The Cairo Codex (38 page)

“N
OW THAT WE
’
VE ALL HAD A LOOK AT THIS
new evidence, I would suggest that we summarize the verifiable physical evidence we have so far, then move on to context clues. If I may . . .” Mostafa said, an even more commanding figure now that he was on his feet. After the brief break and several side conversations, the group was now reseated. More tea had been set on the table, and the director’s cup and saucer had been replaced. “So far, we have heard the following information.” He summarized point by point:

“First, the carbon-14 dating of the calf leather and papyrus pages places the codex between approximately 20 BCE and 40 CE.

“Second, patina patterns from the crypt niche match the patterns on the leather cover. Since the pattern was undisturbed, it is most likely that the codex remained in the niche for the full time, or most, of these two thousand years. Fair to say, Amir?”

Amir nodded.

“Third, the paleography examination suggests that the patterns and forms of the letters place the codex during the approximate period of the c-14 dating. Is this correct, Al Rasul?” He didn’t wait for a response.

“Therefore, we are representing this find thus far as an authentic codex created during the period 20 BCE to 40 CE and hidden in a wall niche in the crypt below the St. Sergius Church. We’ve heard nothing as yet about authorship.” All eyes turned to Ibrahim as he placed his shaking right hand on the report and pulled himself toward the table.

“Before we begin to talk about context clues and possible authorship,” Ibrahim said, “let me remind everyone that there are many different points of view regarding the presence and traveling of the Holy Family in Egypt. The ‘Holy Family’ is generally thought of as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Many Protestants think that Joseph’s son James was among them. Some believe that other children followed. Many religious traditions outside of the Middle East, perhaps even within the Catholic faith, don’t believe that the Holy Family came to Egypt at all. But of course the Copts think they came here and traveled around a great deal—since they were being chased by Herod’s soldiers—and then returned to Palestine after about two and a half years. Muslims believe the family stayed in Egypt for as many as seven years. My point in reminding everyone of these variations is to clarify some established theories for the conversation.”

“It sounds as though you’ve already made a decision on authorship,” said Al Rasul. “I thought we were reserving judgment until all the data was in.” He cushioned his sarcasm only slightly in regard for Ibrahim’s antiquity.

“Fair enough, but I will add this caveat: if, and only if, a member of the Holy Family wrote the codex, there are many different assumptions about where and when that could have occurred,” said Ibrahim, mildly embarrassed at the suggestion of rashness. Andrea, Isaac, Amir, Justine, and himself had decided to take this expanded gathering through the process step by step rather than rapidly revealing their conclusions about authorship.

“I will admit that most of our initial impressions have been borne out,” acknowledged Al Rasul. “While we recognize that alphabets change over time, these linguistic formations are consistent with the patterns found in the period in question. It’s also important to note that we have no samples of female writing during this period of history with which to compare the codex.”

“Do you think that would make a difference?” asked Amir, glancing at Justine.

“I do,” said Al Rasul. “My Jordanian colleague, Mahmood Hassen—who couldn’t be with us today—pointed out that the formations and patterns in this codex, although highly congruent with the Dead Sea Scrolls, are more delicate, have more flourish. The lines are also thinner, meaning the stylus may have been smaller or held by a hand with less strength than a man’s. These subtleties, this elegance, may—just may—suggest that the author was a woman.” He glanced at Andrea and nodded. “We can also say that the inscriptions are written by the same person, but over a period of time. The style and form became more sophisticated over a period of perhaps eight years.”

“Thank you. That’s helpful,” said Andrea, nodding slightly. “As we’ve worked to translate the photographed pages, we’ve been guardedly impressed by the coherence of historical context clues. As Dr. Al Rasul just noted, the linguistic patterns are in nearly the same style as the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran. We believe that the diary—and from now on I will refer to this codex as a diary—explains many of these mysteries.” She paused, slowly sipped her tea, and gazed from person to person. “The author would appear to be Mary, mother of Jesus.”

Sharp intakes of breath could be heard from Omar Mostafa and Al Rasul, both of whom must have had his suspicions but had not heard the information directly. “The cover page says simply: ‘Diary of Mary of Nazareth’—inverted, of course, since ancient Aramaic was written from right to left. Granted, that statement alone would not establish authorship, but taken together with the content, we believe it does.”

Even though the original team members had engaged in earlier discussions about this probability, saying it aloud had a profound affect on them all. Their faces projected a unique spiritual stillness, as though each was consulting some inner oracle. No one spoke.

Mostafa interrupted the stillness. “We’ve had little reason to think that women of this period were literate, Andrea. Why don’t we start there?” He watched Andrea with unshielded admiration. “What explanation does this socalled ‘diary’ provide?”

“Mary tells Jesus she was taught to read and write by her grandmother, Faustina of Mt. Carmel. Mt. Carmel was an Essene community, and we’ve found entries suggesting an Essene influence on Mary’s family. This would not only explain her literacy but also the similarity to the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were unmistakably written by the Essenes.”

Justine’s mind unwillingly turned to the Red Sea and her discussion of the Essenes with Nasser. He was undoubtedly right about the Holy Family and the Essenes. The warm memory was quickly clouded by the freshness of the early morning call from her father. She shivered, placed both hands on her arms.

“Names used throughout the diary are consistent with the life of Mary: Jesus, Joseph, James, Rachel, cousin Elizabeth, nephew John,” Andrea continued, leafing through her notes. “Mentions of places such as Palestine, Nazareth, Mt. Carmel, and Babylon situate the family in the expected locales. Discussions about the Romans, including conscription, the building of the canal and fortifications, and the growing tension with the Israelites are consistent with what we know about Roman-Egyptian life at that time.”

