Textual Criticism of New Testament Manuscripts
Codex Vaticanus
Last week we looked at Codex Sinaiticus, which I noted was one of the two most important ancient Codices of the New Testaments. Today we will look at the other one – Codex Vaticanus.
Codex Vaticanus had been in the possession of the Vatican in Rome and became known to other scholars because of correspondence between Erasmus (1466-1536). Scholars were not initially aware of its great value, but this became apparent during the 19th century when transcriptions of the full Codex were made available. Codex Vaticanus is usually referred to by the abbreviation B (and sometimes 03) by scholars. Codex Vaticanus is written in 3 columns on each page and entirely in upper case Greek (also known as uncial or majuscule). Below are two images of Codex Vaticanus – a full page on the left (with the ending of 2 Thessalonians and the beginning of Hebrews) and a close-in picture of the beginning of Jude, on the right.
Codex Vaticanus is considered very important for several reasons. First, it has been dated to the 4th century, possibly as early as 325 AD, which is very close to the date of the original documents for an ancient manuscript. Second, it contains almost the entire Septuagint (LXX – the Greek of the Old Testament plus some other books). And finally, it contains almost the entire New Testament. contains the Gospels, Acts, the general epistles, the Pauline epistles, and the Epistle to the Hebrews up to chapter 9:14 with the remainder of the pages missing. It is lacking 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Revelation, though it is possible these were included after Hebrews and were lost over time. Thus, Vaticanus is one of the oldest copies of the Old and New Testaments we have. Furthermore, the quality of the Codex and the quality of the work of the scribes is considered to be very good. As such, it is considered one of the most important copies of the New Testament in existence. It is an incredible treasure God has preserved for His Church, and it is very important for use in scholarly research. Once again, I hope this causes praise to arise in your heart!
In Christ,
Bret