Fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls on display at the Archeological Museum, Amman

A biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek biblion (book); manuscript comes from Latin manu (hand) and scriptum (written). Biblical manuscripts vary in size from tiny scrolls containing individual verses of the Jewish scriptures (see Tefillin) to huge polyglot codices (multi-lingual books) containing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the New Testament, as well as extracanonical works. Fragments of the scrolls on display at the Archeological Museum, Amman. ... Fragments of the scrolls on display at the Archeological Museum, Amman. ... The Dead Sea scrolls comprise roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West Bank. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Tefillin (Hebrew: תפלין), also called phylacteries, are two boxes containing Biblical verses and the leather straps attached to them which are used in traditional Jewish prayer. ... Polyglot has several meanings: Look up Polyglot on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The property of speaking multiple languages A polyglot is a person that can speak many languages A polyglot is a book that contains the same text in more than one language, usually a bible such as the first... A codex (Latin for book; plural codices) is a handwritten book from late Antiquity or the Middle Ages. ... Tanakh (‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... A biblical canon is a list of Biblical books which establishes the set of books which are considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular Jewish or Christian community. ...

The study of biblical manuscripts is important because handwritten copies of books contain errors. The science of textual criticism attempts to reconstruct the original text of books, especially those published prior to the invention of the printing press. Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ...

Tanakh manuscripts

A page from the Aleppo Codex, Deuteronomy.

The Aleppo Codex (c. 920) and Leningrad Codex (c. 1008) are the oldest complete Hebrew manuscripts of the Tanakh. The 1947 find at Qumran of the Dead Sea scrolls pushed the manuscript history of the Tanakh back a millennium from the two earliest complete codices (see Tanakh at Qumran). Out of the roughly 800 manuscripts found at Qumran, 220 are from the Tanakh. Every book of the Tanakh is represented except for the Book of Esther; however, most are fragmentary. Notably, there are two scrolls of the Book of Isaiah, one complete (1QIs^a), and one around 75% complete (1QIs^b). These manuscripts generally date between 150 BCE to 70 CE.^[1] Image File history File links Size of this preview: 493 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (610 × 741 pixel, file size: 132 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Image of page from Aleppo Codex, imported from Hebrew Wikipedia. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 493 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (610 × 741 pixel, file size: 132 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Image of page from Aleppo Codex, imported from Hebrew Wikipedia. ... The Aleppo Codex (the Keter (Crown) Aram Tzova) is the oldest complete manuscript Hebrew Bible, though scrolls of individual books of the Tanakh are much older (see Dead Sea scrolls). ... The Aleppo Codex (the Keter (Crown) Aram Tzova) is the oldest complete manuscript Hebrew Bible, though scrolls of individual books of the Tanakh are much older (see Dead Sea scrolls). ... The Leningrad codex is the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, dated 1008. ... Qumran (Hebrew:חירבת קומראן Khirbet Qumran) is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in Israel. ... The Dead Sea scrolls comprise roughly 900 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves in and around the Wadi Qumran (near the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea) in the West Bank. ... The Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible and Qumran is an archaeological site near the Dead Sea. ... Megillah redirects here. ... Scroll can have different meanings: A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper which has been drawn or written upon. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of Judaisms Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, traditionally attributed to Isaiah. ...

Ancient Jewish scribes developed many practices to protect copies of their scriptures from error. The result produced by their methods is impressive. Significant variations among texts arise at an average rate of just under one consonant in every 1,500.^[2] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ...

Listing

• Tanakh at Qumran

The Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible and Qumran is an archaeological site near the Dead Sea. ...

New Testament manuscripts

Folio 65v from Codex Alexandrinus contains the Gospel of Luke with decorative tailpiece.

The New Testament has been preserved in more manuscripts than any other ancient work, having over 5,400 complete or fragmented Greek manuscripts, 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9,300 manuscripts in various other ancient languages including Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic and Armenian. The dates of these manuscripts range from the 2nd century up to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. The vast majority of these manuscripts date after the 10th century. Image of Folio 65v fron the Codex Alexandrinus. ... Image of Folio 65v fron the Codex Alexandrinus. ... Folio 65v from the Codex Alexandrinus contains the end of the Gospel of Luke with the decorative tailpiece found at the end of each book. ... The Gospel of Luke (literally, according to Luke; Greek, Κατά Λουκαν, Kata Loukan) is a synoptic Gospel, and the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament. ... This article is about the Christian scriptures. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Syriac ( Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ...

