209:. Van Voorst adds two factors that indicate Mara was not a Christian, the first being his failure to mention the terms Jesus or Christ. The second factor (also supported by Chilton and Evans) is that Mara's statement that Jesus lives on based on the wisdom of his teachings, in contrast to the Christian concept that Jesus continues to live through his
196:
Thou hast heard, moreover, concerning our companions, that, when they were leaving
Samosata, they were distressed about it, and, as if complaining of the time in which their lot was cast, said thus: "We are now far removed from our home, and we cannot return again to our city, or behold our people,
608:
229:
120:
61:
216:
Chilton and Evans also state that the use of the term "wise king" to refer to Jesus (rather than a religious designation) indicates that Mara's perception of the events had been formed by non-Christian sources. They state that the term "king of the Jews" has never been seen in the
Christian
236:
One of his friends asked Mara, son of
Serapion, when in bonds at his side: “Nay, by thy life, Mara, tell me what cause of laughter thou hast seen, that thou laughest.” “I am laughing,” said Mara, “at Time: inasmuch as, although he has not borrowed any evil from me, he is paying me
132:
and various scholars have presented arguments for each date. Robert Van Voorst (who himself thinks the letter was composed in the second century) states that most scholars date the letter to shortly after AD 73 during the first century.
123:
begins with: "Mara, son of
Serapion, to Serapion, my son: peace." The letter was composed sometime between 73 AD and the 3rd century. There were three cases when captives were taken from Samosata, in 72 AD by the Romans, in 161/162 by
410:"The manuscripts arrived at the British Museum on the first of March 1843, and this portion of the collection is now numbered Add. 14,425–14,739." BL Add. 14,658 is included among these manuscripts.
205:
on the other hand states that the reference to "our gods" is a single reference, which was while quoting his fellow captives, and Mara may have been a
68:
to his son, who was named
Serapion, which refers to the execution of "the wise king of the Jews" and may be an early non-Christian reference to
1006:
31:
638:
287:
996:
592:
572:
552:
528:
508:
487:
469:
448:
428:
389:
357:
333:
310:
900:
149:
144:. Nineteenth-century records state that the manuscript containing this text was one of several manuscripts obtained by
948:
106:
by the Romans, but before the third century. Most scholars date it to shortly after AD 73 during the first century.
733:
723:
655:
115:
42:
934:
798:
913:
1001:
927:
703:
631:
403:
57:
210:
408:. Longmans & Company (printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum). pp. xiii, 1159.
918:
708:
202:
244:, who holds that Mara lived towards the end of the first century, states that his letter has strong
683:
678:
405:
Catalogue of the Syriac
Manuscripts in the British Museum Acquired since the Year 1838, Volume III
908:
894:
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624:
588:
568:
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524:
504:
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465:
444:
424:
385:
353:
329:
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283:
201:
Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough state that Mara could hardly have been a
Christian".
69:
970:
718:
165:
141:
125:
65:
822:
663:
349:
241:
173:
153:
80:
990:
783:
181:
169:
965:
145:
96:
850:
482:
Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide by Gerd
Theissen and Annette Merz (1998)
17:
975:
940:
885:
857:
742:
30:
836:
765:
693:
673:
206:
189:
303:
Evidence of Greek
Philosophical Concepts in the Writings of Ephrem the Syrian
772:
758:
713:
688:
668:
129:
84:
545:
Studying the
Historical Jesus: Evaluations of the State of Current Research
184:
states that Mara's reference to "our gods" indicates that he was neither a
280:
The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament
843:
829:
647:
257:
245:
103:
88:
76:
53:
50:
382:
Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence
804:
792:
751:
177:
29:
585:
Hierocles the Stoic: Elements of Ethics, Fragments, and Excerpts
92:
620:
185:
136:
The letter is preserved in a 6th- or 7th-century manuscript (
616:
102:
Mara's captivity took place after the AD 72 annexation of
958:
878:
814:
782:
741:
732:
654:
523:by Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough (1998)
501:
Christianity and the Roman Empire: background texts
328:edited by Frances Young, Lewis Ayres, Andrew Louth
326:
The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature
423:edited by Averil Cameron and Peter Garnsey (1998)
352:, Catherine Porter and Elizabeth Rawlings (2005)
282:by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009
217:literature of antiquity as a title for Jesus.
156:of Egypt and acquired by the Library in 1843.
75:The letter indicates that Mara's homeland was
632:
547:edited by Bruce Chilton, Craig A. Evans 1998
540:
538:
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197:or offer to our gods the greeting of praise."
