The most reliable NT manuscripts

Textual critics prioritize two categories of Greek manuscripts: fourth- and fifth-century codices, which represent the earliest nearly complete copies of the New Testament, and papyri from the second and third centuries[1]. Among the codices, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus (both fourth century) stand out as the most comprehensive, with Sinaiticus containing the entire New Testament and Vaticanus preserving most of it[1].

The papyri hold particular significance as witnesses to the earliest textual forms, though they survive only in fragmentary condition due to deterioration[1]. Key examples include 𝔓46 (around 200 CE), which preserves Pauline letters and Hebrews; 𝔓66 (around 200 CE), containing portions of John; and 𝔓75 (early third century), which includes Luke and John[1].

The assessment of reliability depends partly on text-type analysis. The Alexandrian text-type, which developed in Alexandria between roughly 180 and 700 CE, is widely considered most trustworthy due to its early date and internal consistency; most major twentieth-century translations have favored it[2]. Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, along with a few other early manuscripts, were identified by Westcott and Hort as representing a text most closely approximating the original[3], and recent papyri discoveries have largely affirmed their reliability as witnesses to an early form of the Greek New Testament[3].

Rather than relying on a single manuscript, scholars evaluate variant readings individually using both external and internal evidence, producing a reconstructed text not actually represented by any single surviving manuscript[1].

[1] Andrew E. Arterbury, W. H. Bellinger Jr., and Derek S. Dodson, Engaging the Christian Scriptures: An Introduction to the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), 12–13.
[2] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 105.
[3] Philip Comfort, Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography & Textual Criticism (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2005), 100.