Jesus and the Ossuaries
Overview
In Jesus and the Ossuaries, Craig A. Evans helps all readers, expert and layperson alike, understand the importance of recent archaeological finds have for the quest for the historical Jesus and a historical reconstruction of early Christianity. Evans does this by providing an overview of the most important archaeological discoveries and examining nine inscriptions—six on ossuaries, three on stone slabs—that pertain in one way or another to the historical Jesus. He then surveys the arguments for and against the authenticity and identification of the recently discovered James Ossuary. Evans concludes his volume with a discussion of the historical value of the archaeological data afforded by the several inscriptions.
- Title: Jesus and the Ossuaries
- Author: Craig A. Evans
- Publisher: Baylor University Press
- Print Publication Date: 2003
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. N.T. Gospels › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Ossuaries › Palestine; Jewish funeral rites and ceremonies › Palestine; Excavations (Archaeology) › Palestine; Inscriptions › Palestine; Jews › History--168 B.C.-135 A.D; Palestine › Antiquities
- ISBNs: 9781602580503, 0918954886, 9781280500770, 9781481301404, 1602580502, 9780918954886, 1280500778, 1481301403
- Resource ID: LLS:JSSSSRSWHTJWSHB
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:58:41Z
Craig A. Evans earned his PhD in biblical studies at Claremont Graduate University and received his decretum habilitationis from Budapest. He is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament; Acadia Divinity College Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada; John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins (Houston Theological Seminary); a New Testament scholar; and a prolific author and popular teacher/speaker.
Evans is well-known for his work on the Gospels, the Historical Jesus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the archaeology of the New Testament. His passion for archaeology has him frequently participating in Middle East digs and leading Holy Land tours. He has regularly appeared in television and radio interviews, such as the History Channel, BBC, and Dateline NBC, served as a consultant on the National Geographic Society's Gospel of Judas project and for The Bible television miniseries, and is featured in documentaries like Fragments of Truth and the Archaeology and Jesus series.
He's written hundreds of articles and reviews and published more than 70 books, including Jesus and His Contemporaries, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies, Mark in the Word Biblical Commentary, Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels, God Speaks, and Jesus and the Remains of His Days: Studies in Jesus and Archaeology. He coauthored Jesus, the Final Days with N. T. Wright.
Reviews
1 rating
Glenn Crouch
3/7/2020
This is quite a fascinating book looking into the burial practices in 1st Century Palestine, which of course covers the time of Jesus and the Apostles. As the Author points out learning more about this topic does help us understand not only the background behind some of the things Jesus said and the various writers reported, but of even greater importance is the background given to the burial of Jesus following his Crucifixion (and prior to his Resurrection). This is not a big book, and whilst it does do a good language (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek) coverage - it also has translations for that. However I did find that at times with the various languages as well as various scholarly references did make some sections more difficult to read - was a bit more like an Academic Paper than a book aimed at all audiences. The Author also covers the James Ossuary (an ossuary is a bone box, in which the bones are gathered up a year after the person has died) which makes reference to “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” and if authentic could be the ossuary of James, the brother of Christ, who was the leader of the Jerusalem Church. Whilst the Author doesn’t dwell too much on this, I think he gives a good positive examination and explanation, whilst maintaining integrity of the scientific method involved. I would recommend those wanting more cultural background on the New Testament events give this book a read.