From the New York Times:

A faded fragment of papyrus known as the “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” which caused an uproar when unveiled by a Harvard Divinity School historian in 2012, has been tested by scientists who conclude in a journal published on Thursday that the ink and papyrus are very likely ancient, and not a modern forgery.
Skepticism about the tiny scrap of papyrus has been fierce because it contained a phrase never before seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife…’ ” Too convenient for some, it also contained the words “she will be able to be my disciple,” a clause that inflamed the debate in some churches over whether women should be allowed to be priests.
The papyrus fragment has now been analyzed by professors of electrical engineering, chemistry and biology at Columbia University, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who reported that it resembles other ancient papyri from the fourth to the eighth centuries. (Scientists at the University of Arizona, who dated the fragment to centuries before the birth of Jesus, concluded that their results were unreliable.)
The test results do not prove that Jesus had a wife or disciples who were women, only that the fragment is more likely a snippet from an ancient manuscript than a fake, the scholars agree. Karen L. King, the historian at Harvard Divinity School who gave the papyrus its name and fame, has said all along that it should not be regarded as evidence that Jesus married, only that early Christians were actively discussing celibacy, sex, marriage and discipleship.

The full NYT article is here. The Harvard Theological Review article is available for free download here.

An initial radiocarbon analysis dated the fragment to 404–209 BC; a second analysis gave a mean date of AD 741. King concludes with a date in the 7th or 8th centuries AD. As far as being a reliable witness to 1st century events, it is not. The author notes that the fragment should be studied in light of the Muslim view that prophets were usually married.

In King’s reading, “The main point of the GJW fragment is simply to affirm that women who are wives and mothers can be Jesus’s disciples.”

Previous posts about this subject:

Somebody Once Believed Jesus Had a Wife

Articles on Jesus’ Wife

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(Post by A.D. Riddle)

On April 8, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago opened its new exhibit, “In Remembrance of Me: Feasting with the Dead in the Ancient Middle East.” The centerpiece of the exhibit is (a cast of?) the Katumuwa Stele, a basalt monument with Aramaic inscription which was discovered at the site of Zincirli in 2008. The exhibit runs until next January.

Katumuwa Stele from Zincirli. (Oriental Institute)

More information about the exhibit is online here. The catalog for the exhibit can be downloaded free in pdf format.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the Oriental Institute is holding a symposium on Sunday, May 4, at 1:00pm. The speakers include:

Virginia Herrmann
David Schloen
Theodore Lewis
Karel van der Toorn
K. Lawson Younger

The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Information about the symposium is here and online registration is here.

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During a salvage excavation just southwest of Nazareth in the Jezreel Valley, archaeologists uncovered a unique coffin from the Late Bronze Age that may have belonged to a Canaanite official serving in the Egyptian army. From the Israel Antiquities Authority press release:

Part of a burial site dating to the Late Bronze Age (thirteenth century BCE) was exposed in an excavation at the foot of Tel Shadud. According to the excavation directors, Dr. Edwin van den Brink, Dan Kirzner and Dr. Ron Be’eri of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “During the excavation we discovered a unique and rare find: a cylindrical clay coffin with an anthropoidal lid (a cover fashioned in the image of a person) surrounded by a variety of pottery consisting mainly of storage vessels for food, tableware, cultic vessels and animal bones. As was the custom, it seems these were used as offerings for the gods, and were also meant to provide the dead with sustenance in the afterlife.” The skeleton of an adult was found inside the clay coffin and next to it were buried pottery, a bronze dagger, bronze bowl and hammered pieces of bronze. “Since the vessels interred with the individual were produced locally”, the researchers say, “We assume the deceased was an official of Canaanite origin who was engaged in the service of the Egyptian government”. Another possibility is that the coffin belonged to a wealthy individual who imitated Egyptian funerary customs. The researchers add that so far only several anthropoidal coffins have been uncovered in the country. The last ones discovered were found at Deir el-Balah some fifty years ago. According to the archaeologists, “An ordinary person could not afford the purchase of such a coffin. It is obvious the deceased was a member of the local elite”.
[…]
A rare artifact that was found next to the skeleton is an Egyptian scarab seal, encased in gold and affixed to a ring. The scarab was used to seal documents and objects. The name of the crown of Pharaoh Seti I, who ruled ancient Egypt in the thirteenth century BCE, appears on the seal. Seti I was the father of Ramses II, identified by some scholars as the pharaoh mentioned in the biblical story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. Already in the first year of his reign (1294 BCE) a revolt broke out against Seti I in the Bet Sheʽan Valley. Seti conquered that region and established Egyptian rule in Canaan. Seti’s name on the seal symbolizes power and protection, or the strength of the god Ra – the Sun God – one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon. The winged Uraeus (cobra), protector of the pharaoh’s name or of the sovereign himself, is clearly visible on the seal. The reference to the pharaoh Seti on the scarab found in the coffin aided the archaeologists in dating the time of the burial to the thirteenth century BCE – similar to the burials that were exposed at Deir el-Balah and Bet She‘an, which were Egyptian administrative centers.
[…]
Tel Shadud preserves the biblical name ‘Sarid’ and the mound is often referred to as Tel Sarid. The tell is situated in the northern part of the Jezreel Valley, close to Kibbutz Sarid. The city is mentioned in the Bible in the context of the settlement of the Tribes of Israel. Sarid was included in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun and became a border city, as written in the Book of Joshua: “The third lot came up for the tribe of Zebulun, according to its families. And the territory of its inheritance reached as far as Sarid…” (Joshua 19:10). Tel Shadud is strategically and economically significant because of its location alongside important roads from the biblical period.

