Recently, scientists decided to examine an inconspicuous papyrus kept in the Hamburg library. It turned out that this manuscript is an important religious text that tells about the childhood of Jesus of Nazareth.
An old manuscript found in the Hamburg State and University Library. Karl von Ossietzky offers a rare glimpse into the childhood of Jesus of Nazareth. Previously, historians relied on a limited number of texts outside the Bible to summarize the details of his life, reports say IFLScience.
Dr. Lajos Berkes from the Humboldt University of Berlin and Professor Gabriel Nocchi Macedo from the University of Liège have carefully studied this fragment. According to them, the manuscript known as “P.Hamb.Graec. 1011” is the oldest known example of the Gospel of Thomas, dating to the 4th or 5th century AD.
Before this discovery, the oldest copy of this Gospel was believed to date from the 11th century AD.
Dr. Birks said: “The fragment is of extreme interest for research… because we have been able to date it to the 4th to 5th centuries, making it the oldest known copy.”
This ancient text, which measures approximately 11 by 5 centimeters and contains 13 lines of Greek script, was overlooked for decades because it was mistakenly thought to be an ordinary document due to its rough handwriting.
The Gospel of Thomas tells about events from Jesus’ childhood that are not recorded in the Bible.
Dr. Nocchi Macedo confirmed: “Our findings on this late ancient Greek copy of the work support the modern assessment that the Gospel of Thomas was originally written in Greek.”
This excerpt contains the story known as “The Animation of the Sparrows,” in which little Jesus creates clay sparrows and brings them to life.
The discovery of this papyrus is important because it provides historical context and helps scholars trace the development and spread of early Christian texts.
