Two Early Byzantine Bible Manuscripts in Christian Palestinian Aramaic : Codex Climaci Rescriptus II and XI / Kim Phillips.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Phillips, Kim, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Syriac language, Palestinian--Texts.

Syriac language, Palestinian.

Aramaic language Palestine--Texts.

Aramaic language Palestine.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 212 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK : Open Book Publishers, 2025.

Summary:

Despite 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.

Contents:

1. Introduction / Kim Phillips

2. CCR II: Pauline Epistles / Kim Phillips

3. CCR XI: Acts and Catholic Epistles / Kim Phillips

4. Textual and Linguistic Commentary / Kim Phillips.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.