Papyrus 72

Papyrus 72 (⁷², Papyrus Bodmer VII-IX) is an early New Testament papyrus. It contains all the text of 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 3rd or 4th century.

Description

It is the earliest known manuscript of these epistles, though a few verses of Jude are in a fragment ⁷⁸ (P. Oxy. 2684).

Papyrus 72 was found bound in a codex, known as the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex, which also contained the following works: Nativity of Mary, the apocryphal correspondence of Paul to the Corinthians, the eleventh ode of Solomon, Melito's Homily on the Passover, a fragment of a hymn, the Apology of Phileas, and Psalm 33 and 34. Written on 72 leaves (14.5 cm, by 16 cm), in 16-20 lines per page. The manuscript is written by a documentary hand.

The manuscript contains the usual nomina sacra for Messiah, Jesus, God, Lord, Spirit, Father, plus a few non-standard ones: ΔΥΜΙ (power), Σαρρα (Sarah), Αβρααμ (Abraham), Νωε (Noah), Μιχαης (Archangel Michael), and Ενωχ (Enoch).