Greek and versional manuscript evidence for the New Testament, including major witnesses, textual relationships, and the documentary basis for the text.
Greek and versional manuscript evidence for the New Testament, including major witnesses, textual relationships, and the documentary basis for the text.
Studies for this section are listed below as they are published. Claims are documented and uncertainty is identified where the evidence is incomplete or disputed.
Early Greek papyri preserve Gospel passion narratives and Pauline accounts of Christ’s death on the cross across independent witnesses, so the crucifixion is not attested only in late or isolated copies.
Read studyJohn 1:18 is famous for a textual variant at the phrase often translated “only begotten Son” or “only God.” Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices preserve materially different Greek forms, including anarthrous and articular θεός readings and articular υἱός, rather than a simple binary switch between two English words.
Read studyJohn 7:53–8:11, the passage often called the pericope adulterae, is a major passage-level variant in the Gospel of John. Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices at the traditional junction preserve John 7:52 followed directly by John 8:12, while other witnesses contain, mark, or relocate the story.
Read studyLuke 22:43–44, the account of an angel strengthening Jesus and his sweat like drops of blood, is a passage-level variant in the Passion narrative. Early Greek papyri and fourth-century codices do not agree: several major witnesses omit continuous text for the verses at the traditional junction, while Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Bezae include the wording in governed INTF TEI transcriptions.
Read studyCodex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are major fourth-century Greek parchment witnesses. Together they preserve extensive New Testament text and provide a much broader basis for comparison than the earlier surviving papyri.
Read studyEarly New Testament papyri preserve resurrection-centered passages across multiple books, showing that the resurrection proclamation is not dependent on one late manuscript or one disputed textual passage.
Read studyThe longer ending of Mark is an important textual variant. Two major fourth-century Greek codices end Mark at 16:8, while the longer ending is preserved in many other witnesses and was known early in Christian transmission.
Read studyThe earliest surviving New Testament evidence is not a single securely dated manuscript but a small cluster of second-century papyrus witnesses, followed by more substantial codices from around the turn of the third century.
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