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Erasmus’ Greek New Testament proved to be highly sought after by European Christians who
wanted to produce a Bible translation in their native languages. Martin Luther used Erasmus’ Greek
New Testament when creating his German translation of the Scriptures (Luther’s New Testament
was completed in 1522 and the Old Testament in 1534). William Tyndale used Erasmus’ New
Testament when creating his English Bible, as did the translators of the Geneva Bible and the King
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James Bible. In fact, from the 16 through the 19 centuries, most English Bibles used the Textus
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Receptus as the foundation for their translations. In the 19 century, older, and more reliable, Greek
manuscripts began coming to light, leading to better Greek New Testaments. Westscott and Hort
published their Greek New Testament in 1881 based largely upon the highly regarded Codex
Vaticanus. The Textus Receptus has declined in favor among Bible scholars and translators as more
ancient Greek manuscripts have come to light.
The Great Manuscripts
I will bring this chapter to a close by making mention of three of the oldest and most valuable (to
scholars) Bible manuscripts extant today. All three of these manuscripts were discovered AFTER
Erasmus published his Greek New Testament, and AFTER the King James Bible was published.
These manuscripts, listed in the order of their importance, are as follows.
Page from the Codex Vaticanus
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus contains both the Old and New Testaments and is written in Greek. It derives
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its name based upon the place where it resides. Since the 15 century this manuscript has been
located in the Vatican library. The codex became known to Western scholars due to a
correspondence between Erasmus and the Vatican, but access to the manuscript was restricted until
1889-1890 when a complete photographic facsimile was produced. The Codex Vaticanus is regarded
as the oldest and purest quality New Testament manuscript, and it is among the oldest Old Testament
manuscripts in any language, though it is not in the original language of Hebrew.
The Codex Vaticanus is missing the following portions of Scripture:
