Armeniaca

International Journal of Armenian Studies

Yovasap‘ of Sebastia: From Adam to Noah and the Tower

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Abstract

In this article we present an annotated edition and translation of a poem probably written by Yovasap‘ Sebastac‘i (ca. 1510-after 1564). Member of a longer cycle of biblical retellings in verse, it narrates the history of the world from Adam down to the Tower of Babel. At points, Yovasap‘ departs from the biblical narrative to offer homiletic or typological elaborations, and shows a deep familiarity with numerous parabiblical traditions. The poem is a fine specimen of the Armenian embroidered Bible, and attests to the ways biblical and parabiblical traditions were accepted and developed in the Armenian literary sphere.


open access

Presentato: 27 Aprile 2025 | Pubblicato 12 Dicembre 2025 | Lingua: en

Keywords Biblical retelling • Armenian Medieval poetry • Parabiblical traditions • Pseudepigrapha • Yovasap‘ of Sebastia (Sebastac‘i) • Typology

Copyright © 2025 Dina Blokland, Nathan Daniel, Shlomi Efrati, David Neagu, Michael Stone, William Walk. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/2974-6051/2025/01/003