SBL in Boston, TC Sessions

The program book for the Annual SBL meeting in Boston has been released (and is available online at the SBL site). For NT TC topics the following sessions stand out:
1. SBL 22-23, Sat. 9-11:30, NT TC Section, Theme: NT Manuscripts (Peter Head and Michael Theophilos are presenting here)
2. SBL 22-69, Sat. 1-3:30, Papyrology and Early Christianity Backgrounds Group (Peter Head is making a presentation here also)
3. SBL 22-80, Sat. 1-2:30, Virtual Codex Sinaiticus: Studying and Experiencing an Ancient Codex
4. SBL 22-124, Sat. 4-6:30, NT TC Section, Theme: Versions and Fathers
5. IGNTP 23-25, Sun. 9-11:30, IGNTP, Theme: New Research on the Text of John's Gospel
6. SBL 23-135, Sun. 4-6:30, Papyrology and Early Christian Backgrounds Group (Michael Theophilos is presenting here)
7. SBL 24-32, Mon. 9-11:30, NT TC Section, Review of David Parker, An Introduction to the NT MSS and Their Texts
8. SBL 24-129, Mon. 4-6:30, NT TC Section, Review of James Royse, Scribal Habits in Early Greek NT Papyri

I'm sure others can add to the following list, but a few of the other sessions that might be of interest to our field are:
1. SBL 23-38, Sun. 9-11:30, Joint Session, Social History and Formative Christianity and Judaism Section/Qumran Section, Theme: The Life and Afterlife of Scribes and Their Works
2. There are several OT TC sessions

New Book: Parker and Manuscripts and Texts

I got a copy of David Parker's new book on Saturday: An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and their Texts (Cambridge: CUP, 2008)

I haven't finished reading it yet - just about half way through; but I wanted to say that anyone interested in the subject should drop whatever else they are doing and go and buy it. Then enjoy the wonderfully enriching experience of reading it. He says at the outset: 'I have tried to write a book with as original a shape and as fresh a content as possible.' (p. 2) And he has. Brilliant, lucid, learned, naunced, and able to look at things from lots of different angles. Also provocative, stimulating, informative and interesting. Criticism must wait until appreciation is complete.

Up-date: Now I have finished and I enjoyed it to the end. As I noted in a comment I would say this is a post-basic book - although at the same time it doesn't easily 'fit' above any other more basic undergraduate text-book. On the back it says it is a 'handbook for scholars and students'. For me it is the ideal text for my MPhil course. It is a book for researchers and potential researchers in the field.
For example, it has a chapter on practical skills in studying manuscripts; it has extended treatments of how to get the most out of Tischendorf's 8th, but nothing on how to use NA27 (except for a reminder not to ignore all the appendices). It nowhere addresses how students can approach textual criticism when dealing with variant readings in NA27 (or UBS4). [This is what students need for exams in our place.] But it tells scholars to always check two or three editions, to use more than one Synopsis, how to set out a digital edition etc. etc.

As a book it is nice to read, but it has two problems I've encountered so far:
a) there are no pictures of manuscripts in the book, they are all on a linked web-site (advertised as: www.cambridge.org/parker; but actually at: http://itsee.bham.ac.uk/parker/introduction/). This mixing of technologies I did not find very convenient, I probably would have paid the extra for pictures.
b) the indices are very selective (you probably wouldn't have to be a genius to figure out how I noticed this) - you can't use this to track Birdsall's contributions to the subject, or even every time a particular manuscript is refered to.

Some (admittedly minor) details:
On p.5 Parker concludes his discussion about defining 'variant reading' by saying: 'So I repeat: a variant reading is to be defined as "the entire text as it is present in a particular copy".' This is very confusing. There is a way to make this meaningful, but it would be simpler to regard this as a mistake, since throughout the rest of the book a much more normal definition is assumed (e.g. on p. 159).
On p. 23, discussing differences between Sinaiticus (plate 3) compared with P66 (plate 1), he says: 'Additional us the use of a horizontal stroke to indicate a nu at line ends'. It is wrong to regard this as a difference from P66, since a glance at the plate of P66 shows this phenomenon already at line 5 of the first page.
On p.27, discussing minuscule 461, it is said that while the size is comparable with the papyrus pages of P66, 'on the other hand, it has a quantity of pages - 344 - which would be unsuitable for a manuscript written on papyrus'. "unsuitable" is a strange word to use here, "unusual" would be better and more accurate, since there are papyrus codices with more than 300 pages, even up to 500 pages.

