Biblical Manuscripts · New Testament

New Testament Manuscripts

The Greek New Testament is attested by more manuscripts than any other work of antiquity. This page surveys the categories of evidence and the principal manuscripts, the scholarly views on text-types, and the history of printed editions, and states the base text of the Yeshua Literal Version New Testament.

Classification of Greek Manuscripts

Four Categories of Witnesses

Greek New Testament manuscripts are classified by material, script and use into four categories. The figures below are approximate, based on the numbers registered in the catalogue of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF), Münster, and change as new manuscripts are registered or reclassified.

01Papyri — about 140Manuscripts written on papyrus, most of them recovered in Egypt. Many date from the second to the fourth century and are among the earliest surviving witnesses, though most are fragmentary. Siglum: 𝔓 + number (𝔓52, 𝔓75, etc.).

02Majuscules — about 320Parchment manuscripts in capital (uncial) script, dating roughly from the fourth to the tenth century. The great codices such as Sinaiticus and Vaticanus belong to this group. Siglum: a number beginning with 0 (01, 02 …); the older manuscripts also retain letter sigla (א, A, B …).

03Minuscules — about 2,900Manuscripts in a joined lower-case script used from about the ninth century; they form the majority of Greek manuscripts. The earliest dated minuscule is the Uspensky Gospels (461) of 835. Siglum: Arabic numerals (1, 33, 1739 …).

04Lectionaries — about 2,400Manuscripts that arrange the passages read in worship according to the church calendar. Most are medieval, and their text is generally Byzantine. Siglum: ℓ + number (ℓ 2211, etc.).

This system is known as Gregory-Aland numbering. It was established by Caspar René Gregory in the early twentieth century and continued by Kurt Aland and the Münster Institute in the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments. The four categories together are commonly counted at about 5,800 Greek New Testament manuscripts, a figure that includes both fragments and complete copies.

The Transmission in Time

Dates of the Principal Witnesses

Most manuscripts are dated on palaeographical grounds, by comparison of handwriting. The dates below are therefore the ranges commonly given in the scholarly literature, and individual scholars differ.

c. 125–175
𝔓52 — a fragment of John
A small fragment containing John 18:31–33, 37–38, often cited as the earliest extant New Testament manuscript. It was traditionally dated to the first half of the second century; some recent scholars widen the range to the late second or early third century.
c. 200
𝔓46 · 𝔓66 · 𝔓75
Papyrus codices of the Pauline letters (𝔓46), John (𝔓66), and Luke and John (𝔓75). They are generally dated to the late second or early third century; some scholars place them later.
Third century
𝔓45 · 𝔓47 · 𝔓72
Papyri of the Gospels and Acts (𝔓45), Revelation (𝔓47), and 1–2 Peter and Jude (𝔓72, third to fourth century).
Fourth century
Codex Vaticanus (B 03) · Codex Sinaiticus (א 01)
The era of the great parchment codices begins. Vaticanus is dated c. 300–350 and Sinaiticus to the mid-fourth century. Some scholars connect them with the fifty copies of the Scriptures that Constantine ordered from Eusebius (c. 331), though this has not been demonstrated.
Late fourth–fifth century
Codex Washingtonianus (W 032) · Codex Bezae (D 05)
This period includes Washingtonianus, whose textual character varies from book to book, and the Greek-Latin Codex Bezae (c. 400), the principal witness to the Western text.
Fifth century
Codex Alexandrinus (A 02) · Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C 04)
The Gospels of Alexandrinus are regarded as an early witness to the Byzantine Gospel text.
Ninth century
From majuscule to minuscule
Joined lower-case script begins to replace the majuscule hand. The earliest dated minuscule is the Uspensky Gospels (461) of 835.
Ninth–sixteenth century
The age of minuscules and lectionaries
The great majority of extant Greek manuscripts were copied in this period, and most of them transmit the Byzantine text.
1516
The age of print
The Greek New Testament of Erasmus is published at Basel, and the manuscript tradition passes into the history of printed editions (see “History of Printed Editions” below).

