Bible Synapse
Papyrus 46
Manuscript · c. AD 200 · Bible manuscripts · also called P46, Chester Beatty Papyrus II, P. Mich. inv. 6238
See it on the map and timeline
- Date
- c. AD 200 (the handwriting (an estimate))
- Found
- Egypt (bought from dealers; find-site unknown), 1931. Bought from dealers in Egypt in batches: the University of Michigan bought six leaves in 1931 and 24 in 1933, and Alfred Chester Beatty bought ten leaves around 1930–31 (his biblical papyri were announced in November 1931) and 46 more a few years later.
- Now
- Chester Beatty and the University of Michigan Library, Dublin and Ann Arbor (BP II; P. Mich. inv. 6238)
- Passages
- Hebrews 1:1–4
What it is
86 surviving leaves of a papyrus codex of Paul’s letters in Greek, from a book of about 104 leaves. It holds the last eight chapters of Romans, Hebrews, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians and part of 1 Thessalonians, with gaps.
How it connects to the Bible
It is the earliest surviving book of Paul’s letters, about a century older than the great parchment codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. Hebrews comes straight after Romans, which suggests that the people who used it counted Hebrews among Paul’s letters, although the letter itself names no author.
What scholars debate
Most scholars date it to around AD 200; a proposal of about AD 80 has been widely rejected.