Bible Synapse
Codex Alexandrinus
Manuscript · c. AD 400–440 · Bible manuscripts · also called Royal MS 1 D V–VIII
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- Date
- c. AD 400–440 (the copying (an estimate from the handwriting))
- Found
- Patriarchal library, Alexandria, Egypt, 1627. An Arabic note records that Patriarch Athanasius III gave it to the patriarchal cell in Alexandria, probably between 1305 and 1315. Cyril Lucaris, patriarch of Alexandria and then of Constantinople, took it to Constantinople in 1621 and sent it to Charles I of England, who received it in 1627. George II gave it to the British Museum in 1757.
- Now
- British Library, London (Royal MS 1 D V–VIII)
- Passages
- Mark 16:9–20, John 7:53 – John 8:11
What it is
A Greek Bible in four volumes, written in two columns, containing most of the Greek Old Testament, the New Testament, and two early Christian letters known as 1 and 2 Clement. Some leaves are lost, including most of Matthew (up to 25:6) and John 6:50–8:52.
How it connects to the Bible
In the Gospels it is the oldest example of the Byzantine text, the form that later became standard in the Greek church; in the rest of the New Testament it is closer to the older Alexandrian text. It includes the longer ending of Mark (Mark 16:9–20). Its pages for John 7–8 are lost, but counting the lines suggests they had no room for John 7:53–8:11.
What scholars debate
Where it was made is uncertain; Alexandria, Caesarea, Ephesus and Mount Athos have all been suggested.