On the Raising of Lazarus from the Dead

1.                    Open my lips so I may speak of You,

2.                    O Son of God, for in You all speakers speak.

3.                    Iniquity shuts off the mouth of man from Your praise,

4.                    for when someone sins, he is [too] ashamed before You[2] to give glory.

5.                    May my sins not be my reason to keep from You[3]

6.                    the songs of glory due to You from Your creation.

7.                    Your Cross opened the gates that were shut from eternity –

8.                    in it I will take heart and speak Your glory as I wonder.

9.                    Though I confess I am not sufficient and I am not worthy,

10.                   yet because Your great mercy has willed – behold, I will give glory!

11.                   Your mystery[4], our Lord, opened even hard natures

12.                   and exacted praise from silent creatures.

13.                   It is the key that opened a way in the sea for the armies

14.                   and made a gate within the flood for the great People.[5]

15.                   <565> It opened the rock which bore[6] overflowing streams

16.                   and brought down bread from the dark clouds to the gatherings.[7]

17.                   The rod of Aaron saw You within the Ark

18.                   and bubbled and bloomed to depict an image for Your birth.[8]

19.                   The Jordan River saw You when You came with an encampment

20.                   and it stood and awaited You to give way when You cross.[9]

21.                   Your beautiful name commanded the sun and stopped its course,[10]

22.                   and showed the world that it is in You that the heavenly hosts proceed.

23.                   In You they revolve and by You they are stirred to proceed,

24.                   and if You command, they lull and cease processing[11].

25.                   Imperceptive beings became in You as if perceptive[12],

26.                   fearing and being directed by Your will.

27.                   For how could the sun go out to the earth

28.                   and the whole world not sense it when it proceeds?

29.                   Or how could the day disappear,

30.                   to come and go without the earth sensing that it came?

31.                   You journeyed like the sun among the revelations of prophecy

32.                   and You came to earth and revealed Yourself like the day.

33.                   And the land[13] shone, clamored, and chattered about You[14],

34.                   for the world was not able to hide You on the path You trod.

35.                   The Scriptures hid You as in night before Your coming

36.                   and Your great dawning was not hidden, for You are day.

37.                   <566> The Law, Lord, like Moses’s mother Jochebed,

38.                   concealed Your mystery between the pages of prophecy.[15]

39.                   And the Daughter of the Arameans[16] saw You on the Cross, that Your beauty was hung,

40.                   and longed for You, O Beautiful One, like the Egyptian [princess] for Moses.[17]

41.                   In the Chest of mysteries You were kept and concealed,

42.                   and in the revelations of prophecy Your story was hidden.

43.                   The Egyptian [princess] also took Moses from the chest –

44.                   sweet beauty hidden as if in mystery!

45.                   Within the Ark of the Father Moses Your servant hid You[18]

46.                   just as he was also hidden in the chest.

47.                   Moses grew up, and in the revelations of his mightiness,

48.                   the earth saw him with the mighty works he divinely performed.

49.                   Your mystery went out from the Ark and showed itself,

50.                   and the earth clamored at the revelation of Your bodiliness.

51.                   Your great mystery that was hidden in the Chest

52.                   went into the open, and the world saw it unveiled.

53.                   The Virgin became for us the East, and she bore the new Sun,

54.                   and behold! All creation is shining from Its rays.

55.                   From Mary dawned the joyful Morning full of beauties,

56.                   and the mournful night fled and hid itself from humanity.

57.                   <567> The great Day of light rose and showed Itself

58.                   and chased away all shadows from the regions [of the earth].

59.                   The Son of the Most High mingled Himself with lowly beings

60.                   to mingle them with Him in glory in His Father’s land.

61.                   As a neighbor and as kin and as a lowly man,

62.                   He walked with them in their streets and visited them.

63.                   And He entered, teaching their synagogues to instruct them,

64.                   so that through His teaching He would return them to His Begetter.

65.                   And as He proceeded on the way of all humility,

66.                   the mighty deeds He did troubled the earth, and it knew Who He was.

67.                   The blind who saw, the deaf who heard, the hungry who were filled,

68.                   and the dead who lived knew Who He was – that He was the Heavenly One[19].

69.                   The lepers He cleansed, the sick He healed, and the demons He expelled

70.                   cried out about Him, testifying to Him that He was the Son of God.

71.                   He humbled Himself, for He was preparing to become a sacrifice

72.                   and His good reports spread news of Him to the earth, and [the earth] went out after Him:

73.                   songs of glory of the afflicted as they are healed

74.                   and the sound of thanksgiving of the hungry who are filled from His gift;

75.                   the voice of Timay by which the whole path is disturbed,

76.                   asking for light and demanding and taking [it] from the Giver;[20]

77.                   <568> the voice of the widow on the way of the grave, who sings glory,

78.                   for she went out to bury, but rejoiced in the resurrection of [her] son;[21]

79.                   the deaf man who listens to hear sounds which he does not hear,

80.                   the blind man who sees desirable beauties he had not seen;

81.                   and the rushed running of the lame as they go around

82.                   among the crowds, so the world may see how swift they are;

83.                   she who was bent over, who was straightened from the disease,

84.                   who stretched out and stood so the world could see she was healed;[22]

85.                   Zaccheus the tax-collector who scatters his wealth upon the poor

86.                   in place of his great debt that the Lord of debtors tore apart;[23]

87.                   the decomposing dead man whose hands and feet were bound

88.                   who steps forward, going out to meet[24] the voice of the Son of God!

89.                   The King Who stands in the streets and scatters His riches,

90.                   and opens the gates to all from all sides,

91.                   and all petitioners and all takers surround Him,

92.                   along with all the needy, and they demand from Him their needs;

93.                   and each who sought entered and heaped up and took as he wished,

94.                   and [there are] no deputies and no guards for the open wealth;

95.                   and He gladly and freely gives all needs –

96.                   all healings, all helps to those who seek Him –

97.                   <569> to this one light, to that one purification, and to that one hearing –

98.                   to that one healing, and to another, forgiveness of sins –

99.                   He bandaged sicknesses of the body and sores of the soul,

100.                 so each might take whatever mercy he sought from Him.

101.                 He made His font flow[25] to the thirsty earth that was desolate,

102.                 and it was satisfied, sweetened, and carried fruits of new glory.

103.                 In the synagogues His teaching was heard,

104.                 and on the feast days the mighty deeds He did shone forth.

105.                 On Sabbaths His story was spoken among the crowds,

106.                 and on all days His mightiness was sung.

107.                 In the desert, feasters reclined and were filled from His gift.

108.                 In the cultivated land, the sick carried wealth from His healings.

109.                 Should you go to the sea, His path runs above the waves!

110.                 Should you look on the earth – behold! He sets up tables for the hungry.

111.                 The waters saw Him and became wine at the wedding feast,

112.                 and the source of the woman’s blood dried up when she seized His garment.[26]

113.                 He expelled the demon of the Canaanite girl who was tormenting her,

114.                 and tore up the bill of the sinful woman who gave tears.[27]

115.                 In the cities of Judah, wonders of His mightiness!

116.                 And also in Galilee, mighty, wonderous deeds of His humility!

117.                 In Cana His wine, and in Capernaum, behold, His healings!

118.                 He rebukes Korazin and gives woe to Bethsaida.[28]

119.                 <570> In Bethany, then, He called the dead one from the grave and he answered Him,

120.                 and concerning him I now stir in wonder to speak.

121.                 Mary and Martha, wise and innocent women,

122.                 loved the light and earnestly desired its company.

123.                 Also Lazarus, a friend of the Sun of Righteousness[29],

124.                 along with his sisters loved the Son with a good heart.

125.                 The three siblings saw Christ and perceived Him,

126.                 that He was the Light, and they sought Him to enlighten them.

127.                 The Day dawned on their beautiful souls

128.                 and mixed them with Himself in love, that they might listen to Him.

129.                 The desirable siblings, whom our Lord also loved

130.                 because they were pure and simple and shrewd[30],

131.                 knew He was the Son of God in their shrewdness,

132.                 and in their simplicity they loved Him without doubting.

133.                 And in their purity He mixed them in love with Him,

134.                 for love is able to mix man with God.

135.                 They loved the great Light that visited them,

136.                 and He loved them because He saw their excellence[31].

137.                 And as the luminous Son was walking in Galilee,

138.                 a sickness came upon His friend Lazarus in Judah.

139.                 <571> It was a sickness that was an occasion full of glory

140.                 for the Son of God, Who loves to enrich humanity.

141.                 Mary and Martha, wise and innocent,

142.                 sent to Christ, raising a complaint[32] before Him about the sickness.

143.                 “Behold, Your friend is sick”[33] they sent to the Good Physician

144.                 and He delayed, so He might show His power in a wonderous act.

