Subject: tc-list FW: RE: p44 in John

From: Curt Niccum <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997 10:45:50 -0500

Dear TC-list,

The following is a brief correspondence between myself and D.C. Parker
which we both agreed might be of some benefit to the list as a whole.

Professor Parker,

Sorry to bother you, but I would appreciate a very quick clarification
concerning the information you offered the tc-list about p44 in John
(which also remains ambiguous in the INTGP John volume). Clearly there
are two different "hands." Are these two different manuscripts? Common
sense and the designation of "twnety-three papyri" in the introduction
(along with a quick perusal of the plates) would suggest that that is
the case, although I have run across a couple of manuscripts (admittedly
Ethiopic ones) that have had small sections of text entered by a
different hand. Is there any codicological evidence suggesting two
separate manuscripts or was the term "hands" used to be purposefully
ambiguous?

Respectfully yours,

Curt Niccum

Dear Dr Niccum

Thank you for asking.  It's an interesting point, and one which occurred
to me again this morning.  Since P44A has a bit of text in between the
two parts of P44B, it seems unlikely that they could be from the same
MS.  I don't recall whether we used the language we did intentionally,
except that the evidence is palaeographical and not codicological.
There just is no evidence about the MS(S) from which these tiny
fragments come.  But it's worth adding that the Inventory Number of P44
also includes yet a third piece, an unidentified text, which as I recall
thinking is in a third hand again.  This suggests that a handful of bits
were put together .  Aland in the Repertorium calls it '2 foll einer
Lektionarkodex', but I don't know why.
That really is all that I can recall about it.  I'd be glad to know of
any further thoughts that you may have.  Do you have a particular
interest in these papyri?
Perhaps we should forward these letters to the tc-list?
With best wishes
David Parker
DC PARKER
DEPT OF THEOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
TEL. 0121-414 3613
FAX  0121-414 6866
E-MAIL [email-masked]