Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus is a fourth-century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, comprising the majority of the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the complete New Testament, and two early Christian writings, the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.[1] Dating to the mid-fourth century on palaeographical grounds, it represents one of the two earliest largely intact Christian Bibles, the other being the Codex Vaticanus.[2][3] Originally spanning approximately 730 leaves in four columns per page, the codex exhibits extensive corrections by multiple scribes, reflecting ongoing scribal efforts to refine the text over centuries.[4] Discovered at Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai by the German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf during multiple expeditions in the 1840s and 1850s, the manuscript's portions were acquired through negotiations with the monastery's monks and presented to the Russian Tsar Alexander II in 1859.[5][6] Following the Russian Revolution, the bulk of the codex was sold to the British Museum in 1933, with surviving leaves now held by the British Library, Leipzig University Library, the National Library of Russia, and St. Catherine's Monastery.[6] Tischendorf's accounts of finding leaves destined for wastepaper baskets have fueled debates over the ethics and veracity of the recovery process, though archival evidence supports the monastery's long-term possession of the volume.[7] As a primary witness to the Alexandrian text-type, the Codex Sinaiticus has profoundly influenced modern biblical textual criticism, revealing variants absent from later Byzantine manuscripts and underscoring the diversity in early Christian scriptural traditions.[5] Its authenticity faced 19th-century challenges from Constantine Simonides, who alleged it was his own 1840s forgery, claims rebutted by bibliographers through comparative palaeography and historical documentation demonstrating the codex predated Simonides' assertions.[8] Recent digital reunification projects have facilitated global scholarly access, confirming its mid-fourth-century origin via multispectral imaging and material analysis despite fringe modern skepticism rooted in perceived inconsistencies like leaf coloration, which experts attribute to environmental factors rather than fabrication.[9][10]Physical Characteristics
Materials and Construction
The Codex Sinaiticus is composed of vellum parchment derived from the processed skins of animals, primarily calves, goats, or sheep, which were soaked, de-haired, stretched, and scraped to create thin, durable sheets.[11] This high-quality vellum was prepared in double sheets originally measuring about 40 by 70 cm, providing a stable medium for the extensive biblical text.[12] The manuscript's construction follows a codicological structure of quires, each comprising eight leaves (or four bifolia folded to yield 16 pages), with the original codex estimated to have included at least 97 such quires for a total of around 776 leaves.[13] Pages measure approximately 381 by 345 mm, featuring a layout of four columns per page with 48 lines per column, containing 12 to 14 uncial Greek letters per line; poetical books deviate to two columns arranged stichometrically.[4][14] Preparation involved pricking and ruling the vellum to guide even line spacing, followed by sewing the quires together to form the bound codex.[15] The text is inscribed in a majuscule uncial script, characteristic of 4th-century Greek manuscripts, without word separation or punctuation in the original hand.[14]Condition and Preservation
The Codex Sinaiticus consists of parchment folios prepared from calf and wool sheep skins, processed to a thin, uniform thickness of 0.1–0.2 mm through soaking, de-hairing, stretching, and scraping.[11] Despite originating in the fourth century, the manuscript remains remarkably supple with minimal degradation, attributed in part to its historical storage in arid environments and separation into portions that limited uniform exposure to deteriorative factors.[11] [16] Folios measure approximately 374–386 mm in height, with variations in thickness from 0.07 to 0.25 mm, and exhibit features such as follicle patterns, veining, and scar tissue indicative of high-quality skin selection.[15] [16] Damage to the surviving approximately 400 folios includes edge tears with projecting fibers, internal splits along ruling lines, discoloration from external agents, ink offsetting and flaking, and localized ink corrosion causing pinprick holes or larger losses in a small percentage of leaves.[15] Additional wear manifests as surface dirt, ingrained grime, handling marks, curling, creases, cockling, and weakened areas, with heavier discoloration often on folios adjacent to now-missing sections.[15] [11] The manuscript originally comprised at least 94 quires of eight folios each, but substantial losses occurred, leaving the New Testament intact while truncating much of the Old Testament and other sections; portions are dispersed across institutions, including 347 leaves at the British Library, 43 at Leipzig University Library, and fragments at St. Catherine's Monastery and the National Library of Russia.