British Library Manuscript, Add. 14448
Encyclopedia
British Library Manuscript, Add. 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 lacunose. Gregory labelled it by 14e (for the Gospel
s), 9a (for the Acts
and General epistles
), and 8p (for the Pauline epistles
).
The codex is in the British Library
as MS Add. 14448.
, on 209 parchment leaves (9 ⅛ by 5 ⅞ inches), with some lacunae
(Matthew
1:1-2:13, 3:14-5:24, 8:26-9:19, Philippians
, Colossians
, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy
, Hebrews
7:4-9:21). The text is written in one column per page, in 26-32 lines per page. The writing is a small, elegant, Nestorian Estrangela, with numerous vowel-points and other marks, though many of these (as also a very few Greek vowels) have been added at a later period. Folio 64 is a restoration, on paper, supplied in the 13th century.
The Gospel of Matthew
is divided into 22 sections, Gospel of Mark
into 13 sections, Gospel of Luke
– 23 sections, and Gospel of John
– 20 sections. The Book of Acts
, Epistle of James
, First Epistle of Peter
, and First Epistle of John
are divided into 32 sections. Number of section in the Pauline epistles
55. Total number of sections in the whole New Testament, 165.
On the margins of some pages there are notes, in a later hand, referring chiefly to matters of pronunciation and accentuation, similar to those in the manuscript Add. 12138.
It lacks the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11).
Formerly it belonged to the monastery of S. Mary Deipara in the Nitrian Desert
. In 1842 along with the other 500 manuscripts it was brought to England. The manuscript was examined and described by Wright.
The manuscript is housed at the British Library
(Additional Manuscripts 14448) in London.
William Aldis Wright
William Aldis Wright , was an English writer and editor.William Aldis Wright was son of George Wright, a Baptist minister in Beccles. He was educated at Beccles Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1858...
, is a Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, on parchment, according to the Peshitta
Peshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
version. It is dated by a Colophon
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
to the year 699 or 700. The manuscript is a lacunose. Gregory labelled it by 14e (for the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s), 9a (for the Acts
ACTS
Acts or ACTS may refer to:Christianity* Acts of the Apostles , a genre of early Christian literature* Acts of the Apostles, the fifth book in the Bible's New Testament...
and General epistles
General epistles
General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christians in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles...
), and 8p (for the Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
).
The codex is in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
as MS Add. 14448.
Description
The original codex contained the text of the 22 books of Peshitta translation of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, on 209 parchment leaves (9 ⅛ by 5 ⅞ inches), with some lacunae
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
(Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
1:1-2:13, 3:14-5:24, 8:26-9:19, Philippians
Epistle to the Philippians
The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, usually referred to simply as Philippians, is the eleventh book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was written by St. Paul to the church of Philippi, an early center of Christianity in Greece around 62 A.D. Other scholars argue for an...
, Colossians
Epistle to the Colossians
The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, usually referred to simply as Colossians, is the 12th book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle to the Church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately 100 miles from Ephesus in Asia...
, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy
First Epistle to Timothy
The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, the others being Second Timothy and Titus...
, Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
7:4-9:21). The text is written in one column per page, in 26-32 lines per page. The writing is a small, elegant, Nestorian Estrangela, with numerous vowel-points and other marks, though many of these (as also a very few Greek vowels) have been added at a later period. Folio 64 is a restoration, on paper, supplied in the 13th century.
The Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
is divided into 22 sections, Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
into 13 sections, Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
– 23 sections, and Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
– 20 sections. The Book of Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
, Epistle of James
Epistle of James
The Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", with "the earliest extant manuscripts of James usually dated to mid-to-late third century."There are four views...
, First Epistle of Peter
First Epistle of Peter
The First Epistle of Peter, usually referred to simply as First Peter and often written 1 Peter, is a book of the New Testament. The author claims to be Saint Peter the apostle, and the epistle was traditionally held to have been written during his time as bishop of Rome or Bishop of Antioch,...
, and First Epistle of John
First Epistle of John
The First Epistle of John, often referred to as First John and written 1 John, is a book of the New Testament. This fourth catholic or "general" epistle is attributed to John the Evangelist, traditionally thought to be the author of the Gospel of John and the other two Epistles of John. This...
are divided into 32 sections. Number of section in the Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
55. Total number of sections in the whole New Testament, 165.
On the margins of some pages there are notes, in a later hand, referring chiefly to matters of pronunciation and accentuation, similar to those in the manuscript Add. 12138.
It lacks the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11).
History of the manuscript
In the colophon on the folio 209 verso written: "This New Testament was begun on the first Ilul, and finished when ten days of Shebat were passed; in the year 1012, according to the well-known era of Greeks, which is, according to that of the Arabs, 80; under the rule of the house of Marwan, in the days of ... [the Ishma]elites". But there can be little doubt that the book was written in the reign of Abdu l-Malik ibn Marwan, for A.H. 80 = A.D. 699-700 = A. Gr. 1011-1012.Formerly it belonged to the monastery of S. Mary Deipara in the Nitrian Desert
Wadi El Natrun
Wadi El Natrun is a valley located in Beheira Governorate, Egypt, including a town with the same name. The name refers to the presence of eight different lakes in the region that produce natron salt. In Christian literature, the region is also referred to as the Nitrian Desert...
. In 1842 along with the other 500 manuscripts it was brought to England. The manuscript was examined and described by Wright.
The manuscript is housed at the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
(Additional Manuscripts 14448) in London.
See also
- List of the Syriac New Testament manuscripts
- Syriac versions of the BibleSyriac versions of the BibleSyria played an important or even predominant role in the beginning of Christianity. Here were written the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke, the Didache, Ignatiana, and the Gospel of Thomas. Syria was the country in which the Greek language intersected with the Syriac, which was closely...
- Biblical manuscriptBiblical manuscriptA biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek biblia ; manuscript comes from Latin manu and scriptum...
- Codex Phillipps 1388Codex Phillipps 1388Codex 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...
- British Library, Add. 14479British Library, Add. 14479British Library, Add. 14479, Syriac manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the year 534. It is one of the oldest manuscript of Peshitta and the earliest dated Peshitta Apostolos.- Description :...
- British Library Manuscript, Add. 14453British Library Manuscript, Add. 14453British Library Manuscript, Add. 14453, designated by number 66 on the list of Wright, is a Syriac manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment, according to the Peshitta version. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 5th or 6th century. The manuscript is lacunose...
Further reading
- William WrightWilliam Aldis WrightWilliam Aldis Wright , was an English writer and editor.William Aldis Wright was son of George Wright, a Baptist minister in Beccles. He was educated at Beccles Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1858...
, Catalogue of the Syriac manuscripts in the British Museum (1870; reprint: Gorgias PressGorgias PressGorgias Press is an academic publisher of books and journals covering a range of religious and language studies that include Syriac language, Eastern Christianity, Ancient Near East, Arabic and Islam, Early Christianity, Judaism, and more. Gorgias Press was founded in 2001 by George Kiraz, and is...
2002).