--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cumulatively, the sheer volume of papyrus…" description: "\"“Cumulatively, the sheer volume of papyrus and parchment under-girding sacred Scripture dwarf that of any other work in classical history. Consider, fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/hank-hanegraaff-23819_ancient-greek_cumulatively-the-sheer-volume-of-papyrus_2286811.jpg" --- # Cumulatively, the sheer volume of papyrus and parchment… ![“Cumulatively, the sheer volume of papyrus and parchment under-girding sacred Scripture dwarf that of any other work in classical history. Consider, for example, Homer’s Iliad, Bible to the ancient Greeks. While its manuscript numbers are singularly impressive—650 copies—this pales by comparison to…” quote by Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/hank-hanegraaff-23819_ancient-greek_cumulatively-the-sheer-volume-of-papyrus_2286811.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/hank-hanegraaff-23819_ancient-greek_cumulatively-the-sheer-volume-of-papyrus_2286811.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ea/hank-hanegraaff-23819_ancient-greek_cumulatively-the-sheer-volume-of-papyrus_2286811.jpg) > ““Cumulatively, the sheer volume of papyrus and parchment under-girding sacred Scripture dwarf that of any other work in classical history. Consider, for example, Homer’s Iliad, Bible to the ancient Greeks. While its manuscript numbers are singularly impressive—650 copies—this pales by comparison to the almost 6,000 Greek manuscript fragments undergirding the New Testament.”” [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The New Testament is preserved in far more manuscript fragments than any other ancient work, highlighting its extensive textual transmission. **In simple terms:** The Bible has many more surviving copies than other ancient texts. Key Takeaway Recognize the Bible’s unique manuscript abundance. Themes history religion textual criticism preservation Mood analytical respectful Type informative historical When to use this quote - Academic research - theological study - museum curation - digital archiving Key Concepts Manuscript tradition canonical authority cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - How does this abundance affect textual reliability? - What implications does it have for faith traditions? A Different Perspective Other works also have valuable fragments, but fewer in number. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-greek/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Greek Manuscript](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek-manuscript-5357804/) [Greeks Manuscript](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greeks-manuscript-5357807/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Manuscript Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscript-fragments-5357806/) [Manuscript Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manuscript-numbers-5357805/) [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) [Sacred scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred-scripture/) ## Related quotes > [“Sacred Tradition predates and precedes Sacred Scripture, but both come from the same source: God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/consumer-dummies/sacred-tradition-predates-and-precedes-sacred-scripture-but-both-come/) [Consumer Dummies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/consumer-dummies/) > [Those who would be employed in propagating the Gospel should be familiar with the doctrines he is to combat and the doctrines he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/those-who-would-be-employed-in-propagating-the-gospel-should-be/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/ignorance-of-the-scriptures-is-ignorance-of-christ/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“The diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-currie/the-diligent-reading-of-sacred-scripture-accompanied-by-prayer-brings/) [David B Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-currie/) > [For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-of-ockham/for-nothing-ought-to-be-posited-without-a-reason-given-unless-it-is/) [William of Ockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-of-ockham/) > [So we see, brethren and sisters that the words of Christ can be a personal Liahona for each of us, showing us the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-rolfe-kerr/so-we-see-brethren-and-sisters-that-the-words-of-christ-can-be-a/) [W. Rolfe Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-rolfe-kerr/) > [It is your organized religions that have made it clear through their most sacred scriptures that cruelty and killing is an acceptable response to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/it-is-your-organized-religions-that-have-made-it-clear-through-their/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for "we speak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/and-let-them-remember-that-prayer-should-accompany-the-reading-of/) [Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/) > [In questions of this sort there are two things to be observed. First, that the truth of the Scriptures be inviolably maintained. Secondly, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/in-questions-of-this-sort-there-are-two-things-to-be-observed-first/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [There is a growing threat to the environment, to the vegetation, animals, water and air. Sacred Scripture hands us the image of Cain who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/there-is-a-growing-threat-to-the-environment-to-the-vegetation/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [The first priority will consist in restoring a sense of the acceptance of life as a gift from God. According to both Sacred Scripture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-first-priority-will-consist-in-restoring-a-sense-of-the/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Sacred scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth it expressed itself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/sacred-scripture-wishes-simply-to-declare-that-the-world-was-created/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [ \[We need not think\] that there is any Contradiction, when Philosophy teaches that to be done by Nature; which Religion, and the Sacred Scriptures,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehemiah-grew/we-need-not-think-that-there-is-any-contradiction-when-philosophy/) [Nehemiah Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nehemiah-grew/) > [We need not only read Sacred Scripture, but learn it as well and grow up in it. Realize that nothing is written in Scripture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-basil/we-need-not-only-read-sacred-scripture-but-learn-it-as-well-and-grow/) [Saint Basil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-basil/) > [“Those who devote themselves to the study of Sacred Scripture should always remember that the various hermeneutical approaches have their own philosophical underpinnings, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-ii/those-who-devote-themselves-to-the-study-of-sacred-scripture-should/) [John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-ii/) ## More by Hank Hanegraaff > [Evolution is the most important battle that Christians have to fight today, a battle we must win by any means, fair or foul!