145.                 He did not wish to come like a doctor toward a sickness,

146.                 so He might come at the end and [instead] raise the dead man as God.

147.                 [News] about the sickness of His just friend was proclaimed,

148.                 and by design[34] He did not visit him though He loved him.

149.                 So that His friend might become a manifest sign full of wonder

150.                 He delayed, and did not visit him in sickness.

151.                 He left him to die so He might be glorified when he was raised,

152.                 so His friend might become an occasion for His glory in great wonder.[35]

153.                 And when the sickness handed him over and brought him towards departure,

154.                 He revealed to His disciples concerning him, that Lazarus [was] dead.

155.                 “Lazarus fell asleep,” He told His associates[36],

156.                 and they did not know what He was saying, for they were innocent.[37]

157.                 He disdained death, and reckoned it sleep before His disciples

158.                 so that they might scorn it mightily because they hoped in Him[38].

159.                 He saw far things as if nearby,

160.                 <572> and there is nothing concealed from Him in [all] lands.

161.                 He saw Death who took His friend and brought and placed him

162.                 within his gate and shut [it] in his face as he is accustomed to [do].

163.                 And that [saying] “he fell asleep” He revealed to His apostles to show them

164.                 that death is sleep to whoever sees discerningly.

165.                 And they did not comprehend His great and spiritual speech,

166.                 and He lowered His word to speak with them in clear things.

167.                 “Our friend is dead.”[39] And He set His path swiftly

168.                 to come to Judah and visit the dead man in the place of ruin.

169.                 But the disciples, simple sheep, feared the wolves

170.                 and did not wish to go to Judah toward the murderers.[40]

171.                 “Lord, do not go toward the Hebrew Woman[41] who thirsts[42] for Your blood!

172.                 You are acquainted with her despicable audacity, for she is tempestuous.

173.                 She loves the calf and does not love You, for You are jealous,

174.                 for neither did she, [that] Companion of Images, ever love Your Father.

175.                 Behold, the Jews are sharpening the sword to kill You!

176.                 Stay away from there! May mad iniquity not injure You!”

177.                 Our Lord said, “I am the Day and I do not fear

178.                 the shadows, the companions of night that surround Me.

179.                 For in the day there are no obstacles for whoever walks –

180.                 <573> it is in the night that he stumbles because he is deprived of light.”[43]

181.                 He was the Day, and they the light hours,

182.                 and they proceeded in Him and did not fear obstacles.

183.                 Then Thomas the chosen apostle, the beauty of his brothers,

184.                 the courageous one who scorned all deaths for the sake of Jesus,

185.                 gave advice worthy of glory and a good name:

186.                 “Come, let us go and die with Him”[44] without fear.

187.                 Love is accustomed to daring and stepping towards all deaths,

188.                 for love does not know to fear or be frightened.

189.                 The love of Thomas made him run toward murder

190.                 like one who goes to recline at the banquet of a king.

191.                 [But] if they had invited him to a table full of good things,

192.                 he would not have run like [he did at] that [phrase] “let us die with our Savior.”

193.                 “Come, let us go and die with Him,” he advised his brothers,

194.                 and they all ran towards death with a good heart.

195.                 Death that is with Him is life to the one worthy of Him[45],

196.                 and for someone to live without Him is a wicked death.

197.                 With Him death! And not ever life with the world,

198.                 for death that is with Him is good life for humanity.

199.                 “Come, let us go,” and they all ran towards the sword

200.                 with one will, to die with Him, rejoicing.

201.                 Then came our Lord, the great Sun with His rays,

202.                 <574> and He directed His journey to Bethany, the village of the dead one.

203.                 His revelation dawned and Ruin shook where He[46] was,

204.                 and life began pouring forth streams in His vicinity.

205.                 News entered and proclaimed to the sisters of the dead one,

206.                 “Behold! The Resurrection has arrived and calls you – rise, go toward Him!”

207.                 The pure women went out and received the Light that visited them,

208.                 and many stirred up weeping before our Lord.

209.                 With cut-off hope it was spoken concerning the dead one:

210.                 “If only You were here, my brother Lazarus would not have died.[47]

211.                 If only the Sun had not transited from our lands,

212.                 neither would the night have apprehended us and disturbed us.

213.                 If only the Light had not separated Itself from our regions,

214.                 it would not have been easy for darkness to enter our vicinity.

