Diatessaron - Revision history

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Beza 1598 — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 14:12:39 GMT

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Nick at 14:03, 25 November 2009

Nick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:03:23 GMT

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	* [http://diatessaron.ir/wiki/Main_Page Diatessaron wiki]		* [http://diatessaron.ir/wiki/Main_Page Diatessaron wiki]

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	[[Category:Syriac literature]]		[[Category:Syriac literature]]

Nick at 14:03, 25 November 2009

Nick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:03:06 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 14:03, 25 November 2009
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-	~~{{for\|the musical interval\|perfect fourth}}~~
	[[Image:ArabicDiatessaron.jpg\|thumb\|\|350px\|Arabic Diatessaron, Translated by Abul Faraj Al Tayyeb from Syrian to Arabic, 11th Century]]		[[Image:ArabicDiatessaron.jpg\|thumb\|\|350px\|Arabic Diatessaron, Translated by Abul Faraj Al Tayyeb from Syrian to Arabic, 11th Century]]
-	The '''''Diatessaron''''' (''c'' 160 - 175) is the most prominent [[Gospel harmony]] created by [[Tatian]], an [[early Christian]] [[apologist]] and ascetic.<~~ref~~>~~Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Tatian''~~</~~ref~~> The term "diatessaron" is from [[Middle English]] ("interval of a fourth") by way of [[Latin language\|Latin]], ''diatessarōn'' ("made of four [ingredients]"), and ultimately [[Greek language\|Greek]], '''δια τεσσαρον'''(''dia tessarōn'') ("out of four"; i.e., ''dia'', "according to" and ''tessarōn'' [genitive of ''tessares''], "four"). Tatian combined the four [[gospel]]s — [[Gospel of Matthew\|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark\|Mark]], [[Gospel of Luke\|Luke]], and [[Gospel of John\|John]] — into a single narrative.	+	The '''''Diatessaron''''' (''c'' 160 - 175) is the most prominent [[Gospel harmony]] created by [[Tatian]], an [[early Christian]] [[apologist]] and ascetic.<sup>[1]</sup> The term "diatessaron" is from [[Middle English]] ("interval of a fourth") by way of [[Latin language\|Latin]], ''diatessarōn'' ("made of four [ingredients]"), and ultimately [[Greek language\|Greek]], '''δια τεσσαρον'''(''dia tessarōn'') ("out of four"; i.e., ''dia'', "according to" and ''tessarōn'' [genitive of ''tessares''], "four"). Tatian combined the four [[gospel]]s — [[Gospel of Matthew\|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark\|Mark]], [[Gospel of Luke\|Luke]], and [[Gospel of John\|John]] — into a single narrative.

-	Tatian's harmony follows the gospels closely in terms of text but puts the text in a new, different sequence. The four gospels are different from each other, and combining them into one story is tantamount to creating a new story different from each original.<ref name="MisJ">[[Bart D. Ehrman\|Ehrman, Bart D.]]. [[Misquoting Jesus]]: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4</ref> Like other harmonies, the Diatessaron resolves conflicting statements. For example, it omits the conflicting [[Genealogy of Jesus\|genealogies]] in Matthew and Luke. In order to fit all the canonical material in, Tatian created his own narrative sequence, which is different from both the [[Synoptic Gospels\|synoptic]] sequence and John's sequence. Tatian omitted duplicated text, especially among the synoptics. The harmony does not include Jesus' encounter with the [[pericope adulterae\|adulteress]] (John 7:53 - 8:11), a passage that some consider not to be original to John.<ref>"certainly not part of the original text," according to Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Pericope adulterae''.</ref> No significant text was added~~.{{Fact\|date=December 2008}}~~	+	Tatian's harmony follows the gospels closely in terms of text but puts the text in a new, different sequence. The four gospels are different from each other, and combining them into one story is tantamount to creating a new story different from each original.<ref name="MisJ">[[Bart D. Ehrman\|Ehrman, Bart D.]]. [[Misquoting Jesus]]: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4</ref> Like other harmonies, the Diatessaron resolves conflicting statements. For example, it omits the conflicting [[Genealogy of Jesus\|genealogies]] in Matthew and Luke. In order to fit all the canonical material in, Tatian created his own narrative sequence, which is different from both the [[Synoptic Gospels\|synoptic]] sequence and John's sequence. Tatian omitted duplicated text, especially among the synoptics. The harmony does not include Jesus' encounter with the [[pericope adulterae\|adulteress]] (John 7:53 - 8:11), a passage that some consider not to be original to John.<ref>"certainly not part of the original text," according to Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Pericope adulterae''.</ref> No significant text was added

	Only 56 verses in the canonical Gospels do not have a counterpart in the Diatessaron, mostly the genealogies and the ''[[Pericope Adulterae]]''. The final work is about 72% the length of the four gospels put together (McFall, 1994).		Only 56 verses in the canonical Gospels do not have a counterpart in the Diatessaron, mostly the genealogies and the ''[[Pericope Adulterae]]''. The final work is about 72% the length of the four gospels put together (McFall, 1994).

