The Four Gospels Torrey

The translation which is here offered follows the Greek closely, diverging from it only where it seems probable, or certain, from recognition of the underlying Semitic idiom, that the Greek rendering causes misunderstanding. .Jesus and his disciples spoke and wrote Aramaic. His reported discourses and the earliest accounts of his deeds were written down and circulated in that language. In what way these primitive records were related to our Four Gospels is a question which hitherto has not received any satisfactory answer. There is clear and complete evidence that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John were composed in Aramaic on the basis of diverse written material widespread in Palestine, and that our Greek is the result of literal translation. There is very good reason to believe that Mk. was written in the year 40, Mt. a short time after. Each of these two Gospels was rendered into Greek very soon after its first appearance. The Gospel of Jn., composed in Palestine, presumably in Jerusalem, seems to have been soon carried away, to be translated into Greek many years later in a foreign land, perhaps at Ephesus. Luke compiled his Gospel from Semitic sources only, collected by himself and rendered into Greek with remarkable faithfulness. The document comprising the first two chapters was Hebrew, the rest Aramaic. The Greek text which is here followed is almost always that of Westcott and Hort. The test of translation seems to show that the text of Codex B stands very near indeed to that ofthe original translators.