P137 Took So Long To Publish, Most People Forgot It Even Existed

Background information For the textual critics and history nerds out there, you might recall that in some time around 2011 a new Greek papyrus manuscript of Mark was “discovered”. By discovered, I mean it was found already existing in a collection of manuscripts, where it has been housed since 1903. It was actually discovered by Bernard … Read more

Why Is Acts 8:37 Missing From Modern Bibles?

P45, Chester Beatty XII, leaf 3

Acts 8:37: Omission or Addition? The general argument when discussing a Bible translation should be based on a single question: what best represents the original manuscripts? Since we do not have a single original manuscript scholars must use the existing ones and piece together what they believe to most accurately represent the originals. It’s not … Read more

What Is “The Acts of Peter”?

Vercelli Book

About The Acts of Peter About: The Acts of Peter is an apocryphal New Testament writing that focuses on a sensationalized collection of stories that detail miraculous feats of Peter. The various manuscripts that exist can be broke down into 3 sections. Peter’s Daughter & The Gardener’s Daughter (A short episode in Coptic) The Vercelli … Read more

Biblical Archaeology: The Letter of Peter which he sent to Philip

Nag Hammadi Codex VI Opened

The Letter of Peter which he sent to Philip Dating and Discovery The Coptic versions currently known to exist were written between the late 2nd century CE and early 3rd century CE (170-220 CE), titled “The Letter of Peter which he sent to Philip“. Currently scholars have discovered two copies of this letter in Egypt. … Read more

THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH [Text, Translation, & Tablets]

Depiction of Anzu pursued by Ninurta, palace relief, Nineveh

Epic Tablets The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest stories, not just in the setting of the narrative but also in the fact that there are tablets of this story that reach back to the times of Abraham. In comparison, the oldest pieces of the Old Testament that have been discovered are the … Read more

What is the Letter Of Aristeas?

Letter of Aristeas, Epistula ad Philocratem)

The Letter Of Aristeas was a 2nd century (BCE) letter written to the Greek ruler Philocrates, who was Aristeas’ brother. The letter details how “Demetrius of Phalerum, the president of the king’s library” requested to have the writings of the Jews translated into Greek to store in the Alexandrian library. One of the oldest known copy … Read more