Thursday, December 22, 2011

London Times on "The Revelation of the Magi"

THE REVELATION OF THE MAGI has also been covered by the London Times:
Ancient text brings the Three Wise Men to life

by: Simon de Bruxelles, London
From: The Times
December 22, 2011 12:00AM

AN ancient document found in the Vatican archives casts new light on the story of the Nativity and the Three Wise Men who came to offer gifts to the infant Jesus, according to researchers.

The Revelation of the Magi, reputedly a first-hand account of their journey to pay tribute to the son of God, only now has been translated from ancient Syriac.

Brent Landau, professor of religious studies at the University of Oklahoma, spent two years deciphering the fragile manuscript.

It is an eighth-century copy of a story first written down nearly half a millennium earlier, less than 100 years after the Gospel of Matthew, the original source of the Bible story.

The newly translated tale differs in major respects from Matthew's very brief account.

[...]
The Times is behind a subscription wall, but this article has been reprinted in The Australian.

Background here (immediately preceding post).