Syriac: Ancient Bible History (3)

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Syriac: Ancient...
SYRIAC.

"I.--GEOGRAPHICAL PREDOMINANCE OF THE LANGUAGE.

THE Syriac, also called the Aramæan language, from Aram, the Hebrew name of Syria, was once
predominant over a very extensive territory, and a Hebraic dialect of Syriac is supposed to have been
the language chiefly spoken in Palestine during the time of our Lord; but Arabic has completely sup-
planted it as the vernacular of Syria and Mesopotamia, and it is now only spoken by a few obscure
tribes in two or three confined districts.   As an ecclesiastical language, however, it still retains its
importance, and is used in the Jacobite and Nestorian Churches of Syria.   It has likewise been for
ages the liturgical language of a remarkable people in India, who, during a period of about fourteen
hundred years, have preserved the name of Christians in the midst of idolatrous nations.   They dwell
partly within the British territories, and partly in Cochin and Travancore, two states situated on the

Malabar coast, towards the southern extremity of Hindoostan, and in political dependance upon Britain.
In number they amount to 100,000; and although they have suffered severe persecutions from the Roman
Catholics, especially from the Inquisition of Goa, they still possess a regular hierarchy, and retain fifty-
five of their ancient churches.   They were converted to Christianity about the middle of the fifth cen-
tury by the Syrian Mar Thomas, who has been confounded by the Portuguese with the Apostle
St. Thomas.   But prior even to the time of Mar Thomas the Christian religion had been established in
India, for a Bishop from that country was present at the Council of Nice in A.D. 325.   Yet, although
the Syriac language was introduced with Christianity among the Malabar churches, Malayalim has con-
tinued the vernacular of the country."--1860   S. Bagster   [Info only: Jewish Palestine, Land of Israel.]

"II.--CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANGUAGE.

   Although inferior to most of the other branches of the Shemitic class in point of copiousness and
variety, the Syriac is of particular importance and utility to biblical students, on account of its close
affinity with the Hebrew.   Many words are common to both languages, and hence terms which occur
but once, or of which the meaning may appear doubtful in the Hebrew Scriptures, often receive eluci-
dation by reference to the mode in which they are used in the Syriac language.   The roots of words
in Syriac, as in the other Shemitic languages, are generally to be traced to the third person singular
preterite of the first conjugation of verbs.   But Syriac roots, while they resemble those of cognate
dialects in consisting almost always of three, seldom of four letters, are perhaps oftener monosyllabic
than in the cognate dialect; in triliteral roots the vowel being placed under the second letter, so as to
form but one syllable.   In grammatical structure Syriac is closely akin to Hebrew.   The adjectives, as
in Hebrew, are remarkably few in number, but their deficiency is supplied by other parts of speech,
which take their place, and perform their office.   The superlative degree is often formed by the dupli-
cation of the positive.   Pronouns are generally expressed by certain particles called affixes, placed at
the end of nouns, verbs, or other particles, and with which they are so incorporated as to form but one
word, as in other Shemitic languages.   But there is in Syriac a double use of the pronoun; somewhat
like the same peculiarity in the Coptic, Ethiopic, and Georgian languages.   The system of conjugation
is conducted upon the same plan as the Hebrew.   Verbs expressing modification of a primary idea are
connected in conjugation, and are considered to form collectively one entire and perfect verb.   In
Syriac there are eight forms of conjugations of verbs, of which four have an active, and four a passive,
and sometimes a reciprocal signification.   The alphabetical characters in Syriac are the same in number
as the Hebrew, but differ considerably in form.   The Estrangelo Syriac characters are evidently of the
same origin as those on the inscriptions found at Tadmor or Palmyra.   There are several MSS. extant
written in this character, some of which are as ancient as the sixth century.   The rectilinear character,
that is, a character written with a continuous straight connecting line, is now commonly used in our
printed Syriac books, and is a modification of the Estrangelo, bearing the same relation to it as the
modern Greek and Latin characters do to the uncial.   Another mode of writing Syriac, peculiar to a
sect in Syria called Christians of St. John the Baptist, is the Zabian, Sabæan, or Mendæan; the conso-
nants are formed in the usual way, but the vowels instead of being represented by points above and
below the line, are denoted by strokes fastened to the letters, as in Ethiopic."--1860   S. Bagster   [Info only]

"III.--SYRIAC VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE.

   Several very ancient Syriac versions are still extant, and are of considerable service in the eluci-
dation of difficult passages of Scripture, because in time, place, and modes of thinking, the translators
were closely approximated to the inspired writers.   Of these versions the most ancient and the most
important is called the Peshito (signifying clear, literal, exact), on account of its strict fidelity to the
text.   The period at which this version was made has been much disputed: by some the translation of
the Old Testament of this version has been referred to the age of Solomon, while various other
traditions have ascribed the translation to Asa, priest of the Samaritans, and to the Apostle Thaddeus.

