Book of Odes (Bible)


The Book of Odes, also known as the Biblical Odes, refers to a collection of hymns and prayers referencing the Bible and used as a part of liturgies in some denominations. The biblical odes form the basis for the Eastern Orthodox canon sung during matins and other services.

Background

The Odes were thought to have existed independently prior to being compiled into a list. Hippolytus of Rome wrote homilies on the Song of the Three Holy Children and the Song of Moses in the early third century. By the 4th century, Eusebius reported that many hymns and songs had been written. The earliest surviving collection is found in the fifth century Codex Alexandrinus, which contains 14 odes appended after the Psalms. By the 6th century, the list was predominantly circulating as a collection of the first nine.

Content

Different manuscripts of the Odes contain different arrangements for the chapters. The original collection was compiled early in the Roman imperial era and consisted of Old Testament psalms not included in the Psalter. The New Testament songs were later added, and Codex Alexandrinus preserves this order. Younger manuscripts mingled the order, as is seen in the translation produces by Alfred Rahlfs.
Chapters of this book as presented by Rahlfs are:
  1. First Ode of Moses
  2. Second Ode of Moses
  3. Prayer of Anna, the Mother of Samuel
  4. Prayer of Habakkuk
  5. Prayer of Isaiah
  6. Prayer of Jonah
  7. Prayer of Azariah
  8. The Prayer of Azariah and [Song of the Three Holy Children|Song of the Three Holy Children]
  9. The Magnificat; Prayer of Mary the Theotokos
  10. The Song of the Vineyard: A Canticle of Isaiah
  11. Prayer of Hezekiah
  12. Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah when he was held captive in Babylon
  13. Nunc dimittis: Prayer of Simeon
  14. Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Canticle of the Early Morning