When one compares one manuscript to another, with the exception of the smallest fragments, no two copies agree completely in their wording. There has been an estimate of between 200,000 and 300,000 variations among all the manuscripts, which is more variations than words in the New Testament. The vast majority of these variations are errors made by scribes, and easily identified as such: an omitted word, a duplicate line, a misspelling, a rearrangement of words. Some variations involve apparently intentional changes, which can make it more difficult for scholars to determine whether they were corrections from better exemplars, harmonizations or ideologically motivated.^[3] Paleography is the study of ancient writing, and textual criticism is the study of manuscripts in order to reconstruct a probable original text. This is about scribe, the profession. ... In international law, harmonisation refers to the process by which different states adopt the same laws. ... Palaeography, literally old writing, (from the Greek words paleos = old and grapho = write) is the study of script. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ...

Transmission

An illustration of a European scribe at work

The New Testament books appear to have been completed within the 1st century. However, the original manuscripts of the New Testament books do not survive today. The autographs were lost or destroyed a long time ago. What survives are copies of the original. Generally speaking, these copies were made centuries after the originals from other copies rather than from the autograph. The earliest manuscript of a New Testament text is a business card sized fragment from the Gospel of John, Rylands Library Papyrus P52, which dates to the first half of the 2nd century. The first complete copies of single New Testament books appear around 200, and the earliest complete copy of the New Testament dates to the 4th century.^[4] Image File history File links Escribano. ... Image File history File links Escribano. ... This is about scribe, the profession. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ... John Rylands Library Papyrus P52, recto The Rylands Library Papyrus P52, also known as the St Johns fragment, is a papyrus conserved at the John Rylands Library, Manchester, UK. The front (recto) contains lines from the Gospel of John 18:31-33, in Greek, and the back (verso) contains...

The task of copying manuscripts was generally taken on by scribes, trained professionals in the art of writing and bookmaking. Some manuscripts also had proofreaders, and scholars closely examining a text can make out the original and corrections found in certain manuscripts. In the 6th century, a special room devoted to the practice of manuscript writing and illumination called the scriptorium started to emerge, typically inside medieval European monasteries. Sometimes a group of scribes would copy along as one individual read from the text.^[5] This is about scribe, the profession. ... In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ...

Manuscript construction

An important issue with manuscripts is preservation. The earliest New Testament manuscripts were written on papyrus, a plant that grew abundantly in the Egyptian Nile Delta. This tradition continued on to as late as the 8th century.^[6] Papyrus becomes brittle and deteriorates with age. The dry climate of Egypt allowed for some papyrus manuscripts to be partially preserved, but, with the exception of P⁷⁷, no New Testament papyrus manuscript is complete, with many consisting only of a single fragmented page.^[7] However, beginning in the 4th century, parchment (also called vellum) began to be the common medium used for New Testament manuscripts.^[8] It wasn't until the 12th century that paper, which was invented in 1st century China, began to gain popularity in biblical manuscripts.^[9] Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ... NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta (shown in false colour) The Nile Delta (Arabic:دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... German parchmenter, 1568 Parchment is a material for the pages of a book or codex, made from fine calf skin, sheep skin or goat skin. ... Vellum (from the Old French Vélin, for calfskin[1]) is a sort of parchment, a material for the pages of a book or codex, characterized by its thin, smooth, durable properties. ... For other uses, see Paper (disambiguation). ...

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus from Bibliothèque nationale de France

Out of the 476 non-Christian manuscripts dated to the 2nd century, 97% of the manuscripts are in the form of scrolls; however, the 8 Christian manuscripts are codices. In fact, the vast majority of New Testament manuscripts are codices. The adaptation of the codex form in non-Christian text did not become dominant until the 4th and 5th centuries, demonstrating that the Christians had an early preference to the codex when compared to non-Christian manuscripts.^[10] The considerable lengths of the groupings of New Testament books (such as the Pauline epistles) did not suit the limited space available on a single scroll, where a codex could be expanded to hundreds of pages. Download high resolution version (1024x570, 245 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (1024x570, 245 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus is an early 5th century Greek manuscript of the Bible, the last in the group of the four great uncial manuscripts of the Greek Bible (see Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus). ... The new buildings of the library. ... For other uses, see Scroll (disambiguation). ... First page of the Codex Argenteus A codex (Latin for block of wood, book; plural codices) is a handwritten book, in general, one produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The beginning of the Gospel of Mark from the Book of Durrow.

Image of page from the Book of Durrow. ... Image of page from the Book of Durrow. ... The Gospel of Mark (literally, according to Mark; Greek, Κατά Μαρκον, Kata Markon),(anonymous[1] but ascribed to Mark the Evangelist) is a Gospel of the New Testament. ... The beginning of the Gospel of Mark from the Book of Durrow. ...

