THE oldest RECORD of Jesus’ childhood has been found on a 2,000-year-old scroll that tells an incredible story not found in the Bible.
Scrawled into an ancient Egyptian manuscript, it reveals that the Son of God performed a miracle known as the “vivifying of the sparrows” when he was just a boy.
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The 2,000-year-old papyrus – a material that predates paper – claims that the five-year-old Messiah transformed clay pigeons into live birds.
The tale, also known as the “second miracle”, is believed to have been written as part of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (IGT) around the 2nd century.
The book details the youth of Jesus of Nazareth who ended up being excluded from the Bible.
The first written example of the gospel dates from the 11th century.
The clumsiness of the handwriting on the recently discovered papyrus, however, has led researchers to believe it was written by a child in 4th or 5th century Egypt.
The papyrus went unnoticed at the Hamburg State and University Library in Hamburg, Germany, when experts identified the name of Jesus in the text.
O Humboldt University of Berlin (HU) said in a statement that it was “a significant discovery for the field of research.”
“It was intended to be part of an everyday document, like a private letter or a shopping list, because the handwriting looks very clumsy,” said papyrologist Dr. Lajos Berkes of HU’s Institute of Christianity and Antiquity.
“We noticed for the first time the word ‘Jesus’ in the text,” he added.
“Then, by comparing it to several other digitized papyri, we deciphered it letter by letter and quickly realized it couldn’t be an everyday document.”
The IGT story states that Jesus was just a five-year-old boy when his father, Joseph, caught him molding 12 sparrows out of soft clay while playing in a stream.
When Joseph realized what his son was doing, he rebuked him and asked why he would be molding clay on the Sabbath – a holy day of rest and worship.
In response, Jesus ordered the clay figures to “fly like living birds,” professor Dr. Gabriel Nocchi Macedo of the University of Liège in Belgium told Daily Mail.
The papyrus fragment measured ten by five centimeters and contained a total of 13 lines from a popular IGT religious story, the Mail adds.
In addition to the clumsy handwriting, other signifiers such as jagged lines have led researchers to believe that the story was likely written as part of a class exercise at a school or religious community.
However, it remains unknown when exactly it came into the hands of the Hamburg library.
Dr. Macedo said, however, that it appeared to have been inventoried after 2001.
He believes the papyrus could have belonged to the original core of the collection and was acquired through the German Papyruskartell between 1906 and 1913.
“[It] then increased through individual purchases until 1939,” he said. “[or] arrived… from Berlin in a box full of unpreserved papyri in 1990.”
This comes after groundbreaking research uncovered the truth behind the ruins of ancient Jerusalem, which confirms accounts in the Bible.
It was revealed that a section of wall in the original heart of the city had been built by King Uzziah, as suggested in the Bible.
For years, experts believed that Hezekiah, who ruled Judah during the 7th and 8th centuries BC, erected the walls after witnessing the destruction of his neighbors, the Kingdom of Israel, by the Assyrian Empire.
Main discoveries of the Bible
By Tom Malley
Some of the most remarkable discoveries in biblical archeology can take some time to come to light.
But when they do, they can completely change what we thought we knew.
In April 2023, for example, a new chapter of the Bible containing hidden verses came to light after being erased by a scribe 1,500 years ago.
The incredible discovery dating back to the 3rd century features chapters 11-12 of Matthew and is one of the earliest translations of the Gospels.
Some other important discoveries have been listed below.
Dead Sea Scrolls – Discovered over a ten-year period between 1946 and 1956, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain portions of every book of the Old Testament except Esther.
Stele of Merneptah – Also known as the Stele of Israel or Stele of Victory of Merneptah, it is an inscription of Merneptah, a pharaoh of ancient Egypt who reigned from 1213 to 1203 BC, which presents the oldest textual reference to the lands of Israel.
Seal of King Hezekiah – In 2009, archaeologists discovered a seal belonging to King Hezekiah, who ruled Jerusalem in the 8th century.
Scrolls of Ketef Hinnom – The discovery of the Ketef Hinnom Scrolls played a significant role in understanding ancient Jewish culture and the Bible today.
Caiaphas Ossuary – The Caiaphas ossuary is one of twelve ossuaries or bone boxes discovered in a burial cave in southern Jerusalem in November 1990.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