Ephrem, the Syrian, who wrote in the middle of the fourth century of the Christian era, speaks of it
as a work in general use, and there are reasons for believing that the whole version was completed by
the close of the first or commencement of the second century; at any rate we have proof that it was in
common use in the year 350 A.D.   The disparity of style apparent in different parts of the version has
led to the belief that several persons were engaged in its execution.   The translation of the Old Testa-
ment seems to have been made immediately from the Hebrew, but with occasional reference to the
Septuagint and to the Chaldee Paraphrases.   This version is more particularly valuable on account of
its being more ancient than any Hebrew MS. now in existence.   It contains all the canonical books of
the Old Testament, but not the Apocrypha.   The Peshito version of the New Testament was made
from the original text, as appears from the frequent occurrence of Greek words; the Greek codex used
for the translation belonged to no known family of MSS., but many of the readings agree with the quota-
tions from the Testament in the writings of the earlier fathers of the Church.   It is rather singular that in
all ancient MSS. of this version, four epistles, namely, the second epistle of Peter, the second and third
of John, and that of Jude, and likewise the book of Revelation, are wanting; they also want the story
of the woman taken in adultery, John 8, and 1 John 5:7.   Pococke found the four missing epistles
in a MS. belonging to the Bodleian Library, and the younger Scaliger obtained possession of a MS. of
the Revelation; the Epistles were published by Pococke in 1630, and the Apocalypse by De Dieu in
1627: these have been ever since appended to the Peshito in printed editions, but evidently do not
belong to that ancient version, being vastly inferior to it in point of purity, style, and fidelity.   The
Peshito version was not known in Europe till A.D. 1552, when Moses of Mardin was sent in the name
of the Syrian Church to Rome, to acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, and to request that an
edition might be printed of their ancient Scriptures.   The late Mr. Rich travelled in central Asia in
search of ancient MSS.: he discovered in Assyria in all fifty-nine Syriac MSS., now deposited in the
British Museum; they afford abundant evidence of the general integrity of our received text of the
Peshito.
   Next in antiquity to the Peshito, but considerably inferior to it in elegance and accuracy of diction,
if superior to it in servile llterality, is the Philoxenian version, so called from having been executed
under the auspices of Philoxenus, Bishop of Hierapolis in Syria, by Polycarp, A.D. 488--518.   The
Philoxenian version was revised and collated with Alexandrine MSS. by Thomas of Harclea, A.D. 616;
and this revision was published by Professor White, at Oxford, in 1778.   There are also three other
ancient Syriac versions; namely, 1. The Karkuphensian, which is little more than a recension of the
Peshito made towards the end of the tenth century by David, a Jacobite monk of Mesopotamia, for the
especial use of the Monophysite, or Jacobite Christians.   It derives its name either from a Syriac word
signifying the head, and also the summit of a mountain (Karkupho), or from a town in Mesopotamia.
2. The Palestine-Syriac, or Syrian translation of Jerusalem, of unknown date, of which the portions
still extant, consisting of a greater part of the Gospels, are preserved in MS. in the Vatican Library.
It was discovered, and a portion of the text edited, as a specimen, by Professor Adler, about the latter
part of the eighteenth century.   In language and written characters it differs from common Syriac,
and approaches the dialect formerly spoken at Jerusalem.   It is supposed to belong to the fifth
century, and to have been made from the Greek text; its readings generally coincide with those of the
Western recension.   It is valued on account of its correctness, and Professor Scholz in his last edition
of the New Testament has given readings from it.   The story of the woman taken in adultery, which
is wanting; in the Peshito and the Philoxenian or Harclean, is found among the fragments of this
version.   3. The Syro-Estrangelo, or Syriac-Hexaplar version, which is a translation of Origen’s
Hexaplar edition of the Septuagint; it was executed by an unknown author in the beginning of the
seventh century, and closely adheres to the Septuagint throughout.   The first portion of the Syriac
Scriptures committed to the press was the Peshito New Testament, printed in quarto, at Vienna, 1555:
copies of this edition are now of considerable rarity.   The entire Syriac Scriptures were inserted in
Le Jay’s Polyglot Bible in 1645, and in Walton’s Polyglot, 1657.   In 1667, Ægidius Gutbirius

