Long-lost 'hidden chapter' of the Bible discovered using UV light study

Nearly 1,500 years after it was first written, researchers have discovered a long-lost "hidden chapter" of the Bible. The study, which was just published in the journal New Testament Studies, claims that the lost portion constitutes one of the oldest translations of the Gospels, as reported by the Independent.

Researchers like Grigory Kessel from the Austrian Academy of Sciences utilised ultraviolet photography to discover the chapter buried beneath three layers of text.

Matthew chapter 12 of the Bible was first translated about 1,500 years ago

“Until recently, only two manuscripts were known to contain the Old Syriac translation of the gospels,” Dr Kessel said.

The British Library in London has one of these, and St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai has the other. According to researchers, the recently discovered text is an interpretation of Matthew chapter 12 of the Bible, which was first translated some 1,500 years ago as part of the Old Syriac translations, the Independent reported. 

They claimed the fragment offers a "unique gateway" to the earliest period in the trajectory of the literary transmission of the Gospels because it is currently the sole remaining piece of the fourth manuscript that attests to the Old Syriac version. Additionally, the work provides new perspectives on the variations in information found in translations. 

For instance, the original Greek of Matthew chapter 12 verse 1, reads, "At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat,” while the Syriac translation says, “...began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.”

“As far as the dating of the Gospel book is concerned, there can be no doubt that it was produced no later than the sixth century,” scientists noted in the research study. “Despite a limited number of dated manuscripts from this period, comparison with dated Syriac manuscripts allows us to narrow down a possible time frame to the first half of the sixth century,” they further remarked.

Pages were frequently reused due to a lack of parchment in the area 1,300 years ago, primarily by removing the earlier Biblical text. “This discovery proves how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts,” said Claudia Rapp, director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.