The Transition from Scroll to Codex: A Technological Shift in the Ancient World

In the ancient literary world, two primary formats dominated the production and preservation of written texts: the scroll and the codex. The scroll, or roll, was the traditional format for most literature, especially within the Jewish tradition. This format consisted of sheets of papyrus or parchment glued edge to edge and rolled around a stick. The codex, by contrast, is what we recognize today as a book: a bound stack of cut pages sewn along one side, allowing for access to content by flipping pages rather than unrolling a continuous length of material.

The codex format emerged surprisingly early—contrary to widespread assumption that it was a medieval development, evidence demonstrates that the codex began to be used by the late first century C.E. What is particularly striking is the Christian adoption of the codex as the primary form for preserving their sacred texts. Approximately 80 percent of early Christian literature was produced on codices, while only 20 percent of non-Christian Greco-Roman literature utilized this format in the same era. This distinctive preference places early Christianity ahead of its contemporaries in adopting what would become the standard for bookmaking. Why early Christians adopted the codex so quickly remains a matter of scholarly debate, but one widely considered reason is functionality—it allowed for quicker reference and easier navigation, particularly useful for collections of proof texts or for texts in liturgical use.

Scrolls and the New Testament: Implications for Authorship and Preservation

Given that the New Testament was completed in the latter half of the first century C.E., the earliest autographs were likely written on scrolls. Scrolls were commonly made from papyrus, which was produced by laying out thin strips of the plant’s stalk in perpendicular layers, pressing them until they bonded naturally. The horizontal fibers (recto) formed the inner, preferred writing surface, while the vertical fibers (verso) formed the outer surface. Writing against the grain on the verso was not only more difficult but also less legible and less durable.

In Revelation 5:1, John describes a scroll written “within and on the back, sealed with seven seals,” a highly unusual configuration for ancient scrolls. A scroll written on both sides—an opisthograph—was not standard practice. This writing format would mean that access to the scroll’s contents was sequential; each seal would need to be broken in order. In contrast, if this were a codex, any section could be accessed directly without breaking all the seals. Thus, the sequential unsealing described in Revelation 6:1–8:1 supports the idea that John envisioned a scroll, reinforcing the material and conceptual context of the text.

This point also has implications for authorship. For instance, Paul’s letters consistently identify both the sender and the recipient inside the text body, conforming with practices that ensure such information was not lost due to abrasion in transit. On the other hand, the epistle to the Hebrews lacks this identifying information—possibly suggesting that it followed a different scroll-writing practice, with authorial data on the outside, which could have been rubbed off during transport. This supports internal arguments against Pauline authorship of Hebrews.

Mark’s Gospel and Scroll Integrity: The Case of Mark 16

The ending of Mark’s Gospel presents a text-critical puzzle. Did Mark intend to end at Mark 16:8, or was the original ending lost? Some have argued that the ending was lost due to the final portion of the manuscript being damaged or detached. However, if Mark wrote his Gospel on a scroll—as would have been typical in the first century—then the end of the scroll would have been the most protected portion. Scrolls were generally rewound after reading, and the interior end remained safely within the roll.

Mark 16:9-20: Enhanced Explanation of the Gospel of Mark’s Endings

Scholar Stephen Pfann, who has studied numerous Dead Sea Scrolls, notes that in hundreds of cases he examined, only one was left unrecoiled in a way that exposed the end. Therefore, it is highly improbable that Mark’s Gospel, if it ended with verse 8 on a scroll, suffered loss at that point. Furthermore, the theory that Matthew and Luke were working from a codex form of Mark and thus lost the final page requires compounded speculation. It is more consistent with documentary evidence and manuscript habits to assert that the ending at verse 8 was deliberate or the only original ending we currently possess.

The Early Christian Use of the Codex: Material Evidence from Papyri

Among extant New Testament papyri, a remarkable pattern emerges: of the 127 cataloged papyrus manuscripts, all but four are codices. The exceptions are manuscripts written on the back (verso) of already-used scrolls—the recto sides originally bearing different texts. These four scroll-form New Testament texts were not composed on scrolls intentionally; rather, they reused existing scrolls, suggesting resourcefulness rather than preference.

This near-total early Christian preference for the codex distinguishes New Testament manuscript tradition from virtually all other literature of the time. Additionally, three major features of early New Testament manuscripts emerged concurrently with the codex format: the use of nomina sacra, abbreviation of numbers, and non-literary handwriting. The nomina sacra, or “sacred names,” involved abbreviated forms for divine titles and proper names such as God, Lord, Jesus, and Christ, often indicated by a line above the contraction. This became a universal feature in New Testament manuscripts and appears to have been instituted at the earliest stages of textual transmission, likely before 70 C.E.

In contrast to other Greek literary traditions, which generally spelled out numbers in full, early New Testament manuscripts commonly employed numerical abbreviations. This anomaly is likely explained by the backgrounds of the early scribes—many were educated professionals such as bureaucrats or accountants, not literary scribes. Their handwriting may not have been elegant, but it was competent and efficient for faithful transmission. This gives us confidence in the textual fidelity even where scribal artistry is lacking.

The Making of the Codex: The Role of Quires

The codex was constructed using quires—gatherings of folded sheets, usually bifolios (double leaves). The earliest codices, such as P46 (dated around 100-150 C.E.), were single-quire books. P46 contained at least ten Pauline letters and consisted of 104 leaves (208 pages), likely pushing the physical limits of a single-quire format. As codex production matured, the standard shifted to multiple quires of eight leaves each, a pattern that persists in modern bookbinding.

Why Did Early Christians Prefer the Codex Over the Scroll?

Understanding the layout of quires assists in reconstructing fragmentary manuscripts. For example, alternating recto and verso patterns help scholars determine which parts of the manuscript are missing and what text they likely contained. If Acts 2 appears on the verso of a leaf, Acts 3 should be on the recto, depending on which half of the quire the page came from. Such structural logic is crucial in determining the original content of fragmentary papyri and in evaluating claims about manuscript completeness.

Significance and Unexplained Features of Early New Testament Bookmaking

Three major and unexplained features continue to perplex scholars: universal use of codices, the adoption of nomina sacra, and numerical abbreviation. These characteristics do not align with Greco-Roman literary norms. Some have suggested that a specific Christian community—perhaps in Jerusalem or Antioch—early on standardized these features to distinguish their texts as sacred. These elements could have functioned as early markers of Christian textual identity, enabling believers to recognize and preserve inspired documents from an early date.

Even so, the evidence resists tidy explanations. Why did early Christians, who were often persecuted and operated under resource constraints, expend such effort to standardize their book production and create distinct visual markers in their manuscripts? The theological motivation is likely: to preserve and protect the inspired words of the apostles, whom they recognized as uniquely authorized messengers of God. These innovations were not mere scribal quirks but deliberate acts to maintain textual fidelity and distinguish the Word of God from other writings.

The early Christians, in adopting and refining the codex form, introduced a material culture of the book that set the trajectory for future manuscript transmission. Their attention to textual presentation, their use of sacred abbreviations, and their methodical bookmaking reflect a community concerned not merely with preservation but with clarity, reverence, and accuracy.

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