Moses Shapira

Moses Shapira

Moses Wilhelm Shapira (Hebrew: מוזס וילהלם שפירא‎; 1830 – March 9, 1884) was a Jerusalem antiquities dealer and purveyor of fake Biblical artifacts. The shame brought about by accusations that he was involved in the forging of ancient biblical texts drove him to suicide in 1884. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947, in the same area he claimed his material was discovered, has cast significant doubt on the original forgery charges.

Read more about Moses Shapira:  Early Career, Moabite Forgeries, Manuscript Forgeries, New Evidence, Further Reading

Famous quotes containing the word moses:

    Life—that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life—that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything about us that is growing old and weak—and not only about us. Life—that is, then: being without reverence for those who are dying, who are wretched, who are ancient? Constantly being a murderer?—And yet old Moses said: “Thou shalt not kill.”
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)