Global Effort Puts Oldest Known Bible Online - from All Things Considered
This undated picture made available by the British Library shows a reader examining a page from the earliest known Bible. The British Library says the surviving pages of the world's oldest Bible have been reunited digitally.
All Things Considered, July 6, 2009 · The surviving pieces of the world's oldest known Christian Bible have been put back together for the first time in 150 years — on the Internet.
The Codex Sinaiticus, or Sinai Book, was at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula until 1859, when the book was divided. Part of it remained there, while other parts were taken to Britain, Germany and Russia.
Now, scholars from those four countries have virtually reassembled the 1,600-year-old work and made it available to anyone who wants to look at it for free.
"The whole project rests on an agreement between the four institutions. Each one committed themselves to ... the greater good of the whole to present this virtual codex," Scot McKendrick, chairman of the multinational group that worked on the project, tells Robert Siegel.
McKendrick, the British Library's head of Western manuscripts, says the codex offers an insight into what was happening in the fourth century.
"This is the point at which Christianity is becoming authorized, accepted by authority, and this book very much reflects that," he says. "It also reflects a point where there is still a discussion going on about which texts are in the Bible and which order they should be presented in."
The Codex Sinaiticus Web site is a veritable treasure trove for researchers and others. The site grants access not only to images of the pages, but also to the new transcription of the text, McKendrick says, which allows scholars to search for word patterns, among other uses. The digitized version offers breathtaking detail of the codex, which is written by hand in Greek on animal skin.
"The Web site is wonderful in that it allows you to see that physicality, see a thumbprint of a 1,600-year-old scribe, an insect that bit the animal that the page has come from," he says. "It's like a window in that ... critical era."
All Things Considered, July 6, 2009 · The surviving pieces of the world's oldest known Christian Bible have been put back together for the first time in 150 years — on the Internet.
The Codex Sinaiticus, or Sinai Book, was at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula until 1859, when the book was divided. Part of it remained there, while other parts were taken to Britain, Germany and Russia.
Now, scholars from those four countries have virtually reassembled the 1,600-year-old work and made it available to anyone who wants to look at it for free.
"The whole project rests on an agreement between the four institutions. Each one committed themselves to ... the greater good of the whole to present this virtual codex," Scot McKendrick, chairman of the multinational group that worked on the project, tells Robert Siegel.
McKendrick, the British Library's head of Western manuscripts, says the codex offers an insight into what was happening in the fourth century.
"This is the point at which Christianity is becoming authorized, accepted by authority, and this book very much reflects that," he says. "It also reflects a point where there is still a discussion going on about which texts are in the Bible and which order they should be presented in."
The Codex Sinaiticus Web site is a veritable treasure trove for researchers and others. The site grants access not only to images of the pages, but also to the new transcription of the text, McKendrick says, which allows scholars to search for word patterns, among other uses. The digitized version offers breathtaking detail of the codex, which is written by hand in Greek on animal skin.
"The Web site is wonderful in that it allows you to see that physicality, see a thumbprint of a 1,600-year-old scribe, an insect that bit the animal that the page has come from," he says. "It's like a window in that ... critical era."
David Croom (dwiggle) wrote:
It's refreshing to have news outlets like NPR. Great report, hopefully some more background info on this Codex will be reported in the future. It is also refreshing that NPR has readers who can tie their own shoes. I'm tired of reading about Wembeldon or MJ, and SOMEONE posts a comment blaming Obama for something. Keep it up, NPR, I'm going to enjoy looking into this further
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
C Early (FSMdisciple) wrote:
Uh, no, the pages are not made of cotton infused with "drying oil". They're parchment, which by definition is animal (prob sheep or goat) skin. I'm glad to see more early religious documents get into the public domain because they will feed the questioning, and more people will wonder why there are large and small discrepancies between all the versions of their god's supposedly true word. As for myself, I'll spend my hours living my life, not pining for a fantasy.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Mye Flatley (P_U_Wallpaper) wrote:
When I learned to write with a quill. I used cast off duck quills 6" to 8" long. The ink was soot, carbon black, disolved in drying oil. Once the letter is on the page, the black stays in place, but the oil spreads thru the paper. The whole page becomes infused with the oil and the page turns into parchment as the oil dries. Plain cotton makes the paper. By itself the cotton paper will not endure at all. But once infused with the dried oil it will last as long as an oil painting. The page images I looked at of the codex, look to have been made in this manner. The paper maker did an excellent job of controlling the paper thickness. The paper is just thick enough that the writing on the back side barely shows thru.Making a quill is easy. Use a long needle and run it thru the small hole in the tip of the quill. I use duck quills, not all quills work. Use cast off quills the duck drops. Use the length of the needle to rip up the septums inside so that the whole inside of the quill is one chamber. Squeeze the quill and draw the oil-soot mixture up thru the pin hole in the tip. Write.
Brian Castleberry (abtex) wrote:
I am thrilled with this resource becoming public. I am anxiously awaiting the English translations of Barnabas and the Shepherd. Congratulations to these wonderful institutions in working together for the good of all. We could all learn a lesson from this!
Monday, July 06, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment