The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins

Christian Century, April 3, 2007

The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins.

By Larry W. Hutardo. Eerdmans, 262 pp., $20.00 paperback.

In this fascinating book Larry W. Hutardo, New Testament scholar at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, studies certain physical features of the earliest Christian papyrus manuscripts. These manuscripts have been much studied for their textual features (such as variant readings) but less for their physical characteristics. As artifacts they make an important contribution to our understanding of Christian origins. Hutardo has chapters on the much-discussed Christian preference for the codex (book form) over the roll (scroll form) and the common practice from earliest days of abbreviating nomina sacra (sacred names, such as God, Lord and Jesus). A chart of Christian literary texts and nine exceptionally clear photographs adds to the value of the book. Hutardo provides an excellent gateway to the world of early Christian manuscripts and highlights their significance in studying Christian origins.