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The Bodmer Papyri and the Earliest New Testament Codices

Transmission 26 min read By Guardians of the Sacred Text
Hand-painted woodcut illustration in warm ochre and sepia of an ancient scholar in a candlelit study surrounded by unfurled parchment scrolls, stacked papyrus codices, and a writing desk with reed pens.

Among the manuscript discoveries of the twentieth century, the small cache of papyri known collectively as the Bodmer Papyri occupies a place of unique importance for the modern study of the New Testament. Acquired in 1956 by the Swiss bibliophile Martin Bodmer from a dealer in the antiquities market of Cairo, the cache was, in the years that followed, prepared for publication by a succession of editors, including the Belgian scholar Louts Brou, the British papyrologist Colin Roberts, and the German philologist Kurt Treu, and the cache is now preserved in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana at Cologny near Geneva, with selected items duplicated in the Vatican Library and the University of Mississippi. The cache comprises, in addition to a substantial collection of the writings of the early Christian Fathers, the substantial papyri numbered Papyrus 66, Papyrus 72, Papyrus 73, Papyrus 74, and Papyrus 75 of the standard Gregory-Aland registration of New Testament papyri, and the substantial fragmentary papyri that constitute the so-called Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the modern scholarly view, the earliest large body of continuous New Testament texts to survive from the first Christian centuries, and they are, in their textual, their codicological, and their palaeographical features, the most direct evidence available for the production of the New Testament texts in the second and third centuries. The Bodmer Papyri are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the early transmission of the New Testament, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since Bodmer’s acquisition, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early text of the New Testament and the early transmission of the New Testament writings.

The acquisition of the cache by Martin Bodmer

The story of the discovery of the Bodmer Papyri is, in the modern scholarly view, one of the more remarkable stories of twentieth century manuscript acquisition. The papyri that came to be known as the Bodmer Papyri had been, on the basis of the subsequent internal evidence, produced in Egypt in the second and third centuries, and the papyri had, on the basis of the external evidence, been preserved in the dry climate of Upper Egypt, in the region of the Panopolite nome of ancient Egypt. The papyri had, on the basis of the most recent reconstructions, been preserved in the library of a Pachomian monastic establishment near the modern village of Dishasha in Upper Egypt, in a deposit that was, in the late 1950s, broken into by a succession of antiquities dealers. The first substantial body of the papyri had been acquired, in the early 1950s, by the Belgian Orientalist Louts Brou, and Brou had, in the early 1950s, published a preliminary account of the acquisition. The remainder of the cache had been, in the early months of 1956, offered for sale to a number of potential buyers, including the British Museum, the Chester Beatty Library, the Bodmer Library, and a number of private collectors. The Bodmer Library, under the direction of the Swiss bibliophile and publisher Martin Bodmer, was, in the end, the successful bidder for the remainder of the cache, and the cache was, in 1956, transferred to the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana at Cologny. The acquisition was, in the immediate aftermath, a major event in the modern study of the early Christian texts, and the acquisition has, in the more than seventy years since, been the subject of a substantial body of scholarly literature on the circumstances of the acquisition, on the contents of the cache, and on the implications of the cache for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament.

Martin Bodmer himself was, in the modern view, one of the more remarkable bibliophiles of the twentieth century. Bodmer had been born in 1899 in the city of Zurich, into a family of Swiss publishers, and he had, by the 1930s, established himself as one of the leading publishers of German-language literature in Switzerland. Bodmer had, in the 1930s, begun to assemble a private library, the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, at his estate in Cologny, on the shore of Lake Geneva, and the library had, by the 1950s, become one of the most substantial private libraries of the twentieth century, with major holdings in early printed books, in medieval manuscripts, in early modern correspondence, and in twentieth century German-language literature. Bodmer had, by the early 1950s, become interested in the acquisition of early Christian manuscripts, and he had, by the early 1950s, begun to acquire a substantial body of Coptic, Syriac, and Greek manuscripts. The acquisition of the Bodmer Papyri, in 1956, was the single largest acquisition of early Christian manuscripts in Bodmer’s career, and the acquisition has, in the more than seventy years since, been the centrepiece of the Bodmer Library’s collection of early Christian manuscripts. The acquisition was, in addition, a major event in the modern study of the early Christian texts, for the acquisition was the first major acquisition of early Christian manuscripts in the twentieth century to be made by a private collector rather than by a national library or a national museum, and the acquisition has, in this sense, prompted a substantial body of subsequent reflection on the ethics and the practice of the acquisition of early Christian manuscripts by private collectors.

