Nieuw rumoer rond Moses Shapira's 'Deuteronomium'

Abstract

This article offers a short overview and assessment of the debate regarding the so-called Shapira manuscripts which came to light in the 1880s, following the publication of an article and monograph by Idan Dershowitz, professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Potsdam. Claiming the manuscripts Moses Shapira tried to sell to the British Museum in 1883 were not forgeries, Dershowitz argues that they were a pre-exilic earlier version of the canonical Deuteronomy. The article reviews the history of reception of the manuscripts in view of methodological and societal issues