“Klia Laet” Long Bible From First Library Bilong Russia

TUFALA savveman luk aotem olketa old Bible manuscript. Each wan long tufala travel thru long olketa desert and lukluk insaed long olketa cave, monastery, and olketa oldfala ston haos wea pipol katem saed long olketa maunten. Plande year bihaen, tufala meet long first pablik library bilong Russia, and long there samfala barava important Bible manuscript stap. Hu nao tufala man hia? Hao nao spesol samting wea olketa faendem, olketa stap long Russia?

Olketa Oldfala Manuscript—Defendim Word Bilong God

For lane abaotem wanfala long tufala savveman hia, iumi mas ting go bak long olketa fasfala year bilong 1800, taem pipol long Europe aftarem olketa niu kaen savve. Hem taem wea olketa man kasem moa savve saed long science, and garem olketa niu standard long community wea mekem pipol daotem olketa samting wea olketa bilivim for staka year finis. Samfala savveman trae for mekem pipol no respectim Bible. Tru nao, olketa kwestinim sapos samting wea Bible talem long datfala taem hem semsem witim olketa fasfala Bible.

Samfala wea laek for defendim Bible luksavve hao olketa niu samting—olketa old Bible manuscript wea no eniwan faendem yet—bae barava pruvim Bible hem tru. Sapos olketa savve faendem samfala manuscript wea moa old winim wanem olketa faendem finis, diswan savve pruvim hao message insaed Bible hem no change, nomata plande taem pipol trae for distroem or changem datwan. Olketa manuscript olsem savve showimaot tu olketa scripture insaed Bible wea samfala bifor changem and mekem hem rong.

Long Germany, samfala big raoa kamap saed long Bible. Samfala daotem sapos Bible long datfala taem hem semsem witim olketa fasfala Bible. Wanfala young savveman lusim isi laef wea hem garem for teach and hem startim wanfala gogo wea bae lead go long wei for faendem barava important samting saed long Bible. Nem bilong disfala Bible savveman hem Konstantin von Tischendorf. Hem rejectim wei for kwestinim or daotem Bible and diswan lead go long wei wea hem barava win for pruvim hao Bible hem no change. Hem barava win long fasfala gogo bilong hem long wilderness bilong Sinai long 1844. Hem lukluk insaed wanfala rabis bin long wanfala monastery and faendem wanfala old copy bilong Septuagint, wea hem nao Greek transleison bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture—and diswan hem moa old winim eni narawan wea eniwan faendem bifor!

Tischendorf hem hapi fogud and hem tekem go 43 page. Nomata hem feel sure samfala page moa stap, taem hem go bak long 1853 hem faendem wanfala smol pis nomoa. Wea nao evri narawan? From selen bilong hem finis, Tischendorf luk aotem help bilong wanfala rich man for sponsarem waka bilong hem and long datfala taem nao hem disaed for lusim kantri bilong hem for go luk aotem olketa old manuscript. Bat bifor hem duim datwan, hem go luk aotem help from king bilong Russia.

King Showimaot Interest

Maet Tischendorf daotem sapos olketa long big ples olsem Russia bae welkamim hem bikos hem wanfala Protestant savveman, and evriwan long there bilong Russian Orthodox religion. Gud samting nao, Russia hem insaed wanfala taem bilong change. Wei for mekhae long education lead go long wei for buildim St. Petersburg’s Imperial Library wea Empress Catherine II (wea nara nem bilong hem Catherine the Great) openem for pablik long 1795. From hem first pablik library long Russia, hem mekem plande million pipol garem chance for mekius long olketa raeting and manuscript wea stap insaed.

The Imperial Library hem wanfala nambawan library long Europe, bat fifti year bihaen olketa buildim, hem garem sixfala Hebrew manuscript nomoa. Datfala library no savve garem inaf buk for fitim interest bilong pipol saed long olketa Bible languis and olketa difren transleison. Catherine II sendem olketa savveman long olketa university long Europe for studyim Hebrew languis. Bihaen olketa hia kam bak, olketa Hebrew languis course kamap long olketa bigfala Bible college bilong Russian Orthodox Church, and long datfala taem nao, olketa savveman bilong Russia start for transleitim Bible from old Hebrew languis go long Russian languis. Bat olketa garem problem saed long selen, and tu, samfala bigman long church wea no laekem change againstim olketa. Olketa wea laek savve long Bible no kasem trufala savve yet.

