Updates to P129 and P131

There’s been a lot of discussion and speculation in the past few months about two new 2nd/3rd century papyrus fragments, first mentioned by Brent Nongbri as papyri being displayed by Scott Carroll in 2018. We were contacted earlier this year by Andrew Stimer, a private collector in California, who wanted to obtain G-A numbers for two papyrus fragments that he acquired in 2015. The fragments are of 1 Corinthians and Romans. Stimer provided us with unpublished scholar’s reports, which he received in 2016 and 2017: the report for 1 Corinthians was done by Dirk Obbink (who dates the fragment to mid-2nd cent.) and the report on Romans was done by Jeffery Fish (who dates the fragment to the first half of the 3rd cent.).

 

Through Nongbri’s blog, the INTF was already alerted to the possibility that the papyri in Stimer’s possession were parts of other papyri already registered in the Liste, P129 (1 Cor) and P131 (Romans), which are currently at the Museum of the Bible (MOTB). These numbers, P129 and P131, were assigned to the papyri at MOTB in 2015 so they could include this information in a planned publication with Brill, although this has not been published.

 

Over the past few months, we’ve been working to (a) verify the authenticity of Stimer's fragments and (b) decide whether they belong to P129 and P131. The MOTB kindly provided us with images of P129 and P131 so we could make comparisons. We shared images of Stimer's two fragments with Michael Holmes, and scholars at the Museum of the Bible Scholar’s Initiative were of the opinion that the fragments did indeed belong together. The pieces were analyzed by a number of INTF staff but we still had some lingering questions. We requested expert advice from papyrologist Panagiota Sarischouli at the University of Thessaloniki so we could get an external opinion.

 

A few weeks ago, Sarischouli graciously provided us with an extensive report confirming the authenticity of the fragments. She noted, “I can say that I have no reason to believe that Stimer’s fragments are fakes; if they are forgeries, they are masterly done!!!” Sarischouli stated, "There can be little doubt that the two fragments (Stimer’s 1 Cor. + P129) belong to the same codex page. Although there are some slight differences between the two handwritings, the hand is identical." She also agreed with the dates proposed by Obbink and Fish. We are very grateful to her for providing such extensive information about these fragments.

 

We have now assigned Stimer’s 1 Corinthians fragment to the already registered P129, and have assigned his Romans fragment to the already registered P131 fragment. We can now update the contents of these papyri:

 

Stimer's portion of P129 is: 1 Cor 7:32-37; 9:10-16

MOTB's portion of P129 is: 1 Cor 8:10-9:3, 27-10:6

Stimer's portion of P131 is: Rom 9:21-23; 10:3-4

MOTB's portion of P131 is: Rom 9:18-21, 33-10:2

 

With regard to provenance, Stimer provided us with the following report for his pieces:

I acquired both of the manuscripts in the summer of 2015 from Mr. M. Elder of Dearborn, Michigan. He bought them the previous year, in April 2014, via a private treaty sale executed by Christie’s London. The fragments were part of a collection of texts that had been in the Pruitt family since the 1950s. Dr. Rodman Pruitt was an industrialist and inventor in southern Indiana who was known as a collector of manuscripts, books and artifacts of various kinds. He acquired his papyri from Harold Maker, a well-known dealer in manuscripts who was based in Irvington, New Jersey. I am told that the Trismegistos database lists numerous published papyri originally sold by Harold Maker. [Coincidentally, I have another manuscript in my collection that also came through Harold Maker, and with it are copies of sales materials he issued in the early 1950s.] I contacted Christie’s London to confirm that they had indeed conducted the private treaty sale of manuscripts that had passed by descent through the Pruitt family. I communicated with Dr. Eugenio Donadoni, Director of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts. He confirmed that the consignor of the collection that was sold in April 2014 was a relative of Dr. Rodman Pruitt, though he was of course restricted in the amount of information he was at liberty to provide to me. The sale included various papyri, in Coptic, Greek and Syriac. I was satisfied that the information I had been given at the time of the acquisition was correct.

 

We recently learned, however, that the two fragments belonging to the MOTB previously belonged to the Egypt Exploration Society (EES), see here and were sold without their permission. While many questions still remain regarding Stimer’s papyri, it seems highly probable that his pieces were also once part of the EES collection and were sold without their permission (see here). We have notified Stimer of this and updated the Liste entries in the NT.VMR (P129 and P131) to reflect this. We hope to upload images of Stimer’s papyri and the MOTB papyri on the NT.VMR for public viewing after the issue of provenance has been resolved.

 

In light of this problematic provenance and so many open questions, we have debated whether to register these two papyri. We are aware that the designation of a G-A number may have the unfortunate side effect of inflating the value of a manuscript on the antiquities market. However, our primary focus when deciding whether to include a new manuscript in the Kurzgefasste Liste has been verifying its authenticity and collecting key data so these manuscripts can be made known to the wider scholarly community. Our hope is that registering these manuscripts in the Liste, where all information is made publically available on the NT.VMR, will enable any unprovenanced manuscripts to be located (or re-located) as effectively as possible.

 

Update: 21 Oct. 2019 from EES, Stimer to return 5 missing manuscripts: https://www.ees.ac.uk/news/missing-papyri-two-updates

 

Update: 5 May 2020: The portions of these manuscripts held by MOTB and Stimer have now been returned and are located in Sackler Library.

Job Vacancy for Syriac Specialist

(English summary: see below or here for original post in German)

 

Beginning January 1st, 2020, a position is available as a researcher (salary class 13 TV-L) at the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF) at the WWU Münster.

 

The position is full-time and for a period of 6 years with the possibility of permanency. Regular work hours are 39 hours and 50 minutes per week. It would also be possible to fill the post with two part-time positions.

 

Areas of Responsibility

Coordination and research work on the Syriac tradition of the New Testament, both for the INTF's projects and for the institute's international collaborations.


Collaboration on the project Novum Testamentum Graecum: Editio Critica Maior (ECM) with a focus on the processing of the Syriac and Palestinian-Aramaic traditions and their citation in the critical apparatus.


Preparation of critical editions of the Syriac tradition.
 

Collaboration on the revision of hand editions (Nestle-Aland, Greek New Testament) for the Syriac and Palestinian-Aramaic traditions.


Presentation of research results at meetings and conferences in Germany and abroad.

 

Requirements

Doctorate in Eastern Christianity or Oriental/Near Eastern Studies (Dr. phil. or Dr. theol.).


Good command of Syriac, good knowledge of Greek, and familiarity with at least one other language of Eastern Christianity.


Knowledge of the philology of editions and experience with digital editing.
 

Experience working with databases.
 

Ability to work in a team.
 

Willingness to travel (in Germany and abroad).

 

The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Female applicants are encouraged to apply and those with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities. Applications from candidates with severe disabilities are also welcome. Disabled candidates with equivalent qualifications will be preferentially considered.

Please send applications via email including relevant documents (curriculum vitae, certificates etc.) no later than October 11, 2019 to Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf (email: strutw@uni-muenster.de)

 

Stellenausschreibung

 

Im Fachbereich 01, Evangelische Fakultät, Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster ist ab dem 01.01.2020 eine Stelle der regelmäßigen Arbeitszeit


einer wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiterin/
eines wissenschaftlichen Mitarbeiters
Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L

für die Dauer von sechs Jahren mit der Möglichkeit der Entfristung zu besetzen.

Die regelmäßige Arbeitszeit beträgt bei Vollbeschäftigung zurzeit 39 Stunden 50 Minuten wöchentlich.

Stellenbesetzungen werden grundsätzlich auch in Teilzeit vorgenommen, sofern nicht im Einzelfall zwingende dienstliche Gründe entgegenstehen.

Aufgaben:

  • Koordinierungs- und Forschungsarbeit im Bereich der syrischen Überlieferung des Neuen Testaments sowohl für die Projekte des INTF als auch für die internationalen Forschungskooperationen des Instituts.
  • Mitarbeit im Projekt Novum Testamentum Graecum: Editio Critica Maior (ECM) mit dem Schwerpunkt der Bearbeitung der syrischen und der palästinisch-aramäischen Überlieferung und der Verzeichnung relevanter Lesarten im kritischen Apparat.
  • Vorbereitung von Spezialeditionen zur syrischen Überlieferung.
  • Mitarbeit bei der Revision der Handausgaben (Nestle-Aland, Greek New Testament) für die syrische und die palästinisch-aramäische Überlieferung.
  • Präsentation von Forschungsergebnissen auf Kongressen und Tagungen im In- und Ausland.

Voraussetzungen:

  • Promotion in den Gebieten christlicher Orient oder Orientalistik (Dr. phil. oder Dr. theol.).
  • Sichere Beherrschung des Syrischen und gute Griechischkenntnisse sowie die Vertrautheit mit mindestens einer anderen Sprache des christlichen Orients.
  • Kenntnis der Editionsphilologie und Erfahrung mit digitaler Editionstechnik.
  • Erfahrung in der Arbeit mit Datenbanken.
  • Fähigkeit zu teamorientiertem Arbeiten.
  • Reisebereitschaft (In- und Ausland).


