Below you may find a list of both the earliest and the most important manuscripts containing the Testimonium Flavianum, each with accompanying links to images.
Curating these images, obtaining licensing rights, and identifying new manuscripts comes at a great cost. For many manuscripts the rights were only able to be procured for the book and not this webpage, yet there are also images presented here that were not able to be presented in the book. To support further work (and perhaps to discover new evidence regarding the authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum), please consider donating to the Institute for Christian Reflection.
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(note: I’m still hoping to upload images of pseudo-Hegesippus and Rufinus and perhaps other sources).
| Notes | Manuscript Shelfmark with folio and line numbers | Date | Work containing the Testimonium Flavianum | Manuscript Image |
| Earliest Greek manuscript of Antiquities book 18 | Biblioteca Ambrosiana F128 folio 274r line 27—274v line 8 | 11th century | Josephus, Antiquities 18.63–64 |  Image source. Link to digitized manuscript (images 533-534) |
| Second earliest Greek manuscript of Antiquities book 18 | Vatican gr.984 folio 152v lines 27–31 | 1354 CE | Josephus, Antiquities 18.63–64 | See image 2 in book or link to digitized manuscript |
| Third earliest Greek manuscript of Antiquities book 18 | Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana Plut 69.10 folio 360v left column lines 9–24 | 14th/15th century | Josephus, Antiquities 18.63–64 | See image 3 in book or link to digitized manuscript (image 730) |
| Earliest Greek manuscript to contain an excerpt of the Testimonium Flavianum | Vatican gr.148 folio 214v lines 3-13 | 10th/11th century | Excerpt of Testimonium Flavianum | See image 4 in book or link to digitized manuscript (image 226) |
| Second earliest Greek manuscript to contain an excerpt of the Testimonium Flavianum | Vatican gr.342 folio 282v lines 11–24 | 1087/1088 | Excerpt of Testimonium Flavianum | See image 5 in book or link to digitized manuscript |
| Earliest Greek manuscript of Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History. Contains the important variant “a certain Jesus” (Ἰησοῦς τις). | Bibliothèque nationale de France Grec 1430 folio 26v lines 2–15 | 10th century | Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.11.7–8, composed circa 313 CE |  (Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF) Link to digitized manuscript (image 32) |
| Earliest manuscript of Eusebius, Demonstration. | Bibliothèque nationale de France Grec 469 folio 79v lines 29-31— 80r lines 1 – 8 | 12th century | Eusebius, Demonstration 3.5.105 (124b–c) (composed c.318–323 CE) |  f. 79v  f.80r (Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF) Link to digitized manuscript (images 170-171) |
| Earliest manuscript of Jerome’s Illustrious Men. Contains the important variant “was believed to be the Christ” (credebatur esse Christus). | Vatican Reg.lat.2077 folio 15r left column line 7–right column line 11 | 6th/7th century | Jerome, Illustrious Men 13.5–6 (Latin) composed 393 CE | See image 7 in book or link to digitized manuscript |
| Second earliest manuscript of Jerome’s Illustrious Men. Contains the important variant “was believed to be the Christ” (credebatur esse Christus). | Bibliothèque nationale de France Lat. 12161 page 42 lines 2–16 (manuscript numbered according to pages not folios) | 7th century | Jerome, Illustrious Men 13.5–6 (Latin) composed 393 CE |  (Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF) Link to digitized manuscript |
| Earliest manuscript of Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of Antiquities book 18. Cassiodorus (or his team) utilized Rufinus’s translation of the TF verbatim. | Copenhagen Det Kongelige Bibliotek GKS 157 folio 149r lines 28–34 | 7/8th century | Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of the Antiquities, translated in the sixth century |  Link to digitized manuscript (image 303) |
| Second earliest manuscript of Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of Antiquities book 18. Cassiodorus (or his team) utilized Rufinus’s translation of the TF verbatim. | Biblioteca Ambrosiana A220 folio 22r lines 3—9 | 800-850 CE | Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of the Antiquities, translated in the sixth century | Link to digitized manuscript (image 51) |
| Third earliest manuscript of Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of Antiquities book 18. Cassiodorus (or his team) utilized Rufinus’s translation of the TF verbatim. | Staatsbibliothek Bamberg Msc.Class.78 folio 221v column 2 lines 3–18 | 850 CE | Cassiodorus’s Latin translation of the Antiquities, translated in the sixth century |  Link to digitized manuscript (image 446) |
| Earliest precisely datable manuscript of any ancient work of literature (please contact me if this is incorrect) | British Library Add.12150 folio 232v column 2 lines 1–29 | 411 CE | Eusebius, Theophany 5.44, composed 325/326 CE (Syriac translation from the fourth century, probably during Eusebius’s lifetime) |  Picture by TC Schmidt August 5, 2024 |
| Second earliest precisely datable manuscript of any ancient work of literature (please contact me if this is incorrect) | National Library of Russia Siriyskaya novaya seria 1, folio 16r column 1 line 25–column 2 line 20 | 462 CE | Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.11.7–8, composed 313 CE (Syriac translation from the fourth century, probably during Eusebius’s lifetime) | See image 9 in book |
| British Library Add.14639 folio 14b col 2 lines 24-31 & 15a lines 1-30 | 6th century | Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.11.7–8 composed 313 CE (Syriac translation from the fourth century, probably during Eusebius’s lifetime) |  f.14a  f.15b Pictures by TC Schmidt August 5, 2024 | |
| British Library Add.12154 folio 151r line 18–151v line 6 | 8th/9th century | Quotation of the Testimonium Flavianum excerpted from Syriac translation of Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.11.7–8 | See image 11 in book | |
| Contains the important variant “It was thought that he was the Christ” (ܡܣܬܒܪܐ ܕܡܫܝܚܐ ܐܝܬܘܗܝ ܗܘܐ) | Archdiocese of Aleppo MS 250 S, folio 50r left column lines 15-27 (folio 47r in print edition), | 1598 CE | Michael the Syrian, Record of Times 5.10, composed in 1199 CE. However, Michael probably derived the Testimonium Flavianum from Jacob of Edessa’s Chronicle, composed before Jacob’s death in 708 CE | See image 12 in book or link to digitized manuscript |
| One of three known Armenian manuscripts of Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History. The other two date from the 1600s. The Armenian translation was based on the Syriac and was conducted at an unknown date, perhaps in the fifth century. It contains the important variant “a certain man” (այր մի). | Mechitaristarum Vindobonensis 49 (70 C), folio 15r line 21– 15v line 4 | 1695 CE | Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 1.11.7–8 (Armenian translation, perhaps carried out in the fifth century) | See image 13 in book or link to catalog |
| This paraphrase of the Testimonium Flavianum is interesting because it presents a neutral interpretation, saying of Jesus, that “perhaps he was the Christ” (فلعله هو المسيح), among other similar things. | Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana Or. 323, folio 6v line 11–7r line 2 | 1288 CE | Agapius, Book of History, composed around 941/2 CE. However, Agapius probably derived the Testimonium Flavianum from Jacob of Edessa’s Chronicle, composed before Jacob’s death in 708 CE. For more bibliographic information, see p. 49 in the book. | See image 14 in book |