Nick: New page: {{for|the musical interval|perfect fourth}} Arabic Diatessaron, Translated by Abul Faraj Al Tayyeb from Syrian to Arabic, 11th Century The ''''...

Nick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:01:57 GMT

New page: {{for|the musical interval|perfect fourth}} Arabic Diatessaron, Translated by Abul Faraj Al Tayyeb from Syrian to Arabic, 11th Century The ''''...

New page

{{for|the musical interval|perfect fourth}}
[[Image:ArabicDiatessaron.jpg|thumb||350px|Arabic Diatessaron, Translated by Abul Faraj Al Tayyeb from Syrian to Arabic, 11th Century]]
The '''''Diatessaron''''' (''c'' 160 - 175) is the most prominent [[Gospel harmony]] created by [[Tatian]], an [[early Christian]] [[apologist]] and ascetic.<ref>Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Tatian''</ref> The term "diatessaron" is from [[Middle English]] ("interval of a fourth") by way of [[Latin language|Latin]], ''diatessarōn'' ("made of four [ingredients]"), and ultimately [[Greek language|Greek]], '''δια τεσσαρον'''(''dia tessarōn'') ("out of four"; i.e., ''dia'', "according to" and ''tessarōn'' [genitive of ''tessares''], "four"). Tatian combined the four [[gospel]]s — [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], and [[Gospel of John|John]] — into a single narrative.

Tatian's harmony follows the gospels closely in terms of text but puts the text in a new, different sequence. The four gospels are different from each other, and combining them into one story is tantamount to creating a new story different from each original.<ref name="MisJ">[[Bart D. Ehrman|Ehrman, Bart D.]]. [[Misquoting Jesus]]: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4</ref> Like other harmonies, the Diatessaron resolves conflicting statements. For example, it omits the conflicting [[Genealogy of Jesus|genealogies]] in Matthew and Luke. In order to fit all the canonical material in, Tatian created his own narrative sequence, which is different from both the [[Synoptic Gospels|synoptic]] sequence and John's sequence. Tatian omitted duplicated text, especially among the synoptics. The harmony does not include Jesus' encounter with the [[pericope adulterae|adulteress]] (John 7:53 - 8:11), a passage that some consider not to be original to John.<ref>"certainly not part of the original text," according to Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Pericope adulterae''.</ref> No significant text was added.{{Fact|date=December 2008}}

Only 56 verses in the canonical Gospels do not have a counterpart in the Diatessaron, mostly the genealogies and the ''[[Pericope Adulterae]]''. The final work is about 72% the length of the four gospels put together (McFall, 1994).

In the [[History of the Catholic Church|early Church]], the gospels at first circulated independently, with Matthew the most popular.<ref name ="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.</ref> The Diatessaron is notable evidence for the authority already enjoyed by the four gospels by the mid-second century.<ref name ="Oxford:Diatessaron">Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Diatessaron''</ref> Twenty years after Tatian's harmony, [[Irenaeus]] expressly proclaimed the authoritative character of the four gospels. The Diatessaron became a standard text of the gospels in some Syriac-speaking churches down to the fifth century, when it gave way to the four separate Gospels,<ref name ="Oxford:Diatessaron" /> in the [[Peshitta]] version.<ref>Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article ''Peshitta''</ref>

== Tatian's harmony ==

[[Tatian]] was an [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] who was a pupil of [[Justin Martyr]] in [[Rome]]. When Justin quotes the synoptic Gospels, he tends to do so in a harmonised form, and it is generally concluded that he must have possessed a [[Greek language|Greek]] [[harmony]] text of Matthew, Luke and Mark{{Fact|date=November 2008}}; but it is unclear how much Tatian may have borrowed from this previous author in determining his own narrative sequence of Gospel elements. It is equally unclear whether Tatian took the Syriac Gospel texts composited into his Diatessaron from a previous translation, or whether the translation was his own. Where the Diatessaron records Gospel quotations from the Jewish Scriptures, the text appears to agree with that found in the Syriac [[Peshitta]] Old Testament rather than that found in the Greek [[Septuagint]] - as used by the original Gospel authors. The majority consensus is that the Peshitta Old Testament preceded the Diatessaron, and represents an independent translation from the Hebrew Bible. Resolution of these scholarly questions remained very difficult so long as no complete version of the ''Diatessaron'' in Syriac or Greek had been recovered; while the medieval translations that had survived - in [[Arabic]] and [[Latin]] - both relied on texts that had been heavily corrected to conform better with later canonic versions of the separate Gospel texts.

