Introductory Notes

Section XV

Page 22 of 468

¹¹⁰⁷² Jesus answered and said unto him, Simon, I have something to say unto thee. And² he said unto him, Say on, my Master.¹⁰⁷³ Jesus said unto him, There were two debtors [Arabic, p. 58] to one creditor; and one of them owed five hundred pence, and the other³ owed fifty pence.¹⁰⁷⁴ And because they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave⁴ them both. Which of them ought to love him more?¹⁰⁷⁵ Simon answered and said, I suppose, he to whom he forgave most. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast judged rightly.⁵¹⁰⁷⁶ And he turned to that woman, and said to Simon, Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy dwelling, and thou gavest me not water to wash my feet: but this⁶ woman hath bathed¹⁰⁷⁷ my feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair.¹⁰⁷⁸ And thou kissedst me not: but this woman, since she¹⁰⁷⁹ entered, hath not ceased to kiss my⁷ feet.¹⁰⁸⁰ And thou anointedst not my head with oil:¹⁰⁸¹ but this woman hath anointed⁸ my feet with sweet ointment.¹⁰⁸²¹⁰⁸³ And for this, I say unto thee, Her many sins are forgiven her, because she loved much; for he to whom little is forgiven loveth little. [9, 10]¹⁰⁸⁴ And he said unto that woman, Thy sins are forgiven thee.¹⁰⁸⁵ And those that were invited¹¹ began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?¹⁰⁸⁶ And Jesus said to that woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

¹²¹⁰⁸⁷ And many believed in him when they saw the signs which he was doing. [13, 14]¹⁰⁸⁸ But Jesus did not trust¹⁰⁸⁹ himself to them,¹⁰⁹⁰ for he knew every man, and he needed not any man to testify to him concerning every man; for he knew what was in man.

¹⁵¹⁰⁹¹ And after that, Jesus set apart from his disciples other seventy, and sent them two and two before his face to every region and city whither he was purposing to¹⁶ go.¹⁰⁹² And he said unto them, The harvest is abundant, and the labourers are few:¹⁷ entreat now the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest.¹⁰⁹³ Go¹⁸ [Arabic, p. 59] ye: and lo, I am sending you as lambs among wolves.¹⁰⁹⁴ Take not with you¹⁹ purses, nor a wallet, nor shoes; neither salute any man in the way.¹⁰⁹⁵ And²⁰ whatsoever house ye enter, first salute that house:¹⁰⁹⁶ and if there be there a son of peace,²¹ let your peace rest upon him; but if there be not, your peace shall return to you.¹⁰⁹⁷ And be ye in that house eating and drinking what they have:¹⁰⁹⁸ for the labourer is worthy of²² his hire.¹⁰⁹⁹ And remove not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter,²³ and they receive you, eat what is presented to you:¹¹⁰⁰ and heal the sick that are²⁴ therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come near unto you.¹¹⁰¹ But whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go out into the market, and say,²⁵¹¹⁰² Even the dust that clave to our feet from your city, we shake off against you; but²⁶ know¹¹⁰³ this,¹¹⁰⁴ that the kingdom of God is come near unto you.¹¹⁰⁵ I say unto you, that for Sodom there shall be quiet in the day of judgement, but there shall not be for²⁷ that city.¹¹⁰⁶ Then began Jesus to rebuke the cities in which there had been many²⁸ mighty works,¹¹⁰⁷ and they repented not.¹¹⁰⁸ And he said, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! if there had been in Tyre and Sidon the signs which were in²⁹ thee, it may be that they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.¹¹⁰⁹ Howbeit I say unto you, that for Tyre and Sidon there shall be rest in the day of judgement,³⁰ more than for you.¹¹¹⁰ And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt sink down unto Hades; for if there had been in Sodom the wonders¹¹¹¹ which were³¹ in thee, it would have remained until this day.¹¹¹² And now I say unto thee, that for the land of Sodom there shall be quiet in the day of judgement, more than for thee.

³² [Arabic, p. 60]¹¹¹³ And he said again unto his apostles, Whosoever heareth you heareth me; and whosoever heareth me heareth him that sent me: and whosoever wrongeth¹¹¹⁴ you wrongeth me; and whosoever wrongeth me wrongeth him that sent me.

³³¹¹¹⁵ And those seventy returned with great joy, and said unto him, Our Lord, even³⁴ the devils also are subject unto us in thy name.¹¹¹⁶ He said unto them, I beheld³⁵ Satan¹¹¹⁷ fallen like lightning from heaven.¹¹¹⁸ Behold, I am giving you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and the whole race¹¹¹⁹ of the enemy; and nothing shall³⁶ hurt you.¹¹²⁰ Only ye must not rejoice that the devils are subject unto you; but be glad that your names are written in heaven.

