Ok, so you can't literally get your hands on it; but would you really want to be responsible for what could happen if you did? I mean, really, the world's oldest extant Bible?
Instead, in a precedent shattering move the British Library, the National Library of Russia, St. Catherine's Monastery and Leipzig University Library have worked together to make all the extant pieces of the Codex Sinaiticus really available online. I tried to insert a picture, but evidently I need to work on that. It was HUGE. So, you will just have to click the link and go look at the real thing.
This isn't just some antisceptic rendering of the text online. This is digital photography that is more than just legible. Care has been taken to reproduce the actual appearance of the parchment and the ink. There is also an electronic transcription available of the text that is linked word-by-word to the digital images of the actual manuscript. There is a provision for a side-by-side English translation to display as well, but that is not yet available. There is oodles of information here about the manuscript, the reconstruction process, the editing process for the transcription -- enough to keep textual critic nuts (errrr, enthusiasts) busy for weeks.
I don't read Greek, and 8 years of Latin just doesn't do it here. If you read any Greek at all check it out. Use the zoom function. Look back into history over 1600 years. Let your inner geek come out and play. This is cool.
JusticeSeeker
JusticeSeekerOK@aol.com
Thursday, July 09, 2009
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