Bardaisan and the Odes of Solomon

This early discussion of the provenance of the Odes of Solomon gives great insight into the debate over the origin of this work. It is Newbold's position that it was written by Bar Daysan. Making his case Newbold offers an excellent introduction to this second-century thinker. He begins with a survey of what can be found about Bar Daysan in third- and fourth-century Christian writers and moves on to a review of the Book of the Laws of Countries. Also provided by the author is a careful review and interpretation of the Odes. Compelling, Newbold interweaves a myriad of late antique literature to make his case concerning authorship of this ancient text. The historian and the philologist will find this insight into the person of Bar Daysan and the text of the Odes of Solomon intriguing.

William Romaine Newbold (1865-1926) was a philosopher and an antiquarian. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he returned there as a Lecturer in Latin and was later promoted to Assistant Professor of Philosophy and eventually Dean of the Graduate School and later Adam Seybert Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy. His research included several ambitious archaeological and literary analyses including the presumed discovery of the tombs of St. Paul and St. Peter.