A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I.Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
Religion
A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I.
Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose
Bible. New Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
The Codex Sinaiticus is 13-½ inches in length by 14-7/8 inches high, and
consists of 346-½ leaves of the same beautiful vellum as the Cod.
Friderico-Augustanus which is really a part of it whereof 199 contain
portions of the Septuagint version, 147-½ the whole New Testament,
Barnabas’ Epistle, and a considerable fragment of Hermas’ Shepherd. It has
subsequently appeared that the Russian Archimandrite (afterwards Bishop)
Porphyry had brought with him from Sinai in 1845 some pieces of Genesis
xxiii, xxiv, and of Numbers v, vi, and vii, which had been applied long
before to the binding of other books(113). Each page comprises four
columns (_see_ p. 27), with forty-eight lines in each column, of those
continuous, noble, simple uncials (_compare_ Plate iv. 11 a _with_ 11 b).
The poetical books of the Old Testament, however, being written in στίχοι,
admit of only two columns on a page (_above_, p. 52). “In the Catholic
Epistles the scribe has frequently contented himself with a column of
forty-seven lines(114).” The order of the sacred books is remarkable,
though by no means unprecedented. St. Paul’s Epistles precede the Acts,
and amongst them, that to the Hebrews follows 2 Thess., standing on the
same page with it (p. 74). Although this manuscript has hitherto been
inspected by few Englishmen (Tregelles, however, and Dean Stanley were
among the number), yet its general aspect has grown familiar to us by the
means of photographs of its most important pages taken for the use of
private scholars(115), as well as from the facsimiles contained in
Tischendorf’s several editions. Breathings and accents there are none
except in Tobit vi. 9, and Gal. v. 21, as has been already mentioned: the
apostrophus and the single point for punctuation are entirely absent for
pages together, yet occasionally are rather thickly studded, not only in
places where a later hand has been unusually busy (e.g. Isaiah i. 1-iii.
2, two pages), but in some others (e.g. in 2 Cor. xii. 20 there are eight
stops). Even words very usually abridged (except _θσ_, _κσ_, _ισ_, _χσ_,
_πνα_ which are constant) are here written in full though the practice
varies, πατηρ, υιος, ουρανος, ανθρωπος, δαυειδ: we find ϊσραηλ´, ισλ or
_ιηλ_: ϊερουσαλημ´, _ιημ_, _ιλμ_, _ιηλμ´_. Tischendorf considers the two
points over iota and upsilon (which are sometimes wanting) as seldom from
the first hand: the mark >, besides its rather rare marginal use in
citations (_see_ p. 64, note 4), we notice in the text oftener in the Old
Testament than in the New. Words are divided at the end of a line: thus Κ
in ΟΥΚ, and Χ in ΟΥΧ are separated(116). Small letters, of the most
perfect shape, freely occur in all places, especially at the end of lines,
where the _superscript_ (_see_ p. 50) is almost always made to represent Ν
(e.g. seventeen times in Mark i. 1-35). Other _compendia scribendi_ are Κ
for και, and ΗΝ written as in Plate i. No. 2(117). Numerals are
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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