Papyrus 77
Encyclopedia
Papyrus 77 designated by 
77, is an early copy of the New Testament
in Greek
. It is a papyrus
manuscript
of the Gospel of Matthew
. The surviving texts of Matthew are verses 23:30-39.
77 is written in an elegant hand. The manuscript palaeographically
has been assigned a date anywhere from the middle 2nd century to the early 3rd century.
According to Comfort together with Papyrus 103 probably belongs to the same codex.
Text
The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type
. Aland
ascribed it as a “at least normal text”, and placed it in Category I.
77 has the closest affinity with Codex Sinaiticus
.
Present location
It is currently housed at the Sackler Library
(P. Oxy. 2683) in Oxford
.
77, is an early copy of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. It is a papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
of the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
. The surviving texts of Matthew are verses 23:30-39.
77 is written in an elegant hand. The manuscript palaeographicallyPalaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
has been assigned a date anywhere from the middle 2nd century to the early 3rd century.
According to Comfort together with Papyrus 103 probably belongs to the same codex.
Text
The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type
Alexandrian text-type
The Alexandrian text-type , associated with Alexandria, is one of several text-types used in New Testament textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of biblical manuscripts...
. Aland
Kurt Aland
Kurt Aland was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. He founded the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster and served as its first director for many years...
ascribed it as a “at least normal text”, and placed it in Category I.
77 has the closest affinity with Codex SinaiticusCodex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
.
Present location
It is currently housed at the Sackler Library
Sackler Library
The Sackler Library holds a large portion of the classical, art historical, and archaeological works belonging to the University of Oxford, England.- History :...
(P. Oxy. 2683) in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Textual Variants
- 23:30: Rearranges the words αυτων κοινωνοι (their partners) to κοινωνοι αυτων (partners their).
- 23:37: Has variant spelling ορνιξ for ορνις (hen).
- 23:37: Originally omitted και from the text. Scribe added it later superlinearly between πτερυγας and ουκ.
- 23:38: According to the transcription from the University of Münster Institute for New Testament Textual Research, the scribe omitted ερημος (desolate). According to the transcription of Philip Comfort and David Barrett however, the scribe included it.
Further reading
- L. Ingrams, P. Kingston, Peter Parsons, and John Rea, Oxyrhynchus Papyri, XXXIV (London: 1968), pp. 4-6.
Images
- P.Oxy.LXVI 2683 from Papyrology at Oxford's "POxy: Oxyrhynchus Online"
- Papyrus 77 verso
- Papyrus 77 reverso