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

codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

of the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

, and part of the collection known as the

Bodmer Papyri The Dishna Papers, also often known as the Bodmer Papyri, are a group of twenty-two papyri discovered in Dishna, Egypt in 1952. Later, they were purchased by Martin Bodmer and deposited at the Bodmer Library in Switzerland. The papyri contai ...

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 (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

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 script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...

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, (singular: , Latin for 'sacred name') is the abbreviation of several frequently occurring divine names or titles, especially in Greek manuscripts of the Bible. A consists of two or more letters from the original w ...

. Studies done by Karyn Berner and

Philip Comfort Philip Wesley Comfort (28 October 1950–31 December 2022) was a professor, writer, editor and expert on the Bible who specialized in textual criticism of the New Testament. He served as Professor of Greek and New Testament at Trinity Episcopal S ...

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. Elizabeth Schrader Polczer adds that, in the case of John 11, the copyist may have introduced an entirely new character,

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

, to the text, but this argument remains controversial. The staurogram 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 Codex Sangallensis is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the four Gospels. It is designated by Δ or 037 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and ε76 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. The L ...

and Minuscule 1646. In John 13:5 it has unique textual variant ποδονιπτηρα (''podoniptēra'', "foot-basin") instead of νιπτηρα (''niptēra'', "basin"). 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 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 Bodmer papyri

Description

Text

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links