie».] cf. Ps 4:3. | 44,1 «The…3 hear»] cf. Ps 115:4-6 (LXX 113:12-14); Ps 135:15-17 (LXX
134:15-17). | 45,2 «Glorify…heaven»,] cf. Ps 136:26 (LXX 135:26). | 3 heaven1 …4 created».] cf. Ps 148:4-5.

 : 39,2 he…3 them>] the meaning appears to be clear, but the text here translated is the result
of a few emendations which appear necessary. Note that the agreement in number is singular and plural with the
collective noun sabʾ «human beings»; the translation has normalized the plural. | 4 ark,] tābot, the proper term of the
Ethiopian tradition, see Rodinson 1962M. R, Sur eth. tābot, ar. tābūt et les noms sémitiques de l’Arche,
Comptes rendus du Groupe Linquistique d’Études Chamito-Sémitiques 9 (1962) 64-68, and the discussion in W.
L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 570. | 40,1 benevolent] ʾǝnza yǝḫerru, from the verb ḫerawa, see C.F.A.
D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 611. | that…3 sinned.] this passage is obscure in its grammatical structure and it is
uncertain whether the second sentence (from «He has loved the human beings») is really separated from the
preceding one. The general meaning, as introduced by the first sentence of the paragraph, is clear. | 5 <repentants>.]
gǝ<bu>ʾana is a conjecture for the transmitted gǝbʾana that does not provide any meaning. I suppose the existence of
a participial form, attested as such, see W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 176, with the technical meaning
of the verb gabʾa, «re-enter (faith), convert». | 42,3 «The…4 heaven».] the Ethiopic text of Jer 10:11 (in the absence of
a critical edition): ከመዝ፡ በልዎ፡ ለማልክት፡ እለ፡ ገብሩ፡ ሰማየ፡ ወምድረ፡ ለይደምሰሱ፡ ወይጥፍዑ፡ ምድር፡ እምታሕተ፡
ሰማይ፡, ed. from a transcription kindly provided by the project Textual History of the Ethiopic Bible. | 5 and…
commandment.] the text is not perfectly clear and it is not to be excluded that the passage is corrupt. | 43,3 lie».]
ḥassota, accusative from a so far unattested ḥassot, is probably the right reading from the root ḥsw (I.2 verbal stem
ḥassawa), and does not need to be emended into ḥassata from the more common ḥassat. | 44,3 speaking…4 language,]

242
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 39 – 45

Human beings who were greatly devoted to God, even while they were sinning, he had indulgence 39
(for them); and having they shown such a great error, he <left them> to make the judgment that
was necessary, brought them back to know the error, and <called them> to correct it. For this he
ordered the righteous Noah to build the ark, and by this he foretold that the flood would come.
The warning was accompanied by a benevolent judgment. So great was his patience that he let him 40
go, to the point of prolonging all his years to a hundred and twenty. He has loved the human beings
first in penance for those who sinned. Therefore also Moses, he established him as the lawgiver of
piety; and he sent prophets and teachers of truth; and he commanded everyone to preach the truth,
to reproach the wicked for their sins, and to turn sinners into <repentants>.
So tell the people that God reigns! Verily, he has made the world righteous, that it should not waver, 41
and to judge the nations according to righteousness and measure. From the very beginning these in
the Psalms proclaimed to the nations his extraordinary glory among all the nations, for great is
God and most glorious, and most terrible of all gods, for all the gods of the nations are demons.
And God created the heavens, and not only that, but he foretold and predicted the coming of the 42
Saviour. Let us narrate his (work of) salvation day by day; and with the blessed Jeremiah, what did
he say: «The gods who have not made heaven and earth will disappear from the earth and under
heaven». And yet another of the prophets says and teaches, having received from God a precise
disposition; and another one he joined making observe the commandment.
Indeed, all of them, redeeming thus as from one mouth the error of those who practiced idolatry 43
and making the evil evident, and stigmatizing the slowness to repentance, said: «Human beings,
how long will you make your hearts heavy? why do you love vanity and seek the lie?».
Moreover, they still teach about the error of idols; they say: «The gods of the nations are gold and 44
silver, the work of the human hands; they have mouths and do not speak; they have eyes and do not
see; they have ears and do not hear»; and there are those who have become blind; speaking this
language, let them who make them become like these, and all those who believe in them: as they
have placed first (their) eyes with reprobation to the error, they understand well, while one has not
understood and another has corrected (his behaviour only) for fear of the curse; for those who are
like them, for some of these there is a curse, for some there is violence, having completely not
understood the remedy for the best.
And then, for those who are of the opinion that this world was not made, for those who are of the 45
opinion that it was (always by itself): they teach, they admonish: «Glorify God from heaven»,
«glorify him, heaven of heaven, and even the waters above heaven glorify the name of God, for he
said and they were, he commanded and they were created».

tanāgǝro zǝnagar is an infinitive in a construct state with a following noun; if the passage is sound (something could
be missing), we have a pending construction; there are a few chances to interpret tanāgǝro as an alternative form of
gerund (Amharic-like, while the regular form would be tanāgiro), for which there could be a few other occurrences;
on the Ethiopian Semitic gerund, see O. K, Reflections on the Ethio-Semitic Gerund, cit. ad § 31; and for the
dating of the inscription of Ham, where a discussed gerund occurs, see lastly, with further references, A. B,
‘Paleografia quale scienza dello spirito’: Once more on the Gǝʿǝz inscription of Ham (RIÉ no. 232)’, in Exploring Written
Artefacts: Objects, Methods, and Concepts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures 25), ed. J.B. Q, De Gruyter,
Berlin–Boston, MA 2021, I, 3-33. | 4 as…6 curse] a very complex passage that has required a free rendering of
gerunds and an interpretive hypothesis; the gerunds and cirumstancial clauses (ʾanbiromu, ʾilabbiwo, ʾartiʿo, ʾǝnza
ʾilabbiwo, ʾǝnza yǝlabbǝwu) have been rendered with a finite tense; note that there would be a shift from plural to
singular and again to plural, with the singular possibly to be explained as «one… another» that is not explicitly
expressed. | 5 have…error,] possibly qǝdma ʾanbiromu is a circumlocution for «prepose» (προτίθημι). | 45,1 And…
opinion] from this passage onward the text is much more understandable and marked by a more homiletic tone; this
shift in tone and style could suggest that the treatise in the present form is the result of the combination of preceding
independent texts.

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 A 27 (2021)

እቱ፡ ገብረ|ነ፡ ወአኮ፡ ንሕነ። ወእንዘ፡ <ይ>መርሑ፡ ውስተ፡ አምልኮ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ Σ.95rb
ለኵሉ፡ ኅቡረ፡ ለአሕዛብ፡ ይስበኩ፡ እምኵሉ፡ አዋዲ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ሰበከ፡ እንዘ፡ ይጸርኅ፡ ሰብ
ሕዎ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ኵልክሙ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወይዌድስዎ፡ ኵሎሙ፡ ሕዝብ።
47 ወከዕበ፡ አምጽኡ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ስብሓተ፡ ወክብረ፡ አምጽኡ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ስብ
ሐት፡ ለስሙ፡ ስግዱ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ በዐጸደ፡ መቅደሱ። ወለእለሰ፡ በኢለብዎ፡ ለዘ፡
ህልው፡ ያመከንዩ፡ በቅሩብ፡ ያውሥእ፡ ትምህርተ፡ እንዘ፡ ያርኢ፡ ሰማያት፡ ይነግሩ፡ ስብ
ሐተ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወግብረ፡ እደዊሁ፡ ይነግራ፡ ምጽናዓ<ት>፡ ዕለት፡ ለዕለት፡ ትጐ
ሥዕ፡ ቃ<ል>፡ ወሌሊተ፡ ለሌሊተ፡ ታየድዕ፡ አእምሮ፡ አልቦ፡ ነቢበ፡ | ወአልቦኣ፡ ነገራት፡ Σ.95va
ዘኢይስማዕ፡ ቃሎሙ፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡ ምድር፡ ወፅአ፡ ድምፅ፡ ቃሎሙ፡ ወእስከ፡ አጽናፍ፡
ዓለም፡ ቃላቲሆሙ።
48 ዝእንከ፡ ምንተ፡ ይብል፡ እስመ፡ በከንቱ፡ ኦአንተ፡ ብእሲ፡ ኢያ<እ>ምሮ፡ በአስተሣንዮተ፡
ቃል፡ ታመክረኒ፡ እንዘ፡ ብከ፡ ቅድመ፡ አዕይንቲከ፡ ኵሎ፡ ዓለም፡ ዘያርኢ፡ ኀይሎ፡ ለገ
ባሪ፡ ወበከመ፡ እንከ፡ ከመዝ፡ ኢትሰምዕ፡ ለእልኵቱ፡ ትኩን፡ ትሬሲ፡ ለእለ፡ ውስተ፡ ኵሉ፡
ምድር፡ ወፅአ፡ ቃለ፡ ድም<ፅ>፡ ዘአእምሮ፡ ወለእለ፡ ነገሮሙ፡ ኵሎ፡ ዓለም፡ አጽገቡ፡
ለእመ፡ እንከ፡ ምስለ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ ወዘመፍትው፡ ትምህርተ፡ ታቀርብ፡ <ብ>ከ፡ ዘይአክል፡
ሕገ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘለአማን፡ እግዚእነ፡ ወታቀውመኒ።
49 እስመ፡ እንከ፡ ሕገ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ንጹሕ፡ ወይመይጥ፡ ነፍስ፡ | ስምዑ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ Σ.95vb
ብሔር፡ እምነት፡ ወታጠብብ፡ ሕፃናተ፡ ትእዛዙ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዕውቅት፡ ወተከሥተ፡
አዕይንተ፡ ወቀደመ፡ እምዝኒ፡ በእንተ፡ ዘያስተርኢ፡ ኪን፡ ዘበኵሉ፡ ጥበብ፡ ሞሴ፡ እንዘ፡
ምንተ፡ ይቤ፡ ወነጺረከ፡ ውስተ፡ ሰማይ፡ ወርእየከ፡ ፀሓይ፡ ወወርኅ፡ ወኵሎ፡ ዓለም፡ ኢትስ
ሓት፡ ወኢትስገድ፡ ሎሙ።
50 ዘንተ፡ እንከ፡ ወዘከመ፡ እሉ፡ ተዐዲዎሙ፡ እንከ፡ ሕዝብ፡ አይሁድ፡ ቅድመ፡ እምኵሉ፡
እንዘ፡ ይትመርሑ፡ ውስተ፡ አምልኮ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወኵሉ፡ እንከ፡ ኅቡር፡ ለዓለም፡ በእ
ንተ፡ ትድምርተ፡ እሉ፡ ወባዕድኒ፡ ይሜህሩ<።>
51 ወበእንተ፡ ምጽአተ፡ መድኅን፡ እንዘ፡ ይዜንዉ፡ ወፍኖተ፡ ይሬሲዩ፡ ሎሙ፡ ለሕልናሆሙ፡
ወያቅድሙ፡ አስተዳልዎ፡ ነፍሶሙ፡ ውስተ፡ ተወክፎ፡ ዘይ|ኄይስ፡ ትምህርት፡ ወለውስተ፡ Σ.96ra
ፍጽምት፡ ዘበኂሩት፡ ሕይወተ፡ አቅዲሞሙ፡ አይሁድ፡ በቃለ፡ ነቢያት፡ ተደሚፆ፡ በአእዛን፡
ወዘበእንተ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ተፈጺሞ፡ ተስፋ፡ ወውስተ፡ ዘሀሎ፡ ይኩን፡ ሥዩም፡ ወንቡር፡ በተ
ስፋ፡ መጺኦ፡ መድኅን።
52 በግብረ፡ አማን፡ እንከ፡ ዘውስተ፡ ነቢያት፡ አርአየ፡ ጽድቀ፡ ወበአቅድሞ፡ ቃል፡ እንከ፡
ኮነት፡ ዘእምትካት፡ እንከ፡ ዘይአክል፡ ዘበእንተ፡ ሕሊና፡ ሰብእ፡ አርአዮ፡ በአርአያ፡ ምጽ
አቱ፡ እንከ፡ በከማሁ፡ ለሰብእ፡ ክብ<ር>፡ መጠኔዝ፡ እንከ፡ ወረደ፡ እምክብ<ር>፡ መጠነ፡
መስፈርት፡ ዘይክሉ፡ ርኢየ።

