On the Raising of Jairus' Daughter

1.                  You are the Resurrection, O Son of God, Who came to our land.

2.                  May the mouth that pushes forth toward Your praise be resurrected in You.

3.                  A sinner, Lord, is a dead man hidden and is not worthy of You –

4.                  neither to glorify You nor to speak about You.

5.                  But Lord, with You it is easy for a dead man to speak

6.                  if You command as if [commanding] a living man, and he will hear You.

7.                  It is as if a dead man has not died [if] he is close to Your resurrection.[2]

8.                  You are the Resurrection, O Son of God! Will [it] and I will live in You!

9.                  I am laid in the vicinity of life though I am dead.

10.              I am meditating on You – give life to the dead man so he may speak to You!

11.              If they threw me upon Elisha when I was dead

12.              and I would have been his companion, he would have resurrected me since he was a prophet.[3]

13.              Behold! I am leaning upon Your living Body, and You are God!

14.              O Lord of the prophet, give life to the dead one who beseeches You!

15.              The dead man’s corpse received life though it had not asked

16.              from Elisha. How much more will You give to me, to me who asks!

17.              <531> You are Life, Lord – You are Resurrection – You are Consolation.

18.              May I not sit in the shadows of death when I am near You[4]!

19.              Grant the hidden dead man to speak Your revealed glory

20.              for Your flock which has come to drink from Your font.

21.              May the iniquity of my hands not silence my mouth from glory.

22.              May even the dead magnify Your glory throughout the whole world![5]

23.              Speak, speak, O sinner! Though you are not worthy,

24.              your Lord is worthy for even hard stones to glorify Him.

25.              Rocks and people – both the discerning and undiscerning –

26.              the stones and the dead are glorifying with you.[6] Do not yourself be silent!

27.              Lord, it is fitting for glory to rise to You from Your creatures,

28.              for the ages are indebted to You to glorify [You] in their ways.

29.              And may whoever is worthy and whoever is not worthy stir up Your glory,

30.              and You will receive though You are not in need of praises.

31.              The Resurrection descended to walk in the land of the dead

32.              as a man from Whom life daily flows.

33.              A Source of Life was opened in the land of Judah,

34.              and the dead drank from It and turned toward resurrection.

35.              The Son of God sowed life among mortals

36.              to drive away Death who shattered us one by one.

37.              The Light descended to walk among those in darkness

38.              <532> and expelled the night in which the whole world was suffocating.

39.              In the thirsty land[7] the Blessed Spring of Eden arose

40.              and created pools among the thirsty throughout the whole world.

41.              Christ the Light dawned, teaching in the synagogues,

42.              and the blind met Him and shone to glorify.

43.              The Great Sun set His path among the shadows

44.              and poured glorious light on the earth, which[8] grasped the light.

45.              Creation saw the Good Physician from the high dwellings of His Father,

46.              and He visited it with His helps, and it lived.

47.              He carried healings and bandaged the afflicted freely;

48.              He healed sicknesses and did not seek to receive a wage.

49.              Diseases fled like shadows from the day,

50.              for Jesus the Physician dawned like the sun and expelled them.

51.              In His teaching are life and light and sweetness;

52.              in His operation – joy of heart and all delights!

53.              The hem of His garment was a font full of hope[9]

54.              and the word of His mouth a treasure full of great wealth.

55.              In His steps the path of life was trod

56.              and in His footsteps milestones of peace were set out.

57.              If the spit of His mouth reached a blind man, it would open [his eyes],

58.              and if He fashioned mud, light would dawn from it.[10]

59.              <533> If He touched a sick man with His hand, his disease would flee,

60.              and if a leper met Him in the street, he would be cleansed by Him.

61.              If He commanded a deaf man to speak, he would listen to Him,

62.              and if He signaled to a blind man to answer, he would answer Him.

