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Odes of Solomon
The Odes of Solomon are a collection of 42 odes attributed to Solomon. There used to be confusion among scholars on the dating of the Odes of Solomon; however, most scholars date it to somewhere between AD 70 and 125. The original language of the Odes is thought to have been either Greek or Syriac, and the majority of scholars believe it to have been written by a Jewish Christian, very likely a convert from the Essene community to Christianity, because it contains multiple similarities to writings found in Qumran and to the Gospel of John. Some have argued that the writer had even personally seen John the Baptist.
Some scholars have suggested a Gnostic origin, but this theory is not universally accepted.
The earliest extant manuscripts of the Odes of Solomon date from around the end of the 3rd century AD and the beginning of the 4th century AD: the Coptic Pistis Sophia, a Latin quote of a verse of Ode 19 by Lactantius, and the Greek text of Ode 11 in Papyrus Bodmer XI. Before the 18th century, the Odes were only known through Lactantius' quotation of one verse and their inclusion in two lists of religious literature.
The British Museum purchased the Pistis Sophia (Codex Askewianus, now British Library Add MS 5114) in 1785. The Coptic manuscript, a codex of 174 leaves, was probably composed in the late 3rd century. The manuscript contains the complete text of two of the Odes, portions of two others, and what is believed to be Ode 1 (this ode is unattested in any other manuscript and may not be complete). Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic text composed in Egypt, perhaps a translation from Greek with Syrian provenance.
After the discovery of portions of the Odes of Solomon in Pistis Sophia, scholars searched to find more complete copies. In 1909, James Rendel Harris discovered a pile of forgotten leaves from a Syriac manuscript lying on a shelf in his study. Unfortunately, all he could recall was that they came from the 'neighbourhood of the Tigris'. The manuscript (Cod. Syr. 9 in the John Rylands Library) is the most complete of the extant texts of the Odes. The manuscript begins with the second strophe of the first verse of Ode 3 (the first two odes have been lost). The manuscript gives the entire corpus of the Odes of Solomon through to the end of Ode 42. Then the Psalms of Solomon (earlier Jewish religious poetry that is often bound with the later Odes) follow, until the beginning of Psalm 17:38 and the end of the manuscript has been lost. However, the Harris manuscript is a late copy — certainly no earlier than the 15th century.
In 1912, F. C. Burkitt discovered an older manuscript of the Odes of Solomon in the British Museum (now British Library Add MS 14538). The Codex Nitriensis came from the Monastery of the Syrian in Wadi El Natrun, sixty miles west of Cairo. It presents Ode 17:7b to the end of Ode 42, followed by the Psalms of Solomon in one continuous numbering. Nitriensis is written in far denser script than the Harris manuscript, which often makes it illegible. However, Nitriensis is earlier than Harris by about five centuries (although Mingana dated it to the 13th century).
In 1955–6, Martin Bodmer acquired a number of manuscripts. Papyrus Bodmer XI appears to be a Greek scrap-book of Christian religious literature compiled in Egypt in the 3rd century. It includes the entirety of Ode 11 (headed ΩΔΗ ΣΟΛΟΜΩΝΤΟϹ), which includes a short section in the middle of the Ode that does not occur in the Harris version of it. Internal evidence suggests that this additional material is original to the Ode, and that the later Harris manuscript has omitted it.
Although earlier scholars thought the Odes were originally written in Greek or Hebrew, there is now a consensus that Syriac/Aramaic was the original language. Their place of origin seems likely to have been the region of Syria. Estimates of the date of composition range from the first to the third century AD, with many settling on the second century. Some have claimed that Ode 4 discusses the closing of the temple at Leontopolis in Egypt, which would date this writing about 73 AD. One of the strong arguments for an early date is the discovery of references to, and perhaps even quotations from, the Odes in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Possible allusions were also made by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, which also supports an early date. The Odes have clear similarities to the Gospel of John, which suggests the writer was in the same community as where the book was written.
