There have been many Coptic versions of the Bible, including some of the earliest translations into any language. Several different versions were made in the ancient world, with different editions of the Old and New Testament in five of the dialects of Coptic:[1] Bohairic (northern), Fayyumic, Sahidic (southern), Akhmimic, and Mesokemic (middle). Biblical books were translated from the Alexandrian Greek version.

The Sahidic was the leading dialect in the pre-Islamic period, after the 11th century Bohairic became dominant and the only used dialect of the Coptic language.

Partial copies of a number of Coptic Bibles survive. A considerable number of apocryphal[2] texts also survive in Coptic, most notably the Gnostic[3] Nag Hammadi library.[4] Coptic remains the liturgical language of the Coptic Church[5] and Coptic editions of the Bible are central to that faith.

How Do the Coptic Versions Help Textual Scholars?

Introduction to the Coptic Versions Coptic by Bruce M. Metzger

is the latest phase in the development of the ancient Egyptian language, which until Christian times was written in hieroglyphs and their derivatives, hieratic and demotic script. But owing to the difficulty of these, Egyptian Christians wrote the native language using twenty-four Greek letters, with the addition of seven signs taken over from a more cursive variety of Egyptian demotic to express sounds that did not exist in spoken Greek. It is this form of Egyptian that is now known as Coptic, and a large number of Greek words pertaining to Christian doctrine, life, and worship were eventually incorporated into it. Coptic literature is almost exclusively religious. It consists for the most part of translations from Greek and includes versions of the Bible, as well as Apocrypha of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, the legends of the apostles, the lives and martyrdoms doms of the saints, and so on. The topographical conditions of the thousand-mile-long Nile valley were such as to foster the growth and differentiation of similar but distinct dialects, differing from one another chiefly in phonetics but also to some extent in vocabulary and syntax. The dialects of Coptic in which significant portions of the Scriptures are extant are (1) Sahidic, spoken in the area of Thebes (now Luxor), the chief city of Upper (i.e., southern) Egypt; (2) Bohairic, the dialect of Alexandria and the Western Delta of the Nile and Lower (i.e., northern) Egypt generally; (3) Achmimic, used in the region around Panopolis; (4) sub-Achmimic, which stands between tween Achmimic and Middle Egyptian; (5) Middle Egyptian, sometimes called the Oxyrhynchite dialect; and (6) Fayyumic, in the district of the Fayyum in Middle Egypt. Translations into various Coptic dialects were first made in the third or fourth century of the Christian era and subsequently revised. vised. Several fragmentary manuscripts of the Gospels dating from the fourth century survive. Among the Coptic versions, Sahidic is the oldest and in some respects the most important. The major part of the Old Testament, including a fairly complete Pentateuch, can be reconstructed from the considerable number of extant portions of manuscripts. Versions of the Psalms exist in many manuscripts, scripts, but the most important is one from the sixth century A.D. that is complete and contains Psalm 151. Since it is unlikely that there had been any appreciable amount of Judaistic proselytizing that would have called for a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Coptic, most scholars agree that the rendering of the Old Testament was made from copies of the Greek Septuagint. Early in the twentieth century, archaeologists, working near the southern border of the province of the Fayyum, came upon a large collection of manuscripts, almost all of them written in Sahidic. Many of them date from the first half of the ninth to the latter half of the tenth century. The collection, which comprises fifty-six biblical as well as patristic and hagiographical works, was acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York and has been published in a magnificent facsimile edition of sixty-three volumes. Other famous collections that include Sahidic manuscripts of the Bible are the Chester Beatty collection in Dublin and the Martin Bodmer collection lection in Cologny-Geneva. Bohairic is the latest of the several Coptic versions and, in common mon with the others, shows the influence of the Sahidic. Nevertheless, though it is the latest, this version must form the basis of any study of the Coptic texts. It is the only version that is completely preserved and whose text is attested throughout by several manuscripts. The version ultimately became the accepted Bible in Egypt, and the dialect survived as the ecclesiastical and liturgical language of the Coptic Church, even after Arabic had been adopted as the speech of everyday life. A well-preserved early copy of the Gospel according to Matthew in the Middle Egyptian dialect was acquired in the 19 50s by the William H. Scheide Library of Princeton. Dated by paleographers to the fourth or fifth century, it is one of the four oldest copies in any language of the entire text of Matthew. Of the other three, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus belong to the fourth century, and Codex Washingtonianus is dated to the fourth or fifth century (codices ices Alexandrinus and Ephraemi of the fifth century are incomplete in Matthew, and the several Greek and Coptic papyri that antedate the sixth century preserve only scraps of the text of Matthew). Furthermore, the Scheide Matthew is one of the oldest parchment manuscripts to preserve its original binding. This is made of wooden boards, beveled at the edges, with four holes along the binding edge of each board. Portions of leather thongs remain in most of the holes, but the back strip, presumably made also of leather, is gone. It can be appreciated, therefore, that in several respects the Scheide manuscript is of more than ordinary importance. One of the earliest manuscripts written in the sub-Achmimic dialect is an almost complete copy of the Gospel according to John, now in the library of the British and Foreign Bible Society (kept at Cambridge University). Comprising originally one hundred numbered pages, the codex today has only forty-three leaves or fragments thereof; the text begins at 2:2 on the page numbered 7 and ends at 20:20 on page 96. It is clear, therefore, that six numbered pages (i.e., three leaves of text) are missing at the beginning and at the end of the codex. The handwriting bears a strong resemblance to that of the mid-fourth-century copy of the Greek Bible known as Codex Vaticanus, allowances being made for the fact that one is on papyrus and the other on parchment. Along with the influence of the Greek Septuagint already indicated, the Coptic versions of the Old Testament frequently show a relationship with the Old Latin versions. For example, the Achmimic mimic version sometimes agrees with the Old Latin against all others, and very rarely does it coincide with the peculiarities of the Bohairic. This is not surprising, because the Old Latin version is regarded as having been of preeminent importance for the African Church. – Bruce Metzger. Bible in Translation, The: Ancient and English Versions (p. 35-37).

Old Testament

Translators of books of the Old Testament into Egyptian dialects were naturally made from the Alexandrian Greek version (Septuagint),[6] and there is no reason to doubt that they were translated at as early a date as the Gospels and Epistles, if not indeed before them. Portions of the Old Testament exist in each Egyptian dialect.[7]

In Sahidic, some Biblical books survived with complete text, as well as a large number of extant fragments representing most of the canonical books and certain of the deutero-canonical (the two Wisdoms, the Epistle of Jeremiah, and the Greek additions to Daniel).

Some Early Manuscripts

• Bodmer III[8] – John 1:1–21:25, Genesis 1:1–4:2; 4th century; Bohairic
• Bodmer VI[9] – Proverbs 1:1–21:4; 4th/5th century; Paleo-Theban (“Dialect P”)
• Bodmer XVI – Exodus 1:1–15:21; 4th century;
• Bodmer XVIII – Deuteronomy 1:1–10:7; 4th century;
• Bodmer XXI – Joshua 6:16–25; 7:6–11:23; 22:1–2; 22:19–23:7; 23:15–24:2; 4th century;
• Bodmer XXII – Jeremiah 40:3–52:34; Lamentations; Epistle of Jeremiah; Book of Baruch; 4th/5th century;
• Bodmer XXIII – Isaiah 47:1–66:24; 4th century;
• Bodmer XL – Song of Songs
• Bodmer XLIV – Book of Daniel; Bohairic.[10]
• Schøyen Ms 114 – Psalms; Sahidic; ca. 400.

Sahidic Coptic Translation of John 1:1

New Testament

The two main dialects, Sahidic and Bohairic, are the most important for the study of early versions of the New Testament. The Sahidic was the leading dialect in the pre-Islamic period. The earliest Bohairic manuscripts date to the 4th century, but most texts come from the 9th century and later.

Sahidic

The collection of manuscripts of Sahidic translations is often designated by cop^sa in academic writing and critical apparatus[11] (“Sa” for “versio Sahidica” in BHS). The first translation into the Sahidic dialect was made at the end of the 2nd century in Upper Egypt, where Greek was less well understood. So the Sahidic is famous for being the first major literary development of the Coptic language, though literary work in the other dialects soon followed. By the ninth century, Sahidic was gradually replaced by neighbouring Bohairic, and disappeared. Knowledge of the Sahidic manuscripts was lost until they were rediscovered in the 18th century. In 1778 Woide[12] issued a prospectus in which he announced his intention of publishing from Oxford manuscripts the fragments of the New Testament “iuxta interpretationem dialecti Superioris Aegypti, quae Thebaidica seu Sahidica appellantur.”[13] Another fragments were published in 1884 by Émile Amélineau.[14] Amélineau also edited other fragments in 1886–1888.[15]

Several years later Horner[16] produced a critical edition of the Sahidic New Testament over the period 1911–1924.[17] Horner’s edition containing almost every verse of the entire New Testament. The Sahidic translation is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type.[18]

The order of books: Gospels (John, Matthew, Mark, Luke), Pauline epistles (Hebrews between 2 Corinthians and Galatians), Catholic epistles, Acts, Apocalypse.[19]

Omitted Verses

Matthew 12:47; Matthew 16:2b–3; 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 9:44.46; 11:26; 15:28; Luke 17:36; 22:43–44; John 5:4; 7:53–8:11; Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; Romans 16:24.

