The Nativity in Tatian’s Diatessaron

About the Text: Tatian was an Assyrian living in the second century who became a Christian during a prolonged stay in Rome. He was a disciple of Justin Martyr but was likely the founder of the Encratitic sect, which emphasised celibacy and abstinence from meat. He is believed to have brought Christianity to Mesopotamia and his Diatessaron—a synthesis of the four Gospels—served as the Gospel text in Syria throughout the third and fourth centuries before it was replaced by the individual Gospels. Here we present the infancy narratives as they were ordered and arranged by Tatian.

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Chapter 1 (Jn 1:1–5; Lk 1:5–80)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word is God. This was in the beginning with God. Everything was by his hand, and without him not even one existing thing was made. In him was life, and the life is the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.

There was in the days of Herod the king a priest whose name was Zacharias, of the family of Abijah; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all his commands, and in the uprightness of God without reproach. And they had no son, for Elizabeth was barren, and they had both advanced in age. And while he discharged the duties of priest in the order of his service before God, according to the custom of the priesthood it was his turn to burn incense; so he entered the temple of the Lord. And the whole gathering of the people were praying without at the time of the incense. And there appeared unto Zacharias the angel of the Lord, standing at the right of the altar of incense; and Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said to him, “Be not agitated, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John; and you shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. And he shall be great before the Lord, and shall not drink wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit while he is in his mother’s womb. And he shall turn back many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit, and in the power of Elijah the prophet, to turn back the heart of the fathers to the sons, and those that obey not to the knowledge of the righteous; and to prepare for the Lord a perfect people.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this, since I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years?”

And the angel answered and said to him, I am Gabriel, that stands before God; and I was sent to speak unto you, and give you tidings of this. Henceforth you shall be speechless, and shall not be able to speak until the day in which this shall come to pass, because you did not trust this my word, which shall be accomplished in its time.”

And the people were standing awaiting Zacharias, and they were perplexed at his delaying in the temple. And when Zacharias went out, he was not able to speak unto them: so they knew that he had seen in the temple a vision; and he made signs unto them, and continued dumb. And when the days of his service were completed, he departed to his dwelling.

And after those days Elizabeth his wife conceived; and she hid herself five months, and said, “This has the Lord done unto me in the days when he looked upon me, to remove my reproach from among men.”

And in the sixth month Gabriel the angel was sent from God to Galilee to a city called Nazareth, to a virgin given in marriage to a man named Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel entered unto her and said to her, “Peace be unto you, you who are filled with grace. Our Lord is with you, you blessed among women.” And she, when she beheld, was agitated at his word, and pondered what this salutation could be. And the angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary, for you have found favour with God. You shall now conceive, and bear a son, and call his name Jesus. This shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father: and he shall rule over the house of Jacob for ever; and to his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be to me when no man has known me?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of the Most High shall rest upon you, and therefore shall he that is born of you be pure, and shall be called the Son of God. And lo, Elizabeth your kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, her that is called barren. For nothing is difficult for God.”

Mary said, “Lo, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto me according unto your word.” And the angel departed from her.

And then Mary arose in those days and went in haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and asked for the health of Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit; and cried with a loud voice and said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit that is in your womb. Whence have I this privilege, that the mother of my Lord should come unto me? When the sound of your salutation reached my ears, with great joy rejoiced the babe in my womb. And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled.” And Mary said,

My soul does magnify the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour,
Who has looked upon the low estate of his handmaiden:
Lo, henceforth, all generations shall pronounce blessing on me.
For he has done great things for me, who is mighty,
And holy is his name.
And his mercy embraces them who fear him,
Throughout the ages and the times.
He wrought the victory with his arm,
And scattered them that prided themselves in their opinions.
He overthrew them that acted haughtily from their thrones,
And raised the lowly.
He satisfied with good things the hungry,
And left the rich without anything.
He helped Israel his servant,
And remembered his mercy
(According as he spoke with our fathers)
Unto Abraham and unto his seed forever.

And Mary abode with Elizabeth about three months, and returned unto her house.

And Elizabeth’s time of delivery had come; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that God had multiplied his mercy towards her; and they rejoiced with her. And when it was the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and called him Zacharias, calling him by the name of his father. And his mother answered and said to them, “Not so; but he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “There is no man of your kindred that is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, saying, “How do you wish to name him?” And he asked for a tablet, and wrote and said, “His name is John.” And every one wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened, and his tongue, and he spoke and praised God. And fear fell on all their neighbours: and this was spoken of in all the mountains of Judah. And all who heard pondered in their hearts and said, “What shall this child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied and said,

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
Who has cared for his people, and wrought for it salvation;
And has raised for us the horn of salvation
In the house of David his servant
(As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from eternity),
That he might save us from our enemies,
And from the hand of all them that hate us.
And he has performed his mercy towards our fathers,
And remembered his holy covenants,
And the oath which he swore unto Abraham our father,
That he would give us deliverance from the hand of our enemies,
And without fear we shall serve before him
All our days with equity and righteousness.
And as for you, O child, prophet of the Most High shall you be called.
You shall go forth before the face of the Lord to prepare his way,
To give the knowledge of salvation unto his people,
For the forgiveness of their sins,
Through the mercy of the compassion of our God,
With which he cares for us, to appear from on high
To give light to them that sit in darkness and under the shadow of death,
And to set straight our feet in the way of peace.

