"Harvard Theological Review" publishes in its last issue (April 2014) eight articles about a small papyrus fragment (4 cm. high by 8 cm. wide) written in Coptic, which has been sensationally called the "Gospel of the wife of Jesus". What has aroused most interest is a sentence in the fourth line of the best preserved side of the papyrus, which reads: "Jesus said to them: My wife...". Before that sentence only a few single words are legible, which do not allow us to get an idea of the general context: "My mother gave me life... the disciples said to Jesus.... Mary is worthy [or unworthy, since the reading is not clear] of it". The same happens later: "she will be able to be my disciple... let the wicked be puffed up...". On the reverse, one reads only "my mother", "three" and "henceforth".

It has been almost two years since Harvard professor Karen L. King reported the existence of this papyrus at the X International congress of programs of study Coptic, held in Rome. The fragment came into her hands through a private collector who wished to remain anonymous. Now, after a more detailed analysis, he is formally publishing his research. Along with her article, the journal publishes several monographs programs of study that help to support Professor King's contribution.

In the first, Malcolm Choat, of Macquarie University, after examining it from a paleographic point of view, says that he finds no evident sign that it is a forgery, although he states that his examination cannot consider it proven to be authentic either. The analysis of the nature Chemistry of the ink used by Professors Yardley and Hagadorn of Columbia also fails to reach any certain conclusions about its authenticity. On the other hand, a study by Azzarelli, Goods and Swager, of MIT, on the material nature of the papyrus, detects an anomalous characteristic, which they have not been able to identify, in its composition Chemistry. The results of the carbon analysis of that fragment, compared with another papyrus fragment of recognized antiquity, carried out by Gregory Hodgins of Arizona, show different characteristics, so that if the one presented by Karen King was from the first centuries of Christianity it would have to be investigated how it has been contaminated. In contrast, Noreen Tuross of Harvard says that the results of her analysis would indicate that they are from the same period.

In a detailed global evaluation of all the data, both paleographic and analytical, Leo Depuydt, of Brown University, sets out at length the reasons why he is sure that this is a forgery. At summary, everything points to it being a forgery. In any case, even if the "Gospel of the wife of Jesus" were authentic, all it would provide would be one more testimony of a hitherto unknown Gnostic text of a non-historical character. The expression "my wife" of this Coptic text would be, in any case, a spiritual allegory. It would be very unlikely that a Gnostic text would present Jesus with a carnal wife (Mary Magdalene, for example), since the Gnostics in their great majority undervalued or despised sexual relations. Second-century controversies over the value and dignity of marriage show that Jesus was celibate. Both supporters and opponents of marriage started from that fact. The oldest text on the subject is by Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215).