This volume combines some of the leading voices on the composition and collection of early Christian gospels in order to analyze Tatian's Diatessaron. The rapid rise and sudden suppression of the Diatessaron has raised numerous questions about the nature and intent of this second-century composition. It has been claimed as both a vindication of the fourfold gospel's early canonical status and as an argument for the canon's on-going fluidity; it has been touted as both a premiere witness to the earliest recoverable gospel text and as an early corrupting influence on that text. Collectively, these essays provide the greatest advance in Diatessaronic scholarship in a quarter of a century. The contributors explore numerous questions: did Tatian intend to supplement or supplant the fourfold gospel? How many were his sources and how free was he with their text? How do we identify a Diatessaronic witness? Is it legitimate to use Tatian's Diatessaron as a source in New Testament textual criticism? Is a reconstruction of the Diatessaron still possible? These queries in turn contribute to the question of what the Diatessaron signifies with respect to the broader context of gospel writing, and what this can tell us about how the writing, rewriting and reception of gospel material functioned in the first and second centuries and beyond.

A gospel harmony composed c. 172 C.E., the Diatessaron is one of the earliest witnesses to the gospels. Regarded as the first version of the gospels in Latin, Syriac, and Armenian, the Diatessaron was used by Encratites, Judaic-Christians, and “Great Church” Christians alike. This study is the first comprehensive treatment of the Diatessaron in more than a century. After sketching the second-century setting and Tatian's biography, it describes virtually every Diatessaronic witness and provides a scholar-by-scholar summary of research from 546 to the present. Criteria for reconstructing Diatessaronic readings are developed, and numerous examples offer the reader first-hand experience with the witnesses. It contains the first Bibliography of research on the Diatessaron (600+ titles) and the first “Catalogue of Manuscripts of Diatessaronic Witnesses and Related Works” ever published.

The Diatessaron (160 - 175 A.D.) is the most well-known harmony of the gospels. It was composed by Tatian, an Assyrian, who was an early Christian apologist and ascetic. Tatian combined the textual material from the four gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-into one coherent narrative on Jesus's life and death. In contrast to later attempts, Tatian appears to have made no effort to gloss over apparent inconsistencies between the texts. Originally Tatian left out the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, and Luke's introduction (Luke 1:1 - 4). In addition, he did not originally include the adulteress' encounter with Jesus, which is cited by some in support of its omission. It is not clear if Tatian intended that his Diatessaron should supplement or if it should replace the four separate gospels. In some Syriac churches, from the late 2nd to the 5th century, it did replace the gospels, but later it would only be used as a supplement. This is a reproduction of the work "The Diatessaron of Tatian. [Translated with introduction] by Rev. H.W. Hogg," 1897, in which the footnotes are persevered along with the Bible references, which are done in subscript. This edition also includes artwork of gospel events from the 12th - 19th century.

This is the first English translation of the commentary by fourth century AD theologian Ephrem the Syrian on the Diatessaron, a Gospel woven from the text of the four Gospels, which predates our earliest evidence of the official Syriac translation of the New Testament.

Two works with separate titlepages and pagination published in one volume.