Papyrus 66
Encyclopedia
Papyrus 66 is a near complete codex
of the Gospel of John
, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri
.
manuscript
s known to exist, with its writing dated to around 200 CE.
In common with both the other surviving early papyri of John's Gospel; P45
(apparently), P75
, and most New Testament uncials, Papyrus 66 does not include the pericope of the adulteress (7:53-8:11); demonstrating the absence of this passage in all the surviving early witnesses of the Gospel of John
. The manuscript also contains, consistently, the use of Nomina Sacra
.
Studies done by Karyn Berner and Philip Comfort, contended that
66 had the work of three individuals on it: The original, professional scribe, a thoroughgoing corrector and a minor corrector. But more recently James Royse argues that, with the possible exception of John 13:19, the corrections are all by the hand of the original copyist.
It uses staurogram in John 19:16.
. Aland ascribed it as "Free text" and placed it in I Category.
A transcription of every single page of
66 is contained in the book referenced in reference, pages 388-468.
66 surprised scholars because the first 26 leaves were basically fully intact, and even the stitching of the binding remained.
It was published in 1956 and it was the most important New Testament manuscript publication since the Chester Beatty Papyri in 1933-1934.
It is currently housed at the Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland: Bibliotheca Bodmeriana. The Papyrus contains 39 folios - that is 78 leaves, 156 pages - at a size of 14.2 cm x 16.2 cm for each leaf with roughly 15-25 lines per page.
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
of the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri
Bodmer Papyri
The Bodmer Papyri are a group of twenty-two papyri discovered in Egypt in 1952. They are named after Martin Bodmer who purchased them. The papyri contain segments from the Old and New Testaments, early Christian literature, Homer and Menander. The oldest, P66 dates to c. 200. The papyri are kept at...
.
Description
The manuscript contains John 1:1-6:11, 6:35b-14:26, 29-30; 15:2-26; 16:2-4, 6-7; 16:10-20:20, 22-23; 20:25-21:9, 12, 17. It is one of the oldest New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
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...
s known to exist, with its writing dated to around 200 CE.
In common with both the other surviving early papyri of John's Gospel; P45
Papyrus 45
Papyrus 45 is an early New Testament manuscript which is a part of the Chester Beatty Papyri. It was probably created around 250 in Egypt. It contains the texts of Matthew 20-21 and 25-26; Mark 4-9 and 11-12; Luke 6-7 and 9-14; John 4-5 and 10-11; and Acts 4-17...
(apparently), P75
Papyrus 75
Papyrus 75 is an early Greek New Testament papyrus.- Description :Originally '[it] contained about 144 pages ... of which 102 have survived, either in whole or in part.' It 'contains about half the text of ... two Gospels' – Luke and John in Greek...
, and most New Testament uncials, Papyrus 66 does not include the pericope of the adulteress (7:53-8:11); demonstrating the absence of this passage in all the surviving early witnesses of the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
. The manuscript also contains, consistently, the use of 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...
.
Studies done by Karyn Berner and Philip Comfort, contended that
66 had the work of three individuals on it: The original, professional scribe, a thoroughgoing corrector and a minor corrector. But more recently James Royse argues that, with the possible exception of John 13:19, the corrections are all by the hand of the original copyist.It uses staurogram in John 19:16.
Text
The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-typeAlexandrian 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...
. Aland ascribed it as "Free text" and placed it in I Category.
A transcription of every single page of
66 is contained in the book referenced in reference, pages 388-468.- In John 1:15 ο οπισω ] ο πισω, the reading is supported by Sangallensis and 1646;
- In John 13:5 it has unique textual variant ποδονιπτηρα instead of νιπτηρα.
- In John 13:7 it has αρ (error) instead of αρτι (now).
History
The manuscript was found in 1952 at Jabal Abu Mana near Dishna (Egypt). In fact, the preservation level of66 surprised scholars because the first 26 leaves were basically fully intact, and even the stitching of the binding remained.It was published in 1956 and it was the most important New Testament manuscript publication since the Chester Beatty Papyri in 1933-1934.
It is currently housed at the Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland: Bibliotheca Bodmeriana. The Papyrus contains 39 folios - that is 78 leaves, 156 pages - at a size of 14.2 cm x 16.2 cm for each leaf with roughly 15-25 lines per page.
Further reading
- K. Berner, Papyrus Bodmer II, P66: A re-evaluation of the Correctors and corrections (1993).
- Victor M., Papyrus Bodmer II: Evangile de Jean 1-14 (Cologny-Geneve 1956);
- Victor M., Papyrus Bodmer II: Evangile de Jean 14-21 (1958).
- James R. Royse, Scribal Habits in Early Greek New Testament Papyri (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008).
External links
- Image of p 52 of Papyrus 66 at Bible Research