189:. Though he went against Ptolemaic cosmology in this respect, he still agreed with the movements of the luminaries that it posited. The cosmos itself symbolizes a higher reality. There are three levels or ranks of beings: God, then angels, then men. The highest of these is the purest, and the lowest is the most base. Jacob discusses the weight and quality of the elements as well as their composition, such as if they are pure or compounded. For example, both the sun and the stars are simple and pure. The moon is compounded (of the four elements) and is the lowest luminary. Whereas the sun is life-giving and transmits light, the stars and the moon both receive light. The stars unlike the sun do not have their own light as they are made of air and not fire. In fact, fire has a superior simplicity and purity than does air. The heaviest of the four elements is earth, which is why it is located in the center of the cosmos. Because lighter objects are located closer towards the center, and the moon is the lowest luminary, the moon is also the heaviest of the luminaries.
160:, and instead posited that the upper waters were in fact a mixture of water and air that were lighter than the compact air that they surrounded. In turn, above the upper waters was posited a lighter substance that was composed of a mixture of fire and air. In this respect, John also believed that terms like "water", "firmament", and "heavens" were ambiguous in the creation narrative and sought to interpret them through meteorological processes: here too Jacob followed John. Likely through the intermediary of Jacob's works, John's ideas came to have a wider influence.
196:. The pre-eminence of the position of the sun corresponded with its control over the movements of the stars. And because the movements of the stars were themselves controlled, the stars in turn were not capable of governing or controlling the affairs of the Earth. The stars were not divine, rational, or anything of the sort. The sun itself does not have its own movement but is controlled ultimately by God. An earlier Syriac author,
145:
returned to and reaffirmed a belief in the literal waters. Jacob, however, sought to reconcile this with
Aristotle's view of concentric circles, which asserted that the further out one goes, the lighter the elements that they encounter, such that water should not be further out than the air. For
59:
Jacob of Edessa wrote several other commentaries (though his
Hexaemeron's attempt to incorporate large amounts of scientific and philosophical knowledge have led some to question whether it is aptly called a 'commentary) including others that covered Genesis, such as his
207:
Jacob wrote extensively on the creation and nature of angels, to the degree that it far exceeded the length dedicated to the subject in other
Hexameral works. The sources he engaged with in these conversations in the most detail was the
86:. Some have speculated that the work may be further contextualized into Jacob's wish to reassert the role of the Christian God in the creation of the cosmos and the reliability of the Genesis creation narrative in light of the
173:. The sun has some similarities to God, insofar as it reaches out into the cosmos, and it symbolizes God's absolute remoteness. Against conventional viewpoints, Jacob posited that the sun (and not
33:. Jacob worked on it in the first few years of the eighth century, as it was his final work. Unable to complete it within his own lifetime, the work was finished by his friend
117:-language and, to a lesser extent, the Syro-Hexapla. Some uses of the text also reflect Jacob's own editorial or stylistic choice or his working from memory of the text.
575:
Visi, Tamás (2022). "The "Meteorological" Interpretation of the
Creation Narrative: John Philoponus's Legacy in Abraham Ibn Ezra and Moses Maimonides".
523:
Romeny, Bas Ter Haar (2008). "Jacob of Edessa on
Genesis: His Quotations of the Peshitta and his Revision of the Text". In Romeny, Bas Ter Haar (ed.).
165:
105:. Though Jacob had also completed a translation of the Bible by 705, his biblical citation were not made by copying over from it. The Peshitta (
78:, whose exegetical similarities with Jacob's work have been studied. In addition, it has been shown that Jacob made extensive use of
141:, and instead reinterpreted the upper waters as the noetic world according to a Platonic cosmological scheme. However, both he and
606:
232:
There are two critical editions of Jacob of Edessa's
Hexaemeron, both of which are based on a 9th-century manuscript from
156:
588:
Wilks, Marina (2008). "Jacob Of Edessa's Use Of Greek
Philosophy In His Hexaemeron". In Romeny, Bas Ter Haar (ed.).
510:
Ishac, Aboud (2013). "Jacob Of Edessa'S Hexaemeron: A Preliminary
Comparison With Basil Of Caesarea'S Hexaemeron".
