New Testament and Archaeology

Introduction to Messianic Judaism provides a description of what the Messianic Jewish community looks like today at its center and on its margins. The first section of the book traces the ecclesial contours of the community, providing a socio-historical and theological snapshot of the community's origins, where it is presently and where it is heading. Alongside these chapters, the book also includes a number of essays on biblical and theological issues central to the identity of Messianic Judaism. The twelve contributors to the first part of the book are recognized leaders in the Messianic Jewish community. They work with various organizations, including the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, Tikkun International, Chosen People Ministries, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, Israel College of the Bible and the New School for Jewish Studies. Fourteen scholars from a wide spectrum of Christian backgrounds have written essays for the second part of the book. Their participation signals a growing academic and ecclesial interest in Messianic Judaism. Since the 1970s, a sea change has taken place in New Testament studies that has far-reaching implications for how the church evaluates Messianic Judaism. A broad reassessment of the New Testament writers’ view of Judaism has occurred since the publication of E. P. Sanders’s seminal work Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), and this reevaluation continues unabated. The contributors to the second part of Introduction to Messianic Judaism draw from this recent scholarship and demonstrate how post-supersessionist interpretation of the New Testament results in readings of the biblical text that are consistent with Messianic Judaism. The final section of the book is written by Joel Willitts who provides a summary and synthesis of the essays, explaining how they shed light on the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of Messianic Judaism.

Kursi - Gergesa (along the Sea of Galilee) report on 3 seasons of excavations (2001-2003): major discoveries include a first-ever bathhouse in a monastery setting, one of the earliest portrayals of Jesus bearded, and unique lamps and iron rings from the Byzantine period, all found in mass graves after the Persian invasion of 614.  I excavated at Kursi-Gergesa for 3 seasons with the late V. Tzaferis and Charles Page and was Field Supervisor for Area D in 2003 and and added this to the article.  I presented some of the discoveries in SBL 2002: “Kursi Between Archaeology and Text: Late Roman and Early Byzantine Social History,” Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Toronto, 2002.  PLEASE NOTE: I am not the author of this article, but rather Vassilios Tzaferis.  But since Vassilios is no longer with us and I was part of the excavation leadership team, I wanted this paper to reach a larger audience.

A new study of the Roman siege system around Masada was launched in 1995. It was based on survey of the entire Roman siege system, and was followed by excavations at camps F1 and F2 and at the assault ramp. Since the conclusions drawn from this study, which were already presented and discussed in various academic podia in Israel and abroad, are being overlooked and ignored, we find it necessary to repeat them, once again.

I. L'importance du don alimentaire et du partage de nourriture Les Actes des apôtres présentent la communauté chrétienne primitive de Jérusalem comme un lieu de partage des biens. Jésus partageait ses repas avec ses disciples, avant et après sa résurrection. La narration de ces repas souligne l'importance de la commensalité dans la vie du groupe de ses disciples 17 . La vente des propriétés, dont l'argent était déposé aux pieds des apôtres, est signalée comme une pratique qui n'était pas obligatoire 18 , mais qui était encouragée dans la communauté primitive de Jérusalem 19 . L'argent ainsi donné était en particulier utilisé pour les repas dont les Actes des Apôtres indiquent que les diacres les organisaient 20 . Il y avait donc une dimension pratique à ces dons, en argent ou en nature, comme de permettre la réunion des agapes, repas communautaires réguliers à l'époque la plus ancienne 21 . Une prière de bénédiction, conservée dans la version latine de la Tradition Apostolique, concerne le fromage et les olives, peut-être une trace des repas communautaires qui précédaient le repas rituel 22 .

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

This paper was featured in a volume edited by Darrell Bock and Ed Komoszewski, "Jesus, Skepticism, and the Problem of History: Criteria and Context in the Study of Christian Origins" (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010). It involves a report on the John, Jesus, and History Project (2002-2016), in conjunction with new criteria for determining historicity within an inclusive quest for Jesus, describing what now can only be called "the Fourth Quest for Jesus," given that the Fourth Gospel has been programmatically omitted from the earlier three. For more information on this new approach, see my other essays and books on the subject here on my Academia page and also on my Amazon author's page.

