Discovering the Lead Codices: The Book of Seven Seals and the Secret Teachings of Jesus - Hardcover

Elkington, David; Elkington, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1780287666 ISBN 13: 9781780287669

Publisher: Watkins Publishing, 2014

Synopsis

In March 2011, The Sunday Times ran an article on the discovery of a mysterious cache of palm-sized, ring-bound books made of lead. These lead codices, as they have become known, contain mysterious symbols and inscriptions. One tablet in particular features a portrait of Jesus and has preserved the seven seals that would have bound it together along its left-hand side.  

David and Jennifer Elkington photographed the books, brought samples to the UK for analysis, and assembled a team of eminent scholars to study them. At the same time, the books were quickly becoming an international phenomenon, the Israelis and Jordanians began a very public dispute over the location of the site where they were discovered. Convinced that the codices are the earliest Christian documents ever found, the Elkingtons put their reputations on the line as they raced to authenticate the find amidst an array of vested interests which sought to suppress them.  

In their quest to crack the code, the Elkingtons have been subjected to personal threat but they have continued the fight to ensure the world understands the importance of the codices, which may well pre-date the New Testament. Their significance in our understanding of early Christianity cannot be underestimated.

About this title

About the Author

David Elkington is the author of In the Name of the Gods, the acclaimed academic thesis on the resonance and acoustical origins of religion. David is primarily an Egyptologist, specializing in Egypto-Palestinian links that have inevitably drawn him in the field of Biblical studies.  

Jennifer Elkington was born in Key West, Florida, spending her formative years in Germany before reading Art and European History at the American University in Paris.  Jennifer stayed on in Paris working in the arts before relocating to London in 1996 where she worked as a literary publicist. 

From the Back Cover

Part detective story, part historical analysis, this thrilling account of the search for the truth behind the Jordan codices challenges our understanding of biblical history and archaeology, and reveals how these incredible artefacts that belonged to Jesus' followers in Jerusalem may be the only Hebrew-Christian texts in existence.

In 2007 David and Jennifer Elkington were shown images of a hoard of lead books covered in mysterious symbols and inscriptions, found in a cave in a remote valley in northern Jordan - one of them containing a portrait of Jesus and with seven seals along its side.

Experts believe these lead codices are the most significant find since the Dead Sea Scrolls were unearthed 60 years ago, forcing scholars to completely rewrite our view of Jesus and the early Church. In their quest to crack the code of the biggest biblical discovery to date, the Elkingtons had their emails hacked, received death threats and feared for their lives.

From the Inside Flap

One day in Oxfordshire, England, in 2007, husband and wife academics David and Jennifer Elkington viewed a set of photographs that would change their lives. The objects in the pictures appeared to be antiquated books, made of metal and replete with inconography and inscribed with ancient script.

The couple travelled to Jordan where the codices were found, brought samples to the UK for analysis and assembled a team of eminent scholars t study them. At the same time, the books were quickly becoming an international phenomenon - the Israelis and Jordanians began a very public dispute over the location of the site where they were discovered. Convinced that the codices are the earliest Christian artefacts ever found, the Elkingtons put their reputations on the line as they raced to authenticate the find amidst an array of vested interests which sought to suppress them.

This is the journey that takes them from the sleepy shires of England to harrowing trips to the Middle East, involving Bedouin dealers and expeditions to unexplored caverns dating from the dawn of Christianity.

"Although I heard, I did not understand. So I said, 'My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?' He replied, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the end of time.'" DANIEL 12:8-9

Edition details

• Publisher: Watkins Publishing
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1780287666
• ISBN 13: 9781780287669
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320