Codex Vaticanus B

Linguist's Software has been approved to sell the magnificent Bibliorum Sacrorum Graecorum Codex Vaticanus B color facsimile.

Codex Vaticanus is the oldest surviving manuscript of virtually the entire Bible in Greek. It was written about A.D. 350 and is regarded as the most important manuscript of the Greek Bible. This is the first time that the entire Codex Vaticanus has been printed in color.

The price at the latest exchange rate is USD $5470 (includes express shipping and insurance).

Following is the publication data and a first-hand description from a purchaser:

Title: Bibliorum Sacrorum Graecorum Codex Vaticanus B.

Place and Publisher: Roma: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato

Year of Publication: 1999

Format: One 30 cm tall volume parchment-bound facsimile with gold impressions on cover and spine, 1536 pages. One parchment- and leather-bound Prolegomena volume with gold and silver impressions, 74 pages.

General Notes: At head of title: *Bibliothecae *apostolicae *Vaticanae Codex Vaticanus *Graecus *1209. Very fine facsimile reproduction of the original Greek manuscript. Bound in parchment with gold impressions on cover and spine, issued in a Plexiglas case, which case is provided for protection in transit only and is not guaranteed to arrive without defect. Prolegomena volume of commentary essays in English or French. Includes bibliographical references and notes. 450 numbered copies printed for sale.

Dewey D.C.: 220
LC Classification: BS
Price: 9500000 ITL

Historical Significance: The Codex Vaticanus B (Vat. Gr. 1209, written in the fourth century) is considered to be the oldest extant copy of the Bible, and is, along with the Codex Sinaiticus, one of the two main witnesses supporting modern Greek texts and English translations. It contains in Greek most of the Old Testament with the Apocrypha (excluding 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Prayer of Manasses) and most of the New Testament. Codex B is believed to have reached the West in 1483, during the Council of Florence, as a gift from the Byzantine Emperor Giovanni VIII to Pope Eugenio IV.

This beautifully executed facsimile faithfully reproduces the 1560 pages of the original manuscript conserved at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and is enriched by a further volume of Prolegomena essays by Paul Canart (in French), Pierre-Maurice Bogaert (in French) and Stephen Pisano (in English).

A purchaser described to us the magnificent Codex Vaticanus facsimile as follows:

"Italian craftsmanship is alive and well. Everything about this instant rare work spells deluxe. It came in a wooden crate weighing 16 kilograms. The two volumes and thick clear-plastic case alone are quite heavy. The thick full-color individual paper pages of the codex are shaped like the original with rough edges and no blank margins. Even blank pages, cut-off leaves and holes in the parchment are mimicked in this edition. The entire codex is reproduced in one beautifully-bound volume, including the Old and New Testaments. The only modern addition to the codex volume is a two-page authenticity certificate with the serial number in the form: 021/450.

The book works very well mechanically: there is no need to fight to hold the pages open to read any text. The resolution of the facsimile under a magnifying glass appears to be excellent.

The Prolegomena volume includes the imprimatur by Joannes Paulus II, a subtle watermark portrait of the Holy Father, three essays, a column-by-column index of the codex by verse numbers, and a certification page with serial number. The index is very helpful, because the pages of the codex volume are not adorned with any modern notation.

The untranslated essays in the Prolegomena volume are: NOTICE PALEOGRAPHIQUE ET CODICOLOGIQUE by Paul Canart, LE TEXT DE L'ANCIEN TESTAMENT by Pierre-Maurice Bogaert, O.S.B., and THE TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT by Stephen Pisano SJ ."

The graphic below shows a portion from Galatians 1 (page 1488B). It demonstrates the fidelity of the color and the sharpness of the image so you can clearly distinguish between the apricot-colored ink of the original hand and the chocolate-colored reinforced text.

This magnificent facsimile of Codex Vaticanus is available only until the portion of this limited edition that is open to the public is sold out. For information please email .

The price at the latest exchange rate is USD $5470 (includes express shipping and insurance).

Philip B. Payne, pictured above, the founder and president of Linguist's Software, Inc., has written extensively on Codex Vaticanus.

• He recently published an article in what is probably the most important book about Codex Vaticanus ever published, written with the senior paleographer at the Vatican Library. The book is available at discount ($49.95) from Linguist's Software. Order
  
  Philip B. Payne and Paul Canart. "Distigmai Matching the Original Ink of Codex Vaticanus: Do they Mark the Location of Textual Variants?" pages 199-226 in Patrick Andrist, ed., Le manuscrit B de la Bible (Vaticanus graecus 1209): Introduction au fac-similé, Actes du Colloque de Genève (11 juin 2001), Contributions supplémentaires. Lausanne, Switzerland: Éditions du Zèbre, 2009.
  
  See Le manuscrit B de la Bible for more information.

Download three of Dr. Payne's papers here:

• Philip B. Payne, "The Text-Critical Function of the Umlauts in Vaticanus, with Special Attention to 1 Corinthians 14.34-35: A Response to J. Edward Miller" Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27.1 (2004) 105-112. This article is online at http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/Vaticanus/Payne-2004.pdf
  

• Philip B. Payne and Paul Canart, "The Originality of Text-Critical Symbols in Codex Vaticanus" Novum Testamentum XLII, 2 (2000) 105-113. (Available free from Linguist's Software with the permission of the publisher.)
  

• Philip B. Payne, "Fuldensis, Sigla for Variants in Vaticanus, and 1 Cor 14.34-5" New Testament Studies 41 (1995) 240-262. (Available free from Linguist's Software with the permission of the publisher.)
  

In addition, Dr. Payne recently published another book with extensive information about Codex Vaticanus: