Arrangement 29: The Prophets Section
Notes
Two formless blocks of text, generally enclosed in prominent large borders, always with a text overflow on the outside of the first, describing the Old Testament Prophets. No matching material in the Liber Genealogus G or L.
From Roda (above) and Plutei (below).
Commentary
This substantial section within the Great Stemma, dealing with prophets of the Old Testament and linking them to the reigns set out in the Books of Kings, has been excluded from the present edition, but merits some discussion because of its antiquity in the tradition. The section appears in one form or another in all extant recensions. The order of the list of the twelve so-called Minor Prophets provides a clear link to the Vetus Latina Bible. Before the compilation of the Vulgate, the books of the twelve were arranged in the Septuagint order: Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. This differs from the order adopted by Jerome in the Vulgate— second Joel, third Amos, sixth Micah, and so on.
While we no longer have the text in its entirety, it must have been intact at least until the seventh century in Iberia, because the editor of the Zeta Stemma seems to have been able to read it well enough to pick up phrases from it when he was altering it to conform with the Vulgate order. The text may date from hyparchetype Chi, although it could also be argued it arose in Psi only, was preserved in Epsilon and thus contaminated Alpha, was revised for Zeta and was recognized as alien by the Gamma recensor and excluded from that hyparchetype.
It is unfortunate that many words of the original text have vanished. It is however possible to tease the surviving material apart into its constituent snippets.
In the tabulations below, members of the differing Minor Prophets series are marked 1-12 and the four Major Prophets— Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel— are labelled I, J, E, D.
| Plutei 44r, 44v | Roda 204v, 205r | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Amos propheta secundum duodecim cepit prophetare, temporibus Ozie et Ieroboam filius Ioas regis israelit, biennium ante terre motum | Amos propheta secundus duodecim, cepit propetare temporibus Ocie et Ieroboam filii Ioas regis israhelit, biennio ante terre motum |
| 3 | Micheas filius Marti, tertius de duodecim, prophetavit in diebis Ionathan usque in diebus Ozie | Miceas filius Amati Masti, tertius de duodecim, prophetavit in diebus Ioatan usque ad in diebus Ocie |
| I | prophete qui prophetaverunt temporibus Achaz, Osee et Esaias, usque in tempus Ezechie regis eo tempore fuerunt | profete qui profetaverunt temporibus Acaz, Ose et Esaia, usque in tempus Ezezie regis eo tempore fuerunt |
| 4 | Ioel filius Batuel, quartus de duodecim, | Ioel filius Batuel, quartus de duodecim, |
| 7 | et Naum, septimus de duodecim, prophetaverunt | et Naum, septimus de duodecim, prophetaverunt |
| I | prophetavit Esaias annos LXX | prophetavit Esaias anni LXX |
| J | Hieremias annos XLII | Iheremias annis XII |
| ? | inter ambo sunt anni CXII | inter ambos sunt CXII |
| J | Hieremias propheta prophetare cepit filius Ionathe usque in transmigrationem Babillonis Iherusalem | Iheremias propheta prophetare cepit filius Ionate usque ad transmigrationem in Vabilonia Iherusalem |
| I | huius temporibus Manasses interfecit Esaias filius Amos | huius tempore Manases interfectus est et Esaias filius Amos prophetavit |
| 8? | hoc tempore fuit propheta Abacuc septimus de duodecim | hoc tempore fiuit propheta Abaccuc septimus de duodecim |
| J | hoc tempore Hieremias prophetat usque dum transmigravit Sedechias in Babilonia | hoc tempore Iheremias prophetat usque dum transmigravit Sedecias in Babilonia |
| D | post hunc hautem prophetavit Daniel cum esset in captivitate sub Nabuchodonosor regem Babilonis, fuit Daniel usque in annum Ciri regis | post hunc autem prophetavit Daniel quum esset in captivitate sub Nabucodonosor regem Babilonie et fuit Daniel usque in primum annum Ciri regis Persarum |
| 9 | huius Iosie temporibus prophetavit Sophonias nonus de duodecim | Ozie huius profetavit Soffonias VIII nonius de duodecim |
| J | deinde Hieremias missus est prophetavit anno XIII regni eius usque ad consumationem XI anni Sedechie filii Iosie | deinde Iheremias missus est prophetavit annos tertiodecimo regni eius usque ad consumatione undecimo anno Sedecie filius Iosie |
It is unclear what the period of 112 years signifies (the 70 years of Isaiah and the 42 years of Jeremiah cannot be contiguous). Two minor prophets are designated as seventh (Habbakuk is in fact eighth in the Vetus Latina series). The multiplied, repetitious references to Jeremiah are difficult to explain.