Die WWU tritt für die Geschlechtergerechtigkeit ein und strebt eine Erhöhung des Anteils von Frauen in Forschung und Lehre an. Bewerbungen von Frauen sind daher ausdrücklich erwünscht; Frauen werden bei gleicher Eignung, Befähigung und fachlicher Leistung bevorzugt berücksichtigt, sofern nicht in der Person eines Mitbewerbers liegende Gründe überwiegen.

Schwerbehinderte werden bei gleicher Qualifikation bevorzugt eingestellt.

Ihre Bewerbung mit den üblichen Unterlagen richten Sie bitte bis zum 11.10.2019 an:

Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung
zu Hd. Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf
Pferdegasse 1
48143 Münster
E-mail: strutw@uni-muenster.de

 

Fellowship for a Research Assistant

The German Bible Society (GBS) is seeking candidates for a post-doc research assistant at the Institute for New Testament Textual Research in Münster, Germany. The fellowship covers a period of 36 months, a fixed three-year appointment, beginning 1 April 2020.

About the INTF

The central task of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung, INTF) is to research the textual history of the New Testament and to edit its text on the basis of the manuscript tradition, the early translations, and patristic citations. Foremost among our editions is the Editio Critica Maior – Novum Testamentum Graecum (ECM). The scholarly outcome of INTF’s work is also made available to the broad community of commentators, philologists, translators and students in two printed concise editions: the Nestle-Aland (NA) and the UBS Greek New Testament (UBSGNT). Moreover, digital editing is gaining more importance for our work.

Job Description

The INTF Research Assistant will prepare NA29 and UBSGNT6 at INTF supervised by the director, Holger Strutwolf. This will be a continuation of the work of two previous fellows Greg Paulson (2014-2017) and Dora Panella (2017-2020).

The research assistant will take part in the meetings of the editorial committee for NA and UBSGNT which has been appointed by the UBS Global Board in 2011. The assistant will re-design the apparatuses according to the decisions of the committee.

For both concise editions, the task consists in implementing the findings of the ECM relating to the reconstruction of the initial text and the choice of textual witnesses, and making them available beyond the relatively limited circle of the ECM’s recipients. Furthermore, the advantageous features of the two concise editions are to be further developed. For UBSGNT6 a completely new design is currently being developed in close collaboration with Florian Voss of the German Bible Society and a consortium of Global Translation Advisors of UBS. The goal is to streamline the edition more forcefully for the use of translators, academic teachers and students. The main task of the research assistant will be to execute this major revision.

Requirements

  • Advanced knowledge of Greek and Latin, basic knowledge of Greek palaeography, ability to comprehend a complex critical apparatus, and knowledge of the principles of New Testament textual criticism.
  • Ph.D. in New Testament studies, focusing on or including text-criticism.
  • Reading knowledge of German is required, with an aptitude to acquire conversational usage. INTF staff speaks English, but internal discussion is often conducted in German.

Application

Applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, and transcripts (official or unofficial), via email to INTFsearch@sbl-site.org, with the subject line INTF Fellowship Search. Three current letters of recommendation should be sent to the same email address, directly from those serving as references. Completed applications must be received by 15 November 2019.  Applicants invited to interview will be contacted mid-December. Interviews will begin in January via teleconference. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Employment Details

The research assistant will be employed by the Hermann-Kunst-Stiftung in Münster (HKS), which has close connections to the INTF and the German Bible Society, which is the publisher of the text editions of the INTF. The research assistant will work under the supervision of the INTF’s director, Holger Strutwolf. The salary will be commensurate with experience and will be suitable for relocation to Germany.

All inquiries and applications should be directed to: INTFsearch@sbl-site.org.

See the original post here under AAR and SBL Employment Listings.

 

New Digital Humanities Position at INTF

(English summary—see below for the original post in German):

 

Job Vacancy

 

Beginning November 1st, 2019, a position is available as a researcher (salary class 13 TV-L) at the Institute for New Testament Textual Criticism (INTF). The post is part of the Excellence Cluster “Religion and Politics: Dynamics of Tradition and Innovation” at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

 

The position is full-time and for a period of 6 years and 3 months. Regular work hours are 39 hours and 50 minutes per week. It would also be possible to fill the post with two people at 50% of the work hours.

 

Areas of Responsibility:

  • Participation in the project "Theory of Variant Development" (under project leader Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf)
  • Further development of the open digital edition platform, the NT.VMR

 

Requirements:

  • Doctoral degree (Dr. phil. or Dr. theol.)
  • Extensive experience in New Testament textual criticism
  • Experience with Digital Humanities, including digital philology and philological study of editions
  • Experience in the development and administration of portal platforms with content management systems, preferably Liferay
  • Good knowledge of biblical Greek

 

The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Female applicants are encouraged to apply and those with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities. Applications from candidates with severe disabilities are also welcome. Disabled candidates with equivalent qualifications will be preferentially considered.

 

Please send applications via email including relevant documents (curriculum vitae, certificates etc.) no later than 12 August 2019 to Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf (email: strutw@uni-muenster.de)

 

STELLENAUSSCHREIBUNG

 

Im Exzellenzcluster „Religion und Politik. Dynamiken von Tradition und Innovation“ an der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster ist im Teilprojekt C3-21 unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf ab dem 01.11.2019 eine Stelle als

 

wissenschaftliche*r Mitarbeiter*in

Entgeltgruppe 13 TV-L

 

mit 100% der regelmäßigen Arbeitszeit zu besetzen. Die Stelle ist für die Dauer von sechs Jahren und drei Monaten befristet. Die regelmäßige Arbeitszeit beträgt zurzeit 39 Stunden und 50 Minuten wöchentlich. Es ist grundsätzlich möglich, die Stelle mit zwei Personen mit je 50% der regelmäßigen Arbeitszeit zu besetzen.

 

Am Exzellenzcluster „Religion und Politik“ sind die Fächer Geschichte, Politikwissenschaft, Soziologie, Katholische und Evangelische Theologie und die Rechtswissenschaften beteiligt; Vertreter der Islamwissenschaft, der Islamischen Theologie, der Judaistik, der Ägyptologie, der Archäologie, der Philosophie, der Philologien, der Kunstgeschichte sowie der Ethnologie ergänzen das interdisziplinäre Spektrum. Nähere Informationen zu den beteiligten Fachbereichen und allgemein zum Forschungsprofil des Exzellenzclusters finden Sie unter www.uni-muenster.de/Religion-und-Politik/.

 

Der Aufgabenbereich umfasst:

  • Mitarbeit im Teilprojekt "Theorie der Variantenentstehung" (Projektleitung Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf)
  • Weiterentwicklung des NTVMR zu einer offenen, digitalen Editionsplattform

 

Voraussetzungen:

  • Promotion (Dr. phil. oder Dr. theol.)
  • weitreichende Erfahrungen in der Textkritik des Neuen Testaments
  • Erfahrungen mit virtuellen Forschungsumgebungen (Digital Humanities)
  • Sicherer Umgang in digitaler Philologie und Editionsphilologie
  • Erfahrung in der Entwicklung und Administration einer Portal-Plattform mit Content Management System, vorzugsweise Liferay
  • Gute Griechischkenntnisse

 

Die WWU Münster tritt für die Geschlechtergerechtigkeit ein und strebt eine Erhöhung des Anteils von Frauen in Forschung und Lehre an. Bewerbungen von Frauen sind daher ausdrücklich erwünscht; Frauen werden bei gleicher Eignung, Befähigung und fachlicher Leistung bevorzugt berücksichtigt, sofern nicht in der Person eines Mitbewerbers liegende Gründe überwiegen. Schwerbehinderte werden bei gleicher Qualifikation bevorzugt eingestellt.

 

Bewerbungen richten Sie bitte möglichst per E-Mail mit den üblichen Unterlagen (Lebenslauf, Zeugnisse) bis zum 12. August 2019 an die Projektleitung:

 

Prof. Dr. Holger Strutwolf

Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung

Pferdegasse 1

48143 Münster

strutw@uni-muenster.de

 

Versio Coptica online

As is well-known, the ECM of the Acts of the Apostles is available online in the New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room of the INTF since 2017. (The text-critical commentary is also online.)

 

Alongside the main text of the edition, all Greek variants are presented. After entering a verse in the “Quick Lookup”, the ECM apparatus appears in a window below the main text. See for example Acts 1:8.

 

In the apparatus there is now a link to “VC” – meaning Versio Coptica.

 

Clicking on VC will open a new window, which presents the full Coptic transcriptions that were used for the citations in the Greek apparatus.

 

The top of this window includes a link to the “Introduction” which leads to primary information about the edition created by S.G. Richter, K.D. Schröder and M.H.O. Schulz. Furthermore, a list of all cited witnesses as well as an apparatus with notes on the manuscripts is provided. Next to the link to the introduction, the button “SMR online” will take you to the SMR Database of Coptic New Testament Manuscripts with plenty information on all manuscripts.

 

The line-by-line layout of VC shows all Sahidic and Fayyumic pieces used in the edition, as well as the manuscript mae 3 which is the famous Codex Glazier, the only Middle Egyptian witness of Acts. The Bohairic siglum “bo 00” is the main text of G. Horner’s edition of Acts. A printed version of this edition of “Versio Coptica: Die Apostelgeschichte in koptischer Überlieferung” is in preparation.

