Early Armenian exegesis of Noah in the tenth-century manuscript Matenadaran M2679

This article examines an early Armenian parabiblical text concerning Noah preserved in manuscript M2679 (981 CE), the oldest surviving paper manuscript in Armenian. The text provides a distinctive interpretation of the biblical name-midrash on Noah found in Genesis 5:29, demonstrating how Armenian exegetical traditions both preserved and transformed biblical source material. In addition to presenting a comparative analysis of the Armenian text and its reading of its biblical source, this study reveals significant hermeneutical aspects of early medieval Armenian biblical interpretation.