Sat Apr 6 18:17:21 1996

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Date: Sat, 6 Apr 1996 15:27:59 -0500 (EST)
From: Maurice Robinson 
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Subject: Syriac + it-k
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On Fri, 5 Apr 1996, William L. Petersen wrote:

> One additional note:  If one is REALLY serious, one should also always check
> A. Juelicher's edition of the gospels in the Vetus Latina version (4
> volumes), and one of the editions of the Old Syriac gospels (F.C. Burkitt's
> is probably most useful, for it combines both Syr-s and Syr-c, and offers an
> English translation--which is usually pretty accurate).  The reason for this
> is three-fold:  (1) UBS4 dates the two MSS of the "Old Syriac" to the
> "third/fourth century" (see p. 26*).  This would make Syr-s, the older of
> these MSS, the OLDEST FULL TEXT OF THE GOSPELS, antedating both Vaticanus
> (B) and Sinaiticus (alaph).  (2) Even Westcott (followed by Eberhard Nestle,
> Alexander Souter, FC Burkitt, Voeoebus, etc.) admitted that the combination
> of _k_ [afra from the Vetus Latina] and the Old Syriac offers a text which
> is superior to that of alaph+B.  (The actual quotations are all presented in
> my _Tatian's Diatessaron_ [1994], pp. 20-22;  the Westcott citation is from
> the second edition of the Intro to Westcott & Hort's _NT in the original
> Greek_ [1896], p. 328.)  

In regard to assuming that sy-s + it-k or any other combination of
versions presents a superior text -- whatever happened to the principle
that the _Greek_ MSS are or should be the primary witnesses to the _Greek_
NT text?  

Versional and patristic evidence certainly can be of significance, and
appeal can be made to their testimony, but such should never become
primary evidence or even suggested to be such, in view of the quantity and
quality of the Greek MS evidence we possess. 


_________________________________________________________________________
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D.           Assoc. Prof./Greek and New Testament
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary     Wake Forest, North Carolina
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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