EPHRAEM
498
EPHRAEM
and that worn bj' David, for they cull tliis latter the
idolatrous ephod.
Tlic Idolatrous Ephod. — According to Judges, viii, 26 sq., Gedeon made an ephod out of part of the spoils taken from the Matlianites, their golden earlets, jewels, purple raiment, and golden chains. All Israel paid idolatrous worship to this ephod, so that it be- came a ruin to Gedeon and all liis house. Some writers, following the SjTiac and Arabic versions, have explained this ephod as denoting a gold casing of an oracular image. But there is no other instance of such a figurative meaning of ephod; besides, the Hebrew verb used to express the placing of the ephod on the part of Gedeon denotes in Judges, vi, 37, the spreafling of the fleece of wool. The opinion that Gedeon's ephod was a costly garment like that of the high-priest, is, therefore, preferable.
Hagen, Lexicon Biblicum (Pari,s. 1907), II. ISSsq.; Levesque in ViG., Did. dc la Bible, s. v.; Drives in H.\sT., Diet, of the Bible, s. v.; M.\ter in Kirchcnlex., s. v.
A. J. M.v.\s.
Ephraem (Ephresi, Ephr.\im), S.unt, b. at Nisibis, then under Roman rule, early in the fourth century; d. Jime, 373. The name of his father is unknown, but he was a pagan and a priest of the god- dess Abnil or Abizal. His mother was a native of Amid. Ephraem was instructed in the Christian mys- teries by St. James, the famous Bishop of Nisibis, and was baptized at the age of eighteen (or twenty-eight). Thenceforth he became more intimate with the holv bishop, who availed himself of the services of Epnraem to renew the moral life of the citizens of Nisibis, espe- cially during the sieges of 338, 346, and 350. One of his biographers relates that on a certain occasion he cursed from the city walls the Persian hosts, where- upon a cloud of flies and mosquitoes settled on the army of Sapor II and compelled it to withdraw. The adventurous campaign of Julian the Apostate, which for a time menaced Persia, ended, as is well known, in disaster, and his successor, Jovianus, was only too happy to rescue from annihilation some remnant of the great army which his predecessor had led across the Euphrates. To accomplish even so much the emperor had to sign a disadvantageous treaty, by the terms of which Rome lost the Eastern provinces con- quered at the end of the third century; among the cities retroceded to Persia was Nisibis (363). To escape the cruel persecution that was then raging in Persia, most of the Christian population abandoned Nisibis en masse. Ephraem went with his people, and settled first at Beit-Garbaya, then at Amid, finally at Edessa, the capital of Osrhoene, where he spent the remaining ten years of his life, a hermit remarkable for his severe asceticism. Nevertheless he took an in- terest in all matters that closely concerned the popu- lation of Ede.ssa. Several ancient writers say that he was a deacon; as such he could well have "been authorized to preach in public. At this time some ten heretical .sects were active in Edessa; Ephraem con- tended vigorously with all of them, notably with the disciples of the illustrious philosopher Bardesanes. To this period belongs neary all his literary w'ork; apart from .some poems composed at Nisibis, the rest of his writings — sermons, hjTnns.exegetical treatises — date from his sojourn at Edessa. It is not improbable that he is one of the chief founders of the theological "School of the Persians", so called because its first students and original masters were Persian Christian refugees of 363. At his death St. Ephraem was borne without pomp to the cemetery of the foreigners". The Armenian monks of the monastery of St. Sergius at Edessa claim to possess his body.
The aforesaid facts represent all that is historically certain concerning the career of Ephraem (see Bouvy, "Les sources historiques de la vie de S. Ephrem" in "Revue Augustinienne", 1903, 155-64). All details added later by Syrian biographers are at best of doubt-
ful value. To this class belong not only the legendary
and occasionally puerUe traits so dear to Oriental
writers, but also others seemingly reliable, e. g. an
alleged journey to Egj'pt with a sojoiu-n of eight years,
during which he is said to have confuted publicly
certain spokesmen of the Arian heretics. The rela-
tions of St. Ephraem and St. Basil are narrated by
very reliable authors, e. g. St. Gregory of Nyssa (the
Pseudo?) and Sozomen, according to whom the her-
mit of Edessa, attracted by the great reputation of St.
Basil, resolved to visit him at Cssarea. He was
warmly received and was ordained deacon by St.
Basil ; foiu" years later he refused both the priesthood
and tlie episcopate that St. Basil ofTered him through
delegates sent for that purpose to Edessa. Though
Ephraem seems to have been quite ignorant of Greek,
this meeting with St. Basil is not improbable; some
good critics, however, hold the evidence insufficient,
and therefore reject it, or at least withhold their ad-
hesion. The life of St. Ephraem, therefore, offers not
a few obscure problems; only the general outline of
his career is known to us It is certam, howevei , inat
while he lived he was very influential among the Syrian
Christians of Edessa, and that his memory was re-
vered by all, Orthodox, Monophysites, and Nestonans
They call him the "sun of the SjTians," the "column
of the Church ' ', the " harp of the Holy Spirit ". More
extraordinary still is the homage paid by Greeks who
rarely mention Syrian writers Among the works of
St Gregory of Nyssa (P. G., XLVI, 819) is a sermon
(though not acknowledged by some) which is a real
panegjTic of St. Ephraem. Twenty years after the
latter's death St. Jerome mentions him as follows in
his catalogue of illustrious Christians: "Ephraem,
deacon of the Church of Edessa, wrote many works
[o/)!isru?(;] in Syriac, and became so famous that his
writings are publicly read in some churches after the
Sacred Scriptures. I have read in Greek a volinne of
his on the Holy Spirit ; though it was only a translation,
I recognized therein the sublime genius of the man"
(De viris illustr., c. cxv). Theodoret of Cyrus also
praised his poetic genius and theological knowledge
(Hist. Eccl., IV, xxvi). Sozomen pretends that Eph-
raem wrote 3,000,000 verses, and gives the names of
some of his disciples, some of whom remained ortho-
dox, while others fell into heresy (Hist. Eccl., Ill, xvi).
From the .Syrian and Byzantine Churches the fame of
Ephraem spread among all Christians. The Roman
Martyrology mentions him on 1 February. In their
menologies and synaxaria Greeks and Russians,
Jacobites, Chaldeans, Copts, and Armenians honour
the holy deacon of Edessa.
Works of St. Ephr.vem. — The works of this saint are so numerous and important that it is impossible to treat them here in detail. Let it sufHce to consider briefly: (1) the text and the principal versions and editions of his writings; (2) his exegetical writings; (3) his poetical writings.
(1) Texts and Principal Versions and Editions. — The Syriac original of Ephraem's writings is preserved in many manuscripts, one of which dates from the fifth century. Throughmuch transcription, however, his writings, particularly those used in the various liturgies, have suffered no little interpolation. More- over, many of his exegetical works have perished, or at least have not yet been found in the libraries of the Orient. Numerous versions, however, console us for the loss of the originals. He was still living, or at least not long dead, when the translation of his wri- tings into Greek was begun. Armenian writers seem to have undertaken the translation of his Biblical commentaries. The Mechitarists ha'-e edited in part these commentaries and hold the Armenian version as very ancient (fifth century). The Monophysites, it is well known, were wont from an early date to translate or adapt many Syriac works. The writings of Eph- raem were eventually translated into Arabic and