The Earliest Evidence

Principal Papyri

Most were preserved by the dry climate of Egypt. They are also known by the names of the collections that hold them (Chester Beatty, Bodmer).

𝔓52 · P.Ryl. Gk. 457A fragment of John 18. John Rylands Library, Manchester. c. 125–175 (later according to some scholars). Smaller than the palm of a hand, it is widely known because of its early date.

𝔓45 · Chester Beatty Papyrus ISubstantial (fragmentary) portions of the four Gospels and Acts. Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Third century (c. 250). Its text of Mark is sometimes discussed in connection with the so-called Caesarean text.

𝔓46 · Chester Beatty Papyrus IIA codex of the Pauline letters in which Hebrews follows Romans. Divided between Dublin and the University of Michigan. c. 200 (late second to third century according to different scholars).

𝔓66 · Bodmer Papyrus IIMost of the Gospel of John. Bodmer Library, Cologny (near Geneva). Commonly dated c. 200, though some scholars place it later. It preserves numerous corrections by the scribe himself.

𝔓72 · Bodmer Papyri VII–VIIIThe earliest manuscript of 1–2 Peter and Jude. Third to fourth century. Divided between the Bodmer Library and the Vatican Library.

𝔓75 · Bodmer Papyri XIV–XVLuke and John. c. 175–225. Vatican Library since 2006. Its text is very close to that of Codex Vaticanus (B 03) and is regarded as evidence that this textual line existed at an early date.

Parchment Codices

Principal Majuscules

Textual character is given according to the common scholarly classification. In many manuscripts the character of the text differs from book to book.

Siglum	Manuscript	Date	Location	Contents · Textual character
א 01	Codex Sinaiticus	Mid-fourth century	British Library, London; also Leipzig, St Catherine’s Monastery (Sinai) and St Petersburg	The only complete New Testament in majuscule script. Also contains the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas. Generally Alexandrian (with Western tendencies in the early chapters of John). Found at the monastery by Tischendorf in 1844 and 1859.
B 03	Codex Vaticanus (Vat. gr. 1209)	Fourth century (c. 300–350)	Vatican Library	Lacks Hebrews 9:14 onward, the Pastoral Epistles, Philemon and Revelation. The leading Alexandrian manuscript; very close to 𝔓75.
A 02	Codex Alexandrinus	Fifth century	British Library	Most of the New Testament (lacking Matthew 1:1–25:6, among other passages), with 1 and 2 Clement. Byzantine in the Gospels, generally Alexandrian elsewhere.
C 04	Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus	Fifth century	Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris	A palimpsest, erased in the twelfth century and overwritten with works of the Syrian father Ephraem. Portions of every New Testament book survive. Mixed text.
D 05	Codex Bezae	c. 400	Cambridge University Library	Greek-Latin Gospels (in the order Matthew, John, Luke, Mark) and Acts. The principal Western witness. Presented to the University of Cambridge by Beza in 1581.
D 06	Codex Claromontanus	Sixth century	Bibliothèque nationale de France	Greek-Latin Pauline letters (including Hebrews). The leading witness to the Western text of Paul.
W 032	Codex Washingtonianus (Freer Gospels)	Late fourth–fifth century	Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington	Gospels (in the order Matthew, John, Luke, Mark). A mixed text whose character changes by book and section. Contains the so-called “Freer Logion” after Mark 16:14.
Θ 038	Codex Koridethi	Ninth century	National Centre of Manuscripts, Tbilisi	Gospels. Discussed as a principal witness to the so-called Caesarean text in Mark.
E 07	Codex Basilensis	Eighth century	University Library, Basel	Gospels. An example of a majuscule transmitting the Byzantine text.

The Most Numerous Witnesses

Notable Minuscules and Lectionaries

Most minuscules are Byzantine, but some preserve early textual lines and receive particular attention in textual criticism.

Family 1 (f¹)A group of closely related minuscules including 1, 118, 131, 209 and 1582 (roughly tenth to fourteenth century). Identified by Kirsopp Lake in 1902 and also called the “Lake Group.” Frequently cited in discussions of the Caesarean text.

