Harmonization of Gospels

Dexter Garnier sohncom at telis.org
Sat Jun 27 03:47:42 EDT 1998


Theodore H. Mann wrote:

>Greetings B-Greekers.
>
>Can anyone direct me to an harmonization of the gospels that integrates
>all four documents into one single narrative (as opposed to four columns
>laid side-by-side)?  I think this should be handled off-list.  Many
>thanks.
>
>Best in Christ,
>
>Theodore "Ted" H. Mann
>Orchard Lake, Michigan
>thmann at juno.com

Dear Theodore,

Would Tatian's Diatessaron qualify? It is the earliest known
harmony of the gospels (c. 150). It can be found in vol. 9 of
The Ante-Nicene Fathers. This translation into English is
from two Arabic mss.

Only a very small fragment has ever been found in Greek --
and that in Dura Europos in 1933. It's date and provenance
is a matter of debate among scholars. C. Kraeling dates it
to the first half of the third century.

Nevertheless, it is widely recognized among text critics as
an important document for the study of the New Testament.
A discussion of it may be found in Bruce Metzger's _The
Early Versions of the New Testament_ Clarendon Press:
1977, pp. 10 - 35.

The Greek fragment was edited by Carl Kraeling in _A Greek
Fragment of Tatian's Diatessaron From Dura_  London:
Christophers, 1935.

William L. Petersen disagrees with some of Kraeling's
conclusions in his thorough study _Tatian's Diatessaron,
It's Creation, Dissemination, Significance, & History in
Scholarship_ E.J. Brill 1994.

It's a fascinating subject.

All Best,

Dexter Garnier
just a mailman

"Nearly everybody talks, many can read
and write, and some listen." Joshua Whatmough



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