Papyrus 66 (also referred to as 𝔓⁶⁶) is a near complete

codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

, and part of the collection known as the

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 ...

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 well-preserved

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 Christ ...

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 printing, printed or repr ...

s known to exist. Its original editor assigned the codex to the early third century, or around AD 200, on the basis of its style of handwriting. Herbert Hunger later claimed that the handwriting should be dated to an earlier period in the middle or early part of the second century. More recently, Brent Nongbri has produced a broader study of the codex and argued that when one takes into consideration the format, construction techniques, and provenance of the codex along with the handwriting, it is more reasonable to conclude that the codex was produced "in the early or middle part of the fourth century." In common with both the other surviving early papyri of John's Gospel – P⁴⁵ (apparently), P⁷⁵, and most New Testament

uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one ...

s – Papyrus 66 does not include the pericope of the adulteress (7:53-8:11),Philip Comfort and David Barrett. ''Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek manuscripts'' (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.) p. 376. demonstrating the absence of this passage in all the surviving early witnesses of the

. The manuscript also contains, consistently, the use of

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 ...

. Studies done by Karyn Berner and Philip Comfort contended that 𝔓⁶⁶ 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. The

staurogram The staurogram (⳨), also monogrammatic cross or ''tau-rho'', is a ligature composed of a superposition of the Greek letters tau (Τ) and rho (Ρ). Early occurrence and significance The symbol is of pre-Christian origin. It is found on cop ...

appears in at least ten places in the papyrus (corresponding to chapter 19 of the Gospel).

Text

The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the

Alexandrian text-type In textual criticism of the New Testament, the Alexandrian text-type is one of the main text types. It is the text type favored by the majority of modern textual critics and it is the basis for most modern (after 1900) Bible translations. Over 5,8 ...

. Aland ascribed it as "Free text" and placed it in I Category. A transcription of every single page of 𝔓⁶⁶ is contained in ''Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek manuscripts.'' In John 1:15 ο οπισω ] ο πισω, the reading is supported by Codex Sangallensis 48, 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). The preservation level of 𝔓⁶⁶ 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 The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. The manuscripts are in Greek and are of Christian origin. There are eleven manuscripts in the group, seven con ...

in 1933–1934.Floyd V. Filson
''A New Papyrus Manuscript of the Gospel of John''
The Biblical Archeologist (Vol. XX), p. 54. 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.

References

External links

Image of p 52
of Papyrus 66 at Bible Research * * Edgar R. Smothers
Papyrus Bodmer II: An Early Codex of St. John
„Theological Studies”
3D visualization of Papyrus Bodmer II
Fondation Martin Bodmer (in collaboration with Artmyn).
Transcription of P66
with side-by-side translation {{DEFAULTSORT:Papyrus 0066 New Testament papyri 2nd-century biblical manuscripts Early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament Gospel of John papyri

Description

Text

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links