Papyrus 120

Papyrus 120

New Testament manuscript
Name	P. Oxy. 4804
Sign	𝔓120
Text	Gospel of John 1:25-28,38-44
Date	4th century
Script	Greek
Found	Oxyrhynchus, Egypt
Now at	Sackler Library
Cite	R. Hatzilambrou, P. J. Parsons, J. Chapa The Oxyrhynchus Papyri LXXI (London: 2007), pp. 6-9.
Size	[20.5] x [11] cm
Type	Alexandrian (?)
Category	none

Papyrus 120, also known as P.Oxy. LXXI 4804, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of John in a fragmentary condition, only containing verses 1:25-28 and 1:38-44.^[1][2] It is designated by the siglum 𝔓¹²⁰ in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been assigned by the INTF to the 4th century CE.^[3]

The original manuscript was likely a codex (precursor to the modern book) made of papyrus, of which only three pieces from one leaf have survived.^{[1]: 6 [2]: 174} The text is written in one column per page, 27 lines per page, with 27-28 letters per line.^{[3][1]: 6-7 [2]: 174} The fragments do evidence the size of the margins of 2-3cm, which based on the 27 lines per pages would give the original codex a size of 11cm x20.5cm, with likely 95 pages in total to contain the Gospel of John.^{[1]: 7 [2]: 174} The copyist was likely a professional scribe, who wrote in a style known as Biblical Majuscule.^{[1]: 6 [2]: 174} The manuscript is currently housed at the Papyrology Rooms of the Sackler Library (shelf number P. Oxy. 4804) at Oxford.^[3]

• List of New Testament papyri
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri

• High Resolution Digital Images of 𝔓¹²⁰ online from the University of Oxford's "P.Oxy: Oxyrhynchus Online"
• Digital Images of 𝔓¹²⁰ online at the CSNTM

• "Continuation of the Manuscript List" Institute for New Testament Textual Research, University of Münster. Retrieved April 9, 2008