Manuscript Sinai Greek Two

Sinai Greek Two is a beautifully written manuscript of the tenth century, containing the text of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. The generous margins around each page are filled with commentary written in a minute script. These annotations are drawn from the writings of twenty-four different authors.

Cyril of Alexandria composed two commentaries on the Pentateuch, The Adoration and Worship of God in Spirit and in Truth, and the Glaphyra, both early works. These are highly allegorical, in keeping with the Alexandrian tradition.

On folio 81 verso we read, ‘Cyril. Now, Moses went from the land of the Egyptians into Midian, in the same way Christ did from Judaea into Galilee.’

This quotation is more than just a parallel between the life of Moses and the life of Christ. It invites us to see the entire life of the prophet Moses as a type of Christ. This understanding is very early. We find a specific reference to Moses as a type of Jesus in the Epistle of Barnabas, which dates to the end of the first century AD.

Moses was born at a time when Pharaoh had commanded that all male children of the Hebrews be put to death. He fled to Midian to escape the wrath of the king. He drove away the evil shepherds, and gave life-sustaining waters to the flock. He wrought signs and wonders before Pharaoh, and delivered the children of Israel from bondage. He led them into the wilderness, where they were nourished by food from heaven, and drank water that flowed forth from the rock. When the children of Israel had sinned, Moses was their mediator with God. He revealed to them the Law and will of God. He fashioned a serpent of bronze, and all who looked to it were healed. When he stretched out his hands in the form of a cross, the Amalekites were defeated. He brought the children of Israel to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.