Manuscript
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus
Also known as Codex Ephraemi · C (Gregory-Aland) · 04 · BnF Grec 9
great-codicesnew-testamentpalimpsesttextual-criticism
Summary
A fifth-century Bible that somebody scrubbed off and wrote over — and that scholars read anyway.
- Copied Biblical text: fifth century AD. Overwritten in the twelfth century..
- Written in greek on parchment (palimpsest — reused).
- Kept at Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (Grec 9).
- Contains New Testament (fragmentary, 145 leaves), Old Testament (fragmentary, 64 leaves).
- Named in 1 of the places your Bible carries a footnote.
Sources (3)
- Gallica (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus digitised · accessed 2026-08-06The holding institution's own imaging.
- Constantin von Tischendorf, Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus (Leipzig, 1843–45) · accessed 2026-08-06The first published reading of the lower text. Public domain.
- Metzger & Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005) · accessed 2026-08-06The standard handbook of New Testament textual criticism.
What it is
In the twelfth century the parchment was washed and reused for Greek translations of thirty-eight sermons by Ephrem the Syrian. The Bible underneath did not disappear; it faded.
Two hundred and nine leaves survive — 145 New Testament, 64 Old Testament — all fragmentary.
Constantin von Tischendorf deciphered the lower text between 1840 and 1843, by eye, with no instruments, and did it remarkably accurately. Even with ultraviolet imaging today, not all of it can be read with confidence.
Manuscript details
- Date
- Biblical text: fifth century AD. Overwritten in the twelfth century.
- Language
- Greek
- Script
- Uncial (majuscule), later overwritten in minuscule
- Material
- Parchment (palimpsest — reused)
- Held at
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (Grec 9)
- Found at
- Brought to Italy from the East after 1453; in the French royal library by the 1500s
- Contains
- New Testament (fragmentary, 145 leaves) · Old Testament (fragmentary, 64 leaves)
Why it matters
The best proof the Copy Room has that manuscripts can be erased and still testify. A major fifth-century Bible was deliberately scraped away for reuse, and the text came back — first by a scholar's patience, then by ultraviolet light.
Where this witness is read
The words used here: uncial, minuscule
- uncial
- a book hand of Greek capital letters, used for the oldest whole Bibles.
- minuscule
- the smaller joined hand that replaced capitals from about the ninth century.
The KJV and the ASV translate the Hebrew Masoretic Text. Where Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus reads differently, the footnote in your Bible is pointing here.