Introductory Notes

Section XLVII

Page 54 of 468

¹³²⁴⁸ A little while, and ye shall not behold me; and a little while again, and ye shall² behold me; because I go to the Father.³²⁴⁹ His disciples therefore said one to another, What is this that he hath said unto us, A little while, and ye shall not behold me; and a little while again, and ye shall behold me: and, I go to my³ Father?³²⁵⁰ And they said, What is this little while that he hath said? We know not⁴ what he speaketh.³²⁵¹ And Jesus perceived that they were seeking to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said unto you, A little while, and ye behold me not, and a little while again, and ye shall⁵ behold me?³²⁵² Verily, verily,³²⁵³ I say unto you, that ye shall weep and grieve, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your grief shall turn³²⁵⁴ to joy.

⁶³²⁵⁵ For, a woman when the time is come for her that she should bring forth, the arrival of the day of her bringing forth distresseth her: but whenever she hath brought forth a son, she remembereth not her distress, for joy at the birth of a man into the⁷ world.³²⁵⁶ And ye now also grieve: but I shall see you, and your hearts shall rejoice,⁸ [Arabic, p. 178] and your joy no man taketh from you.³²⁵⁷ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. And verily, verily,³²⁵⁸ I say unto you, All that ye ask my Father in my name, he will give you.³²⁵⁹ Hitherto ye have asked nothing⁹ in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be complete.

¹⁰³²⁶⁰ I have spoken unto you now in ænigmas:³²⁶¹ but there will come an hour when³²⁶² I shall not speak to you in ænigmas,³²⁶³ but shall reveal unto you the Father plainly,¹¹ in that day when³²⁶⁴ ye shall ask in my name:³²⁶⁵ and I say not unto you, that I shall¹² entreat the Father for you;³²⁶⁶ for the Father loveth you, because ye have loved me,¹³ and have believed that I came forth from my Father.³²⁶⁷ I came forth from my Father, and came into the world: and I leave the world, and go unto my Father.¹⁴³²⁶⁸ His disciples said unto him, Lo, thy speech is now plain, and thou hast not said one¹⁵ thing in an ænigma.³²⁶⁹ Now, lo, we know that thou knowest everything, and needest not that any man should ask thee: and by this we believe that thou camest forth [16, 17] from God.³²⁷⁰ Jesus said unto them, Believe that an hour cometh,³²⁷¹ and lo, it hath come, and ye shall be scattered, every one of you to his place, and shall leave me¹⁸ alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.³²⁷² This have I said unto you, that in me ye may have peace. And in the world trouble shall overtake you: but be of good courage; for I have overcome the world.

