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Codex Macedoniensis
Manuscript

Codex Macedoniensis or Macedonianus is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels written on parchment. It is designated by Y or 034 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and ε 073 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the 9th century. The manuscript has several gaps. Historian William C. Braithwaite described the manuscript as "very carefully written."

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Description

The manuscript is a codex (the precursor to the modern book), containing an almost complete text of the four Gospels on 309 parchment leaves (sized 18 cm by 13 cm).111213 The text is written in one column per page, and 16-21 lines per column.141516 There are six gaps (known as lacunae): Matthew 1:1-9:11; 10:35-11:4; Luke 1:26-36; 15:25-16:5; 23:22-34; and John 20:27-21:17.1718 The manuscript would have originally consisted of 42 quires made of 8 folio's (this being 8 parchment leaves placed on top of each other, then folded in half to create pages) for a total of 674 pages.19 The missing sections total 66 pages.20 The text is written in black and brown ink, including Greek accents and breathing marks.2122 Greek punctuation is used throughout the manuscript, using the high, middle, and low phrase mid-dots, along with the comma.2324

The chapters (known as κεφάλαια / kephalaia) are included, with their titles (known as τίτλοι / titloi) written at the top and bottom of the pages.2526 The chapter lists (also known as κεφάλαια) are written before the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John (due to the missing first portion of Matthew, unable to determine whether a chapter list was before the Gospel of Matthew as well), with brief subscriptions written at the end of each Gospel.2728 There are ornamented headpieces (beginning titles) at the start of Mark, Luke, and John (again, due to beginning of Matthew missing unable to determine whether it was the same there).29 The beginning (ἀρχή / arche) and ending (τέλος / telos) signs for the weekly lection readings of the Church calendar are also inserted.3031

The Ammonian sections and Eusebian canons are also included (these being early divisions of the for Gospels into sections), with the chapter numbers written in the side margins.3233 The chapter titles, Ammonian and Eusebian numbers, lection markings, and initial letters of each new section are written in carmine ink, except for the text comprising Luke 1:1-11:26 which are all written in black ink.34

Text

The Greek text of this codex is considered a representative of the Byzantine text-type.353637 Biblical scholar Kurt Aland placed it in Category V of his New Testament manuscript classification system.38 Category V manuscripts are described as "manuscripts with a purely or predominantly Byzantine text."39: 336 

According to textual critic Hermann von Soden, the manuscript belongs to his Ik text grouping.4041 Biblical scholar Kirsopp Lake found that this manuscript shares traits with the textual Family Π, and specifically with Codex Alexandrinus.4243

The longer ending of Mark (16:9-20), Luke 22:43 and John 5:4 are included, with no signs to indicate suspected spuriousness or non-canonicity for the verses.44 The texts of Matthew 16:2b–3 (Signs of the Times) and Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (known as the Pericope Adulterae, John 7:53-8:11) are omitted.4546

History

The earliest history of the manuscript is unknown. The codex was acquired by stockbroker Joseph Bevan Braithwaite from Macedonia in 1901, which was given to his brother, the historian William C. Braithwaite who described it in volume 13 of the Expository Times.4748

Readings from the manuscript were inadequately cited by textual critic Constantin von Tischendorf in his critic edition of the Greek New Testament.4950 Gregory provided a collation of the manuscript in his Textkritik des Neuen Testaments, volume 3 page 1028.515253

According to Biblical scholar Bruce M. Metzger, the manuscript "deserves to be studied more thoroughly than has hitherto been the case".54 A similar sentiment was earlier voiced by Lake, who said "[i]ts complete study remains a problem for the future."55

Based on the writing graphical style, Braithwaite dated it to the 9th century CE, which is still the date assigned to it.56575859 Due to some of the letter formations in the titles and in the main text itself, Braithwaite suggested the manuscript was copied from a 7th century CE manuscript.60 The manuscript is currently located in the Cambridge University Library (additional manuscripts shelf number 6594) in Cambridge, England.6162

See also

  • Bible portal

Further reading

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References

  1. von Soden, Hermann (1902). Die Schriften des neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt / hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte. Vol. 1. Berlin: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht. p. 132. /wiki/Hermann_von_Soden ↩

  2. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  3. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  4. Gregory, Caspar René (1908). Die Griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testament. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichsg. p. 36. /wiki/Caspar_Ren%C3%A9_Gregory ↩

  5. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  6. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  7. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  8. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  9. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  10. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  11. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  12. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  13. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  14. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  15. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  16. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  17. von Soden, Hermann (1902). Die Schriften des neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt / hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte. Vol. 1. Berlin: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht. p. 132. /wiki/Hermann_von_Soden ↩

  18. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  19. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  20. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  21. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  22. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  23. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  24. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  25. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  26. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  27. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  28. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  29. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  30. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  31. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  32. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  33. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  34. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  35. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  36. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  37. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  38. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  39. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  40. von Soden, Hermann (1902). Die Schriften des neuen Testaments, in ihrer ältesten erreichbaren Textgestalt / hergestellt auf Grund ihrer Textgeschichte. Vol. 1. Berlin: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht. p. 132. /wiki/Hermann_von_Soden ↩

  41. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  42. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  43. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  44. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  45. Hatch, William Henry Paine (1939). The Principal Uncial Manuscripts of the New Testament. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. Plate 49 (XLIX). https://archive.org/details/principaluncialm0000hatc/page/112/mode/2up ↩

  46. Gregory, Caspar René (1909). Textkritik des Neuen Testaments. Vol. 3. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs. p. 1027. /wiki/Caspar_Ren%C3%A9_Gregory ↩

  47. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  48. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  49. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  50. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  51. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  52. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  53. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  54. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  55. Lake, Kirsopp (1936). Family Π and the Codex Alexandrinus: The Text According to Mark. London: Christophers. p. 57. Retrieved 23 January 2025. /wiki/Kirsopp_Lake ↩

  56. Metzger, Bruce Manning (1963). Chapters in the History of New Testament Textual Criticism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 39–40. /wiki/Bruce_M._Metzger ↩

  57. Kenyon, Frederick (1912). Handbook to the Textual Xriticism of the New Testament. London: MacMillan & Co. p. 116. https://archive.org/stream/handbooktotextua00kenyuoft#page/116/mode/2up ↩

  58. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  59. "Liste Handschriften: Codex Macedoniensis (Y)". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 23 January 2025. http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=20034 ↩

  60. Braithwaite, William Charles (1901–1902). "A New Uncial of the Gospels". Expository Times. 13 (XIII): 114–117. /wiki/William_Charles_Braithwaite ↩

  61. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1. 978-0-8028-4098-1 ↩

  62. "Liste Handschriften: Codex Macedoniensis (Y)". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 23 January 2025. http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=20034 ↩