The Text of the Gospels: Saint Catherine's

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Saturday, September 9, 2017

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.”

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Greek New Testament Manuscripts at Saint Catherine's Monastery

The Museum of the Bible is scheduled to open in Washington, D.C. in November of 2017 – but did you know that there is already a major collection of images of 200 Bible manuscripts in that city? Well, there is! It’s in the archives of the Library of Congress. Researcher Alin Suciu recently pointed out that an important part of those archives, containing images of the manuscript-collection at Saint Catherine’s Monastery (at Mount Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula), has been made available to view online.

These images – mostly black and white photographs and microfilm – are the results of a very thorough project that was undertaken in the 1940’s and 1950’s at the monastery. Biblical texts, patristic writings, liturgical texts, ceremonial chants, service-books, and manuscripts of other kinds were all included. The Library of Congress Photoduplication Service, the American Foundation for the Study of Man, and the Farouk I University (now the University of Alexandria) were the institutional sponsors.

The Thomas Jefferson Building,
home of the Library of Congress.

Here is a list of New Testament manuscripts in the Library of Congress’ collection of manuscript-images from St. Catherine’s Monastery (along with a few other interesting manuscripts). Each continuous-text manuscript is identified by its catalog-number at Saint Catherine’s as recorded in the Library of Congress archives and by its Gregory-Aland identification number (if it has one). Embedded links lead to the images themselves. Occasionally I have included both a link to a manuscript’s main access-page and to a page-image with a particularly interesting feature, or (in cases where there is an abundance of preliminary material) to the beginning of the Biblical text.

Only a few Psalters are included in this list, but readers should be aware that Greek Psalters often are supplemented with Odes which include selections from the opening chapters of Luke.

A note about terminology: Four Gospels and Letters of Paul and New Testament describe a continuous-text manuscript. Evangelion, Praxapostolos, and Apostolos describe lectionaries.

MS 30: Psalter.

Psalm 1. Uncial script begins on Image 57.

MS 61: Psalter, with Odes

MS 109: Psalter and Evangelion

MS 148 (GA 1185): Four Gospels

MS 149 (GA 1186): Four Gospels

MS 150 (GA 1187): Four Gospels

MS 151 (GA 1188): Four Gospels

MS 152 (GA 1189): Four Gospels

MS 153 (GA 1190): Four Gospels

MS 154 (GA 1191): Four Gospels

(Quatrefoil framework for Ad Carpian, elaborate canon-tables, and arched miniatures.)

MS 155 (GA 1192): Four Gospels

MS 156 (GA 1193): Four Gospels

MS 157 (GA 1194): Four Gospels

MS 158 (GA 1195): Four Gospels

MS 159 (GA 1196): Four Gospels

MS 160 (GA 1197): Four Gospels

MS 161 (GA 1198): Four Gospels

MS 162 (GA 1199): Four Gospels

MS 163 (GA 1200): Four Gospels

MS 164 (GA 1201): Four Gospels

MS 165 (GA 1202): Four Gospels

MS 166 (GA 1203): Four Gospels

MS 167 (GA 1204): Four Gospels

MS 168 (GA 1205): Four Gospels

MS 169 (GA 1206): Four Gospels

MS 170 (GA 1207): Four Gospels

MS 171 (GA 1208): Four Gospels

MS 172 (GA 1209): Four Gospels

MS 173 (GA 1210): Four Gospels

Note between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9

MS 174 (GA 1211): Four Gospels

MS 175 (GA 1212): Four Gospels

MS 176 (GA 1213): Four Gospels

MS 177 (GA 1214): Four Gospels

MS 178 (GA 1215): Four Gospels

MS 179 (GA 1216): Four Gospels

MS 180 (GA 1217): Four Gospels

MS 181 (GA 1218): Four Gospels

MS 182 (GA 1219): Four Gospels

MS 183 (GA 1220): Four Gospels

Mark 16:9ff.