 

Keep in mind that versional evidence is not used as a consistent witness in the apparatus of Acts, but only cited at selected passages which are of special importance to the Greek text or its history (cf. Novum Testamentum Graecum. Editio Critica Maior III. The Acts of the Apostles, ed. by H. Strutwolf et al. Part 1.1, Stuttgart 2017, p. 20*).

 

This new “VC” feature online enables all interested users not only to test the citations of Coptic witnesses in the Greek apparatus, but allows them to form their own opinions about citations at passages where the Coptic version had not been recorded in the apparatus of the ECM.

 

Any corrections can be sent to me here, s.g.richter at uni-muenster.de, and would be much appreciated!

How Patristic Citations are Treated in the ECM

From the beginning of critical work on the text of the Greek New Testament citations by early Christian writers have played a prominent role in research on textual history.

Nestle/Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece28, 78*.

 

Establishing the New Testament text of the Church Fathers has a strategic importance for textual history and criticism. It shows us how the text appeared at particular times and in particular places: this is information we can find nowhere else.

K. Aland/B. Aland, The Text of the New Testament, 168.

 

Patristic citations are witnesses to the text of the manuscripts that the Church Fathers used. Their witness is highly significant for textual criticism and for the reconstruction of the initial form of the New Testament text. An advantage of citations for textual criticism is that we can more or less ascertain the date and location of Church Fathers. If the text of a certain author is recoverable, conclusions can be drawn regarding the biblical text circulating in his day.

 

When examining citations of a Church Father, it is important to observe his specific approach to citation because some of the variants found in patristic literature trace back to the way the author treated his source text. Therefore, it is crucial to determine whether the Father has quoted the biblical text literally or imprecisely, if he just alludes to it or only paraphrases it.

 

Contrary to an exegete, not every patristic reference is reliable or usable for a textual critic. Most of the “citations” listed in the Biblia Patristica, for example, do not conform to the actual wording of the biblical text and thus have no text-critical value at all.

 

In our database of citations of Acts there are three main categories under “citations”:

•           Citation

•           Varying Citation/Adaptation

•           Allusions (paraphrases are to be treated like allusions)

 

Citation

According to D.A. Koch, a citation is a “the conscious adoption of external written (or rarely oral) wording, which is reproduced by an author in his own writing and is recognizable as such.”[1]

 

Varying Citations

For our purposes in the ECM, varying citations are generally treated like citations wherever their wording is adjusted to the context of the Church Father's text. Particularly small changes regarding the original biblical text can be identified. The following definition of an adaptation by Carroll D. Osburn fits our definition of a varying citation: “A quotation from a recognizable text, often without an introductory formula, in which much of the lexical and syntactical structure of the text is preserved and woven unobtrusively into the patristic context and/or syntax in less important portions of the text.”[2]

 

Allusion

According to Osburn, allusions are defined as “A reference to the content of a certain biblical passage in which some verbal or motif correspondence is present, but reflecting intent to give only the gist of the text rather than to cite.”[3]

 

A citation fulfills its function when the reader can identify it as a citation. In order to ensure that the citation is obvious, the author can use a citation marker. That way he shows his intent to actually cite a text, for example, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι τῶν ἀποστόλων γέγραπται and ἐν δὲ ταῖς Πράξεσιν ὁ Λουκᾶς γράφει.

 

When a longer passage is being cited in accordance with the manuscript tradition, it is very likely a citation. On the contrary, a paraphrase consists of a free or loose reproduction of a foreign text.[4] A vague allusion can be seen where the author uses “a single traditional formulation, which, however, is fully integrated into its own presentation”.[5]

 

Generally, a citation can be distinguished from an allusion by its more precise reproduction of the original wording, which matches the wording of one or more Greek manuscripts.

 

Often, the Church Fathers use a citation to support a certain interpretive approach, showing they are not afraid to adjust a passage for their own grammatical or textual context. As opposed to a copyist, whose only goal is (or should be) the exact reproduction of a manuscript, patristic authors might have a certain theological agenda in mind and try to match a citation to their purposes. In order to achieve this, citations and connectives like δέ, γάρ, καί, etc. are often substituted, omitted or changed, especially at the beginning. Also relevant to the accuracy of the citations is the way a Father handles his source material: Does he cite carefully or rather freely from memory? We also find citations being loosely cited in the beginning and cited precisely soon afterwards or vice versa.

 

The transition between a varying citation and an allusion is often fluid. This means that one part of a patristic reference can be an allusion while the other one can be treated as a direct citation.

 

Has the author altered the New Testament passage for the sake of style or to fit his theological position? Some important factors are necessary to assess the text-critical relevance of the citation:

 

The length of the cited passage: The most simple rule for distinguishing between genuine citations and allusive references or from memory (memoriter) citations is the length of the passage in question.[6]

 

Introductory formulas or citation markers: The general context is very important to assess the accuracy of the citation.

 

Stylistic Tendencies: All adaptations, alterations, additions, omissions and transpositions of the text, which go back to a Father’s stylistic tendencies, are excluded from the attestation of the textual tradition. Only a patristic citation with a high probability of being derived from a manuscript can be considered for our purposes. Allusions or reminiscences can also be recorded so long as they can be traced back to a certain manuscript text. Sometimes, a Church Father can witness to different forms of text, noted in the Nestle-Aland as “partim” (e.g. Orpt). This can mean that the Father knew both texts from different manuscripts, as is often observed in Origen's works. This should not be seen as a flaw in the reliability of the patristic author. Rather, from the early testimony of a single Church Father to more than one text form, you can see that “important” variants emerged and circulated at the very beginning of the textual tradition.

 

Regarding Origen, it is also remarkable that he employed scribes, often dictating his thoughts to them and instructing them to add biblical references later on. His scribes then drew their biblical citation out of a manuscript that was not necessarily the same as the one Origen used. This can often be seen in Origen’s Commentary on John.

 

All in all, each Church Father has to be observed individually in order to evaluate his habits of citation; this also involves considering the respective genre of his work.[7] Evaluating citations from different kinds of works like commentaries, polemical treatises, homilies, letters, or theological tractates can lead to different results. In a commentary, for instance, you might expect the author to have used a manuscript and commented on it continuously. In a homily, though, we have to consider the homiletic implications that could have affected the use of biblical texts.

 

It is possible that not all variants of the Greek transmission that we have in known manuscripts are attested. Therefore, patristic citations may include some new variants.[8]

 

It is also possible that a Church Father may have randomly changed his text and thus created a new variant, which is also attested to in other manuscripts. In order to recognize such intentional changes to the text, it is important to observe the context of the citation, whether the author prefers certain terms or expressions and thus enters these in his own biblical text.

 

In essence, the criteria for patristic citation must be strictly employed. For New Testament textual criticism, the definition of a citation and of an allusion in the ECM is essential. In the ECM of the Catholic Letters, we have included citations based on the following principles:

 

“Variants are excluded from the apparatus if they may be ascribed to a Father’s stylistic tendencies and are unlikely to have been in his manuscript source.”[9]

 

 “A true quotation is one where the wording of the Father’s text is identical with a reading found in the manuscript tradition.”[10]

 

“Allusions are considered only if they clearly reflect a known reading.”[11]

 

I hope this short foray into how the ECM uses Patristic sources has helped to guide some readers who are new to this area in textual criticism.

 

[1] D.-A. Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums, 11 (English translation mine).

[2] C. D. Osburn, Methodology in Identifying Patristic Citations in NT Textual Criticism, In: Novum Testamentum XLVII,4 (2005), 318.

[3] C. D. Osburn, Methodology in Identifying Patristic Citations in NT Textual Criticism, In: Novum Testamentum XLVII,4 (2005), 318.

[4] Cf. D.-A. Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums, 15: A paraphrase is a “freie Wiedergabe eines fremden Textes”.

[5] D.-A. Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums, 17 (English translation mine).

[6] M. J. Suggs, The Use of Patristic Evidence in the Search for a Primitive New Testament Text, In: New Testament Studies 4 (1957/1958), 142.

[7] See M. J. Suggs, The Use of Patristic Evidence in the Search for a Primitive New Testament Text, In: New Testament Studies 4 (1957/1958), 143: “If the ancient writer’s habits were good, then it becomes important to record and evaluate all his testimony – including his unique readings.”

[8] See further N. Kiel, “Neue” Varianten in den Kirchenväterzitaten, In: Novum Testamentum Graecum – Editio Critica Maior. Die Apostelgeschichte/The Acts of the Apostles. 3 Teilbde. Hrsg. v. H. Strutwolf, G. Gäbel, A. Hüffmeier, G. Mink u. K. Wachtel. Teilbd. 3: Studien/Studies. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft 2017, 39-67.

[9] Novum Testamentum Graecum. Editio Critica Maior Bd. IV. Die Katholischen Briefe. Teil 1, 2. revidierte Auflage, 23*.

