Scottish twins Agnes and Margaret Smith, born in 1843, were adventurers defying the traditions of their day. In “The Sisters of Sinai,” author Janet Soskice describes them as “unshakably devout Presbyterians deeply interested in biblical studies and languages.” They mastered French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, ancient and modern Greek, Arabic and Syriac. Determined to find “something” of interest, they traveled by camel to St. Catherine’s Monastery, making a most amazing discovery. While examining a collection of stories about saints written on vellum, Agnes realized the vellum had two layers of writing. She faintly saw the words “Of Matthew" and “Of Luke” underneath the more visible text. Those words were from a fourth-century manuscript of the Gospels in Syriac, one of the oldest manuscripts of the Gospels ever found.
Share
More Book Minute Features
July 06, 2020
Mary Jones's Bible
For Welsh children of years past, the story of Mary Jones and her Bible is legendary. In 1563, Parliament passed a law allowing for the translation of...
June 29, 2020
Mendelssohn’s Fifth— Symphony for the Reformation
The Augsburg Confession of 1530 defined the theological beliefs of Martin Luther, becoming one of the most important documents of the Protestant Refor...
June 22, 2020
Quoting the Bible -
“Cleanliness is next to godliness!
A verse often quoted from the Bible—but one that isn’t IN the Bible!
It's sound advice, but we often use wise...