The Book of the Laws of Countries: Dialogue on Fate of Bardaiṣan of Edessa

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THE

BOOK

OF THE

LAWS

OF COUNTRIES

grew

we

“_LAREMONT HEOLOGY SCHOOL OF T

CA a aremont, Cl

SEMITIC

TEXTS

WITH

IONS

TRANSLAT

edited by DR.

S J. H. HOSPER

DR.

and

TH.

C. VRIEZEN,

Professors at Groningen and Utrecht Universities

I

DE

HABAKUK-ROL

VAN

“AIN

FASHA”

II RABBINICAL

DEVOTION

II! THE

BOOK

OF

THE

LAWS

OF

COUNTRIES

& 5 BAS “THE

BOOK

OF THE LAWS

OF COUNTRIES Dialogue on Fate of Bardaisan of Edessa

by

H. J. W. DRIJVERS

hp G 270, RAS c GeEC Oy,

ASSEN, VAN

GORCUM

&

COMP.

N.V.

-

MCMLXV DR.

H.J.PRAKKE

&

H.M.G.PRAKKE

© 1964 by Koninklijke Van Gorcum

& Comp. N.V., Assen, The Netherlands

All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to reproduce this book

or parts thereof in any form. The original Syriac text was translated into Dutch by H. J. W. Drijvers. The English version of this Dutch translation was made by Mrs. G. E. van Baaren-Pape.

Printed in the Netherlands by Royal VanGorcum Ltd., Assen

PREFACE

It is a pleasure, soon after the appearance of the second volume in the series “Semitic texts with translations”, to be able to introduce a third volume. While the two previous volumes offered post-biblical Hebrew texts, it seemed

desirable this time to present one of the earliest and finest products of Syriac literature to wider attention. We profit by the fortunate circumstance that the author of the present work, H.J.W. Drijvers, attached to the Department of Semitic languages of the State

University of Groningen, who hopes this year to defend a doctoral dissertation on Bardaisan at the above university, was willing to publish the results of the studies he devoted to the text and translation of the Ketaba denamisé datrawata in this series. To all, then, who take an interest in Semitic literature or in the history of the

early Eastern Church, this volume is most heartily recommended!

January 1965

J.H.HOSPERS

‘

a

3

Le@eneiate

Baki»

them the