Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101
fragmentary manuscript
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101 is a manuscript of the Greek Septuagint Psalms (an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible Psalms), written on papyrus in roll form. It is designated by 2227 in the Alfred Rahlfs numbering of koine Greek Septuagint manuscripts, and P.Oxy.77 (LXXVII) 5101 based on its publication in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri volumes. It has survived in a very fragmentary condition. Using the study of comparative writings styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the middle of the first - middle of the second century CE.
The manuscript uses the Tetragrammaton (name of God in the Hebrew Bible) written in palaeo-Hebrew script instead of substituting it with the Greek title κύριος (kyrios / Lord), and is currently the earliest extant copy of the Septuagint Psalms.
Description
The manuscript was originally a papyrus roll, of which fragments from six columns have survived. The fragments contain Psalms 26:9-14; 44:4-8; 47:13-15; 48:6-21; 49:2-16; 63:6-64:5 according to the numbering of the Septuagint (the Hebrew Bible Psalms number them slightly differently). As noted by biblical scholar Larry Hurtado, "[t]his is probably the earliest extant copy of the Septuagint Psalms." The text was written by an inexperienced writer in uncial script characters.
Greek text
Transcription of two of the Psalm verses according to biblical scholar Anthony R. Meyer:
Psalms 26:14 (27:14 MT)
[και εψευσατο] η α[δικια ε]αυτη
[πιστευω του ι]διν τα αγαθα
[εν γη ζωντων υπο]μενοντων τον []
[ανδριζου και κρ]αταιουσθω η καρδια σ[ου]
[και υπομεινο]ν τ[ον]
Psalms 64:2 (LXX)
[.]. [ ] εις το τελψαλμος τω Δαυειδ [
[σοι πρ]επει υμνος εν Σειων [
[και σοι] αποδοθησεται ευχη [
[εισακο]υσον προσευχης: προς σε π[ασα
In the above verse, the Masoretic Text reads אלהים (elohim) and the LXX (Greek Septuagint) reads ο θεος (ho theos) but P. Oxy. 5101 reads YHWH.
Tetragrammaton
The manuscript contains the tetragrammaton to represent the Divine Name of God (YHWH) written in the palaeo-Hebrew script ().
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101” as fragmentary manuscript. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as fragmentary manuscript. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11802902. VIAF identifies the subject as 313254047. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5101” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.