Peshitta
The Peshitta ( Syriac ( Aramaic ): ) is the oldest translation Syriac Old and New Testament. The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated from Hebrew , with the exception of the Diatessaron , the New Testament of the Peshitta was translated from Greek Before the translation of the fifth century that we know today, it is likely that the New Testament of the Peshitta was quite different from today.
Tuvayhon the Aylen dadkn blebhon: dhenon nehzon the Alah.
'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God! "
Summary |
The word "Peshitta" is derived from the Syriac ( ), literally meaning" ". However, it is also possible to translate "Psst" with "common" ( Vulgate ) (which is made for all), or "direct", but the usual translation is "simple." His counterpart is Arabic "Al-Basah" which also means "simple".
Peshitta clearly rejects the Hexapla of Origen , bringing together different versions of the Bible who wrote in Aramaic , then at bar Hebraeus Gregory (XIII c.) , .
Syriac is a dialect, or group of dialects belonging to the Aramaic. The name Peshitta transcript of the alphabet Syriac alphabet in Latin was written in different ways: Peshitta, Peshitta, Pshitta, Psst, Pshitto, Fshitto. All are acceptable, but "Peshitta" is the spelling most classical.
Dating the translation into Syriac
However the version Syriac of the Bible is much older than the name "Peshitta", and Melito of Sardis , who lived in the second century, speaks of a Syriac version of the Old Testament. Melito of Sardis had visited Palestine to search the Hebrew Bible, about the year 170 . The future Peshitta is also often mentioned by the Fathers of the Church of the fourth century, as St. Augustine , St. John Chrysostom and others. It is the same for Ephrem the Syrian who was born in Nisibis and lived in Edessa in the fourth century .
For Moses Khoren well as Jewish and Christian traditions, the Peshitta was translated on the order of Abgar V. In fact, it's about the time when the Jewish texts that will form the bible subsequently began to be translated into Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic ). Research has shown that the Syriac version, even that of the Old Testament was made by a translator nor unique, nor at any time, but the translation of all texts lasted for several centuries.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia , "the tradition which connects this translation with Abgar, King of Edessa, is the most likely. "According to historian Christian Bar-Hebraeus , Abgar had sent men to Palestine to translate Bible in Syriac . The first five books of the Bible ( Torah ) could have been brought under the orders of King Abgar.
Influence of the Septuagint
The translation work has continued until the fourth century. At the time of Ephrem the Syrian whole Bible was rendered into Syriac.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia , the Peshitta was translated directly from Hebrew , according to Jewish tradition going in Palestine. But as this translation is a collection of popular versions, it was inevitable that several parts of the Old Testament are influenced by the Septuagint. In the Pentateuch ( Torah ), the Book of Genesis is more strongly influenced by the Septuagint and the other four books, yet this does not prove that the entire Pentateuch was not translated by one man. If Ezekiel and Proverbs are closely in agreement with the Jewish version Aramaic ( Targum ), the twelve minor prophets in turn follow the version of the Septuagint.
The translation of Chronicles is part midrashic and seems to be a much later period, since it differs greatly from that of the other books .
New Testament
One of the oldest known versions of the New Testament was written in Syriac (Peshitta Bible known or Peshitto, still used in some Eastern churches) dating from the fifth century. It was translated from the Greek version written in Koine (the oldest who is known) by Rabboula , Bishop of Edessa (411-435), published under his authority as a substitute Diatessaron.
This version, however, includes such omissions in the Gospel of Luke (verses 17-18 of chapter 22) and in the Acts of the Apostles (verse 37, chapter 8, verse 34 chapter 15, verse 29 Chapter 28).
Two earlier versions of the Peshitta were discovered: that version "Syriac curetonienne" found by William Cureton in 1842 in Egypt and dates from the fifth century , and the version "Palestinian Syriac" in the form of a palimpsest , discovered in 1892 in the Library of St. Catherine Monastery in Sinai , dating from the fourth century.
A controversy exists about the original language the New Testament. Part of the experts believe that the Bible comes from Greek translation of the Syriac texts past. Most experts believe that the first written version of the New Testament was written in Greek directly. Note that in the Gospel of Mark, the words and phrases are spoken by Jesus in Aramaic. Jesus, speaking Aramaic in Galilee, was nevertheless teach Hebrew language of the Bible spoken at the synagogue as the temple of Jerusalem.
With Greek, Latin and Coptic, Syriac is a language by which early Christianity was widespread in the Middle East.
Notes and References
- (en) Jewish Encyclopedia: article Peshitta: Emil G. Hirsch and Mr. Seligsohn: Introduction
- Khoren Moses is a Christian of Armenian who lived at an unspecified date between the fourth and the ninth century. No consensus has yet emerged to date more precisely his writings.
- Gregory Hebraeus bar in the preface to his "Auar Raze," and his "Historia Dynastiarum", ed. Pocock, P. 100
- (en) Jewish Encyclopedia: article Peshitta: Emil G. Hirsch and Mr. Seligsohn: Introduction
- Robin Lane Fox , Pagans and Christians: religion and religious life in the Roman Empire from the death of Commodus in the Council of Nicaea, ed. Presses Universitaires du Mirail, 1997, p.493 extract online
- (en) Jewish Encyclopedia: Peshitta article: Introduction
- (en) Jewish Encyclopedia: article Peshitta: Emil G. Hirsch and Mr. Seligsohn: "Traditional ascription to Abgarus"
- Hebraeus Bar , commentary on Psalm X. This author is Arabic and from near Edessa, his testimony is all the more important and seems to be independent of other sources.
- (en) Jewish Encyclopedia: article Peshitta: Emil G. Hirsch and Mr. Seligsohn: "Influence Of The Septuagint"
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