Papyrus 52 (Rylands Greek P 457)
A fragment of one leaf of a papyrus codex, 8.9 by 6 cm, with parts of John 18:31–33 on one side and 18:37–38 on the other. It is widely regarded as the oldest surviving piece of any New Testament writing.
The fragment carries a few lines from the hearing of Jesus before Pilate, John 18:31–33 on the front and 18:37–38 on the back. Because it is written on both sides it comes from a codex, a book with pages, and not from a roll. From the size of the leaf the library estimates that a codex containing John alone would have run to about 130 pages.
Its date rests on handwriting alone. The first editor compared the script with dated documents and placed it in the first half of the second century. The library’s present description adds that recent research points to a date nearer AD 200, and that there is still no convincing evidence of an older New Testament fragment. A date from handwriting has a margin of several decades either way, so the papyrus cannot fix the year in which the Gospel was written. It shows that copies of John were in circulation in the second century. See the Four Gospels Are Written.
Cited in
- about AD 65 to AD 100, estimated date