From: Robert Schneider (rjschn39@bellsouth.net)
Date: Mon Dec 02 2002 - 00:47:17 EST
I assume that you all have read or seen on T.V. a news report of the =
discovery of an ancient ossuary acquired some time ago by a private =
collector and examined by experts, that has been causing quite a stir =
recently. The reason is that the outside of the box has the Aramaic =
inscription "Yaakov bar Yosef adhui diYeshua" - "James, son of Joseph, =
brother of Jesus." The box has been identified as having been cut from =
a type of stone quarried in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and the script =
has been authenticated and dated to between 50 and 70 CE. It is a =
simple and unpretentious box that might have been used for the remains =
of any person of the time; the inscription is roughly cut and though =
legible not the work of a skilled carver working for a wealthy person.=20
While James, Joseph, and Jesus were rather common Jewish and Galilean =
names during the first century CE, this combination is rather rare. =
Usually the remains contained therein are itdentified by name and =
father's name; when another relative is named, it is thought to have =
been someone prominent. While there is no conclusive evidence, the very =
unusual combination makes it quite possible that this ossuary contained =
the bones of James of Jerusalem, leader of the early church and brother =
of Jesus. According to the Jewish historian Josophus, James was =
executed by stoning in 62 CE, which puts him right in the time-frame of =
the analysis.
All this is prelude to the fact that my wife Maria and I saw this =
ossuary last Sunday. It was on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in =
Toronto, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Academy =
of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature. The ossuary was displayed =
by itself in a separate alcove, the walls nicely displaying historical =
and technical information regarding the ossuary and James. We had all =
the time we wanted to contemplate the box. I am one of those people who =
is quite willing to believe the possibility, and so it was exciting to =
see this box and believe that I had come into contact with an artifact =
that connects with James himself, and thus with Jesus.
Bob Schneider
PS: To satisfy all points of view about James' actual relationship to =
Jesus, the curators were politick enough to provide three charts on the =
wall, listing the names of Jesus' brothers and sisters. They indicated =
that (1) the other children were also of Mary and Joseph (Protestant); =
(2) children of Joseph by a former and deceased wife (Orthodox); or (3) =
cousins (Roman Catholic). I presume my Anglican brothers and sisters =
are divided on the issue, as we are on so many.
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