Category Archives: Fakes and Forgeries
The Question of Question Marks in Greek Manuscripts
I’ve been meaning to post for quite some time on a fascinating video from the 2021 Birmingham Colloquium on New Testament Textual Criticism. Elijah Hixson presented on P50, a papyrus bifolium containing Acts 8:26-32 and 10:26-31 kept at Yale’s Beinecke … Continue reading
Ariel Sabar’s Veritas: Some First Reactions
Thanks to Doubleday for sending along an advanced copy of Ariel Sabar’s new book, Veritas. I really didn’t know what to expect with this book. Sabar’s detailed article on the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” in The Atlantic in 2016 … Continue reading
The Capitoline Sappho
In the wake of the controversy over the “Newest Sappho” papyrus in the last few years , I’ve read more about the Greek poetess Sappho than I ever thought I would. In doing so, I realized that I have a … Continue reading
Forgeries, Inks, and Writing Surfaces
When I was writing God’s Library, I was constantly confronted with how little I knew about several domains of knowledge that are important for the study of ancient manuscripts. One of these areas is the more technical chemical make-up of … Continue reading
Statement on the So-Called Dead Sea Scrolls of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
A couple days ago, Christianity Today reported that Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is closing what it calls “the nation’s leading evangelical archaeology program.” At the same time, the Seminary itself issued a statement explaining the shuttering of the program, but … Continue reading
Fake Dead Sea Scrolls and the People Who Sell Them: One Fragment’s Story
Two posts in recent days prompt me to wonder about the cast of characters involved in the marketing of the “post-2002 Dead Sea Scrolls like fragments” that most of the guild now regards as forgeries (though respected Dead Sea Scrolls … Continue reading
Report: All the “Dead Sea Scrolls” at the Museum of the Bible Are Fakes
In an article posted online earlier today, National Geographic reported something that is not that surprising to many of us who have been following this story: All 16 of the so-called “Dead Sea Scrolls” owned by the Museum of the … Continue reading
National Geographic’s “Bible Hunters”: Some Observations
As Larry Hurtado mentioned on his blog a couple days ago, the cover story of the December 2018 issue of National Geographic magazine is on “Bible Hunters,” that is to say both nineteenth century figures like Constantine von Tischendorf and … Continue reading
An Old Quote from Frank Moore Cross on Unprovenanced Artifacts
I’ve just returned from a stimulating week at the University of Agder. I had loads of interesting conversations about a number of topics, many of them stemming from the Museum of the Bible’s admission that (at least) five of their … Continue reading
Fake Dead Sea Scrolls at the Museum of the Bible
It has been a truly fascinating day for me at the University of Agder. After spending Monday morning and afternoon listening to sharp and informative talks by Matthew Monger, Ingrid Breilid Gimse, Josephine Munch Rasmussen, and Årstein Justnes on the probability that many … Continue reading
Variant Readings 