Βίβλος or, βιβλίον was the term most widely used by the Greeks for book or volume. The usual derivation is from βύβλος the Egyptian papyrus. Comp. Lat. liber "the inner bark of a tree," also " book." Pliny (Nat. Hist. xiii. 11) says that the pith of the papyrus plant was cut in slices and laid in rows, over which other rows were laid crosswise, and the whole was massed by pressure. The name for the blank papyrus sheets was χάρτης (charta) paper. See on 2 John 1:12. Timothy is here requested to bring some papyrus documents which are distinguished from the vellum manuscripts.
Parchments (μεμβράνας)
N.T.o. Manuscripts written on parchment or vellum. Strictly speaking, vellum was made from the skins of young calves and the common parchment from those of sheep, goats, or antelopes. It was a more durable material than papyrus and more expensive. The Latin name was membrana, and also pergamena or pergamina, from Pergamum in Mysia where it was extensively manufactured, and from which it was introduced into Greece. As to the character and contents of these documents which Timothy is requested to bring, we are of course entirely ignorant."
Access to literature, and scribes, and things like that are part of the recent arguments (for example from Robyn Walsh) that the NT authors were from the elite. This is not something I have looked into extensively, but I do find myself skeptical, we have evidence of non-elite village scribes (the likely produces of Q), so I'm not sure why the existence of parchments and the such would rule out non-elite authors. If a house church did have, for example, a Q collection, a version of Mark, (early Church fathers talk about the memoirs of the Apostles being read at churches) or perhaps something from Isaiah, Deuteronomy or the psalms, it may have very well been copied (from a traveling overseer or a synagogue) by a non-elite scribe on behalf of the community.
BTW, the fact that almost ALL our literary evidence comes from the elite is not surprising to anyone who thinks about it for two seconds, and has nothing to say about whether or not there was (however limited) non-elite literary production.
Roman, here is a review of the Walsh book: https://www.academia.edu/114312052/Review_of_Robyn_Faith_Walsh_The_Origins_of_Early_Christian_Literature_Contextualizing_the_New_Testament_within_Greco_Roman_Literary_Culture_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2021_
Brent Nongbri also wrote a review of the book. Appreciate your thoughts.
"Although we know that the earliest NT documents were written on scrolls, the earliest manuscript we currently have (𝔓52, the John Rylands papyrus, Fig. 3.2 on p. 41) is a page from a codex."
Porter, Stanley E.; Pitts, Andrew W.. Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism (p. 46). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
"In the making of books, Jews used scrolls, while Christians used codices—at least, Christians from the end of the first century and thereafter. The first-generation Christians, who were mostly Jews, probably read the Old Testament from scrolls. The founder of the Christian church, Jesus, is said to have read a passage in Isaiah from 'a scroll' (Luke 4:17). Saul of Tarsus, in his Jewish training, would have used scrolls; later on, he likely switched to the codex format (this is discussed below)."
Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography and Textual Criticism (Kindle Locations 850-854). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
"A tax collector such as Matthew, accustomed to using such a codex for business notes, could have used such a wooden codex for taking notes on Jesus’ speech. Mark could have done the same with Peter's speech. Writers also used another kind of notebook, called membranae in Latin and membranas in Greek (a Latin loanword). The Greeks did not invent any other word to describe a codex. Thus, membranas was the universal Greek term for the codex. In its earliest form, the codex was a notebook with parchments which allowed for erasing (see Martial's Epistle 14.7.184). These were used in much the same way as the wooden tablets: for making notes or rough drafts. They were very popular among lawyers and writers. Both of these codices were precursors to the full-formed papyrus codex."
Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography and Textual Criticism (Kindle Locations 874-880). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Please see the "Critical Reception" section here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Early_Christian_Literature#cite_note-Becker-2
I think it will one day become abundantly clear that the "literary trope" suggestion or elitism for NT scribal activity is a huge fiction. It still perplexes me how anyone who's read Homer in Greek thinks Mark mirrors the poet in his Gospel.
12 comments:
Vincent's Word Studies:
"The books (βιβλία)
Βίβλος or, βιβλίον was the term most widely used by the Greeks for book or volume. The usual derivation is from βύβλος the Egyptian papyrus. Comp. Lat. liber "the inner bark of a tree," also " book." Pliny (Nat. Hist. xiii. 11) says that the pith of the papyrus plant was cut in slices and laid in rows, over which other rows were laid crosswise, and the whole was massed by pressure. The name for the blank papyrus sheets was χάρτης (charta) paper. See on 2 John 1:12. Timothy is here requested to bring some papyrus documents which are distinguished from the vellum manuscripts.
