World's oldest Bible online

BURNING MAN · 07-05-2009, 07:38 PM

Quote:

THE surviving parts of the world's oldest Christian Bible will be reunited online on Monday, generating excitement among biblical scholars still striving to unlock its mysteries.

The Codex Sinaiticus was hand written by four scribes in Greek on animal hide, known as vellum, in the mid-fourth century around the time of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great who embraced Christianity.

Not all of it has withstood the ravages of time, but the pages that have include the whole of the New Testament and the earliest surviving copy of the Gospels written at different times after Christ's death by four of the Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The Bible's remaining 800 pages and fragments - it was originally some 1400 pages long - also contain half of a copy of the Old Testament. The other half has been lost.

"The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the world's greatest written treasures," said Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library.

"This 1600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation," he said.

The texts include numerous revisions, additions and corrections made during its evolution down through the ages.

"The Codex ...is arguably the oldest large bound book to have survived," said Mr McKendrick, pointing out that each page is 16 inches tall by 14 inches wide.

"Critically, it marks the definite triumph of bound codices over (papyrus) scrolls - a key watershed in how the Christian Bible was regarded as a sacred text," he said.

LINK

The Codex Sinaiticus Online:
www.codex-sinaiticus.net

BURNING MAN · 07-05-2009, 07:55 PM

I'm looking forward to comparing the Codex Sinaiticus with the latest version of the Bible, should be interesting reading.

I'm an Atheist and proud of it.

kidflash2008 · 07-06-2009, 10:41 AM

Those handwritten Bibles are worth a fortune. Imagine what it could pull in at an auction.

SmokingMan · 08-15-2009, 05:11 AM

The Codex Sinaiticus, though probably one of the most complete Bibles dating back that far, is not the earliest surviving hand-written manuscript. There are several others that date earlier, individual books, partial Bibles and fragments, even dating back to the 1st century, perhaps co-existing with their authors. Scholars have been studying this manuscript since the 19th century and it has been used for the translation of modern Bibles. Differences between Codex Sinaiticus, other manuscripts and some modern Bible translations are minor and do not cause changes in meanings or contexts. Most are as simple as abbreviations of words other manuscripts don't abbreviate, or words that are written out that some other manuscripts may abbreviate, synonyms used, or phrases explaining the same idea using different wording. This book is not being made accessible online to reveal any mysteries, just to be added to the several thousand manuscripts already available to the public and to scholars for study.

BURNING MAN · 08-15-2009, 10:30 PM

You're absolutely right.... It's the same old bullshit.

Did you enjoy bird watching?

07-05-2009, 07:55 PM	#2
BURNING MAN Investigator Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Holland Posts: 344	I'm looking forward to comparing the Codex Sinaiticus with the latest version of the Bible, should be interesting reading. I'm an Atheist and proud of it. __________________ === “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God ?”=== -- Epicurus

08-15-2009, 10:30 PM	#5
BURNING MAN Investigator Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New Holland Posts: 344	You're absolutely right.... It's the same old bullshit. Did you enjoy bird watching? __________________ === “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God ?”=== -- Epicurus

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07-06-2009, 10:41 AM	#3
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	Those handwritten Bibles are worth a fortune. Imagine what it could pull in at an auction.

08-15-2009, 05:11 AM	#4
SmokingMan Junior Investigator Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 48	The Codex Sinaiticus, though probably one of the most complete Bibles dating back that far, is not the earliest surviving hand-written manuscript. There are several others that date earlier, individual books, partial Bibles and fragments, even dating back to the 1st century, perhaps co-existing with their authors. Scholars have been studying this manuscript since the 19th century and it has been used for the translation of modern Bibles. Differences between Codex Sinaiticus, other manuscripts and some modern Bible translations are minor and do not cause changes in meanings or contexts. Most are as simple as abbreviations of words other manuscripts don't abbreviate, or words that are written out that some other manuscripts may abbreviate, synonyms used, or phrases explaining the same idea using different wording. This book is not being made accessible online to reveal any mysteries, just to be added to the several thousand manuscripts already available to the public and to scholars for study.