Introduction

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405 (P. Oxy. 405), dated to approximately 150–200 C.E., represents one of the most significant early Christian papyrus discoveries from the Oxyrhynchus collection. This papyrus is a Greek manuscript fragment of Against Heresies (Latin: Adversus Haereses), authored by Irenaeus of Lyon around 180 C.E. The fragment bears extraordinary textual value, not only because it is a near-contemporary copy of a second-century Christian treatise but also because it contains the earliest known quotation of Matthew 3:16–17. This makes it an essential witness for New Testament textual studies and an invaluable artifact within the field of early Christian literature and transmission.

Content

P. Oxy. 405 preserves a segment of Irenaeus’s Against Heresies, Book 3, which addresses the doctrinal integrity of the Gospels and affirms the apostolic foundation of Christian truth. The extant passage includes Irenaeus’s citation of the Gospel of Matthew, specifically Matthew 3:16–17. These verses describe the baptism of Jesus Christ and the accompanying divine proclamation:

“After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as if a dove coming upon him. And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17, UASV)

This quotation embedded within Irenaeus’s polemic against Gnostic distortions underscores the early patristic reliance upon the canonical Gospels as authoritative and already well-circulated by the close of the second century.

Date

Grenfell and Hunt, the pioneering papyrologists responsible for the excavation and publication of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, originally assigned P. Oxy. 405 to the early third century. However, paleographical analysis—based on the neat, small uncial script—permits a more precise dating, possibly to the final quarter of the second century, c. 150–200 C.E. This dating is corroborated by comparative script studies and internal literary features typical of manuscripts from this transitional period between the second and third centuries.

Such a date situates the fragment within just two decades of the original composition of Against Heresies (c. 180 C.E.), suggesting that the content had begun to circulate relatively quickly, and within a form stable enough to preserve extensive New Testament quotations. The presence of Matthew 3:16–17 within the citation further validates that by the late second century, the Gospel of Matthew was already being quoted in doctrinal contexts as Scripture.

Housing Location

Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405 is currently preserved at the Cambridge University Library in Cambridge, England. It is cataloged as part of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri collection, originally acquired and published by the Egypt Exploration Fund. The manuscript consists of seven small fragments, which collectively form a recognizable portion of Irenaeus’s text. The fragility of the papyrus, combined with its fragmentary state, necessitates controlled conditions to ensure long-term preservation. Nevertheless, it remains accessible to scholars for paleographic, theological, and textual studies.

Bibliography

The following scholarly works are central to the study and publication of P. Oxy. 405:

• Grenfell, Bernard P., and Hunt, Arthur S. (1903). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Vol. 3. Oxford: Egypt Exploration Fund, p. 10.

• Grenfell, Bernard P., and Hunt, Arthur S. (1904). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Vol. 4. Oxford: Egypt Exploration Fund, p. 264.

• Hill, Charles Evan. “The Epistula Apostolorum: An Asian Tract from the Time of Polycarp,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 7 (1999): 1–53.

• Wallace, Daniel B. Interview, March 20, 2006.

Physical Features

The seven fragments of P. Oxy. 405 are written in a small, neat uncial hand, which was a standard book hand used in literary manuscripts of the late second and early third centuries. The hand is disciplined and non-cursive, reflecting professional scribal work rather than informal note-taking or personal use. No punctuation marks or diacritical signs are present, in keeping with the common conventions of early Christian manuscripts.

The material is papyrus, which was abundant and affordable in Egypt, particularly in Oxyrhynchus, a city known for its literary output and the preservation of Christian and classical texts in its arid climate. The layout likely follows the columnar format used in other contemporary literary texts, though the small surviving portions make complete reconstruction of line length and column width speculative.

The text is written in Greek, the lingua franca of the eastern Mediterranean and the original language of Irenaeus’s treatise. This further supports the early dissemination of Christian theological works in Greek long before Latin translations became dominant in the West.

Textual Character

The textual character of P. Oxy. 405 is best assessed in relation to its New Testament quotation. The citation of Matthew 3:16–17 within the manuscript aligns closely with the Alexandrian textual tradition, which is evidenced by comparisons with Codex Vaticanus (B) and Codex Sinaiticus (ℵ). Though the fragment is small, its conformity to the Alexandrian reading underscores the stability and early authority of this text-type in Egypt by the late second century.

The fragment omits later expansions and theological embellishments found in Byzantine readings, which often smooth the text for liturgical or doctrinal clarity. Instead, P. Oxy. 405 presents the concise and austere reading typical of early Alexandrian witnesses, consistent with the style preserved in papyri like P75 and the early codices.

Significantly, the text does not show any harmonization with other Gospel accounts of Jesus’s baptism, such as Mark 1:10–11 or Luke 3:21–22, which is a hallmark of scribal harmonization in later manuscripts. This internal evidence, combined with its external Alexandrian affinities, affirms its textual purity and strengthens the position of Alexandrian manuscripts as the most reliable witnesses to the original New Testament text.

In terms of patristic citation, Irenaeus’s quotation of Matthew 3:16–17 provides important support for the authenticity of these verses, not only as historical narrative but as Christological proof. The presence of this quotation in a polemical context against Gnostic errors confirms that the early Church regarded Matthew’s Gospel as both apostolic and theologically authoritative.

Further, the use of this citation by Irenaeus affirms the consistency and stability of the Gospel texts by the end of the second century. His arguments against heresies depended upon the reliability of the apostolic writings, indicating that these Gospel texts had already reached a fixed and recognized form within the broader Christian community. Thus, P. Oxy. 405 confirms both the textual stability and the authoritative use of Matthew’s Gospel in early Christian doctrinal formation.

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