Abstract:
Ephrem the Syrian’s twelfth hymn in the cycle De Virginitate is
translated and analysed. This hymn describes the temptation of
Christ by Satan as a contest in which Satan tried to humiliate
Christ, but was defeated and humiliated himself. By carefully
constructing polarities between Satan and Christ and between
Satan and Adam, Ephrem draws the reader’s attention to a
soteriological polarity that is formed between Christ and Adam. It
is concluded that Ephrem’s main concern was to highlight the
soteriological role of Christ for his audience through this
particular explication of the text of Matthew 4.
