Papyrus 70, P70

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First Composed: 25 April 2000

Last Updated: 25 April 2000


Name

Papyrus 70 (P.Oxy. 2384), P70

Date

3rd / 4th Century CE.

Provenance

Oxyrhynchus, Egypt.

Size

About 3.7 cm. x 3.5 cm. The ink is black.

The fragments comes from a papyrus book.

Contents

The manuscript is preserved in three fragments. In the above example: Verso, Matthew 11:26-27; Recto, Matthew 12:4-5. Others are Matthew 2:13-16 (verso), 2:22-3:1 (recto) and Matthew 24:3-6 (verso) and Matthew 24:12-15 (recto).

Textual Character

This manuscript contains several unique reading, but none of them involve either omission or addition of words (see details in Peter M. Head's article).

The Alands describe P70 as having a "strict" text, somewhat carelessly written.

Writing

The scribe makes medium to large upright, squarish letters in an informal but fastidious manner. Horizontal strokes are fine, the verticals tend to be rounded.

Location

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom. The other fragments are at Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli, Florence, Italy.


References

[1] E. Lobel, C. H. Roberts, E. G. Turner & J. W. B. Barns, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, XXIV, 1957, 4 ff. (No. 2384).

[2] M. Naldini, "Nuovi frammenti del vangelo di Matteo", Prometheus, 1975, Volume 1, pp. 195-200.

[3] P. M. Head, "Observations on Early Papyri of the Synoptic Gospels, especially on the 'Scribal Habits'", Biblica, 1990, Volume 71, pp. 240-247.

The New Testament Manuscripts