Papyrus 31
Papyrus 31, designated by 31, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Romans, it contains only Romans 12:3-8. The manuscript paleographically has been assigned to the 7th century. The reverse side is blank. It is possible that it was used as a talisman. Hunt suggested it was a lectionary.Description
Written in medium-sized sloping uncial letters. It seems to have been copied for reading in church.
The Greek text of this codex is a representative of the Alexandrian text-type. Aland placed it in Category II. An agreement with Codex Sinaiticus against the other chief MSS is observable in l. 9 of the fragment.
Papyrus 31 presents unique readings in l. 3 and l. 4 against the other chief MSS.
It is currently housed with the Rylands Papyri at the John Rylands University Library in Manchester.
