After this introductory article, a comprehensive table will follow, listing all Greek New Testament papyri manuscripts with links to individual articles for each one. These papyri, though often fragmentary, are the earliest physical witnesses to the New Testament text and are foundational for understanding its transmission. This introduction sets the stage by highlighting their importance, scope, and the pivotal role they play in New Testament textual criticism.

Some of the Earliest Witnesses to the Text

Introduction: What Are the New Testament Papyri?

The New Testament Papyri are a distinct class of early Greek manuscripts written on papyrus—a plant-based writing material used widely in antiquity. Unlike other manuscript categories, which are often classified by script style or format (such as uncials or minuscules), these are identified based on the material they were written on. Every known papyrus manuscript of the New Testament is fragmentary, with none preserving an entire book, let alone the full New Testament. Many represent collections or parts of books, such as portions of the Gospels or the epistles.

What makes these papyri particularly valuable is their antiquity. At the time of Westcott and Hort’s 1881 publication of The New Testament in the Original Greek—a foundational work in textual criticism—only one New Testament papyrus was known (𝔓¹). Since then, 141 New Testament papyri have been cataloged. Of these, 22 date to the second century C.E., and approximately 58 date to the third and early fourth centuries C.E. These earliest physical witnesses are crucial for reconstructing the transmission of the New Testament text and offer unparalleled insight into its early copying and preservation.

Collectively, the papyri account for approximately half of the New Testament text, and more than 43% of the New Testament is attested within approximately 150 years of its original composition. Their early origin and geographical dispersion provide strong validation for the stability and reliability of the New Testament text in the centuries immediately following its writing.

Textual Value and Transmission

The significance of the papyri lies not only in their antiquity but also in their textual alignment. Many of these early manuscripts reflect the Alexandrian textual tradition, long regarded by scholars as the most reliable and closest to the original autographs. However, not all papyri follow this tradition. A number exhibit what are termed “mixed texts”—a blend of Alexandrian, Western, and other textual types. Some even show characteristics that others have called “Caesarean,” though this category remains debated.

Notably, only a very small fraction of the papyri show alignment with the Byzantine text-type, and those appear only in later manuscripts. This lack of Byzantine representation in the early centuries underscores the Alexandrian text’s early and widespread presence, even outside Egypt, challenging claims that it was a local Egyptian phenomenon.

John Rylands Papyrus (P52): The Small Fragment That Shook Scholarship

The Historical Skepticism About John’s Gospel

In the 19th century, German scholar F.C. Baur, influenced by the Hegelian dialectic model of historical development, argued that the Gospel of John must have been composed in the mid-to-late second century (c. 160–170 C.E.). This claim, which placed its authorship well beyond the Apostle John’s lifetime, fueled considerable skepticism about the historical reliability of the Fourth Gospel and heavily influenced European biblical scholarship for decades.

C.H. Roberts and the Discovery of P52

In 1934, British scholar C.H. Roberts was examining a collection of unpublished papyri stored at the John Rylands Library of Manchester University. Among them, he found a small Greek fragment, roughly 3.5 by 2.5 inches in size, with text on both sides. Recognizing it as part of a codex—a format more frequently adopted by early Christians than pagans—Roberts identified the fragment as a portion of John 18:31–33 on one side and 18:37–38 on the other. This was eventually cataloged as Papyrus 52 (P52), or the John Rylands Papyrus.

Roberts sent photographs of the manuscript to three leading European paleographers, who independently dated it to between 100 and 150 C.E. Their consensus decisively undercut Baur’s late dating hypothesis for the Gospel of John. The style of handwriting bore the closest resemblance to other securely dated papyri from the late first and early second centuries, notably Papyrus Fayum 110 (dated to 94 C.E.) and Papyrus Oslo 22 (dated to 127 C.E.).

Though exact dating of papyri remains an inexact science—often limited to a fifty-year range due to the consistency in scribal hands—the scholarly consensus has held firm. P52 remains one of the earliest physical witnesses to the New Testament text, perhaps even produced while the ink on the autograph was still fresh. Its significance lies not only in its age but also in what it represents: an early Christian community already preserving, copying, and circulating the Gospel of John by the first half of the second century.

