The Papyrus Egerton 2 was purchased from a dealer in Egypt in Summer 1934 by the British Museum. The Editio Princeps was published by H.I. Bell and T.C. Skeat from the manuscript department in 1935. The exact location of the discovery is unknown, but it is possibly Oxyrhynchus.
The three pieces measure 11.5 x 9.2 cm; 11.8 x 9.7 cm and 6 x 2.3 cm.
- Debate over Credentials (l. 1-24)
- Attempt to Seize Jesus (l. 25-34)
- The Healing of the Leper (l. 35-47)
- Debate with False Questioners (l. 50-66)
- Miraculous Fruit (l. 67-82)
- [Further Violence Against Jesus (l. 83-94)]
What we have here is an uncanonical Gospel which tone is free from exaggeration. The whole impression produced is that of a comparatively early work. The relation to the canoncial gospels is very controversely discussed. There are several verbal agreements, but they are very mixed up. We have parallels with John and with the Synoptics. But some parallels are given in a different context. For this reason some have proposed that the author knew the canonical Gospels from repeated hearing and used them from memory, but not in written form. Others proposed complete independence of the canonical Gospels and suggest, Egerton selected the elements shared with the Synoptics out of tradition. Parallels with John are explained by a "shared milieu", (similar style, language and theology).
We do not go into a detailed discussion here, because these pages are designed primary to provide you with the facts. If you would like to know more what other people think, have a look at the Publication Section.