The Leiden Peshitta

The Syriac Peshitta of the Old and New Testament originated during the first centuries of the Christian era, and has been used ever since in the non-western churches of Syrian signature. Much like the Greek translations of the Old Testament, this ancient version is an important source for our knowledge of the textual traditions behind the biblical text. In contrast to the manuscripts of most Hebrew traditions, which date from the beginning of the Middle Ages, the extant Syriac manuscripts date from the fifth century. Some New Testament scholars argue for Aramaic as the original language of portions of the New Testament, and similarities between Aramaic and the Syriac of the Peshitta lead these scholars to encourage the study of the Peshitta.

This edition of the Old and New Testament was prepared at the Peshitta Institute in Leiden, and has become the standard Syriac edition. A. Ceriani’s photolithographic edition of 1876 serves as the basis for the Leiden Peshitta.

The Logos edition of the Leiden Peshitta features the entire running text of the Syriac translations of the Old and New Testament, plus the deutero-canonical works. The entire Peshitta contains a limited critical apparatus. This edition also contains two manuscript versions of Tobit, Epistle of Baruch, 1 Maccabees, Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalms, and is available in two Syriac scripts: Serto and Estangela.