King Alexander II luksavve hao waka bilong Tischendorf hem gud samting, and hem offer for sapotim datwan saed long selen. Nomata samfala jealous and againstim hem, taem Tischendorf kam bak from Sinai hem holem kam full copy bilong Septuagint.a Bihaen, olketa kolem diswan Codex Sinaiticus, and hem wanfala Bible manuscript wea moa old winim staka narawan wea stap kam kasem distaem. Taem hem kam bak long St. Petersburg, Tischendorf stretawe go long haos bilong king, datfala Imperial Winter Palace. Hem talem idea bilong hem for king sapotim “wanfala barava bigfala waka saed long wei for studyim and minim Bible”—for pablisim wanfala copy bilong datfala manuscript wea hem faendem, wea olketa bae putim long The Imperial Library bihaen. King hem agree. Bihaen, Tischendorf wea hapi fogud hem raet: “God givim long genereson bilong iumi . . . datfala Sinaitic Bible, olsem wanfala klia laet abaotem wanem nao really toktok bilong God insaed Word bilong hem, and for helpem iumi defendim truth insaed Bible thru long wei for mek sure long wanem olketa wea raetem Bible really raetem fastaem.”

Spesol Samting Bilong Bible From Crimea

Long start, iumi storyim hao nara Bible savveman tu luk aotem olketa spesol samting bilong Bible. Hu nao datfala man? Tu-thri year bifor Tischendorf kam bak long Russia, datfala man offerim go long The Imperial Library wanfala sapraesing samting wea mekem king hem interest, and wea mekem staka savveman from Europe kam long Russia. Olketa sapraes fogud long samting wea olketa lukim. Front long olketa hem staka manuscript and olketa nara samting. Namba bilong olketa raeting hia hem 2,412, wea insaed diswan hem 975 manuscript and scroll. Foti-faev long olketa Bible manuscript hia olketa raetem bifor mek-ten century. Sapraesing samting nao, wanfala Karaite savveman wea nem bilong hem Abraham Firkovich wea winim 70 year long datfala taem, hem nao faendem evri samting hia! Bat hu nao olketa Karaite?b

King hem barava interest long disfala kwestin. Russia hem muvim go border bilong hem mekem hem rul ovarem olketa ples wea olketa nara kantri rulim bifor. Diswan mekem olketa difren pipol stap anda long rul bilong hem. Datfala Crimea area wea barava luk naes long area raonem Black Sea, garem olketa Jew pipol wea followim olketa kastom bilong Turkey and wea iusim languis wea lelebet olsem Tatar. Olketa Karaite hia sei laen bilong olketa hem go bak long olketa Jew wea stap olsem prisoner long Babylon bihaen Jerusalem hem distroe long 607 B.C.E. Bat olketa difren from olketa rabbinic Jew, from olketa hia rejectim Talmud and mekhae long wei for readim Bible. Olketa Karaite from Crimea laekem tumas for pruvim long king hao olketa difren from olketa rabbinic Jew, mekem hem ting long olketa olsem wanfala difren sekson. Olketa showim olketa oldfala manuscript wea olketa Karaite ownim, from olketa laek for pruvim hao olketa kam from laen bilong olketa Jew wea muv go long Crimea bihaen olketa kamap free from Babylon.

Taem Firkovich start for luk aotem olketa oldfala raeting and manuscript, hem start long olketa ston haos saed long maunten long Chufut-Kale. Plande genereson bilong olketa Karaite stap insaed and duim worship long olketa smol ston haos wea olketa katem saed long olketa maunten. Sapos Bible bilong olketa Karaite garem nem bilong God Jehovah insaed, nomata gogo olketa Bible hia kamap old and nogud, olketa keepim nomoa. Long tingting bilong olketa hem barava tambu for spoelem samting olsem wea hem holy. Olketa putim olketa manuscript hia insaed olketa smol stoahaos wea olketa kolem genizah, wea long Hebrew languis hem minim “ples for haedem samting.” From olketa Karaite barava respectim nem bilong God, olketa no tek aotem olketa manuscript hia.

Nomata bigfala dust kavarem olketa from olketa stap for plande handred year, Firkovich hem barava lukluk gud insaed long olketa genizah. Insaed wanfala, hem faendem datfala manuscript bilong 916 C.E. Disfala manuscript wea olketa kolem Petersburg Codex of the Latter Prophets, hem wanfala copy bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture wea moa old winim olketa narawan wea stap distaem.

