Ross & Jono delve into the enigmatic actions of Moses Shapira upon his realisation that his sixteen leather fragments may well be the oldest manuscript of the Bible. On September 24, 1878, Shapira sent a transcription of part of the manuscript to Professor Schlottmann in Halle, only to receive a stern rebuke on October 17, 1878, challenging the authenticity and ancient origin of the scrolls. Schlottmann’s rebuke led Shapira to lock the manuscript away in the Bergheim Bank’s vault for nearly five years. However, the discovery of a scholar’s work later convinced Shapira to retrieve his manuscript, believing it to change everything about our understanding of biblical history. In this episode, we begin to explore the depth of Shapira’s conviction and the controversy surrounding his claims. Was the manuscript an ancient, authentic proto-copy of a part of the Old Testament as Shapira proposed? Does the scholar’s work that Shapira found truly change everything about how we view these historical texts? Join us as we uncover the story behind Shapira’s decision to hide and then confidently reclaim his manuscript, diving into the implications for biblical scholarship and archaeology.

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