Erica Orloff

The Mystery of the Ancient Manuscript

To my children. May each of you have something as meaningful as the Book.

I saw another dream...

The inscription, like a trace of someone’s ghostly breath on the window, quietly whispers its message to us through the centuries.

Even books have their secrets. Come on, tell us something else,” said Uncle Harry, turning to the manuscript. He seemed to want to get her to talk. Bending over the crumbling pages, he carefully studied the manuscript like a true scientist of antiquity.

Secrets? - I asked, and my question echoed in the spacious hall auction house. In this building with marble floors and high ceilings, even a small noise turned into a measured rustling of the leaves of the trees.

Callie, every object, like a person, has its own secrets. Including books. And my task is to lure them out.

He brought the ultraviolet lamp closer to the pages of the manuscript and suddenly exhaled loudly.

What's there? - I whispered, looking over his shoulder. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

He pointed with his finger:

Look at the fields!

In the bluish light of the lamp, I could barely discern a thin web of illegible and seemingly unearthly words.

It seems that the lines of the manuscript were already written on top of this inscription,” I said quietly and squinted to get a better look at the find.

I knew that Uncle Harry, working at the Royal auction house Manhattan, as an expert on medieval illuminated manuscripts, lived by these ancient works of the monks. Ancient legends could be heard in the rustle of their pages. He could talk endlessly about them over breakfast and dinner. He read about them. He studied them. And no matter what was written in the margins, it was the realization of my uncle’s dream.

Do you know what this is? This is a palimpsest!

Palimp... what?

In response, he smiled widely, and dimples immediately appeared on his cheeks, and his azure eyes glowed with happiness. Uncle Harry was tall man six feet tall, and the first silver strands had already appeared in his blond hair. He is clever man of everyone I know. He has an amazing photographic memory and an encyclopedic knowledge of history. But I’m never bored with him: it seems that history comes to life in his mouth.

Palimpsest! A thousand years ago, paper was still rare. People wrote on parchment or vellum, that is, on pieces of animal skin. When the book itself or part of it was no longer needed, they washed off the inscription with a mixture of oat bran soaked in milk, or simply erased it with a pumice stone. And the pages could be used again, because the inscriptions disappeared. People believed it was without a trace.

I began to carefully examine the squiggle, barely noticeable in the light of the lamp, similar to the stroke of a pen.

So I see an inscription that is a thousand years old? And someone wanted to hide it? Maybe this is a secret message? - I asked my uncle.

He nodded.

Sometimes fortune smiles on us. The stars align, and fate gives us a gift... in the form of such a miracle. It's priceless. Usually time and nature destroy all traces.

I looked at the manuscript again. The black lines were drawn with a skilled hand, they were so even that each was a work of art. Not a single letter was out of order, not a single blot - perfection itself. At the top of the page was a golden miniature that time had passed by. The knight and lady were painted in shades of dark blue and green, as bright as peacock feathers.

What a beauty! - I said.

But what makes this thing special is the lettering. All the secrets are coming out, Callie. This is true. Traces always remain, even a thousand years later.

Does the person who put the manuscript up for auction know that it is a palimpsest?

Uncle Harry shook his head.

The owner of the lot inherited from his father a collection of rare books and manuscripts. But my son is only interested in money. - Uncle again glanced with envy at the ancient lines: - He can’t even imagine what secrets these pages hide. The price will reach hundreds of thousands, and maybe even millions of dollars. I will be able to evaluate the book more accurately once I know more about its fate.

He fell silent and shook his head again:

It's sad, isn't it?

Some people spend their entire lives building a collection of books or antiques. They think this will help them stay in people's memories. And then their children come along, who simply don’t care about the parents’ efforts, and they sell everything out. Apparently, passion for a hobby cannot be instilled.

Maybe you are right. But on the other hand... here we are,” I said, “and here are the words in the margins.” And you care.

I still can't believe it. And I know another person who will be delighted with the find. I need to call Peter Sokolov.

And who is it?

World-renowned specialist in rare books and medieval manuscripts.

Even more special than you? I doubt.

He was my supervisor. And yes, he knows much more than me. He is the only one who understands your crazy uncle and shares his love for ancient documents. - Uncle Harry kissed the top of my head: - I told you that this summer would be memorable.

I rolled my eyes.

Great. You found an old manuscript. And really very ancient. From parchment or vellum. And with its secrets. But I don't think that makes it a successful summer - at least not for me. Dad left me and went to Europe with his next blonde passion. Are they really getting younger and blonder, or is it just me?

You're not the only one who thinks so. I could never understand your father either. Just as I didn’t understand why my sister married him. - Uncle Harry frowned. - Although I shouldn’t have told you that.

Why? It's true. And only the mystery of an old dusty manuscript can compare with this mystery.

How could I tell him that I was hoping for a romantic acquaintance this summer. Or even an adventure.

Patience, Callie,” my uncle winked at me. - Remember what I said about secrets.

What does it mean?

You never know where a secret will lead you. It's like playing hide and seek through the centuries. - He said these words in a mysterious and playfully disgusting voice. - I need to call. You can stay here for now and study the manuscript. But don't touch it with your hands!

He headed to his office and, without looking back, called after him:

And don't breathe on her!

I leaned over the table and began to examine the tiny, barely visible squiggle. However, I could not make out the words.

And then I saw her. There was a signature at the bottom.

