Codex Tischendorfianus III – designated by

siglum Scribal abbreviations or sigla ( singular: siglum) are abbreviations used by ancient and medieval scribes writing in various languages, including Latin, Greek, Old English and Old Norse. In modern manuscript editing (substantive and mechani ...

Λ or 039 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 77 ( von Soden)

Hermann von Soden Baron Hermann von Soden (16 August 1852 – 15 January 1914) was a German Biblical scholar, minister, professor of divinity, and textual theorist. Life Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 16, 1852, Soden was educated at the University of Tübinge ...

, ''Die Schriften des neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt / hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte'' (Berlin 1902), vol. 1, p. 128 – is a Greek

uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

of the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 9th or 10th century. It is one of very few uncial manuscripts of the New Testament with full marginal apparatus. The manuscript was brought from the East by

Constantin von Tischendorf Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (18 January 18157 December 1874) was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the world's oldest and most complete Bible dated to around the mid-4th century and called Codex Sinaiticus a ...

(hence the name of the codex), who also examined, described, and was the first scholar to collate its text. The manuscript was also examined by scholars like

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (30 January 1813 – 24 April 1875) was an English biblical scholar, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, textual critic, and theologian. Life Tregelles was born at Wodehouse Place, Falmouth, of Quaker parents, but h ...

Ernst von Dobschütz Ernst Adolf Alfred Oskar Adalbert von Dobschütz (9 October 1870 – 20 May 1934) was a German theologian, textual critic, author of numerous books and professor at the University of Halle, the University of Breslau, and the University of Strasbou ...

, and Gächler. It is housed in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

Description

The codex contains the complete text of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...

and the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

on 157 parchment leaves ( by ). The leaves are arranged in

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

, that is four leaves folded in quires. The text is written in two columns per page, 23 lines per page. There are no spaces between letters, and the words are not separate but written in ''scriptio continua''. The uncial letters are small, not beautiful and slanting. The letters are characterized by Slavonic uncials. The writing is similar to that of

Codex Cyprius Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 71 ( von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, on parchment. It has been variously dated (8th–11th centuries), but it is currently dated to the 9th ...

. It has breathings and accents, diaeresis, there is no interrogative sign. The errors of

iotacism Iotacism ( el, ιωτακισμός, ''iotakismos'') or itacism is the process of vowel shift by which a number of vowels and diphthongs converged towards the pronunciation in post-classical Greek and Modern Greek. The term "iotacism" refers to ...

are rare, it has

iota adscript The iota subscript is a diacritic mark in the Greek alphabet shaped like a small vertical stroke or miniature iota placed below the letter. It can occur with the vowel letters eta , omega , and alpha . It represents the former presence of an ...

um. All errors are infrequent and it has good grammar. It has the ornamented headpieces before each Gospel and the decorated initial letters.Manuscripts Auctarium
at the ''Bodleian Library'' Before Gospel of Luke it contains subscription to Mark. The

nomina sacra In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: ''nomen sacrum'' from Latin ''sacred name'') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A nomen sacrum consists ...

are written in an abbreviated way; all abbreviations are written in a usual way. In the end of each Gospel stands the

Jerusalem Colophon The Jerusalem Colophon is a colophon found in a number of New Testament manuscripts, including Λ (039), 20, 153, 157, 164, 215, 262, 300, 376, 428, 565, 566, 686, 718, 728, 748, 829, 899, 901, 922, 980, 1032, 1071, 1118, 1121, 1124, ...

. The text is divided according to the (''chapters''), whose numbers are given at the left margin of the text, and their (''titles'') at the top of the pages. The lists of the are placed before each Gospel. There is also a division according to the smaller Ammonian Sections, with a references to the

Eusebian Canons Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern texts d ...

(in red). It contains

lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...

markings in the margin; thus the manuscript could be useful for Church reading. The marginal apparatus (marginal equipment) of the codex is full, indicating two systems of text division and lectionary directions. It has also occasional

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...

in uncials at the margin, with some critical notes. Before Gospel of Luke stands a subscription to the Gospel of Mark. It has Jerusalem colophon at the end of each Gospel. At the en of Matthew we read: : Gospel according to Matthew: written and corrected from the ancient manuscripts in Jerusalem: those kept in the holy mountain: in 2514 lines and 355 chapters At the end of Mark: : Gospel according to Mark: written and corrected likewise from the carefully prepared ones in 1506 lines, 237 chapters At the end of Luke: : Gospel according to Luke: written and corrected likewise in 2677 lines, 342 chapters At the end of John: : Gospel according to John: written and corrected likewise from the same copies in 2210 lines, 232 chapters.C. R. Gregory
"Canon and Text of the New Testament"
(

T & T Clark T&T Clark is a British publishing firm which was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1821 and which now exists as an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. History The firm was founded in 1821 by Thomas Clark, then aged 22 and who had a Free Church ...

