Papyrus 20 (in the
Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓
20, is an early copy of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
. It is a
papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
of the
Epistle of James
The Epistle of James). is a general epistle and one of the 21 epistles ( didactic letters) in the New Testament.
James 1:1 identifies the author as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" who is writing to "the twelve tribes ...
, but it only contains Chapter 2:19-3:9. The manuscript has been
paleographically assigned to the early 3rd century.
[
]
Description
The original size of the leaves was 17 by 12 cm.
The text is neatly written in upright semi-cursive letters. The main Nomina Sacra
In Christian scribal practice, nomina sacra (singular: ''nomen sacrum'' from Latin ''sacred name'') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A nomen sacrum consists ...
are used, but πατηρ/pater/father and ανθρωπος/anthropos/man are written out in full.[B. P. Grenfell & A. S. Hunt, ''Oxyrhynchus Papyri'' IX, (London 1912), p. 9.]
The Greek text of this codex is representative of the Alexandrian text-type (rather proto-Alexandrian). Aland placed it in Category I. This manuscript shows the greatest agreement with Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...
and Vaticanus, but not with codices Ephraemi, Regius and other late Alexandrian manuscripts.[
Philip Comfort has conjectured that the scribe who wrote 𝔓20 was also the same scribe who wrote 𝔓27, where the Greek letters α, β, δ, ε, λ, ι, μ, ν, ο, π, ρ, σ, ψ, υ, φ, ω are formed identically in both manuscripts.][
It is currently housed at the ]Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...
(AM 4117) in Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
.
See also
* James 2; 3
* List of New Testament papyri
A New Testament papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on papyrus. To date, over 140 such papyri are known. In general, they are considered the earliest witnesses to the original text of the New Testament.
This elite status amo ...
* Princeton Papyri
References
Further reading
* B. P. Grenfell & A. S. Hunt
''Oxyrhynchus Papyri'' IX
(London 1912), pp. 9–11.
External links
* Robert B. Waltz
''Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism''
* [http://163.1.169.40/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0POxy--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4----ded--0-1l--1-en-50---20-about-1708--00031-001-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=POxy&cl=CL5.1.9&d=HASH66d3e01e54ed3ca692ae08 P. Oxy. 1171] at the Oxyrhynchus Online
GA Papyrus 20
. Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papyrus 0020
New Testament papyri
3rd-century biblical manuscripts
Early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament
1171
Year 1171 ( MCLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* March 12 – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) orders the arrest of all Venetia ...
Epistle of James papyri