CSNTM Blog

Update on the UK Gospels Manuscript: No Pericope Adulterae

The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts sent a team in June 2009 to a private residence in England to photograph a previously uncatalogued Greek Gospels manuscript. The manuscript turned out to be from the 10^th century, containing all four Gospels (except for nine missing leaves). Some of the quires were out of order, but after making a Scripture index of each page the dislocated passages were found.

Of note is the manuscript’s lack of the pericope adulterae (John 7.53–8.11). Images 211ab, 213ab, 214ab, and 215ab contain material from John 7 and 8, though these leaves are located after Luke 23.33 (with leaf 212 containing Matthew 27.51–64). Leaf 211 has John 7.41–8.16; leaf 213 has John 8.16–29; leaf 214 has John 7.28–41; leaf 215 has John 8.29–42. This is followed by leaf 216 which picks up again at Luke 23.33. The rest of the Gospel of John begins on leaf 222.

The pericope adulterae is traditionally located after John 7.52. But it has been found in other locations as well. Among these are: after Luke 21.38 (f¹³); after John 7.36 (codex 225); after John 7.44 (some Georgian manuscripts); after John 8.12 (codex 115); after Luke 24.53 (the corrector of 1333); and at the end of the Gospel of John (f ¹ [1 565 1076 1570 1582] Armenian^MSS).

The UK Gospels manuscript does not have the PA in any of these locations. It thus should be recorded as a witness against the inclusion of the story of the woman caught in adultery.

Five Albanian Manuscripts Catalogued by INTF

In 2007, the Center photographed the collection of New Testament manuscripts at the Albanian National Archives in Tirana, Albania. Some of these were already cataloged in the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechishen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments (the “K-Liste”), while many others were previously unknown to scholars. In addition, the identities of several of the manuscripts remain uncertain as they have not been examined thoroughly for many decades, if at all.

Since the time we made these discoveries, CSNTM, with the assistance of other scholars as well as the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (INTF, translated as Institute for New Testament Textual Research) in Münster, Germany, have been working to clarify the identity of all of the Albanian manuscripts and to assign new catalog numbers to those whose existence was previously unknown.

We are pleased to announce that INTF has now assigned Gregory-Aland Numbers to five of the manuscripts from the Albanian National Archives as follows:

ANA 7 = GA lect 2439
ANA 11 = GA lect 2440
ANA 13 = GA lect 2441
ANA 16 = GA lect 2442
ANA 77 = GA lect 2443

On the “Manuscripts” page of the CSNTM website, these five manuscripts have been reassigned from their original status as “not yet cataloged” to their new designation as cataloged lectionaries. The Center is grateful to INTF for their work in cataloging these new manuscripts.

What Does it Mean to “Discover” a Manuscript?

In the last few years, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts has discovered more manuscripts of the New Testament than the rest of the world combined. In the past nine months alone, CSNTM has discovered about twenty, and we are in the process of presenting our finds to the academic community.

Sometimes, however, there is confusion about what it means to “discover” a manuscript. For many, the image that comes to mind is that of an archaeologist digging an artifact out of the earth after it has been covered by the sands for centuries. Although some manuscripts have indeed been “unearthed” in such a way in the past, this kind of discovery is the exception, not the rule.

The actual process of discovery is best illustrated by describing what happens on a typical CSNTM expedition. Before we pack up the camera equipment and head to a library or monastery in Europe, for example, we carefully examine a book titled Kurzgefasste Liste der griechishen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments, which is a catalog (last published in 1994) of all manuscripts of the New Testament known to scholars. The K-Liste, as we abbreviate the title, contains detailed information on each of the more than 5,700 manuscripts including its Gregory-Aland number (the number assigned to each manuscript to identify it to the scholarly world), its dimensions and number of leaves, its date and contents, its last known location and local shelf number, and other useful information. Before we go on an expedition, we check over this data in order to get an idea of what we plan to photograph at our destination.