: Edinburgh 1907), p. 360

Text

Text type

The Greek text of this

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

is a representative of the

Byzantine text-type In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. It is the form fo ...

, but slightly different from typical Byzantine text. It has some Caesarean readings. Tischendorf as the first found some textual affinities to the textual family today known as ''f''¹³. Tischendorf found its text is of the same type as the manuscripts: Basilensis, Boreelianus, Seidelianus I, Seidelianus II, Cyprius, Campianus, Vaticanus 354, Nanianus, and Mosquensis II.

classified it to the textual family I^r. It is close to the textual family E.

Kurt Aland Kurt Aland (28 March 1915 – 13 April 1994) was a German theologian and biblical scholar who specialized in New Testament textual criticism. He founded the '' Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung'' (Institute for New Testament Textua ...

placed it in Category V. According to the

Claremont Profile Method The Claremont Profile Method is a method for classifying ancient manuscripts of the Bible. It was elaborated by Ernest Cadman Colwell and his students. Professor Frederik Wisse attempted to establish an accurate and rapid procedure for the classif ...

it represents textual family K^x in Luke 10 and Luke 20. In Luke 1 its text is mixed. According to Tischendorf in John 5:1-36 in 17 places it 13 times agrees with Alexandrinus, twice with Vaticanus, one with Ephraemi, and one with G H M U V.

Questionable texts

It contains the questionable text of the

Pericope Adulterae Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (or the ) is a passage (pericope) found in John 7:53– 8:11 of the New Testament. It has been the subject of much scholarly discussion. In the passage, Jesus was teaching in the Second Temple after com ...

(John 7:53-8:11), but at the margin of verse 8:11 (not 7:53) it has questionable scholion: τα οβελισμενα εν τισιν αντιγραφαις ου κειται, ουδε Απολιναριου εν δε τοις αρχαις ολα μνημονευουσιν της περικοπης ταυτης και οι αποστολοι παντες εν αις εξεθεντο διαταξεσιν εις οικοδομην της εκκλησιας (''Marked by an obelus in some copies, and Apollinary, one of the ancients, argued that all apostles ordered to read it for edification of the church'').C. Tischendorf
''Anecdota Sacra et Profana''
(Leipzig 1861), p. 5 It contains text of Luke 22:43-44 and John 5:4, but text of John 5:4 is marked by an obelus as a doubtful.

Textual variants

In Luke 1:28 – αυτην + ευηγγελισατο αυτην και, the reading is supported by the codices: Minuscule 164, Minuscule 199, 262, 899, 1187, 1555, and 2586. In Luke 3:22 after γενεσθαι added phrase προς αυτον, as the codices

Minuscule 13 Minuscule 13 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), ε 368 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, containing the four Gospels. Using the study of ...

Minuscule 69 Minuscule 69 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 505 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), known as the ''Codex Leicester'', or ''Codex Leicestrensis'', is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the ...

, Minuscule 119, Minuscule 229, and

Minuscule 262 Minuscule 262 (in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 1020 (Biblical manuscript#Von Soden, Soden), is a Greek language, Greek Lower case, minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeography, Palaeo ...

; but phrase εξ ουρανου changed into απ ουρανου. In Luke 3:27 it reads grc, ζορομβαβελ for ζοροβαβελ.C. Tischendorf
''Anecdota Sacra et Profana''
(Leipzig 1861), p. 4 John 1:28 it reads Βηθεβαρα, supported by

minuscule 346 Minuscule 346 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), ε 226 (in the Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative ...

