The Odes and Psalms of Solomon: Published from the Syriac Version

The Odes and Psalms of Solomon – is book which was published in 1911 from the Syriac version by James Rendel Harris, an English biblical scholar and curator of manuscripts. J. Rendel Harris was also instrumental in identifying many of the Syrian scriptures and other early documents. It is difficult to create a satisfactory edition of a work that has come down to us in one document. This is especially difficult when the document itself is late and is not the original text, but its version made by someone unknown. Uncertainty is invariably present in such a scarcely attested text, which has such a vague tradition. Despite these inherent difficulties, the author hoped that the translation and editing of these new Odes of Solomon (together with the corresponding already known Psalms of Solomon) would be satisfactory. The text, although late, is very well preserved, and the translation from Greek into Syriac seems to have been done with great care and conscientiousness. If we could find some more traces of the newly discovered work in the writings of the fathers, or if, by a happy coincidence, we could find a lost Latin or a copy of a Greek original, then much of what we see in our presentation of the Odes will disappear. In the meantime, we tried our best with the material as we found it and when we were able to strengthen it.