Selections From the Greek Papyri, Milligan, 1910

7/27/2019 Selections From the Greek Papyri, Milligan, 1910

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SELECTIONSFROM THE GREEK PAPYRI


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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSEonDon: FETTER LANE, E.CC. F. CLAY, Manager

CFlimburgfj : too, PRINCES STREETEttltn: A. ASHER AND CO.U.fip>ig: F. A. BROCKHAUS

#to $crk: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONSBomfaag anC Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd.

All rights reserved


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PA331 GMs"

First Edition 1910Reprinted 1 9 1 2


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TOM. C. M.


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PREFACE

THEaim of this book is to bring within the reach of thosewho are interested in the recent discoveries of Greek

Papyri in Egypt certain typical documents from the principalcollections. These collections have now attained largedimensions, and are often very inaccessible to the ordinaryreader. But it is hoped that the present Selections will at leastserve to indicate the absorbing and varied character of theircontents, and, more particularly, to illustrate their linguisticand historical importance for students of the Greek NewTestament.

In this latter respect a special interest attaches to BishopLightfoot's striking prophecy, recorded on p. xx, which hasnow been so signally confirmed. The passage was com-municated to Prof. J. H. Moulton (see Prolegomena*r3, p. 242)by the Rev. J. Pulliblank from his notes of Bishop Lightfoot'slectures in 1863. It is also noteworthy to find Dr A. Peyronso far back as 1826 appealing in his Preface to the TurinPapyri (1 p. 21) to the Septuagint and New Testament writersin connexion with the meaning of words found in the papyri(see p. 136 of this volume).

For permission to make use of the following documents,my hearty acknowledgments are due to the Trustees of theBritish Museum, the Committee of the Egypt ExplorationFund, the General Administration of the Royal Museums atBerlin, and the University Press of Chicago, as well as to thedistinguished Editors of the various collections. Amongstthese last I desire especially to mention Dr F. G. Kenyon,


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Vlll PREFACEProf. B. P. Grenfell, Dr A. S. Hunt, Prof. J. P. Mahaffy,Prof. E. J. Goodspeed, Prof. G. Vitelli, Prof. A. Deissmann,and Dr W. Schubart, without whose ready co-operation andencouragement these Selections could hardly have beenattempted at all.To Prof. J. H. Moulton and Dr A. Souter I am also underdeep obligations for their kind assistance in reading the proofsand offering many useful suggestions. Nor can I forget thecourtesy of the Syndics of the University Press in undertakingthe publication of this work, and the well-known skill andaccuracy of their officials and workmen in passing it throughthe press.

G. M.Caputh Manse, Perthshire,November 30, 1909.

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

IThas not been found possible in this new edition to do

more than insert a few additional notes and referencesand remove certain typographical and other errata. To friendsand critics who have drawn attention to these last I tendermy best thanks.

In order to facilitate reference, the numbers of the docu-ments in the present collection have been inserted at thetops of the pages.

G. M.University of Glasgow,

July 5, 1911.


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CONTENTSPAGEPrincipal Collections of Greek Papyri with Ab-

breviations xiTable of Papyri published in this volume . . xiiiAuthorities quoted and recommended xvTable of Months xviiiGeneral Introduction xixNote on the Method of Publication . . . xxxivTexts, Translations, and Notes . iIndices :

I. Greek Words 137II. Biblical Quotations 145III. Subjects . 151

PLATEOxyrhynchus Papyrus 744 (= No. 12) . . Frontispiece


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PRINCIPAL COLLECTIONS OF GREEK PAPYRIWITH ABBREVIATIONSP. Amh.= The A ?nherst Papyri, ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt.

2 vols. London, 1900-01.B. G. \J. = Aegyptische Urkunden aus den Koeniglichen Museen zu

Berlin: Griechische Urkunden. Vols. 1IV (in progress).Berlin, 1895 .

P. Brit. Mus. Greek Papyri in the British Museum. Vols. I, II,ed. F. G. Kenyon; Vol. ill, ed. F. G. Kenyon and H. I. Bell.London, 18931907.C. P. Herm. = Corpus Papyrorum Hermopolitanorum. Part I, ed.C. Wessely. Leipzig, 1905.

C. P. R. = Corpus Papyrorum Raineri. Vol. I, Griechische Texte,ed. C. Wessely. Vienna, 1895.

P. Fay.= Fayum Towns and their Papyri, ed. B. P. Grenfell, A. S.Hunt, and D. G. Hogarth. London, 1900.

P. Flor. =Papiri Fiorentini, ed. G. Vitelli and D. Comparetti.Vols. I, II . Milan, 1906 .P. Gen. = Les Papyrus de Geneve, ed. J. Nicole. Parts I, H.Geneve, 1896 1900.

P. Giss.= Griechische Papyri from the Museum des OberhessischenGeschichtsvereins zu Giessen, ed. O. Eger, E. Kornemann andP. M. Meyer. Vol. I . Leipzig, 1910 .

P. Goodspeed= 6ra', Papyri from the Cairo Museum, ed. E. J.Goodspeed. Chicago, 1902.P. Grenf. l =An Alexandrian Erotic Fragment, and other GreekPapyri, chiefly Ptolemaic, ed. B. P. Grenfell. Oxford, 1896.

P. Grenf. ll=New Classical Fragments, and other Greek andLatin Papyri, ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt. Oxford,1897.


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Xll PRINCIPAL COLLECTIONS OF GREEK PAPYRIP. Hamb. = Griechische Papyrusurkunden der Hamburger Stadt-

bibliothek, ed. P. M. Meyer. Vol. I . Leipzig, 191 1 .P. Heid. =Heidelberger Papyrus-Sammlung. VoL I, Die Septua-

ginta Papyri undandere altchristliche Texte, ed. A. Deissmann.Heidelberg, 1905.P. U\h. = The Hibeh Papyri. Vol. I, ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. S.

Hunt. London, 1906.P. Leid. =Papyrigraeci Musei antiquarii publici Lugduni-Batavi,

ed. C. Leemans. 2 vols. 1843, 1885.P. Leip. = Griechische Urkunden der Papyrussammlung zu Leipzig.

Vol. I, ed. L. Mitteis. Leipzig, 1906.P. Lille=Papyrus Grecs from the Institut Papyrologique de VUni-versiti de Lille, ed. P. Jouguet. Vol. I, Parts 1, 2. Paris,

1907-08.P. Magd. = Papyri from Magdola, ed. Lefebvre in Bulletin de

correspondance hellenique, 1902 ft".P. Oxy. = The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, ed. B. P. Grenfell and A. S.

Hunt. Vols. Iviil. London, 1898 191 1.P. Par. = Paris Papyri in Notices et Extraits XVlll, ii, ed. Brunei de

Presle. Paris, 1865.P. Petr. = The Flinders Petrie Papyri, in the Proceedings of the

Royal Irish Academy" Cu)iningham Memoirs" Nos. viii, ix,xi. Parts 1, II, ed. J. P. Mahaffy ; Part III, ed. J. P. Mahaffyand J. G. Smyly. Dublin, 1891 1905.

P. Rz\xidLc\\= Papyrus Grecs et Demotiques, ed. Th. Reinach. Paris,1905.

P. Rylands = Catalogue of the Greek Papyri in the fohn RylandsLibrary Manchester, ed. A. S. Hunt. Vol. I. Manchester,1911.

P. Strass. = Griechische Papyrus der Kaiserlichen Universitdts- undLaudesbibliothek zu Slrassburg. Parts I, II, ed. F. Preisigke.Strassburg, 1906-07.

P. Tebt.= 77^ Tebtunis Papyri. Vol. I, ed. B. P. Grenfell, A. S.Hunt, and J. G. Smyly; Vol. II, ed. B. P. Gremell, A. S.Hunt, and E. J. Goodspeed. London, 1902-07.

P. Tor. = Papyri graeci regii Taurinensis Musei Aegyptii, ed. A.Peyron. 2 vols. Turin, 1826, 1827.


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xia

TABLE OF PAPYRI PUBLISHED IN THIS VOLUMENO.


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XIV TABLE OF PAPYRINO.2526

2728

2930313233343536373839404i42434445464748495

5152535455

P. Brit. Mus. 854P. Flor. 99

Question to the Oracle P. Fay. 137Letter describing aJourney up the Nile

Copy of a Public NoticeOrder to return home

for the CensusPetition regarding aRobberyA WillA Register of PaupersNotice of Birth

i/A.D.

i/ii A.D.i/ii A.D.

PAGE68

697i

P. Brit. Mus. 904 A.D. 104B.G.U. 22P. Tebt. 381P. Brit. Mus. 911P. Fay. 28

Complaint against aPriestA Marriage ContractNotice of DeathA Soldier to his FatherLetter of a Prodigal SonLetter of ConsolationInvitation to DinnerExtract from a Diplomaof Club MembershipLetter from RomeA Boy's LetterLetter of an AnxiousMotherLetter of ApionHire of Dancing GirlsMagical FormulaMagical IncantationCertificate of Pagan

SacrificeLetter of PsenosirisLetter regardingFuneral ExpensesLetter to AbinnaeusAn early Christian LetterLetter to FlavianusA Christian PrayerA Christian Amulet

B.G.U. 16P. Oxy. 905P. Oxy. 79B.G.U. 423B.G.U. 846P. Oxy. 115P. Oxy. 523P. Brit. Mus. 1 178B.G.U. 27P. Oxy. 1 19B.G.U. 380P. Tebt. 421P. Grenf. II, 67P. Oxy. 886P. Par. 574B.G.U. 287P. Grenf. II, 73P. Grenf. 11, 77P. Brit. Mus. 417P. Heid. 6P. Oxy. 939P. Oxy. 925Archiv I, p. 431

A.D. 114A.D. 123A.D. I49A.D. I 50-IA.D. 159-160A.D. 170A.D. 181-I92ii/A.D.ii/A.D.ii/A.D.ii/A.D.

A.D. 194ii/A.D.ii/iii A.D.

iii/A.D.iii/A.D.A.D. 237iii/A.D.iii/A.D.

A.D. 250late iii/A.D.

iii/iv A.D.c. A.D. 346iv/A.D.iv/A.D.v/vi A.D.C. vi/A.D.