Was the Woman Caught in Adultery John 7:53-8:11 In the Original and What Was Being Taught?

NTTC JOHN 7:53–8:11: Where Did Those Verses Go of Jesus and the Woman Caught In Adultery?

Omitted or Not Included Phrases

Matthew 15:6 or (his) mother not included;[20]

Luke 11:4 phrase “but deliver us from evil” is omitted. This omission is supported by the Greek manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus,[21] Codex Vaticanus, Codex Regius,[22] f¹,[23] 700, and some early versions vg, syr^s, cop^bo, arm, geo.[24]

CODEX SINAITICUS: One of the Most Reliable Witnesses to the Greek New Testament Text

CODEX SINAITICUS: End of Mark’s Gospel

Comparison of Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus

CODEX VATICANUS: Why a Treasure?

CODEX VATICANUS: End of Mark’s Gospel

Textual Variants

In Luke 4:17 it has textual variant and opened the book together with the Greek manuscripts A,[25] B, L,[26] W,[27] Ξ,[28] 33,[29] 892,[30] 1195, 1241, ℓ 547, syr^{s, h, pal}, cop^bo, against variant and unrolled the book supported by א, D^c, K,[31] Δ,[32] Θ,[33] Π,[34] Ψ,[35] f¹, f¹³, 28,[36] 565,[37] 700,[38] 1009, 1010 and many other manuscripts.[39]

In Luke 16:19 the version reads: “There was a rich man, with the name N[in]eue, who clothed himself,”[40] This reading has also Greek manuscript Papyrus 75 and two Greek minuscule manuscripts 36[41] and 37,[42] have a scholion of uncertain date ευρον δε τινες και του πλουσιου εν τισιν αντιγραφοις τουνομα Νινευης λεγομενον.[43]

In John 10,7 it reads ο ποιμην (shepherd) for η θυρα (door). The reading is supported by 𝔓⁷⁵ and cop^ac.[44]

In Acts 27:37 it reads “seventy-six” (as Codex Vaticanus) for “two hundred seventy-six.”[45]

In 1 Corinthians 15:47, it reads δευτερος for δευτερος ανθρωπος (as cop^bo).[46]

Some Manuscripts

Some of the more notable manuscripts of the Sahidic are the following.

• The Crosby-Schøyen Codex is a papyrus manuscript of 52 leaves (12×12 cm). It contains the complete text of Book of Jonah and 1 Peter (2 Maccabees 5:27–8:41, Melito of Sardis,[47] Peri Pascha 47–105, unidentified Homily). It is dated to the 3rd or 4th centuries and is held at the University of Mississippi.[48]
• British Library MS. Oriental 7594 contains an unusual combination of books: Deuteronomy, Jonah, and Acts. It is dated paleographically to the late 3rd or early 4th century.[49]
• Michigan MS. Inv 3992, a papyrus codex, has 42 folios (14 by 15 cm). It contains 1 Corinthians, Titus, and the Book of Psalms. It is dated to the 4th century.
• Berlin MS. Or. 408 and British Museum Or. 3518, being parts of the same original document. The Berlin portion contains the Book of Revelation, 1 John, and Philemon (in this order). It is dated to the 4th century.
• Bodmer XIX [50]– Matthew 14:28–28:20; Romans 1:1–2:3; 4th or 5th century.
• Bodmer XLII – 2 Corinthians; dialect unknown; Wolf-Peter Funk suggest Sahidic;[51]

Bohairic

The Bohairic (dialect of Lower Egypt) translation was made a little later, as the Greek language was more influential in lower (northern) Egypt. Probably, it was made in the beginning of the 3rd century. It was a very literal translation; many Greek words, and even some grammatical forms (e.g. syntactic construction μεν – δε) were incorporated to this translation. For this reason, the Bohairic translation is more helpful in the reconstruction of the early Greek text than any other ancient translation. It should also be noted that the Bohairic translation was influenced by several variables, including the other dialects, primarily Sahidic and Fayyumic. When the patriarchate moved from Alexandria to Cairo in the 11th century, Bohairic was the dominant language of the Coptic church. As the official dialect of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Bohairic seems to enjoy a strong relationship with mainly the other dialects, Egyptian Arabic[52] and—as it was for several centuries—Greek. The text is mainly Alexandrian, somewhat influenced by the Western text-type.[53] The Bohairic translation is designated by cop^bo.

The order of books: Gospels (John, Matthew, Mark, Luke), Pauline epistles (Hebrews between 2 Thess and 1 Tim), Catholic epistles, Acts, and Apocalypse.[54] The Apocalypse is preserved in relatively few manuscripts.[55]

Omitted verses: Matthew 17:21 (some mss); 18:11 (mss); 23:14 (mss); Mark 9:44.46; 11:26 (mss); 15:28 (mss); Luke 17:36; 22:43–44; John 5:4 (mss); 7:53–8:11 (mss); Acts 8:37; 15:34 (mss); 24:7; 28:29; Romans 16:24.