MS 184 (GA 1221): Four Gospels

MS 185 (GA 1222): Four Gospels

MS 186 (GA 1223): Four Gospels

MS 187 (GA 1224): Four Gospels

MS 188 (GA 1225): Four Gospels

MS 189 (GA 1226): Four Gospels

MS 190 (GA 1227): Four Gospels

MS 191 (GA 1228): Four Gospels (fragmentary):

MS 192 (GA 1229): Four Gospels

MS 193 (GA 1230): Four Gospels with Commentary

MS 194 (GA 1231): Four Gospels (portion)

MS 195 (GA 1232): Four Gospels

MS 196 (GA 1233): Four Gospels

MS 197 (GA 1234): Four Gospels

MS 198 (GA 1235): Four Gospels

MS 199 (GA 1236): Four Gospels

MS 200 (GA 1237): Four Gospels

MS 201 (GA 1238): Four Gospels

MS 202: Commentary on the Four Gospels, with Interspersed Text

MS 204: Royal Festal Evangelion

MS 205: Evangelion

MS 206: Evangelion

MS 207: Evangelion

MS 208: Evangelion

Exquisite frontispiece.

MS 209: Evangelion

MS 210: Evangelion

Sloping uncial script. Assigned to the 700’s.

MS 211: Evangelion

Sloping uncial script for main text;

upright for rubrics. (Take a close look; some pages are recycled.)

MS 212: Evangelio-Apostolos

Sloping uncial script. Assigned to the 600’s.

MS 213: Evangelion

Uncials; some lettering is drawn.

Some initials are very large and elaborate.

Made in 967.

MS 214: Evangelion

Uncial script.

MS 215: Evangelion

Upright uncial script.

MS 217: Evangelion

MS 222: Evangelion

MS 225: Evangelion

MS 232: Evangelion

MS 242: Evangelion

MS 247: Evangelion

MS 253: Evangelion

MS 258: Evangelio-Apostolos

MS 259 (GA 1240) New Testament with Psalter

MS 260 (GA 1241) New Testament

Mark 1:2 –In Isaiah the prophet

MS 261 (GA 1242) New Testament

MS 262 (GA 1243): New Testament

MS 263: Evangelion-Apostolos

MS 264: Evangelio-Apostolos

MS 266 (GA 1247) New Testament

MS 267 (GA 1248) New Testament with Commentary

MS 268: Evangelion-Apostolos

MS 269 (GA 1250): New Testament.

Beginning of Matthew.

MS 270 (GA 1251): New Testament (a remarkably tidy script.)

MS 271: Evangelion-Apostolos

MS 272: Evangelion-Apostolos

MS 273: Praxapostolos

MS 274: Praxapostolos

MS 275: Praxapostolos

MS 276: Praxapostolos

MS 277: Praxapostolos

MS 278: Praxapostolos

MS 279: Praxapostolos with Commentary

MS 280: Praxapostolos

MS 281: Pauline Letters

MS 282: Pauline Letters

MS 283: Praxapostolos

MS 284: Apostolos

MS 294: Apostolos

MS 300: Praxapostolos

MS 301: Apostolos

MS 303 (GA 1253): Theophylact’s Commentary on the Four Gospels (with interspersed Gospels-text)

MS 327: On Hexameron,and On Heothina.

(The second part has selections from the ends of the Gospels)

MS 364: Homilies of Chrysostom

Similarities in a full-page illustration suggest a relationship to GA 157.

MS 548: Synaxarion

MS 590: Menaion(December)

The opening pages display a sloping uncial script.

MS 776 and 1593: Parakletike

Sloping uncial script.

MS 863: Horologion

Sloping uncial script.

MS 956: Euchologion

Beautiful early minuscule script.

MS 1342 (GA 2492): New Testament with III & IV Maccabees

MS 1343: Evangelion

MS 1344: Apostolos-Evangelion

MS 1413: Evangelion

MS 1589: Evangelion

MS 1590: Evangelion

MS 1591 (GA 2355): Four Gospels

MS 1592: Evangelion (made in 1563)

MS 1594 (GA 2356): New Testament

MS 1631: Heothina and Euchologion

MS 1768: Commentary on the Gospels (with Gospels-text)

MS 1991 (GA 2494): New Testament

MS 1993: Four Gospels (made in 1555)

MS 2037: Apostolos-Evangelion

MS 2038 (GA 2499): Four Gospels

MS 2049: Apostolos

MS 2051: Praxapostolos

MS 2052: Apostolos

MS 2053: Evangelion-Apostolos

MS 2090: Evangelion

MS 2123 (GA 2502): New Testament

Royal manuscript, with illustrations.

