The Palestinan Syriac Lectionary of the Gospels 9781463215330

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T H E PALESTINIAN SYRIAC LECTIONARY OF T H E GOSPELS

T H E PALESTINIAN SYRIAC LECTIONARY OF T H E GOSPELS

AGNES SMITH LEWIS

GORGIAS PRESS

2008

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2008

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JACOBO VIRO

RENDEL DOCTISSIMO

AMICO

QVI

ET

L E C T I O N ARI VM

PALAESTINO-SYRIACA

HVMANISSIMO

STVDIORVM

ORATIONEM VERO

ET

ET

ET

Bnnt

APOLOGETICAM

RESTITVIT

EVANGELIORVM LINGVA

SOCIO

ARISTIDIS

AVCTORI

SVMMA CVM

HARRIS

ALTERVM

SALVATORI SOLLERTIA

SINAITICVM

VERNACVLA

SCRIPTVM

REPERIT

IDicant ¿Dc&icnnt

AGNES SMITH L E W I S ET MARGARETA DVNLOP GIBSON

PREFACE. L T H O U G H

Evangeliarium

full justice has already been done to the text of the

Hierosolymitanum—the

Palestinian

Syriac

Lectionary

of

the

Gospels

in

the L i b r a r y of the V a t i c a n — b y Count Miniscalchi Erizzo and by Dr. Paul de L a g a r d e , we think that the text of the two Sinai manuscripts also merits attention, both as supplementing that of the Vatican one, and as presenting some remarkable features of its own.

T h e s e M S S . , moreover, lie in a place so difficult of access,

that it seemed almost a duty to give scholars the opportunity of comparing their several

peculiarities, both

of spelling

and of diction, with those of their

sister

manuscript. T h e printing of this work, with tedious business,

and

has

lasted

its

over

numerous five

years.

reference-letters, has been During

that period

I

a

have

received such substantial assistance from my twin sister, Mrs. Margaret D . Gibson, that it is only fair to associate her name with mine on the title-page.

In the

spring of 1897 she revisited Sinai with me, and there revised the proofs of Codex with the original, whilst I did the same to those of Codex C.

B

1 am also indebted

to the R e v . Professor Nestle of Ulm (now of Maulbronn) for his careful reading of my proof-sheets, and for many valuable suggestions.

H e has been especially

attentive to the collation from Codex A . I have to thank M r . J . F. Stenning, of Magdalen College, Oxford, for photographing a few

pages of Codex

B

in

1894 ;

and lastly, 1 have to thank the

printers for their skill and patience in the execution of a very troublesome work. A . S. CASTLE-BRAE, CAMBRIDGE.

Jan. 1899.

LEWIS.

C

O

N

T

E

N

T

S

PAGE

PREFACE

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

vii

INTRODUCTION :

T h e " Evangeliarium H i e r o s o l y m i t a n u m '' of t h e Vatican

ix

O t h e r MSS. in Palestinian Syriac

x

Discovery of t h e Two Sinai Codices . Description of the Codices

.

.

.

.

.

.

. .

.

.

.

.

.

xi

.

.

.

.

.

xii

T h e Dialect

xv

Latest Discoveries LIST

OF

VARIANTS

.

IN T H E

.

.

THREE

.

INDEX

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

xix

S o m e Peculiarities of t h e Syriac T e x t

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

xxiii

Variations in the T h r e e Codices

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

xxv

OF

PASSAGES

TO

THE

IN T H E

LESSONS

GOSPELS

.

NOT

EXTANT

IN

PALESTINIAN

SYRIAC

OF

.

.

lxiv

.

lxv

lxxii

COLLATION

THE

xvii

.

ERRATA

LISTS

.

CODICES :

Omissions due to H o m o s o t e l e u t o n

LIST

.

OF

LEAVES

RUBRICS

LECTIONARY

NOT

FROM

ANOTHER

PRINTED

WITH

LECTIONARY

THE

314

TEXT

209

1—298

—

K"

INTRODUCTION.

The "Evangeliarium

Hierosolymitanum"

of the Vatican.

IT is now nearly 140 years since the Maronites Stephen Evodius and Joseph Simon Assemani, in their Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the Vatican Library, devoted 33 folio pages to the description of an ancient vellum codex

(No. xix.)

of 196 leaves, written in the

Palestinian Syriac character, in two columns, and forming a Lcctionary of the Gospels arranged in portions to be read throughout the year.

" It is a unique specimen of its

kind," they said, " and its inestimable value is increased by the fact of its containing the story of the woman taken in adultery (for the Feast of St. Pelagia), John vii. 53—viii. 1 1 . " A n inscription in the M S . copied by Assemani, half of which is now lost, says that it was written by the Presbyter Elias of Abbud, in the Monastery of the Abbot Moses in the city of Antioch (of the Arabs), 1 in the year 1341 of Alexander = A.D. 1030.

It was bequeathed by

him, along with other M S S . , to a monastery which he built, that of Mar Elias in Kaukab, on the condition that it should never be bought nor sold.

There is no record of how it was

brought to the Vatican Library. It was examined by Adler, when he visited Rome in 1 7 8 1 , and was described by him in his book Novi

Testamenti

versiones

Syriacae

Simplex,

Philoxeniana

et

Hierosolymitana,

published in 1789. A d l e r says (p. 157) " S u p e r e s t , ut usum et in re critica in primis valorem huius versionis ostendam, qui sane, me judice, tantus est, ut naevi omnes laudem eius detractare v i x queant, et nesciam, an ullus probatissimorum codicum graecorum palmam ei praeripiat." H e observed that some of its readings agree with quotations in the works of Origen, Chrysostom, and others of the E a r l y Fathers; and that the text which comes nearest it is that of the Codex Vaticanus (p.

201). 1

Perhaps near Jerusalem.

b

INTRODUCTION.

X Seventy-five years raged Count

l a t e r ( 1 8 6 4 ) C a r d i n a l A n g e l u s M a i u s a n d the M a r o n i t e S a h w a n

Miniscalchi-Erizzo

encou-

t o p u b l i s h a v e r y s u m p t u o u s e d i t i o n of the t e x t , w i t h a L a t i n

t r a n s l a t i o n , in w h i c h h e f o l l o w e d , a s f a r a s p o s s i b l e , the V u l g a t e ; a u s e f u l g l o s s a r y of P a l e s t i n i a n S y r i a c w o r d s ; a n d a n i n t r o d u c t i o n , in w h i c h h e b r o u g h t f o r w a r d s o m e c o g e n t a r g u m e n t s p r o v e t h a t t h e d i a l e c t of t h i s c o d e x w a s the v e r n a c u l a r of P a l e s t i n e a n d t h e r e f o r e the l a n g u a g e s p o k e n b y A r a m a i c which

was

Him.

H e considered

brought from Chald^ea by the returning

Nehemiah, and which

became mingled

in t h e t i m e of o u r

t h a t it r e p r e s e n t s t h e Hebrew

to a g r e a t e x t e n t w i t h

Hebrew

to

Lord,

form

of

e x i l e s in t h e t i m e

of

words.

He

its s t r i k i n g s i m i l a r i t y t o the l a n g u a g e of t h e T a r g u m s a n d to t h a t of the B a b y l o n i a n

noticed Talmud,

t h e c h i e f d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n it a n d t h e m b e i n g t h a t it is w r i t t e n in a c h a r a c t e r n e a r l y a p p r o a c h ing to E s t r a n g e l o

S y r i a c , w h i l s t t h e y a r e in H e b r e w l e t t e r s .

his

he

subject,

Curetonian,

that

considered

this

a n d to a p p r o a c h v e r y

version

to

be

S o h i g h l y did Miniscalchi e x a l t

older

than

n e a r l y to t h e o r i g i n a l of

St.

either

the

Matthew's

Peshitta Gospel.

or

1

the

There

is s o m e f o r c e in his a r g u m e n t , t h a t if it w a s w r i t t e n f o r the b e n e f i t of C h r i s t i a n J e w s w h o

still

s p o k e t h e l a n g u a g e o f the T a r g u m s in t h e i r n a t i v e l a n d , its o r i g i n c a n n o t be l a t e r t h a n

the

second century.

T h e r e would h a v e been

a f t e r the P e s h i t t a

had become the

n o n e e d , h e s a y s , f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n of t h i s v e r s i o n

Authorized

Version

of t h e

Syriac

Church.

Miniscalchi

p e r h a p s g i v e s t o o l i t t l e w e i g h t t o t h e f a c t t h a t the P e s h i t t a w a s , in t h e e a r l y c e n t u r i e s , a c c e p t e d by

the

Monophysite

section

of t h a t C h u r c h , w h i l s t this

was the L e c t i o n a r y of the M a l k i t e s .

