1/3/03

Codex Boernerianus (G 012) is one of the seven manuscript of the Letters of Paul used to establish the Greek text of the letters of Paul in critical editions. It was written during the ninth century and is now held in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden. The only official photographs taken are black and white photographs from the beginning of the 20^th century. During the bombing of Dresden the manuscript was stored in a flooded basement and suffered severe damage. But there are hopes of restoring the original readings with the help of modern technology, especially multi-spectral photography.

The library in Dresden has officially asked me to oversee an electronic edition of this manuscript and to write a scholarly but accessible introduction in German and English. This introduction, together with photographs of the manuscript, will be published electronically on the web of the library and will be accessible over the Internet.

When done, this work will satisfy the needs of scholars to have access to the manuscript evidence. By selecting an electronic format, the result will be accessible worldwide and at no charge.

A presentation of the project would be made at the International meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Cambridge, England, in July 2003. I would read a paper, together with the technical specialist, Dr. John Welch, Institute for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts in Provo, Utah, and my German colleague Dr. Matthias Klinghardt, Professor of New Testament at Dresden. Results will be presented the following year when the Society meets in Groningen.

The text of Codex Boernerianus documents an edition of Paul that competed with the edition we now read in our Bibles. Famous variants are: The letter to the Hebrews was not included, the address of Romans to Rome (Rom 1:7.15) is missing, and the notorious "Women should be silent in church" (1Cor 14:34) is edited and rearranged in this manuscript. Although written in the ninth century there are indications that the manuscript preserves an edition of the second century.

To do this project well it will be necessary for me to travel to Cambridge (F 010 Codex Augiensis), Paris (D 06 Codex Claramontanus), and St. Petersburg (D^abs1 Codex Sangermanensis), where the sister manuscripts of the codex are kept. In addition, I will need study time in Münster, where the Greek New Testament is edited and where the most complete collection of secondary literature on New Testament manuscripts and microfilms is accessible. I will have to stay in Dresden for at least four weeks.

A significant part of my published Heidelberg dissertation (Die Entstehung der Paulusbriefsammlung, 1989) concentrated on the manuscript tradition of the letters of Paul. It was extensively reviewed and is used as a point of reference in scholarly publications worldwide. The invitation to help with a photographic edition of Codex Boernerianus is a once in a lifetime chance for me and I do not want to miss it. It brings together my expertise in New Testament text criticism with my computer background as a software developer (1982-1995 LOGOS Software, Germany) and multi media consultant for the American Bible Society (1994-2000).

By publishing the project through the museum it will provide a venue to demonstrate the interests and methods of theological exegesis to the society at large. By using the Internet it will allow educators worldwide to help students gain hands-on experience in working with manuscript evidence. I have found not better way to address fundamentalism in the classroom than to point students to the enormous number of variants in the transmission of the Greek text. The scholarly value of this project cannot easily be overstated. Codex Boernerianus is one of the main witnesses for a second century edition that competes with the canonical edition in the New Testament. It is conceivable that my research will lead to changes in the text of future printed editions, thus influencing translations of the Bible worldwide.

June – July 2003:

September 2003:

If the grant is received the following presentations and publications are planned:

Dr. David Trobisch

I was born in Ebolowa, Cameroon (West Africa). My parents, Walter and Ingrid Trobisch, were at that time missionaries for the American Lutheran Church. In 1964 the family moved to Austria. Born from a German father and an American mother I hold dual citizenship.

1976-1982: After passing the university entrance exam in Austria I moved to Germany and studied Protestant Theology at Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), Tübingen and Heidelberg (Magister theol. 1982).