; Alexandrian manuscripts have βηθανια, majority of manuscripts have βηθαβαρα; John 4:31 it reads παρεκαλουν; John 5:1 it reads εορτη των αζυμων for εορτη των Ιουδαιων; the reading is not supported by any known Greek manuscript, or version; In John 5:11 before word αρχην article την is omitted, as in codices: Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Regius, Minuscule 1, Minuscule 33, and Minuscule 262; John 5:12 it has εμεινεν for εμειναν as in codices A F G 1 124; John 5:24 reads επιστευσεν for επιστευεν as in minuscule 235; John 5:36 reads μειζων for μειζω. In John 8:7 and in 8:10 it reads αναβλεψας instead of ανακυψας, the readings are supported by the manuscripts:

Codex Nanianus Uncial 030, designated by siglum U or 030 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 90 ( von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript has complex contents, wit ...

(only in 8:7), textual family ''f''¹³, and

700 The denomination 700 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Avar and Slavic tribes conq ...

; In John 8:10 it reads Ιησους ειδεν αυτην και along with

, ''f''¹³, 225, 700, 1077, 1443,

Lectionary 185 Lectionary 185, designated by siglum ℓ ''185'' (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 11th century. Scrivener labelled it by 222e. Desc ...

^mg, Ethiopic mss. Majority of the manuscripts read: Ιησους και μηδενα θεασαμενος πλην της γυναικος or: Ιησους. In John 8:57 it has singular reading τεσσερακοντα (''forty'') instead of πεντηκοντα (''fifty'').

Group Λ

It creates textual group Λ. The group was identified and described by

, who designated it by I^r. Soden considered it the most diluted form of the Iota text-type, being about nine parts Kappa to one part Iota. According to von Soden it is not an important group and has a little significance for the reconstruction of the original text of the New Testament. The early date of some its members places the origin of the group in or before the 9th century. According to Wisse the group is fairly close to K^x. According to the

it has the following profile: : Luke 1: 6, 8, (9), 22, (28), (29), 34, (36), (41). : Luke 10: 3, 15, 18, 23, 33, 35, 44, 57. : Luke 20: 4, 13, 17, 19, 32, 35, 39, 54, 55, 57, 62. The word before the bracket is the reading of the

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

edition. The reading after bracket are the reading of the manuscript. The readings which are not bold are those of the

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant denomi ...

. * Luke 1:10 — ην του λαου ] του λαου ην * Luke 1:14 — γενεσει ] γεννεσει * Luke 1:15 — του ] omit * Luke 1:26 — Ναζαρεθ ] Ναζαρετ * Luke 1:34 — εσται ] εσται μοι * Luke 1:35 — γεννωμενον ] γεννωμενον εκ του * Luke 1:44 — εν αγαλλιασει το βρεφος ] το βρεφος εν αγαλλιασει * Luke 1:50 — γενεας και γενεας ] γενεαν και γενεαν;

reads: γενεας και γενεαν * Luke 1:61 — εκ της συγγενειας ] εν τη συγγενεια * Luke 10:1 — ημελλεν ] εμελλεν * Luke 10:6 — εαν ] εαν μεν * Luke 10:8 — ην ] δ' * Luke 10:12 — λεγω ] λεγω δε * Luke 10:17 — εβδομηκοντα ] εβδομηκοντα μαθηται * Luke 10:21 — αυτη ] αυτη δε * Luke 10:30 — εκδυσαντες ] εξεδυσαν * Luke 10:36 — πλησιον δοκει σοι ] δοκει σοι πλησιον * Luke 20:1 — αρχιερεις ] ιερεις * Luke 20:5 — δια τι ] πας ο λαος * Luke 20:7 — ποθεν ] 'omit * Luke 20:9 — τις ] omit * Luke 20:18 — επ ] εις * Luke 20:19 — τον λαον ] omit * Luke 20:22 — φορον ] φορους * Luke 20:31 — ωσαυτως ] ωσαυτως ως αυτως * Luke 20:31 — επτα ] επτα και * Luke 20:32 — υστερον ] υστερον παντων * Luke 20:35 — γαμιζονται ] εκγαμιζονται (Τextus Receptus reads: εκγαμισκονται). According to Frederick Wisse following 23 manuscripts belong to this group in at least a part of Luke: 039, Minuscule 161, 161, 164, 166, 173 (Luke 20),

174 Year 174 ( CLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallus and Flaccus (or, less frequently, year 927 '' Ab urbe condi ...

, 199, 211,

230 Year 230 (Roman numerals, CCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Clementinus (or, less frequently, year ...

