The Gospel of Luke According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation

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. Childers has translated the Peshitta of Luke, 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.

The Gospel of Luke is the longest of the canonical Gospels and includes a number of highly memorable stories and teachings of Jesus that excited the imagination of early Christians. Some of its language and distinctive teachings were especially influential in early Syriac ascetic thought. The Peshitta Luke is not an independent translation from the Greek, but represents a process of revision of earlier Syriac versions (the Diatessaron and the Old Syriac), culminating in the early fifth century, after which the Peshitta became the standard form of the Gospel text for all the Syriac Churches. To produce the Peshitta, the ancient editor/s revised the text to bring it more in line with the Greek text, though traces of the earlier versions remain. Childers furnishes an Introduction giving background information about the Syriac text, and explains his translation technique. Examples of noteworthy and difficult readings are discussed.