³⁷¹¹²¹ And in that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I acknowledge thee, my Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto children: yea, my Father; so³⁸ was thy will.¹¹²² And he turned to his disciples,¹¹²³ and said unto them, Everything hath been delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, save the Father; and who the Father is, save the Son, and to whomsoever the Son willeth³⁹ to reveal him.¹¹²⁴ Come unto me, all of you, ye that are wearied and bearers of burdens,⁴⁰ and I will give you rest.¹¹²⁵ Bear my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for¹¹²⁶ I⁴¹ am gentle and lowly in my heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.¹¹²⁷ For my yoke is pleasant, and my burden is light.

⁴²¹¹²⁸ And while great multitudes were going with him, he turned, and said unto them,⁴³¹¹²⁹ Whosoever cometh unto me, and hateth not his father, and his mother, and his brethren, and his sisters, and his wife, and his children, and himself¹¹³⁰ also, cannot⁴⁴ [Arabic, p. 61] be a disciple to me.¹¹³¹ And whosoever doth not take his cross, and follow⁴⁵ me, cannot be a disciple to me.¹¹³² Which of you desireth to build a tower, and doth not sit down first and reckon his expenses and whether he hath enough to⁴⁶ complete it?¹¹³³¹¹³⁴ lest when he hath laid the foundations, and is not able to finish, all that⁴⁷ behold him¹¹³⁵ laugh at him, and say,¹¹³⁶ This man began to build, and was not able to⁴⁸ finish.¹¹³⁷ Or what king goeth to the battle to fight with another king,¹¹³⁸ and doth not consider first whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh to him⁴⁹ with twenty thousand?¹¹³⁹ And if he is not able, he sendeth unto him while he is afar⁵⁰ off, and seeketh peace.¹¹⁴⁰ So shall¹¹⁴¹ every man of you consider, that desireth to be a disciple to me; for if he renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be a disciple to me.

