Papyrus 72 is the designation used by textual critics of the New Testament to describe portions of the so-called Bodmer Miscellaneous codex (Papyrus Bodmer VII-VIII), namely the letters of Jude, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. These three books are collectively designated as 𝔓72 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. These books seem to have been copied by the same scribe. Using the study of comparative handwriting styles (paleography), the manuscript has been assigned to the 3rd or 4th century.[1]
| New Testament manuscript | |
 1 Peter 5:12–end and 2 Peter 1:1–5 on facing pages of Papyrus Bodmer VIII | |
| Name | Papyrus Bodmer VII-IX |
|---|---|
| Sign | 𝔓72 |
| Text | Jude, 1 Peter, 2 Peter |
| Date | 3rd/4th century |
| Script | Greek |
| Now at | Cologny/Geneva; Vatican City, Bibl. Bodmeriana; Bibl. Vaticana |
| Size | 14.5 by 16 cm |
| Type | Alexandrian text-type |
| Category | I |
| Hand | documentary hand |
| Note | resembles 𝔓50 |
Although the letters of Jude (P.Bodmer VII) and 1-2 Peter (P.Bodmer VIII) in this codex do not form a single continuous text, scholars still tend to refer to these three texts as a single early New Testament papyrus.[2]: 409–410
Description
editThe manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book). and is the earliest known manuscript of the epistles of Jude and 1 & 2 Peter in their entirety, though a few verses of Jude are in a fragment designated as 𝔓78 (P. Oxy. 2684).[3]
P.Bodmer VII (Jude) and P.Bodmer VIII (1-2 Peter) form part of a single book (the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex). This book appeared on the antiquities market in Egypt and was bought by the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer.[a] The same scribe who copied P.Bodmer VII and VIII is also thought to have copied P.Bodmer X and XI.[3]: 140,149-151
The manuscript contains the usual nomina sacra for Messiah, Jesus, God, Lord, Spirit, Father, plus a few non-standard ones: ΔΥΜΙ (power), Σαρρα (Sarah), Αβρααμ (Abraham), Νωε (Noah), Μιχαης (Archangel Michael), and Ενωχ (Enoch).
A facsimile edition of Bodmer Papyrus VIII was published in 2007 by Testimonio Compañía Editorial.[4]
Text
edit
The Greek text of this codex is considered a representative of the Alexandrian text-type. According to Aland in 1-2 Peter it has normal text, in Jude free text, both with certain peculiarities. Aland placed it into I Category. It is close to the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.[1]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Bodmer donated the letters of Peter, P.Bodmer VIII, to the Vatican in 1969.[2]: 396 The complete make-up of the book is generally reconstructed as: The Nativity of Mary (P.Bodmer V), the apocryphal correspondence of Paul to the Corinthians (P.Bodmer X), the eleventh ode of Solomon (P.Bodmer XI), Jude (P.Bodmer VII), Melito's Homily on the Passover (P.Bodmer XIII), a fragment of a hymn (P.Bodmer XII), the Apology of Phileas (P.Bodmer XX), Psalm 33 and 34 (P.Bodmer IX), and 1-2 Peter (P.Bodmer VIII).
References
edit- ^ a b Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
- ^ a b Nongbri, Brent (2016). "The Construction of P.Bodmer VIII and the Bodmer 'Composite' or 'Miscellaneous' Codex". Novum Testamentum. 58 (4): 394–410. doi:10.1163/15685365-12341535.
- ^ a b Wasserman, Tommy (2005). "Papyrus 72 and the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex". New Testament Studies. 51 (1): 137–154. doi:10.1017/S0028688505000081.
- ^ http://www.testimonio.com/en/facsimil-colecciones/st-peter-facsimile.html[permanent dead link]
Further reading
edit- Beare, FW (1961),The Text of I Peter in Papyrus 72, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 80, No.3, pp. 253–260.
- Jones, Brice C. "The Bodmer 'Miscellaneous' Codex and the Crosby-Schøyen Codex MS 193: A New Proposal." JGRChJ (2011-2012), 9-20.
- Kubo, Sakae. 𝔓72 and the Codex Vaticanus. Studies and Documents 27. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1965.
- Strickland, Phillip David. 2017. "The Curious Case of 𝔓72: What an Ancient Manuscript Can Tell us about the Epistles of Peter and Jude." Journal of the Evangelical Society 60.4:781-792.
External Links
edit- 𝔓72 Digital Images available for viewing at the CSNTM
- Digital Images available for viewing at the Digital Vatican.