The inscriptiones parietariae ad memoriam Apostolorum, written during a very important phase for the history of ancient , are a result of an -essentially Roman -attendance that still expresses herself mainly according to concepts of the traditional funerary cult. It seems that the Apostles Peter and Paul in the triclia are remembered not only because they are Martyrs or Saints but, above all, because they are the «ancestors» of the Christian community in Rome, which just in these decades bases its identity and its prestige on its genesis by the Apostolic couple.

Many people approach the Christmas story in the Bible the same way they do the story of jolly old St. Nick.  It’s a nice tradition to celebrate during the festive season, and possibly based in some historical fact, but more myth than truth.  However, the two earliest records of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth were written by a man who spent years following him (Matthew) and by a historian who carefully investigated the claims by speaking directly with eyewitnesses (Luke).  Further, they were written within the lifetime of those who actually knew Jesus: his mother, his siblings, and his disciples.1 Peter himself said, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Pt 1:16). Finally, the accounts of that first Christmas contain numerous historical synchronisms and descriptions of specific places and customs.  Is it possible over 2000 years later to determine the credibility of the Christmas story through archaeology?  I believe it is.

This project examines the epigraphic, archaeological and literary evidence for slavery in first century CE Palestine. Detailed knowledge of slavery practices in this period is critical for the understanding of historical and religious texts of the second temple period, as slavery in Palestine differed from other parts of the empire. When taken together, extant evidence shows that first century Palestinian slavery served to reinforce the political, military and religious status quo by providing autonomy from the broader subjugated population.

The evidence surveyed in this paper indicates that Paul took great care in his letters to differentiate between Jesus-believing Jews and Gentiles for the purpose of mutual blessing. Moreover, Paul (like the Jerusalem apostles) formulated a universal rule that the circumcised should remain circumcised (i.e. practicing Jews), and that the uncircumcised should remain uncircumcised in keeping with their respective callings from God.

There are so many areas which need to be studied when it comes to the First and Second Centuries of the Common Era, and so much more to learn about that time in history. If you read this paper and still wonder about various parts of it, it may mean that you need to do some reading to get caught up to where some of us already are.

Many within academia, for instance, still do not realize that when they are talking about the Jews of the time, they need to know exactly which 'Jews' they need to identify according to time, place and sect. This is important to better know what was being said by those recording both the Jewish historic material (i.e., the Talmud; 'Flavius Josephus' was not an actual 'Jew', but a Roman of Jewish descent).

This paper was written from the larger overview of an actual war going on at the time, instead of the view of isolated or sporadic Jewish "revolts". For more information about it being an actual long-standing war, read my other papers that cover the issue. A lot of material that that is necessary in order to uncover the fact of a genuine all-out war between the Romans and Jews can be deduced from items in the works of Flavius Josephus, various Roman authors, the Talmud, and the work of scholars such as Sir Ronald Syme, Joseph Neusner, and Abelard Reuchlin.

But, of course, you would have to read be at a level of study-ability that would allow you to know just what it is that you are reading. It is preferred that you know how to read the ancient texts involved in the original languages, using primary source documents and/or materials. When it comes to Classical material, the Loeb Classical Library edition is highly recommended. What must be known to reveal the truth about this long all-out war is that it did not begin with a disagreement between the Romans and Jews; it began with a split between the Jewish sects.

This paper offers a critical historical examination of the liturgy of Yavneh and the use of the terms "minim" and "Nazarenes" in the prayer. An appendix is attached to provide a review, both textually and historically, of the early rabbinic material (the Yavneh tradition) on the Christian teaching with a special reference to Rabbi Jesus and a particular focus on the episode involving Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus of Yavneh and Lydda at the beginning of the second century CE.

During the 17th to 19th centuries, five different translations of the complete New Testament (NT) and few notable translations of extensive NT readings for liturgical use by the Greek Orthodox and the Anglican Churches were produced and published from the Hellenistic Koiné into vernacular Greek. Similarly, since the beginning of the 20th century, 19 complete NT translations have circulated, while numerous translations of separate NT books have appeared as well. All these translations present a variety of quality characteristics regarding the original Greek base text, the translation methods, the target audience, the type of language used, and the religious affiliations of the translators, etc. Such characteristics of the complete NT editions in their historical background will be concisely discussed below.