There has even been disagreement about what language Tatian used for its original composition, whether [[Syriac language|Syriac]] or [[Greek language|Greek]]. Modern scholarship tends to favour a Syriac origin; but even so, the exercise must have been repeated in Greek very shortly afterwards—probably by Tatian himself.

== Diatessaron in Syriac Christianity ==

The ''Diatessaron'' was used as the standard Gospel text in the liturgy of at least some sections of the [[Syriac Christianity|Syrian Church]] for possibly up to two centuries and was quoted or alluded to by Syrian writers. [[Ephrem the Syrian]] wrote a commentary on it, the Syriac original of which was rediscovered only in 1957, when a manuscript acquired by Sir [[Chester Beatty]] in 1957 (now Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709, Dublin) turned out to contain the text of Ephrem's commentary. The manuscript constituted approximately half of the leaves of a volume of Syriac writings that had been catalogued in 1952 in the library of the Coptic monastery of Deir es-Suriani in [[Wadi Natrun]], Egypt. Subsequently, the Chester Beatty library was able to track down and buy a further 42 leaves, so that now approximately eighty per cent of the Syriac commentary is available (McCarthy 1994). Ephrem did not comment on all passages in the Diatessaron, and nor does he always quote commentated passages in full; but for those phrases that he does quote, the commentary provides for the first time a dependable witness to Tatian's original; and also confirms its content and their sequence. [http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-10/anf10-06.htm].

How the Gospel text that was a standard in Syriac Christianity for possibly as long as two centuries should have utterly disappeared requires explaining. [[Theodoret]], bishop of [[Cyrrhus, Syria|Cyrrhus on the Euphrates]] in [[Greater Syria|upper Syria]] in 423, suspecting Tatian having been a heretic, sought out and found more than two hundred copies of the ''Diatessaron'', which he "collected and put away, and introduced instead of them the Gospels of the four evangelists". Thus the harmonisation was replaced in the 5th century by the canonical four gospels individually, in the [[Peshitta]] version, whose Syriac text nevertheless contains many Diatessaronic readings. Gradually, without extant copies to which to refer, the Diatessaron developed a reputation for having been [[Christian heresy|heretical]].

== Vernacular harmonies derived from the Diatessaron ==

No Christian tradition, other than some Syriac ones, has ever adopted a harmonized Gospel text for use in its liturgy. However, in many traditions (given the inherent tendency of Christian liturgical texts to ossification), it was not unusual for subsequent Christian generations to seek to provide paraphrased Gospel versions in language closer to the [[vernacular]] of their own day. Frequently such versions have been constructed as Gospel harmonies, sometimes taking the Tatian's Diatessaron as an exemplar; other times proceeding independently. Hence from the Syriac Diatessaron text was derived an 11th Century [[Arabic Language|Arabic]] harmony (the source for the published versions of the Diatessaron in English); and a 13th Century [[Persian Language|Persian]] harmony. The Arabic harmony preserves Tatian's sequence exactly, but uses a source text corrected in most places to that of the standard Syriac [[Peshitta]] Gospels; the Persian harmony differs greatly in sequence, but translates a Syriac text that is rather closer to that in Ephrem's commentary. The Diatessaron is thought to have been available to [[Muhammad]], and may have led to the assumption in the [[Koran]] that the Christian Gospel is one text.<ref>''On pre-Islamic Christian strophic poetical tests in the Koran'', Ibn Rawandi, ISBN 1-57392-945-X</ref>

An [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin]] version of Tatian's Syriac text appears to have circulated in the West from the late second century; with a sequence adjusted to conform more closely to that of the canonical [[Gospel of Luke]], and also including additional material (such as the pericope of the [[pericope adulterae|adulteress]]), possibly from the [[Gospel of the Hebrews]]. With the gradual adoption of the [[Vulgate]] as the liturgical Gospel text of the Latin Church, the Latin Diatessaron was increasingly modified to conform to Vulgate readings. In [[546]] [[Victor of Capua]] discovered such a mixed manuscript; and, further corrected by Victor so as to provide a very pure Vulgate text within a modified Diatessaron sequence, this harmony, the [[Codex Fuldensis]], survives in the monastic library at [[Fulda]], where it served as the source text for vernacular harmonies in [[Old High German]], Eastern Frankish and [[Old Saxon]] (the alliterative poem '[[Heliand]]'). The older mixed Vulgate/Diatessaron text type also appears to have continued as a distinct tradition, as such texts appear to underly surviving 13th-14th century Gospel harmonies in [[Middle Dutch]], [[Middle High German]], [[Middle French]], [[Middle English]], [[Italian Language|Tuscan]] and [[Italian Language|Venetian]]; although no example of this hypothetical Latin sub-text has ever been identified. This Latin Diatessaron textual tradition has also been suggested as underlying the enigmatic 16th century pro-[[Muslim]] [[Gospel of Barnabas]] (Joosten, 2002).

