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Ethiopic · Poetry ·

(Salutation to) All of Your Images

Anonymous · betmas

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machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 603 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

This anonymous Geʿez poem, known as 'All of Your Images,' is a poetic salutation addressed to multiple images of a sacred figure, likely Christ or the Virgin Mary. It survives in a single manuscript witness (Rep. Ch. 218) and belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox mälkǝʾ genre of hymnody, which praises a holy figure by addressing each part of the body or attribute. The work is undated and its author unknown, but its form suggests use in liturgical or devotional contexts, possibly for feasts of icons. The edition provides no translation or commentary on the Geʿez original's rhetorical features, limiting access to its poetic structure.

The poem exemplifies the Ethiopian mälkǝʾ genre, a distinctive form of devotional poetry that combines biblical typology, icon veneration, and liturgical praise. Its address to 'all of your images' highlights the importance of icons in Ethiopian Orthodox piety and the creative adaptation of scriptural motifs. The work also provides insight into the transmission of Geʿez literature, as its sole manuscript witness underscores the fragility of this textual tradition.

Historical context

The work is preserved in a single Ethiopic manuscript (Rep. Ch. 218) and is part of the broader Geʿez poetic tradition, specifically the mälkǝʾ genre, which flourished in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The genre likely developed after the 13th century, when the Solomonic dynasty revived literary and liturgical production, but the exact date of this poem is unknown. The salutation form, addressing multiple images, reflects the veneration of icons in Ethiopian Christianity, which was influenced by earlier Byzantine and Coptic traditions. The poem's allusions to Solomon and David, and its adaptation of psalm imagery, indicate a learned monastic or clerical milieu. The work's survival in a single copy suggests limited circulation, possibly within a specific monastery or church library.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

