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SYRIAC VERSIONS

Translations of the Bible into Syriac are numerous compared to the number of versions produced by other early Christian communities. The earliest Syriac translation of the OT is the Vetus Syra, the Old Syriac version. It remains a matter of debate as to whether the origin for this translation lies in the conversion of the kingdom of Adiabene to Judaism, or coincides with the introduction of Christianity into Mesopotamia. In either case, this early Syriac translation of the OT dates to about the middle of the 1st century c.e. and was an adaptation or translation of some form of Aramaic Targum (either West Aramaic or Palestinian).

The Old Syriac version of the NT, which had its origin in the 3rd century, is attested to by two incomplete texts of the four Gospels, both belonging to the first part of the 5th century. The Syriac designation of this version, Evangelion da-mepharreshe (“the Gospel of the Separated”), establishes a relationship to Tatian’s Diatessaron which was constituted Evangelion de-mehallete (“the Gospel of the Mixed”). The consensus is that Codex Syrus Curetonianus and Codex Syrus Sinaiticus, the two major manuscripts of the Old Syriac, represent two independent textual traditions of the same version. Differences between the two manuscripts include the order of the Gospels in Curetonianus (Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke, with most of Mark and much of John missing) and the longer ending of Mark attested in Curetonianus but not found in Sinaiticus. Extant for the Old Syriac NT are the Gospels. Although citations from Acts and the Pauline Letters can be found in early commentaries of the church fathers, no Old Syriac text of Acts or the Epistles survives.

Syrian convert to Christianity and student of Justin Martyr, Tatian (ca. 110-72) produced his Evangelion da-mehallete ca. 170 c.e. This early Syriac version, better known by its Greek name Diatessaron (“through the four”), is Tatian’s harmony of the four Gospels. Unfortunately, no manuscript of the Diatessaron survives. Our knowledge of this version derives entirely from citations and secondary sources. The original language of the Diatessaron has been a matter of dispute. Although the evidence would suggest that Tatian composed his harmony in Syriac, it has been argued that this version was originally composed in Greek and then translated into Syriac. The Diatessaron was Tatian’s effort to weave together the disparate and detailed material of all four NT Gospels, along with selected readings from apocryphal sources, into one continuous narrative of the life of Jesus. For more than a century Tatian’s Syriac Gospel narrative was regarded as authoritative within the Syrian Church. Its broad acceptance and popularity outside the Syrian-speaking community is attested to by the widespread translation of the Diatessaron into a number of other languages. Uncertainty regarding the relationship between the Diatessaron and the Old Syriac version remains. Arguments have been advanced in favor of the Diatessaron being the earlier work, thus influencing the composition of the Old Syriac Gospels. Others have espoused the priority of the Old Syriac Gospels, which served in some ways as the source for the Diatessaron.

From the 5th century on, the Syriac Peshiṭta was the standard version of the Syrian Church. This late Eastern Aramaic translation of the OT and NT is the second oldest of the primary versions and one of the earliest documents of Syrian literature. Its name, Peshiṭta, the “simple” or “common version,” is most likely intended to distinguish it from the more sophisticated, annotated Syro-Hexapla. When and where the translation originated and why the translation was made and by whom remain uncertain. Arguments have been advanced for origin of the translation as early as the 1st or 2nd century c.e., and debate continues as to whether the Peshiṭta was a Jewish or Christian translation. The evidence continues to suggest that biblical books were translated individually over an extended period of time, that the translation represents the work of more than one translator and goes back to a Hebrew original which is very close to the MT. Some books exhibit a connection with Jewish targumic traditions. Other books give evidence of influence from the LXX, but the influence of Targum and Greek text varies from book to book.

The Peshiṭta version of the NT (completed in the early 5th century) was not a new translation, but rather a revision of the Old Syriac, bringing it more closely into line with the Greek. Among the distinctives of the NT Peshiṭta are the omission of several verses in Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts and the absence of five canonical books (2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation).

At the beginning of the 6th century Philoxenus, bishop of Mabbug, expressed dissatisfaction with the Peshiṭta version because the translators had made so many mistakes, and because the rendering into Syriac was not close enough to the original Greek. To remedy these deficiencies, Philoxenus appointed Polycarp to prepare a thorough and comprehensive revision of the Peshiṭta version of the NT. Polycarp’s revision, a thoroughgoing correction of variant readings, particles, syntax, and style, was completed in 508.

A century later another version appeared that gave evidence of the ongoing effort to bring the Syriac NT into exacting conformity with the underlying Greek. In 616 Thomas of Herakleia (Harkel) produced a Syriac version of the NT, believed to be a revision of the Philoxenian version, complete with marginal notes of variant readings found in Greek manuscripts.

Fragments of a Palestinian Syriac text preserve a dialect that is more accurately classified as Western (Palestinian) Aramaic. The script is Syriac, but an archaic form of Estrangela. The translation was made from the LXX. Influence from the Peshiṭta and Targums has been claimed by some. The date of the version is a matter of conjecture (probably 4th or 5th century).

At the request of Athanasius I, Bishop Paul of Tella, along with a contingent of coworkers, made a Syriac translation of the LXX text found in the fifth column of Origen’s Hexapla. The translation technique employed and the great care exercised by the translators have rendered the Syro-Hexaplar invaluable in restoring the lost Hexapla of the LXX.

Finally, Jacob of Edessa (640-708) produced a revision of both the Peshiṭta and Syro-Hexaplar. Jacob’s work on the Peshiṭta was yet another attempt to improve on the Syriac translation. His labor on the Syro-Hexaplar was devoted to bringing it back into conformity with the style and idiom of the Syriac language. These recensions, which survive only in part, marked the end of almost eight centuries of Bible translation among the Syrians.

See Peshit.ta.

Bibliography. K. Luke, “The Old Syriac Version of the Bible,” Bible Bhashyam 18 (1992): 105-23; “The Syriac Versions of the New Testament,” Bible Bhashyam 19 (1993): 300-314; 20 (1994): 124-38; “The Syriac Versions of the Old Testament,” Bible Bhashyam 18 (1992): 163-77; B. M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament (Oxford, 1977); A. Vööbus, Early Versions of the New Testament (Stockholm, 1954); W. Wright, A Short History of Syriac Literature (1894, repr. Amsterdam, 1966).

Dennis R. Magary