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Each of the products featured here is the creation of CSNTM staff, often in collaboration with other scholars.
All proceeds are used to preserve ancient New Testament manuscripts.
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PRODUCTS
The CSNTM team produced resources available for purchase.
All proceeds are used to preserve ancient New Testament manuscripts.
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection & P47 Transcription Bundle
Bundle and save! This bundle includes both, the facsimile collection and the P47 transcription, for extra savings.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD! (Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46, and P47
The New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46 and P47 brings three of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible to a modern audience. The partially preserved papyrus codices P45, P46, and P47 are dated from the third century and contain passages from all four Gospels, the book of Acts, the Pauline epistles, the book of Hebrews, and the book of Revelation, making them some of the most significant witnesses to early Christian Scripture that exist today.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD! (Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyrus P47: A Transcription
This companion to the groundbreaking two-volume facsimile edition of P45, P46, and P47, contains (1) a general essay that introduces all three papyri and that discusses the methodology The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts used for digitizing and transcribing them, and (2) a meticulous and thoroughly vetted transcription of P47.
Together with the accompanying facsimile edition, the present volume will give scholars and students of New Testament manuscripts an unparalleled encounter with these crucial witnesses to the Bible’s textual history.
About the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts:
Founded by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, CSNTM utilizes emerging technologies to preserve and study Greek New Testament manuscripts. They have collaborated with more than forty institutions across four continents to produce thousands of images of New Testament manuscripts. In the process, CSNTM has discovered scores of New Testament manuscripts.
Giving Tuesday 2022
Seize opportunities to digitally preserve important New Testament manuscripts and valuable historic artifacts for a better understanding of the text and its history.
Thank you for preserving the text and manuscripts of the New Testament for an accurate understanding of the text and to share with future generations.
VIDEOS
2011 SMU Debate
Expedition Highlight Videos
Lambeth Palace Library, London
National Library of Greece, Athens
Digitizing GA 2364,
University of Michigan
New Testament Textual Criticism Resources
Ask the Prof
The Basics of New Testament Textual Criticism
Find more videos like these in the CSNTM Apple Podcast Series: The Basics of New Testament Textual Criticism, Disputed New Testament Passages, Famous Manuscripts and the Stories Behind Them, Scribal Methods and Materials, Pioneers of the Trade.
MANUSCRIPTS 101
Why Manuscripts?: The Value of Studying Ancient Documents
Authors of the New Testament penned their words long before the advent of the printing press. As their work circulated, scribes copied the wording from these documents in order to share the letters, historical accounts, and prophecies further. The authors’ original manuscripts no longer exist, most likely having disintegrated with time and use. Thousands of extant handwritten copies, however, contain the text transmitted by the original authors, some reaching back as early as the second century AD. These Greek New Testament manuscripts today serve as the primary source of accounts of Jesus and the apostles. CSNTM seeks to continue the work of scribes by preserving copies of the New Testament, albeit in digital rather than material form, for generations to come.
Beyond Textual Studies
Art historians, papyrologists, codicologists, paleographers, and archivists have a significant interest in New Testament manuscripts. These artifacts attest to the history of writing, art, and bookmaking. Some researchers endeavor to trace the transmission history and evidence of how people interacted with the documents. Illustrations, commentary, marginal notes, and even the location of wax drippings from ancient candles reveal the attention and passion with which people of earlier centuries approached the pages of Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Descriptions for different features and components of the manuscripts in CSNTM’s digital collection are below.
GA NUMBERS
The Gregory-Aland (GA) numbers refer to a system formed by the work of New Testament scholars Caspar René Gregory and Kurt Aland that makes up the Kurzgefaßte Liste “brief list”, the official catalogue of Greek New Testament Manuscripts. The GA system is the standard way of referring to Greek New Testament manuscripts in New Testament textual criticism
The GA number system designates categories that scholars use to organize and refer to New Testament manuscripts. Each category takes different forms based on the materials and handwriting of each manuscript. See examples of the different GA number forms and what they describe:
GA P46
The P designation indicates papyrus documents. The earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts were written on papyrus, a material made from the papyrus plant. Manuscripts in this category were written in a majuscule script, an early form of Greek handwriting. They differ from the majuscule category by the material on which they were written.
GA 777
GA numbers, which do not begin with a zero, indicate documents written in minuscule handwriting, which was used by later scribes. Minuscule handwriting changed over time as scribes used it. Every form, though, is indicated by a number 1–2900+ following “GA.”
GA 038
GA numbers that begin with a zero indicate majuscule manuscripts. This category of manuscript includes those written in majuscule script on parchment, differentiating them from papyrus manuscripts. A capital letter and a corresponding descriptive name serve as alternate titles for majuscules GA 01–045.
GA Lect 430
The abbreviation “lect” or a cursive letter “l” indicates lectionary books. These New Testament documents contain Scripture readings according to the liturgical calendar. Some Greek New Testaments include a lectionary guide, which indicates which passage gatherings should read on certain dates without changing the ordering of the books or chapters. Lectionary books, however, are ordered and arranged according to the church calendar.
MATERIALS & HANDWRITING
MATERIALS
Papyrus
Papyrus is an ancient writing surface made from the papyrus plant. The earliest extant copies of the New Testament were written on this material.
Parchment
Parchment was a common writing surface from the 4th to 14th centuries, made of animal skin. Tanners took the hides of animals, cleaned them, and stretched them thin to produce large sheets. The sheets were folded into quires, which are gatherings of parchment leaves, often grouped with other folded quires and bound into a codex, an antique version of a book.
Paper
Both parchment and paper were available for manuscript production in the medieval period. The widespread opinion held that parchment was the more durable of the two materials. Paper, therefore, appeared less commonly until the advent of the printing press. Once paper production increased, the material was more frequently selected.
HANDWRITING
Majuscule Handwriting
Scribes used a majuscule handwriting from the 4th century B.C. until about the 9th century A.D., though we find the usage of this script continuing beyond the 9th century in some liturgical texts. The style of majuscule changed throughout the period of its use but remained in this form, which is somewhat equivalent to capital letters.
Minuscule Handwriting
A more compact and efficient form of writing, the minuscule script developed after majuscule handwriting. Over the course of its use, minuscule handwriting morphed into different styles, including many ligatures and shorthand forms.
MANUSCRIPT CONTENT
Any manuscript on the Liste, the official list of Greek New Testament manuscripts, contains anywhere from a few verses to every book of the New Testament. Most Greek New Testament manuscripts only contain portions of the New Testament, a few books or even a few chapters. Larger categories help us to group manuscripts together based on their content.
The traditional categories are:
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Pauline: Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews
Acts and Catholic Epistles: Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude
Apocalypse/Revelation : Revelation
CSNTM website users may search for manuscripts according to the above-mentioned categories by using the filters on the left side of the digital manuscript collection page.
Donate
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, was founded in September 2002 by noted New Testament scholar and professor, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, to utilize emerging technologies to photograph and fully archive all known Greek New Testament manuscripts. Since that time, we have partnered with hundreds of individuals and dozens of institutions to digitally preserve thousands of pages and made them available online. Join the effort to preserve Greek New Testament manuscripts and provide unprecedented access for any who wish to view or study them.
Manage your donor profile and subscription here: https://csntm.givevirtuous.org/
ARCHIVING AND POST-PRODUCTION
CSNTM serves as stewards of the images that it captures, both in terms of preservation and presentation. The utmost care and attention, therefore, is given to accurately representing each manuscript through consistent and excellent images. After the team captures images, CSNTM stores the data in multiple secure locations and provides the manuscript owner with files and metadata for each artifact, safely preserving images for generations to come.
POST-PRODUCTION
CSNTM aims to present the most accurate rendering of the artifact. Careful quality control measures on-site ensure that the caliber of every image meets “practical perfection.” Then, an initial backup is made. After the digitizing teams return to the office, the images are moved onto the local server, and additional backup processes are conducted. The final steps involve the preparation of images for display on the CSNTM website including tagging of important features and indexing.
CSNTM provides a complete archival copy of images to the library. This copy includes whatever format of images a library requests including RAW, TIFF, and JPEG. In every case, the owner of the manuscripts retains all rights to the images CSNTM produces, and they may use them however they wish. We simply request approval to post them in our manuscript library for viewing.
ARCHIVING
CSNTM stores the thousands of digital manuscript images on a local server which resides in a climate-controlled server room with fire controls. This server is backed up with a RAID 6 protocol that involves multiple redundancies in order to ensure that the images last for generations to come. One redundancy involves a backup to two separate international locations which further ensures safe preservation. The backup occurs in standard archival formats and in accordance with best practices in order to guard against the obsolescence of the data.
PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the www.CSNTM.org website (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts.
PRIVACY POLICY
Personal identification information
We may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when Users visit our site, register on the site, subscribe to the newsletter, fill out a form, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources we make available on our Site. Users may be asked for, as appropriate, name, email address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information. Users may, however, visit our Site anonymously. We will collect personal identification information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personally identification information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site related activities.
Non-personal identification information
We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about Users means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized and other similar information.
Web browser cookies
Our Site may use “cookies” to enhance User experience. User’s web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. User may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.
