He Taught Ancient Texts at Oxford. Now He Is Accused of Stealing Some.

More recently, word of the fragment began to trickle out. In a 2012 video, Daniel Wallace of the Dallas Theological Seminary said in a discussion with another scholar that a first-century papyrus fragment with writing from Mark — “the oldest manuscript of the New Testament,” as he termed it — had been discovered. Wallace said that someone with an “unimpeachable” reputation and thought by many to be “the best papyrologist on the planet,” had evaluated the fragment but declined to name that person, adding that he had been “sworn to secrecy.”

Then, in late 2015, Scott Carroll, an expert who had advised Hobby Lobby’s president as his family began buying ancient Bibles, Torahs, manuscripts and other items, told a lecture audience of having seen a papyrus fragment in Obbink’s office at Oxford with writing from Mark.

He said Obbink had dated it between 70 to 120 AD, a finding of significance because such an early manuscript could bolster the argument that today’s New Testament language can be traced back almost to the time of Jesus.

“I saw it at Oxford University at Christ Church College and it was in the possession of an outstanding, well known, eminent classicist,” Carroll said in the video that an audience member posted on YouTube. “It has since been acquired; I can’t say by whom.”

Officials at the Exploration Society soon became aware of the video, according to an article published last year in The Atlantic, and they were so shaken by it that they began a review of the unpublished New Testament papyri in their collection.

In 2016, the society declined to reappoint Obbink as a general editor of the Oxyrhynchus collection, citing, among other things, concerns about his “alleged involvement” in marketing ancient texts.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/arts/design/hobby-lobby-lawsuit-dirk-obbink.html