It contains Matthew 12:47; Some manuscripts of the Bohairic version contains verses: 17: 21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 11:26; 15:28; John 5:4; 7:53–8:11; Acts 15:34.

In Acts 27:37 it reads “one hundred seventy-six” for “two hundred seventy-six.”[56]

Some Manuscripts

The original {Old} Bohairic version is well represented by manuscripts. More than a hundred of manuscripts have survived. All have the last twelve verses of Mark.

• The earliest surviving manuscript of the four Gospels is dated AD 889. It is not complete.
• Papyrus Bodmer III[57] is the oldest manuscript of the Bohairic version.[58] It was discovered by John M. Bodmer of Geneva in Upper Egypt. It contains the Gospel of John, dated palaeographically to the 4th century. It contains 239 pages, but the first 22 are damaged.
• Huntington MS 17,[59] bilingual Bohairic-Arabic, dated to 1174, the oldest manuscript with complete text of the four Gospels in Bohairic.
• Huntington MS 20,[60] bilingual Bohairic-Greek, with complete text of the four Gospels.
• Oriental MS 424,[61] bilingual Bohairic-Arabic, dated to 1308, with complete text of the Pauline epistles, Catholic epistles, and the Acts.
• Codex Marshall Or. 5.[62]

The Bohairic version was employed by Mill[63] for his edition of 1707. It was first published in 1716 by Wilkins, who edited “Novum Testamentum Aegyptium vulgo Copticum”. His edition was accompanied with a Latin translation.[64] Horner produced a critical edition of the Bohairic New Testament in 1898–1905.[65] Horner used more than fifty Bohairic manuscripts preserved in that time in the libraries of Europe.[66]

Middle Egypt

The only surviving witnesses of an Akhmimic, and an Fayyumic Versions are in a fragmentary pieces (designated by cop^akh, and cop^fay).

• The Schøyen Codex,[67] a papyrus manuscript. It contains Gospel of Matthew. Dated to the early 4th century. It is the earliest Matthew in any Coptic dialect.[68]
• Codex Glazier,[69] contains Acts 1:1–15:3, housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library.[70]
• P. Mich. inv. 3521, Gospel of John in Fayyumic, ca. AD 325.

Textual features

Mark 8:15

the Herodians – 𝔓⁴⁵,[71] W, Θ, f¹, f¹³, 28, 565, 1365, itⁱ, it^k, cop^sa, arm, geo

Herod – cop^bo majority of Greek MSS

In 1 John 5:6 two versions, Sahidic and Bohairic, have textual variant “through water and blood and spirit” supported by the manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus,[72] Codex Alexandrinus,[73] 104, 424^c, 614, 1739^c, 2412, 2495, ℓ 598^m, syr^h, Origen.[74] Bart D. Ehrman[75] identified this reading as Orthodox corrupt reading.^[28]

Greek-Coptic Diglot Manuscripts

More than forty Greek-Coptic diglot manuscripts of the New Testament have survived to the present day.

Papyrus 2[76] Papyrus 6[77] Papyrus 41[78] Papyrus 42[79] Papyrus 62[80] Papyrus 96[81] Codex Borgianus[82] Uncial 070[83] Uncial 086[84] Uncial 0100[85] Uncial 0114[86] Uncial 0129[87] (= 0203, ℓ 1575) Uncial 0164[88] Uncial 0177[89] Uncial 0184[90] Uncial 0200[91]

Uncial 0204[92] Uncial 0205[93] Uncial 0236[94] Uncial 0237[95] Uncial 0238[96] Uncial 0239[97] Uncial 0260[98] Uncial 0275[99] Uncial 0276[100] Uncial 0298[101] Uncial 0299[102] Lectionary 143[103] Lectionary 961 Lectionary 962 Lectionary 963 Lectionary 964

Lectionary 965 Lectionary 1353 Lectionary 1355 Lectionary 1575 Lectionary 1602[104] Lectionary 1603 Lectionary 1604 Lectionary 1606 Lectionary 1607 Lectionary 1614[105] Lectionary 1678 Lectionary 1739 Lectionary 1994 Lectionary 2210

Lectionaries 1993 and 1605 are trilingual manuscripts:

• Lectionary 1993 – Coptic, Greek, and Arabic
• Lectionary 1605 – Greek, Coptic, and Arabico

List of Coptic New Testament Manuscripts

The Coptic version is one of the earliest and the most important versions of the New Testament. To the present day survived almost 1000 Coptic manuscripts of the New Testament. The majority of them represent Sahidic and Bohairic dialects. Only very few manuscripts represent the dialects of Middle Egypt.

