A long-lost chapter of the Bible that was erased more than 1,500 years ago has been rediscovered under three layers of text using ultraviolet (UV) light – and it is one of the oldest translations of the Gospels.
The manuscript is chapters 11 through 12 in Matthew and is one of only four manuscripts written in ancient Syrian manuscripts to be found.
While it describes scenes written in the original Greek text, the newly discovered version translates more detail that experts say ‘offers a unique gateway to the very early phase in the history of the textual transmission of the Gospels.’
Scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) found the manuscript in the Vatican library, which, when exposed to UV light, illuminated the hidden text that a scribe in ancient Palestine had erased.
This process has become popular among scientists who hope to uncover secret documents, as the hidden text absorbs the light and glows a blueish color.
The manuscript is chapters 11 through 12 in Matthew and is one of only four manuscripts written in ancient Syrian manuscripts to be found
The hidden Bible chapter was uncovered by a so-called palimpsest Grigory Kessel, who said it is one of the earliest translations of the Gospels, made in the 3rd century and copied in the 6th century, on individual surviving pages of this manuscript.
‘The Gospel text is hidden in the sense that the early 6th c. parchment copy of the Gospels Book was reused twice and hence today on one and the same page one can find three layers of writing (Syriac – Greek – Georgian),’ Kessel told DailyMail.com.
‘The Gospel text in this reused manuscript contains the so-called Old Syriac translations of the Gospels (otherwise preserved in three fragmentary manuscripts).
‘It wasn’t known before my identification that the Vatican fragments also contain the Old Syriac translation.’
The Old Syriac translation of the scriptures was called ‘Peshitta’ and became the official translation used by the Syriac Church in the 5th century.
The team believes the parchment was reused for the Apophthegmata patrum in Greek, translated to ‘Sayings of the Fathers.’
The desert fathers were early Christian hermits who practiced asceticism in the Egyptian desert.
They did so around the 3rd century and eventually formed the basis of Christian monasticism.
The hidden Bible chapter was uncovered by a so-called palimpsest Grigory Kessel
Scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences found the manuscript in the Vatican library (pictured)
The Apophthegmata patrum is a collection of more than 1,000 of their stories and sayings and dates to the late fifth and early sixth centuries.
‘The tradition of Syriac Christianity knows several translations of the Old and New Testaments,’ Kessel said in a statement.
‘Until recently, only two manuscripts were known to contain the Old Syriac translation of the gospels.’
While researchers have not revealed a complete translation of the newly found chapter, they shared some of their findings.
‘While the original Greek of Matthew chapter 12, verse 1 says: ‘At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat,’ the Syriac translation says, ‘[…] began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them,’ the team shared in a statement.
The Syriac translation was written at least a century before the oldest Greek manuscripts that have survived, including the Codex Sinaiticus – the fourth-century Christian manuscript of the Greek Bible.
‘The earliest surviving manuscripts with this Syriac translation date from the 6th century and are preserved in the erased layers, so-called palimpsests, of newly written parchment leaves,’ researchers shared.
Claudia Rapp, Director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the OeAW, said: “Grigory Kessel has made a great discovery thanks to his profound knowledge of old Syriac texts and script characteristics.’
‘This discovery proves how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts.’
In February, it was announced that one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts – a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible – will be up for auction in May
This amazing discovery follows the announcement that one of the oldest surviving biblical manuscripts – a nearly complete 1,100-year-old Hebrew Bible – will be up for auction in May.
Experts at auction house Sotheby’s in New York estimate it will fetch between $30 million and $50 million.
It could become the most expensive historical document ever sold at auction if the winning bid exceeds the $43.2 million paid for a first-edition copy of the Constitution of the United States.
The Codex Sassoon’ is a leather-bound, handwritten parchment book, and radiocarbon dating estimates it was created between the years 880 and 960.
Its writing style also suggests its creator was an early 10th-century scribe in Egypt or the Levant, however exactly when and where it was made is still unknown.
