Author Archives: Brent Nongbri

Photos from the 1950 Duke Exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Thanks to Alexander Schick for pointing out the digitization of photos in the Duke University Archives related to the exhibition at Duke of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were in the possession of Mar Samuel in 1950. There are some … Continue reading

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Photos of the First Finders of the Dead Sea Scrolls

In my last post I unpacked the story of what seems to be the earliest published photograph of the alleged finders of the first Dead Sea Scrolls: This picture was taken in 1951 by Richmond Brown, and published (I think) … Continue reading

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The Earliest Photo of the Man Who Discovered the First Dead Sea Scrolls?

When I was looking into the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls that are said to have been found in Cave 1Q a few years ago, I became interested in the early surviving videos and photographs of the scrolls and … Continue reading

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A Correction and a Codicological Mystery in P.Bodmer 13

I only recently learned of the death, about a year ago now, of Stuart G. Hall (1928-2023). It sent me back to an article that we wrote together. In 2015, I stumbled across grainy black and white photographs of what … Continue reading

Posted in Bodmer composite codex, Bodmer Papyri, Book binding, Codices, Codicology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Stichometry 5: Problems with Metzger’s Stichometric Data

This will be my fifth and final post in this series on stichometry. For the earlier posts, see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. One of the things that initially confused me about the stichometric data for … Continue reading

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Stichometry 4: Counts for Galatians in Latin Manuscripts

In my earlier post on the stichometry of Greek manuscripts of Galatians, I was surprised to see that the “traditional” Greek stichometric count for Galatians (293 16-syllable stichoi) matched almost perfectly with the count for the text of the Nestle-Aland … Continue reading

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Stichometry 3: Counts for Galatians in Greek Manuscripts

In an earlier post, I set out the evidence used to establish that for ancient Greek and Latin prose writing, a stichos (or versus) was generally equal to 16 syllables. In a subsequent post, I drew attention to the discussion … Continue reading

Posted in Codex Sinaiticus, Stichometry | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Sale of the Crosby-Schøyen Codex and its Cost Over Time

The auction of several items from the collection of Martin Schøyen took place yesterday in London. The highlight of the sale was the so-called Crosby-Schøyen codex, which sold for just over the high end of the estimated price range at … Continue reading

Posted in Antiquities Market, Crosby-Schøyen Codex, Schøyen Collection | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Stichometry 2: The Edict on Maximum Prices

In an earlier post, I reviewed the evidence for a stichos or versus being equal (in theory) to 16 prose syllables. The count of stichoi in a work provided a standardized way of describing its length. A stichometric count could … Continue reading

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Stichometry 1: The Length of a Prose stichos

I’ve been thinking a bit about stichometry lately. As some of the primary sources did not seem to be easily accessible online, I’ve decided to write up a couple posts on the topic. We can begin with the opening of … Continue reading

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