How We Got the Bible: The Sinaitic Manuscript

Chapter 4 of the book discusses the discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus in detail and its importance as a witness to the text of the New Testament. Here are some main points to take from this chapter:

• 43 leaves of the Manuscript were discovered by Constantin von Tischendorf in May of 1844 at the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mount Sinai (pictured above)
• The principal portion of the Manuscript was discovered by Tischendorf at the same location in February of 1859
• More than a dozen additional leaves were discovered on 26 May 1975 after the clean up of a fire at the Monastery resulted in finding them buried underneath the rubble a ceiling collapse had caused more than 200 years earlier
• The Manuscript is the oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament that exists today. It dates from the fourth century and extensive studies of it have verified the antiquity and quality of its text.

Currently, the initial 43 leaves are located at the Leipzig University Library. The principal portion of the Manuscript is located at the British Library. Parts of six leaves are at the National Library of Russia and further portions remain at the Monastery.

If you are interested in learning more about the Codex Sinaiticus you can go here.

Stand firm in Christ,
Chase