Page:The Archko Volume (1896).djvu/121

117 CHAPTER VII.

REPORT OF CAIAPHAS TO THE SANHEDRIM CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS.

After having made the preceding record of Caiaphas, on unwinding the same scroll we found another report from him. It may be interesting to the reader to know what we mean by a scroll. It is similar to parchment. The Hebrew word numet means a pulp made from the bark of the reed into a paste, and dried in the sun until it is hard; when pressed and polished it shines beautifully, and its surface is as smooth as our paper. It is of two kinds: one is called papyrus, the other hierotike. The latter is more costly, and is used by priests alone. It is about sixteen inches wide, and is cemented together by a gum that exudes from a tree resembling our elm. It is written upon with some kind of indelible ink or paint, with a common reed quill, which is fashioned like our pens. The writing is done by the sopher, which is the Hebrew word for scribe. He is called grammateus by the Greeks. The report of Caiaphas is written in what is known as the square Hebrew. The letters are from a half-inch to an inch in size, so that one can imagine what a roll of (117)