I also saw another dream: behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars worship me...

Touch the stars. Dream about them.

My mother has always been a palimpsest for me. She died when I was six years old, and all my life I searched for secret messages from her, hoping that she would convey them to me in the same way that the marginal notes spoke to Uncle Harry. It's a passion that has never left me. Sometimes when I see one of my friends hugging their mother, I feel a sharp pain in my heart. And that night I again sat alone in my room in Harry’s apartment, legs tucked under me, looking at old photographs of my mother.

My “room”—and I should put quotation marks here—was what Manhattan realtors call a second bedroom, although in truth it was more like a niche in the wall with another wall attached to it. But I had enough space, especially since Uncle Harry kept photographs of my mother here and here I hoped to find secret messages from her. He was her brother, and so I constantly asked him questions about her. I always wondered if I looked like her... I know I’m not like my father.

My father and I have spent our entire lives trying to avoid each other - in some ways, we are terribly lucky that he is almost never at home. During my studies, I tolerated his presence in our home in the Boston suburbs. Luckily, he traveled a lot, so I spent half of my time with my friend Sofia's family. Or I was left in the care of a neighbor living opposite our apartment. But my favorite time of year is summer, because I always reserve it for Uncle Harry, his friend Gabe and New York. We usually spent our time playing games and going to the beach, and one day we even went to Toronto.

And this year? Oh, I was especially glad to get out of the house. I was facing a summer code-named “Meeting My Stepmom,” as my father was already looking for diamond rings for his newest and blondest girlfriend, Sharon. I felt sick just thinking about the upcoming celebration.

After looking at photos and chatting on Facebook with Sophia, who was spending the summer at a sports camp, I fell asleep without turning off the TV.

Waking up, I stared at the ceiling, then turned my gaze to the plasma screen hanging on the wall. The morning news anchor, her hair perfectly styled and styled, cheerfully announced that it was already six o'clock in the morning.

Mmmrmrrmrr! - I purred to Uncle Harry’s cat. His name was Aggi, short for Agamemnon. He is a Silver Persian by breed, and one eye is green and the other yellow. As befits his breed, he leaves his fur everywhere. - It's summer now, I can finally get some sleep. Why on earth am I awake?

In response, I heard the meow of Aggie, who began to stomp on my stomach until he lay down, purring like a car engine. Reaching for the remote control, I switched channels. I was too lazy to get up, but I was already so awake that now I definitely couldn’t fall asleep.

About twenty minutes later Uncle Harry knocked on the door.

Are you up? - he called me.

Unfortunately, yes.

He stuck his head through the door.

What will you wear to work today?

I looked at my closet: its doors were wide open, clothes were lying around on the floor.

Mmm... I don't know. Pants with some sweater: it’s so cold in your office. And since when are you interested in my appearance? I'm just bringing you coffee. In general, I haven't decided yet. It's too early to decide anything.

How about this? - And he threw a branded bag from the Barney's store on my bed.

I sat up in bed and ran my hand through my curls. I heard Gabe in the shower singing another hit from the musical Guys and Dolls, in which he played the role of the inveterate debater Sky Masterson. My uncle went to this show twenty times and always sat in the first row of the stalls in the middle. If you count, he spent a small fortune on this, and after each performance he stood at the door of the theater with a yellow and black program in his hands to get Gabe's autograph. It was a sickeningly touching story from the “How We Met” series. And the rest, as they say, is history.

It's sad when your uncle's love life is as good as it will never be for you. The fact that I am an honorary member of the smart guys club already means that in my personal life Something beautiful is missing. Of course, my grandmother still believes that the whole point is that Uncle Harry simply did not meet “the right” girl. But at least he is now definitely in the trend of all fashionable new items.

I pulled the box out of the bag, tore off the gift wrapping and looked at Uncle Harry.

Are you kidding?

I pulled the package out of the box and unwrapped it. I had a little black dress in my hands. It truly was amazing. I looked at the price tag.

Three hundred fifty dollars? Are you crazy!

No, I didn't. I've always wanted to buy a dress inspired by Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany's. But I had no one to give it to. Until you showed up. Come on, don't you like it?

I nodded dumbfounded. This is probably the most chic thing in my wardrobe.

It's amazing! It’s just a pity that only your dusty manuscripts will see me in it.

You can never look too good to work with parchment.

I grinned.

Thank you, I really really like it.

After the shower, I decided not to straighten my hair and leave the curls. The weather forecast promised high humidity, which meant there was no point in fighting the true nature of my hair. They will tangle anyway, and the result will be something between asparagus bushes and steel wool.

After applying lip gloss and eyelashes, I put on black ballet flats - I also decided that I wouldn't struggle with being five foot three. But really, I'm kidding myself because I'm five foot two and add a little hair on my head. I have it by nature pale skin, all dotted with freckles, which I also don’t bother hiding, and my eyes are bright gray. I looked at bookshelf, on which my uncle placed frames with black and white photographs my mother. She looks straight into the camera lens and laughs as the wind blows through her hair. In the photo she is dressed exactly like Madonna from the 80s, and in some amazing way it all suits her mother.

I wish I knew what made her laugh so much. Uncle Harry doesn't remember this. I look a lot like her - just a different hair color, but the same pale skin type. Alas, from sun rays I immediately turn into boiled crayfish. But that seems to be where the similarities end. Because in every photo, mom looks like a model, or like a bohemian artist, or like someone glamorous from a life like a fairy tale.

