Codex Sinaiticus
An ancient handwritten Greek copy of much of the Bible, made around AD 330–360. It is one of the oldest surviving nearly complete Christian Bibles, so it is especially useful for comparing how the biblical text was copied and preserved.
Papyrus 46 (P46)
An ancient handwritten Greek collection of many of Paul’s letters, usually dated around AD 175–225. It is valuable because it preserves a very early copy of these New Testament writings.
Papyrus 66 (P66 / Papyrus Bodmer II)
An ancient handwritten Greek copy of much of the Gospel of John, usually dated around AD 175–225 and commonly around AD 200. It is one of the earliest substantial surviving copies of John.
Dead Sea Scrolls
A large collection of ancient Jewish manuscripts discovered near the Dead Sea. They date from roughly the third century BC through the first century AD and include some of the oldest surviving copies of books from the Old Testament.
Reading Edition
A version formatted to make an ancient manuscript easier to read in modern form while still identifying the manuscript or textual source used. The goal is readability, not necessarily a word-for-word reproduction of the original wording.
Literal Reading / Translation
A translation or reading that stays as close as possible to the original Greek or Hebrew wording and sentence structure, even when the English sounds less natural or more awkward.
Important: A manuscript date tells you approximately how old the surviving physical copy is. It does not necessarily tell you when the biblical book itself was originally written.