A hitherto forgotten manuscript contains valuable information about Jesus’ early life.
A discovery has been made at a university library in Hamburg, Germany. A team of researchers has deciphered a 1,600-year-old manuscript believed to be the earliest surviving record of Jesus Christ’s childhood.
The earliest miracle Jesus performed
The papyrus contains anecdotes likely shared widely during ancient and mediaeval times. The fragment describes a miracle attributed to Jesus as a child, according to the gospel a young Jesus Christ brought clay figures of birds to life.
The document is a fragment of papyrus, and it has been unnoticed in the library’s collection for decades until it was discovered by Lajos Berkes (Humboldt University) and Professor Gabriel Nocchi Macedo (University of Liège). The manuscript is identified as part of the “Infancy Gospel of Thomas,” a collection of stories about Jesus’ early life.
This discovery significantly predates the previously known 11th-century version of the gospel. While not part of the Bible, it is known as the Apocrypha, which are non-canonical writings in Christianity, primarily for private reading rather than public church services, and may be of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
The papyrus was earlier dismissed as mundane due to its clumsy handwriting. Berkes elaborates: “We initially thought it was a daily record, like a letter or shopping list. But then we spotted ‘Jesus’ and, after meticulous comparison with other digital papyri, deciphered it letter by letter. It wasn’t everyday writing.”
The document’s Greek script consists of 13 lines and dates back to late antique Egypt, confirming it was part of Thomas’ gospels origin, which was written in the same language.