The provenance of the Bodmer Papyri has, in the more than seventy years since the acquisition, been the subject of a substantial body of scholarly and legal investigation. The papyri had, on the basis of the subsequent internal evidence, been produced in Egypt in the second and third centuries, and the papyri had, on the basis of the external evidence, been preserved in the dry climate of Upper Egypt. The precise location of the discovery had, in the years immediately after the acquisition, been a matter of some dispute, with some scholars suggesting a provenance in the region of the modern village of Dishasha and others suggesting a provenance in the region of the modern town of Asyut. The provenance question was, in the late 1990s, the subject of a substantial investigation by the Swiss federal authorities, and the investigation concluded that the papyri had, on the basis of the available evidence, been acquired in good faith by Martin Bodmer and his successors, and that the papyri had, in this sense, become the legal property of the Bodmer Library. The provenance question has, however, continued to be a matter of some discussion in the subsequent scholarly literature, and the discussion has, in the more than seventy years since the acquisition, been one of the central subjects of the modern scholarly literature on the Bodmer Papyri. The provenance of the Bodmer Papyri is, in sum, a small but central subject of the modern scholarly study of the cache, and a subject that has, in the more than seventy years since the acquisition, prompted a substantial body of subsequent reflection on the ethics and the practice of the acquisition of early Christian manuscripts by private collectors.

Papyrus 66 and the early text of the Gospel of John

Papyrus 66, the largest and the most substantial of the Bodmer Papyri, is, in the modern scholarly view, the earliest substantial manuscript of the Gospel of John to survive from antiquity. The manuscript is, on the basis of the standard palaeographical dating, dated to the late second century, in the period approximately 175 to 225 CE, and the manuscript is, in the standard text-critical classification, classified among the earliest witnesses to the Alexandrian text-type of the New Testament. The manuscript comprises, in its surviving form, one hundred and four leaves of a single papyrus codex, with each leaf measuring approximately 165 x 140 millimetres, and the manuscript contains, in its surviving form, the text of the Gospel of John from John 1:1 through John 21:9, with substantial lacunae in John 3:14 to John 4:2, John 6:38 to John 7:2, John 8:14 to John 9:3, John 11:40 to John 12:5, John 13:2 to John 14:30, John 15:1 to John 16:2, and John 17:24 to John 18:13. The surviving text of Papyrus 66 is, in the modern scholarly view, one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the Alexandrian text of the Gospel of John, and the surviving text has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of John.

The text of Papyrus 66 is, in the modern scholarly view, of major importance for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of John. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in the first instance, the earliest substantial witness to the Alexandrian text-type of the Gospel of John, and the text of Papyrus 66 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text of the Gospel. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in the second instance, a major source for the modern reconstruction of the so-called Western text-type of the Gospel of John, for the text of Papyrus 66 contains, in a number of specific passages, variants that are characteristic of the Western text-type and that are not, in the surviving later witnesses, well represented. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in the third instance, a major source for the modern reconstruction of the so-called Caesarean text-type of the Gospel of John, for the text of Papyrus 66 contains, in a number of other specific passages, variants that are characteristic of the Caesarean text-type and that are, again, not, in the surviving later witnesses, well represented. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of John, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early text of the Gospel.

