Bodmer Papyri
Encyclopedia
The Bodmer Papyri are a group of twenty-two papyri discovered in Egypt in 1952. They are named after Martin Bodmer
who purchased them. The papyri contain segments from the Old and New Testaments, early Christian literature, Homer
and Menander
. The oldest, P66
dates to c. 200. The papyri are kept at the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, in Cologny
, Switzerland
outside Geneva
. In 2007 the Vatican Library acquired two of the papyri, P74 and P75
, which are kept at the Vatican Library
.
, the ancient headquarters of the Pachomian order
of monks; the discovery site is not far from Nag Hammadi
, where the secreted Nag Hammadi library
had been found some years earlier. The manuscript
s were covertly assembled by a Cypriote, Phokio Tano of Cairo, then smuggled to Switzerland, where they were bought by Martin Bodmer (1899–1971). The series Papyrus Bodmer began to be published in 1954, giving transcriptions of the texts with note and introduction in French and a French translation. The Bodmer Papyri, now conserved in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, in Cologny, outside Geneva
, are not a gnostic cache, like the Nag Hammadi Library: they bear some pagan as well as Christian texts, parts of some thirty-five books in all, in Coptic
and in Greek
. With fragments of correspondence, the number of individual texts represented reaches to fifty. Most of the works are in codex
form, a few in scroll
s. Three are written on parchment
.
Books V and VI of Homer's Iliad
(P1), and three comedies of Menander
(Dyskolos
(P4), Samia
and Aspis) appear among the Bodmer Papyri, as well as gospel texts: Papyrus 66
(P66), is a text of the Gospel of John
, dating around 200CE, in the manuscript tradition called the Alexandrian text-type
. Aside from the papyrus fragment in the Rylands Library Papyrus P52
, it is the oldest testimony for John; it omits the passage concerning the moving of the waters (John 5:3b-4) and the pericope of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11). P72 is the earliest known copy of the Epistle of Jude
, and 1 and 2 Peter. Papyrus 75
(P75) is a partial codex containing most of Luke and John. Comparison of the two versions of John in the Bodmer Papyri with the third-century Chester Beatty Papyri
convinced Floyd V. Filson that "...there was no uniform text of the Gospels in Egypt in the third century."
There are also Christian texts that would become declared apocrypha
l in the fourth century, such as the Infancy Gospel of James. There is a Greek-Latin lexicon
to some of Paul's letters, and there are fragments of Melito of Sardis
. Among the works is a Christian Vision of Dorotheus, son of "Quintus the poet" assumed to be the pagan poet Quintus Smyrnaeus
, written in archaising Homer
ic hexameter
s, the earliest Christian hexameter poem (P29). The earliest extant copy of the Third Epistle to the Corinthians
is published in Bodmer Papryri X.
The collection includes some non-literary material, such as a collection of letters from the abbots of the monastery of Saint Pachomius, raising the possibility that the unifying circumstance in the collection is that all were part of a monastic library.
The latest of the Bodmer Papyri (P74) dates to the sixth or seventh century.
Then, in March 2007 it was announced the Vatican had acquired the Bodmer Papyrus XIV-XV (P75), which is believed to contain the world's oldest known written fragment from the Gospel of Luke
, the earliest known Lord's Prayer
, and one of the oldest written fragments from the Gospel of John
.
The papyri had been sold for an undisclosed "significant" price to Frank Hanna III
, of Atlanta, Georgia. In January 2007, Hanna presented the papyri to the Pope. They are kept in the Vatican Library and will be made available for scholarly review, and in the future, excerpts may be put on display for the general public. They were transported from Switzerland to the Vatican in "An armed motorcade surrounded by people with machine guns."
Martin Bodmer
Martin Bodmer was a Swiss bibliophile, scholar and collector.- Biography :Martin Bodmer was the son of wealthy parents born in Zurich, Switzerland, where he lived until 1948. His father died in 1916 leaving a very large fortune. In 1918, Bodmer began studying German language, then gave up and took...
who purchased them. The papyri contain segments from the Old and New Testaments, early Christian literature, Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
and Menander
Menander
Menander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
. The oldest, P66
Papyrus 66
Papyrus 66 is a near complete codex of the Gospel of John, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri.-Description:...
dates to c. 200. The papyri are kept at the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, in Cologny
Cologny
Cologny is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland.-Geography:Cologny has an area, , of . Of this area, or 17.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 4.1% is forested...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
outside Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. In 2007 the Vatican Library acquired two of the papyri, P74 and P75
Papyrus 75
Papyrus 75 is an early Greek New Testament papyrus.- Description :Originally '[it] contained about 144 pages ... of which 102 have survived, either in whole or in part.' It 'contains about half the text of ... two Gospels' – Luke and John in Greek...
