Sinai Gr. 212: The Most Important Manuscript You Never Heard Of

Mark 16:9-20 in Sinai Gr. 212.

            Among the manuscripts in the Sinai Palimpsests Project’s collection of newly photographed manuscripts, Greek 212 (Lectionary 846) stands out as one which has New Testament texts as its primary upper writing.  This early Greek lectionary manuscript was made from recycled parchment pages which had previously contained a Greek Psalter.  This manuscript deserves much more attention than it has received.
     

            Let’s take a closer look at the excerpts from the New Testament that this manuscript contains.  There are 30 excerpts in all, all but one of which are preceded by a rubric (a note written in red) that identifies the purpose or occasion for each lection, and/or the book from which the lection is taken.  I have given extra details here for only a few of the rubrics.   

            The first eight lections form an eight-part series of lections about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances:  (1)  Matthew 28:1-9.  (2)  Mark 16:1-8.  (3)  Luke 24:1-12.  (4)  John 20:1-18.  (5)  Matthew 28:9b-20.  (6)  Mark 16:9-20.  [27v-32v]  (7)  Luke 24:13-35.  (8)  John 21:1-14. [44v].  (This eight-part series, which resembles the 11-part Heothina series in the Byzantine Lectionary, represents a feature in an ancient lection-cycle used at Jerusalem.)

           The rest of the excerpts are:

 Luke 10:38-42.

      Matthew 16:13-20

      Matthew 5:17-24 (without εικη in 5:22)

      Matthew 10:1-15 (For the Apostles) [62v]

      Matthew 10:16-22

      Matthew 10:24-33

      John 12:24-26 (For Saint Stephen) [78r]

      Matthew 5:13-16

      Matthew 25:1-13

      Matthew 5:1-12a

      John 10:11-16

      Matthew 16:24b-27 (For the Archangels) [92v]

      John 5:19b-24 (For the Sleepers)

      Matthew 11:25-30

      Hebrews 13:10-16

      Hebrews 1:13-2:4

      First Corinthians 4:9-15 (For the Apostles)

      First Corinthians 12:27-13:3 (reading καυθήσωμαι in 13:3)

      Romans 5:1-5.  [105v]  (reading εχομεν in 5:1)

      Second Corinthians 4:7-12.

      Hebrews 4:14-5:6.

      First Thessalonians 4:13-18.  (The rubric for this lection is missing, an unartistic secondary hand has added From Thessalonians in black ink.)

            Additional information about the rubrics and marginalia in Sin. Gr. 212 can be found in Daniel Galadza’s informative article Two Greek, Ninth-century Sources of the Jerusalem Lectionary:  Sinai Gr. 212 and Sinai Gr. N.E. ΜΓ 11, in Bollettino Della Badia Greca De Grottaferrata (2014). 

            When microfilm-pictures were taken of Sinai Gr. 212 in 1950, the manuscript was assigned a production-date in the 600s.  However, considering the breathing-marks and accents that accompany the text, the main upper Greek writing’s production-date should probably be assigned to the late 700s or early 800s.  The text of a Greek Psalter that was sacrificed to provide writing-material for the lectionary-text (which is particularly apparent in the new photographs at the Sinai Palimpsests Project website) may date to the 500s.    

            This is just one manuscript – and yet, its discovery is like discovering fragments from nine New Testament books, all older than 90% of our extant New Testament manuscripts.  (Actually, ten New Testament books, inasmuch as what appears to be a sort of tightly written heading on the first page is the contents of Acts 5:38b-39.)

What type of text does this witness display?  Although one should not extrapolate too much from one scoop out of the ice-cream bucket, the following comparison in Matthew 28 is instructive:

2 – σισμος, agreeing with À.

2 – και before προσελθων, agreeing with B À.

2 – απο της θύρας but not του μνημείου, agreeing with A C K M Δ Π W Y.  A supplemental hand has supplied του μνημείου.

3 – ως instead of ωσει, agreeing with B À* D K Π.

4 – ως instead of ωσει, agreeing with B À D A L W.

6 – does not have ὁ Κς at the end of the verse, agreeing with B À Θ 33.

8 – απελθουσαι instead of εξελθουσαι, agreeing with B À C L Θ. 

9 – does not have the first part of the verse (up to αυτου), agreeing with B À D W Θ.

9 – ὁ before Ις, agreeing with D L W Y Θ.

9 – υπηντησεν instead of απηντησεν, agreeing with B À* C Π Υ Θ.

10 – μαθηταις instead of αδελφοις, agreeing with 157.

10 – κακει instead of και εκει, agreeing with B D L M.

14 – does not have αυτον after πείσομεν, agreeing with Β À Θ 33.

17 – does not have αυτω after προσεκύνησαν, agreeing with Β À D 33.

19 – ουν after Πορευθέντες, agreeing with B W Δ Θ Π.

