The gendarmerie have seized a Bible, which is claimed to be 2,000 years old, inscribed on papyrus made from deer skin in Bursa province in the Marmara Region.

The 26-page historical manuscript, intricately written in Aramaic, is now slated for examination to determine whether it is the long-lost Gospel of Barnabas, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles. The manuscript reportedly also features depictions of Jesus  figures.

According to information obtained, the Bursa Gendarmerie Command had been monitoring Abdurrahman A., residing in Istanbul, who was allegedly planning to sell the historical manuscript to a group of antiquities traffickers in Bursa. After experts sent by the prospective buyer valued the manuscript at a staggering $10 million, a deal was set up in a café in Bursa.

Following the deal, the smugglers from Manisa and Istanbul were apprehended in a meticulously executed gendarmerie operation on site. Six antiquities smugglers were arrested in connection with the illicit trade, with three of them remanded in custody by the court, while the remaining trio were released pending trial.

According to the narrative, Barnabas was one of the closest scribes to Jesus Christ, who penned the bible in His native language. While there already exists a Gospel of Barnabas, there are firm beliefs that another version of the bible, which may hold crucial information about the life of Jesus Christ, was lost at some point in history.

The eventual fate of the lost bible as to who took it, where it was taken, and where it has been hidden, remains unknown until this day. Following the examination to be conducted by experts, it will be determined whether the seized historical artifact is indeed the lost Gospel of Barnabas or not.

Original Article – Bible claimed to be 2,000 years old seized in Bursa – Türkiye News (hurriyetdailynews.com)