262 __NOTOC__ Year 262 (Roman numerals, CCLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Gallienus and Faustianus (or, less fre ...

710 __NOTOC__ Year 710 ( DCCX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 710 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

(Luke 20),

899 __NOTOC__ Year 899 ( DCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Arnulf of Carinthia enlists the support of the Magyars, to ...

, 1187, 1205, 1301 (Luke 20), 1502 (Luke 20), 1555, 1573, (Luke 10 and 20), 2465, 2585 (Luke 1 and 20) 2586, and 2725 (Luke 20).

History

Scrivener and Tischendorf dated the manuscript to the 8th century, Gregory to the 9th century. In the present time the manuscript has been assigned on

palaeographical Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

grounds to the 9th centuryHandschriftenliste
at the Münster Institute or to the 10th century. The 8th century is also possible palaeographically, but it is excluded by full marginal equipment, breathings and accents. The place of origin is still speculative. According to Gregory it is possible that the manuscript was written and corrected in Jerusalem. It is very difficult to prove, but

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

is still shown as the one of the possible places. Nothing is known of the early history of the codex until its discovery by Tischendorf in 1853. Formerly it was bounded with the codex 566 in one manuscript. 556 contains

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and for ...

and

Gospel of Mark The Gospel of Mark), or simply Mark (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). is the second of the four canonical gospels and of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from his baptism by John the Baptist to h ...

, it is written in minuscule letters. The two parts of the manuscript agree in form (two columns, 23 lines per column), in signatures, in the writing of the scholia, and text-type. The marginal notes are written in the same small uncial letters. The nomina sacra are abbreviated in the same way. Also errors (e.g. itacisms,

N ephelkystikon In ancient Greek grammar, movable nu, movable N or ephelcystic nu ( grc, νῦ ἐφελκυστικόν ''nû ephelkustikón'', literally "nu dragged onto" or "attracted to") is a letter nu (written ; the Greek equivalent of the letter ''n'') pl ...

um, no

iota subscript The iota subscript is a diacritic mark in the Greek alphabet shaped like a small vertical stroke or miniature iota placed below the letter. It can occur with the vowel letters eta , omega , and alpha . It represents the former presence of an ...

um etc.) are of the same kind. It is sure that these two parts were written by the same hand.

Alfred Rahlfs Alfred Rahlfs (; ; 29 May 1865 – 8 April 1935) was a German Biblical scholar. He was a member of the history of religions school. He is known for his edition of the Septuagint published in 1935. Biography He was born in Linden near Hanover, an ...

noted that codex E of the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

was also written partly in uncials and partly in minuscules, in the ninth or tenth century when the change from one style of writing to the other was taking place. The codex was held at

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and was found by

in 1853, who took away only the uncial text (Luke-John) — along with

Codex Tischendorfianus IV Codex Tischendorfianus IV – designated by Γ or 036 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 70 ( von Soden) – is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 10th century (although 9th century is also possible ...

— and brought it to the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where it is now located. Formerly it was housed under the shelf number "Misc. 310", but is now under shelf number "Auctarium T. infr 1.1". It is one of the popular attractions for visitors to the Bodleian Library. Tischendorf published his description of the minuscule part of the codex in 1860. In 1861 Tischendorf carried out a new examination of the entire codex, with detailed attention to Luke 3:19-36 and John 5:1-36. The text of the codex was later collated by Tischendorf and Tregelles. Tischendorf used its text in 1858 in his edition of the ''Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine'' and in every later edition of the text of the New Testament. In the present day it is infrequently quoted in editions of Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece (UBS4, NA27). Tischendorf removed the minuscule text in 1859. It is now housed in the

National Library of Russia The National Library of Russia (NLR, russian: Российская национальная библиотека}), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked amo ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. P. Gächler in 1934 found some textual similarities between the manuscript and Codex Bezae, which represents the Western text.P. Gächler, ''Codex D and Λ'', JTS XXXV (1934), pp. 248-266

References

External links

* Robert Waltz
Codex Tischendorfianus Λ (039)
''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism''
MS Auct. T. inf. 1.1
in the Catalogue of Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries
Partial scan of the manuscript
in Digital Bodleian {{DEFAULTSORT:Tischendorfianus III Greek New Testament uncials 9th-century biblical manuscripts Bodleian Library collection