Work

Yovasap‘ of Sebastia: From Adam to Noah and the Tower

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this article we present an annotated edition and translation of a poem probably written by Yovasap‘ Sebastac‘i (ca. 1510-after 1564). Member of a longer cycle of biblical retellings in verse, it narrates the history of the world from Adam down to the Tower of Babel. At points, Yovasap‘ departs from the biblical narrative to offer homiletic or typological elaborations, and shows a deep familiarity with numerous parabiblical traditions. The poem is a fine specimen of the Armenian embroidered Bible, and attests to the ways biblical and parabiblical traditions were accepted and developed in the Armenian literary sphere.

Source: Armeniaca

DOI: 10.30687/arm/2974-6051/2025/01/003

Authors: Dina Blokland, Nathan Daniel, Shlomi Efrati, David Neagu, Michael Stone, William Walk

Institutions: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Bucharest, Institutul de Studii Sud-Est Europene, Romanian Academy, Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Biblical Studies and Interpretation

Subfield: Religious studies

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities

OpenAlex ID: W7114897723