Q. Do any manuscripts of St. Paul’s original Letters exist?
A. Very intriguing question. Thanks for asking it. Hopefully your question will prompt readers to crack open the pages of Scripture and truly make the works of the Bible their own.
The short answer is no, the original writings of the Bible no longer exist.
As you know, the Bible is a Catholic book written by Catholics, for Catholics and about Catholics. Actually the Bible is more than a book. It is a library of 73 literary works—46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.
St. Paul is the most prolific author of the New Testament with 13 letters attributed to his authorship.
Again, none of the writings of the Bible exist in their original form. The originals have been lost to history or destroyed. The first records of Biblical writings are copies of the originals. Original Biblical writings were handwritten, likely on parchment. As the Christian community grew and spread, copies of the originals, such as St. Paul’s letters were made and distributed to various areas and churches.
We know from history and tradition that the books and letters of the Bible which we have today are the ones they wrote, and they have been handed down to us. What we have now is the printed Bible. However, before the invention of the printing press in 1440 A.D., the Bible existed only in handwriting—what we call manuscripts. We do have in our possession copies of the Bible in manuscript, some that were made as early as the fourth century.
Another interesting point is that St. Paul likely wrote more than the 13 letters we currently have. Paul’s own writings indicate the possibility of other letters that have been lost to history:
1. A first epistle to Corinth, referenced at 1 Corinthians 5:9
2. A third epistle to Corinth, also called the Severe Letter, referenced at 2 Corinthians 2:4 and 2 Corinthians 7:8–9
3. An earlier epistle to the Ephesians referenced at Ephesians 3:3–4
4. The Epistle to the Laodiceans, referenced at Colossians 4:16
This question was answered by a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
