OCR Text |
Show £3W&/> •• 4 - July 27., NIGHT. "iVOALD'S OLDEST BIBLE DISCOVE4ED C1JL4.O (191) - Dr. A.S, .attiya, Professor of Mediaeval History at Farouk I University, Alexandria, has disoovored at Saint Catherine's Monastery, in Sinai, what ha confidently believes to be the oldest known Bible.' It is the earliest writing in a quintuple palimpsest and there vdll be great difficulty in extracting the text but it can probably be done by infra-red and ultra-violet-ray photography. Dr. xittiya accompanied an American expedition to Sinai to photograph the wealth of ancient manuscripts theru. It was only towards the end of the vrork that he realised the • value of the manuscript, which has been named the Codex Arabious and given the number, Arabic 514, Century after contury the anoient soholars used the parohmont towite on, erasing each time the preceding writings, but exports aro able to detect the existence of the erased cexts, the earliest of Vihich is the bible referred to. The five texts in the manuscript aro as follows! 1* an archaio Greek Bible of about the third century; 2* a Bible in Syrlac writing of the fourth century; 5. a Bible in Synao writing of about the late fifth century; 4. a Bible in anoient JLufio of the first century of the Hejira, that is, the 6/7 century; 5* a hagiography in middle Kufi'c of about the 8th or 9th century. The expedition photographed many other documents of great historic interest. There is a magnifioont collection of early firmans, some of them signed by the Calphs themsolves which will, in the opinion • of Dr Attiyu, alter some historical chronology. There is one caliph's signature, for example, a year after history has him dead. .There is also a bible in Koranic arabic which Dr* Attiya considers vastly superior to the current .arabic bible and whioh is profacod by valuable commontaries, Altogether there are 562 arabic manuscripts from the 8th to the 13th century. Most of these are by Christian monks from MespotamLa and Syria. These writings wore microfilmed, with many other manuscripts, and will eventually bo available to scholars* ' INVITATION TO DINE AUSXaNDALa. (192) - Sir Aalph Stevenson, British Ambassador to Egypt* has invited Dr. Mohammed Salah El-Din Bey,-Egyptian Foreign Minister., Mostafa Nosrat Bey, Llinistor of Sfiar and Marino, Ibrahim Farag Bey, Minister of itorai and Municipal .affairs, and Abdol Fattah itmr Pasha, Egyptian Ambassador in London, to dinner on Saturday' at tho British Embassy hore. . ' . The invitation is rogardod in Bulkeloy circles as a "political" one as the three Ministers invited represent the Egyptian side in tho current Anglo-Egyptian talks. PASSED BY CENSOR |