When a team
of researchers from the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
visited Greece this past winter, they photographed a particularly interesting little Gospels-manuscript
that resides at the Library
of the Hellenic Parliament, in Athens
It would be natural to think
that such a small manuscript could contain the basic text of the Gospels, and
not much else – but a close examination shows that 804, while far from being a
deluxe manuscript, contains Eusebian Canon-tables, Eusebius’ Ad Carpianus (an explanation of how to
use the Canons and Section-numbers as a cross-reference system for the
Gospels), chapter-lists for each Gospel, monochromatic icons of each Evangelist,
headpieces (of which one, for Matthew, is in a quatrefoil shape), titloi at the head and foot of many
pages, red initials usually at section-breaks, and lectionary-related notes,
including identification of the lections for Saturdays and Sundays (and of the
Eastertime readings and the eleven Heothina lections), incipit-phrases, and crimson
αρχη and τελος and υπερβαλε and αρξου symbols (meaning “start,” “stop,” “jump ahead,” and “resume,” respectively) throughout the text, appearing not as later additions but with
space reserved to contain them. Substantial quotations from the Old Testament
are accompanied in the margin by columns of double diple-marks (>>), one
in black (or brown) ink, and one in red.
Also,
before the icon of Saint John, on what was probably a blank page when the
manuscript was produced, someone has written (very sloppily) a brief note
describing the apostle John, identifying him as the author of the fourth
Gospel, a Jew, the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James. A large smudge has removed most of the rest
of the note.
As
surprising as it may be to find such so many supplements in such a small
manuscript, much more remarkable is the feature that appears in 804 before the
text of Matthew begins: after the last
page of the kephalaia for Matthew (a
page that has been badly torn, but carefully repaired with a series of neat stitches),
the next ten pages constitute a different manuscript altogether: they are from a lectionary, and they contain
(with introductory notes and titles) excerpts from Galatians 4, First
Corinthians 9, First Corinthians 10, Titus 2, Titus 3, Hebrews 7, and Hebrews
2. Very unusually, the last page with text
from Hebrews 2 (still plainly visible for three lines, after which it is only
perceptible) was used to contain the icon of Saint Matthew. Such a pictorial palimpsest is, I think,
completely unique.
The text of
804 – extant from Matthew 1:1 to midway through John 15:19 – is interesting and
merits further investigation. Although the manuscript has been assigned to the 1000s, it echoes
the earliest recoverable stratum of the Byzantine Text, often agreeing with
uncials (especially K and Π, but also A and Y) against the majority of
minuscules.
In Matthew,
804’s text’s affinities with K and/or Π pop up infrequently near the beginning,
at points such as 4:20 (δικτυα αυτων, also
attested by W 118 565) and 5:12 (προφήτας προ υμων), and with greater frequency
near the end, at points such as 26:40 (λέγει αυτοις instead of λέγει τω Πέτρω),
26:43 (ευρεν αυτους παλιν), 26:47 (without ηλθεν) and 26:52 (μαχαίρα
απολουνται) and 26:69 (without πάντων).
Turning to
the first four chapters of Mark, 804 continues to agree with the Byzantine Text
more often than it agrees with K and Π where they diverge from the usual
Byzantine reading, but there are plenty of agreements with K and Π which
diverge from the majority-reading.
Examples:
1:12 – 804
agrees with A K Π* 700: ευθεως
1:13 – 804
agrees with K Π* 1: ην εκει ημερας
1:15 – 804
agrees with K Π B W: Και before λέγων
1:16 – 804
agrees with Ec M Y Πc 157 1424: βάλλοντας
1:19 – 804
agrees with Cc K M Π 157:
δικτυα αυτων
1:35 – 804 agrees
with A E Y K M U Π 157 700: εννυχον λίαν,
without ο Ιησους
1:42 – 804
agrees with A C K Π* 157 565: η λέπρα
απ’ αυτου
1:43 – 804
agrees with A C D K Π* 157: εν / ην /
πάντοθεν
2:7 – 804
agrees with A C K Π 579: ουτω
2:9 – 804
agrees with A B C K Π 579: τον κραβαττον
σου
2:21 – 804
agrees with A K Π: μήγε αιρει αυτου το
πλήρωμα
3:7 – 804
agrees with A K Π 579 700: ηκολούθησεν αυτω
3:31 – 804
agrees with A K Π: Ερχονται ουν οι
αδελφοι αυτου
3:32 – 804
agrees with A B C K Π W 33 700: περι
αυτον οχλος
3:32 – 804
agrees with B À
K Π W 1424: without και αι αδελφαι σου
3:34 – 804 agrees
with A Y K Π f1: λεγει ιδου
4:1 – 804
agrees with K Π Y M f1 157: εις πλοιον
4:11 – 804
agrees with K Π Y D W: παραβολαις παντα
4:30-31 – 804
agrees with Y Π 157: παραβάλωμεν αυτην
ως κόκκω
In Luke chapter 10, 804 shares eight unusual readings with K
and Π:
10:1 – 804
agrees with B Y K Π 565: δυο δυο
10:1-2 –
804 agrees with Y K S Π 565: εμελλεν / ουν
10:2 – 804
agrees with Y K M Π: αν εκβαλη
10:11 – 804
agrees with A C K L M Π Wc 579 700:
includes εις τους ποδας ημων
10:22 – 804
agrees with P45 P75 B À D Π 579 700: without
και στραφεις προς τους μαθητας ειπεν
10:35 – 804
agrees with Y K Π: και ο τι δ’αν
10:40 – 804
agrees with P75 À
Y Π 157 565supp 579 700:
κατέλιπεν
10:40 – 804
agrees with D K Π 565supp: ο Ις
ειπεν αυτη
I also noticed that in Luke 14:5, 804’s text agrees with A D
Y K Π by reading Και ειπεν προς αυτους and by reading ονος (with À K L
Π Y 579 f1) instead of υιος. And in Luke 19:8, 804 agrees with G K M Π
118 f13, reading προς τον Ιν.
