The Ethiopian homily on the Ark of the Covenant: critical edition and annotated translation of Dersanä Ṣeyon /

In The Ethiopian Homily on the Ark of the Covenant, Amsalu Tefera offers an editio princeps of the Ethiopic text of Dǝrsanä Ṣǝyon together with an annotated English translation. This homily, most likely composed in the fifteenth century, links the term Zion with the Ark of the Covenant and recounts at length its wanderings from Sinai to Ethiopia. As a Christian document, many of the events are interpreted as symbolic of Mary and the heavenly New Jerusalem. First edited by the author for his 2011 doctoral dissertation, the critical text and apparatus present a complete collation of the ten known witnesses to this homily. Detailed notes are supplied on significant and difficult terms in the translation. Contents 7 Foreword 11 Acknowledgements 13 Glossary 14 Introduction 17 Objective 18 Scope 19 Fidäl Symbols and Transliteration 19 1. Consonants 19 2. Vowels 20 3. Numerals 20 Signs 20 Abbreviations 21 Section 1. Background and Analysis 23 Chapter 1. Tabot in the Ethiopian Tradition 25 1. Tabot in EOTC 25 2. When Did the Tabot Originate in EOTC Tradition? 31 3. The Ethiopian Claim for Possession of the Ark 36 4. Wanderings of the Ark in Ethiopia 53 Chapter 2. Traditions on Zion and Axum 55 1. Zion 55 1.1. Various Applications of Zion 56 1.2. ‘No One is Allowed’ 71 1.3. Feast of Zion 76 2. Axum 79 2.1. Coronation at Axum 81 2.2. Ethiopian Royal Titles (Classical and Medieval Times) 87 3. Gäbäzä Aksum 94 4. Mäṣḥafä Aksum (MA) 95 Chapter 3. Discussion and Analysis 97 1. Philological Issues 97 1.1. Description of the Manuscripts 97 1.1.1. A = Axum 98 1.1.2. B = Ǝnṭoṭṭo 98 1.1.3. C = NL 273 99 1.1.4. D = NL 630 100 1.1.5. F = EMML 8823 101 1.1.6. K = EMML 8429 102 1.1.7. P = Printed Ṭana Text 103 1.1.8. Q = EMML 8713 104 1.1.9. S = EMML 8979 104 1.1.10. T = Ṭānāsee 72 106 1.2. Textual Arrangements of DṢ 107 1.2.1. DṢ ‘proper’ 108 1.2.2. DM Arrangement 110 1.2.3. KN Arrangement 111 1.2.4. Unique Arrangement 111 1.3. Textual Analysis of DṢ 111 1.3.1. Content 111 1.3.2. Theme 112 1.3.3. Values of DṢ 112 1.4. Biblical Allusions in DṢ 113 1.5. Stemma Codicum 119 1.5.1. Archetype Errors 119 1.5.2. Sub-Archetype Errors 122 2. Linguistic Analysis 126 2.1. Adiaphoric Variants 126 2.1.1. Transposition 127 2.1.2. Banal Error 129 2.1.3. Omission 132 2.2. Vowel Spelling: -i- Alternating with -ǝ- 133 2.3. Number 133 2.4. Metathesis 134 2.5. Word Separation 135 2.6. Other Linguistic Features 135 2.6.1. Deletion 136 2.6.2. Labialization (Orthography) 136 2.6.3. Insertion of Phonetic Glide 136 2.6.4. Feminine Marker 136 2.6.5. Punctuation 136 Section 2. Text Edition and Translation 137 Chapter 4. Critical Edition 139 Chapter 5. Annotated Translation 165 Chapter 6. News, Miracles and Effigies of Zion 190 1. Zena Ṣǝyon ‘News of Zion’—NL 630 [D] and EMML 8429 [K] 190 1.1. Text 190 1.2. Translation 194 2. Täʾammǝrä Ṣǝyon ‘Miracles of Zion’—EMML 8823 [F] 198 2.1. Text 198 2.2. Translation 204 3. [P]—Published Text 212 3.1. Täʾammǝrä Ṣǝyon Maryam ‘Miracles of Mary Zion’ 212 3.1.1. Text 212 3.1.2. Translation 222 3.2. Mälkǝʾa Ṣǝyon ‘Effigy of Zion’ 234 3.2.1. Text 234 3.2.2. Translation 245 Chapter 7. Summary and Concluding Remarks 256 Textual History 258 Attested Manuscripts 258 Bipartite Stemma 259 Appendix 261 Bibliography 266 Abbreviations of Journals, Series and Other Publications 266 Published Books and Journals 266 Unpublished Materials 280 Manuscripts 281 Websites 282 Author Index 283 Subject Index 286 In 'The Ethiopian Homily on the Ark of the Covenant', Amsalu Tefera offers an "editio princeps" of the Ethiopic text of 'Dersanä Seyon' together with an annotated English translation. This homily, most likely composed in the fifteenth century, links the term Zion with the Ark of the Covenant and recounts at length its wanderings from Sinai to Ethiopia. As a Christian document, many of the events are interpreted as symbolic of Mary and the heavenly New Jerusalem. 0First edited by the author for his 2011 doctoral dissertation, the critical text and apparatus present a complete collation of the ten known witnesses to this homily. Detailed notes are supplied on significant and difficult terms in the translation.0