, which are kept at the Vatican Library
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
.
Overview
The Bodmer Papyri were found in 1952 at Pabau near Dishna, EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, the ancient headquarters of the Pachomian order
Pachomius
Saint Pakhom , also known as Pachome and Pakhomius , is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. In the Coptic churches his feast day is celebrated on May 9...
of monks; the discovery site is not far from Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
, where the secreted Nag Hammadi library
Nag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
had been found some years earlier. The 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...
s were covertly assembled by a Cypriote, Phokio Tano of Cairo, then smuggled to Switzerland, where they were bought by Martin Bodmer (1899–1971). The series Papyrus Bodmer began to be published in 1954, giving transcriptions of the texts with note and introduction in French and a French translation. The Bodmer Papyri, now conserved in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, in Cologny, outside Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, are not a gnostic cache, like the Nag Hammadi Library: they bear some pagan as well as Christian texts, parts of some thirty-five books in all, in Coptic
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
and in Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
. With fragments of correspondence, the number of individual texts represented reaches to fifty. Most of the works are in codex
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
form, a few in scroll
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...
s. Three are written on parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
.
Books V and VI of Homer's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
(P1), and three comedies of Menander
Menander
Menander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
(Dyskolos
Dyskolos
Dyskolos is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, the only one of his plays, or of the whole New Comedy, that has survived in all but complete form. It was first presented at the Lenaian festival in 317-16 BC, where it won Menander first prize...
(P4), Samia
Samia (play)
Samia, translated as The Girl From Samos, or The Marriage Connection, is an Ancient Greek comedy by Menander, it is the second most extant play with up to 116 lines missing compared to Dyskolos’s 39. The date of its first performance is unknown, with 315 B.C. and 309 B.C. being two suggested dates...
and Aspis) appear among the Bodmer Papyri, as well as gospel texts: Papyrus 66
Papyrus 66
Papyrus 66 is a near complete codex of the Gospel of John, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri.-Description:...
(P66), is a text of the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
, dating around 200CE, in the manuscript tradition called 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...
. Aside from the papyrus fragment in the Rylands Library Papyrus P52
Rylands Library Papyrus P52
The Rylands Library Papyrus P52, also known as the St John's fragment, is a fragment from a papyrus codex, measuring only 3.5 by 2.5 inches at its widest; and conserved with the Rylands Papyri at the John Rylands University Library , Manchester, UK...
, it is the oldest testimony for John; it omits the passage concerning the moving of the waters (John 5:3b-4) and the pericope of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11). P72 is the earliest known copy of the Epistle of Jude
Epistle of Jude
The Epistle of Jude, often shortened to Jude, is the penultimate book of the New Testament and is attributed to Jude, the brother of James the Just. - Composition :...
, and 1 and 2 Peter. Papyrus 75
Papyrus 75
Papyrus 75 is an early Greek New Testament papyrus.- Description :Originally '[it] contained about 144 pages ... of which 102 have survived, either in whole or in part.' It 'contains about half the text of ... two Gospels' – Luke and John in Greek...
(P75) is a partial codex containing most of Luke and John. Comparison of the two versions of John in the Bodmer Papyri with the third-century Chester Beatty Papyri
Chester Beatty Papyri
The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. The manuscripts are in Greek and are of Christian origin. There are eleven manuscripts in the group, seven consisting of portions of Old Testament books, three...
convinced Floyd V. Filson that "...there was no uniform text of the Gospels in Egypt in the third century."
There are also Christian texts that would become declared apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l in the fourth century, such as the Infancy Gospel of James. There is a Greek-Latin lexicon
Lexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
to some of Paul's letters, and there are fragments of Melito of Sardis
Melito of Sardis
Melito of Sardis was the bishop of Sardis near Smyrna in western Anatolia, and a great authority in Early Christianity: Jerome, speaking of the Old Testament canon established by Melito, quotes Tertullian to the effect that he was esteemed a prophet by many of the faithful...
. Among the works is a Christian Vision of Dorotheus, son of "Quintus the poet" assumed to be the pagan poet Quintus Smyrnaeus
Quintus Smyrnaeus
Quintus Smyrnaeus, also known as Kointos Smyrnaios , was a Greek epic poet whose Posthomerica, following "after Homer" continues the narration of the Trojan War....
