Book of Odes (Bible)

The Book of Odes (Ancient Greek: Ὠδαί), 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.

Not to be confused with Odes of Solomon.

Background

The Odes were thought to have existed independently prior to being compiled in to 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Content

Chapters of this book as presented by Rahlfs are:^[3]

1. First Ode of Moses (Exodus 15:1–19)
2. Second Ode of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43)
3. Prayer of Anna, the Mother of Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1–10)
4. Prayer of Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:2–19)
5. Prayer of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:9–20)
6. Prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2:3–10)
7. Prayer of Azariah (Daniel 3:26–45, a deuterocanonical portion)
8. Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3:52–90, a deuterocanonical portion)
9. The Magnificat; Prayer of Mary the Theotokos (Luke 1:46–55)
10. The Song of the Vineyard: A Canticle of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1–7)
11. Prayer of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:10–20)
12. Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah when he was held captive in Babylon (ref. in 2 Chronicles 33:11–13 and appears also as a separate deuterocanonical book)
13. Nunc dimittis; Prayer of Simeon (Luke 2:29–32)
14. Gloria in Excelsis Deo; Canticle of the Early Morning (some lines from Luke 2:14, and Psalm 35:10-11; 118:12; and 144:2)

See also

• Deuterocanonical books in Orthodox Christianity
• Odes of Solomon