Diatessaron

October 9, 2008

Gk. dia, “through” + tessaron “four”

An early compilation of the four New Testament Gospels into a single narrative by Tatian, a Christian apologist, created about A.D. 150. In this harmony, Tatian attempted to resolve all apparent conflicts as well as remove repeated narrative material. It contained most of the Gospels’ material except for, according to Theodoret, the two different genealogies of Jesus (one in the Gospel of Matthew and one in the Gospel of Luke). As well, it lacked the pericope adulterae (John 7:53 - 8:11). It was the standard Gospel text in the Syrian Middle East until about ad 400, when it was replaced by the four separated Gospels.

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