I. THEOLOGICAL TEXTS

4931. LXX Septuagint: the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, Psalm xc 3–8

96/77(b)

Fifth century

Leaf from a papyrus codex with 11 lines of writing on each side; margins survive in part on all sides, but nowhere to more than 0.5 cm. With a written area of 5.5 × 7.5 cm, it belongs in Turner, Typology of the Early Codex Group 11, ‘Miniature’ Codices (p. 22).

The surviving leaf as reconstructed has 140.5 letters (counting ι as half letter) on → and 136.5 letters on ↓. The portion of the psalm missing before this has 144 letters (without title), i.e. it could fit on one page. The portion missing after the surviving leaf has 494.5 letters, i.e. 3.5 pages at a rate of 140 letters per page (average between the number of letters known for the three pages above-mentioned). Therefore the whole psalm would occupy nearly seven pages. A likely arrangement would be: two bifolia folded to give four leaves, which makes eight pages:
Page 1: left blank as a cover (→?)
Page 2: verses 1–3 (↓?)
Pages 3–4: 4931 → ↓
Pages 5–6 (↓→?) and 7–8 (↓→?): rest of the psalm with some blank space at the foot of page 8.

This reconstruction is compatible with the fact that the psalm has been written with no regard to the verse-division (but see below).

The script is a middle-sized hand to be ascribed to the ‘formal-mixed’ type or Severe Style. The execution is rather rough and rapid, so that irregularities and inconsistencies in letter shape and size are not surprising. It is roughly bilinear, apart from the uprights of ρ and γ, which protrude below the baseline, and of φ, which protrudes above and below the writing-space, and sometimes ι. On the whole the script tends to slant to the right. Letter size is sometimes reduced at line-end. Among the characteristics of individual letters, it is worth noting the narrow wedge of α; the big central body of φ; the diagonals of κ, which are detached from the upright; the flat top of c, in most occurrences apparently drawn as a separate stroke, which often ends with a sort of hook; the right-hand diagonal and upright of γ, which combine in a single stroke, protruding above the baseline and slightly curving to the left. The shape of individual letters and general graphic impression may be compared to P. Laur. IV 141, Ps xc 1–6 (see Cavallo–Maehler, GBEBP no. 19b), dated to c.485 AD, although the latter shows a completely upright script written with much less competence and more evident effort.

With regard to the layout, individual lines of the text do not correspond to