A unique look into early Christianity is now on display at the Museum of the Bible, featuring ancient biblical manuscripts—including some of the oldest known pages from Jonah and First Peter.
CBN Washington correspondent Jenna Browder has the story.
VIDEO SCRIPT
SCRIPT:
VO: IT’S CALLED THE CROSBY-SCHOYEN CODEX…
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“So the word ‘codex’ is just a fancy word for an ancient book.”
VO: A COLLECTION OF CHRISTIAN TEXTS… DATING BACK 18-HUNDRED YEARS.
Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“You would write on them on both sides and then you would stitch these pieces together so that it would feel like what we think of as a modern book where you would have writing on both sides.”
VO: THE CODEX INCLUDES parts OF THE BOOKs OF JONAH AND FIRST
(VOICE OF DUKE) “This one here has Maccabees and it has 1 Peter.”
VO: HERE AT THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE… SEVEN OF ABOUT 50 PAGES… are currently ON DISPLAY.
CHIEF CURATORIAL OFFICER DR. BOBBY DUKE… WALKS us THROUGH THEIR NEW EXHIBIT.
(VOICE OF DUKE)
“And then here we also again have parts of 2 Maccabees and 1 Peter and it really is exciting to think the oldest ancient language where we have the complete copy of Jonah and 1 Peter is on the Crosby Schoyen.”
VO: AND the Codex includes material beyond the Bible as we know it.
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“This also included items that were ancient sermons from a man named Melito (of Sardis). We had parts of the book of Maccabees which is in the Catholic canon. We had other prayers.”
VO: WRITTEN IN THE ANCIENT COPTIC LANGUAGE… DR. DUKE SAYS while IT’S UNCLEAR WHO compiled THE CODEX, WE DO KNOW IT CAME FROM SOME OF THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS.
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“This dates back about 250 AD and that’s incredible to think we have something that’s 1,800 years old. A community said, let’s put these items together so that when read it will inspire this generation of Christians that lived in that part of Egypt.”
VO: AS FOR WHY THEY PUT THESE SPECIFIC TEXTS TOGETHER…
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“When you think of Jonah and 1 Peter being woven into this, because those seem random that those would be put together, but even all of those connect to Christ. Even Jonah, I think in the Gospel is said, I will be just like Jonah with three days in the belly of the fish, so I will be three days in the earth for resurrection. So it seems like this was a compilation of different books put together to help give people encouragement during a time of persecution.”
VO: I ASKED DR. DUKE HOW THESE TEXTS APPLY TO US TODAY.
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible]
“What we just take for granted at times in the modern world, this is something that people suffered and died for and even something like the Crosby Schoyen text is a window into those kinds of moments in church history when you didn’t just have your Bible on a YouVersion app or something else that you can look at any time. It was something that was a labor of love to pass along this teaching and pass on scripture.”
[ STANDUP]
Jenna Browder/CBN News Washington Correspondent
“The Crosby Schoyen Codex has been in the hands of many owners over the years. That’s where it gets its name. It will be on display at the Museum of the Bible for the foreseeable future. Jenna Browder… CBN News.”
People Interviewed and their Titles
Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer, Museum of the Bible
Recording Location
Washington, D.C.
Organization featured in this Story
Museum of the Bible, www.museumofthebible.org
Reporter/Producer for the story
Jenna Browder
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