MS 2253: Four Gospels

Also:

MS 1187: Old Testament History. Abundantly illustrated.

Arabic MS 124: Evangelion (This text is Greek.)

Arabic MS 172: Apostolos (This text is Greek.)

(Praxapostolos?):

A fly-leaf may constitute a separate Greek fragment-manuscript.

●●●●●●●

Each Greek manuscript’s page-views can be accessed by clicking on the embedded links above. With a little experimentation, you will see that the Library of Congress site allows you to download images, and to view the page-views in several ways (as lists, or in a grid, for example). Even though these are black and white pictures, they are good pictures nevertheless. This collection of almost 200 Greek manuscripts (and there many more, if one were to include the liturgical texts that have Scripture-passages in them) should be a useful resource for years and years to come.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

A Medieval Scroll with Text from the Gospels

Almost all manuscripts that contain text from the New Testament in Greek are codices, that is, hand-made books. Even the earliest catalogued fragment, Papyrus 52, is from a codex. However, a few scrolls containing Greek text from the New Testament exist. One of them is the D’Hendecourt Scroll in the Goodspeed Manuscript Collection at the University of Chicago (known as Manuscript #125 in the collection, and as Talisman 7 in the old Gregory-Dobschutz identification-system) .

This interesting item (which is not cited in the apparatus of the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, and the existence of which is not acknowledged in the current Gregory-Aland identification-system) is an “apotropaic” scroll, that is, a scroll which, it was thought, endued its possessor with divine protection. It contains text from Mark 1:1-8, Luke 1:1-7, John 1:1-14, and Matthew 6:9-13 (the Lord’s Prayer, complete with the doxology in verse 13 – not Matthew 4:9-13 as is sometimes claimed). It also contains the Nicene Creed and Psalm 68, in Greek. When it was in pristine condition it probably included the opening verses of the Gospel of Matthew.

Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1077, a small
manuscript made to be worn as a charm,
contains text from Matthew 4:23-24.

The use of small scrolls containing excerpts from the beginnings, or near the beginnings, of the Gospels, as protective amulets or charms, was mentioned by the patristic writer John Chrysostom, who served in Antioch, and then Constantinople, in the late 300’s/early 400’s. The church generally discouraged the use of such charms, but their production continued nevertheless. Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 1077 is also a talisman (probably made in the 500’s), albeit much smaller that the D’Hendecourt Scroll.

The scroll in the Goodspeed Manuscript Collection is one of two known portions of the same manuscript. A longer portion is at the Pierpont Morgan Library (in New York), and it contains additional material, including Psalms 35 and 91, and invocations to Saints George (the dragon-slayer), Demetrius, Daniel, Eugenius, Artilektos, and Theodore, plus the story of King Abgar, interpolated with an unusual form of the Epistula Salvatoris – instructions (exemplified in the scroll) about how to write an inscription for divine protection. The portion at the Morgan Library also features a colophon which informs the reader that the scroll was made in the 1,694^th year after Alexander, which yields a date of A.D. 1383. Both portions also contain illustrations.
Casual observers might be forgiven if they assume that the Gospels-text in a scroll made less than a century before the invention of printing must be the ordinary Byzantine Text. Upon examination, its text agrees more closely with the Byzantine Text than with any other text-type, but it has some interesting variants. In Matthew 6:12, the D’Hendecourt Scroll reads “αφιομεν” (agreeing with Codices D, E, L, W, Θ, and 565), which is a little different from the Byzantine reading αφιεμεν and also distinct from the Alexandrian reading αφηκαμεν. (The early patristic writing called the Didache, as well as Clement of Alexandria (in Stromata, Book 7, ch. 13), support αφιεμεν. The parallel in Luke 11:4 reads αφιομεν. Usually.) In Mark 1:1-8, the text of the d’Hendecourt Scroll runs as follows, with its most notable feature in verse 2. (Red bold text indicates a disagreement with the Nestle-Aland text; green bold text indicates a disagreement with the Byzantine Text; purple bold text indicates a disagreement with them both. Transpositions are not indicated.)