>>> https://www.associationpressesuniversitairesdestrasbourg.fr/a-paraitre/

Διαθέσιμο πλήρως και εδώ: / Fully available also here:

https://zenodo.org/records/12647610

The Evangelical QJtarterly ing and not the body as indicated by the textual variant Ka6ap((ov. 2 Furthermore, as Origen and Chrysostom have noted, Ka6ap((wv agrees grammatically with AEYEL in verse 18, thus suggesting that both are comments by Mark. 3 I. The Purpose of Jesus' Teaching The Classic Reading Commentators since the Patristic period have considered verse 19b to reflect the negative perspective Jesus held toward Jewish ceremonies in general. Jesus here abrogated the ritual purity and dietary laws of the Torah, a calculated step in the breaking away of Christianity from Judaism. This view, advocated by Bultmann, Kasemann, Schweizer, Merkel, Hubner, Haenchen, Kummel, Lambrecht and Stauffer, continues to resonate in NT scholarship:4 • Robert Gundry writes: 'In w 6-13 Jesus equated the Mosaic law with God's Word and scolded the Pharisees for nullifying God's Word with their tradition. Now Jesus himself is nullifying God's Word with regard to food. But it is the prerogative of Jesus as God's Son to change the Law.'5 • Larry Hurtado states that Jesus' teaching not only takes issue with a major feature of traditional Jewish religious practice but also rescinds a major body of OT material dealing with such ritual laws. '6 2 Based on the variant Kct9ctPL(OV (neuter), the KJV, NKJV, NEB and Phillips render verse 19b as a continuation of Jesus' words: ' ... because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is thus purifying all foods?' (NKJ). Kct9ap({OV occurs in K., G, 33, 700, 2542 pm. However, Metzger notes that the 'overwhelming weight of manuscript evidence' supports the reading Kct9ctPL(WV (masculine). See B. M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Stuttgart, 1994), 81. Malina has argued for the neuter variant on the grounds that it is the more difficult reading for Gentile Christians unfamiliar with Jewish halakhah. He suggests that a scribe changed the short '0' (omicron) to long '0' (omega) in order to 'harmonize New Testament references to food rules and contemporary Gentile Christian practice.' See B.]. Malina, 'A Conflict Approach to Mark 7', Forum 3 (1988), 22-3. The argument suffers from a lack of textual support; we have no early MSS with the neuter variant. The case also rests on fairly late Rabbinic texts. For a survey of alternative textual approaches to

Ritual baths (miqwa’ot) built adjacent to winepresses and olive-presses have been unearthed at about twenty sites dating to the Second Temple period, most of them in Judea and the environs of Jerusalem. While much has been written in recent years on the form and function of ancient ritual baths in general, little scholarly attention has been paid to miqwa’ot found in agricultural contexts.
The presence of these miqwa’ot suggests that the ritual purity of the wine and olive oil processed in these installations was of particular importance. The fact that these ritual baths were situated adjacent to winepresses and olive-presses suggests that agricultural laborers made use of these miqwa’ot immediately prior to commencing work in these installations, a practice which accords with the Pharisaic concept of tevul yom. These finds thus provide rare archaeological evidence for the observance of ritual purity laws based on the Pharisaic system of halakhah.

This short paper is simply designed to raise questions as to Markan priority in the solution of the synoptic puzzle. It gives a short and by no means comprehensive outline of the synoptic problem, and asserts that while there is no present day academic consensus regarding an alternative hypothesis to Markan priority, it does not mean Markan priority is a satisfactory theory explaining the data in the three gospels. It is not and many of its inadequacies are explained in this paper. The first half of the paper outlines some of the hypotheses put forward which attempt to explain the data, this culminates with Markan priority. The second half is a critique of the hypothesis based on the work of Farmer on the Griesbach hypothesis. The final conclusion is by no means certain.

Galilee has received attention far disproportionate to its  size, because both the ministry of Jesus began in Galilee, and post-135 CE Judaism was centered there. This study maps the distribution of bronze coins found at some 250 sites in Galilee in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (c. 300 BCE–260 CE) and uses the pattern as an independent tool in evaluating historical processes in that region. Learning which coins were used as ‘small change’ by the Galilean
population provides insight into the dynamics of its ethnic composition during this time span. Employing spatial analysis of coin finds, related numismatic understandings, and archaeological and historical evidence when available, the boundaries of Jewish Galilee are traced from the
Hasmonean period onward. Drawing on the new ‘archaeology of ethnicity’ and the ‘archaeology of difference’ approaches, this study offers new insights and common sense answers to some of the controversial issues about
first-century Galilee.