63.              If He called to a decomposed dead man to come out towards Him,

64.              he would run, going out though not untied, for He commanded him.[11]

65.              If He signaled to water, it would immediately become wine,

66.              and if He commanded a small amount of bread, it would multiply at the feast.[12]

67.              If He spoke to the waves of the sea, they would calm their course,

68.              and the wind would answer if He commanded it not to blow.[13]

69.              Gihon[14], full of great mercy, gushed out from the Father,

70.              and the lands of Galilee and Judah overflowed from It.

71.              He healed the paralytics who encountered Him

72.              and also cured the sick of the lands.

73.              He set to flight the demons and devils in the land

74.              and opened [the eyes of] the blind who approached Him.

75.              He did not see a needy person whose need He did not fill,

76.              nor a poor one who did not take from Him great wealth.

77.              He was like April that clothes the plants with colors,

78.              and in Him the sick were adorned and acquired all healings.

79.              <534> Jairus called Him because of his daughter who was sick,

80.              and He went with him to assure them[15] with a wonder.

81.              I greatly marveled at the humility of the Son of God,

82.              for He did not wish to hold Himself back from those who ask.

83.              He gave to everyone who sought Him as much as they sought Him,

84.              and He did not hold back the needs of those who ask.

85.              He gave light to the blind man who sought Him to see light,

86.              and gave cleansing to the leper who asked Him.

87.              He allowed the bleeding woman to steal [when] she sought to steal,

88.              and He expelled the demon of the Canaanite woman[‘s daughter] as she persuaded Him.[16]

89.              And He listened to Jairus, who called Him to come with him to his house,

90.              and as he petitioned Him for his daughter, He answered and went.

91.              Life went out after Death to capture it,

92.              and Ruin shook at the footsteps of the Son of God.

93.              Our Lord the Light went out in the land like the day,

94.              and sicknesses fled like shadows, trembling at Him.

95.              A man called Him to cure[17] his daughter who was sick,

96.              and He went with him because of the beauty of his faith.

97.              He went with him and all the Twelve as well –

98.              the twelve bright hours of the day.

99.              The twelve apostles were like rays of the Great Light,

100.           <535> for they clung to Him and He drove away the night from humanity.

101.           And our Lord wished not only to heal a sick girl,

102.           but to wondrously raise a dead one where He was going.

103.           That ruler’s faith was very great,

104.           and Christ wished to perform a great sign in his house.

105.           And He signaled to the sickness to remain upon the girl,

106.           and He sent Death to go before Him, until He would come.

107.           His power went out upon the paths and visited the sick

108.           so that they would delay Him while Death slightly[18] preceded Him.

109.           And as He was proceeding and tarrying on that path,

110.           a bleeding woman approached to steal power from Him.

111.           And the Treasure stood and did not proceed in the midst of the path,

112.           and He lingered there until they stole from Him, and then He went on.

113.           And He extended His [garment’s] hem to the thief as if not knowing,

114.           so she could steal from Him whatever wealth she sought.

115.           And the stolen power that went out from Him performed a wonder

116.           and cured that illness which had defied doctors.

117.           And our Lord stood there on the path to ask

118.           “who touched Me?”, as if He had not perceived when He was plundered.

119.           With various pretexts He then tarried on the path

120.           so Death would rise and perform his [work] as commissioned,

121.           <536> so He would not only expel an illness as they petitioned Him,

122.           but raise a dead person there as befit Him,

123.           and so He would not as a doctor heal a sick person as they called Him [to do],

124.           but wondrously raise a dead person as God.

125.           Instead of an illness, He set His face to expel Death,

126.           and for this reason He tarried on the path He laid out.

127.           And He waited – so He might be plundered by robbers,

128.           and so He might seek out who robbed Him as if not knowing,

129.           and to give room for Death to lay down the corpse there

130.           until He came like a strongman[19] towards His action.

131.           And He arranged His path wisely as He sought,

132.           and Death went and took the girl who was sick.

133.           And the work came about for our Lord to perform when He came,

134.           [to perform it] as God, and not as a doctor who heals the sick.

135.           Death went and performed his own [work] as commanded

136.           and took the soul and kept it for its Lord until He came.

