Studies in the Syriac versions of St. John Chrysostom's homilies on the New Testament

Thesis



The thesis conducts systematic studies of the Syriac versions of St. John Chrysostom's Homilies on the New Testamentandmdash;the Homilies on Matthew, the Homilies on John, and the Homilies on the Epistles of St. Paul. The thesis focuses mainly on sixth- and seventh-century British Library manuscripts, but is also concerned with the spread of the material over the course of centuries into different sorts of books. Pre-dating extant Greek witnesses by centuries, the main Syriac manuscripts preserve translations made during the fifth and sixth centuries and constitute unique textual evidence for students of the Greek. By analyzing the methods of translation, it has been possible to place the versions within the framework of the development of Syriac translation technique and to highlight methodological issues for those attempting to relate Syriac versions to their Greek source texts. The translation analysis includes Biblical citations. The analyses have shown that the Homilies on the Epistles were translated last and are the most literal. The Homilies on Matthew and on John were translated earlier, are relatively less literal, and most likely to have Peshitta or even (occasionally) Old Syriac Bible texts rather than direct translations from the Greek.

Several of the Homilies on John are edited and translated, allowing a critique of M.-E. Boismard's interpretation and use of the Syriac version, which is seen to be unsatisfactory in several ways.

Authors: Childers, J; Childers, Jeffrey Wayne

• Alternative title: with special reference to homilies 6, 20, 22, 23, 37, 62, 83, and 84 on John
• Publication date: 1996
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-rv25d9mmb
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: Syriac, Greek, Ancient (to 1453), and English