215.                 Life went far off and Death came, entered, and frightened us,

216.                 and separated the beloved limb from its sisters.”

217.                 Our Lord saw the great mourning for the only son

218.                 and heard the sound of unfit weeping from the Jews.[48]

219.                 He saw the griefs Death made among humanity

220.                 and He pitied our race which was destroyed and cast into the abyss of the earth.

221.                 And He brought forth tears[49] from sadness in great suffering

222.                 over humanity which Death destroyed and cast down in Sheol.

223.                 He wept over the human race, as much as it was corrupted

224.                 <575> and descended and became bread for the viper who – behold! is gnawing it!

225.                 Because of the destruction that Death made among humanity

226.                 Christ was weeping – not over the dead one who would be raised.

227.                 He set His face toward Lazarus to raise him,

228.                 and He was not weeping over the resurrection He sought to perform.

229.                 He wept over the great destruction that there was among humanity

230.                 and over the fall of the beloved race, how great it [had been].

231.                 His tears came because He saw them weeping with cut-off hope

232.                 and there was no remembrance of the resurrection in their minds.

233.                 He wept like us so He might resemble us in all things[50]

234.                 and He moved His power to perform the wonder that befit it[51].

235.                 In the tears that He brought forth, the Son of God resembled us,

236.                 and in the resurrection that He made dawn there He resembles His Father.

237.                 He began asking about where they laid the dead one,[52]

238.                 and who would assert He did not knew where his tomb was?

239.                 He knew where the soul, concealed from viewers, was,

240.                 and who would say that the revealed body was hidden from Him?

241.                 He resembles His Father Who asked “Where are you, Adam?”

242.                 when He saw that he was hiding beneath the tree.[53]

243.                 This is a wonder! That the Raiser of the Dead asked

244.                 <576> to learn where was the grave of the dead man He would raise.

245.                 Which is greater, for Him to know his grave without questioning,

246.                 or to call to the dead man to come out from the darkness?[54]

247.                 He descended to small things because of His love,

248.                 but great things were fitting for Him to do.

249.                 So He asked about Lazarus, where they laid him,

250.                 and the Jews showed Him the dead man’s grave.

251.                 And so that He might give all things to His Father, He looked to heaven

252.                 and began to pray a prayer that testifies to His greatness.

253.                 He thanked His Father[55] – for it was thanksgiving and not petition,

254.                 for He did not need to petition and receive as if lacking.

255.                 He revealed the prayer that He prayed in a loud voice

256.                 for He prayed there for the sake of the People, not because He was needy.[56]

257.                 But so the deniers of truth would know that He resembles His Father,

258.                 [and that] also His Father resembles[57] Him in all His deeds,

259.                 thus also when He prayed He showed before the Jews

260.                 that His power and will were one with those of His Father.

261.                 Thus they led Him to show Him where his grave was,

262.                 for this [act] also corresponded to[58] those who saw it.

263.                 They laid him, and they showed where his grave was

264.                 so there would be no room for denial when he came to life[59].

265.                 <577> And also He commanded that they should roll away the stone from the mouth of the grave[60],

266.                 and this resembles Him asking where they laid him.

267.                 When He sought to raise the dead man before the Jews,

268.                 He brought them so they would also be mixed with His act.

269.                 They showed the grave and rolled the stone and became partakers

270.                 in the resurrection that the Son of God worked there.

271.                 They were near to the small things that happened there,

272.                 but the resurrection, which was of Christ, was kept for Him.

273.                 The Resurrection rose outside the high gates of Sheol

274.                 and the gates and bolts of the place of darkness trembled at Him.[61]

275.                 Death saw that his gate was open and it did not grieve him,

276.                 for he knew that his citadel was open to enterers.

277.                 Each who came entered surely to stay in his land

278.                 and no one left the dominion of his mightiness.

279.                 The heel of generations was turning within for them to be carried,

280.                 for not even one was going out from his threshold.

281.                 The Jews opened the gate of the tomb and Death watched

282.                 to see who would be added to the dead.

