A New Chapter Of The Bible Was Found Hidden Inside 1,750-Year-Old Text

Exciting news for History and Religion buffs! Scientists recently discovered a new Bible chapter using a UV light.

Making History

The new Bible chapter is one of only four remaining examples of the Old Syriac translation. The ancient language is part of the Aramaic dialect originating from modern-day Southeastern Turkey. The earliest use of the language recorded on something other than stone, dates back to the year 243 B.C. With so few examples of this language available, it’s no wonder the new Bible chapter has made headlines.

New Bible Chapter Discovered

The Bible was written nearly 2,000 years ago. A small drop in the scientific theory of humanity, dating back to the Neanderthals. However, the newly discovered Bible chapter is an important part of history. The lost chapter is thought to be an interpretation of Matthew Chapter 12, regarding Jesus’ Ministry to the Sea of Galilee. To where, he made multiple trips, and preached God’s word.

The new Bible chapter is called a palimpsest because a layer of the text is hidden by another layer of text. The reason for this is due to a scarcity of parchment paper. The paper was reused, on some occasions, multiple times to create hard to decipher layers of text.

Who Discovered the New Bible Chapter

Grigory Kessel is a Medievalist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He was lucky enough with a little hard work and diligence, to uncover such a notable piece of history. Now published in the New Testament Studies. “Until recently, only two manuscripts were known to contain the Old Syriac translation of the Gospels,” he explained. The other 3 examples of the Old Syriac text include another palimpsest known as the “Sinai Palimpsests Project,” found at St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mt. Sanai.

New Bible Chapter’s Prestigious Residency

Kessel’s findings are currently being housed in the Vatican Library and are believed to have been translated from 3rd century text then copied in the 6th century. Other fragments of the original New Testament also contain writings dating back to the 3rd century but are incomplete. However, the Greek Codex Sinaiticus is the only known complete manuscript and dates back to the 6th century. Therefore, scientists believe this is the same timeline for the new Bible chapter. “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 explained.

Recognized by Superiors

“Grigory Kessel has made a great discovery thanks to his profound knowledge of old Syriac texts and script characteristics,” said Claudia Rapp, director of the Institute for Medieval Research at AAoS. “This discovery proves,” Rapp explained, “how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts.” “This discovery proves how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts,” she concluded.

Notable Differences in Text

When Kessel made the incredible discovery, he knew it had to be something incredible. Although he didn’t know at the time just how incredible. After the discovery his next step would be to study and evaluate, doing so he used ultraviolet photography. interestingly, the new Bible chapter represents one of the earliest translations of the Gospels in history. The new Bible chapter is predicted to answer a number of questions including to help clarify the differences between translated information.

There are 2 main texts that scholars have used for reference over the centuries. The first is Septuagint, or Greek and the second is Masoretic. The new Bible chapter is believed to be part of the Old Syriac Language originating as previously mentioned to be somewhere in modern-day turkey. Consequently, Turkey’s rich history includes rule under the Roman empire, therefore it’s likely that the translations made by the Greeks are more likely accurate representing of the original text, than in the King’s James Version for example. However, this is all speculation for now. Scientists are still working to decipher and translate the texts found in the new Bible chapter.

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