Codex Bezae

Uncial 05

New Testament manuscript
A sample of the Greek text from the Codex Bezae
Name	Bezae
Sign	Dea
Text	Gospels and Acts of Apostles
Date	c. ~400
Script	Greek-Latin diglot
Now at	University of Cambridge
Size	26 × 21.5 cm (10.2 × 8.5 in)
Type	Western text-type
Category	IV

The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis ('Beza's Cambridge Book') is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D^ea or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and δ 5 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It contains most of the four Gospels and Acts, with a small fragment of 3 John. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it is currently dated to the 5th century.Template:R/superscript

Codex Bezae is renowned for having a distinctive text of the four Gospels and Acts, and is a leading member of the "Western" recension. The manuscript has been studied extensively.

A digital facsimile of the codex is available from Cambridge University Library, which holds the manuscript.

Description

The manuscript is a codex (the precursor to the modern book), containing the text of the four Gospels, Acts and 3 John written on 406 extant parchment leaves, from perhaps an original 534 (sized 26 x 21.5 cm).Template:R/superscript The text is written in one column per page, with the Greek text on the left face and the Latin text on the right. The text is written colometrically and is full of hiatus. The first three lines of each book are in red letters, with black and red ink alternating the title of books. As many as eleven correctors (designated as G, A, C, B, D, E, H, F, J¹, L, K) have amended the text of the manuscript between the sixth and twelfth centuries.Template:R/superscript The Greek text of the codex has some copying errors, e.g., errors of metathesis (the transposition of sounds or syllables in a word), such as seen in , where (egeneto) was changed into (enegeto); and in , where (hypelaben) transforms into (hypebalen).

The manuscript employs the following nomina sacra (sacred names/words considered sacred in Christianity); the ones cited here are only nominative case (subject case) examples: ΙΗΣ ( / Iēsous / Jesus), ΧΡΣ ( / Christos / Christ), ΠΑΡ ( / patēr / Father), ΣΤΗ ( / staurōthē / [he] was crucified). Other words which usually feature among the nomina sacra are written out in full: (mēter / Mother), υιος (huios / Son), σωτηρ (sōter / savior), ανθρωπος (anthrōpos / man), ουρανος (ouranos / sky), Δαυιδ (David), Ισραηλ (Israel), and (Iērousalēm 'Jerusalem').

Codex contents

The manuscript presents the gospels in the so-called Western order of Matthew, John, Luke and Mark, of which only Luke is complete; after some missing pages the manuscript picks up with the Third Epistle of John (in Latin) and contains part of Acts.Template:R/superscript

Missing sections

Matthew 1:1–20, 6:20–9:2, 27:2–12; John 1:16–3:26; Acts 8:29–10:14, 21:2–10, 21:16–18, 22:10–20, 22:29–endTemplate:R/superscript

Omitted verses

Matthew ; ; ; ; ; ;

Mark

Luke ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

John

Supplementations (by a later hand)

Matthew 3:7–16; Mark 16:15–20; John 18:14–20:13Template:R/superscript

Text type

The Greek text is unique, with many interpolations found in no other manuscript. It has several remarkable omissions, and a capricious tendency to rephrase sentences. Aside from this one Greek manuscript, the type of text is found in Old Latin (pre-Vulgate) versions — as seen in the Latin here — and in Syriac, and Armenian versions. Bezae is the principal Greek representative of the Western text-type.Template:R/superscript

There is no consensus on the many problems the Greek text presents. Since the Latin text occasionally agrees with Codices Bobiensis and Vercellensis against all others, it "preserves an ancient form of the Old Latin", and is a witness to a text which was current no later than 250 CE.Template:R/superscript Issues of conformity have dogged the usage of the codex in biblical scholarship. "In general the Greek text is treated as an unreliable witness," but it is "an important corroborating witness wherever it agrees with other early manuscripts."

Some of the outstanding features: Matthew 16:2b–3 is present and not marked as doubtful or spurious. One of the longer endings of Mark is given. Luke 22:43f and the Pericope Adulterae are present and not marked as spurious or doubtful. John 5:4 is omitted, and the text of Acts is nearly 8% longer than the generally received text. It also includes a story of a man working on the Sabbath placed after Luke 6:4 which is not found in any other manuscript.

Acts in Codex Bezae differs quite considerably from other manuscripts, which some argue possibly represents an earlier version directly from Luke.