I looked at myself again from head to toe in the closet mirror in my room. I looked... almost like an adult. Smiling at my reflection, I walked out into the narrow corridor. It was covered with posters and posters of Uncle Harry and Gabe's favorite musicals - Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Contact, Chicago, Spamalot. I turned right and walked into the kitchen. It was huge by Manhattan standards, tiny by Boston standards, with shiny and sparkling appliances, maple-colored cabinets and granite-topped kitchen tables. I reached for the coffee grinder.

“There’s no time, darling,” said Harry. - We'll stop at Starbucks on the way. We have to go.

Gabe came up to me.

Are you wearing a kimono? - I asked, touching the blue and green silk.

Cool, can I borrow it from you sometime?

If I were you, I would never take off this dress. Yes, it’s not a pity to die for him. You look incredible.

Thank you. - I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him goodbye. - By the way, I liked your shower chants today.

Did you hear me sing?

Every note.

Harry rolled his eyes playfully.

Holy innocence! He knows very well that we can hear him.

Having gone down the elevator from the fortieth floor and looked into Starbucks (I will die if I don’t drink coffee in the morning, this is the source of life for me), my uncle and I rushed into the morning crowd of people rushing to work - but we did not go to the auction house.

Where are we going?

Home to Dr. Sokolov.

I thought he would come to your work to see the manuscript. Isn't this manuscript what all your medieval specialists live for?

Harry threw back his head and laughed.

I'm afraid this is impossible.

He has agoraphobia.

I tried to remember what kind of phobia this was.

Harry turned around and looked at me:

He never leaves his home. Never.

At all? Does it work?

Yes, he writes scientific articles and conducts research. Gives lectures via video link and records podcasts. Modern technologies make friends with people like him. People bring books to his house. Well, or in my case, I'll show him the video.

Strange... Never go outside. Where does he get his food from?

Callie, honey. We're in New York. Here everything can be ordered to your home.

Well, okay, but there must be things for which he leaves the apartment?

Probably yes. But for such cases he has an assistant.

We got into a yellow taxi and ten minutes later, having barely avoided a dozen accidents, pale and completely sick, we were already leaving at the gates of a four-story mansion in Greenwich Village. On the other side of the street, trees raised their branches to the sky, spreading them over the road and trying to overcome the concrete barriers. Two long, highly polished limousines were parked next to the houses.

“It’s an amazing street,” I said, getting out of the taxi. - This part of the city seems so quiet and secluded.

I looked at my uncle.

That building over there is the typical home of a highly paid actress. I can't even tell you how many times I've met Uma Thurman here. Oh, or my idol Anderson Cooper. One day I saw him speeding by on his bike. - The uncle nodded towards the three-story stone mansion located on the other side of the road. - I think someone lives there famous writer. One way or another, Doctor Sokolov, as they say, has golden blood. This house has belonged to his family for more than a hundred years, since the days when carriages drove along this street. Would you like me to tell you about an incredible fact from history?

I am not sure.

But this is absolutely necessary when we're talking about about such a luxurious house. For example, the reason why it is multi-story is rooted deep in history, in a time when the rich could only live on the upper floors, away from the stench horse manure. It was…

Better stop there,” I moaned. Sometimes Uncle Harry's love of history was too obvious for me.

I looked around the street and wondered what it would be like to live here. The street was calm and serene, and for a second I felt like I had stepped back in time. I even heard the chirping of birds hiding in the trees. Approaching the door of Dr. Sokolov's house, I noticed a sign hanging next to the doorbell. It read: “Sokolov and Sons, antiques experts.” My uncle called, and we heard the overflowing ringing of a bell echo through the house.

The massive door, four meters high, polished to a shine, opened, but instead of an agoraphobic elderly expert on antiquities, I found myself face to face with the most handsome guy the one I've ever seen. At that very moment I felt myself blush.

Oh, hello, Harry,” he smiled at my uncle, two dimples appeared on his cheeks. Then he looked at me, and it seemed to me that he saw something through me. Or inside. I backed away and bumped into my uncle.

Calliope, meet August Sokolov, Professor Sokolov’s invaluable assistant and also his son.

Hello! - I tried to find my breath again.

There was a long pause. I managed to get a good look at August: he had green eyes, brown hair curled slightly at the collar of his shirt. One ear was pierced - there was an earring with the Yin-Yang symbol. The left eye had a scar that resembled a horseshoe. The guy stared at me and, blinking, said:

Come in, my father is waiting for you.

I stepped over the threshold, Uncle Harry followed me. August led us through the marble foyer; As we walked past paintings and real (really, really) knight's armor, I glanced over my shoulder at my uncle.

"What?" - Uncle Harry said silently with the most innocent look.

But I didn't take my eyes off him.

The Voynich Manuscript - the ancient encyclopedia of the Slavs

Today it is generally accepted that Voynich manuscript or the Voynich Manuscript is the most mysterious book in the world. At 209 pages, it contains an illustrated text written in the 15th century by an unknown author, in an unknown language, using an unknown alphabet. Numerous and very energetic attempts to decipher the text of the manuscript by Western specialists did not yield any results.

