Stoned-Campbell Disciple

I discovered the Odes of Solomon twenty + years ago and have loved them since. Written in Syriac or Aramaic-Syriac (possibly Greek) and dating no later than AD 125 perhaps earlier, they are a brilliant window into the worship of the early Jesus Messianic Movement. (James H. Charlesworth himself dates them to AD 100). They come from the same linguistic and cultural area Jesus and the first followers of Jesus.

The word “Christianity” is anachronistic (the word was coined sometime in the first third of the second century, not the first!) but these Odes give a look at Jewish “Christianity.” The Odes were lost and only known via references in some of the Church Fathers. However they were were rediscovered by Syriac scholar, J. Rendel Harris in 1909.

They remind us of the Psalms. After the Psalms, they have been called “the earliest Christian hymnbook.” They are striking in many way, Jesus is personified and speaks in many of the Odes. Jesus is leading worship in the Odes. Another fascinating feature of the Odes is that the Holy Spirit is consistently called “She.” In Ode 22, Jesus praises God for being sent by God, his coming into the world and resurrection from the realm of the dead, his victory over evil, resurrection of the dead and God’s renewal of creation. It is a wonderful POST-Pascha, post-Resurrection, hymn. The Battle has been won, we have a dwelling place. Charlesworth gave it the title: The Holy Ones’ Dwelling Place.

Read this and imagine being with believers in Syria in Damascus, or perhaps even in Paul’s old home church in Antioch between AD 90 and 125 (even earlier because material within the Odes was used prior to the final form of the book), and singing the following on any given First Day but likely near Pascha. This is a poetic telling of the Gospel story from the lips of Jesus leading the congregation in worship (like in Hebrews!). It is worth reflecting on in our Post-Pascha day.

“(Christ Speaks)
He [God the Father] who caused Me to descend from on high,
And to ascend from the regions below.
And He who gathers what is in the middle,
And throws them to Me.
He who scattered My enemies,
And My adversaries.
He who gave Me authority over chains,
So that I might loosen them.
He who overthrew by My hands the Dragon with seven heads,
And placed Me at his roots that I might destroy his seed.
You were there and helped Me,
And in every place Your name surrounded Me.
Your right hand destroyed the evil poison,
And Your hand leveled the way for those who believe in You.
And it chose them from the graves,
And separated them from the dead ones.
It took dead bones,
And covered them with flesh.
But they were motionless,
So it gave (them) energy for life.
Incorruptible was Your way and Your face.
You allowed your world to become corruptible,
That everything might be broken and then renewed.
And the foundation of everything is Your rock.
And upon it You built Your kingdom.
And it became the dwelling place of the holy ones.
Hallelujah.“

Quotation from James H. Charlesworth, The Earliest Christian Hymnbook, pp. 65-66. Charlesworth, a scholar at Princeton, is widely recognized as a premier scholar on the Odes of Solomon, the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism.

Hallelujah!

Related Interest
“And She …” The Feminine Holy Spirit in Ancient Christianity

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 9th, 2024 at 1:38 pm and is filed under Church History, Easter, Jesus, Worship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.