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/evolution-is-the-most-important-battle-that-christians-have-to-fight/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [From arts, to literature, to science, to the founding of Christian institutions, all of that has its roots in a biblical worldview, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/from-arts-to-literature-to-science-to-the-founding-of-christian/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [True faith is trusting the sovereign God even when we don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/true-faith-is-trusting-the-sovereign-god-even-when-we-don-t-understand/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [I think that as Christians we want to think Christianly, and that means that we want what the Bible says as a rule for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/i-think-that-as-christians-we-want-to-think-christianly-and-that/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [We stand in the shadow of the Bible today as opposed to in the pages of the Bible. 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Now, not necessarily the exact same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/creflo-dollar-is-compromising-confusing-or-outright-contradicting/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [Christian Research Institute will continue doing what we do ... making people so familiar with truth that when counterfeits loom on the horizon, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/christian-research-institute-will-continue-doing-what-we-do-making/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [“Even a cursory reading of the Bible is sufficient to recognize that the Bible is a treasury replete with a wide variety of literary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/even-a-cursory-reading-of-the-bible-is-sufficient-to-recognize-that/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [I think that we're guided by the motto in "essentials unity, non essentials liberty and in all things charity." So if pastors compromise essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/i-think-that-we-re-guided-by-the-motto-in-essentials-unity-non/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [False teachers invite people to come to the Master's table because of what's on it, not because they love the Master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/false-teachers-invite-people-to-come-to-the-master-s-table-because-of/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [“The Dead Sea Scrolls predated the earliest extant text—Masoretic—by more than a millennium.3 Yet when compared to one another, differences in style and spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/the-dead-sea-scrolls-predated-the-earliest-extant-text-masoretic-by/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [The power of story is potent and that's why historical fiction can be an extraordinarily significant way of teaching people logical truth propositions, moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/the-power-of-story-is-potent-and-that-s-why-historical-fiction-can-be/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that the old covenant was a convenant of prosperity, and the new convenient is a covenant of adversity, whereby we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/charles-haddon-spurgeon-said-that-the-old-covenant-was-a-convenant-of/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) > [Marriage is the basic building block of civilization. We are redefining it at our own peril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/marriage-is-the-basic-building-block-of-civilization-we-are/) [Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) [Explore all 25 Hank Hanegraaff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/) ## More Ancient greek quotes > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [In all of Western civilization, there have been societies that celebrating the homosexuality, the ancient Greeks. But they, in fact, protected the institution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blackwell/in-all-of-western-civilization-there-have-been-societies-that/) [Ken Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blackwell/) > [The ancient Greek philosophers were all natural-born dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopaedic intellect among them, had even already analysed the most essential forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/the-ancient-greek-philosophers-were-all-natural-born-dialecticians/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“Greek women were not allowed to be: free and untamed. In fact, Artemis is a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/greek-women-were-not-allowed-to-be-free-and-untamed-in-fact-artemis/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [The ancient Greek oral poets all had this anxiety about the deficiencies of their memories and always began poems by praying to the Muse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-antin/the-ancient-greek-oral-poets-all-had-this-anxiety-about-the/) [David Antin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-antin/) > [“We will have have the dead at our councils. The ancient Greeks voted by stones; these shall vote by tombstones. It is all quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/we-will-have-have-the-dead-at-our-councils-the-ancient-greeks-voted/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Again, if there are really no fairies, why do people believe in them, all over the world? 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