What Is Old Becomes New Again

To examine the oldest Bible in existence, you now may visit a web site. Four sections of the Codex Sinaiticus, held in different parts of the world, were reunited so that scholars and other interested persons can access it for study and other interest.

The original manuscript was the work of four scribes who meticulously prepared a Greek-language version of scripture sometime in the fourth century. Today, the whole New Testament and roughly half of the Old Testament survive. Eight hundred pages and parts of pages remain from the original 1,400 pages. Now they are available online for all to see.

A British expert on ancient books noted, "This 1,600-year-old manuscript offers a window into the development of early Christianity and first-hand evidence of how the text of the Bible was transmitted from generation to generation." According to the online article, “The texts include numerous revisions, additions and corrections made during its evolution down through the ages.”

Until the “digitized” version appeared last Monday, the four sections of the Codex Sinaiticus were housed in Germany, England, Russia, and Egypt. Four years of work went into what now is presented online, including the discovery of sections previously unseen because they were hidden apart from the rest of the pages kept in Egypt.

The web site includes English and modern Greek translations of portions of the manuscript.