use of OS by ancient Aramaic-speaking Christians

[Dave]

Of course sometimes these would bear some resemblance to the text of the Old Scratch, being that it is a Western text full of interpolations!

Hmmmm, you do make some interesting points Paul!

Of course the OS is a copy of another text of sorts, and very, very bad copy, as you have attested. Calling men females in the same sentence and such, is very bad translational methods. Burkitt and others noted it.

I thought about your theory of the "targum expansion" and decided to look at some examples. This didn't work in the Bezae text of acts, as most of the so-called "interpolations" actually fit too closely in the context of the sentence. In other words, the sections that were additions made sense throughout most of the context of the text. In fact, it is hard to call them interpolations.

I looked at the 2 OS examples we have. Again, this did not explain the unique semetic style that makes up the majority of the OS, Leige Dutch manuscript, Ephrems syriac commentary, and others. Now, within the OS, there are interpolations, these are easy to tell in places as they confuse the context at times.

Ephrem does do the expansional quotational thing throughout his treatise, but there are too many close resemblences to either the Diatesseron or the OS type he used. Again, he does not rely completely on either one, and even quotes the Greek as a comparison at times in sections, which is interesting. His insights are expansions upon truths that were found through his studies in the word. He spent time in the word till he reached into the multidimensional "living" word, past the letter form. Thus, the insights from him that others tended to miss. What's interesting, is if he tells his audience "from the Greek,..." then I could rightfully assume he would state such if he was using a paraphrased aramaic text.

Now, if we are to believe that the OS was some sort of copy of a "targum" expansion, then this so-called targum treatise made it half-way around the world, in multiple languages, and had more acceptance throughout the first few centuries!!!! Odd indeed. Yet this OS semetic style has remained alive throughout all of Satan's destructive attempts through mankind. Very much alive as more texts are looked at and compared.

I'm gonna re-quote Voobus here:

Some very valuable clues are to be found in the specific Palestinian Aramaic terms, idioms and grammatical forms preserved by Old Syriac gospels. These are unknown in pure classical Syriac and constitute an alien element. Certainly Tatian has not made use of them, but these linguistic anomalies together with other remarkable idiosyncrasies and relics of Palestinian provenance tend to prove the existence of an archaic and heterogeneous layer in the Old Syriac gospels. It seems to be the fact, that in a more careful analysis of these elements lies the best hope to go forward here.

What lies behind the western text is unique. It is "a semetic form" that is majestic in quality. And behind the Bezae, the OS, the Harclean translation, the Old Latin, the Old Armenian, and many other Greek manuscripts, lies this semetic form, that is distinctly different than the Peshitta. Hopefully more texts will surface and clues to the history will explain where this semetic form came from.

Scholars are instictively interested in this OS style more than any of other text at the moment, from what I'm seeing. The Greek has been hashed and rehashed beyond belief for too many years. To believe that it was the original language is to make oneself dumb by his/her very own beliefs. We are to seek the truth from above first and continue to do that, but when we head out on a course of our own decisions and insight from mankind, we loose any truth we understood before that was given. It's just the way it is. Our inspiration is The Almighty. His Son is the truth, the way, and the life. When we stop asking for the truth in such matters from HIM and our big brother Jesus, we loose out in the truth and just how simple things really are. Our confirmation is from above in all matters, not from mankind,....if you really do want to know the truth, only The Almighty knows.

Most of the biblical scholars are on their own course in such matters. Is it any wonder Satan trips them up so easily? He is allowed to. They stop seeking GOD for the truth, or never asked in the first place.

Anyways, it's easy to see the Greek loosing it's pre-eminence here lately. There is a new batch of renegade scholars who would throw out the rulebooks rather than adhere to the same old principles that lead down dead ends. I think there will be a new age of discovery here, especially in semetic studies. I don't wanna hide from it, I wanna experience it and hopefully be a part in it some how.