1558 Latin Vulgate Bible Paul Epistle Word JESUS Full Capitals Bifolium of 4 pp.

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

First of all, when one hears about a tex tual variant in the Bible, the reaction should not be, "I've never heard of that before!" or "That is not in my King James Version of the Bible!" but rather it should be something like, "What i s it t hat was originally written in the Book of Hebrews? " At II Timothy 4:1 has the wording “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” However, the words “The Lord” were not originally part of this verse, but were added centuries later in some late Greek minuscules. The earliest and best text without the words “The Lord” but simply “Jesus Christ” is strongly supported by the earliest manuscripts in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Coptic. As wa s common in the textual tradition, a later scribe added the words “The Lord” to make “The Lord Jesus Christ,” which is the much later form found in the King James Version. On auction is this single 16th century bifolium sheet (with 4 pages of text) in black gothic printing from a Latin Vulgate Bible published in Lugduni (or Lyon in France) in 1558 by Haered Sebastian Gryphii. Size of the open sheet is about 4 3/4 in. x 6 in. The sheet shows some light browning discoloration due to its age and use over the centuries. It is, after all, 45 5 years old! The headings are: "PAVLI EPIST." and "AD TIMOTH. II.," which means "The Second E pistle of Paul to Timothy." This particular edition of the Latin Bible is also unique in having special italicized chapter summaries at the beginning of each chapter. This particular leaf (of four pages) contains II Timothy, chapters 2, 3, and 4, and also Hebrews, chapters 1 and 2 . There are four (4) la rge initial letters at the beginning of chapter , with one of them being very large and ornate (see the 1st scanned image) . This particular large sheet of the 1558 Bible has three (3) instances of the name I E S V S (of JESUS) in spaced full capital letters. The winner of the auction will not only received the original 1558 sheet, but will also receive an accompanying xerox copy of the original with all these instances marked ( see the last scanned image ). This is an important leaf. We need to put into context the work of Christian scribes during the last 2,000 years. During these centuries scribes developed two kinds of abbreviations in the manuscripts that were copied and re-copied. The first kind of abbreviation was the shortening or abbreviation of very common words, so that it was easier and quicker to write such words. These do not concern us here. The second kind of abbreviation was for the words held sacred by Christians. In the Latin tradition, and especially in Jerome's Latin Vulgate text, these were called "Nomina Sacra" meaning "Holy Names." The common example of Nomina Sacra are Lord, God, Jesus, Christ, Holy Spirit, the Father, and the Son. This leaf has the Nomina Sacra or Holy Name for the word "JAHWEH" or the "LORD" as it is given in the King James Version. It appears in the abbreviated form "dns" or "dni" (with a long line above the "n" to indicate the sacred abbreviation). Just looking at one side of the sheet, there are three (3) instances of this sacred abbreviation, which can be see in the 3 rd scanned image . The winner of the auction will receive the original leaf from the 1480 Latin Bible, as well as a xerox copy of the Latin text, with each of these marked (see the last scanned image), with the marks ma de by someone who has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies . This is an absolutely amazing leaf of an incunabula Bible . For auction is an original 16th century printed Bible page, not a modern reproduction. Its authenticity is 100% guaranteed. Guarantee of Authenticity. All of the leaves (whether handwritten manuscripts or printed texts) we sell are ORIGINALS . We guarantee everything we sell to be original and authentic. Due to their age, some imperfections can be expected, so please read our descriptions and view our scanned images carefully. We stand behind our inventory and want to make sure that all of our clients are completely satisfied with their purchases. ... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.