Papyrus 39
New Testament manuscript
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Papyrus 39 is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of John in a fragmentary condition, containing only John 8:14-22. It is designated by the siglum 𝔓39 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the 3rd century CE.
_recto_John_8,_14–18.jpg)
| New Testament manuscript | |
Recto John 8:14–18 | |
| Name | P. Oxy. XV 1780 |
|---|---|
| Text | John 8 † |
| Date | 3rd century |
| Script | Greek |
| Found | Egypt |
| Now at | The Green Collection |
| Cite | Grenfell & A. S. Hunt, Oxyrhynchus Papyri XV, 1922, pp. 7-8. |
| Size | 26 by 16 cm |
| Type | Alexandrian text-type |
| Category | I |
Description
_verso_John_8,_19–22.jpg)
The manuscript was likely written by professional scribe, in 25 lines per page, in large, beautiful letters. It has numbered pages.[1] Biblical scholar Don Barker proposes a wider and earlier range of dates for Papyrus 39, along with Uncial 0232, Papyrus 88 and Uncial 0206; and states that all four could be dated as early as the late second century or as late as the end of the fourth century.[2]
Text
The Greek text of this codex is considered a representative of the Alexandrian text-type (or more likely proto-Alexandrian). Biblical scholar Kurt Aland placed it in Category I of his New Testament manuscript classification system.[3] 𝔓39 shows agreement with Vaticanus and 𝔓75.[1] There are no singular readings.[4]
Papyrologist Guglielmo Cavallo published a facsimile of 𝔓39 in 1967.[5] The manuscript now resides in the Green Collection and is featured at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.