Analysis of Papyrus 93 (P93) in New Testament Textual Criticism

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Papyrus 93, designated as P93 in the Gregory-Aland numbering system, is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament containing portions of the Gospel of John, specifically verses 13:15-17. Dated paleographically to 350-400 C.E., this papyrus fragment provides a window into the transmission of the New Testament text during the late 4th century. As an evangelical scholar specializing in New Testament Textual Criticism, this analysis will focus on the manuscript’s textual character, paleographic features, historical context, and its contribution to understanding the preservation and restoration of the biblical text. The examination adheres to the documentary method, prioritizing external evidence such as manuscript age and quality, while also considering internal evidence like scribal habits, all within a framework that upholds a high view of Scripture.

Manuscript Description and Location

P93 consists of a single fragment preserving John 13:15-17, a passage where Jesus, after washing the disciples’ feet, instructs them to follow His example of humility and service. The manuscript is housed at the Girolamo Vitelli Papyrological Institute (PSI Inv. 108) within the National Archaeological Museum in Florence, Italy. Its physical condition and limited extent—only three verses—restrict the scope of analysis, yet its existence as a late 4th-century witness contributes to the broader corpus of New Testament papyri.

Paleographic dating places P93 between 350 and 400 C.E., based on the script’s characteristics, which will be explored further below. This timeframe situates it later than many significant early papyri, such as P46 (100-150 C.E.) or P66 (125-150 C.E.), but earlier than major majuscule codices like Codex Alexandrinus (400-450 C.E.) or Codex Bezae (400-450 C.E.). Its survival reflects the ongoing scribal effort to copy and distribute the New Testament texts during a period of increasing Christian institutionalization.

The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

Textual Character and Affiliation

The Greek text of P93 is identified as a representative of the Alexandrian text-type, a family of manuscripts noted for its relative brevity, sobriety, and fidelity to what textual critics often regard as the earliest recoverable text. The Alexandrian text-type is exemplified by early papyri such as P75 (175-225 C.E.) and major codices like Codex Vaticanus (300-330 C.E.) and Codex Sinaiticus (330-360 C.E.). While P93 has not been formally categorized within Kurt and Barbara Aland’s system of New Testament manuscript classification—likely due to its fragmentary nature—its alignment with the Alexandrian tradition is significant. This text-type is generally preferred in the documentary method, which emphasizes external evidence such as the age, quality, and geographical distribution of manuscripts.

The specific verses preserved in P93, John 13:15-17, read as follows in the 2012 Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (NA28), a critical edition reflecting the Alexandrian text-type:

John 13:15: “ὑπόδειγμα γὰρ ἔδωκα ὑμῖν ἵνα καθὼς ἐγὼ ἐποίησα ὑμῖν καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιῆτε” (“For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you”).
John 13:16: “ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐκ ἔστιν δοῦλος μείζων τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ ἀπόστολος μείζων τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτόν” (“Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him”).
John 13:17: “εἰ ταῦτα οἴδατε, μακάριοί ἐστε ἐὰν ποιῆτε αὐτά” (“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”).

Due to P93’s fragmentary state, a full collation against the NA28 or other manuscripts like Codex Vaticanus is not feasible without access to a published transcription. However, its classification as Alexandrian suggests it likely supports the readings found in these witnesses, which are characterized by minimal expansion or harmonization compared to other text-types, such as the Western (e.g., Codex Bezae) or Byzantine traditions.

Paleographic Features and Scribal Hand

Paleography, the study of ancient handwriting, provides critical insights into P93’s production. The dating of 350-400 C.E. is derived from the script’s style, though specific details about letter forms, ligatures, or other features are not widely published for this fragment. In the absence of a detailed paleographic report, we can infer the scribal hand based on contemporary manuscripts and the broader context of 4th-century papyri.

Manuscripts from this period exhibit a range of scribal hands:

Common Hand: Uneven, less skilled writing, often seen in personal copies or by scribes with limited Greek proficiency.
Documentary Hand: Functional but non-uniform, typical of scribes accustomed to administrative texts, with larger initial letters and uneven lines.
Reformed Documentary Hand: More careful and uniform, reflecting awareness of copying a literary work.
Professional Bookhand: Highly skilled, with consistent lettering and formatting, as seen in P4/64/67 (150-175 C.E.).

