08-23-2010, 09:15 PM
Here's my thoughts and speculations on primacy:
There was likely some sort of corroboration between Aramaic and Greek texts, as proposed in Roth's Signs of the Cross. This would be similar in style to the Aramaic composition of Josephus. It's up for grabs as to exactly how the Greek and Aramaic texts developed across the languages, but it's a probable solution as some points have varying strength when comparing Greek and Aramaic witnesses, neither undermining the antiquity of the Aramaic Peshitta nor of select Greek manuscript family/families. I believe a better critical text can be achieved by starting with the Peshitta and making amendments from variants found in the oldest Greek manuscripts. I also think that some form of Greek versions of all the books have the apostles' stamp of approval, but also that some of them differ from the commonly accepted texts used by translations today. To the greatest extent possible, Peshitta scholarship should try its best to show the corroboration with Greek witnesses instead of ignoring them.
There was likely some sort of corroboration between Aramaic and Greek texts, as proposed in Roth's Signs of the Cross. This would be similar in style to the Aramaic composition of Josephus. It's up for grabs as to exactly how the Greek and Aramaic texts developed across the languages, but it's a probable solution as some points have varying strength when comparing Greek and Aramaic witnesses, neither undermining the antiquity of the Aramaic Peshitta nor of select Greek manuscript family/families. I believe a better critical text can be achieved by starting with the Peshitta and making amendments from variants found in the oldest Greek manuscripts. I also think that some form of Greek versions of all the books have the apostles' stamp of approval, but also that some of them differ from the commonly accepted texts used by translations today. To the greatest extent possible, Peshitta scholarship should try its best to show the corroboration with Greek witnesses instead of ignoring them.