Historia Philippi (syriace)
Standard abbreviation: Hist. Phil.
Other titles: History of Philip, the Apostle and Evangelist; History of Philip in the City of Carthage
Clavis numbers: ECCA 870; CANT 253
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Acts of Philip
Compiled by Jacob A. Lollar, Abilene Christian University ([email protected])
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Lollar, Jacob A. “History of Philip.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/history-of-philip/.
Created December 2018. Most recent update August 2020.
1. SUMMARY
The History of Philip follows the apostle Philip who is commissioned by Jesus Christ to go to Carthage/Carthagene (Syr. qrṭgn’) to rid the place of the “archon of Satan.” Philip boards a ship at Caesarea in Palestine where he asks the crew to take him to his destination. The crew complain that they have not had a wind to take them for several days. Philip gathers the crew together and prays aloud to the “angel of peace” for a wind that will take them to their destination that same day, instead of the fifty-day journey that the crew says it would normally take. Upon finishing his prayer, one of the crew members, a Jew named Hanania/Ananias, reproaches Philip for believing in Jesus and blasphemes that Philip’s Lord, in fact, lies dead in Jerusalem.
When a breeze arrives, it brings with it the “angel of peace” who suspends Hanania upside down from the mast. The Jew cries out to Philip, who tells Hanania to confess his error before the angel and the crew. After confessing his blasphemy, Philip asks him if he will believe in Jesus as the Messiah of the Jews and Hanania responds with a lengthy speech recounting the history of the Jews and Christ’s involvement in that history. Philip rejoices in his new convert and the angel lets Hanania down, to the astonishment of the entire crew at what had all taken place. While they are all distracted by these events, the ship pulls within site of the lighthouse of Carthage/Carthagene. The crew is even more mystified by this event and some believe Philip to be a god himself. Hanania chastises them for not understanding the events that have just happened. Meanwhile, they pull into the dock at Carthage/Carthagene and the crew all praise the God of Philip for this miracle.
Philip disembarks and sets off to accomplish the task for which he was sent. He finds the “archon of Satan” who is described as a “Hindu” (Syr. hndwy’) who has been in the city for 3,795 years. Upon seeing Philip, the archon of Satan panics and Philip tells him to flee the area and never return to any place where followers of Jesus might be. The archon of Satan laments that he has no place to go and that he is tormented by the power, miracles, and gospel of Christ. The archon departs with his company, complaining and groaning, and sets up his throne in “Babel.” The citizens begin to praise the God of Philip and Philip preaches to them about Jesus, who is the reason the archon was dismissed. They praise Philip’s God and Philip blesses them before returning to the ship at the dock.
On the Sabbath, Hanania enters the local synagogue and the local Jewish leaders inquire of him of the veracity of the things said about Philip. Hanania encourages them to believe in Philip and convert. He recites a lengthy sermon intended to portray the Jews as obstinate enemies of their God throughout their history. This does not settle well with the Jews and one of them delivers a deadly kick to Hanania. They bury his body in the synagogue and swear an oath of secrecy. The next day, Philip prays on the ship for Hanania. In response, God causes a tunnel to form between the synagogue and the sea and channels Hanania’s corpse down to the sea. A dolphin finds the body and conveys it to the docked ship where Philip is praying. The witnesses to this event are understandably disturbed, but Philip reassures them that God will display a miracle. He thanks the dolphin and asks it to return Hanania’s corpse to where it was buried. So, the dolphin takes the body back to the synagogue and God closes the tunnel.
Philip approaches the local prefect and asks him to assemble all the Jews of the city and sit as an arbitrator between him and them. When all the parties are gathered, Philip accuses the Jews of murdering Hanania, which they deny and say that if Hanania was found among them, they would deserve death from God and Caesar. Philip spies an ox nearby and commands it to go to the synagogue and call for Hanania to come to Philip. The ox follows orders and calls for Hanania, who rises from his grave and comes (along with the ox) back to Philip. Hanania reveals that the Jews assaulted him and killed him and buried him in the synagogue. He then asks to take vengeance on the Jews. Even the ox jumps forward volunteering to slaughter them. Instead, Philip beseeches the Jews to repent and convert, as does Hanania. When they refuse, Philip orders the prefect to have the Jews exiled from the city. The text ends with 3,000 gentiles and 1,500 Jews converting and receiving baptism. The rest of the Jews moved to other cities where, later that day, the angel of the Lord kills forty of the priests of the Jews as punishment for the crucifixion of Jesus.
