The 3 Oldest Manuscripts Containing the Corrupted Greek New Testament (2 Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus from the 4^th century and 1 Codex Alexandrinus from the 5^th century) ALL HUNDREDS of years after the disappearance of Jesus (PBUH), and ALL in Greek, Jesus did NOT speak Greek, Jesus (PBUH) spoke the language of Aramaic

 

By: Anonymous Muslim
(He is a new convert to Islam)

 

 

 

1)  Codex Vaticanus-  “The Codex Vaticanus (The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03) is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible. It is slightly older than Codex Sinaiticus, both of which were probably transcribed in the 4th century. It is written in Greek, on vellum, with uncial letters.”

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus)

 

 Contents of Codex Vaticanus:  “Vaticanus originally contained a complete copy of the Septuagint ("LXX") except for 1-4 Maccabees and the Prayer of Manasseh. Genesis 1:1 - 46:28a (31 leaves) and Psalm 105:27 - 137:6b (10 leaves) are lost and have been filled by a recent hand. 2 Kings 2:5-7, 10-13 are also lost due to a tear in one of the pages. The order of the Old Testament books is as follows: Genesis to 2 Chronicles as normal, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras (which includes Nehemias), the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Esther, Judith, Tobit, the minor prophets from Hosea to Malachi, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations and the Epistle of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

The extant New Testament of Vaticanus contains the Gospels, Acts, the General Epistles, the Pauline Epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews (up to Heb 9:14, καθα[ριει); thus it lacks 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon and Revelation. These missing pages were replaced by a 15th century minuscule supplement (no. 1957).

The Greek is written continuously with small neat writing, later retraced by an 11th century scribe. Punctuation is rare (accents and breathings have been added by a later hand) except for some blank spaces, diaeresis on initial iotas and upsilons, abbreviations of the nomina sacra and markings of OT citations.

The manuscript contains mysterious double dots (so called "umlauts") in the margin of the New Testament, which seem to mark places of textual uncertainty. There are 795 of these in the text and around another 40 that are uncertain.”

(From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus).

 

Codex Vaticanus discovery and origin:  “The manuscript has been housed in the Vatican Library (founded by Pope Nicholas V in 1448) for as long as it has been known, appearing in its earliest catalog of 1475 and in the 1481 catalogue. Its place of origin and the history of the manuscript is uncertain, with Rome, southern Italy and Caesarea all having been suggested. There has been speculation that it had previously been in the possession of Cardinal Bessarion because the minuscule supplement has a text similar to one of Bessarion's manuscripts. According to Paul Canart's introduction to the recent facsimile edition, p.5, the decorative initials added to the manuscript in the middle ages are reminiscent of Constantinopolitan decoration of the 10th century, but poorly executed, giving the impression that they were added in the 11th or 12 century. T C Skeat, a paleographer at the British Museum, has argued that Codex Vaticanus was among the 50 Bibles that the Emperor Constantine I ordered Eusebius of Caesarea to produce. The similarity of the text with the papyri and Coptic version (including some letter formation), parallels with Athanasius' canon of 367 suggest an Egyptian or Alexandrian origin.” 

(From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus).

 

 

More Codex Vaticanus information:  “Codex Vaticanus is one of the most important manuscripts for Textual criticism and is a leading member of the Alexandrian text-type. It was heavily used by Westcott and Hort in their edition of the Greek New Testament (1881).”

(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus).

 

Notice Codex Vaticanus is from the 4^th century (HUNDREDS of years after Jesus’ disappearance) and is ALL in the Greek language, Jesus (PBUH) did NOT speak Greek, Jesus (PBUH) spoke the language of Aramaic.

Note to the Reader:  “The oldest manuscripts of the New Testament are in Greek. But in the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire had not become divided into two halves. The center of the Empire was still Rome. The Roman and Greek languages are very difficult. If Roman influence had at all penetrated Jewish life, it should have resulted in the assimilation of Latin (and not Greek) words into the Hebrew language. Yet the oldest manuscripts of the Gospels are all in Greek. This proves that the Gospels were written down at a time when the Roman Empire had become divided and its eastern possession had become part of the Greek Empire, so that the Greek language had begun to exert its influence on Christianity and its literature. (From:  http://www.usislam.org/christianity/greekhebrew.htm)”  Note Aramaic is VERY similar to Hebrew.

