Article
How Many New Testament Manuscripts Are There?
On 29 September 2023 the Münster Liste had 5,700 Greek New Testament entries, and the editors called that number a snapshot. Codex Sinaiticus is a fourth-century copy of the whole New Testament.
On this page
On 29 September 2023 the Institute for New Testament Textual Research said the Kurzgefasste Liste held 5,700 entries for Greek New Testament manuscripts, and that the figure was only a snapshot in time. Subtracting manuscripts tagged destroyed and manuscripts presumed missing, the same post says, leaves 5,541. Codex Sinaiticus, written in the middle of the fourth century, is the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. These are copies, with variants. They are not a text that first appears centuries after the books with nothing in between.
Key points
- Leggett and Paulson, on 29 September 2023
In closing, the current number of entries in the Kurzgefasste Liste, 5,700, is only a snapshot in time
Kurzgefasste Liste, 29 September 2023 · Katie Leggett and Greg Paulson, INTFOpen source, give 5,700 Liste entries and call that number a snapshot. (1) - The same post says 167 new Gregory-Aland numbers had been added since 2019, that 56 entries were tagged destroyed, and that 105 were location unknown. Adding destroyed manuscripts to ones presumed missing and subtracting from the total gives 5,541. (1)
- As at August 2009, the Institute’s projects page
The nominal number of manuscripts of the Greek New Testament (as at August, 2009): 124 papyri, 280 uncials, 2808 minuscules, 2343 lectionaries.
INTF manuscript count, August 2009 · Institute for New Testament Textual ResearchOpen source listed 124 papyri, 280 uncials, 2,808 minuscules, and 2,343 lectionaries. It called those the nominal number. It did not print a sum. (2) - Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
Codex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus ProjectOpen source is a Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century and contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. (3) The project’s date page says Codex Vaticanus is of a similarly early date. (4) - Counts for Tacitus, Caesar, and Homer were not copied, because no catalog page for those works was opened here. Dates for P45, P46, P66, and P75 were not copied for the same reason.
- What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter? is the Hebrew side of the same question. A changed spelling is not a different religion.
The figures, and what they are not
| Catalog | Figure | Date of the figure | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kurzgefasste Liste | 5,700 entries | 29 September 2023 | A snapshot. The editors said it would be outdated quickly. One number is not always one artifact. |
| Same post, narrower count | 5,541 | 29 September 2023 | 5,700 minus destroyed and presumed missing. Location unknown is a different tag, and the post counts 105 of those. |
| New numbers since 2019 | 167 | The same post | 2 papyri, 3 majuscules, 81 minuscules, 81 lectionaries. Some additions were parts of manuscripts already numbered. |
| INTF nominal count | 124 papyri, 280 uncials, 2,808 minuscules, 2,343 lectionaries | August 2009 | The page does not add these into a total. Do not treat them as the 2023 snapshot. |
| Codex Sinaiticus | Earliest complete New Testament, in the project’s words | Middle of the fourth century | A copy, heavily corrected. Not the autograph. |
| Codex Vaticanus | Nearly complete, similarly early | The Sinaiticus date page | That page does not say “fourth century” for Vaticanus. A Vatican Library record was not opened separately. |
| P52 | A fragment of John 18 | First editor 100–150; recent research nearer 200 | One scrap, not a count of papyri. |
| P45, P46, P66, P75 | Not entered | Not opened | Catalog pages for those four were not opened, so this page does not date them. |
| Tacitus, Caesar, Homer | Not entered | Not opened | No catalog of their manuscripts was opened. A comparison chart of unsourced numbers is not printed. |
What the 5,700 means
The Liste is the international register of Greek New Testament manuscripts. Leggett and Paulson say it is constantly in flux. Since 2019, 167 Gregory-Aland numbers had been added. They also say dozens of additions were not given a new number, because the leaves belonged to manuscripts already in the list. Duplicate entries are still being combined. A manuscript tagged destroyed can turn up damaged rather than gone. The post’s own examples include a manuscript the 1963 list called destroyed that was later found damaged, and leaves that had been filed twice under different numbers. (1)
So 5,700 is not “5,700 separate Bibles on a shelf in 2026.” It is the entry count on the day they wrote. The narrower 5,541 is their subtraction of destroyed and presumed-missing entries. The 105 of unknown location are not the same tag. A reader who wants a round number of “complete New Testaments” will not find it in that post. The post does not give a 2023 split into papyri, majuscules, minuscules, and lectionaries. The August 2009 page does give a split, and it is older. (2) The two dates must not be added together.
The Institute’s projects page also says the Editio Critica Maior uses Greek manuscripts of special relevance, older translations, and quotations in ancient Christian literature. It does not print a count of versions or of patristic quotations. This page does not supply “over a million quotations” or any other number the page does not give.
Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and one early fragment
The Codex Sinaiticus project says the manuscript was written in the middle of the fourth century and contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. (3) It is a copy. Scribes wrote it, and early correctors annotated it. Is the Bible True? quotes that sentence and points to one place the copies differ: Matthew 17:21Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Matthew 17:21 · King James VersionOpen source is in the King James Version and omitted in the critical Greek text this site prints. A missing sentence is a textual fact. It is not a blank Bible.
