| New Testament manuscript | |
_Plate_1_recto_Rev_1%2c1%25E2%2580%25933%3b_2%2c1%25E2%2580%25933%3b_2%2c4%25E2%2580%25933%3b_2%2c27%25E2%2580%259329%3b_5%2c8%25E2%2580%25939%3b_8%2c3%25E2%2580%25938%3b_8%2c11%25E2%2580%259313.jpg) Plate 1 recto, Revelation 1:1–3, 2:1–3, 2:4–3, 2:27–29, 5:8–9, 8:3–8, 8:11–13 | |
| Name | P. Oxy. 4499 |
|---|---|
| Text | Rev 2-3, 5-6, 8-15 |
| Date | c. 225-275 |
| Found | Oxyrhynchus,Egypt |
| Now at | Ashmolean Museum |
| Cite | Juan Chapa,Oxyrynchus Papyri 66:11-39. (#4499) |
| Size | 26 fragments; 15.5 x 23.5 cm; 33-36 lines/page |
| Type | Alexandrian, close agreement withA &C |
| Category | I |
| Note | Givesnumber of the beast as 616 |
 |  | |
Papyrus 115, also known asP. Oxy. 4499, is a fragmentedmanuscript of theNew Testament written inGreek onpapyrus. It is designated by thesiglum𝔓115 in theGregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. It consists of 26 fragments of acodex containing parts of theBook of Revelation.[1] Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), the manuscript is dated to the third century,c. 225-275 AD.[2] ScholarsBernard Pyne Grenfell andArthur Hunt discovered the papyrus inOxyrhynchus, Egypt.
𝔓115 was not deciphered and published until 2011. It is currently housed at theAshmolean Museum.[3]
The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book) although in a very fragmentary condition. In its original form it was sized 15.5 cm by 22 cm, with 33-36 lines per page.[4][1]: 665 The surviving text includes Revelation 2:1-3, 13-15, 27-29; 3:10-12; 5:8-9; 6:5-6; 8:3-8, 11-13; 9:1-5, 7-16, 18-21; 10:1-4, 8-11; 11:1-5, 8-15, 18-19; 12:1-5, 8-10, 12-17; 13:1-3, 6-16, 18; 14:1-3, 5-7, 10-11, 14-15, 18-20; 15:1, 4-7.[1][4] Due to the writing on the pages having a tendency to be narrower when the binding is on the right hand side, it is likely the codex was bound before the copyist started writing in it.[1]: 665 After its publication, scholar David C. Parker notes the manuscript "is a significant contribution to our understanding of the text of the book of Revelation",[4] and as such "may shed light on a crucial period in the development of the text of Revelation."[4]
There are some textual corrections in the manuscript which may be evidence the copyist had access to more than one examplar.[4]: 77 Out of 165 variant readings in the manuscript, only nine are considered "singular" or "unique" readings.[4]: 77-78 Five of these are according to Parker "obviously false", and there are therefore only four new textual readings.[4]: 78-79 Parker concludes that "none of these readings is original."[4]: 79 After a full overview of the manuscript, Parker summises: "It is sometimes suggested that the papyri have not had any genuine effect on the printed text of the New Testament. The example of this witness alone is sufficient to disprove the claim."[4]: 91 Biblical scholar Philip Comfort declares that "𝔓115 has superior testimony to that of𝔓47, which aligns withא and together form the second-best witness to the book of Revelation."[5][1]: 665
The manuscript has evidence of the followingnomina sacra (names/titles considered sacred inChristianity):ΙΗΛ (Israel),ΑΥΤΟΥ (his),ΠΡΣ (Father),ΘΩ/ΘΝ/ΘΥ (God),ΑΝΩΝ/ΑΝΟΥ (man),ΠΝΑ (Spirit),ΟΥΝΟΥ/ΟΥΝΟΝ/ΟΥΝΩ (heaven),ΚΥ (Master/Lord). The manuscript uses theGreek numeral system, with no number extant as being written out in full.[1]
The manuscript is considered to be a witness to theAlexandrian text-type, following the text ofCodex Alexandrinus (A) andCodex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C).[5] In a comparison of the textual readings of this manuscript, Parker notes it is "usually right" when it agrees with A as opposed to C, incorrect when it disagrees with both, and only right less than half the time when it disagrees with A.[4]: 91 Accordingly, this shows that the text seen in A "confirms the superior quality" of A as opposed to the text seen in C. The textual variants againstCodex Sinaiticusא and𝔓47 show that𝔓115 is more often right in reading the same asא as opposed to𝔓47.[4]: 91 The manuscript also agrees with some later minuscules, which Parker states that "new discoveries sometimes show late witnesses to contain variants that are far older than we could have known."[4]: 91 According to Parker, the agreement of readings between this manuscripts and A and C "confirms the high quality of𝔓115."[4]: 91
_Plate_3_verso_crop_Number_of_the_Beast_%25CF%2587%25CE%25B9%25CF%259B_616.jpg)
An interesting element of𝔓115 is that it apparently gives thenumber of the beast in Revelation 13:18 as616 (chi,iota,stigma /ΧΙϚ), rather than the majority reading of666 (chi, xi, stigma / ΧΞϚ)), as doesCodex Ephraemi Rescriptus. According to the transcription of theINTF, a conjectured reading of the manuscript, due to the space left, is [χξϛ] ηχιϛ (666 or 616), therefore not giving a definitive number to the beast.[6]
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