CODEX SINAITICUS: The New Testament translated from the
Sinaitic Manuscript
Discovered by Constantine Tischendorf at
Copyright ©2004 Jackson H. Snyder II
The
New Testament
Translated from the Sinaitic Manuscript
Discovered by Constantine Tischendorf at Mt. Sinai
By H. T. Anderson, 1918
Copyright,
1918
Cincinnati
THE NAMES AND ORDER OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PAGE
THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
......................................
7
ACCORDING TO MARK
.......................................... 47
ACCORDING TO LUKE
.......................................... 73
ACCORDING TO JOHN
......................................... 117
THE ACTS .......................................................
149
ROMANS
......................................................... 192
I. CORINTHIANS
................................................. 208
II. CORINTHIANS
................................................ 224
GALATIANS
...................................................... 235
EPHESIANS
...................................................... 240
PHILIPPIANS
.................................................... 246
COLOSSIANS .....................................................
250
I. THESSALONIANS
............................................... 253
II. THESSALONIANS
.............................................. 257
I. TIMOTHY
..................................................... 259
II. TIMOTHY
.................................................... 263
TITUS
.......................................................... 266
PHILEMON
....................................................... 268
HEBREWS
........................................................ 269
JAMES
.......................................................... 281
I. PETER
....................................................... 285
II. PETER
...................................................... 290
I. JOHN ........................................................
293
II. JOHN
....................................................... 297
III. JOHN
...................................................... 298
JUDE
........................................................... 298
REVELATION
..................................................... 300
HENRY T. ANDERSON, the distinguished author
and scholar,
needs no lengthy introduction to American readers. His former translation of
the New Testament has made his name
familiar to all Bible students. He was blessed with a fine classical education; and
such was his devotion to the Greek
that, when he began his translation, it was as familiar to him as the English. His
method of studying the Scripture was
such as left nothing unnoticed. The Bible was read and reread.
Every sentence was studied, both in the original and English, with the most
prayerful interest. Scripture was used
to illustrate Scripture, until every subject in the Word of God was examined in the light
of Divine Truth. He made his translation
without reference to any version; that is, he adopted no version as a basis.
His work was not a Revision of any
former version, but a New Translation; for he was not disposed
to be trammeled by any version whatever, but desired to find the truth of God,
as it is contained in the Original.
This translation was just finished when
Tischendorf's great discovery
was published to the world; and the author immediately began translating this
newly found text. Known as Codex Sinaiticus, so called
because the manuscript was found near
Mt.
Sinai
Constantine Tischendorf, of Leipsig, after a
nine days' trip by caravan,
southeast of Suez
PICKETT
ANDERSON TIMMINS
English translations of the Sinaiticus are
rare enough;
We recommend two books by Bart Ehrman that
may be helpful in understanding the rightful places of Sinaiticus: The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early
Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament (1996) and Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not make It
Into the New Testament (2003).
For good measure, we added the Didache to
our collection. It is not a part of the
Sianiticus, but has a strong affinity with the Epistle of Barnabas.
Codex Sinaiticus, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(
Codex Sinaiticus was found by Constantin von
Tischendorf on his third visit to the Monastery of Saint Catherine, on Mount
Sinai in
The story of how von Tischendorf found the
manuscript, which contained most of the Old Testament and all of the New
Testament, has all the interest of a romance. Von Tischendorf reached the
monastery on January 31; but his inquiries appeared to be fruitless. On
February 4, he had resolved to return home without having gained his object.
“On that day, when walking with the provisor
of the convent, he spoke with much regret of his ill-success. Returning from
their promenade, Tischendorf accompanied the monk to his room, and there had
displayed to him what his companion called a copy of the Septuagint, which he,
the ghostly brother, owned. The manuscript was wrapped up in a piece of cloth,
and on its being unrolled, to the surprise and delight of the critic the very
document presented itself which he had given up all hope of seeing. His object
had been to complete the fragmentary Septuagint of 1844, which he had declared
to be the most ancient of all Greek codices on vellum that are extant; but he
found not only that, but a copy of the Greek New Testament attached, of the same
age, and perfectly complete, not wanting a single page or paragraph.”
This precious fragment, after some
negotiations, he obtained possession of, and conveyed it to the Emperor
Alexander, who fully appreciated its importance, and caused it to be published
as nearly as possible in facsimile, so as to exhibit correctly the ancient
handwriting.
The entire codex consists of 346 1/2 folios,
written in four columns. Of these 199 belong to the Old Testament and 147 1/2
to the New, along with two other books, the Epistle of Barnabas and part of The
Shepherd of Hermas. The books of the New Testament are arranged in this order:
the four Gospels, the epistles of Paul, the Acts of the Apostles, the Catholic
Epistles, Revelation. Though when parts of Genesis and Book of Numbers were
later found in the binding of other books, they were amicably sent to
Tischendorf, the Codex is currently regarded by the monastery as having been
stolen.