This is the new introduction (uncorrected proofs) to The Prophet-King by Wayne A. Meeks, first published as NovTSup 14 (Brill, 1967), now in paperback as The Johannine Monograph Series, Vol. 5 (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2017--series editors Paul N. Anderson and R. Alan Culpepper) xi-xxx.

Earlier this year Discovery Channel aired the programme "The Lost Tomb Of Jesus" directed by James Cameron and largely based on some investigation made by the Israeli-born, Canadian-based film maker Simcha Jacobovici. In conjunction with the film came the companion book The Jesus Family Tomb. The Discovery, the Investigation and the Evidence That Could Change History written by Jacobovici and the paleobiologist Charles Pellegrino. What was claimed was astounding: a tomb discovered during some construction work in the Jerusalem suburb of East Talpiot in 1980 contained the ossuaries of Jesus and his family because they had inscriptions saying: Some of the ossuaries were found broken. Of those found intact five had inscriptions in Hebrew or Aramaic, one in Greek, and the last one was plain. The names in Hebrew and Aramaic were extremely common in Israel during the Second Temple period and the controversy swirled about the inscription in Greek saying 'Mariamene e Mara'. In his report A Tomb with Inscribed Ossuaries in East Talpiyot, Jerusalem Prof. Amos Kloner, then Jerusalem's District Archaeologist, explained that the Greek inscription 'Mariamene e Mara' referred to a Mariamene, a variant of the name Mariam, Maryam and Marya, while 'Mara' was a contraction of Martha, this name also being "common in the Jewish feminine onomasticon." The name 'Mariamene' was central to the programme because it was interpreted as referring to Mary Magdalene. "That's the ringo, that's what sets the whole film in motion", the producer said. The claim that the Talpiot tomb was the "Jesus family Tomb", and particularly that "Mariamene e Mara" meant "Mary Magdalene, the Master" provoked bitter contestation and indignant criticism. Overnight a number of people appeared on the scene proferring interpretations of the controversial inscription in Greek. The Jesuit scripture scholar Father Joseph A. Fitzmyer, who edited the Aramaic Tobit texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran, cave 4 and whose impeccable critical credentials are widely known, provided the best interpretation.

This essay was translated into Spanish for publication in Arqueología e Historia (April 2018). Given the fact that the Gospel of John, despite being highly theologica in many way, also features more graphic, non-symbolic, sensorily-derived, and archaeologically-corroborated details than all the gospel traditions combined, perhaps is should be called THE MUNDANE GOSPEL. Building on the works of Albright, Brown, Charlesworth, von Wahlde, and others, this is one of the Johannine Riddles that merits a second look. Here's the link: https://www.despertaferro-ediciones.com/revistas/numero/arqueologia-e-historia-n-o-18-el-jesus-historico/

For the English version see:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1285&context=ccs

An ideology of slave identity is embedded in the frescoes of the "virtually ideal" context of Oplontis Villa A; by comparison, the "virtually ideal" ideology of Galatians 3:28 may have fostered occasional moments of relational novelty within some Jesus-groups of the first-century Roman world.

It is generally recognized that Messianic belief at Qumran was not rigid. Some texts witness to two deliverers. Others are thought to have three: priest messiah, king messiah, and prophet. I wish to suggest here that one text, so far understood as having three deliverers, has in fact four.

"Sommaire:
1. LES PÈRES DE L'ÉGLISE
2. RÉPERTOIRE FIGURÉ DU DÉCOR
3. EXPLICATION DES IMAGES AUX CATÉCHUMÈNES
4. LES SYMBOLIQUES DU PRINTEMPS
5. A L'IMAGE DE LA PERFECTION DIVINE
6. MÉTHODE D'INTERPRÉTATION PAR ANALOGIE
7. CYRILLE DE JÉRUSALEM
8. LES ANALOGIES DE L'ÉVÈQUE CYRILLE
9. ÉGLISE DES SAINTS-APÔTRES À MADABA
10. PREMIÈRE ÉGLISE DÉCOUVERTE À PETRA
11. BASILIQUE DE DOUMETIOS À NIKOPOLIS
12. BASILIQUE DE CHRISTOPOLITISSA À PAPHOS
13. ÉGLISE DE QABR HIRAM
14. ÉGLISE DE PHOTIOS À HOUARTÉ
15. ÉGLISE DE MICHAËLION À HOUARTÉ
16. ÉGLISE DE MIRATA
cf. M.T. Olszewski, L'image et sa fonction dans la mosaïque byzantine des premières basiliques en Orient: l'iconographie chrétienne expliquée par Cyrille de Jérusalem (314-387) / The image and its function in the byzantine mosaics ... : the christian iconography explained by Cyril of Jerusalem (314-387), Cahiers Archéologiques 43, 1995, pp. 9-34. "

