Research into Persian Translation of the Four Gospels by Yuhanna Ibn-e Yusif & Its Relationship to the Persian Diatessaron

Introduction

The translator of the Persian Diatessaron is unidentified, but Messina (the editor of the book) speculated that a certain Yuhanna may be its translator, based on a table in the margin of a manuscript. However, the information has still remained unchanged, and new resources have not been gained so far to determine its translator’s name. In this article, we examine two translations by a Christian named Yuhanna (John) Ibn-e al-Qess Yusif Ibn-e Sham’un al-Ya’qubi al-Mayafareqini who translated the four Gospels from Syriac into Persian at least twice. His translations exhibit a significant number of thematic and linguistic similarities, particularly lexical ones, with the Persian Diatessaron - especially concerning those words that are exclusive to these three texts. Moreover, one of the two translations, preserved in the Bodleian Library, includes a preface that was added to the beginning of the Diatessaron, with some slight changes compatible with the latter text and the time of its translation. This raises a question about the relationship between the two Gospels translations and the Persian Diatessaron.
 

Literature Review

The Persian Diatessaron was edited and published by Messina in Rome in 1951. He wrote an introduction to the book and translated it into Italian. so far, three Persian articles have been written on the Persian Diatessaron; The first, written by Afshar, contains useful information about the text, its content, its manuscripts, and some historical issues related to it. The last section of the paper covers the book’s special words as well as a brief comparison with an almost new Persian translation of the Gospels (London, 1925). The second paper, written by Rezaee Bagh Bidi, focuses on the linguistic characteristics of the text, including phonetical, grammatical, and lexical ones. In the third paper, Safari Aq-Qaleh addresses some questions about the time of the translation and the entity of its translator. The author also introduces the manuscripts and editions of the Persian Diatessaron and its structure. In the last section, he mentions several rare words in the text.
 

Methodology

This study uses library research methods, focusing on note-taking and making comparisons between the two Gospels translations and the Persian Diatessaron. Then, seven classic translations of the Gospels are considered to ensure that the shared words and phrases in the three mentioned texts are exclusive to them. In addition, these special words and phrases are searched in the Farhangyar Corpora, which illustrates their uniqueness.
 

Discussion

By studying the two Gospels translations, the full name and title of their translator can be identified. Additionally, based on a Persian translation of Torah, translated and transcribed by his brother, the names of his brother and grandfather are revealed. Then, by comparing the two Gospels translations, we highlight their unique words. The next discussion focuses on the time of the Diatessaron translation. More specifically, according to previous studies, it was probably translated at the end of the 7^th or the beginning of the 8^th century A.H., and it is possible that the Persian Diatessaron was translated after the Gospels translation preserved in the Bodleian Library. The latter translation has an extensive preface which was added to the beginning of the Diatessaron. However, in one manuscript, a person named Yahye ibn-e Evas-e Tabrizi replaced the translator’s name with his own name and made only slight changes in personal information. In the last part of the article, these special, rare words in the Gospels translation (preserved in the Fatih Library) and the Persian Diatessaron are listed. Then, some alternative equivalents of these words in seven classic Gospel translations are mentioned.
 

Conclusion

A Christian named Yuhanna ibn-e Yusif translated the four Gospels from Syriac into Persian twice. There are numerous similarities between these Gospels translations and the Persian Diatessaron, leading to the hypothesis that one person may have translated them. In Addition, translating the Persian Diatessaron may have happened after one of the two Gospels translations, but confirming the hypothesis requires more resources in the future. Although some available indications are not sufficient to fully support the hypothesis, they can reinforce it when considered together. To begin with, the two Gospels translations share thematic similarities as well as linguistic features, particularly lexical ones. The three texts contain a large number of special words and terms which have not been used in other Persian texts, even in the classic Gospels translations. Secondly, the Gospels translation preserved in the Bodleian Library and the Persian Diatessaron share a preface. While it is possible that another person used it for the Diatessaron, there is also a strong possibility that the translator reused his previous preface for the Diatessaron; then he adapted it to fit the new context. For example, he mentioned that he had traveled from Tabriz to the east of Iran. In the translation preserved in the Fatih Library, the translator noted his presence in Tabriz. Next, the hypothesis does not contradict historical evidence. According to the previous research, the Diatessaron was translated into Persian at the end of the 7^th century or the beginning of the 8^th century, and the translation preserved in the Fatih Library was completed at the end of the first quarter of the 8^th century. The time of the Gospels translation preserved in the Bodleian Library is indefinite, but based on our hypothesis, it is probably the very text after which the Diatessaron was translated. It is also important to note that in the Persian Diatessaron, the translator stated that he had previously translated the four Gospels into Persian. Finally, Yuhanna is the name written in the margin of the Diatessaron’s manuscript. Although it is insufficient evidence, we cannot underestimate its significance. As a result, we cannot definitely assert that Yuhanna is the very indefinite translator of the Persian Diatessaron, yet we can put forward the hypothesis until new resources confirm or reject it in the future.