However, known for its inaccessibility to reading, Voynich manuscript actually turned out to be decipherable. Changing the approach to transcribing the manuscript gave a positive result. It was possible to translate a significant number of words. Analysis of the contents of the manuscript, taking into account the meaning of the translated words, showed that this artifact was born in the territory ancient Rus' and is a unique collection of everyday knowledge necessary in everyday life. Peculiar encyclopedia of everyday knowledge.

…

Our ancestors left us many mysteries. Among others, a special place is occupied by the so-called. "Voynich Manuscript"(hereinafter referred to as “RV”). Its peculiarity lies in the variety of content and high level of encryption. Concerning transcripts the text itself, then this question in Lately It can be said without exaggeration that enormous attention was paid and enormous efforts were invested. Moreover, the best minds of cryptology were involved in deciphering it, including such government agencies as CIA And US NSA.

Specialists in other branches of knowledge and even specialists in occult theories did not stand aside either. Modern computing capabilities were used. Many languages ​​were analyzed for their possible use in the manuscript. As a result of this painstaking work, the only result obtained was The RF is a real document, which is a semantic text written using an unknown language.

Having analyzed the work done by specialists in deciphering the RT, it is easy to see that all of them, basically, tried to see the letters of the alphabet of a language in the signs with which the RT was written. Moreover, the languages ​​of the peoples of the West were mainly taken as a basis. We could not find such a language. I mean high level professionalism of these specialists, we can confidently conclude that there is no such language, the letters of the alphabet of which would be indicated by such signs.

Consequently, the signs with which the RV is written carry a different meaning, or their purpose is different. Therefore, it is necessary to change the approach to decoding, i.e. take as a basis not individual signs, but the system of signs as a whole. Namely, it is necessary to find a language whose alphabet structure would correspond to the structure of the system of signs used in writing RV.

Now it is necessary to find a pattern in the variety of signs with which the RV is written. Having analyzed the signs used in the RT, we were able to discover such a pattern. In other words, all the collection of signs is not chaotic, but represents a certain system (format).

Now the question arose to find a language whose alphabet format would coincide with the format of the RV characters. The searches carried out yielded results. An ancient language was found whose alphabet format coincided with the character format used in the text of the RV. But then everything did not go smoothly. The structure of the complex of signs and the alphabet of the proposed language are identical, but the number of letters turned out to be slightly larger. I had to go back to the text.

As a result, a numerical mark was discovered in the text itself. Using this mark as a hint and assigning two letters to a certain number of characters, everything fell into place. Later, when translating some short words, the indicated assignment of signs to letters was confirmed. That's what it is second level of RF encryption.

Further, after analyzing the text with the existing data, it turned out that in words that begin with vowels, these vowels are omitted. Moreover, vowels are used very rarely within words. This can be considered third level encryption. These two circumstances further exclude the possibility of using computer programs to translate the text of the RV.

“Manual” translation is also difficult. So, for example, if a word in the text consists of 4 characters, then this supposed word will correspond to 8 letters, 4 of which must be excluded. Thus, it is practically impossible to do without perfect knowledge of this ancestral language. When translating short words, I used information obtained on the Internet, and there, as you know, they are limited and only of generally accepted use. And in this case, we have specific themes and an ancient language.

Using the above in the so-called botanical section The following short words were translated (short in the text of the RV): Sweet drink, nectar. Food, food. Pleasure, pleasure. Grain, bread. Six. Drink, absorb. Maturation, maturity. Saturated. Hemp, hemp, hemp clothing. Food, food. Maybe. Cleanse (intestines). Drink. Wish. Knowledge. Sweet drink, nectar and others.

There is no doubt that the correlation coefficient between the meaning of these words and the plants depicted is very high. Further in the text, we managed to translate a significant number of words, the meaning of which corresponds to the picture.

This allows us to draw two conclusions. Firstly. The language is determined correctly. Secondly. Assigning letters of the alphabet to signs corresponds to a real cipher.

Upon careful examination of the contents of the RV, one can notice, at first glance, the only recognizable element - in the form of a wall with architectural elements of the “dovetail” type. It is known that such elements were first used in Italy, then in Russia during the construction of the Moscow Kremlin. In the future more detailed analysis fragments of this drawing confirmed that this image corresponds exactly Moscow Kremlin.

Now there is a need to turn to the history of the artifact itself. Analyzes of samples of parchment on which the RV is written showed that it was made in the period from 1408 to 1438. Some researchers consider this period to be the period when RV was written.

This is not entirely correct. Cases of archaeologists finding blank sheets of parchment give reason to believe that sometimes parchment was made in reserve. Moreover, on some sheets traces of old text being washed away were found, which indicates their reuse. Thus, it would be more correct to assume that RV was written no earlier than 1438.

The well-known period in the history of the Republic of Vietnam, which is documented, begins from the moment when it belonged to the Roman Emperor, the Czech and Hungarian kings Rudolf-2, who died in 1612. It is known that he bought it, but it is unknown from whom.

It should be noted that during this period in Europe there was a flourishing alchemy, and the contents of the RV, even today, are perceived by some as an alchemical treatise. Its center is Prague, where Rudolph II lived for some time. He himself was interested in the secret sciences of astrology and alchemy.

After the death of Rudolph II (1612), the manuscript became the property of his physician and caretaker of the botanical garden Jacob Harczycki, who was also known as an alchemist. This fact has been established precisely, because on the worn out spots on the first sheet of paper, RV managed to read his first and last name. It should be noted here that in the period 1605-1608. Rudolf-2 invited the famous Polish alchemist to his place Mikhail Sendzivoy. They worked together until the death of Rudolph II (1612).

