Papyrus 12

Papyrus 12 is an early papyrus manuscript copy of the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews verse 1:1 in Greek. It is designated by the siglum 𝔓¹² in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and α 1033 in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned to ca. 285. It may have been a writing exercise or an amulet.^[1]

Papyrus 𝔓¹²

New Testament manuscript
Name	P. Amherst 3b
Text	Epistle to the Hebrews 1 †
Date	3rd century
Script	Greek
Found	Egypt 1897
Now at	The Morgan Library & Museum
Cite	B. P. Grenfell & A. S. Hunt, The Amherst Papyri I, (London 1900), pp. 28-31 (P. Amherst 3 b)
Size	20,8 cm x 23 cm
Type	Alexandrian text-type ?
Category	I

Description

Full page.

The verse has been written at the top of the second column by another (likely later) writer in three lines.^[1]: 82 It has been written in a small uncial hand.^[2] On the verso of this manuscript another writer has penned Genesis 1:1-5 according to the Greek Septuagint.^[1]

Text^[2]

Greek Text Transcription	Transliteration	English Translation
πολυμερως κ(αι) πολυ[τρο]πως	polymenōs k(ai) poly[tro]pōs	In many parts and in many ways
παλε ο ΘΣ λαλήσ[α]ς το[ις π]ατρα	pale ho Theos lalēs[a]s to[is p]atra	long ago God spoke to the fathe-
σ[ιν] ημ[ω]ν εν τοις προ[φ]ητα[ις]	s[in] hēm[ō]n en tois pro[ph]ēta[is]	rs our by the prophets

It has an error of itacism (παλε instead of παλαι, palai, meaning "long ago, formerly"), and includes the nomen sacrum ΘΣ for Theos, "God".^[1] The Greek text of this small portion of Hebrews is probably a representative of the Alexandrian text-type, but its text is too brief for certainty. Biblical scholar Kurt Aland placed it in Category I of his New Testament manuscript classification system.^[3] It supports the textual variant ημων (hēmōn, "our") as in codices 𝔓^46c a t v vg^mss syr^p.^[4]

History

The manuscript was discovered in 1897 by papyrologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt in the Fayum, Egypt.^[1] It is currently housed at The Morgan Library & Museum (Pap. Gr. 3; P. Amherst 3b) in New York City.^[3][5]

See also

• List of New Testament papyri
• Papyrus Amherst 3a