where is the oldest copy of the bible?

Question

Is it the same as copies we have now?

Answer 1

dead sea scrolls are the current oldest copy albeit incomplete version of the bible that exist.

Answer 2

The oldest copy of the Bible that has ever been printed by a printing press is the Gutenberg Bible which have several copies still in existance all over the world and was printed in the early 1500's. Its really not possible to know the age of most texts, including Bible texts. Much easier is to know, from paleographic, radiocarbon, and stratigraphic evidence, the age of the oldest manuscripts. That's because while text is an abstract thing, manuscripts are physical and can be put to the test. The oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest copies of biblical books, are from the third century B.C. There are several scrolls of the Torah or Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy) among these manuscripts that date from the third century B.C. through the first century B.C. The only book missing from the Dead Sea scrolls is the Book of Esther and it is the closest matching manuscript word for word to the King James version of the Bible as written complete with apocryphal books in 1611 showing the authinticity of the manuscripts as written before it. It has been fashionable for Bible scholars to say that the Torah was put into its final shape in post-exilic times, i.e., following the return of some of the Jews from Babylon in the fifth century B.C., so that's where the 450 B.C. date comes from. Several recent discoveries have made it difficult to maintain that view. The most important of these is the discovery, in an ancient tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem, of two small silver scrolls that have quotes from Numbers 6 (the priestly blessing) and another brief passage from (I believe) Deuteronomy. The paleography and the archaeology of the tomb suggest that the scrolls are from ca. 600 B.C. This clearly suggests that the Torah, or at least part of it, was already in existence just before the Babylonian exile. I hasten to add that, prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (mostly during 1947-52, though some came later), the oldest manuscripts containing the Torah were from the tenth century A.D. A text containing an Aramaic translation of Psalm 20 (though written in Egyptian demotic script) dates to the fourth century B.C. (Aramaic is related to Hebrew and is the language the Jews adopted during the Babylonian exile.) The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls pushed the date of the oldest biblical manuscripts back by 13 centuries. The silver scrolls have pushed at least part of the Torah back nearly four centuries more. In my opinion, we should not be surprised if even older manuscripts are found, but we should also not expect it, since archaeology is such a serendipitous venture. The first ever written book of the Bible is believed to be the Book of Job, written round about the time of the new earth, pre-flood. It is also believed that Adam wrote a psalm that has been collected with the Psalms of David or passed down verbally and finally penned by David but I can't remember which one or where I found that information. It is also important to know that the Bible has hundreds of thousands of copies of manuscripts in part or in whole that authenticate it....over 24,000 just for the New Testament alone. The most accurate version of Hebrew and Greek New and Old Testament scripture is The KJV of the Bible as written in 1611 and predicted in Rev 11. Love in Christ, ~J~

Answer 3

John C is correct about the Dead Sea Scrolls, these are the oldest known copies of the Old Testament. They were written about the time of Jesus by the community at Qumran. Before they were found the oldest copy was from 800 A.D. or C.E. depending on your beliefs. The accuracy of the newer texts is about 95%, mainly spelling mistakes and grammar. Not bad considering the age difference. I hope this is a help.

Answer 4

The Dead sea scrolls are the oldest copy of the Old Testament books. It is the same text we have now. The oldest book in the bible is Job.

Answer 5

The oldest remaining copies of the modern day bible are only about 1100 years old. The very oldest copies of scripture were found in the Qumran caves by the Red Sea preserved in sealed jars.

