Archaeology of the New Testament

1. The transmission of the New Testament

2. The Manuscripts of the New Testaments

3. The accuracy of the New Testament Manuscripts

a. The John Rylands Fragment

AN UNEXPECTED FIND

At the turn of the 20th century, Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt,

scholars at the University of Oxford, visited Egypt. There, among the garbage

heaps close to the Nile Valley, they discovered a number of papyrus

fragments. Later, in 1920, while the two colleagues were busy cataloging the

collection, Grenfell acquired some additional fragments that had been dug up

in Egypt. He acquired these on behalf of The John Rylands Library in

Manchester, England. However, both men died before the catalog was

finished.

Colin H. Roberts, another scholar at Oxford University, completed the task.

While he was sorting the fragments, he spotted a papyrus scrap measuring 3.5

by 2.4 inches (9 x 6 cm). To his amazement, the Greek handwriting contained

words that were familiar to him. On one side were words taken from John

18:31-33. The other side contained parts of verses 37 and 38. Roberts realized

that he had stumbled upon a priceless gem.

b. The Chester Beatty II Papyry

The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a

group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. The manuscripts are in

Greek and are of Christian origin. There are eleven manuscripts in the group,

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seven consisting of portions of Old Testament books, three consisting of

portions of the New Testament (Gregory-Aland no. P45, P46, and P47), and

one consisting of portions of the Book of Enoch and an unidentified Christian

homily. Most are dated to the 3rd century. They are housed in part at the

Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, and in part at the University of

Michigan, among a few other locations.

The papyri were most likely first obtained by dealers in illegal antiquities.

Because of this, the exact circumstances of the find are not clear. One account

is that the manuscripts were in jars in a Coptic graveyard near the ruins of the

ancient city of Aphroditopolis. Other theories have proposed that the collection

was found near the Fayum instead of Aphroditopolis, or that the location was a

Christian church or monastery instead of a graveyard. Most of the papyri were

bought from a dealer by Alfred Chester Beatty, after whom the manuscripts

are named, although some leaves and fragments were acquired by the

University of Michigan and a few other collectors and institutions.

The papyri were first announced on November 19, 1931, although more leaves

were acquired over the next decade. Frederic G. Kenyon published the

manuscripts in The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri: Descriptions and Texts of

Twelve Manuscripts on Papyrus of the Greek Bible, in an 8-volume work that

spanned 1933-58. The papyri are usually cataloged as P. Chester Beatty

followed by a corresponding Roman numeral between I-XII, one for each

manuscript.

c. The Codex Sinaiticus

d. The Codex Vaticanus

e. The Codex Alexandrinus

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 f. The Ephraemi Rescriptus

g. The Codex Cantabrigiensis

4. Early New Testament Translations of the New Testament in various languages

5. New Testament Citation in the Early Church

6. Historicity of the New Testament

7. Internal citations in the New Testament

8. Non-Christian Sources confirm basics of the Gospel Record

a. Josephus

Flavius Josephus

"Testimonium Flavianium,"

“About this time arose Jesus, a wise man (if indeed it

be right to call him a man). For he was a doer of

marvelous deeds, and a teacher of men who gladly

receive the truth. He drew to himself many persons,

both of the Jews and also the Gentiles. (He was the

Christ.) And when Pilate, upon the indictment of

leading men among us, had condemned him to the

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 cross, those who had loved him at the first did not

cease to do so (for he appeared to them alive on the

third day-the godly prophets having foretold told

these and ten thousand other things about him). And

even to this day the race of Christians, who are

named from him, has not died out.'

Josephus' reference to James the brother of Jesus

Flavius Josephus:  Antiquities of the Jews  Book 20, Chapter 9, 1

“And now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator.

But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that

dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes that

this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed

the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly,

which had never happened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as

we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very

insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders,

above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of

this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity. Festus was now dead, and

Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before

them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others;

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and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them

to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were

the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the

king, desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had

already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was

upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to

assemble a sanhedrin without his consent. Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said,

and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what

he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but

three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.”