7274778081

8385889093959798100102

104106107no112

114117

119123125128131132


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XV

AUTHORITIES QUOTED AND RECOMMENDEDArchiv =Archivfiir Papyrusforschung, ed. U. Wilcken. Leipzig,

1901 .Blass, F. Grammar of New Testament Greek. Eng. Tr. by

H. St John Thackeray. 2nd Edit. London, 1905.Croneit, W. Memoria Graeca Herculanensis. Leipzig, 1903.

See p. xxiv.Deissmann, A. Bible Studies (= BS.). Eng. Edition by A. Grieve

Edinburgh, 1901.Deissmann, A. Licht vom Osten ( = L0.2). 2te Aufl. Tubingen,

1909. An English translation of this work has appeared underthe title Lightfrom the Ancient East.

Dittenberger Syll.= Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, ed. W.Dittenberger. 2nd Edit. 2 vols, and Index. Leipzig, 18881 901.Erman and YLxebs =Aus den Papyrus der Koniglichen Museen, byA. Erman and F. Krebs. Berlin, 1899. One of the handbooksto the Royal Museums at Berlin, containing German transla-tions of a number of Greek and other Papyri, with an inter-esting Introduction.

Exp. = The Expositor. London, 1875 . Cited by series, volumeand page.Gerhard, G. A. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des griechischenBriefes. Heft i. Die Anfangsformel. Diss. Heidelb.

Tubingen, 1903.Gradenwitz, O. Einfiihrung in die Papyruskunde. Heft i.

Leipzig, 1900.Hatzidakis, G. N. Einleitung in die Neugriechische Grammatik.

Leipzig, 1892.Herwerden, H. van. Lexicon Graecum suppletoriumet dialecticum.

Editio altera. Lugd. Batav., 1910.Hohlwein, N. La Papyrologie Grecque. Louvain, 1905. A clas-sified bibliography of all papyrological publications, includingreviews and magazine articles, up to Jan. 1, 1905.

Jannaris, A. N. An Historical Greek Grammar. London, 1897.Kennedy, H. A. A. Sources of New Testament Greek, or the


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XVI AUTHORITIES QUOTED AND RECOMMENDEDInfluence of the Septuagint on the Vocabulary of the NewTestament. Edinburgh, 1895.

Kenyon, F. G. The Palaeography of Greek Papyri. Oxford, 1899.Kuhring, G. De Praepositionum Graecarum in Chartis Aegyptiis

Usu. Diss. Bonn. Bonn, 1906.Laqueur, R. Quaestiones Epigraphicae et Papyrologicae Selectae.

Strassburg, 1904.Lex. Notes Lexical Notesfrom the Papyri, by J. H. Moulton and

G. Milligan, in the Expositor, vil, v (in progress). Seep. XXX.

Lietzmann, H. Greek Papyri. Cambridge, 1905. Eleven Textswith Notes, published by Deighton Bell & Co., Cambridge, asNo. 14 of Alaterialsfor Theological Lecturers and Students.

Mayser, E. Grammatik der Griechischen Papyri aus der Ptolemder-zeit : Laut- und Wortlchre. Leipzig, 1906.

Meisterhans, K. Grammatik der Atlischen lnschrifte7i, by K.Meisterhans. 3rd Edit, by E. Schwyzer. Berlin, 1900.

Melanges Nicole. Geneva, 1905. A collection of studies in classicalphilology and in archaeology, dedicated to Prof. J. Nicole.

Moulton, J. H. A Grammar of New Testament Greek. Vol. 1,Prolegomena. 3rd Edit. Edinburgh, 1908. See p. xxx.

Moulton, J. H. New Testament Greek in the light of modern dis-covery in Cambridge Biblical Essays, pp. 461505. London,1909.

Nageli, Th. Der Wortschatz des Apostels Paulus. Gottingen,1905. A study of the Pauline vocabulary (in so far as it fallsunder the first five letters of the alphabet), more particularly inits relation to the Koivrj.

O. G. I. S.= Orientis Graeci Inscriptions Selectae, ed. W. Ditten-berger 2 vols. Leipzig, 1903-05.

Otto, W. Priester und Tempel itn Hellenistischen Agypten. 2 vols.Leipzig and Berlin, 1905, 1908.

Preisigke, F. Familienbriefe aus alter Zeit, in the PreussischeJahrbiicher 108 (1902), pp. 88 III.

Reitzenstein, R. Poimandres: Studien zttr Griechisch-Agyptischenund Friihchristlichen Literatur. Leipzig, 1904.Rossberg, C. De Praepositionum Graecarum in Chartis AegyptiisPtolemaeorum Aetatis Usu. Diss. Ien. Jena, 1909.Rutherford, W. G. The New Phry?iichus. London, 1881.Schubart, W. Das Buch bei den Griechen und Romern. Berlin,

1907.


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AUTHORITIES QUOTED AND RECOMMENDED xviiSophocles, E. A. Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine

Periods. New York, 1887.Thackeray, H. St John. A Grammar of the Old Testament in

Greek according to the Septuagint. Vol. 1, Introduction,Orthography and Accidence. Cambridge, 1909.

Thess. = The writer's edition of St Paul's Epistles to the Thessa-lonians. (London, Macmillan, 1908.) The notes in this editionare cited as 1 Thess. i 1 (note).

Thumb, A. Die Griechische Sprache im Zeitalter des Hellenismus.Beitrdge sur Geschichte undBeurteilung der Kolvtj. Strassburg,1901.

Vdlker, F. Papyrorum Graecarum Syntaxis Specimen : de accusa-tive. Diss. Bonn. Bonn, 1900.

Volker, F. Syntax der griechischen Papyri. 1. Der Artikel.Miinster i. W. 1903.

Wessely, C. Les plus anciens Monuments du Christianisme dcritssurpapyrus (being Patrologia Orientalis IV, 2). Paris [1907].See p. xxix.WH. or WH. Notes2=The New Testament in the original Greek,by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort. Vol. 1, Text; Vol. II,Introduction and Appendix containing Notes on Select Read-ings, etc. Revised Editions. London, 1898 and 1896.

Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, U. von. Gricchisches Lesebuch. Fourhalf-volumes. Berlin, 1902.

Wilcken, U. Die griechischen Papyrustirkunden. Berlin, 1897.Wilcken, U. Gtiechische Ostraka. 2 vols. Leipzig, 1899.Witkowski, S. Epistulae Privatae Graecae quae in papyri's aetatis

Lagidarum servantur. Leipzig, 1906.Witkowski, S. Prodromus grammaticae papyrorutn graecancmaetatis Lagidarum. Cracow, 1897.WM.=.


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XV 111 TABLE OF MONTHS

TABLE OF MONTHSEgyptianBa>6

$a5>(pi'A6p

Macedonian Honorific Roman[2e/3acrrds[TfppaviKosAofiiriavosNe'oy 2e/3tterrosNtpoweios

Aios

'AreXXatosAvbvvalos

Xotdie Uepirios

Corresponding in anordinaryyear to ourAug. 29Sept. 27Sept. 28Oct. 27Oct. 28Nov. 26Nov. 27Dec. 26

TtppaviKdos2coTJptoy

Ntpcovftoy 2f/3aordy'ASptavds

Auorpo?

'AprfpicrjosAaiaiosIldvTjposAmosYopinaios'Y7repl3(peTaios Knrdpos

'ETrayopfvai t)pepai = Aug. 2428, with a sixth iirayopevr) fjptpa(= Aug. 29) inserted once in four years. In such intercalary years(A.D. 3/4, 7/8 &c.) the English equivalents have to be put oneday on till our Feb. 29, after which the old correspondence isrestored : that is, in an intercalary year Thoth 1 is Aug. 30 and soon, Phamenoth 4 equalling Feb. 29.The Macedonian Calendar was equated to the Egyptian to-wards the end of ii/B.C.

Tv/3i

Me^ei'pdQappovOi

Ilavi'i

'E7r'


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" You are not to suppose that the word [some New Testamentword which had its only classical authority in Herodotus] hadfallen out of use in the interval, only that it had not been used inthe books which remain to us : probably it had been part of thecommon speech all along. I will go further, and say that if wecould only recover letters that ordinary people wrote to each otherwithout any thought of being literary, we should have the greatestpossible help for the understanding of the language of the NewTestament generally." Bishop Lightfoot in 1863.


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i. Amongst recent discoveries in Egypt few have awakenedInterest of a more widespread interest than the countlessPapyrus- papyrus documents that have been brought todiscoveries. ugnt Some of these have been found amongstthe ruins of ancient temples and houses ; others have formedpart of the cartonnage in which crocodile-mummies wereenveloped; but far the largest number have come from therubbish heaps (Arab. Kom) on the outskirts of the towns orvillages, to which they had been consigned as waste-paper,instead of being burnt as amongst ourselves.Of these Greek papyri, for it is with Greek papyri alonethat we are concerned, the earliest dated document is amarriage-contract of the year b.c. 311-10 (No. 1), and fromthat date they extend throughout the Ptolemaic and Romanperiods far down into Byzantine times. Their special interest,however, for our present purpose may be said to stop with theclose of the fourth century after Christ, though it will benecessary to add a few documents that fall still later, owing totheir importance for the student of religion. Meanwhile, beforepassing to notice certain general characteristics of these docu-ments, and their significance in various departments of learning,it may be well to describe briefly the material of which theyare composed, and the history of their discovery.

2. That material was papyrus, so called from the papyrus-Manu- plant (Cyperus papyrus L.), from which it wasfacture of derived by a process of which the elder Plinyapyrus. ^as j^ a cjass jcai account 1 . The pith (/?v/3Aos)of the stem was cut into long strips, which were laid down

1 N. H. xiii 11 13. Cf. the la Fabrication du Papier chez lescareful Mhnoire sur le Papyrus et Anciens by M. Dureau de la Malleb2


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XXII INTRODUCTIONvertically to form a lower or outer layer. Over this asecond layer was then placed, the strips this time runninghorizontally. And then the two layers were fastened togetherand pressed to form a single web or sheet (koXXtj/jlo), theprocess being assisted by a preparation of glue moistened,where possible, with the turbid water of the Nile, which wassupposed to add strength to it. After being dried in the sun,the surface was carefully rubbed down with ivory or a smoothshell, and was then ready for writing.The side preferred for this purpose was as a rule theside on which the fibres lay horizontally, or the recto, as itis technically called, but this did not prevent a frequentsubsequent use of the verso or back 1 . Official documentsin particular which were no longer required were frequentlyutilized for other purposes, the original writing being eithercrossed or washed out 2, as when we find a private letter(B. G. U. 594) written over an effaced notice of a death(B. G. U. 582), or as when the verso of an old taxing-list servesa schoolmaster and his pupil for a writing-lesson (see introd. toNo. 35).in the Memoires de VAcadimie desInscriptions et Belles-Lettres (In-stitut de France), xix 1 (185 1),pp. 140

183, where this passageof Pliny is fully discussed, and seethe other authorities quoted in theExcursus on ' St Paul as a Letter-

