Preliminary Material /James D. Yoder -- Chapter /James D. Yoder -- Appendix /James D. Yoder.

Codex Bezae is one of the most important primary sources in New Testament scholarship. Together with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus it represents one of our most significant links back to the early Church and its origins. Since its rediscovery in the sixteenth century, the riddles posed by its general appearance and its textual characteristics have continued to fascinate scholars, and David Parker here offers a comprehensive study of Codex Bezae. This book aims to cast light on the story behind this most enigmatic of manuscripts. Data are presented here that makes possible a reconstruction of the stages of copying from which the manuscript descends. An appraisal of the earliest correctors of the Codex enables the author to extend his picture of its history to the medieval period.

An investigation into to what extent textual variants in the New Testament were caused by dogmatic interference with the text.

Books in the series present specialised research into all aspects of New Testament textual and historical culture, taking a range of approaches. This is widely recognised as the most authoritative and prestigious forum for serious scholarly publication in the area, and series books are highly regarded by biblical scholars the world over. General Editors: Edward Adams, King's College London

This bibliography is a comprehensive listing of books, facsimiles, collations and articles relating to some 3,500 Greek New Testament manuscripts, including references to photographic plates and albums. These are divided into the conventional categories of papyri, majuscules, minuscules and lectionaries, as classified in the current Gregory-Aland register. This third revised edition supersedes the two previous editions. Entries from those earlier editions and from three supplements, published as articles in Novum Testamentum, as well as newly published material, are to be found here. The author is grateful for the help of editor Barbara Cangemi.

A group of biblical and patristic scholars and palaeographers met in Lunel, Herault, in June 1995 to discuss the many questions posed by Codex Bezae to our understanding of the use of the Gospels and Acts in early Christianity, and of the text of the New Testament. This collection makes the papers and debates of the colloquium available for a wider discussion. The papers cover two broad areas. The first addresses palaeographical questions. The second covers textual matters, subdivided between the Gospels and Acts. The 24 contributors include J.N. Birdsall, J. Irigoin, L. Holtz, B.D. Ehrman, M.W. Holmes, J.K. Elliott, J.M. Auwers and M.-É. Boismard. There is an introduction by the editors, who also provide analyses of each main section. The range of interests represented by the participants and by the papers has already stimulated fresh developments.

Jenny Read-Heimerdinger explores the characters of Luke-Acts in order to situate them in the Jewish world to which they belong. Through a close reading of the Greek text, she argues that Luke emerges as a person thoroughly steeped in a Jewish view of Scripture, familiar with a range of associated oral traditions; and that taking account of the Jewish features allows new insights into the way that the author situates events and characters firmly within the history of Israel, before the Church was a separate institution or religion. Read-Heimerdinger proposes that such a view of his work implies an addressee capable of understanding what he received and that one eminently qualified candidate is Theophilus, the high priest in Jerusalem 37-41 and brother-in-law of Caiaphas. The Jewish perspective of Luke's two volumes is more visible in forms of the text not used for modern translations, notably that of Codex Bezae and the early versions, which are rejected by the editors of the Greek New Testament on which translations are based. Read-Heimerdinger draws on the analysis of the variants of the Greek text analysed in her previous Luke in his Own Words (2022), in a manner more accessible to readers unfamiliar with Greek. The variant readings make use of a sophisticated knowledge of Jewish exegetical techniques that would generally be discarded by later generations of Christians but which are increasingly being recognized by NT scholars, in line with Jewish historical studies of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. Seeing the characters of Luke-Acts through Theophilus' eyes brings exciting insights and a fresh understanding of the author's message.