The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-08-19
For the Manuscript
Search for Original
of New Testament.


The New York Journal says: Will the
original of the New Testament be found
within a few weeks? 1t would be the
triumph of modern research IL it should
b. the result OF an investigation now be-
ing carefully carried on in the famous
Mosque Of the Omayads at Damascus
This may be considered one of the Sc
ouencee of the Kaiser's visit to the East
in the spring of $685. 1t will be remem-
bered that the Emperor of Germany, ac-
companied by the Empress and a large
fetinue Of scholars, went not only to
Jerusalem. but to Damascus as well, on
that memorable journey. 1t was at that
time that some hopes Of great finds" to
be made in this ancient city were aroused
in the breasts Of some of the scholars
in his train. And the first organized at
tempt in this direction is now being MADE
by a special commission from the En-
peror of Germany. empowered by the
Sultan to search infinitely through the
archives Of the famous old mosque.
Why have such high hopes been en-
tertain by the scholars of Germany that
here they will find older manuscripts
than any now known Of the New Tesla
ment?
To any one who knows the history Of
Damascus and its Importance in Biblical
times these hopes seem well placed. Da-
mascus is the oldest city in the world
which can claim to have been inhabited
continuously. For over four thousand
years Damascus has been a place Of i'm
portance in the worlds history. 1t is
mentioned in Genesis, as a well known
city, and Abraham's servant. ElieZer, is
said to have been of Damascus Genesis.
XIV, p. Situated as it is at the base of
the Anu-Libanus Mountains, and on the
edge Of the desert which stretches for
an eight days joruney to the Euphrates
II has commanded the attention of the
ancient world all the time that it was
dominated by Eastern powers.
It was to Damascus that Abraham
pursued the four kings who had sacked
Sodom. David conquered Damascus Gil
Samuel. viii, @, and thereafter it is fire.
quently mentioned in the strife between
Israel and judah. Tiglath Pileser cap
tured Damascus according to II Kings
xvi, 81, but in New Testament times
Damascus rises to supreme Importance.
1t was on his way to Damascus that
Saul received the revelation (Acts, tx,
81. "And as he journeyed he came near
Damascus: and suddenly there shined
round about him light from heaven
And he fell TO the earth, and heard a
voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? And he said, Who
art thou, Lord? And the Lord said,
am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." Here
it was that Paul was baptised and began
his work as an Apostle
1t is no wonder then that Damascus
is looked upon as a probable field for
the discovery of some ancient original
documents bearing upon the New Tesla
ment. And where are these to be looked
for? 1t seems strange that a Moham-
medan mosque should be the repository
Of such precious documents, but this
surprise passes away when it is known
that the famous Mosque of the Omayads
was originally a heather temple, then a
Christian basillica and later the mosque.
Nor is a mosque simply a place Of wor-
ship. but it is a group of buildings which
includes the school, library and other
buildings even dwelling places for the
officiating priests. Nor should it be for
gotten that the Mohammedans accept
both the Old and New Testaments, be-
lieving that Jesus, or Issa, as they call
him, was a prophet, and as a conse-
quence the places connected with his ac-
tivity are sacred in their eyes and any
documents which have to do with his
career are second only to the Koran in
their estimation. Neither should it be
overlooked that the Arabs were scholars
and scientists even before they were con-
verted by Mahomet, and that, therefore
they exercised great care in the copying
and preservation of ancient manuscripts
of all kinds.
glance at the history of Damascus
Is necessary for the understanding of the
value of this field of search for the
original manuscripts of the New Tesla
ment In the Tel-Amarna letters. those
letters upon clay tablets
bearing the correspondence between the
Kings Of Egypt and Of Assyria which
were found few years ago in Egypt, |
we read 80, Lord, as Damascus in the |
land of Hoba stretches out its hand to
your feet, so does Katna stretch out its |
hand TO your feet"
This was in the sixteenth century B. |
=. and in the thirteenth, when the King |
If Babylon sought q direct route through |
the desert to Phoenicia and the Mediter- |
ranean ports. his road passed through 1
Palmyra and Damascus. In these ancient |
days Damascus appears TO have been |
the chief city of many princes Of Dou- |
dez. after which, in $50 B. G. Damascus |
was one Of the chief cities Of the Assyr- |
ian realms. Under the Assyrians. Per- |
SLAMS and Alexander the Great it was the |
capital Of the provinces, and AZ the |
death OF Alexander. when the wide do |
main was subdivided into a number OF /
states, Damascus again be-
came an important center. In 81 B. c.
1t became the possession of Rome and |
the residence OF the King-Vassal of the
Roman Empire.
From that time forward it plays little
part in the worlds history until the
time Of the development OF the great
Empire when it was the
center from which the expeditions to
Medina and Mecca took place In the
early Crusades the city wassnot attacked.
but under Baldwin of Jerusalem Qi26 it
came into possession Of the Christians
alter it fell into the hands Of invading
aIongoIs. and in 1899 the Tartar Timur
destroyed much Of it Since 1918 Da-
nascus has been under Mohammedan
rule The most ancient ruins there be-
cng To the Roman period, the most re-
narkable of these being the ancient
rates. and remains Of the capitals and
lrehitrave Of an old heather temple now
included in the confines OF the Omayad /
Mosque This was later a Christian ba-