Writer ' in my Commentary on theEpp. to the Thessalonians, p. 121 ff.1 The distinction between rectoand verso, which is of great valuein the dating of documents, thedocument on the recto being in ac-cordance with the above rule theearlier, was first laid down byWilcken in Hermes xxii (1887),p. 487 ff. : cf. Archiv I, p. 355 f.It should be noted however that itis only generally applicable betweenB.C. 250 and a.d. 400, the pre-ference for the recto disappearing in

Byzantine times with the deteriora-tion of papyrus manufacture, andthe introduction of a new style ofwriting : see Schubart Das Buck beiden Griechen und Rbmertt (Berlin,1907), p. of., and Archiv' V, p. 191 ff.2 The technical term for crossingout was xi-^/J-ai- Hence a decreethat was annulled was said xiaff^V-vai, cf. P. Flor. 61. 65 (a.d. 8688), and see further Deissmann LO.2p. 249 ff. In B.G.U. 717. 22 ff.(a.d. 149) we hear of a xlpbypa-\(pov\...x>pLs dX/0aros ical iiriypa


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INTRODUCTION XX111The size and character of these papyrus-sheets naturally

varied considerably with the quality of the papyrus, of whichthey were formed, but for non-literary documents a verycommon size was from 5 to 5! inches in width, and 9 to ninches in height 1 . When more space was required, thiswas easily obtained by joining a number of sheets togetherto form a roll. A roll of twenty sheets, which could becut up or divided at will, was apparently a common sizefor selling purposes. This was, however, a mere matter ofconvenience, and smaller quantities would be easily procurableon demand 2.The price paid was of course determined by the size andnature of the paper provided, and in view of our ignoranceon these points the few figures that are available do notgive much guidance 3. But it is clear that papyrus was byno means a cheap commodity, and this helps to explain thefrequent use of the verso already referred to, and the difficultywhich the poor often experienced in procuring the necessarymaterial for writing 4.

In itself papyrus is a very durable material, when notexposed to much handling, or to the action of damp, andit is consequently, thanks to their sandburial and to thesingularly dry climate of Egypt, that so many documents and

1 See Kenyon Palaeography of inscription relating to the expensesGreek Papyri (Oxford, 1899), P - of the rebuilding of the Erechtheum16 ff. at Athens in B.C. 407, from which2 An extra sheet seems to have it appears that two sheets (xapralbeen known as ivix^PTV (P- Oxy. Suo) cost at the rate of a drachma34. 15, a.d. 127). For other writing- and two obols each, or a little overmaterials see P. Grenf. 11 38 (b.c a shilling of our money: see also81), where directions are given for Schubart op. cit. p. 12 f.the purchase of pens (icdXafioi ypa- 4 In P. Gen. 52, a letter written(pLKol, cf. 3 Mace, iv 20) and ink on the verso of a business docu-(/j.4\as, cf. 2 Jo. 12). In P. Oxy. ment, the writer explainsx


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XXIV INTRODUCTIONletters have been preserved there, while they have almostwholly disappeared elsewhere 1 .

3. The earliest discoveries took place in 1778 at Gizeh,f where the fellaheen produced a chest containing

Papyrus- about fifty papyri. As however no purchasersdiscoveries. wgre forthcoming, all these, except one now inthe Museum at Naples (the Charta Borgiana), were destroyedfor the sake, so it is said, of the aromatic smell which theygave forth in burning 2.

No further discoveries are reported for about twenty years,after which we hear of various sporadic finds, more particularlyat Saqqarah, the ancient Memphis, about a half of the docu-ments recovered there relating to its Serapeum, or great templein honour of Serapis (see Nos. 4, 5, 6). In view of the noveltyand intrinsic interest of these documents, it is astonishing thatthey did not attract more notice at the time. But, as a matterof fact, it was not until 1877, when several thousand papyri ofwidely different characters and dates were found amongst theruins of Crocodilopolis, or Arsinoe, the old capital of the Fayumdistrict 3, that public attention was fully awakened to the far-reaching importance of the new discoveries.

1 The principal exception is Her- 2 See Wilcken Die griechischenculaneum, where as a matter of fact Papyrusurkunden (Berlin, 1897),the first Greek papyri were brought p. 10. The result of an experi-to light in the course of the excava- ment, conducted along with Prof.tions in 1752 and the following E. J. Goodspeed on some papyrus-years. From the calcined nature fragments, leads the present writerof the rolls, the work of decipher- rather to doubt the ' aromatic ' partment was unusually difficult, but of the story.eventually it was found that the 3 The great bulk of these nowgreater part were occupied with form the Rainer collection at Vienna,philosophical writings of the Epi- which was still further enriched incurean school. A few fragments 1896, and their contents are gradu-of Epicurus himself were also really being made available throughcovered, including a charming letter the labours of Dr C. Wessely andto a child (No. 2). The evidence others. To the collections men-of the Herculaneum papyri on tioned on p. xi f. add in this con-questions of accidence and grammar nexion Wessely's monographs onis fully stated in W. Cronert's great Karanis unci Socnopaei Nesos andwork Memoria Graeca Hercula- Die Stadt Arsinoe (Vienna, 1902).nensis (Leipzig, 1903).


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INTRODUCTION XXVFrom that time the work of exploration has gone steadily

on, a foremost place in it being occupied by our own Oxfordscholars, Prof. B. P. Grenfell and Dr A. S. Hunt, to whoseremarkable labours in this field, whether as discoverers or asinterpreters, almost every page of the following Selections willbear witness.

4. The collections that have thus been formed are namedPapyrus either from the locality where the texts were firstCollections. discovered, as e.g. the Oxyrhynchus Papyri orthe Hibeh Papyri, or from the place where they are nowpreserved, as the British Museum or Chicago Papyri, or theBerliner Griechische Urkunden, or in a few instances from theirowners, as the Amherst Papyri or the Reinach Papyri. Andthrough the patient labours of many scholars, both in thiscountry and abroad, these collections are yearly being addedto 1 .

5. Of the papyri now available a comparatively smallLiterary number, about 600 in all, are literary, one fourthPapyri. f these supplying us with texts not previouslyknown. Amongst these is what can claim to be the oldestGreek literary MS. in existence, a poem of Timotheus ofMiletus, dating from the fourth century before Christ, whilefragments of Homeric and other texts, belonging to the suc-ceeding century, are still some thirteen hundred years olderthan the generality of Greek MSS. Other new texts embracefragments of Sappho and the Paeans of Pindar, the Odes ofBacchylides, the Comedies of Menander, the Constitution ofAthens by Aristotle, and the Mimes of Herodas. And asproof that surprises in this direction are by no means

1 For a list which comprises the by Prof. Grenfell's statement (as re-titles of most of the existing col- ported in the Athenaeum, Aug. 22,lections see p. xi f. ; but how much 190S, p. 210) that of the Papyristill remains to be done before even from Oxyrhynchus alone, only aboutthe existing materials can be made one-sixth have as yet been de-available for general use is shown ciphered.


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XXVI INTRODUCTIONexhausted, the last two volumes of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri(v, vi, both 1908) contain respectively a new history of b.c.3


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INTRODUCTION XXV11time it is impossible not to feel the arresting charm of thesefrail papyrus messages, written with no thought of any otherpublic than those to whom they were originally addressed, andon that very account calling up before our minds, as moreelaborate documents could never have done, the persons alikeof their senders and recipients.

Most of these letters are single detached communicationsupon some point of purely personal interest, whose inter-pretation is often a matter of extreme difficulty owing to ourignorance of the special circumstances that called them forth 1 .But occasionally we find ourselves in possession of a wholefamily budget as in the case of that keen agriculturist andshrewd old man Gemellus (No. 24), or of the official lettersthat have survived from the bureau of the military PrefectAbinnaeus (No. 51): while in other cases it is possible topiece together from separate documents various facts in somedomestic story (see e.g. the introd. to No. 20).

7. The significance of the papyri, however, as veritableSienificance documents humains, is very far from being ex-of the hausted by their merely personal interest. AndPapyri. thejr vaiU6j botn ^{reci an(j indirect, in manyand varied fields of learning is being increasingly realized 2.To the palaeographer, for example, they offer a continuouschain of documents, extending over a period of about a thousandyears, very many of them exactly dated by year and month andday 3, and the rest usually easily assignable within comparativelynarrow limits, by means of which many old errors can bewith personal greetings to his ' lord 2 See especially Wilcken's valu-and patron ' and the members of his able lecture, already cited, Diehousehold' almost as generous a griech. Papyntswktmden, p. 29 ff.scale as in a Pauline epistle' (Kenyon, 8 Official documents are as a ruleBrit. Mus. Papyri II, p. 305). so dated up till the end of the first

1 See e.g. the curious and illite- century after Christ, after that onlyrate letter of Apollonius (No. 7) and by month and day. Cf. the Tablefrom a later period the letter of of Months on p. xviii, which DrPsenosiris (No. 49), which has been A. S. Hunt has kindly revised forso variously interpreted. me.


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XXVlll INTRODUCTIONcorrected, and the whole history of book production before theadoption of vellum put in a new and striking light. Thus, torefer only to a single point, the New Testament student canno longer have any possible doubt that the books of the NewTestament were written originally on papyrus, and that in sucha letter as is reproduced in facsimile as a frontispiece to thisvolume he can see the prototype, so far as outward appear-ance is concerned, of an original Pauline Epistle 1.To the historian again their value is no less remarkable.If it be the case, as we recently have been assured, that itwas the want of adequate ' records ' that prevented theGreeks themselves from being the founders of scientifichistory, that is certainly no longer the fate of any onewho seeks to reconstruct the internal condition of Greco-Roman Egypt. Contemporary documents, whose genuinenessis incontestable, now lie before him in such abundance, thattheir very number constitutes one of his greatest difficulties.And it will need much careful sifting and comparison beforetheir results can be fully appreciated or stated 2. But confiningourselves again to their relation to Christian history, it isimpossible not to recognize the importance of having the'enrolment' of Luke ii i, 2 illustrated by the recovery of alarge number of similar enrolments or census-returns, knownby the same name (diroypaai, cf. No. 17), and even themethod of the enumeration by the return of each man to hisown city (ver. 3) confirmed by the discovery of an exactlyanalogous order (No. 28). When too we find a Prefect re-leasing a prisoner in deference to the wishes of the multitude(see note on No. 55. 28), or the summary of a trial with thespeech of the prosecuting counsel (No. 18), we are at once

1 See further Kenyon Palaeo- valuable information in the vols.graphy, p. 92 ff., and Handbook on The Ptolemaic Dynasty by Prof.to the Textual Criticism of the Mahaffy and on Under Roman RuleNew Testament (Macmillan, 1901), by Mr J. S. Milne in Methuen'sChap. II 'The Autographs of the History of Egypt, Vols. IV, VNew Testament.' (1S9S).3 The student will find much


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INTRODUCTION XXIXreminded of what took place in the case of our Lord (Mk xv15) and of St Paul (Ac. xxiv 2ff.). Or, to pass to a laterperiod in the history of the Church, while the persecution ofthe Christians under Decius, and the consequent demand forlibelli, or certificates of conformity to the state-religion, werepreviously well known, it is surely a great gain to be able tolook upon actual specimens of these libelli, attested by thesignatures of the libellatici themselves, and counter-signed bythe official commission that had been appointed to examinethem (No. 48).

