The Jewish community of Créteil has invited me to give a public lecture on the oldest manuscripts of the Bible and the latest discoveries, especially the problems of forgery and theft.

I will discuss such cases as Constantine Simonides and Moses Shapira, in the 19th century, but also more recent stories, especially the Museum of the Bible’s forged Dead Sea Scrolls and—as revealed just a few weeks ago—stolen New Testament papyri from the Oxyrhynchus collection.

The common denominator of these stories is the wild quest for the oldest biblical manuscripts, which are hoped to reveal the “original” text of the Bible.

To find out about the historical, religious, political and ethical implications of this quest, come 8 February at 20:00 at: Communauté juive de Créteil, rue du 8 mai 1945. 🙂

(And if you are interested in forgeries, have a look at my work on the topic. 😉)

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UPDATE: Article Le Pèlerin
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SEE ALSO

The fascinating story of the discovery of biblical manuscripts The Bible, What a History! In Hautecombe Abbey, 21 Oct 2020 The Bible, What a History! In Marseille, 7 July 2020 The Bible, What a History! In Lille, 2 and 9 July 2020 In Search of the Oldest Manuscripts of the Bible: Theft, Looting and Forgery – Jerusalem, 18 Dec 2019 The Book of Jeremiah’s redaction history in light of its oldest manuscripts (and the issue of forgery) Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls After 70 Years, in Blois on Oct 7, 2017 Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed in Créteil on February 8, 2016