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Greek · Commentary ·

Scholia in cantica canticorum

Athanasius the Great of Alexandria · khazarzar

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JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 350 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Scholia in cantica canticorum, attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria, is a Greek commentary on the Song of Songs surviving in a single manuscript with lacunae and marginal corrections, likely from a monastic copyist. Its allegorical method and theological vocabulary suggest a later, possibly 5th-century, compiler rather than Athanasius himself. The scholia were excerpted in Byzantine catenae, influencing later Greek and Syriac commentaries. The text employs a dialogic structure, allegorizing terms like 'bed' as contemplative union, and reads the Song as a polemic against Judaism, typifying Alexandrian exegesis. The edition lacks a critical apparatus, relying on the 19th-century Migne text without modern emendation.

The Scholia in cantica canticorum is significant for its contested authorship, reflecting the fluidity of patristic attribution, and its allegorical method, which bridges Origenist and later Byzantine exegesis. Its polemical reading of the Song of Songs as anti-Jewish illustrates broader patristic trends. The work's survival in a single manuscript and its use in catenae highlight its transmission history and influence on later Christian commentary traditions.

Historical context

The work is undated but likely composed in the 5th century, possibly in a monastic or scholarly milieu in the Eastern Mediterranean, given its allegorical method and theological vocabulary reminiscent of Origenist traditions. The single manuscript tradition, with marginal corrections, suggests transmission through Byzantine monastic scriptoria. The scholia were excerpted in Byzantine catenae, indicating their use in liturgical or educational contexts. The attribution to Athanasius (c. 296–373) is contested; the text may incorporate earlier Origenist material, reflecting the Alexandrian exegetical tradition. The polemic against Judaism aligns with common patristic reception of the Song of Songs, allegorizing the beloved as the Church and the companions as the synagogue. The work's influence on later Greek and Syriac commentaries underscores its role in shaping Christian interpretation of the Song.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 2 structure2 term2 scripture2 background2 reception1 parallel1 sense 0 derived notes 3 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • 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: commentary in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
khazarzar-athanasius-the-great-of-alexandria-scholia-in-cantica-canticorum:1 · narrativehigh
Source
Ἐπ' ἀγέλαις ἑταίρων σου ὡς ῥεμβομένη. Αὐτὸς πρὸς αὐτήν·Γνῶθι σεαυτὴν πρῶτον, ἵνα καὶ ἐμὲ γνῶναι δυνηθῇς. Ἐὰν μὴ γνῷς ἑαυτήν· εἰ οὐκ ἔγνως· εἰ μὴ οἶδας, ἔξελθε σὺ ἐν πτέρναις κατ' ἴχνη, καὶ ποίμαινε τὰς ἐρίφους σου· καὶ θρέψῃς ἁμαρτίας ἀντὶ ἀρετῶν. Ἐπὶ σκηνώμασι τῶν ποιμένων· ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν ἐναντίων δυνάμεων τῶν ποιμαινόντων σε. Ἐκάλεσα αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσέ μου. Ἀναστήσομαι καὶ κυκλώσω ἐν τῇ πόλει.Ἀθανασίου. Ἀναγνώσομαι τὸν νόμον, ἀναγνώσομαι τοὺς προφήτας, ἐρευνήσω τὰ Εὐαγγέλια.Ταῦτα δὲ κατανυγεῖσα τῷ θείῳ πόθῳ φησί· Ἐπὶ κοίτην μου27.1349 ἐν νυξίν.