And the child grew and became strong in the spirit, and abode in the desert until the time of his appearing unto the children of Israel.

Chapter 2 (Mt 1:18–25; Lk 2:1–39)

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was on this wise: In the time when his mother was given in marriage to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband was a just man and did not wish to expose her, and he purposed to put her away secretly. But when he thought of this, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, and said to him, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, and he shall save his people from their sins.” And all this was that the saying from the Lord by the prophet might be fulfilled:

Behold, the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
And they shall call his name Immanuel, (Is 7:14)

which is, being interpreted, “With us is our God.” And when Joseph arose from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife; and knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son.

And in those days there went forth a decree from Augustus Cæsar that all the people of his dominion should be enrolled. This first enrolment was while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And every man went to be enrolled in his city. And Joseph went up also from Nazareth, a city of Galilee, to Judæa, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem (for he was of the house of David and of his tribe), with Mary his betrothed, she being with child, to be enrolled there. And while she was there the days for her being delivered were accomplished. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them where they were staying.

And there were in that region shepherds abiding, keeping their flock in the watch of the night. And behold, the angel of God came unto them, and the glory of the Lord shone upon them; and they were greatly terrified. And the angel said to them, “Be not terrified; for I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to the whole world; there is born to you this day a Saviour, which is the Lord the Messiah, in the city of David. And this is a sign for you: you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.” And there appeared with the angels suddenly many heavenly forces praising God and saying,

Praise be to God in the highest,
And on the earth peace, and good hope to men.

And when the angels departed from them to heaven, the shepherds spoke to one another and said, “We will go to Bethlehem and see this word which has been, as the Lord made known unto us.” And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe laid in a manger. And when they saw, they reported the word which was spoken to them about the child. And all that heard wondered at the description which the shepherds described to them. But Mary kept these sayings and discriminated them in her heart. And those shepherds returned, magnifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard, according as it was described unto them.

And when eight days were fulfilled that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, being that by which he was called by the angel before his conception in the womb.

And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him before the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male opening the womb shall be called the holy thing of the Lord),and to give a sacrificial victim as it is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of doves or two young pigeons” (Lv 12:8).

And there was in Jerusalem a man whose name was Simeon; and this man was upright and pious, and expecting the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been said to him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death till he had seen with his eyes the Messiah of the Lord. And this man came by the Spirit to the temple; and at the time when his parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might present for him a sacrifice, as it is written in the law, he held him in his arms and praised God and said,

Now loosen the bonds of your servant, O Lord, in peace,
According to your saying;
For my eye has witnessed your mercy,
Which you have made ready because of the whole world;
A light for the unveiling of the nations,
And a glory to your people Israel.

And Joseph and his mother were marvelling at the things which were being said concerning him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, he is set for the overthrow and rising of many in Israel; and for a sign of contention; and a spear shall pierce through your own soul; that the thoughts of the hearts of many may be revealed.” And Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, was also advanced in years (and she dwelt with her husband seven years from her virginity, and she remained a widow about eighty-four years); and she left not the temple, and served night and day with fasting and prayer. And she also rose in that hour and thanked the Lord, and she spoke of him with every one who was expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.And when they had accomplished everything according to what is in the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to Nazareth their city.

Chapter 3 (Mt 2:1–23; Lk 2:40)

And after that, the Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, and said, “Where is the King of the Jews which was born? We have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” And Herod the king heard, and he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and asked them in what place the Messiah should be born. They said, “In Bethlehem of Judæa: thus it is written in the prophet,

You also, Bethlehem of Judah,
Are not contemptible among the kings of Judah:
From you shall go forth a king,
And he shall be a shepherd to my people Israel (Mic 5:2, 4).

Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and inquired of them the time at which the star appeared to them. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said to them, “Go and search about the child diligently; and when you have found him, come and make known to me, that I also may go and worship him.” And they, when they heard the king, departed; and lo, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, until it came and stood above the place where the child was. And when they beheld the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. And they entered the house and beheld the child with Mary his mother, and fell down worshipping him, and opened their saddle-bags and offered to him offerings, gold and myrrh and frankincense. And they saw in a dream that they should not return to Herod, and they travelled by another way in going to their country.

And when they had departed, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I speak to you; for Herod is determined to seek the child to slay him.” And Joseph arose and took the child and his mother in the night, and fled into Egypt, and remained in it until the time of the death of Herod: that that might be fulfilled which was said by the Lord in the prophet, which said, “From Egypt did I call my son” (Hos 11:1).And Herod then, when he saw that he was mocked of the Magi, was very angry, and sent and killed all the male children which were in Bethlehem and all its borders, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had inquired from the Magi. Then was fulfilled the saying in Jeremiah the prophet (31:15), which said,

A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and much lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
And not willing to be consoled for their loss.

But when Herod the king died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said to him, “Rise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they have died who sought the child’s life.” And Joseph rose and took the child and his mother, and came to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus had become king over Judæa instead of Herod his father, he feared to go there; and he saw in a dream that he should go into the land of Galilee, and that he should abide in a city called Nazareth: that the saying in the prophet might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene.

And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, becoming filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.

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From Diatessaron, trans. Hope W. Hogg, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 9.