The oldest manuscripts

A biblical manuscript is a copy of a text from the Jewish and Christian religions, written before the advent of printing. The word manuscript comes from the Latin manus (hand) and scriptum (written), Bible comes from the Greek βιϐλια (books).

The size of a biblical manuscript varies from a fragment of parchment (papyrus or vellum), containing simple verses, to important codices (plural of codex). It may contain all or part of a canonical text from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), the New Testament or an extra-canonical work.