The original physical manuscripts (autographs) written by biblical authors survive today and can be directly consulted by modern scholars.

### Why this is right The source states that the original documents disappeared long ago. Readers rely on the history of copied texts and on translations rather than consulting the authors’ original physical documents. ### The concept An original document is the first physical form of a writing. A manuscript copy is a later handwritten witness to that text. Transmission describes the copying and preservation process. The disappearance of originals does not mean that there is no textual evidence; it means that the evidence comes through surviving copies and the work of textual study. ### Watch out Do not confuse the absence of original documents with the absence of ancient manuscripts or textual evidence. ### Remember The source distinguishes original documents from the later copies through which the text is known.