Peshitta = simple
- The Peshitta is an ancient Syriac translation of the Bible, and is one of the most important sources that Christians rely on to confirm the authenticity and infallibility of the Bible (represented by the symbol sy rp in the textual commentaries).
But .... textual critics confirm that the Peshitta is nothing but an anonymous copy of the New Testament in Syriac, dating back to the fifth century AD!
We begin with the natural question:
1- Who prepared the translation of the Peshitta, when and where?
In fact, the answer to these questions is impossible; our information about this Peshitta = zero
* From James Murdoch's famous translation of the Peshitta, p. 490, we read that the claim that it was written at the beginning of Christianity is nothing but a "tradition" without evidence
Among the Aramaean Christians the tradition is universal, and uniform everywhere, that this version was made at the time when Christianity was first preached, and when Christian churches were first established, in Syria and Mesopotamia: and, of course, that it was made by some one or more of the primitive Apostles and Evangelists, or by persons who were their companions and associates. Some name Mark the Evangelist; others, Thaddeus the reputed Apostle of Mesopotamia ; Among Armenian Christians there is an overwhelming
tradition that the Peshitta was made at the beginning of Christianity when the first church was founded in Syria and Mesopotamia. And it was certainly made by one or more of the disciples or their companions!!! Some say Mark, some say Thaddeus, and others say Achaeus or Agkaeus, a pupil and immediate successor of Thaddeus!!! * James Murdoch also says in his translation of the Syriac Peshitta, p. 495: - (In an undisputed phrase: (We know nothing about anything about the Peshitta, neither the author, nor the time, nor the place) it is utterly unaccountable that neither any notice of the time, place, and circumstances of its formation, nor any intimation whatever of its recent origin, can be found in any cotemporary, or any ubsequent ecclesiastical writer, Syrian, Greek, or Latin
* Bruce Metzger says in his book The Early Versions of the NWE Testament, p. 59:
The origin, place and author of the Peshitta... all unknown!=== ;
2- Is there any evidence of the antiquity of the Peshitta manuscripts?
- The delay in the date of the Peshitta until the late fourth or fifth century is a matter of agreement since the beginning of the twentieth century with the discovery of more manuscripts and the development of the science of textual criticism.
* George Lamsa, the owner of one of the most famous printed versions of the Peshitta, says, Lamsa's version confirms the consensus of scholars that the Peshitta dates back to the fifth century, saying:
"To add insult to injury, scholarly consensus holds that the
Peshitta … was translated from the Greek by Rabulla, the bishop of Edessa from 412-435 AD." I will add salt to the wound, the scholarly consensus is that the Peshitta … was translated from the Greek by Rabulla, the bishop of Edessa between 412-435 AD.
* The Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism says:
The earliest Greek witness to the Byzantine text is the uncial A, of the fifth century. The PeshittaSyriac is also largely (though not overwhelmingly) Byzantine; Its date is uncertain though it
is usually ascribed to the fourth century (and can hardly be later than this ).
* The famous critical version of the Peshitta, Tetraevangelium Sanctum iuxtasimplicem Syrorumversionem, says:
"The Text is based on the evidence of a large number of MSS., of various ages and different localities. They range from copies of the fifth century…to such a distinctly Jacobite copy as Lord Crawford's MS., written in Tur'abdin in the twelfth century."
The text is based on a large number of manuscripts from different eras and places, ranging from the fifth century…to such a distinctly Jacobite version as Lord Crawford's MS., written in Tur'abdin in the twelfth century.
*Bruce Metzger says in his book The Bible in Translation., Ancient and English Versions
[As for the New Testament, the process of producing the Peshitta version from the Old Syriac probably began before the end of the fourth century and seems to have been completed no later than the time of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (AD 411–35)]
p. 15- Regarding the New Testament, the process of producing the Peshitta from the Old Syriac probably began in the late fourth century, and seems to have continued at the latest until the time of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (AD 411–435).
*Habib Saeed says in his book/Introduction to the Bible Page 55
(During the fourth century, a comprehensive translation of the entire Bible was made into the Syriac language... This translation was called the Peshitta... There are several manuscripts that remain to this day dating back to the fifth century)
- And among the clear rational evidence of the late date of the Peshitta is:
1- (All the Peshitta manuscripts that have been discovered, which number more than 300 manuscripts, are all from after the fifth century. There is not a single Peshitta manuscript from before the fifth century)
2- (All the fathers and Syriac writers in that period "the first four centuries" when they quoted from the New Testament, their quotes were in agreement with the ancient Syriac manuscripts and not the Peshitta, and if the Peshitta was early, their quotes would have been in agreement with it)
The Peshitta is nothing but a late translation that appeared in the fifth century and has no value in the science of textual criticism or benefit in trying to retrieve the original text.... at all.
