Biblical manuscripts
Before the original Scriptures (the original handwritten manuscripts) disappeared, handwritten copies (as opposed to printed versions) were made on papyrus, parchment, and animal skin. These copies are known as manuscripts (a term derived from "handwritten document"), and they number in the tens of thousands. Due to the vast number and early dating of these manuscripts, scholars have strong confidence that the Scriptures we have today are fundamentally identical to the original texts.
The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) contains almost the entire Book of Isaiah.
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Old Testament Manuscripts
Before 1947, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, early Old Testament manuscripts were relatively few. Today, the number of Old Testament manuscripts has reached tens of thousands. Below are some examples:
Ketef Hinnom KH2 Scrolls
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls
In 1980, two small silver scrolls with Hebrew inscriptions were discovered in a tomb south of Jerusalem. These scrolls contain portions of the Old Testament (e.g., Numbers 6:24-26; portions of Deuteronomy, Daniel, Exodus, and Nehemiah). These scrolls are currently the oldest surviving Old Testament texts, dating to approximately 600 BC.
Top: The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa)
Bottom: The Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5)
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Every book of the Hebrew Old Testament (except Esther) was discovered between 1947-1956 in Qumran, within 11 caves along the shores of the Dead Sea. The oldest of these scrolls date back to the 3rd century BC. Approximately 981 manuscripts were found at this site.
Top: Codex Vaticanus
Photo Credit: reasonablefaithadelaide.org.au
The Septuagint (LXX)
The Septuagint (LXX), also known as the Seventy, is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, completed in Alexandria, Egypt, between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. It became the Scriptures used by Jesus, the apostles, and Greek-speaking Jews throughout the Roman Empire.
Fragment of the Talmud from the Cairo Geniza
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Cairo Genizah
In the year 1890, thousands of Old Testament manuscripts were discovered in Cairo, Egypt, dating from approximately 500-800 AD. Today, these manuscripts are dispersed worldwide in various collections.
Codex Aleppo
Photo Credit: bibelausstellung.de
Codex Aleppo
Containing the entire Hebrew Old Testament on parchment, dating to approximately 925 AD.
Leningrad Codex folio 40 verso, Exodus 15:14b-16:3a
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Codex Leningradensis
Before 1947, the Leningrad Codex was the oldest complete parchment manuscript of the Old Testament, dating to approximately 1008 AD.
New Testament Manuscripts
There are approximately 26,000 to 30,000 New Testament manuscripts written in Greek and other languages. These manuscripts date from the early 2nd century AD to the 16th century AD. Greek manuscripts alone number over 5,860, including papyrus, lectionaries, and parchment manuscripts, along with numerous translations into languages other than Greek.
Papyrus 1 ( recto ), displaying Matthew 1:1–9, 12
Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org
Greek Papyrus Manuscripts
New Testament papyrus manuscripts are relatively few but highly significant, as they reflect some of the earliest copies of the New Testament and date from the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD. Among these collections are the Oxyrhynchus, Bodmer, and Chester Beatty papyri, with the earliest being the John Rylands Fragment (P52—one of the earliest known New Testament manuscripts, dating to approximately AD 117–135), which contains a portion of John 18:31–33, 37–38.
Lectionary Manuscripts
Lectionary manuscripts are liturgical books used throughout the year in church services, containing selected Scripture passages written in Greek. There are over 2,200 of these valuable records, dating from the 4th to 12th centuries AD.
Early Church Citations
The Church Fathers of the early centuries cited nearly every book of the New Testament by the late 2nd century AD. Today, we can reconstruct much of the New Testament through these early citations, providing a valuable witness to the textual accuracy of the Scriptures we have today.
Codex Vaticanus
Photo Credit: reasonablefaithadelaide.org.au
Codex Vaticanus
In 1475, the Vatican Library registered Codex Vaticanus (AD 325-350), which contains most of the Old Testament (LXX) and the entire New Testament in Greek. This valuable manuscript is one of the earliest complete New Testament texts.
Codex Sinaiticus
Photo Credit: britannica.com
Codex Sinaiticus
Discovered by Constantine von Tischendorf at St. Catherine’s Monastery (Egypt) during visits from 1844-1859, Codex Sinaiticus (AD 350) is a Greek manuscript containing more than half of the Old Testament (LXX) and the entire New Testament.