A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Other Greek writings of the New Testament era, including papyri and inscriptions
Forum rules
Please quote the Greek text you are discussing directly in your post if it is reasonably short - do not ask people to look it up. This is not a beginner's forum, competence in Greek is assumed.
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

I have been posting papyri on another forum, and thought I would give it a go here. Simply see what you can do with it. This one is fragmentary at the beginning, but you can still get some sense out if. Lot's of spelling "errors" and some unusual verb forms, which suggests that the writer didn't know his Greek that well and certainly didn't use a professional scribe. I have left the spelling variations be (I don't think they are that difficult) but have annotated the more unusual verb forms.

1 Ὁ διαλογι[σμὸς . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Σαραπίων Δω[ρίωνι τῷ ἀδελφῷ χαί-
3 ριν καὶ διὰ παντὸς ὑ[γιαίνιν. ἐπὶ τῷ γεγο-
4 νέναι ἐν Ἀλεξανδρίᾳ [τῇ . . τοῦ ὑπογε-
5 γραμμένου μηνὸς ἔμ[αθον παρά τινων
6 ἀλιέων εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρι[αν . . . . . . . . . ὅ-
7 τι Σα[. .]ειλλα προσοινθ[. . . . . . . . . . . .
8 παρʼ ἐμοῦ ἐν αὐλῇ, καὶ ὁ ο[ἶκος . . . . . . . .
9 Σεκόνδας ἠραύνηται κ[αὶ . . . . . . . . . .
10 ὁ ἐμ[ὸς] οἶκος ἠραύνητ[αι . . . . . . . . . .
11 καὶ σεσύνηται (1) εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχι ἀσφα-
12 λῶς. εὖ οὖν ποιήσις γράψας μοι ἀντιφώνη[σ]ιν
13 περὶ τούτων εἴνα καὶ <ἐ>γὼ αὐτὸς ἐπιδῶ ἀνα-
14 φόριον τῷ ἡγεμόνι. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποιήσις, ἐγὼ
15 δὲ αὐτὸς οὔπω οὐδὲ ἐνήλεπα (2) ἕως ἀκούσω φάσ-
16 ιν παρὰ σοῦ περὶ ἁπάντων. ἐγὼ δὲ βιάζο-
17 μαι ὑπὸ φίλω[ν] γενέσθαι οἰκιακὸς τοῦ ἀρχι-
18 στάτορος Ἀπολλωνίου εἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ δι-
19 αλογισμὸν ἔλ[θ]ω. [ὁ] μὲν ἡγούμενος τοῦ στρα-
20 [τ]ηγοῦ κ[αὶ Ἰοῦ]στος ὁ μαχαιροφόρος ἐν κοσ-
21 [τ]ωδε[ίᾳ εἰσί], ὡς ἐπέταξεν ὁ ἡγεμών, ἕως
22 ἐπὶ διαλ[ογισ]μός, ἐὰν μή τι πίσωσι (3) τὸν ἀρχι-
23 στάτορα δο[ῦν]αι εἱκανὸν ἕως ἐπὶ διαλο-
24 γισμόν. περὶ δ[ὲ] τοῦ φαλακροῦ γράψον μοι πῶς
25 πάλιν ἄνω λαλαχεύεται. μὴ οὖν ἄλλως ποι-
26 ήσῃς. εἶπον δὲ Διογένι τῷ φίλῳ σου μὴ ἀδικῆ-
27 σαί με πε[. . . .] εἰς δαπάνην οὗ ἔξι μου·
28 συνανακ[. . . γ]ὰρ τῷ ἀρχιστάτορι. ἐρωτῶ δέ σε
29 καὶ παρακαλ[ῶ γρά]ψει μοι ἀντιφώνησιν περὶ
30 τῶν γενομέν[ων. πρ]ὸ μὲν πάντων σεαυτοῦ
31 ἐπιμέλου εἵνʼ ὑ[γιαίνῃς]. ἐπισκωποῦ Δημητροῦ[ν
32 καὶ Δωρίωνα [τὸν πατ]έρα. ἔ[ρ]ρωσο.
33 (ἔτους) θ Τιβερίου Καίσαρ[ος Σεβαστοῦ, Χο]ίακ ι̅ε̅.

1) σεσύνηται, probably = σεσύληται

2) ἐνήλεπα from ἐναλείφω

3) πίσωσι = πείθωσι

3) λαλαχεύεται from λαλαχεύω = λαχνόω

Have fun!
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Philip Arend
Posts: 61
Joined: October 14th, 2018, 1:15 am

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Philip Arend »

Thanks Barry for this little joyride to Alexandria. I only had time for a short dive into the first part. Having little idea of the context, it is puzzling to make word choices - Looking forward to your correction...

