Gospel of Jesus's Wife: The Modern-Provenance Problem
A Coptic papyrus's reference to Jesus's wife became an authentication dispute, not evidence of a historical marriage. King's original edition, Harvard's testing announcement, textual studies and Sabar's provenance work preserve changing assessments and different methods. Ancient papyrus and carbon ink do not by themselves date the writing. The central issue is whether a modern text and ownership story acquired authority through an apparently ancient object; scholarly error is not proof of knowing collusion.