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     In the year 2000, Carsten Peter Thiede published a book entitled "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Origins of Christianity". (1) In chapter VII, which is entitled "Mark, Paul and the Great Debate," Thiede defends O'Callaghan's attempted identifications of Qumran fragments 7Q4 and 7Q5 as parts of the New Testament. (2) Despite the fact the he and O'Callaghan are clearly in error regarding 7Q4, he castigates those who have put forth the alternate proposal that fragment 7Q4 is really part of I Enoch, namely: G. Wilhelm Nebe, Emile Puech, and myself. (3)
     Towards the end of this chapter, he reiterates his arguments in favor of the Markan identification of 7Q5, including a reference to his microscopic analysis of the text on line 2. (4) He goes on to assert that "this decisive letter, which in Mark 6:52 must belong to the Greek word autwn, is a N and nothing else. The iota + alpha of the first edition have disappeared for good..." Because he has declared that there is certainly a nu in line 2 of 7Q5, Thiede stresses that this nu rules out the presence of an iota followed by an alpha. Thiede is emphatic in this regard and boldly claims that "there is no alpha anywhere in Greek papyri which even looks remotely like the traces left on the papyrus." (5) Furthermore, in endnote #34, Thiede repeats his sweeping assertion by stating that the alpha on line 3 shows that "it is obvious enough to the trained Greek papyrologist that there is not even the widest margin of tolerance which could turn the remaining ink (on line 2) into anything resembling a capital alpha...But today, with...electronic microscope print-outs and first-rate enlargements at our disposal..., to insist on an alpha suggests hidden agendas."
     Stefan Enste, who is harshly criticized by Thiede in the same endnote, also published a book in 2000 outlining in detail the arguments for and against the Markan identification of 7Q5. (6) In essence, Enste concludes that 7Q5 cannot possibly be part of Mark's Gospel. In the plates at the end of his book, Enste includes a comparison of the alpha in line 3 of 7Q5 with the traces of the alpha that remain in line 2. He combines the two in order to produce a complete alpha. In reproducing his diagram below, I have accompanied it with a copy of the same diagram with the extraneous ink removed in order to emphasize the appearance of this hypothetical alpha. In essence, this alpha resembles a plain capital A with half serifs extending outwards at the bottom.

     If Thiede is correct, the traces of ink on line 2 cannot be compared with that of the alpha on line 3 or any capital alpha, not even by "the widest margin of tolerance." Such an alpha with a horizontal crossbar and outward pointing half serifs at the bottom as suggested by the traces of ink in line 2 is not to be found "anywhere in Greek papyri." This assertion of Thiede is complemented by his claim that there is certainly a nu in line 2 of 7Q5. The bold and dogmatic nature of Thiede's statements demands an evaluation of their veracity vis-a-vis the pertinent papyrological evidence. To this end I have posed the following two questions, each of which addresses a claim made by Carsten Thiede.

     1. Does such an  alpha as described above exist anywhere in Greek papyri?
     2. Does the reconstructed nu as proposed by Carsten Thiede exist anywhere in Greek papyri?

     The results of my research are summarized in the chart shown below, which is arranged in two columns related to each of the questions posed above. In the left column I address the first question by giving the total count of the examples of the letter alpha that I have been able to find which are compatible with the traces of ink on line 2 of 7Q5 as shown below in image #3. (7) In the right column of the table I have considered the second question by enumerating those examples of the letter nu that I have found which resemble that of Thiede's reconstructed nu for line 2 of 7Q5. (8)
     At the bottom of both columns is a hyperlink to a sub-page that lists and depicts all of the examples that I have found. The link from the first or left column to a list of several examples provides an affirmative answer to the first question and also invalidates Thiede's claim that no such alpha exists anywhere in Greek papyri. The link from the second column to any available pertinent examples provides an affirmative answer for the second question and renders more plausible Thiede's reconstructed nu for line 2 of 7Q5. At this point it is important to stress that although the data summarized below will be useful for answering the above two questions in order to evaluate Thiede's claims, they cannot be expected to supply any proof that there is an alpha on line 2, as the possibility remains that it could be a lambda, chi or another letter. In spite of this shortcoming, it is certainly not wrong to suggest the possibility that it could be an alpha, based on the evidence provided by the examples enumerated below.
     In conducting my research, I have endeavored to study the clearest images available. When applicable, I have utilized the Microfiche (9) and Facsimile (10) editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In publishing this web page, I do so with the intention of inviting visitors to contribute to my list of examples, as my access to the pertinent data from Greek papyri is limited. It is with this in mind that I am willing to supplement my research with examples provided by others, provided they supply the pertinent sigla, photographs, and source information. I can be reached by e-mail at emuro@breadofangels.com

FOOTNOTES

March 23, 2003 / September 5, 2003