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The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

Overview

Papyrus 76 (𝔓76) is a 6th-century CE Greek manuscript fragment of the Gospel of John, containing parts of John 4:9 and 4:12. It’s stored at the Austrian National Library in Vienna under catalog number Pap. Vindob. G. 36102.

Origin and Dating

Its exact discovery isn’t documented, but it likely came from Egypt, common for papyri of this type. Paleography—handwriting analysis—dates it to the 6th century CE, consistent with late antique script styles.

Physical Details

It’s a small fragment, typical of many New Testament papyri. No specific size or layout details are widely published online, so we assume it’s a piece of a codex, written on papyrus.

Textual Content

It preserves parts of:

John 4:9: The Samaritan woman asks Jésus why he, a Jew, requests a drink from her.
John 4:12: She questions if he’s greater than Jacob, who provided the well.
Exact wording isn’t fully available online due to its fragmentary state and limited study.

Textual Classification

Kurt Aland classified it as “mixed,” blending textual traditions (e.g., Alexandrian, Byzantine), and placed it in Category III, meaning it has deviations from the original text. It’s not a top-tier witness for reconstructing the earliest text.

Significance

Its late date (6th century) and small size make it less critical than earlier papyri like 𝔓66 or 𝔓75. It shows how John’s Gospel was copied in the 6th century, but its mixed text limits its value for pinpointing the original.

Lack of Variants

No specific textual variants are easily found online, likely because it hasn’t been heavily studied or digitized. This scarcity suggests it’s not a priority manuscript.

Conclusion

Papyrus 76 is a minor piece in New Testament studies. It confirms the text’s circulation in the 6th century but doesn’t add much beyond that due to its condition and late date.

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About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).