• “Clear Light” on the Bible From Russia’s Oldest Library
    The Watchtower—2005 | July 15

    • Some of the hottest debates on the authenticity of the Bible raged in Germany. There a young professor slipped away from his comfortable academic life to go on a journey that would lead him to one of the biggest Bible discoveries of all time. His name was Konstantin von Tischendorf, a Bible scholar whose rejection of higher criticism led to notable success in defending the authenticity of Bible text. His first journey to the wilderness of Sinai in 1844 met with unbelievable success. A casual look into a monastery wastebasket revealed an ancient copy of the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures​—the oldest one that had ever been discovered!

      Exultant, Tischendorf managed to take away 43 sheets. Although he was convinced that there were more, a return visit in 1853 produced only a fragment. Where were the rest? His funds exhausted, Tischendorf sought the patronage of a wealthy sponsor, and he decided to leave his homeland again in search of ancient manuscripts. Before going on this mission, though, he would appeal to the czar of Russia.

      The Czar Takes an Interest

      Tischendorf may well have wondered what kind of reception that he, a Protestant scholar, would get in Russia, a vast land espousing the Russian Orthodox religion. Happily, Russia had entered a favorable era of change and reform. An emphasis on education had led to the founding of St. Petersburg’s Imperial Library in 1795 by Empress Catherine II (also known as Catherine the Great). As Russia’s first public library, it had made a wealth of printed information accessible to millions.

      Hailed as one of the finest libraries in Europe, The Imperial Library did have one drawback. Fifty years after it was founded, the library contained only six Hebrew manuscripts. It could not keep up with Russia’s rising interest in the study of Bible languages and translations. Catherine II had sent scholars to European universities to study Hebrew. After the scholars returned, Hebrew courses sprang up in major Russian Orthodox seminaries, and for the first time, Russian scholars started work on an accurate translation of the Bible from ancient Hebrew into Russian. But they faced a lack of resources and even opposition from conservative church leaders. True enlightenment had yet to begin for those seeking Bible knowledge.

      The czar, Alexander II, was quick to appreciate Tischendorf’s mission and extended his patronage. Despite “jealous and fanatical opposition” from some, Tischendorf returned from his mission to Sinai with the rest of the copy of the Septuagint.a Later named the Codex Sinaiticus, it is still one of the oldest Bible manuscripts in existence. Back in St. Petersburg, Tischendorf hastened to the czar’s residence, the Imperial Winter Palace. He proposed that the czar support “one of the greatest undertakings in critical and Biblical study”​—a published edition of the newly found manuscript, which was later placed in The Imperial Library. The czar readily agreed, and an elated Tischendorf later wrote: “Providence has given to our age . . . the Sinaitic Bible, to be to us a full and clear light as to what is the real text of God’s Word written, and to assist us in defending the truth by establishing its authentic form.”