Bible Historymanuscripts · dates · variants
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"The earliest complete Bible is from the time of the apostles."

The earliest complete Bible is Codex Sinaiticus, ~AD 350.

Evidence card

The rating is tied to the stated evidence, the stated caveat, and the named source trail below.

False
Evidence
What can be affirmed
Caveat
What the slogan hides
Source trail
2 named sources

What's actually true

Codex Sinaiticus (~AD 350) is the earliest manuscript that contains a complete New Testament. Codex Vaticanus (~AD 325) is roughly contemporary but lacks Hebrews 9:14 onward, the Pastorals, Philemon, and Revelation.

What gets left out

Both are roughly three centuries after the apostles. Both also include books no longer considered canonical (Sinaiticus has Barnabas and Hermas; Vaticanus has the LXX deuterocanonicals). The 'apostolic' Bible never existed as a single object.

Source trail

Named scholarship, catalogues, or projects used for this claim rating.

2 sources
Citation cue
Codex Sinaiticus Project
Citation cue
Skeat 1999