Manuscript Evidence

What’s In Your Bible: Manuscript Evidence

As of today Aug 4, 2024, there are 6006 Greek Manuscripts in existence.

These 6006 popcorn kernels represent those manuscripts.

By comparison,

There are only 7 copies of Plato’s works the oldest is from 900 AD which is 1200 years from the time he wrote it.

We only have 49 copies of Aristotle’s work.

The earliest is from 100 AD over 1400 years after he wrote it.

A 1938 first edition Action Comics #1 recently sold for $6 million dollars.

(That’s the first comic introducing Superman)

Out of 200,000 originally printed copies, approximately 78 are known, 100 are assumed to still exist.

That’s only 86 years from the time of printing.

Now, of the 6006 Greek Manuscripts, 58 are from Alexandria, Egypt.

Of those, only 4 are considered when making a new translation.

Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, P75, and Alexandranus.

All 4 are Egyptian texts and none are from Antioch where the disciples were first called Christian or anywhere else.

Of those 4, only one, the Vaticanus, is considered the final authority in most of the new translations as I’ve revealed in previous videos.

Now these are only Greek manuscripts.

There are thousands of other scripture witnesses:

Such as Lectionaries.

Foreign language translations like Syriac, Slavic, Gothic, Ethiopic, Coptic, Nubian, Armenian and others

Early church fathers and writers

Ostraca which are verses that were copied to pottery or other substrates.

Today, this would be like verses printed on bracelets, prayer journals, pictures etc.

There are 10’s of thousands of other witnesses outside of the 6006 Greek manuscripts that verify and testify Gods Holy Word.

Many many witnesses are older than the one single Codex Vaticanus.

More on the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus later.

Dr. Steven A. Hite