Aaron Michael Butts
Biographic Data
| ID | 1422874 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Aaron Michael Butts |
| GIVEN NAMES | Aaron Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Butts |
| SIGNATURE | BUTTS A M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Universität Hamburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2768-3863 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Ezana of Aksum: The First Christian African King
This article reinterprets the fourth-century Aksumite king Ezana's adoption of Christianity through contemporaneous coins and inscriptions, challenging the regnant scholarly narrative derived from church historians, especially Rufinus’s Ecclesiastical History. It argues that Ezana—like Constantine a few decades earlier—used Christianity strategically, projecting his faith differently to distinct audiences for political effect. By reframing Ezana'…
An Ethiopic 'Homily on Peter' attributed to Ephrem
An edition, with English translation, is provided of an Ethiopic ‘Homily on Peter’, attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d.373), which is uniquely attested in MS Ethio-SPaRe UM-046, fols 148v–151v. This Ethiopic homily ultimately goes back—undoubtedly via Arabic—to a Syriac stanzaic poem (soḡiṯā) recently edited by S. P. Brock
The Ethiopic Homily on Holy Easter attributed to John Theologos and its Arabic Vorlage (CPG 4163.2)
In the standard reference works for Ethiopian and Eritrean studies, one finds a Homily on Holy Easter (CAe 1265) attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus and identified as one of his Orations (CPG 3010). Both the attribution and identification are, however, incorrect. Rather, this Homily on Holy Easter, which is actually attributed to an otherwise unknown John Theologos in the earliest recoverable layer of the Ethiopic tradition, is to be identified as…
Once Again on ʾbk wdm in Ethiopian Sabaic
In an article published in this journal in 2010, Norbert Nebes argued that ʾbk wdm is an apotropaic formula, which can be translated, for instance in the case of RIÉ 9, as ‘und Waddum ist dein (göttlicher) Vater als Schutz vor einem Widersacher’ (wʾbk wdm [b]n ʿtkm). In contrast, it is proposed here that ʾbk wdm continues the previous list of deity names, as already suggested in 1976 by Roger Schneider. Key to this argument is the distribution of…
Aaron Michael Butts, new Professor of Semitic Studies with a focus on Ethiopian and Eritrean studies at Universität Hamburg, with the project BeInf—Beyond Influence: The Connected Histories of Ethiopi…
Academic News
Clavis to the Metrical Homilies of Narsai
Narsai (died approximately 500) is a foundational East Syriac theologian and exegete and among the most important and influential Syriac authors more broadly. The present volume serves as a clavis to the more than eighty metrical homilies (memre) attributed to him. The first part consists of the clavis itself: It is organized by homily providing for each a number, a short title, the incipit, the manuscript attestation, previous editions and trans…
Good News (šimûtu)
In this note, we discuss the Akkadian word šimûtu, which is not recorded in either of the standard Akkadian dictionaries but is attested in two Neo-Babylonian documents, one Neo-Babylonian inscription, and one commentarial explanation from the Seleucid period. The commentarial explanation confirms the word's meaning as "(good) news," previously suggested by some scholars. We propose that the Akkadian word was replicated on the model of Aramaic *š…
Etymology of Aramaic (and Hebrew) √prns 'to distribute, supply
The Aramaic verbal root √prns 'to distibute, supply' is first attested in the Middle Aramaic period (Palmyrene Aramaic and Targum Jonathan). It is then widely attested across all of the dialects of Late Aramaic. Outside of Aramaic, the root √prns is also found in post-Biblical Hebrew. A number of proposals have been made for the etymology of this root, but there continues to be no consensus on this question. The present note argues that the verba…
Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium
Scholarly interest in intersections between Jews and Syriac Christians has experienced a boom in recent years. This is the result of a series of converging trends in the study of both groups and their cultural productions. The present volume contributes to this developing conversation by collecting sixteen studies that investigate a wide range of topics, from questions of origins to the development of communal boundaries, from social interactions…
Narsai: Rethinking his Work and his World
Narsai († ca. 500) was a founding theologian of the Church of the East. Active first at the School of the Persians in Edessa and later at the School of Nisibis, Narsai creatively synthesized his native Syriac tradition with the newly translated works of Antiochene theology and exegesis. In a time of theological upheaval, his works helped forge a new theological tradition in Syriac. This groundbreaking collection of original essays refocuses atten…
Reclaiming Narsai’s Mēmrā of the Feast of the Victorious Cross
In this article, I discuss the authorship of a mmr with the incipit 'In the path of the divine mysteries, I have girded myself to walk' ( ) that is found in four manuscripts that mostly contain mmr attributed to Narsai (d. ca. 500). Macomber read the heading of the mmr in question as mr(y) lib zk ( ,) which he took to refer to the author of the homily: 'an otherwise unknown libazka' in his words. Departing from Macomber and building upon a previo…
Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium
The present volume consists of sixteen studies concerned with intersections between Jews and Syriac Christians over the first millennium CE, investigating a wide range of topics, from questions of origins to the development of communal boundaries, from social interactions to shared historical conditions.
The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’: From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr
The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reeva…
An Early Ethiopic Manuscript Fragment (Twelfth–Thirteenth Century) from the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt)
This article presents a single fragmentary folio that was recently uncovered in excavations at the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt). This folio was discovered in a secondary deposit below the foundations of a church which was in all likelihood constructed in the 1230s. A radiocarbon dating of the folio has returned a date of 1160–1265. Together, these two data make this fragmentary folio the earliest securely datable specimen of an Ethiopic manuscr…
Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context
"Although it is widely acknowledged that Syriac was influenced by Greek, the specific contours of this interaction remain unclear. This study aims to present a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. More specifically, the study intends to show that Syriac is the outcome of a particular socio-linguistic situation in which inherited Aramaic material was augmented and adapted through contact with Greek. To demonstrate this, …
Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context
It is well documented that one of the primary catalysts of intense language contact is the expansion of empire. This is true not only of recent history, but it is equally applicable to the more remote past. An exemplary case (or better: cases) of this involves Aramaic. Due to the expansions of empires, Aramaic has throughout its long history been in contact with a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Arabic, and various dialects of Ir…
A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls. Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia . By Marco Moriggi. Magical and Religious Literature of Late Antiquity 3. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Pp. xviii + 278.…
The Etymology and Derivation of the Syriac Adverbial Ending -ɔʾiθ
A Sahidic Fragment of Matthew 17: 20-18:22
An Early Ethiopic Manuscript Fragment (Twelfth–Thirteenth Century) from the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt)
This article presents a single fragmentary folio that was recently uncovered in excavations at the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt). This folio was discovered in a secondary deposit below the foundations of a church which was in all likelihood constructed in the 1230s. A radiocarbon dating of the folio has returned a date of 1160–1265. Together, these two data make this fragmentary folio the earliest securely datable specimen of an Ethiopic manuscr…
A Sahidic Fragment of Matthew 17: 20-18:22
The Etymology and Derivation of the Syriac Adverbial Ending -ɔʾiθ
A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls. Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia . By Marco Moriggi. Magical and Religious Literature of Late Antiquity 3. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Pp. xviii + 278.…
Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context
"Although it is widely acknowledged that Syriac was influenced by Greek, the specific contours of this interaction remain unclear. This study aims to present a new analysis of contact-induced changes in Syriac due to Greek. More specifically, the study intends to show that Syriac is the outcome of a particular socio-linguistic situation in which inherited Aramaic material was augmented and adapted through contact with Greek. To demonstrate this, …
Language Change in the Wake of Empire: Syriac in Its Greco-Roman Context
It is well documented that one of the primary catalysts of intense language contact is the expansion of empire. This is true not only of recent history, but it is equally applicable to the more remote past. An exemplary case (or better: cases) of this involves Aramaic. Due to the expansions of empires, Aramaic has throughout its long history been in contact with a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Arabic, and various dialects of Ir…
The History of the ‘Slave of Christ’: From Jewish Child to Christian Martyr
The first critical editions and English translations of the two Syriac recensions of a fascinating text which narrates the story of a young Jewish child, Asher. After converting to Christianity and taking the name ʿAḇdā da-Mšiḥā (‘slave of Christ’), he is martyred by his father. In a detailed introduction, Butts and Gross challenge the use of this text by previous scholars as evidence for historical interactions between Jews and Christians, reeva…
An Early Ethiopic Manuscript Fragment (Twelfth–Thirteenth Century) from the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt)
This article presents a single fragmentary folio that was recently uncovered in excavations at the Monastery of St Antony (Egypt). This folio was discovered in a secondary deposit below the foundations of a church which was in all likelihood constructed in the 1230s. A radiocarbon dating of the folio has returned a date of 1160–1265. Together, these two data make this fragmentary folio the earliest securely datable specimen of an Ethiopic manuscr…
Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium
Scholarly interest in intersections between Jews and Syriac Christians has experienced a boom in recent years. This is the result of a series of converging trends in the study of both groups and their cultural productions. The present volume contributes to this developing conversation by collecting sixteen studies that investigate a wide range of topics, from questions of origins to the development of communal boundaries, from social interactions…
Narsai: Rethinking his Work and his World
Narsai († ca. 500) was a founding theologian of the Church of the East. Active first at the School of the Persians in Edessa and later at the School of Nisibis, Narsai creatively synthesized his native Syriac tradition with the newly translated works of Antiochene theology and exegesis. In a time of theological upheaval, his works helped forge a new theological tradition in Syriac. This groundbreaking collection of original essays refocuses atten…
Reclaiming Narsai’s Mēmrā of the Feast of the Victorious Cross
In this article, I discuss the authorship of a mmr with the incipit 'In the path of the divine mysteries, I have girded myself to walk' ( ) that is found in four manuscripts that mostly contain mmr attributed to Narsai (d. ca. 500). Macomber read the heading of the mmr in question as mr(y) lib zk ( ,) which he took to refer to the author of the homily: 'an otherwise unknown libazka' in his words. Departing from Macomber and building upon a previo…
Jews and Syriac Christians: Intersections across the First Millennium
The present volume consists of sixteen studies concerned with intersections between Jews and Syriac Christians over the first millennium CE, investigating a wide range of topics, from questions of origins to the development of communal boundaries, from social interactions to shared historical conditions.