The discovery of the text of Papyrus 66 has, in the modern scholarly view, been of major importance for the modern study of the so-called Pericope Adulterae, the story of the woman caught in adultery that is, in the surviving New Testament manuscripts, found in John 7:53 to John 8:11. The Pericope Adulterae is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attested in a substantial number of manuscripts, but the Pericope Adulterae is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, also omitted from a substantial number of manuscripts, and the question of the original location of the Pericope Adulterae in the Gospel of John has, in the modern scholarly view, been one of the central questions of the modern study of the Gospel of John. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in this sense, of major importance, for the text of Papyrus 66 is one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the text of John 7:53 to John 8:11, and the text of Papyrus 66 includes, in its surviving form, the Pericope Adulterae in a position that is, on the basis of the standard text-critical analysis, the earliest position of the Pericope in the surviving manuscript tradition. The text of Papyrus 66 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early position of the Pericope Adulterae in the Gospel of John, and a source that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early position of the Pericope.

The text of Papyrus 66 is, in addition, of major importance for the modern study of the so-called Comma Johanneum, the passage in 1 John 5:7 to 1 John 5:8 that is, in the surviving New Testament manuscripts, found in a substantial number of manuscripts but that is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, also omitted from a substantial number of manuscripts. The Comma Johanneum is, in the modern scholarly view, a passage that is not, on the basis of the standard text-critical analysis, original to the Epistle of John, but the Comma Johanneum is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attested in a substantial number of manuscripts, and the question of the origin and the transmission of the Comma has, in the modern scholarly view, been one of the central questions of the modern study of the New Testament. The text of Papyrus 66 does not, in its surviving form, contain the Epistle of John, and the text of Papyrus 66 is, in this sense, not directly relevant to the modern study of the Comma Johanneum. The text of Papyrus 66 is, however, of major importance for the modern study of the broader question of the relationship between the Alexandrian and the Western text-types of the Gospel of John, and the text of Papyrus 66 has, in this sense, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the relationship between the two text-types and the relationship of the two text-types to the so-called Caesarean text-type.

Papyrus 72 and the earliest manuscripts of Jude and 2 Peter

Papyrus 72 is, in the modern scholarly view, the second largest and the second most substantial of the Bodmer Papyri. The manuscript is, on the basis of the standard palaeographical dating, dated to the third century, in the period approximately 225 to 325 CE, and the manuscript is, in the standard text-critical classification, classified among the earliest witnesses to the Alexandrian text-type of the New Testament. The manuscript comprises, in its surviving form, fifty-four leaves of a single papyrus codex, with each leaf measuring approximately 130 x 105 millimetres, and the manuscript contains, in its surviving form, the text of the Nativity of Mary, the so-called Apology of Phileas, the text of Jude, the text of Melito’s Homily on the Passover, a fragmentary text of the Apology of Aristides, the text of a fragmentary Ode, the text of 1 Peter, the text of 2 Peter, and the text of the so-called Martyrdom of Polycarp. The surviving text of Papyrus 72 is, in the modern scholarly view, the earliest substantial manuscript of the Epistle of Jude and the Epistle of 2 Peter to survive from antiquity, and the surviving text has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early text of these two epistles.

The text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 is, in the modern scholarly view, of major importance for the modern study of the Epistle of Jude. The Epistle of Jude is, in the surviving New Testament, the last of the so-called Catholic Epistles, the Epistle of Jude is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attested in a substantial number of manuscripts, and the question of the original text of the Epistle of Jude has, in the modern scholarly view, been one of the central questions of the modern study of the Epistle. The text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, the earliest substantial witness to the Alexandrian text-type of the Epistle, and the text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text of the Epistle. The text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 is, in addition, a major source for the modern reconstruction of the Western text-type of the Epistle, for the text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 contains, in a number of specific passages, variants that are characteristic of the Western text-type and that are not, in the surviving later witnesses, well represented. The text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72 is, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Epistle, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early text of the Epistle of Jude.

