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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID	1587
TM ID	TM 31473
Findspot (DEChriM ID)	- ()
Class	Textual
Material	Papyrus
Writing medium	Sheet/roll
Text content	Documentary
Language	Greek
Description	P. Harris 1 107: Letter from Besas to his mother Maria At the start of this letter (21 x 8.3 cm), Besas greets his mother with ἐν θεῶι πλῖστα χαίρειν (line 3). Lines 5-7 read the invocation τῷ πατρὶ θεῶι τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τῷ παρακλήτῳ πνεύματι, which has been extensively discussed in the literature on this papyrus, due to the exclusion of the Son. It has also prompted the question of whether the religious affiliation of the writer should be assigned to Christianity or rather Manichaeism (Gardner/Nobbs/Choat 2000). Besas mentions upcoming Easter, Πάσχα (line 20-21), and asks his mother to send both his coat and his brother to him. He ends the letter by greeting his father and brothers. The verso contains the sender πα[ρὰ] Βησᾶτος. The ed.pr. terms the hand “illiterate”, unskilled and probably recently learned.
Selection criteria	Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian onomastics
Date from	300
Date to	325
Dating criteria	Palaeography; initially dated early, to the 3rd c. (Ghedini 1937, Bell 1944, Naldini 1968), Gardner/Nobbs/Choat 2000 and Gardner 2003 have opted for a 4th c. dating.
Absolute/relative date	Relative date
Archaeological context	Unknown provenance. Acquired by Rendel Harris in Oxyrhynchus in Winter 1922/1923, subsequently presented to the Selly Oak Colleges Library, Birmingham.
Accession number	Birmingham, Cadbury Research Library P. Harris 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Powell, J. Enoch. 1936. The Rendel Harris Papyri of Woodbrooke College, Birmingham. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 89-90, No. 107. Plate I.

Additional bibliography (in chronological order)
• Wilcken, Ulrich. 1937. “Urkunden-Referat.” Archiv für Papyrusforschung (AfP) 12. 218-247: 236.
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1937. “Note a tre lettere cristiane in PHar.” Aegyptus 17: 98-100.
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1937. “Echi di eresie cristiane nei papiri greci.” Aegyptus 17: 334-337.
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1938. “Echi di eresie cristiane nei papiri greci.” In Actes du Ve Congrès International de Papyrologie. Oxford, 30 Août - 3 Septembre 1937. Bruxelles: Fondation Egyptologique Reine Elisabeth. 116-121.
• Ghedini, Giuseppe. 1940. “La lettera PHar. 107.” Aegyptus 20: 209-211.
• Bell, Harold Idris. 1944. “Evidences of Christianity in Egypt during the Roman Period.” Harvard Theological Review (HTR) 37. 185-208: 197.
• Naldini, Mario. 1968. Il Cristianesimo in Egitto. Lettere private nei papiri dei secoli II-IV. Firenze: Le Monnier. 76-78, No. 5.
• Crouzel, Henri. 1969. “La lettre du P. Harr. 107 et la théologie d'Origène.” Aegyptus 49: 138-143.
• O'Callaghan, José. 1972. “Sobre la interpretación de P. Harr. 107.” Aegyptus 52: 152-157.
• Roberts, Colin H. 1979. Manuscript, Society and Belief in Early Christian Egypt. The Schweich Lectures 1977. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1n2.
• Świderkówna, Anna. 1983. Życie Codzienne w Egipcie Greckich Papirusów. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy (PIW). Fig. 81.
• Migliardi Zingale, Livia. 1992. Vita privata e vita pubblica nei papiri d'Egitto. Silloge di documenti greci e latini dal I al IV secolo d.C. Torino: Giappichelli. 154, No. 88.
• Pestman, Pieter W., Hans-Albert Rupprecht and Francisca A. J. Hoogendijk. 1992. Berichtigungsliste der griechischen Papyrusurkunden aus Ägypten VIII. Leiden/New York/Köln: Brill. 148.
• Gardner, Iain, Alanna Nobbs and Malcolm Choat. 2000. “P. Harr. 107: Is this another Greek Manichaean Letter?” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE) 131: 118-124. Tafel III.
• Gardner, Iain. 2003. “Report on the editing of both the Coptic and the Manichaean Texts from Ismant el-Kharab.” In The Oasis Papers 3. Proceedings of the Third International Conference of the Dakhleh Oasis Project, edited by Gillian E. Bowen and Colin A. Hope. Oxford: Oxbow Books. 201-205: 203-204.
• Burnet, Régis. 2003. L’Egypte Ancienne à Travers Les Papyrus. Vie quotidienne. Paris: Pygmalion. 88, No. 35.
• Choat, Malcolm. 2006. Belief and Cult in Fourth-Century Papyri. Studia Antiqua Australiensia 1. Turnhout: Brepols. 6, 76, 84n351, 131.
• Rupprecht, Hans-Albert, Arthur M. F. W. Verhoogt, Nico Kruit et al. 2002. Berichtigungsliste der griechischen Papyrusurkunden aus Ägypten XI. Leiden/Boston: Brill. 90.
• Rupprecht, Hans-Albert, Klaas A. Worp, Francisca A. J. Hoogendijk et al. 2009. Berichtigungsliste der griechischen Papyrusurkunden aus Ägypten XII. Leiden/Boston: Brill. 85.
• Arzt-Grabner, Peter. 2013. 2. Korinther. Papyrologische Kommentare zum Neuen Testament. Band 4. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 230n232.

Authors

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023

Suggested citation

Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1587", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1587

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External links

TM 31473 DDbDP (PN) HGV

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