New Testament · book 42
Luke
What tradition claims
Luke, companion of Paul
AD 60 – AD 85
Critical scholarship
AD 80 – AD 95
The gap
Claimed start: AD 60Gap: 128 yearsEarliest MS: AD 200today
Earliest manuscript: Papyrus P75 (Bodmer XIV-XV)
Earliest complete copy
Claimed start: AD 60Gap: 278 yearsEarliest MS: AD 350today
Earliest manuscript: Codex Sinaiticus
Notes
P75 (~AD 200) preserves substantial portions and is textually almost identical to Codex Vaticanus — strong evidence the careful Alexandrian text of Luke is genuinely early. P75 also lacks Luke 22:43-44 (the bloody sweat) and 23:34 ('Father forgive them'), suggesting these are scribal additions.
Disputed passages in Luke
Passages in this book that aren't in the earliest manuscripts, or read differently in them.
All witnesses on file (5)
- Papyrus P75 (Bodmer XIV-XV) · AD 175 – AD 225 (~AD 200)
- Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty I) · AD 200 – AD 250 (~AD 225)
- Codex Washingtonianus · AD 350 – AD 450 (~AD 400)
- Codex Bezae · AD 380 – AD 420 (~AD 400)
- Curetonian Gospels (Old Syriac) · AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450)