Notable readings

File:Codex Bezae 0205.JPG

John 3:26–4:1 (Greek text)

Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis contains some extraordinary readings. Below is a selection of some of the more notable or unsupported readings, with text and translation.

Gospel of Matthew

(through Isaiah the prophet) : D it^mss vg^mss syr^s,(c),h,pal sa^ms arm Diatessaron^syr Irenaeus^lat

(through the prophet) : Majority Byz

(by the LORD through Jeremiah) : D it^aur

(through Jeremiah) : א‎ B C al

(by Jeremiah) : Majority Byz

(descending out of heaven like a dove) : D it vg^mss syr^h

(descending like a dove) : Majority Byz

(proceeds out through the mouth)

Omit. : D it^{a, b, g1}

Incl. : Majority Byz

Matt 5:5, 4: D 17. 33. 130. lat syr^c Clement Origen Eusebius

Matt 5:4,5 : Majority Byz

(falsely)

Omit. : D b c d g¹ h k syr^s Tertullian Augustine

Incl. : Majority Byz

(for the sake of righteousness) : D it^mss

(for my sake) : Majority Byz

(but whoever will do [them] and should teach [them], the same will be called great in the kingdom of the heavens)

Omit. : D א‎* W bo^ms

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and whoever should marry her who is divorced, he commits adultery)

Omit. : D it^a,b,d,k Origen^mss

Incl. : Majority Byz

 : D L W Δ Θ 047 ƒ¹³ 33. 118. 700. 892. Byz lat syr^{p, h,pal} mae-1 goth Clement Eusebius

 : א‎ B ƒ¹ 22 279 660* 1192 2786* it^k syr^{s, c} sa bo Irenaeus^lat Origen Cyprian

(shut the door and pray to your Father in secret) : D ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ 700. syr^s,c bo^mss

(shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret) : Majority Byz

(open your mouth) : D it^h

(ask him) : Majority Byz

(Lebbaeus) : D it^k,μ Origen^lat

(Thaddeus) : א‎ B 124 788. 892. 2211. f^13mss 17. 130. 892. it^aur,c,ff1l vg sa bo

(Lebbaeus, called Thaddeus) : C² L W X Δ Θ ƒ¹ ƒ^13mss 22. 33. 565. 579. 700. Byz it^f syr^{p, h,pal} arm

Judas Zelotes (Judas the Zealot) : it^{a,b,g1,h, q}

omit. : syr^s

(that house or)

Omit. : D arm

Incl. : Majority Byz

(you shall be caused to stand before governors)

Incl. : D 0171 it^mss syr^s

Omit. : Majority Byz

(for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak)

Omit. : D L it^mss vg^mss Epiphanius

Incl. : Majority Byz

(Are you the one who is to labor) : D*

(Are you the one who is to come) : Majority Byz

(and the lame are walking)

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(speaks good) : D* it^d

(speaks) : Majority Byz

(Go, and tell the people this)

Incl. : D it^mss mae-1 Eusebius

Omit. : Majority Byz

(he spoke to them)

Omit. : D it^d,(k) syr^{s, c}

Incl. : Majority Byz

 : (cosmos) D

(this age) : N co^sams,bo

(age) : Majority Byz

(whom I beheaded)

Incl. : D it^a,b,ff1,h vg^mss

Omit. : Majority Byz

(of Philip)

Omit. : D it^mss vg^mss Augustine

Incl. : Majority Byz

(on a platter)

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(it is not permitted) : D it^mss syr^{s, c} Origen

(it is not) : 1293. Tertullian Eusebius

(right it is not) : 544. 1010. geo

(it is not right) : Majority Byz

(mute)

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and he healed them all) : D it^mss sa bo^ms

(and he healed them) : Majority Byz

(lest they should faint in the way)

Omit. : D*

Incl. : Majority Byz

(Magadan) : א‎* B D

(Magedan) : א‎² Δ^lat lat^mss syr^{s, c,(p)} co^sa Eusebius

(Magdalan) : C N W 33. 565. 579. it^q mae-1 co^bo

(Magdala) : L Δ^gr Θ ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ 22 892. Byz syr^h

(and adulterous)

Omit. : D it^mss

Incl. : Majority Byz

(the son of the saving God) : D*

(the son of the living God) : Majority Byz

(rebuked) : D B* it^e syr^c Origen^mss

(ordered) : Majority Byz

(very high mountain) : D Eusebius

(high mountain by themselves) : Majority Byz

(white as snow) : D lat^mss syr^c bo^mss

(white as the light) : Majority Byz

(So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands)

