Codex Vaticanus

Widely regarded as the most reliable single manuscript of the Greek Bible, its text forms the primary basis (alongside Codex Sinaiticus) for modern critical editions of the New Testament and Septuagint.

Codex Vaticanus, designated B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland system, is a 4th-century Greek manuscript of the Bible held in the Vatican Library under the shelf mark Vaticanus Graecus 1209. Many New Testament scholars consider it the single most important manuscript for reconstructing the original text of the Greek New Testament and Septuagint. Written on high-quality vellum in clear Greek uncial script with three columns per page, it dates to approximately 325–350 CE, making it roughly contemporary with Codex Sinaiticus and possibly slightly earlier.

The codex's origins are unknown. Various theories have placed its production in Rome, Caesarea, Alexandria, or even Constantinople. The hypothesis that it was one of the fifty copies of the Bible commissioned by Emperor Constantine from the scriptorium of Eusebius of Caesarea (as recorded in Eusebius's Life of Constantine 4.36) has been proposed but cannot be confirmed. The Egyptian provenance, specifically Alexandria, has gained favor among many scholars based on textual affinities with other Alexandrian witnesses and certain codicological features.

The manuscript first appears in the historical record in the 1475 catalog of the Vatican Library. It was apparently known to Erasmus when he was preparing his Greek New Testament in 1516, but he did not use it. For centuries, the Vatican restricted access to the codex, frustrating scholars who recognized its importance. Tischendorf was allowed to see it briefly in 1843 and 1866 but was not permitted to study it thoroughly. Cardinal Angelo Mai prepared a printed edition published in 1857, but it was full of errors. A reliable photographic facsimile was finally published in 1889–1890, and a complete color facsimile appeared in 1999.

The codex originally contained the entire Greek Bible. In its current state, it consists of 759 leaves measuring approximately 27 by 27 centimeters. Missing portions include: most of Genesis (chapters 1–46:28, the first 31 leaves having been lost), portions of 2 Samuel, and about 30 Psalms. In the New Testament, the manuscript breaks off at Hebrews 9:14, missing the remainder of Hebrews, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Revelation. These missing portions were replaced by a 15th-century scribe who filled in the gaps with text copied from other manuscripts. The replacement pages are easily distinguishable from the original.

The text was written by a single scribe (designated B by scholars) in a regular, skilled uncial hand. The text contains no chapter divisions, section numbers, or other later apparatus, suggesting it predates the systematic division systems that were developed later. Breathing marks and accents were added by later hands. A 10th- or 11th-century corrector retraced much of the fading original text with fresh ink, unfortunately sometimes altering the original reading in the process.

Codex Vaticanus is the premier representative of the Alexandrian text-type, which most textual critics regard as closest to the original New Testament text. Its readings are typically supported by Codex Sinaiticus, the early papyri (especially P75 for Luke-John, which shows remarkable agreement with Vaticanus), and the early Egyptian versions. Where Vaticanus differs from the later Byzantine text-type, modern critical editions almost always follow Vaticanus.

Like Sinaiticus, Vaticanus lacks the longer ending of Mark (16:9–20), ending at Mark 16:8 with the women fleeing the empty tomb in fear. Uniquely, the Vaticanus scribe left a blank column after Mark 16:8 — a feature found nowhere else in the manuscript — suggesting the scribe was aware that some copies contained additional text but deliberately chose not to include it. This blank space is perhaps the most eloquent evidence that the longer ending was known but considered secondary by the earliest manuscript tradition.

Vaticanus also lacks the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53–8:11), confirming the early Alexandrian tradition's omission of this passage. Similarly, it omits the Comma Johanneum (1 John 5:7b–8a). The books of the New Testament appear in a distinctive order: Gospels, Acts, Catholic Epistles, Pauline Epistles, Hebrews (placed after 2 Thessalonians, not at the end of the Pauline corpus as in most later manuscripts) — and originally Revelation, though this section is now missing from the original hand.

The close relationship between Vaticanus and the early papyrus P75 (c. 175–225 CE) is one of the most important discoveries in New Testament text criticism. P75, a papyrus codex containing large portions of Luke and John, agrees with Vaticanus more closely than any other major manuscript, demonstrating that the text-type represented by Vaticanus goes back at least to the early 3rd century CE — only a century or so after the New Testament books were composed. This close agreement across a gap of 150 years confirms the stability and antiquity of the Alexandrian textual tradition.

• Considered the most important single manuscript of the Greek Bible, dated c. 325–350 CE
• Contains most of the Septuagint and New Testament in three-column uncial format on 759 leaves
• Mark ends at 16:8 with a unique blank column, suggesting awareness of but rejection of the longer ending
• Closely agrees with papyrus P75 (c. 175–225 CE), confirming the antiquity of its text-type
• Missing portions include Genesis 1–46:28, Hebrews 9:14–Revelation, and the Pastoral Epistles
• In the Vatican Library since at least 1475; access was restricted for centuries
• Primary basis, alongside Codex Sinaiticus, for modern critical editions of the Greek New Testament
• A 10th/11th-century corrector retraced the original text, sometimes altering readings

Codex Vaticanus is the manuscript most responsible for the text of the Greek New Testament used by scholars and translators worldwide. The Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece and the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament, which underlie virtually all modern Bible translations (ESV, NIV, NASB, NRSV, etc.), rely on Vaticanus more heavily than any other single manuscript. As with Sinaiticus, the ending of Mark's Gospel at 16:8 in Vaticanus has profound implications for understanding the resurrection narrative. If the original Mark ended with the women fleeing in fear and silence, then the earliest Gospel preserved no account of resurrection appearances — a conclusion with significant christological and historical implications. The agreement between Vaticanus and the much earlier papyrus P75 for Luke and John demonstrates that the text of these Gospels was being transmitted with remarkable fidelity from the early 3rd century. When modern readers open a translation based on the critical Greek text, they are reading a New Testament whose textual foundation extends through Vaticanus back to manuscripts copied within living memory of the apostolic age.