New Testament manuscript | |
Text | Gospel of Mark |
---|---|
Date | alleged 13th, 19th |
Script | Greek |
Now at | University of Chicago Library |
Size | 11.5 x 8.5 cm |
Type | Alexandrian text-type |
Category | I |
Codex 2427 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), formerly known as Archaic Mark, is a miniature manuscript of the Gospel of Mark written in minuscule Greek. The manuscript had been very difficult to date paleographically and had been assigned to the 13th-18th century, until 2006 when it was proved a forgery following the publication of digital images of the codex, which had been made available online to renew interest in the manuscript.
The codex is written in a tiny minuscule hand on parchment leaves, containing 44 leaves (11.5 cm by 8.5 cm), written in one column per page, 21-25 lines per page. The codex has no sections, canons or headings, but it contains 16 colour illuminations. [1] There are no indications on the codex that it was originally part of a tetraevangelium. The codex includes text of Mark 16:9-20. [2]
The codex 2427 was found among the possessions of John Askitopoulos, an Athenian collector and dealer of antiquities, after his death in 1917. In 1937 the manuscript was sent to the University of Chicago Library, where it still resides (Ms. 972). [3]
Illustrations are very similar to those from minuscule 777. Robert S. Nelson suggested that they were copied from 777. [4]
The text has some omissions (Mark 7:2-5, 8:11b, 13:28b-29, 10:29 is shorter). All these omissions have parallels in other Gospels, and for some scholars they look like non-interpolations, although they are not supported by any other manuscript.
Words before the bracket are the reading of NA27, words after the bracket are the reading of the codex
The Greek text of the codex was a leading representative of the Alexandrian text-type. It was recognized by Ernest Cadman Colwell (1901-1974) as having an extraordinary degree of correspondence with the Codex Vaticanus. According to Colwell the codex preserved a "primitive text" of the Gospel of Mark. [6] Text of the codex was highly esteemed by T. C. Skeat. Kurt Aland placed it in Category I. [3] It was collated by M. M. Mitchell and P. A. Duncan in 2006. [7]
The manuscript found some early critics upon arriving in Chicago. Robert P. Casey "voiced his suspicion in 1947". [8] In 1988 Mary V. Orna found that one of the illustrations contained Prussian blue (KFe[Fe(CN)6]), produced since 1704 only. [9] This did not resolve the question of authenticity, however, as it was "conceivable that the illuminations could have been retouched in a naïve attempt at restoration." [10]
In early 2006 the University of Chicago announced that digital images of the manuscript had appeared online in an effort to "foster further research." [11] By February Stephen Carlson had announced his findings that the codex was a forgery, and proved his case beyond a doubt at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. [10] Its text has been copied from Philipp Buttmann's 1860 Greek New Testament edition (based on Cardinal Mai's edition of Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209). [12] This is especially obvious since the forger also followed Buttmann in 81 out of 85 places where his edition departed from the Codex Vaticanus text. Furthermore, in three places the copyist of 2427 had accidentally omitted a line (6:2, 8:12, 14:14), and it transpired that in each verse the omitted text corresponds exactly to the lineation of Buttmann's edition. [13]
Furthermore, microscopic, chemical and codicological testing eventually proved in 2009 that the manuscript had been made in 1874 at the earliest. [14]
What made the text a forgery was that it was carefully manufactured in the style of a medieval codex, when it was in fact a very recent creation, no older than the late 19th century. What originally made scholars so suspicious was that it was textually the closest known manuscript – in fact, virtually identical – to Codex Vaticanus, but of a much later date. Furthermore, Greek codices of a single gospel are extremely unusual, further contributing to the suspicion that it was made as a souvenir.
The Codex Vaticanus, designated by siglum B or 03, δ 1, is a Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament and the majority of the Greek New Testament. It is one of the four great uncial codices. Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Sinaiticus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 4th century.
Codex Koridethi, also named Codex Coridethianus, designated by siglum Θ or 038, ε050, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 9th century CE. The manuscript has several gaps.
Uncial 030, designated by siglum U or 030, ε 90, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript has complex contents, with full marginalia.
Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017, ε71, or Codex Colbertinus 5149, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is one of the few uncial manuscripts with the complete text of the four Gospels, and it is one of the more important late uncial manuscripts. It was brought from Cyprus to Paris.
Codex Monacensis, designated by X or 033 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), A3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels written on parchment. The manuscript contains commentary from several church fathers. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 9th or 10th century. The manuscript has several gaps, and has been rebound at least once.
Codex Tischendorfianus III – designated by siglum Λ or 039, ε 77 – is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 9th or 10th century.
Codex Vaticanus Graecus 2061, usually known as Uncial 048, α1 (Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript on parchment. It contains some parts of the New Testament, homilies of several authors, and Strabo's Geographica. Formerly it was known also as the Codex Basilianus 100, earlier as Codex Patriniensis 27. It was designated by ב a, p.
Codex Basilensis A. N. IV. 2, known as Minuscule 1, δ 254, and formerly designated by 1eap to distinguish it from minuscule 1rK is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the entire New Testament, apart from the Book of Revelation. Using the study of comparative writings styles (palaeography), it is usually dated to the 12th century CE.
Codex Montfortianus designated by 61, δ 603, and known as Minuscule 61 is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on paper. Erasmus named it Codex Britannicus. Its completion is dated on the basis of its textual affinities to no earlier than the second decade of the 16th century, though a 15th-century date is possible on palaeographic grounds. The manuscript is famous for including a unique version of the Comma Johanneum. It has marginalia.
Minuscule 69, δ 505, known as the Codex Leicester, or Codex Leicestrensis, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on paper and parchment leaves. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 15th century. Some leaves of the codex are lost. It has been examined and collated by many palaeographers and textual critics. Although it is of a late date, its text is remarkable from the point of view of textual criticism.
Minuscule 892, ε 1016 (Soden). It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 353 parchment leaves. It is dated palaeografically to the 9th century.
Minuscule 700, ε 133, is a Greek New Testament minuscule manuscript of the Gospels, written on parchment. It was formerly labelled as 604 in all New Testament manuscript lists, however textual critic Caspar René Gregory gave it the number 700. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 11th century. It is currently housed at the British Library in London.
Minuscule 1739, α 78, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 102 parchment leaves. It is dated paleographically to the 10th century.
Codex Ephesinus, minuscule 71, ε 253, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment, illuminated, and elegantly written. It is dated by the colophon to 1160. In the 15th century the manuscript was prepared for liturgical use. The scribal errors are not numerous, but it has many textual divergences from the common text. The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-type, but the textual character of the codex is disputed by scholars since the 19th century.
Minuscule 330, δ 259 (Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. It has marginalia. The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the Byzantine text-type.
Minuscule 365, δ 367 (Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament with some parts of the Old Testament, on parchment. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. It has marginalia.
Minuscule 460, α 397, is a Greek-Latin-Arabic minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. The manuscript is lacunose. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century. Formerly it was labelled by 96a and 109p.
Minuscule 546, ε 511, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated palaeographically to the 13th century. It has some marginalia, the scribe has made numerous errors.
Ernest Cadman Colwell was an American biblical scholar, textual critic and palaeographer.
Textual variants in the First Epistle to the Thessalonians are the subject of the study called textual criticism of the New Testament. Textual variants in manuscripts arise when a copyist makes deliberate or inadvertent alterations to a text that is being reproduced. An abbreviated list of textual variants in this particular book is given in this article below.