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Two Early Byzantine Bible Manuscripts in Christian Palestinian Aramaic: Codex Climaci Rescriptus II & XI

  • Kim Phillips (author)
Metadata
TitleTwo Early Byzantine Bible Manuscripts in Christian Palestinian Aramaic
SubtitleCodex Climaci Rescriptus II & XI
ContributorKim Phillips (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0455
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/OBP.0455
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightKim Phillips;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Publication placeCambridge, UK
Published on2025-02-20
Series
  • Semitic Languages and Cultures vol. 34
  • ISSN Print: 2632-6906
  • ISSN Digital: 2632-6914
ISBN978-1-80511-540-3 (Paperback)
978-1-80511-541-0 (Hardback)
978-1-80511-542-7 (PDF)
Short abstractDespite the ubiquitous use of Greek by the Christian church of the late antique Southern Levant, many Christians in the region also—or only—spoke Aramaic. Today, this dialect, known as Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA), is relatively sparsely attested in the form of regional inscriptions and, particularly, in the form of vernacular translations of Greek biblical, liturgical and theological texts. These translations survive predominantly as undertexts within palimpsest manuscripts. Codex Climaci Rescriptus (CCR) is one of the most important palimpsest manuscript sources for the recovery of CPA texts.
Long abstractDespite the ubiquitous use of Greek by the Christian church of the late antique Southern Levant, many Christians in the region also—or only—spoke Aramaic. Today, this dialect, known as Christian Palestinian Aramaic (CPA), is relatively sparsely attested in the form of regional inscriptions and, particularly, in the form of vernacular translations of Greek biblical, liturgical and theological texts. These translations survive predominantly as undertexts within palimpsest manuscripts. Codex Climaci Rescriptus (CCR) is one of the most important palimpsest manuscript sources for the recovery of CPA texts. CCR was created around the tenth century; its superior text consists of Syriac translations of two theological works by John Climacus. This tenth century manuscript was manufactured using recycled parchment from at least eleven older, obsolete manuscripts whose texts had been scraped off in preparation for reuse. Two of these eleven manuscripts form the focus of the present study. The first—CCR II—was originally a manuscript of the Pauline Epistles in CPA translation; the second—CCR XI—was originally an Apostolos manuscript (i.e., it contained the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles). Cutting-edge multispectral imaging technology has been brought to bear on CCR in the last decade, enabling more detailed and accurate reconstructions of its various undertexts. With the benefit of this technology, this study offers a detailed codicological introduction to each of CCR II and CCR XI, fresh editions of the undertexts themselves, as well as a commentary that begins to evaluate the ongoing significance of this manuscript for biblical and linguistic studies.
Print length224 pages (2+viii+214)
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Dimensions156 x 16 x 234 mm | 6.14" x 0.63" x 9.21" (Paperback)
156 x 20 x 234 mm | 6.14" x 0.79" x 9.21" (Hardback)
Weight434g | 15.31oz (Paperback)
608g | 21.45oz (Hardback)
Media18 illustrations
13 tables
OCLC Number1502102401
THEMA
  • 1QBCB
  • QRMF1
  • 1FBP
  • 2CSA
  • QRMF
  • AKHM
BISAC
  • REL006630
  • REL000000
  • REL006210
  • REL070000
  • HIS019000
  • LAN009010
Keywords
  • Byzantine Bible Manuscripts
  • Christian Palestinian Aramaic
  • Codex Climaci Rescriptus
  • Early Christian Texts
  • Aramaic Biblical Studies
  • Religious Manuscript Analysis
Contents

1. Introduction

(pp. 1–20)
  • Kim Phillips

2. CCR II: Pauline Epistles

(pp. 21–126)
  • Kim Phillips

3. CCR XI: Acts and Catholic Epistles

(pp. 127–166)
  • Kim Phillips

4. Textual and Linguistic Commentary

(pp. 167–192)
  • Kim Phillips
Contributors

Kim Phillips

(author)
Research Associate at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library at University of Cambridge

Dr Kim Phillips is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Hebrew Bible Manuscript Research, a Research Associate at the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library, and an Affiliated Lecturer in Biblical Hebrew at the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. His research interests include the development and transmission of the Hebrew Bible, Jewish Biblical exegesis, and Aramaic Bible translations.