I t a g r e e s in its d i v i s i o n of L e s s o n s w i t h t h e A r a b i c L e c t i o n a r y n o w in u s e a m o n g s t t h e there being only some slight variations.

There

latter,

c a n b e no d o u b t , h o w e v e r , a s t o t h e

value

of this v e r s i o n a s a p e r f e c t l y i n d e p e n d e n t w i t n e s s to t h e t e x t of t h e G o s p e l s . D r . N o l d e k e c o m p l a i n s that M i n i s c a l c h i ' s translation does not meet the w a n t s of

students,

b e c a u s e t h e L a t i n l a n g u a g e is i n c a p a b l e of g i v i n g full e x p r e s s i o n t o the m e a n i n g of t h e S y r i a c . I t is a m a t t e r of r e g r e t t h a t it h a s n o t y e t b e e n r e n d e r e d i n t o G r e e k . 1

Other MSS.

in Palestinian

Syriac.

F o r u p w a r d s of a c e n t u r y t h e P a l e s t i n i a n d i a l e c t o f S y r i a c w a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y t h i s s o l i t a r y Codex. of

the

But

in

1875

Psalms, with

Museum

Dr. Land portions

of

of L e y d e n hymns,

published

from

two

some of

the

f r a g m e n t s of Nitrian

the G o s p e l s

MSS.

in

the

and

British

( A d d . 1 4 6 6 4 a n d A d d . 1 4 4 5 0 ) , a n d a n u m b e r of f r a g m e n t s , 1 2 9 in n u m b e r , b r o u g h t

b y T i s c h e n d o r f to t h e I m p e r i a l L i b r a r y of S t . P e t e r s b u r g a f t e r h i s s e c o n d a n d t h i r d j o u r n e y s to the 1

East.

These

Prolegomena,

c o n s i s t of p o r t i o n s o f the G o s p e l s

p. xiv.

:

Zeitschrift

and

of

the

der Deutschen Morgenländischen

Acts ; and

from

the

Old

Gesellschaft, vol. xxii. (p. 443).

INTRODUCTION.

xi

Testament, of Deuteronomy, Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, and Isaiah, also from the Acts of St. Philemon, the homilies of St. John Chrysostom, and some hymns.

Many of the St.

Petersburg fragments are palimpsest, and were deciphered with difficulty, the upper writing being in the Georgian or Iberian language. In 1890 Dr. Rendel Harris published some verses from Galatians, found on a vellum leaf in the Convent Library on Mount Sinai.

And in 1891 five palimpsest leaves were sent to the

Bodleian Library, Oxford, from Egypt, by the late Rev. Greville J . Chester.

They contain

some verses from the Book of Numbers, from Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, and Titus, and were published by the Rev. G. H. Gwilliam in 1893, in Afiecdota

Oxoniensia.

T h e Vatican Lectionary was again very carefully edited by Dr. Paul de Lagarde, who paid three visits to Rome (1890—91) for the purpose of collating it. Bibliotheca

Syriaca

in 1892, after his death.

It was published in

We cannot but regret deeply that this great

scholar should have passed away just before two other M S S . of the same Lectionary, and many fresh specimens of the same dialect were brought to light.

Discovery of the Two Sinai

Codices.

In February 1892, whilst my sister, Mrs. James Y . Gibson, and I were examining and photographing some of the treasures in the Convent of St. Catherine, on Mount Sinai, the Librarian, Father Galakteon, called my attention to a beautiful Codex whose value he was very desirous of knowing.

He kept it apart from the others, wrapped in a cotton handkerchief,

although it had come out of the same box as the now famous Palimpsest of the Syriac Gospels, which was then occupying my exclusive attention.

He asked me to photograph a few pages,

and take them to Europe, so that I might be able to . give him an account of what the manuscript really was.

It was more than a week before I could accede to his request, being anxious

to obtain a complete copy of the Palimpsest. two pages.

I then photographed the first two and the last

Having done so, the idea occurred to me that it would be pleasanter if I were able

to read what I intended to submit to the judgment of Cambridge scholars.

So, with the help

of Dr. Euting's table of Semitic alphabets, I managed to decipher a good deal, and was delighted beyond measure when I found it was Syriac, although differing from the literary language both in spelling and in much of its vocabulary.

Galakteon was equally delighted

when I was able to tell him that it began with the first chapter of St. John's Gospel, and ended with the story of Herodias as told by St. M a r k ; also that its date was 6612 from the time of Adam. After our return home we developed my four photographs, and I was told successively by Dr. Rendel Harris, Professor Bevan, and Professor Robertson Smith

that I had made h 2

XU

I N T R O D U C T I O N .

a discovery,

a n d that

the V a t i c a n C o d e x

longer be considered unique.

