diatessaron

diatessaron [dī΄ə tes′ə rän΄]

n.

〚L(Ec) < Gr(Ec) ( Evangelion) dia tessarōn, lit., (Gospel) through four, title of Tatian's harmony of four Gospels (2d c.) < Gr dia, through + tessarōn, gen. of tessares, four < IE base * kwetwer-, FOUR〛

the four Gospels combined into a single account

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di·a·tes·sa·ron (dī'ə-tĕsʹər-ən) n.

The four Gospels combined into a single narrative.

  [Middle English, interval of a fourth, from Latin diatessarōn, made of four (ingredients), from Greek dia tessarōn, out of four : dia-, according to; see dia- + tessarōn, genitive of tessares, four; See kʷetwer-.

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▪ work by Tatian

      the four New Testament Gospels compiled as a single narrative by Tatian (q.v.) about AD 150. It was the standard Gospel text in the Syrian Middle East until about AD 400, when it was replaced by the four separated Gospels. Quotations from the Diatessaron appear in ancient Syriac literature, but no ancient Syriac manuscript now exists. A 3rd-century Greek papyrus fragment was discovered in 1933 at Doura-Europus, northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. Whether the original writing was done in Greek or Syriac is unknown. There are also manuscripts in Arabian and Persian and translations into European languages made during the Middle Ages.

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