In Search of the Oldest Manuscripts of the Bible: Theft, Looting and Forgery – Jerusalem, 18 Dec 2019

I will give a public lecture on the issues of theft, looting and forgery of biblical manuscripts, in Jerusalem on 18 December 2019 (and not 10 Dec, as initially announced).

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 18 December at 18:00 at the French Research Center in Jerusalem, Shimshon Street 3. 🙂

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