283.                 And as he stood upon the confidence of his tyranny,

284.                 not thinking it was possible for a dead man to go out[62] from his threshold,

285.                 heaping up all the dead in his rooms

286.                 <578> and arranging generations upon generations, peoples upon peoples,

287.                 families upon families, races upon races, all mighty ones,

288.                 all strongmen and all diligent and all powerful ones,

289.                 trampling the dust of the just inside his gate –

290.                 of Adam and Seth and Enosh and Noah and Abraham –

291.                 binding up all famous strongmen,

292.                 confining and laughing at the glorified and exalted,

293.                 standing confidently as each one who came entered surely –

294.                 his gate had never been open to exiters –

295.                 then our Lord called the dead man with a high voice,

296.                 “Come, Lazarus!” and the dead man was stirred by the voice of the Son.

297.                 The Voice of Life supported the dead man and gave him a hand

298.                 and made him run to go out and see the Son of God.

299.                 Death saw him and was troubled and began to tremble,

300.                 shaking, quaking, and terrified at the wonder he saw.

301.                 Death said, “Who is this who turns toward the outside?

302.                 For behold! He is tied and girded, and he rushes to go out and leave.

303.                 A dead man who goes out from my citadels is a new work –

304.                 is he alive, or did he enter now without me perceiving?

305.                 The appearance of a dead man, the walk of a living! And what shall I say?

306.                 <579> He is covered up and girded, and like a strongman he steps forward and leaves.

307.                 Who is seizing him, for I have seen no one except him,

308.                 and who called him and tramples my dominion and – behold! – is mocking me?

309.                 The belts and bonds and covering are of Lazarus.

310.                 The walk is new, and who does it resemble? I do not know.

311.                 At what shall I wonder? At the dead man who goes out from the darkness?

312.                 Or at the girded, bound, tied-up man who steps forward and takes heart?

313.                 His course is swift and his feet step forward while not undone[63] –

314.                 A double wonder! And who does he resemble? I do not know!

315.                 It is unheard of for a dead man to live after he has decomposed,

316.                 and unseen for someone who is tied and restrained to walk.

317.                 I will forbid him to stay[64] – it is a great danger lest He enter,

318.                 He Who called him and will plunder the treasures of Sheol!

319.                 Let the dead man go! I am not impoverished by one who has come to life.

320.                 Let the Lion’s Cub take His prey and make him go![65]

321.                 If the Voice repeats in Sheol it would make catastrophes

322.                 and it would make all the dead go out from her and it would empty her.

323.                 Get out, Lazarus! Get out! Go with the One Who called you!

324.                 May He not enter and capture my captives because of you!”

325.                 Great was the wonder that happened there for Lazarus

326.                 <580> for it was not one, but two wonders that occurred.

327.                 For the rising forth of a dead man after he had decomposed was a wonder,

328.                 and it was another wonder that he was wrapped up and walking.

329.                 His face was covered up and he directed [his way] straight, going out toward the door.

330.                 His feet were tied and he was walking untroubled.

331.                 But corresponding to the power of the Son of God, it was nothing,

332.                 this work that happened there for Lazarus.

333.                 If some [mere] human performed that wonder,

334.                 the marvel would be great and unspeakable from its greatness.

335.                 But because He Who called him was God,

336.                 the work was small, corresponding to the authority of His divinity.

337.                 At that second coming when the Son of God will come,

338.                 He will call and raise all the dead in the twinkling of an eye[66].

339.                 And He sought to show how He will call and how He will make

340.                 the dead of Sheol leave, uncorrupted by ruin.

341.                 And in the one whom He called, the Jews saw a taste of His power,

342.                 so from the wonder they might understand Who He was, and Whose Son.

343.                 Lazarus went out – a decomposed dead man, a spotless living man,

344.                 a bound man running – an occasion for the glory of the Only-Begotten.

345.                 And the Son of God commanded those who wrapped him to undo [the wrapping][67],

346.                 <581> for this work that He made them take was their own.

347.                 He took the soul and led the soul from its dwelling

348.                 and placed it in the body from which it had left, and the dead man lived.

349.                 And those who had bound and wrapped and covered, stitched up[68] and tied up,

350.                 were exacted to undo what they had tied.

351.                 And the Bond of Life bound together him who had been undone

352.                 and [the Jews] undid the bonds they had bound, and they released them.[69]

353.                 Each according to his strength performed a work on the dead man who lived,

354.                 as to the glory of the Son of God. To Him be glory!

