Codex Bezae
The Greek-and-Latin book of the Gospels and Acts — an easy-English companion
What it is: A bilingual manuscript — Greek on one page, Latin facing it — of the New Testament, written on parchment.
When it was made: The 5th century CE — about 1,600 years ago (scholars place it around 400–450).
Where it is now: Cambridge University Library, England (shelf mark MS Nn.2.41).
Language: Koine Greek and Latin, side by side, in large capital (“uncial”) letters.
Size: Each leaf about 26 cm by 21.5 cm.
Read the Manuscript
1. Tap the button below — read the short intro, then tap “Open Digital Library.”
2. The manuscript opens, Greek page on one side, Latin on the other.
3. Tap the arrows to turn the pages and keep reading.
What It Contains
The Codex Bezae holds the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, plus a small fragment of 3 John. Its text belongs to what scholars call the “Western” stream of the New Testament wording — it often reads differently from the manuscripts behind most modern translations, and some parables and details appear here that are found in no other copy. Its version of Acts differs from other manuscripts in many places.
One thing readers notice first: this is the earliest known manuscript to include the account of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:11).
Its Recorded History (history, not Scripture)
The manuscript is named for Theodore Beza (Théodore de Bèze), the 16th-century church reformer who owned it. Before his time it was kept at the Monastery of St. Irenaeus in Lyon, France; in 1562, during the religious wars, the monastery was ransacked and the book was carried away. In 1581 Beza presented it to Cambridge University Library for safekeeping — and it has been there ever since, which is why its full Latin name is Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis: “Beza’s Cambridge book.”
Scholars believe it was written in the East — possibly around Beirut — by a single scribe whose stronger hand was in Latin. In 2012 Cambridge put the whole manuscript online in full color, with transcriptions of both the Greek and the Latin text beside the images.
Why It Matters for Readers of the Oldest Texts
Because the Codex Bezae so often stands apart from other manuscripts, it is a second witness of great value: where it agrees with manuscripts like Sinaiticus, scholars take the reading as strongly confirmed; where it differs, it preserves a very early form of the text worth weighing. It is the leading witness of the Western text — one of the oldest streams of the New Testament’s transmission.
See It for Yourself
- Cambridge University Library — Discovering Texts: Codex Bezae — the Library’s exhibition page, with a link to open the full digitised manuscript.
- Cambridge Faculty of Divinity — Codex Bezae — why this manuscript matters for the study of the New Testament text.