The Chester Beatty Papyri: P45, P46, and P47

Overview of the Collection

Named after the American collector Alfred Chester Beatty, who acquired them in the 1930s, these papyri are housed primarily in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, with some leaves held at the University of Michigan. This collection represents some of the earliest and most substantial textual witnesses to both the Gospels and Paul’s letters.

P45: The Four Gospels and Acts

Dated paleographically to around 175–225 C.E., Papyrus 45 contains portions of all four Gospels and the Book of Acts. The order of the Gospels in this codex is Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark—a sequence sometimes referred to as the “Western order.” P45 is the earliest surviving manuscript of the Gospel of Mark, though only about thirty leaves of the original 112 survive.

The textual character of P45 is somewhat difficult to classify. It shows affinities to the Alexandrian tradition but also exhibits idiosyncrasies, leading some to suggest it reflects a “proto-Caesarean” form. Regardless of the classification, its antiquity and breadth make it a key witness for early Gospel transmission.

P47: A Window into Revelation

Papyrus 47 is a third-century manuscript (dated to around 200–250 C.E.) containing ten leaves of the Book of Revelation. It is the earliest known manuscript of the Apocalypse and holds substantial value due to the scarcity of early textual witnesses to this often-debated book. Among all manuscripts of Revelation, P47 is considered one of the most important, despite its brevity, ranking as the third most significant witness after Codices Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus.

P46: Paul’s Letters and Hebrews

Papyrus 46, perhaps the most famous of the Chester Beatty papyri, contains a substantial portion of Paul’s epistles and the book of Hebrews. Dated by many scholars to the early second century (100–150 C.E.), it represents the earliest extant manuscript of the Pauline corpus.

Eighty-six of its original 104 leaves survive. The manuscript is in codex form and was likely produced in a single quire (a stack of folded leaves), a structure that posed logistical challenges—particularly in page distribution. While P46 includes Romans through Hebrews, it lacks the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy and Titus) and Philemon. Debate continues as to whether these letters were intentionally excluded or simply left for a second volume.

An intriguing textual variant occurs in Ephesians 1:1, where P46—along with Codex Vaticanus (B)—omits the phrase “in Ephesus.” Scholars have long considered Ephesians a circular letter, intended for multiple congregations throughout Asia Minor. The absence of the specific locale may indicate that scribes were meant to insert the name of the destination congregation as the letter circulated, a practice that harmonizes well with Paul’s instructions in Colossians 4:16.

Textual Observations and Implications

The papyri give us a compelling glimpse into the transmission and early textual history of the New Testament. Despite some expected scribal errors—such as haplography (accidentally omitting repeated words)—the general textual fidelity of these early manuscripts is remarkable. P52, for example, contains only minor spelling variants aside from one notable omission.

The evidence from the papyri consistently confirms the stability of the Alexandrian tradition and contradicts notions of reckless or theologically motivated tampering by early scribes. Indeed, even unprofessional scribes show a concern for preserving the content they copied. The widespread agreement between geographically dispersed manuscripts and these early papyri further reinforces the view that the New Testament text was transmitted with considerable accuracy.

The Bodmer Papyri and the Early Text of John and Luke

Introduction: The Bodmer Collection and Its Significance

Among the most remarkable finds of the twentieth century are the papyri acquired by Swiss bibliophile Martin Bodmer. These manuscripts, housed in a private museum overlooking Lake Geneva, have significantly deepened our understanding of the early New Testament text. Two papyri in particular—Papyrus 66 (P66) and Papyrus 75 (P75)—stand out for their early date, textual character, and connection to major fourth-century codices. Published in the 1950s and 1960s, these documents not only predate most of our other Gospel manuscripts but also provide a crucial textual bridge between the second century and the great majuscules.

P66 contains the majority of the Gospel of John, including its first fourteen chapters nearly complete, and is typically dated to around 125–150 C.E. P75, while slightly later (c. 175–225 C.E.), preserves significant portions of both Luke and John. Together, these papyri allow us to study the state of the New Testament text in the generations just after the apostolic era and to evaluate how accurately later codices such as Vaticanus reflect that earlier tradition.