The value of the papyri, however, for the Biblical studentis very far from being exhausted in ways such as these. Theyhave added directly to his materials not only a certain numberof Biblical texts 1 , but also several highly important fragmentsof extra-canonical writings, including the so-called Logia ofJesus, which have attracted such widespread attention 2. Noris this all, but the indirect aid which they constantly afford forthe interpretation of our Greek Bible is perhaps even morestriking. It will be one of the principal objects of the com-mentary that accompanies the following selections to illustratethis in detail, but it may be convenient to recapitulate herethat this aid is to be looked for principally in three directions.

(1) In the matter of language, we have now abundantproof that the so-called 'peculiarities' of Biblical Greek aredue simply to the fact that the writers of the New Testament

1 These include some third and the New Sayings ofJesus (P. Oxy.fourth century fragments of the 654) and the Fragment of an Un-LXX, a third century MS. of Mt. i canonical Gospel (P. Oxy. 840) have(P. Oxy. 2), and about one-third of all been published separately inthe Ep. to the Hebrews from the convenient forms (Frowde, 1897,early part of the fourth century 1904 and 1908) : see also Swete's(P. Oxy. 657). So far as they go, edition of Two New Gospel Frag-the N.T. texts confirm on the whole ments (Deighton, Bell & Co., 1908).the evidence of the great uncials KB, In Les plus anciens Monuments duor what we know as the Westcott Christianisme {Patrologia Orknlalisand Hort text. A list of the principal iv 1 [1907]) Wessely has edited theBiblical papyri is given by Deissmann most important early Christian do-Enc. Biblica, col. 3559 f- cuments written on papyrus, with3 The original Logia (P. Oxy. 1), translations and commentaries.


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XXX INTRODUCTIONfor the most part made use of the ordinary colloquial Greek,the Koiv)? of their day.

This is not to say that we are to disregard altogether theinfluence of translation Greek, and the consequent presence ofundoubted Hebraisms, both in language and grammar 1 . Noragain must we lose sight of the fact that the sacred writers,especially in the case of the New Testament, deepened andenriched the significance of many everyday words, and em-ployed them in altogether new connotations. At the sametime the best way to get at these new connotations is surelyto start from the old, and to trace, as we are now enabled todo, the steps by which words and phrases were raised fromtheir original popular and secular usage to the deeper andmore spiritual sense, with which the New Testament writingshave made us familiar 2. It is sufficient by way of illustrationto point to the notes that follow on such words as a'SeX^os(No. 7. 2), atw'vios (No. 45. 27), /3a7rna> (No. 7. 13), Kvpios(No. l8. 6), AciTovpye'w (No. 5. 2), irapova-ia (No. 5. 18),7rpeo-/3va) (No. 40. 14), 7rpeo-/?vrpos (Nos. 10. 1 7, 29. 11),n-poypdfpu) (No. 27. 11), aT7)p (No. 19. 18), awT^pta (No. 36.13), and \Pr}lxaT 'L^w (No. 25. 2) 3.

1 An over-tendency to minimizethese last is probably the most per-tinent criticism that can be directedagainst Dr J. H. Moulton's Pro-legomena to his Grammar of NewTestament Greek, a book that is asuseful to the papyrologist as it isindispensable to the student of theGreek New Testament. See furtherthe valuable sections ( 3, 4) on' The Koifrjthe Basis of SeptuagintGreek,' and 'The Semitic Elementin LXX Greek ' in Thackeray'sGrammar of the Old Testament inGreek I, p. 16 ff.2 The denial of a distinctive Biblical ' or ' New TestamentGreek ' is often too unqualified to-day owing to the recoil from theold position of treating it as es-

sentially an isolated language, andthe whole question of how far theGreek of the New Testament de-viates from the Koiwfi requires afuller discussion and statement thanit has yet received. Some good re-marks on the 'eigenartig' characterof the New Testament writings,notwithstanding the linguistic andstylistic parallels that have been dis-covered, will be found in Heinrici'smonograph Derlitlerarische Charak-ter der neutestamentlichen Schriften(Leipzig, 1908).3 For many more examples of theinfluence of the Koiv/j on N.T. Greekthan are possible in the limits of thepresent volume reference may per-haps be allowed to the ' LexicalNotes from the Papyri' which Dr


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INTRODUCTION XXXI(2) The form, again, which the New Testament writers

so frequently adopted for the conveyance of religious truthis reflected in the clearest manner in the private letters thathave been rescued from the sands of Egypt. It may seemstrange at first sight to those who have had no previousacquaintance with the subject, that those simple and artlesscommunications, the mere flotsam and jetsam of a longpast civilization, should for a moment be put in evidencealongside the Epistles of St Paul. But even if they do nothingelse, they prove how ' popular ' rather than ' literary ' in originthese Epistles really are

1, and how frequently the Apostleadapts the current epistolary phrases of his time to his own

purposes 2.(3) Once more, the papyri are of the utmost value in

enabling us to picture the general environment, social and re-ligious, of the earliest followers of Christianity. These followersJ. H. Moulton and the presentwriter are contributing to the Ex-positor VII v, p. 51 ff. &c.1 The distinction holds good, evenif we cannot go all the way withDeissmann (BS. p. 3 ff.) in pro-nouncing all the Pauline writings'letters' rather than 'Epistles.'This may be true of the shortEpistle to Philemon, which is littlemore than a private note, but surelythe Epistle to the Romans standsin a different category, and, if onlyby the character of its contents, isto be widely differentiated from theunstudied expression of personalfeeling, that we associate with theidea of a true ' letter.'

2 The first recognition I havecome across in this country of thevalue of the papyri for N.T. studyoccurs in Dean Farrar's The Messagesof the Books, first published in 1884,where in a note to his chapter onthe ' Form of the New TestamentEpistles' the writer remarks 'It isan interesting subject of inquiry towhat extent there was at this period

an ordinary form of correspondencewhich (as amongst ourselves) was tosome extent fixed. In the papyrusrolls of the British Museum (editedfor the trustees by J. Forshall [in1839]) there are forms and phraseswhich constantly remind us ofSt Paul' (p. 151). But he doesnot seem to have followed up thehint, and it was left to Prof. A.Deissmann, following independentlyon lines already hinted at by A.Peyron in his introduction to theTurin Papyri {Papyri graeci regiiTanrinensis Musei Aegyplii, Turin,1826), to show in detail in Bibel-studien (1895) and Neue Bibelstudien(1897) (together translated intoEnglish as Bible Studies (1901)),and more recently in Licht vomOsten (1 Aufl. 1908, 2 u. 3 Aufl.1909), the wealth of material theycontain in this and other respects.Mention should also be made ofDean Armitage Robinson's in-teresting Excursus ' On some currentepistolary phrases' in his Com-mentary on Ephesians, p. 175 ff.


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XXX11 INTRODUCTIONbelonged for the most part, though by no means exclusively 1,to the humbler and poorer classes of the population, whom theordinary historian of the period did not think it worth his whileto notice 2. But now by means of their own autographic lettersand documents we can see them in all the varied relationshipsof everyday life and thought. Notices of Birth (No. 32) andof Death (No. 35) are intermingled with Marriage-Contracts(Nos. 1, 34) and Deeds of Divorce (No. 16) : the oppressedappeal to the ruling powers for protection (Nos. 10, 29), andthe village 'elders' arrange for dancing-girls to enliven anapproaching festival (No. 45) : the youth who has wasted allhis substance with 'riotous living' (No. 27), and the poorprodigal with his humble confession of sin (No. 37), standbefore us in the flesh : while the mourners ' sorrowing as thosewho have no hope ' (No. 38), and the perplexed and diseasedseeking help in dreams or oracles (Nos. 6, 25, cf. 54) andenchantments (Nos. 46, 47), prove how deep and real werethe needs of those to whom the Gospel was first preached.

8. There may be a temptation perhaps at present, in viewThe of the unusual and romantic character of theRichness of new discoveries, to exaggerate the significance of

the papyri in these and similar directions. Muchrequires still to be done before their exact linguistic andhistorical value can be fully estimated. But there can be nodoubt as to the richness of the field which they present to thestudent alike of religion and of life. And one main object ofthe present volume of Selections will have been fulfilled, ifit succeeds in any measure in arousing a more wide-spreadinterest in the larger collections, and the notable work oftheir first editors and interpreters.

1 Cf. Orr, Neglected Factors in but omits of set purpose ' hominumthe Study of the Early Progress of plebeiorum infinitam illam turbam 'Christianity (London, 1899), p. 95 ff. Jesus and Paul among them!2 Deissmann (ZO.2 p. 217 f.) See also the same -writer's articlesstrikingly recalls the Prosopogra- on ' Primitive Christianity and thephia Imperii Romani which cata- Lower Classes' in Exp. VII vii,logues 8,644 men and women of pp. 97 ff., 208 ff., 35a ft.note during the first three centuries,


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TEXTS, TRANSLATIONSAND NOTESTOIS

pijSXlois crov avro fiovov 7rpdcrex[e] (f)i\o\oyS)V


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For the convenience of the reader, the following Texts are givenin modern form with accentuation and punctuation. Letters insertedwithin square brackets [ ] indicate the Editors' proposed restora-tions for lacunae in the original, and those in round brackets ( ) theresolutions of abbreviations or symbols. Angular brackets < >are used to denote words or phrases that have been accidentallyomitted in the original, double square brackets [[ ]] letters thathave been erased in the original and braces { } a superfluous letteror letters. Dots placed inside brackets [. . .] represent the approxi-mate number of letters that have been lost or erased, and dotsoutside brackets mutilated or illegible letters. A dot under aletter, e.g. a, shows that the letter is uncertain.As regards dating, i/B.C.= lst century B.C., i/A.D. = ist centuryA.D., and i/ii A.D. = a date falling about the end of the ist or thebeginning of the 2nd century A.D.


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i. A MARRIAGE CONTRACTP. Eleph. i. b.c. 311-10.

Discovered at Elephantine, and edited by Rubensohn in theElephantine-Papyri, p. 18 ff.

