New Testament Manuscripts

[Origen]

The earliest known manuscript (or manuscript fragment in this case) is P 52. Some have suggested a date as early as ca. 125. However most scholars opt for a mid 2nd century date (ca. 150). Since there is writing on both sides, P 52 was not part of a scroll but a codex.


John 18:31-33 (recto)

ΟΙ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ ΗΜΕΙΝ ΟΥΚ ΕΞΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΠΟΚΤΕΙΝΑΙ
ΟΥΔΕΝΑ ΙΝΑ Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΙΗΣΟΥ ΠΛΗΡΩΘΗ ΟΝ ΕΙ
ΠΕΝ ΣΗΜΑΙΝΩΝ ΠΟΙΩ ΘΑΝΑΤΩ ΗΜΕΛΛΕΝ ΑΠΟ
ΘΝΗΣΚΕΙΝ ΙΣΗΛΘΕΝ ΟΥΝ ΠΑΛΙΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΡΑΙΤΩ
ΡΙΟΝ Ο ΠΙΛΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΦΩΝΗΣΕΝ ΤΟΝ ΙΗΣΟΥΝ
ΚΑΙ ΕΙΠΕΝ ΑΥΤΩ ΣΥ ΕΙ O ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΙΟΥ
ΔΑΙΩN
John 18:37-38 (verso)

ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΕΙΜΙ ΕΓΩ ΕΙΣ TOΥΤΟ ΓΕΓΕΝΝΗΜΑΙ
ΚΑΙ ΕΛΗΛΥΘΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ ΙΝΑ ΜΑΡΤΥ
ΡΗΣΩ ΤΗ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ ΠΑΣ Ο ΩΝ ΕΚ ΤΗΣ ΑΛΗΘΕI
ΑΣ ΑΚΟΥΕΙ ΜΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΦΩΝΗΣ ΛΕΓΕΙ ΑΥΤΩ
Ο ΠΙΛΑΤΟΣ ΤΙ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΤΟ
ΕΙΠΩΝ ΠΑΛΙΝ ΕΞΗΛΘΕΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΙΟΥ
ΔΑΙΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΛΕΓΕΙ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ ΕΓΩ ΟΥΔΕΜΙΑΝ
There are no complete sentences\verses in this fragment. The text has to be reconstructed. The letters in black are the visible letters on the fragment. The letters in red are the missing part of the text.

Every few days (2 or 3) I will post another manuscript from the 2nd century.

Note - papyrus evidence is given the letter designation P and a number.
Note - there are no N.T. manuscripts which date back to the 1st century, as far as anybody knows.

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello Origen;

I know you have shared your interest in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and the ancient Septuagint and Rabbinical Studies.

If you can post on Latin and any historical information on the Latin Mass?

God bless you and thank you for sharing, brother.

 

[Origen]

Hello Origen;

I know you have shared your interest in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and the ancient Septuagint and Rabbinical Studies.

If you can post on Latin and any historical information on the Latin Mass?

God bless you and thank you for sharing, brother.

I wish I could help, but I know nothing about the Latin Mass. My knowledge has to do with the languages and the manuscripts evidence.

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello Origen;

I understand and thank you. I'm enjoying your thread and will dig into it more.

God bless you, brother.

 

[Origen]

Before I move on to the next papyrus, I need to say something about the dating of these manuscript. Paleography is the study of ancient handwriting and manuscripts. The fact there is simply no way to provide an absolute date, unless there is some time stamp left by the scribe. That, however, is very rare. A paleographer provides data that fits into a given range of years based on evidence.

P 104 is dated ca. 100-200. Both P 52 and P 104 are dated within a range that has its median in the middle of the 2nd century. Some believe it is older than P 52.


Matthew 21:34-37 (recto)

ΣTEIΛEN TOYΣ ΔOYΛOYΣ AYTOY ΠPOΣ
TOYΣ ΓEΩPΓOYΣ ΛABEIN TOYΣ KAP
ΠOYΣ AYTOY KAI ΛABONTEΣ OI ΓEΩP
ΓOI TOYΣ ΔOYΛOYΣ AYTOY ON MEN
EΔEIPAN ON ΔE AΠEKTEINAN ON
ΔE EΛIΘOBOΛHΣAN ΠAΛIN AΠE
ΣTEIΛEN AΛΛOYΣ ΔOYΛOYΣ ΠΛEIO
NAΣ TΩN ΠPΩTΩN KAI EΠOIHΣAN
AYTOIΣ ΩΣAYTΩΣ YΣTEPON ΔE AΠE

The verso, for the most part, is illegible. Matthew 21:43, 45

ΘEOY KAI ΔOΘHETAI EΘNEI ΠOIOYN
TI TOYΣ KAPΠOYΣ AYTHΣ KAI AKOY
ΣANTEΣ OI

 

[Origen]

The P 98 fragment is tentatively dated to the 2nd century, but some have suggested an early 3rd century date. Either way it the earliest witness for the book of Revelation. I am sorry about the quality of the photo. This is the only one I could find. According to scholars, this fragment was part of a scroll.

