Ancient Sources Compared to New Testament copies
|
Author |
Book |
Date Written |
Earliest Copies |
Time Gap |
Numbers of early copies |
|
Homer |
Iliad |
800 BC |
c. 400 BC |
c. 400 years |
643 |
|
Herodotus |
History |
480-425 BC |
c.AD900 |
c. 1,350 yrs. |
8 |
|
Thucydides |
History |
460-400 BC |
c. AD 900 |
c. 1,300 yrs. |
8 |
|
Plato |
Surviving works |
400 BC |
c. AD 900 |
c. 1,300 yrs. |
7 |
|
Demosthenes |
Surviving works |
300 BC |
c. AD 1100 |
c. 1,400 yrs. |
200 |
|
Julius Caesar |
Gallic Wars |
c. 54 BC (lived 100-44 BC) |
c. AD 900 |
c. 1,000 yrs. |
10 |
|
Livy |
History of Rome |
?-AD17 (lived 59BC-AD 17)
|
4th century (partial) 10th century |
c.400 yrs
c 1,000 |
1 partial
19 copies |
|
Tacitus |
Annals |
c. AD 100
|
c. AD 1100 |
c. 1,000 yrs. |
20 |
|
Pliny the Younger |
Natural History |
c. AD 100 |
C, AD 850 |
c. 750 yrs. |
7 |
|
New Testament |
27 books |
AD 50-70 (some scholars date Revelation as late as AD100) |
c.114 frag- ments c. 200 books c. 250 New Testament (most) c. 325 New Testament (complete) |
10 – 50 yrs.
70-100 years 100-150 yrs.
200-225 yrs. |
5366 |
Writer |
Gospel |
Acts |
Paul's Letters |
Catholic Letters |
Revelation |
Total |
St. Justin |
268 |
10 |
43 |
6 |
3 |
330 |
St. Irenaeus |
1,038 |
194 |
499 |
23 |
65 |
1,819 |
St. Clement of Alexandia |
1,017 |
44 |
1,127 |
207 |
11 |
2,406 |
Origen |
9,231 |
349 |
7,778 |
399 |
165 |
17,258 |
Tertullian |
3,822 |
502 |
2,609 |
120 |
205 |
7,258 |
St.Hippolytus |
734 |
42 |
387 |
27 |
188 |
1,378 |
Eusebius |
3,258 |
211 |
1,592 |
88 |
27 |
5,176 |
Totals 19,368 1,352 14,035 870 664 36,289
From Evidence That Demands a Verdict and Faith of the Early Fathers vol I