Uncial 0306: The Good Shepherd and Lazarus in John
Uncial 0306: The Good Shepherd and Lazarus in John is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0306, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
- Artifact date
- Ninth century AD
- Findspot
- Identified among the parchment leaves of the Bodleian manuscript Selden Supra 9; its original copying center and earlier route are not documented
- Current location
- Bodleian Library, Oxford, Selden Supra 9, fols. 114–120
What archaeologists can actually examine
seven parchment leaves, preserving John 9:22–10:3, 5–8, 10–12 and 11:6–37, 39–41, spanning the healed man’s conflict, the Good Shepherd discourse, and the raising of Lazarus. The surviving writing surface uses seven parchment leaves written in Greek majuscule, preserving substantial but discontinuous sections from a lost Gospel codex.
A controlled physical identity
GA 0306 and Bodleian Library, Oxford, Selden Supra 9, fols. 114–120 identify this witness independently of broad manuscript names or subject matter.
The writing surface is evidence
seven parchment leaves, preserving John 9:22–10:3, 5–8, 10–12 and 11:6–37, 39–41, spanning the healed man’s conflict, the Good Shepherd discourse, and the raising of Lazarus. The surviving writing surface uses seven parchment leaves written in Greek majuscule, preserving substantial but discontinuous sections from a lost Gospel codex.
Directly preserved Scripture
The extant leaves physically preserve John 10:1–12; John 11:6–41; the connection is textual and material rather than merely thematic.
The limits remain visible
This is a ninth century ad witness rather than an autograph or an object from the events narrated in John 10:1–12; John 11:6–41. Only seven 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 among the parchment leaves of the Bodleian manuscript Selden Supra 9; its original copying center and earlier route are not documented. The Gregory–Aland number GA 0306 and the repository designation Bodleian Library, Oxford, Selden Supra 9, fols. 114–120 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
seven parchment leaves, preserving John 9:22–10:3, 5–8, 10–12 and 11:6–37, 39–41, spanning the healed man’s conflict, the Good Shepherd discourse, and the raising of Lazarus. The surviving writing surface uses seven parchment leaves written in Greek majuscule, preserving substantial but discontinuous sections from a lost Gospel codex. Material, ruling, lineation, ink, letter formation, corrections, marginal systems, bilingual writing, and reuse are evidence alongside the copied words. The selected image depicts GA 0306 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 “Ninth 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 John 10:1–12; John 11:6–41 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 0306 contributes a physically controlled witness to the textual history of John. 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 John 10:1–12; John 11:6–41. It materially witnesses the copying, reading, organization, and transmission of these biblical passages in ninth century ad.
John 10:1–12
1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.
11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
John 11:6–41
6When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7Then after that saith he to [his] disciples, Let us go into Judæa again.
8[His] disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
9Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
11These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
16Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
17Then when Jesus came, he found that he had [lain] in the grave four days already.
18Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat [still] in the house.
21Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give [it] thee.
23Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
28And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
29As soon as she heard [that], she arose quickly, and came unto him.
30Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35Jesus wept.
36Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been [dead] four days.
40Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41Then they took away the stone [from the place] where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up [his] eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
A responsible historical conclusion
Uncial 0306: The Good Shepherd and Lazarus in John 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 0306
University of Münster INTFOfficial registry workspace used to confirm the identity, contents, date, and current repository of GA 0306.
IGNTP transcription of GA 0306
University of Birmingham Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic EditingScholarly transcription and witness page for the Johannine undertext of Bodleian Selden Supra 9, fols. 114–120.
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 0306: The Good Shepherd and Lazarus in John image and rights record
Wikimedia CommonsSource page for the authentic GA 0306 manuscript image used here; the historical manuscript image is marked public domain.
A leaf of Uncial 0306 preserving John 11:26–28 and 31–32 · Historical manuscript image via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
View the image source and license