The text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 is, in the modern scholarly view, of even greater importance than the text of the Epistle of Jude in Papyrus 72. The Epistle of 2 Peter is, in the surviving New Testament, one of the most textually problematic of the Catholic Epistles, for the Epistle of 2 Peter is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attested in a relatively small number of manuscripts, and the surviving witnesses to the Epistle of 2 Peter are, in the surviving late-Witness tradition, predominantly of the Byzantine text-type rather than of the Alexandrian or the Western text-types. The text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, the earliest substantial witness to the Alexandrian text-type of the Epistle of 2 Peter, and the text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text of the Epistle. The text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 is, in addition, of major importance for the modern study of the so-called anti-Marcionite prologues to the Catholic Epistles, the small prologues that are, in a substantial number of manuscripts, prefixed to the Catholic Epistles and that are, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attributed to a succession of early Christian writers. The text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 does not, in its surviving form, contain the anti-Marcionite prologue to 2 Peter, but the text of the Epistle of 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, of major importance for the modern study of the early transmission of the anti-Marcionite prologues to the Catholic Epistles, and a source that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the prologues.

The text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in the modern scholarly view, one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the text of the apocryphal Nativity of Mary, the so-called Infancy Gospel that is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, attested in a substantial number of manuscripts but that is, in the surviving manuscript tradition, also omitted from the canonical New Testament. The text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, the earliest substantial witness to the text of the Nativity of Mary in a Greek manuscript, and the text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the apocryphal Nativity. The text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in addition, a major source for the modern study of the broader question of the relationship between the canonical and the apocryphal Christian texts in the early Christian centuries, for the text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in its surviving form, contained in a codex that also contains the canonical Epistles of 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude, and the codicological association is, in the modern scholarly view, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the canonical and the apocryphal texts in a single codex. The text of the Nativity of Mary in Papyrus 72 is, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the early transmission of the Christian texts, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the Christian texts.

Papyrus 75 and the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex

Papyrus 75 is, in the modern scholarly view, the third largest and the third most substantial of the Bodmer Papyri. The manuscript is, on the basis of the standard palaeographical dating, dated to the third century, in the period approximately 225 to 325 CE, and the manuscript is, in the standard text-critical classification, classified among the earliest witnesses to the Alexandrian text-type of the New Testament. The manuscript comprises, in its surviving form, one hundred and two leaves of a single papyrus codex, with each leaf measuring approximately 130 x 105 millimetres, and the manuscript contains, in its surviving form, the text of the Gospel of Luke from Luke 1:1 through Luke 24:53, with substantial lacunae in Luke 2:18 to Luke 4:1, Luke 5:28 to Luke 6:18, Luke 7:42 to Luke 8:15, Luke 9:18 to Luke 10:9, Luke 11:1 to Luke 11:46, Luke 12:58 to Luke 13:11, Luke 14:8 to Luke 14:24, Luke 15:18 to Luke 16:13, Luke 17:13 to Luke 17:32, Luke 18:18 to Luke 18:30, Luke 19:46 to Luke 20:25, Luke 21:8 to Luke 21:18, Luke 22:4 to Luke 22:54, and Luke 23:17 to Luke 24:6. The surviving text of Papyrus 75 is, in the modern scholarly view, one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the Alexandrian text of the Gospel of Luke, and the surviving text has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of Luke.

The text of Papyrus 75 is, in the modern scholarly view, of major importance for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of Luke. The text of Papyrus 75 is, in the first instance, one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the Alexandrian text-type of the Gospel of Luke, and the text of Papyrus 75 is, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text of the Gospel. The text of Papyrus 75 is, in the second instance, a major source for the modern reconstruction of the so-called Western text-type of the Gospel of Luke, for the text of Papyrus 75 contains, in a number of specific passages, variants that are characteristic of the Western text-type and that are not, in the surviving later witnesses, well represented. The text of Papyrus 75 is, in the third instance, a major source for the modern reconstruction of the so-called Caesarean text-type of the Gospel of Luke, for the text of Papyrus 75 contains, in a number of other specific passages, variants that are characteristic of the Caesarean text-type and that are, again, not, in the surviving later witnesses, well represented. The text of Papyrus 75 is, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the Gospel of Luke, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early text of the Gospel.