ABSTRACT The Flavian transfer of the revenues from the Jewish Temple Tax to the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter became an instrument of identity and oppression, particularly under Domitian. His aggressive enforcement of a Roman designated “Jewish Identity” put severe pressure on the nascent Christian Church.  The accession of Nerva changed the dynamic and provided a new hope for the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple. This paper will propose a new rationale for the fiscus judaicus and suggest how the impact of this tax is reflected in the late NT literature, particularly in Hebrews and the first letter of John.

Everyone loves a good mystery! In the world of biblical archaeology there are many mysteries to solve, one being the location of the town of Bethsaida. Lost to history centuries ago, two sites are currently the leading candidates as the true location of this biblical town. This article will explore the evidence for the two leading candidates, et-Tell and el-Araj, to determine which site is the likely location.

"The Enochic Son of Man and Pauline Christology"

A comparative analysis of the Messiah in the Book of the Parables of Enoch and the Letters of Paul, this study locates one aspect of Paul’s thought, his christology, in the context of Jewish intellectual traditions of the first century BCE and the first century CE. Conceptual elements of messianic traditions are identified in these documents by examining the nature and functions of the divine figure and the nature and functions of the messiah figure. This has implications for understanding divine and human agency and the relationships between mediatorial figures and the one God in Jewish literature from the Second Temple period. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the Book of the Parables and the Letters of Paul share specific conceptual elements of messianic traditions. The combination of shared elements is so striking as to preclude the possibility that the Book of the Parables and the Letters of Paul constituted independent, parallel developments. The evidence indicates that Paul was familiar with the conceptual elements of the Enochic messiah, and that Paul developed his concept of Jesus as the Kyrios out of the Son of Man traditions in the Book of the Parables of Enoch. This study argues that at least one facet of Paul’s thought, his christology, was heavily influenced by Enochic Son of Man traditions.

""Recent scholarship in Classics and related fields has shown great interest in letters and epistolary literature of all forms (e.g. Morello and Morrison 2007; Trapp 2003; Rosenmeyer 2001).  The use of embedded letters to advance the narrative in genres such as historiography and the novel, and the potential for real or pseudonymous letters to function as biography (real or fictionalized), autobiography, or historical fiction, mean that letters in antiquity play a crucial role in the development of narrative literature of many kinds.  The apparent popularity of letters as reading matter rather than merely tools for communication, especially in the Imperial period, makes it essential that we pay attention to this genre, as we assess the reading practices and literary preferences of antiquity. The literary qualities of Greek letters are often overlooked, despite the fact that they display the same kind of awareness of generic conventions and self-consciousness of their literary nature as other narrative genres. 
Letters are always about narrative, among other things, whether directly – narrating events to absent correspondents - or indirectly – presenting fragments of an underlying narrative that the reader attempts to reconstruct.  This collection of essays explores the inherent narrative quality of letters and its use by Greek authors in a variety of genres and time periods, as well as the limited and sometimes even willfully obscure nature of epistolary narratives that omit vital information in the name of verisimilitude.  A series of case studies, with topics ranging from Classical poetry and historiography through to Philostratus and Christian martyrs, asks why particular authors choose the letter form; how an embedded letter relates to its narrative environment, and, conversely, the effect of the epistolary form on the narrative it contains; and how each author manipulates the epistolary tradition.  It explores various types of epistolary forms:  individual letters (embedded or free-standing); collections of continuous epistolary narrative; and letters presenting fragmented or discontinuous narrative.  It pays close attention to the self-consciously literary or fictional qualities in Greek letters, including intertextuality with other literary texts and particularly allusions to earlier letters as literature.  A chronological organization of the volume encourages the reader to consider epistolary narrative as a kind of literature that develops over time, growing in popularity and in the variety of forms it takes.  ""