Evidence Of Jesus Christ
BY DR. JOHN DAVIS, For The Warsaw Times-Union
Editor’s Note: Dr. John Davis is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake. He has participated in 10 archaeological expeditions to the Middle East as a senior staff member. During those digs, he excavated 113 tombs, some of which contained ossuaries like the one described in this article. He is the author of 18 publications and has written the weekly column “Outdoor Scene” for the Times-Union since 1980.
Not since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has the world been so captivated with an archaeological discovery in the Holy Land.
A small burial box known as an ossuary has come to light, which is in itself not unique because hundreds of these ossuaries have been discovered in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.
What is very significant, however, is the Aramaic inscription on the side of the ossuary which reads, “James the son of Joseph the brother of Jesus.”
If this Jesus is the Jesus of the New Testament, this would constitute the earliest extra-biblical reference to Him.
The ossuary has been part of a private collection for the past 15 years. The owner bought the box from an Arab antiquities dealer in Jerusalem who said it was unearthed south of the Mount of Olives. As noted below, this general location is very probable based on analysis of trace samples of soil on the ossuary.
Secondary Burial
The use of ossuaries is a form of secondary burial in which relatives or appointed individuals would enter a family tomb after a body had gone through complete decomposition (normally nine months to a year) and place the remains in these limestone boxes.
This practice is commonly referred to as ossilegium and was in vogue mainly in the Jerusalem area among Jews from about 30 B.C. until A.D. 70.
Some Jewish ossuaries, however, have been discovered in tombs in Alexandria, Carthage and Spain, and these date from the second to third centuries A.D.
The idea of secondary burial among Jews of the region was not limited to this general era, however. In my own excavations in tombs at ancient Tekoa, eight miles southeast of Jerusalem, we found evidence that ancient Hebrews were collecting the bones of earlier burials and placing them in what is commonly called “pit repositories.”
In tomb 302, which was in use during the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., seven such repositories were found and many had more than one burial deposited in them.
Also of interest is the fact that Jews living at this site apparently opened this tomb and reused it during the first century A.D. We found several broken ossuaries in the central chamber, but they had no inscriptions on them. They were beautifully decorated with incised six-petalled rosettes on the long sides, however.
Actually, the general practice of ossilegium in Palestine among other peoples is now documented as far back as the Chalcolithic Period (4500 B.C. to 3100 B.C.).
The Jewish ossuaries of the first centuries A.D. were carved from a single piece of limestone and usually measured about 20 to 25 inches in length, 12 to 18 inches wide and 17 to 25 inches high.
The lids were given a variety of treatments that included flat, rounded or gabled tops. The James ossuary had a flat top that was placed into recessed margins.
Such ossuaries have for some time captured the attention of scholars regarding the days of Jesus in the first century A.D. In 1968, for example, 15 ossuaries were found in burial caves at Giv’at ha-Mivtar, Jerusalem, containing the bone remains of 35 individuals.
The two skeletons in ossuary No. 4 were of special interest in that the one was an adult male 24-28 years old who gave evidence of dying by Roman crucifixion. The other bones were that of a child 3 to 4 years of age.
The name of the man was Jehohanan and both heel bones were transfixed by a large iron nail. The shins were found to have been intentionally broken, indicating that death was caused by crucifixion.
But Is It Authentic?
This kind of discovery with its startling claims would normally be dismissed by many scholars, but that is not easily done in this case.
The ossuary was brought to Andre Lemaire, who is one of the leading epigraphers in the Middle East. He has been transcribing and translating ancient Aramaic and Hebrew inscriptions for more than 30 years. His reputation as a competent epigrapher is unchallenged.
It was his article in the recent Biblical Archaeological Review that caught the attention of television networks and newspapers worldwide.
He has carefully studied the Aramaic inscription for spelling, writing style and syntax. Based on these paleographic considerations, he dates the inscription between 20 B.C. and A.D. 70.
These dates agree with the general date for the Jewish use of ossuaries in the Jerusalem area, namely 30 B.C. to A.D. 70.
But to be sure that the ossuary and its inscription was not a forgery, Lemaire had it sent to the Geological Survey of Israel for analysis.
