Newly-Deciphered Manuscript Reveals Oldest Known Record of Jesus’ Childhood
A recently deciphered manuscript dating back more than 1,600 years has been identified as the earliest known account of Jesus Christ’s childhood, marking an extraordinary discovery in early Christian literature.
The manuscript, written on papyrus in the 4th or 5th century, had been stored unnoticed for decades in a Hamburg library. Initially thought to be an insignificant document, it has now been decoded by two experts who reveal it as the earliest surviving copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
“The papyrus fragment is of extraordinary interest for research,” stated Lajos Berkes, a theology lecturer and one of the decipherers, in a press release. Initially mistaken for a mundane document due to its clumsy handwriting, the manuscript was identified as significant upon the recognition of the name Jesus within the text. Through careful comparison with other digitized papyri, Berkes and his colleague were able to decipher the text letter by letter, confirming its importance.
The fragment contains 13 lines in Greek letters, originating from late antique Egypt, a region that was a Christian society at the time. It narrates the “vivification of the sparrows,” a story where a young Jesus turns 12 clay sparrows into living birds. According to the text, a five-year-old Jesus was playing by a stream, molding sparrows from clay. When rebuked by his father Joseph, Jesus clapped his hands, bringing the clay figures to life. This tale is recognized as Jesus’ second miracle in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, dating back to the 2nd century, depicts various stories from Christ’s childhood and was popular in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. However, the text was not included in the Bible due to doubts about its accuracy among early Christian writers. Previously, the oldest known Greek version of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas was an 11th-century codex. The newly-deciphered papyrus fragment predates this by 600 years, making it a remarkable find.
Gabriel Nocchi Macedo, the other expert involved in the decoding, emphasized the significance of their findings. “Our findings on this late antique Greek copy of the work confirm the current assessment that the Infancy Gospel according to Thomas was originally written in Greek,” Macedo stated.