Friday, March 11, 2016

Codex Bezae on Display Now

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Just a note to those in or near Cambridge that Codex Bezae is said to go on display today at the University Library.

Probably not the page they’ll put on display.
I was there a few days ago and saw them setting up, but the displays themselves were off limits. Hopefully I can get over there this weekend to see the great manuscripts. If you’re not in Cambridge, you can still view the manuscript online.

Other Biblical items on display include:
All the items on display are available for viewing online as well.

Update: I went over today and Bezae is on display along with the other items listed above. Also Codex Zacynthius, one of two (?) fragments of Origen’s Hexapla, a medieval Hebrew Bible, some papyri and other interesting books were on display. Unfortunately the the three- and four-year-old accompanying me were not as impressed as I hoped so our visit was cut short. I’ll have to go back.

Update: Some photos (PMH):


 

10 comments

  1. Great. If whoever sees it first can let others know it's on display that would be great. I'll take the kids.

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    1. The passage is Matthew 204 (and a large addition) and 205

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  2. I cannot travel to view the manuscript in person, but as it happens, I have finished a bit of research regarding its reading in Mark 1:41. The resultant essay is at http://www.thetextofthegospels.com/2016/03/mark-141-why-niv-is-wrong.html .

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  3. James, re: the first theory that "the Latin text read, Is [i.e., Iesus, contracted as a sacred name] autem miseratus eius, and a copyist accidentally wrote 'M' only once instead of twice, producing Is autem is eratus eius. A subsequent copyist, interpreting the second occurrence of is as a superfluous repetition of Jesus’ contracted name, removed it, thus producing the sentence, Is autem eratus eius, and the shift from eratus to iratus was then merely a matter of orthography."

    Looking at Bezae today with Pete Head, we noticed that, following the Greek, the Latin text has IHS as the preferred form of the name. Houghton's new book on the Latin NT also gives this is the form used in Latin. Question: Do we have instances where Iesus is abbreviated as IS in Latin?

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    1. Update: I searched the transcription of the Latin in Bezae. 422 examples of IHS as a nomen sacrum. 0 of IS.

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  4. I've added some photos from the exhibition, starring Mr Gurry (as well as Codex Bezae and Codex Zacynthius).

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  5. Some assistance requested.

    Is the blue ink :
    "replacement leaves for missing portions of Matthew, John and Mark."
    that Parker places in Lyon, France in the ninth century?

    There are sheets with blue ink (and presumably the flesh side of those pages could be replacement pages faded?)
    1 blue-black sheet
    http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NN-00002-00041/16

    7 blue-black sheets
    http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NN-00002-00041/308
    310-312-314-316-318-320

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  6. Just an add-on, Scrivener talked of pages in Codex Bezae:

    "some being as clear and fresh as if written yesterday"
    https://books.google.com/books?id=xakGAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR10

    Do we think Scrivener was talking of these pages (they are the only super-bright "Sharpie" pages from the pictures).

    ==============


    Beyond all that, who has handled the parchment on a few of these ancient mss?

    Kathryn M. Rudy in "Dirty Books" points out that there are types of information that are lost in books or digitization. (Similar to doctors today who resist actually touching the patient. They lose a lot of basic understanding.)

    And I am especially interested in "testimonials" from individuals who have:

    1) worked with Sinaiticus and another ms.

    (e.g. Skeat and Milne said Alexandrinus was "limp, dead" in comparison to Sinaiticus, a rather fascinating comparison, since Sinaiticus is "exceptional" in so many ways)

    2) handled, or at least viewed, Sinaiticus in England and Leipzig

    Feel free to discuss here, or use my email in the profile.

    Thanks!

    Steven Avery
    Dutchess County, NY

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  7. Steven, if you wanted to talk to people who had handled the different parts of Sinaiticus then I would talk to the people who did the photos for the Sinaiticus Project, the actual transcribers (mostly I believe Rachel Kevern and Amy Myshrall and Tim Brown), and the two manuscript leads in the project - David Parker and Scot McKendrick.

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  8. Hi Peter,

    Yes there has been communication attempts, some successful, some less so, some waiting in process, with all those individuals, and with individuals in Germany and other areas, even with Hendrickson. Gavin Moorhead has been one of the most helpful, as he is on the CSP website.

    However, "independent" scholars and manuscript experts should be able to give a different perspective than those in the employ or close relationship to the libraries that are the owners and custodians and reputation-builders of the manuscripts. This I learned in the PMP course .. Practical Manuscript Politics 101. :)

    Thus, we do look for scholars and lay people who want to share their manuscript experience, whatever perspective and experience they have on manuscripts.

    Time to put aside former presuppositions and look afresh.

    Steven Avery

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