The following marriage contract from Elephantine isthe oldest specimen of its class that has hitherto been dis-covered (cf. P. Gen. 21 of ii/B.c, as completed by Wilcken,Archiv in, p. 387 ff., and P. Tebt. 104, b.c. 92), and alsothe earliest dated Greek papyrus document that we possess.Rubensohn in his commentary draws special attention to itspure Greek character, as proved by the nationality of the con-tracting parties, and the terms employed, e.g. the ' patriarchal 'part played by the bride's father, and her own repeated desig-nation as iXzvdepa (1. 4 f). Noteworthy too are the stringentprovisions regulating the married life of the pair (11. 6, 8 ff.)which, with faint echoes in the Oxyrhynchus documents, dis-appear from the contracts of the Roman period, to be renewedlater under Christian influences; cf. C. P. R. 30. 20 ff.(vi/A.D.) 7rp6s t


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A MARRIAGE CONTRACT No. i'AXegdvBpov rob 'A\e%dvBpov ftaaikevovTO? erei efiBofim

T\.Tok6fiaiov


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4 A MARRIAGE CONTRACT No. iAktjfiijTpuis Trpdaaovacv e/c re avTov 'HpaxXeiSov /cal rwv

'WpaickeLhov trdvrwv icai iyyaiotv kcu vavriKOiv. 'Hhe cvyypa(pT)

i]Be Kvpia eo-TO) irdvTtjt, Trdvrws a>? etcel rov


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6 EPICURUS TO A CHILD No. 3Kal irairav Kal M.drpeo\p]i irav-ra 7re[i]6t][i, wa7r\ep /ecu e[fi\- IOirpocrdev. ev yap taOi, 77 anla,ore Kal iyoo Kal o[t] \onrolTTcivTe?


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8 POLYCRATES TO HIS FATHER No. 4et? ra Beovra vTreXtirofxriv, rb Be Xonrbv els rb Bdveiov

Kare/3aXov. rovro Be


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No. 4 ISIAS TO HEPHAESTIONThe exact position of the Serapeum recluses is still a matterof discussion amongst scholars. By some they are regardedas a kind of monkish community : by others, as persons whoin special sickness or trouble had sought the aid of the god,and were for the time being ' possessed,' or under his influenceand protection. In any case this letter makes clear that,whatever the nature of the vows they took upon them, thesewere not binding for all time, but lasted only until the Kaxoypihad attained the end they had in view (1. 26). On the wholesubject see Preuschen, Monchtum und Sarapishdt (2 te Aufl.,Giessen, 1903), where the latter of the above-mentioned viewsis strongly supported, and cf. Archiv iv, p. 207. For furtherparticulars regarding the Serapeum see Nos. 5 and 6.'Icria? 'HQcuarriavi root a8e\(f>co[t ^at(/3eti>).el eppco/jbivcoi raWa Kara Xoyovairavrai,, eir\i av to? rols 6eoi


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NO. 4 IS/AS TO HEPHAESTION IIKal roiovrcov Kaip&v < Kal > fi7)6ev o~ov aireaTaXKOTos.en 8e Kal "Clpov rov ttjv eTricrroXrjv Trapa/cc/co- 25p,iKo[ro] irapevpeffiv, ' that noone may be permitted to troubleus or to worry us on any pretextwhatsoever.'


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12 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS No. 5

PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUMTWINSP. Par. 26. B.c. 163-2.

Discovered at Memphis and edited by Brunet de Presle amongthe Paris Papyri, ATo(ices et Extraits XVIII, 2, p. 274 ff. See alsoWitkowski, Frodromus p. 30, for various amended readings.Of the Serapeum documents that have been recovered

(cf. No. 6), the greater number refer to the grievances of twogirls, twins, by name Thaues and Thaus or Taous. Theirstory has been graphically reconstructed by Kenyon {BritishMuseum Papyri 1, p. 2 ff.). Here we can only notice that thetwins acted as attendants in the Serapeum, and were con-sequently entitled to a certain allowance of oil and bread.For some reason this allowance was withheld in B.C. 164-2,and accordingly we find them with the assistance of theirfriend Ptolemy, son of Glaucias, one of the Serapeum recluses,presenting various petitions for the restitution of their rights.Amongst these is the following document, in which, apparentlyfor the third time, they addressed themselves directly to KingPtolemy Philometor and Queen Cleopatra, on the occasion ofa royal visit to Memphis, with the result that, as later reportsprove, the temple officers were at length stirred up to lookinto the matter, and the twins recovered most, if not all, ofwhat was due to them.


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No. 5 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS 1 3Col. I.

TSaaikel UroXefiaLa) teal BaaiXtacrr] KXeoTraTpa rfjdeols , Kal ineBcoKafiev evTev^cv, Trpofapop-evat

p.r) KOfii&crOac 5tt)p KadrjKOvaav rjpuv 8l8ov 8eovT(ov

K T TOV

To King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra the sister, gods Philo-metores, greeting. We, Thaues and Taous, the twin-sisters whominister in the great Serapeum at Memphis, on a former occasionwhen you were in residence at Memphis and had gone up to thetemple to sacrifice petitioned you, and gave in a petition, bringingbefore you our plea that we are not receiving the contribution ofnecessaries which it is fitting should be given to us both from the

t. \eiTovpyov


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14 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS No. 5"Zapcnrteiov teal 'Acrtc\r)Tneiov. Mi%pi Bk rov vvv

ov KeKOfiiafxevat,ckk Tfkrjpovs i)va^Kd


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No. 5 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS 1 5top Be \onrov %povov ovk iêrWecrav. Aio koX

737309 rovfifrifie\r)Ta tov$ ivrevôfievov;,Kdl vfxlv, naff a? iiroeiad' iv Mifx] The word hassponding light thrown on the N.T. apparently the same religious con-usage of the word is discussed. See notation in Prov. xxviii 14: for aalso Deissmann LO? p. 278 ff. corresponding use of the adverb see

iveâviô/iev] lit. 'laid informa- P. Par. 12. 10 (B.C. 157) evXafiustion,' but frequently with the added /./.ov


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16 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS No. 5kcu 'Axofidppr) fxlv t&> iTriaraTrj rov lepov irXeovaKi

Biea-TakfiedadiroBcBovai rj/uv ical to3 via) he tyivraeov? rov

eiriardrov rwvlep&v, avafiavTt, rrpcorjv eh to lepov, 7rpoo-i]\6ofj,ev,

ical irep\ e/cdcTTcov 25fiereScoKafiev. Kat 7rpoa/ca\ead/j,evo


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No. 5 PETITION FROM THE SERAPEUM TWINS i;Kal erepot, twv Ik tov 'AcncXTjTrielovovres 7T/90? xeipia/JLOis, Trap' &v e$oa/xev rcara-yjopiGai. Aeofxeda ovv vfiwv, fiiave%ovaai eXiriSa ttjv v(fi vfiwv iaofii-V7]V avTiXri^riv, diroo-relXai r]p,6iv 40rt]v evrevtjiv eVl Acovvacov rwv cfiiXcovKal arpar^yov, 07r&>? ypdyfrr) 'AttoXXcoi'Imra> i7rt/jieXrjT^, eirCXa(36vTa irap y/ncauttjv ypacprjv rtbv 6(petXo/xeuQ)v ripuvSeovrcov Kal riva irpb


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No. 6 A DREAM FROM THE SERAPEUM 19The Bible student hardly needs to be reminded of the

dreams of Pharaoh (Gen. xli), or, from other localities, of theDivine messages granted, as they slept, to Jacob (Gen. xxviii10 ff.) and to Solomon (1 Kings iii 5 ff.).

(erov;) /eft', Tvfii if3' et


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20 A DREAM FROM THE SERAPEUM No. 6ri ravra Xeyet?; 'E7


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22 LETTER OF APOLLONIUS No. 7AffoWtovioi; TlroXe/xalwirep trarpi ^aipeiv. o/ivv-o top Zapawiv,I fir] /xitcpovTt ivrpeirofiai, ovk av fieI8e$ to irpo-(i>Tr6v p,ov 5jroTTOTe,otl yfrevSfjinrdvTa Kal ol irapa tretfeoi o/xot&)9, oTi ev-fSefSXtjKav vp,d


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No. 7 LETTER OF APOLLONIUS 23o Bf>ave[Tr)'\


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24 LETTER OF APOLLONIUS No. 8On the verso

(in small letters) (in larger letters)7T/D09 toi>? Uro\e[fj,]ai-rrjv a\rj- wl yaipeiv.Oeav XeyovT? alpovfie0a y tealavrol S' v


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26 A PROMISE OF REWARD No. 9

9. A PROMISE OF REWARDP. GOODSPEED 5. ii/B.C.

From Gebelen. Edited by Goodspeed in Greek Papyri from theCairo Museum, p. 9.Goodspeed understands the following note as a promiseon the part of Peteuris to pay his contribution towards the

o-Te'^avov, or present which was made to the King on his ac-cession or some other notable occasion (cf. 1 Mace, x 29 andsee Wilcken Gr. Ostr. 1, p. 295 ff.). But Wilcken {Archiv 11,p. 578 f.) has shown good grounds for believing that it is rathera reward which Peteuris offers to his unnamed correspondentfor assistance in releasing him from some obligation, perhapsmilitary service.

Uapa IleTevpiosSiedivTO? (jlovBia Tr}


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No. 10 PETITION OF A TAX-FARMER 27

10. PETITION OF A TAX-FARMERP. TEBT. 40. B.C. 117.

Discovered at Tebtunis, and edited by Grenfell, Hunt, and Smylyin Tebtunis Papyri I, p. i4off.

A petition from a tax-farmer of Kerkeosiris asking that heshould be placed under the protection of the royal scribe of thevillage. A docket appended to the petition shows that it wasforwarded by the scribe to Menches the komogrammateus withthe request that it should be given effect to. For similaradvantages derived from official 'protection' see P. Tebt. 34(quoted in note on 1. 9); while as showing how even the officialsthemselves had recourse to bribery to secure the goodwill oftheir superiors, it may be noted that this very Menches, ac-cording to P. Tebt. 9, undertook to make certain payments inkind to the village on condition of his reappointment askomogrammateus.

i\(d(3o/iev) 6T0U? vy T)/3i te'.2nd hand 'Afievvel (3a


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28 PETITION OF A TAX-FARMER No. 10K tt)? K(bfJLr)


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No. ii PETITION OF A TAX-FARMER 2gBelv rot? i% apXVS eOiafiofc 206V&)9 Bvvatfiai t Kadi'jKovraairevTaKTeiv. evrvxei.