Clavis to the Metrical Homilies of Narsai
Narsai (died approximately 500) is a foundational East Syriac theologian and exegete and among the most important and influential Syriac authors more broadly. The present volume serves as a clavis to the more than eighty metrical homilies (memre) attributed to him. The first part consists of the clavis itself: It is organized by homily providing for each a number, a short title, the incipit, the manuscript attestation, previous editions and trans…
Good News (šimûtu)
In this note, we discuss the Akkadian word šimûtu, which is not recorded in either of the standard Akkadian dictionaries but is attested in two Neo-Babylonian documents, one Neo-Babylonian inscription, and one commentarial explanation from the Seleucid period. The commentarial explanation confirms the word's meaning as "(good) news," previously suggested by some scholars. We propose that the Akkadian word was replicated on the model of Aramaic *š…
Etymology of Aramaic (and Hebrew) √prns 'to distribute, supply
The Aramaic verbal root √prns 'to distibute, supply' is first attested in the Middle Aramaic period (Palmyrene Aramaic and Targum Jonathan). It is then widely attested across all of the dialects of Late Aramaic. Outside of Aramaic, the root √prns is also found in post-Biblical Hebrew. A number of proposals have been made for the etymology of this root, but there continues to be no consensus on this question. The present note argues that the verba…
Once Again on ʾbk wdm in Ethiopian Sabaic
In an article published in this journal in 2010, Norbert Nebes argued that ʾbk wdm is an apotropaic formula, which can be translated, for instance in the case of RIÉ 9, as ‘und Waddum ist dein (göttlicher) Vater als Schutz vor einem Widersacher’ (wʾbk wdm [b]n ʿtkm). In contrast, it is proposed here that ʾbk wdm continues the previous list of deity names, as already suggested in 1976 by Roger Schneider. Key to this argument is the distribution of…
Aaron Michael Butts, new Professor of Semitic Studies with a focus on Ethiopian and Eritrean studies at Universität Hamburg, with the project BeInf—Beyond Influence: The Connected Histories of Ethiopi…
Academic News
The Ethiopic Homily on Holy Easter attributed to John Theologos and its Arabic Vorlage (CPG 4163.2)
In the standard reference works for Ethiopian and Eritrean studies, one finds a Homily on Holy Easter (CAe 1265) attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus and identified as one of his Orations (CPG 3010). Both the attribution and identification are, however, incorrect. Rather, this Homily on Holy Easter, which is actually attributed to an otherwise unknown John Theologos in the earliest recoverable layer of the Ethiopic tradition, is to be identified as…
An Ethiopic 'Homily on Peter' attributed to Ephrem
An edition, with English translation, is provided of an Ethiopic ‘Homily on Peter’, attributed to Ephrem the Syrian (d.373), which is uniquely attested in MS Ethio-SPaRe UM-046, fols 148v–151v. This Ethiopic homily ultimately goes back—undoubtedly via Arabic—to a Syriac stanzaic poem (soḡiṯā) recently edited by S. P. Brock
Ezana of Aksum: The First Christian African King
This article reinterprets the fourth-century Aksumite king Ezana's adoption of Christianity through contemporaneous coins and inscriptions, challenging the regnant scholarly narrative derived from church historians, especially Rufinus’s Ecclesiastical History. It argues that Ezana—like Constantine a few decades earlier—used Christianity strategically, projecting his faith differently to distinct audiences for political effect. By reframing Ezana'…
History (13 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (10 works) · Art (9 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · African history and culture analysis (6 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (6 works) · Classics (6 works) · Historical and Linguistic Studies (5 works) · Literature (5 works)