Bible manuscripts are commonly classified in three groups: Papyri (on paper-like fibrous fabric made from the dried papyrus plant), about half of which were written before the time of Constantine (before 313 A.D.); Uncials (easier to read), which are written in block letters on vellum, or parchment (dried animal skins, usually from sheep or goats, which began to be used when papyrus became too costly), mostly from the 4th to 10th centuries; and Minuscules, which have cursive writing (faster to write) on vellum or occasionally paper. Almost all Christian manuscripts were written in codex form (bound as a book), not as scrolls, perhaps to facilitate cross-referencing related scriptures.

The three oldest known nearly-complete (major) manuscripts of the New Testament available for use today are those designated the Sinaitic [א, or 01], the Vatican 1209 [B, or 03] (both mid-4th century), and the Alexandrian [A,  or 02] (early 5th century). The Sinaitic,  however, is  complete. The  Vatican  has  a  number of pages lost in Paul’s epistles (Heb. 9:14-end,

and the pastoral epistles), and the entire Book of Revelation is lost. The Sinaitic manuscript is so named from the place it was found in a con- vent at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It was discovered in pieces by the great German scholar and manuscript hunter, Dr. Constantin von Tischendorf, in 1844 and 1859. The Vatican 1209 became known when it was temporarily taken to Paris as a spoil of war. Sinaitic has many more careless errors, while Vatican 1209 is more likely to have theological alterations.

The Alexandrian manuscript is the latest  of the three, has a good text from Acts to Revelation but is also incomplete, lacking thirty-one folios consisting of Matt. 1:1-25:6, John 6:50- 8:52, and 2 Corinthians 4:13-12:6. The original of this manuscript can be seen at the British Museum, but copies which exactly represent it are kept in many of the principal university and public libraries. A late Arabic inscription on the first sheet states that it was written “by the hand of Thekla the Martyr.” (ca. 330 A.D.), but the manuscript lettering looks to be a century too late. Much of the New Testament is also covered by ancient papyrus manuscripts from a century or more earlier. These generally support Sinaitic and Vatican 1209.