Tag: Jesus’ wife fragment

HTR not rejecting the Jesus’ Wife fragment now?

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Early Christianity6 Comments

It seems like the we’re witnessing a see-saw battle concerning the authenticity of this fragment as well as whether it’s going to be published in Harvard Theological Review. After I posted the news which I received from Dr. Craig Evans that HTR was not going to publish the fragment because it had been judged to be a fake, I then got news that HTR was going to publish it. Here’s the link that gives the data: http://www.religionnews.com/faith/beliefs/harvard-theological-review-gospel-of-jesus-wife-not-rejected

One wonders what’s going on here. It seems like we have three good possibilities: (a) my source was wrong that HTR had rejected the piece; (b) the report that HTR was going to publish it is incorrect; or (c) both are right: HTR editors changed their mind about rejecting the article. I have no doubts about Dr. Evans’s integrity so I’m ruling out the first option. This leaves b or c.

This is how news is reported these days: down to the nanosecond! The cultural implications of all this are both fascinating and disturbing. I would advise that we all have a wait and see attitude, as I advocated originally.

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Jesus’ Wife fragment judged a fake

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Early Christianity52 Comments

“News flash: Harvard Theological Review has decided not to publish Karen King¹s paper on the Coptic papyrus fragment on the grounds that the fragment is probably a fake.” This from an email Dr. Craig Evans, the Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia University and Divinity College, sent to me earlier today. He said that Helmut Koester (Harvard University), Bentley Layton (Yale University), Stephen Emmel (University of Münster), and Gesine Robinson (Claremont Graduate School)–all first-rate scholars in Coptic studies–have weighed in and have found the fragment wanting. No doubt Francis Watson’s comprehensive work showing the fragment’s dependence on the Gospel of Thomas was a contributing factor for this judgment, as well as the rather odd look of the Coptic that already raised several questions as to its authenticity.