Papyrus P70: Matthew 11:26–27 in a Greek Witness
P70 joins three third- or early-fourth-century papyrus fragments in Oxford and Florence that preserve portions of Matthew 2–3, 11–12, and 24.
- Artifact date
- 3rd Century
- Findspot
- Egypt; exact ancient findspot is not stated in the consulted manuscript catalogs
- Current location
- Florence, Papyrological Institute; Oxford, Sackler Library, PSI inv. 3407 (Florence); P. Oxy. 2384
What archaeologists can actually examine
Gregory-Aland P70 is not limited to Matthew 11:26–27. Three papyrus fragments, catalogued as P.Oxy. 2384 in Oxford and PSI inv. 3407 in Florence, preserve Matthew 2:13–16, 2:22–3:1, 11:26–27, 12:4–5, 24:3–6, and 24:12–15. The fragments thus sample infancy narrative, John the Baptist's arrival, Jesus' thanksgiving and Sabbath controversy, and the eschatological discourse. CSNTM describes a one-column codex with about twenty-eight or twenty-nine lines per page. This discontinuous survival belongs to one ancient Gospel book, not six separately copied proof texts.
Three fragments span six passages
P70 preserves Matthew 2:13–16; 2:22–3:1; 11:26–27; 12:4–5; 24:3–6; and 24:12–15.
The pieces are split between collections
P.Oxy. 2384 is in Oxford and PSI inv. 3407 is in Florence, but scholarship identifies them as one codex.
The date crosses a century boundary
Catalogues use the third century or late third/early fourth because the assessment is palaeographic.
Its value is breadth
The surviving pieces sample infancy narrative, teaching, controversy, and eschatological discourse in the same Gospel book.
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 Oxford portion emerged from the Oxyrhynchus excavations and was published in The Oxyrhynchus Papyri XXIV in 1957. M. Naldini published additional Florence fragments in 1975; recognizing their shared hand and codex connected the pieces now catalogued together as P70. Modern custody is consequently divided between Oxford and the Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli in Florence. The join is scholarly reconstruction across collections, a common feature of papyrology. Oxyrhynchus is the secure findspot for the published P.Oxy. piece, while the precise archaeological history of every Florence piece should not be silently assumed beyond what its catalogue establishes.
What you are looking at
P70 comprises three small, black-inked papyrus fragments from a codex. The Oxford piece preserving Matthew 11:26–27 and 12:4–5 is only a few centimeters across; the Florence pieces enlarge the witness to chapters 2–3 and 24. Writing on both sides establishes leaf-book format. The hand is an informal book script whose execution has sometimes been called careless, but that label should be grounded in observable spellings and corrections rather than confused with textual worth. Lost margins require extensive restoration. Page estimates and sequence help place the fragments in a once much larger copy of Matthew, although the original codex's full scope cannot be recovered.
Where it belongs in history
CSNTM currently labels P70 third century, while the 4CARE record reports a late-third- or early-fourth-century assessment and discusses the handwriting comparisons behind it. The manuscript has no dated colophon, so the broader late-third/early-fourth range is preferable to a confident year. The fragments come from the Christian book culture of Roman Egypt and show Matthew circulating as a papyrus codex. Their geographic separation today is modern, not ancient evidence for separate books. Neither palaeography nor findspot tells us whether the codex contained Matthew alone or belonged to a multi-Gospel volume.
Consensus, questions, and debate
The combined identity of the Oxford and Florence fragments, their Matthean contents, and an early date are accepted. Scholars compare individual readings with major early codices and often call the text early or Alexandrian, yet the manuscript also has distinctive spellings and readings. Labels such as 'strict' or 'careless' summarize judgments and should not substitute for collation. The distributed fragments are especially useful for codicology because they sample distant portions of Matthew, but calculations of original page count and book extent remain estimates. A public-domain image exists for the exact Oxford piece on Wikimedia Commons, although its upload derives from institutional imaging whose reuse basis should receive coordinator review before publication.
The biblical record beside the artifact
P70 directly preserves six Matthean ranges. Matthew 2:13–16 and 2:22–3:1 trace the flight from Herod, the family's settlement, and John's appearance; 11:26–27 records Jesus' thanksgiving and unique Father-Son saying; 12:4–5 invokes David's eating of the consecrated bread and priestly Sabbath service; 24:3–6 and 24:12–15 preserve warnings about deception, war, lawlessness, endurance, proclamation, and the desolating sacrilege. Each chapter needs reverse discovery. P70 witnesses these passages' early Greek transmission and order; it does not independently verify the infancy events or date the fulfillment of Matthew 24.
Matthew 11:26–27
26Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
27All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he] to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him.]
A responsible historical conclusion
P70 turns three scraps into a cross-section of an early Matthew codex. Rather than illuminating one isolated saying, it links Jesus' childhood, teaching, scriptural argument, and final discourse within the same copied Gospel. That breadth makes the witness useful for testing scribal behavior across different literary settings. It also demonstrates how manuscript identities grow: a papyrus first known from Oxford became more informative when Florence pieces were recognized as belonging to it. The result is not a complete Gospel or a shortcut around textual criticism, but a materially anchored witness showing that widely separated Matthean passages circulated together in Greek by late Roman antiquity.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
Manuscript P70
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsProvides collection locations, shelfmarks, material, fragment count, layout, and the Oxford image sequence.
P.Oxy. XXIV 2384 + PSI inv. 3407 (Gregory-Aland P70)
4CARE, MF Norwegian School of TheologySynthesizes the joined Oxford and Florence pieces, passages, palaeographic range, codicology, and specialist bibliography.
INTF Manuscript Workspace P70
Institute for New Testament Textual Research, University of MünsterControls the Gregory-Aland identity and textual-witness record across the two holding locations.