Papyrus 75 (𝔓75) — Where Luke Ends and John Begins
Where Luke Ends and John Begins
The short answerWhat is this leaf?
This is a single page from Papyrus 75, a papyrus codex of Luke and John copied around AD 175–225. On this one page the Gospel of Luke ends — with the risen Jesus carried up into heaven and the disciples “continually in the temple, blessing God” — and then, after the subscription and title, the Gospel of John begins: “In the beginning was the Word.”
Unlike most early fragments, almost the entire leaf survives. Nearly every letter you see below is real ink on the papyrus — so this page lets you read your replica, front and back, essentially in full.
The featureTwo Gospels, one book
Look at the transcription of the front page below. After Luke’s last words the scribe writes the subscription ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ (“Gospel according to Luke”), and then immediately the title ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΗΝ (“Gospel according to John”), before beginning “In the beginning was the Word.” The two Gospels meet on a single page. That is physical evidence that, this early, Luke and John were already being copied and read together as one collection — and that these titles were attached to the Gospels at an early date.
Line by lineThe Greek exactly as it sits on the leaf
Transcribed from the INTF/IGNTP transcription (NTVMR, folios 44r and 44v) and shown in the majuscule capitals the scribe used, with the original line breaks. Nomina sacra keep the scribe’s overline. The photograph sits beside each side so you can compare the letters directly — the same letters, in the same order.
Folio 44r — Luke 24:51–53 · titles · John 1:1–16
Folio 44v — John 1:16–33
Word by wordRead it, sound it out, and see the meaning
The whole leaf, word by word: the Greek on the leaf, a transliteration to sound it out, and a word-for-word English gloss, with the smooth translation after each passage. Sacred names carry the scribe’s overline; their meaning is in the gloss. A gold underline under a box marks a word broken across the torn edge — the part in [brackets] is supplied.
The Ascension — Luke ends — Luke 24:51–53
51 While he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 They worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God.
Where Luke ends and John begins — the junction
The subscription “Gospel according to Luke” and the title “Gospel according to John” sit one after the other on the same page — the physical proof that the two Gospels were copied and bound as a single book.
In the beginning was the Word — John 1:1–5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.
A man sent from God — John 1:6–13
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light. 9 The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. 12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word became flesh — John 1:14–18
14 The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’” 16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only-begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, has made him known. (Here P75 reads ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΗΣ ΘΣ, “only-begotten God” — see the textual notes.)
John's testimony to the priests — John 1:19–28
19 This is John’s testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and didn’t deny, but he confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 They said therefore to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.” 28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God — John 1:29–33
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’ 31 I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel.” 32 John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I didn’t recognize him, but he who…” (The leaf breaks off here, mid-verse, at ΑΛΛ Ο.)
Reading the detailsTextual notes
“Only-begotten God” (John 1:18). Where many later manuscripts and English Bibles read “the only Son,” P75 reads ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΗΣ ΘΣ — “only-begotten God.” This early reading, shared with Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, is a key witness in one of the most discussed textual questions in John, and you can see it on the leaf (verso, line 5).
Nomina sacra throughout. The scribe contracts and overlines the sacred names — ΘΣ/ΘΝ/ΘΥ (God), ΙΥ ΧΥ and ΧΣ (Jesus Christ / Christ), ΙΝ (Jesus), ΚΥ (Lord), ΠΝΑ (Spirit), ΙΗΛ (Israel), ΙΛΗΜ (Jerusalem), and even ΑΝΩΝ/ΑΝΟΝ (men/man). Notice that in John 1:6 “a man” (ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ) — an ordinary man, John the Baptist — is written out in full, not contracted: the abbreviation is reserved for the sacred sense.
Everyday spellings. The scribe writes ΣΚΟΤΕΙΑ for ΣΚΟΤΙΑ (“darkness”), ΗΛΕΙΑΣ for ΗΛΙΑΣ (“Elijah”), and ΛΕΥΕΙΤΑΣ for ΛΕΥΙΤΑΣ (“Levites”) — ordinary phonetic spellings (itacism) of the period. In John 1:27 P75 reads ΙΚΑΝΟΣ (“worthy/sufficient”) where some witnesses have ΑΞΙΟΣ.
The manuscriptAt a glance
| This leaf | Folio 44: Luke 24:51–53, the Luke/John junction, and John 1:1–33 |
|---|---|
| Whole codex | Luke 3:18–24:53 and John 1:1–15:8 (102 of ~144 pages survive) |
| Date | c. 175–225 CE (Martin & Kasser); a later date is argued — see below |
| Discovered | Egypt, 1950s (the Bodmer Papyri); pre-discovery history unknown |
| Held at | Vatican Library, Rome (“Hanna Papyrus 1 / Mater Verbi”); formerly P. Bodmer XIV–XV |
| Gregory–Aland no. | 𝔓75 (INTF doc. ID 10075) |
| Format | Single-quire papyrus codex, ~27 × 13 cm, 38–45 lines per page |
| Text type | Alexandrian · Aland Category I |
Why it mattersThe manuscript that changed textual scholarship
Before P75, many scholars believed the polished “Alexandrian” text found in the great 4th-century Codex Vaticanus was the product of a careful editorial recension made around that time. Then P75 turned up — a century or more older — and its text agrees with Vaticanus about 94% of the time in Luke and 92% in John. That near-identity showed the Vaticanus text was not a late invention but faithfully preserved a text already in circulation by the early third century. Kurt Aland called P75 “the key for understanding the primitive textual history of the New Testament.”
The hand is a clear, careful majuscule — the work of a trained scribe producing a quality book. Written on smooth papyrus said to “feel like hand-woven linen,” it is one of the finest early Christian codices to survive.
Own this leaf
Manuscript Shop produces a museum-grade facsimile of this leaf of Papyrus 75 on real Egyptian papyrus, reproducing both sides — the end of Luke, the junction, and the opening of John — at its true size.
ReferencesSources
- Transcription (surviving text): INTF/IGNTP transcription of 𝔓75, New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, doc. ID 10075, folios 44r and 44v.
- Manuscript images: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Hanna Papyrus 1, Mater Verbi); formerly Bibliotheca Bodmeriana.
- Editio princeps: V. Martin & R. Kasser, Papyrus Bodmer XIV–XV (Cologny–Geneva, 1961).
- Dating & significance: K. Aland & B. Aland, The Text of the New Testament; B. Nongbri, “Reconsidering the Place of Papyrus Bodmer XIV–XV (P75) in the Textual Criticism of the New Testament” (JBL, 2016); Vatican Library, S. Voicu, notes on P. Bodmer XIV–XV.
- Word-for-word glosses follow standard tagged Greek New Testament data (STEP Bible, Tyndale House; Berean Interlinear).
- Smooth translation: World English Bible (public domain), ebible.org.