Scientists have found a new chapter of the Bible. It was discovered using UV light in a Biblical manuscript in the Vatican in Rome.
It was under three layers of text already on the page, due to a practice that was formerly common where scribes would rewrite on the same page. The hidden chapter is from the Book of Matthew.
What’s in the Chapter?
The chapter is estimated to have been written around 1,500 years previously and gives more details from the area of Chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Matthew.
The original text had been written over with other things and newer versions, because scribes used to erase and reuse the kind of animal vellum that was used for writing.
The full translation hasn’t yet been revealed, but we know it is written in the ancient language of Syriac. We also know that it includes more detailed descriptions of things Jesus did and the actions of His disciples.
This discovery was made by Grigory Kessel, a medieval expert from the Austrian Academy of Sciences who works studying old manuscripts and texts.
Announcing the discovery in the journal New Testament Studies, medievalist Grigory Kessel found the hidden chapter underneath 3 layers of text.
Matthew chapter 12 was originally translated as part of Old Syriac translations about 1,500 years ago.https://t.co/uVFq8I2HpW
— JS Oakie42🐢🌪🐇 (@OakieJs) April 11, 2023
Growing Discoveries
UV light is extremely useful for uncovering old writings; it shows the places where ink was absorbed into the paper, even if it was subsequently erased.
This page had been used to write down the detailed versions for this area of the Book of Matthew, but later erased and used to copy down the Sayings of the Desert Fathers in the sixth century.
The third time, it was used to write out a number of sacred Christian hymns in the Georgian language, which refers to the nation of Georgia south of Russia. The Syriac version of the Bible is even earlier than the Greek versions which were later written out.
This recovered chapter appears to support all of the official stories of the Bible and Jesus, but simply provides a bit more detailed descriptions.
In a time when the radical left wants to undermine faith or claim that science and faith are incompatible, discoveries like this are particularly valuable.
This article appeared in FreshOffThePress and has been published here with permission.