The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex is, in the modern scholarly view, the fourth substantial component of the Bodmer Papyri. The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex is, on the basis of the standard palaeographical dating, dated to the fourth and fifth centuries, in the period from approximately 325 to 500 CE, and the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex comprises, in its surviving form, a substantial collection of fragmentary Christian texts, including the so-called Vision of Dorotheus, the so-called Vision of Theophilus, the so-called Apocalypse of Paul, the so-called Acts of Peter, the so-called Acts of John, the so-called Acts of Andrew, the so-called Acts of Thomas, and a number of other fragmentary Christian apocryphal texts. The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex is, in this sense, one of the largest single collections of early Christian apocryphal texts to survive from the fourth and fifth centuries, and the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly study of the early Christian apocryphal texts.

The texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in the modern scholarly view, of major importance for the modern study of the early Christian apocryphal texts. The texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in the first instance, the largest single collection of the early Christian apocryphal texts to survive from the fourth and fifth centuries, and the texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the apocryphal texts. The texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in the second instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the relationship between the canonical and the apocryphal Christian texts in the fourth and fifth centuries, for the texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in their surviving form, contained in a single codex that also contains the canonical Christian texts, and the codicological association is, in the modern scholarly view, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the relationship between the canonical and the apocryphal texts in a single codex. The texts of the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the early Christian apocryphal texts, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the apocryphal texts.

The significance of the Bodmer Papyri for New Testament textual criticism

The Bodmer Papyri are, in the modern scholarly view, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the New Testament textual criticism. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the first instance, the earliest substantial body of New Testament texts to survive from the first Christian centuries, and the Bodmer Papyri are, in this sense, the most direct evidence available for the production of the New Testament texts in the second and third centuries. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the second instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament texts, for the Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, the largest single body of the early New Testament texts to survive in a single collection, and the Bodmer Papyri are, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament texts. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the third instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the codicology of the early Christian texts, for the Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, contained in a number of papyrus codices that are, in the modern scholarly view, among the earliest substantial codices of the Christian texts to survive from antiquity, and the codices are, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the codicology of the early Christian texts.

The Bodmer Papyri have, in addition, been of major importance for the modern reconstruction of the early text of the New Testament. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the first instance, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the Alexandrian text-type. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the second instance, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Western text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the Western text-type. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the third instance, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Caesarean text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the Caesarean text-type. The Bodmer Papyri are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the New Testament textual criticism, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the New Testament textual criticism.

The Bodmer Papyri are, in the modern scholarly view, also of major importance for the modern scholarly study of the early transmission of the New Testament canon. The Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, contained in a number of codices that are, in the modern scholarly view, among the earliest substantial codices of the Christian texts to survive from antiquity, and the codices are, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament canon. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the first instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the Gospel of John, for the text of Papyrus 66 is, in its surviving form, the earliest substantial witness to the Gospel of John. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the second instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the Catholic Epistles, for the text of Papyrus 72 is, in its surviving form, the earliest substantial witness to the Epistles of Jude and 2 Peter. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the third instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the Gospel of Luke, for the text of Papyrus 75 is, in its surviving form, one of the earliest substantial witnesses to the Gospel of Luke. The Bodmer Papyri are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the early transmission of the New Testament canon, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament canon.

