Versions, Georgian, Gothic, Slavonic
The Georgian Version
Georgia, the ancient nation east of the Black Sea, received Christianity in the fourth century AD. A well-supported tradition attributes the first Georgian Bible translation to Mesrop (died 441), the same scholar credited with the Armenian alphabet and Bible translation. However, the origins of the Georgian version may be somewhat later, perhaps as much as two centuries after Mesrop's time.
The oldest surviving Georgian biblical manuscript is a Psalter dating to the seventh or eighth century, and the earliest copy of the Gospels follows about a century later. Scholars have identified at least 17 Georgian manuscripts of the New Testament, though the total is certainly higher. Research by F.C. Conybeare and others suggests that the Georgian version was first translated from the Old Syriac text and then later revised against the Greek, particularly in the eleventh century.
The first printed Georgian Bible was produced in Moscow in 1743 using the ancient Georgian alphabet. The Georgian version is significant for textual criticism because it sometimes preserves readings from its Syriac ancestor that are no longer found in other versions, giving scholars an additional window into the early transmission of the biblical text.
The Gothic Version
The Gothic version holds a unique place in Bible translation history as the earliest known literary work in any Germanic language. It was created by Ulfilas (also spelled Wulfila, meaning "Little Wolf"), the Arian bishop of the Visigoths, around AD 350-380. Ulfilas had to invent an entirely new alphabet for the task, drawing on Greek, Latin, and runic characters to create the Gothic script.
According to tradition, Ulfilas translated the entire Bible except for the books of Kings, which he omitted because he considered their accounts of warfare unsuitable for his already warlike converts. Scholars debate whether his original work extended beyond the New Testament, since so little of the Old Testament has survived in Gothic.
The surviving Gothic biblical texts are remarkably few. From the Old Testament, only fragments of Genesis 5, Psalm 52, and portions of Nehemiah 5-7 remain. From the New Testament, incomplete copies of the Gospels and Pauline Epistles have been preserved, along with quotations from Hebrews. The most famous manuscript is the Codex Argenteus ("Silver Book"), a magnificent purple-dyed parchment with silver and gold lettering, now housed at Uppsala University in Sweden. It contains about half of the four Gospels.
The Gothic version is a remarkably faithful translation of its Greek source text. Ulfilas generally followed the Greek word order and structure closely, making his translation valuable for reconstructing the Greek text available in the mid-fourth century.
The Slavonic Version
The Slavonic Bible translation was the work of two brothers, Cyril (originally named Constantine) and Methodius, Greek missionaries from Thessalonica who were sent to Moravia (modern Czech Republic) in AD 863. Like Ulfilas before them, they had to create a new alphabet for their task. Cyril devised what is now called the Glagolitic script, which was later simplified into the Cyrillic alphabet that bears his name and is still used across much of Eastern Europe and Russia today.
The brothers initially translated the Gospels and selected liturgical readings, then gradually expanded their work to include more of Scripture. After their deaths, their disciples continued the translation work in Bulgaria, eventually completing the entire Bible. The Old Testament translation drew primarily from the Greek Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text.
The Slavonic Bible became the foundation of literary culture for the Slavic peoples. It served as the liturgical text of the Orthodox churches across Eastern Europe for centuries and directly shaped the development of Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and other Slavic literary languages. The oldest surviving Slavonic manuscripts date to the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Significance for Biblical Studies
These three versions matter for Bible scholarship in several ways. Each provides evidence for the state of the biblical text at the time and place of translation. The Georgian version, with its roots in the Syriac tradition, sometimes preserves readings lost in the Greek manuscript tradition. The Gothic version offers a snapshot of the Greek text circulating in the mid-fourth century. The Slavonic version reflects the Byzantine Greek text of the ninth century.
Beyond textual criticism, these translations demonstrate the universality of the Christian impulse to make Scripture accessible. In each case, translators created new alphabets, developed new literary languages, and devoted years to the painstaking work of rendering Hebrew and Greek texts into languages that had never before been written. The cultural impact was immense: these translations did not merely convey the Bible's content but actually created the conditions for literacy and literature among the Gothic, Georgian, and Slavic peoples.
A Living Legacy
While the Gothic language is long extinct and its Bible survives only in fragments, the Georgian and Slavonic versions remain living liturgical traditions. The Georgian Orthodox Church still uses its ancient biblical text in worship. The Church Slavonic Bible continues to be read in Russian and other Orthodox churches throughout Eastern Europe. These versions remind us that the Bible's history is not merely a matter of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts but includes a vast network of translations through which the Scriptures have shaped civilizations across the world.
Biblical Context
These versions are translations of the entire Bible or significant portions of it. The Georgian version covers both Old and New Testaments, initially translated from Syriac and later revised from Greek. The Gothic version included the Gospels and Pauline Epistles (surviving portions), possibly the full Bible originally. The Slavonic version eventually encompassed the complete Bible, translated primarily from the Greek Septuagint and Byzantine Greek New Testament. These versions are relevant to textual criticism of passages throughout Scripture.
Theological Significance
The creation of these Bible versions reflects the theological conviction that Scripture should be available in the language of every people — an impulse rooted in the Pentecost event (Acts 2:1-11) where the gospel was proclaimed in multiple languages. Each translation effort was closely tied to missionary and pastoral work: Ulfilas translated for newly converted Goths, Cyril and Methodius for the Slavic peoples they were evangelizing, and the Georgian translation accompanied the Christianization of the Caucasus. These translations embody the principle that God's Word transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Historical Background
Ulfilas (c. 311-383) was consecrated bishop of the Goths around 341 and created the Gothic alphabet for his translation. His Arian theology (denying the full divinity of Christ) meant the Gothic version was used primarily by Arian Christian communities until their gradual absorption into Catholic Christianity. Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (815-885) were sent by the Byzantine emperor to evangelize the Slavic peoples and faced significant opposition from Latin-rite clergy who opposed worship in the vernacular. The Georgian church tradition dates its origins to the fourth-century missionary Nino. Archaeological and manuscript evidence for all three traditions continues to be studied, with major collections housed in Tbilisi, Uppsala, and various Eastern European repositories.