Before the invention of books, both the Old and New Testament writings were copied on scrolls, which were sheets of Papyrus or leather glued/sewn end to end and rolled up on rods. The Egyptians manufactured and used flattened Papyrus reed sheets for a writing material as early as 3000 BC. Papyrus was plentiful around the Nile River and these Papyrus sheets are the basis of how our word “paper” was derived. Leather scrolls, on the other hand, were made from the skins of calves, sheep, or goats. These skins were specially treated and scraped very thin so that they would roll easily around the wooden rods and not be too bulky.
