Uspenski Gospels

The Uspenski Gospels, ''Minuscule 461'' (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 92 ( Soden), are a New Testament minuscule manuscript written in Greek, dated at 835 AD, and now in St Petersburg in Russia. They are the oldest known dated manuscript of the New Testament; it was not customary for Greek scribes to date their work at the time.

Description

The codex contains complete text of the four Gospels, on 344 parchment leaves, the leaves measure 16.7 cm by 10.7 cm. The text is written in one column per page, 19 lines per page, in minuscule letters. The margins are very wide, the column of writing occupies an area of 11,3 cm by 6 cm.Bruce M. Metzger & Bart D. Ehrman, ''The Text of the New Testament'' (Oxford University Press: 2005), p. 92. The words are written continuously, usually without any separation (with some exceptions).

The letters are small and upright.Bruce M. Metzger, ''Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction To Greek Palaeography'', 1981, Oxford University Press, p. 102 The letters are regular and well-formed. They do not look like experimental ones in character. This type of handwriting was used for some time before this manuscript, according to Bruce M. Metzger, even more than half a century.

The headings of the Gospels and liturgical notes at the margin are written in uncial letters.
The nomina sacra are written in an abbreviated way. It also has other abbreviations. It has ligatures, occasionally it has separate words.

The text is divided according to the (''chapters''), whose numbers are given at the margin of the text. The chapters have their (''titles of chapters'') at the top of the pages. There is no another division according to the Ammonian Sections, and no references to the Eusebian Canons.
It contains lectionary markings (liturgical notes) at the margin and the manuscript was prepared to the liturgical reading. At the margin of the beginning of the Gospel of Mark note specifies that the passage Mark 1:1-8 is appointed to be read on the Sunday before the Feast of Lights (τη κυριακη προ των Φωτων εαν φθασουν δυο κυριακας μεσον λεγεται τουτο εις την Β κυριακην).

Text

The codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-type. Aland placed it in Category V.Kurt Aland, Barbara Aland, ''The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism'', trans. Erroll F. Rhodes, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995, p. 133. It belongs to the textual family K¹, the oldest form of the Byzantine text.

The texts of Matthew 16:2b–3 (''the signs of the times''), Luke 22:43-44 (''Christ's agony at Gethsemane''), and John 5:3.4, are marked with an asterisk (※) as doubtful. The text of Mark 16:8-20 is not numbered by (''chapters'') at the margin and there is not the (''titles'') at the top.

The Pericope de adultera was omitted by the original scribe. It has been added in the margin by a much later hand.

In Luke 1:26 Nazareth is spelled in form Ναζαρετ (against Ναζαρεθ).

In John 1:45 it reads Ιησουν τον υιον Ιωσηφ (''Jesus, son of Joseph'') along with manuscripts: Alexandrinus, Cyprius, Campianus, Macedoniensis, Sangallensis, Petropolitanus, Uncial 047, 7, 8, 196, 817, 1514, 1519; majority of the manuscripts read Ιησουν τον υιον του Ιωσηφ;

In John 3:2 it reads προς αυτον (''to him''), majority of manuscripts have προς τον Ιησουν (''to Jesus''); the reading of the codex is supported by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Cyprius, Regius, Vaticanus 354, Nanianus, Macedoniensis, Sangallensis, Koridethi, Tischendorfianus III, Petropolitanus, Atous Lavrensis, Athous Dionysiou, Uncial 047, Uncial 0211, Minuscule 7, 9, 565.''The Gospel According to John in the Byzantine Tradition'' (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart 2007), p. 20

In John 4:1 it reads ο κυριος (''the Lord'') along with codices: Alexandrinus, Basilensis, Boreelianus, Seidelianus I, Cyprius, Vaticanus 354, Nanianus, Macedoniensis, Tischendorfianus IV, Koridethi, Petropolitanus, 044, 045, 0141, 0211, 2, 7, 8, 9, 27, 194, 196, 475; majority of manuscripts reads ο Ιησους (''Jesus'');

In John 8:6, it does not have the textual variant μη προσποιουμενος. This omission is supported by the manuscripts: Codex Campianus, Vaticanus 354, Nanianus, Tischendorfianus IV, Athous Dionysiou, 047, 7, 8, 9, 196, 461^c2, 1203, 1216, 1243, 1514, ℓ ''663''. The omission is included by the manuscripts: 07, 011, 017, 028, 041, minuscule 2, and majority of the Byzantine manuscripts.

History

It has a colophon on the folio 344 verso, written by the same hand and in the same ink as the main text of the manuscript: ετελειωθη Θυ χαριτι η ιερα αυτη και θεοχαρακτος βιβλος μηνι μαιω ζ ινδικτιωνος ιγ ετους κοσμου στμγ. δυσωπω δε παντας τους εντυγχανοντας μνιαν μου ποιεισθαι του γραψαντος Νικολαου αμαρ(ωλου) μοναχ(ου) οπως ευροιμι ελεος εν ημερα κρισεως, γενοιτο κε αμην.

Probably the codex was written by monk named Nicolaus. It is the oldest dated minuscule Greek manuscript known today. Before discovering of this codex, the earliest dated cursive was Minuscule 14 (AD 964), and it was commonly believed that minuscule writing was not used in the 9th century. The manuscript was probably written in Constantinople, but later it belonged to the monastery of Mar Saba (9) in Palestine. The manuscript was seen and described by Johann Martin Augustin Scholz when he visited Mar Saba.

In 1844, Porphyrius Uspensky took it and brought it to Russia. It was examined and described by Victor Gardthausen in 1877, and Archimandrit Amphilochius in 1879 (translated by Oscar von Gebhardt in 1881).Amphilochy, Archimandrit
''Paläographische Beschreibung datirter griechischer Handschriften des IX und X Jahrhunderts, mit 26 zweifarbigen Tafeln Schriftproben''
trans. Oscar von Gebhardt, ''Theologische Literaturzeitung''. Leipzig 1881, p. 128–131.

The manuscript is cited in the Nestle-Aland ''Novum Testamentum Graece'', because of its date.

The codex is held in Saint Petersburg (National Library of Russia, Gr. 219. 213. 101).

See also

* List of New Testament minuscules
* Minuscule 462

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Amphilochy, Archimandrit
''Paläographische Beschreibung datirter griechischer Handschriften des IX und X Jahrhunderts, mit 26 zweifarbigen Tafeln Schriftproben''
trans. Oscar von Gebhardt, ''Theologische Literaturzeitung''. Leipzig 1881, pp. 128–131
* G. Cereteli
''Wo ist das Tetraevangelium von Porphyrius Uspenskij aus dem Jahr 835 erstanden?''
Byz Z IX (1900), pp. 649–653.
* A. Diller, ''A Companion to the Uspenski Gospels'', Byz Z XLIX (1956), pp. 332–335.
* Bruce M. Metzger, ''Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction To Greek Palaeography'', 1981, Oxford University Press, p. 102, No. 26.

External links

* Peter M. Head
''The Date of the Magdalen Papyrus of Matthew (P Magd GR 17 = P654): A Response to C P Thiede''
'' Tyndale Bulletin'' 46.2 (1995): 252.

Greek New Testament minuscules
9th-century biblical manuscripts
National Library of Russia collection