Category Archives: Manuscript Collections

Fake Dead Sea Scrolls at the Museum of the Bible

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

It has been a truly fascinating day for me at the University of Agder. After spending Monday morning and afternoon listening to sharp and informative talks by Matthew Monger, Ingrid Breilid Gimse, Josephine Munch Rasmussen, and Årstein Justnes on the probability that many … Continue reading →

Posted in Dead Sea Scrolls, Fakes and Forgeries | 1 Comment

Visiting the University of Agder

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

I’m excited that next week I’ll be heading to the University of Agder in Norway to visit the research project, “The Lying Pen of Scribes: Manuscript Forgeries and Counterfeiting Scripture in the Twenty-First Century,” best known for its incisive investigations … Continue reading →

Posted in Fakes and Forgeries, Rylands Papyri | 2 Comments

The Bodmer Codex of Visions

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

One of the most intriguing pieces among the papyrus and parchment manuscripts at the Fondation Martin Bodmer is the so-called Codex of Visions (LDAB: 1106). Its “P.Bodmer” designation is somewhat cumbersome: P.Bodmer XXXVIII+XXIX+XXX+XXXI+XXXII+XXXIII+XXXIV+XXXV+XXXVI+XXXVII. The codex contains one work that has long been … Continue reading →

Posted in Barcelona-Montserrat Greek-Latin Codex, Bodmer Codex of Visions, Bodmer Papyri, Book binding, Codices | Leave a comment

The “Qarara” Exodus Codex

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

I’ve recently posted about papyrus fragments of the Psalms in Greek and the book of Job in Coptic from Karanis that I wasn’t able to treat in God’s Library. Another set of ancient Christian manuscripts that I didn’t have the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Codices, Schøyen Collection, Tchacos-Ferrini Codices, Tchacos-Ferrini Exodus Codex | 4 Comments

God’s Library: Publication Day

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

So, it’s August 21. This is the official publication date for God’s Library (I’m not entirely sure what that means, because the book has been shipping from the publisher for a couple weeks now already). Thanks again to everyone involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Antiquities Market, Archaeological context, Book binding, Book covers, Codices, Find Stories, Manuscript Collections, Palaeography, Radiocarbon analysis | 7 Comments

The Nag Hammadi Discovery Story

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

Over on his blog, Bart Ehrman is answering questions about the Gospel of Thomas. He has started out by re-telling a version of the traditional find story of the Nag Hammadi codices. This is a topic that I treat in … Continue reading →

Posted in Codices, Find Stories, Nag Hammadi, Videos | 6 Comments

A Manuscript of Job in Coptic from Karanis

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

In my previous post, I discussed a fragment of the Psalms in Greek excavated during the University of Michigan’s campaigns in Karanis. The Michigan excavators also found some Coptic literary material at the site. In 1979, Gerald M. Browne published … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeological context, Codices, Michigan Papyri | 5 Comments

A Manuscript of the Psalms in Greek from Karanis

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

One of the things I try to do in my book on early Christian manuscripts is survey some of the contexts in which ancient Christian books have been discovered. A set of examples that I wasn’t able to treat in … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeological context, Codices, Michigan Papyri | 3 Comments

God’s Library

Posted on July 31, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

So, it has been about a year since I started this blog. At that time, I was in the midst of finishing my last revisions to the manuscript of my book, and in my first posting, I described the blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Codices, Nag Hammadi | 10 Comments

E. C. Colwell on P52

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Brent Nongbri

Back in 2005, I wrote an article on P.Ryl. 3.457, or “P52,” the small papyrus fragment of chapter 18 of the Gospel According to John kept at the Rylands Library in Manchester. I argued that the date generally assigned to … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Market, Codices, Colin H. Roberts, P.Ryl. 3.457, Palaeography, Rylands Papyri | 11 Comments