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ArameansThe Hexaemeron of Mor Jacob of Edessa
"It appears that the south was so named also by us Arameans. But as for the north, it is not known to us why it was called (such) by the ancient sons of Aram."
Saint Jacob of Edessa, one of the leading Syriac (Suryoyo) scholars, explains in his Hexaemeron why the cardinal directions have their names. He proudly says “us Arameans,” explicitly identifying himself as Aramean, and credits the Arameans with naming the south. He also notes that he does not know the reason behind the name for the north, which he attributes to the ancient sons of Aram, ancestors of the Arameans of his own time and thus his own ancestors.
Saint Jacob of Edessa, one of the leading Syriac (Suryoyo) scholars, explains in his Hexaemeron why the cardinal directions have their names. He proudly says “us Arameans,” explicitly identifying himself as Aramean, and credits the Arameans with naming the south. He also notes that he does not know the reason behind the name for the north, which he attributes to the ancient sons of Aram, ancestors of the Arameans of his own time and thus his own ancestors.