Definitions Bible manuscript: a handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Bible: from the Greek biblia = books Manuscript: from Latin manu (hand) and scriptum (written) Autographa: original manuscript an author physically wrote on Parchment: a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin Papyrus: material prepared in ancient Egypt from the pithy stem of a water plant, used in sheets as writing or painting surfaces Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls (e.g. Tefillin) containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures to huge polyglot codices (multilingual books) containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extra-canonical works.
1. Writing materials A. Parchment (Pergament) Lindisfarne Gospel, 8 th century Targum 11 th century Iraq
1. Writing materials A. Parchment (Pergament) Model of City of Pergamon In nothern Asia minor (Modern Turkey) Model at Pergamon Museum, Berlin
1. Writing materials B. Parchment Examples from Antiquity Parchment manuscript - Part of Isaiah scroll from Qumran
Modern Parchment scroll of the Bible
1. Writing materials C. Papyrus plants
1. Writing materials B. Papyrus Papyrus paper production Modern illustration
1. Writing materials Papyrus Papyrus texture
apyrus find 1. Writing materials B. Papyrus - Examples
2. Discoveries Recent major discoveries Oxyrhynchos 1940s Nag Hammadi 1940s Dead Sea Scrolls 1940s Kairo Geniza late1800s
2. Discoveries Papyrus finds in the Desert sand of Egypt at Oxyrhynchus Satellite image of Egypt Oxyrhychos
The Nile River near Aswan
Garbage dump in the desert sand Oxyrhynchus Village
Excavation site
Excavation site
Excavation site
P115, Poxy 56.4499 3 rd /4 th century, Rev 6 POxy 3522, 1 st century CE Job 42-11-12 (LXX)
2. Discoveries B. Manuscript finds in Nag Hammadi The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts. In December of 1945 two Egyptian brothers found several papyri in a large earthenware vessel. They were digging for fertilizer around limestone caves. At first, the brothers tried to sell the individually at intervals. In 1946, the brothers became involved in a feud, and left the manuscripts with a Coptic priest, whose brother-in-law in October that year sold a codex to the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo (this tract is today numbered Codex III in the collection). The resident Coptologist and religious historian Jean Dorese, realizing the significance of the artifact, published the first reference to it in 1948. During the years many tried to make money with the manuscripts. Finally the papyri were brought together in Cairo in the 1970s. Of the 1945 find, eleven complete books and fragments of two others, 'amounting to well over 1000 written pages are preserved there.
2. Discoveries B. Manuscript finds in Nag Hammadi, List of codices found Codex I (Jung Foundation Codex): The Prayer of the Apostle Paul The Apocryphon of James (also known as the Secret Book of James) The Gospel of Truth The Treatise on the Resurrection The Tripartite Tractate Codex II: The Apocryphon of John The Gospel of Thomas a sayings gospel The Gospel of Philip The Hypostasis of the Archons On the Origin of the World The Exegesis on the Soul The Book of Thomas the Contender Codex III: The Apocryphon of John The Gospel of the Egyptians Eugnostos the Blessed The Sophia of Jesus Christ The Dialogue of the Saviour Codex IV: The Apocryphon of John The Gospel of the Egyptians Codex V: Eugnostos the Blessed The Apocalypse of Paul The First Apocalypse of James The Second Apocalypse of James The Apocalypse of Adam Codex VI: The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles The Thunder, Perfect Mind Authoritative Teaching The Concept of Our Great Power Republic by Plato - The original is not gnostic, but the Nag Hammadi library version is heavily modified with thencurrent gnostic concepts. The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth - a Hermetic treatise The Prayer of Thanksgiving (with a handwritten note) - a Hermetic prayer Asclepius 21-29 - another Hermetic treatise Codex VII: The Paraphrase of Shem The Second Treatise of the Great Seth Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter The Teachings of Silvanus The Three Steles of Seth Codex VIII: Zostrianos The Letter of Peter to Philip Codex IX: Melchizedek The Thought of Norea The Testimony of truth Codex X: Marsanes Codex XI: The Interpretation of Knowledge A Valentinian Exposition, On the Anointing, On Baptism (A and B) and On the Eucharist (A and B) Allogenes Hypsiphrone Codex XII: The Sentences of Sextus The Gospel of Truth Fragments Codex XIII: Trimorphic Protennoia On the Origin of the World
2. Discoveries C. The Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran texts) For comparison Aleppo codex, c. 920 CE The oldest Hebrew language manuscript of the Tanakh before the 1947 discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which pushed the manuscript history of the Tanakh back a millennium!
2. Discoveries C. Manuscripts from the Dead Sea (Qumran texts) Grotto 4 in Qumran
Jars from the Qumran Caves
Fragment from the book of Leviticus
Isaiah scroll from Qumran
The Copper scroll discovered in 1952 in Cave 3Q almost eight feet (2.44 m) in length unique both in construction and content written on the purest copper not a book but an inventory and guide to fabulous caches of gold and silver Some experts believe that the text describes hidden treasures from Salomon s Temple in Jerusalem (including the Jeweled Breast Plate of Judgment and the legendary Ark of the Covenant. Some even claim that the Copper Scroll might be linked to the Holy Grail.
2. Discoveries D. Manuscript finds in the Kairo Geniza In the late 1800s a 9 th century synagogue was discovered in Kairo. In the geniza more than 200 000 papyrus fragments with over 100 000 pages of religious and other Hebrew texts were found. A geniza (גניזה) is a storage space in a synagogue, where outworn scriptures are kept until they are buried according to a ritual for religious texts.
Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) Surrounded by papyrus fragments from the Kairo Geniza, c. 1895