Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 405 (P. Oxy. 405 or P. Oxy. III 405) is a fragment from a copy dating to c. 200 CE[1] of the early Christian work Against Heresies,[2] written by Irenaeus of Lyon around 180 CE.
It is one of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, discovered by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt around the turn of the 20th century. The papyrus fragment includes a quote from Matthew 3:16-17, and was the earliest witness to the text of the New Testament when it was discovered.[3]
- ^ Egypt Exploration Fund (1903). Grenfell, Bernard P.; Hunt, Arthur S. (eds.). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Vol. 3. Oxford. p. 10.
405 consists of seven fragments written in a small neat uncial hand, which is not later than the first half of the third century, and might be as old as the later part of the second.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Egypt Exploration Fund (1904). Grenfell, Bernard P.; Hunt, Arthur S. (eds.). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Vol. 4. Oxford. p. 264.
The seven fragments of an early Christian work published as 405 were identified by Dr. J. Armitage Robinson as belonging to the lost Greek original of Irenaeus' treatise Contra Haereses...
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Daniel B. Wallace, Interview MARCH 20, 2006.