Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840
Standard abbreviation: P. Oxy. 840
Other titles: Gospel of the Savior (not to be confused with the Berlin-Strasbourg Apocryphon)
Clavis numbers: ECCA 747; CANT 1
VIAF: 192612790
Category: Agrapha and Fragments
Related literature: Didascalia Apostolorum, Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of the Ebionites, Gospel of the Nazarenes
Compiled by Thomas A. Wayment, Brigham Young University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Wayment, Thomas A. “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/papyrus-oxyrhynchus-840/.
Created November 2021. Current as of February 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 represents a single parchment leaf, written in Greek, and discovered during the excavations at Oxyrhynchus in 1905. The text of the fragment, which was considered by the editors to be noteworthy and therefore treated differently than the majority of the Oxyrhynchus collection, was simultaneously published as part of the official Oxyrhynchus papyrus series and in a separate publication, both of which appeared in print in 1908. Following standard practice, the fragment was dated on paleographical grounds to the fourth or fifth century CE. Although the fragment is quite small—measuring in at 8.8 × 7.4 cm—it preserves 45 lines of text (23 lines on the front and 22 on the reverse). It has variously been described as a miniature codex or an amulet. At times the scribe used red ink to emphasize punctuation.
Some of the lines at the bottom of the page both on the front and back are rather fragmentary, but the topmost lines are nearly complete, and therefore the editions of the fragment offer differing reconstructions of the text where the lines are more fragmentary. The text can be described as a conflict story wherein Jesus and his disciples are confronted in the temple by a Pharisee who is also a chief priest. Inside the temple, the Pharisee confronts Jesus over whether he is permitted to see the temple vessels while being unwashed and unbathed. It is also brought to the attention of the reader through the accusations of the Pharisee that Jesus is ritually impure because he has not changed his clothing, to which Jesus replies that he has indeed washed in the “pool of David” and he has descended by one set of stairs and then ascended by another. Jesus then rebukes the Pharisee for misunderstanding that Jesus and his disciples indeed have been bathed in the waters of eternal life.
The fragment, upon publication in 1908, became the immediate subject of interest. After the publication of the editio princeps, scholars directed their attention to the question of whether the fragment could reveal new information about the historical Jesus. Some of the earlier commentators were quite positive that it could while others were more reserved. More recently, scholarship has tended to move away from the question of historicity and towards placing the preserved conversations within various historical contexts relating to second and third century Christian community existence.
Named historical figures and characters: Levi (priest), the Savior (Jesus Christ).
Geographical locations: Pool of David, temple (Jerusalem).
2. RESOURCES
“Oxyrhynchus Gospels.” Wikipedia.
“The Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel.” Early Christian Writings. Administrator: Peter Kirby (Features several English translations and a brief bibliography).
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Greek
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Ms. Gr. th. g. 11 (P) (P. Oxy. V 840) (4th/5th cent.)
Bernhard, Andrew E. Other Early Christian Gospels: A Critical Edition of the Surviving Greek Manuscripts. London and New York: T&T Clark, 2007 (pp. 120–25, pl. 27).
Blumell, Lincoln, and Thomas A. Wayment. Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents, and Sources. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2015 (pp. 278–82).
Ehrman, Bart D. and Zlatko Pleše. The Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011 (pp. 267–73).
Grenfell, Bernard P., and Arthur S. Hunt, eds. Pages 1–10 in volume 5 of The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1908 (editio princeps pp. 1–10, no. 840).
Grenfell, Bernard P., and Arthur S. Hunt. Fragment of an Uncanonical Gospel. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1908.
Kruger, Michael J. “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840.” Pages 123–215 in Gospel Fragments. Edited by Thomas J. Kraus, Tobias Nicklas, and Michael J. Kruger. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009 (Greek text and English translation, pp. 170–73, images pls. 7–8).
Wayment, Thomas A. The Text of the New Testament Apocrypha (100–400 CE). New York: T&T Clark, 2013 (pp. 190–92, images pp. 404–405).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Brannan, Rick. Greek Apocryphal Gospels, Fragments and Agrapha: A New Translation. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017 (pp. 158–63).
Cameron, Ron. The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Texts. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1982 (pp. 53–55).
Ehrman, Bart D. and Zlatko Pleše. The Other Gospels: Accounts of Jesus from Outside the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014 (pp. 136–39).
___________. The Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011 (pp. 267–73).
Elliott, J. K. The Apocryphal New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (pp. 31–34).
Grant, Robert M., and David N. Freedman. The Secret Sayings of Jesus. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1960 (pp. 52–54).
Grenfell, Bernard P., and Arthur S. Hunt, eds. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri V. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1908 (pp. 7–8).
Grenfell, Bernard P., and Arthur S. Hunt. Fragment of an Uncanonical Gospel. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1908 (pp. 16–17).
James, M. R. The Apocryphal New Testament. 1924. Repr., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1953 (pp. 29–30).
Jenkinson, E. J. The Unwritten Sayings of Jesus. London: Epworth, 1925 (pp. 112–16).
Jeremias, Joachim, and Wilhelm Schneemelcher. “Fragments of Unknown Gospels.” Pages 94–95 in volume 1 in New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by W. Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McL. Wilson. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991.
Miller, Robert, ed. The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version. Sonoma: Polebridge Press, 1992. (pp. 412–15).
3.2.2 French
Amiot, F. La Bible apocryphe: Évangiles apocryphes. Edited by Daniel-Rops. Textes pour l’histoire sacrée. Paris: Cerf-Fayard, 1952 (p. 45).
Bertrand, Daniel A. “Papyrus Oxyrhynque 840.” Pages 407–10 in Écrits apocryphes chrétiens: Tome I. Edited by François Bovon and Pierre Geoltrain. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. Paris: Éditions Gallimard, 1997.
Lagrange, Marie-Joseph. “Nouveau fragment non canonique relatif a l’evangile.” RB 5 (1908): 538–53.
3.2.3 German
Lührmann, Dieter, and Egbert Schlarb. Fragmente apokryph gewordener Evangelien in griechischer und lateinischer Sprache. Marburg Theologische Studien 59. Marburg: Elwert 2000 (pp. 164–69).
Nicklas, Tobias. “Das Fragment Oxyrhynchus V 840 (P.Oxy. V 840).” Pages 357–59 in Antike christliche Apokryphen in deutscher Übersetzung. Edited by Christoph Markschies and Jens Schröter. Band 1: Evangelien und Verwandtes. 12. Auflage, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012.
3.2.4 Italian
Erbetta, Mario. Gli apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. Italy: Marietti, 1975–1981 (vol. 1.1, pp. 105–106).
Moraldi, Luigi. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (vol. 1, pp. 436–38).
Bonaccorsi, Giuseppe. Vangeli Apocrifi. Florence: Fiorentina, 1948. (pp. 37–39).
3.2.5 Spanish
Santos Otero, Aurelio de. Los Evangelios apócrifos. Madrid: Biblioteca de autores cristianos, 1963 (pp. 80–82).
3.3 General Works
Baljon, Johannes M. S. “Een nieuw evangelie-fragment.” ThSt 26 (1908): 210–19.
Bardenhewer, Otto. Geshichte der altchristlichen Literatur. 5 vols. 2d ed. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1913–32 (vol. 1, p. 512).
Bovon, François. “‘Fragment Oxyrhynchus 840,’ Fragment of a Lost Gospel, Witness of an Early Christian Controversy over Purity.” JBL 119 (2000): 705–28.
Brown, S. Kent. “Sayings of Jesus, Oxyrhynchus.” Pages 999–100 in volume 5 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Buchinger, Harald, and Elisabeth Hernitscheck. “P.Oxy. 840 and the Rites of Christian Initiation: Dating a Piece of Alleged Anti-Sacramentalistic Polemics.” Early Christianity 5 (2014): 117–24.
Büchler, Adolf. “The New Fragment of an Unknown Gospel.” JQR 20 (1908): 330–46.
Davies, W. W. “A Fragment of Another Gospel.” Methodist Review 90 (1908): 815–18.
Dunkerly, Roderic. “The Oxyrhynchus Gospel Fragments.” HTR 23 (1930): 19–37.
Egasse, Corinne. “Le papyrus Oxyrhynque 840 et Jean 13: du manuscrit mutilé à l’eau purifante.” Pages 489–97 in Reading Tomorrow. From Ancient Manuscripts to the Digital Era. Edited by Claire Clivaz et al. Lausane: Presses Polytechniques et Universitairs Romandes, 2012.
Gagné, André. “The Gospel of Thomas in a Monastic Context: Reading the Text as a Spiritual Exercise.” Pages 121–34 in The Nag Hammadi Codices as Monastic Books. Edited by Hugo Lundhaug and Christian H. Bull. STAC 134. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2023.
Glenn, W. Edward, and Darian Lockett, eds., Canon Formation: Tracing the Role of Sub-Collections in the Biblical Canon. T&T Clark: Edinburgh, 2023 (p. 231).
Goodspeed, Edgar J. “The New Gospel Fragment from Oxyrhynchus.” The Biblical World 31 (1908): 142–46.
Harnack, Adolf. “Ein neues Evangelienbruchstück.” Preussische Jarhbücher 131 (1908): 201–10. Reprinted as Pages 237–50 in Aus Wissenschaft und Leben. Adolf Harnack. Giessen: Töpelmann, 1911.
Jeremias, Joachim. “Der Zusammenstoß Jesu mit dem pharisäischen Oberpriester auf dem Tempelplatz. Zu Pap. Oxy. V 840.” ConBNT 2 (1947): 97–108. Reprinted in Unbekannte Jesusworte. Gutersloh: Bertelsmann, 1951. Translated as Unknown Sayings of Jesus. London: SPCK, 1964.
Jonker, Erastus. Early Christianities and the Place of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus (P.Oxy.) 840. Ph.D. diss., University of Praetoria, 2016.