1

When

described b y A s s e m a n u s and b y A d l e r could no

I returned to Sinai in the following spring ( 1 8 9 3 )

I

resolved that w h i l e P r o f e s s o r B e n s l y , D r . R e n d e l H a r r i s , and M r . B u r k i t t should be e n g a g e d in c o p y i n g the t e x t of the S y r i a c G o s p e l s from the P a l i m p s e s t , I would d e v o t e m y s e l f to the much easier t a s k of collating the P a l e s t i n i a n Paul de L a g a r d e .

be doubled ; for a m o n g s t the s a m e b o x

L e c t i o n a r y on the r e c e n t l y published t e x t of

B u t on the v e r y first d a y of our arrival I f o u n d that m y work w a s to the manuscripts which were produced by F a t h e r G a l a k t e o n

as the Palimpsest, D r . R e n d e l

Lectionary, and taxed

H a r r i s discovered

from

a n o t h e r Palestinian

me with not h a v i n g said that there were two copies.

The

Syriac second

one is written in a v e r y different h a n d , and I feel almost certain that it w a s not s h o w n to me in

1892.

I t was n e c e s s a r y to give to each a distinctive title, so I n a m e d them according to the order of the dates which they bear, and of the date of their d i s c o v e r y ; 1 0 3 0 ) b e i n g C o d e x A , the S i n a i one discovered in

(A.D.

and that d i s c o v e r e d Codex A

in

1893

by D r . R e n d e l

the V a t i c a n

Codex

1S92 ("A.D. 1 1 0 4 s ) being C o d e x

H a r r i s (A.D. I I I S " )

being

Codex

C;

B,

a n d as

has been a l r e a d y twice edited, I decided to give the t e x t of B , with the v a r i a n t s

of A and C in p a r a l l e l columns.

B o t h the S i n a i manuscripts are c o m p l e t e in

themselves,

so that none of the s t r a y leaves of P a l e s t i n i a n S y r i a c scattered about the C o n v e n t l i b r a r y can be attributed to either of them.

B o t h are v e l l u m , the w r i t i n g

b e i n g in two

columns,

and both are in g o o d bindings of w o o d covered with leather.

Description of the Codices. C o d e x B has 1 5 6 leaves, m e a s u r i n g 2 4 cm. b y 1 8 , and h a v i n g 24 lines in each c o l u m n . T h e writing, w h i c h is on the line, is distinct, upright, and rather stiff. fly-leaf,

T h e first leaf

is a

scribbled over with S y r i a c and A r a b i c rubrics ; folium 1 5 2 is the s a m e ; ff. 1 5 3 , 1 5 4 ,

1 5 5 , a n d 1 5 6 are leaves

from another

leaves can be seen in the cover at

Palestinian

Syriac Lectionary,

the b e g i n n i n g and

the end

of

which

of the book.

two The

more quires

contain eight l e a v e s each, and are n u m b e r e d with S y r i a c letters, of which the last is V e r t i c a l lines h a v e been ruled for the columns. 1

F o l i u m 2 has a corner d a m a g e d .

It has been

T h e discovery of this manuscript, and also the photographs, are, through an unaccountable mistake, attributed

by Dr. S c h w a l l y , in his Ldioticon

des Christlich

Palästinischen

Aramäisch,

to the late Professor Bensly, whose

visit to Sinai occurred a year after the events I have narrated, and who, so far as I know, never read any part of the two Sinai Lectionaries. S

I have to express m y regret for not having given these dates quite accurately in my Catalogue of the

S y r i a c M S S . on Mount Sinai (Studio. Sinaitica, with

N o . I).

T h e mistake probably arose from a dispute which

[ had

Father Galakteon about the date of the Creation, a point on which he averred that the E a s t e r n C h u r c h

disagrees with the Western.

INTRODUCTION.

xiii

repaired b y a v e l l u m patch, on either side of w h i c h the lost t e x t has been restored. begins on the recto w i t h v. 6. th

On

the v e r s o

¿MX* c n a

( J o h n i. 3), and ends w i t h

it begins with r d . i a . A i A

r i - c r A r d ^vlia.l

in v. 1 2 .

.x-ii^

This

1\T^73

in

( J o h n i. 9), and ends

T h e omission of a clause in verse 3, xal %