Yesterday, Elder DZ and I saw the World’s Rarest and Most Valuable Papyrus Fragment (WRMVPF). Also known as P52 (or π52), this papyrus fragment was on display at the University of Texas’ Harry Ransom Center.
Prior to our adventure, we had a cordial breakfast of “eggs in purgatory”, tortillas, tomatoes, and avocado.
Elder DZ drove us to the UT campus, and we were able to part a mere 82 minute walk from the Center. When we arrived, we were initially confused – why would this priceless artifact be hanging outside, on a sign, exposed to the rain and sun?
Our visit was so “nutrient dense” – every sentence the docent spoke could fill a library, and represented untold numbers of dedicated scholars, researchers, historians, linguists, scientists… all to benefit mankind with knowledge of the ancient world. It was a proud moment to see my son so immersed in his world.
π52 – The Nuts and Bolts
The Rylands Library Papyrus P52, also known as the St John’s fragment and with an accession reference of Papyrus Rylands Greek 457, is a fragment from a papyrus codex[1], measuring only 3.5 by 2.5 inches (8.9 cm Γ 6.4 cm) at its widest (about the size of a credit card), and conserved with the Rylands Papyri at the John Rylands University Library Manchester, UK. The front (recto) contains parts of seven lines from the Gospel of John 18:31β33, in Greek, and the back (verso) contains parts of seven lines from verses 37β38.
Although Rylands π52 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering)[2]is generally accepted as the earliest extant record of a canonical New Testament text, the dating of the papyrus is still debated. The original editor proposed a date range of 100β150 CE.
The papyrus is written on both sides and hence must be from a codex, a sewn and folded book, not a scroll, roll or isolated sheet; and the surviving portion also includes part of the top and inner margins of the page. The recto consequently preserves the top left corner of a right-hand page; while the verso preserves the top right corner of a left-hand page. The characters in bold style are the ones that can be seen in Papyrus π52. The recto text comes from the Gospel of John 18:31β33:
The verso text comes from the Gospel of John, 18:37β38:
[1] A codex is an early book, read by flipping through the pages, rather than unrolling a scroll.
[2] The Gregory-Aland numbering system is the universal cataloging system used by scholars to identify ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. It organizes these fragile historical texts into four distinct categories so researchers can easily find and compare them:
Papyri (P): Written on early reed-paper. They are marked with a capital P and a number (e.g., P52, often with the stylized font for “P” – π52).
Majuscules or Uncials: Written in all-capital, block letters. They use numbers starting with a zero (e.g., 01 for the famous Codex Sinaiticus).
Minuscules: Written in smaller, lowercase cursive script. They are given plain numbers without any extra letters (e.g. 1 or 246).
Lectionaries: Books that arranged Bible readings for church services. They are marked with a script letter l (e.g. l321)
π52 Fontadelphia!
A delightful bit of typography: if you’re a typography enthusiast (and who’s not!?!), the character is often rendered in a special font (Fraktur) when referring to papyrus. Unicode actually assigns it its own value, for this character in this font:
Our outing to the Harry Ransom Center also included a visit to the Gutenberg Bible. The bible has been in the museum’s collection since 1978.
It was almost like two bookends of the history of the Christian book. Spanning 1,300 years, on one end is a very early codex (π52) and at the other end, the first mass produced book.
One thing that amazes me about the Gutenberg Bible is that even though it was a first in the technology, nothing about it looks “beta”. The pages are delicately laid out, the text is crisp, the ink was distributed uniformly and is still very readable. The cover is beautiful.
We learned that Gutenberg intentionally left spaces for the “initial letter” (the first letter for a chapter or other page separation) so that the letter could be hand-painted.
Our Artist-in-residence, Perch Periwinkle, constructs an “Initial Letter” for P52
What is Truth?
The π52 fragment contains the question asked by Pontius Pilate: What is truth?
There are some truly enigmatic, and unanswered, question posed in the Bible.
“Am I my brother’s keeper?”– Abel to God
“Who is my neighbor?” – A lawyer to Jesus. Instead of answering directly, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.
“How long, O Lord?” – an open-ended question, found throughout the Psalms.
“Why?” – all over the place, but especially Job.
“What is truth?” – Pilot to Jesus during Jesus’ interrogation.
Emma Rose
I find an interesting parallel between the biblical question “How long?” and the lyrics of Kate Wolf’s Emma Rose. Emma Rose – whole and beloved – the story of an old woman reflecting on her difficult life. What obligations do we carry forward our entire lives?
How long, how long Will it be till you're returning? How long, how long Must I keep the candles burning?
- Emma Rose / Kate Wolf
References
Eggs in Purgatory
The WLBOTT recipe calls for a large pan. Fill the bottom with 1 1/2″ with refried beans and tomatoes, salsa, and leftovers in the fridge. Smooth out, then create divots. Crack eggs into the divots (one per divot). Cover with cheese. Cover the pan, and cook over low heat until the eggs are cooked to your liking.
Eggs in Purgatory: A Fine-ish Art Retrospective
And because too much is never enoughβ¦.
Secular Context for “What is Truth?”
I asked Elder G to provide a secular context for the scene where Pilot questions Jesus.
By the early 30s A.D., Jesus of Nazareth had become a well-known Jewish teacher in Roman Judea. He attracted large crowds through his preaching about the Kingdom of God, his parables, and his reputation as a healer. His growing popularity also attracted the attention of both religious leaders and Roman authorities.
During the Jewish festival of Passover, Jerusalem swelled with pilgrims. Passover celebrated Israel’s liberation from foreign rule, making it an especially tense time for Roman officials, who were alert to any sign of unrest or rebellion.
According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus entered Jerusalem to public acclaim and soon engaged in public disputes with some of the city’s religious authorities. One particularly provocative action was his disturbance of commercial activity in the Temple precincts, an act interpreted by many scholars as a symbolic protest against corruption or misuse of the Temple.
The Gospels describe Jesus being arrested at night outside the city after one of his followers, Judas Iscariot, identified his location. He was then questioned by members of the Jewish priestly leadership. The exact nature of these proceedings and their historical details remain subjects of scholarly debate, but the Gospel narratives agree that the religious authorities regarded Jesus as a dangerous figure.
Because Judea was under Roman administration, the Jewish leadership did not possess broad authority to carry out capital punishment for political offenses. Jesus was therefore brought before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, whose responsibility was to maintain public order and adjudicate serious criminal cases.
Pilate’s principal concern appears to have been political rather than theological. The central Roman question was whether Jesus claimed to be a king in a way that challenged the authority of Caesar. The Gospels portray Pilate repeatedly questioning Jesus about the nature of his kingship.
During this exchange, the Gospel of John records Jesus speaking about having come “to testify to the truth,” and saying that those who belong to the truth listen to his voice.
Pilate responds with the famous question:
“What is truth?”
The Gospel does not record an answer.
Instead, Pilate returns to the crowd outside. Although the four Gospels differ in details, they agree on the broad outline: Pilate ultimately authorizes Jesus’ execution by crucifixion, the standard Roman punishment for those convicted of crimes such as rebellion, sedition, or threats to public order.
The details surrounding his arrest, trial, the motivations of the various participants, and the theological significance of these events are interpreted differently by different scholars and religious traditions. But the encounter between Jesus and Pilate, culminating in the question “What is truth?”, has become one of the most enduring scenes in both religious history and Western literature.
There is an interesting historical account of the life of Jesus called Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by historian Reza Aslan. He makes many fascinating (and sometimes controversial) claims, but I recall one interesting argument: Jesus’ transgressions were so commonplace in first century Jerusalem that there was no way that Pilot would have been personally involved.
