The Twenty-Two Alphabetic Sections (ʾAlefat) of Psalm 118 (119) in the Ethiopic Andəmta Tradition: A Comparative Study of the Hebrew, Greek, and Geʿez Interpretive Heritage

This paper examines the twenty-two alphabetic sections (ʾAlephat) of Psalm 118 (119) in the Ethiopic Geʿez Andəmta tradition, focusing on their theological, exegetical, and historical significance. The study presents and analyzes the interpretations of all twenty-two ʾAlephat, while using the Hebrew and Greek traditions as comparative frameworks for identifying continuities, divergences, and distinctive features of the Geʿez reception. A significant feature of the Ethiopian tradition is its association of the twenty-two ʾAlephat with Adam. The Andəmta states, "አሌፍ ማለት አንድ እግዚአብሔር ማለት ነው" '(ʾAleph means the One God) and records that Adam prayed the twenty-two ʾAlephat for seven years while he was in Paradise; after he ate the fig tree and sinned, they were hidden from him'. A Geʿez witness in the Institute of Ethiopian Studies Library (MS 725) further interprets ʾAleph as "አብ ፈጣሬ ኵሉ ዓለም" (the Father, Creator of the whole world). By examining these traditions as a whole, the study demonstrates how Ethiopian exegesis invests the Psalm's alphabetic structure with theological and historical meaning, contributing to a deeper understanding of the distinctive Geʿez reception of Psalm 118 (119).

Senkoris Ayalew Kassa, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Geʿez Philology and Head of the Department of Geʿez Language and Literature at the College of Social Science and Humanities, University of Gondar, Ethiopia. His research lies at the intersection of Geʿez philology, Ethiopian manuscript traditions, biblical and hagiographic literature, textual criticism, traditional Ethiopian interpretation, and the intellectual heritage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church.

He completed his doctoral research in Linguistics and Philology at Addis Ababa University. His doctoral dissertation, Gadla ʾElǝyās (Elijah the Prophet): Critical Edition, Annotated Translation, and Textual Commentary, was successfully defended on 16 June 2025. The study establishes and examines the Geʿez textual tradition concerning the Prophet Elijah and investigates its reception within Ethiopia's traditional ʾAbǝnnät educational system, including the qǝne and zemā traditions.

His earlier graduate research at Addis Ababa University examined The Ethiopic Semiosis: History, Application and Interpretation With Reference to the Hymnal Books of St. Yared. Completed in 2018, this study investigated the history, categories, interpretation, and practical application of Ethiopic systems of notation, including alphabetic and non-alphabetic signs associated with Geʿez and Amharic hymnal traditions.

Kassa has participated in the international research project "Documenting an Ancient Education System in Africa: ʾAbǝnnät Tǝmhǝrt in Ethiopia," developed in cooperation with the Hiob Ludolf Centre for Ethiopian and Eritrean Studies at the University of Hamburg. The project documents the curriculum, manuscript culture, pedagogical practices, and continuing intellectual traditions of Ethiopia's ancient system of ecclesiastical education.

His scholarship combines manuscript study with philological analysis, critical editing, translation, literary interpretation, and investigation of the living transmission of Geʿez texts. His work is particularly concerned with the ways ancient and medieval texts continue to function within Ethiopian traditions of biblical interpretation, hymnody, education, qǝne poetry, zemā, and liturgical learning.

His conference presentation extends these interests into comparative biblical interpretation by examining the twenty-two alphabetic divisions of Psalm 118 (119) in the Ethiopian Andəmta tradition in relation to Hebrew and Greek textual and interpretive heritage.