Papyrus 72 (𝔓72, Papyrus Bodmer VII-VIII) is the designation used by textual critics of the New Testament to describe portions of the so-called Bodmer Miscellaneous codex, namely the letters of Jude, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. These books seem to have been copied by the same scribe, and the handwriting has been paleographically assigned to the 3rd or 4th century.[1]
Although the letters of Jude (P.Bodmer VII) and 1-2 Peter (P.Bodmer VIII) in this codex do not form a single continuous text, scholars still tend to refer to these three texts as a single early New Testament papyrus.[2]
Description
Papyrus 72 is the earliest known manuscript of these epistles, though a few verses of Jude are in a fragment 78 (P. Oxy. 2684).[3]
P.Bodmer VII (Jude) and P.Bodmer VIII (1-2 Peter) form part of a single book (the Bodmer Miscellaneous Codex). This book appeared on the antiquities market in Egypt and was bought by the Swiss collector Martin Bodmer.[a] The same scribe who copied P.Bodmer VII and VIII is also thought to have copied P.Bodmer X and XI.[5]
The manuscript contains the usual nomina sacra for Messiah, Jesus, God, Lord, Spirit, Father, plus a few non-standard ones: ΔΥΜΙ (power), Σαρρα (Sarah), Αβρααμ (Abraham), Νωε (Noah), Μιχαης (Archangel Michael), and Ενωχ (Enoch).
A facsimile edition of Bodmer Papyrus VIII was published in 2007 by Testimonio Compañía Editorial.[6]
Nongbri, Brent. "The Construction of P.Bodmer VIII and the Bodmer 'Composite' or 'Miscellaneous' Codex." Novum Testamentum 58 (2016), 394–410. doi:10.1163/15685365-12341535
Kubo, Sakae. 𝔓72 and the Codex Vaticanus. Studies and Documents 27. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1965.