Introduction to Papyrus 139

Papyrus 139 (𝔓139), catalogued under P. Oxyrhynchus 5347, is a fourth-century C.E. Greek manuscript containing a partial transcription of the New Testament letter to Philemon. Despite its fragmentary nature, 𝔓139 holds significant value in the textual criticism of the Pauline Epistles, particularly as it pertains to the transmission of the shorter epistles in early Christian communities. As a product of the Oxyrhynchus papyri discoveries, this fragment serves as yet another testimony to the widespread copying and usage of the Pauline corpus in Egypt during the early Christian centuries.

Like other early papyri, 𝔓139 is valuable not primarily because of its completeness, but because of its contribution to understanding the textual state of the New Testament in the early centuries of the church, especially in the Alexandrian region. Though small, this manuscript helps inform the external evidence base for the book of Philemon and demonstrates the degree of textual stability or variance in key clauses.

Date of Papyrus 139 – Fourth Century C.E.

𝔓139 has been dated paleographically to the fourth century C.E., based on the analysis of its script style, letter forms, and comparison with securely dated Greek documents of the same period. This dating aligns the manuscript with a key transitional period in the history of the biblical text—namely, the movement from predominantly informal Christian copies to more standardized ecclesiastical texts. By the fourth century, Christianity had gained legal status under Constantine I, and the production of Christian manuscripts became increasingly sophisticated and widespread.

It is worth noting that while paleographic dating is inherently approximate, the stylistic features of 𝔓139’s script correspond well with other fourth-century Oxyrhynchus papyri, further strengthening the reliability of its proposed chronological placement. This situates the manuscript at a time when both Alexandrian and Byzantine textual streams were concurrently developing and exerting influence on regional scribal habits.

Content of Papyrus 139 – Philemon 1:6–8 (recto); 18–20 (verso)

𝔓139 preserves text from Philemon 1:6–8 on the recto (front side) and verses 18–20 on the verso (back side). The surviving material represents two discontinuous segments of the letter, though the fragment’s internal coherence suggests it once belonged to a single leaf of a codex, with the recto and verso representing consecutive pages.

The passage includes important theological and textual elements: the communicative nature of faith (v. 6), the emotional response of Paul to Philemon’s love and ministry (v. 7), and the critical appeal by Paul for Philemon to forgive and restore Onesimus (vv. 18–20). The preservation of both doctrinal and relational components of this short epistle highlights the care with which scribes transmitted even the smallest Pauline letters.

Physical Features of Papyrus 139

𝔓139 is preserved on a single papyrus leaf written in codex form, with text arranged in a single column format. The surviving text shows the bottom half of ten lines on the recto and the top half of nine lines on the verso. Based on the fragment’s layout, it likely originated from a personal or liturgical codex. The hand is described as informal but legible, characteristic of a scribe copying in a non-professional but competent context—indicative of Christian manuscripts circulating among educated believers and local congregations in Egypt.

Notably, the correction found in verse 19 (εαυτον replacing αυτον with supralinear epsilon) reflects a degree of scribal attention to either orthographic or interpretative clarity. Supralinear corrections are common in ancient manuscripts and often signify either a self-correction by the scribe or a later editorial intervention. The presence of such a correction in a brief text fragment underscores the scribal diligence associated with the transmission of Pauline epistles.

Textual Character of Papyrus 139

The textual variants preserved in 𝔓139 demonstrate alignment with both Alexandrian and non-Alexandrian witnesses, although the overall character suggests affinity with early Alexandrian readings. The variants in verses 6, 7, 18, and 19 invite careful comparison with principal codices, and provide insight into the complexities of the early text of Philemon.

Verse 6:
Parsons reconstructs the first line as ending in the article του, which is supported by Codex Sinaiticus (01) and the majority of other manuscripts. However, this article is absent in 𝔓61, 02 (Codex Bezae), 04, and others. Moreover, family 1739 reads ἡ instead. Parsons also reconstructs the beginning of the next line as εν υμειν (“in you”), a reading supported by 𝔓61, 01, 10, 12, 025, 075, and various Byzantine witnesses including ƒ1379. By contrast, 02 (D) and others such as 04 and 018 read εν ημιν (“in us”). This split reflects a textual tradition distinction between “in you” and “in us,” which affects the interpretive emphasis of the verse.

Verse 7:
𝔓139 appears to follow the reading χαραν γαρ πολλην εσχον και παρακλησιν (“for I had great joy and encouragement”), which is supported by 02 and 04. This reading differs from the shorter form χαραν γαρ πολλην εσχον (“for I had great joy”) in Codex Sinaiticus (01), and from the Byzantine-influenced variant χαριν γαρ εχομεν πολλην και παρακλησιν (“for we have great favor and encouragement”). The 𝔓139 variant retains Pauline personal testimony with a past-tense, first-person singular rendering, consistent with Paul’s epistolary style. The expanded phrase shows theological richness in Paul’s pastoral reflection, and its presence in 𝔓139 supports its authenticity.

Verse 18:
The verb οφειλετο (“was owing”) is an unusual form compared to the more expected present-tense οφιλει or οφειλει (“is owing”) found in Codex Sinaiticus (01), Codex Bezae (02), and Codex Vaticanus (03). This aoristic or imperfect form in 𝔓139 potentially reflects an early scribal attempt to clarify the debt as belonging more to the past than the present. However, the overwhelming manuscript evidence supports the present tense, and so this variant is likely a singular scribal idiosyncrasy or regional usage.

Verse 19:
A correction has occurred in the word αυτον (“him”), which has been altered via a supralineal epsilon to read εαυτον (“himself”). This results in the peculiar reading “I will repay it—not to say to you that you owe me even yourself.” The standard reading σεαυτον (“yourself”) is overwhelmingly attested. The correction to εαυτον is grammatically possible but contextually odd, likely reflecting either a scribal slip or a hyper-correction. In either case, it demonstrates the scribe’s active engagement with the text, though ultimately this variant does not withstand the external manuscript weight favoring σεαυτον.

Manuscript Alignment and Textual Weight

Overall, the readings in 𝔓139 display an eclectic mixture, but with distinct leanings toward the Alexandrian textual tradition. Its affinities with 02 and 04 in multiple verses reinforce this assessment. However, the presence of certain unique or less-supported variants (e.g., οφειλετο in v. 18) indicates that 𝔓139 may not have been copied directly from one of the great uncials but from an independent exemplar within the same textual stream. These data support the hypothesis that by the fourth century, the Alexandrian text-type had already achieved considerable geographical and scribal stability in Egypt.

While 𝔓139 is too fragmentary to assign with complete certainty to a single textual family, its alignment with Codex Bezae and other early uncials in several key places allows it to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the early transmission of Philemon. As with other papyri from Oxyrhynchus, this fragment bears witness to the vitality and continuity of the New Testament text within the Christian communities of Egypt.

Location and Preservation

𝔓139 is currently housed in the Sackler Library, part of the University of Oxford’s Papyrology Room. This repository is known for preserving many of the Oxyrhynchus papyri and continues to be a significant center for scholarly research on early Christian manuscripts. The ongoing analysis of these documents helps refine our understanding of the historical and textual contexts of the New Testament writings.

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