137.           The corpse fell and cut-off hope revealed itself,

138.           and they had not expected to happen there that which happened.

139.           And with lamentations and many groanings,

140.           grief prevailed and they were not close to being consoled[20].

141.           <537> Sounds of weeping were heard from all sides,

142.           and tears of suffering shed on all faces,

143.           and all mouths chanted all lamentations,

144.           and all ears heard wailings.

145.           [There were] sounds of suffering from the near and the far –

146.           chanting and commotion from those inside and out.

147.           Grief over an only child is too great for consolation

148.           and the pain of oppressive Death is too severe for doctors.

149.           The whole house was upturned and tossing at the heir who departed

150.           for there was no other heir to console them.

151.           The girl had been like a pillar for the whole house

152.           and it rested upon her, and when she departed, it fell and was destroyed.

153.           The house was disturbed by many wailings

154.           and the lord of the house was not there during the tragedy that happened.

155.           The lady of the house – the wife – and many women [were there],

156.           and all who stirred up and strengthened grief to increase;

157.           the mother whose womb’s compassion is moved toward the daughter of her vows,

158.           and there was no man to stop the weeping so it would be slightly still.

159.           Grief prevailed over the wombs full of compassion

160.           of the women who know how to weep for their beloved ones.

161.           <538> Compassion and tears the Creator especially put in [women]

162.           to be for the growth of babies in married women.

163.           For if there was not great compassion in a mother[21],

164.           she would not bear the burden of a growing baby[22].

165.           Who would bear these birthpangs of children

166.           if not for the compassion and love of offspring that mothers have[23]?

167.           And because of the compassion the Creator put in their wombs,

168.           they also stir up wailings compassionately over the dead.

169.           From the greatness of compassion in them, suffering enters

170.           and kindles them more than men to weep for a dead person.

171.           But especially when there is grief [over] an only child,

172.           they stir up weeping that splits the earth with a loud sound.

173.           This weeping happened there in the house of Jairus

174.           for he was far away, and [his] wife and the women made lamentation.

175.           With cut-off hope they sent to Jairus to come

176.           from the Physician Whom they had called to come heal her.

177.           “Your daughter is dead! Why, then, do you trouble the Physician?

178.           Come, bury your dead girl. Let Him not come and be troubled with you!”

179.           Glory to You, Lord! For it is not by request

180.           that You give every very great gift to people.[24]

181.           Great things, Lord, are Yours to give

182.           <539> without people’s supplication and request.

183.           People’s minds are small

184.           and they ask You to give them small things.

185.           But You are great according to Your greatness and according to Your knowledge,

186.           [and] so also Your gift is great when You give.

187.           You do not look for them to petition You when You give,

188.           for You give whether or not they seek.

189.           Among the Jews they sought You to heal the sick girl,

190.           and when she died, they sent to You, “do not come.”

191.           They sought a small gift from You and You withheld [it from] them,

192.           but they did not seek this gift that is very great.

193.           And though they did not seek, You, like a Good One Whose sight is great[25],

194.           gave this gift they did not hope for, because it was [so] great.

195.           “Do not come,” they sent to You when she died,

196.           and if You did not come like they sent to You, You would have been a [mere] human.

197.           But because You are God with Your Begetter,

198.           You enriched them from Your gift though they did not seek You.

199.           They reckoned You weak when they sent to You, “Lord, do not come,”

200.           and You came and showed Your mightiness and rebuked them.

201.           “If He visits a sick person, He would heal him,

202.           <540> but if he dies, what would it benefit him for Him to come toward him?”

203.           If they knew You – that You are God – they would have sent to You,

204.           “Lord, she is dead! Come, resurrect her, for it is easy for You.”[26]

205.           “Your daughter is dead,” they sent to that discerning one,

206.           “what would it benefit her if He visits her? Do not trouble Him.”

207.           O wretched ones, why would He not come

208.           if, according to your word, He was truly not weak?

209.           He started on the path and reached its midpoint with the one who called Him,

210.           and if He turned back, what would the one who called Him say?

