Published April 12, 2023 7:00 am PDT
Scientists have discovered a “hidden chapter” in the Bible over 1,500 years after it was written.
QUICK FACTS:
- Scientists have discovered a section of Biblical translation text dating back more than a dozen centuries.
- According to a study published Saturday in the journal New Testament Studies, the section of Scripture (Matt 11:30–12:26) represents one of the earliest translations and was found using ultraviolet photography to see underneath multiple layers of text.
- “The tradition of Syriac Christianity knows several translations of the Old and New Testaments,” medievalist Dr. Grigory Kessel, the author of the study, said. “Until recently, only two manuscripts were known to contain the Old Syriac translation of the gospels.”
- “As far as the dating of the Gospel book is concerned, there can be no doubt that it was produced no later than the sixth century,” the study reads. “Despite a limited number of dated manuscripts from this period, comparison with dated Syriac manuscripts allows us to narrow down a possible time frame to the first half of the sixth century.”
- Researchers said the recently discovered text is a translation originally written in the early middle ages as part of the Old Syriac Translations.
DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR MEDIEVAL RESEARCH AT THE AUSTRIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CLAUDIA RAPP ON THE NEWLY DISCOVERED BIBLICAL TEXT:
“This discovery proves how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts,” Rapp said.
TRUSTWORTHINESS OF THE BIBLE:
- The discovery of the newly identified section of the Syriac Gospel text in the Vatican Library provides important evidence for the reliability of the Bible.
- By comparing the text in the newly discovered fragment with other known manuscripts, scholars are able to confirm that the text is consistent with the Old Syriac version of the Gospels, which is an important version for understanding the history and development of the biblical text.
- The fact that the Vatican fragment matches the Old Syriac version, and is particularly similar to the text in the Curetonianus, which is one of the few known manuscript witnesses to this version, provides strong evidence for the consistency and accuracy of the biblical text over time.
- This discovery also sheds light on the transmission history of the Gospel text in Syriac, which is important for understanding the history of the Christian faith in the Middle East.
- Therefore, this discovery gives us further confidence in the trustworthiness of the Bible, as it provides more evidence for the accuracy and reliability of the text, and helps to affirm the authenticity of the biblical message.
READ THE STUDY:
BACKGROUND:
- The fragment of hidden text is so far the only known remnant of the fourth textual witness to the gospel that attests to the Old Syriac version of the Bible.
- “Grigory Kessel has made a great discovery thanks to his profound knowledge of old Syriac texts and script characteristics,” director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the OeAW Claudia Rapp said.
- While the Syriac translation was written nearly a century prior to the oldest Greek manuscripts, the earliest surviving text written in the 6th century is preserved in the erased layers, or palimpsests, of newly written parchment leaves.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century, are a collection of Jewish texts dating back to the Second Temple period. They provide important evidence for the accuracy and reliability of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible.
- The Dead Sea Scrolls include copies of biblical texts that are very similar to later translations of the Hebrew Bible, such as the Masoretic Text, providing more evidence that the biblical text has been accurately transmitted over time and giving us confidence in the trustworthiness of the Bible.
Jon Fleetwood contributed to this report.
