An Unseen Paleographical Problem with Milne and Skeat’s Dictation Theory of Codex Sinaiticus

This note highlights a previously unseen paleographical error in one of H. J. M. Milne and T. C. Skeat’s arguments for the dictation theory of Codex Sinaiticus ([inline-graphic 01] 01). In addition to their primary argument based on the orthographic peculiarities of the three scribes, the two scholars inferred from a curious string of seemingly meaningless characters found in 1 Macc 5:20 that א was copied aurally rather than visually. Although the dictation theory is not widely held today among textual scholars, this particular explanation of the strange reading in 1 Macc 5:20 for all practical purposes remains unanswered. An error in Milne and Skeat’s identification of one of the letters complicates the theory and all but extinguishes its explanatory force.