܀܀܀܀܀

[1] Translated by Aimee Hannoush, 2025. I occasionally checked my translation of unclear passages against Fr. Behnam Sony’s Arabic translation. I have located the homily in two digitized manuscripts, though I did not make an extensive search for MSS and include them for convenient reference but not an attempt at comprehensiveness: DIYR 00003 “ff.316v- 319v” pp. 634-640; Vat.sir.117 ff.360v-362v (a medieval MS, where it is listed as a homily corresponding to Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday). Occasionally I preferred passages from Vat.sir.117, though I have not extensively checked DIYR 00003. I note also that the images for the homily in DIYR 00003 are mixed with those of another homily on VHMML. It may be of interest to some that passages from this homily are commonly excerpted in the Fanqitho for the bo‘wotho for Lazarus Saturday in both the Syrian Orthodox and Maronite traditions. Some of its themes – especially the emphasis on Christ as the Sun, the double-wonder of a dead man living and a bound man walking, Death’s fear at Christ’s voice, and the power of Christ’s voice to raise the dead, are also core parts of the hymns for the prayers. Finally, parts of the homily, along with Jacob’s homily on the Three Dead Whom Our Lord Raised (Bedjan 2.48 pp.334-347), resemble very closely a heptasyllabic homily on Lazarus attributed to Ephrem (found also in Vat.sir.117, following ours, on ff. 362v-364v) and edited by Joseph Assemani (Sancti Patris Nostri Ephraem Syri Opera Omnia, v.2 of Syr/Lat, 387-395).

[2] “before You” lit. “from You.”

[3] Lit. “May my sins not be for me a cause (ܥܠܬܐ) that keeps from You.”

[4] “Your mystery”: ܐܪܙܟ

[5] Ex 14:21-23. Moses parting the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape from Egypt.

[6] “the rock which bore” lit. “the rock, and it (the rock) bore.”

[7] A) Ex 17:1-7 and Num 20:1-13. Moses struck a rock in the wilderness and streams of water flowed out, quenching the Israelites’ thirst. B) Ex 16. God sent manna from heaven/the sky to feed the hungry Israelites.

[8] Num 17:8-10; Heb 9:4. Aaron’s staff which budded and that was placed in the Ark of the Covenant is commonly interpreted by the Church Fathers as a symbol of the Virgin bearing a Son.

[9] Josh 3:1-17. The Jordan River parted for Joshua and the Israelites to cross. Joshua shares the same name with Jesus in Syriac (Yeshu’ ܝܫܘܥ). Jesus’ crossing is presumably His baptism.

[10] Josh 10:12-14. “Your beautiful name” refers to Joshua bearing the name of Christ and praying for the sun to be still.

[11] “cease processing” lit. “cease from procession.”

[12] “as if perceptive.” The syntax is not entirely clear to me but the sense is that, in Christ, the “imperceptive”/”senseless” beings gained feeling or perception. ܠܐ ܪ̈ܓܘܫܐ ܗܘܘ ܒܟ ܐܝܟ ܗܘ ܕܪܓܝܫܝܢ ܗܘܘ

[13] “land” here is ܬܒܝܠ, more usually translated as “world.” I have translated it as “land” here to keep ܥܠܡܐ in the next line as “world.”

[14] “about You” or “because of You.”

[15] Ex 2:1-10. Jacob compares Christ being hidden in the Scriptures, and His “mystery” in the Ark of the Covenant, to Moses being hidden by his mother in a basket. Just as the Egyptian princess saved Moses, the “Daughter of the Arameans” (representing the Gentile Church) saw and longed for Christ on the Cross.

[16] The Daughter of the Arameans represents the Church. She, a Gentile, parallels the Gentile Egyptian princess who found Moses.

[17] Ex 2:5-10. Moses’s mother placed him in a basket (Syriac “chest” ܩܒܘܬܐ) in a river when he was born to save him from Pharaoh’s order that Israelite boys be killed. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and raised him. Jacob compares Moses in the chest to the symbols of Christ in the Ark of the Covenant.

[18] This likely refers to Aaron’s blossomed rod and/or the manna which were placed in the Ark. Both are symbols of Christ.

[19] “that He was the Heavenly One” or: “that He was heavenly.”

[20] Mk 10:46-52.

[21] Lk 7:11-17.

[22] Lk 13:10-17.

[23] Lk 19:1-10.

[24] “going out to meet” lit. “going out to the meeting-place of.”

[25] “He made His font flow” or “His font flowed forth.” ܬܪܥ can have both a transitive and intransitive sense.

[26] A) Jn 2:1-12. Jesus turned water into wine at the Wedding at Cana. Jacob also uses the imagery of “water seeing” Jesus and responding to Him in his homilies on baptism. B) Mt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48. A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years was healed by touching Jesus’s garment.

