1. Margaret Dunlop Gibson & Agnes Smith Lewis Overview

The sisters Margaret Dunlop Gibson (1843–1920) and Agnes Smith Lewis (1843–1926), were two Semitic scholars at Westminster College London known for there numerous travels to Sinai, and especially for their central role in the official discovery of the Cairo Genizah. Also known as the the Sister of Sinai, their love for ancient languages and search for manuscripts, brought them to discoveries like the Syriac Sinaiticus, making them very important contributors to manuscript studies.

For biographic survey on the two sisters, see

• Jefferson, Rebecca J. W. 2009. “Sisters of Semitics: A Fresh Appreciation of the Scholarship of Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson.” Medieval Feminist Forum 45 (1): 23–49. https://www.academia.edu/7042740/Sisters_of_Semitics_A_Fresh_Appreciation_of_the_Scholarship_of_Agnes_Smith_Lewis_and_Margaret_Dunlop_Gibson.
• Müller-Kessler, Christa. 2004a. “Gibson [Née Smith], Margaret Dunlop (1843–1920), Arabic and Syriac Scholar.” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/55585.
• ———. 2004b. “Lewis, Agnes Smith (1843–1926), Arabic and Syriac Scholar and Novelist.” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/34510.
• Soskice, Janet. 2010. Sisters Of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found the Hidden Gospels. London: Vintage Books.
• Whigham Price, A. 1987. The Ladies of Castlebrae: The Life of Dr. Agnes Smith Lewis and Dr. Margaret Dunlop Gibson. London: Headline.

Library

Works Cited and Further Reading