New Testament manuscripts
papyri • uncials • minuscules

Uncial 03
Name	Sinaiticus
Sign	א
Text	Old and New Testament
Date	c. A Biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. A New Testament papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on Papyrus. A New Testament uncial is a copy of a portion of the New Testament in Greek or Latin capital or Uncial letters written on Parchment or A New Testament minuscule is a copy a portion of the New Testament written in a small cursive Greek script (developed from Uncial) In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. 350
Script	Greek
Now at	British Library, Leipzig University
Size	38 x 34 cm
Type	Alexandrian text-type
Category	I
Note	Book of Esther

Codex Sinaiticus (London, Brit. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities The Alexandrian text-type (also called Neutral or Egyptian) is one of several text-types used in New Testament Textual criticism to describe New Testament manuscripts are categorized into five groups This categorization scheme was introduced in 1981 by Kurt and Barbara Aland in Der Text des Neuen Testaments The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. Libr. , Add. 43725; Gregory-Aland nº א (Aleph) or 01) is a 4th century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, written between 330–350. Uncial is a Majuscule script commonly used from the 3rd to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek Scribes From the 8th century to the Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ἑλληνική, "common Greek" or, ciˈni ðiˈale̞kto̞s "the common dialect" is the popular form of Greek which emerged in Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin While it originally contained the whole of both Testaments, only portions of the Greek Old Testament or Septuagint survive, along with a complete New Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas, and portions of The Shepherd of Hermas (suggesting that the latter two may have been considered part of Biblical canon by the editors of the codex^[1]). In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the The Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek treatise with some features of an Epistle containing twenty-one chapters preserved complete in the 4th century Codex The Shepherd of Hermas (sometimes just called The Shepherd) is a Christian work of the second century considered a valuable book by many Christians A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious A codex ( Latin for block of wood, Book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books with separate pages normally Along with Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most valuable manuscripts for textual criticism of the Greek New Testament, as well as the Septuagint. The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl Vat, Vat gr 1209 Gregory-Aland no Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in The text of codex represents alexandrian text-type, with exception for John 1:1—8:38 which represents western text-type. The Alexandrian text-type (also called Neutral or Egyptian) is one of several text-types used in New Testament Textual criticism to describe The Western text-type is one of several text-types used in Textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts It is only one uncial manuscript with complete text of New Testament, and only one manuscript of New Testament written in four columns per page.

Description

Luke 11, 2 in Codex Sinaiticus

The work was written in scripta continua with neither breathings nor polytonic accents. The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the Interword separation is the act and the effect of mutually separating the written representations of Words The early Semitic languages mdashwhich had no vowel Occasional points and few ligatures are used, though nomina sacra with overlines are employed throughout. Nomina sacra (singular nomen sacrum) means "sacred names" in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing An overline or overbar (coined in analogy to Underline, attested for mathematical notation since 1899) refers to the Typographical feature of

Each line has some twelve to fourteen Greek uncial letters, arranged in four columns (48 lines in column) with carefully-chosen line breaks and slightly ragged right edges. Uncial is a Majuscule script commonly used from the 3rd to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek Scribes From the 8th century to the

Each rectangular page has the proportions 1. 1 to 1, while the block of text has the reciprocal proportions, 0. 91 (the same proportions, rotated 90°). If the gutters between the columns were removed, the text block would mirror the page's proportions. Typographer Robert Bringhurst referred to the codex as a "subtle piece of craftsmanship". ^[2]

The folios are made of vellum parchment made from ass or antelope skin. Vellum (from the Old French Vélin for "calfskin" is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on single pages scrolls codices or books Most of the quires or signatures contain four leaves save two containing five.

The portion of the codex held by the British Library consists of 346½ folios, 694 pages (38. Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a Book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of Paper or other material 1 cm x 34. 5 cm), constituting over half of the original work. Of these folios, 199 belong to the Old Testament and 147½ belong to the New Testament, along with two other books, the Epistle of Barnabas and part of The Shepherd of Hermas. The Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek treatise with some features of an Epistle containing twenty-one chapters preserved complete in the 4th century Codex The Shepherd of Hermas (sometimes just called The Shepherd) is a Christian work of the second century considered a valuable book by many Christians The books of the New Testament are arranged in this order: the four Gospels, the epistles of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, the General Epistles, and the Book of Revelation. This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul (Παῦλος as the first The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. General epistles (also called Catholic Epistles) are books in the New Testament in the form of letters The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John ( pronounced, from the Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου Some parts of codex preserved in good condition, other in very poor condition, it means they were separeted and stored in two places.