[27] A) Mt 15:22-29; Mk 7:25-30. Jesus expels a demon from a Canaanite girl after her mother’s persistent requests. B) Lk 7:36-50. The sinful woman who anointed Jesus’s feet with her tears and was forgiven is a favorite model of faith and repentance for Ephrem and Jacob.

[28] Mt 11:21; Lk 10:13.

[29] “Sun of Righteousness”: a Christological title from Malachi 4:2.

[30] “pure and simple and shrewd”: ܫܦܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܘܦܫܝܛܝܢ ܗܘܘ ܘܥܪܝܡܝܢ ܗܘܘ. In line 133 Jacob refers to their ܫܦܝܘܬܗܘܢ. It is possible Jacob is referring to Jesus’ command to be “innocent as doves and wise as snakes” (Matt 10:16). The Peshitta uses the words ܬܡܝܡܐ  and ܚܟܝܡܐ , the same words Jacob uses to describe Mary and Martha in line 121 above. Ephrem’s commentary on the Diatessaron names these three same adjectives: ܗܘܘ ܬܡܝܡܝܢ ܐܝܟ ܝܘ̈ܢܐ. ܕܫܦܝܘܬܐ ܕܝܘ̈ܢܐ ܢܩܢܘܢ܆ ܘܠܐ ܚܪܫܘܬܗܝܢ ܘܫܒܪܘܬܗܝܢ. ܘܥܪܝܡܘܬܐ

  ܕܚܘ̈ܘܬܐ܆ ܘܠܐ ܒܝܫܘܬܗܘܢ.  Louis Leloir, Saint Éphrem. Commentaire de l’Évangile Concordant: Texte Syriaque (Manuscript Chester Beatty 709). Folios Additionnels, Chester Beatty Monographs 8 (Louvain: Peeters, 1990), VIII.6.

[31] “excellence”: ܦܘܪ̈ܫܢܝܗܘܢ

[32] “raising a complaint” lit. “complaining.”

[33] John 11:3.

[34] “by design” lit. “for a stratagem” or “device/plan.”

[35] John 11:4-6.

[36] “His associates”: ܒܢ̈ܝ ܐܪܙܗ

[37] John 11:11-13.

[38] “because they hoped in Him” lit. “because of His hope.”

[39] John 11:14.

[40] John 11:8.

[41] The personified Synagogue.

[42] I prefer the present tense rendering of Vat.sir.117 (ܨܗܝܐ) to Bedjan’s past tense ܨܗܝܬ.

[43] John 11:9-10.

[44] John 11:16.

[45] “worthy of Him” or “worthy of it [i.e., Death].”

[46] “where He was” and, in the next line, “in His vicinity”: I have translated the pronouns as referring to Christ, but they may also refer to Ruin (i.e., Ruin shaking in his place and streams of life begin flowing out near Ruin).

[47] John 11:21.

[48] John 11:33.

[49] John 11:35.

[50] Cf. Heb 2:17 and 4:15.

[51] “befit it” or “befit Him.”

[52] John 11:34. Lit. “He began asking about the dead one, where they laid him”

[53] Gen 3:8-9.

[54] This tborto (couplet) is extremely similar to one in the homily on Lazarus attributed to Ephrem. Jacob: ܐܝܕܐ ܪܒܐ ܕܢܕܥ ܩܒܪܗ ܕܠܐ ܫܘܐܠܐ܆ ܐܘ ܢܩܪܐ ܗܘܐ ܠܡܝܬܐ ܢܦܘܩ ܡܢ ܚܫܘܟܐ܀

Ephrem text from: Joseph Assemani, Sancti Patris Nostri Ephraem Syri Opera Omnia, v.2 of Syr/Lat (Roma: Typographia Pontificia Vaticana, 1740), 391F.: ܐܝܕܐ ܪܒܐ ܡܢ ܐܝܕܐ܆ ܕܢܕܥ ܗܘܐ ܕܐܝܟܐ ܗܘ ܩܒܪܗ܆ ܐܘ ܕܢܩܝܡܝܘܗܝ ܡܢ ܕܣܪܝ

[55] John 11:41. The verb is “ܐܘܕܝ” (Peshitta: ܡܘܕܐ ܐܢܐ).

[56] John 11:42.

[57] “resembles” in these two lines: ܫܳܠܶܡ. It may also be translated here as “agrees with” or “adheres to,” among other meanings. This whole line may also be translated “and that also He resembles His Father in all His deeds.”