Incl. in 17:12 : Majority Byz

Place in 17:13 : D it^{a,b,c,d,e,ff1,ff2,g1,n,r1}

(these little ones who believe in me) : D it^mss vg^mss syr^c co^samss

(these little ones') : Majority Byz

μαρτύρων (witnesses) : Majority Byz

omit : D

omit: D* itⁿ

(will be bound in heaven, and whatever you should loosen upon the earth) : Majority Byz

(they were astonished and they were afraid exceedingly) : D it^mss vg^mss syr^c

omit : Majority Byz

(or father)

Incl. : Majority Byz

Omit. : D

(or wife)

Incl. : Majority Byz

Omit. : D

But seek to increase from that which is small, and to become less from that which is greater. When you enter into a house and are summoned to dine, do not sit down at the prominent places, lest perchance a man more honorable than you come in afterwards, and he who invited you come and say to you, "Go down lower"; and you shall be ashamed. But if you sit down in the inferior place, and one inferior to you come in, then he that invited you will say to you, "Go up higher"; and this will be advantageous for you.Template:R/superscript

Incl. : D Φ it^{a aur b cd e ff1 ff2(g1) h(m)n r1 r2} vg^mss syr^{(c), pmshmg} Juvencus Hilary

Omit. : Majority Byz

Omit. : D 𝔓¹⁰⁴ 33 it^{a,b,d,e,ff1, ff2, r1} syr^s Irenaeus^lat Origen Eusebius

Incl. : Majority Byz

(Take him by his feet and his hands and cast him into the outer darkness) : D it^{a,b,c,d,e,ff1,ff2,h,q,r1} syr^{s, c} Irenaeus^lat Lucifer

(After binding him by his feet and his hands, cast him into the outer darkness) : א‎ B L Θ 085 ƒ¹ 22 700. 892. it^aur,f,g1,l vg syr^p co Didymus

(After binding him by his feet and his hands, take and cast him into the outer darkness) : C (M) W Δ (Φ) 0102 33. (565.)(579.) (1241.) (1424.) Byz it^f syr^(h)

(cast^pl [him] into the outer darkness) : ƒ¹³

(Therefore, tell us)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff1,ff2,q,r1} syr^s bo^ms

Incl. : Majority Byz

(his wife)

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(from that hour) : D W ƒ¹ 1506 it^a,d,q syr^{s, c} bo^mss Origen

(from that day) : Majority Byz

(and the plate)

Omit. : D Θ ƒ¹ 2* 700. it^a,d,e,ff2,r1 syr^s Irenaeus^lat Clement

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and of them, ye will scourge in your synagogues)

Omit. : D it^a Lucifer

Incl. : Majority Byz

(But when these things begin happening, look up and lift up your heads, because that your redemption is approaching)

Incl. : D 1093. it^b,c,d,h,q,r1

Omit. : Majority Byz

(two upon one bed; one taken, and one left)

Incl. : D ƒ¹³ it^mss vg^mss Origen^mss

Omit. : Majority Byz

Gospel of Mark

(and a leather belt roundabout his waist)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,ff2,r1,t} vg^ms

Incl. : Majority Byz

(stoop)

Omit. : D Θ ƒ¹³ 28.* 565. ℓ^844,2211 it^mss

Incl. : Majority Byz

 : D

 : א‎ B C L Δ

 : E 565. 700.

 : A W Θ ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ ByzTemplate:Rp

Verse Order 23, 25, 24, 26 : D

Verse Order 23, 24, 25, 26 : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

(and within three days another will arise without hands)

Incl. : D W it^{a,b,c,d,(e),ff2,i,(k),n,r1} Cyprian

Omit. : Majority Byz

(see )

(insult me) : D it^{c, (i), k} syr^h

(forsaken me) : א‎ B Ψ 059. vg Ptolemy Justin Martyr Eusebius

(forsaken me) : Majority Byz

Gospel of Luke

(touched) : D*

(unrolled) : א‎ D^c K Δ Θ Π Ψ ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ 28. 565. 700. 1009. 1010. 1071. 1079. 1216. 1230. 1242. 1253. 1344. 1546. 1646. 2148. 2174. Byz

(opened) : A B L W Ξ 33. 892. 1195. 1241. ℓ 547 syr^{s, h,pal} bo sa

(On that same day, seeing someone working on the Sabbath, he (Jesus) said to him, 'Man, if you know what you do, blessed are you; but if you do not know, you are cursed and a transgressor of the law.')

