Papyrus Schøyen 2648 Explained

The Papyrus Schøyen MS 2648 (also Rahlfs 816, P. Schoyen. 1 23, TM 66869, LDAB 8119) are six leaves of a papyrus codex of the Septuagint that contain the text of Joshua 9:27-11:3 in Koine Greek. It has been dated to the early third century (from about 200/215 CE).

Description

The leaves measure 20 × 11 cm and are inscribed in single columns of 19 to 25 lines each with Alexandrian majuscules. They were probably part of a codex of the Book of Joshua comprising about 72 leaves. The leaves are the oldest surviving evidence of these passages in Greek and represent an older textual variant before Origen's Hexapla. It also differs from the later Masoretic text.

Variants

The manuscript does not have verses 15, 17 and 43 of chapter 10 as do other ancient Greek manuscripts that match the Hebrew text.

Version

Kristin De Troyer states:

History

The manuscript probably originated at Oxyrhynchos. It was probably written by the same scribe as Papyrus Schøyen 2649. Around 1930, the leaves were acquired in Alexandria from an antique dealer by a collector from Zurich. In 1998, the Schøyen Collection in Oslo bought them, signature MS 2648. The leaves were in the midst of Papyrus Schøyen 2650.

Sources