Given P93’s late 4th-century date and its status as a biblical text, it is unlikely to reflect the Common Hand, which is more typical of informal or poorly trained scribes. The Documentary Hand is also improbable, as it is associated with secular documents rather than literary works like the Gospel of John. The Reformed Documentary Hand or Professional Bookhand are more plausible. The Alexandrian text-type’s association with high-quality manuscripts (e.g., P75, Codex Vaticanus) suggests P93 may exhibit traits of a Professional Bookhand, characterized by careful execution and possibly some formatting features like punctuation or spacing. However, without direct examination or photographic evidence, this remains a reasoned hypothesis.

The scribe’s skill level impacts the reliability of the text. A professional scribe would be less prone to orthographic errors (e.g., misspellings) or omissions, though no copy is immune to human error. P93’s limited scope—three verses—precludes extensive analysis of scribal tendencies, but its Alexandrian affiliation implies a text relatively free of intentional harmonizations or theological emendations common in other traditions.

Historical Context and Transmission

P93 was produced approximately 250-300 years after the composition of the Gospel of John, traditionally dated to 90-98 C.E. based on literal Bible chronology. By 350-400 C.E., Christianity had gained significant traction, particularly following the Edict of Milan (313 C.E.), which legalized the faith, and the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.), which addressed theological disputes. This period saw increased demand for scriptural copies as churches expanded, likely driving the production of manuscripts like P93.

The transmission process began with the original autograph of John, written under divine inspiration (per 2 Peter 1:21), followed by manual copying by scribes. P93 represents a copy several generations removed from the autograph, reflecting both preservation and potential corruption. Unintentional errors—such as omissions, transpositions, or orthographic variants—could have occurred in earlier copies, while intentional changes, like harmonizations to parallel passages (e.g., Matthew 20:28), are less likely in the Alexandrian tradition. P93’s text, as a late witness, likely derives from earlier exemplars, possibly papyri like P66 or P75, which also preserve John and align with the Alexandrian text-type.

The absence of miraculous preservation is evident in the broader manuscript tradition, which contains hundreds of thousands of variants across thousands of documents. P93, as a single fragment, fits into this framework of preservation and restoration through human effort. Its survival underscores the diligence of scribes, while its study by modern scholars contributes to reconstructing the original text.

Contribution to Textual Criticism

In New Testament Textual Criticism, P93’s value lies in its attestation of the Alexandrian text-type in the late 4th century. The documentary method, which prioritizes external evidence, favors manuscripts like P93 when they align with early, high-quality witnesses (e.g., P46, Codex Vaticanus). While its late date reduces its weight compared to 2nd-century papyri, its agreement with the Alexandrian tradition reinforces the stability of this text-type over time.

Internal evidence, such as scribal habits or contextual coherence, is difficult to assess given P93’s brevity. However, the Alexandrian text’s tendency toward shorter, less embellished readings suggests P93 supports the NA28’s text over variants found in the Western (e.g., Codex Bezae) or Byzantine traditions, which often expand or harmonize. For example, Codex Bezae occasionally adds explanatory phrases in John, a practice less common in Alexandrian witnesses.

The restoration of the New Testament text, as pursued by scholars from Westcott and Hort (1881) to the Nestle-Aland editions (2012), relies on such fragments. P93, though minor, contributes to the cumulative evidence that the original text is recoverable with 99.99% accuracy, a view consistent with evangelical confidence in Scripture’s trustworthiness without invoking miraculous preservation.

Conclusion of Analysis

P93 offers a glimpse into the late 4th-century transmission of the Gospel of John, aligning with the Alexandrian text-type and reflecting scribal efforts to preserve the biblical text. Its paleographic dating, textual character, and historical context enhance our understanding of how the New Testament was copied and transmitted. While its fragmentary nature limits detailed analysis, its study exemplifies the rigorous, evidence-based approach of textual criticism, affirming the reliability of the restored text through human diligence rather than supernatural intervention.

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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).