The Babylonian Talmud

Sanhedrin 43a

"Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve" and "he [Jesus]

practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into

apostasy." Also, it asserts, "As nothing was brought forward

in his defence, he was hanged...." It continues in the same

tractate that "Jesus.. .was near to the kingship" (probably a

reference to His descent from David) and early rabbis taught

that "Jesus had five disciples...."

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 Cornelius Tacitus

A Roman historian, Tacitus (c. AD 56-117) wrote concerning the

affairs of several Roman emperors in his Annals of Imperial
Rome (AD 108). 15.44:

“To suppress this rumour, Nero fabricated scapegoats-and

punished with every refinement the notoriously depraved
Christians (as they were popularly called). Their originator,
Christ, had been executed in Tiberius' reign by the governor of
Judea, Pontius Pilate. But in spite of this temporary rary
setback the deadly superstition had broken out afresh, not only
in Judea (where the mischief had started) but even in Rome.
All degraded and shameful practices collect and flourish in
Rome. First, Nero had self-acknowledged Christians arrested.
Then, on their information, large numbers of others were
condemned-not so much for incendiarism [that is, arson] as
for their anti-social tendencies. Their deaths were made
farcical. Dressed in wild animal skins, they were torn to pieces
by dogs, or crucified, or made into torches to be ignited after
dark as substitutes for daylight. Nero provided his gardens for
the spectacle, and exhibited displays in the circus, at which he
mingled with the crowd-or stood in a chariot, dressed as a
charioteer. Despite their guilt as Christians, and the ruthless
punishment it deserved, the victims were pitied. For it was felt
that they were being sacrificed to one man’s brutality rather
than to the national interest."

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 Gains Suetonius Tranquillus

As the leading secretary of Emperor Hadrian (AD

117-138), the Roman historian known commonly as

Suetonius wrote two brief statements referencing

Christ and Christians. First, "Because the Jews at

Rome caused continuous disturbances at instigation

of Chrestus, he [Emperor Claudius] expelled them

from the city."13 This historical nugget is consistent

with Acts 18:2, where we are told that Priscilla and

Aquila were among those expelled from Rome by

Claudius.* In addition, Suetonius refers to Nero's

persecution of Christians: "Punishments were also

inflicted on the Christians, a sect professing fessing a

new and mischievous religious belief""

Joseph M. Holden;Norman Geisler. The Popular Handbook of Archaeology

and the Bible (Kindle Locations 3424-3427). Kindle Edition.

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 Pliny the Younger

(Gains Plinius Secundus)

Pliny was an imperial legate in the Roman province of Bithynia (in Asia

Minor at the southwest corner of the Black Sea). One of his letters (c.

AD 112) to Emperor Trajan describes the economic and social problems

involving Christians, along with some of their unique worship practices.

In Letters, 10:96, Pliny writes,

“They [Christians] were in the habit of meeting on a

certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in

alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound

themselves by a solemn oath, not to do any wicked deeds,

but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to

falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be

called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their

custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of

food-but food of an ordinary and innocent kind.”

Joseph M. Holden;Norman Geisler. The Popular Handbook of Archaeology

and the Bible (Kindle Locations 3429-3434). Kindle Edition.

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 Mara Bar-Serapion
Sometime between the late first and early third
century, the Syrian Mara Bar-Serapion writes to his
son Serapion describing the senselessness of the
Jewish plot to kill Jesus when he asserts,

"What advantage did the Jews gain from

executing their wise king? It was just after

that their kingdom was abolished."

From this text we learn that Jesus was considered by

many to be the king of Israel, that He was killed by

His own countrymen, and that the Jews were

dispersed from their land.”

9. Jesus and Archaeological Sources

a. The Megiddo Mosaic

b. The Alexamenos Graffito

c. The Yehohanan Ossuary

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 d. The James Ossuary

10. People, Places and Events confirm the reliability of the New Testament

11. Conclusion

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