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.
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]
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)