20 – does not have Αμην at the end of the verse, agreeing with B À A* D W.

Thus, in Matthew 28, Sin. Gr. 212 is a strong Alexandrian witness.  It should be a consistently cited witness of the first order.



[Readers are encouraged to explore the embedded links in this post to find additional study-materials.]

Versional Manuscripts at the Library of Congress

            The website of the Library of Congress provides page-views of dozens and dozens of Greek New Testament manuscripts, to which I provided links in earlier posts.  It also contains quite an impressive assortment of versional New Testament manuscripts – Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Georgian, Slavonic, and Syriac are all represented.

            The members of the 1949-1950 expedition that photographed these manuscripts must have worked in a preternatural energetic flurry in order to collect all these page-views.  The manuscripts listed here represent just a fraction of the work involved; a total of 1,073 manuscripts were photographed.  They included not only manuscripts of Scripture but also patristic and liturgical works. Some of the compositions fall into such obscure categories that one might need a jargon-dictionary to sort it all out.  Such a resource is provided at the Library of Congress’ website, helping viewers to know the difference between a Sticherarion and a Synaxarion.  Also provided at the Library of Congress’ archives:  a tour of Saint Catherine’s monastery in pictures! It’s like visiting the monastery as it existed seventy years ago, minus the sand.    

            Without further ado, here is a list of 163 versional New Testament manuscripts at Jerusalem and Sinai, consisting of 56 Arabic manuscripts (this is not all of them!), 20 Armenian manuscripts, 1 Ethiopic manuscript, 27 Georgian manuscripts, 6 Slavonic manuscripts, and 53 Syriac manuscripts:      

Arabic New Testament Manuscripts at Jerusalem:

A page from Arabic MS
68 at St. Catherine's.

Arabic 6 (Persian) – Evangelion (Made in 1791)

Arabic 11 – Evangelion with Commentary (Made in 1500)

Arabic 15 – Evangelion (Made in 1700s)

Arabic 18 – Evangelion (Made in 1500s)

Arabic 22 – Evangelion for Sundays and Feast-days (Made in 1736)

Arabic 27 – Evangelion with Commentary (Made in 1646)

Arabic 28 – Evangelion with Commentary (1300s)

Arabic 29 – Apostolos (Made in 1642)

Arabic 30 – Evangelion (Made in 1405)

Arabic 36 – Four Gospels (1300s)

Arabic 39 – Evangelion (1500s)

Arabic 60 – Evangelion (Made in 1615)

Arabic 67 – Evangelion with Commentary (1300s)

Arabic 71 – Apostolos (Made in 1764)

Arabic 72 – Evangelion (1300s)

Arabic 87 – Evangelio-Apostolos (Made in 1771)

Arabic 90 – Evangelion for Sundays (Made in 1762)

Arabic 103 – Four Gospels (1100s/1200s)

Arabic 104 – Apostolos (1700s)

Arabic 124 – Evangelion (1700s)

Arabic 125 – Evangelion, Sermons, etc. (1600s/1700s)

Arabic 135 – Four Gospels (Made in 1618)

Arabic 194 – Four Gospels (Made in 1689)

Arabic 207 – Four Gospels (Made in 1793)

Arabic 208 – Evangelion (Made in 1669)

Arabic 213 – Four Gospels (1400s)

Arabic 220 – Four Gospels (Made in 1322)

Arabic 222 – Evangelion (Made in 1666)

Arabic 226 – Apostolos (Made in 1764)

Arabic 234 – Evangelion (1800s)

Arabic 235 – Four Gospels (1700s)

Arabic 236 – Evangelion (Made in 1738)

Some Arabic New Testament Manuscripts at St. Catherine’s:

Arabic MS 74, page-view 68,
at Saint Catherine's.

Arabic Manuscripts 54 – Four Gospels – Four Gospels (900s)

Arabic Manuscripts 68 – Four Gospels (1300s), a decorated copy

Arabic Manuscripts 69 – Four Gospels (made in 1065)
Arabic Manuscripts 70 – Four Gospels (from the 800s)

Arabic Manuscripts 71 – Four Gospels (900s)

Arabic Manuscripts 72 – Four Gospels (made in 897)

Arabic Manuscripts 73 – Epistles of Paul (800s)

Arabic Manuscripts 74 – Four Gospels (800s)

Arabic Manuscripts 75 – Four Gospels (c. 800)

Arabic Manuscripts 76 – Four Gospels (1200s)

Arabic Manuscripts 80 – Four Gospels (made in 1479)

Arabic Manuscripts 84 – Four Gospels (made in 1262)

Arabic Manuscripts 85 – Revelation (1200s-1300s)

Arabic Manuscripts 90 – Four Gospels (made in 1281)

Arabic Manuscripts 106 – Four Gospels (made in 1056)

Arabic Manuscripts 112 – Four Gospels (made in 1259)

Arabic Manuscripts 117 – Gospels-lectionary (made in 1203)

Arabic Manuscripts 138 – Gospels-lectionary (made in 1117)

Arabic Manuscripts 144 – Gospels-lectionary (made in 1052)

Arabic Manuscripts 151 – Epistles and Acts (made in 867)  Unusual formatting of the text.