The dispute..
from Sarapion to brother Dorion, Joy and health in all things.

About what happened in Alexandria, I learned [The...written down, I Iearned a month (ago?) from someone fishing in Alexandria….that Sa […]

8. from me in the couryard. and the house...of Sekondas he investigated and….my own house they investigated…

11. and they gathered whether these things were certain. In fact, it is good for me to write these things in response concerning these things, so that I myself will see (experience?)

14. in relation to the commander/governor. Rather than, in fact another doing it.

15-16 ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸς οὔπω οὐδὲ ἐνήλεπα ἕως ἀκούσω φάσιν παρὰ σοῦ περὶ ἁπάντων.
But I myself absolutely neither anointed myself until I heard about everything , they say, from you.

16-19 ἐγὼ δὲ βιάζομαι ὑπὸ φίλω[ν] γενέσθαι οἰκιακὸς τοῦ ἀρχιστάτορος Ἀπολλωνίου εἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ διαλογισμὸν ἔλ[θ]ω.
But it happened that I was forced by friends to the house of the chief usher of (the temple of?) Apollo, to the effect that I came into dispute with him.
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Philip Arend wrote: April 12th, 2021, 3:19 am Thanks Barry for this little joyride to Alexandria. I only had time for a short dive into the first part. Having little idea of the context, it is puzzling to make word choices - Looking forward to your correction...

The dispute..
from Sarapion to brother Dorion, Joy and health in all things.

About what happened in Alexandria, I learned [The...written down, I Iearned a month (ago?) from someone fishing in Alexandria….that Sa […]
Probably "Upon my arrival in Alexandria... τοῦ ὑπογεγραμμένου μηνὸς, "in the month written below..." τινων ἀλιέων, plural, "from some fishermen..."
8. from me in the couryard. and the house...of Sekondas he investigated and….my own house they investigated…
"Investigated" works, but probably in the sense of "searched..."
11. and they gathered whether these things were certain. In fact, it is good for me to write these things in response concerning these things, so that I myself will see (experience?)
If actually σεσύληται, something like "taken away." "So if these things are secure, you would do well [=please) to write to me a response concerning these things so that I might give (from ἐπιδίδωμι)...῾
14. in relation to the commander/governor. Rather than, in fact another doing it.
"a petition to the governor. Do not do otherwise..."
15-16 ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸς οὔπω οὐδὲ ἐνήλεπα ἕως ἀκούσω φάσιν παρὰ σοῦ περὶ ἁπάντων.
But I myself absolutely neither anointed myself until I heard about everything , they say, from you.
οὔπω=not yet. φάσιν the noun, "mention, word, message."
16-19 ἐγὼ δὲ βιάζομαι ὑπὸ φίλω[ν] γενέσθαι οἰκιακὸς τοῦ ἀρχιστάτορος Ἀπολλωνίου εἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ διαλογισμὸν ἔλ[θ]ω.
But it happened that I was forced by friends to the house of the chief usher of (the temple of?) Apollo, to the effect that I came into dispute with him.
I would say something like "constrained, strongly urged" for βιάζομαι. Appolonius, not Apollo!
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Alex Hopkins
Posts: 59
Joined: June 10th, 2011, 7:15 am

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Alex Hopkins »

Hi Philip,

A few notes additional to those Barry has already offered.

>8. from me in the couryard. and the house...of Sekondas he investigated and….my own house they investigated…

I'd retain the passives of the original (ὁ ο[ἶκος ... Σεκόνδας ἠραύνηται ... ὁ ἐμ[ὸς] οἶκος ἠραύνητ[αι) Secunda's house has been searched, ... my house has been searched.

13 ... εἴνα καὶ <ἐ>γὼ αὐτὸς ἐπιδῶ ἀνα-
14 φόριον τῷ ἡγεμόνι.

As Barry indicates, an ἀναφόριον is a petition (a sense which this text - P. Oxy II 294 - helps establish, see https://lsj.gr/wiki/%E1%BC%80%CE%BD%CE% ... E%BF%CE%BD), so "in order that I might make a petition to the prefect".

16 ... ἐγὼ δὲ βιάζο-
17 μαι ὑπὸ φίλω[ν] γενέσθαι οἰκιακὸς τοῦ ἀρχι-
18 στάτορος Ἀπολλωνίου εἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ δι-
19 αλογισμὸν ἔλ[θ]ω.

I'm being pressured by friends to become a member of the household of the chief usher Apollonius, in order that I go with him to the session.