, written in archaising Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
ic hexameter
Hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, hexameter...
s, the earliest Christian hexameter poem (P29). The earliest extant copy of the Third Epistle to the Corinthians
Third Epistle to the Corinthians
The Third Epistle to the Corinthians is believed to be a pseudepigraphical text under the name of Paul of Tarsus. It is also found in the Acts of Paul, and was framed as Paul's response to the Epistle of the Corinthians to Paul. The earliest extant copy is Bodmer Papyrus X.In the West it was not...
is published in Bodmer Papryri X.
The collection includes some non-literary material, such as a collection of letters from the abbots of the monastery of Saint Pachomius, raising the possibility that the unifying circumstance in the collection is that all were part of a monastic library.
The latest of the Bodmer Papyri (P74) dates to the sixth or seventh century.
Vatican acquisition
Plans announced by the Foundation Bodmer in October 2006 to sell two of the manuscripts for millions of dollars, to capitalize the library, which opened in 2003, drew consternation from scholars around the world, fearing that the unity of the collection would be broken.Then, in March 2007 it was announced the Vatican had acquired the Bodmer Papyrus XIV-XV (P75), which is believed to contain the world's oldest known written fragment from the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
, the earliest known Lord's Prayer
Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is a central prayer in Christianity. In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, it appears in two forms: in the Gospel of Matthew as part of the discourse on ostentation in the Sermon on the Mount, and in the Gospel of Luke, which records Jesus being approached by "one of his...
, and one of the oldest written fragments from the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
.
The papyri had been sold for an undisclosed "significant" price to Frank Hanna III
Frank Hanna III
Frank J. Hanna III is an American entrepreneur and merchant banker who has been described as "one of the leading Catholic philanthropists in the USA."-Education and career:...
, of Atlanta, Georgia. In January 2007, Hanna presented the papyri to the Pope. They are kept in the Vatican Library and will be made available for scholarly review, and in the future, excerpts may be put on display for the general public. They were transported from Switzerland to the Vatican in "An armed motorcade surrounded by people with machine guns."
Greek
- Papyrus Bodmer IIPapyrus 66Papyrus 66 is a near complete codex of the Gospel of John, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri.-Description:...
(
66) - Bodmer V — Nativity of Mary, Apocalypse of James; 4th century
- Papyrus Bodmer VII-IXPapyrus 72Papyrus 72 is an early New Testament papyrus. It contains all the text of 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. Paleographically it had been assigned to the 3rd or 4th century.- Description :...
(
72) — Epistle of Jude, 1-2 Peter, Psalms 33-34 - Bodmer X — Epistle of Corinthians to Paul and Third Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians; 4th century
- Bodmer XI — Ode of Solomon 1; 4th century
- Papyrus Bodmer XIV-XVPapyrus 75Papyrus 75 is an early Greek New Testament papyrus.- Description :Originally '[it] contained about 144 pages ... of which 102 have survived, either in whole or in part.' It 'contains about half the text of ... two Gospels' – Luke and John in Greek...
(
75) - Papyrus Bodmer XVII (
74) - Bodmer XXIV — Psalms 17:46-117:44; 3rd/4th century
- Bodmer XLVI — Daniel 1:1-20
- Papyrus Bodmer L — Matthew 25-26; 7th century
Coptic
- Bodmer IIIPapyrus Bodmer IIICodex Bodmer III, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 4th century. It contains the text of the Gospel of John with some lacunae. It is written in Bohairic dialect of Coptic language....
— John 1:1-21:25; Genesis 1:1-4:2; 4th century; Bohairic - Bodmer VI — Proverbs 1:1-21:4; 4th/5th century; Paleo-Theban ("Dialect P")
- Bodmer XVI — Exodus 1:1-15:21; 4th century
- Bodmer XVIII — Deuteronomium 1:1-10:7; 4th century
- Bodmer XIXPapyrus Bodmer XIXCodex Bodmer XIX, is a Coptic uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 4th century . It contains the text of the Gospel of Matthew 14:28-28:20; Epistle to the Romans 1:1-2:3. It is written in Sahidic dialect of Coptic language.The two books are paginated separately in...
— Matthew 14:28-28:20; Romans 1:1-2:3; 4th/5th century; Sahidic - Bodmer XXI — Joshua 6:16-25; 7:6-11:23; 22:1-2; 22:19-23:7; 23:15-24:2; 4th century
- Bodmer XXII (Mississippi Codex II) — Jeremiah 40:3-52:34; Lamentations; Epistle of Jeremiah; Book of Baruch; 4th/5th century
- Bodmer XXIII — Isajah 47:1-66:24; 4th century
- Bodmer XL — Song of Songs
- Bodmer XLI — Acta Pauli; 4th century; sub-Achmimic
- Bodmer XLII — 2 Corinthians; dialect unknown
- Bodmer XLIV — Book of Daniel; Bohairic