The Alleged Jesus' Wife Text

Dr. Richard Taylor discusses and answers questions concerning the recently discovered papyrus allegedly mentioning Jesus' wife.

Chapel Outline

00:30

Introduction

01:42

Introduction to the Text

02:23

What is the origin of the Coptic language?

05:26

How much overlap does Coptic have with Greek?

06:01

How Dr. Bock found out about this text and the call from the New York Times

07:17

Discussion of the text’s size

09:04

Translation of the text

10:25

The key line of the text: Pronouncing Coptic

13:08

Discussion of the text

15:31

The character of the manuscript of the text and the ink

17:15

Dr. Taylor’s comments on the content of the text

18:21

Could this text be metaphorical and not be a real reference to Jesus being married?

19:42

Issue of the possible date of the text and potential parallels

20:54

Are we not very early in the examination of this text? How do we react to the initial blitz of publicity?

25:19

How should one react to this type of claim and think about the possibilities?

26:26

Is there a compelling reason that this is the Jesus and not some other Jesus?

27:22

Does this text, if it is old and authentic, tell us about the real historical Jesus?

29:35

How do should one handle a situation when a text like this comes up, and how should one present a text like to the public?

About the Contributors

Richard A. Taylor

Dr. Taylor’s research interests include the Hebrew Bible and its ancient versions, exegetical method, and Semitic languages. His specialties include Aramaic studies and Syriac literature. His travels have taken him to Central America, the U. K., Europe, Israel, Jordan, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Africa, and India. His wife is a Christian school administrator, his daughter is a public school teacher, and his son is a university professor.