 : 46,3 <ይ>መርሑ፡] coni.; ያመርሑ፡ Σ | 47,1 ወከዕበ፡] pro ወካዕበ፡ Σ | 4 ምጽናዓ<ት>፡]
coni.; ምጽናዓተ፡ Σ | 5 ቃ<ል>፡] coni.; ቃለ፡ Σ | 6 ዘኢይስማዕ፡] pro ኢይሰማዕ፡ Σ | ድምፅ፡] Σ; ድምፀ፡ expect.
አጽናፍ፡] Σ; አጽናፈ፡ expect. | 48,1 ኢያ<እ>ምሮ፡] coni.; ኢያአምሮ፡ Σ | 4 ድም<ፅ>፡] coni.; ድምፀ፡ Σ
5 <ብ>ከ፡] coni.; በከ፡ Σ | 49,1 ነፍስ፡] Σ; ነፍሰ፡ expect. | 4 ወርእየከ፡] pro ወርኢየከ፡ Σ | ፀሓይ፡ ወወርኅ፡] Σ;
ፀሓየ፡ ወወርኀ፡ expect. | 50,1 ሕዝብ፡] Σ; ሕዝበ፡ expect. | 3 ወባዕድኒ፡] Σ; ወባዕደኒ፡ expect. | 52,3 ክብ<ር>፡]
coni.; ክብረ፡ Σ | እምክብ<ር>፡] coni.; እምክብረ፡ Σ

: 46,3 ንሕነ።] ። Σ | 5 ሕዝብ።] ። Σ | 47,2 መቅደሱ።] ። Σ | 7 ቃላቲሆሙ።] ።= Σ

48,6 ወታቀውመኒ።] ። Σ | 49,5 ሎሙ።] ። Σ | 51,5 መድኅን።] ። Σ | 52,4 ርኢየ።] ። Σ

   : 46,4 «Glorify…him.] cf. Ps 67:4 (LXX 66:4). | 47,1 And…2 sanctuary.] cf. Ps
29:1-2 (LXX 28:1-2). | 3 «the…6 world».] cf. Ps 19:2-5 (LXX 18:2-5) (A.C.). | 49,3 «once…5 them»] cf. Deut 4:19.

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 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 46 – 52

And then, all the (people of the) earth, shout out joyfully to God; serve God with joy; go before him 46
with gladness; know that God is our God; he has made us and not we (him). And <as they lead> to
God’s devotion, let them preach, all the nations together; louder than every crier preached, crying
out: «Glorify God all you nations», and all the people will praise him.
And then, bring glory and dignity to God, glory to his name! Prostrate yourselves before God in 47
the court of his sanctuary. And to those who make excuses for not understanding what it is, let him
answer from near, showing the doctrine: «the heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament tells
the work of his hands, day by day the word erupts, and night by night he makes his knowledge
known; there is no speech, and there are no tongues that their word will not be heard; the sound of
their word has gone out into all the earth, and their words (have come) to the ends of the world».
And what does that mean? Verily, o man, with vain ignorance and beautiful words you want to test 48
me, while you have the whole world before thine eyes, which shows the power of the Factor; and
just as you do not hear, let yourself be for these – for whom it has gone out on all earth – the
resonating word of knowledge; and those to whom it has spoken have sated the whole world. If
therefore you commend the adherence to the evident and convenient doctrine, <with thee> (you
shall have) the sufficient law of God, of Our true Lord, and you will confirm me.
For the law of God is pure and turns the soul (to itself), witness to God, the truth; and the certain 49
commandment of God will make the children wise and open (their) eyes; and this was done before
by Moses, concerning the visible art, which is in all with wisdom: what did he say? «once you have
turned your eyes to heaven, and once you have seen the sun, and the moon, and all the world, fall
not into error, and prostrate yourself not to them»;
this and (words) similar to these, the people of the Jews transgressed, although they were led to the 50
devotion of God before everyone (else). All together, they will teach the world these and also other
things concerning the union.
And when they tell of the coming of the Saviour and make a way for them, to their intelligence, let 51
them first prepare their souls for the acceptance of the better doctrine, and for the perfect life in
virtue, the Jews having preceded, with the voice of the prophets resounding in their ears, and hope
having been fulfilled concerning Christ, and in the Saviour, who came with the hope to be appoin-
ted and invested.
Indeed, through actual work, that is in the prophets, he showed righteousness, and in advance. For 52
the Word was. But he had already shown it through similitude as far as human intelligence (can).

 : 46,2 <as…lead>] a simple emendation (yǝmarrǝḥu) to the transmitted yāmarrǝḥu «they
make lead». | 47,5 that…heard] zaʾiyǝssǝmmāʿ qālomu, probably according to an imperfect pattern yǝt1ǝ22a3 (III.1
verbal stem), zaʾiyǝssǝmmāʿ instead of zaʾiyǝssammāʿ; even so, the syntax is quite compressed. | 48,4 resonating word]
qāla dǝm<ṣ>, so rendered after a kind suggestion of Emiliano Fiori. | If…6 me.] the interpretation of this passage is
not certain; the emendation (baka to <bǝ>ka) seems to be necessary. | 49,1 witness…truth] sǝmʿu is interpreted here
as the noun sǝmʿ with the suffix pronoun –u. Alternatively, it could represent the imperative «you, listen»; the
syntatical context is relatively unclear and does not allow for any clear choice. | 3 «once…5 them»] the Ethiopic text of
Deut. 4:19: ወለእመ፡ ነጸርከ፡ ሰማየ፡ ወርኢከ፡ ፀሐየ፡ ወወርኀ፡ ወከዋክብተ፡ ወኵሎ፡ ሰርጓቲሃ፡ ለሰማይ፡ ዮጊ፡ ትጌጊ፡
ወትሰግድ፡ ሎሙ፡, ed. C.F.A. D. | 50,1 transgressed,] this gerund (taʿadiwomu) is here translated as an
independent verb for the sake of clarity; syntactically, the sentence depends on the previous one. This paragraph is
notable for the exceptional frequence of the particle ʾǝnka, almost without exception placed after the first word (or
accentual unit) of the sentence. | 2 they…3 union.] a translation «union of these and others» cannot be excluded.
51,3 resounding] tadam(m)iṣo (III.1 or III.2 verbal stem), so far unattested. | 52,1 through…that] bagǝbra ʾamān
ʾǝnka: the construct state before ʾǝnka is evidence that the two words here form an accentual unit, confirming that
only one prosodic unit is allowed before the particle ʾǝnka, that must always take the second position in a sentence.
righteousness,] ṣǝdqa, which is both «truth» and «justice, righteousness».

