Papyrus 95

Papyrus 95 is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of John in a fragmentary condition. It is designated by the siglum 𝔓⁹⁵ in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. The surviving texts of John are verses 5:26-29,36-38. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to the early 3rd century.^[1]

Papyrus 95

New Testament manuscript
John 5:26-29
Name	P. Laur. PL II/31
Sign	𝔓95
Text	John 5:26-29,36-38
Date	3rd century
Script	Greek
Now at	Universita Degli Studi di Milano
Cite	J. Lenaerts, Un papyrus de l’Évangile de Jean : PL II/31, Chronique d’ Egypte 60 (1985), pp. 117-120
Size	[12] x [24] cm
Type	Alexandrian text-type
Category	I

Description

The writing is in 35 lines per page.^[2] The fragment should have the word πατήρ contracted (known as a nomen sacrum) in two places, however the place where these would appear is missing due to the fragmentary nature of the manuscript.^[3] The manuscript is currently housed at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (PL II/31) at Florence.^[4][5]

Text

The Greek text of this manuscript is considered a representative of the Alexandrian text-type. Papyrologist and biblical scholar Philip Comfort describes it as proto-Alexandrian, though the extant portion is too fragmentary for certainty.^[2] It has not yet been placed in any of the Categories of New Testament manuscripts.^[4]

Textual variants

• 5:27 Word-spacing analysis indicates that 10-14 letters intruded between the first two words of the verse
• 5:28: ακουσουσιν (akousousin, 'shall hear' (future tense)) becomes ακουσαντες (akousantes, 'have heard' (aorist aspect, participle)).
• 5:36: omits second 'αυτα' (auta, these) through possible homoeoteleuton.

See also

• List of New Testament papyri

References

1. Comfort, Philip Wesley (2005). Encountering the Manuscripts: An Introduction to New Testament Paleography & Textual Criticism. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers. p. 75.
2. Comfort, Philip Wesley; David P. Barrett (2001). The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers. p. 627. ISBN 978-0-8423-5265-9.
3. Knust, Jennifer; Wasserman, Tommy (2020). To Cast the First Stone: The Transmission of a Gospel Story. Princeton University Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780691203126.
4. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Translated by Erroll F. Rhodes. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
5. "Liste Handschriften: Papyrus 95". Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 27 August 2011.

Images

• Digital Images of 𝔓⁹⁵ online at the CSNTM
• Description with Greek text.

Further reading

• Jean Lenaerts, Un papyrus de l’Évangile de Jean : PL II/31, Chronique d’ Egypte 60 (Brussels: 1985), pp. 117–120.