Bible Synapse
Rylands Papyrus P52
Manuscript · 2nd century AD · Bible manuscripts · also called P52, St John’s fragment, Rylands Greek P 457
See it on the map and timeline
- Date
- 2nd century AD (the handwriting (an estimate; the range is debated))
- Found
- Egypt (bought on the antiquities market; find-site unknown), 1920. Among a group of papyri bought in Egypt in 1920 by Bernard Grenfell for the John Rylands Library. C. H. Roberts identified it as part of John’s Gospel and published it in 1935.
- Now
- John Rylands Library, Manchester (Greek P 457)
- Passages
- John 18:31–33, John 18:37–38
What it is
A scrap of papyrus about 9 by 6 centimetres. It has writing on both sides, which shows it came from a codex (a book with pages) rather than a roll. In Greek, the front has parts of John 18:31–33 and the back parts of John 18:37–38.
How it connects to the Bible
Many scholars count it the oldest surviving piece of any New Testament book, and it shows John’s Gospel being copied and read in Egypt by the late 2nd century or soon after. Its lines come from Jesus’ trial before Pilate, including part of Jesus’ saying that he came into the world to “bear witness unto the truth”.
What scholars debate
Its date rests on the handwriting alone. C. H. Roberts proposed AD 100–150; more recent studies prefer the mid or late 2nd century (the John Rylands Library now says nearer AD 200), and some allow dates into the early 3rd.