Notes

1
Parechein mikropsuchian, perhaps "causes you ill-feeling." The translation of Serapion's letter with this note is taken from Mr. Armitage Robinson's edition of the gospel.
1072
.
2
This translation is based on that which I published in The Gospel and Apocalypse of Peter: Two Lectures, etc. (Camb., 1892). It is now carefully revised in accordance with the photographic facsimile. A corrected Greek text will be found in Dr. Swete's edition (1893).
1073
.
3
Par[alem]phthenai is perhaps supported by paralabontes, .
1074
.
4
I know no other instance of stauriskein.
1075
.
5
cf. , where Syr. Pesch. reads: "They say, These bodies shall not remain on the cross, because the sabbath dawneth."
1076
.
6
The text here is corrupt: for epesanto I have provisionally read epesan te.
1077
Lit. sunk, a word the choice of which is explained by the Syriac.
1078
.
1079
Or, I.
7
For autos horas we must read autes horas (cf. Clem., Hom., xx., 16); aute is the equivalent in later Greek literature of ekeine, as in the modern tongue (cf. Lc. x. 7, 21, and xii. 12; || ekeine, Mt., Mc.)
1080
.
1081
Same word in Arabic.
8
I have ventured to substitute meta, "together with" (cf. ), for kata, "down upon." Dr. Swete, however, keeps kata, and interprets it as "against," i.e., to guard the sepulchre against.
1082
Same word in Arabic.
1083
.
1084
.
1085
.
11
[cf. .]
1086
.
12
[cf. ; .]
1087
b.
1088
.
1089
The meaning is not apparent.
1090
.
15
[cf. .]
1091
.
16
[cf. .]
1092
.
17
For further explanation of the method followed see 20.
1093
.
18
See notes to § 7, 47, and § 52, 36, of the present translation.
1094
.
19
See below, 12, (2).
1095
.
20
See also below, 6, and 20.
1096
.
21
Bibl. Or., i., 619.
1097
.
1098
cf. Syriac versions.
22
Mai, Vet. script. nova. collect., iv., 14.
1099
.
23
cf. Zahn, Forschungen, i., 294 ff.
1100
.
24
See below, § 7, 47, note, and § 52, 36, note.
1101
.
25
See below, § 28, 43, note.
1102
.
26
See below, foot-notes, passim.
1103
The first letter of the word has been lost.
1104
Lit. that, as often in this work.
1105
.
27
The first leaf bears a more pretentious Latin inscription, quoted by Ciasca, p. vi.
1106
.
28
Can this be a misprint for 95?
1107
Lit. powers.
1108
.
29
See below, 13.
1109
.
30
He does not state, in so many words, that the list is absolutely exhaustive.
1110
.
1111
The word as printed by Ciasca perhaps means gifts, but by dropping a point from the second letter we get the post-classical word given in the text above.
31
See, e.g., below, § 13, 42, note, and § 14, 43, note.
1112
.
32
See the valuable article of Guidi, "Le traduzioni degli Evangelii in arabo e in etiopico" (Atti della R. Accademia dei Lincei; Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e filologiche. Serie Quarta, 1888, Parte Prima—Memorie, pp. 5-38). Some of his results are briefly stated in Scrivener, A Plain Introd. to the Crit. of the N.T., 4th ed., ii., 162.
1113
.
1114
See below, § 20, 28, note.
33
cf.the foot-notes passim, e.g., § 13, 14, § 14, 24.
1115
.
34
See below, note to Subscription.
1116
.
35
See a glaring case in § 52, 11.
1117
The word translated devil in preceding verse.
1118
.
1119
This is an Arabic clerical error for forces. The Syriac word for power means also military forces, which was apparently rendered in Arabic army, a word that differs from race only in diacritical points.
36
The references to the readings of the Diatessaron in Ibn-at-Tayyib's own commentary on the gospels (see next note) are remarkably impersonal for one who had made or was to make a translation of it.
1120
.
37
A specially important part of the general question is this, What are the mutual relations of the following: (1) a supposed version of at least Matthew and John made from the Syriac by Ibn-at-Tayyib, mentioned by Ibn-al-Assal in the Preface to his scholarly recension of the gospels (ms. numbered Or. 3382 in Brit. Mus., folio 384b) and used by him in determining his text; (2) the gospel text interwoven with the commentary of Ibn-at-Tayyib on the gospels, a commentary which De Slane says the author wrote in Syriac and then translated into Arabic; (3) our present work. Of mss. testifying to No. 1 we have some dating from the time of Ibn-al-Assal himself; of No. 2 we have, in addition to others, an eleventh-century ms. in Paris, described by De Slane (catalogue No. 85) as being "un volume dépareillé du ms. original de l'ouvrage"; of No. 3 we have of course the Vatican and Borgian mss. What is the mutual relation of these texts; were any two of them identical? The Brit. Mus. ms. of the second has many points of contact with the third, but is dated 1805 a.d. Does the older Paris ms. stand more or less closely related? Did Ibn-at-Tayyib himself really translate any or all of these texts, or did he simply select or edit them? Space does not permit us to point out, far less to discuss, the various possibilities.
1121
.
38
The text is given below in full at its proper place.
1122
.
1123
cf. Pesh. and A.V. margin.
39
Prof. Gottheil, indeed, announced in 1892 in the Journal of Biblical Literature (vol. xi., pt. i., p. 71) that he had been privately informed of the existence of a complete copy of the Syriac Diatessaron. Unfortunately, however, as he has kindly informed me, he has reluctantly come to the conclusion that the ms. in question, which is not yet accessible, is "nothing more than the commentary of Ishodad" mentioned in the text. A similar rumor lately circulated probably originated simply in the pamphlet of Goussen mentioned in the next note. S. Bäumer, on the other hand, in his article, "Tatians Diatessaron, seine bisher. Lit. u. die Reconstruction des Textes nach einer neuentdeckten Handschrift" (Literarischer Handweiser, 1890, 153-169) which the present writer has not been able to see, perhaps refers simply to the Borgian ms.
1124
.
40
Attention was called to these by Profs. Isaac H. Hall and R. J. H. Gottheil (Journ. of Bibl. Lit., x., 153 ff.; xi., 68 ff.); then by Prof. J. R. Harris (Contemp. Rev., Aug., 1895, p. 271 ff., and, more fully, Fragments of the Com. of Ephr. Syr. on the Diatess., London, 1895) and by Goussen (Studia Theologica, fasc. i., Lips., 1895).
1125
.
1126
Lit. that (cf. above, § 1, 50, note).
41
Prof. Harris promises an edition of this commentary.
1127
.
42
Harris, Fragments, p. 14, where the Syriac text is quoted.
1128
.
43
Bib. Or., ii., 159 f. Most of them are repeated again by Bar Hebræus (d. 1286), although some confusion is produced by his interweaving some phrases from Eusebius of Cæsarea. (Bib. Or., i., 57 f., and a longer quotation in English in Contemp. Rev., Aug., 1895, p. 274 f.)
1129
.
1130
Or, his life; or, his soul.
44
Lagarde's statement (Nachrichten von der Königl. Gesellsch. der Wiss., etc., zu Göttingen, 1891, No. 4, p. 153) that a ms. had been discovered, appears to have been unfounded. Prof. Rahlfs of Göttingen kindly tells me that he believes this is so.
1131
.
45
Migne, Patrol. græc., tom. lxxxiii., col. 369, 372.
1132
.
46
Published at Venice in 1836.
1133
This rendering assumes that tower is treated as feminine.
1134
.
47
The two Armenian mss. are dated a.d. 1195.
1135
Or, it.
1136
.
48
Evangelii Concordantis Expositio, facta a S. Ephraemo (Ven., 1876).
1137
.
1138
Or, a king like him.
49
Forschungen zur Geschichte des neutestamentlichen Kanons, I. Theil.
1139
.
50
Edited by Ernestus Ranke, Marb. and Lips., 1868.
1140
.
1141
Or, let.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and A. Cleveland Coxe (1885–96). Public domain. Text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.