SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

topic was, needless to say, a hot one among the audience. One comment worthy of mention in the discussion related to a strange statement made in a Public Television program on Islam. In it, one of the contributors, advanced the notion that the Egyptians welcomed the Arab Conquerors because they would have freed them from the oppression they faced under the Coptic clergy. The fact of the matter is that such oppression was practiced by the Byzantine Melekite clergy rather than the Egyptian one. Exhibit: The exhibit organized for this gathering dealt with the subject of Manuscripts from Egypt. The Society's owned replica of the famed Biblical manuscript of Codex Vaticanus was on display. Also, three original Arabic and Copto-Arabic manuscripts from private collections were exhibited. The first is an Arabic work, titled Kitab al-Roous . It has excerpts from the sayings of the fathers of the church on faith and other ecclesiastical matters. The second has the Arabic text of the Life of St. Takla Haymanout , the Ethiopian. At the end of this volume there is a collection of Copto-Arabic hymns in honor of the Saint. Both of these manuscripts came out of St.

Samuel Monastery in Qalamun, Egypt. The third is a Copto-Arabic manuscript of the Book of Psalmodia for the month of Kiahk. This late 19 th century manuscript reflects a tradition different from Ekladius Labib's 1911 printed edition. Their differences were listed and discussed in Volume 5, No.2 of this Newsletter. The exhibit also included samples from plates published from the Bodmer Collection in Switzerland, Moscow Public Library, Pierpont Morgan Library, and Vatican Apostolic Library. Also a copy of a Gottingen manuscript of the Coptic Lent Lectionary as well as colored plates from the Patriarchal and Coptic Museum libraries in Cairo. Organizers: This event was organized by the staff and students of the St. Shenouda Center for Coptic Studies. Publications of the Proceedings: There is no formal plan to publish the proceedings in a separate publication. However, selected papers will be included in this or future issues of the Newsletter.

Text Selections from the Coptic (Bohairic) Old Testament with New Translation(3) Book of Genesis (3) (by Hany N. Takla)

Introduction: This is the third of our series of translations from the Coptic Bible. It is provided to the lay as well as scholars to promote the interest in this, the greatest of Coptic treasures. The Coptic text provided is from M. K. Peters edition of the Bohairic Genesis which is primarily based on Codex Vaticanus Copt. 1. Corrections were made at times directly from the manuscript. The KJV text is taken from a published electronic version. Keep in mind that this version is a translation of Medieval Hebrew manuscripts, done at a time when the knowledge of Hebrew was not as good as it is now.

The new translation provided is a modest attempt to capture some of the unique features of the text with strict adherence to grammar and vocabulary. It is designed for serious students of Coptic and Old Testament alike. It is not intended to be a replacement English translation for Church use, because such work would be coordinated and pursued in a different manner than this. With that in mind, I hope it can be of benefit to many.

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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