Papyrus P110: Matthew 10:13–14 and 10:25–27
Papyrus P110, P.Oxy. LXVI 4494, is an early-fourth-century Greek codex fragment preserving mission instructions and sayings about fear and disclosure in Matthew 10, with unusually numerous singular readings and corrections.
- Artifact date
- 4th century
- Findspot
- Oxyrhynchus, Egypt
- Current location
- Papyrology Rooms, Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library, Oxford, United Kingdom
What archaeologists can actually examine
P110 is a small piece from one papyrus codex leaf preserving seven partial lines assigned to Matthew 10:13–14 on one face and 10:25–27 on the other. Editors reconstruct a page near 12 by 22 centimeters, commonly estimated at forty to forty-three lines. Despite its brevity, the fragment combines literary care—breathings, apostrophes, punctuation, diaeresis, and corrections—with several singular readings. In 10:14 these include wording for 'as you are leaving,' mention of a city or village, 'wipe off' rather than 'shake off,' and a distinct preposition. The evidence portrays neither a mechanically exact copy nor an uncontrolled paraphrase, but a corrected text with localized freedom.
Care and freedom together
Breathings, punctuation, diaeresis, and corrections coexist with several singular readings in only seven partial lines.
Distinctive dust gesture
In Matthew 10:14 P110 reads 'wipe off' rather than the much more widely attested 'shake off' wording.
Original-scribe corrections
Three clustered repairs probably belong to the first hand, showing active review during or soon after copying.
Date debate disclosed
The official fourth-century placement, likely first half, is more cautious than proposals moving the fragment into the third century.
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
P110 came from the Egypt Exploration Society excavations at Oxyrhynchus and was published by W. E. H. Cockle in 1999 as P.Oxy. LXVI 4494. It was assigned Gregory-Aland number P110 and is held in Oxford's papyrology rooms, with controlled records in Oxford, INTF, and CSNTM. Some popular summaries call it third century, following a narrower proposal by Philip Comfort, whereas the editor, INTF, and Peter Head place it in the fourth century, likely its first half. The institutional date should control. Its findspot is secure, but no associated reader, church, or production center survives; Oxyrhynchus recovery does not prove local copying.
What you are looking at
Only seven partial lines and a side margin survive from the papyrus leaf. The parent page is reconstructed at roughly 12 centimeters wide and 22 centimeters high, with a dense layout of around forty to forty-three lines. The script exhibits a notable repertoire of literary marks: rough breathings, apostrophes, punctuation points, and diaeresis. Three corrections clustered within two lines appear to have been made by the original scribe, repairing forms that would otherwise be singular. Alternating darker and fainter letters show where the pen was likely re-inked. These signs of care coexist with six additional singular readings, making P110 a valuable warning against equating polished presentation with uniform textual copying.
Where it belongs in history
The best-supported catalog date is the fourth century, with palaeographic comparisons favoring the first half. A proposed date around 200–250 is appreciably earlier and should be reported as a minority reassessment, not silently substituted for the official range. No absolute dating evidence survives. The codex format, dense page, and reading aids fit a deliberately produced Christian literary book. Yet the small fragment cannot reveal whether Matthew circulated alone, who paid for the book, or how it was read. Its recovery at Oxyrhynchus contributes to the substantial local manuscript sample, but preservation and excavation make that sample unsuitable for simple claims about the numerical popularity of Matthew.
Consensus, questions, and debate
P110's scholarly interest lies in the tension between careful presentation and textual individuality. Head identifies three corrections apparently made by the original scribe, five punctuation points, and multiple reading aids, but also six further singular readings. Some may be ordinary errors, some inherited from the exemplar, and some intentional clarification. The phrase 'city or village' has wider support than several of the surrounding singular forms, while 'wipe off' for the usual 'shake off' is especially distinctive. The fragment's mixed profile cannot securely be called Alexandrian as a whole. Nor can an individual reading be preferred merely for novelty or early date; each requires grammatical, transcriptional, and manuscript evaluation.
The biblical record beside the artifact
Matthew 10:13–14 instructs the Twelve about a worthy house's peace and the response when a household or town refuses their words, including removing dust from their feet. Matthew 10:25–27 says that a disciple may share the master's treatment, evokes the accusation Beelzebul, commands the disciples not to fear, and contrasts what is concealed with what will be revealed and proclaimed. P110 preserves portions of these mission sayings. Its distinctive verbs and syntax in verse 14 affect how the departure gesture is pictured, but not the passage's overall warning. The papyrus witnesses ancient copying of the discourse; it does not verify a specific mission journey or reconstruct Jesus' spoken Aramaic.
Matthew 10:13–14
13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
A responsible historical conclusion
P110 is a compact case study in scribal complexity. On seven surviving lines, a copyist uses literary reading aids, re-inks the pen, corrects mistakes, and still transmits several unusual forms. That combination humanizes textual transmission and undermines a false choice between perfectly controlled and carelessly corrupted manuscripts. The mission discourse remains readily identifiable while its wording shows local variation. For archaeology and manuscript history, the physical margin and reconstructed page place those readings in a real codex rather than an abstract apparatus. P110 matters because it preserves both recognizable Matthew and the actual decisions, slips, and repairs through which ancient readers received it.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
P.Oxy. LXVI 4494: Matthew X 13–14, 25–27
University of Oxford Sustainable Digital ScholarshipProvides exact object identity, passage ranges, Oxford custody, provenance, and publication documentation.
Manuscript P110
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsConfirms the Gregory-Aland identity, material, date, shelfmark, format, and surviving contents.
INTF manuscript workspace P110
Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung, University of MünsterProvides the official controlled identity and standard palaeographic date used in critical research.
Some Recently Published New Testament Papyri from Oxyrhynchus
Tyndale BulletinAnalyzes P110's date, reconstructed page, reading aids, corrections, re-inking pattern, and singular readings.