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 A 27 (2021)

53 ወበአምሳለ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እንዘ፡ ውእቱ፡ አኮ፡ በሤ<ጥ>፡ ዘኮነ፡ ከመ፡ ይኩን፡ ከመ፡ እግ
ዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ | አላ፡ ርእሶ፡ አትሒቶ፡ አየያተ፡ ገብር፡ ነሢኦ<፡> በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ ሐዋርያ፡ Σ.96rb
እንዘ፡ አልቦ፡ ትድምርት፡ ወክሥተተ፡ መለኮት፡ ወኢገሃድ፡ ወገጹኒ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢይክሉ፡
ርእየ፡ በአዕይንተ፡ ሰብእ፡ መዋቲ፡ ሠናየ፡ በጸጋ፡ ደሚሮ፡ ፍጥረተ፡ መለኮት፡ ወከመዝ፡ መን
ጦላዕተ፡ ነሢኦ፡ ሥጋ፡ ከመ፡ ሰብእ፡ እንከስ፡ እንዘ፡ ያስተርኢ፡ ኵሎ፡ ይገብር፡ ከመ፡ እግ
ዚአ፡ ብሔር።
54 በከመ፡ እንከ፡ መንክር፡ ቃል፡ ወንጌል፡ ወቃል፡ ሥጋ፡ ኮነ፡ ወኀደረ፡ ላዕሌነ፡ ወርኢነ፡
ስብሐቲሁ፡ ስብሐተ፡ ከመ፡ አሐዱ፡ ወልድ፡ እምኀበ፡ አብ፡ ፍጹም፡ ሞገሥ፡ ወአማነ፡ ዘበእ
ንተ፡ ልደት፡ በሥጋ፡ ርቱዕ፡ እንከ፡ ኮነ፡ በእንተ፡ ሰብእ፡ ከመ፡ ለፍጥረት፡ ዘዚኣነ፡ ሕይ
ወት፡ ይደምር፡ ተፍጻሜቱ<።> | Σ.96va
55 ሰብእ፡ እንከ፡ አብሶ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ገሃድ፡ አስተርኢዮ፡ ነኪረ፡ እምኮነ፡ እምፍጥረትነ፡
መድኅን፡ ወለእመስ፡ እምውስቴታ፡ ተገብረ፡ ኂሩተ፡ እምኀበ፡ አሕዛብ፡ <ቅ>ድምኒ፡
በቃል፡ መምጺኢተ፡ ኀጢኣተ፡ ወዘውእቱ፡ ዘተነግረ፡ እምኃበ፡ ሐዋርያት፡ እስመ፡ እንከ፡
በእንተ፡ ሰብእ፡ ሞተ፡ ወበእንተ፡ ሰብእ፡ ትንሣኤ፡ ምዉታን፡ በእንተዝ፡ ርቱዕ፡ እንከ፡
ሰብእ፡ ይኩን፡ በእንቲኣነ፡ ተዐገሰ።
56 ወአኮ፡ በከ፡ እንከ፡ ዘበሥጋ፡ ልደተ፡ ዘገብረ፡ አላ፡ ዘበ፡ ሰብእ፡ ሥጋ፡ ወዓዲ፡ ዘኵሉ፡ እን
ስሳ፡ በውስተ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ምግባር፡ እንዘ፡ ይልሕኵ፡ ወይሜስል፡ በዘ፡ ኢይትነገር፡ ጥበብ<፡>
ዘአሐዱ፡ ወልዱ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘውስተ፡ መሕፀን፡ ድንግል፡ ወሪዶ፡ እንዘ፡ ንጽሕት፡
ይእቲ፡ | በሥጋሃ፡ ወጻድቅት፡ በነፍሳ፡ ወቅድስት፡ እንከ፡ በመጽአተ፡ መንፈስ፡ መለኮት፡ Σ.96vb
ከዊና፡ እምውስቴታ፡ ሎቱ፡ ሥጋ፡ ዘመፍትው፡ ገብረ፡ በከመ፡ ትቤ፡ ገቢሮ፡ ዘይደሉ<።>
57 ወእማአኮ፡ መ<ሕ>ፈ<ድ>፡ ዘቦ፡ ነፍስ፡ ሕያው፡ ዘይትኀወሥ፡ ያርኢ፡ ለሰብእ፡ ፈቃዶ፡ በም
ድር፡ ወእምዝየ፡ እንከ፡ በዘ፡ ይደሉ፡ ትድምርት፡ ምስለ፡ ሰብእ፡ ከሢቶ፡ በሥጋ፡ ወአብ፡
እንከ፡ በዲቤሁ፡ አ<ርአያ፡ አ>ርአየ፡ በከመ፡ ዘኮነ፡ ንጹሕ፡ መጽሄት፡ ዘበአምሳለ፡ ዚኣሁ፡
ይትርአይ<፡> እስመ፡ ይቤ፡ ዘርእየ፡ ኪያየ፡ ርእዮ፡ ለአቡየ<።>
58 ወሂቦ፡ እንከ፡ ዘኢይትናፈቅ፡ እኅዘ፡ አማነ፡ ሥጋ፡ ወዓዲ፡ ኀይሎ፡ ዘበግብር፡ አርአዮ፡
ወውእቱሰ፡ እንከ፡ በእንተ፡ ሥጋ፡ ለዐይነ፡ ሰብእ፡ ይትርአይ፡ ወዘይደልዎ፡ ፍዳ፡ እን|ከ፡ Σ.97ra

 : 53,1 በሤ<ጥ>፡] coni.; በሤጠ፡ Σ | 5 እንከስ፡] pro እንከሰ፡ Σ | 54,4 ተፍጻሜቱ<።>] Σ;
ተፍጻሜቶ፡ expect. | 55,1 አብሶ፡] Σ; in አ<ቢ>ሶ፡ fort. coni. | ገሃድ፡] Σ; ገሃደ፡ expect. | 2 <ቅ>ድምኒ፡] coni.;
ቀድምኒ፡ Σ | 3 መምጺኢተ፡] pro መምጽኢተ፡ Σ | 56,4 በመጽአተ፡] pro ምጽአተ፡ Σ | 57,1 መ<ሕ>ፈ<ድ>፡] pro

: 53,2 ነሢኦ<፡>] ። Σ | 5 እግዚአ፡…6 ብሔር።] ። Σ | 55,5 ተዐገሰ።] ። et ad caput versum Σ

56,1 ወአኮ፡] ዝየ፡ monogramma in m. praem. Σ | 2 ጥበብ<፡>] ። Σ | 57,4 ይትርአይ<፡>] ።= Σ

   : 53,2 «having…servant»,] Phil. 2:7. | 54,1 and1 …2 truly] John 1:14 (A.C.).
55,4 «For…dead».] cf. 1 Cor 15:21 (A.C.). | 56,5 as2 …convenient.] cf. Lk 1:38. | 57,1 a1 …merges,] cf. John 2:21.
3 «He…4 Father».] cf. John 14:9 (A.C.).

 : 53,1 transaction] this is how śeṭ is translated, meaning «sale, value, evaluation, price, cost,
purchase», from a root the primary meaning of which is «sell», from the verb śeṭa, see C.F.A. D, Lexicon,
cit. n. 5, 265; W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 540. | 2 «having…servant»,] the Ethiopic text of Phil. 2:7 is
impressively far from this formulation: አትሒቶ፡ ርእሶ፡ ወተመሲሎ፡ ከመ፡ ገብረ፡ ከዊኖ፡ ከመ፡ ብእሲ።, ed. S. U –
H. M. | 55,1 Having…sinned,] sabʾ ʾǝnka ʾabbǝso: this beginning of sentence is very problematic, because the
form ʾabbǝso (I.2 verbal stem) is an infinitive and there is no way to make a sense out of it as an infinitive. This could
be one further occurrence of Amharic-like type of gerund; alternatively, the text should be emended to the regular
form of the gerund, ʾa<bbi>so. | 3 bearer] mamṣiʾita, for mamṣǝʾita, feminine form of an adjective mamṣǝʾi, quoted
by Ludolf, and recorded by C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 227 (lator, adducens, afferens) as such, without any

246
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 52 – 58

His coming (was) according to the dignity attributed to the human being: so much, in fact, he
descended from the dignity to the extent that they could see.
And being in the likeness of God, it was not because of any kind of transaction that he became like 53
God, but (God himself) «having lowered himself, having taken the features of a servant», as the
Apostle said, without there being any mixture and manifestation of the divinity and not even his
face being visible, while they were not able to see with the eyes of mortal human beings, having
with grace well united the nature of the divinity, and thus having taken a veil, the body, like a
human being. Yet as far as could be seen, everything he did as God.
As therefore the extraordinary Word became a Gospel and the Word became flesh, and dwelt on us, 54
we saw his glory: glory as one Son from the Father, perfect grace, and truly in the flesh as regards
(his) birth. It was right, therefore, that, concerning the human being, it added the perfection of the
nature of our life.
Having the human beings sinned, having God clearly manifested himself, the Saviour would have 55
been alien to our nature. And even if from it (the nature) some virtue was achieved by the nations,
even before, with the Word (the human nature was) the bearer of sin: and this is what was said by
the Apostles: «For a man he died and for a man the resurrection of the dead». That is why it is right
(to say) «he endured to become man for us».
He did not vainly give birth according to the body, but according to the body of a human being: 56
building also and shaping every animal, by making in the creation with unspeakable wisdom, the
only Son of God having descended into the womb of the Virgin while she was pure in her body and
just in her soul; and since she became holy at the coming of the spirit of divinity, from her he made
the body as he wished for him(self), as she said, since he had done what was convenient.
And after all, a tower that has a living soul that merges, shows to mankind his will on earth, from 57
here having properly revealed in the body the fusion with a human being. And the Father over him
showed <a similitude> as if he were a pure mirror, that appears in his likeness, for he said: «He who
has seen me has seen my Father».
Having given him an indivisible pledge, a true body and in addition his power, which he made 58
visible according to necessity, he as well, thanks to the body, is visible to the human eye; and who is

occurrence; W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 370 provides the additional meaning of «one who helps to
bring». | 57,1 tower] ma<ḥ>fa<d> «tower», is a conjectural text only as far as orthography is concerned; the image of
the «tower of body» (from John 2:21) is particularly frequent in the Book of the mystery (Maṣḥafa mǝśṭir) by Giyorgis
of Saglā, where the image occurrs several times, as indicated for some passages by C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5,
628 («de corpore humano ማኅፈደ፡ ሥጋ፡ quatenus est animae receptaculum»); see Y B, Giyorgis di Saglā:
Il libro del mistero, cit. n. 11, I, 279 (text), 174 (transl. «Parliamo, dunque, del modo dell’umanazione dell’uomo.
L’uomo, infatti, ha due anime: una mortale e l’altra immortale. Ora, quella mortale è il sangue che per trafittura o
taglio, si versa in terra; per malattia di corpo dimagrisce, e per il dimagramento di esso l’anima si separa dal corpo.
Ora, quella è l’anima di vita eternamente immortale, che aprendo le labbra si riscalda a causa dell’elemento del fuoco,
e restringendo le labbra si raffredda, a causa dell’elemento del vento. Ma escono dall’unica torre del corpo»), 285
(text), 178 (transl.); 328 (text), 208 (transl.); 365 (text), 231 (transl.); 403 (text), 252 (transl.); II, 56 (text), 34 (transl.);
and (twice) 291 (text), 162 (transl.). It cannot pass unnoticed that there is evidence that Giyorgis of Saglā, the author
the Book of the mystery, had a specific knowledge of the texts of the Aksumite Collection and explicitly quotes the title
of the treatise On the One Judge. | that merges,] zayǝtḫawwas, if from taḫawsa «merge, be mixed, be confused» as I
assume, and not for zayǝtḥawwas from taḥawsa «move, be moved», even though a «moving soul» would be a
widespread notion in ancient philosophy (as kindly suggested by Emiliano Fiori). | 3 showed…similitude>] conjectu-
ral text, which would presuppose a not too complex corruption. | «He…4 Father».] the text disagrees with the oldest
Ethiopic text of John 14:9, which has only «Father»: ዘርእየ፡ ኪያየ፡ ርእዮ፡ ለአብ፡, ed. M.G. W, and cf. p. xxv,
where he attributes this variation to the D-type text, that is, «what is essentially a deconflating revision of the (late) C
text type, with evident influence from the Arabic “Alexandrian Vulgate” (or related text-tradition) as well as the
Arabic Diatessaron». This statement might need revision in the light of the present evidence. | 58,2 and…3 Father.]