Incl. : D

Omit. : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

 : D (it syr^h(mg)

 : Majority Byz

(boy servant) : D

(slave) : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

(But He turned and rebuked them and He said: You do not know what manner of spirit you are of) : D (ℓ 1127^m) D geo Epiphanius

 : Byz

Omit. : א‎ A B C L Δ Ξ 28. 33. 71. 157. al

(Let thine kingdom come upon us) : D

(May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us) : 162. 700.

(May your kingdom come) : Byz

(May your kingdom come) : C P W Δ ƒ¹³ 1241

Omit. : geo

 : D Codex Regius

 : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

(Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing")

Omit. : 𝔓⁷⁵ א‎^a B D W Θ 0124 31.* 38. 435. 597.* 1241. 1808.* it^a,bc,d syr^s co

Incl. : Majority Byz

(aromatics)

Omit. : D it^mss syr^{s, c} co^sa

Incl. : Majority Byz

(Then, upon arriving, they found)

Omit. : D 070 it^c sa

Incl. : Majority Byz

(of the Lord Jesus)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l,r1}

Incl. : Majority Byz

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l,r1} arm^mss geo^mss

Incl. : Majority Byz

(sinful)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l,r1}

Incl. : Majority Byz

(from the tomb)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l,r1} arm geo

Incl. : Majority Byz

(Now they were)

Omit. : A D W Γ 788. 1241. ℓ^mss it^d,e syr^{s, c}

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and they stood still)

Omit. : D Cyril

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and said to them, "Peace be unto you")

Omit. : D it^a,b,e,ff2,l,r¹

Incl. : Majority Byz

(phantasma) : D Marcion^Tert

(spirit) : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

(and honeycomb of the beehive)

Omit. : 𝔓⁷⁵ א‎ A B D L W P 579. 1079. 1377.* 2411. it^d,e syr^s sa bo^mss

Incl. : Majority Byz

(from the dead)

Omit. : D sa

Incl. : Majority Byz

(of the Father)

Omit. : D it^e

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and he was being uplifted into the sky)

Omit. : א‎* D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l}

Incl. : Majority Byz

(upon worshiping him)

Omit. : D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l} syr^s

Incl. : Majority Byz

(praising) D it^{a,b,d,e,ff2,l,r1} vg^mss

(eulogizing) 𝔓⁷⁵ א‎ B C* L syr^s,pal sa bo geo

(praising and eulogizing) A C² W Δ Θ Ψ ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ 33 157 579 Byz it^aur,c,f,q vg^mss syr^p,h arm

Gospel of John

(in Him is life) : D א‎ it sa^mss

(in Him was life) : Majority Byz

 : D^gr

 : D^lat

(for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans)

Omit. : *א‎ D it^a,b,d,e,j

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and they are the ones who sin concerning Me) : D

(and they testify concerning Me) : Majority Byz

 : D Θ 892. 1009. 1230. 1253. it^b,d,e

 : Majority Byz

(I am not going) : א‎ D K 1241.

(I am not yet going) : B L T W Θ Ψ 0105 0180 0250 ƒ¹ ƒ¹³ ByzTemplate:R/superscript

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(into the region of Sepphoris near the wilderness) : D

(into the region near the wilderness) : Majority ByzTemplate:R/superscript

Omit. : D

Incl. : Majority Byz

(and no longer am I in this world) : D b c f ff² q

(and no longer am I in the world) : Majority Byz

(no longer am I in this world, and I am in the world)

Incl. : 𝔓^107(vid) D (a c) r¹

Omit. : Majority Byz

(and saw and did not believe) : D

(and saw and believed) : Majority Byz

Acts of the Apostles

(of the Lord) : D 𝔓⁷⁴ C* E Ψ 33. 36. 453. 945. 1739. 1891.

