Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Stephen C. Carlson" <scarlson AT mindspring.com>]

At 04:31 PM 12/21/99 -0000, Andrew Davies wrote:
>>Tatian's Diatesseron is a document known to be composed of the four gospels.
>>If the only gospel that survived was the Diatesseron, would scholars be
>>wrong to subdivide it into four sources?
>No, but then this is an entirely different circumstance.  Aren't the four
>traditions separated already clearly in the text?  I thought they were in
>columns, but then I might be thinking of the hexapla. There is a big
>difference between this and postulating a number of hypothetical sources
>which no one can be sure existed (and no one agrees upon the extent,
>definition, context and characteristics of).

I believe you are thinking of the Hexapla.  If you want to read an on-line
version of the Diatessaron (apparently a translation of the Arabic version),
please visit:
        http://ccel.wheaton.edu/fathers2/ANF-10/anf10-07.htm

Stephen Carlson
--
Stephen C. Carlson                        mailto:scarlson AT mindspring.com
Synoptic Problem Home Page   http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/synopt/
"Poetry speaks of aspirations, and songs chant the words."  Shujing 2.35