The book under review is the first in Brill’s new series ‘Papyri and the New Testament’, edited by Peter Arzt-Grabner, John S. Kloppenborg, and Christina M. Kreinecker, who are, together with Gregg Schwendner, also the authors of the present volume. As the publisher’s website explains,[1] the aim of the series is to provide up-to-date introductions on the insights that papyri contribute to understanding the New Testament (henceforth NT) and early Christianity. In addition to the obvious theological readership, scholars from the fields of Papyrology, Biblical Studies, Ancient History, and Classics are also identified as the target audience.
This volume is essentially an introduction to papyrology for anyone interested in understanding the NT in its contemporary context. Using papyri to do so has had a long tradition beginning with Adolf Deissman’s pioneering 1908 study Licht vom Osten. Das Neue Testament und die neuentdeckten Texte der hellenistisch-römischen Welt (Tübingen), to which the title of this volume alludes. The authors all have gathered considerable experience in this area of research and are therefore well qualified to provide the interested reader with such an introduction. After acknowledgments and explaining the book’s reference system, the introduction cleverly starts with explaining why papyri are relevant for the NT, also providing a case study entitled “How Old Was Jesus?”, in which they discuss the phrase ὡσεὶ ἐτῶν τριάκοντα (Luke 3:23a) using parallels from papyri. The authors then present their three main methodological principles for using papyri to understand the NT. First, the documents must be non-Christian; second, they should date from the first two centuries AD or slightly earlier, but at the latest from the third/fourth; and third, in line with current papyrological research, the realities presented by the overwhelmingly Egyptian papyri are regarded as mutatis mutandis representative of the Roman Empire. The introduction ends with providing references to papyrological databases and instrumenta, as well as explanations on the translations of the volume. This technical part is somewhat unexpected after the discursive start of the introduction and might have been better placed at the beginning of the volume with the references.
The following six chapters discuss various topics relevant for the study of the NT. They are conveniently divided into smaller sub-chapters, each of which begins with extensive reading suggestions. They also contain a total of seven “close looks,” i.e., case studies that, like the excursus in the introduction on the age of Jesus, provide concrete examples of how the information derived from the papyri can be applied to the study of the NT (except for the first one discussing the earliest Christian letter). Apart from the fifth palaeographical chapter, each concludes with a selection of ancient documents in English translation relevant for the discussed topics, in total 51 in the volume. These are well-chosen, many of them classic papyrological showpieces, clearly explained to the reader, and fit organically into the volume as they are discussed and cross-referenced throughout the book.
The first chapter briefly summarizes the history of papyrology with particular attention to its contribution to the study of the NT. Special attention is given to ancient archives, which have been a focal point of papyrological research in recent decades. The chapter also stresses the “vibrant” nature of papyrology, a field in which progress is steady and new exciting finds, both in collections and excavations, are still a regular occurrence. In this context, it might have been useful to introduce the reader to the process of deciphering and editing papyri in more detail. Even if the majority of this book’s readership will probably never engage in deciphering unpublished papyri, it is still important for it to understand how this process works. The main reason for this is that, especially when working with documentary papyri, readings and interpretations of papyri can change much more quickly and dramatically as in other fields of Classical Studies. Thus, papyrological editions should be used with due caution and the reader should know how to find information on corrections, which is readily accessible in the very well-organized field of papyrology. The chapter contains two “closer looks”: one on the earliest Christian papyrus letter and another on the composition of 2 Thessalonians.
The second chapter introduces the most important writing media which traditionally fall in the territory of papyrology: papyrus; leather and parchment; ostraca; and wax, wooden, as well as metal tablets. The chapter ends with a perhaps too speculative “closer look” on “Damaged Papyri as Possible Reason for the Compilation of 2 Cor.” The third chapter deals with the much-discussed question of (il)literacy in the ancient world, for which papyri are among our most important sources. The discussion comprises the question of levels of literacy, ancient education, women’s literacy, and the topic of reading cultures. The book continues in the fourth chapter with languages, particularly with reference to the role of Greek and Latin, as well as bi- and multilingualism in the context of Egypt and the NT. The chapter concludes with a “closer look” at the gospels’ passion narratives through the lens of papyri.
The following fifth chapter focuses on ancient scribes and “palaeography in a broader context.” It discusses scribal posture, “a cognitive model of handwriting”, scriptoria and writing styles of literary papyri. While this is an instructive chapter, it is an odd fit for a volume focused on documentary papyri. In my view, the reader should either have been introduced to early Christian literary papyri too, which might have been a very useful addition for the intended readership of this book, or the chapter should have been focused more on documentary texts.
The final sixth chapter returns to the “Egyptian” question, arguing for the representativity of papyri for the Roman Empire, and thus for the NT. This point is further elaborated by adducing examples of documentary texts which do not stem from Egypt. The authors furnish three final, and very interesting, “closer looks”: one on Greek and Latin letters found in Egypt but sent there from abroad; another on dinner invitations; and a final “look” on slave sale contracts from different regions. They demonstrate that from ancient Britain through Italy to the Greek East, despite their local particularities, these documents can be used to study overarching questions of the period. The book concludes with a “prospect”, announcing further volumes of the series (an already published one focuses on letters and letter writing[2]), followed by a glossary and indices.
The volume is well produced, and typos and infelicities are rare. Overall, this is a readable book which provides a good introduction to papyrology for scholars who are interested in what papyri can contribute to understanding the NT. One of its strengths are the translations of selected papyri at the end of each chapter, which, thanks to the detailed explanations, succeed in showcasing how they are relevant for the book’s topic. Despite the engagement with ancient documents and clear appended discussions, a shortcoming of the book is that that they are only provided in English translation, without their original language text.[3] Any scholar interested enough in the NT to read this book can be expected to understand Greek well enough to consult these texts in the original. Although it is certainly not the intent of the authors who often discuss philological problems, the book gives the impression that one can do scholarly work without engaging with the original text. In my view, this policy should be changed for the future volumes of the series. Notwithstanding this criticism, I would like to conclude this review by emphasizing that this book is a good start for a promising series that will hopefully contribute to the cross-fertilization of papyrology and other related disciplines.
Notes
[1] https://brill.com/display/serial/PNT.
[2] Peter Arzt-Grabner, Letters and Letter Writing (Papyri and the New Testament 2), 2023.
[3] This seems to be a policy of the series, since the second volume of the series (see the previous note) continues this practice.