Sitting undetected in the library of the University of Manchester, was a 1,500-year-old papyrus whose significance remained unknown until historian Dr. Roberta Mazza discovered it. The papyrus – likely placed in a locket to offer its wearer protection from danger – is believed to be one of the earliest ever found refering to the Last Supper. The 6th-century papyrus had been sitting in the university’s collection since 1901 when it had been purchased from an antiquities market in Egypt. Dr. Mazza came across the papyrus, examined it and translated it from Greek to find Old and New Testament passages. The text looks like a charm to protect early Christians from evil, according to an Egyptian practice of adopting written charms.
The particular papyrus contains a psalm that proclaims God’s power and also includes a passage from the book of Matthew telling the story of the Last Supper. The text, on the reverse side of a fragment of papyrus used for a grain tax receipt, suggests that the owner may have lived in an east Egyptian village near the ancient city of Hermopolis. The area is now known as Al Ashmunin.
“It’s doubly fascinating because the amulet maker clearly knew the Bible, but made lots of mistakes: some words are misspelled and others are in the wrong order. This suggests that he was writing by heart rather than copying it,” says Dr. Mazza. “It’s quite exciting. Thanks to this discovery, we now think that the knowledge of the Bible was more embedded in sixth century AD Egypt than we previously realized.”
The full text of the creased papyrus – 1.2 by 4.1 inches in dimension – appears to be a combination of Bible verses, including Psalms 78:23-24 and Matthew 26:28-30:
Fear you all who rule over the earth.
Know you nations and peoples that Christ is our God.
For he spoke and they came to being, he commanded and they were created; he put everything under our feet and delivered us from the wish of our enemies.
Our God prepared a sacred table in the desert for the people and gave manna of the new covenant to eat, the Lord’s immortal body and the blood of Christ poured for us in remission of sins.