¹⁹³²⁷³ This said Jesus, and lifted up his eyes unto heaven, and said, My Father, the hour²⁰ is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee:³²⁷⁴ as thou gavest him authority²¹ over all flesh, that all that thou hast given him, he might give them³²⁷⁵ eternal life.³²⁷⁶ And this is eternal life, that they should³²⁷⁷ know that thou alone art true God, and that he²² [Arabic, p. 179] whom thou didst send is Jesus the Messiah.³²⁷⁸³²⁷⁹ I glorified thee in the earth,²³ and the work which thou gavest me to do I have accomplished.³²⁸⁰ And now glorify thou me, O Father, beside thee, with that glory which I had with thee²⁴ before the world was.³²⁸¹ I made known thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept [25, 26] thy word.³²⁸² Now they³²⁸³ know that all that thou hast given me is from thee:³²⁸⁴ and the sayings which thou gavest me I have given unto them; and they received them, and knew of a truth that I came forth from thee, and believed that thou didst send me.²⁷³²⁸⁵ And I ask for their sake: and my asking is not for the world, but for those whom²⁸ thou hast given me; for they are thine:³²⁸⁶ and all that is mine is thine, and all that is²⁹ thine is mine: and I am glorified in them.³²⁸⁷ And now I am not in the world, and they are in the world, and I come to thee. My³²⁸⁸ holy Father, keep them in thy³⁰ name which thou hast given unto me, that they may be one, as we are.³²⁸⁹ When I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: and I kept those whom thou gavest unto me: and no man of them hath perished, but the son of perdition; that³¹ the scripture might be fulfilled.³²⁹⁰ Now I come to thee: and this I say in the world,³² that my joy may be complete in them.³²⁹¹ I have given them thy word; and the world³³ hated them, because they were not of the world, as I was not of the world.³²⁹² And I ask not this, that thou take them from the world, but that thou keep them from the [34, 35] evil one.³²⁹³ They were not of the world, as I was not of the world.³²⁹⁴ O Father, sanctify³⁶ them in thy truth: for thy word is truth.³²⁹⁵ And as thou didst send me into the world, I³⁷ [Arabic, p. 180] also send them into the world.³²⁹⁶ And for their sake I sanctify myself, that they³⁸ also may be sanctified in the truth.³²⁹⁷ Neither for these alone do I ask, but for³⁹ the sake of them that believe in me through their word;³²⁹⁸ that they may be all one; as thou art in me, and I in thee, and so they also shall be one in us: that the world⁴⁰ may believe that thou didst send me.³²⁹⁹ And the glory which thou hast given unto⁴¹ me I have given unto them;³³⁰⁰ that they may be one, as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect into³³⁰¹ one; and that the world may know that⁴² thou didst send me, and that I³³⁰² loved them, as thou lovedst me.³³⁰³ Father, and those whom thou hast given me, I wish that, where I am, they may be with me also; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before⁴³ the foundation³³⁰⁴ of the world.³³⁰⁵ My righteous Father,³³⁰⁶ and the world knew thee not,⁴⁴ but I know thee; and they knew that thou didst send me; and I made known unto them thy name, and will make it known to them;³³⁰⁷ that the love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I shall³³⁰⁸ be in them.

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.
3248
.
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).
3249
.
3
Par[alem]phthenai is perhaps supported by paralabontes, .
3250
.
4
I know no other instance of stauriskein.
3251
.
5
cf. , where Syr. Pesch. reads: "They say, These bodies shall not remain on the cross, because the sabbath dawneth."
3252
.
3253
Not quite the usual formula, there being here no article.
3254
The Arabic might also be rendered be turned, but the Syriac is intransitive.
6
The text here is corrupt: for epesanto I have provisionally read epesan te.
3255
.
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.)
3256
.
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.
3257
.
3258
Not quite the usual formula, there being here no article (cf. also § 47, 5).
3259
.
9
The form of the question in the Greek suggests a negative answer.
10
[cf. John passim.]
3260
.
3261
Not the usual word for proverb or parable (cf. Syriac versions).
3262
So Vat. ms. and Peshitta. The Borg. ms., followed by Ciasca, has and a time when.
3263
Not the usual word for proverb or parable (cf. Syriac versions).
11
[cf. .]
3264
cf. Peshitta.
3265
.
12
[cf. ; .]
3266
.
13
[cf. .]
3267
.
14
[cf. ; .]
3268
.
15
[cf. .]
3269
.
3270
.
3271
.
18
See notes to § 7, 47, and § 52, 36, of the present translation.
3272
.
19
See below, 12, (2).
3273
.
20
See also below, 6, and 20.
3274
.
21
Bibl. Or., i., 619.
3275
Lit. it or him.
3276
.
3277
In the Borg. ms. the sentence begins with that they might, the preceding clause being omitted.
22
Mai, Vet. script. nova. collect., iv., 14.
3278
The above is perhaps the most natural rendering of the Arabic; but the latter is really only an awkward word-for-word reproduction of the Peshitta, which means know thee, who alone art the God of truth, and him whom thou didst send, (even) Jesus the Messiah.
3279
.
23
cf. Zahn, Forschungen, i., 294 ff.
3280
.
24
See below, § 7, 47, note, and § 52, 36, note.
3281
.
3282
.
3283
So Ciasca's text. The Vat. ms. has I, with the Peshitta and probably Sinaitic.
3284
.
27
The first leaf bears a more pretentious Latin inscription, quoted by Ciasca, p. vi.
3285
.
28
Can this be a misprint for 95?
3286
.
29
See below, 13.
3287
.
3288
So in Sinaitic. The Peshitta omits My.
30
He does not state, in so many words, that the list is absolutely exhaustive.
3289
.
31
See, e.g., below, § 13, 42, note, and § 14, 43, note.
3290
.
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.
3291
.
33
cf.the foot-notes passim, e.g., § 13, 14, § 14, 24.
3292
.
3293
.
3294
.
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.
3295
.
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.
3296
.
38
The text is given below in full at its proper place.
3297
.
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.
3298
.
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).
3299
.
41
Prof. Harris promises an edition of this commentary.
3300
.
3301
Vat. ms. has as.
42
Harris, Fragments, p. 14, where the Syriac text is quoted.
3302
cf. Peshitta, as pointed in the editions.
3303
.
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.)
3304
cf. § 17, 17, note.
3305
.
3306
The Arabic as it stands should mean My Father is righteous; but it is simply the ordinary Syriac reading, and is so rendered above.
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.
3307
.
3308
Or perhaps may.

