Resumen
Resumen de Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840
Para quién es
For readers curious about gospels outside the New Testament and how early Christians told stories about Jesus, and anyone drawn to questions of purity, outward washing and inner sincerity.
De qué trata este libro
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 is a single small leaf from an early Christian book. It is written in Greek and holds part of a scene from a gospel that no one has found anywhere else. No author is named. Scholars date the leaf itself to about the fourth century, and the story on it may be older.
The scene is a quarrel in the Jerusalem temple between Jesus and a Pharisee who is also a chief priest. The quarrel is about washing before entering holy ground. In about five minutes you will hear where the leaf was found, what happens in its scene, what Jesus says about clean and unclean, and how historians weigh it. First, the discovery.
En este resumen
- 1A tiny book found in an Egyptian rubbish heapFree
- 2A priest stops Jesus at the temple court
- 3Jesus sets inner cleanness above outward washing
- 4How scholars read this unknown gospel
Idea clave 1 de 4
A tiny book found in an Egyptian rubbish heap
The leaf was found at Oxyrhynchus, a town in Egypt whose ancient rubbish mounds have given up thousands of Greek writings. The two scholars Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt dug there and published this piece in 1908. It is a small page of parchment, not true papyrus, despite the name it carries in catalogues of the site.
The page is very small, about the size of the palm of a hand. The writing is tiny and neat, and the leaf has a hole, which suggests it was once worn or carried. Some scholars think it served as an amulet, a small object kept for protection. Others think it was a pocket book of sayings and stories.
We have only one leaf, written on both sides. Nothing tells us what came before or after it. The text breaks off in the middle of a thought. So the title of the work, its author and its full contents are unknown, and scholars call it simply an unknown gospel.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840
What is Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840?
It is a small parchment leaf in Greek, found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt and published in 1908. It carries part of a gospel story about Jesus in the temple and is not part of any known gospel.
What happens in Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840?
Jesus and his disciples enter the temple court. A Pharisee chief priest named Levi objects that they have not bathed. Jesus replies that outward washing is worthless without inner cleanness and speaks of the waters of eternal life.
When was Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 written?
The leaf is usually dated to about the fourth century. The story may have been composed earlier, perhaps in the second century, but scholars do not agree, and no author is known.
Why is Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 not in the Bible?
No church tradition counted it among its accepted books, and it survives only as one leaf from an unnamed gospel. It was known only after its discovery in Egypt in the early twentieth century.
Is Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 accurate about Jewish temple customs?
Scholars are divided. Some say its description of the pool, the steps and the priest is mistaken. Others, like Joachim Jeremias, argue that it matches known purification practice.