What was the First Bible Like?

Explores the emergence of the first bible, with particular focus on second-century Scripture, the earliest New Testament, and the canon formation process, touching upon textual-interpretative, ritual, and paratextual aspects of the Christian Scriptures as well as their impact on the wider Roman and Medieval literary cultures, and beyond.

This book explores the emergence of the first bible, focussing on second-century Scripture, the earliest New Testament, and the canon formation process. Textual-interpretative, ritual, and paratextual aspects of the Christian Scriptures are discussed as well as their impact on the wider Roman and Medieval literary cultures, and beyond. 

This book explores the emergence of the first bible, with particular focus on second-century Scripture, the earliest New Testament, and the canon formation process. The fourth-century Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the earliest extant complete New Testament, is used as a template to detect textual features of second- to fourth-century scripturality. What does this luxury manuscript, kept at the British Library, reveal about Christianity’s literary journey from oral gospel message to canonical text? What does it tell us about nascent Christianity as a “bookish” religious movement? A wide range of textual-interpretative, ritual, and paratextual aspects of the Christian Scriptures are discussed throughout the book as well as their impact on the wider Roman and Medieval literary cultures, and beyond.