16. See Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, pp. 73–83.
17. The idea of Mary’s “perpetual virginity” was affirmed at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 AD and the Lateran Council in 649 AD. Although it is a firmly established part of Catholic dogma, it has nonetheless never been the subject of an infallible declaration by the Roman Catholic Church.
18. This is called the Helvidian view, named after Helvidius, a 4th century Christian writer whom Jerome seeks to refute. Eusebius, the early 4th century church historian, regularly quotes early sources and refers himself to the brothers of Jesus “after the flesh,” surely understanding them as children of Mary and Joseph. (See Eusebius, Church History 2.23; 3.19.
19. This is called the Hieronymian view in honor of Jerome, the 5th century Christian theologian, who was its champion.
20. This is called the Epiphanian view in honor of Epiphanius, a 4th century Christian bishop. It occurs as early as the 2nd century in a text we know as the Protoevangelium of James.
21. A discussion of all the main sources and their implications is at http://religiousstudies.uncc.edu/people/jtabor/jamesessay.html.
22. Quoted by Eusebius, Church History 2.1.3.
23. Quoted by Eusebius, Church History 2.1.4.
24. Eusebius, Church History 2.1.2. Translations of Eusebius are by Kirsopp Lake in the Loeb Classical Library edition.
25. Eusebius, Church History 2.23.4.
26. S. v. “Diadexomai,” in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.), p. 227.
27. See April D. DeConick, Thomasine Traditions in Antiquity: The Social and Cultural World of the Gospel of Thomas, edited with Jon Ma. Asgeirsson and Risto Uro, Nag Hammadi & Manichaean Studies series (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005); Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth, Supplements to the Journal of the Study of the New Testament 286 (London: T. & T. Clark, 2005); and The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation: A Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel, Supplements to the Journal of the Study of the New Testament (London: T. & T. Clark, 2006).
28. This idea is found often in ancient Jewish sources (e.g., 2 Baruch 15:7).
29. The text is embedded in a later source but can be extracted. See Robert E. Van Voorst, The Ascents of James: History and Theology of a Jewish-Christian Community, SBL Dissertation Series 112 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989). Van Voorst has isolated this source from Recognitions 1.33–71 and demonstrated its antiquity.
30. Syriac Recognitions 1.43.3.
31. Josephus, Antiquities 20.200–1. The parenthetical addition “called Christ” is likely a later Christian interpolation.
32. Eusebius, Church History 2.23.4–7.
33. See Oded Golan’s summary of the trial testimony cited above.
34. “The Connection of the James Ossuary to the Talpiot (Jesus Family Tomb) Ossuaries,” http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/JOT.shtml. The two other principal investigators were H. R. Feldman, Division of Paleontology, Touro College; and W. E. K. Krumbein, Department of Geomicrobiology at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg, Germany.
35. Peak elements such as silicon, phosphorous, titanium, iron, aluminum, and potassium are compared according to their ratios.
36. See Rosenfeld et al., and Amnon Rosenfeld and Shimon Ilani, “SEM-EDS Analyses of Patina Samples from an Ossuary of ‘Ya’akov Son of Yossef Brother of Yeshua,’ ” Biblical Archaeology Review 28:6 (2002): 29.
37. The full study by Charles Pellegrino, “The Potential Role of Patina History in Discerning the Removal of Specific Artifacts from Specific Tombs,” will appear in The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem’s Walls: The Fourth Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins, ed. James H. Charlesworth and Arthur C. Boulet (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011).
38. Jacobovici and Pellegrino, The Jesus Family Tomb, pp. 175–92 and James Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, pbk. ed. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007), pp. 319–31.
CHAPTER SEVEN: RESURRECTION, LOST BONES, AND JESUS’ DNA
1. See John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20. He shows up at the Last Supper, then at the cross, then at the empty tomb, and finally in Galilee, where the disciples had retreated after Jesus’ death and returned to their fishing. For a discussion see Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, pp. 206–7.
