Bodmer papyri

The Bodmer Papyri are a group of 22 papyri that were discovered in Egypt in 1952. They are named after their then acquirer Martin Bodmer . The papyri contain parts of the Old and New Testaments, early Christian literature, Homer and Menander . The oldest of them, ⁶⁶ , is dated to around AD 200. Most of the papyri are kept in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana in Cologny ( Switzerland ) near Geneva . In 2007, the Vatican Library acquired papyri ⁷⁴ and ⁷⁵ . They are now kept in the Vatican Library. ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$ ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$ ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$

Research history

The Bodmer papyri were found in 1952 in Pbow (Pabau) near Dishna in Egypt , in the old headquarters of the Pachomian monks. The discovery site is not far from Nag Hammadi . The manuscripts were compiled in secret by the Cypriot Phokio Tano from Cairo and smuggled one after the other to Switzerland, where they were bought by Martin Bodmer .

Beginning in 1954, the series Papyrus Bodmer was published with annotations, introduction and French translation. Today the Bodmer papyri are preserved in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana in Cologny near Geneva .

Some papyri of the same origin escaped Martin Bodmer and have been preserved elsewhere. Sir Alfred Chester Beatty acquired some of it. Further material can be found in Oxford (Mississippi) , Cologne and Barcelona . For the sake of simplicity, researchers also call these “Bodmer Papyri” ( Anchor Bible Dictionary ).

Papyri

The Bodmer papyri contain both Christian and non-religious ancient texts. Most of the 35 books are written in ancient Greek , some in Coptic. In total, along with fragments of the correspondence, there are 50 texts. Most are codices , a few fragments of scrolls . Three texts are not written on papyrus but on parchment .

Greek papyri

Ancient texts

• Papyrus Bodmer I, Homer , Iliad V, VI
• Papyrus Bodmer IV, Menander , Dyskolos
• Papyrus Bodmer, Menander , Samia and Aspis , now in Cologne

Bible

• Papyrus Bodmer II , ⁶⁶ , early 3rd century, Gospel of John . Besides the papyrus fragment ⁵² , this is the oldest testimony for John. ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$ ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$
• Papyrus Bodmer VII – VIII , ⁷² , is the oldest known copy of the Epistle of Jude and of the 1st and 2nd Epistles of Peter . ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$
• Papyrus Bodmer XIV – XV , ⁷⁵ is the remainder of a codex that still contains most of Luke and John, now in the Vatican Library ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$
• Papyrus Bodmer XVII , ⁷⁴ , 6th or 7th century., Now in the Vatican Library ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$
• Papyrus Bodmer XXIV
• Papyrus Bodmer XLV – XLVI, 3rd or 4th century, Book of Daniel.

Theological texts

• Papyrus Bodmer XIII, 4th century, Melito of Sardis , Easter homily

Acquisition by the Vatican

In October 2006, the Bodmer Foundation's plan to sell two of the manuscripts for several million US dollars was published . This was to finance the library, which was opened in 2003. This caused the dismay of many scholars around the world, who feared that the unity of the collection might be destroyed.

In March 2007 it was announced that the Vatican had acquired Papyri XIV – XV ⁷⁵ . It is believed that they contain the oldest written fragments of the Gospel of Luke , the oldest Our Father and one of the oldest fragments of the Gospel according to John . ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {P}}}$

The papyri had been sold to Frank Hanna III from Atlanta (Georgia, USA) for an unknown "significant" price . In January 2007 Hanna presented the papyri to the Pope. They are now kept in the Vatican Library and made available for further study by scholars. In the future, extracts may be made available to the general public.

See also

• List of New Testament papyri
• Bibliotheca Bodmeriana

literature

• Anchor Bible Dictionary 1: 766-777 “Bodmer Papyri”.
• James M. Robinson: The Story of the Bodmer Papyri, the First Christian Monastic Library ; Nashville, 1987 (with a list of the Bodmer papyri)

Web links

• Bodmer papyri with list of manuscripts

Individual evidence

1. ↑ AHM Kessels, PW van Der Horst: The Vision of Dorotheus (Pap. Bodmer 29): Edited with Introduction, Translation and Notes ; Vigiliae Christianae 41 (1987), No. 4, pp. 313-359; here p. 313.
2. ^ Texts in the Bohairian dialect of Coptic were not known before the 9th century (6. p 51).
3. ^ Anchor Bible Dictionary .
4. ↑ John 1: 1–6.11, 6.35b – 14.26 and fragments of forty other pages from John 14-21.
5. ↑ The passages of the movement of water through an angel (John 5: 3b – 4) and the incident with Jesus and the adulteress (John 7: 32–8, 11) are missing.
6. ↑ A comparison of the two versions of John in the Bodmer papyri with the Chester Beatty papyri from the 3rd century convinced Floyd V. Filson: “A comparison of these three, which come together from Egypt, shows that there is no uniform Gospel text existed in Egypt in the 3rd century ”. ("A comparison of all three, which had their origins in Egypt, shows that there was no uniform text of the Gospels in Egypt in the third century"); Filson 1962: 52.
7. ↑ Filmer 1962; P. 52.
8. ↑ Rahlfs No. 861, 862
9. ↑ Sale of the Bodmer Papyri .
10. ↑ Bodmer Papyrus: History becomes reality
11. ↑ Jennifer Viegas: Earliest Gospels Acquired by Vatican ; Discovery News , March 5, 2007