Bible Synapse
Papyrus 66
Manuscript · c. AD 200 · Bible manuscripts · also called P66, Papyrus Bodmer II
See it on the map and timeline
- Date
- c. AD 200 (the handwriting (an estimate; the range is debated))
- Found
- Egypt (reportedly found near Dishna in 1952), 1956. One of the Bodmer Papyri, which reached the Egyptian antiquities market and were bought by the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer in the 1950s; this codex is recorded as acquired in 1956. Victor Martin published it in 1956, with a supplement in 1958 and a fuller edition with J. W. B. Barns in 1962.
- Now
- Fondation Martin Bodmer (small fragments in Cologne and at the Chester Beatty, Dublin), Cologny (Geneva) (P. Bodmer II)
- Passages
- John 7:53 – John 8:11
What it is
A small papyrus codex of the Gospel of John in Greek. The first part survives as a block of pages running from John 1:1 to 14:26, with a gap in chapter 6, and damaged leaves and fragments keep much of the rest, as far as chapter 21. The cross-shaped ‘staurogram’ abbreviation appears in its account of the crucifixion.
How it connects to the Bible
It is a nearly complete early copy of John’s Gospel. Like the other early witnesses to John, it does not contain the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53–8:11).
What scholars debate
Victor Martin dated it to about AD 200; others have argued for the mid-2nd century or, more recently, the 4th century.