Parchments (μεμβράνας)
N.T.o. Manuscripts written on parchment or vellum. Strictly speaking, vellum was made from the skins of young calves and the common parchment from those of sheep, goats, or antelopes. It was a more durable material than papyrus and more expensive. The Latin name was membrana, and also pergamena or pergamina, from Pergamum in Mysia where it was extensively manufactured, and from which it was introduced into Greece. As to the character and contents of these documents which Timothy is requested to bring, we are of course entirely ignorant."
Access to literature, and scribes, and things like that are part of the recent arguments (for example from Robyn Walsh) that the NT authors were from the elite. This is not something I have looked into extensively, but I do find myself skeptical, we have evidence of non-elite village scribes (the likely produces of Q), so I'm not sure why the existence of parchments and the such would rule out non-elite authors. If a house church did have, for example, a Q collection, a version of Mark, (early Church fathers talk about the memoirs of the Apostles being read at churches) or perhaps something from Isaiah, Deuteronomy or the psalms, it may have very well been copied (from a traveling overseer or a synagogue) by a non-elite scribe on behalf of the community.
BTW, the fact that almost ALL our literary evidence comes from the elite is not surprising to anyone who thinks about it for two seconds, and has nothing to say about whether or not there was (however limited) non-elite literary production.
https://youtu.be/TC9p6LmrYBo?si=XGKWy8VVvgsN6IR5
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex%23:~:text%3DAs%2520early%2520as%2520the%2520early,scrolls%2520(see%2520Herculaneum%2520papyri).&ved=2ahUKEwjZqPbF9vyJAxW0QEEAHe24KjIQFnoECBsQBQ&usg=AOvVaw3LFatFwE87Jnuo3Kn86Ftw
Roman - "we have evidence of non-elite village scribes" - where?
"the likely produces of Q" - evidence of Q?
https://www.richardcarrier.info/archives/22609#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20ancient%20literary%20elites,are%20not%20strange%20or%20unique.
Thanks, Terence. Good stuff and I appreciate the last thing that Vincent wrote in those comments.
Roman, here is a review of the Walsh book: https://www.academia.edu/114312052/Review_of_Robyn_Faith_Walsh_The_Origins_of_Early_Christian_Literature_Contextualizing_the_New_Testament_within_Greco_Roman_Literary_Culture_Cambridge_Cambridge_University_Press_2021_
Brent Nongbri also wrote a review of the book. Appreciate your thoughts.
"Although we know that the earliest NT documents were written on scrolls, the earliest manuscript we currently have (𝔓52, the John Rylands papyrus, Fig. 3.2 on p. 41) is a page from a codex."
Porter, Stanley E.; Pitts, Andrew W.. Fundamentals of New Testament Textual Criticism (p. 46). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
"In the making of books, Jews used scrolls, while Christians used codices—at least, Christians from the end of the first century and thereafter. The first-generation Christians, who were mostly Jews, probably read the Old Testament from scrolls. The founder of the Christian church, Jesus, is said to have read a passage in Isaiah from 'a scroll' (Luke 4:17). Saul of Tarsus, in his Jewish training, would have used scrolls; later on, he likely switched to the codex format (this is discussed below)."
Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography and Textual Criticism (Kindle Locations 850-854). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
"A tax collector such as Matthew, accustomed to using such a codex for business notes, could have used such a wooden codex for taking notes on Jesus’ speech. Mark could have done the same with Peter's speech. Writers also used another kind of notebook, called membranae in Latin and membranas in Greek (a Latin loanword). The Greeks did not invent any other word to describe a codex. Thus, membranas was the universal Greek term for the codex. In its earliest form, the codex was a notebook with parchments which allowed for erasing (see Martial's Epistle 14.7.184). These were used in much the same way as the wooden tablets: for making notes or rough drafts. They were very popular among lawyers and writers. Both of these codices were precursors to the full-formed papyrus codex."
Comfort, Phillip. Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography and Textual Criticism (Kindle Locations 874-880). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Please see the "Critical Reception" section here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_Early_Christian_Literature#cite_note-Becker-2
I think it will one day become abundantly clear that the "literary trope" suggestion or elitism for NT scribal activity is a huge fiction. It still perplexes me how anyone who's read Homer in Greek thinks Mark mirrors the poet in his Gospel.
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