3rd hand Meyxrji Kco/xo'yp(afj./xaT6i). yevr)07jT(oTwt viroreXel to hiicaiovKara tou? tt)? koo/jli]


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30 PREPARATIONS FOR A ROMAN VISITOR No. u&c, all of which are described by Strabo on the occasion ofhis visit about ioo years later. After the Roman occupationno person of senatorial rank was allowed to set foot in Egyptwithout the express permission of the Emperor (Tac. Ann. ii 59).f Ep/u(ta?) "Clpcoi xaC(peiv). 7-779 737309 ''Ap,aiop.ari /ca[t] rip,9jiKip,vo9 tov 'Apadvoi-

tov) vo(p,ov) 5eVt dewpiav Troiov/ievos p,evfcadrjKovTOiV tottcov ac re avXal Karaa/cevag'-

Hermias to Horus, greeting. Appended is a copy of the letterto Asclepiades. Take care therefore that action is taken inaccordance with it. Goodbye. The 5th year, Xandicus 17,Mecheir 17.To Asclepiades. Lucius Memmius a Roman Senator, whooccupies a position of highest rank and honour, is making the voyagefrom the city as far as the Arsinoite nome to see the sights. Lethim be received with the utmost magnificence, and take care thatat the proper places the guest-chambers be got ready, and the

2. &ko\ov9ci)s] Cf. P. Brit. Mus. which occurs several times in the177. 14 (=11, p. 169) (a.d. 40 1) LXX, is found in the N.T. only ina.Ko\o\jdws rrj tov irarpbs rjfiwi> 5ia- 2 Pet. i 17. The adv. is not in-drixrj. frequent in the inscriptions, e.g.

Sclvt( = S)ikov ktA.] The date O.G.I.S. 513. n (of a priestessshows that by this time the Mace- iii/A.D.) iepaaaiîv-qv ivddûs ko.1donian and Egyptian calendars had /xeyaXoirpewQs.been equated, cf. p. xviii. 8. avXai] apparently ' guest -3f. Pufialos tuv dwb ffWK\rjTov] chambers' (Edd.), a usage whichWith this use of airo, where in clas- supports the N.T. application of the

sical Gk we should expect 4k, cf. word to the house itself, or palace, asAc. xii 1 nvas tCiv airo tt)s 4kk\i)- distinguished from the court, e.g.o-las. Mt. xxvi 3 (as against Meyer ad I.),

6. deuplav] Cf. 3 Mace, v 24, KaTaaKevag-[d]r)q-[o]vTcu] Cf. Heb.Lk. xxiii 48. iii 4. ttSs yhp otKot KaraffKevdêraiHeyaXoTrpeiritjTepov] The adj., vlro Tivos.


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No. ii PREPARATIONS FOR A ROMAN VISITOR 3 1\Q\na\o\vTai Kal al airb tovtcov iy/3a(rr)piat,) e[-]ie[-TT""(rvvT6\a6i]crovTai real avTwi irpo(T- IOevexdrja-ejai itrl Tr)


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32 H1LAR10N TO HIS WIFE AL1S No. 1 2

12. HILARION TO HIS WIFE ALISP. OXY. 744. B.C. I.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchns Papyri iv, p. 243 f. See also Lietzmann, Gr. Papyri,p. 8 f. ; Witkowski, Ep. Gr. Priv. p. 97 f. ; and Deissmann, Licht vomOsten %, p. 109 f. (E. Tr. p. 154 ff.).

A letter from a man, who had gone to Alexandria, to hiswife regarding certain domestic matters.\Xaplwv\a\ "AXiti rrji dBe\(f)f]t rrXeiara %at-peiv Kal Be/JoyTt rfj /cvpia jxov Kal 'AttoXXco-vdpiv. yivcoaKe &>9 ert Kal vvv iv 'AXe^av-Spe(i)a {i)crfxev' fir) ayoovias iav oXax; ela-TropevovTCLi, ijo) iv

,

A\e^avSp^l)a fieva). 5ipwTOi ae Kal irapaKaXSi


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No. 12 HILARION TO HIS WIFE ALIS 330(j]t)l t&5 7rai8l(p /cal iav evdvs oyfroovc-ov Xd/3co/xev airocrreXSi ere avco. iaviroWcnroWcov tc/c?;?, iav r\v apae-vov, a0e9, iav rjv Orfkea, etcfiaXe.elpr\K,a] according to

Witkowski a word of good omen,'quod bene vertat' ; but the meaningis far from clear.

dpaevou] For the form cf. P.Gen. 35. 6 (ii/A.D.) apaevas, andthe derivative in Oslr. 1601 iraidlovdpaeviKov. \VH. read &po-qv (for&pp-qv) throughout in the N.T. : cf.the note on P. Oxy. 37. 7 ( = No. 18).

10. ZxpaXe] The heathen prac-tice of exposing children is rebukedby Justin Apol. i, 27.

11, 12. (JL7) /Me iwiXadys] On ^7}c. aor. subj. ' do not (in future)forget me,' see Moulton Proleg. p.122 f. For i. c. ace. cf. Phil. iii.13-

M.


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34 LETTER FROM ALEXANDRIA No. 13

13. LETTER FROM ALEXANDRIAP. OXY. 294. A.D. 22.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Huntin Oxyrhynchus Papyri II, p. 294 ff.

The writer of this letter, Sarapion, has gone to Alexandriain connexion with some case in which he was interested, buthearing on arrival there that his house has been searched inhis absence, he applies to his brother Dorion for further in-formation. At the same time he takes the opportunity ofsending particulars regarding the case, and concludes with afacetious reference to certain friends.

rO 8ia\oyt,[


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No. 13 LETTER FROM ALEXANDRIA 35Trap e/iov ev avXfj, icai 6 o\1ko a/covaco (pdcr- 15iv nrapa aov rrrepl diravraiv. eyoi Be /3tdo-p,ai vtto cpi\a)[v] yevicrdai oltciafcb? rov dp%t,-o~rdropo$ 'KrroWoiviov e'iva o~vv avroo eirl St-aXoyicfibv e\[6](o. [6] fiev rjyov/u,evo


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No. 14 A LETTER OF COMMENDATION 37

14. A LETTER OF COMMENDATIONP. OXY. 292. C. A.D. 25.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Huntin Oxyrhynchus Papyri II, p. 292.

Theon recommends his brother Heraclides to the notice ofTyrannus. For a somewhat similar imo-ToXrj o-vcrTaTiKr) (cf.2 Cor. iii 1) see P. Goodspeed 4 (= No. 8).

%66v Bid ypairrov dv7]yel\a6ai

Theon to his most esteemed Tyrannus, heartiest greetings.Heraclides, the bearer of this letter to you, is my brother. There-fore I beg you with all my power to hold him as one recommendedto you. I have also asked Hermias my brother in writing to

I. TupiWwi] From the verso(cf. P. Oxy. 291) we learn thatTyrannus (cf. Ac. xix 9) occupiedthe position of dioa


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33 A LETTER OF COMMENDATION No. iscot irepl tovtov. yapUcrcu, hk fioi rd fxiyca-Taidv (Tov rfj


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LETTER TO A MAN IN MONEY-DIFFICULTIES 39some way (cf. 1. i f. 'Up. tw ^crepo)), writes advising him to dohis utmost to win over Ptollarion, lest he should be driven outof house and home. In any case he bids him ' beware of theJews' (1. 24 ff.), apparently in their character of money-lenders.

%apairiuiv 'Hpa/cXciSy ru>rj/jLerepa) ya(ipeiv). "Evre/xi/ra aoi>ciWas Svo irm


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40 LETTER TO A MAN IN MONEY-DIFFICULTIES

25

rh. v 'Iov-8aia>v, "MdWov aKoXovdco"avT


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LETTER TO A MAN IN MONEY-DIFFICULTIES 41("Etou?) a Tifteptov KXavSiov Kai


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44 CENSUS RETURN No. 17

17. CENSUS RETURNP. OXV. 255. A.D. 48.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchus Papyri II, p. 215 f.

Few official documents amongst the papyri have awakenedgreater interest than the census returns or house-to-houseenrolments (koj o\kIo.v aVoypa


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No. 17 CENSUS RETURN 47Kvpiov rov a[vro]v ' A.7ro\\o>(vlov) 6fivvo>[T]i/3epiov KXavBiov Kaiaapa ZefilaarbpTepfiaviKov KvroKparopa el pLrjv 1 5[e] [v]rjv roov Trap e/iol [o]lkovv[toov,real fJL7}heva erepov otK^e/iv irap' ifiolfirjre eV[t]|[evoi/ pr/jre 'A\l;av8(pia) 20urjSe airekevdepov /x?;Te 'Vwp,av(pv)p,rj8e Al) rwv rrpo-Ti] to be so restored,p. 46, Thackeray Gramm. I, pp. 54, rather than the Editors' iir]iopKovvTi,83 f. in accordance with the aspirated form

20. iiri^evov] This rare word is generally found in the papyri, e.g. P.found in an ostracon-receipt of Oxy. 240. 8, P. Flor. 79. 26 (bothA.D. 3233 for the tax (tAoj eiri- i/A.D.). The verb (unaspirated) oc-tyvov) which strangers had to pay curs in Mt. v 33 (LXX).


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48 REPORT OF A LAWSUIT No. 18

18. REPORT OF A LAWSUITP. OXY. 37. A.D. 49.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchus Papyri I, p. 79 ff. See also Lietzmann, Gr. Papyrip. 4 f.

The official report of the proceedings instituted by Pesourisagainst a nurse Saraeus for the recovery of a male foundling,Heraclas, whom he had entrusted to her care. For the defenceit is urged that the foundling had died, and that the childwhom Pesouris was seeking to carry off was Saraeus' own.This plea the strategus sustained on the ground of thelikeness of the living child to Saraeus, and accordingly gavejudgment that she should get back her child, on refunding thewages she had received as nurse.

Col. I.

'E v-rro/j,[v"\'r]fiariafi(av Tt[/3ept'o]u K\av$[io]v TLa(ria>vo


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50 REPORT OF A LAWSUIT No. 18ivai. Xi/jLavxov/Jj^ l'[]v rv tr


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No. 1 8 REPORT OF A LAWSUIT 51

Col. IIt[St]oi> fiov retcvov airocnracrai" Seoyv*" Tpa.fifia.Ta tov acofiaTiov %ofj.V."o a-rpaTTjyo'i' " 'E7ret etc rf)li-] The corre-sponding subst. is very frequent notonly in the more technical sense of'bond,' 'certificate of debt,' butmore generally of any written ob-ligation or agreementa point whichshould be kept in view in determin-ing its meaning in Col. ii 14.