The Roman Empire was NOT spilt into the Western and Eastern Empire till 395 CE following the death of Theodosius I.  In 395 CE the Eastern Roman Empire (more commonly called the Byzantine Empire began).  The Roman Empire’s official language was Latin and mainly only Romans in the Arts and Literature could speak and use Greek.

 

2)  Codex Sinaiticus-  “Codex Sinaiticus (London, Brit. Libr., Add. 43725; Gregory-Aland no. א (Aleph) or 01) is a 4th century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, written between 330–350. Originally containing the whole of both Testaments, only portions of the Greek Old Testament or Septuagint survive along with a complete New Testament, the Epistle of Barnabas and portions of The Shepherd of Hermas (suggesting that the latter two may have been considered part of Biblical canon by the editors of the codex). Along with Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most valuable manuscripts for Textual criticism of the Greek New Testament, as well as the Septuagint. (From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)”  Again in Greek, Jesus (PBUH) did NOT speak Greek he spoke Aramaic.

 

Contents of Codex Sinaiticus:  “Codex Sinaiticus was found by Constantin von Tischendorf on his third visit to the Monastery of Saint Catherine, on Mount Sinai in Egypt, in 1859. The first two trips had yielded parts of the Old Testament, some found in a basket of manuscript pieces, which Tischendorf was told by a librarian that "they were rubbish which was to be destroyed by burning it in the ovens of the monastery".^[2] The emperor Alexander II of Russia sent him to search for manuscripts, which he was convinced were still to be found in the Sinai monastery. In May 1975 during restoration work, the monks of St. Catherine's monastery at Sinai discovered a room under the St. George chapel which contained many parchment fragments. Among these fragments, twelve missing leaves from the Sinaiticus Old Testament were found.

The story of how von Tischendorf found the manuscript, which contained most of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament, has all the interest of a romance. Von Tischendorf reached the monastery on January 31; but his inquiries appeared to be fruitless. On February 4, he had resolved to return home without having gained his object.

On the afternoon of this day I was taking a walk with the steward of the convent in the neighbourhood, and as we returned, towards sunset, he begged me to take some refreshment with him in his cell. Scarcely had he entered the room, when, resuming our former subject of conversation, he said: "And I, too, have read a Septuagint"--i.e. a copy of the Greek translation made by the Seventy. And so saying, he took down from the corner of the room a bulky kind of volume, wrapped up in a red cloth, and laid it before me. I unrolled the cover, and discovered, to my great surprise, not only those very fragments which, fifteen years before, I had taken out of the basket, but also other parts of the Old Testament, the New Testament complete, and, in addition, the Epistle of Barnabas and a part of the Pastor of Hermas.^[3]

After some negotiations, he obtained possession of this precious fragment, and conveyed it to Emperor Alexander, who fully appreciated its importance, and caused it to be published as nearly as possible in facsimile, so as to exhibit correctly the ancient handwriting. However, the tsar sent 9000 roubles to the monastery as a compensation.

Regarding Tischendorf's role in the transfer to Saint Petersburg, there are several views. Although when parts of Genesis and Book of Numbers were later found in the binding of other books, they were amicably sent to Tischendorf, the Codex is currently regarded by the monastery as having been stolen, a view hotly contested by several scholars in Europe. In a more neutral spirit, New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger writes: "Certain aspects of the negotiations leading to the transfer of the codex to the Czar's possession are open to an interpretation that reflects adversely on Tischendorf's candour and good faith with the monks at St. Catherine's. For a recent account intended to exculpate him of blame, see Erhard Lauch's article 'Nichts gegen Tischendorf' in Bekenntnis zur Kirche: Festgabe für Ernst Sommerlath zum 70. Geburtstag (Berlin, c. 1961); for an account that includes a hitherto unknown receipt given by Tischendorf to the authorities at the monastery promising to return the manuscript from St. Petersburg 'to the Holy Confraternity of Sinai at its earliest request'.^[4]

For many decades, it was preserved in the Russian National Library. In 1933, the Soviet Union sold the Codex to the British Library for £100,000.

