The New Testament Manuscripts Compared to Other Ancient Texts
| Author | Book | Date Written | Earliest Copies | Time Gap | No. of Copies |
| Homer | Iliad | 800 B.C | c. 400 B.C | c. 400 yrs. | 643 |
| Herodotus | History | 480-425 B.C | c. A.D.900 | c. 1,350 yrs. | 8 |
| Thucydides | History | 460-400 B.C | c. A.D.900 | c. 1,300 yrs. | 8 |
| Plato | 400 B.C | c. A.D.900 | c. 1,300 yrs. | 7 | |
| Demosthenes | 300 B.C | c. A.D.1100 | c. 1,400 yrs. | 200 | |
| Caesar | Gallic Wars | 100-44 B.C | c. A.D.900 | c. 1,000 yrs. | 10 |
| Livy | History of Rome | 59 B.C-A.D. 17 | c. 4th cent. (partial) mostly 10th cent. |
c. 400 yrs. c. 1,000 yrs. |
1 partial 19 copies |
| Tacitus | Annals | A.D. 100 | c. A.D.1100 | c. 1,000 yrs. | 20 |
| Pliny Secundus | Natural History | A.D.61-113 | c. A.D.850 | c. 750 yrs. | 7 |
| Various | New Testament | A.D.50-100 | c. 114 (fragment) c. 200 (books) c. 250 (most N.T.) c. 325 (complete N.T.) |
+50 yrs. 100 yrs. 150 yrs. 225 yrs. |
24,970 |