Script and other features

The handwriting found in New Testament manuscripts varies. One way of classifying handwriting is by formality: book-hand vs. cursive. More formal, literary Greek works were often written in a distinctive style of even, capital letters called book-hand. Less formal writing consisted of cursive letters which could be written quickly. Another way of dividing handwriting is between uncial (or majuscule) and minuscule. The uncial letters were a consistent height between the baseline and the cap height, while the minuscule letters had ascenders and descenders that moved past the baseline and cap height. Generally speaking, the majuscules are earlier than the minuscules, with a dividing line roughly in the 11th century.^[11] The Book of Kells, c. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Letter case. ... In typography and penmanship, the baseline is the line upon which most letters sit and under which descenders extend. ... The ascenders are the parts of the characters that lie above the midline, highlighted in red. ... The descenders are the parts of the characters that lie below the baseline, highlighted in red. ...

The earliest manuscripts had sparse if any punctuation or breathing marks. The manuscripts also lacked word spacing, so words, sentences, and paragraphs would be a continuous string of letters (scriptio continua), often with line breaks in the middle of words. Bookmaking was an expensive endeavor, and one way to reduce the number of pages used was to save space. Another method employed was to abbreviate frequent words, such as the nomina sacra. Yet another method involved the palimpsest, a manuscript which recycled an older manuscript. Scholars using careful examination can sometimes determine what was originally written on the material of a document before it was erased to make way for a new text (for example Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus and the Sinaitic Palimpsest). Scriptio continua (Continuous script in Latin) is a classical style of writing without spaces between words or sentences, with all the text in upper case, and with no punctuation, like this: NEQVEPORROQVISQUAMESTQVIDOLOREMIPSVMQVIADOLORSITAMETCONSECTETVRADIPISCIVELIT NOBODYLIKESPAINFORITSOWNSAKEORLOOKSFORITANDWANTSTOHAVEITJVSTBECAVSEITISPAIN Which in normal modern style is: Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet... Nomina sacra means Sacred names in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing of several frequently occurring divine names or titles in early Greek language Holy Scripture. ... A palimpsest is a manuscript page, scroll, or book that has been written on, scraped off, and used again. ... Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus is an early 5th century Greek manuscript of the Bible, the last in the group of the four great uncial manuscripts of the Greek Bible (see Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus). ... The Sinaitic Palimpsest of Saint Catherines Monastery, Mount Sinai is a late 4th century manuscript of the four canonical gospels of the New Testament. ...

The original New Testament books did not have titles, section headings, or verse and chapter divisions. These were developed over the years as "helps for readers". Ammonian Sections were an early system of division written in the margin of many manuscripts. The Eusebian Canon was a series of tables that grouped parallel stories among the gospels. The Bible is traditionally divided into 66 books for Protestants, 73 for Catholics and 78 for most Orthodox Christians. ... Ammonian Sections (latin: ammonius quidam), also called Eusebian canons, are a system of dividing the four Gospels, indicated in the margin of nearly all Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Bible. ...

Manuscripts became more ornate over the centuries, which developed into a rich illuminated manuscript tradition, including the famous Irish Gospel Books, the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow. In the strictest definition of illuminated manuscript, only manuscripts decorated with gold or silver, like this miniature of Christ in Majesty from the Aberdeen Bestiary (folio 4v), would be considered illuminated. ... A Gospel Book is a codex or bound volume, containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament. ... This page (folio 292r) contains the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John. ... The beginning of the Gospel of Mark from the Book of Durrow. ...

Cataloging

Desiderius Erasmus compiled the first printed edition of the Greek New Testament in 1516, basing his work on several manuscripts because he did not have a single complete work and because each manuscript had small errors. In the 18th century, Johann Jakob Wettstein was one of the first biblical scholars to start cataloging biblical manuscripts. He divided the manuscripts based on the writing used (uncial, minuscule) or format (lectionaries) and based on content (Gospels, Pauline letters, Acts + General epistles, and Revelation). He assigned the uncials letters and minuscules and lectionaries numbers for each grouping of content, which resulted in manuscripts being assigned the same letter or number.^[12] “Erasmus” redirects here. ... Johann Jakob Wettstein (also Wetstein) (March 5, 1693 - March 23, 1754), was a Swiss theologian, best known as a New Testament critic. ... The Book of Kells, c. ... A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings for Christian worship. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

A page from the Sinope Gospels. The miniature at the bottom shows Jesus healing the blind.

