Four Fragments of the Hebrew Bible from Antinoopolis, P.Ant. 47–50

Abstract

An expedition of the Egypt Exploration Society in 1913–14 discovered four fragments of the Hebrew Bible (from the books of Kings and Job). This article presents the first critical edition of the fragments. With a few minor exceptions, the fragments conform to the Masoretic Text. The possible datings of these fragments range from the third to the early eighth centuries ce. Very little is known about the transmission of the text of the Hebrew Bible in the so-called ‘silent’ or ‘dark’ period between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Cairo Genizah. The fragments also testify to the presence of a Jewish community in Egypt – which was virtually eradicated after the revolt of 115–17 ce. The article gives a brief overview of the extant documentary and epigraphic evidence to reconstruct the forgotten story of Jews at Antinoopolis in Late Antiquity.