Sahidic Manuscripts

• The Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Book of Jonah and 1 Peter; the 3rd or 4th centuries; University of Mississippi
• British Library MS. Oriental 7594, Deuteronomy, Jonah, and Acts; the 3rd/4th century
• Michigan MS. Inv 3992, 1 Corinthians, Titus, and the Book of Psalms; 4th century
• Berlin MS. Or. 408, Book of Revelation, 1 John, and Philemon; 4th century
• British Library MS. Oriental 3518 4th century
• Papyrus Bodmer III[106]
• Papyrus Bodmer XIX[107] — Matthew 14:28-28:20; Romans 1:1-2:3; 4th or 5th century.
• Codex Copticus Tischendorfianus I[108] – fragments of the four Gospels; 9th or 10th century

Bohairic Manuscripts

• Papyrus Bodmer III is the oldest manuscript of the Bohairic version
• Huntington MS 17, A, Bohairic-Arabic, dated to 1174, the oldest manuscript with complete text of the four Gospels in Bohairic
• Huntington MS 20, Bohairic-Greek, with complete text of the four Gospels
• Oriental MS 424, Bohairic-Arabic, dated to 1308, with complete text of the Pauline epistles, Catholic epistles, and the Acts
• Oriental MS 425, H₂, Bohairic-Arabic
• Oriental MS 426, Bohairic-Arabic
• Oriental MS 1001, E², Bohairic-Greek, 12th century, British Library
• Oriental MS 1315, E¹, Bohairic-Arabic, 1208, British Library
• Oriental MS 1316, H₃, Bohairic-Arabic, 1663, British Library
• Oriental MS 1317, Bohairic-Arabic, 1814, British Library
• Oriental MS 3381, 13th century, British Library
• Add MS 5995, D₄, Bohairic-Arabic, 14th century, British Library
• Add MS 14470, Bohairic-Arabic, 15th century, British Library
• Codex Marshall Or. 5 – Bohairic-Greek, 14th century, Bodleian Library
• Codex Marshall Or. 6 – Bohairic-Greek, 1320, Bodleian Library
• Codex Marshall Or. 99 – 16th century, Bodleian Library

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, and Edward D. Andrews

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[1] Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, timetremənkhēmi) is a family of closely-related dialects descended from the Ancient Egyptian language and historically spoken by the Copts of Egypt. Coptic was supplanted by Egyptian Arabic as the primary spoken language of Egypt following the Muslim conquest of Egypt, although it remains in use today as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church.

[2] Apocrypha (Gr. ἀπόκρυφος, ‘the hidden [things]’) are the biblical books received by the early Church as part of the Greek version of the Old Testament, but not included in the Hebrew Bible, being excluded by the non-Hellenistic Jews from their canon.

[3] Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], ‘having knowledge’) is a collection of religious ideas and systems which originated in the late 1st century CE among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasised personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) over the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of the church.

[4] The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the “Chenoboskion Manuscripts” and the “Gnostic Gospels”) is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local farmer named Muhammed al-Samman.

[5] The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic: Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, romanized: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit. ’The Egyptian Orthodox Church’) is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, servicing Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope.

[6] The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, US also ; from the Latin: septuaginta, lit. ’seventy’; often abbreviated 70; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Koine Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible, various biblical apocrypha, and deuterocanonical books. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch, were translated in the mid-3rd century BCE. The remaining books of the Greek Old Testament are presumably translations of the 2nd century BCE.The full title (Ancient Greek: Ἡ μετάφρασις τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα, lit. ’The Translation of the Seventy’) derives from the story recorded in the Letter of Aristeas that the Hebrew Torah was translated into Greek at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–247 BCE) by 70 Jewish scholars or, according to later tradition, 72: six scholars from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who independently produced identical translations.

[7] Swete, Henry Barclay (1902). An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek. Cambridge: Macmillan and Co. p. 106.

[8] Codex Bodmer III, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the fourth Gospel, and the first four chapters of Genesis, dated palaeographically to the 4th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of John with some lacunae.

[9] The Bodmer Papyri are a set of Greek and Coptic manuscripts, ranging from the 2nd to the 7th-centuries. These manuscripts were collected between the 1950s and 1960s by Swiss bibliophile, Martin Bodmer, who obtained them across Egypt.

[10] The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Doubleday 1992) Volume 1, 766–767

[11] A critical apparatus (Latin: apparatus criticus) in textual criticism of primary source material, is an organized system of notations to represent, in a single text, the complex history of that text in a concise form useful to diligent readers and scholars. The apparatus typically includes footnotes, standardized abbreviations for the source manuscripts, and symbols for denoting recurring problems (one symbol for each type of scribal error).