Arabic Manuscripts 154 – Acts and Epistles (700s-800s)

Arabic Manuscripts 155 – Sirach and the Pauline Epistles (c. 900)

Arabic Manuscripts 159 – Acts and Epistles (made in 1199)

Arabic Manuscripts 310 – Epistles of Paul (late 900s)  Neatly written.

Armenian New Testament Manuscripts: 

A page from the
King Gagek Gospels.

Armenian 251 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1260)

Armenian 1796 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1287)

Armenian 1924 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1064) braided cross frontispiece

Armenian 1935 – Four Gospels (A.D 1746)

Armenian 1938 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1611)

Armenian 1944 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1589)

Armenian 1949 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1312)

Armenian 1950 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1316)

Armenian 1956 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1265)

Armenian 1973 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1346)

Armenian 2360 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1331)

Armenian 2555 – Four Gospels (1000s)

Armenian 2556 (Treasury 1) King Gagek Gospels (1000s)

Armenian 2562 (Treasury 7) – Four Gospels (1000s)

Armenian 2563 – Queen Keran Gospels (A.D. 1272)

Armenian 2568 (Treasury 13) Prince Vassak Gospels (1200s)

Armenian 2625 (Treasury 70) – Four Gospels (A.D. 1612)

Armenian 2649 – The “Miracle Gospels” (A.D. 1332)

Armenian 2650 (Treasury 95) – Four Gospels (A.D. 1424)

Armenian 2660 (Treasury 105) – Four Gospels (A.D. 1262)

Ethiopic New Testament Manuscript: 

Saint John in Ethiopic MS 11,
at Jerusalem.

Ethiopic 11 – Evangelion, Gospel of John (1600s) (at Jerusalem)

Georgian New Testament Manuscripts at St. Catherine’s:

Georgian 10 – Praxapostolos (c. 1000)

Georgian 15 – Four Gospels (A.D. 978)

            Braided cross page.

Georgian 16 – Four Gospels (900s)

Georgian 19 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1074)

Georgian 30 – Four Gospels (900s)

Georgian 37 – Apostolo-Evangelion (c. 1000)

Georgian 38 – Luke and John (A.D. 979)

Georgian 39 – Acts and Epistles (A.D. 974)

Georgian 60 – Apostolos fragment (A.D. 977)

Georgian 81 – Four Gospels (c. 1200)

Georgian New Testament Manuscripts at Jerusalem:

A page from Georgian MS
102 at Jerusalem.

Georgian 19 – Praxapostolos (1100s/1200s)

Georgian 28 – Evangelion (1400s/1500s)

Georgian 29 – Evangelion (1400s/1500s

Georgian 49 – Four Gospels (1000s)

Georgian 76 – Apostolos (1500s)

Georgian 82 – Apostolos (1000s/1100s)

Georgian 93 – Four Gospels (1200s-1400s)

Georgian 95 – Apostolos and Euchologion (1500s)

Georgian 102 – Four Gospels (1100s-1300s)

Georgian 103 – Four Gospels (1100s-1300s)

Georgian 109 – Apostolos (1100-1300s)

Georgian 115 – Praxapostolos (Made in 1755)

Georgian 116 – Apostolos (1200s-1300s)

Georgian 122 – Four Gospels (1200s/1300s)

Georgian 129 – Praxapostolos (1300s/1400s)

Georgian 153 – Four Gospels (1100s) 

Georgian 160 – Four Gospels (1600s/1700s)

            Also notable: 

            Georgian 6 – Ephrem Syrus: Commentary on Epistles (1100s)

Slavonic New Testament Manuscripts:

Slavonic (Slavic) Manuscripts 1 – Four Gospels (at St. Catherine’s) (production-date unknown)

Slavonic (Slavic) Manuscripts 2 – Four Gospels (at St. Catherine’s) (Made in 1532)

Slavonic (Slavic) Manuscripts 3 – Four Gospels (at St. Catherine’s) (production-date unknown)

Slavonic (Slavic) Manuscripts 4 – Acts and Epistles (at St. Catherine’s)

Slavonic (Slavic) 39 – Apostolos (production-date unknown)

Slavonic Abraam 3 – Four Gospels (at Jerusalem) (1200s)

The beginning of Matthew
in Slavonic MS Abraam 3.