== Tradition of Gospel harmonies ==

The name 'Diatessaron' is Greek for 'through four'; the Syriac name for this gospel harmony is 'ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ ܕܡܚܠܛܐ' (Ewangeliyôn Damhalltê) meaning 'Gospel of the Mixed' while in the other hand we have 'ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ ܕܡܦܪܫܐ' (Evangelion de Mepharreshe) meaing 'Gospel of the separated'. Indeed, the Syrian Church also rejected John's ''[[Book of Revelation]]'' and the [[Pastoral Epistle]]s. They were included again only in the middle of the sixth century.

In the tradition of Gospel harmonies, there is another ''Diatessaron'', reportedly written by one [[Ammonius of Alexandria (Christian)|Ammonius the Alexandrian]], to correct perceived deficiencies in Tatian's. (Note that this Ammonius may or may not be the [[Ammonius Saccas]] who taught [[Origen]] and [[Plotinus]]). None of this revised ''Diatessaron'' survives, except as it may have influenced the medieval Arabic and Latin texts that were formerly the only existing reflections of Tatian's work.

Gospel harmonies are valuable in studies of biblical texts, since they frequently offer glimpses of earlier versions of texts. In particular, due to their not having been copied as frequently as biblical texts, more of the earlier versions survive (as newer copies did not exist to replace them). As such, the extant texts contain within them portions of earlier versions of the gospels than the earliest separate gospels known.

In addition, because the Old Testament quotations in the Diatessaron are separately translated from the Hebrew - and hence independent of the [[Septuagint]] - these quotations form an important early witness to the vocalisation of the Hebrew Bible.

== See also ==
* [[Gospel harmony]]
* [[Papyrus 25]]
* [[Dura Parchment 24]]

==Footnotes==
* 1. Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article Tatian
* 2. [[Bart Ehrman|Ehrman, Bart D.]]. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-073817-4
* 3. "certainly not part of the original text," according to Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article Pericope adulterae.
* 4. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
* 5. Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article Diatessaron
* 6. Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005, article Peshitta
* 7. On pre-Islamic Christian strophic poetical tests in the Koran, Ibn Rawandi, ISBN 1-57392-945-X

==References==
*Carmel McCarthy, 1994. ''Saint Ephrem's Commentary on Tatian's Diatessaron: An English Translation of Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709 with Introduction and Notes'' (Oxford University Press) ISBN 13: 9780199221639 The first English translation.
*William L. Petersen, "Textual evidence of Tatian's dependence upon Justin's ''Apomnemonegmata'', ''New Testament Studies'' 36 (1990) 512-534.
*Jeffrey Tigay, editor. ''Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986
*Leslie McFall, 1994. "Tatian's Diatessaron: Mischievous or Misleading?" ''[[Westminster Theological Journal]]'' '''56''' (1994): 87-114.
*Jan Joosten, 2002. "The Gospel of Barnabas and the Dietessaron" Harvard Theological Review 95.1 (2002): pp 73-96.
*Jan Joosten, 2001. "Tatian's Diatessaron and the Old Testament Peshitta" Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 120, No. 3 (Autumn, 2001), pp. 501-523

==External links==
*[http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/diatessaron.html Early Christian Writings:] ''Diatessaron'' e-text and commentaries.
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf09.iv.html ''Ante-Nicene Fathers'' vol. IX:] an English translation of an Arabic text, published at Rome in 1888.
* [http://dubitando.no.sapo.pt/qevcon.htm Quattuor Evangeliorum Consonantia] - The Latin harmony of the Gospels (1)
* [http://dubitando.no.sapo.pt/qevconn.htm Quattuor Evangeliorum Consonantia] - The Latin harmony of the Gospels (2)
* [http://www.archive.org/details/MN41439ucmf_4 The Dura fragment of the Diatessaron] (from the Internet Archive)
* [http://sepehr.mohamadi.name/?p=84 Text of Arabic and Latin Translations of Diatessaron]
* [http://diatessaron.ir/wiki/Main_Page Diatessaron wiki]

{{Books of the Bible}}

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