Image: T2

 

In an attempt to put the magic back in the Kurzgefaßte Liste, the INTF will be resurrecting the talisman and ostracon numbers.

In the latest issue of JBL (142 no. 4 [2023]: 633–655), Brice Jones and I explore the usefulness of amulets and magical ostraca for New Testament textual criticism. We briefly define these objects and describe how New Testament text is recorded on them. We then survey which amulets and magical ostraca were used in 20th critical editions of the Greek New Testament and why these categories were added and then subsequently removed from the Kurzgefaßte Liste.

Although the essential research is based on Jones’ book, New Testament Texts on Greek Amulets from Late Antiquity, it was fun to dig further into the history of Kurzgefaßte Liste publications to see exactly what happened to these witnesses. Years ago, I saw an unknown symbol in Nestle’s Novum Testamentum Graece. It was not until I read Jones’ book that I finally made the connection that it was an amulet, T3.

Image: Citations of T3 (highlighted) in the Nestle 13th edition (1927) at Matt 6:12–13

 

Our article, “Resurrecting Amulets and Ostraca in New Testament Textual Criticism,” seeks to explain why the “talisman” and “ostracon” categories have now been continued in the Kurzgefaßte Liste. It highlights the shift in New Testament textual criticism toward an increased appreciation of the social milieu of those who used the biblical text and how this new perspective on the value of amulets and magical ostraca justifies their inclusion in the ECM, CBGM, and the Kurzgefaßte Liste.

Amulets up to T39 and magical ostraca up to Os30 will be catalogued in the Kurzgefaßte Liste as an appendix and will not be included in the tally of Greek New Testament witnesses for now.[1] Readers can see how their inclusion affects already cataloged witnesses and how images and transcriptions of these new additions are already accessible in the NTVMR.

To find which amulets and magical ostraca have been added to the Liste, in the NTVMR, just type in “t” or “os” in the search field under “name” (or use the six-digit Doc IDs beginning with 51 and 52 for “ID” in the search field). Or, you can click here for amulets and here for magical ostraca.

The article explains how these witnesses will appear in the apparatus of ECM Matthew when it is published, as well as in the CBGM. Their inclusion in the CBGM is probably unexpected since they are non-continuous witnesses. From the article,

“Amulets have two major disadvantages in the context of the CBGM: (1) they contain a small amount of text, and (2) their text is often an indirect witness; that is, they were not initially created with the primary intention of accurately transmitting the New Testament text. Their limited text poses the same problem as other fragmented texts (like the early papyri), and, on this basis alone, their inclusion in the CBGM would produce cautionary results at best. As indirect witnesses, they would be inappropriately taken as representing the same tradition as continuous text manuscripts or lectionaries that are in the CBGM.” (p. 647)

Nevertheless, the Greek text of amulets can be assigned to Greek variants in the apparatus, unlike versions that would have to rely on a retro-translation. In the CBGM, amulets and ostraca, with only a small amount of text available, qualify as “fragmented” witnesses and their inclusion in the Coherence at Variant Passages diagrams can be turned on or off with the button labeled “Frag.” This way, users will have the option to see them or not. Their inclusion is largely exploratory, and a study is planned to appear on the results in the forthcoming edition of ECM Matthew.

Below is the full list of amulets and magical ostraca now recorded in the Liste. If there are any more we should be aware of, please let us know!

 

