An interdisciplinary approach, crucial as it is in most fields of research, proves itself to be unescapable in the study of interactions between the ancient Armenian and Greek worlds and literatures. The volume arises from such an awareness and collects papers presented in a conference which has been organized in 2013 at the University of Genova, thanks to a cooperation with the Université Paris-Sorbonne, following in the footsteps of a tradition inaugurated by Giancarlo Bolognesi in the years '80 and '90. The subject is explored from many points of view: the topic of Armenian translations of Greek texts – with considerations of a methodological nature and the discussion of case-studies –, aspects which pertain to the historical context and the historiographical sources, the wide theme of the Armenian reception of Biblical, Christian and Byzantine literature, and finally philological, linguistic and lexical problems. The aim of this kind of research is to exploit the cooperation among classical philologists, linguists and Armenologists, in order to face the challenge of investigating a subject which requires many different competences.

An interdisciplinary approach, crucial as it is in most fields of research, proves itself to be unescapable in the study of interactions between the ancient Armenian and Greek worlds and literatures. The volume arises from such an awareness and collects papers presented in a conference which has been organized in 2013 at the University of Genova, thanks to a cooperation with the Université Paris-Sorbonne, following in the footsteps of a tradition inaugurated by Giancarlo Bolognesi in the years '80 and '90. The subject is explored from many points of view: the topic of Armenian translations of Greek texts – with considerations of a methodological nature and the discussion of case-studies –, aspects which pertain to the historical context and the historiographical sources, the wide theme of the Armenian reception of Biblical, Christian and Byzantine literature, and finally philological, linguistic and lexical problems. The aim of this kind of research is to exploit the cooperation among classical philologists, linguists and Armenologists, in order to face the challenge of investigating a subject which requires many different competences.

The Bible in the Armenian Tradition provides a concise historical account of the development of the Bible in Armenia and the illustrative traditions that are represented in surviving codices. The author focuses on the origins of the first translations of the Bible into Armenian in the fourth century, which inspired the Armenian alphabet itself. A range of beautiful Armenian Bible manuscripts from collections throughout the world are illustrated in full color and compared with western Bible illuminations. Later printed Armenian Bibles are also examined in detail, revealing fascinating examples of religious differences between the Armenian and the Catholic Christian traditions. This survey of Armenian Bible history is an important reference for biblical scholars and anyone with an interest in the history of Christianity.

The Jewish culture of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods established a basis for all monotheistic religions, but its main sources have been preserved to a great degree through Christian transmission. This Guide is devoted to problems of preservation, reception, and transformation of Jewish texts and traditions of the Second Temple period in the many Christian milieus from the ancient world to the late medieval era. It approaches this corpus not as an artificial collection of reconstructed texts--a body of hypothetical originals--but rather from the perspective of the preserved materials, examined in their religious, social, and political contexts. It also considers the other, non-Christian, channels of the survival of early Jewish materials, including Rabbinic, Gnostic, Manichaean, and Islamic. This unique project brings together scholars from many different fields in order to map the trajectories of early Jewish texts and traditions among diverse later cultures. It also provides a comprehensive and comparative introduction to this new field of study while bridging the gap between scholars of early Judaism and of medieval Christianity.

The extreme complexity of Sirach’s text at times makes it almost impossible to come to one clear conclusion as regards certain issues. There are numerous differences between various translations of this deuterocanonical text. In addition, the Armenian translation, being a textual witness to not one but multiple parent texts, has its own complications. This research provides a sustained theological reading of the Armenian text of Sirach on the basis of Yakob Nalean’s commentary written in the 18th century. At the same time it places a great emphasis on the textual evaluation of the various versions of Sirach in Armenian. In this respect an attempt has been made to display the unique features of the Armenian Sirach within the wider scope of the scholarship of this biblical text. Through a comprehensive linguistic and theological analysis of some major parts of Sirach in Armenian, this study assesses the extent to which this book was in use amongst Armenians throughout the centuries. In particular, the numerous references to Sirach in both Armenian and non-Armenian patristic literature are examined, with the aim of dating the first translations into Armenian and tracing the development of the text in the Armenian medieval schools.

The Armenian Apocalyptic Tradition: A Comparative Perspective comprises a collection of essays on apocalyptic literature in the Armenian tradition. This collection is unprecedented in its subject and scope and employs a comparative approach that situates the Armenian apocalyptic tradition within a broader context. The topics in this volume include the role of apocalyptic literature and apocalypticism in the conversion of the Armenians to Christianity, apocalyptic ideology and holy war, the significance of the Book of Daniel in Armenian thought, the reception of the Apocalypse of Ps.-Methodius in Armenian, the role of apocalyptic literature in political ideologies, and the expression of apocalypticism in the visual arts.