οἰκιακός is used twice in the NT, at Mt 10:25, 36. Being a word of infrequent usage, it's a good candidate for an entry in Moulton-Milligan, which does indeed use this very text as its first illustration of the meaning. The original editors of the text, Grenfell and Hunt, translate as "I am being pressed by my friends to enter the service of Apollonius, the chief usher, in order that I come to the session in his company." (See P.Oxy II, pp294-296.) (And if one is fascinated by the word οἰκιακός, there's a discussion of the word on page 9 (and a passing note at page 89) of New Documents illustrating Early Christianity, vol 3, [A Review of the Greek Inscriptions and Papyri published in 1978] by G.H.R. Horsley.)

Alex Hopkins
Melbourne, Australia
Philip Arend
Posts: 61
Joined: October 14th, 2018, 1:15 am

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Philip Arend »

Thanks for your helpful comments :!:
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Here is another, short and sweet, and a bit like listening in to one end of a telephone conversation.

1 Θαεισοῦς Συρᾶτι τῇ
2 μητρί. γίνωσκε ὅτι
3 Σέλευκος ἐλθὼν
4 ὧδε πέφευγε.
5 μὴ σκ{λ}ύλλε ἑα-
6 τὴν ἐνπῆναι.
7 προσδέχου ἰς τὸν
8 ἐνιαυτὸν Λου-
9 κία. γράψον μοι
10 τὴν ἡμέραν.
11 ἄσπασαι σὺ
12 Ἀμμωνᾶν
13 τὸ[ν] ἀδελφόν μου

5-6 ἑατήν = ἑαυτήν
6) ἐνπῆναι, possibly ἐμφῆναι.
7) ἰς = εἰς
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Daniel Semler
Posts: 315
Joined: February 18th, 2019, 7:45 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Daniel Semler »

Barry Hofstetter wrote: April 17th, 2021, 7:37 am Here is another, short and sweet, and a bit like listening in to one end of a telephone conversation.

1 Θαεισοῦς Συρᾶτι τῇ
2 μητρί. γίνωσκε ὅτι
3 Σέλευκος ἐλθὼν
4 ὧδε πέφευγε.
5 μὴ σκ{λ}ύλλε ἑα-
6 τὴν ἐνπῆναι.
7 προσδέχου ἰς τὸν
8 ἐνιαυτὸν Λου-
9 κία. γράψον μοι
10 τὴν ἡμέραν.
11 ἄσπασαι σὺ
12 Ἀμμωνᾶν
13 τὸ[ν] ἀδελφόν μου

5-6 ἑατήν = ἑαυτήν
6) ἐνπῆναι, possibly ἐμφῆναι.
7) ἰς = εἰς
I'm a little puzzled by the 5/6. Why is the a λ inserted in σκ{λ}ύλλε I can find references to σκύλλε but not σκλὐλλε. Actually LSJ quotes what might be this text ? Is this P. Oxy 295 ? I'm also a bit puzzled by the fem. ἐαυτήν. I'm not clear on who is referred to unless Σἐλευκος is a woman. If it is his mother I would have expected σεαυτήν. But I could also be missing the plot here.

Thx
D
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Daniel Semler wrote: April 17th, 2021, 10:52 am
I'm a little puzzled by the 5/6. Why is the a λ inserted in σκ{λ}ύλλε I can find references to σκύλλε but not σκλὐλλε. Actually LSJ quotes what might be this text ? Is this P. Oxy 295 ? I'm also a bit puzzled by the fem. ἐαυτήν. I'm not clear on who is referred to unless Σἐλευκος is a woman. If it is his mother I would have expected σεαυτήν. But I could also be missing the plot here.

Thx
D
It is 295. Note that at the papyri.info website, the λ is not included in brackets. When I look at the actual papyrus image, it's a bit obscure, but still readable. This is apparently a spelling variation with no difference in sense. It should make us think of Luke 8:49... :)

As for ἑατήν, it's simply reflexive. The subject of the imperative is "you" (the mother) and so "Don't trouble yourself..."

The shift for using what we formally learn as the third person reflexive as the general reflexive for all persons is seen in the NT and is frequent in the papyri.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Daniel Semler
Posts: 315
Joined: February 18th, 2019, 7:45 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Daniel Semler »

Thanx Barry, that makes sense.

Thx
D
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: A papyrus for linguistic fun and profit...

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Here's another short and sweet one. Have a try!

Ἐρωτᾷ σε Ἀντώνιο(ς) Πτολεμ(αίου) διπνῆσ(αι)
παρʼ αὐτῶι εἰς κλείνην τοῦ κυρίου
Σαράπιδος ἐν τοῖς Κλαυδ(ίου) Σαραπίω(νος)
τῆι ιϛ ἀπὸ ὥρας θ.

κλείνην = κλίνην
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Post Reply

Return to “Koine Greek Texts”