What Is Codex Sinaiticus?

Construction

• Codex Sinaiticus literally means the "Sinai Book." It is different from earlier biblical texts in that it is written on folded and bound sheets of parchment, arranged similarly to a modern book, rather than on rolled animal skin or papyrus.
  
  

Origin

• The exact origin of the Codex Sinaiticus is unknown, but we do know that it was written in Greek by four scribes more than 1,600 years ago, says British journalist Paul Vallely.
  
  

Contents

• The book consists of 400 large parchment leaves made of prepared animal skin. The pages contain about half of the Old Testament, the entire New Testament and two early Christian texts not included in modern Bibles.
  
  

Name

• The Codex Sinaiticus takes its name from the Monastery of St. Catherine, at the foot of Mount Sinai in Egypt, where is was preserved by the arid desert air. Scholars became aware of its existence in the mid-19th century.
  
  

Significance

• The Codex Sinaiticus offers biblical scholars insight into how ancient religious texts were gathered and organized into our modern Bible. A virtual copy of the entire manuscript became available in 2009 and can be viewed on the Codex Sinaiticus website.