Answer 6

Which bible are you referring too? If you are speaking of the first books that were written by inspiration from God, then you may search a long time as many of those books to not exist except as referrences from those we have today. If it is the compilations of books that we today call the Bible, then your best bet is in the vaults of the vatican. But one must remember that the bible we have today is a condensed compilation of a good number of books that were and are available to the biblical and theological scholar. But a good number of books that pertain to the Christian life are not included in what we know today as the Bible. That doesn't mean they aren't any less credible or are incorrect as some people would have you believe. There are a number of churches today that would have us believe that if it isn't in the Bible that they have in their church, then it's not true. This is best indicated by the outlandish number of churches who claim that the King James version is the most accurate. The truth of the matter is is that the King James version loses much of the real translation from greek and hebrew because of the translation into a poetic dialect. The King James version is therefore one of the newest and least accurate copies of the bible. But many people refuse to believe that. Lastly, if you are talking about the Gutenberg bible which was the first book ever to be printed on a printing press and remains to this day the best seller year after year after year, there are only three left in the world. At least in tact that is. There are about 48 various compilations around the world of which only three are actually in their entirety. But even single pages of these copies can run upwards of $100000 dollars or more at auctions. Gutenberg published the first bible as an old testament only version in it's profoundly popular latin in 1450AD. Three three perfect copies, all printed on Vellum are located at 1. The library of Congress on permanent display at The Great Hall of the Library. 2 The British Library and 3. Bibliotheque nationale in Paris. The most adventurous bible was the Library of Congress Bible in America as it has traveled far and wide since it's orginal monastary home in Germany. It is now covered in wood and pig skin if I remember correctly.

Hope that helps

Answer 7

What is the oldest known copy of the Bible?

The oldest known copy of the Bible (complete Bible) in the world is the Codex Sinaiticus, dating from the 3rd or 4th century A.D. The Codex, while not only translating Hebrew and Greek manuscripts into all Greek, documents the dramatic shift of preserving texts in a bound book form rather than the tradition of writing on scrolls. There is speculation this book was written in Egypt.

When the Emperor Constantine of the Eastern Empire (Greece) adopted Christianity, he commissioned the compilation of Greek versions of the principal Jewish and Christian scriptures. Although history records 50 manuscripts were written under the guidance of Eusebius, we're not totally sure this is one of those copies.

Since its discovery in bits and pieces of vellum at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt, almost half of the Old Testament has been lost. Constantin Tischendorf, a German scholar, was instrumental in the acquisition of these documents for his own country and Russia in 1844 and 1859. As is the case with antiquity, the codex carries a value not only historically, but monetarily.

The remainder of the codex is split between St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai; the British Library, the University of Leipzip, Germany; and the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg. Due to the fragility of the vellum, the manuscripts are kept under glass to protect them from further damage.

Current collaborative efforts are to completely digitize the codex to make it available for a world-wide audience in English; possibly German, Spanish, and modern Greek. This may include a free website, a high quality digital facsimile, and CD ROM. The oldest Bible in the world would be able to be seen by all, but not be damaged by constant handling.

Answer 8

The oldest copy of the complete Bible is the Codex Sinaiticus dating from the 3rd or 4th century C.E.

It was discovered at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt and today parts of it still reside there, as well as in the British Library, the University of Leipzip, Germany and the National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg.

Answer 9

There are two books (codex) which approximate to the Bibles we have today: The CODEX SINAITICUS: a fourth century (360 AD) Greek uncial manuscript originally containing the entire Bible - purchased from the Russians by the British Museum in 1933.
And the CODEX VATICANUS, also in Greek, discovered in the Vatican Library where it remains today and is believed to have been there since before 1475 A.D. It is a partial manuscript dated about 300 A.D. The NT is missing Hebrews from Chapter 9, verse 14, Philemon and Revelation.

Answer 10

...The Bible (that you are referring to) is made up of "66" separate "books"... the majority are from the Tanakh (The Hebrew words of the Old Testament)... the books of the New Testament are also the writing of almost all Jews (The B'rit Hadashah)... The Apostle to Yeshua (you know Him as Jesus, His mother called Him Yeshua)..."Saul" who later became "Paul" was a Jewish Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin (A very very highly educated man)... Paul wrote most of the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament)... The actual writings (the original documents) do not exist, however, documents like the Dead Sea scrolls, do... they confirm and affirm many of the documents... The Greeks painstakingly and the Hebrew scribes have over the millenniums carefully and accurately reproduced the Words of what "we" refer to as the Bible... Word for Word there are inaccuracies... but the message is Solid Rock... Yeshua Ha Mosheia (Jesus is The Lord)...

Answer 11

no the copies we own are re authored,reprinted,and remade and are not original
the history is very foggy and murky and no one knows what is true with new relevations coming up and facts being unearthed we are let in a maze without directions
the oldest copy of bible may be those dead sea scrolls or may be hidden in the Vatican City Archives