Tyndale House Podcast From flowers to manuscripts: Dirk Jongkind on his journey into biblical scholarship
Mar 20, 2025
Dirk Jongkind, Academic Vice Principal at Tyndale House and editor of the Tyndale House Greek New Testament, shares his fascinating journey from cultivating flowers in the Netherlands to diving deep into biblical scholarship. He discusses his work with Codex Sinaiticus at the British Library, revealing how the distinct styles of biblical scribes tell stories about their lives. Dirk also highlights the importance of manuscript digitization and the excitement of creating a new Greek New Testament, showcasing the intricate relationship between text variations and biblical interpretation.
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From Flowers to Scholarship
- Dirk Jongkind started his working life growing tropical flowers in his family business in the Netherlands.
- At around age 29, he sold the flower business to pursue overseas mission work and biblical scholarship at seminary and then Cambridge.
Three Scribes, One Manuscript
- Codex Sinaiticus was copied by three scribes with nearly identical handwriting but distinct spelling and correction styles.
- One scribe took responsibility by correcting both his work and a colleague's, revealing collaborative manuscript production.
Manuscript Holes and Challenges
- Handling Codex Sinaiticus revealed how tiny holes and ink bleeding through parchment can mislead textual interpretation.
- Scribes sometimes wrote around holes, but early black-and-white images obscured these details, complicating analysis.