Codex Vaticanus, designated by S or 028 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 1027 ( von Soden), formerly called ''Codex Guelpherbytanus'', is a Greek

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 printed or reproduced in ...

of the four

Gospel 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 a ...

s which can be dated to a specific year instead of an estimated range. The colophon of the codex lists the date as 949 (on folio 234 verso). This manuscript is one of the four oldest New Testament manuscripts dated in this manner, and the only dated

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 ...

. The manuscript has complex contents.

Description

The codex contains 235 parchment leaves (), with complete text of the four

s. The text is written in two columns per page, 27 lines per page, 15-17 letters per line. It is written in large, oblong, and compressed uncial letters. It has no breathings and accents. 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. The text is divided according to the (''chapters''), whose numbers are given at the margin, and their (''titles of chapters'') at the top. There is also a division according to the smaller Ammonian sections, with 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 ...

. It contains the

Epistula ad Carpianum The ''Epistula ad Carpianum'' ("Letter to Carpian") or Letter of Eusebius is the title traditionally given to a letter from Eusebius of Caesarea to a Christian named Carpianus. In this letter, Eusebius explains his ingenious system of gospel harmon ...

, lists of the (''tables of contents'') before each Gospel, and subscriptions at the end of each Gospel, with numbers of stichoi. It contains many later corrections (e.g. ), and margin notes (e.g. .17) predominantly added by later hand. It also includes

neume A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the general shape but not ne ...

s, and it is one of the oldest manuscript with

s. The writing is large oblong and compressed, and appears Slavic.

Text

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 ...

in close relationship to the codices Codex Mosquensis II,

Codex Washingtonianus The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 ( Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', and ''The Freer Gospel'', contains the four biblical gospels an ...

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 (206¹ 105^1/2 4² 12^S). It belongs to the textual family K¹. In it has marginal comment: "In many ancient copies which I have met with I found Barabbas himself likewise called Jesus; that is, the question of Pilate stood there as follows, Τινα θελετε απο των δυο απολυσω υμιν, Ιησουν τον Βαραββαν η Ιησουν τον λεγομενον Χριστον; for apparently the paternal name of the robber was Barabbas, which is interpreted Son of the teacher". Codex Vaticanus 354 John 5,4

The disputed texts of .44, and Pericope Adultera (-) are marked by

asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

s (※) as questionable texts. In it reads επορευετο instead of επορευθη.

History

The name of the scribe was Michael, a monk, who finished his work "in the month of March, the fifth day, the sixth hour, the year 6457, the seventh indiction". The manuscript was examined and described by

Bianchini Bianchini is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Angela Bianchini (1921–2018), Italian fiction writer and literary critic * Brian Bianchini (1978–2004), American male model * Francesco Bianchini (1662–1729), Ita ...

. It was collated with some errors by

Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

in 1781–1783,A. Birch, ''Quatuor evangelia Graece'', Kopenhagen 1788, p. III. IV, und Nachbildung, und Variae lectiones ad textum IV. evangeliorum. Kopenhagen 1801, p. Iv. V. but collators in his day rarely noticed orthographical forms.

Tischendorf Tischendorf is a German surname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usu ...

in 1866 corrected the collation of Birch. Tischendorf states that facsimile of Bianchini was coarsely executed, he made another for himself. The codex currently is located in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

( Bibl. Vat. Gr. 354).

References

External links

{{commons category, Codex Vaticanus 354

at the ''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism'' Greek New Testament uncials 10th-century biblical manuscripts Manuscripts of the Vatican Library

Description

Text

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links