Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
The Diatessaron & The Eastern Peshitta Text
#1
:

I have noticed that for Luke 22:17-18 and John 7:53-8:11, which are not in the Eastern Text of The Aramaic Peshitta New Testament Scriptures...The Diatessaron of Tatian also does not contain those verses. And it being from the time of about 160 A.D. tells me that The Eastern Peshitta Text is the most ancient and true Aramaic Text of the two versions, rather than the Western Peshitto Text, which has these verses in it....which looks to have come from the Greek text it used to incorparate these verses into the Aramaic Text.

Since Tatian does not find these verses in his Aramaic Text, he used to interweave the 4 Gospels, then the Eastern Peshitta readings in these two places must go back to at least 160 A.D....and since Tatian would have used the best and oldest copies...there is little doubt in my mind that it and the Eastern Peshitta is witness to the Autographs, rather than the Westen Peshitto for these two verses.

Blessings,
Chuck
Reply
#2
But Tatian omitted far more than those verses:

Quote:First, a close examination of the Diatessaron reveals that Tatian has omitted only 56 verses
of the entire four Gospels. The omissions are as follows:
1. Matthew 1:1-17 The genealogy of Jesus (17 verses)
2. Matthew 18:4 On humility (1 verse)
3. Mark 1:1a, 2 Opening words (1 verse)
4. Mark 6:53 Geographical itinerary (1 verse)
5. Mark 15:25 Time of the crucifixion (1 verse)
6. Luke 1:1-4 Prologue (4 verses)
7. Luke 3:23b-38 Jesus? genealogy (15 verses)
8. Luke 7:6a, 7 Centurion?s servant healed (1 verse)
9. Luke 24:12 Peter at the tomb (1 verse)
10. John 1:6 Notice about the Baptist (1 verse)
11. John 2:12-13a Geographical itinerary (1 verse)
12. John 7:53?8:11 Woman taken in adultery (12 verses)
The total of 56 verses or 1114 words omitted by Tatian is calculated according to Hill?s
English translation (KJV style) of the Diatessaron, which is approximately 62,440 words long so
that Tatian has omitted only 1.8 per cent of the contents of the four Gospels?a remarkable achievement.
THE DIATESSARON OF TATIAN
Roberts-Donaldson Translation

I think it is a mistake to argue that because a harmony of the Gospels like Tatian's omits something, that this is evidence that the omitted material is not original.
It may be evidence that the 2nd century Peshitta Tatian used did not contain the Pericope, but that does not prove the passage was not in the original.

Dave
Reply
#3
Thanks for the list Dave...I'll be checking it out. His omissions of the geneologies is understandable, and certainly does not mean that they were not part of his source text/texts. I'll look into the others you showed.

As to the adulterous woman account...this is placed in numerous places in various Manuscripts...it floats around, as if no one is certain where it belonged in the Gospel texts.

I am leaning to the conculsion in what is said about it by a very early witness to is orgins, that is was transfered from "The Gospel of the Hebrews" which is no longer extant. But saying that does not mean that the account never happend. It may have, just as written, but recorded in that early writting that was not included as a whole with the rest of the books which later became the cannon of the Western Church.

..
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)