Peshitta English Translation

[Mahmod Ohner]

Yesboth of the translations that Fabian referenced above--Dave Bauscher's, and Janet Magiera's (Light of the word)--are top-notch Peshitta translations from a Christian standpoint. I always prefer Jewish translations, but essentially all of the modern English translators have been Christians, and that theological lens aside, I would actually recommend Bauscher and Magiera's translations above any others.

It's not that Etheridge or Murdock's were bad. They are just from the 1800's, and have more of a KJV feel to them. Etheridge also transliterates some words in an unfamiliar way to most Christians. (I actually appreciate that), but it may just be an unfamiliar feel.

At any rate, in terms of modern English, I recommend both Bauscher and Magiera's (again, from a Christian standpoint, which is my duty to exclaim, as I zealously guard the Peshitta as a Jew). I wish I could recommend a Jewish version, but there isn't one with high enough quality at this time. G-d willing, there will be eventually.

Assyrian Christians have always maintained that the original New Testament is preserved in the Peshitta NT, as they call it, meticulously copied since the days of the Apostles. They claim that the Greek manuscripts were translated from the Peshitta NT. Our research of the actual words themselves has proven scientifically that they are right!

I have 7 Peshitta translations, and I can generally speak to the thoroughness of Dave's translation. If you get his modules for e-Sword (worth the money), then you get a notes module and simple Aramaic lexicon (based on SEDRA).

Also, just on a side note, Bauscher is producing a translation of the Peshitta Tanakh ("OT"), and has done the Torah, Psalms, and Proverbs already (also available in e-Sword). This is the only translation beside George Lamsa's which is widely available--at least that I'm currently aware of.

I'm not pushing anything here, but I simply was surprised that Fabian would mention two of the best among the Christian translations. Janet Magiera has also done a super thorough job. She actually produced an Aramaic lexicon and did the tagging for the Peshitta in BibleWorks (contrastly to George Kiraz' tagging in Accordance).

There has been a fair amount of research in the Aramaic background of the NT and I think that even if we may not agree with the views of others in this realm, we should recognize that there are many suggesting this. I would argue that even translations that ARE known to be influenced by different traditions should be encouraged.

In general I agree. My concern is not the tradition but one of scholarship. And while it is true that a lot of study has surrounded the Peshitta, the idea that the Peshitta has primacy over the Greek text is an extremely minority view, even among scholars who support the premise of an Aramaic Q. And I have seen two recent "translations" that are based on Peshitta primacy, one is the Passion translation and I don't remember the publisher of the other that both significantly bend the text to fit their agendas; that is something that should be rejected no matter what positions the translator hold. Because I have seen more misinformation about Peshitta primacy than good information, it does raise some yellow flags when I see this claim. That being said, if the translation provided is based on good Syriac scholarship then the views on primacy would not impact my decision to use or not use he translation.

I think the Message translation lacks complete scholarship but it is still distributed and widely used. A good mix of scholarly and "other" is healthy and promotes ideas and new perspectives. It seems these two have a good grasp of the language and have put forth effort beyond what is normal. These are religious documents and not isolated to the realm of scholarship. This is history of interpretation at its best in modern times. Just MHO

As I have not had the time to investigate these particular translations and I am not familiar with the translators' work, I cannot comment on the quality of these translations. I was simply noting a statement made by one of the translators that raised a flag.

And for the record, I do not recommend the Message to anyone because it is such a poor translation; while it is distributed widely, the question we should be asking is should it be distributed widely? The NWT is also distributed widely.

All subjective. I don't think The Message should be used at all, but the fact that it exists and is used should allow us to understand that there are do's and don'ts. Same scenario with Wescott and Hort's GNT. It was flawed from the start. Jerome's Vulgate. All scholarly texts that have major problems. We still distribute, study, and use them though, even though we know of underlying problems.

This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars. Gillian Greenberg and Donald Walter have translated thetext, while Kiraz has prepared the Syriac text in the west Syriac script, fully vocalized and pointed. The translation and the Syriac text are presented on facing pages so that both can be studied together. All readers are catered for: those wanting to read the text in English, those wanting to improve their grasp of Syriac by reading the original language along with a translation, and those wanting to focus on a fully vocalized Syriac text.OverviewReviewsContact UsAbout the AuthorsTable Of ContentsThis volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars. Gillian Greenberg and Donald Walter have translated thetext, while Kiraz has prepared the Syriac text in the west Syriac script, fully vocalized and pointed. The translation and the Syriac text are presented on facing pages so that both can be studied together. All readers are catered for: those wanting to read the text in English, those wanting to improve their grasp of Syriac by reading the original language along with a translation, and those wanting to focus on a fully vocalized Syriac text.Write your own reviewOnly registered users can write reviewsReview title: * Review text: * Rating:Bad ExcellentSubmit reviewYour name * Your email * Subject: * Enquiry * SubmitContributorBiographyGillianGreenbergGillian Greenberg is a senior research fellow in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London, where she teaches Syriac. Her MA and PhD are from the University of London. Her research field is the Peshitta, with special interest in the major prophets, on whom she has published a monograph and a number of articles.

#1) With regards to the Peshitta Tanakh--an ancient translation of the Hebrew text (pre-Masoretic) into Aramaic (ca. 100 BCE - 100 CE, you gain one of the most important and ancient (though largely ignored) Jewish witnesses to the ancient text of the Tanakh. Extant manuscripts date from 464 CE, pre-dating the final form of the Hebrew Masoretic Text by hundreds of years.

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