Papyrus P42: Luke 1:46–51 in a Greek–Coptic Witness
Papyrus P42, Vienna Papyrus K 8706, is a late-antique Greek-Sahidic leaf from an Odes collection: its Coptic side preserves Luke 1:46–51, while its Greek New Testament text preserves Luke 1:54–55 and 2:29–32.
- Artifact date
- 7th–8th Century
- Findspot
- Egypt; exact ancient findspot is not stated in the consulted manuscript catalogs
- Current location
- Vienna, Austrian National Library, Pap. K. 8706
What archaeologists can actually examine
P42 is often summarized as a bilingual fragment of Luke, but that shorthand obscures its actual structure. Vienna Papyrus K 8706 belongs to a Greek-Sahidic collection of biblical Odes. The Coptic side contains Luke 1:46–51 from Mary's song; the Greek side preserves Luke 1:54–55 and 2:29–32, the close of the Magnificat and part of Simeon's Nunc Dimittis. Sixteen lines survive in one column on a papyrus fragment approximately 14 by 8 centimeters. Its Gregory-Aland number applies to the Greek New Testament portions, while the bilingual liturgical anthology supplies the codicological context. The object therefore witnesses both Gospel wording and the extraction of biblical songs for late-antique Christian reading or worship.
The languages preserve different ranges
Luke 1:46–51 is Sahidic Coptic; the registered Greek text is Luke 1:54–55 and 2:29–32.
An Odes collection, not simply Luke
The leaf formed part of a bilingual anthology of biblical songs, which explains its selection and sequence.
Dating remains broad
Catalogs commonly use the seventh to eighth century, while Odes scholarship has entertained an earlier sixth-century setting.
Translation direction is unresolved
The fragment does not show whether the Sahidic Odes came directly from this Greek form, from continuous Coptic biblical texts, or through mixed sources.
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 entered the Austrian National Library's papyrus collection and was published by Peter Sanz and Walter Till in 1939 as a Greek-Coptic Odes manuscript. The accessible catalog trail does not provide a controlled excavation context, so its precise Egyptian findspot and original community remain unknown. Modern study has correctly moved beyond treating the leaf as an isolated Luke scrap. Other surviving portions associated with the Odes collection and comparison with collections such as Codex Alexandrinus show an ordered anthology of biblical songs. Its Vienna shelfmark, Pap. K 8706, is stable; what remains unsettled is the exact relationship between the Greek and Sahidic forms and whether each was copied from a continuous biblical text, an established Odes exemplar, or a combination of sources.
What you are looking at
The surviving piece is about 14 by 8 centimeters; reconstruction suggests a leaf near 27 by 18 centimeters. One column of sixteen lines remains. Greek and Sahidic Coptic are arranged on the two faces as part of a bilingual or paired-language Odes unit, not as a simple line-by-line school exercise. The leaf's Luke material belongs to canticles that ancient Christians could detach conceptually from their Gospel narratives and order with other scriptural songs. The codex reportedly contained additional Old and New Testament Odes, making format and sequence essential to interpretation. Damage removes portions of lines, and the differing language contents mean that 'Luke 1:46–51 in Greek and Coptic' would be inaccurate: that range is Sahidic, whereas the securely cataloged Greek lines are Luke 1:54–55 and 2:29–32.
Where it belongs in history
Catalog dates vary. CSNTM and the standard Liste use the seventh to eighth century, while some Odes scholarship has proposed a sixth-century setting or a broader sixth-to-eighth-century range. No explicit date survives, so all depend on comparative script and codicology. The dossier should retain the catalog center of seventh to eighth century while acknowledging the earlier proposal. By this period, Greek and Coptic functioned together in Egyptian Christian book culture, and biblical canticles circulated in structured liturgical collections. The manuscript's resemblance to the Odes sequence in Codex Alexandrinus is evidence of a recognizable tradition, not proof of direct copying. Language pairing also does not establish which side was translated directly from the other on this particular leaf.
Consensus, questions, and debate
Agreement is strong on the Vienna shelfmark, papyrus material, Greek-Sahidic character, sixteen-line format, and identification of the surviving canticles. Debate concerns date and textual relationship. Sahidic Odes may have been translated from a Greek Odes collection, drawn from continuous biblical translations already in circulation, or assembled through more than one route. The bilingual leaf alone cannot decide. It is also methodologically misleading to assign a broad New Testament text type from a handful of canticle lines in an anthology. Apparatuses can compare the Greek wording with Gospel witnesses, while Coptic specialists assess translation technique, but neither side should be forced into a single genealogy. The codex is best understood simultaneously as a New Testament witness and as evidence for the reception of biblical song.
The biblical record beside the artifact
Luke 1:46–51 opens Mary's Magnificat: her soul magnifies the Lord, God regards her low estate, generations call her blessed, and divine mercy and strength overturn human pride. P42 preserves this range in Sahidic Coptic. Its Greek text preserves Luke 1:54–55, the song's closing appeal to God's help for Israel and promise to Abraham, and Luke 2:29–32, Simeon's prayer to depart in peace after seeing salvation, light to the Gentiles, and Israel's glory. These are precise textual connections, but the artifact's Odes context matters: it shows Christians reading Luke's songs as reusable scriptural poetry. It does not independently verify the infancy events or demonstrate the wording of every lost line in either language.
Luke 1:46–51
46And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy [is] his name.
50And his mercy [is] on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
A responsible historical conclusion
P42 preserves a moment when Scripture crossed language and literary form. Mary's and Simeon's words were not only copied inside Luke; they were gathered among Odes, placed into Greek-Coptic book culture, and likely used as songs or prayers. That setting clarifies why a New Testament papyrus number can belong to an anthology rather than a continuous Gospel codex. It also protects the record from a common error: the famous Luke 1:46–51 lines on this artifact are Coptic, while the Greek witness begins later in the Magnificat and continues in the Nunc Dimittis. The fragment is valuable precisely because its two languages and anthology context complicate, rather than simplify, the history of biblical transmission.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
Manuscript P42
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsConfirms Vienna K 8706, Greek-Coptic material, date, fragment dimensions, column and line count, and surviving Lucan contents.
Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments
De GruyterDistinguishes the Greek and Coptic verse ranges and supplies standard date, dimensions, and catalog identity.
Appendix: The Odes
Oxford University Research ArchivePlaces K 8706 in the bilingual Odes tradition and evaluates sequence, codicological unity, Sahidic translation, and unresolved exemplar relationships.
The Old Greek Psalter and the New Testament, Part II
Journal of Biblical LiteratureUses K 8706 in a controlled apparatus and confirms the Greek Luke 1 and Luke 2 canticle readings within Septuagint-New Testament comparison.
Vienne, ONB, Pap. K 8706
Pinakes, IRHT-CNRSProvides an independent institutional shelfmark record and bibliography for the Odes manuscript.