18 January 1815 A.D. Count Tischendorf Born—A Manuscript in the Trash
Editors. “Konstantin von Tischendorf.” Encyclopedia
Britannica. 9 Sept 2012. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596956/Konstantin-von-Tischendorf. Accessed 9 Jul 2014.
Konstantin von Tischendorf, in full Lobegott Friedrich Konstantin Von
Tischendorf (born Jan. 18, 1815, Lengefeld, Saxony
[Germany]—died Dec. 7, 1874, Leipzig), German biblical critic who made extensive and invaluable
contributions to biblical textual criticism, famous for his discovery
of the Codex Sinaiticus, a celebrated
manuscript of the Bible.
While a student at
the University of Leipzig, Tischendorf began his
work on the recensions of the New Testament text, a task that he was
to pursue for the rest of his life. In 1844 he went to the Middle East. While
working in the library of the Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai
Peninsula, he discovered, among some old parchments, leaves of what he was
certain were among the oldest biblical manuscripts that he had ever seen. He
was permitted to take 43 of these leaves back with him to Leipzig, and in 1846
he published a facsimile edition, taking care to keep secret the place where he
had obtained them. In 1853 he made a second journey to Sinai with the hope of
recovering the other leaves he had seen on his first trip, but he found no
trace of them. He made still a third trip, with the support of the Russian
government, in 1859. Just as he was about to give up all hope of finding the
manuscripts, the steward of the monastery showed Tischendorf the
manuscripts that he was looking for and others besides. After intricate
negotiations, and for a sum that has been estimated at about $7,000,
Tischendorf procured for the tsar Alexander II what is now known as the Codex Sinaiticus. In 1933 the codex was purchased from the Soviet government by the British
Museum for £100,000 (about $500,000). These manuscripts date probably from the
latter half of the 4th century, were probably written in Egypt, and include most of the Old Testament and the entire New
Testament, as well as the Letter
of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd
of Hermas.
In numerous
writings, Tischendorf presented the results of his work. His eighth edition of
the Greek New Testament is considered to be of most value to contemporary
textual critics.
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