Patina was found on the surface of the box and in the incised Aramaic letters. Patina is a green/gray/tan substance that forms with age on various surfaces. In this case, the patina was very old and under a microscope had a cauliflower shape, which is consistent with the type of patina formed in a cave or tomb environment.
The patina was hard and adhered strongly to the surfaces, again the markers of great antiquity.
That patina was found in the letters is important because it rules out a late forgery.
Further geological analysis indicated that trace samples of the soil still on the ossuary from its original resting place locate it east of Jerusalem in the Mt. Scopus area.
The Aramaic Inscription
It is the Aramaic inscription that has stirred the most interest in this fascinating object. Transcribed it looks like the following.
(Insert Illustration)
(Aramaic Inscription)
It will be noted that the Aramaic refers to Ya’akov (Jacob) which became “Jacobus” in Latin and finally “James” in English. Jesus appears as Yeshua in the inscription.
While all three names are common during the period, the fact that the phrase “brother of Jesus” appears is unique. Lemaire knows of only one other Aramaic inscription that includes “son of” and “brother of” in the same burial formula.
Usually, a funerary formula only describes one as the “son of.”
One ossuary from north Jerusalem reads, “Jehonan son of Hikol.”Funerary formulas I have personally studied and translated have also included the occupation of the individual (“Jehonathan the potter”) and his/her home (“Yohanan of Bethlehem”). Others just include one name, as “Martha” or “Saul.”
Lamaire’s estimation is that given a general population of Jerusalem in the first century A.D. of 80,000, it likely that only 20 out of a male population of 40,000 could theoretically have this combination of “son of” and “brother of” combination.
The fact that this kind of formula is only attested one other time probably indicates that the individual buried in the ossuary was unique and important.
This would certainly fit “James the brother of Jesus” mentioned in Matt. 13:55-56; Mark 6:3 and “the son of Joseph” in Luke 4:22 and John 6:42.
James the brother of Jesus was also a leader in the church at Jerusalem (Gal. 2:9) and an apostle (Gal. 1:18-19).
According to the first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, James died in A.D. 62, which again coordinates well with the date and inscription on the ossuary.
It must be noted that Joseph, James and Jesus do appear on a number of ossuaries. Jesus occurs 10 times, James (Jacob) five time and Joseph 19 times. None, however, occur in the order that appears on this ossuary.
It may well be that the uniqueness of the ossuary inscription is due to the fact that the bones deposited therein were those of the leader of the Jerusalem Church and the brother of Jesus.
With all evidence considered, the indicators are that this ossuary has a high probability of having contained the secondary burial of none other than James the brother of Jesus.
If that is so, we now have an extra-biblical reference to Jesus of Nazareth that dates to A.D. 63.
Until this discovery, the oldest surviving artifact that mentions Jesus is a fragment of John chapter 18 from a manuscript that is generally dated about A.D. 125. It was discovered in Egypt in 1920.
Tragically, the ossuary recently suffered damage while en route to Canada, where it is scheduled to go on exhibit in the Royal Ontario Museum on Nov. 16th.
The extent of damage has not been revealed, and special consultation is currently going on between the museum and authorities in Israel.
While this ossuary has created a great stir, it is not essential for establishing the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. Many circumstantial evidences have been unearthed during past decades and we have the very reliable historiography of the Gospels in the New Testament.
Hebrews 12:2: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . . "
Most large retail businesses have many departments. Two departments that are very necessary are Sales and Purchasing. First, you must have a product before you can sell it. It is important not only to have people that have a keen eye for displaying products for the public, and we also need to have those people who can sell the product.
Meditate On This!
At what phase are you in your Christian faith? Are you in purchasing, or in sales? It is important to know what we have in Christ - the fact He is the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. He started it - and He is taking care of it. But if we are always in the area of purchasing (looking for what we can get from our faith), we may have some tough days. God has also told us to be involved in sales (Act 1:8). If in Christ we are His corporation, let's make sure that we are about both the business of understanding who we are in Him, and telling others about who He is.
Think about your situation today.
