Hobby Lobby faces another Bible artifacts scandal

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Renowned classics professor Dirk Obbink is accused of stealing and selling as many as 11 ancient Bible fragments to Hobby Lobby. The Egypt Exploration Society, which manages Oxford University’s Oxyrhynchus Papyri project, said Monday the arts and crafts retailer bought the fragments in two batches back in 2010.

How did Hobby Lobby get involved? The Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby and also founded the Museum of the Bible, has gathered one of the largest sets of Bible antiquities in the world. In 2017, the U.S. government ordered Hobby Lobby to pay a $3 million fine for illegally importing thousands of artifacts from Iraq. Last year, the museum pulled five Dead Sea scrolls from display after acknowledging they were forgeries.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD Magazine archives, read senior reporter Emily Belz’s report on the Museum of the Bible and smuggled artifacts.

Onize Oduah

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks