July 8, 2009

Ancient Bible manuscript published online


by David Masters

The world’s oldest Bible manuscript has been published online, in a collaboration between scholars from the British Library, Germany, Russia, and St Catherine’s monastery in Egypt.

The £1 million project sees the 1,600 year old Codex Sinaiticus manuscript reassembled in one place – albeit a virtual place – for the first time in living memory.

Scholars can now freely search and download the surviving ancient Greek text, which has been scattered for over 150 years.

Dr Scot McKendrick, head of Western manuscripts at the British Library, said the manuscript is “one of the world’s greatest written treasures.”

“This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation,” McKendrick said.

“The availability of the virtual manuscript for study by scholars around the world creates opportunities for collaborative research that would not have been possible just a few years ago.”

Juan Garces, Codex Sinaiticus project manager, said publishing the manuscript online was an “historic moment”.

“It’s special because it’s the oldest almost completely preserved bible,” Garces said.

The Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in 1844, having lain undisturbed in a Sinai monastery for 1,500 years.

Experts believe the manuscript survived because the desert air provided an ideal environment for preservation, and the monastery, on a Chrstian island in a Muslim sea, had never been conquered or plundered.

The manuscript proved so popular at yesterday’s launch that the codexsinaiticus.org website crashed.

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