Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-06-01
NEW SAYING OF CHRIST
VariatiOns in the Freer Manuscript Dis
cussed by Biblical Authorities.
london Chronicle.D

/ Six years ago great interest was
.aroused by the discovery in Egypt of d
new Greek manuscript of the gospels,
rivaling in age the Oldest texts. The
ImanuscrIpt formed a complete vol
ume on vellum, and must have been
preserved intact in monastery or
tomb. 1t was purchased by Mr.. c. l..
Freer, a wealthy American, and the
task of publishing it was intrusted oy
him to Prof. II. A. Sanders. of Mich!-
gan University.
This new manuscript lies at Wash
ington, a facsimile having, by Mi.
Freers direction, been presented to
the British Museum, which would have
possessed the original had it not been
that Mr. Freer, being on the spot with
money in his purse when the discov-
cry was made obtained the coveted
prize.
The most interesting portion of the
manuscript relates to the gospel OF
st. Mark. 1t contains the Appendix
! known as the last twelve verses of St
Mark, which in the revised version are
placed in a position detached from the
rest of the gospel, but inserts in the
middle of these verses certain verses
which occur in no other manuscript
of the New Testiment, though the au-
thority who writes the Times article
says they were known to St Jerome.
who quotes a part of them.
In the French manuscript after verse
IA, which says that Jesus upbraide'i
his disciples for their unbelief, the
text continues thus:
And they excused themselves, say
ing that this age of lawlessness and
unbelief is under Satan, who through
the agency of unclean spirits, suffers
not the true power of God to be ap-
pretended. For this cause, said they
unto Christ, reveal now at once Thy
righteousness. And Christ said unto
them: The limit of the years of the
power of Satan is (not fulfilled, but
it draweth near (the text, here
and elsewhere, is corrupt; for
the sake fthose that have sinned was
/ given up unto death, that they may
return unto the truth and sin no more
but may inherit the spiritual and in
corruptible glory of righteousness IN
heaven"
There are other variations in the
text of considerable interest. The
order of the books is Matthew, John,
Luke, Mark. A writer in the Times
holds that the manuscript is not hon.
ogenouh-"indeed it is far from be-
ing so" His theory is that it, or an
ancestor of it, must have been copied
from a number of distinct manu-
scripts-"no doubt papyrus role,
which could not contain more than d
single gospel"-which themselves had
diverse textual pedigrees.
The first section of the gospel of
ST John is written in different hand
from the rest of the manuscript, and
apparently later.
The manuscript dates from the
fourth or fifth century, and is de-
scribed as one of the most valuable
and ancient versions of the New Tes-
timent in Greek.
Prof. NJ Flinders Petrie, the great
Psychologist, who has just arrived in
England after six months in Egypt,
said the value of the manuscript would
depend upon whether it was "one of
the heretical manuscripts, doctored to-
meet the views of one of the various
parties, or more excellent text than
any we possess.3
1T is curious" added Prof. Flinders
Petrie, that no two important early
manuscripts go to the same district o.
the same church. Thus we possess
the Codex AleXandrinus; the Greek
Church has another, the Roman Cath
Ollie Church the Codex Vaticanus, and
now the Freer manuscript has gone to
the United States to the nonconform-
lists"
The revised version of the Bible 5
chiefly based on the Codex Vaticanus
and the Codex Sinaiticus the author
lied version is chiefly based on the CO.
dex Alexandrinus.
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