And now we should turn to Poland at that time. In the period 1610-1612, the Polish garrison, led first by Zolkiewski and then by Gosniewski, occupied the Moscow Kremlin. And they didn’t just occupy it, but they took everything that could be taken out of it. A real robbery was taking place. It should also be noted here that the RV lacks several sheets, including those with naked women. This can be explained by the fact that at first the RV fell into the hands of illiterate soldiers and they used these sheets in their own way. Thus, it is realistic to assume that The RV was taken by the Poles from the Moscow Kremlin and fell into the hands of Rudolf-2 through the Pole Mikhail Sendziwy.

One more point needs to be noted here. The Moscow Kremlin with dovetail elements began to be built in 1485. Consequently, the RV could not have been written earlier than 1485. Further analysis of the contents of the text showed that it could have been written no later than 1530. Thus, the supposed period of writing the Russian Revolution 1485-1530.

Upon further analysis of the content of the RT using translated words, it was possible to determine content of the radioactive substance as a whole. The document contains several topics.

1. Description of plants growing in the territory where RV was written. The order of their cultivation and use in everyday life.

2. Organization proper nutrition, cooking and eating rituals.

3. Current time calculation. Year to lunar calendar indicating the names and descriptions of the months and days of the simple and sacred months. Daily time showing the name of each hour.

4. At all times in Rus', much attention was paid to the birth of healthy offspring. It was believed that this entirely depended on the woman’s health. At the same time, both the astrological features of women’s pregnancy and their direct pregnancy were taken into account. physical health. One of the sections presents the peculiarities of the passage of the period of pregnancy in women at the beginning of it under various signs of the Zodiac. Another section contains advice on maintaining a woman’s health at a level that ensures the birth of healthy offspring. Here, most likely, there are recipes for preparing medicinal baths necessary in various situations and the procedure for taking them.

5. One of the sections presents the healing properties of the roots and fruits of various plants and the order of their use. The preparation method and procedure for using various tinctures are also given here.

6. Of particular importance is one of the drawings, consisting of nine independent but interconnected fragments. Detailed analysis he showed that this figure shows the structure of the state of Great Tartary that existed during the period of writing the RT. The meaning of the translated words indicates the principles of the formation of this state. The capital of this state is shown as the city Asgard Irian, which was destroyed by the Dzungar hordes in 1530. This year, most likely, should be considered the last one in the possible period for writing the RV. Overall this figure is very informative.

This is most of the content of the RT, which was determined using the proposed key. The meaning of the last text section is not defined. There is an assumption, but it has not yet been confirmed.

Summarizing the results of the above analysis of the RV, the following suggests itself: conclusion. The Voynich manuscript is nothing more than encyclopedia of everyday knowledge of our ancestors. It was written, most likely, by priests who possessed such broad knowledge.

A natural question arises about the reason for encoding this knowledge. It is difficult to establish the true reason, but, taking into account the surviving crumbs of our true history that have reached us, we can conclude that during the period of writing the RT, a period began disintegration state of Great Tartary. In order to prevent this sacred knowledge from going beyond certain limits, they were encoded.

Nikolay Anichkin, 06/15/2017

The deciphered materials of the Voynich Manuscript are published on the “Food of RA” website...

Voynich manuscript. Voynich Manuscript

Muslim: The Bible has been changed many times, so it cannot be considered the original Scripture revealed to Moses, Jesus and other prophets. What evidence do you have that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy?

Many years ago, a young Muslim woman asked me, “Has the Bible ever changed?” I told her: “Of course not.” To this she said: “But doesn’t she teach that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” I confirmed: “Teaches again and again.” In response, she stated: “Then she had to change.”

Any Christian who reads the works of Muslim authors will be surprised to find that the arguments put forward in them to refute the authenticity of the Bible texts are often extremely weak and unconvincing. This happens for one reason only - Muslims do not believe in the complete preservation of the Bible, not because they have found adequate evidence that changes were made to its text, but because they must deny its authenticity in order to support their conviction that The Qur'an is the Word of God. Two Books that conflict with each other cannot both be the Word of God. When Muslims discovered in the early centuries of Islamic history that the Bible clearly and definitively set forth basic Christian doctrines, such as the divinity of Jesus Christ and His atonement, they could no longer approach it objectively. Since then, they have striven to prove what is in fact nothing more than an assumption - the Bible must have changed! main reason Muslims' disbelief in the authenticity of the Bible lies in the lack of choice: they cannot believe the Bible if they must be faithful to the Koran.

It is important to know the evidence for the unchangeability of the biblical texts, especially the fact that there are authentic manuscripts that predate the birth of Islam by many centuries and prove that the Bible we hold in our hands today is the same Bible that the Jews and early Christians revered as their only Holy Scripture .

Three major manuscript copies of the Bible

There are still three major manuscript copies of the Bible in Greek (including the Septuagint (Old Testament) and the original text of the New Testament), predating the Koran by several centuries.

1. Alexandrian list. This volume, written in the 5th century AD. BC, contains the entire Bible with the exception of a few lost leaves from the New Testament (namely: Matt. 1:1–25:6, John 6:50–8:52 and 2 Cor. 4:13–12:6). It does not include anything that is not part of the modern Bible. The manuscript is kept in the British Museum in London.