In Luke 20, 804’s text has a detectable trace of KΠ
readings:
20:10 – 804
agrees with K Π: απέστειλαν
20:19 – 804
agrees with B A K L M Π f1: γραμματεις και οι αρχιερεις
20:36 – 804
agrees with M Π f1: και υιοι του Θυ (without εισιν)
20:37 – 804
agrees with B Y K L Π W 579: Μωϋσης
20:41 – 804
agrees with A Y K M Π: τινες τον Χν
20:44 – 804
agrees with B A K M Π 157 f1: πως αυτου υιος εστιν
In John chapter 3, there are only about 12 points where Κ’s readings
stand out from the Byzantine text; 804 displays five of them:
3:5 – 804
agrees with K M Π f13 1424: απεκρίθη Ις και ειπεν αυτω
3:14 – 804
agrees with P66 P75 B À Y K L Π 579:
Μωϋσης
3:16 – 804
agrees with P63 P66 À
A K Π f1 565: αλλ’ εχη
3:26 – 804
agrees with F K L M 157 579 700: ειπον /
ραββι
3:28 – 804
agrees with P66 B A D Y K L Π 157 579 700:
υμοις μοι
In John chapter 7, about a third of Π’s non-Byzantine
readings appear in 804:
7:1 – 804
agrees with P66 À*
D Y K L Π f1 565: μετα ταυτα περιεπάτει ο Ις
7:3-4 – 804
agrees with Κ Π L N: τα εργα σου α / τι
εν κρυπτω
7:12 – 804
agrees with K Π: ουχι
7:26 – 804
agrees with P66 P75 B À D N K L Π 565: without
αληθως
7:29 – 804
agrees with P66 À
D Y N Π f1 565: εγω δε οιδα
7:31 – 804
agrees with P66 P75 B À K L N Π 157 565:
without τουτων
7:32 – 804
agrees with Y K M N Π f1 565: Ηκουσαν ουν
7:32 – 804
agrees with P75 K L N W Π f1 33 565: οι
φαρισαιοι υπηρέτας ινα
7:39 – 804
agrees with P66 P75 B À D N Π f1
565: λόγων τουτον [sic – itacism in 804]
7:50 – 804
agrees with Y K 157: ο ελθων προς αυτον
νυκτός εις
7:53 – 804 agrees
with P66 P75 B À
D Y K N W Π: ουκ εγειρεται
Occasionally,
804’s text is neither Byzantine nor family-Π.
For example, in Luke 7:31, where the Byzantine text begins the verse
with Πολλοι δε εκ του οχλου and K Π read Εκ του οχλου ουν πολλοι, 804 matches
up perfectly with B’s reading, Εκ του οχλου δε πολλοι.
804 has an
interesting feature in Mark 11:26 – a verse which does not appear at all in the
Alexandrian Text. The loss of this verse was due to a simple mistake, caused when an early copyist’s line of
sight drifted from the words τα παραπτώματα υμων at the end of verse 25 to the
same words at the end of verse 26. While
this verse was lost in the Alexandrian text-stream, it underwent expansion
elsewhere: Codex M, 346 (a member of f13), 579, and 713 (the Algerina Peckover
Codex), agreeing with some lectionaries, augment the verse with a
repetition of the contents of Matthew 7:7.
In 804, the text that continues after the end of v. 26 runs as
follows: λεγω δε υμιν, Αιτειτε και
δοθησεται υμιν. Ζητειτε, και
ευρήσετε. Κρούετε και ανοιγησεται
υμιν. Πας γαρ ο αιτων λαμβάνει, και ο
ζητων ευρισκει, και τω κρούοντι
ανοιγήσεται. In 804, faint marks for “stop here” and “start here” are visible in the margins after the interpolation,
and a fresh red “start here” mark is
also present – and thus this interpolation is accounted for as a concluding flourish for a lection. Not
far away, in Mark 11:29, 804 continues to display family-Π readings, with καγω
υμας after επερωτήσω, and in 11:33 αποκριθεις ο Ις, and in 12:2, δουλον
τω καιρω.