The section is unlikely to have been originally inserted in the diagram as a column of text. It might have appeared as a series of callouts, where each prophet was described in a separate label in the vicinity of the kings which that prophet advised.
Eusebius scattered similar materal through his Canons according to where it was relevant and the Great Stemma author might have distributed it likewise.
The diagram's editor knew that there was ample chronological information about some of the prophets available, but none at all for others. Whereas a tabulation like that of Eusebius tends to stress the deficits in such information, the diagrammatic method allows different qualities of information to be displayed together in a harmonious way without emphasizing such deficits. Here we see in action the idée principale of the Great Stemma: that a graphic visualization allows us to create a coherent whole out of details of disparate levels of granularity.
The author is aware for example that there is no biographical information whatever about Habbakuk and can only attach him to a general region of the timeline:
Hoc tempore fuit propheta Abacuc, septimus (sic) de duodecim
In other cases, such as the legendary martrydom of Isaiah (not recorded in the canonical Bible), the author is able to date the death during the reign of Manasseh and would have been able to place this gloss precisely alongside that reign:
Huius temporibus Manasses interfecit Esaias filius Amos
The Zeta and Iota recensions— reconstructable from the bibles of Ripoll, Parc, Floreffe, Foigny and Burgos— provide some faint clues to the history of this section.
This revision seems to have arisen with the objective of bringing the diagram into conformity with the Vulgate Latin text. This may well have been a frontal attack on the Great Stemma, imitating its structure while condemning both its theology and its Umfeld as in error. The editor was concerned to suppress influences from the Vetus Latina biblical text and one way in which this concern is clear is from the re-ordering of the minor prophets, as can be seen in the text in the Ripoll Bible. In the following tabulation of the same text, we rely on the bibles of Burgos and Foigny:
| Burgos 7v, 8r | Foigny 9r, 9v | |
|---|---|---|
| I | Isaias qui interpretatur salus domini prophetavit in diebus Ozie, Ioatham, Achaz et Ezechie regum Iuda annis fere septuaginta usque ad tempora Manasse a quo et interfectus est. | Isaias qui interpretatur salus domini prophetavit in diebus Ozie, Ioathan, Achaz et Ezechie regum Iuda annis fere LXX usque ad tempora Manasse a quo et intersectus est. |
| 1 | Osee filius Iether, qui interpretatur saluans, prophetavit sub eisdem temporibus quatuor regum sub quibus et Ysaias | Osee filius Gether, qui interpretatur saluans, prophetavit sub eiusdem temporibus quatuor regum sub quibus et Ysaias |
| 2 | Iohel filius Batuhel, qui dicitur incipiens deo, secundus de duodecim prophetavit hisdem temporibus quibus et Oses | Iohel filius Batuhel, qui dicitur incipiens domino, secundus de duodecim prophetavit eisdem temporibus quibus et Osee |
| 3 | Amos, qui interpretatur onus vel (prophetas) avulsus, tercius de duodecim prophetavit in diebus Ozie regis Iuda et in diebus regis Ieroboam filius Ioas regis Israel | Amos, qui interpretatur onus vel (prophetas) avulsus, tercius de duodecim prophetavit in diebus Ozie regis Iuda et in diebus regis Ieroboam filius Ioas regis Israel |
| 4 | Abdias, qui interpretatur servus domini, quartus de duodecim hisdem temporibus quo et ceteri | Abdias, qui interpretatur servus domini, quartus de duodecim isdem temporibus quo et ceteri |
| 5 | Ionas, columba vel dolens, quintus de duodecim prophetavit adversus Niniven prefato tempore | Ionas, columba vel dolens, quintus de duodecim prophetavit adversus Niniven prefato tempore |
