The Codex Sinaiticus is ranked in age along with Codex Vaticanus as one of oldest sacred manuscripts. It is dated to be written around the the fourth century around the time of the Christian emperor, Constantine. The codex contains the Old Testament with the apocrypha and the New Testament with two less known books: the Shepherd of Hermas and the Epistle of Barnabas. {The BBC News Article: The Rival to the Bible discusses the discrepancies and implications of the these two books and its worth a read.}

Book of Esther [ from wikipedia ]

Text
The pages measure 38.1 cm x 34.5 cm. The text is placed on four columns per page with 48 lines per column. The text was written in Greek all capitals with no spaces and punctuation in uncial letters, making it  difficult for modern scholars to decode. The absence of spaces with scant punctuation also adds to the already difficult task of the scribe in reading and writing. Consequently, this increases the chances of errors in the copying of the text from the original or other manuscripts.  The same errors we make today when we copy text whether it be in handwriting or typing on a computer are present in these ancient manuscripts. This is compounded by the awkward writing materials used by these scribes resulting in modifications during transmission. The wikipedia article contains a list of differences of the Codex Sinaiticus to other codices

Follow this link for more information on the production of the codex.

The text has been designed to be read by those who already have an understanding of what is written. The idea of punctuation and spaces between words was to come much later, indicating a considerable dependence of text to oral traditions.

To view for yourself the digitized manuscript visit the Codex Sinaiticus website


Some links on the Codex:
The rival to the Bible (BBC News)