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Manuscript

Codex Vaticanus

Also known as Vaticanus · B (Gregory-Aland) · 03
textual-criticismnew-testamentseptuagintgreat-codices

Summary

A 4th-century Greek manuscript of the Christian Bible held at the Vatican Library; the other principal Alexandrian witness alongside Sinaiticus.

  • Copied c. AD 300-350.
  • Written in greek on parchment.
  • Kept at Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome (Vat. gr. 1209).
  • Contains Septuagint (mostly complete), New Testament (incomplete — missing parts of Hebrews, Pastorals, and Revelation).
  • Named in 11 of the places your Bible carries a footnote.
A page of Codex Vaticanus in three columns of Greek uncial script, with a scribal note in the margin
Codex Vaticanus at the end of 2 Thessalonians and the start of Hebrews: public domain

Sources (3)

  1. Vatican Library: Codex Vaticanus digital facsimile · accessed 2026-04-17Primary source: full digital facsimile.
  2. Wikipedia: Codex Vaticanus · accessed 2026-04-17CC-BY-SA.
  3. ISBE (1915): Text and Manuscripts of the New Testament · accessed 2026-04-17Public domain.

What it is

Codex Vaticanus is a Greek biblical manuscript dated to the mid-4th century CE, roughly contemporary with Codex Sinaiticus. It is written on parchment in uncial script in three columns per page. The manuscript is named for the Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), where it has been held at least since the 15th century; it is cataloged as Vat. gr. 1209.

It contains most of the Septuagint and most of the New Testament; the ending of Hebrews, the Pastoral Epistles, Philemon, and Revelation are missing (a later Greek hand supplied some of these on added pages). The Vatican Library has released a digital facsimile of the codex.

Manuscript details
Date
c. AD 300-350
Language
Greek
Script
Uncial (majuscule)
Material
Parchment
Held at
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome (Vat. gr. 1209)
Found at
Held at the Vatican Library at least since the 15th century
Contains
Septuagint (mostly complete) · New Testament (incomplete — missing parts of Hebrews, Pastorals, and Revelation)
Why it matters
Codex Vaticanus is, with Codex Sinaiticus, the primary witness to the Alexandrian text-type used in modern critical editions of the Greek Bible. It is often regarded by textual critics as the single most important surviving manuscript of the Greek New Testament. Its readings are heavily weighted in the Nestle-Aland / UBS apparatus and therefore shape nearly every modern English translation's textual base. Like Sinaiticus, it underlies many of the footnoted variants that distinguish modern critical English translations from the Byzantine-text base of the King James Version.

Where this witness is read

The words used here: uncial, Septuagint, codex
uncial
a book hand of Greek capital letters, used for the oldest whole Bibles.
Septuagint
the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made by Jewish scholars before Christ.
codex
a book with leaves and a spine, the form that replaced the scroll.

The KJV and the ASV translate the Hebrew Masoretic Text. Where Codex Vaticanus reads differently, the footnote in your Bible is pointing here.

Where the manuscripts differ, all 15 places →Every handwritten copy, shelved and in date order →