Groundbreaking study uncovers secrets of Syriac manuscripts using modern technology

JERUSALEM — New research has revealed fascinating insights into how Near East Christian scribes edited and compiled Syriac manuscripts nearly 2,000 years ago. The study, leveraging advanced computational techniques, analyzed thousands of ancient texts to uncover their hidden patterns.

The research, conducted by Noam Maeir, a PhD candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, explains how Eastern Christian communities adopted Syriac, an Aramaic dialect, as both a liturgical and cultural language starting in the 2nd century CE.

The earliest known Syriac manuscript dates back to 412 CE, ranking among the earliest surviving books in history. An estimated 20,000 Syriac manuscripts exist worldwide, with around 1,000 housed in the British Library.

Maeir introduced a novel analytical metric called “Excerpts Per Manuscript” (EPM) to classify these texts based on the number of embedded excerpts within each document. His research highlights how these complex, multi-source manuscripts functioned similarly to the Jewish Talmud, also written in Aramaic around the same time and region.

The study suggests that Syriac Christian scribes played a role comparable to Talmudic editors in preserving and transmitting knowledge across generations. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding the formation of cultural and religious heritage in the ancient Near East.

Syriac Language

Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that emerged in the early first century CE in the city of Edessa (modern-day Şanlıurfa, Turkey). It became the primary literary and liturgical language of Syriac Christianity, flourishing between the 4th and 8th centuries CE .

As a liturgical language, Syriac spread extensively across the Middle East, reaching as far as India and Central Asia. It played a crucial role in the transmission of Christian texts and theological discourse, with a rich corpus that includes translations of the Bible, hymns, and philosophical works .

The Syriac script is written from right to left and has three main variants: Estrangela, Serto (Western Syriac), and Madnhaya (Eastern Syriac). These scripts have been used to write a vast body of literature, making Syriac one of the best-documented Aramaic dialects .

Despite its decline as a spoken language, Syriac remains in use today within various Christian communities, particularly in liturgical contexts. Efforts are ongoing to preserve and revitalize the language, including educational programs and digital initiatives aimed at promoting Syriac heritage and literacy.