The article explores biblical codices, key manuscripts in the preservation of the biblical texts. It reviews important examples of codices, their impact on the transmission of the Scriptures, and the absence of historical information about the earliest manuscripts.
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It is noteworthy that many passages of the Bible, from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, were preserved thanks to the numerous copies made in that period.
Comparing these manuscripts ensures great reliability of the text. These documents are copies or translations that spread first through the Middle East and then to more distant regions.
The rapid rise of Christianity led to a proliferation of copies and translations, each community seeking to own a copy of these precious writings.
A codex is a type of handwritten book made of sheets of paper, parchment or vellum bound together along one side, which makes it a forerunner of modern books. Unlike scrolls, which were in use before the invention of the codex, the codex allows the text to be consulted more easily and more quickly.
The oldest codices are ancient manuscripts created before the invention of printing. Here are some of the most famous:
Date: Around AD 330-360
Description: One of the oldest and most complete manuscripts of the Greek Bible, containing the text of the Septuagint.
Date: Around AD 300-325
Description: Another important manuscript of the Greek Bible, also very close to the Septuagint.
Date: Around AD 400-440
Description: A manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the Scriptures of the New Testament and the Old Testament.
Date: Around AD 450
Description: A palimpsest manuscript, in which the original text was erased and written over, but the underlying text has been preserved.
Date: Around AD 400
Description: A manuscript containing interesting textual variants, mainly of the New Testament.
Date: Around AD 550
Description: A manuscript containing texts of the New Testament and the letters of Paul.
Date: 13th century
Description: Known for its imposing size and for containing a complete copy of the Bible, along with other religious and historical texts.
Date: around AD 1008
The Codex Leningradensis is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew , using the Masoretic text and the Tiberian vocalization.
Date: AD 920
The Aleppo Codex, also known as Keter Aram Tsova (Crown of Aleppo), is a medieval manuscript of the .
These codices are precious witnesses to the history of the book and to the transmission of the biblical texts. They offer unique insights into the practices of copying and preserving ancient texts.
We would like to make two important observations. First, these texts are recognized as the original sources of the Bible. For example, when it is stated that a translation such as that of Louis Segond is based on the original texts, this means that Louis Segond relied on these sources to carry out his work.
Second, the oldest known document is the Codex Vaticanus, dated between AD 300 and 325, which creates an information gap of about three centuries.
We observe that the oldest codex discovered to date dates from the year 325, thus leaving a period of nearly three centuries without available documentation.
In reality, this is not a total absence of information, but rather a shortfall. During those three centuries, many copies and translations left significant traces. Archaeologists have discovered fragments of the Bible, including both the New Testament and the Old Testament. These discoveries do not include entire texts, but consist of passages of varying lengths. These fragments corroborate the accuracy of the translations found in the codices.
Sometimes an archaeologist discovers a fragment containing a single verse. This relic of the past bears witness to the desire of these people to obtain at least a portion of these texts regarded as sacred.
For a person living in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine the challenges associated with printing in the first centuries. Indeed, we are currently faced with an abundance of advertisements printed on paper, often ignored and quickly thrown away.
At that time, the exorbitant costs of printing forced people to memorize crucial information, such as the biblical texts. Copies were mainly reserved for communities.
Many fragments are regularly found during archaeological excavations at sites occupied by the first Christians.
The oldest document discovered to date is designated P52, a name taken from its accession number in the library's collection. We will trace the history of the oldest fragments and take stock of the number of fragments of the Bible discovered to date.
The Nash Papyrus is a set of four papyrus fragments acquired in Egypt in 1898 by W. L. Nash, secretary of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. The fragments date from about 150 to 100 BC, although Stanley A. Cook initially dated them to the 2nd century AD
The oldest manuscript of the New Testament is Papyrus P52. It is a fragment of the Gospel of John dating from the 2nd century AD. This papyrus was discovered in Egypt and is currently displayed at the John Rylands University Library in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Biblical manuscripts are numerous and varied. For the Old Testament, there are several thousand complete or fragmentary manuscripts. Among the oldest and most important are the Ketef Hinnom scrolls, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Aleppo Codex, and the Leningrad Codex.
For the New Testament, there are more than 5,800 Greek manuscripts, more than 10,000 Latin manuscripts, and about 9,300 manuscripts in other ancient languages such as Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Slavonic and Gothic. These manuscripts date from AD 125 to the 15th century.
This body of information on the biblical texts is remarkable and unique for an ancient document. All these data serve to confirm the accuracy of contemporary translations. Scholars unanimously acknowledge the quality and reliability of the translations derived from the codices.
A major discovery is about to transform the field of biblical translation. Will this discovery challenge or confirm current knowledge of the biblical texts? It is the sensational discovery of the Qumran manuscripts in 1947. We will address this subject in detail in a dedicated chapter.
To date, we do not possess the original documents of the Bible. However, it is possible that a future discovery will bring to light a document written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, since our study focuses mainly on the Gospels.
Nevertheless, a multitude of fragments of the existing biblical texts make it possible to confirm the current translations. The oldest known document, containing a verse of the Gospel of John, dates from around AD 125.
It is remarkable to see that these discovered passages attest to the reliability of the translations, challenging the well-known saying: “To translate is to betray.” No other book of such antiquity has survived through history with such accuracy and reliability, which is a truly exceptional fact.
