M. P. Weitzman, The Syriac Version of the Old Testament: An Introduction

Weitzman writes clearly, expressing mature ideas on a level understandable by nonspecialists.From the personal perspective of this reviewer, the author will be remembered as a gentleman in scholarly disagreement.His premature death is a great loss to the scholarly community.2. By "the Syriac version, " the author means the Peshitta.It alone deserves this appellation, since it remained the Bible of the Eastern church even after the production of other versions in Syriac: that of Paul of Tella in 615-617 based on the LXX (the so-called Syro-Hexapla) and that of Jacob of Edessa about 705.He uses the term "the Old Testament" because the version has been preserved exclusively by the Eastern church, even though it may have had Jewish origins and did in the opinion of Weitzman.3. This volume has a well-articulated major thesis and a number of minor ones-how refreshing!The presentation of the facts has a point to prove, so it engages the reader's mind and constantly challenges one's own ideas.Weitzman argues that the Peshitta was a product of a small Jewish community estranged from the Rabbinic majority, which over time became converted to Christianity.It was produced in the late second century CE, between 150 and 200, probably at Edessa.Weitzman believes that the various books of the Peshitta reflect stages in this reconstructed history.4. Weitzman's volume has five chapters in addition to the Introduction (= chapter 1).Chapter 2 treats the relationship between the Peshitta and the Hebrew; chapter 3 the Peshitta and other versions; chapter 4 unity and diversity in the Peshitta; chapter 5 the background of the Peshitta; and chapter 6 the establishment of the text of the Old Testament Peshitta.5. In chapter 2, the author demonstrates that the Hebrew Vorlage of the Peshitta stood close to the Hebrew MT; in fact, they have a common origin.The Peshitta is an idiomatic translation, concerned about conveying the proper sense of the Hebrew without slavish adherence.It is charac-