The Bezae Cantabrigiensis, often called the of Beza, is a bilingual Greek-Latin manuscript of the New Testament. Here are some key facts about it:
History
Date: Around AD 400-420.
Discovery: It is named after Theodore Beza, who brought it to Cambridge in 1581.
Current owner: It is currently held in Cambridge University Library.
Composition
Text: It contains the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The Greek text is written on the left and the Latin translation on the right1.
Format: It is written in uncials and has about 406 folios.
Order: It follows a unique order of the Gospels: Matthew, John, Luke, then Mark.
Importance
Text: It belongs to the Western text, which is different from the other textual families.
Condition: It is one of the few manuscripts to have been preserved in its entirety.
Study: It is of crucial importance for textual criticism and the history of the biblical texts.
The Bezae is a precious witness to the history of the biblical text and the transmission of the Scriptures down the centuries.