[10] Novum Testamentum Graecum. Editio Critica Maior Bd. IV. Die Katholischen Briefe. Teil 1, 2. revidierte Auflage, 23*.

[11] Novum Testamentum Graecum. Editio Critica Maior Bd. IV. Die Katholischen Briefe. Teil 1, 2. revidierte Auflage, 23*.

 

A New Printing of the Kurzgefasste Liste is in the Works

Update April 10, 2019: We've been notified that 0313 and 2813 are part of the Museum of the Bible collection in Washington, D.C.

The INTF is in the process of thoroughly updating the Kurzgefasste Liste in preparation for publication. We hope to have a new edition ready next year.

For nearly a decade, we have had a digital version of the Liste available on the Virtual Manuscript Room, which has been continually updated based on new information and manuscript discoveries. However, the last printed edition of the Liste was in 1994. Since then, the Liste has undergone extensive changes including the addition of a number of new manuscripts.

There have been 207 new numbers assigned to manuscripts since 1994:

Papyri: 40

Majuscules: 15

Minuscules: 72

Lectionaries: 80

 

Many of these have been highlighted throughout the years in our online supplements (e.g here) and blog posts (e.g. here and here).

We will also be adding some categories of manuscripts as new appendices in the printed edition and modifying some existing categories. We’ll share more about these exciting developments in the coming weeks and months.

The Hermann Kunst-Stiftung has generously funded a short-term position at the INTF solely focused on preparing the Liste for publication. This has enabled a new concerted effort to verify the data in the VMR and update incorrect or outdated information in preparation for publication. The Liste will always be a work in progress. While it may not be possible to double-check every detail about every manuscript that is already in the Liste, our goal is to carefully and thoroughly verify as much information as possible based on the resources available to us.

These resources include printed catalogues, recent scholarship, and notifications from individuals. Through the VMR Forum we have been alerted to a number of location changes and new digital images available. We’ve also been making many direct inquiries to holding institutions to stay up to date with manuscript location changes, inquire about manuscript details, and request images to help us check our information in the VMR.

While the INTF has been the so-called keeper of the Liste since it was founded in 1959, the Liste has always been the product of a communal endeavour; it is the result of hundreds of valuable contributions from scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts of Greek New Testament manuscripts around the world.

With that said, we would like to publically appeal for your help in putting together the most accurate draft possible of the next printed edtion. Many individuals have already been offering their help, and for this we are very grateful. If you come across any information in the VMR about a manuscript that you believe is incorrect or outdated, please let us know so we can look into it. It is often the case that manuscripts change locations or are given a new shelf number as institutions merge or are reorganized. If anyone has any first-hand knowledge of new manuscript locations/shelf numbers, this information would also be much appreciated. If you are aware of any new manuscripts that should be under consideration for inclusion in the Liste, we would be very grateful for a notification. Information can be shared through the VMR Forum under a newly created category called “The Liste” (click here) or if you prefer, email me (Greg Paulson): paulson at uni-muenster.de

One particular challenge is keeping up with manuscripts that have changed locations. Currently there are 137 manuscripts in the Liste where the owner/institution is unknown (listed as “besitzer unbekannt”). In addition, a number of manuscripts have been auctioned on Sotheby’s, Christies, Heritage Auctions, etc. While we have been able to ascertain the new locations of many of these auctioned manuscripts, we are asking for your help in tracking down the current location of five manuscripts in particular. Each of the following is hyperlinked to its auction:

 

1. GA 2813 UPDATE: This is now part of the collection at the Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.

13th Gospel of Luke and John, sold on Sotheby’s in 2016 as part of the Charles Caldwell Ryrie collection, Dallas, TX.

 

2. GA 2346

Sold on Sotheby’s in 2016, 11th century Gospels with commentary sold as part of the Charles Caldwell Ryrie collection.

 

3. GA 2805

Sold on Christie’s in 2013, 11th century, Acts and Letters of the Apostles, formerly in Athens.

 

4. GA 851

Sold on Sotheby’s in 2009, Gospels, illuminated Gospel manuscript on vellum, owner unknown for many years.

 

5. GA 0313 (fragment) UPDATE: This is now part of the collection at the Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.

Sold on Sotheby’s in 2013, Gospel of Mark fragment, 5th century, previously in the De Hamel Collection.

 

If anyone has any information about the current whereabouts of these five manuscripts we would be very grateful. For those who can help us pin down the new owners, we can offer you a small surprise, compliments of the INTF! Please let us know in the Forum, by email, or simply leave a comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!

New entries to the "Liste"

Since June 2018, when the most recent supplement to the Liste was circulated, we have added 11 new manuscripts to the Liste. They are as follows:

2937
Gospels with commentary
10th century
Parchment
263 leaves
1 column, 35 lines
Size: 24 x 20
Location: Alexandria, Greek Patriarchate, 122

2938
John 2:14-24
10th/11th century
Parchment
1 folio
1 column, 19 lines
Size: 20.9 x 15.9
Location: Waltham, MA, Tufts University, Welch Collection, AC.40.17

2939
Gospels (incomplete)
11th century
Parchment and paper
199 leaves
1 column, 23-24 lines
Size: 17.5 x 14.5
Location: Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Q 743

2940
Mt 28:1-20
11th/12th century
Parchment
2 folios
1 column, 18 lines
Size: 22.9/23.3 x 15.1/9
Location: Athens, National Library, 4189, fol. 184-185

L2477
Greek-Arabic Gospel lectionary
1592?
Paper
277 leaves
Column and lines are unknown
Size: 27 x 18
Location: Alexandria, Greek Patriarchate, 290

L2478
John 6:42-44, 48-54; 15:17-16:2, from a majuscule lectionary
10th century
Parchment
2 leaves, used as flyleaves for l797
2 columns, 17 lines
Size: 27.9 x 20.7
Location: Alexandria, Greek Patriarchate, 56 (flyleaves of l797)

L2479
Gospel lectionary
13th century
Parchment
271 leaves
2 columns, 25-27 lines
Size: 30 x 21.8
Location: Alexandria, Greek Patriarchate, 108

L2480
Majuscule Gospel lectionary (esk) (incomplete)
10th century
Parchment
48 leaves
2 columns, 25-26 lines
Size: 25.5/8 x 19/19.3
Location: Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Fol. 531

L2481
Gospel lectionary
11th/12th century
Parchment
1 leaf
2 columns, 17(?) lines
Size: 18 x 24.5
Location: Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Q 738

L2482
Gospel lectionary (e)
11th/12th century
Parchment
220 leaves
2 columns, 21 lines
Size: 27.5 x 21/22
Location: Weimar, Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, Fol. 532

L2483
Gospels and Apostolos lectionary (select readings)
16th/17th century
Paper
60 leaves
1 column, 24-25 lines
Size: 20.2/3 x 14.5/6
Location: Athens, National Library, 4174, fol. 104-163

Thanks to Hugh Houghton for pointing out GA numbers 2937, L2477, L2478, and L2479. These new manuscripts were discovered through the European Research Council-funded CATENA project. New shelf numbers for 904, 1302, 2206, and L1310 have also been updated, thanks to Hugh. These will be further described in his forthcoming article with Mina Monier “Greek Manuscripts in Alexandria.”

Thanks to Dan Wallace and CSNTM for pointing out GA numbers 2940 and L2483. They also identified portions of other manuscripts that are supplements. Accordingly, notes in the Liste have been added for 763, 897, and 2528.

How to Index Manuscripts on the VMR

Introduction

This post will briefly explain indexing in the Virtual Manuscript Room (VMR) and why it is important. Simply put, indexing is recording the biblical contents of each page of a manuscript in the VMR. After a manuscript has been indexed, it is possible to scroll through its pages and see what the contents of each page are; thus indexing is an essential first step in being able to transcribe a manuscript and provides an important service for users of the VMR around the world.

 

The gadget on the VMR homepage displays the progress of indexing, as well as image uploading and transcribing.

According to this gadget, the percentages of manuscript pages already indexed are:

Papyri: 95.15%

Majuscules: 79.31%

Minuscules: 17.70%

Lectionaries: 1.30%

Total: 12.42%

A total of 265,711 pages of manuscripts have been indexed, but this is only 12.42% of the total number of pages (this is an approximation of the total number of pages of Greek New Testament manuscripts). As you can see, much more work remains to be done! Indexing is open to everyone. Before you can start you must sign up for a VMR account. Signing up is free and will enable your work to be saved.

 

How to Index

Let’s say, for example, a manuscript begins with the Gospel of Matthew. The first page of this manuscript could start with Matthew chapter one, verse one, and the first page may end with verse seven. We would then index this page as “Matt 1:1-7.”

 

The next page of this manuscript would continue either with the rest of verse seven or begin with verse eight and it might also contain, say, seven verses. If so, we would index this page as either “Matt 1:7-13” or “Matt 1:8-14.”

 

Now, let’s move on to a real example!

 

To begin indexing, go to the VMR homepage and then click on “Indexing.”

 

Here you are prompted to enter the Document ID of the manuscript you want to work on. (See here for an explanation of “Document ID” and how to view manuscripts in the VMR).

 

 

If you don’t know the Document ID, you can type in the GA number, wait for a drop down list of manuscripts that match the number, and then click on the manuscript you want.

