Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-12-29
JEWISH GOSPEL FOUND
DR.. Schechter Discovers Writing
Antedating Scripture.
Guarded for 1000 Ye.fs-DOcumcnt
Containing Only Contemporary
Record Of Events Described
In New Testament.

The discovery of what Is probably a
Hebrew gospel written earlier than the
gospels of the New Testament has just
been made public by President Solomon
Schechter of the Jewish Theological Sem
mary of America, New York
The document contains practically the
only contemporary Hebrew record Of per-
sons and events described In tho New
Testament. and pictures what was prob
ably one OF the first Judaeo- Christian
sects In which primitive Christianity
found hold and was nourished.
The document consists of eight pages
Of manuscript evidently forming part of
n larger writing, which President Schech-
ter obtained along with some 20, 100 other
old Hebrew manuscripts, from the Jew
lsh congregation at Cairo, Egypt, Is years
ago.
This collection which has been guarded
jealousy by the Cairo congrcg alton for
1000 years, was taken by President
Schcchter to The University Of Cam
bridge. whcre he was then professor of
SemticS. In the collection DR.. Schechter
found the other treasure. n Hebrew tcXt
Of coclesiasticus; but his newest find will
| probably Gar outrank the other in general
importance and interest.
| Hitherto scholars have been able 20
! find no contemporary Jewish references
to the events or characters of the New
| Testament, barring a few generally sus-
| pected passages IN Josephus, the genu-
+ ineness of which has been rejected by
both Jewish and Christian critics. and
few contemptuous references in the Tai
| mud
| The manuscript discovered and trans
| lated by Or Schechter seems to have
/ been composed in the second part of the
first century Of the Christian era 1t rep
| resents "A personal address of a religious
| leader to his followers. laying down in
| form of a manifesto the principles of he
| lief of his religious views. The personal
! note expressed in frequent use of the
wcll-known Hebrew form of "Hearken
ye unto me-" seems to prove the docu-
ment was composed at the time of the
! religious events It treats Of.
! TWO MESSIAlIS DESCRIBED.
The manifesto voices belief in two
| great personages who have been sent to
| strengthen and enlightcn the Hebrew ma
ton. The first is referred to as Mes
siah from the family of Aaron ana
from Israel The second is called a
Teacher of Righteousness" and also de-
signed as a Messiah.
Both Mes siahs had died when the docu-
ment was written. but both were expect
ed to reappear in the latter days. A
third person, called in one place "a man
of soothing and in another "Belial," Is
put forward for special denunciatlon, on
a charge of detaching the people from
ordinances of the law and from sound
moral principles.
President Schechter thinks the two
Messiahs referred to were one person,
whom he tries to identify with a certain
Zadok. founder of the Zadokts or Saddu-
cean sect. "Belial.' he thinks repre-
SCENTS not an individual, but the iIellenis-
tic prosecutions before the Maccabean
revolt. Or. Schechter advances these
theories only doubtfully, however.
on the other hand, GEORGE Margoli-
outh, custodian of Hebrew manuscripts
of the British museum, in reviewing and
commenting on Dr. Sclech,ers discov-
cry, says:
1T is impossible to read the character
ization of the Messiah descended from
Aaron and from israel without thinking
of John the Baptist. We are told in the
manuscript that as result of his work
they meditated over their sin and they
knew that they were guilty men, John
the Baptist was the son of priest. and
may have had a strain of lay lsraelitish
blood from his mother family. thus fit
ting both the priesty and lay descent
mentioned in the document. The sect foi
which 1t was written consisted chiefly of
priests and Israelites, and il was there
fore necessary to assign to their Mes
siah an origin TO satisfy both parties.
JESUS HIMSELF REFERRED TO.
IF the first Messiah Is John the Bap-
fist, the other, the Teacher Of Right
eousness' stated to have followed hin
must be Jesus Himself Twenty years
are said to have elapsed between the be
ginnings of the two mnistries-a fac
more easily to be credited than that al
the activities and successes of John coul'
have been crowded in a single year
, "a striking corroboration Of this fac
, may be furnished by page ? of the docn
ment, where is written: In the explana
ton of his name are also their names
Now the Boethusians, a variety or IN
. Sadducees. derived their name IRON
!, Boethos, Il priest. whose name In Greei
means helper The name was common
al the time. Strikingly, the Hebrew nam
represented ty Jesus means exactly M
same as Boethos. helper
The man Of scofling' who Is mention
) ed as sent throughout Israel to perVer
| the nation from the law. DR.. Marsohoutl
G thinks, was Paul the apostle. who, IRON
n a strictly Jewish point of view, wou!
h have been regarded as one of the wors
enemies OF the faith
p. The text refers to Kim as sent i
q | hooking allusion to his apostleshiI
i which, In their view. was self assumed
$ The root OF the Hebrew word for sent
t is the same as that from which apostle
ID IS derived The manuscript assigns
| period Of 40 years to his activity. whic
(, | nearly agrees with recent critical com
= putation of the ministry of Paul.
h In the manuscript this man Of scof
d ing" is charged with running afte
l. wealth, poluting the temple, and wors
,mmoralities The first charge, DR.. Mai
h Coliouth thinks, may have been base
y upon Pauls Jealous efforts to colleI
d money for the poor adherents Of the me-
e faith; while the second charge Is closet
c echoed by similar charges mentioned
Is acts, XXI, S.
e "NEW COVENANT" MENTIONED
lie In Dr. Schechter's manuscript the ne
sect is spoken of several times as N
Is "ncw conVenant" which Is In all nkel