Papyrus Bodmer III (the Bohairic John)
Summary
The oldest manuscript of the Coptic dialect that became the Egyptian church's liturgical Bible — a complete Gospel of John from the fourth century.
- Copied Fourth century AD (c. 300–400).
- Written in coptic (proto-bohairic dialect) on papyrus.
- Kept at Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cologny (Geneva).
- Contains John, Genesis 1:1–4:2.
Sources (2)
- Bodmer Lab, Université de Genève — the Bodmer papyri · accessed 2026-08-06The holding institution's own digital project.
- Metzger & Ehrman, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005) · accessed 2026-08-06The standard handbook of New Testament textual criticism.
What it is
It carries John 1:1–21:25 complete, plus Genesis 1:1–4:2, in an early form of Bohairic, the Coptic dialect of the Nile Delta.
That matters because of what used to be said. For a long time the standard line was that no Bohairic manuscript existed before about the ninth century, which made the version look late and derivative. This manuscript puts Bohairic in the fourth century, and the old line is simply obsolete.
Coptic is the Egyptian language written mostly in Greek letters. The Bible was translated into it dialect by dialect: Sahidic in Upper Egypt first and most fully, Bohairic in the Delta, which later became the standard of the Coptic Church.
Manuscript details
- Date
- Fourth century AD (c. 300–400)
- Language
- Coptic (proto-Bohairic dialect)
- Script
- Coptic
- Material
- Papyrus
- Held at
- Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cologny (Geneva)
- Found at
- Egypt; part of the Bodmer papyri
- Contains
- John · Genesis 1:1–4:2
Why it matters
The passages the manuscripts argue over
The places where the manuscripts differ, the ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery, the three heavenly witnesses, with the case each way.