For manuscripts that contained the whole New Testament, such as Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C), the letters corresponded across content groupings. However, for a significant, early manuscript such as Codex Vaticanus (B), which did not contain Revelation, the letter B was also assigned to a later 10th century manuscript of Revelation, thus creating confusion. Constantin von Tischendorf found one of the earliest, nearly complete copies of the Bible, Codex Sinaiticus, over a century after Wettstein's cataloging system was introduced. Because he felt the manuscript was so important, von Tischendorf assigned it the Hebrew letter Aleph (א). Eventually enough uncials were found that all the letters in the Latin alphabet had been used, and scholars moved on to first the Greek alphabet, and eventually started reusing characters by adding a superscript. Confusion also existed in the minuscules, where up to seven different manuscripts could have the same number or a single manuscript of the complete New Testament could have 4 different numbers to describe the different content groupings.^[13] Folio from the Sinope Gospels. ... Folio from the Sinope Gospels. ... A page from the Sinope Gospels. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Folio 65v from the Codex Alexandrinus contains the end of the Gospel of Luke with the decorative tailpiece found at the end of each book. ... Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus is an early 5th century Greek manuscript of the Bible, the last in the group of the four great uncial manuscripts of the Greek Bible (see Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus). ... Page from Codex Vaticanus Graece 1209, B/03 The Codex Vaticanus (The Vatican, Bibl. ... Constantin von Tischendorf, around 1870 Lobegott Friedrich Constantin (von) Tischendorf (January 18, 1815 – December 7, 1874) was a noted German Biblical scholar. ... A portion of the Codex Sinaiticus, containing Esther 2:3-8. ... is the reconstructed name of the first letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician , Syriac , Hebrew Aleph , and Arabic . Aleph originally represented the glottal stop (IPA ), usually transliterated as , a symbol based on the Greek spiritus lenis , for example in the transliteration of the... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... The Greek alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century BCE. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel and consonant alike. ... This article is about the term superscript as used in typography. ...

von Soden

Hermann, Freiherr von Soden published a complex cataloging system for manuscripts in the first decade of the 20th century. He grouped the manuscripts based on content, assigning them a Greek prefix: δ for the complete New Testament, ε for the gospels, and α for the remaining parts. This grouping, however, was flawed because some manuscripts grouped in δ did not contain Revelation, and many manuscripts grouped in α contained either the general epistles or the Pauline epistles, but not both. After the Greek prefix, von Soden assigned a numeral that roughly corresponded to a date (for example δ1-δ49 were from before the 10th century, δ150-δ249 for the 11th century). This system proved to be problematic when manuscripts were re-dated, or when more manuscripts were discovered than the number of spaces allocated to a certain century.^[14] Baron Hermann von Soden (16 August 1852-15 January 1914), German biblical scholar, was born in Cincinnati on the 16th of August 1852, and was educated at the University of Tübingen. ...

P. Cheaster Beatty]] VI showing portions of Deuteronomy

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 768 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (7824 × 6108 pixel, file size: 9. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 768 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (7824 × 6108 pixel, file size: 9. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Gregory-Aland

Caspar René Gregory published another cataloging system in 1908 in Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments, which is the system still in use today. Gregory divided the manuscripts into 4 groupings: papyri, uncials, minuscules, and lectionaries. This division is partially arbitrary. The first grouping is based on the physical material (papyrus) used in the manuscripts. The second two divisions are based on script: uncial and minuscule. The last grouping is based on content: lectionary. Most of the papyrus manuscripts and the lectionaries before the year 1000 are written in uncial script. However, there is some consistency in that the majority of the papyri are very early because parchment began to replace papyrus in the 4th century (although the latest papyri dates to the 8th century). Similarly, the majority of the uncials date to before the 11th century, and the majority of the minuscules to after.^[15] Caspar René Gregory (born November 6, 1846 in Philadelphia; died April 9, 1917 in a field hospital in Neuchâtel sur Aisne, France) was a German-American theologian. ... Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ...

Gregory assigned the papyri a prefix of P, often written in blackletter script (𝔓), with a superscript numeral. The uncials were given a prefix of the number 0, and the established letters for the major manuscripts were retained for redundancy (i.e. Codex Claromontanus is assigned both 06 and D). The minuscules were given plain numbers, and the lectionaries were prefixed with l often written in script (ℓ). Kurt Aland continued Gregory's cataloging work through the 1950s and beyond. Because of this, the numbering system is often referred to as "Gregory-Aland numbers". The most recent manuscripts added to each grouping are 𝔓¹¹⁸, 0318, 2812, and ℓ2281. Due to the cataloging heritage and because some manuscripts which were initially numbered separately were discovered to be from the same codex, there is some redundancy in the list (i.e. the Magdalen papyrus has both the numbers of 𝔓⁶⁴ and 𝔓⁶⁷).^[16] Blackletter in a Latin Bible of AD 1407, on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... Codex Claromontanus is a 6th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum of the Epistles of Paul and the Epistle to the Hebrews in Greek and Latin on facing pages (thus a diglot manuscript, like Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis). ... Kurt Aland (born 28 March 1915 in Berlin-Steglitz; died 13 April 1994 in Münster, Westfalen) was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. ... The Magdalen papyrus was purchased in Luxor, Egypt in 1901 by Rev Charles B. Huleatt (1863-1908), who identified the Greek fragments as portions of the Gospel of Matthew (Chapter 26:23 and 31) and presented them to Magdalen College, Oxford, where they are cataloged as (Gregory-Aland P64) and...

