Codex Cairensis includes the Prophets and is dated 895. Numerous Old Testament books have also been preserved in the ancient Cairo Geniza from the first century AD. Copies of most Old Testament books have been preserved from as early as the second century BC in the finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As such, the original copies of these works have not lasted to today, though a large number of early copies allow us to reconstruct the text as it stood in its earliest form.įor example, the Old Testament was written from the time of Moses (approximately 1400 BC) until the time of Ezra (approximately 400 BC). The Bible is not a single work but rather an anthology of 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over a 1,400-year period that ended nearly 2,000 years ago.
Does the original Bible exist today? What are some of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible currently in existence?