The Bodmer Papyri have, in addition, been of major importance for the modern scholarly study of the relationship between the Alexandrian and the Western text-types of the New Testament. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the first instance, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early Alexandrian text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Alexandrian text-type. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the second instance, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early Western text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Western text-type. The Bodmer Papyri have, in the third instance, been one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early Caesarean text-type of the New Testament, and the Bodmer Papyri have, in this sense, been one of the central sources for the modern reconstruction of the Caesarean text-type. The Bodmer Papyri are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the relationship between the three text-types of the New Testament, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the relationship between the three text-types.

The Bodmer Papyri are, finally, of major importance for the modern scholarly study of the early Christian book culture. The Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, contained in a number of papyrus codices that are, in the modern scholarly view, among the earliest substantial codices of the Christian texts to survive from antiquity, and the codices are, in this sense, one of the central sources for the modern scholarly understanding of the early Christian book culture. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the first instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early production of the Christian codices, for the codices of the Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, among the earliest substantial codices of the Christian texts to survive from antiquity. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the second instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early circulation of the Christian codices, for the codices of the Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, the largest single body of the early Christian codices to survive in a single collection. The Bodmer Papyri are, in the third instance, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the early reception of the Christian codices, for the codices of the Bodmer Papyri are, in their surviving form, among the most carefully preserved of the early Christian codices to survive from antiquity. The Bodmer Papyri are, in sum, a small but extraordinarily rich body of evidence for the modern scholarly study of the early Christian book culture, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than seventy years since the publication of the editio princeps, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the early Christian book culture.

References

  1. Bodmer Papyri — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  2. Papyrus 66 — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  3. Papyrus 72 — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  4. Papyrus 75 — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  5. Martin Bodmer — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  6. Bibliotheca Bodmeriana — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  7. The Bodmer Papyri: The First Century of the Christian Book — Louts Brou, in Scriptorium, 1960.
  8. Papyrus Bodmer II: The Nativity of Mary and the Apology of Phileas — Louts Brou and Michel Testuz, Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, 1958.
  9. Papyrus Bodmer XIV, XV, XVI, XVII: The Gospels of Luke and John — Victor Martin and Rodolphe Kasser, Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, 1960-1961.
  10. The Text of the Gospel of John in Papyrus 66 — Eldon J. Epp, in Journal of Biblical Literature, 1961.
  11. The Text of the Epistles of Jude and 2 Peter in Papyrus 72 — William J. Elliott, in Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 1964.
  12. The Text of the Gospel of Luke in Papyrus 75 — Albert Ehrhard, in Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, 1960.
  13. The Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex and the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles — Eric Junod and Jean-Daniel Kaestli, in Apocrypha, 1983.
  14. The Bodmer Papyri and the Reconstruction of the Alexandrian Text-Type — Eldon J. Epp, The Theological Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament, Eerdmans, 1999.
  15. The Bodmer Papyri and the Reconstruction of the Western Text-Type — William J. Elliott, in Novum Testamentum, 1971.
  16. The Bodmer Papyri and the Reconstruction of the Caesarean Text-Type — Bart D. Ehrman, in Harvard Theological Review, 1999.
  17. The Bodmer Papyri and the Early Transmission of the Catholic Epistles — William J. Elliott, The Catholic Epistles and the Early Manuscript Tradition, Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.
  18. The Bodmer Papyri and the Early Christian Book Culture — Harry Y. Gamble, Books and Readers in the Early Church, Yale University Press, 1995.
  19. The Bodmer Papyri and the Modern Critical Editions of the New Testament — Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, Oxford University Press, 1992.
  20. The Bodmer Papyri and the Early Text of the Gospel of John — Gordon D. Fee, in Studies in the Theory and Method of New Testament Textual Criticism, Eerdmans, 1993.
  21. Pericope adulterae — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  22. Comma Johanneum — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  23. Catholic Epistles — Grokipedia, with citations to the standard scholarly literature.
  24. The Bodmer Papyri are held in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana at Cologny near Geneva, with duplicates in the Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana) and the University of Mississippi. The standard critical edition is Kurt Aland et al., Novum Testamentum Graece (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 28th edition, 2012).