A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus’ Wife (Written in Coptic in the fourth century)

New York Times ^ | 09/18/2012 | Laurie Goodstein

[SeekAndFind]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’ ”

The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than a business card, with eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass. Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”

The finding was made public in Rome on Tuesday at an international meeting of Coptic scholars by Karen L. King, a historian who has published several books about new Gospel discoveries and is the first woman to hold the nation’s oldest endowed chair, the Hollis professor of divinity.

The provenance of the papyrus fragment is a mystery, and its owner has asked to remain anonymous. Until Tuesday, Dr. King had shown the fragment to only a small circle of experts in papyrology and Coptic linguistics, who concluded that it is most likely not a forgery. But she and her collaborators say they are eager for more scholars to weigh in and perhaps upend their conclusions.

Even with many questions unsettled, the discovery could reignite the debate over whether Jesus was married, whether Mary Magdalene was his wife and whether he had a female disciple. These debates date to the early centuries of Christianity, scholars say. But they are relevant today, when global Christianity is roiling over the place of women in ministry and the boundaries of marriage.

[a fool in paradise]

Meanwhile if you bring up Mohammed’s child bride Islamists will riot and murder (because they too want one but don’t like the universal scorn).

[himno hero]

To me? It only makes perfect sense that he had a wife and family.

Much of the faith and its continuity is based and central to a strong family. This means marriage, fidelity etc etc between a man and a woman.

Where the perversion exists is in writing women out of the picture. Kinda like the muslims still do, but writing them in as property.

[MacMattico]

In 1978, my Girl Scout troop buried a time capsule and on my picture I wrote my name and under it President of the United States. 2,000 years from now, I will be revered for the powerful position I held. It happens to be buried near where an actual President was born, so when you take what little data can be accumulated after 2,000 years, I'll probably be considered right up there with the Pharaohs, Julius Caesar and Socrates.

[MacMattico]

When I read Dan Brown's book, as a purely fictional mystery, I at least expected a decent story line. Instead I got about 500 pages of the main characters acting like there was this big secret that had to be proved because the public had to know. Then as soon as they found the “proof” they conspired to keep it secret from all mankind. Duh! I tossed the book all the way across my living room. Ok, I threw it. A waste of my time.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Try the gefilte fish and tip your Pharisee.

[Mercat]

Poor thing. She looks like she’s had a stroke.

[BuffaloJack]

It makes sense that Jesus would have a wife. Jesus was addressed as Rabbi by his followers. Since Jesus was a Jew and would have followed Jewish law, Jewish law stated that you cannot be a Rabbi unless you are married.

[CdMGuy]

No, they will never give up. Jesus told his believers that we always would suffer. This woman holds up a piece of papyrus about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and then claims that it is testimony that Jesus had a wife and a woman disciple. Trouble is that little scrap of paper was written upon at least 400 years after Jesus. Funny, how two of the Gospels which were written by his Apostles never seem to mention that. Nor does any other writer at that time. Nor did St. Peter or St. Paul.

[CdMGuy]

Is that a photo of former Senator Fred Thompson in drag?

[Auntie Mame]

Does this mean that priests can marry now? And since we’ve skipped over the definition of marriage and changed it, can they now marry their male or female lovers?

Is this where this is going?

[BykrBayb]

And what if you’re wrong? Salvation doesn’t depend on this.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Jewish law stated that you cannot be a Rabbi unless you are married.

I have asked Orthodox rabbis they cannot find a requirement in the Talmud that requires a rabbit to be married.

However, they did find two talmudic counter-examples:

Sotah 4b says that Ben Azzai was unmarried.

On Kiddushin 71b R. Yehudah of Pumbeditha is asked why his son, R. Yitzchak, is not yet married (and is an adult).

Kiddushin 82a does argue that an unmarried man cannot teach children, but this appears to be a concern about the appearance of impropriety, not a question about his ability or knowledge.

So no, rabbis are NOT required to be married.

Rambam Hilchot Ishut 15:3

מי שחשקה נפשו בתורה תמיד ושגה בה כבן עזאי ונדבק בה כל ימיו ולא נשא אשה אין בידו עון והוא שלא יהיה יצרו מתגבר עליו, אבל אם היה יצרו מתגבר עליו חייב לישא אשה ואפילו היו לו בנים שמא יבוא לידי הרהור.‏

Someone who wished to only study Torah his whole life like Ben Azzai (See Monica Cellio's answer) and clings to it his whole life and never married, he does not have a sin on his hands. This only applies if his desires do not get the better of him, but if he cannot control his desires he must marry, even if he has children [from a previous marriage].

According to Rambam, getting married is highly recommended, even for a rabbi, but is not an absolute requirement.

[narses]

It makes sense that Jesus would have a wife. Jesus was addressed as Rabbi by his followers. Since Jesus was a Jew and would have followed Jewish law, Jewish law stated that you cannot be a Rabbi unless you are married.

Uh, no. Not even close. But keep trying, it gives us a good laugh now and then.

[randog]

Good rundown on Jewish law.

It’s my understanding that the Jewish word ‘rabbi’ is synonymous with the Christian word ‘pastor’—they both mean ‘teacher’, and when Jesus was referred to as ‘rabbi’ it was meant as a term of respect to a great teacher.

[Blood of Tyrants]

So what? Yeshua was a VERY common name in Israel.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I don’t know if that’s true, but even so...

...there is “addressed as” and there is actually “BEING” a “rabbi”.

[Georgia Girl 2]

She looks like Church Lady on SNL. :)

[MacMattico]

In 2003, this lady wrote “The Gospel of Mary of Magdela: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle”. She now says she has her proof. Actually, she has a piece of papyrus, the name Jesus, the words wife and disciple in a small paragraph. No one knows the provenance of the papyrus and it is estimated to have been written 300-400 years after Jesus lived. Newspaper’s are now running with the story Jesus was married. No matter what you believe, this is “proof” of nothing and a Harvard Ph.D. should know not to present it as such. (I am a woman so no, I am not anti-woman.)

[randog]

But they are relevant today, when global Christianity is roiling over the place of women in ministry and the boundaries of marriage.

We are? Who knew!

Nothing new under the sun with this discovery. The world is full of false gospels. In fact, if you read the Bible you'll find that Paul and other apostles spent a great deal of their time stomping out these brush fires. If you wanted something of substance to pin feminist ideals on then Acts of Paul and Thecla will really float your boat. Like the scrap of text this woman found, it's a Coptic text dating from the 2nd century. Enjoy.

[MacMattico]

Well, at least she's not claiming he married a male apostle. That book will probably come out next year. She'll find “married” and “Judas” on a piece of papyrus and claim Judas never betrayed Jesus, it was a marital squabble over Judas spending all of his silver pieces at the mall.

Seriously, this woman has also written a lot about the Gnostics, who also believe there is a Gospel of Judas that paints Judas in a completely different light.