[12] Carl Gottfried Woide (German: Karl Gottfried Woide) (4 July 1725 – 9 May 1790), also known in England as Charles Godfrey Woide, was an Orientalist, a biblical scholar and a pastor.

[13] Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose; Edward Miller (1894). A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament. 1 (4 ed.). London: George Bell & Sons. pp. 127–128.

[14] E. C. Amélineau, Fragments coptes du Nouveau Testament dans le dialecte thébain, Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie, V (1884), pp. 105–139.

Émile Amélineau (1850 – 12 January 1915 at Châteaudun) was a French Coptologist, archaeologist and Egyptologist. His scholarly reputation was established as an editor of previously unpublished Coptic texts.

[15] ZÄS XXIV (1886), 41–56, 103–114; XXV (1887), 42–57, 100–110, 125–135; XXVI (1888), 96–105.

[16] George William Horner (1849–1930) was a British biblical scholar, an editor of the text of the New Testament in the dialects of the Coptic language. In the Bohairic version, Horner edited in four volumes from 1898 to 1905.

[17] George Horner, The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Southern Dialect, otherwise called Sahidic and Thebaic, 7 vols., (1911–1924; repr. Osnabrück: 1969).

[18] The Alexandrian text-type is one of several text types found among New Testament manuscripts. It is the text type favored by textual critics and it is the basis for modern Bible translations.

[19] Eberhard Nestle, Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, Oxford 1901, p. 135.

[20] Eberhard Nestle, Erwin Nestle, Barbara Aland and Kurt Aland (eds), Novum Testamentum Graece, 26th edition, (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1991), 41.

[21] Codex Sinaiticus (Greek: Σιναϊτικός Κώδικας, Sinaïtikós Kṓdikas; Shelfmarks and references: London, British Library, Add MS 43725; Gregory-Aland nº א [Aleph] or 01, [Soden δ 2]) or “Sinai Bible” is one of the four great uncial codices, ancient, handwritten copies of a Christian Bible in Greek. The codex is a historical treasure.The codex is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in uncial letters on parchment and dated paleographically to the mid-4th century.

[22] Codex Regius designated by siglum Le or 019 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 56 (von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 8th century. The manuscript is lacunose.

[23] Family 1 is a group of Greek Gospel manuscripts, varying in date from the 12th to the 15th century. The group takes its name from the minuscule codex 1, now in the Basel University Library.

[24] The Greek New Testament, ed. K. Aland, A. Black, C. M. Martini, B. M. Metzger, and A. Wikgren, in cooperation with INTF, United Bible Societies, 3rd edition, (Stuttgart 1983), p. 256.

[25] The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII; Gregory-Aland no.

[26] Codex Regius designated by siglum Le or 019 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 56 (von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 8th century. The manuscript is lacunose.

[27] The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 (Soden), also called the Washington Manuscript of the Gospels, and The Freer Gospel, contains the four biblical gospels and was written in Greek on vellum in the 4th or 5th century. The manuscript is lacunose.

[28] Codex Zacynthius (designated by siglum Ξ or 040 in the Gregory-Aland numbering; A1 in von Soden) is a Greek New Testament codex, dated paleographically to the 6th century. First thought to have been written in the 8th century, it is a palimpsest—the original (lower) text was washed off its vellum pages and overwritten in the 12th or 13th century.

[29] Minuscule 33 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 48 (Soden), before the French Revolution was called Codex Colbertinus 2844. It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century.

[30] Minuscule 892 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 1016 (Soden). It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 353 parchment leaves (23.5 cm by 11.5 cm).

[31] Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 71 (von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, on parchment. It was variously dated in the past (8th–11th centuries), currently it is dated to the 9th century.

[32] Codex Sangallensis, designated by Δ or 037 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 76 (von Soden), is a diglot Greek-Latin uncial manuscript of the four Gospels. Usually, it is dated palaeographically to the 9th, only according to the opinions of few palaeographers to the 10th century.

[33] The Codex Koridethi, also named Codex Coridethianus, designated by Θ, 038, or Theta (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 050 (Soden), is a 9th-century manuscript of the four Gospels. It is written in Greek with uncial script in two columns per page, in 25 lines per page.

[34] Codex Petropolitanus (Russian, “Петербургский кодекс” Peterburgskiy Kodeks), designated by Π or 041 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 73 (von Soden), is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 9th-century. The manuscript is lacunose.

[35] The Codex Athous Laurae—designated by Ψ or 044 in the Gregory-Aland numbering, and δ 6 in von Soden numbering—is a manuscript of the New Testament written in Greek uncial on parchment. The manuscript is written in a mix of text styles, with many lacunae, or gaps, in the text, as well as containing handwritten notes, or marginalia.

[36] Minuscule 28 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 168 (Soden), formerly known as Colbertinus 4705, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on vellum. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th-century.

