In a rubbish heap at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt in December 1905, a single vellum leaf from a miniature codex was discovered containing 45 well-preserved lines from an uncanonical gospel. The manuscript is generally dated to the third or fourth century, and the text to the first half of the second. It recounts a discourse between Jesus and his disciples, and a confrontation between Jesus and a Pharisee in the temple. Breaking nearly a century of scholarly neglect, Kruger (New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina) offers a full palaeographical, historical, and exegetical evaluation in order to clarify its place in the scope of early gospel traditions. The study began as his 2002 doctoral dissertation in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