[58] The meaning of ܠܘܩܒܠܗܘܢ in the last line is not entirely clear to me, though I translate it as “corresponded to.” I interpret the line as saying that the action of showing the grave corresponded with the Jews’ small ability to participate in the miracle, since they had buried Lazarus there in the first place. The greater act, of raising the dead, belonged to Christ. The Syriac of the couplet: ܕܒܪܘܗܝ ܗܟܢ ܕܢܚܘܘܢ ܠܗ ܩܒܪܗ ܐܝܟܘ܆ ܕܐܦ ܗܝ ܗܕܐ ܠܘܩܒܠܗܘܢ ܗܘܬ ܠܕܚܐܪ ܒܗ̇

[59] “came to life” lit. “lived.”

[60] John 11:39.

[61] ‘trembled at Him” lit. “trembled from Him.” This tborto has some parallels with a line in the homily on Lazarus attributed to Ephrem. Jacob text: ܩܡ ܢܘܚܡܐ ܠܒܪ ܡܢ ܬܪ̈ܥܐ ܪ̈ܡܐ ܕܫܝܘܠ܆ ܘܙܥܘ ܗܘܘ ܡܢܗ ܬܪ̈ܥܐ ܘܣܘܟܪ̈ܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܚܫܘܟܐ܀

Ephrem text from Assemani, Sancti Patris Nostri Ephraem, v.2 of Syr/Lat, 393F.: ܗܝܕܝܢ ܩܡ ܗܘܐ ܢܘܚܡܐ. ܠܥܠ ܡܢ ܗܘܬܐ ܕܐܣܝܪ̈ܐ ܕܟܕ ܫܪܐ ܚܕ ܡܢ ܓܘܗ̇ ܣܒܪܐ ܠܟܠܗܘܢ ܢܬܠ ܗܘܐ

[62] “not thinking it was possible for a dead man to go out.” I translate here based on Vat.sir.117’s reading ܠܐ ܣܒܪ ܕܡܨ(ܝܐ ܢ)ܦܘܩ ܡܝܬܐ.

[63] “though not undone” or “while not being decomposed” (ܟܕ ܠܐ ܫܪ̈ܝܢ). Considering Jacob’s wordplay with ܫܪܐ at the end of the homily, it is likely the double-meaning is intentional.

[64] My translation is uncertain. The Syriac is ܐܟܠܝܘܗܝ ܦܐܫ, and Vat sir.117 has ܐܟܠܝܘܗܝ ܩܐܡ.

[65] Cf. Gen 49:9. The title “Lion’s Cub,” from the blessing of Judah, is a common title of Christ and is especially used by Jacob in reference to Christ’s voice “roaring” in Sheol and destroying it (at the individual resurrections He performs or on the Cross when He cries out and raises the dead generally).

[66] 1 Cor 15:52.

[67] “to undo [the wrapping].” Lit: “to untie him” (ܕܢܫܪܘܢܝܗܝ). Though the object pronoun refers to Lazarus, I have chosen to translate it as referring to the wrapping in order to keep the translation of the form of ܫܪܐ as “undo,” and therefore better preserve the pun in lines 351-2.

[68] “stitched up” or “dug” (ܚܛܘ).

[69] Jacob unites here several threads in the homily with a particularly beautiful play on the roots ܩܛܪ (to bind) and ܫܪܐ (many meanings, but mostly in this homily to undo/loosen/decompose). Lazarus’s body had been bound with burial shrouds and come undone through decomposition; Christ the Bond of Life then re-bound his body and soul, and the old bonds of burial were undone. Throughout the homily I have translated the forms of ܩܛܪ as “bond[s]” and “bound”, and ܫܪܐ as “undone” and “undid” where possible, to keep the wordplay. Here I also note that the words I translated in lines 315, 327, and 343 as “decomposed” come from ܫܪܐ.

ܘܰܩܛܰܪ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ ܗܽܘ ܩܶܛܪܳܐ ܕܚܰܝ̈ܶܐ ܗܰܘ ܕܰܫܪܳܐ ܗ̱ܘܳܐ܆ ܘܰܫܪܰܘ ܗܶܢܽܘܢ ܩܶܛܪ̈ܶܐ ܕܰܩܛܰܪܘ ܘܪܰܦܺܝܘ ܐܶܢܽܘܢ܀