THE GOOD NES TRANSLATED INTO SYRIAC - Conclusion

 The Diatessaron is of great interest to us today. Why? In the 19th century, some scholars argued that the Gospels were written as late as the second century, between 130 C.E. and 170 C.E., and thus could not be authentic accounts of Jesus' life. However, ancient manuscripts of the Diatessaron that come to light since then have proved that the Gospels of Matthew. Mark, Luke, and John were already in wide circulation by the middle of the second century. They therefore have been written earlier. In addition, since Tatian, when compiling the Diatessaron, did not make use of any of the so-called apocryphal gospels in the way he did the four accepted Gospels, it is evident that the apocryphal gospels were not viewed as reliable or canonical. 

By the start of the fifth century, a translation of the Bible into Syriac came into general use in northern Mesopotamia. Likely made during the second of third century C.E. this translation included all the books of the Bible except two Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and Revelation. It is known as the Peshitta, meaning "Simple" or "Clear."  The Peshitta is one of the oldest and most important witness to the early transmission of the Bible text. 

Interestingly, one manuscript of the Peshitta has a written date corresponding to 459/460 C.E., making it the oldest Bible manuscript with a definite date. In about 508 C.E., a revision of the Peshitta was made that included the five missing books. It came to known as the Philoxenian Version.

Next time: MORE SYRIAC MANUSCRIPTS DISCOVERED

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