Of its prior history, little is known. The
colophons to Esdras and Esther indicated that it had been in Caesarea
Palaestina in the 6th or 7th centuries. It is speculated to have been written
in
It was taken from St. Catherine’s monastery
to the Russian tsar by Constantin von Tischendorf and never returned. However,
the tsar sent 9000 roubles to the monastery as a compensation. For many
decades, it was preserved in the Russian National Library. In 1933, the
The Codex is now split into four portions:
in the British Library in
In June 2005, monks at St. Catherine’s
announced they plan to use hyperspectral imaging to photograph the manuscripts
to look for hidden information such as erased or faded text. This is to be done
in cooperation with the British Library.
Henry
T. Anderson was born in Caroline County, Va., January 27, 1812. His parents were
natives of that State and were of the Baptist faith; however, they were
liberal in their views. The early training of young
He had a unique
method of studying the Scriptures. He left nothing without mastering to the
best of his ability every word and sentence of the New Testament. He had been
educated in the best schools of
He remained in
In 1861 he began
the translation of the New Testament from the Greek into the English language.
He gave the best part of his life to this work. He levied tribute on all of the
resources of his classical mind and liberal education and gave all to the great
task of translating the New Testament. This was the masterpiece of his life’s
work. He saw from the reading of the Authorized Version that there was a need
for this translation, and with a consecrated heart he dedicated his all to the
task.
He speaks of his
work as follows: “The work has been carried on under many adverse
circumstances, but, by the good providence of God, it has been completed.” He
was about three and a half years making this translation. After he had
completed it he breathed a prayer of thanksgiving to God for permitting him to
finish the task. He sent his translation out with this prayer: “May it go
forth, under the divine blessing, to establish and comfort the hearts of those
who love the truth.”
Many scholars have
pronounced this translation the best in the English language. Certainly it has
many merits and is a monument to the love, scholarship, and prayerful work of a
man who loved supremely the word of God. The brotherhood has been blessed and
the literature of the disciples of Christ has been enriched by this very
valuable contribution in the field of translation.
Henry T. Anderson
had a strong mind which was adorned with classical training. His preaching was
not so eloquent, but simple and practical. He was no pulpit orator and laid no
claims to such, but he was a teacher both in the classroom and in the pulpit.
He was no lover of money, but was contented with just enough food and raiment
to live upon. Oftentimes, like many other faithful preachers of the gospel
then, he struggled through much poverty and suffering. He was very poorly
supported both as a teacher and a preacher. It is thought that the brotherhood
generally did not know of his deep poverty and necessity of the simple things
of life.
He did not possess
those winning traits of character which draw people very close to him. He was
kind and gentle to all, but he was a student. He was so absorbed in his study
that he had not time, as he thought, to make and retain friends. Possibly he
saw this weakness, but his love for study caused him to neglect the cultivation
of the society of his brethren and sisters. He suffered in poverty without
complaint. He did not censure the church or his brethren for his poverty.
He believed firmly
in the word of God. He trusted in God to bring all things to Christ for his own
glory and the salvation of his servant. He had firm convictions, and he had the
courage to stand by these convictions. He did not believe that a Christian
should take vengeance or retaliate. In the prime of his manhood, under the
solemn conviction that Christians are not allowed to take vengeance or
retaliate, he submitted gracefully to a scourging or whipping from one who had
become offended at him. He did not complain, but took the chastisement in the
name of the Lord and suffered meekly without any effort to strike back. He had
complete mastery of himself. He had the courage and determination to suffer for
Christ’s sake.
Probably no one
had a faith more simple and wonderful than did H. T. Anderson. While he was
poor with respect to the worldly things of this life, yet he was rich in faith
and strong and courageous in his conviction. When he began his translation of
the New Testament, he had a large family to support and a very meager salary or
income; yet he believed that the Lord would provide. In speaking of his work in
translating the New Testament, he said that the Lord did provide and would
continue to do so unto the end.
H. T. Anderson was
a “man of one book.” He studied the Christian religion only; and the Bible,
either in Greek or English, was the only book he wanted or would have. He had
no desire to study other matters. He may have made a mistake in not studying
more in a general way, for near the close of his life he unfortunately gave
utterance to some undigested metaphysical conclusions which were held against
him. Many made his conclusions a ground of criticism. The enemies of the truth
used them as weapons against the truth. If he had given his attention to the
study of these questions earlier in life, he would not have made such a
blunder, and the enemies would not have had the occasion to turn much of his
good life and teaching into weapons against the truth.
He was forced near
the close of his life to give his services to the government for bread. He
accepted a governmental position of minor importance and went to Washington, D.
C., and labored hard for his meat and bread. This was sad, as he desired to
give all of his time to the study of the Bible and the teaching of the same to
his fellows. He was stricken with disease and suffered extremely before his
death. He died in the city of
Biographical Sketches of Gospel Preachers, H. Leo Boles, GA c.1932 page 165-169.
Information with thanks from Scott Harp, www.restoration.com.