Codex Sinaiticus: Old Testament (Facsimile)

The notes are found at the end of the books of Ezra and Esther. Although they appear similar, they are likely not by the same hand, and there may be a slight difference in the ink used. The scribe known as "Cᵃ" used a redder ink, while the scribe who wrote the note at the end of Esther used a yellower tone—though I am beginning to doubt this distinction, despite how obvious it seems at first glance. These two notes happen to have been written on poor-quality patches of vellum vellum: high-quality parchment made from animal skin that did not absorb the ink well, causing the writing to fade. However, at the end of the Ezra note, where the parchment quality improves, the ink shows the same reddish tint as the work of Cᵃ.

It would be very difficult to consistently distinguish this hand from Cᵃ. From one perspective, the distinction is not critical: it is probable that several scribes (including Cᵃ) were tasked with correcting the text against the Codex Pamphili. One of these scribes (though not Cᵃ himself) wrote the notes at the end of Esther and Ezra to explain the work that had been done. On the other hand, it is possible that several different master copies archetypes: the original manuscripts from which copies are made and several different scribes were used for this Caesarean revision. If that were the case, we could no longer be certain that all "C" corrections represent the specific text of Pamphilus. It is fairly certain that the writer of these notes belongs to the "C" group of scribes, and his statements make it quite clear that this group consisted of monks working in the scriptorium scriptorium: a room in a monastery dedicated to copying manuscripts at Caesarea. The text of the notes is as follows:

Column 1

(1) At the end of Ezra (facsimile page 16).

It was compared with a very ancient copy corrected by the hand of the holy martyr Pamphilus. At the end of that copy was a note written in his own hand, which stated: "It was transcribed and corrected against the Hexapla Hexapla: Origen's edition of the Old Testament featuring six parallel columns of Origen. Antoninus compared it. I, Pamphilus, corrected it."
original Greek: ἀντεβλήθη πρὸς παλαιώτατον λίαν ἀντίγραφον δεδιορθωμένον χειρὶ τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Παμφίλου ὅπερ ἀντίγραφον πρὸς τῷ τέλει ὑποσημείωσίς τις ἰδιόχειρος αὐτοῦ ὑπέκειτο ἔχουσα οὕτως· μετελήμφθη καὶ διορθώθη πρὸς τὰ Ἑξαπλᾶ Ὠριγένους Ἀντωνῖνος ἀντέβαλεν. Πάμφιλος διόρθωσα

(2) At the end of Esther (facsimile page 22).

It was compared with a very ancient copy corrected by the hand

Column 2

of the holy martyr Pamphilus. At the end of that same very ancient book—which began with the first book of Kings and ended with Esther—there was a long note in the martyr's own handwriting that said: "It was transcribed and corrected against the Hexapla of Origen, which he himself had corrected. Antoninus the confessor confessor: a title for someone who suffered for their faith under persecution but was not necessarily killed compared it. I, Pamphilus, corrected the volume while in prison, through the great grace and abundance of God. And, if it is not too bold to say, it is not easy to find a copy as accurate as this one." However, this same very ancient book differed from this current volume in the spelling of proper names.
original Greek: τοῦ ἁγίου μάρτυρος Παμφίλου· πρὸς δὲ τῷ τέλει του αὐτοῦ παλαιωτάτου βιβλίου ὅπερ ἀρχὴν μὲν εἶχεν ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης τῶν Βασιλειῶν, εἰς δὲ τὴν Ἐσθὴρ ἔληγεν· τοιαύτη τις ἐν πλάτει ἰδιόχειρος ὑποσημείωσις τοῦ αὐτοῦ μάρτυρος ὑπέκειτο ἔχουσα οὕτως· μετελήμφθη καὶ διορθώθη πρὸς τὰ Ἑξαπλᾶ Ὠριγένους ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ διορθωμένα· Ἀντωνῖνος ὁμολογητής ἀντέβαλε. Πάμφιλος διωρθώσατο τεῦχος ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ, διὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ πολλὴν καὶ χάριν καὶ πλατυσμόν καὶ εἴγε μὴ βαρὺ εἰπεῖν τούτῳ τῷ ἀντιγράφῳ παραπλήσιον εὑρεῖν ἀντίγραφον οὐ ῥᾴδιον. διεφώνη δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ παλαιώτατον βιβλίον πρὸς τόδε τὸ τεῦχος εἰς τὰ κύρια ὀνόματα.

By adding the word "confessor" to the name of Antoninus, it is clear the writer identified him with the Antoninus who was martyred on November 13, 309 CE. This was shortly before Pamphilus himself was put to death on February 16, 310 CE (as recorded by Eusebius in The Martyrs of Palestine, 9.5 and 11.1). The mention of the prison also allows us to date the manuscript used by the corrector almost exactly to the year 309 CE. Furthermore, since the original Hexapla of Origen was kept at Caesarea, and Pamphilus claims to have corrected his manuscript by it, there is really only one step—the manuscript of Pamphilus itself—between the corrector of our Codex and the original Hexapla.

It is evident that this provides strong proof connecting the Codex Sinaiticus, during the time of the "C" correctors, with the library of