Scribal errors and corrections in Codex Alexandrinus

The purpose of this page is to take a look at some of the scribal errors in Codex A and how they have been corrected. This is not a comprehensive list, it should merely serve to illustrate examples. It will mostly feature errors from the Gospel of Mark.

The first example is from Mark 1:16, a portion of which I have reproduced below. In line three we find the following: ΑΜΦΙΒΑΛΛΟΝΤΑΣΑΜΦΙΒΛΗΣΤΡΟΝ (αμφιβαλλοντας αμφιβληστρον) The scribe had originally written ΑΜΦΙΒΑΛΛΟΝΤΕΣ but the corrector changed the last Ε to Α.

Our next example is a clear correction. It is from Mark 2:5. In the third line below we see that the original scribe had written ΑΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΑΙ. The corrector then came in and crossed out the offending ΥΡ. Unfortunately, he seems to have gotten a bit carried away as he also crossed out the tau which definitely needs to be left. Giving the corrector the benefit of the doubt, working in a world without coffee, the correction leaves only the correct ΑΜΑΡΤΙΑΙ.

This next example is from Mark 5:13. In this case the original read τα πνευματα εισελθον. Luckily for the corrector the scribe had a line break just at the right spot enabling the corrector to insert the words τα ακαθαρτα in the margin making the passage read ΤΑΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΑΤΑΑΚΑΘΑΡΤΑΕΙΣΕΛΘΟΝ. Not pretty but it works.