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Lost Gospel of Judas Reveals Truth Behind Betrayal: Ancient Inks Verify Document
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Apr 09, 2013 08:29 AM EDT
A long-lost gospel may reveal that Judas wasn't such a bad guy after all. The ancient text that was first found in 2006 casts Judas as a co-conspirator of Jesus rather than his betrayer. Now, scientists have announced that they wouldn't have been able to determine that the evidence was authentic without supporting documents, which included Ancient Egyptian marriage licenses and property contracts.
The gospel itself is a fragmented text written in Coptic, the language of the ancient Egyptians. It says that instead of betraying Jesus to the authorities with a kiss, Judas conspired with him. In fact, they hatched a plan to turn Jesus over for execution in order to release his spirit from his body. This contrasts sharply with the biblical version of the tale which states that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
The Gospel of Judas was first discovered in the 1970s, though it wasn't until 2006 that the document was thoroughly investigated. Researchers wanted to find out if it truly dated back to the early days of Christianity or if it was instead a fake.
When the National Geographic Society first examined the gospel, they were concerned about some of the chemicals in the ink. In particular, the composition of it didn't seem to correspond to the time period. It was created by a mixture of both brown and black inks. While the black ink corresponded to the time period, the brown ink did not.
Yet when supporting Egyptian documents that were already verified were brought in, the researchers found that, in fact, ink technology was undergoing a transition at the time. While contracts were written in black ink, they were officially registered in the brown ink. This explained the Gospel of Judas' odd ink composition.
Now, the researcher behind verifying the Gospel of Judas has presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans. Named Joseph Barabe, he and his associates presented the behind-the-scenes story of how they managed to verify the document.
Currently, the Gospel of Judas resides in the Coptic Museum in Cairo.
Want to see images of the ancient text? Check them out here.
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First Posted: Apr 09, 2013 08:29 AM EDT
A long-lost gospel may reveal that Judas wasn't such a bad guy after all. The ancient text that was first found in 2006 casts Judas as a co-conspirator of Jesus rather than his betrayer. Now, scientists have announced that they wouldn't have been able to determine that the evidence was authentic without supporting documents, which included Ancient Egyptian marriage licenses and property contracts.
The gospel itself is a fragmented text written in Coptic, the language of the ancient Egyptians. It says that instead of betraying Jesus to the authorities with a kiss, Judas conspired with him. In fact, they hatched a plan to turn Jesus over for execution in order to release his spirit from his body. This contrasts sharply with the biblical version of the tale which states that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
The Gospel of Judas was first discovered in the 1970s, though it wasn't until 2006 that the document was thoroughly investigated. Researchers wanted to find out if it truly dated back to the early days of Christianity or if it was instead a fake.
When the National Geographic Society first examined the gospel, they were concerned about some of the chemicals in the ink. In particular, the composition of it didn't seem to correspond to the time period. It was created by a mixture of both brown and black inks. While the black ink corresponded to the time period, the brown ink did not.
Yet when supporting Egyptian documents that were already verified were brought in, the researchers found that, in fact, ink technology was undergoing a transition at the time. While contracts were written in black ink, they were officially registered in the brown ink. This explained the Gospel of Judas' odd ink composition.
Now, the researcher behind verifying the Gospel of Judas has presented his findings at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans. Named Joseph Barabe, he and his associates presented the behind-the-scenes story of how they managed to verify the document.
Currently, the Gospel of Judas resides in the Coptic Museum in Cairo.
Want to see images of the ancient text? Check them out here.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone