Yoḥannan bar Zoʿbi (12th/13th cent.) [Ch. of E.]
Learned monk and author. He studied under Shemʿon Shanqlawi and was a monk of the famous monastery of Beth Qoqa in Adiabene; his fame as a scholar was such that he attracted pupils also from the Syr. Orth. Church, among them Yaʿqub bar Shakko. He was the author of an important grammar (unpublished) and a number of verse works on philosophy and on liturgy. His theological compendium Zqorā mlaḥḥmā (‘Well-woven fabric’) exists in several mss. and is quoted in later E.-Syr. literature.
- J. Isaac, ‘Le baptême et le levain sacré par Johannan bar Zoʿbi’, Bayn al-Nahrayn 16 (61–2) (1988), 108–31. (photographic edition with AT)
- A. Khoraiche, ‘L’explication de tous les mystères divins’ de Yohannan bar Zoʿbi selon le ms Borg. sir. 90’, Euntes Docete 19 (1966), 386–426. (FT)
- T. Mannooramparampil, John ba Zoʿbi. Explanation of the Divine Mysteries (Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, India 157, 1992). (ET)
- Baumstark, Literatur, 310–1. (for mss.)
- G. Bohas, Les bgdkpt en syriaque selon Bar Zoʿbi (2005).
- H. Daiber, ‘Ein vergessener syrischer Text: Bar Zoʿbi über die Teile der Philosophie’, OC 69 (1985), 73–80.
- A. Merx, Historia Artis Grammaticae apud Syros (1889), 158–77.
- C. Van den Eynde, Commentaire d’Išoʿdad de Merv sur l’Ancien Testament, VI. Psaumes (CSCO 434; 1981), XXXVIII–XXXIX.
- D. Webb, ‘The mimra on the interpretation of the Mysteries by Rabban Johannan bar Zoʿbi and its symbolism’, LM 88 (1975), 297–326.
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
How to Cite This Entry
Footnote Style Citation with Date:
Sebastian P. Brock , “Yoḥannan bar Zoʿbi,” in Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay (Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018), https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Yohannan-bar-Zobi.
Bibliography Entry Citation:
Brock, Sebastian P. “Yoḥannan bar Zoʿbi.” In Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Edited by Sebastian P. Brock, Aaron M. Butts, George A. Kiraz and Lucas Van Rompay. Digital edition prepared by David Michelson, Ute Possekel, and Daniel L. Schwartz. Gorgias Press, 2011; online ed. Beth Mardutho, 2018. https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Yohannan-bar-Zobi.
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