2. Sinai list. This is a very ancient manuscript, dating back to the end of the 4th century. It contains the entire New Testament and a significant part of the Old Testament. For centuries it was kept in the St. Petersburg Imperial Library and was sold to the British government for one hundred thousand pounds. Currently also in the British Museum.

3. Vatican list. This is probably the oldest surviving complete manuscript copy of the Bible. It dates from the 4th century and is kept in the Vatican Library in Rome. The last part of the New Testament (Heb. 9:14 to the end of Revelation) is written in a different hand than the rest of the manuscript (probably the scribe who began copying the text for some reason was unable to complete the work).

These manuscripts prove conclusively that the only Scripture given to the Church at least two centuries before the birth of Muhammad, this is the Old and New Testaments known to us.

Other Evidence of the Bible's Authenticity

There are many other pieces of evidence that prove the authenticity of the Bible, going back several centuries to the time of the birth of Islam. The following points should be highlighted in discussions with Muslims.

1. Masoretic texts. Ancient biblical manuscripts belong not only to Christians, but also to Jews, who revere the Old Testament as the only Scripture given to them. These are texts written in Hebrew - original language Old Testament, they are at least a thousand years old. These are known as the Masoretic Texts.

2. Dead Sea Scrolls. First discovered in the caves of the Qumran desert near the Dead Sea in Israel, these scrolls contain many passages from the Old Testament in Hebrew and date back to the 2nd century BC. e. They include two copies of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, containing prophecies about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see: Is. 53:1-12), about His virgin birth (see: Is. 7:14) and about His divinity ( see: Isa. 9:6–7).

3. Septuagint. The Septuagint is the name of the first translation into Greek of the Old Testament. It was copied in the 2nd century BC. e. and contains all the main prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, the statement that He is the Son of God (see: Ps. 2:7; 1 Chron. 17:11–14), and some details of His suffering and atoning death (see: Ps. 21, 68). The early Church made extensive use of the Septuagint.

4. Vulgate. In the 4th century AD e. The Roman Catholic Church translated the entire Bible into Latin language, using the Septuagint and ancient Greek manuscript copies of the New Testament. This list is known as the Vulgate and contains all the Books of the Old and New Testaments as we know them. This translation has been approved as the standard text for the Roman Catholic Church.

5. Excerpts from the Greek text of the New Testament. There are many fragments of the original Greek text of the New Testament surviving from the 2nd century AD. e. All of them, collected together, constitute the content of the New Testament in the form that we know. It is very interesting to compare the abundance of this evidence with the texts of ancient Greek and Roman classical works, many of which were written no earlier than a thousand years after Christ. Truly there are no other literary works of the same era that would have such a wealth of manuscript evidence as the Greek text of the New Testament.

Most importantly, and this should be emphasized when talking to Muslims, there is no source suggesting that the Bible misrepresents the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. All apocryphal books rejected by the Church, at least in general outline, follow the same narrative line as the New Testament manuscripts. There is certainly no historical evidence to suggest that Jesus was in fact the prophet of Islam, as the Quran makes Him out to be.

Finally, it would be a good idea to ask Muslims to bring historical facts to support their claim that the Bible we read is a modified Bible. What was it like originally? What was changed about it that made it the Book we have today? Who made these changes? When was this done? Ask your interlocutor to name real people who he suggests corrupted the Bible, the time it occurred, the specific changes made to the original text of the Bible, and you will find that he is unable to do so because such evidence simply does not exist. Always remember that the vicious attack of Muslims is not based on the scientific evidence they have, but on assumptions. The Bible, in their opinion, had to change since it contradicts the Koran. Unfortunately, too often Muslims approach the Bible not with a desire to understand its teachings, but solely with the goal of finding errors in it that justify their prejudice against it.

John Gilchrist "God or Prophet?"

OR RNB. F.p. I.5. Ostromir Gospel 1056–1057 L. 66 vol. Initial with a zoomorphic element.

OR RNB. F.p. I.5. Ostromir Gospel 1056–1057 L. 87 vol. Miniature depicting the Evangelist Luke.

At the end of the 10th century. Rus', simultaneously with the establishment of Christianity as the state religion, adopted Cyrillic writing, which by that time was already widespread among the southern Slavs.

The collection of ancient Russian handwritten books of the Russian National Library most fully reflects the history of the Russian handwritten book tradition - from the Ostromir Gospel of the 11th century. to the late Old Believer manuscripts of the early twentieth century.

The subject matter of the material is unusually wide. Here are richly decorated liturgical books, and the most important historical monuments - chronicles and chronographs, books for “spiritual” reading and for practical application- herbalists, medical books, treatises on military affairs, various areas of medieval knowledge, and even textbooks for reading texts written in cursive. Of particular interest are his collections, which contain works of various genres: theological treatises, monuments of teaching eloquence, hagiographic works, plot stories, church polemical works, monuments of Russian journalism, syllabic verses.

OR RNB. Erm. 20. Izbornik. 1076

OR RNB. F.p. I. 36
“Minea Dubrovsky” (Minea service for July).