Family 13 (f¹³)A group including 13, 69, 124 and 346 (roughly eleventh to fifteenth century), also called the “Ferrar Group” after the scholar who first identified it. It places the passage John 7:53–8:11 after Luke 21:38.

33Ninth century. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Known as the “Queen of the Cursives” because it preserves an Alexandrian text of high quality.

1739Tenth century. Great Lavra Monastery, Mount Athos. Acts and the Epistles. Its text of Paul is close to 𝔓46 and Vaticanus, and its marginal notes refer to the text of Origen.

2814 (formerly 1ʳ)Twelfth century. Augsburg University Library. The only Greek manuscript Erasmus used for Revelation in 1516. Lacking the last six verses (22:16–21), Erasmus supplied them by translating from the Latin Vulgate into Greek.

Lectionaries (ℓ)Arranged as readings for the movable cycle beginning at Easter (synaxarion) and for fixed feasts (menologion). As texts used in public worship, they are studied as evidence of the standard text of the Byzantine church.

Evidence beyond the Greek Manuscripts

Early Versions and Patristic Citations

The New Testament was translated early into Latin, Syriac, Coptic and other languages. The versions indicate when and where the underlying Greek text was read. Because of the grammar of the target languages, however, fine distinctions in the Greek (the article, word order, some tenses) often cannot be determined from a version.

Patristic citations are generally attributable to an author, region and date, and are used to gauge the age and distribution of readings. Leading examples include Irenaeus (c. 180), Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen (c. 185–254), Cyprian, Eusebius and John Chrysostom (c. 347–407). Chrysostom’s New Testament citations are generally regarded as close to the Byzantine text.

The Fathers, however, sometimes quoted from memory or adapted a text to their context, and their own writings were transmitted in manuscripts; careful evaluation is therefore required.

Old Latin (Vetus Latina)Latin translations appearing in several forms from the late second century. Manuscripts include Vercellensis (a, fourth century) and Bobiensis (k, c. 400). An important witness to the Western text.

Vulgate (Vulgata)At the commission of Pope Damasus (382), Jerome revised the Gospels (c. 383–384). The reviser of the rest of the New Testament is uncertain. The leading manuscript is Codex Amiatinus (early eighth century).

Syriac VersionsTatian’s Gospel harmony, the Diatessaron (c. 170s); the Old Syriac (Sinaitic and Curetonian manuscripts); the Peshitta (settled in the early fifth century — lacking 2 Peter, 2–3 John, Jude and Revelation); and the Philoxenian (508) and Harklean (616) versions.

Coptic VersionsChiefly the Sahidic of Upper Egypt (c. third century) and the Bohairic of Lower Egypt (later). Generally close to the Alexandrian text.

Other VersionsThe Gothic version of Wulfila (fourth century; its principal manuscript is the sixth-century “Silver Codex”), the Armenian (fifth century), Georgian and Ethiopic versions, among others.

Limits of Versional EvidenceLatin has no article, and Syriac and Coptic differ structurally from Greek. Versions are therefore especially useful for establishing the presence or absence of material and larger differences.

Textual Groupings

Four Text-Types

Manuscripts have been grouped by the readings they share. This classification has been the basic framework of textual criticism since the nineteenth century, but its boundaries and validity are debated today. Because each text-type is assessed differently by different schools, the principal views are given together.

AlexandrianWitnesses — 𝔓66 · 𝔓75 · B 03 · א 01 · 33 · 1739 · the Coptic versions · the Alexandrian Fathers. Character — comparatively short and concise readings. Assessment — Most critical scholars regard it as the line closest to the original. Byzantine-priority scholars regard it as the regional text of Egypt, surviving in quantity because of the dry climate, and attribute some of its shorter readings to omission in copying.

WesternWitnesses — D 05 · D 06 · the Old Latin · the Old Syriac (in part) · Irenaeus · Tertullian · Cyprian. Character — frequent expansion and paraphrase; in Acts markedly longer than the other text-types (about 8–10% according to different estimates). In a few places, such as Luke 24, it is shorter (Hort’s “Western non-interpolations”). Assessment — Widespread at an early date; many scholars regard it as the trace of a free tradition rather than a single coherent recension.

