Papyrus 37
Encyclopedia
Papyrus 37 designated by 
37 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus
manuscript
of the Gospel of Matthew
dating to the 3rd century, sometime around 250-260 CE, due to its affinities with
53 (dated to 260 CE), The correspondence of Heroninos (dated shortly before or after 260 CE) and a letter by Kopres (P. Greco-Egizi 208, dated 256 CE).
(inventory #1570), and was purchased in Cairo, Egypt, in 1924. Its exact origin is unknown, but it most likely came from Egypt. The manuscript is a fragment of a single leaf consisting of one column of 33 lines (40 to 50 characters per line), roughly 12.1 cm by 22.4 cm. The fragment is damaged on all sides with considerable lacunae
and was probably originally 15 cm by 25.5 cm. The surviving text of Matthew are verses 26:19-52. This portion of Matthew depicts the Last Supper
, the betrayal by Judas, and the beginning of the Arrest of Jesus
.
The papyrus uses a legible, cursive-like script with irregular character linking. The cursive letters resemble the cursive that was common between the years 200 and 350. There are many variations in the letters, which makes a precise dating based on paleography difficult. The writer was most likely literate and educated because the letters do not appear crude or imitative, but the irregularities suggest the writer was not an experienced scribe
. The handwriting is similar to personal letters and documents from the mid 3rd century.
Certain nomina sacra
(ΚΕ ΙΗΣ ΠΝΑ ΙΗΣΥ) are employed in the text. There are no punctuation or accent marks. There are, however, dots that appear in irregular intervals, placed in the text by a later hand, apparently to help reading. This suggests that the manuscript was used at one point in church. Because the manuscript is so short, it is difficult to gauge the regularity of the dots, or their purpose for certain.
The text-type is most follows Western
readings. By Sander's count, there are 85 extant variants in this portion of Matthew. 18 of those readings are supported by nearly all manuscripts. 11 are unique to the manuscript. The remaining 56 fall within Western, Alexandrian
, and Caesarean
text-types. The text has to be reconstructed in places of lacuna by comparing the amount of space missing to the number of letters in various readings. Based on the reading variations, the text most likely originated in Egypt.
Aland
placed this manuscript in Category I.
37 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrusPapyrus
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....
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
dating to the 3rd century, sometime around 250-260 CE, due to its affinities with
53 (dated to 260 CE), The correspondence of Heroninos (dated shortly before or after 260 CE) and a letter by Kopres (P. Greco-Egizi 208, dated 256 CE).Description
It is currently housed at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor LibraryUniversity of Michigan Library
The University of Michigan University Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The system, consisting of 19 separate libraries in 11 buildings, altogether holds over 9.55 million volumes, with the collection growing at the rate of...
(inventory #1570), and was purchased in Cairo, Egypt, in 1924. Its exact origin is unknown, but it most likely came from Egypt. The manuscript is a fragment of a single leaf consisting of one column of 33 lines (40 to 50 characters per line), roughly 12.1 cm by 22.4 cm. The fragment is damaged on all sides with considerable lacunae
Lacuna (manuscripts)
A lacunaPlural lacunae. From Latin lacūna , diminutive form of lacus . is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work...
and was probably originally 15 cm by 25.5 cm. The surviving text of Matthew are verses 26:19-52. This portion of Matthew depicts the Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, the betrayal by Judas, and the beginning of the Arrest of Jesus
Arrest of Jesus
The arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical gospels. The event ultimately leads, in the Gospel accounts, to Jesus' crucifixion...
.
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
. The handwriting is similar to personal letters and documents from the mid 3rd century.
Certain nomina sacra
Nomina sacra
Nomina sacra means "sacred names" in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing of several frequently occurring divine names or titles in early Greek language Holy Scripture...
(ΚΕ ΙΗΣ ΠΝΑ ΙΗΣΥ) are employed in the text. There are no punctuation or accent marks. There are, however, dots that appear in irregular intervals, placed in the text by a later hand, apparently to help reading. This suggests that the manuscript was used at one point in church. Because the manuscript is so short, it is difficult to gauge the regularity of the dots, or their purpose for certain.
The text-type is most follows Western
Western text-type
The Western text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts...
readings. By Sander's count, there are 85 extant variants in this portion of Matthew. 18 of those readings are supported by nearly all manuscripts. 11 are unique to the manuscript. The remaining 56 fall within Western, Alexandrian
Alexandrian text-type
The Alexandrian text-type , associated with Alexandria, is one of several text-types used in New Testament textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of biblical manuscripts...
, and Caesarean
Caesarean text-type
Caesarean text-type is the term proposed by certain scholars to denote a consistent pattern of variant readings that is claimed to be apparent in certain Greek manuscripts of the four Gospels, but which is not found in any of the other commonly recognized New Testament text-types; the Byzantine...
text-types. The text has to be reconstructed in places of lacuna by comparing the amount of space missing to the number of letters in various readings. Based on the reading variations, the text most likely originated in Egypt.
Aland
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. He founded the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster and served as its first director for many years...
placed this manuscript in Category I.
Further reading
- Sanders, Henry A., An Early Papyrus Fragment of the Gospel of Matthew in the Michigan Collection, Harvard Theological Review. vol. 19. 1926, pp. 215–226.
- E. von DobschuetzErnst von DobschützErnst Adolf Alfred Oskar Adalbert von Dobschütz was a German theologian, textual critic, author of numerous books and professor at the University of Halle, the University of Breslau, and the University of Strasbourg...
, ZNW 25 (1926) p. 301.