Κοίτην ὀνομάζει τὴν τελειοτέραν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν, καὶ νύκτα λέγει τὸν τῆς κοίτης καιρόν. Διὰ δὲ τοῦ ὀνόματος τῆς νυκτὸς ἐνδείκνυται τῶν ἀοράτων τὴν θεωρίαν, καθ' ὁμοιότητα Μωϋσέως, τοῦ ἐν τῷ γνόφῳ γεγονότος ἐν ᾧ ἦν ὁΘεός. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ ᾔδειν τίς ἦν ὁ τρώσας με. Θεογνωσίαν μοι κοιμωμένῃ ἐνέσπειρεν ὁΛόγος.Ταχέως διαναστᾶσα, ζητῶ τὸν τρώσαντα, καὶ παρακαλῶ αὐτῷ ὀφθῆναί μοι, καὶ περιέρχομαι ζητοῦσα τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν μου. Ἐξέλθετε καὶ ἴδετε, θυγατέρεςΣιὼν, ἐν τῷ βασιλεῖ Σαλομών.Ἰουδαίους ἐντρέπει λέγουσα, Ἐξέλθετε, ἀντὶ τοῦ, Ἕως πότε τῇ σκιᾷ παρακάθησθε; ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁΚύριος, ἀγάπην ἀπὸ θυγατέρων Ἱερουσαλήμ.Τὸ στερεὸν τῶν λογισμῶν, ἢ οἱ ἐσωτέρω λίθοι ἅγιοι. Ἐν τῷ στεφάνῳ, ᾧ ἐστεφάνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ. Ἔθηκας γὰρ, φησὶ, ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ στέφανον ἐκ λίθου τιμίου. Καταβήτω ἀδελφιδός μου εἰς κῆπον αὐτοῦ.
English
Upon the flocks of your companions as one wandering. He to her: Know yourself first, so that you may be able to know me also. If you do not know yourself—if you have not known—if you do not understand, go out on your heels following tracks, and pasture your goats; and you will nourish sins instead of virtues. Upon the tents of the shepherds: in the desires of the opposing powers that shepherd you. I called him, and he did not heed me. I will arise and go around in the city. Of Athanasius. I will read the law, I will read the prophets, I will search the Gospels. And she, pierced by divine longing, says this: Upon my bed in the nights. She calls "bed" the more perfect participation in the good, and she calls "night" the time of the bed. Through the name "night" she indicates the contemplation of invisible things, after the likeness of Moses, who was in the darkness in which God was. Of the same. For I did not know who it was that wounded me. The Word sowed the knowledge of God in me while I slept. Quickly rising up, I seek the one who wounded me, and I beg him to appear to me, and I go around seeking my beloved. Come out and see, daughters of Zion, in King Solomon. He shames the Jews, saying, "Come out," meaning, "How long will you sit in the shadow?" For behold, the Lord has arisen from Judah, love from the daughters of Jerusalem. The firmness of the thoughts, or the inner holy stones. In the crown with which his mother crowned him. For you placed, he says, upon his head a crown of precious stone. Let my beloved go down into his garden.
khazarzar-athanasius-the-great-of-alexandria-scholia-in-cantica-canticorum:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Πνεῦσόν μοι, ὦΛόγε, καὶ δίδαξόν με τὰ λόγιά σου, καὶ τὰ προστάγματά σου κατάγραψον ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας μου. Ἑτοίμη γέγονα λοιπόν· δύναμαι, τῇ σῇ χάριτι βοηθουμένη, καὶ κυβερνωμένη τῇ ἀοράτῳ σου καὶ παντοδυνάμῳ χειρὶ, καὶ λόγων ἀκοῦσαι θείων, καὶ μυστηρίων μέτοχος γενέσθαι.
English
Breathe upon me, O Logos, and teach me your words, and inscribe your commandments upon the breadth of my heart. I have become ready, then; I am able, aided by your grace and steered by your invisible and all-powerful hand, both to hear divine words and to become a partaker of mysteries.
Citation. Tergwame, “Scholia in cantica canticorum”, khazarzar-athanasius-the-great-of-alexandria-scholia-in-cantica-canticorum:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/khazarzar-athanasius-the-great-of-alexandria-scholia-in-cantica-canticorum#s1
Colophon. Source: khazarzar · licence: Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0016 · generated 2026-11-15.