In Late Antiquity, there was no 'Bible' and the level of literacy was low. Yet, 'biblical texts' were used and interpreted in multiple contexts. In this project, we ask, what texts were considered within the notion of 'biblical' and how did the ancients, then, relate to authoritative texts? How did these various ways of relating shape what they understood as biblical? Did these texts influence their readers' lives? We examine these questions with a focus on three interrelated phenomena – asceticism, martyrdom, and miracles. The project’s key concept of lived scriptures designates our aim to situate biblical reception in the everyday lives of people while taking seriously both the fluidity of the biblical texts and the diversity of the early Christian movement.