Codex Ephraemi Syri

biblical literature

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 24, 2026

Quick Summary

The Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus is a significant biblical manuscript from the 5th century. It is a palimpsest, meaning the original text was scraped off and a new text was written over it. In this case, the original biblical text was replaced with the sermons of Ephraem Syrus, a 4th-century Syrian Church Father.1

Despite the erasure, approximately 60 percent of the New Testament text was later deciphered. The manuscript's text is largely Byzantine, reflecting a common text type from the 9th century. Its discovery and decipherment were crucial for biblical textual criticism.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

biblical literature
Uncials
C, Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus, is a palimpsest. Originally written as a biblical manuscript in the 5th century, it was erased in the 12th century, and the treatises or sermons of Ephraem Syrus, a 4th-century Syrian Church Father, were written over the scraped text. The manuscript…
Read More
C, Codex Ephraemi Syri rescriptus, is a palimpsest. Originally written as a biblical manuscript in the 5th century, it was erased in the 12th century, and the treatises or sermons of Ephraem Syrus, a 4th-century Syrian Church Father, were written over the scraped text. The manuscript…
Read More