The fascinating story of the discovery of biblical manuscripts by…

The man is original with his Jesus-like look which stands out in the academic world. But don’t get caught up in your preconceptions: he’s also an expert in his field. With a rather scientific background, he gradually reoriented himself towards the human sciences: theology, history, archaeology, linguistics. Everything interests him.

A PhD student at the Sorbonne, he became a teacher at the Collège de France and the University of Strasbourg. And now the list is long of his scientific work and collaborations. The man is particularly recognized in the field of epigraphy – the study of engraved inscriptions – and papyrology – the study of papyri -, using modern tools to study biblical manuscripts as closely as possible. And the discoveries are numerous, to the point of identifying a writer’s quirks or the number of different pens that wrote a long text.

But the man also likes to translate his work for the general public. The video presented here gives an example. Dating from February 8, 2020, it is a video recording of a conference he gave in the presence of the Jewish community of Créteil (Val-de-Marne). The title of the conference? “In search of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible, Between theft, pillage and counterfeiting”

In just under two hours, the speaker recounts, with supporting images, the entire story of the discovery of the oldest biblical manuscripts throughout the last two centuries. A fascinating, accessible story that provides essential information on this important subject for understanding how the Scriptures were transmitted.

A very good ongoing training tool to look at alone (taking notes, why not?) or with others, for example in a parish to launch or relaunch a Bible group.

To know more : his personal website.