Papyrus P33: Acts 7 and 15, Including the Former P58
Papyrus P33 is a sixth-century Greek papyrus witness to Acts 7:6–10, 13–18 and 15:21–24, 26–32. Four Vienna fragments once divided between P33 and P58 are now catalogued as one manuscript, making this record both evidence for Acts' transmission and a case study in correcting legacy manuscript identities.
- Artifact date
- Sixth century AD (palaeographic date)
- Findspot
- Egypt; exact ancient findspot not established in the consulted catalogues
- Current location
- Austrian National Library, Vienna, Papyrussammlung, P.Vindob. G 17973, G 26133, G 35831, and G 39783
What archaeologists can actually examine
P33 comprises four Greek papyrus fragments from one manuscript of Acts, written in a single column of approximately twenty-one lines. Together they preserve Acts 7:6–10 and 7:13–18 from Stephen's speech and Acts 15:21–24 and 15:26–32 from the Jerusalem council letter and its delivery. Some fragments were formerly assigned the separate Gregory-Aland number P58. CSNTM now states that INTF deleted that number and named the combined witness P33. The unified identity is supported by codicological and palaeographic judgment, not merely by shared book content. The record must therefore list P58 as a legacy alias and never publish it as a second artifact.
P33 absorbs former P58
INTF deleted P58 as an independent number after the fragments were recognized as one manuscript with P33.
Stephen's speech survives
Former-P58 fragments preserve Acts 7:6–10 and 13–18 in Greek.
Council letter survives
Other fragments preserve Acts 15:21–24 and 26–32 concerning the Jerusalem decision and its messengers.
Four Vienna shelfmarks
The unified witness remains physically distributed across G 17973, 26133, 35831, and 39783.
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 fragments entered the Austrian National Library's Papyrus Collection under several inventory numbers and were published in the early study of Vienna biblical papyri. During the history of New Testament cataloguing, parts of the same manuscript received P33 and P58 as though they were separate witnesses. Subsequent comparison recognized their common manuscript identity, and the official register suppressed P58 in favor of P33. CSNTM preserves both the current P33 presentation and a former-P58 page explaining the change. The modern dossier should make that correction visible because legacy books and websites still list both numbers. The ancient findspot remains broadly Egyptian; the modern institutional and catalog history is much better documented than the excavation context.
What you are looking at
The witness consists of four separate papyrus fragments rather than a complete leaf. They carry Greek text from two noncontiguous parts of Acts in a one-column layout of about twenty-one lines. Vienna's shelfmarks G 17973, 26133, 35831, and 39783 correspond to pieces once divided between the P33 and P58 designations. The Acts 15 photograph shows irregularly edged fragments mounted together, with surviving lines of the council letter. Other pieces preserve Stephen's retelling of Israel's history in Acts 7. The scattered condition requires editors to distinguish individual fragments, faces, and restored line positions; combining the manuscript identity does not mean physically pretending the pieces form one complete page.
Where it belongs in history
CSNTM and the current register assign the manuscript to the sixth century by palaeography. Some older discussions offered earlier ranges, but the record should use the current institutional date while noting its approximate nature. P33 belongs to the late-antique copying of Acts in Egypt, centuries after the events narrated. Its surviving passages link two important speeches: Stephen's account of the patriarchs and the apostolic council's instructions to Gentile believers. The manuscript's later correction from two Gregory-Aland numbers to one also illustrates how catalogues evolve when fragments are re-evaluated. Stable numbering is a scholarly tool, not an infallible feature inscribed on the ancient object.
Consensus, questions, and debate
The identity merger is the central scholarly issue. P58 once denoted fragments containing Acts 7, while P33 denoted fragments from Acts 15; official cataloguing now treats them as parts of the same codex and removes P58 as an independent witness. A publication that creates two records would double-count one manuscript and mislead readers about the number of witnesses. Textual classifications such as Alexandrian summarize observed readings but do not prove every reading original. The sixth-century date remains palaeographic, and the fragmentary state limits reconstruction of the codex. The responsible narrative separates secure register history from broader conclusions about the text of Acts.
The biblical record beside the artifact
P33 directly attests portions of Acts 7 and Acts 15. In chapter 7, Stephen recounts God's promise to Abraham, Israel's sojourn, Joseph's recognition, and the growth of the people in Egypt. In chapter 15, the fragments preserve part of James's reasoning, the council letter, and the sending of Judas and Silas. The manuscript therefore witnesses both Israel-history interpretation and early church deliberation in the received Acts text. It does not independently prove Stephen's speech or reconstruct the council minutes. Its strongest archaeological claim is that these Greek passages were copied together in one sixth-century Acts manuscript.
Acts 7:6–10
6And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat [them] evil four hundred years.
7And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
8And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob; and Jacob [begat] the twelve patriarchs.
9And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
10And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Acts 15:21–24
21For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
22Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; [namely], Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23And they wrote [letters] by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren [send] greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
24Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment:
A responsible historical conclusion
P33 is unusually useful because its importance is both textual and methodological. The fragments preserve two substantial windows into Acts, but they also show how scholarship repairs its own cataloguing. A database committed to unique records should reflect the current physical identity, retain P58 as a searchable alias, and explain why the count changed. That transparency prevents an impressive-looking but false multiplication of evidence. For readers of Scripture, the two passage clusters reveal that one late-antique Egyptian manuscript carried Acts across distant chapters, tying Stephen's biblical-historical speech to the church's debate about Gentile inclusion.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
Manuscript P33 digital
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsCurrent P33 catalogue with sixth-century date, four-fragment description, Vienna shelfmark, and Acts images.
P33, formerly labelled P58
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsExplicit institutional notice that INTF deleted the separate P58 number and incorporated it into P33.
INTF manuscript workspace P33
Institut für Neutestamentliche TextforschungOfficial manuscript-register identity control for witness 10033.
Austrian National Library P33 digital object
Austrian National LibraryHolding-institution digital object linked from the exact P33 image record.
Recto of Vienna P.Vindob. G 17973 + G 26133 + G 35831 (P33), preserving Acts 15:21–24. · Unknown ancient scribe; Austrian National Library, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain Mark 1.0; Commons records PD-US-expired and author dead more than 70 years
View the image source and license