Researcher Glenn Peers offers
some additional analysis of the scroll
in two papers accessible
online at Academia.

¹Αρχη του ευαγγελιου Ιυ Χυ υιου του Θυ ²ως

γεγραπται εν τω Ησαια τω προφητη ιδου

εγω αποστελλω τον αγγελον μου προ προσω
που σου ος κατασκευασει την οδον σου εμ
προσθεν σου ³Φωνη βοωντος εν τη ερημω ε
τοιμασατε την οδον Κυ ευθειας ποιειτε τας
τριβους αυτου · ⁴Εγενετο Ϊωαννης ^● βαπτιζων
εν τη ερημω και κηρυσσων βαπτισμα μετα
νοιας εις αφεσιν αμαρτιων. ⁵Και εξεπο
ρευοντο προς αυτον πασα η Ιουδαια χωρα
και οι Ιεροσολυμιται και εβαπτιζοντο παν
τες εν τω Ιορδανη ποταμω υπ αυτου εξομο
λογουμενοι τας αμαρτιας αυτων . ⁶Ην δε ο
Ϊωαννης ενδεδυμενος τριχας καμηλου. και
ζωννην δερματινην περι την οσφυν αυτου.
και εσθιων ακριδας και μελι αγριον· ⁷Και ε
κηρυσσε λεγων ερχεται ο ισχυροτερος μου οπι
σω μου ου ουκ ειμι ικανος κυψας λυσαι τον
ιμαντα των υποδηματων αυτου. ⁸Εγω μεν ε
βαπτισα υμας εν υδατι · αυτος δε βαπτι
σει υμας εν πνι αγιω : ~

An icon at Saint Catherine's
depicts king Abgar of Edessa
being shown the cloth that bore
the image of the face of Christ.
So does an illustration on the
scroll-portion at the Morgan Library.

The presence of an Alexandrian reading followed by so many Byzantine readings suggests that the D’Hendecourt Scroll was produced at an intersection of competing transmission-streams – a place where the Byzantine Text was prevalent but the influence of other text-streams remained significant, even in the 1300’s. Georgian and Arabic text on the scroll also provide a clue regarding its provenance. While it is not impossible that the scroll was made in Trebizond (where Eugenius was especially revered), its earliest known provenance is

Egypt

. In addition, a small Coptic amulet-text – British Library Or. 4919(2) – also combines, albeit in an extremely concise way, the beginning of the Epistula Salvatoris and the opening verses of each Gospel.

The most likely point of origin is Saint Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula – the same place where Constantine Tischendorf found Codex Sinaiticus in the safe custody of monks (who were, contrary to Tischendorf’s story, certainly not burning its pages). The motifs in one of the pictures on the D’Hendecourt Scroll (in the portion at the Morgan Library) are similar to a scene in an icon at Saint Catherine’s, in which Abgar is presented with the cloth that bore the image of Christ’s face.

The story about King Abgar, the letter he wrote to Jesus, and the letter that Jesus wrote (or dictated) back to him accompanying a cloth upon which Jesus had transferred the image of His face, was very well-circulated. It was mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea in his

Ecclesiastical History; in Eastern Christendom it formed part of the fifth-century composite-work known as the Doctrine of Addai, and in the West an excerpt from it is preserved in a British book made in the early 800’s.)

The D’Hendecourt Scroll thus combined two motifs that were considered to induce divine protection upon the person carrying them: the opening verses of the Gospels, and the story of the correspondence between Jesus and Abgar, augmented by the protective inscription of symbolic letters displayed on the scroll. Although produced as the equivalent of a lucky charm, it has some textual value, and its text should not be ignored in discussions of Mark 1:2 and Matthew 6:13.

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