A scrap of papyrus dated to the fourth century has
written on it in the ancient Coptic language, “Jesus
said to them, my
wife,” reopening the debate about whether Jesus was married, as some
early Christians believed.
The words on the
honey-colored fragment are the first to show Jesus referring to a wife,
according to Karen King, a professor of divinity at Harvard Divinity
School in Cambridge, Mass., who presented the finding Tuesday at the
International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome. The writing in black
ink is in the language of Egyptian Christians on a fragment of about 1.5
by 3 inches.
The fragment likely is authentic, based on the papyrus
and handwriting, Roger Bagnall, director of the Institute for the Study
of the Ancient World in New York said in a statement from Harvard. Early
Christians didn’t agree about whether they should marry or remain
celibate, and the earliest claim Jesus didn’t marry is from A.D. 200,
King said.
“One of the things we do know is that very
rarely in ancient literature was the marital status of men discussed,”
King said in a conference call with reporters. “Silence in marital
status is normal.”
Women were identified only in terms
of family relationships, as someone’s sister, mother, or wife, King
said. The question of whether Jesus married came up later when people
wanted to use him as a model for their lives, she said.
Though
the Christian religion is sometimes referred to as Jesus’ bride in
scriptural interpretation, the other words around “my wife,” including
references to his mother and “Mary,” suggest he is talking about family.
It isn’t clear in the fragment whether Mary refers to his mother or his
wife, King said.
Source : http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120919/PC16/120919108/1005/4th-century-papyrus-refers-to-jesus-s-wife
