A Major Divergence from Jewish Practice: Scrolls and Codices
Having discussed the shared scribal features between Jewish and Christian manuscripts in a previous article (particularly the use of nomina sacra, formatting practices, and reverential textual handling), we now turn to a point of radical divergence that sets early Christianity apart in the history of the book: the deliberate and widespread adoption of the codex.
In the late Second Temple period, Jewish texts—including the Hebrew Scriptures and Septuagint translations—were copied almost exclusively on scrolls. This practice was uniform for sacred writings and continued into late antiquity. Even Jesus, in His synagogue reading, is recorded as reading from “a scroll of the prophet Isaiah” (Luke 4:17). Likewise, Paul, trained as a Pharisee, would have studied and taught from scrolls throughout his early rabbinic life. Yet among Christians—by the end of the first century and certainly by the beginning of the second—the codex had replaced the scroll almost universally.
This shift is historically unprecedented. No other literary or religious movement of antiquity made such a comprehensive format change so early in its development. It was not a slow evolution but a decisive departure.
The Scroll: Jewish Usage and Literary Limitations
Scrolls were composed of individual sheets of papyrus or parchment glued together, typically written only on one side, and rolled onto wooden rods. While durable in certain environments and well-suited for public reading, scrolls had several limitations:
Only one book could typically be stored per scroll.
Scrolls were difficult to navigate quickly.
They required both hands to read.
They wore unevenly over time, particularly at the outer ends.
These characteristics, while manageable, made scrolls impractical for handling a multi-book Christian canon. A single scroll could contain either a Gospel or a large Pauline epistle, but not multiple works. Thus, the scroll format could not accommodate a developing corpus of apostolic writings intended for communal use, catechesis, and circulation.
The Codex: Origins and Early Christian Adaptation
The codex existed in pre-Christian antiquity, but only in rudimentary form. Known in Latin as tabulae and in Greek as kodikos, these early codices were constructed from wooden tablets coated with wax and bound together with string or leather. These were used for personal notes, business records, memoranda, and legal drafts. Another form of primitive codex, made from parchment (membranae), was known in both Greek and Latin circles. Martial, a first-century Roman poet, refers to these in Epistles 14.184.
When Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:13, “Bring the books (biblia), especially the parchments (tas membranas),” scholars have proposed three possible interpretations:
Paul requested both Old Testament scrolls and separate codices of his epistles or Gospel writings.
Paul requested books generally and additionally blank notebooks.
Paul used malista in a particularizing sense, thereby identifying membranas as a subclass of biblia—in other words, his own parchment codices.
If the third view (supported by T. C. Skeat and others) is correct, Paul was specifically requesting access to his codex notebooks, possibly containing his writings, notes, or even unpublished epistles. This would be a striking internal New Testament reference to codex usage by an apostolic figure and places Paul among the earliest Christian codex users.
Papyrus Codices: Form and Function
The papyrus codex was a further development, involving folded papyrus sheets sewn together at the spine. This form had multiple advantages over the scroll:
It could be written on both sides (recto and verso), unlike scrolls, which were typically uniscriptural.
It allowed for faster access to texts—turning pages rather than unrolling.
It facilitated multi-book collections (e.g., the four Gospels or Paul’s major epistles).
It was far more portable and economical.
For persecuted Christians, often operating under surveillance or in secret, the codex was more practical and less conspicuous than the scroll. Additionally, papyrus was far cheaper than parchment and well-suited to Egypt’s dry climate, where the earliest Christian manuscripts were preserved.
Theological and Canonical Implications of the Codex
The shift from scroll to codex was not merely practical—it also had profound theological and canonical implications. By choosing the codex, Christians differentiated their Scriptures from Jewish scrolls and Greco-Roman literary texts. This decision established a new standard of textual identity for a new covenant people.
The codex format uniquely enabled:
The collection and preservation of multi-text documents, such as the Pauline Corpus or the Fourfold Gospel.
The formation of canon, through grouping apostolic writings in one volume.
The liturgical reading of multiple passages, easily located and turned to during worship.
T. C. Skeat and Graham Stanton have argued that Christians adopted the codex to elevate the Fourfold Gospel as authoritative. However, an equally strong case can be made that the Pauline Corpus, often circulated and used together, drove this innovation. 2 Peter 3:15–16 indicates that Paul’s letters were already viewed as a recognized body of Scripture in the early decades of the church.
Physical Evidence of Early Christian Codices
Virtually all surviving second-century Christian manuscripts are codices, with very few exceptions. These include both Old and New Testament writings, apocryphal Gospels, early homilies, and theological works. Importantly, the presence of nomina sacra—sacred name abbreviations like ΚΣ (Lord) and ΙΣ (Jesus)—clearly distinguish Christian manuscripts from Jewish or pagan ones.
Among Christian Old Testament codices of the second century:
P.Yale 1 (Genesis) possibly dates to the end of the first century.
P. Chester Beatty VI (Numbers–Deuteronomy) and P. Oxyrhynchus 656 (Genesis) demonstrate codex construction and Christian usage.
Among New Testament codices:
P52 (John), dated by some to 115–125 C.E., is the earliest known New Testament fragment.
P46 (Paul’s Epistles) shows early canonical formation and codex usage.
P66 and P75 reflect early Christian efforts to copy Gospels with high accuracy and scribal professionalism.
In total, nearly all second-century Christian manuscripts were written in codex form, and only one Christian scroll (P. Oxyrhynchus 405) has been discovered—suggesting that the codex was a universal and intentional format adopted by the early church.
Possible Use of the Codex in Revelation 5
Revelation 5 presents an intriguing image of a sealed book “on the right hand” of the enthroned Lamb. Three arguments have been made for identifying this book not as a scroll but as a codex:
The book is said to rest on (ἐπὶ) the hand, which more naturally suits the codex than the scroll, typically held in (ἐν) the hand.
The book contains writing on both sides—a rarity for scrolls but standard for codices.
The sequential opening of seals, each unveiling more content, suggests a multi-sectioned codex, not a scroll which must be entirely unsealed before any portion is read.
While this interpretation is not conclusive, it is a legitimate proposal and would serve as a theologically rich image: the Lamb opening a multi-book codex containing the decrees of divine judgment.
The Uniformity of Codex Adoption
The consistent and early Christian preference for the codex demonstrates standardization in Christian bookmaking from the church’s infancy. This uniformity, given the scattered and often persecuted condition of the early church, implies a degree of ecclesiastical coordination and doctrinal consensus about which writings were worth preserving and circulating.
The codex format allowed each local church to:
Copy and bind collections of apostolic writings.
Read, teach, and memorize Scripture efficiently.
Make and preserve their own portions of the New Testament canon.
Such standardization supports the view that early Christians were not haphazard in their textual transmission. They adopted the best technology available—not merely for efficiency, but for theological and communal formation, canon preservation, and missional advancement.
Conclusion: The Codex as a Marker of Christian Identity and Canonical Development
The adoption of the codex was more than a change in book format. It was a deliberate and strategic choice that reflected the early Christians’ break from Jewish scroll tradition, their need to collect apostolic writings, and their practical needs for rapid textual dissemination. The codex enabled the preservation, copying, and transmission of a growing New Testament canon at a time when theological identity and scriptural authority were being established. Far from being an incidental or accidental development, the Christian codex stands as one of the most important innovations in early Christianity—technologically, textually, and theologically.
EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
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