jewish-christian gospels and syriac gospel traditions Third, the hypothesis also accords with the fact that Epiphanius once
equated theDiatessaronwith theGospel of the Hebrews(Epiphanius,
Pan. ..). In the light of the present passage, it seems that he was on
the right track: by the time of Epiphanius, the Syriac-speaking Jewish
Christians used a gospel that included traditions that were also available
in Tatian’sDiatessaron.
Tatian’sDiatessaron,whichisthoughttoprecedetheOldSyriactrans-
lations, was probably composed around –, most likely between
and . On the other hand, the Peshitta, with which Origen’s passage
seldom agrees, started to replace the separate gospels during the th cen-
tury,^40 and that has also been considered as the first possible timing for
the Latin translation of Origen’s commentary. Thus, the passage in Ori-
gen’s commentary was probably translated into Syriac during the third
or fourth centuries. However, if it is connected to the earlier Greek har-
monistic tradition, as suggested above, then its earlier versions are rooted
in the second century.
I agree with Petersen that the harmonistic readings that can be found
in both the “Gospel of the Nazarenes” of the GH and in theGospel of the
Ebionites, raise the question whether the quotations have been assigned
correctly.^41 However, instead of supporting a theory of only one Jewish-
Christian gospel preceding theDiatessaron, as suggested by Petersen, or
a theory of a fifth, Jewish-Christian, source that Tatian used in hisDiates-
saron, as suggested in earlier Diatessaronic studies,^42 Isupportanalter-
native explanation for the similarities: the composers of Jewish-Christian
gospels were drawing on pre-Diatessaronic harmonizing traditions, and
Origen’s passage is derived from theGospel of the Hebrewsthat was com-
posed before Justin’s harmony (cf. Appendix ).
...Mapping Jewish-Christian ProfilesAlthough Klijn’s analysis of the Jewish-Christian gospels mostly deals
with tradition historical and literary historical questions, he also briefly
summarizes the theology and historical setting of the gospels he has
reconstructed. In his view, the “Gospel of the Nazarenes,” which shares
(^40) Metzger , –; Petersen , . According to Black , –, the
archetype of the Old Syriac translations (Sysand Syc) dates from the middle of the fourth
century.
(^41) Petersen , –, –.
(^42) Tatian’s possible use of a fifth, Jewish-Christian, source has been discussed since the
beginning of Diatessaronic studies (Petersen , ).