How we use collected information
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts may collect and use Users personal information for the following purposes:
- – To improve customer service
Information you provide helps us respond to your customer service requests and support needs more efficiently. - – To personalize user experience
We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Users as a group use the services and resources provided on our Site. - – To improve our Site
We may use feedback you provide to improve our products and services. - – To process payments
We may use the information Users provide about themselves when placing an order only to provide service to that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to provide the service. - – To run a promotion, contest, survey or other Site feature
To send Users information they agreed to receive about topics we think will be of interest to them. - – To send periodic emails
We may use the email address to send User information and updates pertaining to their order. It may also be used to respond to their inquiries, questions, and/or other requests.
How we protect your information
We adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of your personal information, username, password, transaction information and data stored on our Site.
Sharing your personal information
We do not sell, trade, or rent Users personal identification information to others. We may share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, trusted affiliates and advertisers for the purposes outlined above.We may use third party service providers to help us operate our business and the Site or administer activities on our behalf, such as sending out newsletters or surveys. We may share your information with these third parties for those limited purposes provided that you have given us your permission.
Third party websites
Users may find advertising or other content on our Site that link to the sites and services of our partners, suppliers, advertisers, sponsors, licensors and other third parties. We do not control the content or links that appear on these sites and are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from our Site. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website’s own terms and policies.
Advertising
Ads appearing on our site may be delivered to Users by advertising partners, who may set cookies. These cookies allow the ad server to recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement to compile non personal identification information about you or others who use your computer. This information allows ad networks to, among other things, deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. This privacy policy does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.
Changes to this privacy policy
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We encourage Users to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of modifications.
Your acceptance of these terms
By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.
Contacting us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us at:
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
2001 W. Plano Parkway STE 1043 Plano, TX 75075
info@csntm.org
LEADERSHIP
CSNTM
Board of Directors
Executive Director
Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Chairman of the Board
Susan Hutchinson
Executive Director, Simonyi Fund, Seattle
Director
W. Hall Harris III, PhD
Senior Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Director
Gregory H. Bledsoe, MD, MPH
Surgeon General of the State of Arkansas
Director
Amy S. Anderson, PhD
Director of the Center for Ancient Texts and Languages
Director
Michael Holmes, PhD
Director of the Museum of the Bible Scholars Initiative
Director
Tommy Wasserman, PhD
Professor of Biblical Studies at Ansgar Teologiske Høgskole, Kristiansand, Norway
CSNTM
International Advisory Board
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) works with an International Advisory Board of experts in New Testament manuscript studies, library sciences, and digital preservation from leading international institutions. This board helps facilitate the Center’s digitization efforts around the world. Greek New Testament manuscripts are in more than 250 sites worldwide, and this global team desires to see them digitized and made available for all to study.
The members of the International Advisory Board are:
Athanasios Antonopoulos
Faculty of Social Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Emanuel Contac
Faculty Member, Pentecostal Theological Institute, Bucharest
Simon Crisp
Coordinator for Scholarly Editions and Translation Standards, United Bible Societies
Fionnula Croke
Director, The Chester Beatty, Dublin
J. Keith Elliott
Emeritus Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism, University of Leeds
Brendan Haug
Assistant Professor of Classical Studies and Archivist of the Papyrology Collection, University of Michigan
Paul Foster
Professor in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
Christos Karakolis
Associate Professor at Faculty of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
David C. Parker
Professor of Digital Philology and Founder of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing, University of Birmingham
Holger Strutwolf
University Professor and Director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research and the Bible Museum, University of Münster
Andrei Tarlescu
Historian and Scientific Researcher, Library of the Romanian Academy, Biblioteca Academiei Române
Ekaterini Tsalampouni
Lecturer on the New Testament at the School of Social and Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Peter J. Williams
Principal, Tyndale House, Cambridge, and Affiliated Lecturer, University of Cambridge
Stavros Zoumboulakis
President of the Board of Directors, National Library of Greece and Chairman, Artos Zois
Georgi Parpulov
Research Fellow, Editio Critica Maior of the Septuagint Psalter, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
CSNTM Digitization Proposal
PowerPoint Proposal
Our Mission and Vision
Lunch and Learn
You’re invited to join us for some delicious discussion about the New Testament text and manuscripts over lunch!
CSNTM will be hosting Lunch and Learn events five times this year (see the schedule below) from noon to 1 pm at the Hope Center in Plano, TX. Each time a staff member will teach on a topic related to the New Testament, its history, the text, and the manuscripts. Space is limited to 25 participants for each lunch event and 60 participants for each evening event. The registration fee includes lunch and any learning materials.
Stay tuned for information about evening events and virtual training events!
2023 Lunch & Learn Events Schedule
| Date | Time & Location | Topic |
| June 27 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | Copies of the New Testament: The Artifacts that Carried the Word to Future Generations |
| July 25 | 12:00—1:00 pm @ the Hope Center Loft | Copyists of the New Testament: Scribes and their Faithful Efforts |
| September 12 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | Table of Contents: What is Inside New Testament Manuscripts? |
| November 7 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | “What is New Testament textual criticism?” |
If you have any questions about the Lunch and Learn events, contact Todd Leibovitz at tleibovitz@csntm.org.
STAFF
Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
Executive Director
Mark Gaither
Chief Operating Officer
David Flood II
Lead Research Fellow
Elijah Hixson, PhD
Research Fellow
Preston Russell
Research Coordinator
CSNTM & Staff Products
Welcome!
Each of the products featured here is the creation of CSNTM staff, often in collaboration with other scholars.
All proceeds are used to preserve ancient New Testament manuscripts.
Featured Products
All Products
My Cart
Your cart is currently empty.
My account
Login
Colophon Subscription
Enter your name and email address to receive email notifications for new content added to the Colophon!
PRODUCTS
The CSNTM team produced resources available for purchase.
All proceeds are used to preserve ancient New Testament manuscripts.
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection & P47 Transcription Bundle
Bundle and save! This bundle includes both, the facsimile collection and the P47 transcription, for extra savings.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD! (Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46, and P47
The New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46 and P47 brings three of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible to a modern audience. The partially preserved papyrus codices P45, P46, and P47 are dated from the third century and contain passages from all four Gospels, the book of Acts, the Pauline epistles, the book of Hebrews, and the book of Revelation, making them some of the most significant witnesses to early Christian Scripture that exist today.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD! (Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyrus P47: A Transcription
This companion to the groundbreaking two-volume facsimile edition of P45, P46, and P47, contains (1) a general essay that introduces all three papyri and that discusses the methodology The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts used for digitizing and transcribing them, and (2) a meticulous and thoroughly vetted transcription of P47.
Together with the accompanying facsimile edition, the present volume will give scholars and students of New Testament manuscripts an unparalleled encounter with these crucial witnesses to the Bible’s textual history.
About the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts:
Founded by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, CSNTM utilizes emerging technologies to preserve and study Greek New Testament manuscripts. They have collaborated with more than forty institutions across four continents to produce thousands of images of New Testament manuscripts. In the process, CSNTM has discovered scores of New Testament manuscripts.
Giving Tuesday 2022
Seize opportunities to digitally preserve important New Testament manuscripts and valuable historic artifacts for a better understanding of the text and its history.
Thank you for preserving the text and manuscripts of the New Testament for an accurate understanding of the text and to share with future generations.
VIDEOS
2011 SMU Debate
Expedition Highlight Videos
Lambeth Palace Library, London
National Library of Greece, Athens
Digitizing GA 2364,
University of Michigan
New Testament Textual Criticism Resources
Ask the Prof
The Basics of New Testament Textual Criticism
Find more videos like these in the CSNTM Apple Podcast Series: The Basics of New Testament Textual Criticism, Disputed New Testament Passages, Famous Manuscripts and the Stories Behind Them, Scribal Methods and Materials, Pioneers of the Trade.
MANUSCRIPTS 101
Why Manuscripts?: The Value of Studying Ancient Documents
Authors of the New Testament penned their words long before the advent of the printing press. As their work circulated, scribes copied the wording from these documents in order to share the letters, historical accounts, and prophecies further. The authors’ original manuscripts no longer exist, most likely having disintegrated with time and use. Thousands of extant handwritten copies, however, contain the text transmitted by the original authors, some reaching back as early as the second century AD. These Greek New Testament manuscripts today serve as the primary source of accounts of Jesus and the apostles. CSNTM seeks to continue the work of scribes by preserving copies of the New Testament, albeit in digital rather than material form, for generations to come.
Beyond Textual Studies
Art historians, papyrologists, codicologists, paleographers, and archivists have a significant interest in New Testament manuscripts. These artifacts attest to the history of writing, art, and bookmaking. Some researchers endeavor to trace the transmission history and evidence of how people interacted with the documents. Illustrations, commentary, marginal notes, and even the location of wax drippings from ancient candles reveal the attention and passion with which people of earlier centuries approached the pages of Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Descriptions for different features and components of the manuscripts in CSNTM’s digital collection are below.
GA NUMBERS
The Gregory-Aland (GA) numbers refer to a system formed by the work of New Testament scholars Caspar René Gregory and Kurt Aland that makes up the Kurzgefaßte Liste “brief list”, the official catalogue of Greek New Testament Manuscripts. The GA system is the standard way of referring to Greek New Testament manuscripts in New Testament textual criticism
The GA number system designates categories that scholars use to organize and refer to New Testament manuscripts. Each category takes different forms based on the materials and handwriting of each manuscript. See examples of the different GA number forms and what they describe:
GA P46
The P designation indicates papyrus documents. The earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts were written on papyrus, a material made from the papyrus plant. Manuscripts in this category were written in a majuscule script, an early form of Greek handwriting. They differ from the majuscule category by the material on which they were written.
