Forty-One Facsimiles of Dated Christian Arabic Manuscripts

Abstract

The twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843–1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843–1920) were pioneering biblical scholars who became experts in a number of ancient languages. Travelling widely in the Middle East, they made several significant discoveries, including one of the earliest manuscripts of the Four Gospels in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus himself. Their chief discoveries were made in the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai. This fascicule, originally published in 1907 as part of the Studia Sinaitica series, is a collection of Arabic Christian documents from various sources, including St Catherine's Monastery and the British Museum. Translated and edited by Lewis and Gibson, the texts, of great value to scholars of Arabic Christianity, include portions of theological treatises, sections of the Gospels and tales from the lives of the saints; of particular interest are the pages of biblical commentary and lectionaries.