New Testament Manuscripts

Last updated: February 2, 2026

The earliest complete manuscripts of the New Testament are hundreds of years after the events they describe.

The Manuscripts

The distribution of New Testament manuscripts shows a pattern: very few early manuscripts exist, with the vast majority coming from much later centuries.

Manuscript counts by century:

1st century: 0
2nd century: 9
3rd century: 75
4th century: 98
5th century: 119
6th century: 141
7th century: 92
8th century: 83
9th century: 231
10th century: 447
11th century: 895
12th century: 1273
13th century: 1131
14th century: 966
15th century: 473
16th century: 445
17th century: 163

Data from the Institute for New Testament Textual Research¹, Retrieved 2024

This data shows a significant gap between the events described in the New Testament (c. 30-100 CE) and our earliest manuscript evidence. The vast majority of manuscripts date from medieval times, over 700 years after the events they describe.

Earliest Gospel Manuscripts

The four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) form the core of the New Testament and are the primary sources for information about Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Manuscript	Date	Type	Content
P104	c. 150-200 CE	Fragment	Matthew 21:34-37, 43, 45
P137	c. 150-250 CE	Fragment	Mark 1:7-9, 16-18
P75	c. 175-225 CE	Partial	Portions of Luke 3-18, 22-24
P52	c. 125-175 CE	Fragment	John 18:31-33, 37-38
Codex Sinaiticus	c. 330-360 CE	Complete	First complete manuscript of all four gospels

Earliest Pauline Manuscripts

The letters attributed to Paul constitute a significant portion of the New Testament and provide crucial insights into early Christian theology and community formation.

Manuscript	Date	Type	Content
P46	c. 175-225 CE	Partial	Contains portions of Romans, Hebrews, 1-2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians
P32	c. 200 CE	Fragment	Contains Titus 1:11-15, 2:3-8
P87	c. 250 CE	Fragment	Contains Philemon 13-15, 24-25
Codex Sinaiticus	c. 325 CE	Complete	Contains all of Paul's letters in the modern canon

Earliest Other Manuscripts

Beyond the gospels and Pauline epistles, the New Testament contains several other important texts, including Acts, the general epistles, and Revelation.

Manuscript	Date	Type	Content
P29	c. 175-225 CE	Fragment	Acts 26:7-8, 20
P47	c. 250-300 CE	Partial	Revelation 9:10-17:2
P72	c. 300-350 CE	Complete	Contains complete text

References

Institute for New Testament Textual Research

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