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Book of the Cock

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The Book of the Cock (alternatively the Ethiopic Book of the Cock or the Book of the Rooster;[A] Geʽez: Mäṣḥafä Dorho, መጽሐፈ፡ ዶርሆ፡; French: Le Livre du Coq[2]) is a Geʽez narrative of the passion of Jesus (a passion gospel). It was likely written in the fifth or sixth centuries and is based on an earlier version in Arabic or Greek. It has contemporary use among some Ethiopian Christians.

Description and contents[edit]

The Book of the Cock is a Geʽez narrative of the passion of Jesus (a passion gospel).[3] It is likely based on a vorlage (an earlier version) in Arabic[4] or Greek.[5] It was probably written in the 400s or 500s.[B] It uses material from the four gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John) and various other sources.[6]

It describes the final three days of Jesus's life, including a sequence where he reanimates a previously roasted rooster that spied on Judas Iscariot when he (Judas) was plotting his betrayal of Jesus.[C][8] The rooster informed Jesus and his disciples of the plan.[8] Among other events, the Book of the Rooster describes Saul of Tarsus' participation in the arrest, abuse and crucifixion of Jesus, the betrayal of Jesus by a female relative of Judas, a debate between Pilate and Herod about the culpability of Jesus, Mary's grief, John the Evangelist[1] witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus, the conversations Jesus has with two thieves he is crucified alongside – Gestas (Awsēmobyā) and Demas (Salikonilidākki) – and various other miracles Jesus performed during his life.[9]

The rooster may be based on the Ziz of Jewish mythology, a giant bird.[10]

Like the Gospel of Judas from the second century, the Book of the Rooster attempts to explain the betrayal of Judas before the Last Supper – an act which is traditionally seen as abrupt or lacking reason.[11]

History and cultural importance[edit]

In the nineteenth century, the cockerel sequence was thought to be a complete story; in 1985, biblical scholar Roger Crowley wrote that it was a sequence within a larger narrative.[12] Biblical scholar Pierluigi Piovanelli describes the Book of the Cock as a "quasi-canonical" book with prominent contemporary use in the Christian community in Ethiopia.[12] Over half of the existing manuscripts of the text (or manuscripts preserving a portion of the text) reside in Ethiopian libraries, and it has been used alongside other Christian texts in Ethiopian Holy Week activities.[13]

Notes and references[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Crowley suggested it be called The Homily and Teaching of our Fathers the Holy Apostles.[1]
  2. ^ Piovanelli 2003, p. 428, gives the date as either the fifth or sixth centuries. Piovanelli 2009, p. 226, gives the date as between 451 and 479. Kelley 2015, p. 15, gives the date as the fifth century.
  3. ^ This rooster gives the book its name.[7]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b Crowley 1985, p. 20.
  2. ^ Crowley 1985, p. 21; Le Quellec 2017, p. 342; Piovanelli 2003, p. 432; Suciu 2015, p. 251.
  3. ^ Piovanelli 2003, p. 427.
  4. ^ Piovanelli 2003, pp. 427–428.
  5. ^ Piovanelli 2009, p. 226.
  6. ^ Piovanelli 2003, p. 431.
  7. ^ Piovanelli 2003, p. 432.
  8. ^ a b Piovanelli 2003, p. 429.
  9. ^ Piovanelli 2003, pp. 430–431.
  10. ^ Piovanelli 2009, p. 229.
  11. ^ Piovanelli 2009, pp. 222–223.
  12. ^ a b Piovanelli 2003, p. 433.
  13. ^ Piovanelli 2003, pp. 434–435.

Works cited[edit]

  • Crowley, Roger W. (1985). "The so-called "Ethiopic Book of the Cock" – Part of an apocryphal passion gospel, The Homily and Teaching of our Fathers the Holy Apostles". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 117 (1): 16–22. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00154905. S2CID 162813973.
  • Kelley, Nicole (2015). "The fragmentation and inversion of empire in the Christian apocryphal acts". In Meconi, David Vincent (ed.). Sacred scripture and secular struggles. The Bible in Ancient Christianity. Brill. ISBN 9789004304567.
  • Le Quellec, Jean-Loïc [in French] (2017). "A version of the Comparative Denial in the manuscript 'Aqd al-Gahwar". Fabula. 58 (3–4): 335–342. doi:10.1515/fabula-2017-0029.
  • Piovanelli, Pierluigi (2003). "Exploring the Ethiopic Book of the Cock, an apocryphal passion gospel from late antiquity". Harvard Theological Review. 96 (4): 427–454. doi:10.1017/S0017816003000518. S2CID 162634709.
  • Piovanelli, Pierluigi (2009). "Rabbi Yehuda versus Judas Iscariot". In DeConick, April D. (ed.). The Codex Judas papers. Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies. Brill. ISBN 9789004181403.
  • Piovanelli, Pierluigi. “Livre du Coq.” Pages 137–203 dans Tome 2 d' Écrits Apocryphes Chrétiens. Edited by Pierre Geoltrain and Jean-Daniel Kaestli. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade 516. Paris: Gallimard, 2005.
  • Suciu, Alin (2015). "The recovery of the lost fragment preserving the title of the Coptic Book of Bartholomew". Apocrypha. 26: 239–259. doi:10.1484/J.APOCRA.5.109951.
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