Geneva Wares of May 15, 1983:
by Ernest A. Muro, Jr.

Item 1: "Exodus" (Greek)
List of leaves from the codex:
Click HERE to return to index of the Geneva Wares

     Note: The chapter and verse numbers in italics represent the estimated amount of text that originally was on each leaf. The bold text represents that portion of the leaf the contents of which I have been able to observe and verify. After the item number at the far left of the table the first two columns pertain to the recto side of each leaf, while the last two columns pertain to the verso side. The estimated portions of the leaves are derived from the stichometry of the observed portions, which in turn are based on images and/or chapter and verse references in the sources that I have had access to. Although limited and incomplete, these sources I deem reliable.

Item:
Recto: Estimate Recto: Observed Verso: Estimate Verso: Observed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
3:16-20
4:5-10
4:16-21
4:27-5:2
5:8-14
5:21-6:5
6:12-20
6:27-7:5
7:12-18
10:3-7
10:12-17
10:24-11:2
11:7-12:3
12:9-14
12:30-37
13:10-15
26:17-25
30:7-15
32:1-7
34:12-20
35:10-22
36:26-33
3:17-18
?
4:18-21
4:28-5:1
5:9-13
?
6:12-20
?
?
10:3-5
10:12-15
10:24-28
11:7-10
12:9-12
12:30-34
13:10-13
26:21-25
30:11-15
32:2-6
34:12-15
35:10-16
?
3:20-4:5
4:10-16
4:21-27
5:2-8
5:14-21
6:5-12
6:20-27
7:6-12
7:18-21
10:7-12
10:17-24
11:2-7
12:3-9
12:15-19
12:37-45
13:15-22
26:25-33
30:15-21
32:7-14
34:20-28
35:22-29
36:33-37:3
3:20-4:5
4:10-16
?
?
?
?
6:20-27
?
?
10:8-9
10:17-22
11:2-5
12:3-6
12:15-18
12:37-40
?
26:29-33
30:18-21
?
34:20-24
35:22-25
36:35-36

     The original number of leaves in this Exodus codex is difficult to determine because of the limited nature of the information in the above table and because the stichometry increases from the front towards the end of the codex. The description of MS 187 at the Martin Schoyen Collection web site states that the codex originally had 88 leaves in four quires of 22 leaves each. This makes sense if the estimate was based only on the leaves in the Schoyen Collection, which are items 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 in the above table.
     According to my calculations, the average stichometry for the first 15 items increases by 118 percent for items 16-18. It seems as if the scribe used longer lines of text towards the end of the codex in order to make it accommodate the entire book of Exodus. This would mean that the codex had fewer leaves, perhaps 84 leaves give or take a few. The center of the first quire may have been near verse 5:8, as items 4 and 5 appear to be the center bifolium of that quire. Items 17 and 18 are also a bifolium, although it is eight leaves or four sheets distant from the center of the quire, which would have been near verse 28:38. This might have been the center of the third quire.
     In addition to the 22 leaves mentioned above, the as of yet unaccounted leaves would include:
  • Approximately 5 leaves preceeding item 1, being Exodus 1:1-3:15;
  • Approximately six leaves between items 9 and 10, being verses 7:21-10:3;
  • One leaf between items 14 and 15, being verses 12:19-30, (Verses 12:19-29 may exist, but unverified at present.);
  • One leaf between items 15 and 16, being verses 12:45-13:10 (Verses 12:45-13:7 may exist, but unverified at present.);
  • Approximately 23 to 28 leaves between items 16 and 17, being verses 13:22-26:17;
  • Approximately eight leaves between items 17 and 18, being verses 26:33-30:7;
  • Approximately two leaves between items 18 and 19, being verses 30:21-32:1;
  • Approximately four leaves between items 19 and 20, being verses 32:14-34:12
  • One leaf between items 20 and 21, being verses 34:28-35:10;
  • (An additional portion from item 21 may exist, being verse 35:21, but such is unverified at present.);
  • Two leaves between items 21 and 22, being verses 35:29-37:3;
  • Approximately 6 leaves from item 22 to the end of the book, being verses 37:3-40:38.
  • The estimated total of all of the above is approximately 81 to 86 leaves in the original codex.

     The sources for this web page include:
  • "The Dead Sea Scrolls to the Forbidden Book" exhibit catalog and online news coverage.
  • "The Dead Sea Scrolls to the Bible in America" exhibit catalog and online news coverage.
  • The "Ink and Blood" exhibit catalog, online news coverage, and my visits to this exhibit to view items 1 and 13.
  • The Martin Schoyen Collection web site for MS 187. (Items 3,4,5,6, and 9)
  • Web site for Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, data for P.CtYBRinv. 4475. (Item 7)
  • Roger Pearse's web site on the "Gospel of Judas."
  • Images from online news coverage regarding the contents of a safe deposit box in Akron, Ohio, which is under the care of a bankruptcy attorney handling Bruce Ferrini's case. (April 19, 2006)
  • DeSilva, David and Marcus Adams. "Seven Papyrus Fragments of a Greek Manuscript of Exodus." Vetus Testamentum Vol. 56, No.2 (April 2006).
June 2, 2006 / October 15, 2007