211.           Would he have glorified and believed without doubting,

212.           not reckoning our Lord weak for turning back?

213.           Or would doubt and a great stumbling-block strike him

214.           for the Son of God started on the path and did not proceed on it?

215.           Or what would the Son of God say to His disciples

216.           if He turned back like they sent to Him, [saying] that He should not come?

217.           “She is dead, so let Him turn back. Why should we be wearied?

218.           Death has taken her, and there is no way for her to be resurrected.”

219.           These words were spoken by man –

220.           they were not proper for Christ to say.

221.           It was fitting for Him to complete the path on which He had started

222.           <541> for it was worthy of Him[27] to heal the sick and raise the dead.

223.           A small deed and a great dead are the same[28] for Him,

224.           for His power is greater than creation and its fashioned things.

225.           With the signal of His creatorship He makes the short grass grow,

226.           and likewise He makes the cedars of Lebanon grow – and they are the same for Him.

227.           His signal makes cedars grow, whose canopies reached even the clouds,

228.           just as [it makes] lichen grow on the wall,[29]

229.           and just as water is contained in a glass cup,

230.           [His signal] contains the depths and the great sea in a pool.

231.           And that deed which is much too great for you is not great for Him,

232.           and that which is small for you is not too small for Him, for it is His creation.

233.           High mountains and small pebbles are the same for Him,

234.           for His power is greater than all creation and its limits.

235.           The Son of God came to the world and performed mighty deeds,

236.           not performing them as He was able to in the synagogues,

237.           but on the path of humility, proceeding

238.           to act out His path and return to His place with His Begetter.

239.           And in every place where He healed the sick when He did heal,

240.           He would have raised the dead if they demanded Him, for it was easy for Him.

241.           <542> And though they did not demand Him, He showed He could revive the dead,

242.           and He revived three people to witness that He is the Son of God.[30]

243.           Grief indeed prevailed in Jairus’ house, as we have said,

244.           and they sent to Him not to come, as you have heard.

245.           But our Lord did not turn around the path on which He was proceeding,

246.           for He was straight[31], and His path runs straight.

247.           Nor did the Straight Child, after He had entered the womb of virginity,

248.           show [any] turning when He left it.

249.           All infants turn around [when] coming out of wombs,

250.           and from the gate that the infant enters it [also] leaves.

251.           A baby in the womb makes a turn when it enters it,

252.           for humans pathways are not straight.[32]

253.           The Son of God entered His mother’s womb from the ear[33]

254.           and went forth straightly to His path because He is God.[34]

255.           He did not turn Himself around on the path of birth when He proceeded,

256.           for His path was straight and exalted over paths.

257.           When the Jews sent to Him to come and turn from His path,

258.           He did not wish to turn around, for He was straight, and He proceeded on His way.

259.           Who can seize the chariot of the sun

260.           to pivot it around and turn its path from its route?

261.           <543> Who can easily turn the course of the heavenly hosts[35]

262.           and set a law for an orbit[36] to proceed backwards?

263.           Who can send back the Gihon from its route

264.           and turn its waves back to the high earth from which it came?

265.           And if creation is not turned from its courses,

266.           who can turn the Son of the Creator from His route?

267.           He was not feeble as if the work was too hard for Him,

268.           [as if] He should fear it and not go forward to act.[37]

269.           The wolf of Sheol snatched the ewe from the flock,

270.           [and] the Good Shepherd would not turn around until He carried her.

271.           He was the Son of David who had killed the wolf for the sake of the lamb

272.           and chased away the lion, and the lamb escaped from between its teeth.[38]

273.           The Resurrection went out to walk after Death

274.           and they told Him to turn around, but He did not turn around.

275.           This girl’s father pleaded that the Son of God desist,

276.           but He did not desist, for Death was not too difficult for Him.

277.           “Only believe,” the Son of God told him,

278.           “and the girl will live, for behold! Her soul is set in My hands.

279.           I will not desist until I have completed the path I laid out.

280.           Walk! Let us go and expel Death from your mansion.”

281.           <544> So our Lord proceeded with Jairus and reached his house

282.           and found a commotion and turbulent disaster and severe grief.

