British Library
London, United Kingdom
Add MS 16185
Geʿez Books of Kings 1–3 — British Library Add MS 16185
A 70-leaf parchment book in Geʿez. It contains 1 Samuel on leaves 1r–37v, 2 Samuel on 38r–68r, and the beginning of 1 Kings on 68r–70v.
- Where is it today?
- British Library
London, United Kingdom - When was it made?
- 1600–1700
- Language
- Geʿez
- Format
- Bound book
- What is it?
- Beta maṣāḥǝft names BL Add MS 16185 as the manuscript witness for its digital Geʿez 1 Samuel work file. That qualified reader covers 1 Samuel only; it does not claim that MANUSKRPT has transcribed every book in this codex.
THE STORY
How did this manuscript get here?
The British Library dates the manuscript broadly to 1600–1700. Beta maṣāḥǝft says the older catalogue did not give a more exact date, so MANUSKRPT does not invent one.
Beta maṣāḥǝft records that Carl Wilhelm Isenberg and Johann Ludwig Krapf collected the manuscript. The person who copied the codex has not been identified in the sources checked here.
Its earlier Ethiopian path is not fully documented in the records checked here. It was collected by Isenberg and Krapf and is now kept in the British Library in London.
Geʿez written in Ethiopic script on parchment, arranged in two columns with roughly 28–34 lines on a page.
- Can you view it?
- Yes — here
- Do we have the text?
- Some of it
- Linked to Bible passages?
- Some of it
- Where can you view it?
- On the library website
MANUSCRIPT VIEWEROn the library website
IMAGE ACCESS
THE MANUSCRIPT IS IN MANUSKRPT. THE PAGE IMAGES ARE NOT AVAILABLE HERE YET.
MANUSKRPT uses the in-house viewer when image access and reuse are cleared. For this record, use the library link below until that is resolved.
CONTEXT
Why it is fascinating
This is MANUSKRPT’s first Ethiopian biblical manuscript tied to a qualified Geʿez source reader. You can study the physical codex in the British Library and read the separately qualified Beta maṣāḥǝft 1 Samuel transcription in the Source Library.
TEXT COMPARISON
Have we compared the wording?
Partly. Some of this manuscript has been checked. We only show differences that have been verified.
About the images
The British Library provides a public digital viewer and asks users to treat Ethiopian manuscript images with special cultural care. MANUSKRPT links to the official images instead of assuming that IIIF access alone gives unrestricted republication rights.