Papyrus 66 (P66): The Gospel According to John

P66 is one of the oldest nearly complete manuscripts of the Gospel of John. Among the notable features of this codex is its omission of the well-known account of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53–8:11). This passage, though beloved and widely preached today, is absent from nearly all early manuscripts, including P66, P75, Codex Vaticanus (B), and Codex Sinaiticus (א). It does not appear in the textual tradition in any consistent way until the ninth century and is missing from most lectionaries and commentaries until well into the medieval period. Its inconsistent placement in manuscripts—sometimes appearing in John, sometimes at the end of that Gospel, and even occasionally inserted into Luke—marks it as what scholars call a “floating tradition,” likely originating as an oral story that scribes later incorporated into the text.

The physical qualities of P66 also merit attention. It was clearly the product of a professional scribe with formal training in calligraphy. The text is laid out with carefully formed letters and consistent spacing, indicating a concern for aesthetic quality. The title at the head of the codex reads “The Gospel According to John,” rather than the simpler “According to John,” a formulation that has implications for how the early church identified and canonized its writings.

Though professionally copied, P66 exhibits occasional textual inconsistencies. This reinforces the point that professional training did not always correlate with textual precision. Nevertheless, it remains a valuable witness to the Gospel of John in the mid-second century and contributes significantly to our reconstruction of the earliest Greek text.

Papyrus 75 (P75): A Faithful Copy of Luke and John

P75 is among the most treasured papyri in textual criticism due to its exceptional agreement with Codex Vaticanus (B). It contains portions of Luke and John and is widely regarded as the third most important New Testament manuscript after Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. Unlike P66, P75 was likely the work of a non-professional scribe—perhaps a private individual producing the text for personal use. Despite the lack of formal scribal training, this manuscript demonstrates a high level of textual accuracy. The scribe appears to have copied the text letter-by-letter with care and discipline, without embellishment or interpretive intrusions.

This careful approach is especially evident in its close alignment with Codex Vaticanus. In fact, P75 and Vaticanus are so textually consistent that their agreement is considered the closest of any two early manuscripts. This extraordinary similarity supports the view that Vaticanus preserves a very early and accurate form of the text, and that it reflects an Alexandrian tradition grounded in the second and third centuries.

One unique feature of P75 is its layout. It preserves the end of the Gospel of Luke and the beginning of the Gospel of John on the same page—making it the earliest known manuscript to transition between two Gospels in this way. It affirms that the order Luke-then-John was common in some ancient traditions, differing from the more familiar Matthew-Mark-Luke-John order or the Western order (Matthew-John-Luke-Mark). Dissertations have explored these gospel orderings and their theological or ecclesiastical implications, but what’s clear is that early manuscript traditions allowed for diversity in sequencing without compromising textual integrity.

In 2006, P75 was donated to the Vatican Library by an anonymous buyer, who reportedly declined a $50 million offer from Yale University. This marked a significant moment in manuscript history, both for the value placed on this text and for its permanent housing among the Vatican’s prized holdings.

Professionalism vs. Accuracy in Early Copying

One of the most striking lessons from comparing P66 and P75 is that scribal skill does not always correlate with textual reliability. P66, a beautiful manuscript crafted by a trained scribe, contains more textual variation than P75, which was produced by an amateur. This undermines the argument, often promoted by textual skeptics, that early copyists—being untrained—must have introduced a high number of errors. The evidence does not support such a simplistic correlation. Among the seventeen earliest papyri known to be copied by non-professionals, many exhibit high fidelity to their exemplar texts. Conversely, some professional scribes introduced errors, whether through carelessness, overconfidence, or attempts at stylistic improvement.

This point surfaced in public debate when textual critic Bart Ehrman argued that early Christian scribes made too many mistakes due to their lack of training. However, the data from P75 and others like it suggest that meticulous copying was not dependent on professional status but on the scribe’s diligence and respect for the text.