2. They are together at the cross and at the tomb where Jesus’ body was first placed (John 19:25–27; Mark 15:47; 16:1).
3. Josephus, Antiquities 18. 23.
4. See Plato’s Death of Socrates or his Phaedo.
5. Translation by C. W. Keyes, Cicero, De Re Publica, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928).
6. See Droge and Tabor, A Noble Death, chapter 4, “Acquiring Life in a Single Moment,” pp. 85–112.
7. Segal, Life After Death, pp. 120–45.
8. For a contemporary scholarly analysis of each of the gospels see Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 5th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
9. See James H. Charlesworth and Arthur C. Boulet, eds., The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem’s Walls: The Fourth Princeton Symposium on Judaism and Christian Origins (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011).
10. David Michell, Eske Willerslev, and Anders Hansen, “Damage and Repair of Ancient DNA,” Mutation Research 571 (2005): 265–76.
11. See the complete standard sequence at http://www.phylotree.org/rCRS_annotated.htm.
CONCLUSION: THE FIRST CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANITY TODAY
1. The beginning of the modern Jesus Quest is usually dated to around 1835 with the publication of David Strauss’s Life of Jesus. The full German title of Strauss’s work, Das Leben Jesu kritisch bearbeitet (Tübingen, 1835–36) was published in English as The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined (3 vols., London, 1846), translated by George Eliot, the pen name of British novelist Mary Ann Evans.
2. The quest was given both its history and its name by Albert Schweitzer, whose groundbreaking book, published in 1906 with the nondescript German title Von Reimarus zu Wrede [From Reimarus to Wrede], was given the more provocative title in English The Quest of the Historical Jesus, translated by William Montgomery (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1910).
3. See Tabor, The Jesus Dynasty, pp. 243–304, for the history of the successors of Jesus, beginning with James.
4. See Tertullian, Resurrection of the Flesh 11.
INDEX
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. Page numbers beginning with 213 refer to notes.
Abraham, 34, 81
Acts of Philip, 45, 114, 153
Acts of the Apostles, 137, 170
1:14, 122, 185
1:21–22, 138
2:32–33, 93
5:31, 93
5:37, 186
15:19, 170
20:9–12, 190
21:17–26, 170
Adam and Eve, 81
Alexander of Cyrene, 13, 14
ossuary of, 14, 215
American Academy of Religion, 161
American Schools of Oriental Research, 161
Andrew, 154
Antiochus Epiphanes, 185
antiquities, 10
Antiquities (Josephus), 124
Antiquities Law (1978), 198
Apocalypse of Abraham, 93
apostles:
called James, 166–67
called Judas, 185
criteria for, 137–38
families of, 143
leaders of, 170
Mary Magdalene’s relationship to, 138, 139, 152–56
Paul’s knowledge of, 209
Apostles’ Creed, 188
Arav, Rami, 56, 57, 59, 64, 68–69
archaeology:
context in, 162
fieldwork in, 28
landscape, 126
and orthodoxy, 198
“res
cue,” 10
textual evidence in, 112
Archaeology, 162
arcosolia, 8
Armon Hanatziv, 127
Ascents of James, 125, 173
Augustine of Hippo, 147, 188
Avigad, Nahman, 12
baptism, 81–82
BBC, 25, 32, 42
Behemoth, 85
Bensimon, Meyer, 55, 64
Bethlehem, 34
Biblical Archaeology Review, 42, 159, 160
bones, 189–93
DNA testing of, 26, 44, 52, 199, 218
examination of, 25, 26
see also ossuaries
Bovon, François, 45, 220
Braun, Eliot, 21, 22, 26
Brother of Jesus, The: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family (Shanks and Witherington), 160
Brown, Dan, 46
burial:
Jewish law concerning, 36, 124, 126, 133, 198
primary, 8
secondary, 8, 9
see also tombs
burial niches, 8
Caiaphas:
archaeological evidence related to, 4
ossuary of, 15–16, 15, 108
California, University of, at Davis, 201
Cameron, James, 45
Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries (Rahmani), 30, 112, 217, 218, 233
celibacy, 143–45, 146, 147, 167–69
Celsus, 135–36, 142, 195, 230
Charlesworth, James H., 53–54, 70–71, 220
Christian art:
earliest examples of, 1, 4, 7, 203
Jonah and the fish in, 80–82, 85, 94
resurrection in, 7, 80, 81
Christians:
Israeli tourism by, 13, 33–34
Lost Tomb of Jesus protests by, 52–53
and resurrection, 188, 189
theological traditions of, 210
theology of, 205
Christians, early:
apostolic authority among, 137–38
ascetic ideal of, 146–47, 167–69
development of, 75
hagiographic traditions of, 179
Hellenic influence on, 188
Jews’ relations with, 141–42, 195
Jonah’s significance to, 69, 70, 78–82, 83, 85, 94
Mary Magdalene’s status among, 116, 131
resurrection faith of, 193–96, 206, 209–10
Roman tombs of, 7
women’s status among, 135–36, 146–47, 153, 167–68
see also Jesus, first followers of; Jewish Christians
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 32, 33
Cicero, 187–88
Clement of Alexandria, 171, 188
condominium owners, Patio tomb exploration permission from, 3, 47, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61
Constantine, 153
1 Corinthians:
7:2, 145
7:25, 145
7:26, 145
7:29, 145
7:31, 145
9:1, 137
9:5, 143
10:2, 81
14:34–35, 138
15:1–8, 196
15:3–8, 194
15:4, 119
15:5, 135
15:8–9, 137
15:10, 137
15:26, 192
15:34, 192
15:35–50, 209
15:42–50, 192
16:22, 116
2 Corinthians, 5:1–5, 193
Cotton, Hannah, 118
Cross, Frank Moore, Jr., 161, 220
Crossan, John Dominic, 220
crucifixion nails, 16
Daniel, 12:1–4, 191
Da Vinci Code, The (Brown), 33, 46, 129
Dead Sea Scrolls, 13, 34, 74, 78, 93, 98, 100, 143, 144, 161, 163, 205
death:
in Hebrew Bible, 182–83, 192–93
Western concept of, 187–88, 192–93
De Jona, 78–79
Department of Antiquities and Museums, 23, 217
Deuteronomy, 21:23, 36
Dialogue of the Savior, 153
“Did the Set of Names from the Talpiot Tomb Arise by Chance?” (Lutgen), 117
Discovery Channel, 33, 42, 52, 112, 160
Di Segni, Leah, 30
Dorfman, Shuka, 56
Drori, Amir, 32
East Talpiot, 33–37, 100, 102, 127
tombs in, 1, 16, 17, 34–35
Elijah, 190
Elisha, 190
Epiphanius, 168, 234
Essenes, 143–44, 186
Eusebius, 171, 234
Eve, 146
Exodus, 20:4, 69
Ezekiel, 189, 191
37:5–6, 189
Feuerverger, Andrey, 52, 117, 220
Figueras, Pau, 94–95
see also Yeshua “fish” ossuary
First Apocalypse of James, 153
First Commandment, 146
Fitzmyer, Joseph, 161
Franciscan Museum, 98
Fuchs, Camille, 164
Galatians:
1:12, 16; 137
1:14, 145
1:19, 166
1–2, 170
2:9, 170
Galilee, archaeological evidence from, 3
Garden tomb, 2, 29, 31, 34, 50, 102, 207
bones in, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 44, 52, 122, 197, 199, 202
contents of, 22–25, 26–33, 50, 183, 233
DNA results from, 26, 44, 52, 122, 130, 157, 194, 196–202, 199
excavation permission for, 51, 56, 57, 58
façade of, 21, 22, 22, 50
investigation of, 44–45
media interest in, 2, 25, 32–33, 42, 52–53, 112
names in, 105–19
1980 discovery of, 16–17, 21–27
objections related to, 123–25, 157
ossuaries in, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28–30, 32, 44, 45–47, 52, 53, 90, 98, 105–19, 123, 125, 130, 164–66, 174–79, 178, 197, 202, 217; see also “Jesus son of Joseph” ossuary; “Joses” ossuary; “Judah son of Jesus” ossuary; “Mariamene Mara” ossuary; “Maria” ossuary; “Matthew” ossuary
possible looting of, 24, 27, 45, 52, 174, 176–77, 179
rediscovery of, 39–41, 49–51
reevaluation of, 105–28
scholarly assessment of, 53–54
size of, 22
Gath, Joseph, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 35, 40, 126, 164, 218
Gath, Ruth, 30, 32
General Electric, 61, 64
Genesis:
1:28, 144
22:1–4, 34
35:16, 34
49:30, 182
genizah, 50
Geological Survey of Israel, 159, 163
Gibson, Shimon, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 39, 40, 42, 44, 50, 51, 105–6, 165, 179, 198, 216, 218, 219, 220
gnostic gospels, 154, 156
Golan, Oded, 45, 162, 163, 174, 177, 177, 220, 232–33
Golubev, Felix, 15, 18, 45, 48, 55, 59, 61, 64, 165, 166
Gordon’s Calvary, 33
Goren, Yuval, 163
Gospel of Mary, 153, 154, 232
Gospel of Peter, 151, 153, 206, 207
Gospel of Philip, 153, 155
Gospel of the Hebrews, 173
Gospel of Thomas, 153, 172, 173
Greek, Greeks:
ancient burial practices of, 11–12, 18
ascetic ideal of, 146
biblical language of, 92–93, 111
and death, 192–93
death epigrams of, 91
“Mary” in, 45, 112, 113–14, 139
Gregory the Great, Pope, 151–52
ground penetrating radar (GPR), 57, 59
Gudovitch, Shlomo, 18
Hebrew Bible:
death in, 182–83
resurrection in, 189–91
see also specific books
Hebrew University, 13
Hebron Road tomb, 98–100
Hegesippus, 171, 173–74, 178
Helvidius, 234
Heredim, see Orthod
ox Jews
Herod Antipas, 35
archaeological evidence related to, 4
Herodium, 34
Herod the Great, 11, 34
Hippolytus, 113, 114, 115
Ilan, Tal, 117, 220
Irenaeus, 114
Isaac, 81
Isaiah:
38:18, 189
53:9, 219, 228
65:17, 193
Israel:
Christian tourism in, 13
excavation laws in, 3, 7, 10, 54
Roman occupation of, 185
see also Jerusalem
Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), 12, 32, 48, 64, 94, 96, 98
Archaeological Council of, 57
Garden tomb exploration permission from, 51, 56, 57, 58, 59
James ossuary investigation by, 162, 163
1980 Garden tomb excavation by, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 165, 166, 174, 179
1981 Patio tomb excavation and, 17, 18–19, 18, 21, 68, 88, 183, 197, 216, 217
official function of, 3, 10, 19
Patio tomb exploration permission from, 3, 54, 56–57, 58, 59
Israel Geologic Society, 175
Israeli State Collection, 215
Israel Museum, 12, 13, 15, 26, 95, 98, 218
Jacob, 182
Jacobovici, Simcha, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 112, 160, 161, 165
in Caiaphas tomb investigation, 15, 15
examining Patio tomb ossuary, 18
James (brother of Jesus), 42, 110, 113, 120, 121, 122, 124, 137, 166–74, 178, 196, 209, 228
James (son of Alphaeus), 167
James (son of Zebedee), 141, 167, 229
James (the Younger), 141, 167
James Brother of Jesus, 42
“James son of Joseph brother of Jesus” ossuary, 42–43, 43, 44–45, 52, 98, 159–79, 160, 163, 177, 185, 204, 220, 232–33
dimensions of, 165–66, 179
scientific analysis of, 175, 176, 179, 235
Jensen, Robin, 7
Jerome, 147, 173, 234
Jerusalem:
ancient tombs in, 1, 7–12, 9, 12–16, 17, 25, 42, 51, 102, 118, 125, 175–76, 184, 214
archaeological evidence from, 4
Christian tourism in, 33–34
construction boom in, 10
Roman destruction of, 10–11, 62, 120, 121, 184
in the time of Jesus, 34
see also East Talpiot
Jerusalem police, 3, 51
Jesus:
archaeological evidence related to, 3–4, 21, 42–43, 77, 156, 160, 181, 202, 203, 204, 205
burial of, 2, 32, 33–34, 35–36, 90, 119–20, 122, 124, 126, 130, 132, 133–34, 156, 193–94, 195, 219, 222, 228
burial reference of, 9
and Caiaphas, 15
The Jesus Discovery Page 23
