The Psalter by Galen Watson Page A

first-century Christian scriptures written in Jesus’ language.”
    Romano noticed the emphasis Pascal placed on the word scriptures . “What do you mean? Is the passage from a Bible book?”
    “Papa, don’t play games,” Isabelle said. “This is too important.”
    “My child,” Pascal touched his daughter’s cheek, “I never play games with God.” He scanned the first line once again. “It appears to have been written by a certain Mathaias who is recalling a conversation between Jesus and his Apostle Thomas.”
    “I don’t recall those scriptures,” Romano said.
    “Why don’t I read the important part.” Pascal translated the text into English. “ The Savior said, ‘Brother Thomas ,’” Pascal mumbled some unintelligible words, then, “Oh yes, here it is, ‘ it has been said that you are my twin and true companion .’”
    Romano leaned back in his chair, dazed.
    “What do you mean twin ?” Isabelle looked dumbfounded. Are you saying Thomas and Jesus were twin brothers?”
    “You see darling, rumors circulated from the earliest Christian days that the Apostle was in fact Jesus’ twin, but this was more than a rumor. There are certain—” Pascal paused as though searching for precise yet diplomatic words, “problematic books that weren’t allowed into the Bible. Historians had only heard rumors about them because they were destroyed by the church. We would never have known what they said had they had not been discovered by an Egyptian peasant digging for fertilizer.”
    “You mean the Dead Sea Scrolls?”
    “No, chérie . It’s a misconception that the Dead Sea Scrolls are Christian. They’re all Jewish. The discovery at Nag Hammadi, on the other hand, was completely Christian. The books were buried near the Egyptian monastery of Saint Pachomius after the church declared possession of these types of writings heresy.” Pascal scratched his head, stood, and padded to the bookshelf. He slid his finger down a row of tomes until he came to a thin booklet. He pulled it out and opened the cover to the first page. “ These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded .”
    “So?” Isabelle shrugged.
    “You’re an expert in ancient Greek. How do you translate Didymos ?”
    Isabelle thought for a moment. “It means twin.”
    “Very good, darling, but what you couldn’t know is that Thomas is the Greek spelling of the Aramaic word Te’oma , which also means twin. So Thomas’ name is really Judas the twin, twice over. Whenever they call him Thomas in the New Testament, the author is calling him the twin.”
    “What book are you reading from?”
    “The Gospel of Thomas , a Nag Hammadi find.”
    “Does the Bible refer to the Apostle as a twin?”
    “The Gospel of John uses the name Thomas Didymos or twin, twin on three separate occasions.”
    Father Romano’s face was glum. “What else does it say?”
    Pascal rose and put his hand on the priest’s shoulder. “Will you be all right?”
    “Sure. I’m just shocked to learn Jesus may have had a brother—and a twin no less. So if he had a twin who was not God’s son, then…”
    “Mary had another son and Joseph fathered at least one of them. I think I know which book this is. One text discovered at Nag Hammadi is called Thomas the Contender . Many scholars believe the book is actually the lost Gospel of Mathaias . This is certainly written by a Mathaias .”
    “Read the rest.” The priest’s face bore a mix of weariness and distress.
    Pascal scanned the rest of the page. “I’m happy to report nothing earthshaking in what’s left, Father, so you can breathe easy; only something about Thomas getting in touch with his inner self. Very 1960s. I’ll draft a translation for you.”
    Romano pushed himself out of the overstuffed chair. He offered his hand to the seated professor. “Thank you for your help, Monsieur Héber. It’s late and I need to find a hotel.”
    Pascal rose and took the