Once we arrive, we compare the information from the K-Liste to the manuscripts that are actually on the shelves. We also examine all information from in-house catalogs that the library might have. Are there manuscripts on the shelf that are not described in the K-Liste? Has the local catalog been updated recently? Have any manuscripts been misplaced or lost? As a result of these comparisons, it is not unusual to find that the various sources of information do not match up exactly. Sometimes we note that the information in a local catalog is not identical with data in the K-Liste, such as shelf numbers that have been changed over the decades, or different conclusions in determining the date of a manuscript. Most of the time, these differences are minor.

Occasionally, however, we find that the library or monastery possesses manuscripts that are not included in the K-Liste at all. This is normally what we mean by “discovering” a manuscript. It is not that no one has ever known of its existence, since it had to get onto the library shelf in some way in the past. What it means, however, is that the community of scholars that examine these manuscripts is not aware of its existence; it is likely that the newly discovered manuscript has never been fully studied. Therefore, its significance for reconstructing the text of the New Testament is unknown.

There is a new kind of discovery that is happening more and more often: the discovery of a manuscript within a previously known manuscript. While examining and photographing a manuscript, we sometimes find that it contains writing on pieces of paper or parchment that are older (or sometimes newer) than what is in the rest of the book. This different material might be part of the book binding, or it might consist of a page that is bound into the manuscript itself. One discovery happened last year, when a newly discovered manuscript was found to contain yet another newly discovered manuscript inside.

A similar kind of discovery is when a parchment leaf has been scraped over by a scribe who wanted to cannibalize that leaf for his own manuscript. Known as a palimpsest, this reuse of the parchment covers up the original writing. But with sophisticated cameras, UV light, and a bit of luck, we can see the underlying text; sometimes it turns out to be biblical.

When we discover a manuscript, our priority is to make its existence known to the academic community of which we are a part. The primary way we do this is to report the finding to the Institute for New Testament Textual Research in Münster, Germany, the organization that publishes the K-Liste. The Institute then assigns a new Gregory-Aland number and updates its database with the information we provide from the field. When possible, we also post the images on the CSNTM website so that researchers around the world can study the manuscript and assess its significance.

While our discoveries do not consist of digging manuscripts out of the ground, we do contribute to the unveiling of new knowledge that helps biblical scholars understand the history of the New Testament text more completely.

P46 the Earliest Extant Witness to the Corpus Paulinum

The earliest papyrus manuscript containing most of the epistles of Paul, less the pastoral epistles, along with the book of Hebrews is from the Chester Beatty Papyri Collection known as P46. This papyrus was discovered along with P45 and P47 in the Fayum of Egypt in the ruins of an early Church. The manuscript traveled 130km north to Cairo and was broken up in two portions by a dealer. Presently, part of the papyrus is in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland. The other portion of the papyrus was acquired by the University of Michigan, where it is presently housed. As stated previously, this is the earliest Pauline manuscript and along with the prestige has come much scholarly debate concerning the date of the papyrus. F. G. Kenyon first suggested a third century CE date. Subsequently, Ulrich Wilcken dated the document to ca. 200 CE. More recently, Young Kyu Kim suggested a provocatively early date to the reign of Domitian in 81–96 CE. His argument was predicated upon six premises: (1) comparative literary papyri of such an early date, (2) comparative documentary papyri of an early date, (3) several unique features of the handwriting, (4) and (5) other morphologically early components, and (6) a corrector’s hand which was thought to be in several documents of the early period cumulatively convinced Kim.

However, most have not found Kim’s case compelling. Comfort and Barrett are more sober in their judgment, yet still rather early dating the papyrus to the middle of the second century. Bruce Griffin, in a detailed response to Kim’s dating, has offered what seems the most probable suggestion of ca. 175–225 CE. Metzger concurs offering “about 200.”