For most of the New Testament, Codex Sinaiticus is in general agreement with Codex Vaticanus and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, attesting an Alexandrian text-type, but in John 1:1-8:38 Codex Sinaiticus is in closer agreement with Codex Bezae in support of a Western text-type. The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl Vat, Vat gr 1209 Gregory-Aland no Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris National Library Greek 9 Gregory-Aland no The Alexandrian text-type (also called Neutral or Egyptian) is one of several text-types used in New Testament Textual criticism to describe The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon The Codex Bezae Cantabrigensis (Gregory-Aland no Dea or 05, Soden δ 5 is an important Codex of the New Testament dating from the fifth-century The Western text-type is one of several text-types used in Textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts This portion has a large number of correctopns. ^[3] A notable example of an agreement between the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus texts is that they both omit the phrase "without cause" from Matthew 5:22. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel But there is a large number differences between Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. Hoskier enumerated 3036 differences:

Matt – 656

Mark – 567

Luke – 791

John – 1022

Together — 3036. ^[4]

A large number of these differences are a result of itacysmus, and a different way for a transcription Hebrew names. These two manuscripts were not written in the same scriptorium. Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing" is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European Monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic

Lacunae

A portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, containing Esther 2:3-8. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament.

Text of Old Testament has some lacks:

• Gen 23:19–24:46
• Nu 5:26–7:20
• 1 Chr 9:27–19:17
• Esdr-Neh (from Esdr 9, 9).

Text New Testament omitted several passages:

• Matt 12:47, 16:2-3
• Mark 16:8-20
• Luke 22:43-44 marked by first corrector as doubtfull, but third corrector removed that mark. Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible.
• John 5:4, John 7:53-8:11 (Pericope adulterae), and John 21:25
• Rom doxology followed after 16:23, v. The Pericope Adulterae (pəˈrɪkəpi əˈdʌltəri in anglicised Latin)is a traditional name for a famous passage ( Pericope) about an adulterous woman— 24 omitted.

All these omissions are typical of an alexandrian text-type. The Alexandrian text-type (also called Neutral or Egyptian) is one of several text-types used in New Testament Textual criticism to describe

Early history of codex

Of its early history, little is known. It is thought to have been written in Egypt in the fourth century, and is sometimes associated with the fifty copies of the Bible commissioned from Eusebius by Roman Emperor Constantine after his conversion to Christianity (De vita Constantini, IV, 37)^[5]. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings

Tischendorf believed four separate scribes copied the work, and five correctors emended portions, one of them contemporaneous with the original scribes, the others dating to the sixth and seventh centuries. Modern analysis identifies at least three scribes. A paleographical study at the British Museum in 1938 found that the text had undergone several corrections. Palaeography, palæography ( British) or paleography ( American) (from the Greek grc παλαιός palaiós, The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. The first corrections were done by several scribes before the manuscript left the scriptorium. In the sixth or seventh century many alterations were made, which, according to a colophon at the end of the book of Esdras and Esther states, that the source of these alterations was "a very ancient manuscript that had been corrected by the hand of the holy martyr Pamphylus" (martyred AD 309). A colophon in publishing can refer to A brief description usually located at the end of a book describing production notes relevant to the edition A printer's Esdras (Εσδρας is a Greco- Latin variation of the name of the scribe Ezra. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. Saint Pamphilus (Πάμφιλος (latter half of the 3rd century &ndash martyred February 309 was a Presbyter of Caesarea and chief among Catholic From this is concluded, that it had been in Caesarea Maritima in the 6th or 7th centuries. Caesarea Maritima (Greek παράλιος Καισάρεια called Caesarea Palaestina from 133 CE onwards was a city and Harbor built by Herod the Great ^[6] Uncorrected is the pervasive iotacism, especially of the ει diphthong. For the Palatalization of certain consonants in Slavic languages, see Iotation.

Discovery

The Codex was probably seen in 1761 by the Italian traveller, Vitaliano Donati, when he visited Sinai. Year 1761 ( MDCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Vitaliano Donati (1717-1762 born in Padua in Italy, was an Italian doctor archeologist and botanist His diary was published in 1879^[7]. Year 1879 ( MDCCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Constantin von Tischendorf in 1870

In 1844, during his first visit to Monastery of Saint Catherine, Tischendorf saw some leaves of parchment in a waste-basket. Year 1844 ( MDCCCXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Saint Catherine's Monastery ( Greek:) on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt is one They were "rubbish which was to be destroyed by burning it in the ovens of the monastery". ^[8] After examination he realized that they were part of the Septuagint, written in an early Greek uncial script. He retrieved from the basket 129 leaves in Greek which he identified as comign from a manuscript of the Septuagint. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the He asked if he might keep them, but at this point the attitude of the monks changed, they realized how valuable these old leaves were, and Tischendorf was permitted to take only one-third of the whole, i. d. 43 leaves. These leaves contained portions of 1 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and Esther. After his return they were deposited in the University Library at Leipzig, where they still remain. This sort of fix restores section edit linkpoints to where they belong In 1846 Tischendorf published their contents, naming them the 'Codex Frederico-Augustanus'. For the game see 1846 (board game. Year 1846 ( MDCCCXLVI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display