Syriac New Testament Manuscripts at St. Catherine’s:    

Syriac MS 1 – Lectionary (A.D. 1127)

Syriac MS 2 – Four Gospels (500s)

Syriac MS 3 – Epistles of Paul (c. 600) – An important manuscript.

Syriac MS 5 – Epistles and Acts (c. 500)

Syriac MS 6 – Gospels lectionary (A.D. 1178)

Syriac MS 7 – Gospels lectionary (1100s)

Syriac MS 11 – Four Gospels (c. 800)

Syriac MS 12 – Lectionary and Gospel of Luke (c. 600)

Syriac MS 13 – Gospels lectionary and Epistles lectionary (1000s)

Syriac MS 15 – Acts and Epistles (c. 700)

Syriac MS 17 – New Testament (c. 800)

Syriac MS 20 – Gospels lectionary (A.D. 1015)

Syriac MS 21 – New Testament lectionary (1000s)

Syriac MS 30 – Gospels (late 300s/early 400s) This is the Sinaitic Syriac palimpsest.  The upper writing consists of biographies and martyrologies of female saints.  The lower writing is the Gospels text.

Syriac MS 32 – Lectionary for Gospels and Epistles (1000s)

Syriac MS 42 – New Testament lectionary and Euchologion (1100s)

Syriac MS 45 – Apostolos (A.D. 1043)

Syriac MS 54 – New Testament (without Revelation) (c. 700)

Syriac MS 65 – Gospels lectionary and Kanonarion (1000s)

Syriac MS 74 – Four Gospels (1200s)

Syriac MS 75 – Acts lectionary and Epistles lectionary (A.D. 1295)

Two pages from Syriac MS
159 at St. Catherine's.

Syriac MS 76 – Gospels lectionary (1200s-1300s)

Syriac MS 81 – Epistles lectionary (A.D. 1232)

Syriac MS 92 – Praxapostolos (A.D. 1291)

Syriac MS 100 – Acts lectionary and Epistles lectionary (1200s)

Syriac MS 120 – Acts lectionary and Epistles lectionary (1100s-1300s)

Syriac MS 134 – Gospels of Matthew and Mark (1200s)

Syriac MS 135 – Four Gospels (1100s-1200s)

Syriac MS 145 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1188)

Syriac MS 159 – Gospels of Matthew and John (A.D. 1260)

Syriac MS 161 – New Testament lectionary (1300s-1400s)

Syriac MS 205 – Four Gospels (1300s)

Syriac MS 214 – Acts lectionary and Epistles lectionary (1200s)

Syriac MS 215 – Praxapostolos (A.D. 1219)

Syriac MS 216 – Praxapostolos (1200s)

Syriac MS 217 – Gospels lectionary (A.D. 1297)

Syriac MS 218 – Praxapostolos (1200s)

Syriac MS 219 – Gospels lectionary (1200s)

Syriac MS 222 – Praxapostolos (A.D. 1267)

Syriac MS 227 – Praxapostolos (A.D. 1293)

Syriac MS 229 – Praxapostolos (1200s)

Syriac MS 231 – Four Gospels (1200s-1300s)

Syriac MS 235 – Praxapostolos (A.D. 1215)

Syriac MS 236 – Gospels lectionary (A.D. 1294)

Syriac MS 238 – Gospels lectionary (1200s)

Syriac MS 259 – Gospels of Luke and John (1200s)

Syriac MS 269 – Gospels lectionary (1100s-1200s)

Syriac MS 271 – Gospels lectionary (A.D. 1288)

Syriac MS 272 – Four Gospels (A.D. 1297)

            Also notable:

            Syriac MS 59 – Homilies on John (c. 800)

            Syriac MS 19 – Homilies on Song of Songs (c. 700)

Syriac New Testament Manuscripts at Jerusalem:

Syriac 1 – Evangelion (Made in 1679)

Syriac 9 – New Testament (Made in 1261)

Syriac 33 – New Testament (Made in 1608)

Syriac-Arabic, St. James 1 – Evangelion (Made in 1591)

That is a lot of versional New Testament manuscripts!

This post is presented in memory of Vickey Rose McCorkle, cherished sister in Christ.

“She has been a helper of many, and of myself also.”

The Adulteress in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the
Holy Sepulchre

         The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has a long and distinguished history.  A church building on its site was built in the days of Constantine, and was destroyed by Persians in 614.  It was soon rebuilt, but it was set on fire in 841, and again in 935, and again in 966; finally it was thoroughly destroyed by Muslims in 1009.  In 1149, fifty years after the First Crusade, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been rebuilt and thoroughly remodeled.  It is essentially this medieval edifice, with various expansions, that can be visited today in Jerusalem.  Many Christian pilgrims and tourists to Jerusalem visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – including President and First Lady Trump, who visited there earlier this year (2017).