The same project’s date page says only one other nearly complete manuscript of the Christian Bible, Codex Vaticanus in the Vatican Library, is of a similarly early date, and that the only Christian Scripture definitely earlier than Sinaiticus consists of small portions. (4) This page does not call Vaticanus “fourth century” beyond what that sentence allows. A separate Vatican catalog record was not opened.
The small portion this site discusses by name is P52, the John fragment in Manchester. The library dates it as above. (5) When Was the New Testament Written? is why a second-century copy answers “the books were written hundreds of years later.” Catalog pages for P45, P46, P66, and P75 were not opened. Naming them without a date from those pages would only repeat a list.
Other ancient works
A chart that puts the New Testament next to Tacitus, Caesar, and Homer is common in this conversation. This page does not print one. No catalog of those manuscripts was opened, so no number for them is honest here. The comparison that can be made from the pages above is internal: the Greek New Testament is registered in the thousands of entries, the count is disputed in the ways the editors themselves name, and a complete copy exists from the middle of the fourth century, with smaller pieces earlier. That is a large surviving tradition. It is not a proof that every variant is trivial, and it is not a proof that God inspired the books. Does God exist? is that question. What Do Atheists Believe? is the belief that often treats the variants as if they erased the text.
Has the text been changed?
Yes, in the ordinary sense of copying. Scribes spelled words differently, skipped lines, and added sentences that other copies lack. The Liste exists so those differences can be compared. The Dead Sea Scrolls show the same kind of fact in Hebrew: the Great Isaiah Scroll generally agrees with the later Masoretic text, and the Israel Museum says the variants in that one scroll are well over 2,600. What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter? is that comparison. Was the Bible corrupted? is the claim that the earlier books were changed beyond use. A counted variant is not that claim. Which Bible Translation Is Most Accurate? is how English editions handle one of the Greek differences.
Frequently asked questions
Is the number 5,700 current?
It was the Liste’s entry count on 29 September 2023, and the editors said it was already a snapshot. It is not a promise about a later year. The 5,541 figure is the same post’s narrower subtraction, not a second census.
Does one Gregory-Aland number mean one Bible?
No. The post says some new leaves were parts of manuscripts already numbered, and that duplicate entries are still being found and combined. Lectionaries and commentary manuscripts are in the list as well as continuous texts.
Where does Vaticanus fit?
The Sinaiticus project’s date page calls it a nearly complete Christian Bible of a similarly early date, kept in the Vatican Library. This page does not add a century the sentence does not use.
Why is there no chart against Homer or Caesar?
Because those manuscript counts were not taken from a catalog opened for this article. An unsourced chart would look precise and would not be.
Keep reading
References
- How Many Greek New Testament Manuscripts Are There Really?, 29 September 2023
In closing, the current number of entries in the Kurzgefasste Liste, 5,700, is only a snapshot in time
Kurzgefasste Liste, 29 September 2023 · Katie Leggett and Greg Paulson, INTFOpen source (Katie Leggett and Greg Paulson, Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Kurzgefasste Liste snapshot of 5,700 entries. Subtracting destroyed and presumed missing gives 5,541. One Gregory-Aland number is not always one artifact.) - Projects of the INTF, August 2009
The nominal number of manuscripts of the Greek New Testament (as at August, 2009): 124 papyri, 280 uncials, 2808 minuscules, 2343 lectionaries.
INTF manuscript count, August 2009 · Institute for New Testament Textual ResearchOpen source (Nominal counts as at August 2009: 124 papyri, 280 uncials, 2,808 minuscules, 2,343 lectionaries. The page does not print a total.) - Codex Sinaiticus, About the manuscript
Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
Codex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus ProjectOpen source (Written in the middle of the fourth century. The earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament, in the project’s words.) - Codex Sinaiticus, date, Vaticanus (The same project says Codex Vaticanus, in the Vatican Library, is of a similarly early date. It does not call Vaticanus fourth-century in that sentence.)
- Greek Papyrus 457, P52 (John Rylands Library. First editor 100–150. Recent research nearer 200.)
- Dead Sea Scrolls, introduction
Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther).
Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts · Israel Antiquities AuthorityOpen source (Hebrew biblical copies among the Qumran scrolls. The count of Greek New Testament manuscripts is a different catalog.)
See also
- Does Archaeology Confirm the Bible? — The Pilate stone, the Tel Dan stele, Hezekiah’s tribute on the Taylor Prism, the Siloam tunnel inscription, and the Cyrus Cylinder name people and events the Bible also names. Each find has a limit.
- What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter? — The Qumran caves held Hebrew copies of every biblical book except Esther, a thousand years older than the medieval text. The Great Isaiah Scroll has all 66 chapters and more than 2,600 variants.
- When Was the New Testament Written? — The New Testament was not written hundreds of years after Jesus. Paul writes while witnesses are still alive, Acts leaves Paul alive in Rome, and a copy of John survives from the second century.
- Did Jesus Really Exist? — Yes. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Paul, the Gospels, Tacitus, and Josephus all place him there, and a skeptic who rejects the resurrection still says the man was real.
- Is the Bible True? — Christians receive the Bible as God’s word. Its text is early and well copied, Jesus treated the Scriptures as fulfilled in him, and the crucifixion is a public event. That is not a laboratory proof that God exists.