Abstract It is widely understood that many, if not most, early Christian manuscripts were produced for use in communal reading. Recent studies show that this view is supported by scribal number-writing techniques, which appear to be constrained by the need for clarity in pronunciation. Specifically, early New Testament scribes used alphabetic numerals in their body texts but only when these would be unambiguous to a would-be reader. This study examines the number-writing techniques found in the Chester Beatty Old Testament papyri and finds that they abide by the same principles of number writing as their New Testament counterparts (with one notable exception), a fact which sheds further light on the use of scriptural texts in early Christianity.
Zachary J. Cole (Tue,) studied this question.