sdfb

You have no items in your shopping cart.
Close
Menu
Menu
Search
Wishlist
Filters

Scribal Habits of Codex Sinaiticus

By Dirk Jongkind
ImageFromGFF
ImageFromGFF
ImageFromGFF
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the oldest, famous, and most important manuscripts of the Bible. At least three scribes copied the text manually, and they were faced with many decisions: What do I do when I spot an error in the text I just copied? What is the right spelling of this word? Is it time for a new paragraph? This book studies a variety of textual and non-textual phenomena in Codex Sinaiticus. We discover more about this important biblical manuscript as well as the individuals with their own habits, qualities, and skill levels who produced it.
Be the first to review this product
Publisher: Gorgias Press LLC
Availability: In stock
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-59333-422-2
  • *
Publication Status: In Print
Series: Texts and Studies (Third Series)5
Publication Date: Oct 28,2013
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 342
Languages: English
ISBN: 978-1-59333-422-2
$167.00 (USD)
Your price: $100.20 (USD)
Ship to
*
*
Shipping Method
Name
Estimated Delivery
Price
No shipping options

Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest manuscript containing the complete text of the New Testament. Besides the New Testament, this codex from the fourth century also contains large parts of the Greek Old Testament, though quite a large part of this section did not survive. Codex Sinaiticus is much more than simply a particular instance of the Greek text of the Bible. At least three different scribes copied the text out by hand, and these scribes were faced with many decisions in the process of writing: How many letters do I put on this line? Will I contract this word as a nomen sacrum or will I spell it out in full? What do I do when I spot an error in the text I have just copied? What is the right spelling of this word? Is it time for a new paragraph? How do I fit the text I have copied to that of my colleague?

This book studies a wide variety of textual and non-textual phenomena of Codex Sinaiticus. Thus we not only learn more about this important biblical manuscript, but are also able to discern much about the individual scribes. The Codex Sinaiticus is not a homogenous book, but the product of individuals with their own habits and different qualities. This study shows that it is possible to rate the scribes of the New Testament according to their individual copying ability.

Dirk Jongkind finished his doctoral work at Cambridge University in 2005. Before taking up a research fellowship at Tyndale House, Cambridge, he was employed by the British Library in London to work on the curatorial preparation of the Codex Sinaiticus Digitisation Project. He is a fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest manuscript containing the complete text of the New Testament. Besides the New Testament, this codex from the fourth century also contains large parts of the Greek Old Testament, though quite a large part of this section did not survive. Codex Sinaiticus is much more than simply a particular instance of the Greek text of the Bible. At least three different scribes copied the text out by hand, and these scribes were faced with many decisions in the process of writing: How many letters do I put on this line? Will I contract this word as a nomen sacrum or will I spell it out in full? What do I do when I spot an error in the text I have just copied? What is the right spelling of this word? Is it time for a new paragraph? How do I fit the text I have copied to that of my colleague?

This book studies a wide variety of textual and non-textual phenomena of Codex Sinaiticus. Thus we not only learn more about this important biblical manuscript, but are also able to discern much about the individual scribes. The Codex Sinaiticus is not a homogenous book, but the product of individuals with their own habits and different qualities. This study shows that it is possible to rate the scribes of the New Testament according to their individual copying ability.

Dirk Jongkind finished his doctoral work at Cambridge University in 2005. Before taking up a research fellowship at Tyndale House, Cambridge, he was employed by the British Library in London to work on the curatorial preparation of the Codex Sinaiticus Digitisation Project. He is a fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

Write your own review
  • Only registered users can write reviews
*
*
Bad
Excellent
*
*
*
*
Contributor

DirkJongkind

  • Contents (page 7)
  • Preface (page 13)
  • Abbreviations (page 17)
  • Introduction (page 19)
  • History of Research (page 23)
    • Publication of the Codex (page 23)
    • Scribes and Correctors (page 27)
    • Date and Provenance (page 36)
    • Dictation (page 39)
    • Text (page 42)
    • History of Research and This Study (page 44)
  • The Non-textual Characteristics of Scribal Behaviour in Codex Sinaiticus (page 47)
    • Introduction (page 47)
    • The Constitutive Elements (page 48)
      • Sheet and quire (page 48)
      • Folio and page (page 52)
      • Column and line (page 54)
      • The use of red ink (page 55)
    • Scribes (page 57)
      • Overview of the work of the scribes (page 57)
      • Interaction between scribes A and D (page 59)
        • Change of scribe (page 59)
        • Correction of each others work„cancel leaves (page 62)
        • Correction of each others work„corrections on the text (page 64)
      • Division of tasks and space restrictions: Revelation, Barnabas, Hermas (page 66)
      • Supplementary apparatus: superscriptions and running titles (page 69)
    • Conclusions (page 73)
      • The scribes (page 73)
      • The production of the manuscript (page 75)
      • Concluding observations (page 77)
  • Nomina Sacra, Ligatures, Itacisms, Text-divisions (page 79)
    • Introduction (page 79)
    • Nomina Sacra (page 80)
      • The forms of the nomina sacra (page 82)
      • Relative frequency of the contracted versus the uncontracted forms (page 85)
      • Differences between the scribes (page 92)
        • The data (page 92)
      • The individual patterns for each scribe (page 97)
        • Scribe A (page 97)
        • Scribe D (page 98)
        • Scribe B (page 99)
      • Conclusions on the use of nomina sacra in the analysed sample (page 100)
    • Ligatures (page 102)
      • Combining letters (page 102)
      • mou and pro(s) ligatures (page 105)
      • The kai-ligature (page 106)
      • Conclusions on the use of ligatures (page 107)
    • Orthographic Patterns (page 108)
      • Introduction (page 108)
      • Itacisms per scribe (page 109)
      • Itacisms in proper nouns (page 111)
      • Conclusions on itacisms (page 112)
    • Paragraphing (page 113)
      • Introduction (page 113)
      • Methods to indicate paragraphs (page 113)
      • Frequency of new paragraphs (page 115)
      • Differences within the work of a scribe (page 116)
      • The quality of paragraph breaks (page 118)
        • Scribe B in the prophets (page 118)
        • Scribe A in the Gospels (page 120)
        • Scribe A in 4 Maccabees (page 124)
        • Scribe A in Romans (page 125)
      • Concluding observations on the use of paragraphs (page 126)
    • Eusebian Apparatus (page 127)
      • Introduction (page 127)
      • The positioning of the Eusebian apparatus in the margin (page 130)
        • Scribal customs and clear scribal errors (page 130)
        • Substantial deviations in placement (page 133)
      • Deviating section and table numbers (page 134)
      • Discussion of deviating placements and deviating numbers (page 135)
      • Concluding observations on the Eusebian apparatus (page 137)
    • Numbering Systems and Kephalia (page 138)
      • The section numbering in Acts (page 139)
      • Kephalia in Acts (page 140)
      • The section numbering in Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (page 142)
      • Concluding observations on the numbering systems and kephalia (page 144)
    • Conclusions (page 145)
  • Singular Readings and the Individual Scribal Patterns of Scribes A and D (page 149)
    • Introduction (page 149)
    • Methodological Considerations (page 149)
      • Past scholarship and the study of singular readings (page 149)
        • The nineteenth century: Tischendorf and Westcott-Hort (page 149)
        • The twentieth century: Colwell and Royse (page 152)
      • The method of studying singular readings and Codex Sinaiticus (page 158)
      • System of classification of singular readings (page 160)
    • Singular Readings and Corrections in 1 Chronicles (page 162)
      • Introduction (page 162)
      • The text and the correctors (page 163)
      • Discussion of the evidence (page 165)
        • Orthography (page 165)
        • Nonsense words (page 168)
        • Leaps from the same to the same (page 169)
        • Addition/omission of verba minora (page 169)
        • Harmonisations (page 170)
        • Nonsense in context, substitutions, and transpositions (page 174)
        • Add and omit words and clauses (page 175)
      • Correction strategy (page 177)
      • Scribe created readings that are not singular readings. (page 178)
      • Final reflections on 1 Chronicles (page 181)
    • Scribes D and A in Psalms (page 182)
      • Introduction (page 182)
      • Method (page 183)
      • Corrections by the scribes (page 185)
      • Discussion of the singular readings (page 187)
        • Orthography (page 188)
        • Nonsense word forms (page 190)
        • Leaps (page 193)
        • Add and omit verba minora (page 197)
        • Harmonisations (page 200)
        • Editorial readings (page 206)
        • Nonsense meanings (page 207)
        • Substitutions (page 209)
        • Transpositions (page 214)
        • Addition and omission of words and phrases (page 216)
        • Major rewritings (page 217)
      • Conclusions (page 218)
    • Scribes D and A in Paul (page 220)
      • Introduction (page 220)
      • Discussion of the singular readings per category (page 222)
        • Orthography (page 222)
        • Nonsense word forms (page 223)
        • Leaps from the same to the same (page 224)
        • Add and omit verba minora (page 225)
        • Harmonisations (page 228)
        • Editorial readings (page 231)
        • Nonsense meanings in context (page 232)
        • Substitutions (page 232)
        • Transpositions (page 234)
        • Add and omit words and clauses (page 235)
        • Major rewritings (page 236)
      • Conclusions (page 237)
    • Scribes D and A in Luke (page 239)
      • Introduction (page 239)
      • Discussion of the singular readings per category (page 241)
        • Orthography (page 241)
        • Nonsense words (page 243)
        • Leaps from the same to the same (page 245)
        • Add and omit verba minora (page 246)
        • Harmonisations (page 247)
        • Editorial readings (page 250)
        • Nonsense meanings (page 251)
        • Substitutions (page 252)
        • Transpositions (page 254)
        • Add and omit words and clauses (page 255)
        • Rewritings (page 258)
      • Conclusions (page 258)
    • Conclusions (page 259)
      • On using singular readings to study scribal habits (page 259)
      • The individual scribal patterns for scribes D and A (page 260)
      • On scribal habits in general (page 263)
  • Final Reflections (page 265)
    • Scribal Behaviour (page 265)
    • The Codex and the Exemplar (page 268)
    • Dictation Theory (page 268)
    • Date and Provenance (page 270)
  • Appendix I: Tables and Graphs to Chapter 3 (page 275)
  • Appendix II: List of the Substantial Differences of Position in the Eusebian Apparatus between Sinaiticus and NA27 (page 281)
    • (page 281)
      • Matthew (page 281)
      • Mark (page 286)
      • Luke (page 293)
      • John (page 294)
  • A (page 299)
  • Appendix III: Places Where the Eusebian Apparatus is Missing (page 299)
  • A (page 301)
  • Appendix IV: Deviating and Missing Table Numbers in the Eusebian Apparatus (page 301)
  • Appendix V: Uncorrected Singular Readings in 1 Chronicles (page 305)
  • A (page 315)
  • Appendix VI: The Corrected Readings of Psalms (page 315)
  • B (page 323)
  • Bibliography (page 323)
  • Index of Modern Authors (page 331)
Customers who bought this item also bought
Picture of The New Syriac Primer, 2nd Edition

