Codex Nitriensis, designated by R or 027 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 22 ( von Soden), is a 6th-century

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 ...

New Testament

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 ...

containing the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two ...

, in a fragmentary condition. It is a two column manuscript in

majuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writi ...

s (capital letters), measuring .

Description

The text is written in two columns per page, 25 lines per page, in large uncial letters. It has no breathings and accents. The letters are similar to those of codices 081, 022, and

024 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, only that they are somewhat irregular and straggling. It is a

palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scr ...

, the upper text contains the

Syriac Syriac may refer to: * Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages ...

treatise

Severus of Antioch Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians ( Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyu ...

against Johannes Grammaticus written in the 8th or 9th century. The lower text of the same manuscript contains the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' and the Gospel of St Luke, both of the sixth century, and the ''

Euclid's Elements The ''Elements'' ( grc, Στοιχεῖα ''Stoikheîa'') is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postu ...

'' of the seventh or eighth century. The manuscript contains the tables of the (''tables of contents'') before each Gospel, the Pseudo-Ammonian Sections, but no references to the

Eusebian Canons Eusebian canons, Eusebian sections or Eusebian apparatus, also known as Ammonian sections, are the system of dividing the four Gospels used between late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The divisions into chapters and verses used in modern texts ...

1:1-13, 1:69-2:4, 2:16-27, 4:38-5:5, 5:25-6:8, 6:18-36, 6:39, 6:49-7:22, 7:44, 7:46, 7:47, 7:50, 8:1-3, 8:5-15, 8:25-9:1, 9:12-43, 10:3-16, 11:5-27, 12:4-15, 12:40-52, 13:26-14:1, 14:12-15:1, 15:13-16:16, 17:21-18:10, 18:22-20:20, 20:33-47, 21:12-22:6, 22:8-15, 22:42-56, 22:71-23:11, 23:38-51.

Text of the codex

The Greek text of the codex is a representative of the

Byzantine text-type In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. It is the form f ...

in a very early stage, with a large portion of non-Byzantine readings. Aland gave for it the following textual profile - 11¹ 4^1/2 0² 5^s. Aland placed it in Category V. According to the

Claremont Profile Method The Claremont Profile Method is a method for classifying ancient manuscripts of the Bible. It was elaborated by Ernest Cadman Colwell and his students. Professor Frederik Wisse attempted to establish an accurate and rapid procedure for the classi ...

it belongs to the textual family K^x in Luke 1 and Luke 10; in Luke 20 it has mixed text. In Luke 6:2 — οὐκ ἔξεστιν (''not lawful'') for οὐκ ἔξεστιν ποιεῖν (''not lawful to do''); the reading is supported only by ,

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

, (

Codex Bezae 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 of the New Testament dating from the 5th century wri ...

700 The denomination 700 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Pannonian Avars, Avar and Sl ...

, lat, cop^sa, cop^bo, arm, geo; It lacks the text of Luke 22:43-44. Codex Nitriensis Luke 1,1-7

History

Formerly it belonged to the monastery of St. Mary Deipara in the Nitrian Desert. In 1847 along with the other 550 manuscripts (e.g.

British Library, Add MS 14448 British Library, Add MS 14448, designated by number 64 on the list of Wright, is a Syriac manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment, according to the Peshitta version. It is dated by a Colophon to the year 699 or 700. The manuscript is a lacuno ...

) it was brought by

Henry Tattam Henry Tattam (28 December 1789 – 8 January 1868, Stanford Rivers, Essex) was a Church of England clergyman and Coptic scholar. Life Tattam was Rector of St Cuthbert's Bedford, 1822–1849, and from 1831 to 1849 also Rector of Great Woolstone ...

to England. The fragments of Luke were independently transcribed, both by Tregelles in 1854, and by

Tischendorf Tischendorf is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Constantin von Tischendorf Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (18 January 18157 December 1874) was a German biblical scholar. In 1844, he discovered the w ...

in 1855, who afterwards re-examined the places wherein he differed from Tregelles (e.g. Luke 8:5; 18:1.10). Tischendorf edited the text of the codex in 1857 in his ''Monumenta sacra inedita'', volume VII, with a facsimile.

Bruce M. Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of the ...

Bart D. Ehrman Bart Denton Ehrman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, includin ...

, ''The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration'', Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 79-80 The 48 extant parchment leaves of the manuscript are kept in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

(Add MS 17211) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

External links

at the ''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism''
Add MS 17211
at the ''British Library'' {{Iliad navbox Nitriensis 6th-century biblical manuscripts Palimpsests Manuscripts of the Iliad British Library additional manuscripts

Description

Contents

Text of the codex

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links