Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 47:1 (NA 1996)
Article: A History Of Research On Codex Bezæ
Author: Kenneth E. Panten

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TynBul 47:1 (1996) p. 185

A History Of Research On Codex Bezæ1

Kenneth E. Panten

Introduction

Considering the amount of material written on Codex Bezæ down through the centuries, a detailed history of research into the codex has long been overdue. Such a history is important not only to give future researchers an understanding of what has gone on before, but also to facilitate an understanding of the development of ideas and their outcome. As Codex Bezæ is the principal witness of the so-called Western text, much of what has been written focuses on its text. From the end of the last century, however, there has been a growing awareness among scholars of the need to give the other details contained within the codex far more attention than hitherto.

Inasmuch as the D text is the main rival to the Alexandrian text as the best representative of the original exemplar, it is of no surprise that Codex Bezæ and its text have been of interest to the textual critics. Over the last century and a half there have always been those advocating the supremacy of the D text, and such claims have attracted much attention. For this reason, Codex Bezæ has never been far from the focus of scholarly debate. This debate would be greatly helped if Codex Bezæ could be accurately located historically, for this is the nub of the problem—where and when was it written? Any avenue of inquiry ever pursued, any investigation ever embarked upon, has the answer to this question as its prime objective. Hence the importance of this history, for we need to know how the debate has

TynBul 47:1 (1996) p. 186

progressed if we are to avoid repeating previous fruitless enterprises and build upon fruitful endeavours.

Consequently this thesis provides: a detailed history of the research on Codex Bezæ; an analysis of the existing evidence; a detailed catalogue of scholars who have contributed to the debate; details of my own investigations into the historical use of unusually spelled words in the Bezan text; and suggested avenues for future research.

The History of Codex Bezæ

The main history, which is contained in the first part of the thesis, begins with the codex’s arrival in Cambridge in 1582 and surveys the writings of virtually all the scholars known to have made comment on it, finishing with D.C. Parker’s recent Codex Bezæ (1992). It is a history that focuses on Codex Bezæ itself and avoids where possible textual matters. Nevertheless, in order to keep the main developments regarding the D text (deliberately avoiding the misnomer Western Text) in historical context, a summary of the main theories of how the Benzan text came into being have been i...

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