            In addition to all its cherished pilgrimage-sites, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is home to a small collection of New Testament manuscripts.  A Gospels-manuscript, GA 1358, is there; this manuscript used to be cited as if it supports the reading of Codex Bezae in Mark 1:41 (where Codex Bezae famously says that Jesus became furious , rather than that He was filled with compassion) – but in 2011, researcher Jeff Cate showed that the text of Mark 1:41 in 1358 has merely been conformed to the parallel account in Matthew, stating neither that Jesus was filled with compassion nor that He was angry.    

            The Library of Congress recently released microfilm page-views of GA 1358 – Naos Anastaseos 15.  This manuscript, about 1000 years old, contains not only the text of the four Gospels but also book-introductions by Cosmas Indicopleustes (a writer of the mid-500’s who is otherwise infamous for his belief that the earth is flat) – not just for Matthew, but also before Luke and before John.

            Here is a basic index of GA 1358:

            Beginning of Matthew.  Beginning of Mark.  Beginning of Luke.  Beginning of John.

            The pericope adulterae (καὶ ἀπῆλθεν, etc.) follows John 7:52.

            After the end of John, this manuscript features a brief summary of apostolic history, and a description of the post-resurrection appearances of Christ recorded in the Gospels. 

            The Naos Anastaseos (Sanctuary of the Resurrection) collection also includes nine Greek Gospels-lectionaries, most of which are very late, having been produced in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s.  Two of them, however – Naos Anastaseos 11 – Evangelion (made in the 1200’s) and Naos Anastaseos 9 (made in 1152) – are much older.

            Naos Anastaseos 9 – GA Lectionary 1033 – has some particularly interesting features which render it the most significant manuscript in the collection.  Its full-page picture of Mary and the Child Jesus is artistically notable, but of far more interest is its treatment of the pericope adulterae, that is, the story of the adulteress which is found in John 7:53-8:11.  This passage, famously absent from the Alexandrian manuscripts that serve as the primary New Testament base-text for most modern English translations (the ESV, NIV, NLT, etc.), is present in about 85% of the extant Greek manuscripts. 

            In one small group of manuscripts known as family-13 (also called the Ferrar group, in honor of William Hugh Ferrar, a researcher in the 1800’s who noted the close relationship of four of the main members of the group, minuscules 13, 69, 124, and 346), the story of the adulteress is not found in the Gospel of John; it is instead inserted in the Gospel of Luke after 21:38 (that is, at the end of chapter 21).  This dislocation of the pericope adulterae has been confidently asserted by many commentators to be evidence that it was a “floating” composition which copyists inserted at different locations.

Highlighted:
the listing for Oct. 8

            Naos Anastaseos 9 may shine some light on this subject.  Let’s look into its pages and see what we find. 

            In most continuous-text manuscripts of the Gospel of John, John 7:53-8:11 follows John 7:52.  Many manuscripts are supplemented by a lectionary-apparatus – rubrics and notes for the lector, explaining what each day’s Scripture-reading was, and where to find it (and, often, a phrase with which to start it).  Typically, in the lectionary-cycle, the annual Scripture-reading, or lection, for Pentecost, a major feast-day, begins at John 7:37, and continues to the end of 7:52, but instead of stopping there, the lector is instructed to jump ahead in the text to 8:12, and read that verse, and then conclude.

            Accordingly, in Naos Anastaseos 9, we see, in the lection for Pentecost (beginning on page-view 35), no indication of the existence of John 7:53-8:11 in the Pentecost-reading; John 7:52 is followed immediately by John 8:12; nothing separates the two verses except a normal cross-symbol which routinely serves as a pause-marker.

            When we look in the Menologion-section of Naos Anastaseos 9 for the lection for October 8 – the feast-day of Saint Pelagia, when John 8:3-11 was typically read – we do not find the pericope adulterae there either.  Instead, there is a listing which says that for the reading for St. Pelagia’s Day, seek the lection for April 1.  Turning, then, to the lection for April 1, we find the lection for Saint Mary the Egyptian – and, behold, there is the text of John 8:1-11.

The April 1 lection
(beginning)

            But this is not just any text of John 8:1-11.  It is almost exactly the text of John 8:1-11 that appears in Codex Λ (039), and it is very similar to the form of the pericope adulterae that appears in Luke in the family-13 manuscripts.  Codex Λ (039) is a Gospels-manuscript from the 800’s, containing Luke and John; each Gospel is accompanied by a note – the “Jerusalem Colophon,” which is found in 37 manuscripts – which states that its text has been cross-checked using the ancient manuscripts that are kept on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.  (Codex Λ and minuscule 566 form two parts of one unit, Codex Tischendorfianus III; 566 has the text of Matthew and Mark.)