Firkovich hipimap staka manuscript, and long 1859 hem disaed for salem olketa long The Imperial Library. Long 1862, Alexander II helpem library for peim kost bilong diswan wea hem 125,000 ruble, wea long datfala taem hem expensive tumas, bikos kost for ranem datfala full library for wanfala full year hem no winim 10,000 ruble nomoa! Insaed olketa manuscript hia hem datfala important Leningrad Codex (B 19^A). Year wea olketa raetem datwan hem 1008, and hem moa old winim eni nara full copy bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture eniwea long world. Wanfala savveman sei “luk olsem datwan hem moa important winim eni nara Bible manuscript, from hem nao wanem olketa iusim for transleitim olketa Hebrew Bible bilong distaem.” (Lukim box .) Long datfala sem year, 1862, olketa pablisim datfala Codex Sinaiticus bilong Tischendorf, and pipol raonem world barava praisem datwan.

Spiritual Laet Long Distaem

Datfala library wea distaem olketa kolem The National Library of Russia, hem garem staka old manuscript winim plande nara library long world.c Nem bilong datfala library hem change sevenfala taem insaed tu handred year, wea showimaot hao staka change kamap long Russia. Wanfala nem wea staka pipol savve hem The State Saltykov-Shchedrin Public Library. Nomata olketa change wea kamap long mek-20 century lelebet spoelem datfala library, olketa manuscript stap gud nomoa long tufala world war and taem army bilong Germany raonem Leningrad. Wanem gud samting nao iumi kasem from olketa manuscript hia?

Faondeson for transleitim plande Bible distaem hem olketa old manuscript. Diswan mekem pipol wea luk aotem truth kasem stretfala transleison bilong Holy Bible. Sinaiticus and Leningrad codex barava helpem olketa wea transleitim datfala New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, wea olketa Jehovah’s Witness pablisim long 1961. Olsem example, datfala Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica, wea Niu World Bible Transleison Komiti iusim, olketa kam from datfala Leningrad Codex wea iusim datfala Tetragrammaton, wea hem nao nem bilong God, 6,828 taem.

No staka man wea readim Bible savve hao transleison bilong Bible bilong olketa hem kam from olketa manuscript wea stap long datfala library long St. Petersburg, and hao samfala manuscript hia garem datfala nem Leningrad, wea hem nao nem bilong datfala taon bifor. Bat main wan wea iumi thankiu long hem nao hem Jehovah wea givim kam Bible and spiritual laet. Dastawe, man wea raetem psalm hem askem God: “Sendem aot laet and truth bilong iu. Olketa nao mas leadim mi.”—Psalm 43:3.

[Olketa Footnote]

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PIPOL SAVVE LONG NEM BILONG GOD AND IUSIM DATFALA NEM

From wisdom bilong hem, Jehovah mek sure Word bilong hem, Bible, hem stap kam kasem distaem. Hard waka bilong olketa scribe bifor barava help saed long diswan. Olketa Masorete nao olketa Hebrew scribe wea barava copy long careful wei from mek-six go kasem mek-ten century C.E. Hebrew raeting bifor no garem olketa vowel. Gogo, taem Aramaic languis start for changem Hebrew, danger kamap for pipol forgetim stretfala wei for talem olketa Hebrew word. Olketa Masorete iusim olketa mark long word insaed long Bible for helpem man savve long stretfala wei for talem olketa Hebrew word.

Wanfala interesting samting, olketa mark wea olketa Masorete putim insaed long Leningrad Codex showimaot stretfala wei for talem datfala Tetragrammaton—fofala Hebrew leta for nem bilong God—olsem Yehwah’, Yehwih’, and Yeho·wah’. “Jehovah” nao wei wea staka talem datfala nem. Olketa wea raetem Bible and olketa nara pipol from bifor kam, savve gud long nem bilong God. Distaem, plande million pipol savve long datfala nem and iusim tu, and olketa savve hao ‘Jehovah nomoa hem Most Hae ovarem full earth.’—Psalm 83:18.

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Manuscript rum bilong The National Library

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Empress Catherine II

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Konstantin von Tischendorf (midol) and Alexander II, king bilong Russia

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Abraham Firkovich

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Both images: National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg

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Catherine II: National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg; Alexander II: From the book Spamers Illustrierte Weltgeschichte, Leipzig, 1898