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The Jesus Papyrus

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I finished this book in two days and found it very intriguing as to a topic new to me. Prior to my reading, I thought that the Egyptian found early 2nd century fragment of John's gospel was the earliest recovered piece of New Testament literature. However, this book proves that 3 fragments, also Egyptian found, are pre-Jerusalem destruction (AD 70) although once dated as 3rd-4th century. This book will be beneficial and faith augmenting to Christians because it shows that Matthew's gospel was written in the 60s of the first century, if not earlier, contrary to the vein of critical scholars who late date the New Testament and claim the real Jesus is clouded by post-destruction inventions. With this earlier, more historically reliable dating of the Matthean fragments, we can put Mark's gospel at an even earlier date! Speaking of the Markan account, this book also goes into some depth in establishing that a fragment found in Cave 7 at Qumran (home to the Dead Sea Scrolls) is indeed a portion of Mark, making its latest date AD 68. The authors do very well in justifying their conclusions, which they do also by juxtaposition of the fragments and other works of antiquity in what seems to be a valid methodology. I feel the Magdalen papyrus (the 3 Matthean fragments as to which the title refers) could very possibly to some extent revolutionize New Testament historical thinking by serving as a new paradigm. Anyone interested in Papyrology or New Testament historicity should read The Jesus Papyrus!

A few of scraps of papyrus seemingly stand the world of New Testament scholarship on its head. The scraps are believed to be from the Gospel of Matthew. When they were discovered, they were dated to the time period 80-100 A.D. Thiede re-examines the scraps and finds them to date from around 60 A.D. Such a dating would mean that Matthew's Gospel most likely was written by an eyewitness. It would also mean that the four document hypothesis, that well-respected mainstay of Gospel scholarship, is dead wrong. Thiede tries manfully to explain how he came to the dating. In so doing, he must explain the arcane, esoteric, and almost impenetrable world of papyrology. It makes for slow, painful reading, and students who are not familiar with the science of the study of papyrus scraps will have to take much of what Thiede says on faith. Those of a conservative bent will readily embrace Thiede's findings; the more liberal Bible students will not. Whichever side you take, or even if you fall somewhere in the middle, you should find it worth your effort to read this book.

Caveat Emptor: This is a reprint. Thiede first published this book as "Eyewitness to Jesus." If you've already read "Eyewitness," you might want to purchase something else.

"Suffice it to say that the most respected and experienced scholars who have examined the evidence are not convinced that the comparative texts which Thiede claims lead to his early dating actually do support his conclusions." J. K. Elliott, University of Leeds



The Jesus Papyrus:
In a science fiction portrayal book written by German scholar Carsten Thiede, and Matthew d'Ancona, a Times of London journalist, who originally broke the story. The public could satisfy their religious curiosity, due to the vivid graphical discription of three discovered papyrus scraps, even if a study was previously published in Harvard Theological Review, in 1953, four decades before d'Ancona's story broke out in the London newspaper lobby.
The Magdalen Papyrus testify to three traditions; Saint Matthew, in person, wrote the Gospel carrying his name; within a generation of Jesus' death; while the Gospel stories about Jesus were still vivid, not only ex memoria. The papyrus scraps, identified as three fragments of the Gospel of St Matthew, are dated at Ca. AD 66.
With the revised dates arrived at by means of paleological dating, they could have been set earlier than their actual date. This means that the debate on the examination and dating of the New Testament papyri is not at its end, but rather at its beginning. In their book, Text of the Earliest NT Greek Manuscripts, Ph. Comfort and D. Barret argue for a general date of 150-175 for the manuscript.

Ancient Text Dating:
Expert palaeographers are able to determine the rough parameters for the dates of their texts to within plus or minus 25 years; this is done on the basis of comparisons of the style of lettering in the literary texts with identical handwriting styles in texts whose dates are known. There was a tendency earlier this century to date Christian papyri too late, partly because it was not realised that Christian biblical papyri written in a codex, as opposed to scrolls began as early as has subsequently been proved to be the case. Thus several previously established late datings for these Biblical codices have had to be revised in favour of an earlier date. Almost sixty of our earliest surviving New Testament manuscripts are now accepted to have been written before 300 A.D. Papyrus 64, however, is not our earliest.

New papyrus fragments?
Despite the impression then generated by the press, Thiede's book did not present a newly discovered text: the manuscript had possessed ever by Magdalen College library, Oxford, since it was presented to them, more than a century ago, by a former student. In 1901, the Rvrd Charles Huleatt acquired three pieces of a New Testament papyrus fragments in Luxor, Egypt, and donated them to Magdalen College, where they were displayed in a case, drawing little attention. Nearly a century later, a German scholar, papyrologist Carsten P. Thiede, reevaluated the fragmentary parts of the Gospel of Matthew, initially thought to date from AD 180-200, showing them to be slightly, though significantly older, and proposed they were written about AD 60. Some vehemently denied Dr. Thiede's claims, others would have embraced them, but nobody could ignore the impact of The Jesus Papyrus, which caused a chain of fiction mystery books evolving from the Da Vincci code to the The Secrets of Judas!

A Decade Later:
The 'Jesus Papyrus' is about three scraps, of Matthew's Gospel, which reveal part of Matthew chapter 26: 7-33. It had been previously studied and published in Harvard Theological Review in 1953. "When Biblical texts were discovered in the sands of Egypt it was not uncommon for dealers to maximize their profits by selling the finds in separate lots to different purchasers, hence portions of the same manuscript can be found in more than one library." According to J. Elliott, of Leeds University, Papyrus 64 in the official registry of NT Greek manuscripts is part of another manuscript containing a portion of Matthew, now in Barcelona. He stated also that scholars have linked these two with Papyrus 4 in Paris, which is a fragment of Luke's gospel. Only after the separate texts are published can links be seen, is J. Elliott conclusion. A few years earlier Thiede tried to popularize a book that resurrected a theory that some of the very fragmentary Greek texts found at Qumran (the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls) were from New Testament texts: one in particular, was said to be part of Mark's gospel. The presence of Christian texts in Qumran would be remarkable enough among the literary remains of an exclusive Jewish sect; that is linked with the Therapeutae, the Jewish Egyptian hermetic sect which had two settlements in Kellia and Nitria, SE Lake Mariotis, near Alexandria. The presence of a bit of Mark amid the remains of this library, apparently deposited there before 68 A.D., within a few years of the likely date of composition of this gospel, would be even more incredible, according to British scholars. Thiede, though tolerating criticism, has speculated about the history of Christian links with Qumran on uncertain and controversial foundations.

Media Excitement:
Newsweek gave Thiede and his book repeated support in its Jan 23, 1995 and April 8, 1996. Even the cautious German news magazine Der Spiegel (May 27, 1996), gave the book much publicity. The French daily Le Figaro on 14 April, 1995 featured the story. The popular media may have represented opposition to Thiede by some academics as the professional jealousy!

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish Origins of Christianity
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Origins (Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls & Related Literature)

The Jesus Papyrus by Matthew D'Ancona reads like an ancient detective story. If D'Ancona is correct in his early dating of Matthew, then all the synoptic gospels are much more contemporary with the Apostles than scripture scholars previously thought. They are therefore more historically reliable then previously reckoned, because those who were eye witnesses to the events were still alive and able to give testimony to their historical aspects. It does not make the Gospels biography or history. However, the historical elements in them are now more dependable. This book will cause liberal scholars to deal with its well-reasoned hypothesis.