British Library, Add MS 14455 is a
Syriac 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 ...
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 Christ ...
, on parchment.
Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 6th century. It is a manuscript of the
Peshitta
The Peshitta ( syc, ܦܫܺܝܛܬܳܐ ''or'' ') is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the ...
. The manuscript is very lacunose.
[
]
Description
It contains the text 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, on 135 parchment leaves (14 ¾ by 11 ¾ inches), with large and numerous lacunae (Matthew 1:1-8:32; 9:11-35; 10:22-11:4; 11:19-14:17; 14:30-22:2; 22:16-23:25; 23:35-fin.; Mark 1:1-12:43; 13:10-21; 13:34-14:66; Luke 8:29-39; 9:14-36; 10:12-17; 12:25-46; 13:19-14:16; 15:4-16:5; 19:23-22:24; 22:58-23:35; 24:17-29; John 4:10-23; 4:47-5:5; 12:37-49; 13:9-fin.). Some of leaves are much stained and torn. The manuscript is in imperfect condition.[William Wright, ''Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum'' (2002) 870 Volume 1, p. 45.]
Written in two columns per page, in 15-21 lines per page. The writing is a large, beautiful Estrangela. The Eusebian Canons are marked in the text with the red ink. Some lessons are rubricated in the text, and many margin notes were added by a later hand.[
The manuscript is housed at 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 14455) in London.[
]
See also
* List of the Syriac New Testament manuscripts
Syriac-language manuscripts of the New Testament include some of the earliest and most important witnesses for textual criticism of the New Testament. Over 350 Syriac manuscripts of the New Testament have survived into the 21st century. The ma ...
* Syriac versions of the Bible
Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic. Portions of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic and there are Aramaic phrases in the New Testament. Syriac translations of the New Testament were among the first and date from the 2nd century. The whole Bible ...
* Biblical manuscript
A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures (see '' Tefillin'') to huge polyglot codices (multi-li ...
* Codex Phillipps 1388 Codex Phillipps 1388, Syriac manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It contains the text of the four Gospels. Palaeographically it had been assigned to the 5th/6th centuries. It is one of the oldest manuscripts of Peshitta with some O ...
* British Library, Add MS 12140
References
{{refend
Further reading
* William Wright, ''Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum'' (1870; reprint: Gorgias Press
Gorgias Press is an independent academic publisher specializing in the history and religion of the Middle East and the larger pre-modern world.
History
Founded in 2001 by Christine and George Kiraz, the press is based in Piscataway, New Jers ...
2002).
External links
* William Wright
''Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum''
Peshitta manuscripts
6th-century biblical manuscripts
Add. 14455