There are no manuscripts of the New Testament, allegedly a first
century document, dating from the first century. Thousands of Greek
manuscripts exist, dating from the 7th century, and a few dozen from
before that. Substantial variations exist between these manuscripts,
ranging from obvious copyist errors to genuine changes in content.
Analysis and organization of these variations
abounds.
More so, what
documents are included in the ``New Testament'' varies quite a bit
among these, often excluding some books, or sections of books, or
including books that are no longer considered part of the New
Testament. One theory is that all of these manuscripts originated
from some first century document dubbed ``Documenta
Q'',
though no versions of this document have been found.
Four manuscripts from the fourth century are among the most widely
used sources. Only one of these, Codex Sinaiticus, contains the
entire New Testament, and it includes additional material other than
the New Testament. The other three manuscripts are: Codex Vaticanus,
which is missing the end of the New Testament, Codex Alexandrinus,
which is missing much of Matthew and some of John, and Codex Bezae,
which contains Matthew, John, Luke, Mark, and
Acts.
Though there is extensive specific variation in content of these manuscripts the general content remains impressively consistent for a roughly 2 millenia old document. Which specific books were included in the New Testament, however, seems to be a more careful selection of medieval and later scholars, rather than any first or even second century intent.