Is the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife a Fake?
Coptic papyrus mentioning Jesus’ wife is a forgery, according to Coptic manuscripts experts
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife, a Coptic papyrus fragment introduced to the world by Karen L. King, is about the size of a business card. Despite the ambiguity of scientific tests, Coptic scholars Leo Depuydt and Christian Askeland claim it is a forgery “beyond doubt.” Photo: Karen King.
On September 18, 2012, the world was introduced to two women: Jesus’ wife and Karen L. King. The first woman, from antiquity, has been much speculated about; the second woman, from modernity, has already been venerated by the academy. Karen King, the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, at the 10th International Congress on Coptic Studies, presented to her colleagues—leading Coptic scholars from around the globe—a small fragment of Coptic papyrus in which Jesus mentions his “wife.” The text is now referred to as the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.
Hoopla ensued.
Before her presentation, Karen King, ever the diligent scholar, had the Coptic papyrus reviewed by esteemed Coptic scholars Roger Bagnall and AnneMarie Luijendijk, whose academic credentials and reputations are above reproach, and neither found reason to find it fraudulent.
The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife is approximately 1.5 x 3 inches. The inscription side contains eight lines of “unpracticed, messy” Sahidic Coptic. The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife was scheduled to be published in the prestigious Harvard Theological Review (HTR) in 2012. However, due to the questions surrounding the papyrus fragment’s authenticity, the journal delayed the article until more testing could be completed. Many of these questions originated from Brown University professor of Egyptology and Assyriology Leo Depuydt, who claimed “It stinks!” only moments after viewing a photograph of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife. HTR finally published a revised copy of Karen King’s paper, along with several articles on the Coptic papyrus in the April 2014 issue—including an article from Leo Depuydt claiming that the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife is a fake.
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Less than a week after the publication of the papyrus fragment in HTR and the release of other fragments from the collection, Christian Askeland, assistant research professor of Christian Origins at Indiana Wesleyan University and the central region director and distinguished scholar of Coptic manuscripts for Green Scholars Initiative, revealed something remarkable: He demonstrated that a Gnostic Gospel of John fragment—from the same collection as the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife—was a forgery.
How does Christian Askeland do this and what does it have to do with the authenticity of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife? Find out by reading the full article “The Saga of ‘The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’” by Hershel Shanks in the May/June 2015 issue of BAR.
BAS Library Members: Read the full article “The Saga of ‘The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’” by Hershel Shanks in the May/June 2015 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
Not a BAS Library member yet? Join the BAS Library today.
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? Was Mary Magdalene wife of Jesus? These are the questions that concern author Birger A. Pearson in his Bible Review article “From Saint to Sinner,” available to read in full in Bible History Daily >>
More on the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife in Bible History Daily:
“Down the Rabbit Hole”: Owner of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Papyrus Unmasked
Timeline of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife Saga
The “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” Papyrus Revisited
Is the Harvard Theological Review a Coward or Did Dr. Karen King Do Something Wrong? by Hershel Shanks
What Is Coptic and Who Were the Copts in Ancient Egypt?
This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on April 27, 2015.
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Well, maybe it’s not a fake, but since it’s only a ‘fragment’ and the whole comment is being taken out of context. Jesus’ ‘wife’ is none other than the Bride of Christ… the Church! So, maybe that’s what He was referring to. In which case, then, it would make the fragment authentic. But I think that’s a bit of a stretch. We’ll know for sure what it’s all about, in just a matter of months.
There’s no wife to Jesus.If he was married to anyone then his wife must also be tortured at the cross.So the above text might be surely referred to the church as bride
It would have been nice if the writer of the article had provided a translation of the text so we can see the context. The only Bride of Christ is the church and that may be what is being referenced in this text but we won’t know until someone publishes a translation.
Is there any physical or spiritual reason why Jesus could not have been married? It is not
mentioned in any of the four Biblical gospels, but these were written many years after the
death of Jesus, when his life may have been approaching a standard oral telling. Not many
people could even read the gospels when they were written, and it is said that they were all transcribed into Greek (perhaps their original language). Remember that there were divisions in the early Christian Church, the Gentile followers of Paul and perhaps Peter, and the Jewish followers based in Jerusalem (Paul often complains of them in his letters to the Corinthians).
It was important that these gospels establish the truth of Jesus being the Son of God,
being born of the human Mary, with no extraneous complications. A wife would have been
such a complication, as it would imply Jewish children, etc. It would also certify that Jesus
was definitely human, while also being the spiritual son of God. Moreover, Jesus himself
was a Jewish man, had a trade and was totally adult at the time of his ministry. He would
have been expected to be married by his family by a much earlier age than 30.
We will never know for sure, in spite of this controversy. But a wife for Jesus was a possible event. That being said, does it really matter? Does it harm your faith in our Christian beliefs?
In my case, not at all.
What does it matter the new testament is a forgery. The wolves are sheep because the shepherds have brought them up as such. There is no truth in them not one drop, a fool would allow this to be translated a wiseman will learn for himself . Wisdom comes from those who seek it it is not giving from one to another . One must stand on his own foundation not that of another. Only a fool would believe without investigating
The sad truth is, unless we had hard facts to say he was married the will always be “experts” who say this is false.
Jesus. Is. God. Who. Marriaged. The. Church,(PST. Don. So. Mach. Like. Yous. , you. Massage, I. Paryer. That. The. Good. God. We. Contain. To. Bliss. You. Amen
I will await the chance to read more on this in the latest VAR. I am a sola scriptura person and discount “gospels” that did not make the canon.
I think that the above response by Gregory is a bit of a stretch. He says “What does it matter the new testament is a forgery.”
Nothing of the sort is being asserted in this article about the New Testament. The only assertion is about this mysterious Gospel fragment and whether or not it has value or authenticity. The four canonical gospels were written very early — within the lifetimes of those who had seen and known or heard Jesus. The letters of Paul (for example) echo the gospel beliefs in Jesus’ divinity and the details about his death by crucifixion and resurrection and subsequent “sightings” of Him. And a few of them — the letter to Corinth, e.g. — are earlier than any gospel. As has been pointed out by others, like Ehrman, Paul’s information on this goes back to three years or so from the time of the crucifixion,
As I keep saying, this kind of “Was Jesus married?” document, if it is authentic, dates from the 4-5th century CE and is part of the Gnostic tradition that had its roots in Egypt and has little or nothing to do with the mid first century texts and the oral tradition that produced them. These late texts are the equivalent of the Fanfic of the ancient world.