Papyrus P53: Matthew 26:29–35 in a Greek Witness
Papyrus P53, University of Michigan Inv. 6652, comprises two third-century Greek codex leaves preserving Matthew 26:29–40 and Acts 9:33–10:1, an unusually early physical witness to both a Gospel and Acts in the same scribal hand.
- Artifact date
- 3rd Century
- Findspot
- Egypt; exact ancient findspot is not stated in the consulted manuscript catalogs
- Current location
- Ann Arbor, Michigan, University of Michigan Library, Inv. Nr. 6652
What archaeologists can actually examine
P53 is not merely a fragment of Matthew 26:29–35. University of Michigan Inv. 6652 consists of two damaged papyrus leaves copied by the same hand: one transmits Matthew 26:29–40, from Jesus' promise of the kingdom cup through Gethsemane; the other transmits Acts 9:33–43 and 10:1, from Peter's healings at Lydda and Joppa to the introduction of Cornelius. Whether the lost codex contained a four-Gospel collection followed by Acts or only Matthew and Acts cannot be decided. What is materially secure is that both texts belonged to one third-century book, giving unusually early evidence for Christians reading them together.
Two New Testament books
Leaves in the same hand preserve Matthew 26:29–40 and Acts 9:33–10:1, not Matthew alone.
Modern provenance is known
Michigan records purchase from Maurice Nahman through H. I. Bell in 1934, while the ancient findspot remains uncertain.
Collection size is unresolved
The leaves may derive from a larger Gospel-and-Acts collection, but the missing codex cannot establish its full contents.
A corrected working text
Interlinear corrections on the Matthew leaf preserve evidence of scribal review in an early Christian codex.
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 leaves lack a controlled excavation record. The University of Michigan reports an unknown origin, with the Fayum suggested only tentatively, and records their purchase in 1934 from the antiquities dealer Maurice Nahman through H. I. Bell. Henry A. Sanders published the manuscript in 1937. That acquisition history establishes the modern chain into the Michigan collection but does not recover an ancient town, building, owner, or church. The leaves are now held in Ann Arbor under inventory number 6652. Their identification as a single codex rests on matching material and handwriting, not on an excavated binding or an intact sequence of gatherings.
What you are looking at
Two incomplete leaves survive from a Greek papyrus codex, written in one column in a documentary-leaning hand. CSNTM estimates roughly twenty-five to twenty-six lines on a complete page; the extant leaves are about 12 by 22 centimeters, with edges and intervening text lost. Matthew occupies one leaf and Acts the other, and both recto and verso were used in ordinary codex fashion. Corrections appear in the Matthew leaf. The shared hand is an important codicological fact, but it does not reveal how many books stood between Matthew and Acts or whether other Gospels were present. Bracketed text in modern transcriptions restores lacunae and must not be mistaken for visible ink.
Where it belongs in history
Catalogs assign P53 to the middle or broader third century on palaeographic grounds. No colophon, dated documentary endorsement, archaeological layer, or radiocarbon result fixes a year. The date therefore remains a comparative judgment about letterforms. Even with that qualification, P53 belongs to the small group of third-century witnesses that show substantial Christian texts copied as codices. Its combination of Matthew and Acts is especially valuable for reconstructing the physical organization of early New Testament collections, though the missing leaves prevent a confident claim about a complete corpus or canonical order.
Consensus, questions, and debate
Identity, shelfmark, contents, common hand, and a third-century date are broadly accepted. Debate concerns codex scope and textual classification. Pinakes notes the alternatives of a Tetraevangelium-plus-Acts collection or, perhaps more likely, a book containing only Matthew and Acts. Older descriptions use labels such as 'mixed' or compare the readings with Alexandrian witnesses, but two broken leaves are too small a sample to characterize an entire lost codex. Corrections show active scribal review rather than pristine mechanical reproduction. The object is best treated as an early, individual textual witness whose agreements and differences must be evaluated reading by reading.
The biblical record beside the artifact
Matthew 26:29–35 preserves Jesus' promise to drink the fruit of the vine anew in his Father's kingdom, the departure to the Mount of Olives, the shepherd-striking citation, and Peter's confident pledge. Verses 36–40 continue into Gethsemane. The Acts leaf preserves Peter's healing of Aeneas, the raising of Tabitha, and the opening line of the Cornelius narrative. P53 therefore joins passion tradition with apostolic mission within one artifact. It attests these Greek passages in the third century; it does not independently prove the events, identify the Gospel's author, or demonstrate that every Christian community used the same collection.
Matthew 26:29–40
29But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
30And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
31Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
32But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33Peter answered and said unto him, Though all [men] shall be offended because of thee, [yet] will I never be offended.
34Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
36¶ Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt].
40And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
A responsible historical conclusion
P53 makes early Christian book culture concrete. A reader could move within one codex from Jesus' final night to stories of Peter's ministry and the threshold of the Gentile mission. That physical association is evidence for collection and use, not simply for isolated quotations. Textual critics gain early readings in two books; historians of the codex gain a rare link between Gospel and Acts material; readers of Scripture gain a reminder that the New Testament reached later generations through hand-copied, corrected, vulnerable books. Its importance lies in that layered material history, not in inflated claims that a few leaves settle authorship, canon, or historicity.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
P53: 3rd Century C.E. Greek
University of Michigan, Bible as a Material ObjectProvides acquisition, tentative origin, material, date, two-leaf identity, and full Matthew and Acts contents.
Manuscript P53
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsConfirms Gregory-Aland identity, shelfmark, codex format, line estimate, date, custody, and exact-object images.
Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Library, Inv. Nr. 6652
Pinakes / IRHT-CNRSSupplies identifiers, bibliography, common-hand assessment, corrections, verse ranges, and competing reconstructions of codex scope.