Subject: tc-list A query: the date of the Peshitta

From: [email-masked] (William L. Petersen)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 16:46:21 +0100

Robert Waltz wrote:

>Most books state that the earliest evidence for the Byzantine text
>is Chrysostom (or the slightly earlier but much less important
>Asterius the Sophist). Also usually dated to the fourth century
>(although this is debated, and I've seen nothing conclusive on
>the subject) is the Peshitta Syriac, which -- while not purely
>Byzantine -- is Byzantine enough that it attests to the existence
>of the type.

Would you be kind enough to name the sources which describe the Peshitta as
"fourth cent." and "Byzantine enough that it attests to the existence of
the [text] type"?

Thank you.

--Petersen, Penn State University,
Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies.

---

From: "Robert B. Waltz" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 11:40:28 -0500 (CDT)

On Tue, 21 Oct 1997, [email-masked] (William L. Petersen)

>"fourth cent." and "Byzantine enough that it attests to the existence of

As for the Peshitta, the consensus of the texts I checked (UBS4,
Methger _Introduction_ and _Early Versions_, Souter, Greenlee,
etc.) gives a date of IV or early V (my spot check surprised me
by revealing more support for "early V" than I thought, but
where there is no real evidence, the difference between IV and
early V is slight). It cannot be later than V, as we have
manuscripts from that era.

If anyone has other evidence as to the date, I would
welcome it.

As far as the text goes, I found statements to the effect that
the Peshitta is Byzantine in Metzger (_Early Versions_ 61)
and Vaganay/Amphoux (p. 34). I concede that the studies Metzger
cites appear to be badly flawed methodologically. The results,
however, seem to be solid. The table below shows the rate of
agreement of the Peshitta with certain major witnesses to the
Gospels. This is based on a sample of 811 readings

Aleph 40%
A     68%
B     36%
D     42%
E     70%
K     70%
Gamma 68%
Theta 57%
Omega 69%
fam 1 56%
f 13  62%

It is obvious that the Peshitta is not purely Byzantine; in fact
it has a long way to go. But it is much closer to that type than
to any other.

BTW -- it appears that it is less Byzantine outside the Gospels.

Bob Waltz
[email-masked]

"The one thing we learn from history --
   is that no one ever learns from history."