A Text Segmentation Edition of the Greek New Testament

Bill Warren's presentation at the international SBL (see previous post), raises the issue that there is no resource out there which you can consult to find out how the major manuscripts punctuate, segment, paragraph and otherwise delimit the textual units of the New Testament.
Some of the issues have been discussed in various publications of the Pericope group (also working at the International SBLs). But no one, as far as I can tell, is actually working to provide a Text-Segmentation Edition of the Greek New Testament. (Maybe Bill is?) So I started to wonder about what this resource would have to look like.
It would contain detailed information about punctuation and text-delimitation in a range of NT manuscripts. In order to be useful but also finite and finishable, I would suggest focusing only on the full papyri and about twelve substantial uncials, and maybe six minuscules (representing different types).
You couldn't do the work mechanically, each manuscript/scribe would have to be studied inductively to get a good feel for their general practice and the different 'levels' of punctuation/segmentation.
But displaying the results would be difficult. One way to do it would be to take Sinaiticus as the base text (earliest complete NT text, widespread and interesting punctuation/delimitation) and then construct something like Swanson in order to display other options in the manuscripts. Another way would be to copy the UBS punctuation//discourse segmentation apparatus for use with manuscripts.

Perhaps it would be good to start with one book of the New Testament to see:
a) whether the information gathered was actually interesting/useful;
b) how the information could be displayed most effectively in published form;
c) how long it takes to gather and compile the information.

Any ideas?

International SBL Meetings in Auckland, New Zealand

The session on Biblical Manuscripts took place this afternoon here in Auckland (Thur. afternoon here that is). Scott Charlesworth from Australia presented a solid paper on the copying practices in the early NT papyri. He compared overlapping texts among the NT papyri to see what types of differences were there. He differentiated the different types of copying processes behind the various papyri, then compared them from various perspectives to see what types of changes were most commonly made to the text in each of the copying processes. When published, his work should provide a solid foundation for discussions (this is part of his dissertation, which has been approved).

The second presentation examined the punctuation of 1 Cor. 14:33 with respect to whether the major segmentation break for the WS clause should be in the middle of v. 33 as in N-A, or at the end of v. 33. After reviewing how various Greek New Testaments and English translations have been punctuated, an overview of the grammatical and linguistic evidence for the WS clauses in 1 Cor. and Paul overall was given, followed by a brief summary of the implications of the textual variant in vv. 34-35 for the punctuation of v. 33. Then the bulk of the presentation highlighted the evidence in the manuscripts themselves, with the overwhelming consensus among the manuscripts being that the major punctuation or segmentation break should be at the end of v. 33, not in the middle of the verse. This would result in "as in all the churches of the saints" being applied to the principle of God being one of order, not disorder, and would negate applying this WS clause to verses 34-35.

Thanks are expressed to our own Tommy Wasserman as one of the leaders of this section at the International SBL meetings.

Gabriel Revelation

I came across this article from Haaretz on a new archaeological discovery relating to early Christianity called the Gabriel Revelation (here) which was discovered more than a year ago. Time magazine has a more popular version (here). James Tabor has an interesting rundown with relevant links on his blog (here). No doubt all the major newspapers will carry a story on this one -- if they have not already. The interpretation of the text is dependent on both semantic range of the language and text-critical reconstructions.

"The Gabriel Revelation thus confirms my thesis that the belief in a salin [sic] and resurrected messiah existed prior to the messianic activity of Jesus. The publication of this text is extraordinarily important. It is a discovery that calls for a complete reassessment of all previous scholarship on the subject of messianism, Jewish and Christian alike." (Israel Knohl, first link)

Metzger's Copy of Stephens' 3d ed. (1550) and a Papyrus Fragment (LXX) on Sotheby Auction, July 8

One of the items, lot 36, in Sotheby's Continental and Russian Books and Manuscripts Auction (Sale L08403) in London tomorrow, July 8, is a copy of Stephens' third edition of the Greek New Testament, printed in 1550, formerly owned by Bruce Metzger among others.


