Codex Sinaiticus
The oldest nearly-complete copy of the Greek Scriptures — an easy-English companion
What it is: A handwritten copy of the Scriptures in ancient Greek, on parchment (animal skin) leaves.
When it was made: The 4th century CE — about 1,600 years ago (scholars place it in the mid-300s).
Where it was found: St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai, Egypt.
Where it is now: Its surviving leaves are kept in four places — the British Library in London, the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg, St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, and Leipzig University Library in Germany.
Language: Koine Greek, written in large capital letters (called “uncial” script).
Read the Manuscript
1. Tap the button below — the manuscript opens with the ancient page beside plain English.
2. Tap “choose a passage” to jump to any book, chapter, and verse.
3. Tap the arrows to turn the pages and keep reading.
What It Contains
The Codex Sinaiticus holds the Old Testament in its Greek translation (the Septuagint) and the New Testament — plus two early writings, the Epistle of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd of Hermas. When whole, it held about 1,460 large leaves, each roughly 40 cm by 35 cm. About 800 leaves survive today.
It was written by three or four different scribes, and later hands added corrections in the margins — so a reader can see, page by page, how carefully the text was copied and checked.
Its Recorded History (history, not Scripture)
In 1844, the scholar Constantin von Tischendorf visited St. Catherine’s Monastery and found leaves of the manuscript there. He returned in 1853 and again in 1859, bringing more of it to Europe. The greater part of the manuscript later passed to Russia, and in 1933 the British Museum (now the British Library) acquired it from the Soviet government after a national fundraising effort in Britain.
From 2005 to 2009, the four holding libraries worked together with scholars to photograph every surviving page and reunite the whole manuscript online — free for anyone in the world to read and study.
Why It Matters for Readers of the Oldest Texts
Because it is so early, the Codex Sinaiticus is one of the closest witnesses we have to how the Greek New Testament read in the first centuries. When scholars compare ancient copies to establish the earliest wording of a verse, this manuscript carries great weight. Two readings worth knowing:
- Mark 16: In this manuscript, the Gospel of Mark ends at verse 8 — the longer ending (verses 9–20) is not present.
- John 7:53–8:11 (the woman caught in adultery): This passage is not present in this manuscript.
These are facts about what the manuscript contains — they show why going back to the oldest copies matters.
See It for Yourself
- codexsinaiticus.org — the full digital manuscript: every surviving page photographed in high resolution, with transcriptions, free to explore.
- British Library — Codex Sinaiticus — the British Library’s page on the reunification project.