Odes

A collection for worship that brings biblical songs together after the Psalms.^{1 2}

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At a glance

Genre: Canticles: songs collected for worship.^{1 2}
Compiler: Unknown, according to Annette Potgieter (2022).^{3 4}
Earliest witness: Fifth-century Codex Alexandrinus, according to Potgieter.^{3 5}
Length: 14 canticles in Codex Alexandrinus; other collections vary.^{3 5}

Summary

Songs familiar from Exodus and Luke become a collection for worship beside the Psalms. The Odes gather Moses's songs and those of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon, along with the Prayer of Manasseh and a Morning Hymn. Critical scholar Annette Potgieter (2022) says the compiler and date are unknown. Fifth-century Codex Alexandrinus has a different order from Rahlfs's edition.^{20 sources}20 sources1. Swete 2. Potgieter 6. Exodus 15:1–19 7. Deuteronomy 32:1–43 3. Potgieter 8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini 17. Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three 1:1–68 18. Prayer of Manasseh 1:1–15 19. Luke 2:14 4. Swete 5. Martini 20. this site's data

Moses’s two songs
Alexandrinus: Odes 1–2
The first two Odes are Moses’s song at the sea from Exodus 15 and his song from Deuteronomy 32.^{6 7 3}
Prayers and prophetic songs
Alexandrinus: Odes 3–8
Prayers from Hannah, Isaiah, Jonah, Habakkuk and Hezekiah precede Manasseh’s.^{8 sources}8 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter 17. Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three 1:1–68 18. Prayer of Manasseh 1:1–15
Azariah and the three young men
Alexandrinus: Odes 9–10
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men follow.^{17 18 3}
Gospel songs and the Morning Hymn
Alexandrinus: Odes 11–14
Songs of Mary, Simeon and Zechariah precede the Morning Hymn.^{5 sources}5 sources13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini 19. Luke 2:14

Stories

Moses at the sea
Alexandrinus: Ode 1
The first Ode is Moses’s song at the sea from Exodus 15.^{6 7 3}
Three voices from Luke
Alexandrinus: Odes 11–13
Mary, Simeon and Zechariah’s songs come from Luke.^{4 sources}4 sources13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Exodus 15:1–19 · Alexandrinus: Ode 1
The first Ode collects Moses’s song at the sea.^{6 7 3}
Deuteronomy 32:1–43 · Alexandrinus: Ode 2
Moses’s Deuteronomy song follows.^{6 7 3}
1 Samuel 2:1–10 · Alexandrinus: Ode 3
Hannah’s prayer joins the collection.^{6 sources}6 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter
Isaiah 26:9–20 · Alexandrinus: Ode 4
The collection draws a song from Isaiah 26.^{6 sources}6 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter
Jonah 2:2–9 · Alexandrinus: Ode 5
Jonah’s prayer appears here; Greek numbering differs.^{6 sources}6 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter
Habakkuk 3:1–19 · Alexandrinus: Ode 6
Habakkuk’s prayer supplies another canticle.^{6 sources}6 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter
Isaiah 38:10–20 · Alexandrinus: Ode 7
Hezekiah’s prayer comes from Isaiah 38.^{6 sources}6 sources8. 1 Samuel 2:1–10 9. Habakkuk 3:1–19 10. Isaiah 26:9–20 11. Jonah 2:3–10 12. Isaiah 38:10–20 3. Potgieter
Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three 1:1–68 · Alexandrinus: Odes 9–10
These collect Azariah’s prayer and the three young men’s song.^{17 18 3}
Luke 1:46–55 · Alexandrinus: Ode 11
The Odes collect Mary’s song, also called the Magnificat, from Luke.^{4 sources}4 sources13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini
Luke 2:29–32 · Alexandrinus: Ode 12
The Odes include three songs from Luke: Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus and Simeon’s Nunc dimittis.^{4 sources}4 sources13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini
Luke 1:68–79 · Alexandrinus: Ode 13
Ode 13 contains Zechariah’s song from Luke 1:68–79, the Benedictus.^{4 sources}4 sources13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini

Echoes and allusions

Luke 2:14 · Alexandrinus: Ode 14
The Morning Hymn opens with wording from Luke 2:14.^{16 19}

Where each church stands

Odes Full table →

Protestant: Not included²¹
Catholic: Not included²²
Greek Orthodox: In worship
Biblical canticles sung at Orthros; not a book in the Church of Greece OT.
^{23 24}
Russian (Slavonic) Orthodox: In worship
Same canticles at Matins; not a book in the Synodal Bible.
Confidence: medium^{23 25}
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo: Not included
Cowley does not mention the Odes; Ethiopian liturgical use of canticles was not checked.
Confidence: low²⁶

Why is it beside the Psalms?

H. B. Swete (1900), a biblical scholar, describes the canticles following Psalms in Greek manuscripts. Orthodox writer Gabe Martini connects them with Matins and Vespers. Swete also documents Roman Catholic use of biblical canticles. These are histories of worship; Potgieter says the collection is rarely treated as a separate book.^{4 sources}4 sources1. Swete 2. Potgieter 16. Martini 4. Swete

A collection for worship

Orthodox

The Odes serve Orthodox worship: Martini describes nine in the Matins hymn cycle and Simeon’s song at Vespers.^{5 sources}5 sources16. Martini 4. Swete 13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32

Catholic

The songs of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon serve daily Roman worship in Swete’s 1900 account.^{5 sources}5 sources4. Swete 13. Luke 1:46–55 14. Luke 1:68–79 15. Luke 2:29–32 16. Martini

Placement and authority

Academic (critical)

Potgieter says the Odes are rarely seen as a book of their own: their place after Psalms reflects a collection of canticles.^{1 2}

Protestant: Anglican

Article VI treats the included Prayer of Manasseh as edifying reading without doctrinal authority. Gathering songs together does not give every piece the same standing.^{4 sources}4 sources27. England 1919 17. Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three 1:1–68 18. Prayer of Manasseh 1:1–15 3. Potgieter

Misconceptions

Myth These are the Odes of Solomon.
Actually: Potgieter distinguishes this biblical collection from the Odes of Solomon, a separate collection of forty-two early Christian hymns.^{5 sources}5 sources28. Potgieter 29. Potgieter 30. Potgieter 31. Harris 32. Harris

Sources

32 sources from 27 works

1
H. B. Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (Cambridge, 1900), p. 253, 'The Ecclesiastical Canticles'↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
2
Annette Potgieter, “Odes of Solomon, the LXX Odes and worship: some points of orientation”, Stellenbosch Theological Journal 8/1 (2022), p. 7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
Annette Potgieter, “Odes of Solomon, the LXX Odes and worship”
- 3
  STJ 8/1 (2022), p. 7↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h ↩ⁱ ↩^j ↩^k ↩^l ↩^m ↩ⁿ ↩^o ↩^p ↩^q
- 28
  STJ 8/1 (2022), abstract↩
- 29
  STJ 8/1 (2022), p. 3↩
- 30
  STJ 8/1 (2022), p. 2 n. 1↩
4
H. B. Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (1900), p. 254↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f
Gabe Martini, “A Christian Hymnal in the Middle of the Old Testament”
- 5
  Pravoslavie.ru, 8 August 2013↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
- 16
  Pravoslavie.ru (2013)↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h ↩ⁱ ↩^j ↩^k
6
Exodus 15:1–19↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
7
Deuteronomy 32:1–43↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
8
1 Samuel 2:1–10↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
9
Habakkuk 3:1–19↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
10
Isaiah 26:9–20↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
11
Jonah 2:3–10↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
12
Isaiah 38:10–20↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g
13
Luke 1:46–55↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
14
Luke 1:68–79↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
15
Luke 2:29–32↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e ↩^f ↩^g ↩^h
17
Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three 1:1–68↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
18
Prayer of Manasseh 1:1–15↩^a ↩^b ↩^c ↩^d ↩^e
19
Luke 2:14↩^a ↩^b ↩^c
20
Checked in this site's verse database: Odes verse rows↩
How this was derived
SELECT (SELECT count(*) FROM books WHERE osis='Odes') AS listed, (SELECT count(*) FROM verses WHERE book='Odes' OR std_book='Odes') AS verses
21
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter I.2–3↩
22
Council of Trent, Session IV (8 April 1546), Decree concerning the canonical Scriptures↩
23
Gabe Martini, 'A Christian Hymnal in the Middle of the Old Testament', Pravoslavie.ru, 8 August 2013↩^a ↩^b
24
Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, online Old Testament (Septuagint text)↩
25
Russian Synodal Bible, as published by Azbuka Very (azbyka.ru): contents and chapter notes↩
26
R. W. Cowley, 'The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Today', Ostkirchliche Studien 23 (1974) 318–323↩
27
Church of England, Articles of Religion (1571), as printed in E. J. Bicknell, A Theological Introduction to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1919), newscriptorium.com (1919), Article VI↩
J. Rendel Harris, The Odes and Psalms of Solomon, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, 1911)
- 31
  title page↩
- 32
  bibliography↩

Odes

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Moses’s two songs

Prayers and prophetic songs

Azariah and the three young men

Gospel songs and the Morning Hymn

Stories

Moses at the sea

Three voices from Luke

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Where each church stands

Odes Full table →

Why is it beside the Psalms?

A collection for worship

Orthodox

Catholic

Placement and authority

Academic (critical)

Protestant: Anglican

Misconceptions

Sources

Report a problem

At a glance

Summary

Contents

Moses’s two songs

Prayers and prophetic songs

Azariah and the three young men

Gospel songs and the Morning Hymn

Stories

Moses at the sea

Three voices from Luke

Connections to the Bible

Quotations

Echoes and allusions

Where each church stands

Odes Full table →

Why is it beside the Psalms?

A collection for worship

Orthodox

Catholic

Placement and authority

Academic (critical)

Protestant: Anglican

Misconceptions

Related books

Sources

Report a problem