Mary Magdalene was a "co-messiah", the wife of Jesus and the mother of his children, according to a translation of an ancient manuscript.
The authors of a new book claim that by decoding the manuscript and translating it from the Syriac language, they shed light on the politics leading up to the crucifixion.
They also claim to fill in "significant gaps" about Jesus's life and present him as a "human" who placed importance on family, marriage, love and sex. Simcha Jacobovici, co-author of The Lost Gospel, said that far from being a prostitute, Mary Magdalene was a woman "of stature".
The Lost Gospel is based on a 29-chapter manuscript dating back to about AD570.
It is the tale of Joseph, recipient of the famed coat of many colours in the Old Testament, and his wife Aseneth.
The authors claim that Joseph stands for Jesus and Aseneth for Mary Magdalene. They said that although the literal story of Joseph and Aseneth is known to experts, "subtleties" were lost when it was translated into Latin and Greek in the 12th century.
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