[37] Minuscule 565 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 93 (Soden), also known as the Empress Theodora’s Codex, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on purple parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. It was labelled by Scrivener as 473.

[38] Minuscule 700 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 133 (Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the Gospels. Formerly it was labelled as 604 in all catalogues (Scrivener, Hoskier), Gregory gave the number 700 to it.

[39] Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart 2001), p. 114.

NA26, p. 164.

[40] Philip W. Comfort & David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts (Tyndale House Publishers: Wheaton 2001), p. 551.

[41] Minuscule 36 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), A20 (von Soden). It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on vellum.

[42] Minuscule 37 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), A154 (Von Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on vellum. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th century.

[43] Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament: Their Origin, Transmission and Limitations, Clarendon Press: Oxford 1977, p. 136.

[44] NA26, p. 282

[45] UBS3, p. 524.

[46] UBS3, p. 616.

[47] Melito of Sardis (Greek: Μελίτων Σάρδεων Melítōn Sárdeōn; died c. 180) was the bishop of Sardis near Smyrna in western Anatolia, and a great authority in early Christianity.

[48] William H. Willis, “The New Collections of Papyri at the University of Mississippi”, Proceedings of the IX International Congress of Papyrology, (Oslo, 1961), pp. 382–289.

[49] Herbert Thompson, The New Biblical Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt, (London, 1912).

[50] Codex Bodmer XIX is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 4th or 5th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of Matthew 14:28-28:20; Epistle to the Romans 1:1-2:3.

[51] James M. Robinson, The Pachomian Monastic Library at the Chester Beatty Library and the Bibliothèque Bodmer, in: Manuscripts of the Middle East 5 (1990–1991), p. 40.

[52] Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian (Arabic: العامية المصرية‎, [el.ʕæmˈmejjæ l.mɑsˤˈɾejjɑ]), or simply Masri (مَصرى), is the spoken vernacular Arabic dialect of Egypt.Egyptian is a dialect of the Arabic language, which is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt.

[53] The Western text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the predominant form of the New Testament text witnessed in the Old Latin and Syriac Peshitta translations from the Greek, and also in quotations from certain 2nd and 3rd-century Christian writers, including Cyprian, Tertullian and Irenaeus.

[54] Eberhard Nestle, Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, Oxford 1901, p. 134.

[55] Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versions of the New Testament, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 123.

[56] UBS3, p. 524.

[57] Codex Bodmer III, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the fourth Gospel, and the first four chapters of Genesis, dated palaeographically to the 4th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of John with some lacunae.

[58] R. Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer III. Evangile de Jean et Genese I–IV, 2 en bohairique, (CSCO clxxvii, Scriptores coptici, XXV; Louvain, 1958).

[59] Huntington 17, bilingual Bohairic-Arabic, uncial manuscript of the New Testament, on a paper. It is dated by a colophon to the year 1174.

[60] Huntington 20, is a Bohairic-Greek, uncial manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century.

[61] Codex Oriental Ms. 424, designated by siglum A1 (Horner), t (de Lagarde [= Boetticher]), is written in two languages Bohairic-Arabic, uncial manuscript of the New Testament, on paper.

[62] Codex Marshall Or. 5, is a Bohairic-Greek, uncial manuscript of the New Testament, on a paper.

[63] John Mill (c. 1645 – 23 June 1707) was an English theologian noted for his critical edition of the Greek New Testament which included notes on over thirty-thousand variant readings in the manuscripts of the New Testament.

[64] Eberhard Nestle, Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, Oxford 1901, pp. 133–134.

[65] George Horner, The Coptic Version of the New Testament in the Northern Dialect, otherwise called Memphitic and Bohairic, 4 vols. (1898–1905; repr. Osnabrück: 1969).

[66] Eberhard Nestle, Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, Oxford 1901, p. 134.

[67] The Schøyen Collection is one of the largest private manuscript collections in the world, mostly located in Oslo and London. Formed in the 20th century by Martin Schøyen, it comprises manuscripts of global provenance, spanning 5,000 years of history.

[68] “1.3 Coptic Bible – The Schoyen Collection”. Retrieved 2018-03-14.

[69] Codex Glazier, designated by siglum copG67, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament on parchment. It is dated palaeographically to the 4th or 5th century.

[70] Hans-Martin Schenke, Apostelgeschichte 1, 1–15, 3 Im Mittelaegyptischen Dialekt des Koptischen (Codex Glazier), TU 137, Berlin: Akademie Verlag 1991

The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th Street to the north.

[71] Papyrus 45 P⁴⁵ or P. Chester Beatty I) is an early New Testament manuscript which is a part of the Chester Beatty Papyri. It has been paleographically dated to the late second early 3rd century CE. It contains the texts of Matthew 20-21 and 25-26; Mark 4-9 and 11-12; Luke 6-7 and 9-14; John 4-5 and 10-11; and Acts 4-17.