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 A 27 (2021)

ለአብ፡ ደራሴ፡ ወሰማዕተ፡ ይከውን። ወዓዲ፡ ሎሙ፡ በመግባር፡ ገብረ፡ አጋንንተ፡ እንከ፡
ይሰድድ፡ እምነፍሰ፡ ሰብእ፡ ሕገ፡ እግዚእ፡ ከዊኖ፡ በትእዛዝ።
59 ወእሙን<ቱ>፡ ኢኀይለ፡ ዘአልቦ፡ ዘይትባአስ፡ ኢጌጋዮ፡ ወለኀበ፡ ኀይለ፡ ኅ<ዩ>ስ፡ ውስተ፡
ተአምኖ፡ እንዘ፡ ይገብኡ፡ ኪያሁ፡ ውእቱ፡ ቅዱሰ፡ ለእግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ወዘኢይፈቅዱ፡ በግዕ
ዞሙ፡ ለእለ፡ ሀለዉ፡ ይሰብክ፡ ደዌ፡ እንከ፡ ሎሙ፡ ይፌውስ፡ ወመጠኔ፡ እምፍጥረቶሙ፡
ወለእለ፡ በመዋዕል፡ በዘ፡ ይትፌወስ፡ ተሞኣ<።>
60 መንክር፡ እንከ፡ ለኵሉ፡ ጸጊዎ፡ ፈውስ፡ ፈድፋደ፡ ግዕዝ፡ አርአየ፡ እስመ፡ አኮ፡ በሥራይ፡
ዘይገብር፡ ወኢበአውዕዮ፡ እሳት፡ ወኢበበጢሕ፡ ወኀጺን፡ ገቢሮ፡ ከመ፡ ሰብእሰ፡ ዘይገብ|ር፡ Σ.97rb
ፈውሰ፡ ወኢበበዝኀ፡ መዋዕል፡ ውስተ፡ ሕማም፡ ይፈቅድ፡ በኪን፡ ዐቃቤ፡ ሥራይ፡ ዘይገ
ብር፡ ወኢፍጥረተ፡ ደዌ፡ ዘይኀሥሥ፡ ወኢአ<ካ>ለ፡ ዘይደዊ፡ ይ<ሐ>ትት።
61 ኵሎ፡ እንከ፡ ገሃድ፡ ኀበ፡ ፈቀደ፡ ይስሕብ፡ ወያመጽእ፡ ወፍጥረት፡ ወሕማም፡ ዘዘ፡ ዚኣሁ፡
ወመዋዕለ፡ ወአካለ፡ በቃሉ፡ በሕቲቱ፡ ኵሎ፡ ይገብር፡ እስመ፡ ሎቱ፡ እንከ፡ ጽኑዕ፡ ሥራየ፡
ኮነ፡ ቃሉ፡ ወበገቢሮቱ፡ እንከ፡ ቃል፡ እምኵሉ፡ ኀጺን፡ ይበልሕ፡ ወእምኵሉ፡ እሳት፡ ይ<ጸ>
ንዕ፡ እንዘ፡ ይፌውስ፡ እምደዌ፡ ወለእለ፡ ለምጽኒ፡ እንከ፡ ይነጽሑ፡ በቃሉ፡ ወዕውራን፡
ወስቡራን፡ ወቦ፡ እለሂ፡ ነጺሮ፡ ወቦ፡ እለሂ፡ ረቂዮ፡ ጸገወ። ለእለሂ፡ እምዋዕለ፡ ሐሙ፡
ዘከመ፡ ቅድመ፡ ሕይወት፡ ልማድ፡ ወሀ|ቦሙ፡ ወቦእለሂ፡ ልደቶሙ፡ ሐሙ፡ ከመ፡ ዳግም፡ Σ.97va
ልደት፡ ሶቤሃ፡ ፈጸመ፡ ለፍጥረት።
62 ወበከመ፡ እንከ፡ ዘድዉያን፡ ሥጋሆሙ፡ በከመ፡ ፈውስ፡ ይሁብ፡ መፍቅደ፡ ከማሁ፡ ለእለሂ፡
ይፄነሱ፡ ይሴሲ፡ በገዳም፡ ወእም<ዘ>፡ ኢይትከሀል፡ ሕገ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይሁብ፡ ዘመፍ
ትው፡ ወለብዙኅ፡ ሰብእ፡ ለአእላፍ፡ ሚመጠን፡ አእከለ።
63 አኮ፡ ክመ፡ ለመፍ<ቅድ>፡ ኈልቆ፡ ሀብተ፡ ወኢፈድፋደ፡ እምዘ፡ ዘሀሎ፡ ኀይለ፡ ያርኢ፡
ፈቂዶ፡ ወፈሊሶ፡ እንከ፡ እምድር፡ ለእለ፡ ውስተ፡ ባሕር፡ ይትመነደቡ፡ ይድኅን፡ በእግር፡
እንከ፡ ለሊሁ፡ መዕበለ፡ በከመ፡ ውስተ፡ ምድር፡ እንዘ፡ ይሤገር፡ ማዕበለ፡ እንከ፡ ዐቢይ፡
ውስተ፡ <መ>ንክር፡ ዘሐን፡ መይጦ፡ ወኀይለ፡ ነፋስ፡ አህዲኦ።
64 ወባሕ|ር፡ እንዘ፡ ትወግድ፡ ዕቡደ፡ አፍርሆ፡ እግዚአ፡ በከመ፡ ልጓመ፡ አቀመ፡ ወውእቱሰ፡ Σ.97vb
እንዘ፡ ይኤዝዝ፡ ይቤ፡ ኅድጊ፡ ወተፈጸሚ፡ ወይእተኒ፡ ከመ፡ አመት፡ እንዘ፡ ትፈርህ፡ ተግ
ሣጽ፡ እግዚእ፡ ወፍጡነ፡ ወመንክር፡ በሰሚዕ፡ አርአየት፡ ፈርሀተ፡ ዐቢይ፡ እንከ፡ ዝኒ፡
ወተድላሁ፡ ለዘ፡ አቅድመ፡ ተናገሮ፡ ለእለሂ፡ እንከ፡ ኢይሄሉዉ፡ ወርሑቀ፡ ይቀውሙ፡
ወፍጥረተ፡ ይሬኢዩ፡ ቃላት፡ ወምግባረ፡ በከመ፡ በአዕይንት፡ ቅሩብ፡ እንዘ፡ ይቀውሙ፡
ይሌብውዎ፡ ለእለኒ፡ ይትሔለዩ፡ ከመዝ፡ ሕሊና፡ ይትዐወቅ፡ ውስተ፡ ዘኢየስተረኢ፡ ነፍስ፡
ይሄሉ።

ማሕፈድ፡ coni.; መሐፈደ፡ Σ | 3 አ<ርአያ፡ አ>ርአየ፡] coni.; አርአየ፡ Σ | 4 ይትርአይ<፡>] pro ይትረአይ፡ Σ
58,1 ወሂቦ፡] pro ውሂቦ፡ Σ | 58,3 በመግባር፡] pro በምግባር፡ Σ | 59,1 ወእሙን<ቱ>፡] coni.; ወእሙንተ፡ Σ
ኅ<ዩ>ስ፡] coni.; ኅዮስ፡ Σ | 60,1 መንክር፡] Σ; መንክረ፡ fort. expect. | 4 ወኢአ<ካ>ለ፡] coni.; ወኢአከለ፡ Σ
ይ<ሐ>ትት።] coni.; ይሕትታ፡ Σ | 61,1 ገሃድ፡] Σ; ገሃደ፡ expect. | 3 ይ<ጸ>ንዕ፡] coni.; ይጻንዕ፡ Σ
62,2 ወእም<ዘ>፡] coni.; ወእምዝ፡ Σ | 63,1 ለመፍ<ቅድ>፡] coni.; ለመፍቀደ፡ Σ | 2 ይድኅን፡] Σ; <ያ>ድኅን፡ fort.
coni. | 4 <መ>ንክር፡] coni.; ምንክር፡ Σ | 64,2 ተግሣጽ፡] Σ; ተግሣጸ፡ expect. | 3 ፈርሀተ፡] pro ፍርሀተ፡ Σ.
4 ኢይሄሉዉ፡] pro ኢይሄልዉ፡ Σ | 6 ዘኢየስተረኢ፡] pro ዘኢየስተርኢ፡ Σ

: 58,3 ይከውን።] ። Σ | 4 በትእዛዝ።] ። Σ | 60,4 ይ<ሐ>ትት።] ። Σ | 61,5 ጸገወ።] ። Σ | 7 ለፍጥረት።]

