Manuscript
The Syriac Pentateuch of AD 463/464 (BL Add. 14425)
Also known as British Library Add MS 14425 · the dated Peshitta Pentateuch
The oldest biblical manuscript that tells you the year it was written — a Syriac Pentateuch, copied in AD 463 or 464.
translationssyriacpeshittatorah
Overview
The Syriac Pentateuch of AD 463/464 (BL Add. 14425)(AD 463/464, by its own colophon)— Written at Amid; from the monastery of the Syrians, Wadi Natrun, Egypt
It carries the Pentateuch without Leviticus, in Syriac, the language of the churches east of the Roman world. It was written at Amid, and its own colophon records the date.
The precision matters. Older biblical manuscripts survive — Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, the papyri, the Dead Sea Scrolls are all earlier — but none of them says what year it was made. This one does, which is a different and narrower claim than "the oldest Bible."
The Peshitta itself is older than any of its copies: the version was made between the second and fifth centuries, and the surviving manuscripts begin here.
Manuscript Details
- Date
- AD 463/464, by its own colophon
- Language
- Syriac
- Script
- Estrangela
- Material
- Parchment
- Current location
- British Library, London (Add MS 14425)
- Discovery location
- Written at Amid; from the monastery of the Syrians, Wadi Natrun, Egypt
- Contains books
- Genesis · Exodus · Numbers · Deuteronomy
- Tags
- translations · syriac · peshitta · torah
Significance
It is the oldest dated biblical manuscript in any language — and a good example of a superlative that has to be stated exactly. Take out the word "dated" and the claim becomes false. MannaFest keeps the word in.
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.