UCLA

Papyrus Amherst 63, also known as the “Mystery Papyrus,” has been a difficult manuscript to study. This document is written in Demotic script and Aramaic language. This creates a quandary among scholars. The difficulty is that the script (Demotic) and the language (Aramaic) are incongruent. This difficulty has hampered the study of this manuscript. This text is understudied and there are also only a handful of scholars who have thoroughly worked on this text. At this point, there are only two published editions of this text. This dissertation explores the Judean scribalism of this unique document through sociolinguistics. While there are various West Asian cultures present, this dissertation focuses on the Judean presence. Papyrus Amherst 63 col. xii lines 11–19 lay at the crux of this study and serve as the test case displaying the Judean scribal tendencies. This text has parallels with Psalm 20 of the Hebrew Bible, which makes this document important for understanding the West Asian community present in Egypt and its development. This dissertation provides a unique look into the West Asian community and the influences that are present in and outside of Egypt. This dissertation aims to uncover the Judean scribal tendencies that lay beneath the difficulties of this manuscript and will also explore the literary devices that are present that demonstrate Judean scribalism.