Excerpts from the Hexaemeron of George of Pisidia in Nersēs Lambronatsʻi’s Commentary on the Book of Psalms
Keywords:
George of Pisidia, Hexaemeron, Nersēs Lambronatsʻi, Vardan Arevelts‘i, Commentary on the Book of Psalms, Armenian translation, Physiologus, Armenian manuscript tradition, textual and palaeographic analysisAbstract
This article examines passages from George of Pisidia’s Hexaemeron (7th century) as they appear in the Commentary on the Book of Psalms by the Armenian exegete Nersēs Lambronatsʻi (1153–1198), one of the leading figures of medieval Armenian scholarship. The study aims to determine whether Nersēs Lambronatsʻi used the Greek original or the Armenian translation of the poem and to analyse his method of integrating these sources into his exegetical practice. The research is based on the fully preserved 13th-century manuscript 1526 from the Matenadaran, Yerevan, which represents a major example of Armenian palaeography and contains a complete, previously unpublished commentary on the Psalms. A textual and palaeographic analysis demonstrates that Nersēs Lambronatsʻi consistently relied on the Armenian translation of the Hexaemeron. The commentary incorporates direct quotations, paraphrases, and distinctive narrative and imagistic elements absent from the Greek original. This reliance is particularly evident in the interpretation of Psalm 135, where literal and allegorical exegeses are intertwined, integrating the translated text with patristic sources. Nersēs Lambronatsʻi creatively reworks the translation, preserving its semantic and stylistic framework while adding his own exegetical commentary. Based on several examples, it is shown that Nersēs Lambronatsʻi used not the Greek original but the Armenian translation of the poem — specifically the complete translation, rather than the later abridged version that has come down to us in the Venetian manuscript. These findings demonstrate the systematic use of the Armenian translation of George of Pisidia’s Hexaemeron in Nersēs Lambronatsʻi’s commentary, highlighting both direct quotations and nuanced paraphrases. By examining lexical choices, narrative motifs, and imagery, the study shows that Nersēs Lambronatsʻi creatively integrated his Byzantine source into the Armenian exegetical tradition. This analysis not only clarifies the author’s textual method but also sheds light on broader patterns of Byzantine–Armenian literary transmission, contributing to our understanding of the interaction between translated texts and native exegetical practices in medieval Armenia.Downloads
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