The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a

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 ...

of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

dating from the 5th century written in an

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, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...

hand on

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anim ...

. It contains, in both

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, most 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 and Acts, with a small fragment of

3 John The Third Epistle of John is the third-to-last book of the New Testament and the Christian Bible as a whole, and attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two epistles of John. ...

. A digital facsimile of the codex is available from

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

, which holds the manuscript.

Description

The codex contains 406 extant parchment leaves, from perhaps an original 534 (26 x 21.5 cm), written one column per page with the Greek text on the left face and the Latin text on the right. The text is written colometrically and is full of

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...

. The Greek text of the codex has some copying errors, e.g., errors of metathesis: in , (''egeneto'') was changed into (''enegeto''); in , (''hypelaben'') into (''hypebalen''). The first three lines of each book are in red letters, and black and red ink alternate the title of books. As many as eleven correctors (G, A, C, B, D, E, H, F, J¹, L, K) have amended the text of the manuscript between the sixth and twelfth centuries. The following

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 form: (, ''Iēsous'' '

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

'), (, ''Christos'' '

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

'), (, ''patēr'' '

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

'), (, ''staurōthē'' ' ewas crucified'). Other words which usually feature among the

are written out in full: (''mēter'' '

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

''', huios'' ' Son of God (Christianity), Son''', sōter'' '

savior Savior or Saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or ...

''', anthrōpos'' 'man''', ouranos'' 'sky,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Israēl, Iērousalēm'').

Codex contents

The

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 i ...

presents the gospels in the Western order

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, Luke and

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

, of which only Luke is complete; after some missing pages the manuscript picks up with the ''

Third Epistle of John The Third Epistle of John is the third-to-last book of the New Testament and the Christian Bible as a whole, and attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two epistles of John. ...

'' (in Latin) and contains part of '' Acts''. ; Lacunae: : Matthew 1:1–20, 6:20–9:2, 27:2–12; John 1:16–3:26; Acts 8:29–10:14, 21:2–10, 21:16–18, 22:10–20, 22:29–end ; Omitted verses: : Matthew ; ; ; ; ; ; : Mark : Luke ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; : John ; Supplementations (by a later hand): : Matthew 3:7–16; Mark 16:15–20; John 18:14–20:13

Text type

The Greek text is unique, with many interpolations found in no other manuscript. It has several remarkable omissions, and a capricious tendency to rephrase sentences. Aside from this one Greek manuscript, the type of text is found in

Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

(pre-

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

) versions — as seen in the Latin here — and in Syriac, and Armenian versions. ''Bezae'' is the principal Greek representative of the

Western text-type In textual criticism of the New Testament, the Western text-type is one of the main text types. It is the predominant form of the New Testament text witnessed in the Old Latin and Syriac Peshitta translations from the Greek, and also in quotati ...

. There is no consensus on the many problems the Greek text presents. Since the Latin text occasionally agrees with Codices Bobiensis and Vercellensis against all others, it "preserves an ancient form of the Old Latin", and is a witness to a text which was current no later than 250 CE. Issues of conformity have dogged the usage of the codex in biblical scholarship. "In general the Greek text is treated as an unreliable witness," but it is "an important corroborating witness wherever it agrees with other early manuscripts." Some of the outstanding features: '' Matthew 16:2b–3'' is present and not marked as doubtful or spurious. One of the longer endings of ''Mark'' is given. ''Luke'' 22:43f and ''Pericope de adultera'' are present and not marked as spurious or doubtful. ''John'' 5:4 is omitted, and the text of ''Acts'' is nearly 8% longer than the generally received text. Acts in Codex Bezae differs quite considerably from other manuscripts, which some argue possibly represents an earlier version directly from Luke.

Notable readings

Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis contains some extraordinary readings. Below is a selection of some of the more notable or unsupported readings, with text and translation. Codex Bezae - Latin Luke 23-47-24-1 (The S

Codex Bezae - Latin Luke 23-47-24-1 (The S

History

The place of origin of the codex is still disputed; both

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

(current

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) and southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

have been suggested. The manuscript is believed to have been repaired at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

in the ninth century, as revealed by a distinctive ink used for supplementary pages. It was closely guarded for many centuries in the monastic library of St

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

at Lyon. The manuscript was consulted, perhaps in Italy, for disputed readings at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

, and was at about the same time collated for Stephanus's edition of the Greek New Testament. During the upheavals of the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

in the 16th century, when textual analysis had a new urgency among the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

's Protestants, the manuscript was stolen from the monastic library in Lyon when French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

ransacked the library in 1562. It was delivered to the Protestant scholar

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza ( la, Theodorus Beza; french: Théodore de Bèze or ''de Besze''; June 24, 1519 – October 13, 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation ...

, the friend and successor of Calvin, who gave it in 1581 to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, in the comparative security of England, which accounts for its double name. It remains in the

(Nn. II 41). John Mill collated and Johann Jakob Wettstein transcribed (1716) the text of the codex. Both did their editions of the Greek Testament, but both did their work carelessly. A much better collation was made about 1732 by John Dickinson. The University of Cambridge in 1787 appointed Dr Thomas Kipling to edit a facsimile edition which appeared in two volumes in 1793. The English cleric Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener edited the text of the codex in 1864 (rewritten text of the codex) and in 1899 (photographic facsimile). The importance of the Codex Bezae is such that a colloquium held at Lunel, Hérault, in the south of France on 27–30 June 1994 was entirely devoted to it.The story of the colloquium has been chronicled by one of the participants: J.-M. Auwers, "Le colloque international sur le Codex Bezae", Revue Théologique de Louvain 26 (1995), 405–412. See also: Codex Bezae, Studies from the Lunel Colloquium, ed. D.C. Parker & C.-B. Amphoux Papers discussed the many questions it poses to our understanding of the use of the Gospels and Acts in early Christianity, and of the text of the New Testament.

References

External links

High resolution digital facsimile of the Codex Bezae
with full transcription, from Cambridge University Library * R. Waltz

at the ''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism'' (2007)

The Gospels and Acts according to codex Bezae; greek and latin text, translation and comments

History of Research on Codex Bezae

Codex Bezae and the Da Vinci Code
The alleged parchment 1 has been copied from Codex Bezae * Real secrets and hoaxes, of Da Vinci Code, Rennes-le-Château and Codex Bezae, analyzed on th
"Mercure de Gaillon"

1910: Codex Bezae
More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
{{Authority control Bezae Vetus Latina New Testament manuscripts 5th-century biblical manuscripts Manuscripts in Cambridge