Author’s Blog
The History of the Embalmed Manuscript as Shapira Related it to Dr. Ginsburg – Tuesday, 7 August 1883
Since the original publication of this blog post, I have expanded my research into the provenance of the Shapira fragments with a more comprehensive paper. This work compares six key nineteenth-century accounts that document the origin and history of these enigmatic...
The Sad Business of the Moabite Pottery – A Letter of Explanation – Monday, 6 August 1883
Having read the newspaper reports in The Times and The Jewish Chronicle over the previous weekend from his room in the Cannon Street Hotel, Shapira knew that he had to provide his side of the Moabitica scandal since it was obvious that this unfortunate incident had...
A Brief Progress Update and a Scientific Opinion – Saturday, 4 August 1883
On Saturday, 4 August 1883, a brief update on the examination of the leather pieces appeared in The Athenæum in the Literary Gossip column.[1] It read: “The examination of the pieces of leather which Mr. Shapira has brought to London is proceeding, but...
The Story Breaks! – Friday, 3 August 1883
After the meeting of Thursday, 26 July 1883 at the office of the Palestine Exploration Fund, Dr. Ginsburg was placed in charge of the manuscript strips brought to England by Moses W. Shapira and tasked to examine them at the British Museum. The following Friday, 3...
A Return to London – August 1883
Over August, I intend to take The Moses Scroll blog readers to nineteenth-century London (not literally, but literarily*). That's right; you are invited to travel back in time with me to follow the chronological unfolding of the events surrounding Christian David...
London’s First Look at Shapira’s Leather MSS
On 20 July 1883, Moses Wilhelm Shapira arrived unannounced at 1 Adam Street in London, the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) headquarters. Walter Besant, the secretary of the PEF, greeted him. Shapira informed Besant that he had brought a manuscript to London written...