Oldest Manuscripts

The oldest complete manuscripts of the New Testament come from the 4th century.

Earliest Manuscripts (Fragmentary)

1. Papyrus P52 (Rylands Library Papyrus P52):

   • Date: Around 125-150 AD

   • Content: A fragment of the Gospel of John (John 18:31-33, 37-38).

   • Language: Greek

   • Significance: Considered the oldest known fragment of the New Testament.

2. Papyrus P90 (P. Oxy. 3523):

   • Date: Late 2nd century

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: Portions of the Gospel of John (18:36-19:1r+19:1-7v)

3. Papyrus P66 (Bodmer Papyrus P66):

   • Date: Around 200 AD

   • Content: A substantial portion of the Gospel of John (1:1–6:11; 6:35–14:26,29–30; 15:2–26; 16:2–4,6-7; 16:10–20:20,22–23; 20:25–21:9,12,17)

4. Papyrus P46 (Chester Beatty Papyrus II):

   • Date: Around 200 AD

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: The oldest substantial manuscript of Pauline epistles, containing large parts of Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians.

5. Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty Papyrus I):

   • Date: Early 3rd century

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: Portions of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

Earliest Complete Manuscripts

1. Codex Sinaiticus:

   • Date: Mid-4th century

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: The earliest complete copy of the New Testament.

   • Books: Contains the entire New Testament.

   • Notable Omissions (verses & phrases)

     • 42 verses missing (37 from gospels)

   • Additions

   • Variants

2. Codex Vaticanus:

   • Date: Mid-4th century

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: One of the most important complete manuscripts of the Greek Bible (Old and New Testament), though some parts are missing.

   • Books: Nearly complete New Testament; missing parts of Hebrews, Pastoral Epistles, and Revelation.

   • Missing 39 verses in Gospel & 6 from other books in NT

   • There are a number of differences between Sinaiticus and Vaticanus; Textual critic Herman C. Hoskier enumerated 3036 differences :

     Matt: 656 Mark: 567 Luke: 791 John: 1022 Total — 3036.[22]

3. Codex Alexandrinus:

   • Date: 5th century

   • Content: Contains almost the entire Bible, but with some gaps.

   • Language: Greek

   • Books: Nearly complete New Testament.

4. Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus:

   • Date: 5th century

   • Language: Greek

   • Content: A palimpsest, with the text of the New Testament written over erased earlier writings.

   • Books: Most of the New Testament, but with many gaps.