Furthermore, with respect to the textual character, this papyrus has a close affinity with Codex Vaticanus (B), locating it within the genealogical tradition of the Alexandrian family. Thus, P46 is a very important witness to the Pauline tradition and when taken together with other early witnesses (e.g., Aleph, B) may well touch the earliest transmission stream of the Pauline tradition. The desert sands of Egypt may not make for comfortable living, but we should be grateful that they preserved this ancient treasure as few other regions could.

Codex B

Codex Vaticanus (otherwise known as B or 03), is one of the more appropriately named manuscripts because its residence is currently at the Vatican in Rome. It was produced in the fourth century and is a very close relation to an even earlier manuscript, P75, which is of utmost significance in determining the original wording of the New Testament. Thus, this manuscript is regarded by many as one of the most important existing New Testament Greek manuscripts, if not the most important.

The story of this codex remains quite a mystery. Though believed to be composed in Egypt, the first reference we have of this manuscript is not until the 1400’s, when it was catalogued as part of the Vatican library. Unlike most of the New Testament manuscripts, Vaticanus is one of the few majuscules in existence today. A majuscule, for those who are not familiar with this name, refers to a manuscript that is written in all capital or uncial letters. To date, there are only approx. 320 majuscules out of the approx. 5700 manuscripts known to exist. The manuscript contains almost all of the entire Bible and the Apocrypha. It is missing a big portion of Genesis, thirty or so Psalms, 1 and 2 Maccabees, the Pastorals, Philemon, and Revelation. After Hebrews 9.13, the document is written in much later minuscule hand (lower case Greek letters). Interestingly, it is one of the earliest manuscripts to include chapter divisions throughout, although the chapter divisions do not correspond to the modern day Bible.

While the original manuscript of Vaticanus is yet to be digitally photographed, CSNTM has digitally photographed an 1868 pseudo-facsimile of the manuscript at CSNTM’s website. You can see it by clicking here.

For further reading, see: Bruce Manning Metzger and Bart D. Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 67-69; Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning, editors, Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2006), 39-40. For an extensive bibliography on Vaticanus, see J. K. Elliott, A Bibliography of Greek New Testament Manuscripts, second edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 47-49.

Robert C. Kashow
Church Liaison; Manuscript Collator
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

Codex W

With all the recent news coverage around Washington, it seems only fitting to look at one of America’s own New Testament treasures. Few are aware that the Freer Gallery of Art, a division of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, contains a late fourth or early fifth century manuscript of the four Gospels. Though there are numerous manuscripts in the United States, few compare to the quality and date of this manuscript in Washington.

Codex W or Gregory-Aland 032 gained international attention as one of the most significant New Testament manuscript discoveries of the early 20th century. Discovered by Charles L. Freer in 1906 during one of his numerous antiquities trips, the manuscript was quickly acknowledged as being a significant text of the New Testament.

Freer regularly traveled, collecting antiquities. His collection contains numerous works of art and volumes of literature. However, during one of his Asian voyages Freer spent some time with an antiquities dealer, Ali Arabi, in Cairo, Egypt. Here, recorded in his diary, is the account of his purchase of a collection of manuscripts dating from the early third through fifth century. Upon arrival back in the States, he immediately secured the services of Francis W. Kelsey to supervise the study and publication of the find. The collection was shown to include codices of the four Gospels, Deuteronomy, Joshua, the Psalms, and the Pauline corpus. Upon two further expeditions to Egypt, Freer met with Ali Arabi and was able to acquire a Coptic codex of the Psalms and the earliest papyrus codex of the Minor Prophets prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Codex W, one of the most significant pieces in the Freer collection, is considered to be the third-oldest parchment codex of the Gospels in the world. The Gospels in this codex are arranged in the “Western order” (Matthew, John, Luke, Mark). Interestingly, along with the longer ending of Mark (16. 9–20), Codex W includes an additional account of Jesus, referred to as the “Freer Logion” ever since its discovery. In contrast, within the Gospel of John the famous account of the woman caught in adultery (pericope adulterae) is missing.