። Σ | 62,3 አእከለ።] ።= Σ | 63,4 አህዲኦ።] ። Σ | 64,7 ይሄሉ።] ። Σ

248
 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 58 – 64

worthy of the reward, will be an exegete and a witness to the Father. Moreover, he operated for
them with action: he drives out the demons from the souls of human beings, (this) having been the
law of the Lord by commandment.
And these (demons), there is no one who has no strength who can fight (them), nor one who has 59
his sin; and while they return to that which is superior in strength, towards the faith, he is Holy for
God; and to those who do not want to, to those who remain in their custom, he preaches: in fact, he
cures the disease to them, and commensurate with their nature and to the time in which (the
disease) is cured, (the disease) is overcome.
Having given the grace of healing to everyone, therefore, he showed wonder that exceeds the usual 60
measure, because he did not act with magic nor by lighting fire, scarifying, with iron, having made
a remedy as human beings do, nor did he require a long period of days in pain, what the healer
does with art, nor did he search for the nature of the illness nor did he investigate the part of the
body that was sick.
All therefore manifestly he pulls and leads where he has willed; and the different nature and 61
suffering of each one, and the time and part of the body, he does all with his word alone, because
his word is his firm remedy; and through his action the word is sharper than every iron and
stronger than all fire, in that it heals sickness. Even the lepers are cleansed by his word, the blind
and the fractured, having (only) turned his gaze upon some, and having exorcised others, he has
given them grace. To those who suffered for a while, he restored to them the condition of the life of
before; and to those who suffered from their birth, then he accomplished like a second birth to
nature.
Just as he gives the necessary medicine to the body of the sick, so also those who are destitute, he 62
feeds them in the desert, and the law of God gives what is desirable from that which is not possible;
and many human beings, by the thousands, how many he sated!
So he did not calculate the gift according to the need: and will he not show an even greater power 63
than the present one, should he want it? Having left from the mainland towards those who were in
danger in the sea, he remained safe; on foot himself passing over the waves as on the mainland,
having reduced the great waves to a prodigious calm and calmed the strength of the wind.
And as the sea swayed, furious to frighten the Lord, he put like reins on it; and he himself gave it 64
the order, saying: «Leave and cease!»; and then, like a servant girl fearful of the master’s reproach,
at once and amazed at hearing (those words), she showed fear. Great (is) this thing and the pleasure
of what he had foretold! even for those who were not present and who stayed far away, and (yet)
saw the creation: they understood words and works as if they were close with their eyes, even for
the things that were thought: in the same way the intelligence is known to reside in the invisible
soul.

   : 59,2 for…3 God] cf. Mark 1:24 (A.C.). | 61,4 Even…6 grace.] cf. Matt 11:5;
Matt 15:30-31; Luke 7:21-22. | 62,1 he2 …2 desert,] cf. Exod 13:31-32. | 3 and…sated] Matt 14:17-19; Matt 15:36; etc.
63,3 on1 …mainland,] Matt 14:25-26. | 4 having…wind.] Matt 8:23-26.

tentative translation of an obscure passage, where the lexemes are apparently clear, that is darāsi «writer, interpreter,
exegete», and samāʿt «witness, martyr». | 60,1 Having…2 measure,] in this passage, the meaning of which is
explicited by the following examples, I have adopted the meaning of «usual measure» for gǝʿ(ǝ)z, that could also have
alternative meanings, see C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 1188s. | 3 the healer] the term is ʿaqqābe śǝrāy, which
definitely indicates someone who heals from spells.

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 A 27 (2021)

65 በከመ፡ ዘተነግረ፡ ክሡተ፡ ልማድ፡ ለእለ፡ እንከ፡ ዘበምድር፡ ወበሕር፡ ወመንክር፡ ወለዘ፡
እምሰማይ፡ ኀበረ፡ ቃ|ል፡ በከመ፡ ቃል፡ ነጐድጓድ፡ እንዘ፡ ይትነገር፡ ዘቦቱ፡ እምኀበ፡ አብ፡ Σ.98ra
ስምዕ፡ መጺኦ፡ ኪያሁ፡ ይኩን፡ ፍቅር፡ ዘአሐዱ፡ ወልደ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ክሡተ፡ ይስ
ብኩ።
66 ወዘይዐቢስ፡ ለአርእዮ፡ ከመ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ውእቱ፡ አርአየ፡ ወለዕለ፡ ሞት፡ ተወርዘወ፡
ወለዝ፡ ፈርዚዘ፡ ኀይሎ፡ ወበቲኮ፡ መአስረ፡ ፈትሐ፡ ዘ<በ>ግብር፡ ለፍጥረት፡ ተሠርዐ፡ በፈ
ቃዱ፡ ብዙኃን፡ እለ፡ ሞቱ፡ አንሥአ፡ ቅድመ፡ ወውእቱኒ፡ ተንሥአ፡ በሣልስት፡ ዕለት።
67 አንሢኦ፡ እንከ፡ ኪያሁ፡ አብ፡ ወሀቦ፡ ስልጣነ፡ እንከ፡ ከመ፡ ያንሥእ፡ ኵሎ፡ ሰብአ፡ በድኃ
ሪት፡ ዕለት፡ ይኩን፡ እንከ፡ ውእቱ፡ ቀዳሜ፡ እንከስኬ፡ እምእለ፡ ሞቱ፡ አርአ<የ>፡ ዘበእንተ፡
ትንሣኤ፡ ሃይማኖ|ተ፡ ወዘመጠኔዝ፡ ዘበአም<ል>ኮ፡ አርኢዮ፡ ኀይለ፡ አርትዐ፡ ሕገገ፡ ዘመፍ Σ.98rb
ትው፡ ለውስተ፡ ሕይወት፡ ዘሰማያት፡ እንዘ፡ ይጼጉ፡ ለእለ፡ መፍትዋን፡ ሎቱ፡ አኮ፡ ከመ፡
በሐቲቶ፡ <ሐ>ስዎ፡ በመሐላ፡ ዘይከልእ፡ እ<ላ>፡ ይምሕል፡ ግሙራ፡ ኢያበውሕ፡ ወአኮ፡
ኢይ<ግ>ፋዕ፡ ካልኦ፡ አ<ላ>፡ ኢይትበቀሉሂ፡ አዘዘ፡ ወዲበ፡ <ዝ>ኒ፡ ሠናየ፡ ይግባር፡ ለገፋ
ዒሁ፡ ወአኮ፡ ኢይርባሕ፡ ዓዲ፡ እም<ዘ>፡ በዕድ፡ ዘአሐረመ፡ አ<ላ>፡ መይጠ፡ እምቤቶሙ፡
ያእክሉ፡ ለእለ፡ ይፄነሱ፡ ይኤዝዝ፡ ወአኮ፡ ኢቀቲለ፡ ወኢሐዊረ፡ ብእሲተ፡ ብእሲ፡ በሕ
ቲቶ፡ ዘይሐግግ፡ አላ፡ ግሙራ፡ እንከ፡ ወኢይፈትው፡ ወኢይርአይ፡ በፍትውት፡ ውስተ፡ አን
ስት፡ ወግሙራ፡ ኢይትመዐዕዎ፡ ለካልኡ፡ በከ፡ ወኢይፅአል፡ በ|ከ፡ እስመ፡ እንዘ፡ ከመዝ፡ Σ.98va
በከመ፡ ዘኮነ፡ ዘርእ፡ በበ፡ ሕቅ፡ ፍኖተ፡ ይገብር፡ ለቀቲል፡ ወሐዊረ፡ ብእሲተ፡ ብእሲ፡ ለሰ
ብእ፡ <ፍ>ትውት<።>
68 ከማሁ፡ እንከ፡ ወበእንተ፡ ኂሩትኒ፡ ዘበእንተ፡ ዘሕግኒ፡ ትእዛዘ፡ ሰብሳብ፡ ወኀበሂ፡ ዘአልቦ፡
ትድምርት፡ በድንግልና፡ ኀይለ፡ ትዕግስት፡ ወሀበ። ወለፍጻሜ፡ ጽንዕ፡ አወለተዋ፡ ለፍጥረት፡
ወኪያሁ፡ ሞተ፡ ኢይፈ<ርህ>፡ ረሰየ፡ ግዕዘ፡ ወዐቢየ፡ እንከ፡ ከመዝ፡ ኂሩት፡ ተኀጺሮ፡
በሥርዐተ፡ ሥነ፡ ሕይወት፡ ዘየዐቢ፡ ዓዲ፡ ብዙኀ፡ ዘተራትዑ፡ በፍሬ፡ አልሀየ፡ ጻማ፡ ትን
ሣኤ፡ እምዉታን፡ አሰፊዎ፡ ወፈድፋደ፡ ዓዲ፡ አርኢዮ፡ በለዕሌሁ፡ ዘፍጥረተ፡ ዘኢይማስን፡
ዘሰማያት፡ መንግሥተ፡ ሕይወት፡ ዘለዓለም፡ ዘለዝሉፉ፡ አብፅዖት፡ ወፈድፋደ፡ በረከት፡ ዘኢ
ይት|ነገር፡ ለሰብእ<።> Σ.98vb
69 ለዝ፡ ኵሎ፡ አዕቢዮ፡ መሀረ፡ እንዘ፡ ትመርሖ፡ ዘኀበ፡ አብ፡ ወዘኀቤሁ፡ አእምሮ፡ ወሃይ
ማኖ፡ ዛይእቲ፡ እንከ፡ ብሂለ፡ ዘለዓለም፡ ሕይወት፡ ከመ፡ ያእምሩከ፡ ዘበሕቲቱ፡ አማን፡ እግ
ዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ዘፈ<ነ>ውከ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወከዕበ፡ ለእመ፡ ተአመኑ፡ በእግዚአ፡

 : 65,1 ወበሕር፡] pro ወባሕር፡ Σ | 2 ቃል፡2] Σ; ቃለ፡ expect. | 66,1 ወዘይዐቢስ፡] pro
ወዘይዐቢሰ፡ Σ | ወለዕለ፡] pro ወላዕለ፡ Σ | 2 ዘ<በ>ግብር፡] coni.; ዘብግብር፡ Σ | 67,1 በድኃሪት፡] pro በደኃሪት፡ Σ
2 አርአ<የ>፡] coni.; አርአያ፡ Σ | 3 ዘበአም<ል>ኮ፡] coni.; ዘበአምለኮ፡ Σ | 5 በሐቲቶ፡] pro ባሕቲቶ፡ Σ | <ሐ>ስዎ፡]
coni.; ሕስዎ፡ Σ | እ<ላ>፡] pro አላ፡ coni.; እለ፡ Σ | 6 ኢይ<ግ>ፋዕ፡] coni.; ኢይገፋዕ፡ Σ | አ<ላ>፡] coni.; አለ፡ Σ
<ዝ>ኒ፡] coni.; ዘኒ፡ Σ | ይግባር፡] pro ይግበር፡ Σ | 7 እም<ዘ>፡] coni.; እምዝ፡ Σ | በዕድ፡] Σ; ባዕድ፡ expect.
አ<ላ>፡] coni.; አለ፡ Σ | 11 ለሰብእ፡…12 <ፍ>ትውት<።>] Σ; fort. expungendum | 12 <ፍ>ትውት<።>] vel
<ፍ>ት<ወ>ት፡ coni.; ፈትውት፡ Σ | 68,2 አወለተዋ፡] Σ; አወ<ል>ተወ፡ fort. coni. | 3 ኢይፈ<ርህ>፡] coni.;
ኢይፈ{}ርሀ፡ n.l. Σ | 5 በለዕሌሁ፡] pro በላዕሌሁ፡ Σ | 69,1 አዕቢዮ፡] pro አዕብዮ፡ Σ | 2 ዘበሕቲቱ፡] pro ዘባሕቲቱ፡
Σ | 3 ዘፈ<ነ>ውከ፡] coni.; ዘፈናውከ፡ Σ | ወከዕበ፡] pro ወካዕበ፡ Σ

: 66,3 ዕለት።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ | 68,2 ወሀበ።] ። Σ

   : 69,3 «believe…me»,] John 14:1.