=== ;
3- Does the Peshitta Canon agree with the current Bible Canon?
- The Peshitta Canon differs from the current Bible Canon; it consists of 22 books of the New Testament and does not include five letters (2 John - 3 John - 2 Peter - Jude - the Book of Revelation); therefore, it follows the canon of the Gospels according to the Antiochian Church in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
- We read from the translation of the Peshitta by James Murdoch pg501-502
the manuscripts of the Poshito New Testament into two classes, the
Jacobite and the Nestorian^ the former written in Mesopotamia, Syria, Pales tine, and Egypt, the latter written in Persia and in the East Indies; but there is very little difference between the texts of the two. Most of the copies of both omit the 2d Epistle of Peter, the 2d and 3d Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Apocalypse. They likewise generally omit the story of the Adulteress, John, vii. 53 to viii. 11 ; and the disputed text, 1 John, V. 7; and also Luke, xxii. 17, 1
(The Peshitta manuscripts are divided into two parts: the Jacobite manuscripts and the Nestorian manuscripts. The oldest were written in Mesopotamia in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, and the newest were written in Persia and the East Indies. There are slight differences between them.
- Finally: Scholars say that the Peshitta is a Byzantine text in the four Gospels, but it is a Western text in the remaining 22 books of the New Testament (5 books are omitted)
. Therefore, there have been desperate attempts by Christians to prove that the Byzantine text from which the Erasmus translation, the King James translation, and the Van Dyck translation came out has ancient origins and original manuscripts; especially since there is not a single manuscript containing the Byzantine text before the Alexandrian manuscript in the fifth century !!
But it has become known to scholars and students that the Peshitta, which the common Christians claim was written by one of the disciples or a disciple of the disciples, is nothing but a foundling copy and an unknown translation. No one knows who, when, or where it was written !!
We begin with the natural question:
1- Who prepared the translation of the Peshitta, when and where?
In fact, the answer to these questions is impossible; our information about this Peshitta = zero
* From James Murdoch's famous translation of the Peshitta, p. 490, we read that the claim that it was written at the beginning of Christianity is nothing but a "tradition" without evidence
Among the Aramaean Christians the tradition is universal, and uniform everywhere, that this version was made at the time when Christianity was first preached, and when Christian churches were first established, in Syria and Mesopotamia: and, of course, that it was made by some one or more of the primitive Apostles and Evangelists, or by persons who were their companions and associates. Some name Mark the Evangelist; others, Thaddeus the reputed Apostle of Mesopotamia ; Among Armenian Christians there is an overwhelming
tradition that the Peshitta was made at the beginning of Christianity when the first church was founded in Syria and Mesopotamia. And it was certainly made by one or more of the disciples or their companions!!! Some say Mark, some say Thaddeus, and others say Achaeus or Agkaeus, a pupil and immediate successor of Thaddeus!!! * James Murdoch also says in his translation of the Syriac Peshitta, p. 495: - (In an undisputed phrase: (We know nothing about anything about the Peshitta, neither the author, nor the time, nor the place) it is utterly unaccountable that neither any notice of the time, place, and circumstances of its formation, nor any intimation whatever of its recent origin, can be found in any cotemporary, or any ubsequent ecclesiastical writer, Syrian, Greek, or Latin
( It is not debatable at all that there is no indication of the time, place, or circumstances of its formation, nor any indication of its origin anywhere or in any church writings, whether Syriac, Greek, or Latin )!
* Bruce Metzger says in his book The Early Versions of the NWE Testament, p. 59:
The question who it was that produced The Peshitta version of the new testament will perhaps never be answered
The question of who prepared the Peshitta translation of the New Testament may never be answered.The origin, place and author of the Peshitta... all unknown!
2- Is there any evidence of the antiquity of the Peshitta manuscripts?
- The delay in the date of the Peshitta until the late fourth or fifth century is a matter of agreement since the beginning of the twentieth century with the discovery of more manuscripts and the development of the science of textual criticism.
* George Lamsa, the owner of one of the most famous printed versions of the Peshitta, says, Lamsa's version confirms the consensus of scholars that the Peshitta dates back to the fifth century, saying:
"To add insult to injury, scholarly consensus holds that the
Peshitta … was translated from the Greek by Rabulla, the bishop of Edessa from 412-435 AD." I will add salt to the wound, the scholarly consensus is that the Peshitta … was translated from the Greek by Rabulla, the bishop of Edessa between 412-435 AD.