[15] [16] Preservation efforts date to the nineteenth century, following its disassembly during discovery, with unbound storage in metal containers contributing to irregular wear patterns.[16] In 1935, conservator Douglas Cockerell rebound the British Library holdings into two volumes using oak boards, alum-tawed goat skin, and sewing on double hemp cords with meeting guards, incorporating earlier Byzantine-style repairs such as overcasting with thread and parchment strips.[16] For the 2009 digitization project, an international team conducted non-invasive assessments across all holdings, documenting over 300 condition parameters per leaf in a standardized database, including measurements of thickness, color, and opacity.[17] [18] Minimal interventions stabilized tears using 5% isinglass solution and Japanese tissue, ensuring stability for high-resolution imaging without further degradation, while multi-spectral techniques enhanced legibility of faded inks.[17] [18] These measures, combined with virtual reunification online, have minimized physical handling and supported ongoing scholarly access.[18]Textual Content
Included Books and Structure
The Codex Sinaiticus preserves substantial portions of the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament, including deuterocanonical books such as 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 1 and 4 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach. Surviving Old Testament content includes complete or near-complete texts from 1 Chronicles through the Minor Prophets, along with sections of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Joel, and others, though initial books like much of Genesis and Exodus are lost. The New Testament section is fully intact, containing all 27 canonical books from Matthew to Revelation. Beyond these, the codex appends the complete Epistle of Barnabas and most of the Shepherd of Hermas, reflecting an early Christian scriptural canon that incorporated these extracanonical writings.[1][19][12] Structurally, the codex originally comprised around 730 leaves (1,460 pages) of vellum, of which over 400 survive today, arranged in quires typically formed by four folded sheets yielding eight leaves each. Each page measures approximately 380 by 345 millimeters, with text inscribed in uncial Greek script in four columns of 48 lines, averaging 12 to 14 letters per line; poetic and wisdom literature, however, employs a two-column format for readability. This columnar design, unique among surviving biblical manuscripts, facilitated public reading and reflects deliberate codicological choices in its mid-fourth-century production.[1][4][20][13]Key Textual Variants and Omissions
The Codex Sinaiticus, as a primary witness to the Alexandrian text-type, features shorter readings and omits passages present in the later Byzantine text-type, which often includes expansions, harmonizations, and liturgical additions introduced by scribes over centuries. These differences total thousands of variants across the New Testament, with Sinaiticus agreeing with Codex Vaticanus in approximately 83% of omissions relative to Byzantine manuscripts, reflecting a conservative transmission that avoids later accretions. Such variants arise from scribal practices prioritizing brevity and fidelity to earlier exemplars, as opposed to the Byzantine tendency toward smoothing and amplification for doctrinal clarity or readability.[21] Prominent omissions include the longer ending of Mark (16:9–20), which narrates Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, commissioning of disciples, and ascension; this section ends abruptly at Mark 16:8 in Sinaiticus, aligning with early patristic evidence from Eusebius (c. 325 CE) and Jerome (c. 405 CE) who noted its absence in most Greek manuscripts of their era.[22] The Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53–8:11), recounting the woman taken in adultery, is entirely absent, lacking attestation in pre-fourth-century Greek codices and disputed by early fathers like Origen and Chrysostom, suggesting it circulated separately before marginal insertion in later traditions.[22] In the Epistles, the Johannine Comma (1 John 5:7–8b), stating "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one," is omitted, appearing only in Latin Vulgate influences and a handful of post-10th-century Greek manuscripts, with no support in Sinaiticus or other early uncials.[23] Another notable variant occurs in Luke 24:51, where the ascension clause "and carried up into heaven" is missing, resulting in a narrative that implies but does not explicitly state the event, consistent with Sinaiticus' pattern of concise phrasing over Byzantine elaborations.[22] The following table summarizes select key variants:| Passage | Sinaiticus Reading | Byzantine Reading | Implications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark 16:9–20 | Omitted (ends at 16:8) | Included in full | Absence of extended resurrection accounts |
| John 7:53–8:11 | Omitted | Included | No story of adulterous woman |
| Luke 24:51 | "And it came to pass..." (no ascension phrase) | Adds "and carried up into heaven" | Implicit vs. explicit ascension |
| 1 John 5:7–8 | "For there are three that bear witness..." (earthly witnesses only) | Adds heavenly Trinitarian clause | Lacks explicit heavenly testimony |