The most recent publication of Oxyrhynchus Papyri (P Oxy 73) includes the editio prrinceps of a fragment of 1 Peter 1 and 2. This is P Oxy 4934, P 125 in the official list of New Testament Papyri. The editor, J. Chapa has dated the fragment to the late third or early fourth century, making it contemporary with P Bodmer VIII, P 72.
At 1 Peter 2:3 P 125 reads Christos (Christ, abbreviated x[c ) rather than chrastos (good). This is the reading of P 72. Chapa lists the following support for the reading: P72 K L 049 33 69 614 1241 1243 1852 2298 2464 al. A full listing is found in the ECM IV Part 1, 126. The variant Christos is supported by our two oldest witnesses to 1 Peter and by a substantial number of manuscripts. It is further to be noted that these two papyri from
different places in Egypt give different abbreviations of Christos( P72 reads xpc, P125 appears to read xc,)
Bedore the discovery of these two papyri it would not have been feasible to argue that Christos was what the author of 1 Peter wrote. But these papyri anchor the reading to a much earlier date, strengthening on external grounds the argument that this was the original reading. This proposal is further strengthened when we consider that the term Christos (on its own without Jesus) is employed by the author of 1 Peter in a rich and diverse manner. We note the following:
1:11 the Spirit of Christ (within the prophets)
1:11 the suffering destined for Christ and the subsequent glory
1:19 the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish
2:21 because Christ also suffered for you
3:15 in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord
3:16 your good conduct in Christ
3:18 for Christ also suffered for sins once for all
4:1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh
4:13 you are sharing in Christ's sufferings
4:14 if you are reviled for the name of Christ
5:1 a witness of the sufferings of Christ
5:10 the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ
5:14 Peace to all of you who are in Christ
It is noteworthy that the reading Christos, if original at 2:3, occurs in a clear allusion to Psalm 34 (LXX 33), a psalm that is quoted or echoed several times in the letter. The reading, then, gives a Christological interpretation of Psalm 34. This should not surprise the careful reader of 1 Peter, since elsewhere the author has given a Christological reading of O.T. texts. Notably in 2:21-25 we find a number of phrases from Isa.52:13-53:12, the fourth Servant Song, applied to the death of Christ. Here we find what J.H. Elliott has termed "a theological formulation that is as creative as it is singular in the N.T." (Elliott, 1 Peter, 2000, 504). Similarly we note in 1 Peter 3:15 the change in the wording of Isa.8:12-13 from Theon to Christon. , clearly a Christological alteration. It is not surprising, then, to find a similar thoughtful theological reflection on Psalm 34 in 1 Peter. Christos in 1 Peter 2:3 is not a patristic but a petrine pun.