Rev

For P 52 and P 104 I transcribed the text into upper case letters (i.e. majuscule), so that others could see the text as the scribe wrote it. Majuscule is somewhat equivalent to capital letters but not exactly like it. This style of writing dominated from the 4th century B.C. until the 9th century A.D.

At this point I will no longer transcribed the text into upper case letters. Instead I will used lower case letters. It is just easier. Also the side of the document is a factor. So far I have provide only small fragments, however, there are much larger papyri. They are just too big for me to transcribe. Since it is very difficult to see, I am following the transcription provided by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research (Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung, INTF). By the way I also consulted the INTF for P 52 and P 104. However this is not my only source for these (and other) manuscripts.

περι̣εζωσμμ̣εν̣ον προς τοις μαστοις ζωνην
χρυσην και η κεφαλη αυτου και αι τριχες λευκαι
ως ε̣ριον λευκον̣ ως χιων και οι οφθαλμοι αυτου ως
φλοξ πυρος και οι ποδες αυτου ομοιοι χαλκολιβανω
ως εν καμινω πε̣πυρωμενης και η φωνη αυτου ως
φ̣ω̣νη υδατων π̣ολλων και εχων εν τη δεξια χειρι
αυτου αστ̣ερες ε̣πτα και εκ του στοματος αυτου ρομ
φαια διστ̣ομος οξεια εκπορευομενη και η οψις αυ
το̣υ ως η̣λ̣ιο̣ς̣ φαινει εν τη δυναμει αυτου και οτε ει
δ̣ο̣ν̣ αυτον̣ ε̣π̣ε̣σα προς τους ποδας αυτου ως νεκρος
κα̣ι εθη̣κ̣ε̣ τ̣η̣ν δεξιαν αυτου εμ εμε λεγων
μ̣η φο̣β̣ου̣ ε̣γ̣ω̣ ειμι ο πρωτος και ο εσχατος και ο ζων και εγε
νομη̣ν̣ ν̣εκ̣ρ̣ο̣ς και ιδου ζων ειμι εις τους αιωνας
τ̣ω̣ν̣ α̣ι̣ω̣ν̣ω̣ν̣ και εχω τας κλεις του θανατου και
τ̣ο̣υ α̣ι̣δ̣ο̣υ̣ γ̣ρ̣α̣ψ̣ο̣ν̣ ουν α ειδες και α εισιν και α μελλει
γ̣ε̣ν̣ε̣σθ̣α̣ι̣ μετα ταυτα το μυστηριον των ζ
α̣στερ̣ω̣ν̣ ους ειδες επι της δεξιας μου και τας
ζ̣ λυχ̣ν̣ει̣ας τας χρυσας οι ζ αστερες αγγελοι των
ζ̣ εκκλησ̣ι̣ω̣ν̣ ε̣ι̣σιν και αι λυχνιαι αι επτα επτα εκκλησιαι

 

[Origen]

P 77 dates to the late 2nd or early 3rd century.

Matthew 23:30-34 (recto)

ει̣ ημ̣εθα εν ταις ημεραις των πα
τερων ημων ουκ αν ημεθα κοινω
νοι αυ̣των εν τ̣ω αιματι των προφη
των ωστε μαρ̣τυρειτε εαυτοις οτι
υιοι εστε των φ̣ονευσαντων τους
προφητας̣ κ̣αι υμεις πληρωσατε
το̣ μετρον των πατερων υμων
οφει̣ς̣ γεννημ̣ατα εχιδνων πως
φυγητ̣ε απο τη̣ς κ̣ρ̣ι̣σ̣ε̣ως της γεεν
νης δι̣α̣ τ̣ουτ̣ο̣ ι̣δ̣ου εγω α̣π̣οσ̣τελλω
πρ̣ος υμας προφ̣ητας και σοφους
κ̣αι γραμματεις̣ εξ̣ αυτων αποκ̣τε
ν̣ειτε και σταυρωσ̣ετ̣ε κ̣αι εξ̣ αυτων
μαστιγωσετε εν τα̣ι̣ς̣ συναγω̣γαις


Matthew 23:35-39 (verso)

χαριου υιου βαραχ̣ιου ον εφονευ
σατε μεταξυ του ν̣αου κ̣α̣ι̣ τ̣ου θυσι
αστηριου αμην̣ λεγω υμειν ηξει
ταυτα παντα επ̣ι την γ̣ενεαν ταυ̣
την
ιερουσαλημ ιερουσα̣λημ η α̣ποκτιν̣
ουσα τους προφη̣τας και λιθο̣βο
λουσα τους απεστα̣λμενους προς αυ
την̣ ποσ̣α̣κις ηθελεικα ε̣πεισυνα̣
ξα̣ι̣ τα̣ τεκνα σου ον̣ τρο̣π̣ον ορνι̣ξ̣
επ̣ισυναγει τα ν̣οσσ̣ια αυτ̣η̣ς̣ υπ̣ο̣
τ̣ας πτερυγας ουκ ηθελησατε̣ ιδο̣υ
α̣φ̣ειεται υμιν ο οικος υμων λ̣ε̣
γω γαρ υμιν ου̣ μη̣ με ιδητε απ
αρτι εω̣ς̣ αν ειπ̣ητε̣ ευλογημενος
ο ερχομενος εν ονοματι κυριου

I would like to draw your attention to something in the fragment.

