GOSPEL OF JOHN, IN GREEK, LARGE FRAGMENT FROM A MANUSCRIPT CODEX ON PAPYRUS
Posted on 11/28/2008 5:12:08 PM PST by BGHater
An unusually large fragment from possibly the oldest copy of part of the Gospel of John will go on sale next month, when the torn piece of papyrus with Greek writing is expected to fetch up to 300,000 pounds ($460,000).
The fragment is believed to date to 200 AD, less than 170 years after the crucifixion of Christ, when Christianity was still illegal and around 100 years after experts believe the original Gospel was first written.
"This is either the first or the second oldest copy of this part of the text of the Gospel of John," Sotheby's specialist Timothy Bolton told Reuters as he held the document displayed between two sheets of clear plastic.
"It is one of the finest and most celebrated of Gospel fragments, as there are very few pieces of this spectacular quality."
The appearance of page number 74 in one corner shows the leaf came from a relatively large volume of the whole Gospel, he explained, and adds to the rarity of the piece.
Its Greek text is an account of Jesus preaching in the temple, where people challenge his right to give evidence on his own behalf. It includes the cryptic and prophetic words: "Whither I go, ye cannot come."
The fragment was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt at the site of the important early Christian community at Oxyrhynchus, about 120 miles (193 km) from Cairo. It is believed to have been written in Alexandria.
Most finds from the site ended up in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the British Museum, although some pieces, including the fragment, were sent to seminaries and colleges.
(Excerpt) Read more at africa.reuters.com ...
You gonna make a bid?
Nice penmanship!
My understanding is there’s an original of the Gospel of John dating from AD70 .....
Soon to be so again.
Looks in better shape than the totally unreadable computer disks and CDs with the same text will be in 2,000 years.
I am selling this ancient manuscript for only half as much.
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Gods |
Thanks BGHater. In answer, yes, I'll bid on it, assuming I fall ass-backwards into a Krameresque pile of money. :') |
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>>>>>”Whither I go, ye cannot come.” <<<<<
Can’t the Greek be translated into something other than Middle English?
Like.....
“Wherever I go, you can’t come.”
Or “yo, you ain’t going nohow!”
Where meh goed, ya’ll can’t come.
I'm half interested. Has it ever been translated?
You mean they started the auction BEFORE those nice people in Nigeria have sent me my £1,500,000 winnings in the UK Online Random Drawing Email Lottery that I didn't even remeber entering?!?!?
The money should be deposited into my account any day now. Two weeks ago, I cashed the $50,000 cashiers check and wired them the $35,000 over-payment to cover the fees of transferring my winnings.
Will the auctioneers take an IOU drawn on the Right Bank of The Niger?
Where I is, you ain’t!
>>>>Where I is, you ain’t!<<<<<
LOL
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Gods |
Just troubleshooting the new ping message. I dropped Mirabilis at last, having waited three years or so for updates to resume, added NG and Discover, and replaced the podcasts with an overdue link to the Archaeology Channel. |
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Just a bit out of my price range at the moment.
Hey, don’t laugh. If it wasn’t for that sentence in the bible what would Rick have said in Casablanca?
“Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of.”
Now we just have to find that fragment that said...it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that. Now, now... Here’s looking at you kid.”
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