INTRODUCTION
The Khabouris Codex ( alternate spelling Khaboris , Khaburis) is a late Syriac manuscript of the NT.
The Khabouris Codex is the complete Peshitta NT containing 22 books, in comparison to the 'Western' NT Canon which contains 27 books. The missing books are 2nd Peter, 2nd & 3rd John, Jude, Revelation. It has been carbon-dated to the 12th century, which is confirmed by palaeography.
The text, in Estrangelā script, is highly consistent with the standard Peshitta version of the Syriac Bible. Six pages in Matthew's Gospel, namely 13, 14, 39, 40, 53 and 54 are written in the East Adiabene script. The last part of the Book of Hebrews, which according to the Eastern book order is at the end of the manuscript, has suffered damage and wear so some sections are illegible.
The Khaboris Codex was obtained by the Norman Yonan, who had previously tried to sell the Yonan Codex in the United States with the claim that it was the earliest NT manuscript, from the Assyrian Church of the East in Iraq in 1966.
When Yonan died in 1970, the manuscript was purchased by Dan MacDougald for use in his holistic healing programme, which had previously sold transliterations of the Yonan Codex's text of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5.3–12, - identical to the standard Peshitta text) to be recited to improve mental health.
In 1995, the Khabouris Codex was examined by a specially assembled project team, who dated it as 12th century. In 1999, radio-carbon dating confirmed this date.
- Wikipedia (corrected), Khaboris Codex
The Khabouris Codex & the PA
It should not surprise us that the K. Codex does not contain the Pericope de Adultera (Jn 7:53-8:11). This is a copy of the Peshitta the 5th century standardized version of the NT, which, like many Old Syriac copies, did not contain the verses. The reason for this, as with many early Eastern translations ('versions') can probably be traced to the Lectionary system.
In this system, the Gospels were divided up into 'pericopes' (stand-alone stories/readings) for church use, to be read on specific days of the year. "Lection 22" (John 7:45-52) was read during Easter in springtime, and "Lection 23" (John 8:12-20) was read immediately afterward in the next official spot on the calendar, while unfortunately, the PA (John 7:53, or more properly, John 8:2-8:11) was read on Oct. 8th or on other autumn feast-days at a different time of the year.
Copies of the Gospels prepared for Lectionary use often had passages written physically in the calendar-order, rather than in their original chronological position. The result was that people in church service were used to hearing the surrounding passages consecutively, and if someone were to try to reconstruct John, they might very well assume 7:52 was naturally to be joined directly to 8:12 (verse numbers had not been invented until the Reformation era).
Codex Khabouris
Background Note from the dukhrana.com webmaster
In 2004 S. P. Silver started a massive undertaking by going thru the Khabouris Codex making a transcription while also carefully restoring portions of the text that had been damanged. His work is now complete, and I am honored to be able to help him share this wonderful and magnificant work with the world by making it freely available here on dukhrana.com. Enjoy!
Excerpt from: S.P. Silver's Facsimile of Codex Khabouris, dukhrana.com
Khabouris MS
John 7:40-8:14
S.P. Silver's
TranscriptionIntroduction by S. P. Silver
The transcribing of the Khabouris Codex began in September 2004, as a comparison with the 1905 Peshitta. In a careful reading of the entire manuscript during the time of transcription, I noted several grammatical differences, and some few synonyms, but there are only a handful of errors in the entire manuscript. All but one have been corrected by another, later scribal hand. I have pointed out one scribal error which the scribes didn't correct..
When I began to notice these differences, using the 1905 Peshitta text as a comparative guide, I devised a COLOUR-CODE to mark and distinguish these differences in a way that would be easy to use by those that would like to delve deeper into the finished work.
The text type Estrangelo, "rounded", is beautifully scribed throughout the entire manuscript. It is represented by the font Estrangelo (V1.1) graciously offered by Paul Younan who is the creator and founder of www.peshitta.org, whose beloved mother tongue is Lashon Aturi (Aramaic). ...
Parts of the manuscript have been rubbed off, smudged or otherwise illegible. These letters, words and larger areas have been carefully reconstructed using the 1905 Peshitta text in red.
Translation -
John Wesley Etheridge
7:39b ...was the Spirit given, because not yet was Jeshu glorified.
7:40 Now many of the assemblies who heard his words said, This is truly the Prophet.
7:41 Others said, This is the Meshicha. Others said, How from Galiga cometh the Meshicha?
7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That from the seed of David, and from Beth-lechem the town of David, cometh the Meshicha?
7:43 And there was a division concerning hims among the assemblies:
7:44 and there were men of them who would have apprehended him; but no man laid hands on him.
Church Lection 22
7:45 And those officers came to the chief priests and the Pharishee; and the priests said to them, Why have you not brought him?
7:46 The officers say to them, Never so spake a son of man as speaks this man!
7:47 The Pharishee say to them, Are you also deceived?
7:48 have andy of the heads, or of the Pharishee, believed in him?
7:49 But if this people who know not the law (believe in him), they are accursed.
7:50 One of them, Nikodimos, he who came to Jeshu by night, saith to them,
7:51 Does our law condemn a man unless it shall hear from him first, and know what he hath done?
7:52 They answered and said to him, Art thou also of Galila? Investigate, and see, that the Prophet from Galila ariseth not.
Church Lection 23
8:12 * But again spake Jeshu with them, and said, I am the Light of the World; he who followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall find the light of life.
8:13 The Pharishee say to him, Thou **of** thyself testifieth: they testimony is not the truth.
8:14a Jeshu answered and said to them, Though I testify of myself, my testimony is the truth: because I know from whence I am, and whither I go. ...
Original note: * This lesson begins at chapter 8:12 of the Western Recensions. The section from Jn 7:53-8:11 (The Pericope de Adultera) is omitted in the Peschito version. See Horae Aramaicae, p. 81.
** or, "concerning".