The Syriac Peshitta Version of Colossians As a Witness to Its Greek Text
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Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2020 Translation Technique and Versional Evidence: The Syriac Peshitta Version of Colossians as a Witness to Its Greek Text Ryne Alan Parrish [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Language Interpretation and Translation Commons Recommended Citation Parrish, Ryne Alan, "Translation Technique and Versional Evidence: The Syriac Peshitta Version of Colossians as a Witness to Its Greek Text" (2020). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 217. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. ABSTRACT The Syriac Peshitta version of the New Testament holds great potential for NT textual criticism, but its value to this field is partially dependent upon the ability to deduce the particularities of the Greek text from which it was translated. To assess this ability, a thorough understanding of translation technique in each NT book is required. Toward such an end, this thesis provides a detailed study of the translation technique of Peshitta Colossians (PCol) and an evaluation thereof as a witness to its Greek Vorlage. I argue that the translation technique of PCol does not consistently allow confident conclusions to be reached about the specifics of its underlying Greek text, but rather that the Syriac of PCol sometimes may have been made from a range of possible Greek readings. This is not always recognized when editors of Greek NT editions cite PCol in the critical apparatus as a witness to certain readings. I demonstrate this by a systematic study of the citations of PCol in the 28th revised edition of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (NA28), in which I conclude that no fewer than eleven citations in the NA28 are illegitimate on translational grounds, with several more requiring further clarification. Chapter I contains a review of the pertinent literature and an overview of the project. In Chapter II, I lay out the three methodologies implemented in this study. Chapter III is a detailed presentation of the translation technique in PCol. In Chapter IV, I apply the conclusions about translation technique to an evaluation of PCol as a witness to its Greek source text and I analyze each citation of PCol in the NA28 critical apparatus. Finally, Chapter V contains conclusions about suggested changes to citations of PCol in critical apparatuses as well as how this study should affect the implementation of versional evidence in NT textual criticism. The arguments I advance in this Thesis stand to improve upon the approach to employing versions as witnesses to their Greek texts and to clarify the place of the Peshitta in the critical apparatus of future editions of the Greek text of Colossians. Translation Technique and Versional Evidence: The Syriac Peshitta Version of Colossians as a Witness to Its Greek Text A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School of Theology Abilene Christian University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Ryne Alan Parrish May 2020 This thesis, directed and approved by the committee for the thesis candidate Ryne Parrish, has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Programs of Abilene Christian University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in New Testament Donnie Snider Assistant Provost for Graduate Programs Date 30 April 2020 Thesis Committee Dr. Jeff Childers, Chair Larry Curt Niccum Dr. Curt Niccum Dr. Richard Wright For Sarah, who makes it easy to abide by Colossians 3:19 ܢܘܟܝܫܢ̈ ܘܒܚܐ ܐܪ̈ܒܓ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project stands on the shoulders of many people who have helped me in various ways throughout the process. First and foremost, to my wonderful wife, Sarah, I cannot thank you enough. Without your patience, persistent encouragement, and the multitude of other ways you have supported me in this undertaking, I could have never finished. Many thanks are also in order for my advisor, Dr. Jeff Childers. Your mentorship from the inception of the project to its completion, as well as your careful reading and rereading of my work, have been invaluable. Thank you as well to the other members of my committee, Dr. Curt Niccum and Dr. Richard Wright. Your constructive criticisms were a great help in refining the focus and method of this study. To my parents and two older sisters, thank you for raising me in an environment where learning and scholarship were highly valued, and for the support you have offered me over the years. To the members of Blanket Church of Christ, though you may never read my work or know how your encouragement helped me along the way, thank you. To the faculty and my colleagues in the Graduate School of Theology, thank you for so often asking about my research and for feigning interest as I droned on about Syriac translation technique. To my grandparents, my parents-in-law, and grandparents-in-law, thank you for your encouragement and for being proud of me. All persons mentioned here, and many others, were more important to this Thesis than they realize. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ iii I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW .................................................................. 1 Review of Literature ............................................................................................... 2 The Use of the Versions for New Testament Textual Criticism ................. 2 The Peshitta New Testament ...................................................................... 9 Greek-Syriac Translation Technique ........................................................ 13 Overview ............................................................................................................... 18 II. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 21 Translation Technique Analysis ........................................................................... 22 Developing Criteria for Evaluating a Version’s Witness to the Greek Text ........ 26 Evaluating a Version's Witness in General ............................................... 27 Evaluating a Version's Witness to Specific Readings .............................. 31 Evaluating Peshitta Colossians as a Witness to Its Greek Text ............................ 33 III. TRANSLATION TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS ...................................................... 35 Macroanalysis ....................................................................................................... 37 Translation Unit and Consciousness of Context and Meaning ................. 37 Word Order ............................................................................................... 49 Degree of Literalness ................................................................................ 51 Microanalysis ........................................................................................................ 57 Verbs ......................................................................................................... 57 Pronouns ................................................................................................... 65 Prepositions ............................................................................................... 71 Conjunctions ............................................................................................. 77 Vocabulary ................................................................................................ 80 Conclusion: The Translation Technique of Peshitta Colossians........................... 85 IV. PESHITTA COLOSSIANS AS A WITNESS TO ITS GREEK TEXT ............... 87 The Translation Technique’s Bearing on PCol’s Witness to Its Greek Text ........ 87 Macroanalysis ........................................................................................... 87 Microanalysis ............................................................................................ 90 Evaluation of Citations of P in NA28 ................................................................... 98 Conclusion: The Witness of PCol to its Greek Vorlage ..................................... 126 V. CONCLUSIONS AND PATHS FORWARD .................................................... 129 Impacts on the Critical Apparatus of Colossians ................................................ 131 Suggested Changes to Critical Apparatus Citations of PCol .................. 131 Citations Requiring Further Clarification ............................................... 134 For Further Research............................................................................... 136 Paths Forward in the Field of New Testament Textual Criticism ...................... 139 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 142 APPENDIX A: Table of Evaluations Regarding Citations of P in NA28 Critical Apparatus ............................................................................................................ 146 LIST OF TABLES 3.1 Greek verbal forms translated by Syriac participles ....................................................58