I. Writing Material in the New Testament World
A. Papyrus
1. Made from the papyrus plant that grew in the delta of the Nile
River in Egypt
2. The center stalk was removed and cut into thin strips that
were laid side by side. A second layer was then laid across it to
form a sheet ranging in size from 6 to 9 inches to 12 by 15
inches.
3. Writing was typically on one side only
4. Fun facts
1. Greek NT autographs were on papyrus
2. Paul's shorter letters would have been written on a
single papyrus sheet
3. Luke would have required a papyrus role of about
30 feet
II. Vellum/Parchment/Animal Skins
1. 3-4th century - mid- 13th century
2. Scraped and dried animal skins were more durable
3. Because the supply of parchment was limited, when a contents of
a document was no longer wanted/needed, the writing was
sometimes scraped of and a new text was written over it.
II. Greek Manuscripts
A. Papyri
1. Earliest
2. Fewest copies
3. Designated with the letter "P" with a superscript numeral
4. Range in date from A.D. 125 to early 8th century
5. Every NT book is attested to by at least one papyri
B. Uncials
1. Early parchment manuscripts
2. 4th-10th century A.D.
3. Use a type of Greek script that is similar to modern day capital
letters
4. These are designated either by capital letters taken from
Hebrew, Latin, and Greek alphabet and by Arabic numbers
with a zero prefix
5. 274 uncials are known today.
6. Codex Sinaiticus (01, 4th century), Alexandrinus (02, 4th
century), and Vaticanus (03, 4th century). Are among the most
important.
C. Minuscules
1. In the ninth century a style of writing developed involving the
cursive/"running" hand that had been used for private
purposes
2. Allowed for more rapid writing
3. By the 10th century, miniscule writing replaced uncial writing.
4. Approximately 2,555 of these manuscripts are known today.
5. These are typically indicated by Arabic numbers (without the 0
prefix).
6. The vast majority of NT Greek manuscripts are minuscules
D. Lectionaries
1. These contain NT passages- not in sequence, but as weekly
lessons for reading in the church's worship services.
2. There are about 2,000 known lectionary manuscripts of the
New Testament
3. These are designated by the letter L or by the abbreviation
Lect.
4. All NT books except Revelation are excerpted in the
lectionaries.
5. A few date as early as the 5th century but the majority date
from the tenth century or later.
III. Other Manuscripts
A. In Latin
1. "Old Latin" stemming from North Africa
2. Vulgate, a revision of the Old Latin by Jerome in 386 AD
B. In Syriac
1. Old Syriac
2. Palestinian Syriac
C. Copptic
1. Sahidic spoken in Upper (southern Egypt)
2. Bohairic spoken in Lower (northern Egypt)
D. Other
1. Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic, Gothic, and Arabic
2. The significance of these is limited