283.           The Resurrection suddenly came, and Death shuddered like a thief[39].

284.           Consolation arrived and stopped up the source of weeping.

285.           Christ the Light chased away the darkness He saw –

286.           the Raiser of the Dead expelled the grief [over] the only child.

287.           “Do not weep – she is not dead,” He encouraged them,

288.           and the iniquitous people[40] laughed and mocked Him for what He said.

289.           The Jews laughed, and condemnation turned upon them,

290.           for in their laughing they became witnesses to the fact that she was dead.

291.           He said, “she is not dead but asleep,”

292.           and they laughed, so they might become witnesses that she was not alive.

293.           The Son of God sent them out since they were not worthy

294.           to see the wonder when the corpse would be awakened there.

295.           The dead laughed at the Resurrection Who visited them,

296.           and He expelled them because He saw they were not worthy.

297.           And He brought with Him three witnesses from the disciples

298.           and her father and mother, for they were worthy of the sign that happened.

299.           And He called with His voice, “Little girl, rise!” and she answered Him,

300.           and immediately she rose as the Son of God called her.

301.           <545> Divinely He spoke with her and thus she heard,

302.           and she knew Who He was and turned to come out of Ruin.

303.           That skillful Painter Who painted her in her mother’s womb

304.           Himself called her, and she knew His voice and immediately rose.

305.           He Who held the thread of life that Death cut

306.           brought and wove it, and life was restored to its place.

307.           The Lion’s Cub[41] roared in Jairus’ house, and Death heard,

308.           and he trembled at His voice, abandoned and left the girl, and fled.

309.           The Youthful Stag entered the Serpent’s lair and bellowed,[42]

310.           and he trembled at Him and his bile dried up and he threw up his food.

311.           Death captured the bride of the house to bring [her] into Sheol,

312.           and the Raiser of the Dead confronted him and took her from him.

313.           He made her father glad, and her mother rejoiced at the gift

314.           of the Son of God Who visited them. To Him be glory!

܀܀܀܀܀

[1] Translated by Aimee Hannoush, September 2025. A) This homily has been previously translated into English by Sebastian Brock: “Homily 91: On Jairus’ Daughter,” in Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met, by Susan Ashbrook Harvey et al., Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 44, The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2016), 235–71. I completed my own translation before consulting his. There are occasional places where the translations match nearly verbatim, but these are coincidental and an inevitable result of translating the same text. They represent my original translation and as such I have decided not to change them. B) The story of the raising of Jairus’ daughter is found in Matt 9:18-26, Mk 5:22-43, and Lk 8:40-56.

[2] Lit: “As if he did not die [is] a dead man who is close to Your resurrection.”

[3] 2 Kgs 13:20-21. The Israelites threw a dead man on Elisha’s bones, which brought the man back to life.

[4] “when I am near You” lit: “in Your vicinity.”

[5] Lit: “May my mouth not be silent from glory by the iniquity of my hands. / May Your glory increase even from the dead in the whole world!”

[6] Cf. Mt 27:50-53. I interpret the “stones and the dead” glorifying Christ as referring to the phenomena that occur at the Crucifixion, as recounted especially in Matthew: the temple curtain tore, the earth shook, rocks split, and graves were opened and [some of] the dead raised. Jacob frequently references this episode, noting how nature testifies to Christ’s glory and identity as Creator. Brock notes a reference to Lk 19:40, where Jesus says that “even the rocks would cry out” if His disciples were silent (p.242). 

[7] Brock notes that “thirsty land” (his translation: “Thirsty Earth”) is a common Syriac title for Mary derived from Isaiah 53:2 (p.242).

[8] “which grasped the light” lit. “and it [the earth] grasped the light.”

[9] Cf. Matt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48. A reference to the story of the hemorrhaging woman who touched the hem of Christ’s garment and was healed.

[10] Cf. Jn 9:6.

[11] Cf. Jn 11:43-44. Reference to the raising of Lazarus.