The exceptional value of the ancient Russian collections of the National Library is emphasized by the fact that it is here that monuments are kept, to which the definition of “first” can rightfully be applied - in the sense of “the oldest that has survived to this day”). First of all, this is the famous Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057 - the oldest surviving precisely dated Russian handwritten book. A manuscript created during an era of cultural upsurge and flourishing ancient Russian state for the St. Sophia Cathedral of Veliky Novgorod - the main temple of northwestern Rus' - and which witnessed a thousand-year development of Russian culture, is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

OR RNB. Soph. 1.
Panteleimon's Gospel (Aprakos complete). Con. XII - beginning XIII century (?). Novgorod or Novgorod lands. Scribe Maxim Toshinich

If the Ostromir Gospel is a liturgical book, then the Izbornik of 1076, stored in the Russian National Library, is the oldest precisely dated Russian handwritten book that has survived to this day, that is, a book of literary content. It contains many articles of a moral and Christian nature, addressed to the secular part of ancient Russian society, primarily to the princely elite. These are the Stoslovets of Gennady of Constantinople, the Wisdom of Jesus' son Sirakhov, Athanasius' answers, etc. The collection was compiled in Rus' according to the model of the Izbornik of 1073, which is a copy of the Bulgarian original.

The key source of all Russian historiography is the Laurentian Chronicle of 1377, stored in the Library since 1811 - the oldest precisely dated Russian chronicle that has survived to this day. The Laurentian Chronicle, a date-forming monument of Russian statehood, is included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

OR RNB. OLDP. F.6.
Kyiv Psalter. 1397

The oldest precisely dated illustrated Russian handwritten book that has come down to us is also stored in the ancient Russian funds. This is the famous Kiev Psalter of 1397. The manuscript contains more than 300 miniatures illustrating the text or symbolically interpreting it. Before the Kyiv Psalter, Old Russian manuscripts had only “facial” miniatures depicting the author of the text (the evangelists, King David, etc.), members of the princely family, and patron saints of the customer of the manuscript.

OR RNB. F. p. I. 2. Psalter. XIV century

Stylistic sophistication decoration, miniatures, initials turn many monuments of ancient Russian writing into genuine works of art. This is the Frolov Psalter of the 14th century, known to all art historians, decorated with headpieces and initials of the teratological style and interesting with the ornamentation of the initials, including numerous inclusions of human figures.

Unlike countries Western Europe, whose culture developed in cities and universities, in Rus' the most important centers of book culture were monasteries, in which book-writing workshops operated, created literary works, rich libraries were formed. The fact that the collections of the oldest Russian book depositories are located here is of particular value to the ancient Russian collections of the National Library. First of all, this is the library of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral, which contains manuscripts created in various book centers of north-eastern Rus', containing unique lists of monuments ancient Russian literature, for example, the author's list of the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh by the famous hagiographer Pachomius Logofet. The ancient Panteleimon Gospel with a rare iconographic miniature of St. Panteleimon and St. Catherine, the Sofia set of the Great Menaions of the Fourth Metropolitan Macarius, and many other rarities. In the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library, the libraries of the largest Russian monasteries: Kirillo-Belozersky Uspensky and Solovetsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky are preserved in the integrity of their main array. These collections have brought to this day the most valuable monuments of Russian medieval monastic book culture, such as the manuscripts of the cell library of St. Cyril or the encyclopedic collections of the 15th century monk-scribe Euphrosynus.

OR RNB. Q paragraph I. 32.
Blagoveshchensk Kondakar. Con. XII – beginning XIII century

OR RNB. OSRC. F.IV.233
Facial chronicle vault. Second half of the 16th century. Laptevsky volume.

Old Russian church singing is widely represented in the Sector's funds. These are more than 1000 notated singing codes of the 12th–20th centuries. (including Old Believers): irmology, octoechos, everyday life, stichirari, triodion, holidays; as well as singing ABCs, intended for the practical development of Znamenny singing. One of the five known manuscripts in the world, distinguished by a special system of musical notation, is kept here - the Annunciation Kontakari of the turn of the 12th–13th centuries.

OR RNB. F. XIV. 62.
Collection of Kirsha Danilov. Last quarter of the 18th century

The traditions of ancient Russian singing art were preserved among the Old Believers. Due to the large number and fragmentation of Old Believer communities, liturgical singing in almost each of them had its own local characteristics. The funds of the Sector contain manuscripts from the 18th – 20th centuries, representing the singing art of different centers of the Old Believers, differing not only in content, but also in artistic design.

A separate group of manuscripts consists of notolinear codices, which record both liturgical and secular works of the 17th–19th centuries. They contain panegyric cants and genres of spiritual lyrics. In these manuscripts, anonymous texts coexist with the original poetry of Simeon Polotsky, V.K. Trediakovsky, A.P. Sumarokov, M.V. Lomonosov. This group also includes the most valuable monument of folk poetry - the Collection of Kirsha Danilov - the first collection of Russian epics and historical songs in Russian folklore, provided with notes.

OR RNB. OSRC. F.IV.482
Journal of N.P. Rezanov’s travel from Kamchatka to Japan. 1804–1805

The Sector of Old Russian Funds also stores handwritten books and other handwritten materials of the 18th–19th centuries, not specifically related to ancient Russian tradition. These are manuscripts of scientific, historical, literary content, works on military affairs, jurisprudence, and other branches of knowledge, personal diaries, maps, plans, travel albums, etc. The Hermitage contains a valuable set of copy materials - made in the 18th century. for Empress Catherine II, clerk's copies from ancient Russian handwritten books and documents.