           

The following readings show this very satisfactorily:

● v. 1 – ὄχλος instead of λαὸς (agreeing with Λ)

● v. 3 – καὶ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῶ instead of ἄγουσιν δὲ (agreeing with family-13)

● v. 3 – does not include πρὸς αὐτον (agreeing with Λ, family-13, et al)

● v. 3 – επί instead of εν (agreeing with Λ, family-13, et al)

● v. 3 – ἐν τῶ instead of just ἐν (agreeing with Λ)

● v. 4 – εἶπον instead of λέγουσιν (agreeing with Λ)

● v. 4 – εἴληπται instead of κατελήφθη (agreeing with Λ and family-13)

● v. 5 – includes περὶ αὐτῆς at the end of the verse (agreeing with Λ and family-13)

The April 1 lection
(continued)

● v. 6 – does not include τῷ δακτύλῳ (agreeing with Λ)

● v. 6 – does not include μὴ προσποιούμενος (agreeing with Λ and family-13)

● v. 7 – ἀναβλέψας instead of ἀνακύψας (agreeing with Λ and family-13, et al)

● v. 7 – λίθον βαλέτω after πρῶτος (agreeing with U, Λ, and family-13)

● v. 7 – εἰς instead of ἐπ (unique to Neos Anastaseos 9)

● v. 9 – και εξῆλθεν at the beginning of the verse (agreeing with Λ) 

● v. 10 – ἀναβλέψας instead of ἀνακύψας (agreeing with Λ and family-13, et al)

● v. 10 – includes ἲδεν αὐτὴν (basically agreeing with U, Λ, and family-13)

● v. 10 – καὶ instead of θεασάμενος πλὴν τῆς γυναικὸς (agreeing with U, Λ, family-13, et al)

● v. 10 – εἰσιν οἱ (no ἑκεῖνοι), agreeing with U, Ω, family-13, et al)

● v. 11 – ὁ δὲ Ἰ[ησοῦ]ς, agreeing with Λ and 124)

● v. 11 – καὶ μηκέτι (agreeing with Byz, Λ, et al)

            The exceptionally close correspondence between Codex Λ and the text of the lection for April 1 in Naos Anastaseos 9 suggests that the ancient manuscripts which are referred to in the Jerusalem Colophon were indeed located at Jerusalem – not Mount Sinai or Mount Athos – and were ancestors of Naos Anastaseos 9. 

GA 1187:  obeli alongside
John 8:3ff., and footnote.

            This evidence also indicates that a note about the pericope adulterae which appears in Codex Λ, in the margin of minuscule 1424, and in minuscules 20, 215, 262, 1118, and 1187 is also referring to manuscripts at Jerusalem when it mentions ancient manuscripts which contain the pericope adulterae.      

            Let’s take a closer look at this note in 1187.  In 1187, the pericope adulterae is given its own rubric at the top of the page, and each line of John 8:3-11 (but not 7:53-8:2) is accompanied by an obelus.  The note says:   “The obelized portion is not in certain copies, and it was not in those used by Apollinaris.  In the old ones, it is all there.  And this pericope is referred to by the apostles, affirming that it is for the edification of the church.” 

            Τα ὀβελισμένα ἔν τισιν ἀντιγράφοις ού κεῖται· ουδε ἀ-

            πολιναρίου· εν δε τοις ἀρχαιος ὅλα κεῖται· μνημονευου-

            σιν της περικοπης ταυτης και οι αποστολοι πάντες

            ἐν αισ εζέθεντο διατάζεσιν ἐις οἰκοδομεῖν τῆς ἐκκλησίας: –

 (The claim  that the apostles refer to the pericope adulterae reflects the annotator’s awareness of the composition known as the Apostolic Constitutions (particularly Book 2, chapter 24) (from c. 380) which, in turn, is largely based on the earlier Didascalia (from the 200’s; see pages 39-40 of Gibson’s English translation of the Didascalia).

Highlighted:  the note about the pericope adulterae in GA 1187, at St. Catherine’s Monastery.

             Out of the 37 Greek manuscripts that have the Jerusalem Colophon, at least five of them – 039, 262, 899, 1187, and 1555 – also consistently share some otherwise rare readings, essentially rendering them a distinct textual family.  In addition, 039, 20, 262, 1118, and 1187 have the annotation about the pericope adulterae which mentions the absence of the PA in the copies of Apollinaris and the presence of the PA in ancient copies and the use of the PA in Apostolic Constitutions.  Thus, in 039, 262, and 1187, both features are present.  This suggests that these three witnesses are the best witnesses – along with Naos Anastaseos 9 – to the earliest strata of a small but distinct transmission-line (Wisse’s “Group Λ”).

[Explore the embedded links in this post for more information and resources on this subject.]