8. airodovuav kt\.~\ The referencemay be not to the whole of the wagesreceived, but only to what remainedover after the foundling's death(Lietzmann).

4-3


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52 PETITION TO THE PREFECT No. 19

19. PETITION TO THE PREFECTP. OXY. 38. A.D. 49SO.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchus Papyri I, p. 81 f. See also Lietzmann, Gr. Papyri,p. 6.

This document deals with the same circumstances as thepreceding. Pesouris, or, as he is here called, Syrus, hadapparently not complied with the judgment there recorded,and accordingly the husband of Saraeus petitioned the Prefectto aid him in the recovery of his rights.

For similar petitions addressed directly to the Prefect seeP. Brit. Mus. 177 (=11, p. 167 ff.) (a.d. 4041) and B. G. U.113, 114 (both ii/A.D.).Yvaiwi Ovep]] ,irapa Tpurjbeoz/o? Aiovvcrlov TOiv air 'O^upvy-ywv 7ro\ew?. Xvpos "Xvpov evej^eipiaevrf) yvvai/d fjuov Xapaevrc 'Atticovo? tgh ' (erei)Tifieplov KXavBlov Kal


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No. 20 CONTRACT OF APPRENTICESHIP 55cataract and shortness of sight ' (u7ro(Ke)^w/i,eVos oXtyov /SXeiro/v,P. Oxy. 39. 9), he arranged to apprentice him for one year withanother weaver, named Ptolemaeus, upon certain conditionsthat are fully stated in the document before us. For similaragreements cf. P. Oxy. 724 (a.d. 155), 725 (a.d. 183).

'O[ix\o\\\oyovcnv d\A.?;[A.](H


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56 CONTRACT OF APPRENTICESHIP No. 20yepBiaicrjv ri^vrjv rrdcrav a>? Kal avrb?e7rLara(ra)c, rov 7rai8o


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No. 20 CONTRACT OF APPRENTICESHIP $7taas avrov irape^erai [fie\ra rov %P~vov rj u\7ro]reiadT(o eKao~\r\ri] Cf. P. Gen. 20.

clttoSSto}, and implying repayment 15 (ii/l3.C.) irpoaairoTLtjdTu iiriTLp.ovby way of punishment or fine (cf. irapaxpvfJ-o. kt\.Gradenwitz Eittfuhrung, p. 85, 32. eoxos kt\.~\ an apt parallelnote 4), a fact which lends addi- to Mt. v. 22 Z. ry Kplvei, whichtional emphasis to its use by S. Paul Wellhausen [Einl. p. 33 f.) regardsin Philem. 19. as ' ungiiechisch.'


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58 CONTRACT OF APPRENTICESHIP No. 21

V7rep avrov /xtj ISotos ypd/xfjuaTa.erovs TpHTtcatSetcdTovNeo&wo? KXavhlov Kaicrapo*; 45"XefiacrTOv Tepp,aviKovAvTO/cpdrolpo]?, p,r](v6


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dcnraa-at tou9 govs Travras.

LETTER REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF DRUGS 59KlvSvUb) TO KOXOV 7T0)-\rjo~ai\o


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LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE TO A DILATORY SON 6 1re dvTeypaylras ovre IOijXOas, /cat vvv, alavfirj e\0ys, KivScvev-(w ifcarfjvai ov e%&>[K\if\pov.

fO fcoivoivb? f}-(Awv ov avvrfpydaa- 15to, a\X ovBe (jltjv tovSpevfia avetyrjGvii,aXkw; re ical 6 vSpa-ywyos o~vve,)(oiO~6ri v-irb tt)? dfifjbov /ecu to 20KTrffxa dyeojpyriTovicrTiv. OvBels Tuiv yecop-rywv rjdekrjaev yewp-yelv avTO, [iovov Sta-

regarding the..., and you neither answered nor came, and now,if you do not come, I run the risk of losing the lot (of land) whichI possess. Our partner has taken no share in the work, for notonly was the well not cleaned out, but in addition the water-channel was choked with sand, and the whole land is untilled.No tenant was willing to work it, only I continue paying the

14. [xXi'^poi/] as restored by y^avvoydov koI an/xov ' for the diggingViereck for the Editors' [Kai]pov. of earth and porous clay and sand.'koivui>6s] Cf. Lk. v 10, Heb. x 33. 21. kttuxcl] ' land,' ' field,' as in17. CSpei'Aia] This rare word is Prov. xxiii 10: cf. also Ac. ii 45,found in Th. Jer. xxxix (xlvi) 10. where KTrifxara are apparently to beiveipriodt)] C . P. Brit. Mus. 131. understood in the same sense, as

631 ( = 1, p. 188) (a.d. 78-9) dva- distinguished from the vaguer virdp-\iaDir[] to 2vb~ov


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62 LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE TO A DILATORY SONypdtpco ra Brj/xoaia 25firjSev avvKOfii^ofie-vo


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LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE TO A DILATORY SON 63KTopes, dWd icai vvv irefi- 40yfrov avrfj. 'TZppwcrdat


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04 AN INVITATION TO A FESTIVAL No. 23KaXw? 7roiijcrei


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No. 24 GEMELLUS TO EPAGAT1IUS 65

24. GEMELLUS TO EPAGATHUSP. Fay. hi. a.d. 95-6.

From the Fayum. Edited by Grenfell and Hunt in Fayilm Townsand (heir Papyri, p. 265 f.

One of a family budget of fourteen letters which were dis-covered by Drs Grenfell and Hunt in a house at Kasr el Banat,a village in the Fayum. They are for the most part addressedby the head of the family, a certain Lucius Bellenus Gemellus,to his son Sabinus or to Epagathus, perhaps his nephew, whoseem to have managed his affairs for him. The letters extendover sixteen years, and the latest, written by Gemellus whenhe was seventy-seven years old, bears traces of his advancingage in the ' shaky and illegible ' character of the handwriting.The general impression the Editors have formed of thecharacter of Gemellus, as they tell us in their delightful in-troduction to the letters (Faytim Papyri p. 261 ff.), is that 'ofa shrewd old man of business, somewhat wilful and exacting,but of a kind and generous disposition.' The following letter,the earliest in the series written by Gemellus' own hand, provesthat he was no great scholar, his spelling in particular oftenleaving much to be desired.

m. 5


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66 GEMELLUS TO EPAGATHUS No. HAov/ci[o


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No. 24 GEMELLUS TO EPAGA THUS 6"JXcorivov (dprd/3a? edv fiXe-7777? \r]r)v rifirjv irdv-to? djopaaov Ta? rov XotIvov(dprdfias) ', [a\vav/caiv r)yrjaa[


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68 GEMELLUS TO EPAGA THUS No. 25eppwao. (erovsi) le AvTorcpdroposKalaapos Aofiiriavov SeySao-jYoOTeppMVLKov, fiijvbs Tepp.avuc( ) 30

l .On the verso'Rirayaddyi t]g3i ISCeoi

airb Aoviclov BeXX?;i;]ou Fe/jiiXKov.The 15th year of the Emperor Caesar Domitianus Augustus Ger-manicus, the 15th of the month Germanic...

(Addressed) To his own Epagathus from Lucius BellenusGemellus.30. TepnaviKl )] either Tepfj.a- i.e. Pachon (Edd.): see further

iiv(oG), i.e. Thoth, or Tepfuu>ui(tiou), p. xviii.

25. QUESTION TO THE ORACLEP. Fay. 137. i/a.d.

From the temple of Bacchias in the Fayfim. Edited by Grenfelland Hunt in Fayum Towns and their Papyri, p. 292 f.

The practice of consulting the local oracle in times ofdifficulty seems to have been widely extended, and wasdoubtless encouraged by the priests as a fruitful source ofgain. Both the following document and P. Fay. 138 wereactually found within the temple of Bacchias, which leadsWilcken (Archiv 1, p. 553) to recall the interesting notice byAmmian. Marcell. xix 12 of the oracle of Besa in Abydos(c. a.d. 359) : chartulae sen membranae, continenies quae pete-bantur, post data quoque responsa interdum remanebant in fano.

For similar questions or petitions see B. G. U. 229, 230,P. Oxy. 923 (all ii/iii a.d.), also the interesting Christiancounterpart, P. Oxy. 925 (= No. 54).


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No. 26 QUESTION TO THE ORACLE 6%0K(0vva>K0vvi 6ecoi fJ,e(yd)\o jieyd-Xcoi. xprj/ActTMrov fioi, 17 /xelvcot

aviv ; Tovrcot i/xol ^prj/jidricrov.To Sokanobkoneus the great, great god. Answer me, Shall

remain in Bacchias ? Shall I meet (him) ? Answer me this.1. 2okwvvukoi>v7 kt\.] = ZoffacojS-

Kovel 6e(fi ixty&Xtf), the local deityof Bacchias. For /j.ey. ney.t=ixey-iirrov, see Moulton, Prohg. p. 97.

2. xPWrt


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70 LETTER DESCRIBING A JOURNEY UP THE NILEfxevcov, cva ras ^e[t]/J07r[ot]7;[Tou? re-"]%ra


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No. 27 COPY OF A PUBLIC NOTICE 71

27. COPY OF A PUBLIC NOTICEP. Flor. 99. i/ii a.d.

From Hermopolis Magna. Edited by Vitelli in Papiri FiorentiniI, p. 188 (., cf. p. xvi.

The copy of a public notice which the parents of a prodigalyouth requested the strategus of the Hermopolite nome to setup, to the effect that they will no longer be responsible fortheir son's debts.

['Xv\rit ical UpaKXeiSrji cnpaTrj


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72 COPY OF A PUBLIC NOTICE No. 28ra avrov Travra teal eVt ra rjiiwv fieraftas /3oy-Xerat airo\e


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ORDER TO RETURN HOME FOR THE CENSUS 73a.d. 103-4 (cf. No. 17 intr.). The document thus presents aninteresting analogy to Luke ii 1-4, and confirms the fact thatHerod, when he issued his command, was acting under Romanorders (cf. Ramsay, Luke the Physician, p. 244).Along with the reference to the census the Prefect takesthe opportunity of reminding the absentees of a certainAeiTovpyttt, which as other edicts (e.g. B. G. U. 159, P. Gen. 16,P. Fay. 24) show, was sometimes evaded by leaving home(11. 26, 27).

