WM 318: Article Review: Scribes, Distigmai, Vaticanus, and 1 Cor 14:33-34

 

JTR

The odd empty column at the ending of Mark in Codex Vaticanus

One of the oddities of codex Vaticanus is the textual layout for the ending of Mark.  The NT in Vaticanus is written in three columns.  Generally, if the text of a particular book ends in one column, the text of the next book begins in the very next column.  So, if the text of one book ends in column one, the text of the next book begins in column two.

The Gospel of Mark in Vaticanus famously ends, of course, at Mark 6:8.  It is one of only three extant ancient Greek mss. which end Mark at 16:8 (the others being codices Sinaiticus and 304).  The odd things is that Mark ends in the middle of column two but column three is left blank, and the text of Luke does not begin until column one of the next page.  This perhaps indicates that the scribe was confused or concerned about the abbreviated ending or even intended to add the Longer Ending, though it is questionable as to whether Mark 16:9-20 would fit within the remainder of column 2 and in the blank column three.  Perhaps, however, he intended to continue the text in column one of the next page, where Luke now begins.

Jakob Van Bruggen made this observation about the ending of Mark:

“There are only three known Greek manuscripts that end at 16:8, and one of them has a large open space after verse 8.  All the remaining Greek manuscripts contain verses 9-20 after Mark 16:1-8, and most of them do not have a single note or insertion of other data.  Mark 16:1-20 has both the authority of the Majority Text, as well as the authority of oldest text.  If it still remains uncertain whether Mark 16:9-20 is well attested textually, then very little of any of the text of the New Testament is well attested" (The Future of the Bible [Thomas Nelson, 1978]:  p. 131).

The pictures below, drawn from the online Vaticanus, allow us to compare the endings of the four Gospels in codex Vaticanus and note how the ending of Mark presents an anomalous pattern:

Image:  Ending of Matthew in column two; beginning of Mark in column three.

Image:  Ending of Mark in column two; column three blank.

Image:  Ending of Luke in column two; beginning of John in column three.

Image:  Ending of John in column one; beginning of Acts in column two.

The New Testament Books List for Codex Vaticanus

Image:  Screenshot of a closeup of 1 John 5:7-8, sans the CJ, in Vaticanus.

Image:  Whole view of page from I John in Vaticanus.  The preceding image above is a close-up of the bottom of the middle column which contains 1 John 5:7-8.

Image:  The last page of Hebrews in Vaticanus from the original copyist, ending at Hebrews 9:14a.

Image:  This is the first page of Hebrews in Vaticanus in the later hand, starting at Hebrews 9:14b.

Image:  Screenshot of close-up of beginning of Revelation in Vaticanus, written in later hand.  Compare and contrast with close-up of 1 John 5:7-8 in archaic hand above.

Note:  Here’s a follow up to the earlier post I did on the books in the Old Testament in Codex Vaticanus (now available online).  Here is the list of New Testament books in Vaticanus:

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

Acts

James

1 Peter

2 Peter

1 John

2 John

3 John

Jude

Romans

1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

Hebrews

Revelation

Observations:

1.  The Gospels and Acts appear in what becomes the standard order.

2.  Next are the General Epistles, beginning with James.

3.  Next come the Pauline epistles, with the Pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus) and Philemon omitted (Did they appear after Hebrews in the original manuscript?  See below).

4.  Hebrews comes after 2 Thessalonians, which implies it is considered among the Pauline epistles.

5.  The original text of Vaticanus ends at Hebrews 9:14a.  The remainder of Hebrews (9:14b—13:25) and Revelation is written in a distinctly different hand (which apparently dates to c. fifteenth century) and was added at a later time.

JTR

Old Testament Books List for Codex Vaticanus

Image:  The opening of the Psalms in Codex Vaticanus

Note:  The digital age is truly amazing.  Codex Vaticanus has been posted online.  Now, you do not have to travel to Rome’s Vatican library to view the codex, or purchase an expensive facsimile, or live near a library which has a facsimile.  Add this to access to Codex Sinaiticus, which has been available online for a couple of years now, and anyone can examine the two codices that have had the biggest impact in dethroning the received text.

I began poking around the codex this morning.  I had recently been interested in finding out how Vaticanus ordered the Biblical books (both OT and NT) and what apocryphal books it included in the OT.  I had not been able to find a complete listing in secondary sources and had not yet been able to visit a library to look at a facsimile.  Now, I can access it with the click of a mouse.

My interest in how Vaticanus orders the OT books is related to the development of canon in the fourth century AD (when the bulk of Vaticanus was apparently written—some sections were obviously written and added later [they appear in a completely different writing script which apparently dates to c. fifteenth century] to fill in gaps in the text, which the online version now also allows one to see in the opening of Genesis and the book of Revelation). There was obvious fluidity in the selection of the Old Testament books and also fluidity with the texts of those individual books.  This is a factor that I do not think advocates of the modern critical text have adequately taken into consideration when they give such weight to Vaticanus and Sinaiticus in determining the NT text.

Here is the list and some notes on the OT books in Vaticanus.  I have not yet taken a close look at the entire text (e. g., examining additions to Esther and Daniel), so some of the info below might need to be nuanced, but here is a preliminary list.

Vaticanus Old Testament Books List*

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

3 Esdras (LXX 1 Esdras)

2 Esdras (Ezra-Nehemiah)

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Songs

Job

Wisdom

Prologue to Ecclesiasticus

Ecclesiasticus

Esther (with additions)

Judith

Tobit

Hosea

Amos

Micah

Joel

Obadiah

Jonah

Nahum

Habbakuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Baruch

Lamentations

Epistle of Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel (with additions)

*The titles above are taken from standard English OT usage or from the titles supplied by the online editors (e. g., 3 Esdras) and not necessarily as they are titled in the Vaticanus text. Apocryphal works in red.

Some Notes on the Old Testament canonical order and content of Codex Vaticanus:

1.  The opening order:  Genesis—2 Chronicles follows the LXX order with Ruth inserted between Judges and 1 Samuel.

2.  The apocryphal book of 3 Esdras (LXX 1 Esdras) is then followed by 2 Esdras (Ezra-Nehemiah).

3.   Next is the poetic and wisdom literature from the Hebrew Bible, following the LXX order.

4.  Next is the apocryphal wisdom literature of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus.  Note that Ecclesiasticus is preceded by a prologue.  Note:  Apocryphal Psalms of Solomon not included.

5.  Next is Jewish diaspora literature, including canonical Esther (with additions), followed by the apocryphal books of Judith and Tobit.  Note: Apocryphal books of 1-4 Maccabees not included.

6.  Next are the twelve Minor Prophets (Hebrew Book of the Twelve) following the LXX order.

7.  Finally, there are the Major prophets.  The “Jeremiah corpus” includes the apocryphal Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremiah.  The Old Testament ends with canonical Daniel (with additions).