GA 777
GA numbers, which do not begin with a zero, indicate documents written in minuscule handwriting, which was used by later scribes. Minuscule handwriting changed over time as scribes used it. Every form, though, is indicated by a number 1–2900+ following “GA.”
GA 038
GA numbers that begin with a zero indicate majuscule manuscripts. This category of manuscript includes those written in majuscule script on parchment, differentiating them from papyrus manuscripts. A capital letter and a corresponding descriptive name serve as alternate titles for majuscules GA 01–045.
GA Lect 430
The abbreviation “lect” or a cursive letter “l” indicates lectionary books. These New Testament documents contain Scripture readings according to the liturgical calendar. Some Greek New Testaments include a lectionary guide, which indicates which passage gatherings should read on certain dates without changing the ordering of the books or chapters. Lectionary books, however, are ordered and arranged according to the church calendar.
MATERIALS & HANDWRITING
MATERIALS
Papyrus
Papyrus is an ancient writing surface made from the papyrus plant. The earliest extant copies of the New Testament were written on this material.
Parchment
Parchment was a common writing surface from the 4th to 14th centuries, made of animal skin. Tanners took the hides of animals, cleaned them, and stretched them thin to produce large sheets. The sheets were folded into quires, which are gatherings of parchment leaves, often grouped with other folded quires and bound into a codex, an antique version of a book.
Paper
Both parchment and paper were available for manuscript production in the medieval period. The widespread opinion held that parchment was the more durable of the two materials. Paper, therefore, appeared less commonly until the advent of the printing press. Once paper production increased, the material was more frequently selected.
HANDWRITING
Majuscule Handwriting
Scribes used a majuscule handwriting from the 4th century B.C. until about the 9th century A.D., though we find the usage of this script continuing beyond the 9th century in some liturgical texts. The style of majuscule changed throughout the period of its use but remained in this form, which is somewhat equivalent to capital letters.
Minuscule Handwriting
A more compact and efficient form of writing, the minuscule script developed after majuscule handwriting. Over the course of its use, minuscule handwriting morphed into different styles, including many ligatures and shorthand forms.
MANUSCRIPT CONTENT
Any manuscript on the Liste, the official list of Greek New Testament manuscripts, contains anywhere from a few verses to every book of the New Testament. Most Greek New Testament manuscripts only contain portions of the New Testament, a few books or even a few chapters. Larger categories help us to group manuscripts together based on their content.
The traditional categories are:
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Pauline: Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews
Acts and Catholic Epistles: Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude
Apocalypse/Revelation : Revelation
CSNTM website users may search for manuscripts according to the above-mentioned categories by using the filters on the left side of the digital manuscript collection page.
Donate
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, was founded in September 2002 by noted New Testament scholar and professor, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, to utilize emerging technologies to photograph and fully archive all known Greek New Testament manuscripts. Since that time, we have partnered with hundreds of individuals and dozens of institutions to digitally preserve thousands of pages and made them available online. Join the effort to preserve Greek New Testament manuscripts and provide unprecedented access for any who wish to view or study them.
Manage your donor profile and subscription here: https://csntm.givevirtuous.org/
ARCHIVING AND POST-PRODUCTION
CSNTM serves as stewards of the images that it captures, both in terms of preservation and presentation. The utmost care and attention, therefore, is given to accurately representing each manuscript through consistent and excellent images. After the team captures images, CSNTM stores the data in multiple secure locations and provides the manuscript owner with files and metadata for each artifact, safely preserving images for generations to come.
POST-PRODUCTION
CSNTM aims to present the most accurate rendering of the artifact. Careful quality control measures on-site ensure that the caliber of every image meets “practical perfection.” Then, an initial backup is made. After the digitizing teams return to the office, the images are moved onto the local server, and additional backup processes are conducted. The final steps involve the preparation of images for display on the CSNTM website including tagging of important features and indexing.
CSNTM provides a complete archival copy of images to the library. This copy includes whatever format of images a library requests including RAW, TIFF, and JPEG. In every case, the owner of the manuscripts retains all rights to the images CSNTM produces, and they may use them however they wish. We simply request approval to post them in our manuscript library for viewing.
ARCHIVING
CSNTM stores the thousands of digital manuscript images on a local server which resides in a climate-controlled server room with fire controls. This server is backed up with a RAID 6 protocol that involves multiple redundancies in order to ensure that the images last for generations to come. One redundancy involves a backup to two separate international locations which further ensures safe preservation. The backup occurs in standard archival formats and in accordance with best practices in order to guard against the obsolescence of the data.
PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the www.CSNTM.org website (“Site”). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and services offered by Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts.
PRIVACY POLICY
Personal identification information
We may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when Users visit our site, register on the site, subscribe to the newsletter, fill out a form, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources we make available on our Site. Users may be asked for, as appropriate, name, email address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information. Users may, however, visit our Site anonymously. We will collect personal identification information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personally identification information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site related activities.
Non-personal identification information
We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about Users means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized and other similar information.
Web browser cookies
Our Site may use “cookies” to enhance User experience. User’s web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. User may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.
How we use collected information
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts may collect and use Users personal information for the following purposes:
- – To improve customer service
Information you provide helps us respond to your customer service requests and support needs more efficiently. - – To personalize user experience
We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Users as a group use the services and resources provided on our Site. - – To improve our Site
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Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
2001 W. Plano Parkway STE 1043 Plano, TX 75075
info@csntm.org
LEADERSHIP
CSNTM
Board of Directors
Executive Director
Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Chairman of the Board
Susan Hutchinson
Executive Director, Simonyi Fund, Seattle
Director
W. Hall Harris III, PhD
Senior Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Director
Gregory H. Bledsoe, MD, MPH
Surgeon General of the State of Arkansas
Director
Amy S. Anderson, PhD
Director of the Center for Ancient Texts and Languages
Director
Michael Holmes, PhD
Director of the Museum of the Bible Scholars Initiative
Director
Tommy Wasserman, PhD
Professor of Biblical Studies at Ansgar Teologiske Høgskole, Kristiansand, Norway
CSNTM
International Advisory Board
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) works with an International Advisory Board of experts in New Testament manuscript studies, library sciences, and digital preservation from leading international institutions. This board helps facilitate the Center’s digitization efforts around the world. Greek New Testament manuscripts are in more than 250 sites worldwide, and this global team desires to see them digitized and made available for all to study.
The members of the International Advisory Board are:
Athanasios Antonopoulos
Faculty of Social Theology, School of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Emanuel Contac
Faculty Member, Pentecostal Theological Institute, Bucharest
Simon Crisp
Coordinator for Scholarly Editions and Translation Standards, United Bible Societies
Fionnula Croke
Director, The Chester Beatty, Dublin
J. Keith Elliott
Emeritus Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism, University of Leeds
Brendan Haug
Assistant Professor of Classical Studies and Archivist of the Papyrology Collection, University of Michigan
Paul Foster
Professor in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
Christos Karakolis
Associate Professor at Faculty of Theology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
David C. Parker
Professor of Digital Philology and Founder of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing, University of Birmingham
Holger Strutwolf
University Professor and Director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research and the Bible Museum, University of Münster
Andrei Tarlescu
Historian and Scientific Researcher, Library of the Romanian Academy, Biblioteca Academiei Române
Ekaterini Tsalampouni
Lecturer on the New Testament at the School of Social and Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Peter J. Williams
Principal, Tyndale House, Cambridge, and Affiliated Lecturer, University of Cambridge
Stavros Zoumboulakis
President of the Board of Directors, National Library of Greece and Chairman, Artos Zois
Georgi Parpulov
Research Fellow, Editio Critica Maior of the Septuagint Psalter, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities
CSNTM Digitization Proposal
PowerPoint Proposal
Our Mission and Vision
Lunch and Learn
You’re invited to join us for some delicious discussion about the New Testament text and manuscripts over lunch!
CSNTM will be hosting Lunch and Learn events five times this year (see the schedule below) from noon to 1 pm at the Hope Center in Plano, TX. Each time a staff member will teach on a topic related to the New Testament, its history, the text, and the manuscripts. Space is limited to 25 participants for each lunch event and 60 participants for each evening event. The registration fee includes lunch and any learning materials.
Stay tuned for information about evening events and virtual training events!
2023 Lunch & Learn Events Schedule
| Date | Time & Location | Topic |
| June 27 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | Copies of the New Testament: The Artifacts that Carried the Word to Future Generations |
| July 25 | 12:00—1:00 pm @ the Hope Center Loft | Copyists of the New Testament: Scribes and their Faithful Efforts |
| September 12 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | Table of Contents: What is Inside New Testament Manuscripts? |
| November 7 | 12:00—1:00 pm @the Hope Center Loft | “What is New Testament textual criticism?” |
If you have any questions about the Lunch and Learn events, contact Todd Leibovitz at tleibovitz@csntm.org.
STAFF
Daniel B. Wallace, PhD
Executive Director
Mark Gaither
Chief Operating Officer
David Flood II
Lead Research Fellow
Elijah Hixson, PhD
Research Fellow
Preston Russell
Research Coordinator
Pete Forde
Development Manager
Leigh Ann Hyde
Communications Manager
Ed Komoszewski
Advisor to the Executive Director
Denis Salgado
Digital Collection Research Fellow
Todd Leibovitz
Office & Events Manager
TRAINING
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts trains people at any interest level on topics related to manuscripts, digital preservation, and New Testament textual criticism.
Students have the opportunity to participate in a year-long internship at the Center.
