© 2025 The Interpreter Foundation. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
All content by The Interpreter Foundation, unless otherwise specified, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here.
Interpreter Foundation is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of their respective authors, and should not be interpreted as the opinions of the Board, nor as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.
Some time ago I was in Cochin on a BYU study abroad program. Lore has it that there was a chronicle documenting the history of the black and white Jews, tracing there history back to the Assyrian and/or Babylonian captivity. This history was supposedly purchased by Claudius Buchanan along with the Words of Gad the Seer and a Hebrew translation of the New Testament and donated to Cambridge. Gad the Seer and the Hebrew NT are still at Cambridge, but apart from some extracts that were later published in Dutch, Hebrew and German, there is no record of the original Cochin Chronicle in Hebrew.
The Hebrew NT and Gad the Seer has recently caught the interest of Nehemiah Gordon. I noticed that he just posted a fascinating discussion with Bar-Ilan:
https://youtu.be/T1Vcb2vUrAE?si=lA7KEVIAjRFkv2tt&t=1712
Thanks! Yes, there is much to ponder about the history of the “Black Jews” at Cochin (called that because through mingling with locals over the centuries, they looked more Indian than Jewish, while the more recent newcomers to the colony have retained a lighter skin tone). Wish we had more of the ancient records they purportedly had.
Thanks for the link to the discussion with Dr. Bar-Ilan. Such a fascinating scholar, IMO.
“Wish we had more of the ancient records they purportedly had.”
I mentioned in a comment under Dr. Bar-Ilan’s article that Buchanan also acquired a Hebrew translation of the Book of Mysteries (Revelations) and the rest of the New Testament. There are some that argue that Van Dort did not translate these from German or Dutch, but was copying much of it (eg Revelations, James and Jude) from earlier Hebrew sources. I don’t know if there’s anything to support these claims. Perhaps Bar-Ilan has some thoughts on the matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5YxTedbI_U
and https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectTruthMinistries
I will have to study the Book of Gad the Seer. I know you have done a lot with it.
Reading Meir bar-Ilan’s paper and reading about apocalyptic text, the book of Revelation and lambs forced me to think of Nephi of course. I have to ask if Latter-day Saints would consider the coming of the Book of Gad as a fulfillment of Nephi’s words in 1 Ne14:26. 26. In the context of John’s writing and the end of the world Nephi writes: “And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.”
As you know Nephi is adamant the Bible has had parts removed. These other apocalyptic books the come forth will be “in their purity.” So that is a lot to consider.
Thank you for the introduction to the book.
This could be one of many ancient texts that may be waiting for discovery and attention. Of course, this text may be removed by many centuries from whatever original source(s) may have been behind it so additions and removals may have occurred in the process. But I think this is something to celebrate and learn from as we wait for further treasures to com.