The New Syriac Primer, 2nd Edition

A truly useful introduction to the Syriac language is a rare find. This practical initiation to the study of this ancient language of the Christian church speaks with clarity and authority. A fruitful integration of scholarly introduction and practical application, this primer is more than a simple grammar or syntactic introduction to the language. Writing in a style designed for beginners, Kiraz avoids technical language and strives for a reader-friendly inductive approach. Readings from actual Syriac texts allow the student to experience the language first hand and the basics of the grammar of the language are ably explained. The book comes with downloadable material so that readers may listen to all reading sentences and text passages in the book.
$48.00 (USD)
Picture of Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage

Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage

The Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage (GEDSH) is the first major encyclopedia-type reference work devoted exclusively to Syriac Christianity, both as a field of scholarly inquiry and as the inheritance of Syriac Christians today. In more than 600 entries it covers the Syriac heritage from its beginnings in the first centuries of the Common Era up to the present day. Special attention is given to authors, literary works, scholars, and locations that are associated with the Classical Syriac tradition. Within this tradition, the diversity of Syriac Christianity is highlighted as well as Syriac Christianity’s broader literary and historical contexts, with major entries devoted to Greek and Arabic authors and more general themes, such as Syriac Christianity’s contacts with Judaism and Islam, and with Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Georgian Christianities.
$130.00 (USD) $78.00 (USD)
Picture of Pocket Gorgias Syriac-English Dictionary

Pocket Gorgias Syriac-English Dictionary

The Pocket Dictionary is both a convenient academic resource and a door into the world of Modern Literary Syriac. With 13,000 entries drawn from the major existing works, it is a practical tool for all but the most specialized Classical Syriac texts.
$45.00 (USD)
Picture of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in Koine Greek

The Tale of Peter Rabbit in Koine Greek

A translation of Beatrix Potter's Tale of Peter Rabbit in Koine Greek, using only vocabulary found in the Greek New Testament and Septuagint (including the Apocrypha), and illustrated with Potter's original drawings.
$23.00 (USD)
Information
Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher specializing in the history and religion of the Middle East and the larger pre-modern world. We are run by scholars, for scholars, who believe strongly in "Publishing for the Sake of Knowledge."
My account
Customer service
Powered by PubNiche Title Management System from Ivos Solutions
Copyright © 2025 Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved.