Jesus and his world : the archaeological evidence

196 Pages·2012·3.32 MB·English

by  [email protected]

Craig Evans is the Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at
Acadia University and Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, Canada. He has
published more than fifty books, many on Jesus and the Gospels, including (with
N. T. Wright) Jesus, The Final Days (2009). Professor Evans has lectured in
many universities and museums around the world and has appeared several
times as an expert commentator in television documentaries and news
programmes. He is married and has two grown daughters and a grandson.
JESUS AND HIS WORLD
The Archaeological Evidence
CRAIG A. EVANS
© 2012 Craig A. Evans
First published in the United States of America in 2012 by Westminster John Knox Press
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge 36 Causton
Street
London SW1P 4ST
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
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Cover design by Dilu Nicholas Cover Art: © Eldad Carin / istockphoto.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Evans, Craig A.
Jesus and his world : the archaeological evidence / Craig A. Evans. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-664-23413-3 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. N.T. Gospels—Antiquities. 2. Jesus Christ. I. Title.
BS621.E885 2012
2225.9'3—dc23
2011051970
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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[email protected].
For Master Chief Gator Franklin, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, United
States Navy,
in appreciation
Contents
List of figures ix Preface xi List of abbreviations xiii Introduction 1
1 In the shadow of Sepphoris: growing up in Nazareth 13
2 Among the devout: religious formation in the synagogue 38
3 In the books: reading, writing and literacy 63
4 Confronting the establishment: ruling priests and
the temple 89
5 Life with the dead: Jewish burial traditions 113
Summing up 141
Appendix 1: Have we found the family tomb of Jesus? 144
Appendix 2: What did Jesus look like? 148
Notes 153
Suggestions for further reading 175
Index of ancient writings and sources 179
Index of modern names 185
Index of subjects 188
vii
1.1 Sepphoris street walk 22
1.2 Sepphoris theatre 23
1.3 Miqveh, Sepphoris 25
1.4 Sepphoris Mona Lisa 27
1.5 First-century Capernaum 31
2.1 Theodotos inscription 42
2.2 Capernaum columns 1 47
2.3 Capernaum columns 2 48
2.4 Capernaum synagogue wall 49
2.5 Gamla synagogue (2009) 50
2.6 Herodium synagogue 52
2.7 Migdal site (2010) 54
2.8 Magdala Stone 55
2.9 Masada synagogue 56
2.10 Moses’ seat, Chorazin 61
3.1 Milestone, Capernaum 64
3.2 Baker and wife, Pompeii 67
3.3 Palatine Graffito 72
3.4 Sketch of the Palatine Graffito 72
3.5 Great Isaiah Scroll, column 43 78
3.6 Great Isaiah Scroll, column 44 78
3.7 Nazareth Village scroll 87
4.1 Temple Warning 91
4.2 Miqveh, Jerusalem 95
4.3 Miqveh, Qumran 95
4.4 Priestly mansion, Jerusalem 96
4.5 Caiaphas ossuary 98
4.6 The ‘Burnt House’, Jerusalem 103
4.7 Tyrian half sheqel 106
4.8 Qorban inscription, Jerusalem 108
5.1 Ossuaries, Mount of Olives 116
5.2 Pilate Stone, Caesarea Maritima 122
5.3 Heel bone of a crucified man 124
5.4 Tombs in the Kidron Valley 133
5.5 Nazareth Inscription 138
A1.1 Tomb, Talpiot 145
A2.1 The face of Jesus? 149
A2.2 Berlin Man 150
A2.3 Berlin Boy 150
x
The goal of this book is to present what I regard as the most im portant
archaeological discoveries pertaining to Jesus of Nazareth in a way that can be
accessed by non-experts. For 20 years now I have myself benefited greatly from
visits to active excavations, onsite tours and explanations from archaeologists,
their publications and the many fine museums where artefacts are housed,
preserved and explained. Among these I especially have in mind the Israel
Museum and its Shrine of the Book, the British Museum in London and the
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. I have benefited too from a number of libraries,
including Acadia University’s Vaughan Memorial Library, Harvard University’s
Hollis Library, Princeton University’s Firestone Library, Princeton Theological
Seminary’s Speer Library, Yale University’s Beinicke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library and Oxford University’s fabled Bodleian Library, along with
the Sackler Library’s collection of papyri. To the many patient librarians and
accommodating curators I offer my heartfelt thanks.
Among the archaeologists who have been very helpful, providing on-site
tours and explanations, are Rami Arav, Gabriel Barkay, Richard Batey, Ronny
Reich, James Strange and the late Douglas Edwards. (Acadia was favoured by a
visit and several stimulating lectures by Jim Strange and Doug Edwards in the
spring of 2008.) I am also grateful to Dirk Obbink for some very helpful show-
andtell in the Sackler papyri room in the autumn of 2009. I also wish to
acknowledge the helpful correspondence with Jane Evans, Shimon Gibson,
Franck Goddio, Kurt Raveh and Shelly Wachsmann.
I was pleased when the good people at SPCK and Westminster John Knox
Press asked me to write this book. I especially thank Rebecca Mulhearn and
Philip Law. Part of the book was written during a peaceful stay at the Cistercian
Abbaye Notre-Dame du Calvaire in Rogersville, New Brunswick. I extend my
thanks to Bro ther Graham Touchie for the hospitality shown me and for the
engaging conversation about Jesus and archaeology. I thank Jeremiah Johnston,
PhD (cand.), for assistance in the preparation of the indexes and for carefully
reading the manuscript and asking good questions.
The book is dedicated to Master Chief Gator Franklin, Explosive Ordnance
Disposal, United States Navy (retired). For 30 years Gator risked life and limb in
the excavation, recovery and dismantling of explosives and in training others at
home and abroad to do the same. Because of his work countless lives have been
saved.
C. A. Evans Acadia Divinity College
xii 1 Apol. Justin Martyr, First Apology
1 Clem. 1 Clement
AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research
ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary
’Abot Mishnah: ’Abot
ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
Ag. Ap. Josephus, Against Apion
Ant. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
Apol. Plato, Apology of Socrates
b. Ketub. Babylonian Talmud: Ketubbot
b. Meg. Babylonian Talmud: Megillah
b. Mo’ed Qat. Babylonian Talmud: Mo’ed Qatan
b. Pesah. Babylonian Talmud: Pesahim
b. Qidd. Babylonian Talmud: Qiddushin
b. *abb. Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
Bib Biblica
BibOr Biblica et orientalia
BibSem Biblical Seminar
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CD Cairo Genizah copy of the Damascus Document CIJ Corpus inscriptionum
judaicarum
CIL Corpus inscriptionum latinarum
CIS Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum
CJO Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries (ed. L. Y. Rahmani) CJZ Corpus Jüdischer
Zeugnisse aus der Cyrenaika (ed. G. Lüderitz)
CRINT Compendia rerum iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum
Dial. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho
Dreams Philo, On Dreams
DSD Dead Sea Discoveries
xiii
Embassy Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius Esth. Rab.
Exod. Rab.
Esther Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah Haer. Irenaeus, Against Heresies
Hist. eccl. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
IG Inscriptiones graecae. Editio minor. Berlin, 1924– Ign. Eph. Ignatius, To the
Ephesians
Ign. Smyrn. Ignatius, To the Smyrnaeans
Joseph Philo, On the Life of Joseph
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JJS Journal of Jewish Studies
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
JR Journal of Religion
JRASup Journal of Roman Archaeology: Supplement series JSHJ Journal for
the Study of the Historical Jesus JSJSup Journal for the Study of Judaism in the
Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Periods: Supplement Series JSOT Journal for
the Study of the Old Testament JSPSup Journal for the Study of the
Pseudepigrapha: Supplement Series
J.W. Josephus, Jewish Wars
LÄ Lexikon der Ägyptologie
Lev. Rab. Leviticus Rabbah
Life Josephus, The Life
m. Keritot Mishnah: Keritot
m. Ma‘a?. *. Mishnah: Ma‘aser Sheni
m. Meg.
m. Mo‘ed Qat.
m. Ned.
m. Nega’im
m. Parah
m. Pesah.
m. *abb.
m. Sanh.
m. Ta‘anit Mishnah: Megillah
Mishnah: Mo‘ed Qatan
Mishnah: Nedarim
Mishnah: Nega’im
Mishnah: Parah
Mishnah: Pesahim
Mishnah: Shabbat
Mishnah: Sanhedrin
Mishnah: Ta‘anit
m. Yoma Mishnah: Yoma Mas Masada ostraca MdB Le Monde de la Bible
Moses Philo, On the Life of Moses
Nat. Pliny the Elder, Natural History
NEAEHL The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy
Land (ed. E. Stern)
NovT Novum Testamentum
NovTSup Novum Testamentum Supplements
NTS New Testament Studies
NTTS New Testament Tools and Studies
OGIS Orientis graeci inscriptiones selectae (edited by W. Dittenberger)
PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly
P. Oxy. Papyri Oxyrhynchus
Ps.-Diogenes A writing falsely attributed to Diogenes the Cynic
Qoh. Rab. Qohelet Rabbah
RAr Revue Archéologique
RB Revue biblique
REJ
SBLRBS
SBLSBS
SEG
Sipre Deut. Sipre Num. SNTSMS
Song Rab. Spec. Laws t. Me‘ila t. Menah. T. Mos.
t. Qidd. Tosefta: Qiddushin
t. *abb. Tosefta: Shabbat
t. Sukkah Tosefta: Sukkah
Tg. Ps.-J. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
TSAJ Texte und Studien zum antiken Judentum
xv
Revue des études juives
Society of Biblical Literature Resources for Biblical Study
Society of Biblical Literature Sources for Biblical Study
Supplementum epigraphicum graecum
Sipre Deuteronomy
Sipre Numbers
Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series
Song of Songs Rabbah
Philo, On the Special Laws
Tosefta: Me‘ila
Tosefta: Menahot
Testament of Moses WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen
Testament
y. Ketub. Jerusalem Talmud: Ketubbot
y. Meg. Jerusalem Talmud: Megillah
y. Mo‘ed Qat. Jerusalem Talmud: Mo‘ed Qatan
ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der
älteren Kirche In a column that appeared in a popular archaeology magazine,
respected Professor of Hebrew Bible Ron Hendel provides a succinct definition
of biblical archaeology: ‘Biblical archaeology,’ says Hendel, ‘involves the
rigorous correlation of textual data from the Bible and material evidence from
archaeology.’1 Quite so. If archaeologists and historians could not find
correlation between archaeology and the biblical text, there would be no such
thing as ‘biblical archaeology’. But of course they do find such correlation, and
lots of it. This is why there are many magazines and journals devoted to
archaeology, a great many scholarly reference works on archaeology and
countless scholarly and popular books that treat this subject from every
conceivable angle.
What archaeologists and historians find can also be called verisimilitude, or
‘resemblance to the truth’; that is, resemblance or likeness to the way things
really were. This means that the writings of the Bible speak of real people, real
places and real events. Many of these things can be corroborated by
archaeological discoveries and by other ancient sources. Often what
archaeologists uncover is not so much proof but clarification.2 The Bible may
talk about a given people, a particular place or a major event, but little detail is
provided. The precise meaning of the text is unclear. Then an archaeological
discovery is made and we understand the story much better.
Of course, archaeology sometimes does prove things. For instance, let’s
consider what is called biblical minimalism, which is usually in reference to the
Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Here I have in mind especially those
minimalists who have argued that David and Solomon are fictional characters,
that there was no kingdom of Israel reaching back to the tenth century bce and
that if they existed, there was not the level of literacy required to record the
chronicles of such persons and their deeds. Some of these minimalists think the
narratives of the Hebrew Bible do not date any earlier than the fifth century bce.
As it turns out – thanks to archaeology – the minimalists are wrong on all these
points.
In 1993 and 1994, fragments of a ninth-century bce stone inscription, incised
by the king of Syria, were found at Tel Dan (today’s northern Israel) during
excavations conducted by Avraham Biran, a respected Israeli archaeologist. The
first inscription found contains the words, ‘the house of David’. Most agree that
it is very unlikely that an inscription of this nature would be incised only a
century or so after the supposed existence of a legendary, unhistorical personage.
Would a Syrian king speak of a mythical ‘House of David’ as if it were a real,
enemy dynasty? Unlikely. It seems David really did exist after all.3
The minimalists retreated but did not give up. Maybe there was a David. But
was he a king, the head of a centralized government with far-flung territories, or
was he little more than a local tribal chieftain? Not surprisingly, the minimalists
argued for the latter. Strange when you think of it, given the implications of the
geographical location of the Tel Dan Inscription (that is, far north of Judea and