221:
181:
in 1781) was the most distant luminary, though he was not the first to do so as this position was also held by
73:
163:
Jacob's detailed analysis of the nature and hierarchy of the succeeding spheres was greatly influenced by the
201:
125:
One point of dispute that Jacob discussed was that of the upper waters described in
Genesis. Influenced by
42:
34:
611:
30:
486:
560:"The "Meteorological" Interpretation of the Creation Narrative from John Philoponus to Saadia Gaon"
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as a solid body that the waters could rest upon, preventing their descent. Jacob however followed
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533:
102:
38:
213:
170:
8:
616:
273:
Memre I, II and IV of the
Hexaemeron of Jacob of Edessa. A Translation and Introduction
177:, which was the most distant-planet that humans had known about until the discovery of
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The sources for Jacob's biblical citations are composed of a mixture stemming from the
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Although no full-length English translation exists, a partial one has been produced:
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83:
69:
65:
549:
Tumara, Nebojsa (2024). "Creation in Syriac Christianity". In Goroncy, Jason (ed.).
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134:
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151:
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26:
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534:"The Authorial Spirit? Biblical Citations in Jacob of Edessa's Hexaemeron"
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rejected the traditional belief in a physical body of water above the
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41:, but should not be confused with a similar earlier work, namely the
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113:) was the primary one, although there is evidence for his use of a
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Jacob's repositioning of the sun also related to his rejection of
29:(d. 708) is Jacob's commentary on the six days of creation of the
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242:
Iacobi Edesseni Hexaemeron, seu in opus creationis libri septem
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174:
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110:
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Martin, J.P.P. 1888. "L’Hexaméron de Jacques d’Édesse,"
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200:, also took interest in refuting astrology in his own
487:"The Angelology in the Hexaemeron of Jacob of Edessa"
37:(d. 724). It is an example of a work in the genre of
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315:
363:
551:T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation
491:Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies
590:Jacob of Edessa and the Syriac Culture of His Day
525:Jacob of Edessa and the Syriac Culture of His Day
378:
598:
577:Aleph: Historical Studies in Science and Judaism
564:Aleph: Historical Studies in Science and Judaism
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339:
414:
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275:(Doctoral dissertation, University of Cardiff).
279:Finally, there is one translation into Latin:
16:Commentary on the six days of creation ca. 700
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146:Basil, this was resolved by pointing to the
553:. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 164–175.
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287:, Leuven (CSCO 97; Script Syr. 48).
244:, Paris (CSCO 92; Script. Syr. 44).
72:of exegesis, including Basil's own
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14:
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222:Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
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255:A French translation exists:
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607:8th-century Christian texts
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249:Jacob of Edessa: Hexaemeron
84:theory of the four elements
62:Commentary on the Octateuch
35:George, Bishop of the Arabs
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592:. Brill. pp. 223–238.
527:. Brill. pp. 145–158.
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285:Iacobi Edesseni Hexaemeron
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31:Genesis creation narrative
532:Salvesen, Alison (2008).
503:10.1515/jcsss-2009-040106
485:Greatrex, Marina (2004).
247:Çiçek, J. Y. (ed.) 2010.
228:Editions and translations
68:in the tradition of the
263:8,11: 155–219, 401–90.
127:Hellenistic philosophy
129:, Christians such as
103:Syro-Hexaplar version
39:Hexaemeral literature
558:Visi, Tamás (2021).
283:Vaschalde, A. 1932.
214:Gregory of Nazianzus
171:Gregory of Nazianzus
336:, pp. 146–147.
240:Chabot, J.B. 1928.
218:Celestial Hierarchy
109:translation of the
512:Parole de l'Orient
459:, p. 173–174.
447:, p. 236–238.
435:, p. 228–236.
399:, p. 226–228.
271:Greatex, M. 2000.
185:and considered by
612:Syriac literature
298:De opificio mundi
261:Journal asiatique
157:De opificio mundi
143:Basil of Caesarea
70:Antiochene school
66:Basil of Caesarea
64:. Jacob followed
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583:(2): 33–99.
457:Tumara 2024
385:Romeny 2008
334:Romeny 2008
322:Tumara 2024
617:Hexaemeron
601:Categories
445:Wilks 2008
433:Wilks 2008
397:Wilks 2008
358:Wilks 2008
346:Ishac 2013
304:References
216:, and the
202:Hexaemeron
183:Anaxagoras
101:, and the
95:Septuagint
75:Hexaemeron
44:Hexaemeron
22:Hexaemeron
421:Visi 2022
409:Visi 2021
309:Citations
194:astrology
148:firmament
139:firmament
80:Aristotle
292:See also
99:Peshitta
518:: 1–31.
479:Sources
187:Ptolemy
121:Content
55:Context
179:Uranus
175:Saturn
131:Origen
107:Syriac
97:, the
115:Greek
111:Bible
234:Lyon
133:and
19:The
499:doi
220:of
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169:of
82:'s
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47:by
25:of
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365:^
236::
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204:.
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348:.
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