Scholars utilize manuscript images and collaborate with CSNTM on research projects.
Anyone can learn about the field of New Testament textual criticism, manuscripts, and the work of CSNTM by taking advantage of our resources.
Students
The Center trains the next generation of scholars by providing a rigorous internship program. Every year, 2–3 interns learn about the field of New Testament textual criticism under Dr. Wallace and our staff, hone their skills in working with Greek from New Testament manuscripts, and deepen their understanding of the importance of preserving ancient Christian scriptures. Select interns are invited to join CSNTM staff on expeditions to digitize manuscripts. Under Dr. Wallace, a large number of interns have gone on to pursue doctoral studies at prestigious universities such as Cambridge, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Baylor, Birmingham, Yale, Exeter, and The Catholic University of America.
For more information, email info@csntm.org.
Scholars
CSNTM’s work is utilized by scholars around the world, and its images have become essential in understanding the text of the New Testament. The staff members also work to collaborate with scholars on various research projects in multiple disciplines such as textual criticism, art history, paleography and papyrology, medieval studies, etc. The Center, at times, provides training and consultation in digital preservation and standards.
Anyone
We believe that preserving and sharing Greek New Testament manuscripts extends beyond those with technical knowledge. Whether students desire to increase their experience or interested individuals wish to understand more about textual criticism and the New Testament, we have a helpful collection of resources available. See our resources page for videos, instructions, and links to other helpful tools.
LINKS
Online Tools
Compare manuscripts side-by-side
Glossary of terms relevant to New Testament studies, textual criticism, and studies of Christian origin.
Online tool to assemble, link, and study fragments of Medieval manuscripts.
Select different options to see genealogical relationships of variants and manuscripts from the work that produced the Editio Critica Maior of the Catholic letters.
Multiple examples of datable Greek book hands.
English translation available online with notes on translation decisions.
Display any verse of the Greek New Testament along with variant readings of different texts.
Greek New Testament Editions
Published by INTF and edited by the German Bible Society (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)
Published by the German Bible Society.
Published by Tyndale House, with primary editors Dirk Jongkind, and editorial committee Dr. Peter Head and Dr. Peter Williams.
A diplomatic text comparing several editions of the Greek New Testament edited for SBL by Mike Holmes
This edition reflects the Byzantine/Majority text form.
“The New Testament in Original Greek” published in 1881, edited by Westcott and Hort.
Journals
A journal of biblical textual criticism.
An international peer-reviewed periodical whose contributors include the leading New Testament scholars writing in the world today.
A leading international journal devoted to the study of the New Testament and related subjects.
An international journal for the exegesis of the New Testament. Appearing annually in two issues of 150 pages each, it features original contributions in German, English, and French which have been written by well-known scholars worldwide.
The only North American journal in the field of papyrology.
The flagship journal of the field, the Journal of Biblical Literature is published quarterly and includes scholarly articles and critical notes by members of the Society of Biblical Literature.
Blogs
INTF Blog
Blog by Brent Nongbri, author of God’s Library and Professor of History of Religions at MF School of Theology, Religion, and Society in Oslo.
Regular blogs by active New Testament text critics in which they share their research, interesting finds, helpful resources, and reviews of the latest happenings in the field.
A blog maintained and updated by the faculty of the Amsterdam Centre for New Testament Studies (ACNTS).
Institutions and Projects
A website devoted to the study of the Greek New Testament. Researchers can search through various categories to find information, available images, and tools for any manuscript on the K-Liste.
Research program at Birmingham University using electronic tools for research projects and the latest editions of the Greek New Testament
A program of Phoenix Seminary producing academic research and resources concerning the origins of the Bible.
Research center at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary devoted to the study of the text of the New Testament and the manuscripts.
Study of the fragments of Origen’s Hexapla, OT Scriptures in Greek and Hebrew.
Digitized manuscripts held at the Vatican.
Digitized Greek manuscripts held at the various monasteries of Mt. Athos, Greece.
Website dedicated to the study of GA 01 containing the text, tools, and digital images of the manuscript.
Manuscript database of pre-modern handwritten texts collected and cataloged by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
NEWSLETTER ENROLLMENT
Stay Connected: Sign up for the CSNTM Newsletter
FAQ
Frequently Asked
Questions
How can I quickly narrow the results on the Manuscript Search page?
The fastest way to narrow the results is to click the box in front of the desired attribute(s) from the list on the left of the Manuscript Search page.
How do I use Manuscript Search?
The Manuscript Search screen has a box at the top with text that says, “Search by keyword or verse….” Click inside that box, and the text will be removed, awaiting your search query. This searches a manuscript’s name or number, shelf number, description, or contents.
What are the controls for the manuscript viewer?
ZOOM IN OR OUT:
- With the pointer inside the viewer, scroll up or down on the mouse or trackpad.
- Click the + or – in the upper left corner of the viewer.
- Double click in the viewer.
RETURN THE IMAGE TO ITS DEFAULT SIZE:
- Click the home icon in the upper left corner of the viewer.
MOVE THE IMAGE IN THE VIEWER:
- Click and drag the image with the mouse or trackpad.
- Click and drag the red box in the orientation thumbnail in the bottom right of the viewer.
- Use the arrow keys on the keyboard.
ENLARGE THE VIEWER TO FULL SCREEN
- Click the ‘toggle full screen’ icon in the upper left corner of the viewer
How do I use the filters on the viewer page for a particular manuscript?
Select Filters in the top right corner of the viewer page to reveal the filters on the left side of the window. Click once in a box, revealing a blue checkmark, to reveal images containing that specific feature. Click twice in a box, revealing a minus sign (-), in order to hide those image features.
How do I search for a specific verse or book within a manuscript?
Select Filters in the top right corner of the page to reveal the filters on the left side of the window. At the top of the filter section, you may use the drop-down menu to jump to a book within the manuscript. You may key in a specific verse in the search bar to locate it within the manuscript images. This feature is only available for manuscripts whose metadata has been tagged completely.
Why am I unable to search for every verse in a manuscript?
Updating the metadata for the images is a work in progress. Manuscript images that have been tagged with versification will return results for every verse entered. Additional versification results will be available as further tags are added. If you are proficient in Koine Greek and would like to help us tag manuscripts, please contact us.
Can I search by the CSNTM Image Id or the CSNTM Image Name?
Such functionality is not currently available. You may search by GA number, location, shelf number, description, or contents.
Why isn’t my image loading?
An image not loading in the viewer could be the result of any number of factors. CSNTM always tries to utilize the highest quality images, even microfilm. This results in large file sizes. Such sizes often take a while to load but result in high-quality images for research. If your image is not loading, first try refreshing the web page. This should resolve most issues. If there is still an issue, please contact CSNTM.
How can I tell which image is currently displayed in the viewer?
The image that is currently displayed will have a blue box surrounding its thumbnail image, directly above the viewer. You may also select “image details” in the top right section of the viewer page, and look below the viewer to see the metadata which indicates the filename and image details.
How can I select what I see on the viewer page?
In the top-right screen are three buttons that select and unselect what appears on the viewer page as you use it. When selected, the button appears gray and “pushed down,” when unselected it is white and appears raised.
- Filters reveal the checkboxes for filters available for the selected manuscript. They appear to the left of the thumbnails and viewer. This feature allows you to search for specific images within the manuscript. When unselected, you will not see the filter boxes.
- Thumbnails when selected will show thumbnails of each image to the left of the viewer. They are arranged vertically in a scroll-down bar so that you can scroll, search, and select specific images. If you wish to hide the thumbnail bar, you may unselect the button at the top right of the screen.
- Image Details display below the viewer. This section contains image names and metadata for the particular image in view. You may unselect them so that they do not appear below the viewer as you are looking at images in the viewer.
How can I tag an image?
The search results are improved by recording metadata for images. A website user can help to improve the database by suggesting tags to be associated with images. To make a suggestion, click on the blue button at the bottom of the manuscript page that reads, “Suggest an edit to this image’s tags.” A new window will open where suggested edits can be recorded and submitted to CSNTM. Upon review and approval, the image’s tag will be updated. If you are interested in volunteering to tag an entire manuscript, please contact us.
What is the “Description of Manuscript / Informational Document” and how do I access it?
“Description of Manuscript” or “Informational Document” refers to a document created by CSNTM which is used in manuscript digitization. It is an ‘autopsy’ of sorts, detailing vital information about a manuscript. For manuscripts digitized by CSNTM, this document may be accessed from individual manuscript pages. Click the link (blue font) that says, “Description of Manuscript” or “Informational Document.” A new window will open where the document will be displayed or downloaded in PDF format. A PDF reader is required.
What does “GA” stand for?
“GA” refers to the standard New Testament manuscript numbering system—Gregory-Aland—which was started by Caspar René Gregory and ultimately continued by Kurt Aland. We catalogue our images according to the GA number. You may search for the shelf number in the search bar.
Facsimiles Collection
The CSNTM team produced resources available for purchase.
All proceeds are used to preserve ancient New Testament manuscripts.
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection & P47 Transcription Bundle
Bundle and save! This bundle includes both, the facsimile collection and the P47 transcription, for extra savings.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD! (Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46, and P47
The New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46 and P47 brings three of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible to a modern audience. The partially preserved papyrus codices P45, P46, and P47 are dated from the third century and contain passages from all four Gospels, the book of Acts, the Pauline epistles, the book of Hebrews, and the book of Revelation, making them some of the most significant witnesses to early Christian Scripture that exist today.
Exclusive offer: the facsimile collection signed by Senior Editor, Daniel B. Wallace, PhD!(Quantities limited)
New Testament Papyrus P47: A Transcription
This companion to the groundbreaking two-volume facsimile edition of P45, P46, and P47, contains (1) a general essay that introduces all three papyri and that discusses the methodology The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts used for digitizing and transcribing them, and (2) a meticulous and thoroughly vetted transcription of P47.
Together with the accompanying facsimile edition, the present volume will give scholars and students of New Testament manuscripts an unparalleled encounter with these crucial witnesses to the Bible’s textual history.
About the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts:
Founded by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, CSNTM utilizes emerging technologies to preserve and study Greek New Testament manuscripts. They have collaborated with more than forty institutions across four continents to produce thousands of images of New Testament manuscripts. In the process, CSNTM has discovered scores of New Testament manuscripts.
SNAPSHOT
Enjoy a casual evening with Dan Wallace, the staff of CSNTM, and a growing community of people who want to preserve the words of the New Testament.
Explore some of CSNTM’s rare books, artifacts, and equipment while rubbing shoulders with the staff who use them. Dan and other staff members will share updates on CSNTM’s latest work and share a sneak peek at what’s coming up next. Whether you’ve been a part of the community since the beginning or just learned of the Center, we invite you to join us.
We’re hosting two Snapshot events at two different locations in 2023! Join us at the Hope Center in Plano, Texas in April or at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas in October.
HOW TO USE THE DIGITAL MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION
Questions or Trouble?
Users may contact the CSNTM team with questions about manuscripts by emailing manuscripts@csntm.org. Other queries, not specifically related to manuscripts, may be sent to info@csntm.org.
CSNTM aims to make all Greek New Testaments available in complete archival digital images to any who wish to view them.
The benefit of a digital manuscript collection lies in the fact that the mileage between the physical locations of the manuscripts reduces to the click of a mouse. To accomplish this, the CSNTM team has traveled across the globe to partner with institutions that own Greek New Testament manuscripts. Other institutions and manuscript owners that have already digitized their collections have generously shared their images with the CSNTM digital manuscript collection. By increasing the collection, CSNTM aids scholars by creating a thorough and complete database of excellent images of the Greek New Testament, a ‘one-stop-shop’ suited for intently studying manuscript pages through digital images.
Search the Digital Manuscript Collection
The CSNTM digital manuscript collection employs two tools to aid in searching for a specific manuscript. The first is the search bar at the top of the manuscript home page. Users may simply type in the GA number, institution, book of the New Testament, material, or shelf number to bring up any associated manuscript entries. A second tool is the filter feature found on the left side of the page. Selecting certain features limits the search results to include only those which have been marked.
Once a search has been executed, users may browse the entries which meet the specifications of the search to select a manuscript for viewing.
View a Manuscript
To enter the viewer page for a manuscript, a user must click the VIEW button within the entry on the search.
Users may scroll through the thumbnails on the left of the viewer page to select the page to be displayed on the viewer screen. Toggle features allow for users to use the mouse or the ZOOM IN and ZOOM OUT buttons, in the top left of the viewer, to examine features more acutely. Clicking the HOME button restores the image to 100% size. A full-screen option is available for each image, opened by selecting the TOGGLE FULL-SCREEN button to the right of the HOME button.
Users may select the panels they wish to display with the buttons above the top right corner of the viewer. The thumbnail bar to the left of the viewer allows users to see which page is currently being displayed in the viewer. Users may scroll down and select a thumbnail for display in the viewer. When selected, viewer filters appear to the left of the thumbnail bar. The filter bar allows users to jump to a book, passage, or selected features. Double-clicking on any feature serves as a “negative selection,” and removes those features from the images for viewing.
Another way in which users can specify which images appear in the thumbnail selection for the viewer is by changing the viewing format. Below the buttons for FILTERS, THUMBNAILS, and DETAILS is a drop-down menu to select viewing format.
- BOOK VIEW – displays the manuscript as a book, starting with the cover, and then opens to two pages at once, the backside of the previous page and the front side of the next, as if reading a book.
- COVERS AND COLOR – displays only images of the cover and color chart. These are removed from “book view” to preserve the feel of reading a book.
- ALL IMAGES – includes both sets, the “book view” images and the “cover and color chart” images. In this view, one image, as one page at a time displays in the viewer.
Manuscript Details
Details about the manuscript selected for viewing display above the viewer. These details include classification, date, location, material, features, and a description. When CSNTM digitizes manuscripts, these details are recorded before shooting. To view all the recorded information, click MORE MANUSCRIPT INFORMATION for a pop-up window.
Metadata tags for each image are displayed below the manuscript viewer. At the present time, image tagging is a manual collaborative work in progress. Though our team of staff and volunteers have worked hard to tag a great number of manuscripts, many still lack thorough metadata tagging. Individuals who are interested in helping to tag manuscript images may share their interest with CSNTM by emailing info@csntm.org.
COLLABORATION
Collaboration with various institutes and individuals in bringing a manuscript from the library’s shelf to a researcher’s computer screen is a central focus of the Center’s mission.
CSNTM collaborates daily with individuals and institutions who both own manuscripts and view the images. While we want to create the best possible viewing experience on our website, we hold this goal in tension with our commitments to honor the contracts and wishes of each holding institution.
COLLABORATION WITH INSTITUTIONS
Collaboration with various institutes and individuals in bringing a manuscript from the library’s shelf to a researcher’s computer screen is a central focus of the Center’s mission. CSNTM collaborates daily with individuals and institutions who both own manuscripts and view the images. While we want to create the best possible viewing experience on our website, we hold this goal in tension with our commitments to honor the contracts and wishes of each holding institution.
Each digitization project begins with a contract agreement between CSNTM and the owner of the manuscript(s) to be digitized. The CSNTM team works hard to honor those willing to partner with us. One aspect of our contract has always been that the library will retain all the rights to the images. We simply ask that we be allowed to display them on our website and keep a copy in our archives for preservation. In order to accomplish these things, CSNTM’s viewer has various safety protocols that inhibit researchers from downloading images. The images are freely available for viewing and protected according to each institution’s request.
Adding externally obtained images to the digital manuscript library allows for researchers to access more Greek New Testament manuscripts in a single location. Besides creating more efficiency for scholars who view Greek New Testament manuscripts, CSNTM also has the opportunity to bring the attention of students of the New Testament to the various institutions that hold the sacred artifacts. Whenever we add a new manuscript entry to the digital library, links are also provided to the institution that owns and, in the case of externally obtained images, digitized the Greek New Testament manuscript.
COLLABORATION WITH RESEARCHERS
The Center regularly collaborates with numerous scholars and institutes in various fields of study. Primarily, the focus of collaboration is on providing images for researchers: art historians, text critics, paleographers, papyrologists, codicologists, archivists, and other digitization experts on various projects. Beyond those who view manuscripts for technical review and discovery, many interested individuals have made use of the digital library for teaching and personal learning. CSNTM seeks to provide the best viewing experience possible for researchers who utilize images from the digital library.
The CSNTM team has designed the digital library and manuscript viewer to attend to the needs of the various users of the website. If a user wishes to access to a privately held image, he or she may inquire about permissions via email to manuscripts@csntm.org.
CSNTM does not allow image downloads from our website. Individuals may request images for usages that fall within Fair Use or for publishing. In both cases, they would contact CSNTM by emailing info@csntm.org the manuscript(s)’s holding institution to inquire permission. When images are requested to be included in a published work, CSNTM requires that the user complete an Image Use Agreement (link?) and abide by all points outlined. For more information, see CSNTM’s Terms of Use and Copyright Policy.
MANUSCRIPTS 101
Why manuscripts?
Authors of the New Testament penned their words long before the advent of the printing press. As they circulated, scribes copied the wording from these documents in order to share the letters, historical accounts, and prophecies. The original manuscripts of the authors no longer exist in a physical state, having disintegrated with time and use. Thousands of extant handwritten copies, however, contain the text which scribes transmitted in their work, some reaching back as early as the second century AD.
Beyond textual studies, art historians, papyrologists, codicologists, paleographers, and archivists have significant interest in New Testament manuscripts. These artifacts attest to the history of writing, art, and book making. Some researchers endeavor to trace the transmission history and evidence of how people interacted with the documents. Illustrations, commentary, marginal notes, and even the location of wax dripped from ancient candles reveal the attention to and passion with which people of early centuries approached the pages of codices.
Descriptions for different features and components of the manuscripts in CSNTM’s collection are below. For more on New Testament textual criticism, see the Resources (link), Books (link), and Videos (link).
GA
The GA numbers take different forms based on the materials and handwriting of each manuscript. Those forms also designate the grouping system:
GA P1
The P designation indicates papyrus documents. The earliest Greek New Testament manuscripts were written on papyrus.
GA 1
GA numbers, which do not begin with a zero, indicate documents written in minuscule handwriting, which was used by later scribes. Minuscule handwriting changed over time as scribes used it. Every form, though, is indicated by a number 1–2900+ following “GA.”
GA 01
GA numbers that begin with a zero indicate majuscule manuscripts. The earliest scribes used majuscule handwriting. Since the papyrus manuscripts show a majuscule hand, those designated as majuscule on the K-Liste include majuscules written on different material, parchment, used by later users of this kind of handwriting. Majuscules GA 01–045 also have an associated sigla, a capital letter, and a descriptive name.
GA Lect 1
The abbreviation “lect” indicates lectionary books. These New Testament documents contain readings according to the liturgical calendar. Some Greek New Testaments include a lectionary guide, which indicates which passage gatherings should read on certain dates. Lectionary books, however, are arranged according to the calendar.
MANUSCRIPTS 101
Materials and Handwriting
As expressed under GA above, both the materials used to make the manuscript and the handwriting used in it aid in its categorization. The qualities also reveal important details about the manuscript’s age and production.
Papyrus
Papyrus is an ancient writing surface made of the papyrus plant. The earliest extant copies of the New Testament were written on this material.
Majuscule Handwriting
Scribes used a majuscule handwriting from the 4th century B.C.E. until about the 9th century C.E, though we find the usage of this script continuing beyond the 9th century in some liturgical texts. The style changed throughout but remained in this form, which is somewhat equivalent to capital letters.
Minuscule Handwriting
A more compact and efficient form of writing, minuscule handwriting developed after majuscule handwriting,. Over the course of its use, minuscule handwriting morphed to different forms, and many ligatures developed within it. Most students require much time and practice to achieve proficiency in reading minuscule handwriting.
Parchment
Parchment, a common writing surface from the 5th to 14th centuries, was made of animal skin. Craftsmen took the hides of animals, cleaned them, and stretched them thin to produce large sheets. The sheets were folded into quires, often grouped with other folded quires, and bound into a codex, an antique version of a book very similar to those we carry around.
Paper
Both parchment and paper were available for manuscript production in the medieval period. The widespread opinion held that parchment was the more durable of the two materials. Paper therefore appeared less commonly until the advent of the printing press. Once paper production increased, the material was more frequently selected.
MANUSCRIPT CONTENT
In the digital manuscript library, each manuscript entry has been tagged according to the larger category that its contents fall into.
Those categories are:
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Pauline: Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews
Acts and Catholic Epistles: Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude
Acts and Catholic Epistles: Acts, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude
Apocalypse/Revelation
Most Greek New Testament manuscripts only contain portions of the New Testament. Frequently the extant copies contain a collection, one book, or only a portion of a book.
MANUSCRIPT CONTENT
Lectionaries contain New Testament text in a special arrangement. They sometimes include other readings according to the calendar of lections. Their contents can be described by the New Testament text included or by the calendar days for which reading is included.
Those calendar day designations, often indicated in literature by a lowercase letter, are:
Weekday readings: (e)
Saturday readings: (sk)
Weekday readings from Easter to Pentecost, Saturday/Sunday reading for other weeks: (esk)
Selected days only: (sel)
Psalms with Biblical odes: (PsO)
Liturgical book containing an assortment of NT texts (Lit)
MANUSCRIPT FEATURES
The New Testament manuscripts contain more than just copied text. Readers aids, ornamentations, notes, and more are transmitted along with the Scriptures. Select the filters on the left of the library main page to find manuscripts containing those you wish to see.
Canon Tables
These are usually located near the beginning of a manuscript and come in two forms. They can be plain, having only a list of the reference numbers for the various pericopae, or sections of scripture, or they can be ornamented and colorful. In both cases, the reference numbers are written with the Greek number system and not Arabic numerals. For more about canon tables, read From the Library: Eusebian Canons in Greek New Testament Manuscripts.
Colophon
This consists of a final scribal note indicating important information about where or when the manuscript was transcribed. It might also include who wrote it and some form of blessing.
Commentary
Some manuscripts have commentary on the text that is either interlinear or in the margins. Scribes sometimes distinguish the biblical text from the commentary by employing a different color of ink for each portion. Other times, the commentary wraps around the text which stands in the middle of the page.
Cruciform
The text forms the shape of a cross on the page.
Ekthesis or Ornamented Letter
A feature common to New Testament manuscript. The scribe draws an oversized letter to indicate the beginning of a new section of text. These letters can simply be oversized and offset or they can be beautifully illustrated. For more about ekthesis and ornamented letters read From the Library: Decorated Letters in Greek New Testament Manuscripts
Headpieces
These are drawings inserted between sections of text, indicating a change in section. Headpieces often involved color and ornate patterns.
Icon
Icons are illustrations included in the manuscript. Among icons, readers most commonly find author portraits, marking the beginning of the Gospel book associated with them. Others include biblical figures, narrative scenes from the accompanying Scripture, saints honored historically in churches, and even those who commissioned a manuscript’s production.
Inscriptio
This is a title for the section. It is normally written in different color ink and a more stylized hand. Often, the title is abbreviated in some way.
Introduction/Hypothesis
In the transmission of the text, traditional introductions to each New Testament book made their way into the manuscripts. As we would expect, these appear before the book they introduce when scribes include them.
Kephalaia
The New Testament pericopae received chapter titles of a sort. Kephalaia are somewhat similar to the headings found in many English headings to describe the section that follows. Typically, they are present in list form prior to each book. They normally begin with the preposition περί.
Lectionary Guide
Similar to kephalaia, these list the lections from a particular book and pertinent information concerning them. They can be found in any manuscript, not just lectionaries, and are sometimes placed at the end of the codex.
Marginal Notes
Sometimes scribes or those who used manuscripts made notes in the margin, separate from the commentary. This is normally a block of text written in a hand distinct from the rest of the text.
Obelisks/Dots/Other Scribal Notes
These terms refer to any symbols that a scribe might have made in the margin. They differ from marginal notes in that they constitute one to two words or a symbol. They serve as readers’ aids, indications of other glosses for words, or potential other readings of the verse from other manuscripts.
Stichometry
Found at the end of a New Testament book, stichoi refer to the number of lines a scribe copied and was used to determine the scribe’s pay. The word is normally abbreviated after a subscriptio and precedes a Greek numeral.
PAST PROJECTS
Complete list of past projects
EUROPE
• Bible Museum, Münster, Westphalia, Germany (2002–2003)
• Tübingen University Library, Tübingen, Germany (2003)
• Ecumenical Patriarchate, Constantinople, Turkey (2004)
• Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Patmos, Greece (2006–2008)
• National Archives, Tirana, Albania (2007–2008)
• University of Glasgow Library, Glasgow, Scotland (2008)
• St Andrews University Library, St Andrews, Scotland (2008)
• De Hamel Collection, Cambridge, England (2008)
• Christ’s College, Cambridge, England (2008)
• Clare College, Cambridge, England (2008)
• Tyndale House, Cambridge, England (2008)
• Arundel Castle, England (2008)
• Leicestershire Record Office, Leicester, England (2008)
• Bavarian State Library, Munich, Germany (2009)
• Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece (2009)
• National History Museum, Historical and Ethnological Society, Athens, Greece (2009)
• Private Collection, United Kingdom (2009)
• Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece (2010–2011)
• Museum of Literature, Iasi, Romania (2010)
• Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy (2011)
• Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece (2012)
• University of Athens Historical Museum, Athens, Greece (2012)
• Zagora Historical Library, Athens, Greece (2012–2013)
• Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, Ireland (2013)
• National Library of Greece, Athens, Greece (2014–16)
• University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland (2016)
• Tatarnis Monastery, Tripotamon, Greece (2017)
• Panagias Monastery, Proussos, Greece (2017)
• Library of the Hellenic Parliament, Athens, Greece (2018)
• Byzantine Museum of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece (2018)
• Institute for Papyrology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany (2018)
• Erzabtei St. Martin zu Beuron, Beuron, Germany (2019)
• Lambeth Palace Library, London, United Kingdom (2022)
ASIA
• National Centre of Manuscripts, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia (2018)
AUSTRALIA
• Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia (2009)
• Auckland Public Library, Auckland, New Zealand (2009)
NORTH AMERICA
• Charles C. Ryrie Private Collection, Dallas, Texas, USA (2003–2004)
• Private Collection, Dallas, TX (2003)
• Private Collection, Pennsylvania (2005)
• The Scriptorium, Orlando, Florida, USA (2008)
• Gruber Collection, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Maywood, Illinois, USA (2010)
• Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, USA (2010) (2019)
• Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, USA (2012)
• Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (2012)
• American Bible Society, New York City, New York, USA (2012)
• New York Public Library, Rare Books and Manuscripts Division, New York City, New York, USA (2012)
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA (2008) (2014)
• Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, USA (2014)
• Houston Baptist University, Houston, Texas, USA (2019, 2022)
• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, USA (2019)
• Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C., USA (2022)
MISSION
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM), under the umbrella of The Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents (CRECD), exists for the following purposes:
OUR MISSION
PROVIDE
To provide digital photographs of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts so that such images can be preserved, duplicated without deterioration, and accessed by scholars doing textual research.
ANALYZE
To analyze individual scribal habits in order to better predict scribal tendencies in any given textual problem.
PUBLISH
To publish on various facets of New Testament textual criticism.
UTILIZE
To utilize developing technologies (e.g. OCR and MSI) to read these manuscripts and create exhaustive transcriptions.
DEVELOP
To develop electronic tools for the examination and analysis of New Testament manuscripts.
COOPERATE
To cooperate with other institutes in the great and noble task of determining the wording of the autographa of the New Testament.
