
Papyrus P93: John 13:15-17
Papyrus P93, Florence PSI inv. 108, is a fifth-century Greek papyrus fragment whose six surviving lines preserve portions of Jesus' example-and-servant sayings in John 13:15–17.
- Artifact date
- 5th Century
- Findspot
- Egypt; exact ancient findspot is not stated in the consulted catalogs
- Current location
- Florence, Italy, Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli, PSI inv. 108
What archaeologists can actually examine
P93 is a very small single-column fragment of a Greek papyrus codex of John, registered as PSI inv. 108 and Gregory-Aland P93. Six surviving lines preserve portions of John 13:15–17, the conclusion of Jesus' explanation after washing the disciples' feet. The artifact is narrow evidence: it confirms that this sequence was copied in a fifth-century manuscript, but it does not preserve the foot-washing narrative's beginning, a title, or enough continuous text to characterize an entire Johannine codex. Its usefulness lies in disciplined collation of extant letters and physical study of the fragment.
Six lines preserve a complete teaching unit
The remnant belongs to John 13:15–17, linking Jesus' example with the servant saying and the call to practice what is known.
Florence custody is secure
PSI inv. 108 and the PSI Congr. XVII 4 publication provide a stable institutional identity.
The ancient provenance is not secure
Egypt is the responsible broad origin, but no excavation locus or ancient owner can be named.
Textual claims must remain local
Six fragmentary lines can inform particular readings but cannot characterize the whole lost 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 Istituto Papirologico 'G. Vitelli' in Florence holds the fragment as PSI inv. 108. Guido Bastianini published it in 1983 among thirty Greek literary and documentary papyri; the institutional PSI Online record identifies the item as PSI Congr. XVII 4. It later entered the official New Testament register as P93. The consulted catalogues attribute it broadly to Egypt but do not supply a secure excavation, ancient settlement, discovery date, dealer history, or acquisition chain. Modern custody and publication are clear; the ancient find circumstances are not.
What you are looking at
One papyrus fragment survives, written in Greek in a single column with only six partial lines. Both side edges are broken and most lines preserve portions rather than complete clauses. Matching letter sequences to John 13 establishes the identification, while editorial supplements restore the surrounding wording. The fragment's small extent cannot determine original leaf dimensions, total lines per page, quire structure, binding, or whether the codex contained John alone. The hand is dated through comparative palaeography. A reader should treat the photograph as the object itself and any continuous printed passage as a scholarly reconstruction around its surviving ink.
Where it belongs in history
CSNTM and INTF assign P93 to the fifth century. No colophon, dated documentary context, or scientific test fixes a narrower year. By this period Greek Gospel codices were established across Christian communities in Egypt and the wider Mediterranean, but P93's unknown findspot prevents association with a specific locality or community. Its papyrus and codex form are material facts; ownership, liturgical use, private reading, and place of copying remain unknown. The label 'Alexandrian' sometimes attached to the text should not be made to carry more weight than six lines can support.
Consensus, questions, and debate
The stable points are the Florence inventory, John 13 identification, six-line extent, papyrus material, and fifth-century assignment. Because so little survives, scholarship appropriately centers on transcription and local readings rather than sweeping theories of textual affiliation. A few letters may support or exclude readings at particular variation units, but the fragment cannot provide a statistically meaningful profile of a lost Gospel. Its date is comparative rather than absolute. The primary edition and PSI catalog remain essential controls, while the INTF workspace situates the readings within the wider manuscript tradition.
The biblical record beside the artifact
John 13:15–17 turns Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet into an example: servants are not greater than their lord, messengers are not greater than the one who sent them, and blessedness belongs to doing what is known. P93 preserves portions of this tightly connected saying sequence. The reverse Bible link should cover only verses 15–17. The fragment witnesses late-antique copying of the Greek text; it cannot independently establish the upper-room setting, identify the beloved disciple, prove Johannine authorship, or recover letters lost beyond the broken edges.
John 13:15–17
15For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
A responsible historical conclusion
P93 gives material form to a compact ethical movement in John: example, status reversal, knowledge, and action. Its six lines remind readers that manuscript evidence is often granular rather than spectacular. A tiny scrap may not reconstruct a book, yet it can still enter the critical apparatus, preserve a local sequence, and document another act of copying. It also models the difference between transmission evidence and event evidence. P93 matters because an identifiable piece of a late-antique codex survives, not because that piece alone can answer authorship, historicity, or canon questions.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
Manuscript P93
Center for the Study of New Testament ManuscriptsProvides the fifth-century date, Florence repository, shelfmark, one-fragment format, six-line extent, and John passage index.
INTF Manuscript Workspace P93
Institute for New Testament Textual Research, University of MünsterControls the P93 identity and supplies the official textual-comparison workspace.
PSI Congr. XVII 4
Papiri della Società Italiana OnlineInstitutional record for PSI inv. 108, its publication identity, transcription context, and exact object image.
Recto of P93 (PSI inv. 108), preserving portions of John 13:15–17. · Unknown photographer; PSI Online / Florence collection, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain; PD-US-expired and PD-old-70
View the image source and license