Constantine Tischendorf The Life and Work of a 19th Century Bible Hunter

by Porter, Stanley E.

• ISBN13: 9780567658012
• ISBN10: 0567658015
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-02-12
• Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark

Summary

Constantin von Tischendorf was a pioneer. He existed in an age when biblical studies as we know it was being formed, when the quest for forgotten manuscripts and lost treasures was being undertaken with no less zeal and intrigue than it is today. It was Tischendorf who found, and preserved, the oldest extant version of the complete bible that we know of, the so-called Codex Sinaiticus, which he discovered in poor condition at St Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, in 1846.

With the discovery of the Codex Tischendorf, and others, was to take the study of biblical texts further than ever before, through linguistic methods, and attention to the most ancient sources available. In many ways Tischendorf was a father figure of the modern Historical Critical Method.

In this short biography, Stanley E. Porter, himself one of the most respected scholars of the New Testament and Koine Greek currently writing, gives a portrait of Tischendorf's life and work, together with an annotated republication of Tischendorf's influential work on the Gospels.

Published to celebrate Tischendorf's bicentenary, in 2015, this volume will be a must for those seeking to understand how the study of biblical manuscripts began, and to understand the man who discovered the oldest version of the bible as we know it.

Author Biography

Stanley E. Porter is Professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College, Canada.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Part One
Chapter One: Introduction and Context
Chapter Two: The Life of Constantin Tischendorf
Chapter Three: The Work of Constantin Tischendorf
Chapter Four: Conclusion
Part Two
Introduction by Stanley E. Porter
When Were Our Gospels Written?
Chapter I. Ecclesiastical Testimony
Chapter II. The Testimony of Heretics and Heathen During the Second Century
Chapter III. Apocryphal Literature
Chapter IV. Testimony of Apostolic Fathers. Barnabas—Papias
Chapter V. Manuscripts and Versions of the Second Century
Bibliography
Indexes