Bezae Codex Cantabrigiensis

An exact copy of the celebrated uncial greco-latin manuscript of the Four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, written in the sixth century and presented to the University of Cambridge by Theodore Beza in 1581.

The third volume in the four-volume commentary on the Book of Acts, this work presents a fresh look at the text of Codex Bezae and compares its message with that of the more familiar Alexandrian text of which Codex Vaticanus is taken as a representative. It deals with Acts 13.1-18.23, the chapters that cover the first two stages of the mission to the Gentiles, with the intervening meeting in Jerusalem (14.28-15.41). For each section, there is a side by side translation of the Bezan and Vaticanus manuscripts, followed by a full critical apparatus which deals with more technical matters, and finally, a commentary which explores in detail the differences in the message of the two texts. Of particular interest in this part of Acts are the person of Paul and the unfolding of his character and theology. It is found that in the Bezan text Luke portrays him as a fallible disciple of Jesus who, despite his powerful enthusiasm, is hindered by his traditional Jewish understanding from fully carrying out the mission entrusted to him in these first stages. The conclusion is drawn that the portrait of an exemplary hero in the Alexandrian text is a later modification of the flawed picture.

Codex Bezae is one of the most important primary sources in New Testament scholarship. Together with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus it represents one of our most significant links back to the early Church and its origins. Since its rediscovery in the sixteenth century, the riddles posed by its general appearance and its textual characteristics have continued to fascinate scholars, and David Parker here offers a comprehensive study of Codex Bezae. This book aims to cast light on the story behind this most enigmatic of manuscripts. Data are presented here that makes possible a reconstruction of the stages of copying from which the manuscript descends. An appraisal of the earliest correctors of the Codex enables the author to extend his picture of its history to the medieval period.