Named historical figures and characters: Aaron, Abel, Abraham (patriarch), Adam (patriarch), Ahab, Amos (prophet), Angel of Peace, Archon of Satan, Ashtaroth (goddess), Baal, Barak, Cain, Daniel (prophet), David (king), Deborah, Eli, Elijah (prophet), Elisha (prophet), Enoch (patriarch), Eve (matriarch), Ezekiel (prophet), Gideon, Goliath, Habakkuk (prophet), Haman, Hanania (Shadrach), Hanania/Ananias, Isaac (patriarch), Isaiah (prophet), Jacob (patriarch), Jephthah, Jeremiah (prophet), Jesus Christ, Jezebel, John (the Baptist), Jonah, Joseph, Joshua (patriarch), Malachi, Micah, Moses (patriarch), Noah (patriarch), Nun, Paraclete, Pharaoh (of Exodus), Philip (apostle), Samson (judge), Samuel (prophet), Satan, Solomon (king), Susanna, Tammuz, Zechariah (prophet).
Geographical locations: Ashdod (Azotus), Babel, Caesarea Palaestina, Carthage/Carthagene, Eden, Egypt, Gomorrah, Gibtusan (Egypt?), Horeb, Israel, Jerusalem, Palestine, Red Sea, Samaria, Sheol, Sodom.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Arabic (BHO 974)
Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Or. 1287, fols. 128v–143r (9th cent.)
Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Arab. 94, fols. 4v–8r + Add. Arab. 149, fol. 2r–4v (ca. 830–880)
Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Christ. Arab. Add. 172 (248) (ca. 1400) ~ table of contents only; catalog)
Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Christ. Arab. Add. 171 (189) (14th cent.) ~ table of contents only; catalog)
Mount Sinai, Monē tēs Hagias Aikaterinēs, ar. 539, 111v–118v (12th cent.)
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodl. Ar. 541 (Nicoll 49) fols. 114r–115v (18th cent.)
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 81, fols. 236r–240v (16th cent.)
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 4770, fols. 188v–200v (19th cent.)
Esbroeck, Michel van. “Les Actes syriaques de Philippe à Carthagène en version arabe.” OrChr 79 (1995): 120–45 (edition and translation of Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Or. 1287).
Graf, Georg. Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur. 5 vols. Rome: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1944 (manuscripts listed, vol. 1, p. 257).
3.1.2 Syriac (BHS 890)
B Berlin, Staatsbibliotek zu Berlin, Syr 74 (Sachau 9), fols. 52v–65v (1695)
I Trichur, Chaldean Syrian Church, Syr. 9, fols. 87v–97r (1615)
M Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana syr., 122, fols. 112v–135v (1670); a lacuna of ca. one folio follows fol. 125 line 8, signaled by the scribe with ellipses (…)
O London, British Library, Or. 4526, fols. 176r–190r (1726)
P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Syr. 235, fols. 55v–60v (before 1292); the earliest witness but lacks ca. two folios, between fols. 56 and 57
R London, Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, Syr. 1, fols. 107r–117r (1569); editio princeps published by William Wright
T Tehran, Chaldean Church of St. Joseph 8 (Fonds Issayi 18), fols. 79r–93r (1741/1742)
Unevaluated:
Urmia, Oroomia Mission Library, 38 (1885) ~ lost or destroyed
Urmia, Oroomia Mission Library, 103, item 8 (1715) ~ now lost
Bartella (Iraq), St. George Syrian Catholic Church, 28, fols. 46r–56v (1912)
Karkūk, Chaldean Archdiocese of Karkūk, 213, fols. 118v–133r (1723)
Wright, William, ed. Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, Edited from Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum and Other Libraries. 2 vols. London/Edinburgh: Williams & Norgate, 1871 (Syriac text based on R, vol. 1, pp. 73–99).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Kitchen, Robert A. “The History of Philip.” Pages 293–315 in vol. 2 of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. Edited by Tony Burke. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2020 (translation based on all available manuscript evidence).