T[ato9 OvC]/3io[Al


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74 PETITION REGARDING A ROBBERY No. 29

29. PETITION REGARDING AROBBERYB. G. U. 22. A.D. 114.

Edited by Krebs in the Berliner Gricchische Urkunden 1, p. 36.See also Erman and Krebs, p. 137 f.A petition by a woman to the Strategus, bringing a charge

of assault and robbery against another woman, and askingthat justice should be done.!Lapa\TrLwvi ) 'ApaiiyoLrov) 'H/ja/c(\etSoy)

/ue(/3tSo?)

irapa TapfiovOios rf)


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No. 29 PETITION REGARDING A ROBBERYvovti/to?, Kal 9c-

7$10

15

20

25senouphis, the wife of Ammonius, also called Phimon, elder ofthe village of Bacchias, although she had absolutely no groundof complaint against me, came into my house and picked asenseless quarrel against me. Not only did she strip off mytunic and mantle, but also robbed me in the quarrel of the sumwhich I had lying by me from the price of the vegetables I hadsold, namely 16 drachmas. And on the 5th of the same monththere came this woman's husband Ammonius, also called Phimon,

11. rod Kai] Cf. Ac. xiii 9, andsee Deissmann BS. p. 313 ff.irpecrfivripov] a communal office,the men so designated being gener-

ally responsible for the peace andorder of the village. Their numbervaried, and as they do not seem tohave been entitled to a sum of morethan from 400800 drachmas invirtue of their office, their positioncannot have been one of greatimportance : cf. Milne Hist. p. 7,and see further B.G.U. 16. 6(= No. 33).

13. iirekdovaa vTT)volida( = lav)']For iwe\0ov(Ta cf. Lk. xi 22 (iirekOwvVLKriar) avrbv), and for the late useof iv the note on P. Oxy. 294. 4( = No. 13).

14. &\oyov kt\.] Cf. P. Brit.Mus. 342. 6 ( = 11, p. 174) (ii/A.D.)aXoyov arjdiav uvveuT-qaavro, and P.Tebt. 304. 9 (ii/A.D.) g.t)t{ = S)tavffv rj^av ' they picked a quarrel '(Edd.), and see further the note onP. Brit. Mus. 42. 14 (= No. 4).

18. AireviyKaTo] Cf. Mk xv 1.


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76 PETITION REGARDING A ROBBERY No. 29/jicov, et


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No. 30 WILL OF THAESIS 77

30. WILL OF THAESISP. TEBT. 381. A.D. 123.

Edited by Grenfell, Hunt and Goodspeed in Tebtunis Papyri 11,p. 227 f.Will of Thaesis, in which she bequeaths all her property,

with a nominal exception (cf. 1. 15), to her daughter,Thenpetesuchus, on condition that she makes her funeralarrangements and discharges her private debts.As is generally the case with wills, the writing is across thefibres of the papyrus, and consequently the lines are of greatlength : cf. P. Oxy. 105."Etow oySoov AvTOfepdropos Kalcrapo


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78 WILL OF THAESIS No. 30avvKeywp^Kkvai tt)v ofioXoyovaav %afjcnv fxerd rrjv

eavrrj


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No. 30 WILL OF THAESIS 79%kvai apyvpiov hpa^jxa


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SO A REGISTER OF PAUPERS No. 31

31. A REGISTER OF PAUPERSP. Brit. Mus. 911. a.d. 149.

Edited by Kenyon and Bell in British Museum Papyri in,p. 126 f.

The existence of a poor-rate (/Aepioyxos diropw) in RomanEgypt, by means of which the well-to-do contributed to therelief of those lacking means, conjectured by Wilcken {Gr.Ostr.

1, p. 161) on the evidence of an ostracon of a.d. 143, hasnow been strikingly confirmed by the discovery of the followingdocument. It is the copy, unfortunately much mutilated, ofan official list of persons, described as airopoi and presumablyentitled to relief, amongst whom the only name preserved isthat of a certain Petesorapis.

avTtypaov


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32 NOTICE OF BIRTH No. 32afupoSov 'JLpfiovOiaKrjs. airoypacpo/xedatop yevvqOevTa rjfieiv ef aWrfKwv vlbvy

\cr^ypa\y] koX ovra els to eVeo-ros 18' (7-0?) \Apt-veivo(v) IOKa[t]cra/J05 rov Kvplov (jsrovi) a' Sid Trto'iS(o/j,[i] to

t^5 i"7riyev7Jo-G)


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No. 33 COMPLAINT AGAINST A PRIEST 83

33. COMPLAINT AGAINST A PRIESTB. G. U. 16. A.D, 159160.

From the Faiyum. Edited by Wilcken in the Berti/zer GriechischeUrktmden 1, p. 27; cf. Erman and Krebs, p. 185.The following Report has reference to an inquiry which the

five presbyter-priests of the Socnopaeus temple had beenordered to make into the conduct of a brother-priest Pane-phremmis, who was charged with letting his hair grow toolong, and with wearing woollen garments. Unfortunately thepapyrus breaks off without our learning the result of theinvestigation.

S\y\riyp{a^>ov). 'lipatct arp(aTt]


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84 COMPLAINT AGAINST A PRIEST No. 5ietv e^eraaiv eto"o9 rrj


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No. 34 A MARRIAGE CONTRACT 85

34. A MARRIAGE CONTRACTP. OXY. 905. A.D. 170.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchus Papyri VI, p. 243 ff.A contract of marriage between Apollonius, son of

Heracles, and Thatres, daughter of Menodorus, inhabitants ofthe Oxyrhynchite village Psobthis. The contract, as generallyin the case of similar Oxyrhynchus documents, is in the formof a protocol, and includes the ordinary provisions with regardto the maintenance of the wife, and the return of her dowry inthe event of a separation, though the mention of the bride-groom's father, as a consenting party (1. 1 7 ff.), is unusual.The differences of formula from the Elephantine contract (No.1) will be at once remarked.[ ' 'AvT(ovi]vou teal Qavo-reivas Hefiaarwv.[igeBoTo Mr)v68copo]


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No. 34 A MARRIAGE CONTRACT *7[lev afi[a] t[tj a7r]a\\ayy rrjv 8[e] (pepvrjv iv rffiepai*;

Kovra a[' ffc i[dv r) d]ira\\ayrj yevqrai, rfj


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1)< 181192.

Discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and edited by Grenfell and Hunt inOxyrhynchus Papyri 1, p. 142 f.To ensure the proper keeping of the census-returns it was

customary to make official notice of all cases of death, that thenames of the deceased persons might be struck off the lists.The earliest of these certificates that has been recoveredis P. Brit. Mus. 281 (=11, p. 65 f.) belonging to the yeara.d. 66, where a priest's death is notified to the ^'yoi^e'voisU[pe


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No. 35 NOTICE OF DEATH 89vo p,ov vl09 TlavextoTt]*; 5K[e]0aX,a[TO?] rov AeovraTOSfi7]rpo09 a.7ro TJ79 at"(T^?)Xi


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9^ A SOLDIER TO HIS FATHER No. 36"Eire/A-tyd


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No. 37 LETTER OF A PRODIGAL SON 9$

37. LETTER OF A PRODIGAL SONB. G. U. 846. ii/A.D.

From the Fayum. Edited by Krebs in Berliner Griechische UrkunJenill, p. 170 f., cf. ibid. Berichtigungen, p. 6, for various emendations bySchubart. See also Deissmann, Licht vom Ostetr, p. 128 ff. (E. Tr.p. i76ff.).

A son writes to tell his mother of the pitiful state into whichhe has fallen. He is ashamed to come home, but he does notforget her in his prayers, and if he had only dared to hope thatshe would actually seek him in the metropolis, he would havemet her there. As it is, he begs her forgiveness, and at thesame time inveighs against a certain acquaintance, Postumus,who had met her on her way home from Arsinoe, and retailedthe whole sad story. The letter is very illiterate, and thoughunfortunately the concluding lines are much mutilated, like therest they testify to the depth of the writer's emotion.

'Avtgovi? Aowyos NetXouTi[r]fj /xrjrpl 7t[\]lo-t(i yalpetv. Kal St-

a irdvTo>\v\ evôâl aai vyeiaiveiv. To Trpocncvvt)-fid crov [7roi]c3 kclt alfcdcTTTjv rj/xaipav irapa ra>Kvp'up [XepjaireiSei. TeivoocrtceiP aat dekco, 6- 5Tb ov% \rfkTr\Lôv, on dvafievis et? ttjv /xijrpo-

Antoni(u)s Longus to Nilous his mother many greetings. Con-tinually I pray for your health. Supplication on your behalf Idirect each day to the lord Serapis. I wish you to know thatI had no hope that you would come up to the metropolis. On this

6. [rj\Tr]iov] For the aspiration 35 DP) and e


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No. 38 LETTER OF A PRODIGAL SON 956* yvovvai, o7T


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/> a']= October 28.the deceased. The word occurs in


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9 EXTRACTS FROM A DIPLOMA OF CLUB MEMBERSHIP

40. EXTRACTS FROM A DIPLOMAOF CLUB MEMBERSHIPP. Brit. Mus. 1178. a.d. 194.

Edited by Kenyon and Bell in British Museum Papyri III,p. 114 ft".The following extracts are taken from a diploma of mem-

bership granted to the boxer Herminus by the WorshipfulGymnastic Club of Nomads, and consist of (1) a letter fromthe Emperor Claudius to the Club acknowledging the

'

goldencrown' which they had sent him on the occasion of hisvictorious campaign in Britain (11. 8 15), and (2) the formalnotification to the members of the Club of the admission ofHerminus on his payment of the statutory fee (11. 3744)-

The whole document, whose 'unique' character is em-phasized by the Editors, is dated at Naples in Italy at the49th performance of the Augustan games, 22nd Sept. a.d. 194,and is signed in various hands by most of the Club officials.Ti(3epio


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EXTRACTS FROM A DIPLOMA OF CLUB MEMBERSHIP 99Top 7T/A[


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IOO EXTRACTS FROM A DIPLOMA OF CLUB MEMBERSHIP['Epfio7ro\elTriv tzv\kt7]v a>? ctwv real diroheBcoKora

to Karatop vop\pv iv^Tayiov trav eV irXrjpov


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No. 41 LETTER FROM ROME IOI[Elprjvalo? W.ttoXi-[vaptcot, r\m a8e[\](f>[


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No. 43 A BOY'S LETTER I03T eaov et9 'AXegavSplav, ov pi) ypdfo, ae e-TTUTTOXIJV, OVT \ct\w


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106 LETTER OF APION No. 4+

44. LETTER OF APIONP. Tebt. 421. iii/A.D.

Edited by Grenfell, Hunt, and Goodspeed in Tebtunis Papyri II,p. 298.

An urgent letter addressed to a certain Didymus informinghim that his sister is ill. and bidding him come at once.

'Attlcov AiBvfio) %a(,piv. iravrav7rpdifievo


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Ne.

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Selections From the Greek Papyri, Milligan, 1910

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