Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
arisen before the first versions were made. The honor of carefully determining the relations of
critical authorities for the New Testament text belongs to Griesbach. According to him two distinct
recensions of the Gospels existed at the beginning of the third century-the Alexandrine and the
Western .
•From the consideration of the earliest history of the New Testament text we now pass to the era
of MSS. The quotations of Dionsius Alex. (A.D. 264), Petrus Alex. (cir. A.D. 312), Methodius
(A.D. 311) and Eusebius (A.D. 340) confirm the prevalence of the ancient type of tent; but the
public establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire necessarily led to important changes.
The nominal or real adherence of the higher ranks to the Christian faith must have largely increased
the demand for costly MSS. As a natural consequence the rude Hellenistic forms gave way before
the current Greek, and at the same time it is reasonable to believe that smoother and fuller
constructions were substituted for the rougher turns of the apostolic language. In this way the
foundation of the Byzantine text was laid. Meanwhile the multiplication of copies in Africa and
Syria was checked by Mohammedan conquests.
•The appearance of the oldest MSS. have been already described. The MSS. of the fourth century,
of which Codex Vaticanus may be taken as a type present a close resemblance to these. The writing
is in elegant continuous uncials (capitals), in three columns, without initial letters or iota subscript
or adscript . A small interval serves as a simple punctuation; and there are no accents or breathings
by the hand of the first writer, though these have been added subsequently. Uncial writing continued
in general use till the middle of the tenth century. From the eleventh century downward cursive
writing prevailed. The earliest cursive biblical MS, is dated 964 A.D. The MSS. of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries abound in the contractions which afterward passed into the early printed
books. The oldest MSS. are written on the thinnest and finest vellum; in later copies the parchment
is thick and coarse. Papprus was very rarely used after the ninth century. In the tenth century cotton
paper was generally employed in Europe; and one example at least occurs of its use in the ninth
century. In the twelfth century the common linen or rag paper came into use. One other kind of
material requires notice—re-dressed parchment, called palimpsests. Even at a very early period
the original text of a parchment MS. was often erased, that the material might be used afresh. In
lapse of time the original writing frequently reappeared in faint lines below the later text, and in
this way many precious fragments of biblical MSS. which had been once obliterated for the
transcription of other works, have been recovered.
•The division of the Gospels into “chapters” must have come into general use some time before
the fifth century. The division of the Acts and Epistles into chapters came into use at a later time.
It is commonly referred to Euthalius, who, however, says that he borrowed the divisions of the
Pauline Epistles from an earlier father and there is reason to believe that the division of the Acts
and Catholic Epistles which he published was originally the work of Pamphilus the martyr. The
Apocalypse was divided into sections by Andreas of Caesarea about A.D. 500. The titles of the
sacred books are from their nature additions to the original text. The distinct names of the Gospels
imply a collection, and the titles of the Epistles are notes by the possessors, and not addresses by
the writers.
•Very few MSS. certain the whole New Testament—twenty-seven in all out of the vast mass of
extant documents. Besides the MSS. of the New Testament, or of parts of it, there are also
lectionaries, which contain extracts arranged for the church services.
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William Smith