On the same day, in the Western & Oriental Manuscripts Auction (Sale L08240), a papyrus fragment with Septuagint Psalms 70 and 71 , which formerly belonged to the private collection of the Austrian conservator Dr. Anton Fackelmann (1916-85) is offered.

Update: Thanks to Wieland Willker who noted that the text of the fragment is LXX Psalms 69-70. Sothebys apparently has the wrong information.

Second update:The Stephen edition was sold for 3,250 GBP, and the papyrus fragment was sold for 17,500 GBP.

Review of Kraus, Ad Fontes

T.J. Kraus, Ad Fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity: Selected Essays is reviewed (positively) here by Chris Tuckett. Kraus is publishing collected essays earlier in his career than usual. Perhaps it will inspire others.

The Orthodox Corruption (of the Greek scriptures)?

Coptic scribes had an awareness that their texts were of a different type than those used within the Imperial Byzantine tradition.

"Corrections indeed occur in all [Bohairic manuscripts], yet frequent notes in several state that the corrections are Greek and not Coptic, implying as plainly as possible that the Jacobite Copts jealously preserved a tradition as to the correct readings of their version against Melchite, i.e. Contantinopolitan readings or innovations" (George W. Horner, [ed.], The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Northern Dialect, vol. 1 [London: Clarendon Press, 1898], ix–x).

Do we have any parallel statements in the Syriac or Latin traditions? Scholars knew that Erasmus' Textus Receptus deviated from the Vulgate. Do we have any formal statements accusing the Greek (Byzantine) tradition of corruption during or before Erasmus' life?

Book and Manuscripts Conservation Studio on Patmos

One may think that time, in some regards, has stood still in those monasteries where so many Greek New Testament MSS are kept. However, this situation is rapidly changing at many places including Sinai, Athos and Patmos. For example, there is now a books and manuscripts conservation studio in St John Theologican Monastery on Patmos in Greece, working to preserve the MSS. Activities include digitization and disinfestations projects. Since 2006 the studio organizes a summer workshop related to the conservation and research on Byzantine book binding. So if you don't know what to do in September, go to Patmos one week and get a practical introduction to Byzantine binding (I should mention some previous experience is required).

Read more and look at images of the library, the conservation studio, and the summer workshop here.

Wallace on Patmos, Kozani and Meteora

Earlier in this month, Dan Wallace and his CSNT team visited Patmos and took photos of MSS there, among which was at least one unregistered New Testament MS (a leaf of an uncial lectionary). I had previously discovered this MS in the binding of another MS, and asked Dan to look for it, which he did. I am awaiting a Greg.-Aland number from the INTF. Read Dan's brief report here.

Just a few days ago, the team heading for the Meteora monasteries (quite a lot of MSS there) made a detour to a small town, Kozani, and, yes, found new MSS. Read that report here.

The first scholar to research the monasteries of Meteora was the Swedish traveler Jacob Jonas Björnståhl (1731-1779). Just like Wallace he was looking for Greek New Testament MSS, and indeed he found them, but some he had to dig out. They were in such bad condition that he had to sip vinegar to be able to stand the odour. I know that he also wrote his signature in at least one of the GNT MSS which he found very significant, so I hope Dan and his team notice that signature.

Björnståhl tragically died during his journey in Thessaly (although not in Meteora, but in Volo). Many MSS that he had acquired during his travels were donated to Uppsala University Library, including some GNT MSS. Many of his other papers (letters, etc) are deposited in an archive in the University Library in Lund. For example a letter of recommendation from a Greek bishop to those monasteries in Meteora, without which Björnståhl would not have been able to enter. This was a time when the Turks plundered the churches and monasteries, and it was not an easy thing for a European to be admitted there.

In a few weeks I will present a paper at the SNTS in Lund on the MSS in Sweden, including an excursus on Björnståhl, and maybe I will find something in the archive to show (if they admit).