The first page of the Gothic language Codex Argenteus

The majority of New Testament textual criticism deals with Greek manuscripts because scholars believe the original books of the New Testament were written in Greek. However, the text of the New Testament is also found, both translated in manuscripts of many different languages (called versions), and quoted in manuscripts of the writings of the Church Fathers. In the critical apparatus of the Novum Testamentum Graece, a series of abbreviations and prefixes designate different language versions (it for Old Latin, lowercase letters for individual Old Latin manuscripts, vg for Vulgate, lat for Latin, sy^s for Sinaitic Palimpsest, sy^c for Curetonian Gospels, sy^p for the Peshitta, co for Coptic, ac for Akhmimic, bo for Bohairic, sa for Sahidic, arm for Armenian, geo for Georgian, got for Gothic, aeth for Ethiopic, and slav for Old Church Slavonic.)^[17] page of the Codex Argenteus. ... page of the Codex Argenteus. ... Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. ... first page of the Codex Argenteus The Codex Argenteus (or Silver Bible) is a 6th century manuscript, originally containing bishop Ulfilass 4th century translation of the bible into the Gothic language. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers... The critical apparatus is the critical and primary source material that accompanies an edition of a text. ... Novum Testamentum Graece is the name (in the Latin language) of the Greek language version of the New Testament. ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century version in Latin, partly revised and partly translated by Jerome on the orders of Pope Damasus I in 382. ... The Sinaitic Palimpsest of Saint Catherines Monastery, Mount Sinai is a late 4th century manuscript of the four canonical gospels of the New Testament. ... The Curetonian Gospels are contained in a manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament in Old Syriac, a translation from the Greek. ... The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible in the Syriac language. ...

Listings

• List of New Testament papyri
• List of New Testament uncials
• List of New Testament minuscules

A New Testament papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on papyrus. ... A New Testament uncial is a copy of a portion of the New Testament in Greek or Latin capital or uncial letters, written on parchment or vellum. ... A New Testament minuscule is a portion of the New Testament. ...

See also

• Biblical criticism
• Textual criticism
• Manuscript culture

This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The transition of communication technology: Oral Culture, Manuscript Culture, Print Culture, and Information Age Manuscript culture refers to the development and use of the manuscript as a means of storing and disseminating information until the age of printing. ...

Notes

Frederick Fyvie Bruce (12 October 1910 – 11 September 1990) was a Bible scholar, and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible. ... Sir Frederic G. Kenyon (1863–1952) was a British paleographer, biblical and classical scholar. ...

References

• Aland, Kurt; Barbara Aland (1995). The Text of The New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism, Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes, 2nd ed., Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, pp.40f, 72f. ISBN 0-8028-4098-1. 
• Ehrman, Bart D. (2004). The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. New York: Oxford, pp.480f. ISBN 0-19-515462-2. 
• Metzger, Bruce M. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption and Restoration, Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-19-516667-1
• Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece rv. 27 (2006) Hendrickson Publishers, ISBN 1-59856-172-3
• Seid, Timothy W.. "Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts". Interpreting Ancient Manuscripts Web - Earlham School of Religion. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
• Waltz, Robert. "An Introduction to New Testament Textual Criticism". A Site Inspired By: The Encyclopedia of New Testament Textual Criticism. Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
• Wilson, Robert Dick. (1929) 'The Textual Criticism of the Old Testament', The Princeton Theological Review 27: pp. 40f.

Kurt Aland (born 28 March 1915 in Berlin-Steglitz; died 13 April 1994 in Münster, Westfalen) was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. ... Bart D. Ehrman is a New Testament scholar and an expert on early Christianity. ... Bruce Metzger pictured on the cover of his autobiography Reminiscences of an Octogenarian Bruce Manning Metzger (born 1914) is a professor emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who serves on the board of the American Bible Society. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Michael D. Marlowe's Bible Research site
• TextCrit.com: Eusebian Canon in Codex A