One may view images of Codex W at CSNTM’s website http://www.csntm.org/Manuscript/View/GA_032

Robert D. Marcello
Intern-Coordinator, Manuscript Collator
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

Codex Sinaiticus on-line

The famous codex from St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Egypt has begun to show up on the Internet. A joint project between the British Library, the University of Leipzig, the National Library in St. Petersburg, and St. Catherine’s Monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai, Egypt, has been underway for some time now. All four institutes own portions of this manuscript (with the BL owning the largest section, the complete New Testament—which, incidentally, is the oldest complete New Testament by half a millennium). The project to post these images on-line has involved new digital photography and some slick search-capable tools.

One can see the images already posted by going to this site: http://www.codex-sinaiticus.net/en/.

Unfortunately, only selections from the codex are on-line currently. The entire codex should be up by July 2009.

CSNTM has the complete NT on its site, but our images are digital photographs from the 1911 black-and-white folio photographs (http://www.csntm.org/Manuscript/View/GA_01).

In order to obtain permission from each institute to post their collective images of Sinaiticus, an agreement had to be made first. It was simply that the story of this manuscript’s modern history would be told and that the story would be something that all parties could agree to. That all parties could agree on the contents of the narrative is a grade B miracle! The reason is quite simple: Ever since the German scholar, Constantine von Tischendorf, took the manuscript from St. Catherine’s in 1859, there has been a dispute between St. Catherine’s and the new keepers of the MS as to who owned it.

Too much to go into now, suffice it to say that the story that most have heard is that Tischendorf saw the monks ripping out leaves of this codex and using them as kindling. Thus, most in the western world who know anything about Sinaiticus have assumed that the removal of the MS from Mt. Sinai was the act of a rescue mission rather than a theft. Although this has been strongly denied by St. Catherine’s, few in the western world knew much of the story—e.g., that Tischendorf had left a note telling the monks that he would return the MS when they asked for it. But with the discovery of the ‘New Finds’ (over 1000 MSS and 50,000 fragments found in 1975 in a hidden compartment at the monastery), the story may need some serious revision. What is most notable is that as many as 26 leaves or leaf-fragments of Codex Sinaiticus were found in the store-room or geniza. And the geniza was most likely used until the mid-19th century (judging by the latest MSS found in it). As well, the fact that the leaves of Sinaiticus that were found there were from the front (Pentateuch) and back of the book (apostolic fathers) seems to suggest that the geniza was used for manuscript leaves that had fallen off of the documents, most likely when the library was moved from one side of the compound to the other. Both the date when the geniza was in use and the leaves of Sinaiticus that were found there suggest that during the era when Tischendorf visited the monastery the monks’ modus operandi in disposing of old manuscripts was not to destroy them. In the least, this new evidence and its potential implications need to be given more serious consideration as the modern story of this remarkable manuscript is told.

Daniel B. Wallace
Executive Director
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

New Testament Text-Critical Colloquium in Münster, Germany

From August 3 through August 6, 2008, most of the world’s leading New Testament textual critics have gathered in Münster, Germany, for an important conference. Sponsored by the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung (Institute for New Testament Textual Research or INTF), these scholars have come together to hear lectures and to dialog on important methods for doing textual research. The roster includes a veritable Who’s Who of text-critical scholars: Eduard Lohse, Barbara Aland, Holger Strutwolf, Klaus Wachtel, Ulrich Schmid, Beate Köster, Gerd Mink, J. K. Elliott, David Parker, Peter Head, Dirk Yongkind, Tim Finney, Michael Holmes, Maurice Robinson, John Kloppenborg, David Trobisch, Larry Hurtado, Bill Warren, Roger Ohmanson, Tiedje Baarda, Jöel Delobel, Eldon Epp, Tommy Wasserman, and several others (about 50 people altogether). It seems that this conference marks a change in how various text-critical scholars are doing their work: competitive overtones are being muffled, while the tune now being sung has the sweet refrain of collaboration.