The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Part 4

Third Saying. lines 21–7.

Jesus saith:
A man shall not hesitate... to ask... concerning his place (in the kingdom. Ye shall know) that many that are first shall be last and the last first and (they shall have eternal life?).

Line 24 may well have continued "of the kingdom" followed by a word meaning "know" (e.g., "ye shall know," or "ye shall know," or "ye shall hear"), but the double "-ron" in lines 23 and 24 is very puzzling, and in the absence of a clear parallel we forbear to restore the earlier part of the Saying. Dr. Bartlet suggests a connexion with the Apocalypse of Peter, e.g., § 4: "And I said to him, And where are all the righteous or what is the aeon in which they are, having this glory?"; § 5: "This is the place of your ancient (Bartlet reads 'ancient' instead of 'rulers') righteous men," taking "ancient" to be equivalent to "elders" in Hebrews 11:2, or to "fathers"; cf. Matthew 5:21, 33: "it was said to them of old time" and Luke 9:8, 19. But the problem was an old one. Lines 25–26 "many... first" follow Mark 10:31 (= Matthew 19:30): "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." In the insertion of "the" before "last" the papyrus agrees with the manuscripts B and C and many others in Mark 10:31; aleph, D, and other manuscripts omit "the" there, and in Matthew 19:30 "the" is generally omitted, though found in C and some others. Luke 13:30 is rather longer: "And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last." "Sin" original: "σιν" in line 27 is no doubt the termination of a verb: "they shall inherit (eternal) life" (Matthew 19:29) and "they shall reign with me" are too long, but "they shall have eternal life" (cf. John 3:16, 36; 5:24, etc.) is possible.

Fourth Saying. lines 27–31.

Jesus saith: Everything that is not before thy face and that which is hidden from thee shall be revealed to thee. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, nor buried which shall not be raised.

The sense of this Saying is clear, and the supplements are fairly certain. Lines 29–30