 : 65,1 (it…2 thunder] the syntax of this passage is difficult; I assume that the relative clause
expresses only one of two pronouns; one would have expected: wa<za>laza ʾǝmsamāy ḫabara qāl bakama qāl

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 A B – The Treatise On the One Judge, 65 – 69

According to the openly proclaimed custom: to those who are on land and in the sea, (it is) a 65
wonder and a voice that was together with that from heaven like the voice of thunder while it is
spoken, through which the testimony has come from the Father that they preach openly that he
himself is love, the only child of God.
And what is even greater, to show that he is God, he gave an evident demonstration, and against 66
death he recovered youthful ardour, and his power having for this purpose exploded and broken
the bonds, he released by his own will what was of necessity regulated to nature: first he resurrected
many who had died, and he too rose on the third day!
The Father having thus resurrected him, he granted him the power to resurrect all human beings in 67
the last days; that he might be the first; therefore, from those who had died <he showed> the faith
in the resurrection; and having shown such power in the godhead, he corrected the laws that were
necessary for life in heaven, giving the grace to those who aspired to it: not only forbidding them to
swear falsely, but not allowing them to swear in any way; and not (only) that they should not do
violence to the neighbour, but also commanded that they should not take revenge; and on top of
this, that (one) should do good to his oppressor; and moreover it is not that he forbade (only) that
they should not benefit from what <belongs to> another: but he commanded them to take away
(goods) from their homes to satiate the needy; and he decreed by law not only that they should not
kill and not go with the woman of others, but absolutely that they should not desire and look at
women with desire, and absolutely that they should not vainly anger their neighbour and not vainly
offend: for as long as it was so (it was) as if little by little some seed paved the way to murder and to
go with a woman of others, desirable for the man.
Likewise also with regard to virtue, for what is according to the law, he gave the commandment of 68
marriage, and where there was no sexual union, the strength of continence in virginity. And for the
fulfillment of tenacity he armed nature with a shield, and did not fear death itself; he made it a
custom. Therefore, since virtue was so robustly bounded by a rule of goodness of life, what is even
greater is that they corrected much fruitfully one another; he consoled (them) of suffering, having
promised resurrection from the dead, and moreover having shown on him the incorruptible
(property) of the nature, the kingdom of heaven, the eternal life, the perpetuous bliss, and even
more, the unspeakable blessing for the human beings.
For this he taught all magnificence, the knowledge and faith which is with the Father guiding him, 69
and which tends to him: that is to say, eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, you
who sent Jesus Christ; and moreover, if (it is said) «believe in God, and believe also in me»,

nagʷadgʷād, but I do not consider necessary to reintegrate it by conjecture, since this construction was possible.
Moreover, we have probably to understand the whole paragraph as a long cleft sentence. | 66,2 having…exploded]
farzizo is the gerund of farzaza (quadriliteral basic stem), so far unattested in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5,
1354s., that only gives the verb tafarzaza (III.1 stem, «rumpi, se pandere vel aperire; expandi i.e. dissipari; erumpere vel
effundi in cachinnos»), while the basic stem is attested in W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 167, with
meanings which are very far from those of tafarzaza: «pamper, please, produce fruit»; I have translated this passage,
which seems to be the first documented occurrence of farzaza, on the base of the meaning of the derived stem.
67,2 faith] this is the very first occurrence of the word «faith» expressed with hāymānot in the treatise; the word
occurs again at §§ 69 (hāymāno), 70 (haymānota), 73 (hāymānotu), and 74 (hāymānot). In the other occurrences of
the word in the translation, all relevant terms are from the root of the verb ʾamna. | 68,3 armed…shield,] ʾawalattawā
lafǝṭrat (II.2 verbal stem), so far unattested in C.F.A. D, Lexicon, cit. n. 5, 883, and in W. L, Comparati-
ve dictionary, cit. n. 5, 614, if the reading must not be emended to ʾawaltawā. | 69,1 magnificence,] ʾaʿbiyo, formally a
gerund, could also be a phonetic variant of the infinitive ʿaʿbǝyo, here used as an abstract substantive. | guiding him,]
ʾǝnza tǝmarrǝḥo: I suspect that this can render a participle referred to ʾaʿmǝro; the sentence could be also translated
slightly differently. | 3 «believe…me»,] the text disagrees with the oldest Ethiopic text of John 1:14: እመኑ፡ በእግዚአ፡
ብሔር፡ ወእመኑ፡ ብየ፡, ed. M.G. W.

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ብሔር፡ ወ<ብ>የሂ፡ ተአመኑ፡ እንከስኬ፡ ለእለ፡ ያአምርዎ፡ ለአብ፡ ወለዘ፡ ፈነወ፡ እምኀ
ቤሁ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ<።>
70 እግዚእ፡ እንከ፡ በኵሉ፡ ፈቃደ፡ አብ፡ ዘእምቅድም፡ ዓለም፡ ሀሊዎ፡ ወስማዔ፡ በኵሉ፡
ለአብ፡ እንዘ፡ ይከውን፡ ወለእለ፡ ለለ፡ አሐዱ፡ አሐዱ፡ ድልው፡ ተደለወ፡ ዘአቅድመ፡ ተነ
ግሮ፡ በክፍለተ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ወለእለ፡ ኢያአምሩ፡ ወይስሕቱ፡ ወኢይአምኑ፡ ዘሥቃይ፡ ሀሎ፡
ምኵናን፡ እስመ፡ ለዘ፡ | ኢይአምን፡ ይብል፡ ኢይሬኢ፡ ሕይወተ፡ አላ፡ መዐተ፡ እግዚአ፡ Σ.99ra
ብሔር፡ ፅኑሕ፡ ሎቱ። እንከስኬ፡ ዘያድኅን፡ ይእቲ፡ ሀይማኖተ፡ አእምሮ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡
አሐደ፡ ኰናኒ፡ ዘእምኔሁ፡ ኵሉ፡ ወእትአመን፡ ዘአሐዱ፡ ወልድ፡ ስብሐት፡ ዘቦቱ፡ ኵሉ።
71 እስመ፡ ቀዳሚ፡ በኵር፡ እምኵሉ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወልድ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እንዘ፡
ውእቱ፡ ይሄሉ፡ ቅድመ፡ እምኵሉ፡ ወበዘዚኣሁ፡ ኀይል፡ ወ<ጽ>ንዑ፡ ሀሊዎ፡ እንተ፡ በአም
ሳል፡ ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡ ኮነ፡ ወቦቱ፡ ኵሉ፡ የስተጋብእ። በከመ፡ እንከ፡ ቃለ፡ ሐዋርያት፡ ውእቱ፡
ሀሎ፡ እምቅድም፡ ኵ<ሉ>፡ ወኵሉ፡ ቦቱ፡ ቆመ፡ ይእመን፡ በቅዱስ፡ መንፈስ፡ ከመ፡ ቦቱ፡
ለእለ፡ ይቀርቡ፡ ሰብእ፡ በኀበ፡ ኂሩት፡ ፍጽምት<፡> ት|ከውን፡ ወለዘ፡ ኀበ፡ ዘለዓለም፡ አብ Σ.99rb
ፅዖ፡ ፍጥረት። ወከመዝ፡ እንከ፡ መድኅንሂ፡ እግዚእነ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ አዚዞ፡ ለአርዳ
ኢሁ፡ እንዘ፡ ይብል፡ ሐዊርክሙ፡ መሀሩ፡ ኵሎ፡ አሕዛብ፡ እንዘ፡ ታጠምቅዎሙ፡ በስመ፡
አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ።
72 አኮ፡ እንከ፡ እንዘ፡ ናአ<ም>ን፡ ዘዘ፡ ዚኣሆሙ፡ አስማተ፡ ዘፍጥረት፡ ኀይለ፡ ዘናፈልስ፡
ወአኮ፡ ሠለስተ፡ ዘናፈልስ፡ አብ፡ ወወልዶ፡ ወቅዱስ፡ መንፈስ፡ አስማተ፡ ዘዘ፡ ዚኣሆሙ፡
እንዘ፡ ንነግር፡ ከመዘ፡ አሐደ፡ ወኪያሁ፡ ግብር፡ ዘሀሎ፡ ዘናማስና፡ ለአማ<ን>፡ እ<ላ>፡
ከመ፡ እንዘ፡ ርቱዕ፡ ዘቅድም፡ ተነግሮ፡ ቃል፡ ዘበአማን፡ ንትአመን፡ ፍጥረተ፡ ኀቤሰ፡ እንከ፡
ዘተገብረ፡ ወዘልፈ፡ ሀልዎት፡ አሚረነ፡ መለኮት፡ ወኀይለ፡ ለወልድ፡ እንከ፡ | ዘአሐቲ፡ Σ.99va
ልደት፡ አሚነነ፡ አርአያ።
73 ካልእት፡ እንዘ፡ ይእቲ፡ እሙ<ር>፡ ከመ፡ ዳግም፡ እምኀበ፡ ዘፈጠራ፡ ወወለዳ፡ አብ፡ ወቅዱ
ስኒ፡ መንፈስ፡ ሣልስ፡ ክብር፡ ወዐቅም፡ እምድኅረ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ እንዘ፡ ይቄድስ፡ እንከ፡
ለእለ፡ ይአምኑ፡ ወይትለአኩ፡ ለክርስቶስ። በከመ፡ ውእቱ፡ ለአብ፡ ወይመርሕ፡ ውስተ፡ ተአ
ምኖ፡ ክርስቶስ፡ ወሃይማኖቱ። በከመ፡ ዘአሐዱ፡ ወልድ፡ ለኀበ፡ ዘአብ፡ ይመርሕ፡ አእምሮ፡
በከመ፡ ተነግረ፡ አልቦ፡ ዘይመጽእ፡ ኀበ፡ አብ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ እንተ፡ ኀቤየ፡ ወአልቦ፡ ዘይክል፡
ብሂለ፡ እግዚእ፡ ኢየሱስ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ በቅዱስ፡ መንፈስ።
74 ለእሉ፡ እንከ፡ ርቱዕ፡ ንአምን፡ በአማን፡ በአማን፡ ወኢበምንትኒ፡ ዘእምንክራት፡ መጻሕፍት፡
ግዱፈ፡ እንዘ፡ ኢንሬሲ፡ ለ|ኵሉ፡ እንከ፡ በንጹ<ሕ>፡ ወበፍርሀት፡ ንትአመን፡ ወኢዘተወልደ፡ Σ.99vb

