Prior to the K-Liste (What is the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments?), there were several different systems for cataloging New Testament manuscripts, which created confusion and inconsistencies for scholars. For a while, Latin letters were used (i.e. Codex Vaticanus is 'B'), but when there were more manuscripts than letters in the Latin alphabet, some people started using Greek letters (i.e. Codex Sangallensis is 'Δ') and one person used a...
Month: November 2019
What is the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments?
In my last article, Where are Manuscripts Found?, I briefly mentioned scholars use published lists to keep track of the New Testament manuscripts which have been cataloged. The list used by most New Testament manuscript scholars is Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments (Short List of Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament), produced by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, University of Munster, Germany. Fortunately for...
Where are Biblical Manuscripts Found?
Archaeological sites
Surprisingly, archaeologists don't often find manuscripts, but there are some notable exceptions.
A famous manuscript find was the Codex Sinaiticus (א, Gregory-Aland 01) found by Constantin von Tischendorf, at Saint Catherine's Monastery, at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt, between 1844-1859. This book was written about A.D. 325-350. It originally contained the entire Bible, along with the Apocrypha and...
Do I Need a Dictionary to Study Ancient Manuscripts?
Yes!
Almost every field of study has a unique vocabulary and ancient manuscripts are no exception. Some words (i.e. Boustrophedon) are unique to the study of manuscripts, while other words (i.e. hand) use an uncommon definition.
When I started studying the topic of New Testament manuscripts, I quickly realize I needed to learn a lot of new terminology. Writing down the definitions (or my understanding of the definitions; I can't vouch for...
Why were the Early Christians More Likely to Write on a Codex Rather than a Scroll?
In the second millennium B.C., when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and for the first few hundred years after the Exodus, documents were typically written on papyrus. Papyrus sheets were made from the papyrus plant, which was common among the Nile river. Sheets of papyrus were fragile, and creases in papyrus could tear easily. Typically, documents were made into scrolls rather than books, which would help prevent sharp bends in the sheets.
In...