Uncial 0244: Acts from the Khirbet Mird Manuscripts
Uncial 0244: Acts from the Khirbet Mird Manuscripts is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0244, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
- Artifact date
- Fifth century AD
- Findspot
- Found among the manuscript remains from Khirbet Mird in the Judean Desert and assigned a distinct collection number
- Current location
- Catholic University of Louvain, P.A.M. Khirbet Mird 8
What archaeologists can actually examine
one parchment leaf fragment, preserving Acts 11:29–12:5, covering famine relief, Herod’s persecution, James’s death, and Peter’s imprisonment. The surviving writing surface uses one Greek majuscule parchment fragment from a codex, physically separated from the larger group of Khirbet Mird texts by its script and biblical contents.
A controlled physical identity
GA 0244 and Catholic University of Louvain, P.A.M. Khirbet Mird 8 identify this witness independently of broad manuscript names or subject matter.
The writing surface is evidence
one parchment leaf fragment, preserving Acts 11:29–12:5, covering famine relief, Herod’s persecution, James’s death, and Peter’s imprisonment. The surviving writing surface uses one Greek majuscule parchment fragment from a codex, physically separated from the larger group of Khirbet Mird texts by its script and biblical contents.
Directly preserved Scripture
The extant leaves physically preserve Acts 11:29–30; Acts 12:1–5; the connection is textual and material rather than merely thematic.
The limits remain visible
This is a fifth century ad witness rather than an autograph or an object from the events narrated in Acts 11:29–30; Acts 12:1–5. Only one parchment leaf fragment survive, the stated date is palaeographic, and the original copying center and early ownership are not fully documented. Broken margins, erased writing, later reuse, or lacunae must not be silently reconstructed as surviving text.
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
Found among the manuscript remains from Khirbet Mird in the Judean Desert and assigned a distinct collection number. The Gregory–Aland number GA 0244 and the repository designation Catholic University of Louvain, P.A.M. Khirbet Mird 8 control identity independently of generic labels such as “uncial fragment.” Modern custody does not establish ancient provenance, so this dossier separates find or collection history, likely copying context, publication, and present location. The record was also checked against the live Watchman 33 inventory by GA number, shelfmark, contents, and source URLs before selection. Digital photographs extend access, but the parchment itself remains the archaeological object.
What you are looking at
one parchment leaf fragment, preserving Acts 11:29–12:5, covering famine relief, Herod’s persecution, James’s death, and Peter’s imprisonment. The surviving writing surface uses one Greek majuscule parchment fragment from a codex, physically separated from the larger group of Khirbet Mird texts by its script and biblical contents. Material, ruling, lineation, ink, letter formation, corrections, marginal systems, bilingual writing, and reuse are evidence alongside the copied words. The selected image depicts GA 0244 itself, not a generic manuscript. It represents one photographed side or leaf and must not be mistaken for every missing page of the original codex.
Where it belongs in history
The display date “Fifth century AD” follows current registry and palaeographic assessment. Letter forms, ruling, page design, material, ink, and comparison with related hands can support a range, but they do not supply an exact calendar year. This manuscript directly preserves Acts 11:29–30; Acts 12:1–5 in the period when it was copied. That is evidence for the transmission and use of those texts, not proof that the physical leaf was present when the narrated events occurred.
Consensus, questions, and debate
GA 0244 contributes a physically controlled witness to the textual history of Acts. Its readings are evaluated passage by passage against other Greek witnesses, early translations, patristic citations, scribal corrections, and the history of the codex. A text-type or Aland-category label summarizes patterns; it does not decide every reading or rank the manuscript’s theological value. The INTF registry controls the international manuscript identity, CSNTM provides an independent manuscript catalog and images where available, and published bibliography locates editions and collations.
The biblical record beside the artifact
The surviving parchment directly preserves Acts 11:29–30; Acts 12:1–5. It materially witnesses the copying, reading, organization, and transmission of these biblical passages in fifth century ad.
Acts 11:29–30
29Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judæa:
30Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 12:1–5
1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth [his] hands to vex certain of the church.
2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4And when he had apprehended him, he put [him] in prison, and delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
A responsible historical conclusion
Uncial 0244: Acts from the Khirbet Mird Manuscripts makes textual transmission visible at human scale. Its surviving surface shows how a biblical book was copied, formatted, corrected, translated, read, erased, or preserved. The connected Bible pages let readers move from the object to the precise passages it contains, while stable registry and repository identifiers make the claims independently checkable. Its fragmentary condition is instructive rather than embarrassing: confidence rests on comparing bounded evidence, not on asking one leaf to carry more history than it preserves.
Authoritative sources
Institutional catalogs, excavation reports, and academic publications let you examine the evidence beyond this summary.
NT.VMR manuscript workspace: GA 0244
University of Münster INTFOfficial registry workspace used to confirm the identity, contents, date, and current repository of GA 0244.
Numerals in Early Greek New Testament Manuscripts
University of Edinburgh Research ArchiveUniversity research repository record for a doctoral study that catalogs GA 0244 and its Khirbet Mird manuscript context.
A Bibliography of Greek New Testament Manuscripts
Cambridge University PressScholarly bibliographic framework for tracing published catalogs, facsimiles, collations, and textual studies of registered Greek New Testament manuscripts.
Uncial 0244: Acts from the Khirbet Mird Manuscripts image and rights record
Wikimedia CommonsSource page for the authentic GA 0244 manuscript image used here; the historical manuscript image is marked public domain.
The verso of the Khirbet Mird fragment registered as Uncial 0244 · Historical manuscript image via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
View the image source and license