[12] A) Cf. Jn 2:1-11. Reference to the wedding at Cana. B) Cf. Matt 14:13-21; Mk 6:31-44; Lk 9:12-17; Jn 6:1-15 (feeding of the five thousand), and Matt 15:32-39; Mk 8:1-9 (feeding of the four thousand).

[13] Cf. Matt 8:26; Mk 4:39; Lk 8:24. Jesus calms the storm.

[14] The River Gihon, here used as a title of Christ, is one of the rivers flowing from Eden. See Gen 2:10-14. There is a pun on the name “Gihon” (ܓܝܚܘܢ) and the Syriac word “gushed” (ܓܚ).

[15] “assure them” or “confirm them” ( ܕܢܫܪܪ ܐܢܘܢ).

[16] I have translated as “bleeding woman” the phrase ܐܢܬܬܐ ܕܕܡܗ̇ A) Cf. Matt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48. Jacob, like Ephrem, describes the hemorrhaging woman’s boldness in touching Christ’s garment as “stealing” His power. For them, this theft, full of faith, is marvelous and praiseworthy. See: “Homily 170: On the Afflicted Woman with the Flow of Blood” in Jacob of Sarug’s Homilies on Women Whom Jesus Met 171-233; McCarthy, Saint Ephrem’s Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron: An English Translation of Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709 with Introduction and Notes, sec. VII.11-12. B) Cf. Matt 15:21-28; Mk 7:24-30.

[17] Reading “to cure” in the future tense (ܢܚܠܡ) with variant R instead of ܐܚܠܡ.

[18] “slightly” or “swiftly.”

[19] “like a strongman”: ܐܝܟ ܓܢܒܪܐ. Potentially a pun, as the word Jacob has been using for “robber” is ܓܢܒܐ. Indeed, Bedjan lists a variant that has ܓܢܒܐ instead of ܓܢܒܪܐ.

[20] “were not close to being consoled” lit. “they were not close to consolation.”

[21] Lit. “For if compassion was not great in a mother.”

[22] “a growing baby” lit. “a baby when he is growing.” The word “growing” (ܡܬܪܒܐ) can either indicate a baby “growing” (i.e., in the womb) or “growing up.” I have taken it as the former since I am reading this passage as referring to mothers bearing children in their wombs.

[23] Lit. “if not for the compassion and love of fruits that is in mothers.”

[24] Lit. “Glory to You, Lord! For every gift that is very great, / it is not by request that You give it to people.”

[25] “You, like a Good One Whose sight is great, / gave”: the meaning and translation of the phrase “Whose sight is great” (lit. “Whose eye is great”) is unclear to me. ܘܟܰܕ ܠܳܐ ܒܳܥܶܝܢ ܝܰܗܒܬ ܐܰܝܟ ܛܳܒܳܐ ܕܪܰܒܳܐ ܥܰܝܢܶܗ܀. Brock translates the couplet as: “but even though they did not ask, You, in Your goodness and generosity gave (them) / that gift which they had not expected, in that it was so large!” (p.258).

[26] I translate this line with the word order from the listed variant from R (Which I think may be Vat.sir.118): ܡܳܪܝ ܡܺܝܬܰܬ ܠܳܗ̇ ܬܳܐ ܢܰܚܶܡܶܝܗ̇ ܕܰܦܫܺܝܩܽ ܗ̱ܘ ܠܳܟ܀ Bedjan’s text: ܡܳܪܝ ܢܰܚܶܡܶܝܗ̇ ܕܗܳܐ ܡܺܝܬܰܬ ܠܳܗ̇ ܕܰܦܫܺܝܩܽ ܗ̱ܘ ܠܳܟ܀

[27] “it was worthy of Him” or “it was equal to Him” (ܕܫܘܐ ܗܘܐ ܠܗ).

[28] “the same” lit. “one” (also in lines 226 and 233).