In the monastery left other portions of the same codex, containing all of Isaiah and 1 and 4 Maccabees. ^[9]

In 1845 Archimandrite Porphiryj Uspienski (1804-1885), later archbishop of Sinai, visited the monastery and the codex was shown to him, together with leaves which Tischendorf had not seen^[10]. Year 1845 ( MDCCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The title Archimandrite ( Greek: - archimandrites) primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches Porphiryj Uspenski (1804-1885 archbishop of Kiev of the Russian Orthodox Church, and archeologist

In 1853 Tischendorf revisited the monastery at Sinai, to get the remaining 86 folios, but without success. Year 1853 ( MDCCCLIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Codex Sinaiticus was shown to Constantin von Tischendorf on his third visit to the Monastery of Saint Catherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt, in 1859. Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von Tischendorf ( January 18, 1815 &ndash December 7, 1874) was a noted German Biblical Saint Catherine's Monastery ( Greek:) on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt is one For other places named Mount Sinai see Mount Sinai (disambiguation Mount Sinai (Arabic طور سيناء, Hebrew הר סיני also (However, this story may have been a fabrication, or the manuscripts in question may have been unrelated to Codex Sinaiticus: Rev. J. Silvester Davies in 1863 quoted "a monk of Sinai who. . . stated that according to the librarian of the monastery the whole of Codex Sinaiticus had been in the library for many years and was marked in the ancient catalogues. . . Is it likely. . . that a manuscript known in the library catalogue would have been jettisoned in the rubbish basket. " Indeed, it has been noted that the leaves were in "suspiciously good condition" for something found in the trash. ^[11]) Tischendorf had been sent to search for manuscripts by Russia's Tsar Alexander II, who was convinced there were still manuscripts to be found at the Sinai monastery. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. Alexander (Aleksandr II Nikolaevich (Александр II Николаевич ( Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St

Lithograph of the Monastery of St. Catherine based on sketches made by archimandrite Porphiryj Uspienski 1857)

The story of how von Tischendorf found the manuscript, which contained most of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament, has all the interest of a romance. Click here for Indian Rebellion of 1857 Year 1857 ( MDCCCLVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the Von Tischendorf reached the monastery on January 31; but his inquiries appeared to be fruitless. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes On February 4, he had resolved to return home without having gained his object:

On the afternoon of this day I was taking a walk with the steward of the convent in the neighbourhood, and as we returned, towards sunset, he begged me to take some refreshment with him in his cell. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Scarcely had he entered the room, when, resuming our former subject of conversation, he said: "And I, too, have read a Septuagint" — i. e. a copy of the Greek translation made by the Seventy. And so saying, he took down from the corner of the room a bulky kind of volume, wrapped up in a red cloth, and laid it before me. I unrolled the cover, and discovered, to my great surprise, not only those very fragments which, fifteen years before, I had taken out of the basket, but also other parts of the Old Testament, the New Testament complete, and, in addition, the Epistle of Barnabas and a part of the Shepherd of Hermas. ^[12]

After some negotiations, he obtained possession of this precious fragment. James Bentley gives an account of how this came about, prefacing it with the comment, "Tischendorf therefore now embarked on the remarkable piece of duplicity which was to occupy him for the next decade, which involved the careful suppression of facts and the systematic denigration of the monks of Mount Sinai. "^[13] He conveyed it to Tsar Alexander II, who appreciated its importance and had it published as nearly as possible in facsimile, so as to exhibit correctly the ancient handwriting. Alexander (Aleksandr II Nikolaevich (Александр II Николаевич ( Moscow, 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881 in St The Tsar sent the monastery 9,000 rubles by way of compensation. The ruble or rouble (in Russian: рубль rubl') is a unit of currency Regarding Tischendorf's role in the transfer to Saint Petersburg, there are several views. Although when parts of Genesis and Book of Numbers were later found in the bindings of other books, they were amicably sent to Tischendorf, the codex is currently regarded by the monastery as having been stolen. The Book of Numbers, ( Bamidbar, meaning in the wilderness) is the fourth book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. This view is hotly contested by several scholars in Europe. In a more neutral spirit, New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger writes:

