Mt Sinai Arabic Codex 151
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The Mt. Sinai Arabic Codex 151 is indeed a most exciting discovery.
It appears to be the oldest Arabic translation of the Bible in existence which was done in 867 AD. It is certainly the oldest Arabic translation with commentary supplied by the translator. It includes the Biblical text, marginal comments, lectionary notes, and glosses, as found in the manuscript. It was discovered at St. Catherine's monastery in Mt. Sinai in the 1800's.
This ancient and important Arabic manuscript is published in one volume by the Institute For Middle Eastern New Testament Studies, edited by Dr. Harvey Staal. The volume is a presentation of the manuscript, preserving all the marginal notes and its intrinsic value as much as possible. Dr. Harvey Staal, a missionary of the Reformed Church in America, labored for years on the transcription and publication of this Arabic manuscript. This discovery is a thrilling discovery for Middle Eastern Christians, because it demonstrates that more than a 1100 years ago, an Arabic Christian translated God's precious word into our Arabic language, complete with notes and comments!
Dr. Staal passed away February 1999. Only a few copies remain from first printing and these are handled by the Bible Society in Beirut, Lebanon. The email address is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The more requests they get regarding availability, the more they will realize the need for a second printing. Please email them and kindly petition for the re-print of this valuable volume.
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Thanks.
To those who are asking about Bismallah - there is no evident that Arab Christians borrowed it from Muslims. There is sufficient evidence that Muslims borrowed it from Arabs who belonged to various Christian sects during the dawn of Islam.
The evidence of using Yassoua in Codex 151 is found in the pictures of the Codex 151 that we have and the accurate publishing of it by Dr. Harvey Staal. You can buy his book from Amazon
Yes it is true.
Could you provide proof using the oldest Arabic manuscripts?
Codex 151 has the word Yassoua not Isa which confirms that Arab Christians prior to the dawn of Islam used the same name as the Bible. Yashua
Dave Ray - yes it is true that the Codex 151 has a the Bismalla on the start of each book of the NT. We were amazed that traditional Arab Christians were using it even before the dawn of Islam. Many believe that it refers to "Trinity" - Islam simply borrowed it from them
Can you confirm for me what a colleague told me that the Codex 151 actually has the bismillah written on it? Is that true or false? I'm curious. Thanks!
Dave Ray
Mt.. Sinai Arabic Codex 151 (English Text). We do not have any copies of the English book.
Blessings,
Mert
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