It may be
fitting to mention a few more readings in 804:
● Matthew
6:13 includes the doxology of the Lord’s model prayer.
● Matthew
16:2-3 is present, and an obelus symbol (⁒) at the end of verse 3 is linked to a
margin-note which reads δοκιμάζειν, a reading which appears after δύνασθε in G
M N U and 33.
● Matthew
17:21 is present.
● Matthew
25:13 ends with “in which the Son of Man comes.”
● Matthew
26:39 is followed by a red υπερβαλε symbol, and a lengthy red note appears in
the margin; although most of the note has been rubbed away, the word “Luke” has
survived, indicating that Luke 22:43-44 was introduced here in the liturgical
reading at Eastertime.
● Mark
15:28 is present. A red υπερβαλε symbol
appears before the beginning of the verse, and a red αρξου (“resume here”) symbol appears after the end of the verse.
● Mark
16:9-20 is present, and in the lower margin an annotation identifies it as the
third Heothina-lection; its usual incipit-phrase is also provided. In the outer margin, section-breaks occur at
16:9 (214, although the preceding section-number is 233) and 16:10 (215).
● Luke
14:24 includes, after δείπνου, πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι (“For
many are called, but few are chosen”), added as a flourish to end a lection.
● Luke
17:36 is not present.
●
Luke 22:43-44 is present, and red notes instruct the reader to resume the
reading for the Maundy Thursday service at this point (having turned here from
Matthew 26:39).
● Luke
23:17 is present.
● Luke
23:34 includes Jesus’ prayer for the Father to forgive those who did not know
what they were doing.
● Luke
24:42 mentions the honeycomb.
● John 3:13
includes ο ων εν τω ουνω (“who is in heaven”).
● John 5:4
is present (with Κυ after γαρ) but most of the verse is accompanied in
the outer margin by black and red double-diples (>>), which seem to have
been intended to indicate that the verse is either questionable in some way, or
else should be understood as a quotation.
● John
7:40-41 is marred by parablepsis, caused when a copyist’s line of sight drifted
from the ελεγον in verse 40 to the second ελεγον in verse 41; an obelus (⁒) in
the text is linked to the correction in the upper margin. This is particularly interesting because 579
omits the same words that are supplied in 804’s correction; meanwhile, Codex M
(which with 579 shares 804’s unusual reading at Mark 11:26) also has an
omission in verse 41, skipping from the first ελεγον in verse 41 to the second ελεγον
in verse 41, thus bypassing the words Ουτος εστιν ο Χς οι δε
ελεγον.
● John 7:8
reads ουπω, and further along in the verse reads ο καιρος ο εμος ουπω.
● John
7:53-8:11 is present, in a form very similar to the text in the
Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform. A
red υπερβαλε symbol appears between 7:52 and 7:53 – indicating that the lector
was to jump to 8:12 for the Pentecost-lection.
A red αρχη (“start here”) symbol appears at the beginning of 8:3,
signifying the beginning of the lection for September 8. In the lower margin this date is given and is
described as the feast-day of Saint Pelagia.
The incipit-phrase for the lection is also provided – the beginning of
verse 3 without δε. A red τελος (stop
here) symbol appears at the end of verse 11, signifying the end of the lection
for Saint Pelagia’s Day.
John 8:12
begins on the next line, and is accompanied in the outer margin by instruction
to resume the lection for Pentecost at this point. A red τελος symbol appears at the end of
verse 12, signifying the end of the lection for Pentecost. A very faint αρχη symbol appears at the
beginning of verse 12, signifying the beginning of the lection for the fifth
day of the fourth week after Eastertime; this lection concludes at the end of
8:20 where accordingly a red τελος symbol appears in the text. The lection for the fifth day of the fourth
week after Eastertime is identified in the upper margin, where its
incipit-phrase is also provided, all in red.
All in all,
804 is perhaps the most significant manuscript in Greece
Readers are invited to double-check the data in this post, and to explore the embedded links for additional resources.
2 comments:
I found one divergence from both K and Π later in Matthew that might be worth noting: At the end of Matt 25:30, 804 adds the lectionary flourish ταυτα λεγων, εφωνει, Ο εχων ωτα ακουειν, ακουετω.
It's not the only continuous-text manuscript to do so here (the uncials Y, Γ, and Ω and Family 13 feature the addition, while other minuscules place the addition after v. 29), but it is a relatively rare feature nevertheless.
Thanks, James, for this service. Knowledge of the manuscripts continues to show that liturgical use of Scripture copies caused Alexandrian scribes to delete and Byzantine scribes to add. I'd be interested in a similar study of late Alexandrian mss, to determine what caused them to differ from the Great Codices.
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