John E. Hartley on the Textual Affinities of Papyrus Bodmer XIV (P75)

The following article is now available in PDF. Visit the latest additions page for the link:

John E. Hartley, "Textual Affinities of Papyrus Bodmer XIV (P75)," The Evangelical Quarterly 40.2 (April-June 1968): 97-102.

My thanks to Professor Hartley for his kind permission.

The Jesus Accounts - Fact or Fiction? - Premiere 5th June 2010

A 30 minute film by Firm Foundation Trust shows how our gospels are based on good evidence, significant ancient manuscripts, eyewitness accounts and much more. The premiere of this DVD will be at St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks, Kent on 5th June 2010 at 7.30pm. Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali will be the guest speaker.

Here is the trailer:

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Visit the website for more details and to pre-order. Download a flyer here (pdf)

James Leonard's Research on Codex Schøyen forthcoming

James Leonard has been carrying out research on the Codex Schøyen at Tyndale House in Cambridge. His findings are soon to be presented to the Society of Biblical Literature. To whet your appetite here is an abstract of the forthcoming article which should prove of great interest to anyone involved in NT textual criticism. If, like myself, you don't know what Vorlage means, click here for a helpful definition.

Codex Schøyen is a substantial but fragmentary Coptic manuscript of Matthew’s Gospel which only became public in 1999. It dates perhaps to the early fourth century, and may be the earliest witness to Matthew in 13 entire chapters, and to many portions of other chapters. However, its textual character has not yet been adequately analysed. Analysis of its textual character has been hindered, in part, by the atypical translation method reflected in its text which often makes the Vorlage difficult to discern.

This paper demonstrates how an understanding of the version’s translation technique can help discern its Vorlage. Analysis of important test passages will show its textual character and relationship with other manuscripts. Ultimately, the paper will address the issue of whether Codex Schøyen is the closest ally to Sinaiticus and Vaticanus in Matthew’s Gospel.

Codex Sinaiticus Now on-line

The Daily Telegraph reports today that the complete text of Codex Sinaiticus is now available on-line.

You can read the Telegraph's article here and visit the British Library website here.

It is wonderful to see another important biblical resource made available to everyone with Internet access.

F.F. Bruce on Textual Criticism

The following article is now available in both iPaper and PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "Textual Criticism," The Christian Graduate 6 (1956): 135-139.

Bruce's study is still useful to the Bible student.

Codex Sinaiticus: Text, Bible, Book

The British Library is hosting a two-day conference on the 6th and 7th of July 2009 on behalf of the Codex Sinaiticus Project. The conference will celebrate the virtual reunification of Codex Sinaiticus, an outstanding manuscript which ranks as one of the oldest and most complete Bibles in existence. The event will offer a unique opportunity to hear leading experts from around the world speak about the making, history, text, transmission, conservation and digitisation of this monumentally important manuscript.

Confirmed speakers:
Daniel Batovici
Christfried Böttrich
Christopher Clarkson
Archbishop Damianos
Eldon J. Epp
William Frame
Nicholas Fyssas
Harry Gamble
Juan Garcés
Peter Head
Juan Hernández
Dirk Jongkind
Father Justin
Rachel Kevern
Jan Krans
Ekaterina Krushelnitskaya
René Larsen
Amy Myshrall
Panayotes Nikolopoulos
David Parker
Peter Robinson
Ulrich Schmid
Ulrich Schneider
Helen Shenton
Emanuel Tov
David Trobisch
Kristin de Troyer
J. Verheyden
Klaus Wachtel
Steven Walton

The conference will be complemented by an exhibition at the British Library which will highlight the history of this great book from the time of its creation over 1600 years ago to its twenty-first century appearance in digital form.

To find details on how to book a place at this fascinating event please go to the conference page on the Codex Sinaiticus website where you will also be able to find out more about the manuscript and the work of the Codex Sinaiticus Project:

http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/en/project/conference.aspx.

F.F. Bruce on Textual Problems in the Epistle to the Hebrews

The following article is now available in PDF:

F.F. Bruce, "Textual Problems in the Epistle to the Hebrews," David Alan Black, ed., Scribes and Scripture: New Testament Essays in Honour of J Harold Greenlee. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992. Hbk. ISBN: 0931464706. pp.27-39.

This should be of interest to textual critics, but is probably too technical for the general reader with no Greek. My thanks to Eisenbrauns for their kind permission.

Gordon D. Fee on the Inauthenticity of John 5:3b-4.

The following article is now available on-line in PDF:

Gordon D. Fee, "On the Inauthenticity of John 5:3b-4," The Evangelical Quarterly 54.4 (Oct.-Dec. 1982): 207-218.

John 5:3-4 reads in the King James Version:

"In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down out at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatever disease he had."

The authenticity of most of this passage has long been rejected by textual critics, but this is the first article to explain why it is not accepted written for the general reader. Very helpful.

F.F. Bruce on Recent Discoveries in Biblical Manuscripts (The Dead Sea Scrolls)

The following article is now available on-line:

F.F. Bruce, "Esq., M.A., "Recent Discoveries in Biblical Manuscripts," Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute 82 (1950): 131-150.

Another helpful article written shortly after the discoveries at Qumran.