Papyrus P105: Matthew 27:62–64 and 28:2–5
Papyrus P105, P.Oxy. LXIV 4406, is a fifth- or sixth-century Greek codex fragment preserving the request to secure Jesus' tomb and the angelic scene at the tomb in Matthew 28, with evidence of later amuletic reuse.
- Artifact date
- 5th–6th century
- Findspot
- Oxyrhynchus, Egypt
- Current location
- Papyrology Rooms, Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library, Oxford, United Kingdom
What archaeologists can actually examine
P105 preserves Matthew 27:62–64 on one face and 28:2–5 on the other, linking the chief priests' and Pharisees' request for a guarded tomb with Matthew's account of the earthquake, descending angel, terrified guards, and the angel's address to the women. The parent codex is reconstructed at roughly twenty-five lines per page and about 12 by 22 centimeters. A piece of string reportedly remained attached when the fragment was edited, leading to the plausible conclusion that a damaged Gospel leaf was folded or reused as an amulet. The text contains itacistic spellings and an additional article before Pilate, ordinary signs of a particular copy rather than evidence for a different narrative.
Tomb scenes on opposite faces
The leaf preserves the request to secure the tomb in Matthew 27 and the angelic empty-tomb scene in Matthew 28.
Probable secondary amulet
A string reported in the first edition strongly suggests reuse of a codex fragment, though its ritual purpose is not documented.
Late-antique witness
Palaeography places P105 in the fifth or sixth century, later than the earliest papyri but still within antique book culture.
Copying variation survives
Itacistic spellings and an added article before Pilate illustrate ordinary scribal particularity in a short sample.
Follow the evidence from discovery to debate
Move through the find in a deliberate order: establish its provenance, examine the surviving object, place it in time, and then weigh the scholarly interpretation.
How the find came to light
The fragment came from the Oxyrhynchus excavations and was published in 1997 as P.Oxy. LXIV 4406 by J. David Thomas. It later entered the Gregory-Aland register as P105 and remains in Oxford's papyrology collection. At publication, a string was reported as attached; later photographs no longer show it. That change should be documented without implying loss of the papyrus itself. Excavation supplies a controlled recovery location, although the exact ancient depositional history is not reconstructed in the summary catalogs. The object's first life as a codex leaf and probable second life as a folded or tied object are inferred from physical format and the string, not from a surviving owner's inscription.
What you are looking at
P105 is a fragment from one papyrus codex leaf, reconstructed at approximately 12 centimeters wide by 22 centimeters high with about twenty-five lines per page. The two faces are separated in the Gospel sequence by material now lost near the leaf's edges. A string once noted on the piece is the primary basis for discussing amuletic reuse; the text itself remains arranged as a codex page rather than as a purpose-written protective formula. Orthographic features include spellings produced by vowel interchange, and Matthew 27:62 appears to add a definite article before Pilate. Such features are useful for scribal study but should not be exaggerated into doctrinal alterations. Damage limits how much of each clause can be read directly.
Where it belongs in history
The editor assigned P105 to the fifth or sixth century through palaeographic comparison. There is no explicit date or scientific measurement. This places the original Gospel codex in late-antique Egyptian Christian book culture, after the earliest surviving New Testament papyri but still well before the medieval manuscript majority. Probable amuletic reuse shows that biblical text could acquire a second material function after a book was damaged or dismantled. Yet the string does not tell us who reused it, what protection was sought, or whether the words were selected intentionally for that purpose. A burial-resurrection passage may appear meaningful in an amulet, but physical reuse and theological motive must remain distinguished.
Consensus, questions, and debate
Scholarly agreement covers the P.Oxy. 4406 identity, verse ranges, codex origin, approximate fifth- or sixth-century date, and string reported in the editio princeps. The principal interpretive question is how strongly the string supports amuletic reuse. The physical clue makes reuse persuasive, but it does not establish that the text was originally copied as an amulet or reveal a ritual setting. Textually, the extra article before Pilate and several itacistic spellings show localized variation. They are not grounds for classifying the whole manuscript with confidence, because the sample is short and damaged. Any description should also correct a recurring typographical error in secondary summaries: the verso contains Matthew 28:2–5, not 27:2–5.
The biblical record beside the artifact
Matthew 27:62–64 describes religious leaders asking Pilate to secure the tomb through the third day because they remember Jesus' resurrection prediction and fear a stolen-body claim. Matthew 28:2–5 narrates an earthquake, an angel rolling away the stone, guards becoming like dead men, and the angel telling the women not to fear because they seek the crucified Jesus. P105 materially preserves portions of these bookending scenes. If reused as an amulet, the resurrection setting may have shaped later reception, but that purpose is not written on the fragment. The papyrus transmits Matthew's claims; it does not independently establish the guarded tomb, angel, earthquake, or resurrection.
Matthew 27:62–64
62¶ Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
A responsible historical conclusion
P105 joins textual history and object biography. It witnesses a late-antique Greek copy of Matthew's guarded-tomb and empty-tomb narratives, then apparently shows a codex fragment being repurposed as a tied protective object. That layered history warns against treating manuscripts only as carriers of words: ancient readers could handle, fold, wear, preserve, or reuse scripture materially. At the same time, P105 encourages restraint. A string supports reuse but cannot supply a complete ritual story, and a resurrection passage cannot be assumed to have been selected specifically for protection. The record matters most when the textual, codicological, and reception evidence are presented together without filling the gaps imaginatively.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
P.Oxy. LXIV 4406: Matthew XXVII 62–64, XXVIII 2–5
University of Oxford Sustainable Digital ScholarshipProvides exact artifact identity, correct passage ranges, Oxford custody, provenance, and publication documentation.
Manuscript P105
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsConfirms Gregory-Aland registration, material, date, shelfmark, codex form, and contents.
INTF manuscript workspace P105
Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung, University of MünsterSupplies the controlled identity used in the official New Testament manuscript register.
Some Recently Published New Testament Papyri from Oxyrhynchus
Tyndale BulletinDiscusses date, page reconstruction, string and likely amulet reuse, spelling features, and a transcription observation.