The Stavros Collection - More MSS at Jerusalem

            Among the manuscripts kept by the Jerusalem Patriarchate is the Hagios Stavros collection, which formerly (as far as I can tell) was housed on Cyprus.  Images of those manuscripts, except for some relatively young copies, have been released by the Library of Congress. (The images, taken in 1949-1950 by an expedition led by Kenneth W. Clark, are mostly from microfilm.)  Of the 90 photographed manuscripts, 16 contain substantial portions of the New Testament. Here is a list of the New Testament manuscripts in the Hagios Stavros (“Holy Cross”) collection, with embedded links to their online page-views:

This page of GA 1895 has
patristic commentary along
with the text.
Acts 28:29 is included.

GA 1349:  Hagios Stavros 45 – Four Gospels (1000’s/1100’s)

GA 1350:  Hagios Stavros 46 – Four Gospels (1100’s, 1300’s) This was catalogued as an Evangelion, but it is a continuous-text manuscript of the four Gospels.  Beginning of Matthew.  Beginning of Mark.  Beginning of Luke. Beginning of John. 

GA 1351:  Hagios Stavros 74 – Gospels (900’s) (Damaged; begins with Mark)

            Beginning of Luke.  Beginning of John.  (Arabic note precedes the chapter-list for John.)

            (Damaged at the end; last page with text ends near the end of John 5:4.)

GA 1352:  Hagios Stavros 94 – New Testament (1100’s/1300’s)

GA 1353:  Hagios Stavros 95 – Four Gospels (c. 1200)

            Beginning of Matthew.  Beginning of Mark.  Beginning of Luke.  Beginning of John.

            Pericope adulterae (follows John 7:52).

GA 1354:  Hagios Stavros 101 – New Testament (but not Revelation) (1300’s)

GA 1355:  Hagios Stavros 104 – Four Gospels (1300’s)

GA 1895:  Hagios Stavros 25 – Acts and General Epistles, with Commentary (800’s/900’s) The commentary includes excerpts from the writings of Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, and others.  Scripture-texts, interspersed with the commentary, are indented and accompanied by diple-marks (>) in the margin.  Beginning of James. 

GA 1896:  Hagios Stavros 37 – Praxapostolos (without Galatians) (1300’s/1400’s) Beginning of James.

GA 1897:  Hagios Stavros 57 – Praxapostolos (c. 1200) Beginning of James.

Lectionaries:

Hagios Stavros 9 – Evangelion (A.D. 1534)

Hagios Stavros 26 – Evangelion (1000’s) Greek-Arabic in parallel columns

Hagios Stavros 44 – Evangelion (1000’s)

Hagios Stavros 51 – Evangelion (1000’s)

Hagios Stavros 67 – Apostolos (1000’s) An interesting copy with sporadic notes in the margin.

Hagios Stavros 110 – Evangelion (1200’s)

Also of note:

Hagios Stavros 96 – Psalter (800’s) This manuscript, written in a sloping uncial script, has an abundance of marginalia.    

Some of these manuscripts have not received much attention from researchers.  A few research-papers might be just waiting to happen as a result of the availability of these images.

Seventy-seven Manuscripts from Jerusalem

The Mar Saba Monastery

            In the year 483, a monk named Sabbas founded a monastery about eight miles east of Bethlehem in the rugged Kidron Valley.  This monastery – the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified – gradually grew into a highly influential theological center.  John of Damascus worked there, and his tomb is there.  Although the premises were temporarily abandoned in the 1400’s due to constant raids by nearby nomadic tribes, it was reactivated, and in 1625 formally joined the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

            Much of the manuscript collection of the Saint Sabbas Monastery is presently housed in Jerusalem.  In 1949-1950, an expedition led by Kenneth W. Clark visited the collections overseen by the Jerusalem Patriarchate, and photographed almost all of their manuscripts.  The Library of Congress recently released the photographs of these images online, making them freely available.  Many of these manuscripts consist of copies of the Psalms, saints’ biographies, history books, patristic compositions, liturgical texts, and even an occasional work by an ancient Greek author, such as Aristotle.  The collections also include some New Testament manuscripts.

            The New Testament manuscripts from the Saint Sabbas Collection are listed here, with embedded links to images of each manuscript.  

GA 1328:  Hagios Sabas 101 - Four Gospels and Revelation

GA 1329:  Hagios Sabas 166 - Four Gospels

GA 1330:  Hagios Sabas 200 - Four Gospels and Commentary on Paul

GA 1331:  Hagios Sabas 201 - Four Gospels (with other material)

GA 1332:  Hagios Sabas 232 - Commentary on Four Gospels (with Gospels-text)

GA 1333:  Hagios Sabas 243 - Four Gospels

GA 1334:  Hagios Sabas 244 - Four Gospels

The headpiece of Matthew
in GA 1335 (Sabas 248)

GA 1335:  Hagios Sabas 248 - Four Gospels (The Gospel of Matthew in this manuscript has one of the strangest headpieces I have ever seen.)

