8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a medieval bishop gathers the story of existence into a single hive of sacred history?
The Book of the Bee brings together biblical stories, early Christian writings, and older Syriac traditions. Solomon of Basra gathers these strands into a short course for readers who cannot study a whole library. His account moves from creation and Adam’s fall through Noah, the patriarchs, prophets, and kings.
At its center stands the life of Christ, from Mary’s family and Jesus’s birth to the crucifixion and resurrection. The final chapters turn toward Antichrist, the resurrection of the dead, and judgment. This is not scripture itself, but a medieval retelling that shows how the Christian East gathers, explains, and expands biblical stories.
What you’ll discover
- A hive of traditions Explore how Solomon draws from many sources to shape one sweeping account.
- Creation and the first families Follow the text’s account of angels, Adam, Paradise, and humanity’s earliest generations.
- From flood to kingdoms Trace Noah, Babel, patriarchs, prophets, and kings through Solomon’s gathering of biblical history.
- Christ at the center Discover the Syriac traditions Solomon gathers around Mary, Jesus, the Church, and the apostles.
- Visions of the last things Encounter the book’s account of Antichrist, the resurrection of the dead, and final judgment.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers of early Christian and Middle Eastern religious history, and anyone curious how Bible stories were retold and expanded in the medieval East. It may be less suited to those who want a single plain narrative or a modern critical study.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A bishop gathers flowers into a hive
- Creation unfolds in order, angels first
- Adam falls and the first families spread
- Flood, nations, patriarchs, prophets and kings
- Christ, the Church, and the apostles
- The last things, and how to read the book today
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- Large print hardcover
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The Book of the Bee
by Attributed to Solomon of Akhlat· 1222
A Christian sacred history traces creation to the last judgment.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A bishop gathers flowers into a hive
The author names himself Solomon and describes himself as a native of Akhlat, a town near Lake Van, and later a bishop of Basra. He belonged to the Church of the East, the Syriac-speaking Christian community that spread from Mesopotamia across Persia and into Central Asia. Western readers often call it Nestorian, though members of that Church did not use the name for themselves. His book comes out of that world of schools, monasteries and long commentary traditions.
Solomon says he wrote the work at the request of a fellow churchman. He wanted a clear and brief account that a reader could keep at hand. The image of the bee is his own. He picks out what seems sweetest and most useful from earlier writers and sets it in order.
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What is The Book of the Bee about?
It is a Syriac Christian summary of sacred history. It runs from the creation of the world and the fall of Adam through the patriarchs, prophets and Christ, to Antichrist, the resurrection and the final judgment.
Who wrote The Book of the Bee?
The work is credited to Solomon, bishop of Basra in the Church of the East, who came from Akhlat. Scholars date him to the early thirteenth century. He wrote in Syriac.
Why is it called The Book of the Bee?
The author compares himself to a bee that gathers a little from many flowers. He collects the best material from the Bible, Church writers and Syriac traditions and brings it together in one book.
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