By Garrett Haley
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Codex Washingtonianus, which is generally recognized as the third oldest Bible in the world, is now on display in a Washington, D.C., Smithsonian museum.
Featuring the four Gospels written in Greek, the priceless Codex Washingtonianus—also known as “the Washington Gospels”—is over 1,500 years old. The ancient Bible consists of nearly 200 14-by-21-inch parchment pages, complete with a painted wooden cover.
The Codex was first brought to the United States over 100 years ago, when Charles Lang Freer—a wealthy businessman from Detroit—purchased the Bible during a visit to Egypt. While in Egypt, Freer also bought a manuscript which featured text from the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua.
Today, Freer’s document collection is considered one of the most valuable compilations of Biblical manuscripts in the world. The Codex Washingtonianus is of special importance, since scholars believe it to be the third oldest complete text of the four Gospels in the world. Only the Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican and the Codex Sinaiticus in London are older.