6

In 1905, E.W. Bullinger said that portions of Matthew 28:19 are not found in all Greek manuscripts. Is it true that there is no surviving copy of Matthew 28 before the 3rd century? Was this ending added later?

  1. Are there surviving copies of Matthew 28 before 3rd century?
  2. If not why?
user4951
  • 2,613
  • 7
  • 35
  • 55

2 Answers2

13

The oldest surviving copies of the New Testament date to the 4th century, after Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Of all the manuscripts made prior to that, only fragments survive.

For the Gospel of Matthew, the oldest surviving fragments are Papyrus 77, containing part of Matthew 23; Papyrus 103, parts of Matthew 13 and 14 (and possibly from the same maunscript as Papyrus 77); Papyrus 104, part of Matthew 21; and the Magdalen Papyrus (formerly identified as P64 and P67), a couple verses from Matthew 3.

The 4th century complete manuscripts (Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) contain Matthew 28 but do not contain Mark 16:9-20.

So although it's true that we have no surviving evidence of Matthew 28 from prior to the 3rd century, we also have no evidence of it being omitted.

Bruce Alderman
  • 7,334
  • 9
  • 35
  • 60
  • Why very few of of Matthew gospel survive? If so, how do we know that matthew is written before 3rd century? – user4951 Jan 09 '14 at 17:57
  • 3
    @JimThio Very few copies of any ancient biblical text come from before the third century. The earliest copy of the gospel of John comes from about 125 AD, and it's just a fragment of the whole book. But no one thinks that means only that section of text was written before the third century. I suggest you find a book on the subject of manuscript transmission, because it's such a basic part of biblical studies and it appears you're not aware of how it happens. –  Jan 09 '14 at 18:05
  • @JimThio Before Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the 4th century, Christians did not have the resources to make durable copies of their sacred writings. Early manuscripts were written on papyrus, a thin paper-like substance that is not made to last 2000 years. After Constantine's conversion, the church was able to afford parchment (calfskin) which is much more durable. – Bruce Alderman Jan 09 '14 at 18:17
  • @JimThio Regarding how we know when the gospels were written, there was an explosion of Christian writings shortly after the time of the New Testament. Many of these writings quote from the gospels (especially Matthew). Many of them also quote each other. By looking at who quotes what, we can get an idea of the approximate latest date each one could have been written. For Matthew, it's the late part of the first century. – Bruce Alderman Jan 09 '14 at 18:19
  • 4
    The DSS survived as well as they did because they were kept in very ideal conditions for preservation: in dry air, in dark caves, inside of jars. They are still very damaged simply from the aging process, but the fact that they weren't being used allowed for their safety. –  Jan 09 '14 at 19:30
  • 2
    @MarkEdward Yes, that's a big factor. The Nag Hammadi library (papyrus codices) was preserved in similar conditions. – Bruce Alderman Jan 09 '14 at 19:35
1

Jerome and a couple other early "church fathers" of the 2nd to 3rd centuries are accounted as remarking that Matthew was originally written in Hebrew and later translated to Greek. Copies of Hebrew Matthew exist that appear to be from original Hebrew unlike others that were translated from Greek or Aramaic into Hebrew. Shem Tov's Matthew is one of the former. In George Howard's book, The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, the end of Matthew 28 (verses18-20) in the English translation says, "Jesus drew near to them and said to them: 'To me has been given all power in heaven and [on] earth. Go and (teach) then to carry out all things which I have commanded you forever.'" Therefor, there is evidence of the omission of the great commission, albeit from a copy used in Medieval times. Still, the fact of omission in the Greek codices bolsters this possibility.

Sven
  • 11
  • 2