What Is the Codex Sinaiticus, Really?

We are not trying to prove the date of the Codex Sinaiticus. There is little debate among textual critics on this subject. What we want to find out is whether an old manuscript can hold authority over the apostolic faith. We will do this in four ways. First we will explain our terms. Then we will give a brief history of the manuscript and what it contains according to textual critics. Then we will see what role it has played in modern day textual criticism and translations. Finally we will make a distinction that will cover everything we discuss.

We are not questioning how old the Codex is. Nor do we think it isn't beneficial to know about it. What we want to address is something else that we will explain by the end of this article.

As we should always do we will start with definitions. Because when you know what the words mean you already know a lot about the subject.

Codex means book in Latin. It refers to a type of book. Back in the old days books were scrolls. Once the church began to spread and they needed something they could carry around and open up easier they started using codices. Which are books made up of pages. Christians were quicker to accept this new form of writing than others.¹ They even started putting the Bible together in one book.

Sinaiticus comes from the word Sinai. This manuscript was found at the St. Catherine Monastery which is located at the base of Mt. Sinai in Egypt. So it simply means the book from Sinai. That's all it is. An old Greek Bible that was found on Sinai.

Now that we know what the Codex Sinaiticus is we can look at how it got to us today. Here is what textual critics have to say about it. With one exception that we will mention.

It is believed to have been written in the 4th Century.² It is written in Greek using a style of writing called Uncial. Which uses all capitals and was common in the early Christian era.³ When it came to light in modern times it was by a man named Constantin von Tischendorf. He went to the St. Catherine Monastery in 1844 and then again in 1859. He claimed that when he first visited he found some pages of the Codex that were being thrown away. Some were going to be burned. When he returned in 1859 he was able to take more of the Codex with him.⁴

This is where we need to be careful. The story of it being thrown away and found is mostly based on Tischendorf's word. The St. Catherine Monastery has disputed this story for years. Especially that they just gave it to him.⁵ So we will leave it at what is commonly accepted and not go into more detail. It doesn't really affect our topic.

The Codex is split up today between four institutions. The British Museum in London, the Leipzig University Library in Germany, the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg and the St. Catherine Monastery. Where some of the pages still reside.⁶

There are three things we can find in the Codex Sinaiticus. The first is most of the Old Testament in Greek. Also known as the Septuagint. Which is just the Hebrew scriptures translated into Greek. Usually referred to as LXX. Second we have the New Testament. Which makes it one of the oldest complete copies of the New Testament that we have.⁷ And lastly we have some non-biblical writings. The Book of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.⁸ These were used by some early Christians but the Church decided by the leading of the Holy Spirit that they did not belong in the Bible.

So we can conclude that we have an old book from the 4th Century that contains both biblical and non-biblical writings. Which tells us that it is a copy of what people were using at the time. It may have even been changed by the copyists. We have many different copyists that copied the Bible. Some did it better than others. But they all copied from the original autographs.

Let's look at what textual critics believe about the Codex. We will try to be fair here because we disagree with some of what they believe. But we can't argue against what we don't know.

Textual criticism is the practice of trying to find what the original text said by looking at all the copies we have. The Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are some of the oldest copies we have. So if a reading isn't found in these manuscripts it is usually assumed that it was added later.⁹ Many modern day translations use these critical texts. Which cause them to differ from the Textus Receptus. Which is what the KJV was translated from.

We can see why textual critics would want to find the oldest text possible. And having old manuscripts is helpful in that regard. But what we take issue with is how it has affected certain verses. Most of the time when a verse is left out of modern translations it has to do with the deity of Jesus Christ. Or the oneness of God. Or the gospel.

Take 1 John 5:7 for example. The Textus Receptus and therefore the KJV has the following verse.

This verse is not found in modern translations because it is not found in the Greek manuscripts prior to the 14th Century. Which includes the Codex Sinaiticus.¹⁰ We are not saying that this verse was in the original autograph. But we do notice a pattern when verses are left out of modern translations. They almost always have to do with what the Apostles taught. So we feel that we should be cautious when using these translations. We don't believe in the old manuscripts. We believe in God's Word that has been preserved for us. Which is the KJV.

So we can make a distinction.

We believe that the Codex Sinaiticus is important. It shows us that God has taken care of his word over the years. And we can learn from the copyists that helped preserve it. We also believe that it is a witness to what happened to the word of God as it was copied. But we don't believe that it should have authority over what we believe. We also think that we should be aware of how textual criticism has affected our Bibles today.

If you are an apostolic believer you should know the difference. The Codex Sinaiticus is not our final authority. God's word is. You can look at the Codex and learn about the history of our Bibles. Just don't let it change what you believe about Jesus Christ and the infallible word of God.

We don't believe what was found on Sinai.
We aren't saved by what was found on Sinai.
We don't have discernment from what was found on Sinai.

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and his word that was preserved for us.