 : 69,4 ወ<ብ>የሂ፡] pro ወበየሂ፡ Σ | 70,1 ዘእምቅድም፡] Σ; እምቅድመ፡ expect.
71,2 ወ<ጽ>ንዑ፡] coni.; ወጸንዑ፡ Σ | 3 ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡] coni.; ዘወልዶ፡ Σ | ኵሉ፡] Σ; ኵሎ፡ expect. | 4 እምቅድም፡]
Σ; እምቅድመ፡ expect. | ኵ<ሉ>፡] coni.; ኵሎ፡ Σ | 7 ሐዊርክሙ፡] pro ሐዊረክሙ፡ Σ | 72,1 ናአ<ም>ን፡] coni.;
ናአመን፡ Σ | 3 ለአማ<ን>፡] coni.; ለአማነ፡ Σ | እ<ላ>፡] pro አላ፡ coni.; እለ፡ Σ | 73,1 እሙ<ር>፡] coni.; እሙረ፡ Σ
74,1 ዘእምንክራት፡] pro ዘእመንክራት፡ Σ; ዘእም<መ>ንክራት፡ fort. coni. | 2 በንጹ<ሕ>፡] coni.; ዘበንጹሐ፡ Σ

: 70,5 ሎቱ።] ። Σ | 6 ኵሉ።] ።= et ad caput versum Σ | 71,3 የስተጋብእ።] ። Σ | 5 ፍጽምት<፡>] ።

Σ | 6 ፍጥረት።] ። Σ | 8 ቅዱስ።] ። Σ | 73,3 ለክርስቶስ።] ።= Σ | 4 ወሃይማኖቱ።] ። Σ | 6 መንፈስ።] ። Σ

   : 70,4 «He…5 instead».] cf. John 3:36. | 71,1 the1 …creation,] cf. 1 Cor 15:20.23;
Jas 1:18. | 3 «he…4 consistency»] cf. Col 1:17. | 7 «Having…8 Spirit».] cf. Matt 28:19. | 73,6 there…Spirit».] cf. 1 Cor
12:3.

 : 70,4 «He…5 instead».] the text disagrees with the oldest Ethiopic text of John 3:36: ወዘሰ፡
ኢየአምን፡ በወልድ፡ ኢይሬእያ፡ ለሕይወት፡ መቅሠፍተ፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ ይነብር፡ ላዕሌሁ።, ed. M.G. W; the
variant with አላ፡ መዐተ፡ in the Aksumite Collection has parallels (አላ፡ መዐቱ፡ or አላ፡ መዐቶ፡, with orthographic

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therefore also (believe) in those who know the Father and in him whom he sent from himself, Jesus
Christ.
The Lord is therefore entirely the will of the Father, existing from before the world, being entirely 70
testimony of the Father. And for each one individually the opportune thing was prepared, which
was said before, with the division of creation; and for those who do not know and err and do not
believe, there is the judgment of torment: for of that who does not believe, he says: «He will not see
life, but the wrath of God awaits him instead». Exactly then, what saves is faith in the knowledge of
God, the One Judge, from whom everything comes; and I believe that one is the Son, in whom is all
glory.
Indeed, the firstfruits of all creation, Christ, the Son, being God, exists from before everything; and 71
existing with all kinds of power and (with) his strength, he was in the image of the one who
generated him and in him he gathered all. Therefore, according to the word of the Apostles – «he
existed first of all and everything in him had consistency» – let him believe in the Holy Spirit, that
in him, to human beings who come close to virtue, (the virtue) becomes perfect, and for that who
(comes close) to the beatitude for eternity (it becomes) nature. Also in this way, in fact, the Saviour
our Lord Jesus Christ, after he ordered to his disciples, was saying: «Having gone, teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit».
It is not, therefore, that by believing in different names we disperse the power of creation and it is 72
not that we disperse the three different names, Father, his Son, and Holy Spirit, saying that they are
one and that he himself necessarily exists, (it is not) that we corrupt the truth, <but>, as the word of
prediction is right, we believe in the true nature, having therefore made known where it was made
and the eternity of being, divinity, and power: having, in fact, had faith in the image of the Son of
one birth.
Being another second (birth), it is certain that (that birth would have been) the next after the one 73
who created and generated it, the Father; and the Holy Spirit the third: dignity and rank after the
Father and the Son, since it sanctifies those who believe and serve Christ. Just as he (serves) the
Father, and leads to believe in Christ and in his faith; (and just) as knowledge of the one Son leads
to the Father, (so,) as has been said, «there is no one who will come the Father without (coming to)
me and there is no one who can say Lord Jesus except with the Holy Spirit».
For these things, therefore, it is right that we truly believe, truly without thinking that anything of 74
the extraordinary scriptures is neglectable; let us believe therefore everything with purity and fear,
and not make the one who has been generated passible nor (make) the uncreated as if he had been
made, as far as the Only Son is concerned – which is forbidden by the extraordinary scriptures –

variants; the apparatus ad locum is not transparent and probably not accurate, and it is not clear whether the word
መዐቱ፡ or መዐቶ፡ replaces መቅሠፍት፡ or not), but there is no parallel for ፅኑሕ፡ instead of ይነብር፡. | 6 the1 …Judge,]
the expression which gives the title to the treatise occurs here again, with the expected pattern, kwannāni. | 71,3 «he…
4 consistency»] the quotation of Col. 1:17 according to the oldest text has not ህልው፡ (which is present in later
manuscripts), that is: ወውእቱ፡ እምቅድመ፡ ኵሉ፡ ወኵሉ፡ ቦቱ፡ ቆመ፡, ed. S. U – H. M. | 7 «Having…8
Spirit».] the quotation of Matt 28:19 (all quotations according to R. Z) does not follow the A-Text, that has
ሖሩኬ፡ እንከ፡ ወመሀሩ፡ ለኵሉ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወአጥምቅዎሙ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡, and is closer to the
B-Text: ሖሩ፡ መሀሩ፡ ለኵሎ፡ አሕዛበ፡ እንዘ፡ ታጠምቅዎሙ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡; even more distant
are the D-Text, E-Text, and even the C-Text, which end by adding በሉ፡ («say») before the tritnitarian formula: እንዘ፡
ታጠምቅዎሙ፡ ወበሉ፡ በስመ፡ አብ፡ ወወልድ፡ ወመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡. | «Having gone,] ḥawirkǝmu, is one of the instances of
an Amharic-like gerund form based on a nominative pattern. | 72,5 having,…6 birth.] uncertain proposal for a
difficult passage. The expression is slightly different here (lawald ʾǝnka zaʾaḥatti lǝdat) from that at § 17 (wald
zaʾaḥadu lǝdatu), translated there «the only begotten Son». | 73,6 there…Spirit».] at variance with the Etiopic text of 1
Cor 12:3: አልቦ፡ ዘይነብብ፡ በመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡, ed. T A. | 74,1 truly1 …truly2] the repetition
is in the text, where baʾamān occurs twice.

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ከመ፡ ያሕምም፡ ወኢዘተፈጥረ፡ ከመዘ፡ ተገብረ፡ በኀበ፡ አሐዱ፡ ወልድ፡ እምመንክራት፡