Wright, William, ed. Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, Edited from Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum and Other Libraries. 2 vols. London, Edinburgh: Williams & Norgate, 1871 (English translation vol. 2, pp. 69–92).
3.3 General Works
Baumstark, Anton, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, mit Ausschluss der christlich-palästinensischen Texte. Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber, 1922(p. 68 n. 9; p. 346 n. 9).
Bovon, François, Bertrand Bouvier, and Frédéric Amsler. Acta Philippi: Textus. CCSA 11. Turnhout: Brepols, 1999.
Bovon, François and Christopher Matthews. The Acts of Philip: A New Translation. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2012.
Leloir, Louis. “Rapports entre les versions arménienne et syriaque des Actes apocryphes des Apôtres.” Pages 137–48 in Symposium Syriacum, 1976: célebré du 13 au 17 septembre 1976 au Centre Culturel “Les Fontaines” de Chantilly (France). Edited by François Graffin and Antoine Guillaumont. OCA 205. Roma: Pontificium Institutum Orientalium Studiorum, 1978.
Lipsius, Richard A. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. 2 vols. Braunschweig: C.A Schwetschke und Sohn, 1884 (vol. 2.2: 32–36).
Matthews, Christopher R. “Articulate Animals: A Multivalent Motif in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 205–32 in Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. Edited by François Bovon, Ann Graham Brock, and Christopher R. Matthews. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, 1999.
Мещерская, Елена Никитична, Апокрифические деяния апостолов. Новозаветные апокрифы в сирийской литературе. Москва: Присцельс, 1997.
Мещерская, Елена Никитична. “Апокрифические деяния апостолов.” Pages 175–359 in Новозаветные апокрифы. Edited by Ершов, Сергей Алексеевич. Александрийская библиотека. С.-Петербург: Амфора, 2001.
Otero, Aurelio de Santos. “Later Acts of Apostles.” Pages 426–82 in New Testament Apocrypha. Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects. Edited by Wilhem Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McLachlan Wilson. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1992 (see pp. 473–74).
Ruani, Flavia. “Peut-on parler de testimonia dans l’Histoire de Philippe syriaque?” Pages 341–56 in La littérature apocryphe chrétienne et les Écritures juives. Actes du Colloque International pour la Littérature Apocryphe Chrétienne, Strasbourg, janvier 2010. Edited by Rémi Gounelle and Benoît Mounier. Publications de l’Institut romand des sciences bibliques 7. Lausanne: Éditions du Zèbre, 2015.
Ruani, Flavia and Émilie Villey. “Recherches sur la transmission manuscrite syriaque de l’Histoire de Philippe.” Pages 385–420 in Manuscripta Syriaca: Des sources de première main. Edited by Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet and Muriél Debié. Cahiers d’études syriaques 4. Paris: Geuthner, 2015.
Spittler, Janet E. “Wild Kingdom: Animal Episodes in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 65–76 in The Ancient Novel and Early Christian and Jewish Narrative: Fictional Intersections. Edited by Marília P. Futre Pinheiro, Judith Perkins, and Richard Pervo. Ancient Narrative Supplementum 16. Groningen: Barkhuis, 2012.
__________. Animals in the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles: The Wild Kingdom of Early Christian Literature. WUNT II 247. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
Villey, Émilie. “Les Écritures juives dans la version syriaque de l’Histoire de Philippe.” Pages 325–39 in La littérature apocryphe chrétienne et les Écritures juives. Actes du Colloque International pour la Littérature Apocryphe Chrétienne, Strasbourg, janvier 2010. Edited by Rémi Gounelle and Benoît Mounier. Publications de l’Institut romand des sciences bibliques 7. Lausanne: Éditions du Zèbre, 2015.