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Syriac · Other · mid-4th century

Nisibis 25

Ephrem the Syrian · syriac

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 7 passages · 79 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

Nisibis 25 is a madrāšā (teaching hymn) by Ephrem the Syrian, likely composed during or after the Persian siege of Nisibis in 350 CE. The poem reflects the city's crisis and incorporates anti-Arian polemic, emphasizing the Council of Nicaea. The Syriac text survives in manuscripts from the 5th–6th centuries and was later used in the East Syriac Feast of the Nicene Fathers. The edition in DSC 279 collates these witnesses but provides no critical apparatus or translation, leaving textual variants unresolved.

Nisibis 25 is significant as a primary source for Ephrem's theological response to the Arian controversy and the Persian sieges, linking local crisis to broader Nicene orthodoxy. It also illustrates the development of Syriac liturgical poetry and its later use in East Syriac tradition, offering insight into early Christian communal identity and doctrinal formation.

Historical context

Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306–373 CE) composed his madrāšê in Nisibis, a frontier city of the Roman Empire frequently besieged by the Sasanian Persians. Nisibis 25 was likely written during or shortly after the siege of 350 CE, as internal references to the city's plight and Ephrem's known activity there before 363 indicate. The poem belongs to the Syriac Christian tradition, using poetic forms to teach doctrine and console the community. The text was transmitted in multiple manuscripts, with the earliest witnesses from the 5th–6th centuries, and was later incorporated into the East Syriac liturgical calendar for the Feast of the Nicene Fathers, highlighting its doctrinal focus on Nicaea and anti-Arian themes. The edition in DSC 279 collates these manuscripts but lacks a critical apparatus, so textual uncertainty remains.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

30 commentary units 10 term6 sense6 structure6 background1 scripture1 parallel 1 derived notes 7 open questions 7 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: other in classical Syriac; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 7 narrative.
  • caution1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: syriac — CC BY 4.0

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
dsc-279:1 · narrativemedium
Source
[ܒܩܳܠܳܐ ܕܡܰܠܟܳܐ ܫܡܰܝܳܢܳܐ ܫܰܝܶܢ ܫܓܺܝܼܫܽܘܬܶܗ
English
In the voice of the heavenly king his turmoil spread
dsc-279:2 · narrativemedium
Source
ܡܰܬܠܳܟ ܢܦܺܝܣܳܟ ܡܳܪܝ̱ ܕܶܐܡܼܰܪܬ ܕܰܐܪܡܰܠܬܳܐ
English
Your parable and your proof, my Lord, that you spoke of the widow
dsc-279:3 · narrativehigh
Source
ܐܶܠܼܙܰܬ̇ ܠܕܰܝܳܢܳܐ ܫܽܘܥܳܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܪ̈ܰܚܡܶܐ
English
She drove away the judge, the pitiless tyrant.
dsc-279:4 · narrativehigh
Source
ܦܰܪܙܠܳܐ ܕܠܳܐ ܪܳܐܶܟ ܪܰܓܼܺܝܬ ܘܪܰܟܶܟܬܳܝܗ̱ܝ
English
She softened and bent the iron that does not relent.
dsc-279:5 · narrativehigh
Source
ܛܳܒܰܐ ܗ̱ܘ ܕܩܳܕܶܡ ܠܶܗ ܠܰܐܝܢܳܐ ܕܒܳܥܶܐ ܠܶܗ
English
Good is he who precedes the iron that seeks him.
dsc-279:6 · narrativehigh
Source
ܘܥܰܕ ܠܳܐ ܢܚܽܘܪ ܒܶܗ ܐ̱ܢܳܫ ܟܽܠܶܗ ܦܢܼܳܐ ܨܶܐܝܕܰܘܗ̱ܝ
English
And before the iron is worn out, the whole side of the mountain is sought out by him.
dsc-279:7 · narrativehigh
Source
ܘܥܰܕܠܳܐ ܡܼܛܳܐ ܬܰܪܥܶܗ ܦܼܬܰܚ ܠܶܗ ܒܶܝܬ ܓܰܙܶܗ]
English
And before he reaches his door, he opens his treasury.
Citation. Tergwame, “Nisibis 25”, dsc-279:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/dsc-279#s1
Colophon. Source: syriac · licence: CC BY 4.0 · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0024 · generated 2026-11-14.