Oldest Manuscripts
Last updated
Last updated
The oldest complete manuscripts of the New Testament come from the 4th century.
(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.
(P. Oxy. 3523):
Date: Late 2nd century
Language: Greek
Content: Portions of the Gospel of John (18:36-19:1r+19:1-7v)
(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)
(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.
(Chester Beatty Papyrus I):
Date: Early 3rd century
Language: Greek
Content: Portions of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
Date: Mid-4th century
Language: Greek
Content: The earliest complete copy of the New Testament.
Books: Contains the entire New Testament.
42 verses missing (37 from gospels)
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.
Date: 5th century
Content: Contains almost the entire Bible, but with some gaps.
Language: Greek
Books: Nearly complete New Testament.
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.
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(verses & phrases)
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39 verses in Gospel & 6 from other books in NT
There are a number of differences between Sinaiticus and Vaticanus; Textual critic enumerated 3036 differences :
Matt: 656 Mark: 567 Luke: 791 John: 1022 Total — 3036.
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