Luke's Demonstration to Theophilus: The Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles According to Codex Bezae

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This is the first complete English translation of Luke's Demonstration to Theophilus (the books of Luke and Acts) as found in Codex Bezae. Codex Bezae is a bilingual 4th century Greek-Latin manuscript. In the past it has been viewed as a marginal manuscript witness. However, the pioneering work of Jenny Read-Heimerdinger and Josep Rius-Camps (The Message of Acts in Codex Bezae 4 vols, published by T&T Clark) has brought the variant readings in this fascinating document to the fore. Their work reveals that, far from being a late revision, Codex Bezae can be seen as one of the oldest versions of Luke's work in existence. This book presents the two texts unified in one volume, as Luke intended them, for the first time in any published edition. After an introduction explaining the importance of the Bezan text, as well as providing obeservations about its variances from other manuscripts a meticulous and continuous Greek transcript is presented together with the English translation on facing pages. This will prove an indespensible reference tool for scholars of Luke-Acts.

Reviews

This book is a welcome showcase displaying and demonstrating the distinctive text of Luke and Acts in the bi-lingual (Greek-Latin) manuscript, Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis. The contiguity of the Lukan Doppelwerk here emphasises the coherence in language, structure, rhetorical style and theological intentions in these two writings. The accompanying translation into English stays as close as practicable to the Greek and itself is a long-overdue rendering of two of the books in this ancient codex. -- J K Elliott, University of Leeds
Rius-Camps and Read-Heimerdinger have combined efforts in yet another significant work on Codex Bezae. This large volume, although primarily an English translation of the Greek text of Luke-Acts, includes extensive linguistic, historical, and textual notes. Students of the New Testament should welcome the accessibility of the text of Cantabrigiensis; it promises to revive interest in that ancient and unusual manuscript. Kudos to Rius-Camps and Read-Heimerdinger for making such a substantive contribution to Biblical Studies! -- Daniel B. Wallace, Executive Director, Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, USA
Summarized. * New Testament Abstracts *

Author Bio

Jenny Read-Heimerdinger is a Research Fellow at the University of Wales, Bangor, UK as well as teaching in universities worldwide as a Visiting Lecturer. Josep Rius-Camps is a Priest of the Diocese of Barcelona and is Emeritus Professor and a Research Fellow at the Facultat de Teologia de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.