Reconsidering the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife
An Imperfect Forgery or Another Polemical Gnostic Fragment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v34i1.17784Keywords:
Jesus’ Wife, Coptic, Gnostic, Forgery and Gospel FragmentAbstract
The 10th International Congress of Coptic Studies (ICCS) was held in September 2012 in Italy. However, when the Gnosticism and Manichaeism section began, the atmosphere of the congress was rapidly changed by Karen King’s paper. It was originally assumed that the topic would be an attempt on the Tchacos Codex, but the Harvard scholar announced a new Coptic fragment in relation to the marital status of Jesus with Mariam. The new Coptic fragment was a rough rectangular shape, torn on all four corners. The amazing outbreak of the new Coptic papyrus took the attention of scholars and global faith communities, arousing uncertainty and suspicion. Then, what is the new text about? Why is the Coptic teaching so controversial? What is the present status of the controversy? This article will not only review the critical debate but also, based on the texts of Mary, Pistis Sophia, Philip and Thomas,
propose a new hypothesis that the new manuscript is not an imperfect forgery but an as yet unconfirmed polemical gnostic fragment.
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