Manuscript
Chester Beatty Papyrus II (P46)
Also known as P46 · 𝔓46 · Chester Beatty Biblical Papyrus II · P.Mich. inv. 6238
The oldest substantial copy of Paul's letters — and it already treats Hebrews as one of them.
papyrinew-testamentpauline-epistlescanon
Overview
Chester Beatty Papyrus II (P46)(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.)— Egypt; bought on the antiquities market 1930–1935
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
- Current location
- Chester Beatty, Dublin (56 leaves); University of Michigan Papyrus Collection, Ann Arbor (30 leaves, P.Mich. inv. 6238)
- Discovery location
- Egypt; bought on the antiquities market 1930–1935
- Contains books
- Romans · Hebrews · 1 Corinthians · 2 Corinthians · Ephesians · Galatians · Philippians · Colossians · 1 Thessalonians
- Tags
- papyri · new-testament · pauline-epistles · canon
Significance
Paul's letters were gathered, copied and circulated as a set very early — early enough that a copy from around AD 200 already carries them in a fixed collection with Hebrews bound in after Romans.
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.