Artifacts That Affirm the WordНамуна

The Wyman Fragment

Discovered in 1950 in Fustât (Old Cairo), Egypt, the Wyman Fragment, also known as Uncial 0220, contains a portion of Romans 4:23–5:3 and 5:8–13. This parchment fragment, dated to around the third or fourth century AD, is one of the oldest copies of this passage that has been recovered. Scholars believed this fragment was part of a codex that may have contained the whole book of Romans, if not all of Paul’s letters. The fragment is in poor condition, with small holes, a missing central portion, tears, and the ink on the reverse of the fragment has faded, making it very difficult to read. However, with the use of technology such as multispectral imaging, scholars have been able to reveal the faded text. The text found on this fragment aligns closely with Codex Vaticanus, a fourth-century Bible that is regarded as one of the oldest and most complete Christian Bibles.

This fragment only measures 3.2 by 4.3 inches, but even this small piece has verses that contain proclamations and doctrine that are essential to the Christian faith:

“He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25 NASB)

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2 NASB)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NASB)

While this fragment is only a tattered portion of the larger leaf and may not look important, it shows the spread of Christian Scripture in this early period. And because it aligns so closely with another text from this period, it also shows the standardization of the New Testament texts at this time. Other features of the manuscript, like the use of nomina sacra (abbreviations for sacred words such as God, Jesus, etc.), the layout, and even individual ink marks, help scholars learn more about the Bible that was read by the early church. It was remarkably similar to the Bible we read today.