The Oldest New Testament | The Discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus

The text of Codex Sinaiticus differs in numerous instances from that of the authorized version of the Bible in use during Tischendorf’s time. For example, the resurrection narrative at the end of Mark (16:9–20) is absent from the Codex Sinaiticus. One other omission in Codex Sinaiticus with theological implications is the reference to Jesus’ ascension in Luke 24:51. Additionally, Mark 1:1 in the original hand omits reference to Jesus as the Son of God. Codex Sinaiticus Luke 24:51 Omits “carried up into heaven.” Leaving no ascension in the Gospels. Mark 1:1 Adds the phrase “the Son of God” only above the line, as a later addition. Luke 9:55–56: “But he turned and rebuked them. And they went to another village.” Codex Sinaiticus Matthew 24:36: “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Tischendorf’s chance finding of Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest New Testament manuscript, at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai—and his later removal of the manuscript—made him both famous and infamous. Physically, Codex Sinaiticus is located in four places: the 43 original sheets in Leipzig; a few remnants forgotten in the Russian National Library; the majority of the text in the British Library; and approximately a dozen sheets that were later discovered after an earthquake at St. Catherine’s. But the digital age has brought the entire manuscript back together in a virtual online museum at Lost Bible Chapter Discovered Using UV Light The recent discovery by researchers sheds new light on an interpretation of Matthew chapter 12 in the Bible. This text was originally translated as part of the Old Syriac translations about 1,500 years ago. Moreover, the researchers believe that this fragment is the only known remaining piece of the fourth manuscript that attests to the Old Syriac version. This text offers a “unique gateway” to the early phase in the history of the textual transmission of the Gospels. The new discovery sheds light on differences in the information contained in translations. For example, the original Greek of Matthew chapter 12 verse 1 says, “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat,” the Syriac translation says, “…began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.” During the time when this text was written, there was a scarcity of parchment in the region, so pages were often reused by erasing the earlier Biblical text. David Friedrich Strauss (1808–1874) produced a truly remarkable work, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined in 1835. It was both a theological bombshell and a literary work of unparalleled excellence. The English translation by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) is also a masterpiece. In his work, Strauss attempted to emancipate the natural from the supernatural. Like Reimarus, he rejected the miraculous and qualified revelation. Strauss illustrates the dictum of Albert Schweitzer that critical scholarship “turned to the historical Jesus as an ally in the struggle against the tyranny of dogma“ (Quest, 4). The response to his work was immediate and violent. He lost his job as a teacher and was called anti-christ and Judas by opponents. He was hounded by his critics until his death in 1874. the historical Jesus James the brother of Jesus the apostle Paul Mary mother of Jesus Mary Magdalene the Dead Sea Scrolls Hellenistic Religions and the Mystery Religions Ancient Apocalypticism the Book of Revelation the Archaeology of Early Christianity Digging up Ancient Jerusalem Gnosticism Lost Christianities Introduction to Religious Studies