Papyrus 31 (in the
Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓
31, 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 to the Romans, it contains only Romans 12:3-8. The manuscript
paleographically has been assigned to the 7th century. The reverse side is blank. It is possible that it was used as a
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
.
Hunt
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...
suggested it was a lectionary.
[
]
Description
Written in medium-sized sloping uncial letters. It seems to have been copied for reading in church.[A. S. Hunt, ''Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the John Rylands Library'' I, Literatury Texts (Manchester 1911), p. 9.]
The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type. Aland placed it in Category II.[ Kurt Aland, and Barbara Aland, ''Der Text des Neuen Testaments'', DBS 1982, p. 168] An 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 ...
against the other chief MSS is observable in l. 9 of the fragment (v. 8).[
Papyrus 31 presents unique readings in l. 3 (v. 4) and l. 4 (v. 5) against the other chief MSS.][Institute for New Testament Textual Research at the University of Münster, Westphalia, Germany. ]
It is currently housed with the Rylands Papyri
The Rylands Papyri are a collection of thousands of papyrus fragments and documents from North Africa and Greece housed at the John Rylands University Library, Manchester, UK. The collection includes the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, also known ...
at the John Rylands University Library
The University of Manchester Library is the library system and information service of the University of Manchester. The main library is on the Oxford Road campus of the university, with its entrance on Burlington Street. There are also ten other ...
(Gr. P. 4) in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
See also
* 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 ...
References
Further reading
* A. S. Hunt
''Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the John Rylands Library''
I, Literatury Texts (Manchester 1911), p. 9.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papyrus 0031
New Testament papyri
7th-century biblical manuscripts
Epistle to the Romans papyri