Medievalist discovers translated Bible verses from the New Testament using UV light

The Holy Bible has long been a fundamental tool for Christians, providing deep historical and theological insights. In 2023, scientists discovered a manuscript of the Syriac translation of the Bible that had been hidden for 1,750 years, according to the New York Post. The book of gospels was translated by a scribe over 1,300 years ago, but due to a shortage of manuscripts, it was erased and reused.

A medievalist from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Grigory Kessel, discovered this text. Produced in the 3rd century and copied in the 6th century, the manuscript was made visible with the help of ultraviolet photography. “The tradition of Syriac Christianity knows several translations of the Old and New Testaments. Until recently, only two manuscripts​ were known to contain the Old Syriac translation of the gospels,” Kessel said, according to the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The third witness, the “Sinai Palimpsests Project,” was also recently discovered.

Kessel managed to discover the fourth witness with the help of UV light, which “offers a unique gateway to the very early phase in the history of the textual transmission of the Gospels.” The recently discovered text is that of the third layer of the manuscript and is quite a “pleasing” find for the researchers. The slight change offers insight into the language and flow of writing of that time. An example shared by the researchers was from the gospel of Matthew chapter 12, verse 1. The Greek version 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.” On the other hand, the Syriac translation says, “[...] began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.” 

They originally came from another ancient manuscript, as reported by Bible and Archaeology. However, it was resized to be repurposed and used due to the lack of paper. The manuscripts were called “Palimpsest,” which refer to several layers of writing on paper. The UV light method has been frequently used to decipher texts by researchers. There are over 74 manuscripts that have been deciphered using said method. However, the discovery of the Syriac-translated manuscript is said to be the most unique and is a century older than some of the oldest Greek translations, reports IFL Science.

Researchers consider this find a crucial “piece of a jigsaw puzzle” in the history of the New Testament. Claudia Rapp, director of the Institute for Medieval Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, mentioned that the discovery was made due to the profound knowledge of Syrian translation that Kessel is skilled in. She added, “This discovery proves how productive and important the interplay between modern digital technologies and basic research can be when dealing with medieval manuscripts.” The manuscript is kept at the Vatican Library.