Manuscript
The Crosby–Schøyen Codex
Also known as MS 193 · Crosby Codex
One of the oldest bound books in the world — an Egyptian Christian's reader, in Coptic, with 1 Peter and Jonah inside.
translationscopticgeneral-epistlesearly-church
Overview
The Crosby–Schøyen Codex(c. AD 250–350 (some assessments run earlier, into the third century))— Egypt; part of the material associated with the Bodmer papyri
It holds five texts: the whole of 1 Peter, the whole of Jonah, part of 2 Maccabees, Melito of Sardis's homily on the Passover, and an unidentified sermon. Together they look like a book assembled for a single occasion — the Passover season.
It is a codex, not a scroll: pages, sewn and bound, in the form every book has taken since. Very few survive from this early.
In 2024 it was sold at auction for about 3.9 million dollars. It is now in private hands, so it can be cited but not visited.
Manuscript Details
- Date
- c. AD 250–350 (some assessments run earlier, into the third century)
- Language
- Coptic (Sahidic dialect)
- Script
- Coptic
- Material
- Papyrus
- Current location
- Private collection (sold at auction in 2024)
- Discovery location
- Egypt; part of the material associated with the Bodmer papyri
- Contains books
- 1 Peter · Jonah · 2 Maccabees 5:27–7:41 · Melito, On the Passover · an unidentified homily
- Tags
- translations · coptic · general-epistles · early-church
Significance
Egyptian Christians were reading Scripture in their own language, in bound books, by the third or fourth century. This one also carries the earliest complete copy of 1 Peter in any language.
The passages the manuscripts argue over
The places where the manuscripts differ — the ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery, the three heavenly witnesses — with the case each way.