Rylands Library Papyrus P52

The Papyrus 52, also known as John the fragment is a fragment from a papyrus codex, measuring 9 × 6.4 cm. It shall be kept with the Rylands Papyri in the John Rylands Library in Manchester. The Greek text is from the Gospel of John. The front ( recto ) contains parts of Jn 18.31-33 EU, the back ( verso) of Jn 18.37-38 EU.

Rylands 52 is generally regarded as the earliest known fragment of a canonical text of the New Testament. The style of writing is strictly hadrianisch (reigned 117-138 AD). For a determination of the fragment based solely on the palaeographical finding is not entirely sure; usually about 125 AD is called, ± 25 years ( ie the period from 100 to 150 AD).

Greek text

The papyrus is written on both sides. The bold in the following letters are visible on the papyrus 52.

John 18.31-33 ( recto )

" ΕΙΠΟΝ ΑΥΤΩ ΟΙ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ ΗΜΙΝ ΟΥΚ ΕΞΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΠΟΚΤΕΙΝΑΙ OYΔΕΝΑ ΙΝΑ Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΙΗΣΟΥ ΠΛΗΡΩΘΗ ΟΝ ΕΙΠΕΝ ΣΕΜΑΙΝΩΝ ΠΟΙΩ ΘΑΝΑΤΩ ΗΜΕΛΛΕΝ ΑΠΟΘΝΕΣΚΕΙΝ ΕΙΣΗΛΘΕΝ ΟΥΝ ΠΑΛΙΝ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΡΑΙΤΩΡΙΟΝ Ο ΠΙΛΑΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΦΩΝΗΣΕΝ ΤΟΝ ΙΗΣΟΥΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΠΕΝ ΑΥΤΩ ΣΥ ΕΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΩN "

" [ ... ] The Jews said to him, " We are allowed to kill anybody, " so that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he had spoken to show by what kind of death he should die. He went back into the Praetorium of Pilate and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews? [ ... ] "

John 18.37-38 ( verso)

" ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΕΙΜΙ ΕΓΩ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΤΟ ΓΕΓΕΝΝΗΜΑΙ ΚΑΙ ( ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΤΟ ) ΕΛΗΛΥΘΑ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ ΙΝΑ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΗΣΩ ΤΗ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ ΠΑΣ Ο ΩΝ ΕΚ ΤΗΣ ΑΛΗΘΕIΑΣ ΑΚΟΥΕΙ ΜΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΦΩΝΗΣ ΛΕΓΕΙ ΑΥΤΩ Ο ΠΙΛΑΤΟΣ ΤΙ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΤΟ ΕΙΠΩΝ ΠΑΛΙΝ ΕΞΗΛΘΕΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΛΕΓΕΙ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ ΕΓΩ ΟΥΔΕΜΙΑΝ ΕΥΡΙΣΚΩ ΕΝ ΑΥΤΩ ΑΙΤΙΑΝ "

" [ ... ] I am a king. I have been born, and for ( to ) I have come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Pilate said to him, "What is truth? " And after he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them ". I can not find fault with him " "

There appears to be insufficient space for the repeated phrase ( ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΤΟ ) to be in the second row of the back, and it has been suggested that these words were inadvertently omitted by haplography.

The writing is spaciously arranged - the letters vary between 0.3 and 0.4 cm in height, the lines are approximately 0.5 cm apart and there is a margin of 2 cm at the top. C. H. Roberts commented: " Judging by the spacing and text size, it is unlikely to assume that the format was influenced by economy considerations. Accordingly, the manuscript for the public reading would have been thought of. If the original text is actually contained the entire text of the canonical Gospel according to John, it would have consisted of a single folded book with about 130 pages ( eg 33 folded on both sides described papyrus pages). Closed, it would have about the dimensions 21 × 20 cm had. " Roberts describes the manuscript as" heavy, curved and rather ornate ", but not the work of a " seasoned writer " (eg not a professional copyist ).

History and dating

The fragment belonged to a group of documents that Bernard Grenfell 1920 acquired on an Egyptian market. Because of this origin, and the fact that the oldest New Testament papyri mainly come from Egypt, because they survived better there because of climate conditions, an Egyptian origin is suspected for this text. The first transcription and translation was carried out in 1934 by Colin H. Roberts. Roberts was compared manuscripts on papyrus, which had been tentatively dated to the period between 50 and 150, with the closest match was with a Hadrianic date. Since the content was written no earlier than the end of the first century, he suggested a date earlier in the first half of the second century. In the 70 years since Roberts' essay, the dating of his manuscripts have shifted compared to later decades back (like most undated antique papyri ); but other comparison manuscripts were discovered in the meantime, their probable date is also in the first half of the second century.

The importance of 52 based both on his early date as well as its geographical distance from the origin of John's Gospel in Asia Minor or Palestine. Since it is not widely expected that it here is the original of the Gospel and a period of time deemed necessary to make the work go to Egypt, the emergence of John's Gospel at least a few years before this date of 52 must lie. The Gospel of John is probably quoted by Justin Martyr and has therefore been written with high probability before 160. However, many researchers of the New Testament take an even earlier date for the transcript of 52, so that the gospel would even earlier can be written: for the time of origin of 52 moves close up to the traditionally accepted date of constitution of approximately 90.

Textual Criticism

Despite the small size of 52 a plausible reconstruction for most of the 14 lines is possible. Because its scope but is low in relation to total text of John's Gospel, the fragment is very rarely used as a witness in the Textual Criticism of the Gospel. Some arguments were about whether the name ΙΗΣΟΥ ( Ν ) ( Jesus) in the missing parts of recto line 2 and 5/6 originally written as a nomen sacrum and therefore contracted to ΙΣ or ΙΗΣ had appeared. This would be in accordance with the usual practice in the representation obtained early Gospels manuscripts. Roberts said originally that the name of Jesus was probably written out in full (C. M. Tuckett followed him in this opinion ). Later, however, Roberts changed his mind and supported therein by Larry W. Hurtado.

The verses contained in 52 are confirmed by the Bodmer Papyrus 66. This is usually dated to the beginning of the 3rd century. However, due to the small size of the surviving text of 52 it has proved impossible, this definitively be attributed to the same pro- Alexandrian text-type.