Chester Beatty Papyrus II (P46)
Summary
The oldest substantial copy of Paul's letters — and it already treats Hebrews as one of them.
- Copied c. AD 175–250 (Kenyon: c. 200–250). Brent Nongbri cautions that the datable comparison handwriting comes almost entirely from scrolls while this is a codex, and leaves a later date open..
- Written in greek on papyrus.
- Kept at Chester Beatty, Dublin (56 leaves); University of Michigan Papyrus Collection, Ann Arbor (30 leaves, P.Mich. inv. 6238).
- Contains Romans, Hebrews, 1 Corinthians.
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Sources (4)
- University of Michigan Library, "The Discovery of P46" · accessed 2026-08-06The holding institution's account of the split purchase (archived copy; the original exhibit has been retired).
- University of Michigan Library, Papyrology Collection · accessed 2026-08-06The holding institution for the thirty Michigan leaves.
- Chester Beatty, Dublin — digital collections viewer · accessed 2026-08-06
- 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
Eighty-six leaves survive, running from Romans 5:17 to 1 Thessalonians 5:28 with gaps.
The detail worth stopping on: Hebrews is in it, placed immediately after Romans. Whoever copied this book was working from a collection in which Hebrews already sat inside Paul's letters, and its position tells you something no later manuscript can.
The codex is now in two countries because it was broken up and sold piecemeal by dealers. It was bought on the antiquities market, not excavated: Chester Beatty acquired ten leaves in 1930 and forty-six more in 1935; the University of Michigan acquired six in 1931 and twenty-four in 1933. Given that MannaFest tells the forgery stories, it tells this one too.
Manuscript details
- Date
- c. AD 175–250 (Kenyon: c. 200–250). Brent Nongbri cautions that the datable comparison handwriting comes almost entirely from scrolls while this is a codex, and leaves a later date open.
- Language
- Greek
- Script
- Greek book hand (uncial)
- Material
- Papyrus
- Held at
- Chester Beatty, Dublin (56 leaves); University of Michigan Papyrus Collection, Ann Arbor (30 leaves, P.Mich. inv. 6238)
- Found at
- Egypt; bought on the antiquities market 1930–1935
- Contains
- Romans · Hebrews · 1 Corinthians · 2 Corinthians · Ephesians · Galatians · Philippians · Colossians · 1 Thessalonians
Why it matters
The passages the manuscripts argue over
The words used here: uncial, codex
- uncial
- a book hand of Greek capital letters, used for the oldest whole Bibles.
- codex
- a book with leaves and a spine, the form that replaced the scroll.
The places where the manuscripts differ, the ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery, the three heavenly witnesses, with the case each way.