The biblical story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) attempt to explain the origin of the world’s many languages. According to the narrative, after the Flood, united by a common language, humanity migrated from the east and settled in the plain of Shinar (southern Mesopotamia). There, they began building a city and a towering…
Tag: Bible
Read in Coptic: John Chrysostom on Calming the Storm
Recently, we read Calming the Storm from Matthew 8:23-27. This time, we will read a version of John Chrysostom’s commentary on this episode in Coptic, adapted from his Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily XXVIII), which he delivered in Antioch at the end of the fourth century. 1 The oldest surviving Bohairic manuscript (dated…
Read in Coptic: Calming the Storm
Calming the Storm is a well-known story recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Coptic, it is called ⲡⲓϫⲓⲛⲉⲣⲉ̀ⲡⲓⲧⲓⲙⲁⲛ ⲛ̀ⲛⲓⲑⲏⲟⲩ ⲛⲉⲙⲫⲓⲟⲙ “The Rebuking of the Winds and the Sea”. The story recounts Jesus’s miraculous authority over nature while on a boat with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. The following is…
Read in Coptic: Elymas struck blind
Acts 13:4–12 (ⲡⲣⲁⲝⲓⲥ ⲓ︦ⲅ︦:ⲇ︦-ⲓ︦ⲃ︦) tells the story of the Holy Spirit calling Barnabas and Saul (also known as Paul) from Antioch to embark on a mission to Cyprus. There, they encounter a magician named Bar-Jesus—also called Elymas—who opposes their work. Let’s read the story in Coptic… (4) ⲛ̀ⲑⲱⲟⲩ-ⲙⲉⲛ–ⲟⲩⲛ ⲉ̀ⲧⲁⲩⲟⲩⲟⲣⲡⲟⲩ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲓⲧⲉⲛ-ⲡⲓⲡ︤ⲛ︦ⲁ︥ ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ, ⲁⲩⲓ̀ ⲉ̀ϩⲣⲏⲓ ⲉ̀ⲥⲉⲗⲉⲩⲕⲓⲁ̀…