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Odes of Solomon
The Odes of Solomon are a collection of 42 odes attributed to Solomon. There used to be confusion among scholars on the dating of the Odes of Solomon; however, most scholars date it to somewhere between AD 70 and 125. The original language of the Odes is thought to have been either Greek or Syriac, and the majority of scholars believe it to have been written by a Jewish Christian, very likely a convert from the Essene community to Christianity, because it contains multiple similarities to writings found in Qumran and to the Gospel of John. Some have argued that the writer had even personally seen John the Baptist.
Some scholars have suggested a Gnostic origin, but this theory is not universally accepted.
The earliest extant manuscripts of the Odes of Solomon date from around the end of the 3rd century AD and the beginning of the 4th century AD: the Coptic Pistis Sophia, a Latin quote of a verse of Ode 19 by Lactantius, and the Greek text of Ode 11 in Papyrus Bodmer XI. Before the 18th century, the Odes were only known through Lactantius' quotation of one verse and their inclusion in two lists of religious literature.
The British Museum purchased the Pistis Sophia (Codex Askewianus, now British Library Add MS 5114) in 1785. The Coptic manuscript, a codex of 174 leaves, was probably composed in the late 3rd century. The manuscript contains the complete text of two of the Odes, portions of two others, and what is believed to be Ode 1 (this ode is unattested in any other manuscript and may not be complete). Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic text composed in Egypt, perhaps a translation from Greek with Syrian provenance.
After the discovery of portions of the Odes of Solomon in Pistis Sophia, scholars searched to find more complete copies. In 1909, James Rendel Harris discovered a pile of forgotten leaves from a Syriac manuscript lying on a shelf in his study. Unfortunately, all he could recall was that they came from the 'neighbourhood of the Tigris'. The manuscript (Cod. Syr. 9 in the John Rylands Library) is the most complete of the extant texts of the Odes. The manuscript begins with the second strophe of the first verse of Ode 3 (the first two odes have been lost). The manuscript gives the entire corpus of the Odes of Solomon through to the end of Ode 42. Then the Psalms of Solomon (earlier Jewish religious poetry that is often bound with the later Odes) follow, until the beginning of Psalm 17:38 and the end of the manuscript has been lost. However, the Harris manuscript is a late copy — certainly no earlier than the 15th century.
In 1912, F. C. Burkitt discovered an older manuscript of the Odes of Solomon in the British Museum (now British Library Add MS 14538). The Codex Nitriensis came from the Monastery of the Syrian in Wadi El Natrun, sixty miles west of Cairo. It presents Ode 17:7b to the end of Ode 42, followed by the Psalms of Solomon in one continuous numbering. Nitriensis is written in far denser script than the Harris manuscript, which often makes it illegible. However, Nitriensis is earlier than Harris by about five centuries (although Mingana dated it to the 13th century).
In 1955–6, Martin Bodmer acquired a number of manuscripts. Papyrus Bodmer XI appears to be a Greek scrap-book of Christian religious literature compiled in Egypt in the 3rd century. It includes the entirety of Ode 11 (headed ΩΔΗ ΣΟΛΟΜΩΝΤΟϹ), which includes a short section in the middle of the Ode that does not occur in the Harris version of it. Internal evidence suggests that this additional material is original to the Ode, and that the later Harris manuscript has omitted it.
Although earlier scholars thought the Odes were originally written in Greek or Hebrew, there is now a consensus that Syriac/Aramaic was the original language. Their place of origin seems likely to have been the region of Syria. Estimates of the date of composition range from the first to the third century AD, with many settling on the second century. Some have claimed that Ode 4 discusses the closing of the temple at Leontopolis in Egypt, which would date this writing about 73 AD. One of the strong arguments for an early date is the discovery of references to, and perhaps even quotations from, the Odes in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Possible allusions were also made by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, which also supports an early date. The Odes have clear similarities to the Gospel of John, which suggests the writer was in the same community as where the book was written.