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Or 11551

Record Id:

032-004515226

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-004515226

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100178687666.0x000001

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Or 11551

Title:

Bible

Scope & Content:

This volume contains a bilingual Coptic-Arabic recension of the Bible (Pentateuch, Minor Prophets, and New Testament) in 41 volumes.

Content:

It initially contained the entire Bible and was commissioned by the French Orientalist J.-J. Marcel during Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt. It was reportedly copied at the Coptic Patriarchate from an old copy (see more Layton, Catalogue, 247).

Vol. 1: Genesis chapters 1–29, 202 fols.

Vol. 2: Genesis chapters 30–end, 194 fols.

Vol. 3: Exodus chapters 1–24, 210 fols.

Vol. 4: Exodus chapters 25–end, 171 fols.

Vol. 5: Leviticus, chapters 1–15:19, 143 fols.

Vol. 6: Leviticus, chapters 15:19–end, 135 fols.

Vol. 7: Hosea, 46 fols.

Vol. 8: Joel, 20 fols.

Vol. 9: Amos, 38 fols.

Vol. 10: Obadiah, 7 fols.

Vol. 11: Jonah, 13 fols.

Vol. 12: Micah, 29 fols.

Vol. 13: Nahum, 13 fols.

Vol. 14: Habakkuk, 15 fols.

Vol. 15: Zephaniah, 16 fols.

Vol. 16: Haggai, 13 fols.

Vol. 17: Zachariah, 61 fols.

Vol. 18: Malachi, 21 fols. (a small fragment of the volume is accompanied in a separate envelop).

Vol. 19: Gospel of Matthew, 201 fols.

Vol. 20: Gospel of Mark, 113 fols.

Vol. 21: Gospel of Luke chapters 1–12:11a, 154 fols.

Vol. 22: Gospel of Luke chapters 12:11b–24, 158 fols.

Vol. 23: Gospel of John, chapters 1–10, 132 fols.

Vol. 24: Gospel of John, chapters 11–21, 116 fols.

Vol. 25: Romans, 131 fols.

Vol. 26: I Corinthians, 119 fols.

Vol. 27: II Corinthians, 77 fols.

Vol. 28: Galatians, 39 fols.

Vol. 29: Ephesians, 40 fols.

Vol. 30: Philippians, 28 fols.

Vol. 31: Colossians, 28 fols.

Vol. 32: I Thessalonians, 27 fols.

Vol. 33: II Thessalonians, 15 fols.

Vol. 34: I Timothy, 31 fols.

Vol. 35: II Timothy, 22 fols.

Vol. 36: Titus, 14 fols.

Vol. 37: Philemon, 6 fols.

Vol. 38: Hebrews, 89 fols.

Vol. 39: James, 33 fols.

Vol. 40: 1 Peter, chapters 1–2:21, 15 fols.

Vol. 41: Revelations, 87 fols.

Colophons exist at the ends of Vol. 2, 18, 19, 24, 38, and 41.

Dates are not provided for each of the volumes, but the following volume are dated: Vol. 2, 1515 AM / 1213 AH (1798-99 CE); Vol. 18, 1515 AM (1799 CE); Vol. 24, 1516 AM / 1214 AH (1799 CE); Vol. 38, 1516 AM (1800 CE); and Vol. 41, 1493 AM / 1190 AH (1776 CE).

Collection Area:

Oriental Manuscripts

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "032-004515226", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Or 11551: Bible" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-004515226

Is part of:

not applicable

Hierarchy:

032-004515226

Container:

not applicable

Record Type (Level):

Fonds

Extent:

Codex, 41 volumes, 3022 ff

Digitised Content:

Languages:

Arabic
Coptic
English
Greek, Ancient

Scripts:

Arabic
Coptic
Greek
Latin

Start Date:

1776

End Date:

1800

Date Range:

1776-1800

Calendar:

Gregorian

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Material: Western paper (some which are blue–coloured, many restored folios).

Dimensions: Ca. 220–240 x 165–180 mm [ca 160–190 x 130–150 mm written; Arabic ca 20–40 mm]. In vol. 20 (Mark), the layout is sometimes un-organized and the Arabic text could be up to 60 mm.

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; Coptic numerals in some vols.

Lines per page: 13–14 lines/page.

Script: Naskh.

Scribe: (of Arabic text) Naṣīr b. Ayyūb (vol. 2).

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings in red.

Decoration: In vol 1 and vol .2: fol. 1v a ‘star of David’ with birds and floral patterns covers the page. A similar decoration is found at the end of vol. 19 (Matthew) fol. 201r. In general, the volume title is introduced after a headpiece in geometrical pattern in red, white, and black colours. Small geometrical decorations sporadically appear as well. The title page of vol. 23 (Gospel of John) is more elaborate and decorated in yellow, red, and green floral patterns. Miniatures may appear as well. In vol. 26 (I Corinthians), there is an illumination of an ox and a bird on fol. 119r. For a detailed account, see Layton, Catalogue, 249.

Binding: Most volumes have the same binding (dark brown, often with a dark red medallion in its midst). Vols. 20 and 22 have modern bindings. The original binding was damaged due to a fire. For a detailed account, see Layton, Catalogue, 249–250.

Condition: Generally good though some vols heavily damaged by acid burning (cf. vol. 2); the ink has sometimes coloured off on the opposite side (vol. 5).

Marginalia: Depending on volume. For instance, some in Greek and English.

Catchwords: In the Coptic text, lower right of a verso.

Quire marks: In some volumes (typically larger ones), an ending and beginning quire spread may be marked with geometrical figures in red and white in the middle of the upper margins of each page, with Coptic numerals on both sides of the figure. There are normally 14–16 folios in a quire.

Custodial History:

The following note is written and glued on many front covers: ‘Ms Ap porté: d’e Égypt, par Lr Chevalier J.J. Marcel, directeur General De L’Imprimerie Imperial’. The custodial history of each volume is carefully documented in Layton, Catalogue.

Source of Acquisition:

Acquisition information varies by volume.

Finding Aids:

Bentley Layton, Catalogue of Coptic Literary Manuscripts in the British Library Acquired Since the Year 1906 (London: British Library, 1987), 247–487, 325–327.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Related Material:

Zaki, Vevian. The Pauline Epistles in Arabic: Manuscripts, Versions, and Transmissions (Leiden: Brill, 2021).