Some Important Manuscripts of Bible – Bible has long histories. The written scriptures were collected from many sources that later then are compiled and translated. In term of translation, it also has very long processes and Septuagint or also called as LXX becomes one of the major translations in the history of bible. Those were 70 experts in bible and Hebrew language who were asked to translate the texts of Old Testaments. In this case, it is interesting to see the manuscripts and old texts that show the long history of the bible.
Mostly, bible has three main languages. Hebrew and Aram are said to be the original language of bible. Then, the bible, especially the Old Testament, was translated to Greek language. As for the Hebrew texts, there are some very old scrolls and manuscripts that become the proof. One of them is the Great Isaiah Scroll. The scroll is actually one of the original scrolls called as Dead Sea Scrolls. These were found in 1947. Qumran Caves were the places where people find the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Great Isaiah Scroll becomes the ones with most complete parts compared to the other scrolls. The Great Isaiah Scroll has seventeen sheets. The sheets of parchments were combined into single scroll. The scroll is often compared to the Masoretic texts. There are some similarities, but mainly the differences are in grammatical and spelling details in the texts. Then, there is also Codex Leningradensis. This is the oldest Hebrew manuscript and it contains the whole parts of Old Testament. The codex was found in Egypt. Now, it is stored in National Library of Russia located in St. Petersburg. In the past, this is called as Leningrad and that is why the codex was named as Codex Leningradensis.
Most of the Hebrew manuscripts were written without vowels. There were also no verses, chapters, and pointing. Thus, it is hard to understand. Based on the history, the manuscripts were revised and these were done by the Masoretes. They were group of scribes who understand Hebrew language and they worked in Tiberias and Jerusalem. They worked on the revision between 5th and 10th centuries. They revised the old manuscripts by adding vowels or vocalizations so the texts were easier to read. Accents and even textual apparatus were added on the Hebrew texts. This is how the Hebrew texts could be read easily. The texts were called as the Masoretic texts. Still about the Hebrew texts of bible, there is also Scroll of Exodus. The scroll was found in Cairo Genizah. It was found by Solomon Schechter in 1892. The term Genizah can be understood as hiding place and it is word in Hebrew. This is place of depository to store the Hebrew books and these books and texts were no longer usable anymore. However, because the texts contain the word of God, it is still considered important and that is why it is recorded in history until now.
Then, there are also manuscripts called as The Great Uncials. Uncials refer to texts written with capital letters. The texts are written in early Greek styles and these were popular in 4th to 8th century. One of the texts in Great Uncials is Codex Vaticanicus. This is from fourth century. The codex is considered important because it is the first complete manuscripts that have both Old and New Testament. The Old Testament texts are related to the translation of Septuagint. Some theories said that it was written in Egypt and it was one of the 50 books commissioned by Constantine the Great. However, this is still speculation. Currently, the codex is in Vatican Library. Then, there is Codex Sinaiticus. It has both Old and New Testaments. It contains the complete parts of New Testaments compared to the other old manuscripts. The third Great Uncial codex is Codex Alexandrinus. Currently, this codex is in British Library. The codex is the first codex among the fours that was used in criticism and discussions. Then, the fourth one is Codex Washingtonianus. The codex is in US and it was brought from Egypt. It can be found in Freer Collection in Smithsonian Institution.
Those are some texts and manuscripts that have significance in the history of Bible the four codices of Great Uncials are the ones who are regarded as important now because those have most parts of combined texts in Old and New Testaments. Of course, these were sources of the early Bible before the better compilation and canonized Bible were compiled and organized. Those texts were mostly in in Hebrew, Aram, and Greek language. However as what modern people can see, Bible is translated into many languages. At first, Bible was only translated into Latin language and the translation is called as Vulgata, Now, bible can be found even in national and traditional language of many countries so Christians can understand the word of God better and they can really know the meaning of what God said in the Bible.
