Author Archives: Brent Nongbri

The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath: Synoptic Problems

Posted on June 9, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

The saying in Matthew 12:8 (and its parallels) presents a fun puzzle. Continue reading →

Posted in Codex Vercellensis, New Testament, Textual criticism, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Harris Homer Roll Online

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

A couple years ago, I wrote an article on two papyrus manuscripts now housed in the British Library, the so-called Harris Homers. I’ve written on this blog before about the curious story of their discovery in the “Crocodile Pit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthony Charles Harris, Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Find Stories, Harris Homer, Mummies, Selima Harris | Leave a comment

The New York Public Library and P52

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

There was a rather depressing article in the New York Times about the New York Public Library a few days ago. But reading the story brought back some fond memories for me. I first visited the main branch of the library … Continue reading →

Posted in Adolf Deissmann, P.Ryl. 3.457, Palaeography, Rylands Papyri | Leave a comment

The Date of P.Köln 10.406 (P118)

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

One of the habits of papyrologists and New Testament scholars that I’ve tried to highlight over the last decade is the practice of dating the handwriting of ancient manuscripts by comparing them to other samples of handwriting that are themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Codices, P.Bodmer II, Palaeography | 2 Comments

Venn Diagrams and the Synoptic Problem

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

I mentioned that I gave a paper in Oslo some weeks ago on the issue of manuscripts and the synoptic problem. While it was the issue of manuscripts and variant readings that was the focus of my attention, writing this paper … Continue reading →

Posted in New Testament | 19 Comments

P.Bodmer 58 and Ancient Instructions for Preparing Parchment

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

While the Bodmer Papyri are best known for the subset of Greek and Coptic codices that Martin Bodmer acquired from Egyptian sources through the Cypriot dealer Phocion Tano in the 1950s, there are other early Christian materials in the collection … Continue reading →

Posted in Antiquities Dealers and Collectors, Bodmer Papyri, Book binding, Codices, Monastery of Epiphanius, Thomas Phillipps | 8 Comments

An Oxyrhynchus Manuscript of Romans

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

In light of the recent report on unpublished early Christian manuscripts from the Oxyrhynchus collection, it may be worth revisiting an old video. In 2006, the PBS television program Nova: ScienceNow presented a segment on the use of multispectral imaging (MSI) … Continue reading →

Posted in Oxyrhynchus Papyri | 2 Comments

Article in The Ancient Near East Today

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

The April 2019 edition of The Ancient Near East Today is carrying a very nicely illustrated article about my book, God’s Library. You can check it out at their site.

Posted in Archaeological context | 1 Comment

Kenyon’s Editions of the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri Online

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

In addition to digital images of many of their manuscripts, the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin has also made available the text and plates of Frederic Kenyon’s editions of the Beatty Biblical Papyri. As I have noted before, these volumes … Continue reading →

Posted in Chester Beatty Papyri | 11 Comments

Pachomian Letters

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Brent Nongbri

Among the images recently posted online at the Chester Beatty Library are a number of copies of the writings of the Egyptian monk Pahom (usually called by his Latinized name, Pachomius) and his followers. Pachomius established a monastery near Faw … Continue reading →

Posted in Bodmer Papyri, Chester Beatty Papyri | 2 Comments