Notes

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.

3248

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).

3249

Par[alem]phthenai is perhaps supported by paralabontes, .

3250

I know no other instance of stauriskein.

3251

cf. , where Syr. Pesch. reads: "They say, These bodies shall not remain on the cross, because the sabbath dawneth."

3252

3253

Not quite the usual formula, there being here no article.

3254

The Arabic might also be rendered be turned, but the Syriac is intransitive.

The text here is corrupt: for epesanto I have provisionally read epesan te.

3255

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.)

3256

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.

3257

3258

Not quite the usual formula, there being here no article (cf. also § 47, 5).

3259

The form of the question in the Greek suggests a negative answer.

[cf. John passim.]

3260

3261

Not the usual word for proverb or parable (cf. Syriac versions).

3262

So Vat. ms. and Peshitta. The Borg. ms., followed by Ciasca, has and a time when.

3263

Not the usual word for proverb or parable (cf. Syriac versions).

[cf. .]

cf. Peshitta.

[cf. ; .]

[cf. .]

[cf. ; .]

[cf. .]

See notes to § 7, 47, and § 52, 36, of the present translation.

3272

See below, 12, (2).

3273

See also below, 6, and 20.

Bibl. Or., i., 619.

Lit. it or him.

In the Borg. ms. the sentence begins with that they might, the preceding clause being omitted.

Mai, Vet. script. nova. collect., iv., 14.

3278

The above is perhaps the most natural rendering of the Arabic; but the latter is really only an awkward word-for-word reproduction of the Peshitta, which means know thee, who alone art the God of truth, and him whom thou didst send, (even) Jesus the Messiah.

3279

cf. Zahn, Forschungen, i., 294 ff.

3280

See below, § 7, 47, note, and § 52, 36, note.

3281

3282

3283

So Ciasca's text. The Vat. ms. has I, with the Peshitta and probably Sinaitic.

3284

The first leaf bears a more pretentious Latin inscription, quoted by Ciasca, p. vi.

3285

Can this be a misprint for 95?

3286

See below, 13.

3287

3288

So in Sinaitic. The Peshitta omits My.

He does not state, in so many words, that the list is absolutely exhaustive.

3289

See, e.g., below, § 13, 42, note, and § 14, 43, note.

3290

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.

3291

cf.the foot-notes passim, e.g., § 13, 14, § 14, 24.

3292

3293

3294

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.

3295

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.

3296

The text is given below in full at its proper place.

3297

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.

3298

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).

3299

Prof. Harris promises an edition of this commentary.

3300

3301

Vat. ms. has as.

Harris, Fragments, p. 14, where the Syriac text is quoted.

3302

cf. Peshitta, as pointed in the editions.

3303

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.)

3304

cf. § 17, 17, note.

3305

3306

The Arabic as it stands should mean My Father is righteous; but it is simply the ordinary Syriac reading, and is so rendered above.

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.

3307

3308

Or perhaps may.