Copyright © By Dr. Adel Elsaie, Book Title: "Please Revise the Bible, Again"

4.2.2.3  Codex Alexandrinus

 

Codex Alexandrinus received its name from its earliest known location was the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It is believed to be from the fifth century. When Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Alexandria, was transferred in 1621 to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, he is believed to have brought the codex with him. Later he sent it as a present to King James I of England (the same James who commissioned the King James Version) who died before the gift was presented. In 1627 King Charles I accepted it in his stead. It is now in the British Museum in its manuscript department and is on exhibition there. The text is written in capitals (called uncial script), and arranged in two columns on the page. Like the Codex Sinaiticus, it contained originally the whole Greek Bible, with the addition of the two Epistles of Clement of Rome, which in very early days ranked almost with the inspired books; and, in addition, the table of contents shows that it originally included the Psalms of Solomon, the title of which, however, is so separated from the rest of the books as to indicate that they were regarded as standing on a different footing.

 

It does not include Matthew 1:1 through 25:6, Luke 22:43, John 7:53 through 8:11, and 2 Corinthians 4:13 through 12:6. Hebrews follow immediately after II Thessalonians. At the end some early Christian writings were added that had been used in teaching: the first Epistle of Clement, and the second Epistle of Clement up to 12:4.

 

Total number of leaves is 773, out of which 143 belong to the New Testament. The words are written continuously without separation. Accents are absent and breathing is rare. The Old Testament quotations are indicated. It is written on vellum, 32.1 cm. x 26.4 cm. There are two columns and 46-52 lines to the column. The ink is brown.

 

It is believed that the codex is the work of five scribes, who are designated by the Roman numerals. The Old Testament was copied by two hands (I and II) and the New Testament by three (III, IV and V). III wrote Matthew, Mark and I Corinthians 10:8 - Philemon 25; IV copied Luke, John, Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and Romans 1:1 - I Corinthians 10:8; and V wrote the Apocalypse.

 

The scribes' errors and their corrections are obvious. Sometimes the words first written have been erased, and the correct reading written above them. In other instances, some words had been written twice over by mistake. Also, a considerable space is left blank, as the facsimile shows. As regards the quality of the text preserved in this Codex, it must be admitted that it does not stand quite as high as the above two codices. Different parts of the New Testament have evidently been copied from different originals.

 

Based upon critical examinations of ancient manuscripts by Christian scholars, the following evidences are concluded:

 

1. The ancient manuscripts are not necessarily carefully written.
2. The ancient manuscripts extant are not necessarily copied from oldest manuscript master.
3. The ancient manuscripts were subject to the greatest corruption in history.
4. The ancient manuscripts are in perpetual disagreement with each other

 

One would really wonder about handling God’s inspired words. On the other hand, the Quran was collected under strict rules that required each verse to be accepted only if it was presented at least in two manuscripts and should conform to the memorized version of the commission that was responsible of collecting the Quran. A parallel to this conscientious performance does not exist in the case of any other scripture in the history of the world.

 

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