cut off date of manuscripts

It is a common statistic in apologetic circles to state that there are "over 24,000 manuscripts of the Bible." However, does anyone know the "cut-off date" or a breakdown of the dates of the aforementioned manuscripts in New Testament studies? If/when manuscripts from the 14th to 16th centuries are included in this amount, it appears that the significance of this number is a little exaggerated. I am not aware of any studies done on this subject. I have read Elijah Hixson and Peter Gurry's book Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. I remember an explorer being accessible but I cannot find it on web app. Any advice is appreciated.

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MJ. Smith

Try Gemini or Google or Wikipedia - they provide a rough estimate. The question is trivia nonsense ... how large does a fragment have to be to be called a manuscript? What percentage of fragments are part of the same manuscript but not yet identified as such? What languages are included - are you including the Sogdian manuscripts? Which canon are you using? How do you handle manuscripts that were considered biblical when written but have been removed from your canon? What does the figure actually represent as it is used as a comparison against manuscripts written on less durable materials (e.g. banana leaf)? Luckily, my apologetic/polemic circles never mention the topic.

Paul Gibson

There's not a hard cut-off date. NT scholars want manuscripts that have only hand-written books in their ancestory; no printed books allowed (yes, this is discrimination). Gutenburg printed the first Bible (in Latin) about 1455, and the first printed Greek NT was published in 1516. After 1516, fewer and fewer manuscripts were being made, and some of them were copied from printed books, thus not be useful to the study of NT manuscripts.

This is for Greek NT manuscripts, of which there are less than 6,000. If you include all early translations, there are over 20,000.

Rick Brannan

There's an article in an early Bible Study Magazine article:

Brannan, Rick with John D. Barry, “The New Testament Didn’t Drop Out of Heaven” Bible Study Magazine 2, no. 1 (November/December 2009): 30–31.

There is data in the article about count of NT manuscripts, by book, for manuscripts dated in the first five centuries (IIRC … it's been awhile). There used to be an infographic on the BSM website, I'm unsure if it made it into an infographic collection in the software.

Also, on the desktop (mac/PC) you may have the "New Testament Manuscript Explorer" that can help with century-by-century breakdowns but that is not available on the web app or mobile apps.

GregW

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1300746#Comment_1300746

There is data in the article about count of NT manuscripts, by book, for manuscripts dated in the first five centuries (IIRC … it's been awhile). There used to be an infographic on the BSM website, I'm unsure if it made it into an infographic collection in the software.

It did. It’s in the Logos Infographic Collection and is called “The New Testament didn’t drop out of heaven”.

The article also sets out the sources for the data.

Rick Brannan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1300901#Comment_1300901

It did. It’s in the Logos Infographic Collection and is called “The New Testament didn’t drop out of heaven”.

Thanks, Greg!

Christian Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1300901#Comment_1300901

Thanks everyone. Sorry I have been silent. I will explain. I had to have my gallbladder and appendix removed. Keep me in your prayers.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1301367#Comment_1301367

Keep me in your prayers.

Will do. I hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery.