P.Mich.inv. 6238 / Recto

About this Item

Related Views

front | summary (1 items)

Record Details

Inventory Number

P.Mich.inv. 6238

Processing Number

3606

Section/Side

153; Verso

Image Side

Recto

Background and Physical Properties

Publ./Side

Verso

Connections

-

Material

Pap

Size

15.1 x 22.4 cm.

Items

1

Lines

1-28

Mounted

Yes

Negative

Yes

Conservation Status

Regularly cut off at the right whereas papyrus has broken off at the other sides. In the right margin one hole for a string remains. (TC)

Palaeographic Description

The ink is dark brown and has faded little. There has been little rubbing of the surface, so that almost every letter is still legible. The writing is of the book hand and the letters are carefully formed and well spaced. Sigma has a flattish top, which generally bends downward somewhat; this distinguishes it from a w in the page numbers, which is a regular uncial sigma.Epsilon and theta are rather oval than round, but epsilon usually has the middle stroke somewhat prolonged. Iota is often prolonged below the line, never above. Omicron, especially when initial, is often small though it does not degenerate to a mere dot. All of the other letters tend to be broad, yet without heaviness. In phi the central curve is a pointed oval, so as to give breadth without the appearance of height. The page numbers are made with a different pen, They are larger and coarser, but are probably contemporary. So are the infrequent corrections between the lines written in a smaller, more cursive hand. The reading marks seem later, but the stichometral notes at the ends of Epistles seem contemporary. If the manuscripts were written in a scriptorium for pay, these notes would have been inserted by the business manager when determining the price.

There are no line fillers at the end of lines, but a similar mark, probably as a paragraph mark, is used at the end of each epistle. Also the middle stroke of epsilon is sometimes prolonged as if to do duty as a line filler. Similar prolongations of alpha, kappa, and lambda are rare. Smaller letters, sometimes a little crowded, occur rarely at line ends, but there are no ligatures.

There are a few cases of punctuation by a single dot in high position. Double dots like a colon occur once, near the end of Romans, after XVI, 27 and before XVI, 1. This may be interpreted as setting off the last chapter of Romans as a separate letter.

There are many slight spaces left in the text, often where they serve admirably for punctuation. Some of these spaces are sufficiently large so that one may be sure that the scribe intended them to mark the ends of of paragraphs. Others are so narrow that they may be explained as accidental. There are also reading marks which were inserted by a later hand. These are generally shaped like an acute accent made with a broad-pointed pen, though rarely they are hardly more than dots. In the width and heaviness of stroke, these marks are most similar to the page numbering, but in the MIchigan portion they cannot be by the same hand, as the ink is always paler. They were probably inserted by some later reader for his convenience, when readig in church. This view is somewhat supported by the fact that the reading marks were inserted only in Romans and Hebrews of the preserved parts of the manuscript. These reading marks are very irregularly placed even in the part of the manuscript where they are used.

Only one accent occurs, an acute over peras in Hebr. VI, 16. An angular rough breathing generally in the form of half an H occurs nine times. The apostrophe is used six times. Diaeresis seems to be emloyed somewhat irregularly for initial iota and ypsilon; also within a word, the occurrence of diaeresis for iota and ypsilon is irregular.

In general, words are divided at line ends so that as many consonants are attached to the following vowels as can be easily pronounced. Yet sometimes compound words are divided at the point of compounding.

Status

published

Library

Ann Arbor

Contents

Date

late 2nd - 4th century C.E.

Origin

unknown

Provenance

unknown

Acquisition

purchased in 1930/1931

Language

Greek

Genre

literary

Author

St. Paul

Type of Text/Title of Work

Epistles of Paul

Content

Ephesians IV, 15 - IV, 25.

For 3rd-4th century C.E. dating, see Brent Nongbri "God's Library" Chapter 4.

Persons

-

Geographica

-

Translation

-

Papyri.info Link

https://papyri.info/apis/michigan.apis.3620

Information on Publications

Publications

Series and Volume	Editor	Year	Pg/Nr	Photo	SB	Preferred Citation	Corrections
Epistles of Paul	Sanders HA	1935	93		Sanders HA, Epistles of Paul, 93, 1935
C.Beatty Biblical Papyri	Kenyon FG	1936	Fasc III,sup	Table f. 78. v.	Kenyon FG, C.Beatty Biblical Papyri, Fasc III,sup, 1936, Table f. 78. v.

Information on Publications--Bibliography

Bibliography

Van Haelst 0497; Aland, Repertorium, I, 0105, NT 46; LDAB 3011; for literature, see K. Aland, Repertorium der griechischen christlichen Papyri (1976), I, pp. 42-44.

Cataloging

Cataloger

TC

Year Begin

150

Year End

399

Technical Details

Collection

Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS UM)

Image Size

5032 x 5912

File Size

4 MB

Record

3606

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-3606/6238_153.tif content_copy

Related Links

Portfolios

In public portfolios

Early Christianity (142)

Epistles of Paul 2017 edition (60)

P46 (50)

IIIF

Manifest

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/apis:3606:6238_153.TIF content_copy