 

If you type in 20001, for example, and click on it, it brings you to the indexing page of Codex Sinaiticus. If you look at PageID 40 (which is folio 200r of the manuscript), you can see in the Index Coverage field that the contents have already been recorded, which is the inscriptio for Matthew as well as the entire first chapter and the first five verses of chapter two.

 

The next page picks up where the previous one left off, with Matthew 2:6.

 

Standard abbreviations for biblical books should be used here (e.g. Rom, Gal, Eph, Phil), and books with a number in the name like 1 Corinthians have no space in their abbreviation: 1Cor. Here is a list of books with their abbreviations:

 

 

Book Name

Abbreviation in VMR

Matthew

Matt

Mark

Mark

Luke

Luke

John

John

Acts

Acts

Romans

Rom

1 Corinthians

1Cor

2 Corinthians

2Cor

Galatians

Gal

Ephesians

Eph

Philippians

Phil

Colossians

Col

1 Thessalonians

1Thess

2 Thessalonians

2Thess

1 Timothy

1Tim

2 Timothy

2Tim

Titus

Titus

Philemon

Phlm

Hebrews

Heb

James

Jas

1 Peter

1Pet

2 Peter

2Pet

1 John

1John

2 John

2John

3 John

3John

Jude

Jude

Revelation

Rev

 

After the book name comes a space, then chapter number, colon, and the verse spread with a hyphen, e.g. Rom 1:20-25. Each new image must always have the book name and chapter; you cannot just add the next set of verses. If the image contains text from two chapters, you will need to repeat the book name, for example, you can see here that the next chapter of Matthew has repeated information after a semi-colon, Matt 2:6-23; Matt 3:1-7. If a verse spans two pages, index it on both images.

 

To save the information you have added, click on the Save button . Then move onto the next image, and so on.

 

Now let’s view a manuscript that has not yet been completely indexed, for example, GA 2884. Go to the indexing page of 2884 and then click on an image. After clicking on an image, your web browser should have opened a new window with the image. If no new window opened, check your browser’s settings so that it allows pop-ups (at least for the VMR site).

 

To index the page that popped-up, look at the first several words to see where it begins and the last several words to see where it ends. For example, with GA 2884, PageID 40, the first words are αραμ αραμ δε εγεννησε.

The first instance of αραμ here is the last word of Matt 1:3, and the second αραμ is the first word of Matt 1:4. So, we know the indexing of this page begins with Matt 1:3. Now we need to determine what verse the page ends with. The last few words are οζιας δε εγε. This is the beginning of Matt 1:9 (the rest of the final word “εγεννησε” continues on to the next page). Therefore, we can index this page as Matt 1:3-9.

 

While indexing, the next page automatically picks up where the previous one left off. Check carefully whether the next page continues with the rest of the verse (e.g. verse 9) or begins with the next one (e.g. verse 10) and change the indexing accordingly.

 

If a page has inscription (e.g. "The Gospel according to Matthew") or subscription, index it as "Matt inscriptio" or "Matt subscriptio." Make sure that the inscriptio stands before the first verse 1:1, and the subcriptio after the last verse of the text.

 

If there are text of several wrintings of the New Testament on one page, e.g. John then Mark, index them in the order that they appear on the page.

 

Searching for Text

Admittedly, it is not always easy to determine the contents of a page. For example, manuscripts that are incomplete may begin with the middle of a book. So how can you index a page if you don’t (yet) have the entire Greek New Testament memorized?

 

The tool “Bible Viewer” on the right-hand column of the Indexing page can assist with this. There are two options here: (1) “Chapter” where you can type in any verse (e.g. Rom 10:3) and see the Greek text of the NA28; and (2) “Search” where you can type in words to try and find a verse that matches.

 

Using “Search,” you can type (in Unicode Greek) a word (or more) from the page you want to index and see what the results are. Using the above example, if you type αραμ δε εγεννησε, the results are Matt 1:3 and Matt 1:4.

 

If you type just δε, for example, you will get too many results to find the right verse, and the “Search” feature will not display more than 100 results. This can be especially tricky when you are trying to index a manuscript that is difficult to read and perhaps only such common words are easily visible.

 

Try to select less frequently used words, if possible, but also keep in mind that you might be typing in an orthographic spelling or a variant that is not in the main text of the NA28. In this case, you might not get any results at all and you will need to find other words to use as a marking place.

 

If you are indexing a commentary manuscript, first make sure to ascertain what part is the biblical text. Searching for words of the commentary will not give you the correct results.

 

If you are proceeding page by page in a continuous text manuscript, there will be no need to keep using the “Chapter” or “Search” tool. You will already know at the end of one page where the next begins.

 

Correcting Indexing

If you make a mistake and need to correct a page that you’ve indexed, simply enter in the correct information on the Indexing page. If you come across an indexed page of a manuscript that you didn’t index yourself (see image below), you cannot change this.

 

 

If you notice incorrect indexing, please write a message in the forum (see image below) and provide the correct indexing in your comment. Someone will correct it.

 

 

Adding Folio Numbers

While indexing the biblical contents for each page, you should also enter the corresponding folio numbers. After the folio number, add an "r" (for recto, on the right) or a "v" (for verso, on the left, the reverse of the page). Occasionally manuscripts are numbered sequentially with a page number for each side. In this case, these should be numbered sequentially to match. It can often be helpful to browse through the manuscript to look at any other pages that have already been indexed to see how these page numbers have been indexed and try to match them. Some manuscripts have two sets of numbering, so again, check what has already been indexed and try to follow the numbering already being used. If you are still unsure how to count folios with recto and verso, just leave the field blank.

 

Identifying Features

You also have the option to mark certain features found on the page, for example, if a manuscript is illuminated, has a colophon or a commentary text. These are found by clicking on the black triangle in the image below. You can hover your curser over each box to see what the abbreviations stand for. In the example below, folio 105r of GA 1253 has been marked as having a headpiece (i.e. illustration at the beginning of the book) and a commentary text.

 

Any blank pages and pages that have no biblical content to index should be marked as "NoIdx" even if the page also has another feature, such as "CaTa" (canon tables) or "KeLi" (kephalaia list). It may be necessary to tick more than one feature for some pages.

 

If you checkmark "ComTx" (i.e. a commentary text marker for commentary manuscripts), this will also automatically tick the "NoIdx" box, which will then need to be unticked if any entry is made in the Index Coverage box. Here is an indexed paged of a commentary manuscript, GA 1253, as an example of what the indexing could look like when viewed in Manuscript Workspace when a commentary page has no biblical content (i.e. folio 104r) and when it has both biblical content and commentary (i.e. 105r):

 

You may come across an animated dancing cow when you are on the Indexing page. This means there is no content to index, as seen here for the Latin pages of Codex Bezae (GA 05).

 

Which Manuscripts Need to Be Indexed?

If you are working on one of the ECM projects, you should be given a list of manuscripts to work on for your project. If you are working on your own project, however, the choice of manuscripts is up to you! Whatever you index will be available for everyone to see, and what others have indexed is available for you to see.

 

In Indexing Status, you can find a list of all manuscripts that have not been completely indexed yet. You may claim responsibility for indexing a manuscript if you want.

 

We hope you enjoy contributing to indexing and that you also benefit from the work others have done. Have fun and don’t hesitate to ask questions in the VMR forum if you get stuck!

 

Thank you to Amy Myshrall (ITSEE Birmingham) and the staff at the INTF for their helpful suggestions and additions to this post!

How to View Greek New Testament Manuscripts in the VMR

For those who are new to the VMR or just getting started, there are several ways to find a Greek New Testament manuscript in the VMR.

Option 1: Liste

 

A first option would be to click on the VMR Homepage. From the Homepage, click on “Liste” in the left-hand column.

 

 

The first field here is called “Manuscript Num.”

 

 

There are two options: search by “Name” or by “ID”.

 

 

If you are familiar with the Gregory-Aland (GA) numbers and know the GA number of the manuscript you are looking for, simply type that number under “Name” and then hit enter (or scroll down to the “Search” button).

 

The label is called “Name” instead of “Gregory-Aland number” because many manuscripts in the VMR, such as Coptic or Latin manuscripts, do not have a GA number but instead have their own unique identification system. We intend for the label “Name” to be generic enough to include all manuscripts, no matter the cataloguing system.

 

Lists of GA numbers can be found in the Kurzgefasste Liste, the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, and the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, among other places.

 

If you want to look at images of Codex Sinaiticus, for example, type “01” as the “Name” (typing “Sinaiticus” as the name will not pull up the manuscript).

 

Each manuscript is given a unique ID number in the VMR. Codex Sinaiticus, for example, has the ID 20001. The ID number is primarily for use within the VMR program, and we do not advocate using it to identify these manuscripts outside of the VMR. That said, if you wanted to locate a manuscript by its ID number in the VMR, you would enter a 5-digit number, entering 1 for a papyrus, 2 for a majuscule, 3 for a minuscule, or 4 for a lectionary, and then zeros if space allows, then its Gregory-Aland number. So, papyrus P52 would be entered as 10052. Minuscule 2926 would be entered as 32926. Lectionary L844 would be entered as 40844.