“No mention of Bethlehem?” asked Mostafa.

“No mention of Bethlehem,” replied Ibrahim. “The diary begins shortly before Mary’s marriage to Joseph and continues until Jesus is almost nine years of age. James is seventeen or eighteen by that time. Any visit to Bethlehem would have been mentioned.”

Al Rasul stared at his notes intently, marking out and adding words and phrases.

“Other clues are also consistent with Jewish life at the time,” offered Isaac. “For instance, the family held discussions about the Law and ethics and quoted from the Book of Psalms. A lengthy passage describes their celebration of Passover, which tells us that this was a diary written by a member of a Jewish family and not a local Egyptian.”

“And are we to think they lived in the same place all that time? In the cave below St. Sergius?” asked Mostafa, incredulous.

“We have no reason to believe otherwise,” replied Isaac, stroking his wiry goatee.

“Before we continue,” Andrea suggested, “I’d like to ask Justine to tell us more about Mary as a woman, mother, and wife.”

Justine, alerted earlier that this invitation would be made, had studied the meticulous notes she had compiled as she’d listened to the conversations and translations of her colleagues closely in preparation for this moment.

All eyes turned toward her. “I am grateful to my colleagues for inviting me to join in these conversations, and I’m representing our team as I summarize our findings and inferences about Mary.” She was immersed in the moment now, a moment she had been waiting for.
What a pleasure, an honor, to bring new understandings to light about a woman I admire so much.

“We believe Mary, often referred to as the Virgin Mary, to have written this diary from the age of thirteen to perhaps twenty-two years of age, at which point she completed these pages or discontinued her writing for some reason. She was a confident, independent, even sensuous woman who cherished her freedoms in Egypt and took full advantage of her liberties, such as going to the market alone or with her son Jesus, traveling across the river to purchase household necessities, and extending invitations to her home. Although she found pleasure in her freedoms, however, there is an unmistakable tone of melancholy that pervades her writing. Yet she was far more than a survivor; she was a purposeful teacher of her sons, and a caring wife.”

“Sensuous? That seems an odd word to use in reference to the Virgin Mary,” exclaimed Al Rasul. “Disrespectful.”

“Mary revealed a deep and poetic appreciation of the beauty of nature,” said Justine. “In her writings, we can almost hear the sounds, sense the touch, and inhale the fragrances of her world—the way she describes the birds and her beloved sycamore tree that she brought from Palestine. She is also affectionate toward Joseph and her sons.”

“She was a teacher to her sons, you say? Give us an example,” ordered Mostafa.

“Mary reports several conversations with her sons, especially Jesus. She spoke to them of inequities and imbalances, the disenfranchisement of the powerless—not in so many words, of course. Her Aramaic is often intermingled with Greek and Hebrew phrases such as ‘
ger
,’ meaning ‘other,’ with admonitions to care about the other, watch out for the other, put the other before self. Stories that take place in the marketplace when she is with Jesus speak of compassion and charity and forgiveness. These were her words to him.”

“My god,” exclaimed Al Rasul, “you’re telling us that Mary was Jesus’ primary teacher?”

“In important ways.
Iwa
,” acknowledged Ibrahim.

“Perhaps your interpretations are being influenced by your own . . . what do you call it in America? ‘Feminism?’” charged Mostafa, glaring at Justine and Andrea.

Justine smiled and remained composed. Confident of her knowledge and choice of words, she stood her ground. “I’m sure every researcher brings to the task his or her own experiences and biases. Don’t you think, Dr. Mostafa?” Justine then turned toward Ibrahim and Isaac. “I have every reason to believe that our team shares the opinion that these interpretations of Mary are valid. Lest you think that we ignored other influences, we can say that the wisdom of Joseph was influential in teaching the Law, but also in promoting openness to other points of view. Jesus sat routinely with a local Rabbi and was influenced by friends, particularly a young man from India.”

“India? What young man from India?” demanded Mostafa. “What did he have to teach Jesus?”

“May I?” interjected Andrea. Justine nodded graciously and slid back in her chair. “This boy, called Ravi, meaning the ‘Sun,’ taught Jesus to meditate, to reflect, to know what it is to be conscious. Jesus retold these conversations to Mary. Ravi and his merchant father followed a trade route from India to Crete that stopped at the marketplaces along the Nile.” She paused. “Imagine a boy of just eight and another of perhaps ten. How introspective and smart they were. We can no longer deny the influence of Eastern thought on Jesus.”

“While we know Jesus was a Jew, his philosophy has often been seen as more Eastern than would be expected from Jewish Law at that period in history,” added Isaac. “His belief in equality, especially for women, forgiveness, and compassion often transcended the letter of the Law. Dr. LeMartin is correct, for the most part. Jesus’ ministry was a departure from most traditional Judaism at the time, especially as practiced by the temple rabbis. However, there were many smaller clusters of Jews, such as those living in the outreaches of the Diaspora, who also diverged from tradition. These groups could have influenced Jesus’ thinking as well. Now that we understand more about his childhood, we can begin to sort out those influences.”

“What was he like? Jesus, I mean,” asked Al Rasul with uncharacteristic gentility.

Ibrahim excitedly spilled out his words. “Jesus was precocious and curious, thoughtful and confident, playful and persistent, particularly in pursuit of answers to his many questions.”

“What makes you think he was persistent?” Al Rasul’s eyes narrowed. This time he was demanding. After all, Ibrahim was a Copt expressing adoration for his own Messiah.

“His mother recounted conversations at the dinner table in which Jesus would insistently question his father. If I’m remembering it correctly”—Ibrahim glanced at Andrea for assurance—“in one such instance he interrogated his father on whether it was right to learn about other gods. This was during a discussion of Isis.”