Papyrus Bodmer III
Encyclopedia
Codex Bodmer III, is a Coptic
uncial manuscript
of the four Gospel
s, dated palaeographically
to the 4th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of John
with some lacunae. It is written in Bohairic dialect of Coptic language
.
It is the oldest manuscript of the Bohairic version. Originally codex contained 239 pages, but the first 22 are damaged and only small fragments have survived. The Gospel of John is followed by the text of Book of Genesis (1:1-4:2) with page numbers beginning with α in a new series. It has also fragment of Epistle to Philippians in Sahidic dialect.
The first occurrence of "God" in John 1:1 is in contracted form as the Nomina Sacra
, whereas the second occurrence is
spelled fully. In John 1:18 the word "God" (which no one has seen) is contracted (as the Nomina Sacra), while the word "God" (only-begotten) is spelled out. The scribe may have been a Gnostic.
The text of the codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type
. Because its text is different than later Bohairic manuscript (from 12th century and later) it was called to be the proto-Bohairic version (Papyrus Bodmer III).
The manuscript was discovered by John M. Bodmer
of Geneva in Upper Egypt.
It was published by Rodolphe Kasser
in 1958.
Currently it is housed at the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana (P. Bodmer III) in Cologny
.
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
uncial 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 four Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s, dated palaeographically
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
to the 4th century. It contains the text 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...
with some lacunae. It is written in Bohairic dialect of Coptic language
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
.
It is the oldest manuscript of the Bohairic version. Originally codex contained 239 pages, but the first 22 are damaged and only small fragments have survived. The Gospel of John is followed by the text of Book of Genesis (1:1-4:2) with page numbers beginning with α in a new series. It has also fragment of Epistle to Philippians in Sahidic dialect.
The first occurrence of "God" in John 1:1 is in contracted form as the 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...
, whereas the second occurrence is
spelled fully. In John 1:18 the word "God" (which no one has seen) is contracted (as the Nomina Sacra), while the word "God" (only-begotten) is spelled out. The scribe may have been a Gnostic.
The text of the codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type
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...
. Because its text is different than later Bohairic manuscript (from 12th century and later) it was called to be the proto-Bohairic version (Papyrus Bodmer III).
The manuscript was discovered by John M. Bodmer
Bodmer Library
The Bibliotheca Bodmeriana is located in Cologny, Switzerland just outside Geneva. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The library was established by Martin Bodmer and is famous as the home of the Bodmer Papyri. Some of these papyri are among the oldest remaining copies of the...
of Geneva in Upper Egypt.
It was published by Rodolphe Kasser
Rodolphe Kasser
Rodolphe Kasser , philologist and archaeologist, is a Coptic scholar. He is a Swiss national, and expert in translation of ancient Coptic language manuscripts.- Biography and works :...
in 1958.
Currently it is housed at the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana (P. Bodmer III) in Cologny
Cologny
Cologny is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.-Geography:Cologny has an area, , of . Of this area, or 17.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 4.1% is forested...
.
See also
- List of the Coptic New Testament manuscripts
- Coptic versions of the BibleCoptic versions of the BibleThere have been many Coptic versions of the Bible, including some of the earliest translations into any language. Several different versions were made in the ancient world, with different editions of the Old and New Testament in all four of the major dialects of Coptic: Bohairic , Fayyumic, Sahidic...
- Biblical manuscriptBiblical manuscriptA biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek biblia ; manuscript comes from Latin manu and scriptum...
Further reading
- Rodolphe Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer III. Evangile de Jean et Genese I-IV, 2 en bohairique, (CSCO clxxvii, Scriptores coptici, XXV; Louvain, 1958).