CaesareanWitnesses — Θ 038 · f¹ · f¹³ · 565 · 700 · 𝔓45 (Mark), among others. Named for Caesarea, where Origen and Eusebius worked. Assessment — Proposed by B. H. Streeter (1924); many scholars today doubt that it constitutes an independent text-type.

ByzantineWitnesses — A 02 (Gospels) · E 07 · the great majority of minuscules and lectionaries · Greek Fathers from the late fourth century. Character — a smooth style, agreement between parallel passages, and places where two readings appear together (e.g. Luke 24:53). Assessment — Hort regarded it as a later conflated and revised text, and most critical scholars follow him. Byzantine-priority scholars regard it as the text continuously used and copied in the Greek-speaking church, whose numbers, geographical distribution and continuity of transmission make it the best-preserved witness to the original.

Methods of Textual Criticism

Approaches to Reconstructing the Original Text

Several methods coexist in the discipline for deciding which reading at a point of variation is original. This page does not adjudicate between them; it presents the core of each. There is also a position that upholds the Textus Receptus itself on confessional grounds.

Reasoned eclecticismWeighs external evidence (date, quality and distribution of manuscripts) together with internal evidence (scribal habits, authorial style). The method of the Nestle-Aland and UBS editions.

Thoroughgoing eclecticismGives priority to internal evidence, adopting the reading that best fits the author’s style and context in whatever manuscript it occurs (G. D. Kilpatrick, J. K. Elliott).

Byzantine priority · Majority TextOn grounds of transmissional probability, holds that the Byzantine text attested by the majority of manuscripts best preserves the original (Robinson and Pierpont; Hodges and Farstad).

Coherence-Based Genealogical MethodCBGM. Analyses computationally the relationships among the texts preserved in the manuscripts (Gerd Mink). The method of the Editio Critica Maior, increasingly used in place of the traditional text-type classification.

From Manuscript to Print

History of Printed Editions

Printed editions of the Greek New Testament fall broadly into the Textus Receptus tradition, the critical editions from the nineteenth century onward, and the Majority and Byzantine editions.

Year	Edition	Editor · Publisher	Characteristics
Printed 1514 (issued c. 1520–1522)	Complutensian Polyglot	Under Cardinal Cisneros (Alcalá)	The first Greek New Testament to be printed, though issued later than that of Erasmus.
1516	Novum Instrumentum omne	Erasmus (Basel, Froben)	The first Greek New Testament to be published. Based on a small number of medieval minuscules; revised through a fifth edition (1535).
1550 · 1551	Stephanus (Editio Regia)	Robert Estienne (Paris · Geneva)	The 1550 edition was the first to record variant readings in the margin; the 1551 edition introduced the present verse divisions.
1565–1604	Beza’s editions	Theodore Beza (Geneva)	Principally consulted by the translators of the English King James Version (1611).
1633	Second Elzevir edition	Elzevir press (Leiden)	The name Textus Receptus derives from a phrase in its preface.
1869–1872	Tischendorf, eighth edition	Constantin von Tischendorf	Draws heavily on Sinaiticus; its extensive critical apparatus is still consulted.
1881	The New Testament in the Original Greek	B. F. Westcott · F. J. A. Hort	Gave priority to Vaticanus and Sinaiticus and systematised the theory of text-types; the foundation of later critical texts.
1898	Nestle, first edition	Eberhard Nestle (Württemberg Bible Society)	Adopted as its text the reading supported by the majority of the leading critical editions of the day.
1966	UBS, first edition	United Bible Societies	An edition for translators, selecting variants significant for translation and assigning them ratings of certainty.
1982 (2nd ed. 1985)	The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text	Z. C. Hodges · A. L. Farstad (Thomas Nelson)	A text based on the majority of manuscripts. For John 7:53–8:11 and Revelation the text was established by reconstructing manuscript genealogies.
1991 (revised 2005, etc.)	The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform	Maurice A. Robinson · William G. Pierpont	A text edited on the principle of Byzantine priority. Released into the public domain.
2010	SBLGNT	Michael W. Holmes (Society of Biblical Literature · Logos)	An independently edited text established by comparison of several critical editions; distributed free of charge.
2012	Nestle-Aland, 28th edition (NA28)	INTF Münster · German Bible Society	The standard scholarly edition. Incorporates the text of the Editio Critica Maior for the Catholic Letters.
2014	UBS, fifth edition (UBS5)	United Bible Societies	Same text as NA28, with a critical apparatus selected for translators.
2017	Tyndale House Edition (THGNT)	Dirk Jongkind · Peter J. Williams et al. (Cambridge)	Edited with particular attention to the evidence of early Greek manuscripts and their spelling and paragraphing.
1997–	Editio Critica Maior (ECM)	INTF Münster et al.	A major critical edition applying the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM). Published book by book, beginning with the Catholic Letters and Acts.

