By Greg Paulson and Katie Leggett

The INTF is often asked if it's possible to know when a manuscript witness was added to the Liste. As explained here, the Liste has had many instantiations before it was managed by the INTF. Because these publications can be difficult to track down, we thought it might be useful to offer a brief summary of these Liste eras, tracing the history of the Liste from Gregory to the INTF. Below you'll find all the relevant publications that were considered pre-cursors to the Liste. Where possible, the publications are hyperlinked, but unfortunately not all of these are freely available. With this list you can ascertain when new numbers were assigned within the respective publication and when other numbers were updated.

I. Caspar René Gregory's 1908 work, Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments is considered the origin of the Liste. Already in 1900, Gregory had published the first volume of his Textkritik; but it wasn't until 1908 that he would separate manuscripts into the four categories we have today: papyri, majuscules, minuscules, and lectionaries. He also gave majuscules numbers in addition to letters and alleviated the problem of assigning the same number to more than one manuscript, giving every manuscript its own number. He followed up this work with new additions to his list and updates to existing numbers.

1. Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testamentes. Versuche und Entwürfe 2. (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1908).

• Papyri: P1-P14
• Majuscules: 01-0161
• Minuscules: 1-2292, Nachtrag 2293-2304
• Lectionaries: 1-1540, 1605, 1614, 1620, 1633, 1751, Nachtrag 1541-1547

2. Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes. 3 vols. (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, vol. 1 1900; vol. 2 1902; vol. 3 1909).

• Papyri: (updates)
• Majuscules: 0162-0165, Nachtrag 0166, Pre-press update 0167-0168 (updates to others)
• Minuscules: 2293-2304, Nachtrag 2305-2318 (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: 1541-1559, 1605, 1614, 1620, 1633, 1751, 2234, Nachtrag 1560-1561, 2306 (updates to others)

3. Vorschläge für eine kritische Ausgabe des griechischen Neuen Testaments. Versuche und Entwürfe 5 (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1911), esp. 34-36.

• Majuscules: 0162-0168
• Minuscules: 2305-2320
• Lectionaries: 1548-1561

4. “Mitteilungen. Griechische Handschriften des N.T. bis zum 1 Juli 1912,” TLZ 37 (1912), col. 477.

• Papyri: P15-P19
• Majuscules: 0167-0169
• Minuscules: 2308, 2319-2326
• Lectionaries: l 1562-l 1565

II. Ernst von Dobschütz assumed responsibility for the list of manuscripts after Gregory and continued updating it in a series of publications over the next ten years, beginning with his 1923 revision of Eberhard Nestle’s introduction to the Greek New Testament. Interestingly, von Dobschütz renumbered two entries in Gregory’s list, giving them talisman numbers and essentially creating a fifth category of manuscripts. After this, he then made regular updates in the Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (ZNW), of which Hans Lietzmann was the editor.

5. Eberhard Nestle’s Einführung in das griechische Neue Testament. 3rd ed. (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1923), esp. 86ff. 

• Papyri: P1-P32
• Talisman: T1-T2
• Majuscules: 01-0170
• Minuscules: lists important ones from 1-2125
• Lectionaries: lists the oldest ones

6. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften.” ZNW 23 (1924): 248-264.

• Papyri: P33-P36 (updates to others)
• Majuscules: 0171-0188 (p. 215: “Gregory hat handschriftlich die Nrn. 0162-0171 nachgetragen” but this does not appear to have been published)
• Minuscules: 2327-2354 (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: l 1566-l 1580 (updates to others)

7. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften (II).” ZNW 25 (1926): 299-306.

• Papyri: P37-P38 (updates to others)
• Talisman: T3-T4
• Majuscules: (only updates)
• Minuscules: 2355-2357 (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: l 1590-l 1595

8. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften (III).” ZNW 27 (1928): 216-222.

• Papyri: P39-P41 (updates to others)
• Talisman: T5-T6
• Majuscules: 0189 (updates to others)
• Minuscules: 2358-2359

9. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften (IV).” ZNW 32 (1933): 185-206.

• Papyri: P42-P48
• Talisman: T7-T9
• Ostraca: O1-O25
• Majuscules: 0190-0208 (updates to others)
• Minuscules:2360-2362, 2394-2401 (p. 201: “Die Nummern 2363-2393 sind noch frei.” These were used in Aland’s 1953 article.)
• Lectionaries: l 1597-1609

III. Post-von Dobschütz. After von Dobschütz’s death in 1934, Lietzmann (editor of ZNW) eventually reached out to Georg Maldfeld to update the list of papyri. This update finally appeared in 1949 after Lietzmann had died.

10. Georg Maldfeld, “Die griechischen Handschriftenbruchstücke des Neuen Testamentes auf Papyrus.” ZNW 42 (1949): 228-253.

• Papyri: P1-P62

Walther Eltester became editor of the ZNW and the contact person for the list of manuscripts (as part of his duties on the Kommission für spätantike Religionsgeschichte, i.e., Church Father Commission), although he himself did not publish any updates to it. Eltester suggested that Maldfeld contact Bruce Metzger to find an American publisher for his article on papyri. Metzger and Maldfeld did not know each other, but Metzger sent the article to the Journal of Biblical Literature who agreed to publish it if Metzger translated it into English, checked all the sources, and brought it up to date.

11. Georg Maldfeld and Bruce Metzger, “Detailed List of the Greek Papyri of the New Testament.” JBL 68 (1949): 359-370.

• Papyri: P1-P62

Maldfeld then published a short update to his earlier papyri article.

12. Georg Maldfeld, “Berichtigungen und Ergänzungen zur Liste der griechischen Papyrusfragmente (P) des Neuen Testamentes.” ZNW 43 (1951): 260-261.

• Papyri: (only updates)

IV. Eltester, who was a student of Lietzmann eventually handed responsibility for the Liste over to Kurt Aland, who was another student of Lietzmann's. Aland, who was teaching at the Humboldt-University of Berlin and Martin-Luther-University in Halle-Wittenberg, published several updates to the Liste throughout the 1950s.

13. “Zur Liste der griechischen neutestamentlichen Handschriften.” TLZ 75 no. 1 (1950): 58-60.

In this publication, he mentions the works of Kenneth W. Clark (1937), Metzger (1947), P.L. Hedley (1934), and E.M. Schofield (1936), who continued to keep track of Greek manuscripts after von Dobschütz (although not all of their efforts resulted in publications).

• Papyri: (updates only)

14. “Zur Liste der griechischen neutestamentlichen Handschriften.” TLZ 78 no. 8/9 (1953): col. 465-496.

• Papyri: P63
• Majuscules: 0209-0232 (updates to others)
• Minuscules: 2363-2393, 2402-2440 [sic “2340”] (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: l 1610-l 1678 (updates to others)

15. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften. V.” ZNW 45 (1954): 179-217. Aland calls his article "V" because he continued the numbering where von Dobschütz had left off in his fourth installment of 1933.

• Papyri: P64 (update to P63)
• Majuscules: 0233-0239 (updates to 0209-0232 and others)
• Minuscules: 2441-2491(updates to 2363-2440 and others)
• Lectionaries: l 1679-l 1748 (updates to l 1610-l 1678 and others)

16. “Zur Liste der Neutestamentlichen Handschriften VI.” ZNW 48 (1957): 141-191.

• Papyri: P65-P68 (updates to P1-P64)
• Majuscules: 0240-0241 (updates to others)
• Minuscules: 2492-2533 (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: l 1749-l 1838 (updates to others)

Aland left Berlin in 1958 and founded the INTF in Münster in 1959, publishing the first official Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments in 1963. For the first time since Gregory, the full inventory of all known Greek New Testament manuscripts was listed. Previous publications had been mostly updates and additions.

17. Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments. ANTF 1 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1963).

• Papyri: P1-P76
• Majuscules: 01-0250
• Minuscules: 1-2646
• Lectionaries: l 1-l 1997, l 2334, l 2306

18. “Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments. Ergänzungen zur ‘Kurzgefasste Liste’ (Fortsetzungsliste VII).” In Materialien zur neutestamentlichen Handschriftenkunde 1 (ANTF 3) (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1969), 1-53, esp. 22-37.

• Papyri: P77-P81 (updates to others)
• Majuscules: 0251-0267 (updates to others)
• Minuscules: 2647-2768 (updates to others)
• Lectionaries: l 1998-l 2146 (updates to others)

For the next three decades, Kurt Aland and INTF staff made updates to the Liste in the institute’s reports called Bericht der Hermann-Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung.

19. “Neue Neutestamentliche Handschriften.” In Bericht der Hermann-Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1970 und 1971 (1972), 13-21.

• Minuscules: 2769-2792
• Lectionaries: l 2147-l 2193

20. “Liste der neu bekanntgeworden und in die offizielle neutestamentliche Handschriftenliste aufgenommenen Handschriften.” In Bericht der Hermann-Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1972 bis 1974 (1974), 9-13.