| 6 | Micheas Morastites, qui interpretatur quis est iste, sextus de duodecim prophetavit temporibus Ioathan, Achaz et Ezechie regum Iuda | Micheas Morastites, qui interpretatur quis est iste, sextus de duodecim prophetavit temporibus Ioathan, Achaz et Ezechie regum Iuda |
| 7 | Naum, qui interpretatur consolatus, septimus de duodecim | Naum, qui interpretatur consolatus, septimus de duodecim |
| 8 | Abachuc etiam, qui interpretatur amplexus sive luctator, octavus de duodecim quibus temporibus prophetavere incognitum est | Abachuc etiam, qui interpretatur amplexus sine luctator, octavus de duodecim quibus temporibus prophetavere incognitum est |
| J | Iheremias, qui interpretatur excelsus domini, prophetare cepit temporibus Iosie regis Iude usque ad transmigrationem Sedechie regis Iuda et populi Israel in Babylonia annis fere LXIII | Iheremias, qui interpretatur excelsus domini, prophetare cepit temporibus Iosie regis Iude usque ad transmigrationem Sedechie regis Iuda et populi Israel in Babylonia annis fere quinquaginta XIII |
| 9 | Sophonias filius Chus, arianus domini sive abscondens, nonus de duodecim prophetavit sub Iosia rege Iuda eo tempore quo et Hieremias | Soffonias filius Chus, archanum domini sive abscondens, nonus de duodecim prophetavit sub Iosia rege Iuda eo tempore quo et Ieremias |
| E | Ezechiel filius Buzi, qui interpretatur fortitudo dei, prophetavit filiis Israel in transmigratione Babylonis | Ezechiel filius Buzi, qui interpretatur fortitudo dei, prophetavit filiis Israel in transmigratione Babylonis |
| D | Post hunc autem prophetavit Daniel, qui interpretatur iudicium dei, cum esset in captivitate sub Nabuchodonosor rege Babylonis usque ad tempora Darii regis Persarum ac Medorum | Post hunc autem prophetavit Danihel, qui interpretatur iudicium dei, cum esset in captivitate sub Nabugodonosor rege Babylonis usque ad tempora Darii regis Persarum ac Medorum |
| 10 | Aggus, qui interpretatur festus sive sollempnis, decimus de duodecim prophetavit filiis Israel postquam reversi sunt de captivitate in Iherusalem sub Zorobabel duce Iuda et Iesu filio Iosedech sacerdote magno | Aggeus, qui interpretatur festus sive sollempnis, decimus de duodecim prophetavit filiis Israel postquam reversi sunt de captivitate in Iherusalem sub Zorobabel duce Iuda et Iesu filii Iosedech sacerdote magno |
| 11 | Zacharias filius Barachie, memoria domini, hisdem prophetavit temporibus quibus et Aggeus | Zacharias filius Barachie, memoria domini, isdem prophetavit temporibus quibus et Aggeus |
| 12 | Malachias autem angelus domini hisdem temporibus prophetavit quibus et superiores domini | Malachias autem angelus domini isdem temporibus prophetavit quibus et superiores domini |
This re-utilizes the scheme of the Great Stemma, but follows Jerome's new canonical order. Hardly any of the Vetus Latina wording is recycled, though where the Great Stemma says of Jeremiah, prophetare cepit filius Ionathe usque in transmigrationem, this is perhaps echoed by the revisor's prophetare cepit temporibus Iosie regis Iude usque ad transmigrationem. For Daniel, the phrase cum esset in captivitate sub Nabuchodonosor regem Babilonis recurs, barely changed, as cum esset in captivitate sub Nabuchodonosor rege Babylonis.
The notable similarities are of style: the attempt to situate the Major and Minor Prophets by reign, the division of the material into two blocks on separate pages and the use of the fathers' names with each prophet all suggest that the Great Stemma was being followed in form, if not in content. One might also note that both the original and the revision refer to the legend of Isaiah's martyrdom (ad tempora Manasse a quo et interfectus est), though it might of course be argued that this had become almost standard in all the medieval accounts of Isaiah.
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The Great Stemma: A Graphic History in
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