 

3)  Codex Alexandrinus-  “The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, MS Royal 1. D. V-VIII; Gregory-Aland no. A or 02) is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Septuagint and the New Testament. Along with the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible. It derives its name from Alexandria where it resided for a number of years before given to the British in the 17th century.” 

(From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alexandrinus).

Notice Codex Alexandrinus is from the 5^th century again HUNDREDS of years after the disappearance of Jesus (PBUH) and again Codex Alexandrinus is ALL in Greek, Jesus (PBUH) did NOT speak Greek, Jesus (PBUH) spoke the language of ARAMAIC.

 

Contents of Codex Alexandrinus:  “The text in the codex is written in two columns in uncial script, with between 46 and 52 lines per column and 20 to 25 letters per line. The beginning lines of each book are written in red ink and sections within the book are marked by a larger letter set into the margin. Words are written continuously in a large square uncial hand with no accents and only some breathings (possibly added by a later editor).

It contains a complete copy of the LXX, including the deuterocanonical books 3 and 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151 and the 14 Odes. The "Epistle to Marcellinus" attributed to Saint Athanasius and the Eusibian summary of the Psalms are inserted before the Book of Psalms.

The codex also contains all of the books of the New Testament, in addition to 1 Clement (lacking 57:7-63) and the homily known as 2 Clement (up to 12:5a).

There is also an appendix marked in the index, which lists the Psalms of Solomon, and probably contained more apocryphal/pseudepigraphical books but has been torn off. The pages containing these books have also been lost.

Due to damage and lost folios, various passages are missing or have defects:

Lacking: 1 Sam 12:18-14:9 (1 leaf); Ps 49:19-79:10 (9 leaves); Matt 1:1-25:6 (26 leaves); John 6:50-8:52 (2 leaves); 2 Cor 4:13-12:6 (3 leaves)

Damaged: Gen 14:14-17, 15:1-5, 15:16-19, 16:6-9 (lower portion of torn leaf lost)

Defects due to torn leaves: Gen 1:20-25, 1:29-2:3, Lev 8:6,7,16; Sirach 50:21f, 51:5

There are 773 vellum folios (630 in the Old Testament and 143 in the New Testament). The manuscript measures 12.6 by 10.4 inches. Most of the folios were originally gathered into quires of 8 leaves each. However, in modern times it was rebound into quires of 6 leaves each. The only decorations in the manuscript are decorative tailpieces at the end of each book (see illustration). It also shows a tendency to increase the size of the first letter of each sentence.”

(From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alexandrinus).

Again as in the 2 previous Oldest Greek manuscripts notice all the errors, and addition and subtraction of numerous books.  Codex Alexandrius contain the “Epistle of Marcellinus” and in it’s Corrupted New Testament it contents parts of books called “1 Clement” and “2 Clement”.  Then notice ALL the DAMAGES to the books and the “lost folios”.  Again Codex Alexandrinus dated to the 5^th century HUNDREDS of years after the disappearance of Jesus (PBUH). Then in addition Codex Alexandrinus is like the other 2 Codex’s ALL in Greek, Jesus (PBUH) DID NOT speak Greek, Jesus (PBUH) spoke the language of Aramaic.

 

More information on Codex Alexandrinus:  “Textual critics have had a challenging task in classifying the Codex, with the exact relationship to other known texts and families still disputed. The gospels are mostly of the Byzantine text-type, but there are a number of Alexandrian features; while the corresponding portion of John is a lacuna, scholars posit that the Pericope Adulteræ was not included in the text based on space calculations. For the rest of the New Testament, the text is Alexandrian. However, the text goes from most closely resembling the text of the Codex Sinaiticus in Paul, to more closely resembling the text of a number of papyri (P⁷⁴ for Acts, P⁴⁷ for the Apocalypse). The gospels are cited as a "consistently cited witness of the third order" in the critical apparatus of the Novum Testamentum Graece, while the rest of the New Testament is of the “first order”.”

(From:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Alexandrinus).

 

ALL these Codex’s from HUNDREDS of years after Jesus’ disappearance (Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus from the 4^th century, and Codex Alexandrinus from the 5^th century), THEY ALL have errors and inconsistencies, and their ALL in Greek, Jesus (PBUH) did NOT speak Greek, Jesus (PBUH) spoke the language of Aramaic.