Jerusalem Colophon

The Jerusalem Colophon is a colophon found in a number of New Testament manuscripts, including Λ (039), 20, 153, 157, 164, 215, 262, 300, 376, 428, 565, 566, 686, 718, 728, 748, 829, 899, 901, 922, 980, 1032, 1071, 1118, 1121, 1124, 1187, 1198, 1355, 1422, 1521, 1545, 1555, 1682, 2145, and 2245.Alfred Schmidtke, Neu Fragmente und Untersuchungen zu den judenchristlichen Evangelein (TU 37/1; Leipzig, Hinrichs, 1911, p. 3 The full version of the colophon is

{{quote|εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον ἐγράφη καὶ ὰντεβλήθη ἐκ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμοις παλαιῶν ἀντιγράφων τῶν ἐν τῷ Ἁγίῳ Ὃρει ἀποκειμένων ἐν στίχοις {{overline|͵βφιδ}}. κεφφ. {{overline|τνε}}.{{Cite book

| last = Gregory

| first = Caspar René

| author-link = Caspar René Gregory

| title = Textkritik des Neuen Testaments

| publisher = J. C. Hinrichs

| year = 1900

| location = Leipzig

| volume = 1

| pages = [https://archive.org/details/textkritikdesne00greggoog/page/n216 203]–204

| url = https://archive.org/details/textkritikdesne00greggoog

}}}}

– that the manuscript (in this case the "Gospel According to Matthew") was "copied and corrected from the ancient exemplars from Jerusalem preserved on the holy mountain" (according to the majority{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}} of scholars, it was Mount Athos) in 2514 verses and 355 chapters.

Usually the colophon is abbreviated in subsequent mentions in the same manuscript. The texts of the manuscripts that share the colophon are not necessarily textually related (though a surprising number belong to Group Λ (039), 164, 262, and perhaps some of the many manuscripts {{ill|Frederik Wisse|qid=Q105988390}} does not classify). In many cases the colophon was copied down from document to document independent of the text. The majority of these manuscripts are representative of the Byzantine text-type.

The meaning of the colophon was discussed by Kirsopp Lake. Lake holds that the "Holy Mountain" is Mount Sinai.K. Lake, [https://archive.org/stream/journaltheologi02unkngoog#page/n462/mode/2up On the Italian Origin of Codex Bezae], Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. I, No. 3 (April, 1900), p. 445

According to Caspar René Gregory it would be possible that the manuscript Tischendorfianus III was written and corrected in Jerusalem.C. R. Gregory, [https://archive.org/stream/canonandtextnew00greguoft#page/n377/mode/2up "Canon and Text of the New Testament"] (1907), p. 360.