Codex Alexandrinus Codex Alexandrinus, Constantinople or Asia Minor, fifth century. End of St Luke’s Gospel Codex Alexandrinus is one of the three earliest and most important manuscripts of the entire Bible in Greek, the others being Codex Sinaiticus, also in the British Library, and Codex Vaticanus in Rome. It is therefore of enormous importance in […]
Cotton Genesis Egypt? Fifth or sixth century Abraham with angels Although tragically damaged by fire in 1731, this manuscript in Greek still forms a landmark in the history of biblical illustration. When first produced, it contained a uniquely full sequence of over 300 illustrations of the book of Genesis. Its survival has raised the question […]
Vulgate Gospels Northern Italy, sixth century. Gospel of St Mark 1 St Jerome’s Latin Vulgate (from the Latin vulgata, meaning ‘common’ or ‘popular’) was commissioned by Pope Damasus in 382. Based on translations then in use, it employs the everyday written Latin style of the fourth century, in contrast to the more formal, elegant Latin […]
Egypt, third or fourth century Revelation 1-4-7 Unearthed in the rubbish tips of the ancient city of Oxyrhynchus (south of Cairo), this fragment from a papyrus roll includes one of the earliest copies of part of the book of Revelation. It was apparently written by an early Christian living in Middle Egypt, who reused a […]
The Blessing Christ, first half of the sixth century. Encaustic on panel. 84 x 45.5 x 1.2 cm (33 1/8 x I7 7/8 x 1/2 in.). The Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine. Sinai, Egypt. The possibility of proposing personal interpretations is hampered by the lack of inscriptional evidence. Inscriptions were commonly entered onto icons’ frames, […]
Isaiah Inscription on the Western Wall “And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb” This verse from Isaiah 66-14 was carved on a stone block in the western wall of the Temple Mount. A number of inscriptions carved by Jewish pilgrims at various times have been […]
Grey Sandstone Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora), Palaestina Tertia Byzantine period 15th March, 456 CE (Thursday) Length- 40 cm, width- 30 cm, thickness- 8 cm, height of letters- 1.2-2.1 cm Published- Meimaris and Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou 2005- no. 205. Translation of the Greek text- “One (is) the God. Monument of Maron, (son) of Kaioumos, who died having a […]
Gray Sandstone Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora), Palaestina Tertia Byzantine period 22nd March, 461 CE Length- 45.5 cm, width- 31 cm, thickness- 7.5-8 cm, height of letters- 1.1 cm Unpublished Translation of the Greek text- “One (is) God, Lord of all things. Monument of Lucia, (daughter) of Peter, who died with a good name at the […]
Werner Keller. The Bible as History. Bantam Books. New York. 1982. p.404.
Corinth Synagogue. Photo by DG Arnold. This inscription, with the words “[syna]gogue of the Hebr[ews]” from the fourth to sixth centuries C.E. confirms the terminology we are accustomed to using to refer to Jewish houses of worship. It was found a heavy stone lintel on the marble steps of the Propylaeum.