uncial · Syriac · NT

Curetonian Gospels (Old Syriac)

Also known as: syr-c

AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450) · dated by paleography

Evidence card

A quick read on the physical object before the interpretive summary.

2 sources

Artifact

uncial · Syriac

Date basis

AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450) · paleography

Survival

~50% physically present

Contents

Matthew; Mark; Luke; John

Artifact/map cue

Held at British Library

Date

AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450)

Passage represented

Matthew; Mark; Luke; John

Fragmentary or partial witness

How much survives

~50% of the claimed text is physically present

Why it matters

Witness to the 'Old Syriac' text of the Gospels — a translation predating the standardised Peshitta and reflecting a 2nd-3rd century Syriac translation tradition. The Syriac line of evidence is independent of the Greek and Latin and provides a major check on the textual tradition.

What it contains

Matthew (partial)
Mark (partial)
Luke (partial)
John (partial)

~50% of the claimed text is physically present.

Notable readings

Matthew 1:16

Sinaitic Syriac (related Old Syriac MS) reads 'Joseph begat Jesus' — a striking alternative to the virgin-birth lineage

Almost certainly a scribal slip rather than a different theology, but frequently cited in debates.

Where & when

Held at: British Library

Source trail

Named catalogues, editions, libraries, or scholarship used for this manuscript page.