Tatian's Diatessaron and the Arabic and Persian Harmonies

Abstract

This chapter provides, in collation form, the basic comparative material for the evaluation of the two Harmonies of the eastern tradition alongside the primary western Harmonies, Ephraem's quotations from the Diatessaron in his Commentary on it, the Old Syriac, the Peshitta, and the Armenian and Georgian versions. The gospel of Luke has been chosen as a beginning. The collation is followed by a detailed analysis. The base is the textus receptus . Variants in the Arabic and Persian columns are nearly always cited in Greek, even when unsupported by any known Greek witness. Some of the variants are more a matter of Syriac translation phenomena than true variants, but these are a significant factor in Diatessaron- Forschung . An unusual feature of the collation is the inclusion of the fourteenth century Vienna Arabic manuscript of the separate gospels edited by Lagarde more than a century ago and recently reprinted. Keywords: Armenian version; Diatessaron- Forschung ; Ephraem's quotations; fourteenth century Vienna Arabic manuscript; Georgian version; Luke; Old Syriac version; Peshitta version; Tatian's Diatessaron