This is a basic introduction to the various Syriac translations of the Bible and the ways in which they were used in the Syriac tradition. This new edition has been brought up to date and the bibliography expanded. An initial overview of the Syriac Bible is offered, along with an exploration of how the Bible comes down to us, and problems of biblical translation in general. The different surviving Syriac translations are outlined, as well as biblical manuscripts, lectionaires, printed editions, and translations. A reception history of the Syriac Bible covers the ways in which it has been interpreted, the commentary tradition, its use in preaching, in liturgy, and in spirituality. An appendix offers some comparative samples (in translation) to illustrate some of the differences between the different Syriac translations.
Sebastian Brock was born in 1938 and studied Classics (Greek and Latin) and Oriental Studies (Hebrew and Aramaic) at Cambridge University before doing a DPhil. at Oxford University on the text of the Septuagint. He has taught at the Universities of Birmingham, Cambridge, and (from 1974 until his retirement in 2003) Oxford, where he was Reader in Syriac Studies. He has published extensively in the field of Syriac and has edited a number of new texts.
Table of Contents (v)
Preface (ix)
Preface to the Third Edition (xi)
Part I: The Bible In The Syriac Tradition (1)
Chapter I Introduction (3)
1. How Does the Bible Reach Us? (3)
2. Biblical Translation, Some General Problems (6)
3. A Bird’s Eye View of the Syriac Bible (11)
Chapter II The Syriac Bible – A Closer Look (15)
1. Old Testament (15)
Translated From Hebrew: “Peshitta” (15)
Translated From Greek: Syro-Hexapla (20)
2. New Testament (22)
Diatessaron (22)
Old Syriac (24)
Peshitta (26)
Philoxenian (28)
Harclean (29)
Chapter III How Does the Syriac Bible Reach Us? (31)
1. Biblical Manuscripts (31)
Old Testament (1) Peshitta (32)
Old Testament (2) Syro-Hexapla (38)
New Testament (1) Diatessaron (39)
New Testament (2) Old Syriac (39)
New Testament (3) Peshitta (40)
New Testament (4) Philoxenian (41)
New Testament (5) Harclean (41)
2. Lectionaries (42)
3. Printed Editions (43)
(a) Old Testament (Peshitta) (46)
(b) New Testament (Peshitta) (48)
(c) Main Syriac Versions Other than the Peshitta (50)
(d) Tools (51)
4. Translations (51)
Chapter IV Biblical Interpretation in the Syriac Tradition (53)
Chapter V Biblical Commentaries (61)
Chapter VI The Use of the Syriac Bible in Preaching (69)
Chapter VII The Use of the Syriac Bible in the Liturgy (79)
Chapter VIII The Peshitta as the Basis for Syriac Spirituality (85)
Part II: The Syriac Bible (89)
Chapter IX The Bible in Syriac (91)
1. A Bird’s Eye View of the Syriac Translations of the Bible (91)
The Old Testament (91)
The New Testament (92)
Why is the Syriac Bible important? (94)
The Origins of the Peshitta Old Testament (96)
The Peshitta New Testament (97)
Why Revise Biblical Translations? (98)
A Developing Biblical Text (100)
Behind the Printed Syriac Bible (101)
Which Books are Canonical? (102)
How is the Biblical Text Divided Up? (105)
Some Famous Manuscripts (110)
The Three Old Syriac Gospel Manuscripts (114)
The First Printed Edition of the Syriac New Testament (1555) (115)
Subsequent Early Editions of the Syriac Bible (117)
Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Editions (120)
The Main Editions of the Other Syriac Translations (124)
Lectionaries (125)
How does the Reader find the Place? (127)
The Psalter (130)
The Fate of an Additional Psalm (137)
Yet Further Psalms (137)
A Revised Peshitta Psalter (138)
Polyglot Bibles (139)
2. Translations Of The Syriac Bible into Other Languages (141)
Early Translations (141)
Modern Syriac (146)
English (147)
Malayalam (149)
Select Bibliography (153)
I. Editions (153)
(1) Entire Bible (Peshitta) (153)
(2) Old Testament (153)
(3) New Testament (155)
II. Tools (157)
(1) Lists of Manuscripts (157)
(2) Concordances (158)
III. Translations (160)
IV. Studies (160)
(1) General Surveys: Old Testament and New Testament in Syriac (160)
(2) Old Testament: General Studies (161)
(3) Old Testament: Particular Books/Topics (162)
(4) New Testament: General Studies (165)
(5) New Testament: Particular Books/Topics (166)
V. Lectionaries (167)
(1) General Studies (167)
(2) Particular Manuscripts (168)
(3) Lists of Lections (169)
(4) Liturgical Editions (169)
VI. Illuminated Biblical Manuscripts (169)
VII. Exegesis (see Part I, Ch. 4–5) (170)
(1) Editions and Translations of the Main Commentaries (170)
(2) Studies (173)
VIII. Aspects of Reception History (see Part I, Ch. 6–8) (180)
(1) Narrative Poems (180)
(2) Verse Homilies (180)
(3) Dialogue Poems (184)
(4) Studies (185)