87:), but his captivity appears to have been in
8:
738:
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617:
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321:
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213:, indicates that he was not a Christian.
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421:The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 13
269:
176:, among others, state that Mara was a
521:Readings from the First-Century World
441:The Roman Near East, 31 B.C.–A.D. 337
298:
296:
7:
225:The letter draws on Greek learning.
220:
49:), or "Mara son of Serapion", was a
46:
460:Craig A. Evans "Pagan sources" in
25:
462:Jesus and Philosophy: New Essays
464:edited by Paul K. Moser (2008)
942:Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
609:Text of the letter of Mara at
472:Cambridge Univ Press pp. 51–52
1:
565:Roman Syria and the Near East
380:Van Voorst, Robert E (2000).
164:A number of scholars such as
150:monastery of St. Mary Deipara
1007:Roman-era Stoic philosophers
949:Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta
503:by Ralph Martin Novak 2001
221:Mara's philosophical stance
1023:
346:The Middle East under Rome
116:Mara bar Serapion on Jesus
113:
587:by Ilaria Ramelli (2009)
232:of Mara's letter states:
95:(on the west bank of the
83:(on the west bank of the
997:1st-century philosophers
935:Enchiridion of Epictetus
567:by Kevin Butcher (2004)
159:
121:Mara's letter to his son
60:. He is only known from
928:Discourses of Epictetus
384:. Eerdmans Publishing.
58:Roman province of Syria
734:Philosophical concepts
192:, the letter stating:
35:
914:Seneca's Consolations
305:by Ute Possekel 1999
110:The letter to his son
33:
27:Ancient Syrian author
203:Robert E. Van Voorst
902:Letters to Lucilius
684:Antipater of Tarsus
679:Diogenes of Babylon
419:Sebastian Brock in
402:Wright, W. (1872).
172:, Ute Possekel and
140:14658) held by the
895:Paradoxa Stoicorum
79:, i.e. modern-day
36:
984:
983:
874:
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443:by Fergus Millar
70:Jesus of Nazareth
62:a letter he wrote
54:Stoic philosopher
39:Mara bar Serapion
34:Mara Bar Serapion
18:Mara Bar-Serapion
16:(Redirected from
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971:Stoic Opposition
959:Related articles
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47:ܡܪܐ ܒܪ ܣܪܦܝܘܢ
44:
40:
32:
19:
966:Stoa Poikile
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97:Tigris River
74:
38:
37:
976:Neostoicism
887:On Passions
858:Prohairesis
595:pp. xx–xxii
555:pp. 455–457
991:Categories
837:Eudaimonia
766:Katalepsis
694:Posidonius
674:Chrysippus
611:Wikisource
593:1589834186
573:0892367156
553:9004111425
529:080102157X
509:1563383470
488:0800631226
470:0521873363
449:0674778863
429:0521302005
390:0802843689
358:0674016831
334:0521460832
311:9042907592
264:References
248:elements.
207:monotheist
114:See also:
851:Oikeiôsis
773:Diairesis
759:Adiaphora
714:Epictetus
689:Panaetius
669:Cleanthes
392:pp. 53–56
313:pp. 29–30
190:Christian
148:from the
130:Sasanians
126:Parthians
85:Euphrates
920:Lectures
904:(Seneca)
844:Kathekon
830:Apatheia
704:Cornutus
648:Stoicism
258:Stoicism
252:See also
188:, nor a
104:Samosata
89:Seleucia
77:Samosata
784:Physics
724:more...
152:in the
138:BL Add.
56:in the
865:Sophos
823:Pathos
815:Ethics
805:Pneuma
793:Physis
699:Seneca
591:
575:p. 286
571:
551:
527:
507:
486:
468:
451:p. 507
447:
431:p. 709
427:
388:
360:p. 293
356:
336:p. 168
332:
309:
290:p. 110
286:
237:back.”
66:Syriac
51:Syriac
879:Works
752:Logos
743:Logic
511:p. 38
490:p. 78
246:stoic
178:pagan
799:Fire
589:ISBN
569:ISBN
549:ISBN
525:ISBN
505:ISBN
484:ISBN
466:ISBN
445:ISBN
425:ISBN
386:ISBN
354:ISBN
330:ISBN
307:ISBN
284:ISBN
228:The
93:Iraq
348:by
186:Jew
99:).
64:in
993::
535:^
365:^
318:^
295:^
272:^
180:.
168:,
72:.
45::
640:e
633:t
626:v
41:(
20:)
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