Fayyum Fragment
Encyclopedia
The Fayyum Fragment is a papyrus
fragment containing text that could be from part of the New Testament
, and consists of only about 100 Greek
letters. The fragment was originally discovered in Al-Fayyum, Egypt
, and was translated in 1885 by Gustav Bickell
after it was found in the papyrus collection of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria in Vienna
.
The surviving manuscript is badly damaged and has fewer than a hundred Greek letters preserved. Because of its style of handwriting it is believed to have been copied around the end of the third century. The text seems to parallel Mark 14:26-31, appearing to present a more abbreviated account. It is unclear whether the fragment is an abridged version of the synoptic gospels
, or a source text on which they were based, perhaps the apocryphal Gospel of Peter
.
The text reads:
Textual comparison with the texts in the three synoptic gospels leads to the above reconstruction of missing letters:
----
Κατὰ Ματθαίον, 26: 30-34
Καὶ ὑμνήσαντες
ἐξῆλθον εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.
Τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Πάντες ὑμεῖς
σκανδαλισθήσεσθε
ἐν ἐμοὶ
ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ,
γέγραπται γάρ·
Πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα,
καὶ διασκορπισθήσονται
τὰ πρόβατα
τῆς ποίμνης.
μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί
με προάξω ὑμᾶς
εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ
ὁ Πέτρος
εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Εἰ πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσονται
ἐν σοί,
ἐγὼ οὐδέποτε
σκανδαλισθήσομαι.
ἔφη αὐτῷ
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι
ὅτι ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ
νυκτὶ πρὶν ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι
τρὶς ἀπαρνήσῃ με.
Κατά Μάρκον, 14: 26-30
Καὶ ὑμνήσαντες
ἐξῆλθον εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς
ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι·
Πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσεσθε,
ὅτι γέγραπται,
Πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα,
καὶ τὰ πρόβατα
διασκορπισθήσονται·
ἀλλὰ
μετὰ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί
με προάξω ὑμᾶς
εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.
ὁ δὲ Πέτρος
ἔφη αὐτῷ·
Εἰ καὶ πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσονται,
ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγώ.
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι
ὅτι σὺ σήμερον ταύτῃ τῇ
νυκτὶ πρὶν ἢ δὶς ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι
τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ.
Fragment
...ε]ξαγειν
ως ε[ι]πε[ν]
οτι,
Α[παντες]
σκανδαλισ[θησεσ-][θε
[εν ταυτη] τη νυκτι
κατα] το γραφεν·
Παταξω τον [ποιμε-][να,
και τα] προβατα
διασκορπισθησ[ονται.
το]υ Πετ{ρου}·
ει-] [ποντος
Και ει παντες,
ο[υκ εγω....]
[...Ι{ησου}ς·
Πρι]ν αλεκτρυων
δις κοκ[κυσει
τρις] [...με α]παρν[ηση.]
Κατά Λουκάν, 22: 34, 39
Καὶ
ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη
κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν:
ἠκολούθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ μαθηταί.
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν,
Λέγω σοι,
Πέτρε,
οὐ φωνήσει σήμερον ἀλέκτωρ ἕως
τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ εἰδέναι.
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
fragment containing text that could be from part of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and consists of only about 100 Greek
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
letters. The fragment was originally discovered in Al-Fayyum, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and was translated in 1885 by Gustav Bickell
Gustav Bickell
Gustav Bickell was a German orientalist. He was born in Kassel, and died in Vienna.His father, Johann Wilhelm Bickell, was professor of canon law at the University of Marburg, and died as minister of justice of Hesse-Kassel...
after it was found in the papyrus collection of Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
The surviving manuscript is badly damaged and has fewer than a hundred Greek letters preserved. Because of its style of handwriting it is believed to have been copied around the end of the third century. The text seems to parallel Mark 14:26-31, appearing to present a more abbreviated account. It is unclear whether the fragment is an abridged version of the synoptic gospels
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be...
, or a source text on which they were based, perhaps the apocryphal Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel According to Peter , commonly called the Gospel of Peter, is one of the non-Canonical gospels which were rejected by the Church Fathers and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal...
.
The text reads:
Textual comparison with the texts in the three synoptic gospels leads to the above reconstruction of missing letters:
----
Κατὰ Ματθαίον, 26: 30-34
Καὶ ὑμνήσαντες
ἐξῆλθον εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.
Τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Πάντες ὑμεῖς
σκανδαλισθήσεσθε
ἐν ἐμοὶ
ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ,
γέγραπται γάρ·
Πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα,
καὶ διασκορπισθήσονται
τὰ πρόβατα
τῆς ποίμνης.
μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί
με προάξω ὑμᾶς
εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ
ὁ Πέτρος
εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Εἰ πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσονται
ἐν σοί,
ἐγὼ οὐδέποτε
σκανδαλισθήσομαι.
ἔφη αὐτῷ
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι
ὅτι ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ
νυκτὶ πρὶν ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι
τρὶς ἀπαρνήσῃ με.
Κατά Μάρκον, 14: 26-30
Καὶ ὑμνήσαντες
ἐξῆλθον εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς
ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι·
Πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσεσθε,
ὅτι γέγραπται,
Πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα,
καὶ τὰ πρόβατα
διασκορπισθήσονται·
ἀλλὰ
μετὰ τὸ ἐγερθῆναί
με προάξω ὑμᾶς
εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν.
ὁ δὲ Πέτρος
ἔφη αὐτῷ·
Εἰ καὶ πάντες
σκανδαλισθήσονται,
ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγώ.
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ
ὁ Ἰησοῦς·
Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι
ὅτι σὺ σήμερον ταύτῃ τῇ
νυκτὶ πρὶν ἢ δὶς ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι
τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ.
Fragment
...ε]ξαγειν
ως ε[ι]πε[ν]
οτι,
Α[παντες]
σκανδαλισ[θησεσ-][θε
[εν ταυτη] τη νυκτι
κατα] το γραφεν·
Παταξω τον [ποιμε-][να,
και τα] προβατα
διασκορπισθησ[ονται.
το]υ Πετ{ρου}·
ει-] [ποντος
Και ει παντες,
ο[υκ εγω....]
[...Ι{ησου}ς·
Πρι]ν αλεκτρυων
δις κοκ[κυσει
τρις] [...με α]παρν[ηση.]
Κατά Λουκάν, 22: 34, 39
Καὶ
ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη
κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εἰς
τὸ Ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν:
ἠκολούθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ μαθηταί.
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν,
Λέγω σοι,
Πέτρε,
οὐ φωνήσει σήμερον ἀλέκτωρ ἕως
τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ εἰδέναι.
Textual source
- Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter, New Testament Greek Papyri and Parchments. Vol. 1: Text; Vol. 2: Plates, Mitteilungen aus der Papyrussammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (MPER) XXX (Berlin; New York: de Gruyter, 2008).