Manuscript
Chester Beatty Papyrus III (P47)
Also known as P47 · 𝔓47 · Chester Beatty Biblical Papyrus III
The oldest substantial copy of Revelation — ten leaves from the middle of the book.
papyrinew-testamentrevelationprophecy
Overview
Chester Beatty Papyrus III (P47)(Third century AD (c. 200–300))— Egypt; acquired by Alfred Chester Beatty in the 1930s
Ten leaves survive, carrying Revelation 9:10 through 17:2: the trumpets, the woman and the dragon, the beast, the mark, the harvest of the earth.
Revelation was the last book to be widely accepted in the eastern churches, and it is comparatively thin on early witnesses. This is the earliest one of any size.
Manuscript Details
- Date
- Third century AD (c. 200–300)
- Language
- Greek
- Script
- Greek book hand (uncial)
- Material
- Papyrus
- Current location
- Chester Beatty, Dublin (Papyrus III)
- Discovery location
- Egypt; acquired by Alfred Chester Beatty in the 1930s
- Contains books
- Revelation 9:10–17:2
- Tags
- papyri · new-testament · revelation · prophecy
Significance
The book Christians argue about most has an early copy too. P47 puts a substantial text of Revelation in the third century, a hundred years before the great codices, and its readings are one of the main controls on the text of the middle chapters.
The passages the manuscripts argue over
The places where the manuscripts differ — the ending of Mark, the woman caught in adultery, the three heavenly witnesses — with the case each way.