[29] Lit. “His signal makes cedars grow, which even reached the clouds with their canopies, / just as [it makes grow] the lichen that proceeds on the wall.” I have translated the second line according to the variant recorded in MS R: ܐܰܝܟ ܕܰܠܠܽܘܦܳܐ ܕܢܳܦܶܩ ܒܶܐܣܬܳܐ instead of Bedjan’s main text ܐܰܝܟ ܕܰܠܥܰܘܦܳܐ ܕܢܳܦܶܩ ܒܶܐܣܬܳܐ. The line quotes 1 Kgs 4:33, which says of Solomon’s wisdom: “and he spoke about the trees, from the cedars of Lebanon up to the lichen that goes forth on the wall” (ܘܡܰܠܶܠ ܥܰܠ ܐܺܝ̈ܠܳܢܶܐ. ܡܶܢ ܐܰܪ̈ܙܶܐ ܕܠܶܒܢܳܢ. ܘܰܥܕܰܡܳܐ ܠܠܽܘܦܳܐ ܕܢܳܦܶܩ ܒܶܐܣܬܳܐ). Translations of this verse based on the Hebrew text have “hyssop”, though in Syriac this would be ܙܽܘܦܳܐ instead of ܠܽܘܦܳܐ. I have translated ܠܽܘܦܳܐ as “lichen” based on Audo’s definition “a measly green plant that grows on the wall.” I have taken the text of 1 Kgs 4:33 from the Department of Syriac Studies website, and for Audo’s definition see its entry on Sedra (p.16): https://sedra.bethmardutho.org/lexeme/get/19457.

[30] The three dead whom Jesus raised, and who become “witnesses” to Christ’s divinity, are Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:11-17), and Lazarus (Jn 11:1-45).

[31] Throughout this section Jacob uses the word ܬܪܝܨܐ which can mean “straight,” “direct,” “upright,” etc. I have kept the translation as a form of “straight” throughout in order to match Jacob’s language, though at times it may sound odd in English.

[32] Lit. “for humans are not straight in their pathways.”

[33] Ephrem and Jacob commonly say that Christ entered Mary’s womb through her ear, because it was through Mary’s obedience that He was conceived. This contrasts with Eve, through whose ear the serpent entered because of her disobedience to God’s command.

[34] The idea in this passage seems to be that all infants who are conceived naturally enter into their mother’s womb from the same point from which they come out – i.e., they enter her womb and then “turn around” to exit it again. This contrasts with Christ, born of a Virgin, who entered from her ear and went straight down out of her womb. A helpful patristic metaphor may be to say that Christ left the “gates of virginity” intact even as He passed through them to birth, while all other infants must enter and exit through those gates.

[35] Lit: “For whom is it easy to turn the course of the heavenly hosts?”

[36] “an orbit”: ܡܘܙܠܬܐ

[37] Lit: “[that] He should fear it and not go toward His action.”

[38] 1 Sm 17:34-5. David tells Saul how he has rescued his sheep from lions and wolves (in Syriac wolves and not bears, though their spelling is only a one-letter difference).

[39] “Death shuddered like a thief” reading with the variant from MS R (ܡܘܬܐ ܐܝܟ ܓܢܒܐ) instead of Bedjan’s main text ܘܐܬܐ ܡܘܬܐ ܕܓܢܒ.

[40] “the iniquitous people” reading with MS R’s variant (ܒܢ̈ܝ ܥܘܠܐ) instead of Bedjan’s main text ܒܢ̈ܝ ܓܘܢܚܐ

[41] Christ’s title “Lion’s Cub” is taken from Gen 49:9. Jacob often uses it when referring to Christ’s dying cry “roaring” in Sheol. See, for example, his homily on the vigil of Holy Saturday: “The Lion's Cub roared in Sheol and Death heard Him / and the demon trembled and his crown fell in the darkness. // Adam heard the voice of the Son in the womb of Sheol / and rejoiced before Him like John inside the womb.” (Bedjan v.5, p.595).

[42] This title of Christ (ܥܝܠܐ ܥܠܝܡܐ) is often used by Jacob in reference to chasing away the serpent from its lair. See, for example, the entries on Simtho.