Base Text of the YLV New Testament

Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform

The New Testament of the Yeshua Literal Version is translated from the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform. This text is in the public domain.

About the Base Text

Character of the Byzantine Text and Selected Variants

The New Testament of the Yeshua Literal Version is translated from the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Textform. This text is in the public domain. Full source information is given under Text Sources & Copyright.

Character of the Text

The text was edited by Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont, first published in 1991 and subsequently revised.
The 2005 edition bears the title “Byzantine Textform.” The editors explain that the text is not the result of a simple count of manuscripts, but establishes the prevailing reading within the Byzantine tradition in light of transmissional probability.
It is not identical with the Textus Receptus. The Textus Receptus rests on a small number of manuscripts available in the sixteenth century, with some Latin influence, whereas the Byzantine Textform reflects the majority of the medieval Greek manuscript tradition. A frequently cited count places the differences between the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus at about 1,800, most of them minor matters of spelling and word order.
A frequently cited estimate places its differences from the critical text (NA28 · UBS5) at about 6,500, depending on the method of counting. Here too, most differences do not affect translation.

Readings of the Editions at Selected Points of Variation

The table below does not adjudicate between texts; it shows which reading each edition adopts at several well-known places.

Passage	Byzantine Textform (RP)	Textus Receptus	NA28	Yeshua Literal Version
Matthew 6:13, closing doxology	Present	Present	Absent	Present
Mark 16:9–20	Present	Present	Double brackets [[ ]]	Present
Luke 22:43–44	Present	Present	Double brackets [[ ]]	Present
Luke 24:53, “praising and blessing”	Both words	Both words	“Blessing” only	Both words
John 7:53–8:11	Present	Present	Double brackets [[ ]]	Present
Acts 8:37	Absent	Present	Absent	Absent (verse number only)
1 John 5:7–8, “Johannine Comma”	Absent	Present	Absent	Absent

As Acts 8:37 and 1 John 5:7–8 illustrate, the Byzantine text lacks certain readings that the Textus Receptus received from the Latin tradition. At the same time, passages that the critical text marks with brackets, such as Mark 16:9–20 and John 7:53–8:11, are included in the Byzantine text. The evaluation of each reading differs according to the schools described above.

Why a Literal Translation

Biblical Manuscripts

Biblical Manuscripts: OverviewThe transmission of the text, the basic principles of textual criticism, the differences between the Old and New Testament traditions, and the base texts of the YLV.Overview →Old Testament ManuscriptsThe Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint and the ancient versions.Old Testament →Text Sources & CopyrightSources and licences of the original-language texts and numbering systems used in the Yeshua Literal Version.Sources →

New Testament Manuscripts

Four Categories of Witnesses

Dates of the Principal Witnesses

𝔓52 — a fragment of John

𝔓46 · 𝔓66 · 𝔓75

𝔓45 · 𝔓47 · 𝔓72

Codex Vaticanus (B 03) · Codex Sinaiticus (א 01)

Codex Washingtonianus (W 032) · Codex Bezae (D 05)

Codex Alexandrinus (A 02) · Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C 04)

From majuscule to minuscule

The age of minuscules and lectionaries

The age of print