(Fox News) An Israeli-American scholar in Germany has challenged a 140-year-old claim of fraud by arguing that not only was a supposedly ancient bible authentic, but it may, in fact, be the oldest biblical manuscript found so far, according to newly published findings.
The manuscript was the center of a sensational controversy at the time of its discovery: Found by antiques dealer Moses Wilhelm Shapira, the manuscript comprised 15 fragments he supposedly found in a cave near the Dead Sea.
Shapira claimed the manuscript contained the original Book of Deuteronomy, but some experts and collectors denounced the discovery as a fraud after examination, leading Shapira to flee and commit suicide, according to reports.