 

After you’ve entered a number and hit enter (or scrolled down and clicked “Search”), the left-hand column displays the ID, then its corresponding Name—or GA number if available. The origin date and number of pages are also shown. Clicking on any one manuscript will display further information about it in the right-hand column.

 

Finally, to view images, click on the Document ID at the top of the right-hand column.

 

 

This will open a new tab where you can scroll through images.

 

If you don’t see any images, don’t worry—unfortunately, not every manuscript has images on the VMR yet, but we are working on uploading more. Some manuscripts are even indexed and transcribed (blog posts on these features will follow).

 

Option 2: Location

 

If you are not familiar with GA numbers, you can alternatively find a manuscript by its current (or last known) location.

 

 

Let’s start by clicking on the Liste page again. You make your search by selecting the “Current Country”, and/or “Place”, and/or “Institute.” After an institute is selected, you can browse its Greek New Testament manuscripts in the field “Shelf Num.”

 

For example, select Germany, Münster, and Bibelmuseum. The fields will look like this.

 

 

After you scroll down and click on “Search”, the results will look like this.

 

 

You can see there were 22 results. You can scroll through the selection and find the manuscript you are interested in. Click on a manuscript, and then click on the Document ID at the top of the right-hand column to view images (if there are images), as explained above.

 

You can also limit your search results to only manuscripts that have images available online by checking the box for “Images”.

 

 

You can also select all manuscripts that have “Transcriptions”.

 

Option 3: Manuscript Workspace

 

There is another option for finding images of manuscripts on the VMR. Instead of starting on the “Liste” page, start on the “Manuscript Workspace” page.

 

 

This will bring you to a new window where you are given the option to find manuscripts by their “Name” or “ID,” as described above. Type in the manuscript you want, then either hit enter or click the round search icon.

 

 

Option 4: Browse

 

One last way to find a manuscript is simply to browse through the different categories of manuscripts. From “Manuscript Workspace there is an option that says “Browse. Clicking on “Browse will reveal a menu with further options to click on. As you can see, you are given options for other manuscripts besides just Greek.

 

 

That’s all there is to it.

 

Further Information and Expert Access

 

As mentioned above, not only are images of manuscripts available through the VMR but also basic information about them such as the date, holding institute, physical size, material of the manuscript, and what the contents are. The VMR offers many other ways to do specialized searches, such as finding all manuscripts of the Gospel of John or all manuscripts from the 4th century. We are also compiling bibliographies for each manuscript to assist researchers with the latest information.

 

We are privileged to have been given permission to host images from many universities and libraries around the world. However, due to agreements with certain holding institutions, we may not be allowed to display images of manuscripts from certain collections, or we may only be given restricted access. Some images will prompt you to send an email to make a request for Expert Access. This request system is not automated for us, and several staff members receive these emails and must review them before permission can be granted. Sometimes this can be done on the same day but sometimes not. If we haven’t answered your request within a few days, please feel free to follow up.

 

Our goal with the VMR is to provide access to images of New Testament manuscripts in one convenient location to researchers around the world. We hope you will play around with the VMR to see what else it can do! There will be more introductory posts in the future about working with manuscripts on the VMR.

How to Index Lectionaries on the NT.VMR

There are many useful features on the VMR that some users may not know about. One feature, which was added about a year ago, is lectionary indexing. While the complex structure of lectionaries makes them inherently difficult to index, this new feature hopes to facilitate this process.

In the VMR, manuscripts are indexed page by page, which makes sense for continuous text manuscripts. Because lectionaries are organized by lections, this can make indexing less than straightforward. Ideally, it would be feasible to index the contents of the page as well as the lection(s) on each page—even when they fall on more than one page.

Let’s take L547 as an example. In the NT.VMR, f. 9v suppl. (Page Id 210) of L547 contains Mark 16:5-8 and John 4:46-52, which encompass the end of one lection and the beginning of another. The middle of the page contains information that signals the beginning of a new lection.

 

 

In the image above, the reading that begins in the middle of the page is for the 2nd day (τη Β) of the 3rd week (της Γ) and is from John (Ιω). The reading begins with a typical incipit (which often replaces words), τω καιρω εκεινω, and then continues with Jn 4:46: ην τις βασιλικος. This lection falls in what is called synaxarion period 1, which contains readings from Easter to Pentacost. (For more on the calendar system in lectionaries, see the works listed below.)

The lection continues to the next page of the manuscript and ends with verse 54. Therefore, we have identified the lection for synaxarion period 1 (S1), week 3 (W3), the 2nd day of the week (WD2), as John 4:46-54. After this information is entered in the VMR (explained below), it is displayed in red on the page where the lection begins.

 

How to record lection headings

The lection details are recorded as a manuscript feature in the VMR. To do this, hover your curser at the bottom of the window and a tab will pop up with the option to “Add Feature”.

Here, select “Lection Identifier” under the heading “Liturgical”.

In general, Greek New Testament lectionaries are comprised of two sections: the synaxarion (the moveable church calendar) and the menologion (the fixed annual calendar beginning with September). Whereas the synaxarion is organized by periods, weeks, and days of the week, the menologion is organized by months and days of the month.

After clicking on "Liturgical Identifier", the VMR offers two main options for lectionary indexing under “Lection Type”. The default is “Synaxarion” but changing it to “Menologion” will offer a different set of fields.

The most important information to enter for the synaxarion is the period (S), week (W), and day (WD), as well as the “Biblical Content” for the lection. Taking the example above from L547, you can see that there is no explicit indication on that folio for which synaxarion period this lection is. But we do know what the biblical contents are and that the day is “2” and the week is “3”. In light of this information, we can check a lection guide (more on this below) and easily ascertain that this is period “1”. In the “Biblical Content” field, we simply type “Jn 4:46-54”.

The most crucial information to enter for indexing the menologion is the month (M) and day (D), as well as the “Biblical Content” for the lection. (There is no synaxarion period in the menologion.)

Remember, you must refresh the page in order for the lection identifier to appear!

That's it. These are the basics of lectionary indexing on the VMR.

For those wishing to delve deeper, it is possible to record even more information than what we’ve discussed so far. Concerning the use of lectionaries in church, you can select which service a lection was read in (e.g. vespers, liturgy, hours), which reading of the day (reading: 1st, 2nd, etc.), the reading type (Gospels, Apostolos, prokeimenon, alleluia), and which tone it was sung in (e.g. tone 1, tone 1 plagal). The Menologia in particular are often read in remembrance of a saint, for festivals, dedications, or other special occasions. If this information can be gathered from the manuscript, it can be typed in the “Commemoration” field.

There is also the option to record the pericope number, but this may be more commonly found in continuous text manuscripts that have liturgical headings. For example, in GA 35 f. 26v (Page Id 640) you can see the numbers λ (30) and λα (31) in the margin.

While pericopes are numbered sequentially in continuous text manuscripts, the two lections on the image above are designed to be read weeks apart. (Not to mention that pericope 31 is read prior to 30!) When the same type of information appears more than once on a single page, such as with two lections, you can select the same feature again after you have entered the information in the first time. After this is recorded for this page of GA 35, the lection identifiers are displayed in the indexing column, as described above.

As you can see here, the pericope numbers are not displayed but are found rather with the full indexing information in the pop up menu at the bottom of the page.

The VMR is versatile and is capable of capturing practically any information from manuscripts so long as the parameters of the information can be provided. If you have not looked into “Add Features” yet, you might be surprised at the options there.

You can also get search results for manuscripts that have information recorded for certain features. When you are in the online Liste, simply select a feature from the “Has Feature” field and see what you find. For example, select “Purple Parchment” under “Physical Attributes” and then click search. The results will display all manuscripts in the Liste that are written on purple parchment. Keep in mind, though, that not all manuscripts have had all of their features recorded. We are only in the infancy stages of capturing this information.

In closing, lectionaries are an oft neglected witness to the Greek New Testament with great potential to shine new light on the New Testament text and its transmission. We hope to offer a promising platform on the NT.VMR for recording and organizing basic information about lectionaries so we can obtain a better understanding of these important books used by Christians throughout the centuries.

 

For More Information

If you are new to lectionaries and want to learn more, a great place to begin is:

Carroll Osburn, “The Greek Lectionaries of the New Testament,” in The Text of the New Testament in Contemporary Research: Essays on the Status Quaestionis, ed. Bart D. Ehrman and Michael Holmes (2nd edn; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 93–113.

 

For more detail about the lection system see:

Sergei Ovsiannikov, “The paschal spiral and different types of Byzantine and Slavonic lectionaries,” in A Catalogue of Byzantine Manuscripts in Their Liturgical Context: Challenges and Perspectives: Collected Papers Resulting from the Expert Meeting of the Catalogue of Byzantine Manuscripts Programme Held at the PThU in Kampen, the Netherlands on 6th-7th November 2009, ed. Klaas Spronk, Gerard Rouwhorst, and Stefan Royé (Brepols: Turnhout, Belgium, 2013), 117–152.