The scribe has made a mistake. He left out the word και from the body of the text. He corrected his mistake my writing the word in between the lines.

 

[blueskies]

Wow, that would be a bummer on any manuscript, but considering the intense pressure to “get it right” and the fact they couldn’t erase mistakes or use a product like “liquid papyrus”, that must have been a tough experience for the scribe when these things happened. .

Interesting fragments.
Thank you for posting these.

Since I possess no measurable knowledge of Greek and assume others may also be limited in Greek fluency, I took the liberty of looking up “kai” for context.

Strong's Concordance
kai: and, even, also
Original Word: καί
Part of Speech: Conjunction
Transliteration: kai
Phonetic Spelling: (kahee)
Definition: and, even, also
Usage: and, even, also, namely.

2532 kaí (the most common NT conjunction, used over 9,000 times) – and (also), very often, moreover, even, indeed (the context determines the exact sense).

 

[Origen]

Wow, that would be a bummer on any manuscript, but considering the intense pressure to “get it right” and the fact they couldn’t erase mistakes or use a product like “liquid papyrus”, that must have been a tough experience for the scribe when these things happened.

Interesting fragments.
Thank you for posting these.

The fact is manuscripts have, for lack of a better term, errors. With any hand written document mistakes are going to happen.

However, there are other differences that have nothing to do with mistakes\errors. Take the name for example, David. The name David is spelled at least three different ways.

Δαυιδ
Δαυειδ
Δαβιδ

Since I possess no measurable knowledge of Greek and assume others may also be limited in Greek fluency, I took the liberty of looking up “kai” for context.

Thanks and sorry. I was not thinking.

 

[Origen]

Just for fun I thought I would throw in a Hebrew manuscript.

The Great Isaiah Scroll is part of the DSS collection found at Qumran. This scroll is given the designation 1QIsaiah-a or 1QIsa-a. Let me break this down for you.

The number 1 refers to which cave it was found.
The letter Q is for Qumran (where it was found).
The lower case "a" at the end is usually written as a superscript. It is used to distinguish this Isaiah manuscript from other Isaiah manuscripts such as manuscript "b" or manuscript "c".

The Great Isaiah Scroll (1Qls-a) have been carbon-14 dated at least four times. The four studies produced calibrated date ranges between 335-324 BC and 202-107 BC. There have also been numerous paleographic and scribal dating studies conducted on the scroll which place ca.150-100 BC.



At the site below, you can view any potion of the scroll. Just click on the scroll. Then place your cursor over the text and click. This will highlight the chapter and verse you have chosen to examine.

http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/i...MI35jA-oiy_wIV5jfUAR1jUwFSEAAYBCAAEgKVAfD_BwE

I have picked Isaiah 66:1 as an example to explore just a bit.

The scribe has left out the definite article, so he writes it above the text. The article is written with the Hebrew letter ה‎ ‎(i.e. hey). The article does not stand alone but is attached to the front of the word.

"Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you would build for me, and where be my resting place?"

The next thing I want to show you is the third word in the verse which is underlined in red.

That is the divine name, the tetragrammaton,YHWH (i.e. yod, hey, waw, hey).

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello Origen;

Thank you for sharing a unique interest you have held for some time. I still get confused over the Qumran and wonder about their beliefs. How many caves were these scrolls found. I may remember learning that the caves were a sort of filing system, or library for these scholars?

Yours or anyone's thoughts?

 

[Origen]

How many caves were these scrolls found.

There are at least 11 (possibly 12) caves related to the Qumran community. A 12th cave was discovered in 2017, however, no scrolls were found there.

https://www.sci.news/archaeology/qumran-cave-12-dead-sea-scrolls-04607.html

I may remember learning that the caves were a sort of filing system, or library for these scholars?

The majority of scholars think the scrolls placed in the caves to protect them from being destroyed by the Romans. The Qumran community was destroyed during the First Jewish-Roman War ca. 68-73. We know that the caves were used to hide from the Romans.

I still get confused over the Qumran and wonder about their beliefs.

Their beliefs? That is a bit more complicated. In a nutshell the Qumran community were a group who believe that the current temple\priest system was impure and had become corrupt (sounds a bit like someone else we know). Thus they withdrew themselves from participation and setup their own community.

 

[Origen]

Codex Sangallensis dates to the 9th century and contains all four Gospels.

This page is Gospel of John stating at 1:1. The red arrow points to the Greek text. Just above that arrow is a blue arrow. That is the Latin translation of the Greek text. This is a interlinear text.

The yellow arrow points an example of a nomina sacra (i.e. sacred name). A nomina sacra is an abbreviation form of divine names or titles with a line written over it. In this case the word is θεός (i.e. God). The scribe also used a nomina sacra for the Latin equivalent "Deus" (i.e. God).

Here is a link for Codex Sangallensis starting at the Gospel of John.
https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/csg/0048/318/0/Sequence-255