The oldest Coptic " incunabula " then include a glossary based on the Greek text of the books of the minor prophets Hosea and Amos (British Museum papyrus EA 10825), a set of glosses to another Greek edition of the minor prophets (Freer Manuscript V), as well as Coptic translations, not only of biblical texts (the Bodleian tablet Greek Inscr. 3019 and the bilingual Papyrus Hamburg 1), but also of local liturgical production ( Papyrus Kiseleff 3, which may date from the end of the 3rdcentury and, contrary to what its editors think, is not necessarily monastic).
The tablet is most instructive in terms of the cultural environment from which it originates: it is part of a codex of seven tablets comprising, in addition to a copy of Psalm 46:3-10, exercises in Greek (grammatical, literary and mathematical). Examination of the handwriting and the mistakes made by the scribe suggest - despite Lefort's analysis - that the scribe belonged to a deeply Hellenized Egyptian milieu, but was trying to develop a teaching system that also made room for Coptic at a time when Greek had the monopoly. The aim was not to replace Greek lectures with Coptic ones, but to integrate one into the framework of the other, which, with the prestige of antiquity, a tried and tested teaching method and the requirements of a society based on the written practice of Greek, was bound to remain dominant for a long time to come. This tablet is therefore a perfect illustration not only of the coexistence of Greek and Coptic in a school environment, but above all of the need for Coptic to coexist with Greek; it is indicative of an obligatory multilingualism and multiculturalism.
