Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 91:362 (Apr 1934)
Article: Some Recent Archaeological Discoveries
Author: James L. Kelso

BSac 91:362 (Apr 34) p. 177

Some Recent Archaeological Discoveries

James L. Kelso

I.

The outstanding contribution of archaeology to New Testament study is the Chester Beatty Papyri. These manuscripts, found some two years ago, are now being edited and published.

Eight of these manuscripts are from the Old Testament and the majority are in a third century (A.D.) hand, although one is from the first half of the second century A.D.. All three of the manuscripts of the New Testament are of the third century, but one of them which contains thirty out of its original one hundred and ten pages is from the first half of the third century, or a hundred years older than the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.

Genesis is especially valuable, as most of that book is missing in both Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. The text of Daniel follows the rare original Septuagint text, but places chapter 5 after chapter 8:27.

Of the gospel text, Dr. Kenyon says, “Special importance attaches to the Chester Beatty papyrus by reason of its age. Not only does it carry back the evidence for the text of the Gospels and Acts, in a substantial form, by perhaps as much as a century, but it throws light on the highly important period during which the various families of the text were taking shape. By its age it is necessarily free from any suspicion of Byzantine revision; and it shows us, as existing at a local center in Egypt, a text free from the marked divergences characteristic of the Western text. It is therefore a witness to the substantial integrity of our textual tradition,

BSac 91:362 (Apr 34) p. 178

while making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the early stages of that tradition.” Furthermore, these manuscripts are not in the roll-form as papyrus is commonly found, but are in codex or book-form. They seem to prove that the Bible was the book which changed publication style from the unwieldy scroll to the convenient book-form which we are still using today. They also show that the Gospels and Acts were bound in a unit, and that another unit was the Pauline Epistles.

II.

Dr. Albright excavated a section of the city of Gibeah of Saul about twelve years ago. Last fall he conducted another campaign there, completing the major work on this site.

The place was first occupied about the twelfth century B.C. by a village. It was destroyed by fire in the episode recorded in the concluding chapters of Judges.

The site was reoccupied and it became Saul’s capital from 1020 B.C. to 1000 B.C. Much of his citadel has been excavated. It was at least 170 feet long and 115 feet wide, counting the dimen...