HISTORY
SEPTEMBER 2002 – PRESENT
On September 13, 2002, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace founded the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) to utilize emerging technologies to preserve and study Greek New Testament manuscripts. Since then, CSNTM has collaborated with more than forty institutes on four continents to produce hundreds of thousands of images of New Testament manuscripts. Along with digitally preserving these treasured documents, CSNTM has made many of them widely available for viewing and study online. CSNTM has discovered dozens of New Testament manuscripts. View these images at CSNTM’s digital manuscript collection. In recent years, CSNTM expanded operations to include digitizing documents and artifacts important to the history, transmission, and study of the Greek New Testament. Along with the growing set of digitized resources, the Center seeks to expand the in-house library and host scholarly gatherings to continue the work of preserving and understanding the text and history of the New Testament.
Forum
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Donating Stocks and Bonds
You can donate stocks and bonds directly to the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. In fact, you may potentially receive significant tax savings if you have had stocks for more than a year and are worth more than what you purchased them for. This can be a great way to invest in the Center’s mission and take advantage of the benefits for charitable giving in the U.S. Tax Code.
How It Works
Gifts of stocks or bonds can be given directly to CSNTM; you don’t have to sell them first. This can be done in one of two ways:
First, give securely through our partner, Overflow.
Second, contact your broker directly with this information handy:
1. CSNTM’s Broker: Vanguard
2. CSNTM’s DTC Number: 0062
3. CSNTM’s Account Name: Center for the Research of Early Christian Documents
4. CSNTM’s Account Number: 87620242
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If you process the stock donation manually, CSNTM Will Need This Information:
Please send the following information via email or letter to Mark Gaither or Pete Forde. Without this information, the transfer may show up anonymously without any information identifying you as the donor.
1. Your name, address, email address, and phone number
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Contact Us
Mark Gaither, Chief Operating Officer
001.972.941.4521
mgaither@csntm.org
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The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. You should consult with your financial planner regarding the best options for managing your assets and giving to charitable causes.
CSNTM is a US-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the Federal Tax ID: 30-0121808.
New Testament PAPYRI COLLECTION
EXCLUSIVE OFFER! SIGNED BY THE EDITORS.
New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection
P45, P46 & P47
$299.99
ABOUT
This New Testament Papyri facsimile collection brings three of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible to a modern audience. The partially preserved papyrus codices P45, P46, and P47 are dated from the third century and contain passages from all four Gospels, the book of Acts, the Pauline epistles, the book of Hebrews, and the book of Revelation, making them some of the most significant witnesses to early Christian Scripture that exist today. This collection bears heavily on our current understanding of the origins of the biblical text.
Here published in facsimile for the first time in over 80 years, this collection—created by the groundbreaking digitization work of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, under the direction of Dr. Daniel B. Wallace—updates the previously published edition, which was produced from 1933 to 1937.
Printed in duplicate against white and black backgrounds, the high-resolution images in this facsimile edition reproduce the fragmented papyri in stunning clarity at their actual size, offering scholars and students of New Testament manuscripts an unparalleled encounter with these crucial witnesses to the Bible’s textual history.
Product Details
Price: $299.99
Size: 9 x 12 inches
Binding: Two hardcover volumes in slipcover
Pages: 640
ISBN: 9781619708440
ISBN-13: 9781619708440
About the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts:
Founded by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, CSNTM utilizes emerging technologies to preserve and study Greek New Testament manuscripts. They have collaborated with more than forty institutions across four continents to produce thousands of images of New Testament manuscripts. In the process, CSNTM has discovered scores of New Testament manuscripts.
THE COLOPHON
Andrew J. Patton (4) Ask the Prof (3) Colophon (3) CSNTM (13) Daniel B Wallace (19) Denis Salgado (4) Digital Manuscript Collection (32) Digitization (6) Elijah Hixson (9) Events (3) Expeditions (7) Facsimile (5) GA 69 (3) GA 106 (4) GA 545 (3) GA 807 (3) GA 2882 (4) GA Lect 2434 (5) Gospels (4) Greek New Testament (5) Interns (4) Internship (4) Joy Singh (3) Lambeth Palace Library (5) Lectionaries (4) Lectionary (9) Majuscule (4) Manuscripts (49) Manuscripts 101 (8) Microfilm (4) Minuscule (10) MSI (4) Multispectral Imaging (3) Museum of the Bible (6) Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism (9) National Library of Greece (6) New Testament text (6) P45 (7) P46 (10) P47 (6) Peter Gurry (8) Sarah Allen (3) scribes (5) Snapshot (4) Textual Variant (4)
The Colophon is a blog platform of specially crafted content to equip our non-specialist and interested audience to better understand the study and digitization of New Testament manuscripts. We hope that Colophon’s blog posts help our broader community connect further with the long-standing tradition of preserving the text and manuscripts of the New Testament. Read more about the Colophon and how we named it here.
Ask the Prof: How Many Manuscripts Did Erasmus Use When He Published the First Critical Edition of the Greek New Testament?
How many manuscripts did Erasmus use? Desiderius Erasmus was a 16th-century scholar especially known for his work preparing Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. Most notably, he prepared the first critical edition of the Greek New Testament in 1516. (For a reminder on what a “critical edition” of the Greek New Testament is,…
The Manuscript Detective
The Fall 2022 edition of the award-winning DTS Magazine featured our founder and CEO, Dr. Dan Wallace, who will soon retire as Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He will continue his involvement with the school, but plans to devote all of his energies to CSNTM as early as July…
Ask the Prof: What is a textual variant?
New Testament textual scholars work with manuscripts to determine the earliest text. Primarily, they investigate textual variants among the many copies of the New Testament text. Listen as CSNTM research fellows David Flood and Denis Salgado answer the question, “What is a textual variant?” While explaining what a textual variant is, David and Denis also…
Our Long History with GA 2813, the Charles Ryrie Manuscript
By: Mark W. Gaither Our first expedition for 2023 took a small team to the Museum of the Bible storage facility in Oklahoma City, where we imaged several manuscripts and fragments. This included GA 2813, a 13th century manuscript containing the Gospels of Luke and John, once owned by Dr. Charles Ryrie. It also happens…
Manuscripts 101: What is a textual variant?
By: Denis Salgado How Did Variants Arise? As I write this—I mean, as I type this—I realize how much computers have simplified the writing process. No need for drippy feather quills or smudgy ink. And copying a text? That’s even easier, right? That’s what copy machines and scanners are for! We can easily create exact…
Ask the Prof: How many Greek manuscripts of the New Testament Are There?
How many Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are there? In the latest installment of Ask the Prof, CSNTM research fellows David Flood and Denis Salgado tackle the question, “How many Greek manuscripts of the New Testament are there?” Scholars and speakers have offered up many suggestions of what this number might be. As Denis…
Manuscripts 101: Manuscript Materials
By: Todd Leibovitz We have all, at some point, entered a bookstore excited to find a new adventure or love story to read. We look at the signs indicating genres. We meander around a section perusing titles and their covers. As we decide what to read, we may ask, “Do I know the author?” “Will…
Farewell, Filippos Tsimpoglou
By: Daniel B. Wallace, CEO & Executive Director of CSNTM With sorrow today, we at CSNTM honor and remember Filippos Tsimpoglou, the late Director General of the National Library of Greece. From 2014 until his untimely death, he led the library through important projects. The CSNTM team worked closely with Filippos from 2014–2016 in a…
New Technology, New Possibilities!
At CSNTM we aim to provide the highest quality and most helpful resources to improve our understanding of the New Testament text and its history. We, therefore, seek out the latest, most effective technology for safely preserving the precious historic documents that we work with. CSNTM recently obtained a new piece of equipment specially designed…
Manuscripts 101: The Layout of Greek New Testament Catena Manuscripts
By: Andrew J. Patton Editor’s note: This post goes into more detail about one aspect of catena manuscripts. For a more general introduction to Greek New Testament catena manuscripts, see the previous Manuscripts 101 blog on Greek New Testament catena manuscripts. Greek New Testament catena manuscripts contain two primary texts: the Greek New Testament and…
SHOWCASE
CURRENT SHOWCASE INCLUDES:
Featured Expedition Sites
Lambeth Palace Library
London, United Kingdom
The Lambeth Palace Library houses the collection of the Church of England. Over two-dozen Greek New Testament manuscripts are a part of this collection. In March and April 2022, the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts worked on-site with the Lambeth Palace Library staff to digitally preserve the Greek New Testament manuscripts along with other historic documents important to the study and translation of the New Testament.
National Library
Athens, Greece
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) completed our largest digitization project at the National Library of Greece (NLG). Beginning in 2015 and continuing into 2016, we spent months working at the National Library of Greece digitizing their entire collection of Greek New Testament manuscripts. This collection is one of the largest in the world and has a multitude of priceless treasures, which are now digitally preserved for generations to come.
Chester Beatty
Dublin, Ireland
The Chester Beatty papyri, published in the 1930s and 1950s, are some of the oldest and most important biblical manuscripts. Housed at the Chester Beatty (CB) in Dublin, they have attracted countless visitors every year. The Greek biblical manuscripts at CB are among the most visited in the world, second only to Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus, both on display at the British Library. The CSNTM team traveled to Dublin in 2013 to digitize valuable New Testament manuscripts in the Chester Beatty’s collection. Along with images of papyri, CSNTM captured images of beautifully illuminated manuscripts. Some of the Chester Beatty papyri images eventually formed the basis of the 2020 publication of New Testament Papyri Facsimile Collection: P45, P46 and P47.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
In July of 2014, CSNTM traveled to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to digitize their New Testament Papyrus of Paul’s letters (P46). The CSNTM team consisted of Daniel B. Wallace, Robert D. Marcello, and Jacob W. Peterson. This was part of a combined project which will virtually reunite P46 since it is housed in two separate locations. The University graciously allowed CSNTM to digitize their portion of the manuscript. The CSNTM staff had the opportunity to work with the University’s preservation department, which is known around the world for their work in papyrological preservation.
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
Florence, Italy
In November of 2011, CSNTM digitized at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (BML) in Florence Italy. This phenomenal old library founded by the Medici family was designed by none other than Michelangelo himself. It now holds over 2,500 papyri, 11,000 manuscripts, and 128,000 printed texts. Because of this trip, CSNTM is proud to announce the addition of new images of 28 manuscripts from the BML, including 5 papyri. Since 2011, the BML sought to digitize its entire collection. More images from this prestigious institution are available in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana Digital Repository.
Join the Circle of Friends
The CSNTM Circle of Friends are faithful people who sustain the ongoing work of preserving ancient New Testament manuscripts. Scheduled monthly contributions fund digital preservation projects throughout the year. In a very literal sense, these regular gifts—both great and small—provide the resources needed to preserve, study, and share Greek New Testament manuscripts with excellence.
DIGITIZING
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM) is a world leader in digitizing ancient manuscripts. Standing out from many other digitizing agencies, CSNTM concentrates specifically on Greek New Testament manuscripts. This narrow focus allows the team to concentrate on the best digital preservation and presentation for study. We use specialized equipment and an exacting image quality protocol to digitize the entire codex.
WHILE DIGITIZING, CSNTM HAS THREE PRIORITIES:
Photograph the entire page.
Maintain the condition of the codex.
Produce aesthetically-pleasing images.
EQUIPMENT
Conventional Digitization
Conventional, high-resolution digitization utilizes a single Phase One iXH, 150 MP, digital back camera mounted on a Digital Transitions DT Atom tabletop system. The Phase One 72mm Mk II lens exceeds FADGI and ISO digitization standards, allowing sharp, accurate, corner-to-corner capture for items 6” to 60” (15 cm to 152 cm) in size. Two diffused LED light sources provide preservation-grade, 5500 Kelvin illumination with UV filtration and Color Rendering Index (CRI) 98, while operating at a cool 33 degrees Celsius (92° F).
The DT V-Cradle is specifically designed to support delicate bound materials with minimal handling once set in place. The adjustable opening angle allows for digital capture without harming delicate codex spines, and the removable glass platen protects artifacts throughout the digitization process. The glass platen features a lift-assist for better ergonomics and enhanced protection for the artifacts. Precise adjustment allows for gentle, flattening pressure or zero-touch imaging. The glass can be removed entirely when necessary.
Multispectral Imaging
Multispectral Imaging utilizes the MegaVsion EV system, which captures high-resolution images across 12 or more spectral bands from the near ultra-violet to the near infra-red. These spectral bands are created using narrow-band LED illumination which subjects the manuscript to the specific light energy required to expose a highly sensitive, unfiltered monochrome sensor.
The Monochrome E7 50-megapixel digital back camera shutter and aperture are computer controlled. The hyperspectral lens is parfocal and responsive over the entire range of silicon sensitivity. The lighting system is fully integrated with the MegaVision software to control light emitting diodes (LEDs) to isolate the specific wavelengths desired.
METHOD
Digitization—standard and MSI—involve a two-step process: manuscript examination and manuscript capture. Before photographing, the “vital statistics” of each manuscript are recorded. This information includes the manuscript’s shelf number, physical dimensions, material (papyrus, parchment, or paper), estimated date, and other significant data. Manuscript examination provides the digitization team with precise measurements to align their work to. Later these records serve as helpful information for researchers who examine the manuscript images.
The manuscript capture process is completed by two-person teams. One team member supports the manuscript and places it in the right position for proper support and digitization. The second person operates the computer and camera. The computer operator ensures that the images meet CSNTM’s image quality standards. The teams minimize the physical movement of the manuscript by digitizing the front of each leaf before turning the manuscript once to digitize the back of each leaf.
STANDARDS
In the short history of CSNTM, our technique, protocols, and standards have evolved. Technology upgrades and increased experience in manuscript digitization have enhanced our ability to create higher-quality images than were originally possible. While on expedition team members carefully examine each individual image to ensure that each one meets or exceeds the parameters established by ISO 19264, Grade A.
A 3:2 top-to-bottom ratio is used to contrast the typical 2:3 ratio of the text to the page. This creates a consistent, balanced alignment for each image. Black (or in the case of papryi, both black and white backgrounds) are utilized.
All manuscripts are digitized completely including every page, spine, cover, additional matter, etc.—creating a full archival copy.
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ALL RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES CAUSED BY VIRUSES CONTAINED WITHIN THE ELECTRONIC FILE CONTAINING THE FORM OR DOCUMENT IS DISCLAIMED. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND THAT MAY RESULT FROM USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE OUR SITE. OUR MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO YOU UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BE EQUAL TO THE PURCHASE PRICE YOU PAY FOR ANY GOODS, SERVICES OR INFORMATION.
10. Use of Information
We reserve the right, and you authorize us, to the use and assignment of all information regarding Site uses by you and all information provided by you in any manner consistent with our Privacy Policy. All remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information communicated by you to us through the Site (collectively, the “Submission”) will forever be the property of CSNTM. CSNTM will not be required to treat any Submission as confidential, and will not be liable for any ideas for its business (including without limitation, product, service or advertising ideas) and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in future CSNTM products, services or operations. Without limitation, CSNTM will have exclusive ownership of all present and future existing rights to the Submission of every kind and nature everywhere. CSNTM will be entitled to use the Submission for any commercial or other purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you or any other person sending the Submission. You acknowledge that you are responsible for whatever material you submit, and you, not CSNTM, have full responsibility for the message, including its legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality, and copyright.
11. Third-Party Services
We may allow access to or advertise third-party product or service providers (“Merchants”) from which you may purchase certain goods or services. You understand that we do not operate or control the products or services offered by Merchants. Merchants are responsible for all aspects of order processing, fulfillment, billing and customer service. We are not a party to the transactions entered into between you and Merchants. You agree that use of such Merchants is AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND IS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND BY US, EXPRESSED, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF TITLE, FITNESS FOR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE WE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN YOU AND MERCHANTS OR FOR ANY INFORMATION APPEARING ON MERCHANT SITES OR ANY OTHER SITE LINKED TO OUR SITE.
12. Third-Party Merchant Policies
All rules, policies (including privacy policies) and operating procedures of Merchants will apply to you while on such sites. We are not responsible for information provided by you to Merchants. We and the Merchants are independent contractors and neither party has authority to make any representations or commitments on behalf of the other.
13. Privacy Policy
Our Privacy Policy, as it may change from time to time, is a part of this Agreement.
14. Payments
You represent and warrant that if you are purchasing something from us or from Merchants that (i) any credit information you supply is true and complete, (ii) charges incurred by you will be honored by your credit card company, and (iii) you will pay the charges incurred by you at the posted prices, including any applicable taxes.
15. Securities Laws
This Site may include statements concerning our operations, prospects, strategies, financial condition, future economic performance and demand for our products or services, as well as our intentions, plans and objectives (particularly with respect to product and service offerings), that are forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are subject to significant uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. When used on our Site, words like “anticipates,” “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “seeks,” “plans,” “intends,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements designed to fall within securities law safe harbors for forward-looking statements. The Site and the information contained herein doesnot constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer for sale of any securities. None of the information contained herein is intended to be, and shall not be deemed to be, incorporated into any of our securities-related filings or documents.
16. Links to Other Websites
The Site contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or opinions express in such websites, and such websites are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy or completeness by us. Inclusion of any linked web site on our Site does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked web site by us. If you decide to leave our Site and access these third-party sites, you do so at your own risk.
17. Copyrights and Copyright Agents
We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask you to do the same. (See Section 2 and 3.) If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent the following information:
(a) An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
(b) A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
(c) A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
(d) Your address, telephone number, and email address;
(e) A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
(f) A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. Our Copyright Agent for Notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site can be reached by directing an e-mail to the Copyright Agent at manuscripts@CSNTM.org
18. Proposed Product and Service Offerings
All descriptions of proposed products and services are based on assumptions subject to change and you should not rely on the availability or functionality of products or services until they are actually offered through the Site. We reserve the right in its sole discretion to determine how registration and other promotions will be awarded. This determination includes, without limitation, the scope, nature and timing of all such awards.
19. Information and Press Releases
The Site contains information and press releases about us. While this information was believed to be accurate as of the date prepared, we disclaim any duty or obligation to update this information or any press releases. Information about companies other than ours contained in the press release or otherwise, should not be relied upon as being provided or endorsed by us.
20. Miscellaneous
This Agreement shall be treated as though it were executed and performed in Plano, TX, USA, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas (without regard to conflict of law principles). Any cause of action by you with respect to the Site (and/or any information, products or services related thereto) must be instituted within one (1) year after the cause of action arose or be forever waived and barred. All actions shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 8 and Section 10. The language in this Agreement shall be interpreted as to its fair meaning and not strictly for or against either party. All legal proceedings arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be brought solely in Plano, TX, USA. You expressly submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of said courts and consents to extra-territorial service of process. Should any part of this Agreement be held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed consistent with applicable law and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. To the extent that anything in or associated with the Site is in conflict or inconsistent with this Agreement, this Agreement shall take precedence. Our failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of such provision nor of the right to enforce such provision.