I am frequently asked for my opinion on the Book of Jasher and the Book of Gad the Seer (more properly called the Chronicles of Gad the Seer, per 1 Chron 29:29). There are books by both titles floating around (typically on the internet) that purport to be these...
Inscriptions, dubious
Rumored Fragment of the Gospel of Mark in the News
A few days ago it was reported that a fragment of the Gospel of Mark, reportedly dated to the first century, is being studied and prepared for publication. This would be significant, as (to my recollection), the oldest fragment of the NT is P52 (“Papyrus...
Jason Colavito on “The Emerald Tablets of Thoth”
The emerald tablets of the Egyptian god Thoth have an honored place in paleobabble about ancient Egypt. Purported to be secret wisdom from Egypt (i.e., the kind of think Graham Hancock substitutes for real historical records), they’re just occult (theosophy)...
Modern Forged Manuscripts on Actual Ancient Papyrus
Just wanted to pass this along from Jim Davila’s PaleoJudaica blog. Very interesting. Specific examples where someone took ancient papyrus and forged a document to pass off as an ancient text. (This of course pertains to the “Jesus’ wife”...
The Columbian “Genetic Disk” Fraud
The aptly-named Archaeological Fantasies blog has a lengthy discussion of the so-called genetic disk. As you might guess, this disk is supposed to be proof of advanced biological knowledge in the ancient world. It's bunk. Â Â
Margaret Barker and the Jordan Codices
This past June Dr. Margaret Barker was on Coast to Coast AM talking about the infamous Jordan Codices. Barker is a legitimate scholar in the fields of biblical studies and Second Temple Judaism. She’s a favorite author of mine, not because I always (or even...
Los Lunas Lunacy
At times I am asked about the evidence for ancient (Jewish) visitation to the Americas. Part of what prompts the question is inscriptional “evidence” like the Los Lunas stone. (Other parts are British Israelite and Mormon apologetic leanings). While...
Jordan Lead Codices Fakery Update
The BBC recently aired a short segment on the lead codices from Jordan on its Inside Out program (thanks to J. Davila, J. McGrath, and Dan McClellan for the initial heads-up on the special). The codices are allegedly early Christian texts. I've blogged about the lead...
Update on the Lead Codices from Jordan
I’m guessing the of the lead codices is off the radar of most readers by now. Jim Davila posted this notice on his PaleoJudaica blog today that provides some updating and commentary. I’m with Davila; I think they are fakes for very good reasons (as he...
New Meta-Site for the Lead Codices Hoax
Thanks to Mark Goodacre for alerting the blogging community to the new site by Steve Caruso that aggregates all the data and evidence pertaining to the lead codices fakery. Very handy and very well done.
Update on the Lead Codices Fakery
Dan McClellan has posted several recent pieces on the Jordanian lead codices that are highly recommended. Other than his collection of photos (very cool), he focuses on analysis. For insights into the fabrication of the artistic work on the codices, this analysis is a...
Hoaxing Ancient Documents Isn't New
Quite an interesting post from Prof. Larry Hurtado’s blog today. The post focuses on an out-of-print book by Edgar J. Goodspeed (Famous Biblical Hoaxes, or, Modern Apocrypha). It was originally published in 1931 (repr. 1956). Hurtado’s post sketches a...
Canaanites in America?
Some PaleoBabble readers may be familiar with the longstanding controversy over whether certain “inscriptions” found in the United States were written thousands of years ago by ancient Semitic peoples from the Mediterranean (Phoenicians, Canaanites,...
Lead Codices to Be Tested
Todd Bolen reports today that the lead codices already widely considered to be fraudulent will be undergoing testing by antiquities authorities. For those of you just getting up to speed on this, here’s a link to an overview of the reasons they are considered...
Lead Codices: It's Looking Like a Hoax
Dr. Jim Davila over at PaleoJudaica as this post this morning on the codices. The post features a short, to-the-point, evidence-based analysis by professor Peter Thonemann, of some of the pages of the codices, noting inconsistencies in the story and, more importantly,...