More Manuscripts and Ancient Versions The Bible Versions Study

Timeline 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 Papyrus: 1st Century - beginning 4th Century Vellum: 4th C – 15th C [Paper begins 14th C] Uncial texts: 4th – 8th C Miniscule texts: 9th – 15th C These facts are aids in dating the manuscripts. Styles changed with materials change, then further changes within a ‘style’ came about. For example, early Uncial texts had no spacing between words, later Uncial texts did.

From Uncial to Miniscule

Characteristics of miniscule style Cursive, flowing style – smaller letters Began to appear 8th century, dominated from 10th c. on Thousands of miniscule mss. in existence Date range: 9th to 16th c. “Since the minuscules are later than the uncials, they are, as a class, of less importance than the uncials. But there are exceptions to this rule.” Thiessen, p. 49

It's a family affair Family 1 Family 13 “Some of these [minuscules] run in groups and show a kinship that can be traced back to the same uncial.” Thiessen, p. 49 Family 1 Miniscule 1 (10th C), 118 (13th C), 131 (11th C), 209 (12th C) Frequently agrees with these Uncials: Aleph, B, L “Erasmus used 1 in the second edition of his Greek Testament (1519), although in the main he used 2 in the Gospels, a poor minuscule of the 12th c.” Thiessen, p. 50 Family 13 Miniscule 13, 124, 346 (12th C), 69 (14th C) All share a common original (W. H. Ferrer, Dublin) Others have been added to this group Distinguishing characteristic: “pericope de adultera” (woman caught in adultery), Jn 7.53-8.11 found after Luke 21.38 in these copies

Lectionaries Characteristics Benefits Reading lessons used in services Non-continuous text Opening formulae (“on a certain occasion”; “The Lord said...”) Sometimes editing to make for suitable public reading Benefits Tend to be conservative quotations (careful) More than 1600 in existence Dated from 6th C onward Usually Uncial Gregory said they “avoid every new sentence, every new word, every new syllable, every new tone” quoted in Thiessen, p. 51

Ancient Versions: Syriac General significance First languages for NT translation Earliest translations done in AD 150 (mss. copies not so old) General observations about Syriac Language of Antioch, Syria, Mesopotamia [Iraq] Aramaic a dialect of Syriac Importance of Antioch: “almost a second capital of the Roman world, a rival of Alexandria and Ephesus” (Thiessen, p. 52) As gospel moved inland, translation became important

Tatian's Diatessaron Tatian a Syrian who wrote a harmony of the gospels Circulated in Syriac in the 4th century Only two ancient mss.: Both Arabic translations of Syriac Dated 11th C

Old Syriac Discovered in 1800s, Egypt Sinaitic Syriac Cureton Syriac Discovered in same monastery as Sinaiticus Dated 2nd C Most of the Gospels Cureton Syriac Published 1858 Wm. Cureton Contains Gospels Begins “The Gospel of the Separated Ones” to distinguish from Diatessaron

Peshitta Syriac Revision of the Old Syriac Translated by Rabbula, Bishop of Edessa, about AD 425 Manuscript base very close to Byzantine (Majority) texts Used all over the Byzantine (Eastern) church 243 mss. of the Peshitta Oldest mss. from the 5th C, some others from 6th Very similar to Textus Receptus and KJV