(of God) : א‎ B 614. 1175. 1505. vg syr bo^ms; Cyprian

(of the Lord and of God) : C^c3 L 323 1241 ByzTemplate:R/superscript

File:Codex Bezae - Latin Luke 23-47-24-1 (The S.S. Teacher's Edition-The Holy Bible - Plate XXVI).jpg

A sample of the Latin of the Codex Bezae

History

The codex's place of origin is still disputed; both Gaul (France) and southern Italy have been suggested.Template:Rp Other proposed places of origin include Egypt, Palestine and Beirut.Template:R/superscript

The manuscript is believed to have been repaired at Lyon (France) in the ninth century, as revealed by a distinctive ink used for supplementary pages. It was closely guarded for many centuries in the monastic library of St Irenaeus at Lyon. The manuscript was consulted, perhaps in Italy, for disputed readings at the Council of Trent, and was at about the same time collated for Stephanus's edition of the Greek New Testament. During the upheavals of the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, when textual analysis had a new urgency among the Reformation's Protestants, the manuscript was stolen from the monastic library in Lyon when French Huguenots ransacked the library in 1562. It was delivered to the Protestant scholar Theodore Beza, the friend and successor of Calvin, who gave it in 1581 to the University of Cambridge, in the comparative security of England, which accounts for its double name. It remains in the Cambridge University Library (Nn. II 41).Template:Rp

Scholar John Mill collated and biblical scholar Johann Jakob Wettstein transcribed (in 1716) the text of the codex. Both did their editions of the Greek Testament, but both did their work carelessly. A much better collation was made about 1732 by John Dickinson.

In 1787, the University of Cambridge appointed Dr Thomas Kipling to edit a facsimile edition which appeared in two volumes in 1793.

The English cleric Frederick H. A. Scrivener edited the text of the codex in 1864 (rewritten text of the codex) and published a photographic facsimile in 1899.

The importance of the manuscript is such that a colloquium held at Lunel, Hérault, in the south of France on 27–30 June 1994 was entirely devoted to it. Papers discussed the many questions it poses to our understanding of the use of the Gospels and Acts in early Christianity, and of the text of the New Testament.

See also

• Biblical manuscript
• Codex Glazier
• List of New Testament Latin manuscripts
• List of New Testament uncials
• Western non-interpolations

Further reading

• Amphoux, Christian-B. (2004). "La grande lacune du Codex de Bèze". Filología Neotestamentaria. 17: 3–26. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010.
• Bernard, Weiss (1897). Der Codex D in der Apostelgeschichte, Texte und Untersuchungen (in Deutsch). Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs.
• Boismard, Marie-Émile; Lamouille, A. (1984). Le texte occidental des Actes des Apôtres. Reconstitution et réhabilitation (in français). Paris: Ecole Biblique de Jerusalem.
• Chase, Frederic Henry (1893). The Old Syriac Element in the Text of Codex Bezae. New York: Macmillan.
• Harris, James Rendel (1891). Codex Bezae: A Study of the so-called Western Text of the New Testament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Harris, James Rendel (1894). Four lectures on the Western Text of the New Testament. London: Cambridge University Press.
• d’Hyères, Sylvie Chabert (2009). L'Évangile de Luc et les Actes des Apôtres selon le Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis (in français). Paris: L’Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-296-08115-4.
• Kenyon, Frederic George (1901). "Codex Bezae". Journal of Theological Studies. 1. New York: Macmillian and Co.: 293–299.
• Klijn, A. F. J. (1969). A Survey of the Researches Into the Western Text of the Gospels and Acts (1949–1959). Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–53.
• Parker, David Charles (1992). Codex Bezae: An Early Christian Manuscript and its Text. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-07236-6.
• Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose (1864). Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis: Being an exact Copy, in ordinary Type, of the celebrated Uncial Graeco-Latin Manuscript of the Four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. London: Bell and Daldy.
• Strange, W. A. (1992). The Problem of the Text of Acts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521413848.
• Yoder, James D. (1959). "The Language of the Greek Variants of Codex Bezae". Novum Testamentum. 3 (4): 241–48. doi:10.2307/1559941. JSTOR 1559941.
• Yoder, James D. (1961). Concordance to the distinctive Greek text of Codex Bezae. Grand Rapids; Michigan: Eerdmans.

External links

• High resolution digital facsimile of the Codex Bezae with full transcription, from Cambridge University Library
• R. Waltz, Codex Bezae at the Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism (2007)
• Bible Researcher website discusses the Codex Bezae
• The Gospels and Acts according to codex Bezae; greek and latin text, translation and comments
• History of Research on Codex Bezae
• Codex Bezae and the Da Vinci Code The alleged parchment 1 has been copied from Codex Bezae
• Real secrets and hoaxes, of Da Vinci Code, Rennes-le-Château and Codex Bezae, analyzed on the "Mercure de Gaillon"
• Codex Bezae and Codex Claromontanus Template:In lang
• Catholic Encyclopedia 1910: Codex Bezae
• More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts