Aho Shemunkasho, Healing in the Theology of Saint Ephrem. Gorgias Dissertations, Near Eastern Studies 1. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2002. Pp. 480 + xxii. Paper, $65.00.
Ute
Possekel
St. John's Seminary
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
George A. Kiraz
James E. Walters
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Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
January 2003
Vol. 6, No. 1
For this publication, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
license has been granted by the author(s), who retain full
copyright.
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/article/hv6n1prpossekel
Ute POSSEKEL
Aho Shemunkasho, Healing in the Theology of Saint Ephrem. Gorgias Dissertations, Near Eastern Studies 1. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2002. Pp. 480 + xxii. Paper, $65.00.
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/pdf/vol6/HV6N1PRPossekel.pdf
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute, 2003
vol 6
issue 1
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies is an electronic journal dedicated to the study
of the Syriac tradition, published semi-annually (in January and July) by Beth
Mardutho: The Syriac Institute. Published since 1998, Hugoye seeks to offer the
best scholarship available in the field of Syriac studies.
Syriac Studies
Ephrem
Healing
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[1] Aho
Shemunkasho's study on Healing in the Theology of Saint
Ephrem originated as a dissertation at Oxford University
under the direction of S.P. Brock. Shemunkasho presents a
comprehensive picture of Ephrem's theology of spiritual
sickness and healing, a topic central to the Syrian's thought
which has not yet been studied comprehensively.
[2] In the
Introduction (chapter 1), the author briefly surveys both
ancient notions of healing and modern studies pertinent to that
subject, addressing Hippocrates, Asclepius, and Galen, as well
as biblical and early Christian texts.
[3] The next
chapter studies healing imagery in three early Syriac texts
that originated prior to Ephrem's writings, namely the Odes
of Solomon, the Acts of Thomas, and Aphrahat's
Demonstrations. Healing imagery in the Odes is
sparse, essentially restricted to the notion that God removed
sickness from the odist's body. The Acts of Thomas, on
the other hand, show a varied terminology of healing and a
broad usage of the metaphor "physician," which is applied to
both Jesus and Thomas. Moreover, the expression "Medicine of
Life," central to Ephrem's theology of healing, occurs in the
Acts of Thomas. The third and longest section of this
chapter discusses in detail Aphrahat's healing terminology and
theology. Shemunkasho refrains from including any comparative
observations on these three texts here, but does so briefly in
the final chapter of the book, where he observes that
Aphrahat's healing terminology is unique among the texts
considered in this study, as is his notion of repentance as a
medicine for those wounded in the spiritual battle of life.
[4] The
third chapter, which examines in depth Ephrem's terminology, is
subdivided into two sections which study the Syrian's
vocabulary of sickness and of healing, respectively.
Shemunkasho demonstrates the breadth of Ephrem's terminology
and offers many insightful observations. He includes
comparisons between Ephrem's terminology and the Syriac Bible,
notes the occurrence of certain word fields, and lists those
important terms which occur only seldom in Ephrem's writings.
This chapter also introduces the central aspects of Ephrem's
healing theology.
[5] The
following chapter focuses on Ephrem's biblical exegesis,
discussing passages from both the Old and New Testaments.
Shemunkasho shows that according to Ephrem Adam and Eve were
created in a state of health, but without awareness of what
constitutes sickness or health. As a result of the fall, they
acquired this knowledge, but also became subject to sickness
and pain. With the first human beings, all of nature became ill
as well. Next, the author examines Ephrem's exegesis of leprosy
accounts (Miriam, Naaman, Gehazi, King Uzziah), noting their
function in refuting heresy. He also points out Ephrem's
emphasis on the role of faith, and his positive view of the
body. The stories of Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth serve to illustrate
Ephrem's view of how healing through Christ, the Medicine of
Life, was available to these women who recognized the "hidden
messianic seed" in their husbands (213). Shemunkasho moves on
to Ephrem's interpretation of New Testament accounts of
healing, in particular the healing of the sinful woman in the
house of Simon the Parisee, of the woman with the hemorrhage,
and of the blind. In each case, the author includes a helpful
discussion of the relevant biblical passages and their likely
version in the Diatessaron. He then offers fine interpretations
of Ephrem's exegesis of these biblical narratives, elaborating
on the role of faith in the healing miracles, the role of
Christ's divinity and humanity, the connection between physical
and spiritual healing, and other themes.
[6] Chapter
five, with over 160 pages the longest of the book, takes up
elements of the prior chapters on Ephrem and presents
systematically Ephrem's notion of salvation history as a
process of healing. The first section, dealing with the cause
of sickness, takes up elements from the exegetical chapter and
describes how according to Ephrem the fall brought humankind
into a state of suffering and pain. The causes of this sickness
are twofold: Satan's activity and human free will. The serpent,
Satan's agent, offered the "poison of death" which brought
humankind into the "state of sickness." This comprises
physical, spiritual, and mental disease, and for Ephrem also
error—especially in the form of heresy or
idolatry—constitutes a kind of sickness.
[7] The
following section addresses how according to Ephrem healing was
effected prior to the incarnation and shows the surprising
variety of remedies available to humankind before the arrival
of Christ, the "Medicine of Life." For instance, the fragrance
of paradise spreads beyond its confines to the "earth of
thorns" and offers healing. Symbols of Christ, such as
Moses’ brazen serpent, likewise can effect a cure.
Patriarchs and prophets could act as physicians for certain
groups of people. Finally, Shemunkasho shows that Ephrem argues
that God's law and commandments functioned as medicines for
particular spiritual ills.
[8] The
third section of chapter five focuses on Jesus as the "Medicine
of Life," the only way to achieve a perfect cure. Shemunkasho
discusses both physical and spiritual healing, and observes
that according to Ephrem healing continues to be brought by
Jesus' disciples, by bishops, and through the church's
sacraments.
[9] In the
conclusion, Shemunkasho sums up his results and briefly
compares Ephrem's healing terminology with that of the Acts
of Thomas and Aphrahat. A bibliography completes the
work.
[10]
Shemunkasho accomplishes extremely well what he set out to do:
the reader here finds a comprehensive and insightful
presentation of Ephrem's terminology and theology of spiritual
sickness and healing. The author deliberately excludes any
comparative aspects from this dissertation—with the
exception of the three Syriac texts of chapter two—and
hence he discusses neither the relation between Ephrem's
symbolism of healing and that of the Greek and Latin fathers,
where healing imagery likewise abounds, nor the extent of
Ephrem's influence upon later Syriac healing symbolism.
Throughout the book, Shemunkasho frequently inserts the
relevant Syriac expression in parentheses into the running
text; the footnotes often contain the original Syriac text of
cited passages. This constant attention to terminology enhances
his study, even if it might cause difficulty for readers not
familiar with Syriac. The abundant Syriac passages are
carefully typeset, but the same can not be said about the Greek
healing terminology discussed in chapter one. Breathing marks
and accents are commonly omitted, and a number of typographical
errors occur—a regrettable but minor oversight in an
otherwise carefully done study.
[11]
Shemunkasho makes a welcome contribution to scholarship on
Ephrem by taking up a central yet little examined theme of the
Syrian's theology. He succeeds in showing that Ephrem's healing
theology is rooted in the Syrian's biblical exegesis. A second
important result of Shemunkasho's book is that Ephrem's healing
theology—although the references occur scattered
throughout the Syrian's works—constitutes indeed a
systematic whole. Healing imagery permeates Ephrem's writings,
and this reflects the importance of this theme within Ephrem's
theology of salvation.