T1 =[0152]	Mt 6:11-13	IV	Pottery	Athens, National Historical Museum, 12227
T2	Mt 4:23-24	VI-VII	Pg	Allentown, PA, Muhlenberg College, Pap. 1077 (theol. 2)
T3	Mt 6:9-13	VI	Papyrus	Location unknown, Zuletzt: Germany, (früher: Berlin, Staatliche Museen P. 954)
T4	Mt 6:9; Jn 1:23; Gospel incipits	VI?	Papyrus	Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, 13926
T5	Mt 6:9-13	VII-VIII	Wood	Heidelberg, Ägyptologisches Institut , 761
T6	Mt 6:9-13; Lk 9:37(?); 11:1b-2	V-VI	Papyrus	Giessen, Universitätsbibliothek, P. Iand. 14
T7	Mt 6:9; Mk 1:1-8; Lk 1:1-7; Jn 1:1-17	XII/XIII	Pg	Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Library, Ms. 125 (Goodspeed)
T8	Jn 2:1a-2; Rom 12:1-2	V-VI	Papyrus	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, G 2312
T9	Jn 1:1, 3	V	?	Glasgow, University Library, Ms. Gen. 1026/12
T10	Mt 28:19; Mt 4:23; Gospel incipits; Jn 1:1	V-VI	Pg	Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, P. 6096
T11	Mt 4:23; 9:35; 8:15; Mk 1:31	V-VI	Papyrus	Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, P. 21230
T12	Mt 6:9-11	IV-VI	Papyrus	Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Libraries, AM 8963
T13	Mt 6:9-13	VI-VII	Papyrus	Durham, NC, Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Library, P. Duk. Inv. 778
[T14]	= 0324
T15	Mt 6:9-13	VI-VIII	Papyrus	New Haven, CT, Yale University Library, P. CtYBR 4600
T16	Mt 6:9-13; 2 Cor 13:13(?)	IV-V	Papyrus	Oslo, University of Oslo Library , P. 1644, fol.; Oslo/London, The Schøyen Collection, MS 244/4, fol.
T17	Mt 6:10-12	E III - A IV	Papyrus	Oxford, Sackler Library, P. Ant. 54
T18	Mt 6:11-13	VI	Papyrus	Köln, Institut für Altertumskunde, Inv. Nr. 3559 (recto), fol.; Inv. Nr. 3583 (recto), fol.
T19	Mt 6:12-13	V	Papyrus	Köln, Institut für Altertumskunde, Inv. Nr. 3302
T20 =[P105]	Mt 27,62-64; 28,2-5	V/VI	Papyrus	Oxford, Sackler Library, P. Oxy. 4406
T21	Mk 1:1-2	III-IV	Papyrus	Oxford, Sackler Library, 25 3B 58/E(c)
T22	Jn 1:1-11	V-VI	Papyrus	Köln, Institut für Altertumskunde, Inv. Nr. 649, fol.; Inv. Nr. 689, fol.
T23	Jn 1:5-6	VI-VII	Pg	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, G 29831
T24	Jn 1:29, 49	VI-VII	Papyrus	Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, P. 11710
T25	2 Cor 10:4; 1 Thess 5:8; Eph 6:16	VI	Papyrus	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, G 26034, fol.; G 30453, fol.
T26 =[0262]	1 Tim 1:15-16	VII	Pg	Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz, P. 13977
T27 =[P78]	Jd 4.5.7.8	III/IV	Papyrus	Oxford, Sackler Library, P. Oxy. 2684
T28	Col 3:9-10	IV/V	Papyrus	London, University College, Petrie Museum, UC 32070
T29	Act 9:1	III/IV	Papyrus	Birmingham, University of Birmingham Cadbury Research Library, P.Harr. inv. 486
T30	Mt 1:20	VI-VIII	Papyrus	Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Library, P. Mich. inv. 4944b
T31	Mt 1:1; Mk 1:1; Jn 1:1	V-VI	Papyrus	Alexandria, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Antiquities Museum, BAAM 0505
T32	Jn 1:1		Papyrus	Heidelberg, Institut für Papyrologie, P. Lat. 5
T33	Mt 1:1; Mk 1:1; Lk 1:1; Jn 1:1	VI-VII	Papyrus	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, G 348
T34	Mt 6:9-13	IV	Papyrus	Oxford, Sackler Library, P. Oxy. 4010
T35	Ps 21:19/Mt 27:35/Jn 19:24	VI	Papyrus	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, G 29418
T36	Mt 6:11-12	VI-VII	Papyrus	Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, L 91
T37	Mt 6:9	VII?	Wood	Paris, Musée du Louvre, D 552B
T38	James 1:14-17	E V?	Papyrus	Genova, Biblioteca Universitaria, 1160 Vo

 

 

Os1-20 =[0153]	Matt 27:31–32; Mark 5:40–41; 9:17, 18, 22; 15:21; Luke 12:13–15, 15– 16; 22:40–45, 45–49, 49–53, 53–54, 55–59, 59–60, 61, 61–64, 65–69, 70–71; John 1:1–9, 14–17; 18:19–25; 19:15–17	V-VI	Pottery	Location unknown
Os21	Lk 1:42, 28	IV-VIII	Pottery	London, British Museum, EA 33101
Os22	John 2:1	VII	Pottery	London, British Museum, EA 55805
Os23	Act 2:22-24 (UC 62598), 2:25-29, 32-36; 3:1-2 (UC 62568); 15:38-16:1, 7-9 (UC 62540+62547); 16:18; 19:1, 8-9 (UC 62567); Rom 13:3-6, 7-11 (UC 62600); Gal 1:8-11 (UC 62732), 15-18; 2:3-8 (UC 62583); James 2:2-3, 8-9 (UC 62719); 4:11-13 (UC 62592); 1Jn 2:12-14, 19-22 (UC 31897); 3:17-22; 4:1-3 (UC 62566), 19-14, 18-21 (UC 62584); Jude 1-3, 4 (UC 62573).	V	Pottery	London, University College, Petrie Museum, UC 31897, fol.; UC 62598, fol.; UC 62568, fol.; UC 62540, fol.; UC 62547, fol.; UC 62567, fol.; UC 62600, fol.; UC 62732, fol.; UC 62583, fol.; UC 62719, fol.; UC 62592, fol.; UC 62573, fol.; UC 62566, fol.; UC 62584, fol.
Os24	Rom 8:31	IV-VI	Stone	Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, Ostraka inv. 129
Os25	Lk 1:28	V-VII	Pottery	London, British Museum, EA 32966
Os26	Mt 1:19-20	V-VI	Pottery	Turin, Museo Egizio, Cat. Fab. 2136
Os27	Mt 7:18-20, 29-8:4	VI-VII	Pottery	Cairo, Coptic Museum, Naqlun 53/88, fol.; Naqlun 64/86, fol.
Os28	Mt 16:18-19; Heb 5:6	VI-VII	Pottery	New York, NY, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Acc. no. 14.1.202
Os29	Jn 9:1-12; Act 3:11	VII-VIII	Pottery	London, British Museum, Eg. Dept. (?)
Os30	Heb 2	VI-VIII	Pottery	Anonymous owner, Anonymous owner, Milan Private Owner

 

We are still in the process of acquiring images, but many images are already included in the NTVMR, especially ones with text from Matthew, such as T34:

 

Some ostraca also have images in the NTVMR, for example Os25:

 

I end with a quote from the article:

“While there is little doubt that amulets and magical ostraca provide an important window into early Christian faith and practices, as many have convincingly argued, the precise textual worth of each of these witnesses remains to be determined. Magical ostraca in particular warrant further research, and scholars now have new resources at their fingertips to gain insights into and to research the rich textual history of the New Testament. It is hoped that recording these witnesses in the Liste (and their images in the NTVMR whenever possible), and including them in the ECM and CBGM, will make way for more productive and nuanced research on their worth for textual criticism and the role they play in the exploration of the social history of early Christianity.” (p. 655)