Sebastian P. Brock: Gabriel of Qatar's Commentary on the LiturgyHogoye 6/2 (July 2003) [http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol6No2/index.html]Abstract: The Commentary on the Liturgy (pushaq teshmshata) by Gabriel of Beth Qatraye (early seventhcentury) is preserved in a single thirteenth-century manuscript. A short introduction draws attention to theinterest of the manuscript itself (as well as its contents), and to previous studies of the Commentary. In order togive a fuller indication of its contents, an English translation of the chapter headings is given, and this isfollowed by a translation of the chapter on the eucharistic liturgy (Memra V, chapter 2). At the end, the Syriactext of chapter 2 of Memra V is also given.1. The Unique Manuscript1] The unique witness to the important Commentary on the Liturgy by the early seventh-century author,Gabriel bar Lipeh of Qatar, is a thirteenth-century manuscript in the British Library, Or. 3336. The opening ofthe text is lost, and a few folios are missing later on. Although this manuscript received a short description inMargoliouth's Descriptive List of Syriac and Karshuni MSS. in the British Museum acquired since 18311, it wasnot until 1966 that it received any serious attention. In that year S.H. Jammo published a useful - though stillbrief - description of its contents.2 In the course of his article Jammo made two important observations: the dateaccorded to Gabriel of Qatar by A. Scher and A. Baumstark (late seventh century) cannot be correct, sinceGabriel makes mention (f.109a) of Shubhalmaran, metropolitan of Karka d-Beth Slokh as still alive; this meansthat Gabriel must belong to the early decades of the seventh century. Jammo went on to identify the author withthe scribe of British Library Add.14471, written at Nisibis by a Gabriel of Qatar and dated 615; this, however,seems unlikely, for reasons I have given elsewhere.3 This earlier date is particularly important, since it meansthat Gabriel was writing before the liturgi...