THE TIPOLOGY OF BIBLICAL FIGURES IN HAGIOGRAPHY OF SAINT SIMEON BY SAINT SAVA. AN EXAMPLE OF JACOB – ISRAEL

Abstract

The biblical symbols, images and metaphors, as well as the comparison of Stefan Nemanja
to Old and New Testament characters, are a core part of the Hagiography of Saint Simeon
by Saint Sava. The goal of this paper is to present the context and ideological framing in
which the most common biblical parallels appear. In the key scenes, around which this
Hagiography is organized, Jacob from the Old Testament, progenitor of the Israelites, is
chosen as the inspiration for Stefan Nemanja. The series of parallels between Stefan
Nemanja and Jacob, Saint Sava begins with a blessing in which Isaac names his younger
son Jacob as heir, which parallels Nemanja’s act of naming Stefan heir to the country
government.
The description of Simeon’s death was also put in the context of holy history. The
symbolism of the stone is crucial in this scene, which has remained strangely overlooked in
previous editions of this Hagiography. It is clear that Saint Sava must have been inspired
by the First Book of Moses, in which Jacob, before dreaming of a ladder that rises to the
sky, took a stone and laid his head on it. The scene also leans on The Ladder of Divine
Ascent, one of the main books of Byzantine ascetic literature.
The comparison to Jacob is also present in the description of the transfer of Simeon's holy
remains. The biblical associations and the reasons for choosing Old Testament characters
are necessary for understanding the text of Hagiography, as well as the general poetics of
medieval literature.