መጻሕፍት፡ ዘይትከለእ፡ እለ፡ መፍትው፡ ናአምር፡ ከመ፡ አሐዱ፡ አሐዱ፡ ርቱዐ፡ ተናገረ፡
እምኀበ፡ መለኮት፡ ነፍኀት፡ መጻሕፍት፡ ዘወልድስ፡ ከመዝ፡ ጥዩቀ፡ አምሳሎ፡ ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡
አሐደ፡ ያዐ<ው>ቅ፡ ወዘፈ<ጣሪ>ስ፡ ከመ፡ ኢየሐምም፡ ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡ ያርኢ፡ አሐደ፡ እስመ፡
ዘይወልድ፡ በሕማም፡ ወበኅጸጽ፡ ኀይለ፡ ይከውን፡ ልደት፡ ወዘይፈጥርስ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ሕማም፡
ወኢበምንትኒ፡ ዘዚኣሁ፡ ፍጥረት፡ ኢያኅጺጾ፡ ይፈጥር፡ ዘሀሎ፡ ይኩን።
75 እስመ፡ ዘኢወአሐቲ፡ ያአምር፡ ለእለሂ፡ ይወልድ፡ ቀዳሚተ፡ ወኢዘተወ|ልደ፡ ምስለ፡ ዘተነ Σ.100ra
ግረ፡ ኢያአምሩ፡ ውስተ፡ ልደት፡ ይበጽሕ፡ ወበእንተዝ፡ ኀጣኤ፡ ይከውን፡ ወበብዙኅ፡
ወይኤብስ፡ ለሕሊና፡ ዘይዛለፎ፡ ለግብረ፡ ልደት፡ ወዘጥዩቀ፡ ያኣምር፡ ዘፈቀደ፡ ይፈጥር፡ ዘከ
መዘ፡ ይገብር፡ ዘከመ፡ ቅድምት፡ ኀይል፡ አእምሮ፡ ይኩን፡ ሥርዐት፡ ወከመ፡ እንከ፡ በዘ፡
ይ<ደ>ሉ<፡> ይትአ<መ>ር፡ እግዚአ፡ ብሔር፡ እምሕማምሰ፡ እንከ፡ ኵሉ፡ ድኁኑ፡ ወአፍኣ፡
እምኢያ<እ>ምሮ፡ ወኀጢአ፡ ዘይኄይስ፡ ዘከመዝ፡ እንከ፡ ወመጠኔዝ፡ ወሊዶ፡ በረከተ፡
ዘከመ፡ ፈቀደ፡ ሠናየ፡ መንክ<ራ>ት፡ መጻሕፍት፡ ለክልኤሆሙ፡ አስማት፡ ደ<መ>ረት፡
አሐደ።
76 ከመዝ፡ ወልደ፡ ለዘ፡ ፈጠረ፡ አኒማ፡ በክልኤሆሙ፡ ለእሉ፡ ዘተቀደመ፡ ተስምዮ፡ አስማተ፡
ያቀርብ፡ ለ|ተጥያቅ። ወበእንተዘ፡ ነገር፡ እግዚእየ፡ ፈጠረኒ፡ ቀዳሚተ፡ ፍኖቱ፡ ለግብረ፡ ዘዚ Σ.100rb
ኣሁ፡ እምቅድም፡ ዓለም፡ ሳረረኒ፡ ቅድመ፡ ዘእንበለ፡ ይግበራ፡ ለምድር፡ ወእምቅድመ፡ ይግ
በር፡ ቀላያተ፡ ቅድመ፡ ይፃእ፡ ፈልፈለ፡ ማያት፡ {ወቅድመ፡ ይግበር፡} ወቅድመ፡ ይንባር፡
አድባር፡ ወእምቅደመ፡ ኵሉ፡ አውግር፡ ወለደኒ።
77 ከመዝ፡ እንከ፡ ንትአመን፡ መፍትው፡ በግብረተ፡ ሕይወት፡ ንጹሕ፡ ናርኢ፡ ዘሃይማኖት፡
እስመ፡ ከመዝ። ወመድኅንነኒ፡ አዘዘ፡ እምድኅረ፡ አጥ<ም>ቁ፡ ብሂሎ፡ እንዘ፡ ትምህር
ዎሙ፡ <ይ>ዕቀቡ፡ ኵሎ፡ መጠነ፡ አዘዝኩክሙ፡ ወናሁ፡ አነ፡ ምስሌክሙ፡ ሀሎኩ፡ ኵሎ፡
መዋዕለ፡ ወእስከ፡ ተፍጻሜተ፡ ዓለም፡ አሜን።

 : 74,3 ያሕምም፡] Σ; ይሕምም፡ coni. | 5 ዘወልድስ፡] pro ዘወልድሰ፡ Σ | ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡] coni.;
ዘወልዶ፡ Σ | 6 ያዐ<ው>ቅ፡] coni.; ያዐወቅ፡ Σ | ወዘፈ<ጣሪ>ስ፡] coni.; ወዘፈጠሬስ፡ Σ | ዘወ<ለ>ዶ፡] coni.; ዘወልዶ፡
Σ | 7 ወበኅጸጽ፡] Σ; ወበኅጸጸ፡ expect. | ወዘይፈጥርስ፡] ወዘይፈጥ{ር}ስ፡ pro ወዘይፈጥ{ር}ስ፡ s.l. Σ
75,5 ይ<ደ>ሉ<፡>] coni.; ይዳሉ፡ Σ | ይትአ<መ>ር፡] coni.; ይትአምር፡ Σ | 6 እምኢያ<እ>ምሮ፡] coni.;
እምኢያምሮ፡ Σ | 7 መንክ<ራ>ት፡] coni.; መንክርት፡ Σ | ደ<መ>ረት፡] coni.; ደምረት፡ Σ | 76,3 እምቅድም፡] Σ;
እምቅድመ፡ expect. | 4 {ወቅድመ፡ ይግበር፡}] Σ; expungendum censeo | ይንባር፡] pro ይንበር፡ Σ
77,2 አጥ<ም>ቁ፡] coni.; አጥመቁ፡ Σ | 3 <ይ>ዕቀቡ፡] coni.; የዕቀቡ፡ Σ

: 74,8 ይኩን።] ። Σ | 75,5 ይ<ደ>ሉ<፡>] ። Σ | 8 አሐደ።] ። Σ | 76,2 ለተጥያቅ።] ። Σ | 5 ወለደኒ።]

።= Σ | 77,2 ከመዝ።] ።= Σ | 4 አሜን።] ። et ad caput versum Σ

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which is desirable that we know well, as each of the books, whence the godhead breathed, rightly
spoke: of the Son, who generated him, (only) one, makes his image knowable; and of the Creator,
the one whom he generated shows that he does not suffer: for who generates with suffering and
with diminishing power, is a (natural) generation; and he who creates without suffering and
without producing any diminution of his own nature, creates what (necessarily) had to be.
Indeed, (for him) who does not know even one thing, for those, the first (thing to know) is (that 75
God) generates and that (God) has not been generated: they do not know the parable announced,
(that) he arrives to the generation; and for this reason, who criticizes the work of generation is still
lacking, and much, and errs against intelligence. But who knows exactly, (he knows that God)
creates what he wants, according to the fact that he makes that a knowledge according to the first
power becomes (regulated) disposition. According to which it is opportune that God makes
himself known, safe from all suffering and outside of (any) ignorance and lack of what is better;
having therefore so and to such an extent generated a blessing as he wanted good, the extraodinary
scriptures united «one» to both names.
Thus, (the scriptures) having woven the Son to him who created, with these two that have been 76
previously named, he attributed the names according to precise distinction. «And because of this
fact my Lord created me, the first way of his work, from before the world he founded me, before
creating the earth and before creating the abysses, before the spring of water gushed forth {and
before he did} and before the mountains stayed and before every hill, he begat me».
So therefore it is convenient that we believe in the work of pure life, that we show this faith, because 77
it is so. And also our Saviour has ordained, afterwards, having said: «<baptise>, while you teach
them that they should observe all things as I have commanded you. Behold, I am with you every
day until the end of the world». Amen.

   : 76,2 «And…5 me».] cf. Prov 8:22-25 (A.C.). | 77,2 «<baptise>,…4 world».] cf.
Matt 28:19-20.

 : 6 makes…knowable] for «knowable» the text has ṭǝyyuq, that is «certain, sure, exact,
accurate», see W. L, Comparative dictionary, cit. n. 5, 600; the opposition is here between generation and
creation. The passage is largely emended, but the emendations restore the expected forms and do not affect the
meaning. | 75,8 extraodinary…9 united] damrat in the singular is in agreement with mankǝ<rā>t maṣāḥǝft «extraor-
dinary scriptures» in the plural, ultimately going back to τὰ Βιβλία with a singular agreement (see also § 2). | 76,2 pre-
cise distinction.] taṭyāq, nominal pattern tagbār, so far unattested. | «And…5 me».] see the Ethiopic text of Prov
8:22–25: እግዚአብሔር፡ ፈጠረኒ፡ ቀዳሜ፡ ኵሉ፡ ተግባሩ፡ እምቅድመ፡ ይሣርር፡ ዓለመ። ወዘእንበለ፡ ይግበር፡ ምድረ፡
ወዘእንበለ፡ ይግበር፡ ቀላያተ፡ ወዘእንበለ፡ ይፃኡ፡ አንቅዕተ፡ ማያት። ወዘእንበለ፡ አድባር፡ ይተከሉ (ይጠዓጥዑ)፡ ወእምቅድመ፡
አውግር፡ ወለደኒ። ወእምቅድመ፡ ይግበር፡ በሐውርተ፡ ወአጽናፈ፡ ዘይትኀደር፡ እምሰማይ።, ed. Mḫ Ḥ Fǝ
H. | 4 {and…5 did}] {waqǝdma yǝgbar}, a repetition of the preceding expression, is in all likelihood to be
expunged. | 5 stayed] yǝnbār, for the expected yǝnbar, is not an isolated case of the possible extension to r of the
lengthening of vowel a in syllable closed by laryngal (aL > āL); in this context, however, an error or attraction by the
following ʾadbār cannot be excluded. | 77,2 has…«<baptise>,] the transmitted text ʾazzaza ʾǝmdǝḫra ʾaṭmaqu bǝhilo
«has ordained, after they baptised, having said» does not provide a satisfactory meaning, in the light of the apparent
quotation of Matt 28:19-20, and an emendation of aṭmaqu «they baptised» to aṭ<mǝ>qu «baptise» appears necessary.
It remains possible that ʾǝmdǝḫra «afterwards», but more commonly «after», introduced a verb that has gone lost.

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Abstract. The treatise On the One Judge (CAe 6260) is one of the most interesting texts preserved in the Aksumite Col-
lection. The Aksumite Collection (CAe 1047) is a multiple-text codex unicus that attests to the earliest set of canon law
and liturgical Ethiopic (Gǝʿǝz) texts, presumably dating back to Aksumite times. It apparently consists without excep-
tion of translations from Greek texts. The treatise On the One Judge is the longest text of the collection. It is the only
one of initiatory character and stresses the central function assigned to God Father as «the One Judge». The treatise is
marked by a linguistic feature that distinguishes it from all the other texts of the collection, even though this peculiar-
ity does not necessarily justify the hypothesis that it is an Ethiopic original. Albeit apparently completely dismissed in
the later manuscript tradition, the treatise was known to Giyorgis of Saglā (d.  1425/1426), who explicitly quoted
the title of the treatise in his Maṣḥafa mǝsṭir (Book of the mystery, CAe 1952, accomplished in 1424). The treatise
shares theological positions with the Constitutiones Apostolicae as well as with the Epistula Clementis ad Corinthios,
and the absence of any ecclesiological reference points to a very early date of composition and use. The resurfacing of
this dismissed text sheds completely new light on the late antique Aksumite and medieval Ethiopian civilization and
Ethiopian Christianity as a whole. Tackling an extremely difficult and at times puzzling text, this contribution aims to
make the treatise On the One Judge accessible through an editio princeps and a translation provided with an essential
commentary.

Keywords. Aksumite culture; Christian initiation; Early Christian literature; Ethiopic literature; Translations.

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