Uncial 0249: The Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25
Uncial 0249: The Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25 is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0249, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
- Artifact date
- Tenth century AD
- Findspot
- Identified in the Bodleian binding or manuscript context associated with Auct. T 4.21; its original copying location is unknown
- Current location
- Bodleian Library, Oxford, Auct. T 4.21, fols. 326–327
What archaeologists can actually examine
two parchment leaves, preserving Matthew 25:1–9, preserving the opening of the parable of the ten virgins. The surviving writing surface uses two parchment leaves about 21 by 15 centimeters written in one column of twenty-eight Greek majuscule lines.
A controlled physical identity
GA 0249 and Bodleian Library, Oxford, Auct. T 4.21, fols. 326–327 identify this witness independently of broad manuscript names or subject matter.
The writing surface is evidence
two parchment leaves, preserving Matthew 25:1–9, preserving the opening of the parable of the ten virgins. The surviving writing surface uses two parchment leaves about 21 by 15 centimeters written in one column of twenty-eight Greek majuscule lines.
Directly preserved Scripture
The extant leaves physically preserve Matthew 25:1–9; the connection is textual and material rather than merely thematic.
The limits remain visible
This is a tenth century ad witness rather than an autograph or an object from the events narrated in Matthew 25:1–9. Only two parchment leaves 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
Identified in the Bodleian binding or manuscript context associated with Auct. T 4.21; its original copying location is unknown. The Gregory–Aland number GA 0249 and the repository designation Bodleian Library, Oxford, Auct. T 4.21, fols. 326–327 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
two parchment leaves, preserving Matthew 25:1–9, preserving the opening of the parable of the ten virgins. The surviving writing surface uses two parchment leaves about 21 by 15 centimeters written in one column of twenty-eight Greek majuscule lines. Material, ruling, lineation, ink, letter formation, corrections, marginal systems, bilingual writing, and reuse are evidence alongside the copied words. The selected image depicts GA 0249 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 “Tenth 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 Matthew 25:1–9 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 0249 contributes a physically controlled witness to the textual history of Matthew. 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 Matthew 25:1–9. It materially witnesses the copying, reading, organization, and transmission of these biblical passages in tenth century ad.
Matthew 25:1–9
1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish.
3They that [were] foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9But the wise answered, saying, [Not so]; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
A responsible historical conclusion
Uncial 0249: The Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25 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 0249
University of Münster INTFOfficial registry workspace used to confirm the identity, contents, date, and current repository of GA 0249.
Gregory, Die griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testament
Internet Archive scan of C. R. GregoryHistorical manuscript catalog used to trace the Bodleian witness, its earlier sigla, and the development of its modern registration.
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 0249: The Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25 image and rights record
Wikimedia CommonsSource page for the authentic GA 0249 manuscript image used here; the historical manuscript image is marked public domain.
Bodleian folio 327 of Uncial 0249 preserving Matthew 25:8–9 · Historical manuscript image via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
View the image source and license