August
2008
The Great Isaiah Scroll
One of the great gems dug up amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls was the Great Isaiah Scroll. It dates to about 100 BC and is the only complete scroll to have been recovered from Qumran. It is 7.34 metres long.
You can view the scroll here, but be aware it’ll take a while to load over broadband. Take some time to look at the rest of the site too. As well as the excellent Shrine of the Book, there is a good section on the Second temple.
August
2008
The Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus is the oldest complete text of the Old and New Testaments, having survived for over 1600 years. For centuries is was at St Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai and since 1933 has been in the British Library.
The Codex Sinaiticus Project is seeking to put the entire manuscript online and is well worth a look.
(image from Wiki Commons)
May
2008
Misquoting Jesus
Bart Ehrman, a well known textual critic, gave a good talk on the task of trying to piece together the New Testament from thousands of fragments. You can get it via iTunes in either Audio or Video.
It’s not short but he is an easy person to listen too and tells a good tale. The trick is to put it on your iPod and listen to when traveling!
Ehrman is a controversial figure, and you might disagree with some of his opinions towards the end of the Q & A, but the bulk of what he says here is pretty standard stuff.