[72] Codex Sinaiticus (Greek: Σιναϊτικός Κώδικας, Sinaïtikós Kṓdikas; Shelfmarks and references: London, British Library, Add MS 43725; Gregory-Aland nº א [Aleph] or 01, [Soden δ 2]) or “Sinai Bible” is one of the four great uncial codices, ancient, handwritten copies of a Christian Bible in Greek. The codex is a historical treasure. The codex is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in uncial letters on parchment and dated paleographically to the mid-4th century.

[73] The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII; Gregory-Aland no.

[74] UBS3, p. 823.

Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria.

For another variants of this verse see: Textual variants in the First Epistle of John.

[75] Bart Denton Ehrman (; born October 5, 1955) is an American New Testament scholar focusing on textual criticism of the New Testament, the historical Jesus, and the origins and development of early Christianity. He has written and edited 30 books, including three college textbooks. He is also a self-proclaimed Agnostic who misinforms and misleads those who have little knowledge of New Testament Textual Studies, while being more accurate in from of actual textual scholars.

[76] Papyrus 2 (𝔓2) is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek and Coptic. It is a papyrus fragment of a copy of the Gospel of John dating to the sixth century.

[77] Papyrus 6 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓6 or by ε 021 (in von Soden’s numbering), is a fragmentary early copy of the New Testament in Greek and Coptic (Akhmimic). It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of John that has been dated paleographically to the 4th century.

[78] Papyrus 41 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by P41, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek and Coptic. It is a diglot, it is a papyrus manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles.

[79] Papyrus 42 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by P42, is a small fragment of six verses from the Gospel of Luke dating to the 6th/7th century. The Greek text of this manuscript is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type with some Byzantine readings.

[80] Papyrus 62 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), signed by P62, known also as ‘‘Papyrus Osloensis’’, is a copy of the New Testament and Septuagint in Greek-Coptic. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew and Book of Daniel.

[81] Papyrus 96 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by P96, is a copy of the New Testament in Greek and Coptic. It is a diglot papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew.

[82] Codex Borgianus, designated by T or 029 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 5 (von Soden), is a Greek and Sahidic uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 5th century. The name of the codex came from its former owners.

[83] Uncial 070 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 6 (Soden), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 6th century.

[84] Uncial 086 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 35 (Soden), is a Greek — Coptic diglot, uncial codex of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 6th century.

[85] Uncial 0100 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 070 (Soden), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament. It is dated palaeographically to the 7th-century.

[86] Uncial 0114 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 53 (von Soden); is a Greek–Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated palaeographically to the 8th-century.

[87] Lectionary 1575 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1037 (Soden), is a Greek-Coptic diglot lectionary manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 9th-10th century.

[88] Uncial 0164 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 022 (Soden), is a Greek-Coptic bilingual uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 6th century (or the 7th century).The codex currently is housed at the Berlin State Museums (P. 9108) in Berlin.

[89] Uncial 0177 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 10th-century.

[90] Uncial 0184 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 6th century.

[91] Uncial 0200 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 7th century.

[92] Uncial 0204 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 7th century.

[93] Codex 0205 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering). It is a diglot Greek-Coptic (Sahidic) uncial manuscript of the Epistle to Titus and the Epistle to Philemon, dated paleographically to the 8th-century (J. M. Plumley proposed 7th or 6th-century).

[94] Uncial 0236 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 5th century.

[95] Uncial 0237 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 (von Soden), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 6th-century.

[96] Uncial 0238 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 8th century.

[97] Uncial 0239 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 7th-century.

[98] Uncial 0260 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 6th century.

[99] Uncial 0275 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 7th century.

[100] Lectionary 962 (ℓ 962 in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 8th century.

[101] Uncial 0298 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 8th or 9th century.

[102] Uncial 0299 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is a Greek-Coptic diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 10th or 11th century.

[103] Lectionary 143, designated by siglum ℓ 143 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 8th-century.

[104] Lectionary 1602, designated by ℓ 1602 in the Gregory-Aland numbering, is a Coptic–Greek bilingual manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves, dated paleographically to the 8th century.

[105] Lectionary 1614, designated by ℓ 1614 in the Gregory-Aland numbering. It is a Coptic/Greek bilingual manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves, dated paleographically to the 7th or 8th century.

[106] Codex Bodmer III, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the fourth Gospel, and the first four chapters of Genesis, dated palaeographically to the 4th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of John with some lacunae.

[107] Codex Bodmer XIX is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 4th or 5th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of Matthew 14:28-28:20; Epistle to the Romans 1:1-2:3.

[108] Codex Copticus Tischendorfianus I is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 10th or 11th century. Originally it contained the text of the four Gospels.

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