P. Hamb. bil. 1

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The last sheet of the Greek Πράξεις Παύλου (Acts of Paul) with title and handle cross

The Papyrus Hamburgensis bilinguis 1 (Sigel 998 to Rahlfs ) is the fragment of a manuscript in Greek and fayyumischer Coptic language of about 300 n. Chr. It contains the pseudepigraphic Christian Acts of Paul and the book Song of Songs , Letter of Jeremiah and Ecclesiastes of the Old Testament .

origin

The writing comes from the area of Fayyūm , as can be seen from the dialect, and the unreliable information provided by the Egyptian trader about the Tebtynis site does not contradict this. The palaeographic elements and letter forms point to around 300 AD for the origin of the manuscript.

Research history

The manuscript was discovered by Carl Schmidt in Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century . In 1927, with the support of private donors such as the Hamburg publisher Kurt Broschek (1884–1946), it was purchased for the Hamburg State and University Library , where it is today under the signature P. Hamb. bil. 1 is located.

The papyrus was put on glass plates by Hugo Ibscher and deciphered by Wilhelm Schubart (4).

description

The format is unusually large at 27 × 19. The papyrus is quite coarse, damaged areas have already been left out by the scribe. The margins are narrow and uneven, as is the length of the lines, which indicates a private copy by a non-professional scribe. The beginning of the book is missing, from the end five layers with a few gaps have been preserved.

Carl Schmidt characterizes the hand as awkward, bad school handwriting, there are very long lines, but these are often crooked and with uneven spacing. The scribe tries to get a calligraphy, but does not succeed. The writer changes the direction of the letters and the shapes.

The palaeographic elements and letter forms point to around 300 AD for the origin of the manuscript.

content

The remaining parts of this composite manuscript include:

  • Acts of Paul in Greek. There are only 11 pages left. Probably about 48 pages of the Acta Pauli were lost in this manuscript. This textual witness offers four more episodes: The apostle's animal fight in Ephesus, the stay in Corinth, the journey from Corinth to Italy and the martyrdom.
  • Song of Songs in ancient Faithic
  • Lamentations of Jeremiah in ancient Faijumisch
  • Ecclesiastes Greek
  • Ecclesiastes old Faijumisch

publication

The first part with the Pauline Acts was published in 1936 by Carl Schmidt. The technically very complex reproduction of the papyrus sheets at the time was made possible with a high subsidy for printing costs. The project was driven forward by the Hamburg director of the State Library Gustav Wahl , who managed to bring together funds from various sources. He found support from the Hamburg Authority for Ethnicity, Church and Art, the Hamburg Scientific Foundation and the Hamburg Regional Bishop, Baron von Westenholz made a private contribution and a Society of Friends of Science from Harvard University in Cambridge under the leadership of Kirsopp Lake , including Professors Ropes, Cadbury, RP Blake and RW New, later known as Mrs. Blake.

The Old Testament texts were published in 1989 by Bernd Jörg Diebner and Rodolphe Kasser .

meaning

The fragment of the Acts of Paul is the most important Greek copy of the work in the original Greek. There is no complete Greek copy. The Coptic texts are written in a dialect that is older than the language in the otherwise known Faijumischen scripts. Only a few other texts have survived in this language form. This manuscript is therefore also of importance for Coptology.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ C. Schmidt: Πράξεις Παύλου, p. 9.
  2. ↑ C. Schmidt: Πράξεις Παύλου, pp. 9-10.
  3. ^ Leibniz Information Center
  4. ↑ C. Schmidt: Πράξεις Παύλου, pp. 9-10.
  5. ↑ C. Schmidt: Πράξεις Παύλου, foreword.

literature

  • Carl Schmidt (Ed.): Πράξεις Παύλου; Acta Pauli. Based on the papyrus of the Hamburg State and University Library , with the collaboration of Wilhelm Schubart . Publications from the Hamburg State and University Library. New series of publications from the Hamburg City Library, edited by Gustav Wahl, JJ Augustin in Glückstadt and Hamburg in 1936. (Text, German translation and commentary)
  • Otto Zwierlein : Peter in Rome. The literary evidence. With a critical edition of the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul on a new handwritten basis . 2nd, revised and supplemented edition. (Studies on ancient literature and history, Vol. 96). Berlin 2010.
  • Otto Zwierlein: Peter and Paul in Jerusalem and Rome. From the New Testament to the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles . (Studies on ancient literature and history, Vol. 109). Berlin 2013.
  • Bernd Jörg Diebner : The biblical texts of the Hamburg Papyrus bilinguis 1 (Cant, Lam co., Eccl. Gr. Et co.) In their relationship to the text of the Septuagint, especially Codex B (Vat.gr. 1209): Observations and methodical Remarks . In: Tito Orlandi, Fr. Wisse (ed.): Acts of the 2nd International Congress of Coptic Studies, Roma 1980. CIM, Roma 1985, pp. 59-74.
  • Bernd Jörg Diebner / Rodolphe Kasser : Hamburger Papyrus bil.1: The Old Testament texts of the Papyrus bilinguis 1 of the State and University Library Hamburg (Cahiers d'Orientalisme 18). Geneva 1989.