Papyrus Fouad 266
Encyclopedia
Papyrus Fouad 266 is a copy of the Pentateuch in the Greek
version of the Hebrew Bible
known as the Septuagint. It is a papyrus
manuscript
in scroll form
. The manuscript has been assigned palaeographically
to the 1st century BC. The manuscript has survived in a fragmentary condition. Discussion about this manuscript questions whether it is or is not a later recension of the standard Septuagint text.
in uncial letters. It is designated by number 847, 848, and 942, on the list of Septuagint manuscripts according to the modern numbering of Alfred Rahlfs
. The surviving texts are fragments from Book of Deuteronomy, 31:28-32:6. It contains section divisions with numbered paragraphs (5, 26, 27). 117 papyrus fragments of the codex have survived. The prefix Fouad commemorates Fouad I of Egypt
.
The text is written in 33 lines per column. The uncial letters are upright and rounded. Iota adscript
occurs.
It is the second oldest known manuscript of the Septuagint (Greek version of the Hebrew Bible), and the oldest which used the Hebrew Tetragrammaton
in Aramaic "square" or Ashuri script
.
The text of the manuscript runs close to the Old Greek text but it was characterized through correctors towards the Masoretic Text
. In Deuteronomy 22:9 it agrees with the Masoretic Text. It is a witness of an early recension of the Old Greek text of Septuagint towards the Masoretic Text. Albert Pietersma was the first who claims that Fouad contains some pre-hexaplaric
corrections towards a Hebrew text (which would have had the Tetragrammaton). Pietersma also states that there is room for the reading (The Lord), but the second scribe inserted the Tetragrammaton instead.
the manuscript has been assigned to the 1st or even 2nd century BC. It is the second oldest manuscript of the Septuagint. The age of the fragment gives to it a special interest.
It was discovered in 1939 in Fayyum, where there were two Jewish synagogues. The first published text from the manuscript was edited by William Gillan Waddell in 1944. It was examined by Françoise Dunand and P. E. Kahle. In 1971 were published all 117 fragments of the manuscript 117.
The manuscript currently is housed at the Societé Royale de Papyrologie
(Gr. P. 458), Cairo
.
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;...
version of the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
known as the Septuagint. 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...
in scroll form
Scroll
A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins...
. The manuscript has been assigned palaeographically
Palaeography
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...
to the 1st century BC. The manuscript has survived in a fragmentary condition. Discussion about this manuscript questions whether it is or is not a later recension of the standard Septuagint text.
Description
The Greek text was written on papyrusPapyrus
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....
in uncial letters. It is designated by number 847, 848, and 942, on the list of Septuagint manuscripts according to the modern numbering of Alfred Rahlfs
Alfred Rahlfs
Alfred Rahlfs was born in Linden, Hannover, Germany. He studied Protestant Theology, Philosophy, and Oriental Languages in Halle and Göttingen, from where he received a Dr. Phil. in 1881...
. The surviving texts are fragments from Book of Deuteronomy, 31:28-32:6. It contains section divisions with numbered paragraphs (5, 26, 27). 117 papyrus fragments of the codex have survived. The prefix Fouad commemorates Fouad I of Egypt
Fuad I of Egypt
Fuad I was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Hussein Kamel...
.
The text is written in 33 lines per column. The uncial letters are upright and rounded. Iota adscript
Iota adscript
In Greek polytonic orthography, the iota adscript is a iota written after a long vowel in a long diphthong, as opposed to below the vowel as a small vertical stroke ....
occurs.
It is the second oldest known manuscript of the Septuagint (Greek version of the Hebrew Bible), and the oldest which used the Hebrew Tetragrammaton
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
in Aramaic "square" or Ashuri script
Ashuri alphabet
Ashuri alphabet means Assyrian alphabet and also refers to the Assyrian script which is a traditional name for the Hebrew alphabet and a term that was first used in the Mishnah to refer to either the Aramaic alphabet or the formal script used in certain Jewish ceremonial items, including Sefer...