 

For a more in-depth discussion of the importance of researching the synaxarion and menologion systems, see:

Gregory S. Paulson, “A Proposal for a Critical Edition of the Greek New Testament Lectionary,” in Liturgy and the Living Text of the New Testament: Papers from the Tenth Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, ed. Hugh Houghton (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2018), 121–150.

 

Guides for Lectionary Indexing

Lists of Gospel and Apostolos lections from both the synaxarion and menologion can be found on pages 343–386 in the first volume of:

Caspar René Gregory, Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1900–1909).

 

For easy-to-use charts of Gospel lections from the synaxarion and menologion, see:

Pinakes of the Byzantine Synaxarion & Menologion Anagnosmata. Liturgical substrata of Biblical and Patristic anagnosmata as found in Evangelion, Apostolos, Prophetologion, Panegyrikon and other Byzantine codices, Part I: Evangelion Anagnosmata, by the Editors of the Catalogue of Byzantine Manuscripts Programme (Kampen: Brepols, 2009).

 

There is also the IGNTP guide that has synaxarion and menologion readings for the Gospels:

Full Lectionary Index

See here for other IGNTP documents.

 

For Apostolos readings in the synaxarion, see:

Samuel Gibson, The Apostolos: The Acts And Epistles In Byzantine Liturgical Manuscripts, TS 18 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2018)

Gibson’s lection charts can be downloaded here.

 

The official lectionaries from the Greek Orthodox Church (published by Apostoliki Diakonia) are also helpful to use as guides:

Evangelion lectionary

Apostolos lectionary

Keeping Track of Manuscripts

An update to this article has been added in italics on 18 Dec. 2018.

 

It was reported this year that the Museum of the Bible (MOTB) is returning one of their manuscripts to a previous owner in Athens. This is, of course, welcome news and is reminiscent of other similar situations.

GA 1424 (formerly Chicago Gruber 152), a 9th/10th century manuscript that is regarded as the earliest complete Greek New Testament in minuscule text, was recently voluntarily returned to Greece. Its recorded history can be traced back to at least 1885, when it was included by Athanasios Papadopoulos-Kerameus in his catalogue of the manuscripts at the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa. This monastery is located in the mountains of the Serres region, of which Drama is the capital (the closest city to the monastery is called Kosinitza in Turkish, or Kormista in Greek). What the Liste refers to as 1424, was numbered 124 in the 1885 catalogue of the monastery. This manuscript was, however, looted from the monastery in March 1917, and subsequently remained in the US for nearly a century.

In 2010, Nadezhda Kavrus-Hoffmann explained how the manuscript ended up in the Gruber collection in Chicago:

"In 1917 all manuscripts were taken from the Kosinitza monastery by Bulgarians and transported to Sofia. Many manuscripts were eventually returned to Greece and are now in the National Library of Greece in Athens. But nearly three hundred manuscripts are still in Sofia, in the Ivan Dujcev Center for Slavo-Byzantine Studies. And an unknown number of Greek manuscripts and fragments found their way to European book dealers and are now dispersed throughout the world."

Kavrus-Hoffmann continues,

"Some of the former Kosinitza manuscripts were acquired by American collectors. A complete New Testament, Kosinitza 124 [i.e. GA 1424], came into the possession of Levi Franklin Gruber, who acquired the manuscript from Jacques Rosenthal, a Munich book dealer, in 1920. After Gruber’s death, his collection of rare books and manuscripts, including fourteen Greek manuscripts, was sold by his widow to the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary in Maywood, Illinois, where Gruber was president from 1926 to 1941. The Seminary joined three other Lutheran theological seminaries in 1962 and formed the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, which in 1967 moved to Hyde Park near the University of Chicago. The Gruber collection is now housed in a special room of the School’s Jesuit-Krauss-McCormick Library."[1]

In correspondence with the INTF, President of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC), James Nieman, explains that 1424 may never have resided at the Maywood campus. It spent most of its time in Gruber’s private vault in a downtown Chicago bank and only came into the seminary’s possession via Gruber’s widow, likely in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

At the end of 2016, in a ceremony of homecoming, it was voluntarily returned to Greece by LSTC and now resides again in the collection of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa.

 

Examining 1424. From left to right: Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Wayne Miller, President of LSTC James Nieman, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Archbishop Demetrios of America, and Rev. Donald McCoid. Image courtesy of LSTC.

Although some of the story about 1424 can be found online here, one important detail was still missing that the INTF needed for the Liste: the shelf number at its current location. LSTC has been very helpful in this regard. Earlier this year, we contacted them to inquire about the shelf number. They forwarded our request to a liaison for the monastery, who then contacted the monastery and was able to ascertain this information for us. Thus, we are now able to record the current location and shelf number of 1424 as Kormista, Panagia Eikosifoinissa, Icosifinissis nr. 3 (3P).

Similarly, in 2014, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, CA willingly returned one of their manuscripts to Greece, known in the Liste as GA 927. A 1960 report from Dionysiou Monastery, which was not made public at that time, recorded that manuscript number 8 was illegally removed from their premises. This manuscript was later acquired by the Getty Museum in 1983 "as part of a large, well-documented collection" and was subsequently given shelf identification Ludwig II 4. After the missing manuscript from Dionysiou Monastery was discovered, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports worked with the museum to help return it. Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum, said that returning the manuscript was "the right course of action." The Greek Minister of Culture and Sports, Panos Panagiotopoulos, noted: "The decision [to return the manuscript] also clearly demonstrates the respect the Getty Museum has for Greek cultural heritage and encourages us to continue to build and strengthen our collaborative relationship for the future."[2] The manuscript has returned home to Dionysiou Monastery and has taken its old shelf number 8 again.

Although the purchase of a manuscript may be legal, if a manuscript is discovered to have been taken illegally at some point, returning it to its rightful place is not always straightforward. As we strive to keep the ever-changing Liste up to date, it is important to check holding institutions and online databases (such as Pinakes and Trismegistos) for the latest information. The best case scenario for completing this work is when holding institutions have digitized their manuscripts online and provided their own detailed information about their manuscripts. Normally when an institution already has images for public viewing online, we are granted permission for the NT.VMR to deep-link to them under a Creative Commons License. In updating the Liste, the fact that some monasteries or other holding institutions have no email or even phone number (let alone their own images of manuscripts) can often prove challenging. In some cases, we are lucky to even find a mailing address to request information about an institution’s manuscripts. We also rely on other researchers to inform us of new information and are very grateful to have been notified in many instances via the NT.VMR forum about location changes or even newly discovered manuscripts.

I mention the return of manuscripts to offer a quick behind the scenes look at the ongoing work of the INTF in its effort to update the Liste and to offer a centralized venue where these valuable artifacts can been seen and studied online.

 

Update 18 Dec. 2018 (HT: Dora Panella on facebook): The New York Times writes that a law suit has been filed against Princeton University for return of manuscripts in their possession that were allegedly stolen from the Holy Monastery of Panagia Eikosifoinissa. A university spokesperson denies any wrong doing on behalf of Princeton in their acquisition of these manuscripts

 

[1] "A New Testament Manuscript Produced in the Stoudios Scriptorium: Codex 152 in the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago," Thirty-Sixth Annual Byzantine Studies Conference, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, October 8-10, 2010.

[2] "The J. Paul Getty Museum Announces the Return of a Byzantine Illuminated New Testament to Greece." <http://news.getty.edu/byzantine-manu-to-greece.htm>.

An Interactive Textual Commentary on Acts

The critical apparatus as a gateway to the sources

Shortly after the ECM of Acts appeared in print in 2017, the INTF made the text and apparatus available online in the NT Transcripts section of the NTVMR <http://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/nt-transcripts>. If you enter a verse from Acts under “Quick Lookup,” you will see the ECM apparatus for this verse in the frame below. Let's take Acts 3:13 as an example.

(Click on this image to access the live page)

 

If you click on the number of any of the cited Greek manuscripts, the transcription of the relevant verse will appear in the frame to the right. If you want to see a photograph of the page containing this verse, click on the “Manuscript Workspace” link above the verse transcription and the photograph will appear in a separate window together with a full transcription of the page.

Three links above the apparatus offer more materials. “Cit” will take you to the patristic citations for the selected verse, “VL” to line-by-line transcriptions of the Latin manuscripts selected for the Acts Vetus Latina project, and “Conjectures” to the conjectures for the verse as stored in the Amsterdam database.

These features demonstrate the passways we are cultivating to transform the critical apparatus from a meager list of variants and witnesses into a gateway to the sources. Later this year, we will integrate line-by-line transcriptions of the Sahidic manuscripts, and sooner or later the Syriac and the Ethiopic will follow.

In addition, the transcriptions of all Greek manuscripts included in the ECM of Acts, which comprises the main portion of the textual apparatus, are made available to the user.

 

The textual commentary as a documentation of work on the text

In the left margin of the online apparatus there are two symbols: a blue balloon and a circle with an arrow. Clicking on the balloon will take you to the Textual Commentary section of the NTVMR Forum. Each commentary printed in the Studies volume of ECM Acts was reproduced here. The arrow symbol is linked to the coherence diagrams for the relevant passage in the Genealogical Queries interface.