Kraus, Thomas J. The Gospel of the Savior: An Analysis of P.Oxy 840 and Its Place in the Gospel Traditions of Early Christianity. TENTS 1. Leiden: Brill, 2005.
___________. “Miniature Codices in Early Christianity.” Pages 310–29 in Studies on the Paratextual Features of Early New Testament Manuscripts. Edited by Stanley Porter et al. Leiden: Brill, 2023.
___________. “Parchment or Papyrus?: Some Remarks about the Significance of Writing Material When Assessing Manuscripts.” Pages 13–24 in Ad Fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity. Edited by Thomas J. Kraus. TENTS 3. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Originally published as “‘Pergament oder Papyrus?’: Ammerkungen zur Signifikanz des Beschreibstoffes bei der Behandlung von Manuskripten.” NTS 49 (2003): 425–32.
___________. “P.Oxy. V 840–Amulett oder Miniaturkodex? Grundsätzliche und ergänzende Anmerkungen zu zwei Termini.” ZAC 8 (2004): 485–97. Republished as pages 13–24 in Ad Fontes: Original Manuscripts and Their Significance for Studying Early Christianity. Edited by Thomas J. Kraus. TENTS 3. Leiden: Brill, 2007.
___________. “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840.” Pages 157–70 in The Non-canonical Gospels. Edited by Paul Foster. London and New York: T&T Clark, 2008.
___________. “P. Oxy. 840: Amulet or Miniature Codex?” JTS 53 (2002): 81–94.
Leitzmann, Hans. “Das neugefundene Evangelienfragment und seine Vorgänge.” Beilage zur allgemeinen Zeitung 31 (1908): 662–72.
Marmorstein, A. “Einige Bemerkungen zum Evangelienfragment in Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. V. n. 840, 1907.” ZNW 15 (1914): 336–38.
Nicklas, Tobias. “Gospel Fragments on Papyrus.” Pages 22–37 in Early New Testament Apocrypha. Edited by J. Christopher Edwards. Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies 9. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2022 (pp. 27–30).
__________. “Critical Study: Michael J. Kruger, The Gospel of the Savior. An Analysis of P.Oxy. 840 and its Place in the Gospel Traditions of Early Christianity (TENT 1. Leiden: Brill, 2005).” Apocrypha 17 (2006): 203–10.
Orian, Matan. “Numbers 4:20 and Non-Priestly Viewing of the Holy Vessels in the Second Temple Period.” JSJ 55.1 (2023): 76–99.
Porter, Stanley E. “Textual Criticism in the Light of Diverse Textual Evidence for the Greek New Testament: An Expanded Proposal.” Pages 325–30 in New Testament Manuscripts: Their Texts and Their World. Edited by Thomas J. Kraus and Tobias Nicklas. TENTS 2. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
Preuschen, Erwin. “Das neue Evangelienfragment von Oxyrhynchos.” ZNW 9 (1908): 1–11.
Riggenbach, Eduard. “Das Wort Jesu im Gespräch mit dem pharisäischen Hohenpriester nach dem Oxyrhynchus Fragment V Nr. 840.” ZNW 25 (1926): 140–44.
Safrai, Ze’ev, and Chana Safrai. “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840.” Pages 255–80 in Halakah in the Light of Epigraphy. Edited by A. I. Baumgarten. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck, 2011.
Schellberg, Pamela. “A Johannine Reading of Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 840.” Pages 176–191 in Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon. Edited by Craig Evans and H. Daniel Zacharias. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2009.
Schürer, Emil. “Fragment of an Uncanonical Gospel from Oxyrhynchus.” TLZ 33 (1908): 170–72.
Schwartz, Daniel R. “‘Viewing Holy Utensils,’ P.Ox. V, 840.” NTS 32 (1986): 153–59.
Stewart-Sykes, Alistair. “Bathed in Living Waters: Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840 and Christian Baptism Reconsidered.” ZNW 100 (2009): 278–86.
Swete, Henry Barclay. Two New Gospel Fragments. Cambridge, UK: Deighton, 1908 (pp. 4–5). Also published as Henry Barclay Swete. Zwei Neue Evangelienfragmente herausgegeben und erklärt. Bonn: A Marcus and E. Weber, 1908.
Theissen, Gerd, and Annette Merz. Der historische Jesus: Ein Lehrbuch. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996.
Theophilos, M. P. “Marginalia in New Testament Greek Papyri: Implications for Scribal Practice and Textual Transmission.” Pages 330–57 in Studies on the Paratextual Features of Early New Testament Manuscripts. Edited by Stanley Porter et al. Leiden: Brill, 2023.
Tripp, David. “Meanings of the Foot-washing: John 13 and Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 840.” ExpTim 103 (1992): 237–39.
Wessely, Carl. Le plus anciens monuments du christianisme écrits sur papyrus. 2 vols. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1924 (vol. 2, pp. 488–90).
Zahn, Theodor. “Neue Bruchstücke nichtkanonischer Evangelien.” NKZ 19 (1908): 371–86.
Zelyck, Lorne R. “Recontextualizing Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840.” Early Christianity 5 (2014): 178–97.