Certain aspects of the negotiations leading to the transfer of the codex to the Tsar's possession are open to an interpretation that reflects adversely on Tischendorf's candour and good faith with the monks at St. Bruce Manning Metzger ( 9 February, 1914, Middletown Pennsylvania – 13 February, 2007, Princeton New Jersey) was a professor Catherine's. For a recent account intended to exculpate him of blame, see Erhard Lauch's article 'Nichts gegen Tischendorf' in Bekenntnis zur Kirche: Festgabe für Ernst Sommerlath zum 70. Geburtstag (Berlin, c. 1961); for an account that includes a hitherto unknown receipt given by Tischendorf to the authorities at the monastery promising to return the manuscript from Saint Petersburg 'to the Holy Confraternity of Sinai at its earliest request', see Ihor Ševčenko's article 'New Documents on Tischendorf and the Codex Sinaiticus', published in the journal Scriptorium, xviii (1964) pp. 55–80. ^[14]

In that time monk Simonides claimed to all world, that he is author of codex, therefore it has not historical value^[15].

Later story of codex

View to the Monastery of St. Catherine.

For many decades, the Codex was preserved in the Russian National Library. The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library in 1932-1992 (i In 1933, the Soviet Union sold the codex to the British Museum^[16] for £100,000. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. After coming to Britain it was examined by Skeat and Milne using an ultra-violet lamp. ^[17]

In May 1975, during restoration work, the monks of St. Catherine's monastery discovered a room beneath the St. George Chapel which contained many parchment fragments. Among these fragments were twelve complete leaves from the Sinaiticus Old Testament. ^[18]

Present location

The British Library

The codex is now split into four unequal portions: 347 leaves in the British Library in London, 12 leaves and 14 fragments in St. Catherine's Monastery of Sinai, 43 leaves in the Leipzig University Library, and fragments of 3 leaves in the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg. The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Saint Catherine's Monastery ( Greek:) on the Sinai Peninsula, at the mouth of an inaccessible gorge at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt is one The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities The National Library of Russia in St Petersburg, known as the State Public Saltykov-Shchedrin Library in 1932-1992 (i Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River

At the present day, the monastery in Sinai officially regards that codex was stolen. Visitors in our day report that the monks at St. Catherine's Monastery display the receipt they received from Tischendorf for the Codex, in a frame that hangs upon the wall. ^[19]

In June 2005, a team of experts from the UK, Europe, Egypt, Russia and USA undertook a joint project to produce a new digital edition of the manuscript (involving all four holding libraries), and a series of other studies was announced. This will include the use of hyperspectral imaging to photograph the manuscripts to look for hidden information such as erased or faded text. Hyperspectral imaging collects and processes information from across the Electromagnetic spectrum. ^[20] This is to be done in cooperation with the British Library. This project will cost 1 mln $. ^[21]

The original document is so precious that it has only been seen by four scholars in the last 20 years.

Theology

One theological controversy arising from the content of the Codex Sinaiticus is the addition of extra Resurrection material in the Gospel of Mark. This article concerns itself with Jesus Christ Christian, Islamic and other religious interpretations of resurrection in general Content Authorship The gospel itself is anonymous but as early as Papias in the early 2nd century a text was attributed to Mark, a cousin

See also

• List of New Testament uncials
• Codex Vaticanus
• Codex Alexandrinus

References

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

External links

Facsimile of Codex Sinaiticus

• Center for the Study of NT Manuscripts. Codex Sinaiticus (JPG)
• 1911 Facsimile of Codex Sinaiticus (PDF)

Articles

• Codex Sinaiticus at the Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism
• Codex Sinaiticus page at bible-researcher.com
• Earlham College facsimile of Codex Sinaiticus
• Codex Sinaiticus page at the British Library website
• A real-life Bible Code: the amazing story of the Codex Sinaiticus
• The Codex Sinaiticus as Basic Text Issue of the Writ and the deviations of Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus
• Joint project managed by ITSEE for digitizing the codex
• E. Henschke, The Codex Sinaiticus, its History and Modern Presentasion

Bibliography

• Constantin von Tischendorf, When Were Our Gospels Written? An Argument by Constantine Tischendorf. With a Narrative of the Discovery of the Sinaitic Manuscript, New York: American Tract Society, 1866.
• Kirsopp Lake, Codex Sinaiticus Petropolitanus: The New Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1911.
• H. J. M. Milne and T. C. Skeat, Scribes and Correctors of the Codex Sinaiticus, British Museum, 1938.
• F. G. Kenyon, Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts (4th ed. ), London 1939.
• B. H. Streeter, The Four Gospels. A Study of Origins the Manuscripts Tradition, Sources, Authorship, & Dates, MacMillan and Co Limited, Oxford 1924.
• B. M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Palaeography, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991.
• B. M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford 1980.
• P. Magerson, Codex Sinaiticus: An Historical Observation, Bib Arch 46 (1983), 54-56.