Online Journal Article: "THE CURIOUS CASE OF P72 : WHAT AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT CAN TELL US ABOUT THE EPISTLES OF PETER AND JUDE"JETS 60/4 (2017): 781–91

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https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-4/JETS_60_4_781-791_Strickland.pdf

From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)

JETS 60/4 (2017): 781–91
THE CURIOUS CASE OF P72
: WHAT AN ANCIENT MANUSCRIPT CAN TELL US
ABOUT THE EPISTLES OF PETER AND JUDE
By PHILLIP DAVID STRICKLAND
Abstract: This paper takes a different line of approach in exploring the canonical journeys of
the epistles of Peter and Jude. Going beyond discussions of patristic witnesses, which tends to be
the focus of commentaries, this study instead seeks to discover what an ancient manuscript can
tell us about how these NT letters were received and used by early Christians. The focus of this
study is Papyrus 72, which is the earliest extant copy of the letters of Peter and Jude in Greek.
Instead of looking solely or even primarily at the text-critical issues associated with this manuscript, however, this study instead takes an artifactual approach by interpreting the manuscript
artifact through the lens of its own social and literary contexts, as well as the context of its discovery, in order to understand how 1–2 Peter and Jude might have been significant for the
Coptic Christian community to whom this papyrus belonged. The study argues that, in a social
context where there was sharp disagreement over what represented authentic Petrine teaching,
1–2 Peter and Jude were viewed by this proto-orthodox Coptic community as consisting of the
authentic and authoritative Petrine tradition.
Key words: papyrology, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, Egyptian Christianity, New Testament canon, Nag Hammad