published at Hamburgh an edition of the Syriac Testament, with a Lexicon, in one volume,
12 mo.
   When Dr. Buchanan, in 1806, visited the Syrian Christians in India, he found several important
MSS. of great antiquity, which he brought with him to England.   The last years of his useful and
laborious life were devoted to the preparation of a printed edition from these MSS., and he died, so to
speak, with the sheets of the Syriac Testament in his hands.   A short time prior to his decease, he was
walking with a friend in the churchyard at Clapham, and he entered into a minute account of the plan
he had pursued in preparing the Syriac text.   Suddenly he stopped and burst into tears: as soon as
he had recovered his self-possession, he said to his friend--"Do not be alarmed, I am not ill, but I was
completely overcome with the recollection of the delight with which I had engaged in the exercise.
At first I was disposed to shrink from the task as irksome, and apprehended that I should find even
the Scriptures pall by the frequency of this critical examination.   But so far from it, every fresh
perusal seemed to throw fresh light on the Word of God, and to convey additional joy and consolation
to my mind."   The four Gospels and Acts were printed, in 1815, at Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire,
under the eye of Dr. Buchanan.   At his death, the British and Foreign Bible Society, for whom the
work had been originally undertaken, appointed Dr. Lee, of Queen’s College, Cambridge, to complete
the New Testament.   This was the first introduction of this great orientalist to the Committee.
Dr. Lee objected to Dr. Buchanan’s omission of the vowel points, and to his use of the European,
instead of the Syriac system of grammatical pronunciation; and upon these and other representations,
the Bible Committee agreed that the whole work should be commenced anew under Dr. Lee’s super-
intendence, and that the Gospels and Acts edited by Dr. Buchanan should be cancelled.   Dr. Lee
adopted the very accurate text published by Leusden and Schaaf in 1717, as the standard text, and
introduced emendations from various MSS.   The New Testament left the press in 1816.   In 1823,
Dr. Lee edited the Syriac Old Testament, under the patronage of the Church My., and at the
expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society.   In preparing this work, he took the version of the
Polyglots as his text, and collated the MS. brought by Dr. Buchanan from India, a MS. belonging to
Dr. A. Clarke, and a MS. of the Pentateuch in the Library of New College, Oxford.   In 1826 the
Bible Society published an entire edition of the Syriac Scriptures, the Old Testament being from the
text of 1823.   In 1829, a Peshito New Testament, in 12mo., was edited by the late Mr. William
Greenfield for the Publishers of this work, from the text of Widmansted, 1555, with the book of
Revelation and the Epistles, described above as being wanting in the Peshito version, supplied, as in
previous editions, from the publications of Pococke and De Dieu.

IV.--RESULTS OF THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS VERSION.

   Two great results have followed from the early, though limited, circulation of this version in
India.   First, the integrity of our Western copies of Scripture has been firmly established by the fact
of their having been ascertained, on critical examination, to correspond in all important points with the
ancient and independent MSS. that had for ages been buried, so to speak, in the East.   Secondly, the
assumptions of the Church of Rome as to the antiquity of her usages are clearly disproved, by the
rejection of Romish dogmas and observances by a Church that was among the first to receive, and
among the most zealous to preserve, the oracles of God.   Here, indeed, as Bishop Wilson justly
remarked, "is an ancient Church, knowing nothing of the pretended supremacy of Rome, nor of her
peculiar dogmas, but standing a witness, in addition to the primitive Churches in Haut-Dauphiné and
the valleys of Piedmont, to the pure Gospel of Christ; and thus demonstrating the comparative novelty
of the superstitious doctrines and usages, and, indeed, of all the assumptions of the Church and Court
of Rome--a testimony in a day like the present of no little value."   The boon conferred upon the
Syrian Churches in the multiplication of copies of Scripture by the British and Foreign Bible Society
in the editions of 1815, 1816, and of subsequent years, has been duly appreciated by them; and the
Mies. relate, that in several instances, the never failing result of the conscientious study of the

Scriptures has been manifested, by the substitution of vital godliness for a merely outward orthodox
profession."--The Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition)   Samuel Bagster   [Info only]

SYRIAC.   PESHITO VERSION.--1860   S. Bagster   [Info only: Aaa Character   n.d. John 1:1-14 unknown.]

SYRIAC.   PHILOXENIAN VERSION.--1860   S. Bagster   [Info only: Aaa Character   n.d. John 1:1-14 unknown.]

SYRIAC IN HEBREW CHARACTERS.

"THE Syriac New Testament in Hebrew characters was printed for the benefit of the Chasidim and
Cabalistic Jews of Poland, Constantinople, and the East.   It was published in 1837, by the London
Society for the Conversion of the Jews.   The Syriac Peshito had previously appeared in Hebrew
characters in the fifth part of the Antwerp Polyglot.   Before, however, the printing of the Antwerp
Polyglot, Immanuel Tremellius had used Hebrew characters in his edition of the Syriac New Testament.
He did this in consequence of there not being, at that time, any place where Syriac types were obtain-
able excepting Vienna.   De la Boderie and others have used Hebrew letters in their editions."--The Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition)   Samuel Bagster   [Info only]

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