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IMAGES OF JOY IN EPHREM’S HYMNS ON PARADISE:

RETURNING TO THE WOMB

KATHLEEN E. MCVEY
PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

THE PARADISE HYMNS AND
THEIR STUDY TO DATE
Ephrem's fifteen Hymns on Paradise belong
to the earlier, Nisibene, phase of his life.1
They abound in appealing images of bliss—
most of them clearly rooted in the first chap-
ters of the Biblical book of Genesis. Ephrem
superimposes the images of mountain and
enclosed garden, both traditional images
across a broad swath of Near Eastern cul-
ture, to provide a rich and dazzling mix of
metaphors. In an enlightening article, Nico-
las Séd has sketched the resultant topogra-
phy, and he has suggested links with rab-
binic and Kabbalistic literature.2 Tryggve
Kronholm has identified substantial further
materials shared with rabbinic exegetical
traditions.3 Sebastian Brock has identified
parallels in Greek patristic literature to cer-
tain aspects of Ephrem's portrayal of para-
dise,4 and he and others have found similar
concepts in a variety of later religious litera-
ture—Jewish, Syriac and western Christian,
and most recently Baha'i.5 Finally, many of
the concepts and metaphors central to
Ephrem's theology are present in these
hymns.6 Among those concepts and meta-
phors are the maternal images of the womb
¾ÁÍî or ¾èûÜ, the act of giving birth ÀÊàØ,
and suckling of infants úæØ or úæØJ the
participle—in the Pe`al or Ethpe`el of the
infant's action; in the Pa`el or Af`el of the
mother's—úæØ and úæØ~ respectively. These
images figure prominently in every aspect of
Ephrem's theology: the inner life of the De-
ity, creation, the incarnation, mariology,
biblical history, the sacraments, and spiritual
development.7 More important than the
mere occurrence of this symbolism in a
wide variety of contexts is the vital integra-
tive role these symbols play for his entire
theological system. They have gained atten-
tion in his corpus in general, but their pres-
ence in the Paradise Hymns has not yet been
fully explored. That is my subject here. Af-
ter a brief excursus on Ephrem's use of
metaphor, our question will be threefold:
1) What is the particular content of the fe-
male imagery in this group of hymns?
2) What is its contribution to his vision of
paradise?
3) How is it related to female imagery else-
where in Ephrem's writings?

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Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003) - Page 1
Images of Joy in Ephrem’s Hymns on Paradise
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sort of “milk” on which living beings are
suckled at various levels of reality: in the
mundane world, air is life-giving for plants,
fire and human souls; in Paradise spirit or
air will provide spiritual nourishment.
Ephrem seems to intend a distinction be-
tween the foods of these two realms (and
perhaps another distinction for the air pro-
vided to the fiery stars) since he specifies
that “that which is spiritual has spirit68 as its
nourishment” (Parad. IX:10.6). But unlike
the English his Syriac terminology does not
provide a clear distinction between
“wind” (or “breeze”) and “spirit”. In both
realms there seems to be a mother who
suckles, but again, Ephrem gives no clear
indication whether these are distinctive be-
ings, nor is it clear whether he intends only a
simile or some sort of cosmic or divine
being(s). In Ephrem's fourth Nativity Hymn
a similar concept appears to be identified
both with Wisdom and with the Son of God:
The Lofty One became like a little
child, yet hidden in him was
a treasure of all wisdom ¿ÎÄ
K
¿ÿãÝσ 69
that suffices for all.
He was lofty, but he was suckled with
Mary's milk,
and with His blessings all creation is
suckled.
He is the Living Breast of living
breath;
by His life the dead were suckled, and
they revived.
Without the breath of air no one can
live;
without the power of the Son no one
can rise.
Upon the living breath of the One
Who vivifies all
depend the living beings above and
below.
As indeed he was suckled with Mary's
milk,
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Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003) - Page 13
He has suckled the universe with life
(Nat. IV:148-153).70
The association of Christ with Wisdom is
well-established in Christian literature long
before Ephrem's time.71 Likewise both Wis-
dom and Christ are attested in the role of
suckling mother in the Alexandrian con-
text.72 Although explicit reference to Christ
as Wisdom is rare in the Greek and Latin
Christian theological literature of the fourth
century, it continues in devotional litera-
ture.73 The Odes of Solomon attest the theme
of suckling in the Syriac Christian theologi-
cal context.74 Ephrem himself often uses this
theme, but he, like the author of the nine-
teenth Ode, uses the image without explicit
mention of a female personification of Wis-
dom.75
But what of the association of maternal
imagery with the notion of air as life-
sustaining? For this the Stoics come to mind
for two reasons: First, they understood
breath or air (Greek pneuma) as the princi-
ple of vitality both in the human being and
in the universe.76 Second, they associated air
with a female deity, Hera, and they ascribed
cosmogonic allegorical meaning to ancient
texts and images concerning her.77 There are
other indications of Stoic influence on
Ephrem's worldview.78 Again, I suggest a
possible and partial explanation of the
Syriac poet-theologian's imagery here.
Like his subject, the Paradise awaiting
the faithful followers of an ineffable and
mysterious God, Ephrem himself defies
analysis. His use of female imagery in the
Hymns on Paradise is unique not only with
respect to the recorded views of his
Christian contemporaries in other cultural
environments but also with respect to his
own rich imagery in the rest of his corpus.
Yet despite his insistence on the elusiveness
Images of Joy in Ephrem’s Hymns on Paradise
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of these mysteries, we know that he wrote When that fails, the process may be reversed
these hymns in Nisibis in the early fourth to use his words to provide evidence of
century. Historians will continue to look for the intellectual environment of Nisibis in
evidence of mundane influence on his thought. his time.

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Journal of the Canadian Society for Syriac Studies 3 (2003) - Page 14