A Textual Variant in John 1:18

Among the important textual discussions in early manuscripts is the reading of John 1:18. The King James Version renders this verse as: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” The final word “him” is italicized, signaling its absence in the Greek text. More modern versions, such as the NET Bible, present a different rendering: “No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made him known.”

The textual crux revolves around whether the original text said “only begotten Son” (μονογενὴς υἱός) or “only begotten God” (μονογενὴς θεός). The earliest and best witnesses—P66, P75, Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Sinaiticus (א), and several others—support the reading “only begotten God.” This is a rarer and more theologically robust expression of Christ’s deity. By contrast, the more familiar reading “only begotten Son” appears in the later Byzantine tradition and may reflect scribal alteration motivated by familiarity with Johannine phrases like John 3:16.

The King James reading, drawn from later manuscripts, lacks the textual weight of these earlier Alexandrian witnesses. Ironically, though the KJV is often championed for its high Christology, in this verse its rendering actually softens the statement of Jesus’ divinity compared to the stronger assertion found in the earliest manuscripts. The theological significance of the phrase μονογενὴς θεός—“the only-begotten God”—cannot be overstated. It directly identifies the unique status and nature of Jesus Christ as fully divine and distinct from all created beings.

The Influence of Italics and Paragraph Formatting

The use of italics in English Bibles to denote supplied words (such as “him” in John 1:18) originated with the Geneva Bible and was carried forward by the King James Version. While originally intended to show readers which words were not present in the Greek or Hebrew texts, this practice has often led to misunderstanding. In contemporary use, italics typically denote emphasis, not omission, which can mislead readers unfamiliar with this convention.

Moreover, the tradition of beginning each verse as a new paragraph—introduced with Stephanus’s 1551 Greek New Testament and continued in translations like the Geneva and King James—has unintentionally encouraged a fragmented reading of Scripture. Verses are often read in isolation, divorced from their literary context. This practice persists in editions like the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which, while conservative in translation philosophy, sometimes structures its text in ways that obscure the flow of thought.

Reading the Bible as a series of disconnected statements impairs one’s ability to grasp its intended meaning, especially when context is essential for interpretation. The structure of ancient manuscripts—unbroken blocks of text with minimal punctuation—reminds us that Scripture was originally received and read in context, not parsed out verse by verse.

Final Thoughts on P66 and P75

Together, P66 and P75 give us an invaluable look into the textual character and preservation of the New Testament during its earliest centuries. P66, despite its elegance, demonstrates that aesthetic quality does not guarantee textual precision. P75, by contrast, shows that scribes with little formal training could nonetheless transmit the text with remarkable care and fidelity.

Both manuscripts omit the adulterous pericope of John 7:53–8:11, reinforcing its later and secondary status. Both affirm a high view of Christ’s deity in John 1:18 through the rare but strongly attested reading “only-begotten God.” And both serve as critical witnesses that connect the emerging New Testament canon of the second century to the codices of the fourth, like Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.

Far from being haphazard or corrupted, these papyri show that the early Christian scribes, whether professionally trained or not, were committed to preserving the Scriptures accurately. Their work continues to serve as a foundation for modern textual criticism and provides compelling evidence that the New Testament text we have today closely reflects the original inspired writings.

