German researchers have deciphered what is believed to be the oldest manuscript ever to detail the childhood life of Jesus Christ.
The papyrus manuscript dates back to the 4th or 5th century, over 1,600 years ago. No one thought the document was important, so it was kept in a library in Hamburg, Germany.
“This fragment is of great scientific interest,” Professor Lajos Berkes, one of the researchers who deciphered the text, said in a press release. “On the one hand, because we were able to date it to the 4th-5th century, making it the oldest known manuscript, and on the other hand, because it gave us new insights into the transmission of this text.”
“The handwriting is so poorly written that it was thought to be part of an everyday document, such as a personal letter or a shopping list,” he continued. “We first noticed the word ‘Jesus’ in the text. We then deciphered it letter by letter, comparing it with many other digitized papyri, and quickly realized that it could not have been an everyday document.”
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German researchers have deciphered what is believed to be the oldest manuscript ever to detail the childhood life of Jesus Christ. (University Library of Hamburg/Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Burks said the document is a fragment of the Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal book not found in the Bible, which provides details about Jesus’ early life before he began his ministry.
The document’s poor handwriting led Burks to believe it was written as part of a writing exercise at a monastery or school.
Although the manuscript contains only a few words, researchers were able to determine that it is a retelling of the legend of “The Resurrection of the Sparrow.”
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“Jesus plays in the shallow waters of a fast-flowing river and fashions 12 sparrows out of soft clay he finds in the mud. When his father Joseph scolds him, asking why he would do this on the holy Sabbath, the five-year-old Jesus claps his hands and the clay figures come to life,” the press release reads.
Although the manuscript contains only a few words, researchers were able to determine that it is a retelling of the legend of “The Resurrection of the Sparrow.” (iStock)
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