20 th -Century Discoveries of New Testament Apocrypha Manuscripts

1. 20th-Century Discoveries of New Testament Apocrypha Manuscripts

2. Oxyrhynchus, Egypt (1897–1903) • Known in the Dynastic period as Per-medjed, Oxyrhynchus rose to prominence under Egypt’s Hellenistic and Roman rulers. • It was a prosperous regional capital, reckoned the third city of Egypt, and home town of the sophist Athenaeus. • In later antiquity it was famous for its many churches and monasteries. • Archeological excavations on the site of an ancient library there eventually recovered over 5000 fragments of ancient Greek texts once present in the library

3. Nag Hammadi, Egypt (1945) • The Nag Hammadi Library was discovered at the foot of the cliffs called Jabal al-Tarif, near the hamlet Hamrah Dum. • Not far away from the site there lie remnants of Christian monasteries founded by St.Pachomius (A.D.292–346).

4. I.(The Jung Codex) • 1. The Prayer of the Apostle Paul • 2. The Apocryphon of James • 3. The Gospel of Truth (1st copy) • 4. The Treatise on the Resurrection • 5. The Tripartite Tractate

5. II. • 1. The Apocryphon of John (1st copy -- long version) • 2. The Gospel of Thomas • 3. The Gospel of Philip • 4. The Hypostasis of the Archons • 5. On the Origin of the World (1st copy) • 6. The Exegesis on the Soul • 7. The Book of Thomas the Contender

6. III. • 1. The Apocryphon of John (2nd copy -- translation 1 of short version) • 2. The Gospel of the Egyptians (1st copy -- translation 1) • 3. Eugnostos the Blessed (1st copy) • 4. The Sophia of Jesus Christ (1st copy) • 5. The Dialogue of the Saviour

7. IV. • 1. The Apocryphon of John (3rd copy -- long version. Copy of same Coptic translation as II.1) • 2. The Gospel of the Egyptians (2nd copy-- translation 2)

8. V. • 1. Eugnostos the Blessed (2nd copy) • 2. The Apocalypse of Paul • 3. The (First) Apocalypse of James • 4. The (Second) Apocalypse of James • 5. The Apocalypse of Adam

9. VI. • 1. The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles • 2. The Thunder: Perfect Mind • 3. Authoritative Teaching • 4. The Concept of Our Great Power • 5. Plato, Republic 588a-589b • 6. The Discourse on the Eight and Ninth • 7. The Prayer of Thanksgiving • 7a. Scribal Note • 8. Asclepius 21-29

10. VII. • 1. The Paraphrase of Shem • 2. The Second Treatise of the Great Seth • 3. Apocalypse of Peter • 4. The Teachings of Silvanus • 5. The Three Steles of Seth

11. VIII. • 1. Zostrianos • 2. The Letter of Peter to Philip

12. IX–X. • IX. • 1. Melchizedek • 2. The Thought of Norea • 3. The Testimony of Truth • X. Marsanes

13. XI. • 1. The Interpretation of Knowledge • 2. A Valentinian Exposition: • 2a. On the Anointing • 2b. On Baptism • A2c. On Baptism • B2d. On the Eucharist • A2e. On the Eucharist • B3. Allogenes • 4. Hypsiphrone

14. XII. (Mostly burned) • 1. The Sentences of Sextus (10 pages only of about 39 originally). • 2. The Gospel of Truth (2nd copy) • 3. Fragments

15. XIII. • 1. Trimorphic Protennoia • 2. On the Origin of the World (2nd copy) • This 'codex' consists of only 8 leaves, removed from some volume in antiquity and tucked inside the front cover of codex VI. Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 (BG), Early 5th century • 1. The Gospel of Mary • 2. The Apocryphon of John (4th copy -- translation 2 of short version) • 3. The Sophia of Jesus Christ (2nd copy) • 4. The Acts of Peter

16. Related Discoveries: The Dead Sea Scrolls (1947ff) • The Dead Sea is located in Israel and Jordan, about 15 mi. E of Jerusalem • The site eventually produced thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves • An additional discovery was the Qumran ruin, a complex of structures located on a barren terrace between the cliffs where the caves are found and the Dead Sea. • The scrolls and the Qumran ruin date from the third century B.C.E. to 68 C.E. • The scrolls are older than any other surviving biblical manuscripts by almost 1,000 years