Saturday, September 16, 2023

Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett on the Dating of P52 being c. 100-125

  

Date

 

Many scholars (Frederic G. Kenyon, H. I. Bell, Adolf Deissmann, and W. H. P. Hatch) have confirmed the dating of P52. Deissman was convinced that it was written at least during the reign of Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) and perhaps even during the reign of Trajah (A.D. 98-117). Deissmann wrote an article on this, “Ein Evangelienblatt aus den Tagen Hadrians,” which was translated in the British Weekly. (12 Dec. 1935, p. 219)

 

This dating is derived from comparing P52 to manuscripts such as P. Fayum 110 (A.D. 94), the Egerton Gospel (A.D. 130-150), P. Oslo (A>D. 127), P. London 2078 (reign of Domitian, A.D. 81-96), and P. Berolinenses 6845 (c. A.D. 100). Though each of these manuscripts bears significant resemblance to P52, P. Berolinenses 6845 is the closest parallel, in Robert’s opinion. Another manuscript shares many similarities with P52, P. Oxy. 2533. The editors of P. Oxy. 2533 said that its handwriting could be paralleled with first-century documents, but since it had the appearance of being second century, they assigned it to a second-century date. Thus, both P. Oxy. 2533 and P52 can safely be dated to A.D. 100-125. However, its comparability to manuscripts of an even earlier period (especially P. Fayum 110 and P. London 2078), pushes the date closer to A.D. 100, plus or minus a few years. This is extremely remarkable, especially if we accept the consensus dating for the composition of the Fourth Gospel: A.D. 80-95. This would mean that P52 may be only twenty years removed from the original. (Philip Wesley Comfort and David P. Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts [3d ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Academic, 2019], 1:337-38)