Syriac Versions of the Bible

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | 2000 | 700+ words | Copyright

Syriac Versions of the Bible. These are of special value to textual critics because of their early date and the natural accuracy of Syriac scholars. The chief versions of the OT are:
(1). The Peshitta, perhaps made in part by Jews for the Jewish community at Edessa, probably in the early 2nd cent. Apart from Proverbs (where the Targum derives from the Peshitta), this version was used only by Syriac-speaking Christians, for whom it is still the authorized version.

(2). The Syro-Hexapla, a close rendering of the LXX text in Origen's Hexapla, made at Alexandria c.616–17 by Paul, Syrian Orthodox Bp. of Tella in Mesopotamia.

The Gospels were known in a Syriac version of Tatian's Diatessaron and in a translation of the four Gospels separately, known as the Old Syriac Version. The latter is probably not earlier than 200 and is independent of, and later than, the Syriac Diatessaron. It is generally held to be the basis of the Peshitta (q.v.). There were two further versions of the NT: the Philoxenian in 508, and the Harklean in 616.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Syriac Versions of the Bible." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Syriac Versions of the Bible." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-SyriacVersionsoftheBible.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Syriac Versions of the Bible." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-SyriacVersionsoftheBible.html

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