18 commentary units 4 scripture3 structure3 term3 background3 reception2 parallel 0 derived notes 6 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: poetry in Geʿez; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: betmas — CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
LIT2937RepCh218:1 · narrativehigh
Source
ሰላም፡ ሰላም፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፨ እመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ እምየ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፨ ዓዲ፡ ሰላም፡ በክልኤ፡ ማሕተመ፡ ድንግልናኪ፨ በቀርነ፡ መንፈስ፡ ማሕሌተኪ፡ ረስየኒ፡ ከመ፡ እሕሊ፡ ለኪ፨ ይትዐቀብ፡ መልክእየ፡ በመልክእኪ፨ ይዜውራኒ፡ ምንትዋት፡ አክናፍኪ፨ ሰላም፡ ለርእስኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ ዘደለለ፨ ሥዕርተ፡ ንጽሕ፡ ዘአብቈለ፨ አብያዘ፡ ብርሃን፡ ቦቶን፡ አክሊለ፨ ሰሎሞን፡ አቡኪ፡ በእንቲአኪ፡ ማሕሌተ፡ አልዐለ፨ ወጽፍሮ፡ ርእስኪ፡ ከመ፡ ሜላት፡ ትብህለ፨ በመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ኅሊናኪ፡ ወሥጋኪ፡ ተደንገለ፨ ሰላም፡ ለገጽኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ ከመ፡ ገጸ፡ ኤር፡ ዘያዋኪ፨ በከመ፡ ይቤ፡ በመዝሙር፡ ዳዊት፡ አቡኪ፨ ኵሎሙ፡ ብዑላነ፡ ምድር፡ ይትመሐለሉ፡ ለገጽኪ፨ ማርያም፡ በየማንኪ፡ ፍጽምየ፡ ባርኪ፨ ሰላም፡ ለአእዛንኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ በናዝሬት፡ ዘገሊላ፨ ብስራተ፡ ገብርኤል፡ እለ፡ ሰምዓ፨ ዘኢልማድ፡ በድንግልና፡ ከመ፡ ትፅንሲ፡ እግዚአ፨ ወዓዲ፡ ለሕፃንኪ፡ ቃሎ፡ አጽምአ፨
English
Salutation, salutation to all of your images, O Mother of God, from me, my Lady Mary. Again, salutation to the two seals of your virginity. Accept my hymn for you at the horn of the Spirit, so that I may sing for you. May my image be preserved by your image. May the wings of your mysteries surround me. Salutation to your head, my Lady Mary, which is adorned. The pure hair that sprouted. The houses of light placed a crown upon it. Solomon, your father, raised a song concerning you. And the locks of your head are like a measure of honey. By the Holy Spirit, your mind and your body were made virgin. Salutation to your face, my Lady Mary, like the face of the sun that gives light. As David, your father, says in the Psalm: All the nobles of the earth will bow down to your face. Mary, bless my end with your right hand. Salutation to your ears, my Lady Mary, in Nazareth of Galilee. The annunciation of Gabriel, which they heard. That which is beyond custom, that in virginity you would conceive God. And again, hear the voice of your infant.
LIT2937RepCh218:2 · narrativehigh
Source
ሰላም፡ ለቆምኪ፡ ከመ፡ በቀልት፡ ዘይመስል፨ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ ዘሰቀዩኪ፡ ወትረ፡ አፍላገ፡ ለት፡ ወሜል፨ ኦድንግል፡ ድንግል፡ ወለቱ፡ ለስእራኤል፨ ጽጌ፡ ከርሥኪ፡ ልዑል፡ አማኑኤል፨ ሰላም፡ ለድንግልና፡ ኅሊናኪ፡ ወለድንግልናኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ ወለተ፡ ነቢያት፡ ወነቢይ፨ ጽጌ፡ ከርሥኪ፡ ልዑል፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ አዶናይ፨ ሲሳየ፡ መርዔትኪ፡ ዘኢየዐርብ፡ ፀሓይ፨ ኅብስተ፡ ሥጋሁ፡ ቅዱስ፡ መለኮታዊ፡ ስርናይ፨ መለኮታዊ፡ ደመ፡ ገቦሁ፡ ዘወይን፡ ቀላይ፨ ሰላም፡ ለመልክእኪ፡ ማርያም፡ እምነ፨ ወእሙ፡ ለእግዚእነ፨ በአክናፈ፡ ድንግልናኪ፡ ክልኤቱ፡ ክድኒ፡ ኪያነ፨ በእዴኪ፡ ዕቀቢ፡ ነፍሳቲነ፨ ሐመረ፡ ሥጋነ፡ እንበይነ፡ ወልድኪ፡ ሕፅነኪ፡ አርፍቅነ፨ ሰላም፡ ሰላም፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፨ ይትዐቀአብ፡ መልክእየ፡ በእዴኪ፡ እም፨ አክናፈ፡ ንጽሕኪ፡ በመንፈስ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ሕቱም፨ ለእግዚእየ፡ እሙ፡ ቀርነ፡ ሰላም፨ ሰላም፡ ሰላም፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፡ ማርያም፡ እግዝእትየ፨ አንቲ፡ እምየ፡ ወልድኪ፡ አቡየ፨ አክሊለ፡ ባሕርይ፡ ኩኒ፡ ለርእስየ፨ ሠርጐ፡ ብርሃን፡ ለመልክእየ፨ በየማንኪ፡ ዕቀቢ፡ ነፍስየ፡ ወሥጋየ፨
English
Salutation to your stature, which is like a shoot. My Lady Mary, whom the river of milk and honey has planted. O Virgin, virgin, daughter of Israel. The flower of your womb, the high Emmanuel. Salutation to the virginity of your mind and to your virginity, my Lady Mary, daughter of the prophets and the prophet. The flower of your womb, the high Lord God Adonai. The pasture of your grazing, where the sun sets. The bread of his holy, divine body, the mystery. The divine blood of his side, the wine of the chalice. Salutation to your images, Mary, mother, and mother of our Lord. In the wings of your virginity, the two cover us. In your hand, guard our souls. The bitterness of our body, remove from us, and your son, your bosom, embrace us. Salutation, salutation to all of your images, my Lady Mary. May my image be gathered in your hand, mother. The wings of your purity, sealed with the Holy Spirit. For my Lord, his mother, the horn of salutation. Salutation, salutation to all of your images, Mary, my Lady. You are my mother, and your son is my father. Be a crown of nature for my head, a garment of light for my image. In your right hand, guard my soul and my body.
LIT2937RepCh218:3 · narrativehigh
Source
ሰላም፡ ሰላም፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፡ እግዝእትየ፡ ማርያም፡ ለሥጋኪ፡ ወነፍስኪ፨ ለዐጽምኪ፡ ወደምኪ፨ ለአሥራውኪ፡ ወአምትንትኪ፡ እመ፡ እግዚአብሔር፡ በሐኪ፨ መልክእየ፡ ይትዐቀብ፡ በመልክእኪ፨ ለዓለመ፡ ዓለም፡ ዘልፈ፡ ይዜወር፡ በእዴኪ፨ ሰላም፡ እብሎን፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፨ እምቅድመ፡ ዓለም፡ ወልደ፡ አምላክ፡ ለከዊነ፡ እሙ፡ ኀረየኪ፨ እምውሉደ፡ ሰብእ፡ አልቦ፡ ከማኪ፨ ማርያም፡ ድግንል፡ በኅሊናኪ፡ ወሥጋኪ፨ አባግዐ፡ ወንጌል፡ ሕዝበኪ፡ ባርኪ፡ በእዴኪ፨ ሰላም፡ ሰላም፡ ለኵሎን፡ መልክእኪ፨ እምሥዕርትኪ፡ እስከ፡ አእጋርኪ፨ ቅድስተ፡ ቅዱሳን፡ እንተ፡ ተሰመይኪ፨ ተንሥኢ፡ ድንግል፡ ልበሲ፡ ኀይለኪ፨ ወሞእዮሙ፡ ለአይሁድ፡ ፀርኪ፨ ክድንኒ፡ ርግበ፡ ሰሎሞን፡ በአክናፍኪ፡ ዘብርሃን፨ ወዕቀብኒ፡ ከመ፡ ብንተ፡ ዐይን፨ በዘይመጽእ፡ ዓለም፡ እምእደ፡ ሰይጣን፨ ወበዝየኒ፡ እምሰብእ፡ እኩያን፨ ተማሕፀንኩ፡ ተማሕፅኖ፡ በመልክእኪ፡ ኵሎን፨ ማርያም፡ ሐረገ፡ ወይን፡ ዘወንጌል፡ ቍርባን፨
English
Salutation, salutation to all of your images, my Lady Mary, to your body and your soul, to your bone and your blood, to your sinews and your veins, Mother of God in truth. May my image be preserved by your image, forever and ever, ever turning in your hand. Salutation I say to all of your images. Before the world, the Son of God chose you to be his mother. Among the children of men there is none like you, Mary, virgin in your mind and your body. Bless your people, the sheep of the Gospel, with your hand. Salutation, salutation to all of your images, from the hair of your head to your feet, Holy of Holies, who are so named. Arise, virgin, put on your power, and drown the Jews, your enemies. Cover me, dove of Solomon, with your wings of light, and guard me like the pupil of an eye, from the coming world from the hand of Satan, and save me from evil men. I have taken refuge, I have taken refuge in all your images, Mary, vine of the Gospel, offering.
Citation. Tergwame, “(Salutation to) All of Your Images”, LIT2937RepCh218:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/LIT2937RepCh218#s1
Colophon. Source: betmas · licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (per file); site footer states NC-SA - treat as NC · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0024 · generated 2026-11-15.