These books are several thousand years old. They are invaluable both for culture and history, and for us, ordinary readers.

The Tale of Gilgamesh

Most full version The poem about Gilgamesh was found in the mid-19th century during excavations of the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in ancient Nineveh. The excavations were carried out by the English archaeologist Austin Henry Layard. The epic was written down in cuneiform on 12 clay six-column tablets in the Akkadian language and included about 3,000 verses. Scientists date the epic to the VIII - VII centuries BC. e. The tablets with the text of the epic are kept in the British Museum, where they were transferred to assistant archaeologist Ormuzd Rasam in 1852.
Thanks to the legend, we have an idea about the religion of ancient people and their philosophy. The main characters of the epic were the demigod Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk and the clay man Enkidu. The epic's great popularity among modern readers explained by the story about Flood which is included in it.

Book of the Dead

This mystical collection ancient Egyptian texts includes prayers, chants and spells that were supposed to make the afterlife easier for the deceased.

The name “Book of the Dead” was coined by Egyptologist Karl Lepsius, although the collection also has a more accurate title: “Chapters on the Exit to the Light of Day.”
It was created from the 6th to the 1st century BC. e. Most of the texts were found in the burials of the city of Thebes, where they were written on papyri and decorated with excellent drawings depicting scenes of the burial of the dead and the afterlife judgment.
The most significant papyri are kept in the British Museum.

Codex Sinaiticus

The most ancient book format familiar to us - the Codex Sinaiticus dates back to the 4th century AD. e. The first 43 pages of the codex were found by the German scientist Constantin Tischendorff in 1844 in the library of the Monastery of St. Helena on the Sinai Peninsula.

The scientist found them in a pile of waste paper prepared for destruction. He found another 86 pages as a result of targeted searches. Tischendorf took them to Europe and made them public. He wanted to return to the monastery to take out the rest, but the monks did not even let him look at the pages.

The situation was saved Russian Emperor Alexander II, who paid 9 thousand rubles, after which Tischendorf took the pages to Russia. On the thinnest white parchment in Greek was written the incomplete text of the Old Testament, the complete text of the New Testament and two works of early Christian authors: “The Epistle of Barnabas” and “The Shepherd” of Hermas. Until 1933, Codex Sinaiticus was kept in the Imperial National Library in Russia, but the Bolsheviks decided to get rid of it and “gave it” to the British Museum.
Now the 347 pages of this book have four owners: the National Russian Library, the British Museum, the University of Leipzig and the Monastery of St. Helena.

Garima Gospels

The two Garima Gospels are kept in Ethiopia, in the monastery of St. Garima, which is located near the city of Adua. Created between 330 and 650. According to legend, Saint Garima copied them according to his vow in one day. The Gospels are written in the sacred written language of ancient Abyssinia, Ge'ez.
The gospels were found by British art historian Beatrice Plane in 1950. But the books ended up in the hands of a barbarian bookbinder, who wove 15th-century pages into one of them. It was only in 2006 that scientists were able to return the books to their original condition and date them. Unfortunately, it was not possible to restore the books, and they remained in the monastery.
The Gospels are written in the same manner, but written in different handwritings. The first book has 348 pages and 11 illustrations, the binding is made of boards covered with gilded copper. The second book contains 322 pages, 17 miniatures, including portraits of the four evangelists. The binding is made of silver. Scientists have found that the artist and copyist worked simultaneously, and the illustrations were made by African artists.

Diamond Sutra

The Diamond Sutra, the world's second printed book containing the fundamental text of Buddhism, was printed using the woodblock printing method. The book is a scroll of six sheets of text and one engraving depicting the Buddha.
The scroll, almost five meters long, was found by archaeologist Mark Stein in Magao Cave near the city of Danhuan in western China in 1900. He bought the scroll from the Taoist monk Wan Yuanlu and took it to Great Britain. The book was printed by a man named Wang Ji on behalf of his parents on the 15th day of the 4th moon of the Xiantong year, that is, May 11, 868. Kept in the British Library.

Torah

In 2013, the oldest Torah manuscript was found in the university library of Bologna in Italy. It is a 36-meter scroll made of soft sheepskin.
Nothing was known about the book due to an error in determining the age of the book, which occurred in 1889. Then the librarian dated the book to the 17th century.
The error was discovered by university teacher Mauro Perani. He examined the manuscript and saw that the narrative style belongs to the tradition of ancient Babylon, which means that the parchment may be older. In addition, the text contained details that had been prohibited from reproduction since the 12th century. The age of the Torah was determined using radiocarbon dating twice: in Italy and in the USA. It became clear that the Torah was written more than 850 years ago.

Ostromir Gospel

The oldest accurately dated book of Rus'. Stored in the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg). Written in 1056-1057 by Deacon Gregory for the Novgorod mayor Ostromir, a relative of Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavovich. The book is unique in that, after the canonical text, the deacon wrote in detail about the circumstances of its production and indicated the date from the creation of the world.
The Gospel was found among the property of the Resurrection Church of the Verkhospassky Cathedral in 1701. By order of Peter I she was sent to St. Petersburg. Rediscovered in the chambers of Empress Catherine after her death and presented to Alexander I. The Emperor transferred the Gospel to the Imperial Public Library.
It was thanks to the Ostromir Gospel that the modern dictionaries and grammar of the Old Church Slavonic language.