Papyrus Vindobonensis Greek 39777 Explained

The Papyrus Vindobonensis Graecus 39777 signed as Sym^{P.Vindob.G.39777} – is a fragment of a Greek manuscript of the Psalms of the translation of Symmachus. It was written in papyrus in a scroll form. The papyrus contains fragments of Psalm 69 and Psalm 81 (as the numeration of the Septuagint is Psalms 68 and 80).^[1] The P.Vindob.G.39777 is dated to late third century or beginning fourth century AD.

This manuscript probably comes from the Fayum in Egypt.^[2]

History

It was published by the Dr. Carl Wessely in his work Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde, Vol. XI., Leipzig, 1911, pag. 171.

Description

The manuscript probably originally contained large portions of the Book of Psalms.^[3] The traduction of Symmachs was a part of the Hexapla and Tetrapli, the work contains the translations of the Hebrew to Greek Bible, it was written by Origen.^[4] According to Bruce M. Metzger, the Greek translation of Hebrew Bible prepared by Symmachus was realised with a different method that the translation of Aquila, because his intention was not a literal translation, rather an elegant message from the Hebrew to Greek text.

Tegragrammaton

The papyrus contains the tetragrammaton written in archaic Hebrew characters in Ps 69:13, 30 and 31.^{[5] [6]}

Location

The Papyrus Vindobonensis Graecus 39777 is kept at the Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library at Vienna as (P. Vindob. G. 39777).^[7]

External links

• Picture of the Papyrus P.Vindob.G.39777 with the Tetragrammaton selected
• Web site: Why Have We Produced the New World Translation?. wol.jw.org. en. 2017-01-31. Picture of the Papyrus P.Vindob.G.39777

Notes and References

1. Book: Ad Fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity : Selected Essays. 3. Texts and Editions for New Testament Study. Thomas J. Kraus. Brill. 2007. 9789004161825.
2. Book: Tov, Emanuel. 2016-04-13. P. Vindob. G 39777 (Symmachus) and the Use of the Divine Names in Greek Scripture Texts. Emanuel Tov. The Texts of the Bible from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Biblical Manuscripts of the Vienna Papyrus Collection. Fifteenth (15th) International Orion Symposium in conjunction with the University of Vienna Institute for Jewish Studies and the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies.
3. Book: Copying Early Christian Texts: A study of scribal practice. 362. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Alan Mugridge. Mohr Siebeck. 2016. 9783161546884. 403.
4. [Eusebius]
5. Book: Thomas J. Kraus. Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity. Selected Essays. 2007. Koninkijke Brill. Leiden. 978-90-04-16182-5. 3.
6. Book: THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO BIBLE TRANSLATION: Bible Translation Choices and Translation Principles. Edward D. Andrews. Christian Publishing House. 2016. 9780692728710. 23.
7. Theory of the translation process . April 24, 2012. Bruce M. Metzger. Bruce M. Metzger. 1993. Theories of the Translation Process: Bibliotheca Sacra 150: 598 . 150 . 598 . Biblical studies. 140–150 .