by Hannah Gruber ’10

Bethel University Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies Juan Hernandez

As the school year comes to an end, Bethel Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies Juan Hernandez Jr., Ph.D., is preparing to be the only junior American scholar to present his work at the prestigious Codex Sinaiticus Conference, hosted by the British Library in London.

This international collaboration aims to put the entire Codex Sinaiticus, which is the original manuscript containing the Christian Bible in Greek, in digital format and make it globally accessible for the first time in history. Out of Codex Sinaiticus’s original 730 parchment leaves, only 400 are known today. They are scattered amongst the British Library, Leipzig University Library in Germany, St. Catherine’s Monastery, and the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg. These four institutions are collaborating to bring together all the surviving leaves in a digital format.

Codex Sinaiticus is highly regarded as one of the most important books in the world because of its role in the reconstruction of the Christian Bible's original text, the history of the Bible, and the history of western book making.

Hernandez is only one of a few leading experts on various topics regarding Codex Sinaiticus. His presentation, “Codex Sinaiticus: The Earliest Christian Commentary on John’s Apocalypse?”, will explore whether the hundreds of changes people have made over the years to the text of Revelation using Codex Sinaiticus makes it one of Christianity’s earliest commentaries on the book.

"To share the table with such a distinguished group of international scholars and discuss one of Christianity’s most treasured artifacts is an extraordinary opportunity,” says Hernandez. “For the first time, and by technological feat, the fourth century ‘Sinai Book’ (i.e., Codex Sinaiticus) will be available on a global scale and allow for a conversation that spans seven continents and sixteen centuries. It is an historic moment both in the quest for knowledge and in the collaboration of scholars, curators, and conservators."