where are the original manuscripts of the bible

For example, the second-most-supported work behind the New Testament is Homer’s well- known poem Iliad, with about 1,900 manuscripts.2 Ancient literature was rarely translated into another language-with the New Testament being an important exception.

We can appreciate the robust number of New Testament manuscripts by comparing it with the number of manuscripts available for other works from the ancient world. However, they are still important witnesses to the text’s reliability and transmission.

If we add to this number more than 18,000 New Testament manuscripts written in other languages (translations) besides Greek, the overall count swells to more than 24,000 New Testament manuscripts! Because the versions are in a different language from the original Greek, they are not as valuable as the Greek manuscripts in reconstructing the text. To better understand the scope of the numbers involved, as of 2017, the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, located at the University of Munster in Germany, currently lists the official number at 5,856 partial and complete manuscript copies written in the Greek language.1 These include handwritten copies of the New Testament papyri, parchment and lectionaries. The New Testament possesses the highest number of manuscripts of any book from the ancient world (prior to AD 350). There are three main areas of textual evidence to consider when answering the question of whether the New Testament manuscripts were copied accurately: (1) the number of Greek manuscripts, (2) the dating of the manuscripts, and (3) the textual accuracy of the manuscript copies. Our English Bible is the culmination of this textual investigation. Similarly, by evaluating and comparing the textual evidence (known as textual criticism), scholars can then work backward to establish what was originally written. Scholars diligently work like forensic scientists analyzing a crime scene, carefully examining the evidence left behind so they can reconstruct what originally happened. To understand this issue better, we should familiarize ourselves with the process Bible scholars undertake in their effort to reconstruct the original text. However, there are several reasons Christians believe the New Testament manuscripts were copied accurately (despite minor scribal mistakes) and why it can still be considered the inspired and inerrant Word of God. They conclude that because the scribes fell short of perfect transmission, an inspired and inerrant Bible is impossible.

That is to say, with regard to the time when the New Testament was originally written until the time the printing press was invented, some have demanded that the scribes copy the text 100% accurately, or it can’t be considered inspired or inerrant. This false assumption emerges from the notion that all New Testament copies produced through the centuries must be exact replicas of the original text. Hence, copies were called “manual-scripts” or manuscripts.Īs modern scholars conduct a careful analysis of the manuscript copies, it is obvious that the New Testament text contains minor scribal “mistakes.” This has led some to erroneously assume the Bible is not inspired or inerrant in all that it states, claims, teaches, and implies. Because there were no copy machines available in ancient times, the tedious transmission process had to be accomplished by the scribe’s own hand. Holden, PhD & Don Stewart, MA (New Testament)īecause scholars don’t possess the original writings of the New Testament (known as autographs), we must ask: How accurate are the manuscript copies ( apographs)? For if the copies do not reflect the original writings of Scripture, we would have no idea what the original texts said. Were the New Testament Manuscripts Copied Accurately?*

Where are the original manuscripts of the bible