A primary objective of the ECM is a reconstruction of the initial text of the manuscript tradition, which is not preserved as such in any of the extant copies. We apply the methodology of reasoned eclecticism to reconstruct the initial text. The textual commentary published in the Studies volume of ECM Acts documents this work. It discusses each passage where the reconstruction of the initial text differs from NA28/UBS5, and, secondly, where the decision was left open and the guiding line of the edition is split. Moreover, comments are given if the editors’ assessment needs additional explanation to supplement the guidelines laid down in the commentary introduction. 

Reasoned eclecticism is based on pondering internal and external criteria. Ideally, the objective is to identify the variant that best explains the other(s) and, if applicable, that also accounts for relationships between secondary variants. In effect, the discussion will always be about reasons why one form of text is or is not likely to have been changed into another form. That means that the application of internal criteria is successful if transcriptional probability emerges for a textual flow—to use the CBGM term—from one to another variant. Therefore, the discussion of internal criteria is indicated by TP, if that part of the discussion is clearly separated from the other part, GC or genealogical coherence. What TP is for the internal criteria, GC is for the external criteria. Where there are variants, the genealogy of their witnesses will reflect the direction of textual flow, whether we are able to explain the relationships or not. The latter is often due to contamination and/or missing links. (Most of the manuscript tradition from the first millennium is lost.)

The commentary on Acts 3:13/8 is brief. A mouse click on the blue balloon to the left of the apparatus will open the commentary in a separate window. There is just one sentence summarizing a complex picture offered by the Genealogical Queries site for the passage in question:

GC suggests multiple emergence of c from a, while the attestation of a is perfectly coherent and includes a sufficiently broad range of A-related witnesses. 

A click on the blue arrow icon beside the apparatus takes us to the relevant lists and diagrams in Genealogical Queries.

Apparatus: One entry for each included witness. Exception: if the evidence is ambiguous, the witness is listed with a question mark for the respective alternatives (cf. 2344 b/c).

 

Local Stemmaa derives immediately from the initial text (*), c and d from a. A share of the a attestation (a2) does not fit this picture. For this share and for b, the source appears questionable.

Coherence at Variant Passages shows interrelations between witnesses in different attestations. To understand what it displays we have to turn to the next frame.

 

 

Coherence in Attestations shows the textual flow diagram for a selected variant. By default this is a. If you go to c, you see a diagram showing poor genealogical coherence. Many witnesses not connected to each other have their closest relatives in the a attestation. Note how all the nodes in the c attestation with close relatives in a are connected to these relatives in Coherence at Variant Passages by arrows pointing from a to c.

The point I want to make here is that the commentary notes on GC require the reader to consult the Genealogical Queries site to get the full picture. It is now easier to do this because Genealogical Queries is an integrated part of the online ECM.

The commentary notes focus on the essential and are often very brief, in many cases reduced to the token “R1” or “R2.” This is possible because the guidelines and rules for assessing variants and their attestations are explained in the Online Commentary Introduction (and related publications cited there). The introduction is accessible via a link that appears above each online commentary.

 

The textual commentary as a platform for scholarly discourse on the text

Any expert user of the NTVMR may reply briefly (there are “Like” and “Dislike” icons) or at length to an existing commentary. If someone publishes a reply, subscribers of the commentary section of the NTVMR forum will be notified. 

Any registered expert user of the NTVMR may additionally register as a commentator, obtaining the right to open a new commentary thread on any passage of the online apparatus where there is no comment so far. To register as a commentator, send an email to <onlinecommentary@uni-muenster.de>

What is the Kurzgefasste Liste?

Introduction

 

One of the on-going projects the INTF is responsible for is the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments, commonly called the Liste.

 

The Liste is a brief catalogue of all known Greek New Testament manuscripts. Although J.J. Wettstein was the first to create a systematic list of Greek manuscripts in 1751–52, the current system is credited to Caspar René Gregory. In his 1908 work, Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments, Gregory separated manuscripts into four categories: papyri, majuscules, minuscules, and lectionaries. He also resolved other problems from older lists such as registering one number multiple times to refer to more than one manuscript.

 

Following Gregory, the primary individuals who have kept the Liste up to date are: Ernst von Dobschütz, Georg Maldfeld, Bruce M. Metzger, and Kurt Aland, who then passed the Liste on to the INTF. Until Aland began working on the Liste in the 1950s, most of the publications after Gregory were updates and new additions to the Liste. In 1963, Aland published a comprehensive catalogue of Greek New Testament manuscripts, which was revised and published in 1994.

 

Image: Klaus Junack's personal copy of the 1963 Liste, in which he wrote changes to contribute to the 1994 edition.  

For each manuscript in the Liste, a very basic profile is offered including information such as:

  • a Gregory-Aland number
  • the New Testament contents
  • the manuscript’s date
  • the material the manuscript is written on
  • the number of pages
  • the number of columns per page
  • the number of lines of text per page
  • the physical dimensions of the manuscript
  • its current location along with an identification number at its current location

 

At the INTF, Aland amassed the world’s largest collection of Greek New Testament manuscripts on microfilm. This collection not only enabled manuscript details to be verified for the Liste but also provided the basis for other research projects at the INTF as well as for visiting researchers.

 

Since Aland, care of the Liste has remained a priority for the INTF. Currently, Holger Strutwolf and the staff at the INTF have kept the Liste in an up-to-date format online in the New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (NT.VMR): http://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/liste

 

An effort has been underway for years to digitize the INTF microfilms and upload them online on the NT.VMR so anyone can access them. Since these microfilms are black and white, one of the INTF’s current goals is to completely update the NT.VMR by uploading as many new digital images as possible online as well as to provide transcriptions. For example, images and a transcription of what is probably the world’s best known biblical manuscript, Codex Sinaiticus, can be seen here.

 

Presently, we are working intensively to update the Liste, a project supported by the Hermann Kunst Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). It is hoped that this endeavor will greatly benefit researchers around the world by providing access to state-of-the-art images and encouraging further scholarly collaboration.

 

Basic Criteria for Adding a Manuscript to the Liste

 

How does a manuscript get added to the Liste? Although there are some exceptions, there are a few basic criteria when deciding if a manuscript should be added to the Liste: it must contain a portion of the New Testament and it must be written in Greek. Although a variety of ancient manuscripts could fit these two fundamental criteria, certain types of manuscripts are not normally included in the Liste, such as patristic writings or documentary papyri.

 

Within the Liste, a few types of manuscripts are identified such as commentary manuscripts (e.g. 186). In addition, some categories of manuscripts are no longer included. For example, after Aland began working on the Liste, he discontinued adding amulets and ostraca to the Liste. Recently, there has been discussion about including them once again (see especially Brice C. Jones, New Testament Texts on Greek Amulets from Late Antiquity [Bloomsbury: London, 2016]).

 

Further, a manuscript can have either a continuous text (that is, a sequential text such as Matthew chapter 1, chapter 2, and so on) or a non-continuous text (that is, a text that does not proceed in a literary sequence, but could have a passage of Mark, followed by a passage from Matthew, followed by a passage from John). The latter is commonly found in lectionaries, which are liturgical manuscripts that have daily readings for the church. In addition, other liturgical manuscripts like prayer books are included.

 

Assigning Numbers to Manuscripts

 

In an attempt to standardize and classify the manuscripts, each manuscript is assigned a unique number—a Gregory-Aland number—so it can be easily identified. These numbers fall into one of four categories.

 

The first category has to do with the material the manuscript is written on. If written on papyrus, the manuscript is identified by “P” followed by a number (for example, P52).

 

The next two categories are based on the script of the manuscript: manuscripts written in majuscule are assigned numbers beginning with “0” (for example, 032) and minuscule manuscripts are just assigned a regular number (for example, 1).

 

The fourth category has to do with the function of the manuscript, namely liturgical; these manuscripts are catalogued beginning with “l” followed by a number (for example, l358).

 

This system is, however, not perfect. It is not always clear-cut how a manuscript should be classified—or if it should be included in the Liste at all. For example, 056—listed as a majuscule with a commentary text—has a majuscule biblical text but the commentary is in minuscule. There are also ongoing debates about the dates of certain manuscripts, and these are sometimes changed in the Liste based on current research. Codex Bezae (D 05), for example, was dated to the 6th century in Aland’s 1963 Liste but changed to 5th century in the 1994 edition of the Liste.

 

Here is a flow chart highlighting the basic principles of the Liste, but keep in mind there are exceptions as to which manuscripts are included and how they are numbered.

 

 

In another post, we will explore the number of manuscripts recorded in the Liste.

 

A New INTF Blog Begins

The INTF has set up a new blog! Although we have featured blogs on our site before (as "Personal Blogs"), our newly implemented Liferay portlet called "Blog" aims to create a centralized portal for offering regular updates on the happenings of the institute and its projects as well as other things that are related (at least tangentially) to New Testament textual criticism.

 

Just to offer one tidbit before our next post, in case you were unaware, there is a paleography database (compiled by Marie-Luise Lakmann) that may be useful for those of you who are transcribing Greek manuscripts: http://intf.uni-muenster.de/NT_PALAEO/. To get started, click on "Suche" on the left-hand column.

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