Greek New Testament Papyri Manuscripts

P1 (175-225 C.E.) P2 (c. 550 C.E.) P3 (4th Century C.E.) P4/64/67 (150-175 C.E.) CPH P4/64/67 P5 (200-250 C.E.) P6 (300-350 C.E.) P7 (275-325 C.E.) P8 (250-300 C.E.) P9 (200-250 C.E.) P10 (a. 316 C.E.) P11/14 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P12 (285-300 C.E.) P13 (200-250 C.E.) P14/11 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P15+P16 (250-300 C.E.) P17 (225-275 C.E.) P18 (225-275 C.E.) P19 (250-300 C.E.) P20 (150-200 C.E.) P21 (300-350 C.E.) P22 (200-250 C.E.) P23 (175-225 C.E.) P24 (225-250 C.E.) P25 (300-350 C.E.) P26 (575-625 C.E.) P27 (150-200 C.E.) P28 (250-300 C.E.) P29 (175-225 C.E.) P30 (200-250 C.E.) P31 (7th cent. C.E.) P32 (100-150 C.E.) P33/58 (fourth/fifth cent.C.E.) P34 (7th cent. C.E.) P35 (3rd Century C.E.) P36 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P37 (240-260 C.E.) P38 (200-250 C.E.) P39 (175-225 C.E.) P40 (200-250 C.E.) P41 (8th cent. C.E.) P42 (6th/7th cent. C.E.) P43 (6th/7th cent. C.E.) P44 (6th/7th cent. C.E.) P45 (175-225 C.E.) CPH P45 P46 (100-150 C.E.) CPH P46 P47 (200-250 C.E.) CPH P47 P48 (200-250 C.E.) P49+P65 (200-250 C.E.) P50 (250-300 C.E.) P51 (250-300 C.E.) P52 (125-150 C.E.) Book CPH P52 P53 (225-275 C.E.) P54 (350-400 C.E.) P55 (7th cent. C.E.) P56 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P57 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P58/33 (fourth/fifth cent. C.E.) P59 (7th cent. C.E.)

P60 (6th/7th cent. C.E.) P61 (8th cent. C.E.) P62 (300-350 C.E.) P63 (fourth/fifth C.E.) P64/67/4 (100-150 C.E.) P65+P49 (200-250 C.E.) P66 (125-150 C.E.) A2 CPH P66 P67/64/4 (100-150 C.E.) P68 (7th cent C.E.) P69 (175-225 C.E.) P70 (250-300 C.E.) P71 (225-275 C.E.) P72 (200-250 C.E.) CPH P72 P73 (7th Century C.E.) P74 (7th Century C.E.) P75 (175-225 C.E.) A2 CPH P75 P76 (6th cent. C.E.) P77/103 (125-150 C.E.) P78 (250-300 C.E.) P79 (7th cent. C.E.) P80 (225-275 C.E.) P81 (300-350 C.E.) P82 (225-250 C.E.) P83 (6th cent. C.E.) P84 (6th cent. C.E.) P85 (200-250 C.E.) P86 (225-275 C.E.) P87 (125-150 C.E.) P88 (250-300 C.E.) P89 (250-300 C.E.) P90 (125-150 C.E.) P91 (225-275 C.E.) P92 (250-300 C.E.) P93 (350-400 C.E.) P94 (350-400 C.E.) P95 (200-250 C.E.) P96 (6th cent. C.E.) P97 (a. 600 C.E.) P98 (125-175 C.E.) P99 (a. 400 C.E.) P100 (200-250 C.E.) P101 (3rd cent. C.E.) P102 (275-325 C.E.) P103/77 (125-150 C.E.) P104 (100-150 C.E.) P105 (4th/5th cent. C.E.) P106 (200-250 C.E.) P107 (200-250 C.E.) P108 (175-225 C.E.) P109 (125-175 C.E.) P110 (200-250 C.E.) P111 (200-250 C.E.) P112 (325-375 C.E.)

P113 (200-250 C.E.) P114 (225-275 C.E.) P115 (200-250 C.E.) P116 (6th cent. C.E.) P117 (300-350 C.E.) P118 (150-200 C.E.) P119 (250-300 C.E.) P120 (250-300 C.E.) P121 (200-250 C.E.) P122 (300-350 C.E.) P123 (275-325 C.E.) P124 (4th/5th cent. C.E.) P125 (225-275 C.E.) P126 (200-250 C.E.) P127 (325-375 C.E.) P128 (6th/7th cent. C.E.) P129 (225-275 C.E.) P130 (250-300 C.E.) P131 (225-275 C.E.) P132 (3rd cent. C.E.) P133 (200-250 C.E.) P134 (225-275 C.E.) P135 (4th/5th cent. C.E.) P136 (6th cent. C.E.) P137 (100-150 C.E.) P138 (200-250 C.E.) P139 (4th cent. C.E.) P140 (5th cent. C.E.) P141 (175-225/200-225 C.E.)

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