• Papyri: P82, P86 (the editiones principes of P83-P85 were not yet published, so their info was left out of the Liste for the time being)
• Majuscules: 0268-0269
• Minuscules: 2793-2795
• Lectionaries: l 2194-l 2207

21. “Liste der neu bekannt geworden und in die offizielle Handschriftenliste aufgenommenen Handschriften.” In Bericht der Hermann-Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1975 und 1976 (1977), 10-12.

• Papyri: P85, P87-P88
• Majuscules: 0270-0274
• Lectionaries: l 2208-l 2209

22. “Die neuen Papyri.” In Bericht der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1985 bis 1987 (1988), 59-60.

• Papyri: P89-P96 (cf. pages 59-60)
• Majuscules: 0278-0296 (cf. Sinai new finds, pages 55-56)
• Minuscules: 2797-2801 (cf. Sinai new finds, pages 55-56)
• Lectionaries: l 2211-l 2259 (cf. Sinai new finds, pages 55-56)

23. “Neue Handschriften.” In Bericht der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1988 bis 1991 (1992), 108-109.

• Papyri: P97
• Majuscules: 0300
• Minuscules: 2812-2813
• Lectionaries: l 2281-l 2284, l 2305, l 2353

A second revised edition of the Liste was published in its entirety in 1994.

24. Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments. 2nd ed. ANTF 1 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1994). See here and here.

• Papyri: P1-P99
• Majuscules: 01-0306
• Minuscules: 1-2856
• Lectionaries: l 1-l 2403

Afterwards, updates to the Liste resumed in the Hermann Kunst-Stiftung reports.

25. “Die Arbeiten des Instituts und der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung 1995–1998.” In Bericht der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1995 bis 1998 (1998), 13–18.

• Papyri: P100-P115
• Majuscules: 0307-0309
• Minuscules: 2857-2862
• Lectionaries: l 2404-l 2412

26. “Die Arbeiten des Instituts und der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung 1998-2003.” In Bericht der Hermann Kunst-Stiftung zur Förderung der Neutestamentlichen Textforschung für die Jahre 1998 bis 2003 (2003), 73–79.

• Papyri: P116
• Majuscules: 0310-0316
• Minuscules: 2863-2877
• Lectionaries: l 2413-l 2432

V. After the Hermann Kunst-Stiftung reports were no longer being published, online supplements to the Liste were posted to the INTF’s homepage. The final Bericht (2003) stated, “Der regelmäßig aktualisierte Stand der “Kurzgefaßten Liste” findet sich auf der Homepage des Instituts” (p. 79).

From here onward, the summaries only list new additions.

27. The list of Abschriften with new numbers were published in 2009.

• Papyri: P117-P125
• Majuscules: 0317-0320 (former Abschriften: 0319-0320)
• Minuscules: 2878-2897 (former Abschriften: 2883-2891)
• Lectionaries: l 2433-l 2438

28. Online Supplement to the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments (INTF, April 2, 2010).

• Papyri: P126-P127
• Minuscules: 2898-2903
• Lectionaries: l 2439-l 2445

29. Online Supplement to the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments (INTF, Sept. 2015).

• Papyri: P128
• Majuscules: 0321-0323
• Minuscules: 2904-2931
• Lectionaries: l 2446-l 2465

30. Online Supplement to the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments (INTF, Feb. 2018).

• Minuscules: 2932-2936
• Lectionaries: l 2467-l 2476

31. Online Supplement to the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des neuen Testaments (INTF, June 2018).

• Papyri: P137-P139

Amulets and ostraca have been now been reintroduced as an appendix to the Liste. Brice Jones brought the list of amulets (T10-T27) up to date, in New Testament Texts on Greek Amulets from Late Antiquity (London: T&T Clark, 2016). In 2023, Paulson and Jones made additional updates to magical ostraca (Os1-Os30) and added new amulets (T28–T39) to the Liste: Gregory S. Paulson and Brice C. Jones, “Resurrecting Amulets and Ostraca within New Testament Textual Criticism,” JBL 142.4 (2023): 633–655.

VI. The online supplements were discontinued in 2018. Since then, all updates to the Liste are made live in the NTVMR. Instead of the Hermann Kunst Stiftung reports or online supplements, the public is now informed about important announcements and updates to the Liste directly on the NTVMR Blog or through the INTF’s social media channels, like Facebook and X.