Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655
Encyclopedia
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655 (P. Oxy. 655) is a papyrus
fragment of the logia
of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus
. The fragment is dated to the early 3rd century. It is one of only three Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Thomas
.
form. The measurements of the original leaf were 82 mm by 83 mm. The text is written in uncial letters. It is well written in an informal book hand. There is no punctuation, no rough breathings, no accents, no division between sayings, nor instances of using of the nomina sacra
. One correction was made in a cursive hand.
The fragment contains logia
(sayings) 24.36–39 of the Gospel of Thomas on the recto side of the leaf.
Grenfell and Hunt also discovered another two fragments of this apocryphal Gospel: P. Oxy. 1
and P. Oxy. 654
.
According to Grenfell and Hunt, who identified this fragment as being from an uncanonical Gospel, it is very close to the Synoptic Gospels
. They observed some similarities to the Gospel of Luke
. According to them it could have belonged to the Gospel according to the Egyptians
(as postulated by Adolf Harnack), or a collections of Jesus's Sayings used in the Second Epistle of Clement
. Grenfell and Hunt observed some similarities to the P. Oxy. 654
. The only complete copy of the Gospel of Thomas was found in 1945 when a Coptic version was discovered at Nag Hammadi
with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts
.
In 1904, P. Oxy. 655 was given to Harvard University
by the Egypt Exploration Fund. The fragment is housed at the Houghton Library
, Harvard University
(SM Inv. 4367) in Cambridge
.
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 of the logia
Logia
In New Testament scholarship, the term logia is a term applied to collections of sayings credited to Jesus. Such a collection of sayings of Jesus are believed to be referred to by Papias of Hierapolis...
of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
Oxyrhynchus Papyri
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a very numerous group of manuscripts discovered by archaeologists including Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt . The manuscripts date from the 1st to the 6th century AD. They include thousands of Greek and...
discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
. The fragment is dated to the early 3rd century. It is one of only three Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
.
Description
The manuscript was written on papyrus in scrollScroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
form. The measurements of the original leaf were 82 mm by 83 mm. The text is written in uncial letters. It is well written in an informal book hand. There is no punctuation, no rough breathings, no accents, no division between sayings, nor instances of using of 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...
. One correction was made in a cursive hand.
The fragment contains logia
Logia
In New Testament scholarship, the term logia is a term applied to collections of sayings credited to Jesus. Such a collection of sayings of Jesus are believed to be referred to by Papias of Hierapolis...
(sayings) 24.36–39 of the Gospel of Thomas on the recto side of the leaf.
Grenfell and Hunt also discovered another two fragments of this apocryphal Gospel: P. Oxy. 1
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It was the first of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in 1897 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the early half of the 3rd century...
and P. Oxy. 654
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the middle or late of the 3rd century...
.
According to Grenfell and Hunt, who identified this fragment as being from an uncanonical Gospel, it is very close to 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...
. They observed some similarities to the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
. According to them it could have belonged to the Gospel according to the Egyptians
Greek Gospel of the Egyptians
The Greek Gospel of the Egyptians is a Gnostic religious text. Its title is adopted from its opening line.- Dating :The suppressed Greek Gospel of the Egyptians, , perhaps written in the second quarter of the 2nd century, was already cited in Clement of Alexandria's miscellany, the...
(as postulated by Adolf Harnack), or a collections of Jesus's Sayings used in the Second Epistle of Clement
Second Epistle of Clement
The Second Epistle of Clement, often referred to as 2 Clement, is an early Christian writing....
. Grenfell and Hunt observed some similarities to the P. Oxy. 654
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654 is a papyrus fragment of the logia of Jesus written in Greek. It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri discovered by Grenfell and Hunt between 1897 and 1904 in the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. The fragment is dated to the middle or late of the 3rd century...
. The only complete copy of the Gospel of Thomas was found in 1945 when a Coptic version was discovered at Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
with a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
.
In 1904, P. Oxy. 655 was given to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
by the Egypt Exploration Fund. The fragment is housed at the Houghton Library
Houghton Library
Houghton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(SM Inv. 4367) in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
Further reading
- Nicholas PerrinNicholas PerrinNicholas Perrin is a scholar of New Testament and early Christianity. He is currently Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, Illinois...
, HC II,2 and the Oxyrhynchus Fragments (P. Oxy 1, 654, 655): Overlooked Evidence for a Syriac "Gospel of Thomas", Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 58, No. 2 (May, 2004), pp. 138–151