GA 1336:  Hagios Sabas 262 – Four Gospels (Theophylact Commentary)

GA 1337:  Hagios Sabas 263 – Matthew and Mark (Theophylact Commentary)

GA 1338:  Hagios Sabas 357 - Four Gospels

GA 1339:  Hagios Sabas 358 - Four Gospels

GA 1340:  Hagios Sabas 359 - Four Gospels

GA 1341:  Hagios Sabas 410 - Four Gospels

GA 1342:  Hagios Sabas 411 - Four Gospels

GA 1343:  Hagios Sabas 412 - Four Gospels

GA 1345:  Hagios Sabas 572 - Four Gospels

GA 1346:  Hagios Sabas 606 - Four Gospels

GA 1347:  Hagios Sabas 644 - Four Gospels

GA 1348:  Hagios Sabas 645 - Four Gospels

GA 2302:  Hagios Sabas 537 Revelation with Andreas Commentary

GA 2303:  Hagios Sabas 605 - Four Gospels and Acts, etc.

GA 2926:  Hagios Sabas 676 - Revelation and Praxapostolos (This was catalogued as a Praxapostolos manuscript, but it begins with the continuous text of Revelation; Acts begins after that.)

            In addition to those 23 continuous-text manuscripts, the collection from the Saint Sabbas Monastery includes the following lectionaries: 

The first and last page
of Revelation in GA 2926

Hagios Sabas 12 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 18 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 23 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 40 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 58 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 64 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 82 - Evangelion (1027 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 84 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 85 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 104 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 107 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 144 - Evangelion (1019 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 145 - Apostolos (1556 A.D.)

Hagios Sabas 152 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 153 - Evangelion
Hagios Sabas 178 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 179 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 188 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 202 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 203 - Praxapostolos (made in 1624)

Hagios Sabas 204 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 205 - Apostolos-Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 222 - Apostolos

Hagios Sabas 235 - Evangelion 

Hagios Sabas 236 Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 242 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 245 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 246 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 266 - Apostolos

Hagios Sabas 296 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 333 - Synaxarion

Hagios Sabas 356 - Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 360 - Evangelion (Weird script in the preface – stylized Georgian?)

Hagios Sabas 612 - Aposto-Evangelion

Hagios Sabas 617 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 665 - Praxapostolos

Hagios Sabas 704 - Evangelion with Liturgical Supplements

            Another collection held at the Jerusalem Patriarchate is categorized as the Panagios Taphu collection, and it, too, includes some New Testament manuscripts, listed here with embedded links:

GA 1312:  Panagios Taphu 25 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1313:  Panagios Taphu 28 – Four Gospels with commentary (1000’s)

GA 1314:  Panagios Taphu 31 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1315:  Panagios Taphu 37 - New Testament (1000’s)

GA 1316:  Panagios Taphu 41 - Four Gospels (1100’s) 

GA 1317:  Panagios Taphu 42 - Four Gospels (1000’s)

GA 1318:  Panagios Taphu 46 - Four Gospels (Neatly written.  Merits closer study.)

GA 1319:  Panagios Taphu 47 - New Testament

GA 1320:  Panagios Taphu 48 - Four Gospels

GA 1321:  Panagios Taphu 49 - Four Gospels (Some pages from a lectionary at the beginning)

GA 1322:  Panagios Taphu 56 - Four Gospels

GA 1323:  Panagios Taphu 59 - Four Gospels

GA 1324:  Panagios Taphu 60 Four Gospels (An imperial copy?)

GA 1325:  Panagios Taphu 62 Four Gospels (Made in 1724 – Greek and Modern Turkish Greek)

GA 1326:  Panagios Taphu 139 - Four Gospels

            Besides the 15 continuous-text manuscripts listed above, the Panagios Taphu collection also includes the following nine lectionaries: 

Panagios Taphu 33 - Evangelion (900’s/1000’s) (Elaborately executed)

Panagios Taphu 38 - Praxapostolos with Revelation and Theophylact Commentary (1000’s)

Panagios Taphu 43 - Praxapostolos (Damaged; text begins in Acts 12)

Panagios Taphu 105 - Evangelion (made in 1762!)
Hagios Taphu 161 - Evangelion (1600’s)

Panagios Taphu 285 - Apostolos

Panagios Taphu 462 - Praxapostolos
Panagios Taphu 526 - Evangelion (Made in 1502)

Panagios Taphu 530 - Evangelion (made in 1744 – Greek and modern Turkish Greek)

[A couple of manuscripts were in the Checklist of manuscripts in the Jerusalem Patriarchate’s holdings, but I could not find photographs of them:  Hagios Sabas 413 (GA 1344, a manuscript of the Gospels) and Hagios Sabas 154 (an Evangelion).]

Thanks to the Library of Congress for making these images available.  Thanks, too, to Peter Montero and Peter Gurry for sharing the news about their release.