An Examination of Papyrus 99 (P99)

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Introduction to Papyrus 99 (P99)

Papyrus 99, designated as P99 in the Gregory-Aland numbering system, occupies a unique and somewhat enigmatic position within the corpus of New Testament papyri. Its full catalog reference is P. Chester Beatty Ac. 1499, and it is presently preserved at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland. This document differs markedly from more conventional papyri, which are generally straightforward witnesses to continuous biblical texts. Instead, P99 is a Greek-Latin manuscript dating approximately to 400 C.E., serving as a textual compilation or glossary-like document that preserves selected phrases and vocabulary, primarily from the Pauline Epistles.

The manuscript comprises four leaves (folios 11–14), with a page size of approximately 16.8 cm by 13.6 cm, and is laid out in one column per page with 27 to 30 lines per page. In addition to scriptural material, the document includes grammatical notes and lexical explanations in both Greek and Latin, suggesting a pedagogical or reference-oriented purpose, rather than one strictly intended for liturgical or ecclesiastical use.

Paleographic Features and Dating

Based on its script, P99 has been dated to around 400 C.E., which places it in the transitional period between late antiquity and the early Byzantine era. The handwriting exhibits a blend of book hand style, somewhat rounded and legible, with occasional cursive elements. The dual-language format (Greek and Latin) supports the notion that the manuscript was likely produced in a bilingual environment, possibly in an educational or ecclesiastical context where both languages were in use.

The Greek script appears competent and practiced, consistent with educated scribal training. The Latin, appearing in lexical glosses and grammatical annotations, reflects the educational practices common in regions where Latin still held official or instructional significance, such as Roman Africa, Italy, or even parts of Gaul.

Textual Contents of P99

Unlike traditional New Testament manuscripts which present continuous blocks of text, P99 offers discontinuous phrases, isolated verses, and word groupings, mostly drawn from the Pauline Epistles. These include segments from Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Ephesians. The excerpts, typically short and seemingly selected arbitrarily, reflect little concern for theological context or exegetical cohesion. This haphazard nature has led scholars such as J. K. Elliott to characterize it as “a haphazard collection of unconnected verses from the Pauline letters [that] could have been a school exercise.”

The presence of both Greek text excerpts and Latin translations or explanations reinforces the pedagogical hypothesis. What is being preserved here is not a doctrinal presentation or liturgical reading, but rather text for study, possibly used for learning Greek grammar, vocabulary, and biblical phrasing through exposure to Paul’s writings.

The Reading Culture of Early Christianity

The listed contents include:

Romans

2 Corinthians

1:3–6
1:6–17
1:20–24
2:1–9
2:9–5:13
5:13–6:3
6:3–8:13
8:14–22
9:2–11:8
11:9–23
11:26–13:11

Galatians

1:4–11
1:14–2:4
2:4–3:19
3:19–4:9
1:18–6:15

Ephesians

1:4–2:21
1:22 (tentative)
3:8–6:24

These ranges are not continuous in the manuscript but are indicative of the segments from which words or short phrases have been excerpted. The structure implies a thematic or lexical organization, possibly grouping words according to morphological features or semantic fields.

Nature and Function of the Manuscript

There is little doubt among papyrologists and textual critics that P99 does not function as a typical biblical manuscript. Rather, it should be understood within the category of educational or grammatical tools—perhaps akin to a lexicon, vocabulary list, or grammatical workbook. The inclusion of Latin glosses alongside Greek text points toward its use as a bilingual instructional document, serving learners or readers transitioning between the two dominant languages of the Roman world.

The Latin elements, in particular, are revealing. They include explanations of Greek grammatical forms and vocabulary, possibly for the benefit of Latin-speaking readers learning the Greek language. This kind of artifact aligns well with the known language instruction practices of the fourth and fifth centuries, in which biblical texts were frequently used as models for teaching grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

Text-Type and Textual Value in NT Criticism

From a textual criticism standpoint, the value of P99 for reconstructing the original text of the New Testament is extremely limited. The following reasons account for this limitation:

The fragmentary and glossarial format does not allow for a coherent assessment of text-type or scribal habits.
The selection of verses is not contextualized, often containing only isolated words or phrases, making it impossible to conduct proper collation with full New Testament verses in other manuscripts.
There is a significant didactic overlay, where educational intentions appear to take precedence over accurate preservation of textual transmission.

As such, P99 does not provide reliable textual data for evaluating the Alexandrian, Byzantine, Western, or Caesarean text-types. While the portions drawn from Pauline letters technically fall within the Alexandrian tradition (which predominates in the early centuries), no meaningful alignment can be established due to the document’s scattered nature.

However, in the broader field of manuscript studies, P99 remains important for what it tells us about the uses of Scripture in late antiquity. It reflects how Paul’s writings functioned not only in ecclesiastical settings but also in educational contexts, where they were mined for their linguistic and rhetorical richness.

Context within the Chester Beatty Collection

P99 is part of the famed Chester Beatty collection, which contains several significant papyrus manuscripts of both the Old and New Testaments, many of which are dated to the second through fourth centuries C.E. Other manuscripts in this collection include:

P45 (Gospels and Acts)
P46 (Pauline Epistles)
P47 (Revelation)

Each of these contributes meaningfully to the textual criticism of the New Testament, especially P46, which is one of the earliest and most complete witnesses to Paul’s epistles. Compared to these, P99 stands apart due to its non-continuous format and educational function. Nevertheless, it provides a complementary glimpse into the manuscript culture of late antiquity, particularly the diverse uses of Scripture outside of ecclesial reading and copying.

Educational Manuscripts in Late Antiquity

Documents like P99 were likely used in catechetical schools, monastic training centers, or private tutoring environments where Scripture was used as a source of language instruction. Greek and Latin were still the intellectual languages of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, and Scripture, already venerated, served as a perfect corpus for linguistic learning.

Thus, P99 reflects a convergence between biblical education and classical learning, where the Word of God also functioned as an instrument for developing linguistic competence. This phenomenon is attested in other contemporary manuscripts, including school texts containing portions of Homer, classical orations, or even Christian texts annotated with grammatical commentary.

Conclusion: Assessing P99’s Place in NT Manuscript Tradition

While Papyrus 99 lacks the theological and textual richness of other early papyri, it offers valuable insight into the multi-functional role of biblical texts in the early Christian centuries. As a manuscript, it is not aimed at preserving or transmitting the Textus Receptus of the New Testament, but rather demonstrates how Scripture was used for pedagogical and grammatical purposes. Its fragmented excerpts and lexical notations place it in a category of textual aids, possibly intended for students or scribes learning to read and interpret the Pauline epistles in Greek.

Its educational utility, bilingual structure, and manuscript context within the Chester Beatty collection all point toward an early Christian environment that deeply valued the Pauline corpus, not merely for doctrinal instruction but as a tool for intellectual and linguistic formation.

Although it cannot be used to reconstruct the autographic text of Paul’s letters, its value lies in documenting the ancillary uses of Scripture in the post-Constantinian world, a time when Christianity had become a dominant cultural force, and the Bible was utilized across various domains of life—including education, language acquisition, and moral training.

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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).