Heritage, Manuscripts, Saint Thomas Christian Liturgy

Dear Dr Kuruvilla Cherian, Regarding Mt 19.24 and parallels …

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Comment posted on Surviving MSS- Old Testament Manuscripts, Psalms and New Testament Manuscripts of Christians of Saint Thomas by Steven Ring

Dear Dr Kuruvilla Cherian,

Regarding Mt 19.24 and parallels in Mk 10.25 & Lk 18.25: ‘…it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom…’ etc.

I have seen this claim about gamlā being a misreading before, when it was made by G. Lamsa, but I don’t follow his logic (if there is any, he did not explain). Rope is ḥavla in Syriac and this word is quite well attested, both in middle Judean Aramaic and in Syriac. To my eyes, gamlā and ḥavlā are quite different words when written in Syriac Estrangela script, or in ‘Hebrew’ square script.* It is possible that gamlā was a misreading of ḥavla, especially if the ink used to write ḥavla was damaged and partially effaced, but personally I do not think this misreading is very likely. Also, I have not yet found any manuscript evidence, or patristic quotations which support an original reading with ḥavlā. Mar Aphrahat for example, writing in the early 4th century knew this reading with gamlā, (Wright 1869, page 372, line 16).

Best regards,
Steven.

*What we know of as Hebrew square script is in fact an Aramaic script, but that is beside the point made here.

Reference:
Wright, William 1869 ‘The homilies of Aphraates the Persian sage’ Williams & Norgate, London & Edinburgh. This book is available on-line. Link: http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/CUA,111224