* The Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism says:
The earliest Greek witness to the Byzantine text is the uncial A, of the fifth century. The PeshittaSyriac is also largely (though not overwhelmingly) Byzantine; Its date is uncertain though it
is usually ascribed to the fourth century (and can hardly be later than this ).
* The famous critical version of the Peshitta, Tetraevangelium Sanctum iuxtasimplicem Syrorumversionem, says:
"The Text is based on the evidence of a large number of MSS., of various ages and different localities. They range from copies of the fifth century…to such a distinctly Jacobite copy as Lord Crawford's MS., written in Tur'abdin in the twelfth century."
The text is based on a large number of manuscripts from different eras and places, ranging from the fifth century…to such a distinctly Jacobite version as Lord Crawford's MS., written in Tur'abdin in the twelfth century.
*Bruce Metzger says in his book The Bible in Translation., Ancient and English Versions
[As for the New Testament, the process of producing the Peshitta version from the Old Syriac probably began before the end of the fourth century and seems to have been completed no later than the time of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (AD 411–35)]
p. 15- Regarding the New Testament, the process of producing the Peshitta from the Old Syriac probably began in the late fourth century, and seems to have continued at the latest until the time of Rabbula, bishop of Edessa (AD 411–435).
*Habib Saeed says in his book/Introduction to the Bible Page 55
(During the fourth century, a comprehensive translation of the entire Bible was made into the Syriac language... This translation was called the Peshitta... There are several manuscripts that remain to this day dating back to the fifth century)
- And among the clear rational evidence of the late date of the Peshitta is:
1- (All the Peshitta manuscripts that have been discovered, which number more than 300 manuscripts, are all from after the fifth century. There is not a single Peshitta manuscript from before the fifth century)
2- (All the fathers and Syriac writers in that period "the first four centuries" when they quoted from the New Testament, their quotes were in agreement with the ancient Syriac manuscripts and not the Peshitta, and if the Peshitta was early, their quotes would have been in agreement with it)
The Peshitta is nothing but a late translation that appeared in the fifth century and has no value in the science of textual criticism or benefit in trying to retrieve the original text.... at all.
=== ;
3- Does the Peshitta Canon agree with the current Bible Canon?
- The Peshitta Canon differs from the current Bible Canon; it consists of 22 books of the New Testament and does not include five letters (2 John - 3 John - 2 Peter - Jude - the Book of Revelation); therefore, it follows the canon of the Gospels according to the Antiochian Church in the fourth and fifth centuries AD.
- We read from the translation of the Peshitta by James Murdoch pg501-502
the manuscripts of the Poshito New Testament into two classes, the
Jacobite and the Nestorian^ the former written in Mesopotamia, Syria, Pales tine, and Egypt, the latter written in Persia and in the East Indies; but there is very little difference between the texts of the two. Most of the copies of both omit the 2d Epistle of Peter, the 2d and 3d Epistles of John, the Epistle of Jude, and the Apocalypse. They likewise generally omit the story of the Adulteress, John, vii. 53 to viii. 11 ; and the disputed text, 1 John, V. 7; and also Luke, xxii. 17, 1
(The Peshitta manuscripts are divided into two parts: the Jacobite manuscripts and the Nestorian manuscripts. The oldest were written in Mesopotamia in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, and the newest were written in Persia and the East Indies. There are slight differences between them.
Most versions of both omit 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and the book of Revelation. They also omit the story of the adulterous woman from the beginning of John 7:53 to 8:11, the Johannine interlude (1 John 5-7, and Luke 22:17, 1 ).
===;- Finally: Scholars say that the Peshitta is a Byzantine text in the four Gospels, but it is a Western text in the remaining 22 books of the New Testament (5 books are omitted)
. Therefore, there have been desperate attempts by Christians to prove that the Byzantine text from which the Erasmus translation, the King James translation, and the Van Dyck translation came out has ancient origins and original manuscripts; especially since there is not a single manuscript containing the Byzantine text before the Alexandrian manuscript in the fifth century !!
But it has become known to scholars and students that the Peshitta, which the common Christians claim was written by one of the disciples or a disciple of the disciples, is nothing but a foundling copy and an unknown translation. No one knows who, when, or where it was written !!
It also differs from the current text in five complete books. Those who defend it and cite it confirm the possibility of deletion, addition, and distortion of the texts of his book without realizing it!!
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