Exhortation of Peter

Standard abbreviation: Exhort. Pet.

Other titles: none

Clavis numbers: ECCA 133

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Compiled by J. Edward Walters, Rochester College ([email protected])

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Walters, J. Edward. “Exhortation of Peter.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/exhortation-of-peter/.

Created December 2018.

1. SUMMARY

Exhort. Pet. is a late ancient pseudepigraphon likely produced in a monastic setting. It is preserved only in Syriac, though it may have been composed in Greek. The text begins with a narrative framing that introduces Peter as the speaker in an unnamed location, and the rest of the text is direct discourse from Peter. There are two versions of the text preserved in two manuscripts: a short version and a long version. The short version, preserved in British Library Add. 17183, includes a single anecdote from Peter told in the form of a parable. In this parable, a master becomes angry with two of his slaves and sends them to a distant land. One slave settles in the new location by building houses and planting vineyards; the other slave commissions a golden crown decorated with the image of his master and the master’s son. The master then sends a harsh slave to retrieve the two exiled slaves, and this harsh slave does not allow them to put their affairs in order before bringing them back to the master. The first slave thus returns sadly to his master empty-handed, whereas the second slave returns happily, holding the crown. This portion of the text concludes with an explanation of the parable: the master is God, the harsh slave represents Death, and the two exiled slaves represent two groups of people: 1) those who become too concerned with cares of the world (first slave), and 2) those who rightly practice ascetic discipline in anticipation of the return of Christ (second slave).

There is a longer version of the text found in a second, later manuscript (Berlin Syriac 201), which, in addition to the text above, provides an additional anecdote. The second story concerns a “solitary” (the Syriac word iḥidayā, which is often translated as ‘monk’) who dwells in a cave and is tempted by a demon disguised as a woman. In the story, the solitary is captivated by the woman, and he falls prey to conversation and laughter, which ultimately escalates to attempted physical contact. Just as the solitary reaches for the woman, however, she disappears and the solitary is mocked by the laughter of demons. This story concludes with an exhortation to monastic readers to distance themselves from inhabited places so that even the memory of women will fade.

Named Historical Figures and Characters: Death, Jesus Christ, Job, Peter (apostle).

Geographical Locations: None.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Syriac

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Syr. 201 (Sachau 165), fols. 9^v–12^v (14th cent.)

London, British Library, Add. 17183, fols. 105^r–107^r (10th cent.)

Minov, Sergey. “The Exhortation of the Apostle Peter: A Syriac Pseudepigraphon and Its Monastic Context.” Pages 167–81 in Scriptures, Sacred Traditions, and Strategies of Religious Subversion. Edited by M.B. Blidstein, S. Ruzer and D. Stökl Ben Ezra. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018 (editio princeps and translation based on both manuscripts).

Walters, J. Edward, ed. “Exhortation of the Apostle Peter – ܡܡܠܠܐ ܕܛܘܒܢܐ ܦܬܪܘܣ ܫܠܝܚܐ ܕܥܠ ܡܪܬܝܢܘܬܐ.” Digital Syriac Corpus. Last modified April 25, 2018. https://syriaccorpus.org/372 (Edition of Berlin Syr. 201).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.1.2 English

Walters, J. Edward. “Exhortation of the Apostle Peter: A New Translation and Introduction.” Pages 278–87 in vol. 2 of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Edited by Tony Burke. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2020.

3.3 General Works

Brakke, David. Demons and the Making of the Monk: Spiritual Combat in Early Christianity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006.

__________. “The Lady Appears: Materializations of ‘Women’ in Early Monastic Literature.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 33.3 (2003): 387–402.

__________.“The Making of Monastic Demonology: Three Ascetic Teachers on Withdrawal and Resistance.” Church History 70.1 (2001): 19–48.

Griffith, Sydney Harrison. “Monks, ‘Singles’, and the ‘Sons of the Covenant’: Reflections on Syriac Ascetic Terminology.” Pages 141–60 in ΕΥΛΟΓΗΜΑ: Studies in Honor of Robert Taft, S.J.. Edited by Ephrem Carr, Stefano Parenti, Abraham-Andreas Thiermeyer, and Elena Velkovska. Studia Anselmiana 110, Analecta Liturgica 17. Rome: Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, 1993.

__________. “‘Singles’ in God’s Service: Thoughts on the Ihidaye from the Works of Aphrahat and Ephraem the Syrian.” The Harp 4 (1991): 145–59.