In Front | Workbook: Autographs – Original Manuscripts, Part 1

Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

When you hear the word “autograph,” you likely think of famous people signing their names on memorabilia. When we use the word autograph in connection with ancient texts, we’re referring to the original document, the very first example of a text that was dictated by or written in the hand of the original author. 

When looking at a book as old and as frequently copied as the Bible, it’s natural to ask, “Where are the first copies of these texts?” If we had the first version of a Bible passage, measuring the accuracy of all subsequent copies would be simple; we could just compare them to the original. Unfortunately, we don’t have the first copies of any biblical texts, though this is really not that surprising. 

2. Why do you think the survival of the earliest copies of New Testament books was unlikely?