The Gospel of Tatian: Exploring the Nature and Text of the Diatessaron
Ebook
This volume combines some of the leading voices on the composition and collection of early Christian gospels in order to analyze Tatian's Diatessaron. The rapid rise and sudden suppression of the Diatessaron has raised numerous questions about the nature and intent of this second-century composition. It has been claimed as both a vindication of the fourfold gospel's early canonical status and as an argument for the canon's on-going fluidity; it has been touted as both a premiere witness to the earliest recoverable gospel text and as an early corrupting influence on that text. Collectively, these essays provide the greatest advance in Diatessaronic scholarship in a quarter of a century.
The contributors explore numerous questions: did Tatian intend to supplement or supplant the fourfold gospel? How many were his sources and how free was he with their text? How do we identify a Diatessaronic witness? Is it legitimate to use Tatian's Diatessaron as a source in New Testament textual criticism? Is a reconstruction of the Diatessaron still possible? These queries in turn contribute to the question of what the Diatessaron signifies with respect to the broader context of gospel writing, and what this can tell us about how the writing, rewriting and reception of gospel material functioned in the first and second centuries and beyond.
Explores the question of whether Tatian's Diatessaron was merely a “gospel harmony,” mechanically compiling canonical texts, or a gospel in its own right, designed to supplant its sources.
Considers the nature of gospel writing in the second century and how the Diatessaron fits into this
The volume offers a state of the question on Tatian's Diatessaron from all the experts currently working on this topic
Addresses the crucial question for study of this text: what Tatian thought he was doing, whether he was writing a gospel or creating a harmony of existing gospels
List of Illustrations
List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction – Matthew R. Crawford, Australian Catholic University, Australia and Nicholas J. Zola Pepperdine University, USA
Part I: The Sources of Tatian's Gospel
1. The Diatessaron and its Beginning: A Twofold Statement of Tatian - Tjitze Baarda, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
2. Diatessaron, Diapente, Diapollon? Exploring the Nature and Extent of Extracanonical Influence in Tatian's Diatessaron - Charles E. Hill, Reformed Theological Seminary, USA
3. Tatian's Sources and the Presentation of the Jewish Law in the Diatessaron - Jan Joosten, University of Oxford, UK
Part II: The Nature of Tatian's Gospel
4. Harmony or Gospel? On the Genre of the (So-called) Diatessaron - Francis Watson, University of Durham, UK
5. What Justin's Gospels Can Tell Us about Tatian's: Tracing the Trajectory of the Gospel Harmony in the Second Century and Beyond - Nicholas Perrin, Wheaton Graduate School, USA
6. Tatian's Diatessaron and the Proliferation of Gospels - James W. Barker, Western Kentucky University, USA
Part III: The Witnesses to Tatian's Gospel
7. The Wrong Harmony: Against the Diatessaronic Character of the Dura Parchment - Ian Mills, Duke University, USA
8. Before and After: Some Notes on the Pre- and Post-History of Codex Fuldensis - Ulrich B. Schmid, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel, Germany
9. The Use of Tatian's Diatessaron in the Textual Criticism of the Gospels and the Future of Diatessaronic Studies - Nicholas J. Zola, Pepperdine University, USA
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Subjects
- Title: The Gospel of Tatian: Exploring the Nature and Text of the Diatessaron
- Authors: Matthew R. Crawford, Nicholas J. Zola
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780567679918, 9780567700346, 0567700348, 0567679918
- Resource ID: LLS:9780567679918
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-12T04:00:51Z
Matthew R. Crawford is Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies at the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
Nicholas J. Zola is Associate Professor of Religion in Seaver College at Pepperdine University, Malibu, USA.