Bible Versions

Among the ancient Bible versions the most important are the following:

Armaic Bible Versions, including the Targums.

Armenian Bible Version, a translation into Armenian, about the 5Th century, of the Old Testament, based on Origen's text of the Septuagint, and of the New Testament from the Syriac, later revised according to the Greek texts.

Egyptian Coptic Bible Versions, primarily in three forms, the Sahidic, sometimes known as the Thebaic, of Upper Egypt, perhaps the oldest; the Fatumic, or Middle Egyptian; and the Bohairic, now in ecclesiastical use among Copts, or Egyptian Christians. These Bible versions do not date before the 4Th century and are based on the Septuagint for the Old Testament and on some unknown Greek text for the New Testament.

Ethiopean or Geez Bible Version, a faithful translation into Ethiopic of the entire Bible, including nearly the whole of the Apocrypha, based on a Greek text dating from between the 4Th and 6Th centuries, the only authorized bible version among Abyssinian Christians.

Georgian Bible Version, a translation of the whole Bible into the ancient Iberian from Greek, part of which date from the 5Th century.

Gothic Bible Version, a translation by Ulfilas into Ostrogothic from the Greek, of the whole Bible except, according to tradition, the Book of Kings; only fragments remain.

Greek Bible Versions, besides the Septuagint, there are three translations, known by the names of their authors:
- Aquila's Version, a translation of the Old Testament by Aguila of Pontus in the 2Nd century.
- Symmachus' Version, the Old Testament from the late 2Nd century, by Symmachus of Samaria.
- Theodotion's Version, a revision of the Septuagint, used by Origen in his Hexapla.

Latin Bible Versions, aside from the Vulgate and Itala, the old Latin translations from Greek texts, existing only in fragments, representing manuscripts from African, European, and Italian sources.

Samartian Bible Versions, the Samartian Pentateuch, a revision of the Jewish Pentateuch, possibly pre-Christian in origin, the current text from the 2Nd century; and the Samartian Targum, a translation of the Pentateuch into the Samartian dialect.

Syriac Bible Versions, besides the Peshito, a translation of the Diatessaron of Tatian; and the Evangelion da Mepharreshe or Gospel of the Separated Omes, probably from the 2Nd century.

Palestinian Bible Version, a New Testament Bible Version in Aramaic, probably dating form no earlier than the 6Th century.



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