.
The text of the manuscript runs close to the Old Greek text but it was characterized through correctors towards the Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
. In Deuteronomy 22:9 it agrees with the Masoretic Text. It is a witness of an early recension of the Old Greek text of Septuagint towards the Masoretic Text. Albert Pietersma was the first who claims that Fouad contains some pre-hexaplaric
Hexapla
Hexapla is the term for an edition of the Bible in six versions. Especially it applies to the edition of the Old Testament compiled by Origen of Alexandria, which placed side by side:#Hebrew...
corrections towards a Hebrew text (which would have had the Tetragrammaton). Pietersma also states that there is room for the reading (The Lord), but the second scribe inserted the Tetragrammaton instead.
History of the codex
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...
the manuscript has been assigned to the 1st or even 2nd century BC. It is the second oldest manuscript of the Septuagint. The age of the fragment gives to it a special interest.
It was discovered in 1939 in Fayyum, where there were two Jewish synagogues. The first published text from the manuscript was edited by William Gillan Waddell in 1944. It was examined by Françoise Dunand and P. E. Kahle. In 1971 were published all 117 fragments of the manuscript 117.
The manuscript currently is housed at the Societé Royale de Papyrologie
Societé Royale de Papyrologie
The Societé Royale de Papyrologie, founded in 1930 in Cairo and placed unbder the protection of King Fouad 7 May 1930, , is a library of Egyptian papyrus scrolls and fragments and papyrological studies...
(Gr. P. 458), Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
See also
- Papyrus Rylands 458Papyrus Rylands 458Papyrus Rylands 458 is a copy of the Pentateuch in a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint. It is a papyrus manuscript in roll form. The manuscript has been assigned palaeographically to the 2nd century BC and it is the oldest known manuscript of the Greek Bible...
– the oldest manuscript of Septuagint - Biblical manuscriptBiblical manuscriptA biblical manuscript is any handwritten copy of a portion of the text of the Bible. The word Bible comes from the Greek biblia ; manuscript comes from Latin manu and scriptum...
Further reading
- Zaki Aly: Three Rolls of the Early Septuagint. Genesis and Deuteronomy. A Photographic Edition Prepared in Collaboration with the International Photographic Archive of the Association Internationale de Papyrologues. With Preface, Introduction, and Notes by Ludwig Koenen. Papyrologische Texte und Abhandlungen 27. Bonn 1980. ISBN 3-7749-1417-6
- Françoise Dunand: Papyrus Grecs Bibliques (Papyrus F. Inv. 266). Volumina de la Genèse et du Deutéronome. L'Institut Francais d'Archéologie Orientale. Recherches d'archéologie, de philologie, et d'histoire 27 (1966).
- Alfred Rahlfs: Septuaginta - Vetus testamentum Graecum. Bd. 1/1 - Die Überlieferung bis zum VIII. Jahrhundert. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004. ISBN 3-525-53447-7
- Natalio Fernández Marcos: The Septuagint in Context. Brill Verlag, Boston 2001. ISBN 90-04-11574-9
- Ernst Würthwein, The text of the Old Testament: an introduction to the Biblia Hebraica, trans. E.F. Rhodes, (Wm. Eerdmans 1995), p. 190.
- Armin Lange, Matthias Weigold, József Zsengellér, Emanuel Tov, http://books.google.pl/books?id=QgMHCXk_b-YC&pg=PA59&lpg=PA59&dq=Papyrus+Fouad+266&source=bl&ots=e62lbOCGtf&sig=1xIPPhMwRqdAJlXePmxsnLhf0Qc&hl=pl&ei=s1tsTcjMJ8SdOoeU3IAD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=Papyrus%20Fouad%20266&f=falseFrom Qumran to Aleppo: a discussion with Emanuel Tov about the textual history of Jewish scriptures in honor of his 65th birthday] (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009), pp. 59-60.
External links
- Historic Connections
- The Alexandrian Septuagint History, Barry Setterfield (2010)