The Israel Antiquities Authority is currently looking into the possibility of sampling the DNA from inside the coffin to see if the deceased was originally a Canaanite or an Egyptian person who was buried in Canaan.

The full press release is here. High-resolution images are here. The story is also reported by the Jerusalem Post and Arutz-7.

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The clay coffin at the time of its discovery in the field. Photograph: Dan Kirzner, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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Parts of the coffin’s lid after an initial cleaning. Photograph: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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A general view of the excavation area. Photograph: Skyview Company, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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Egyptian scarab encased in gold. Photograph: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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The bronze dagger and bowl. Photograph: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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If you haven’t been on a tour of Tiberias in the last decade, you have a lot to catch up on with the work of various excavation projects. Shmuel Browns has a well-illustrated summary of some of the important discoveries, including:

  • The decorative gate of Herod Antipas
  • The main street of the city in use for 700 years
  • The Roman theater built by Herod Antipas
  • A Roman temple (Hadrianeum)
  • A Byzantine monastery and church

His post also includes a number of interesting historical details about the city.

For some interesting descriptions and illustrations of Tiberias in the 19th century, check out Life in the Holy Land.

Mount Hermon from Tiberias, mat08928
Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, and Mount Hermon
Photo from Northern Palestine
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IAA Press Release: “An Impressive Byzantine Period Monastery with a Spectacular Mosaic Floor was Exposed at the Entrance to Hura in the Northern Negev.” The high-res photos are here.

Exploring Bible Lands draws attention to the unique site known by some as the “Cove of the Sower.”

If you want to read just one review on the Noah movie, I’d recommend this one by Brian Mattson.

Eric Cline is interviewed on The Book and the Spade about his new book 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed. (Direct link to mp3 here.)

Logos is offering a 9-volume set on the Archaeology of Rome.

A new translation of the Tempest Stela suggests that the Thera eruption dates to the reign of pharaoh Ahmose.

Daily Mail: Archaeologists race to secure ancient burial site of three Egyptian kings that will make the treasure of Tutankhamun’s tomb look like a ‘display in Woolworths’

Haaretz: Ancient rock art is hidden all over the Negev.

The Associated Press suggests five free things to do in Tel Aviv.

On his recent trip to Israel, Wayne Stiles created 11 360-degree images of biblical sites.

He also has recommendations on great resources to get after your trip to Israel.

HT: Charles Savelle, Jack Sasson, Joseph Lauer

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Byzantine period monastery at Hura.
Photographs by Skyview Company, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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More than a decade ago, work began for the construction of a new parking lot just south of the Dung Gate in Jerusalem. In the process, archaeological excavations revealed significant finds, including a building once claimed to be the palace of Helene of Adiabene. In recent years, plans were formed to establish a large visitors’ center in the former parking lot. This presumably would replace the current visitors’ center which hovers over ruins believed to be the palace of David. Last night a municipal committee approved plans for construction of the new center. From Haaretz:

The Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of a controversial visitors’ center for the City of David just outside the Old City walls. The committee heard objections to the huge project for eight hours before approving it Thursday evening.
[…]
The proposal was submitted by the Elad association, the right-wing group that administers the City of David National Park, and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and has the support of the Jerusalem municipality.
The plan calls for the construction of a museum, visitors’ center and auditorium in the area known as the Givati parking lot, some 20 meters from the Old City wall and 100 meters from the Western Wall. It will also constitute a new gateway to the City of David National Park. The building is to be 7 meters tall and cover 16,600 square meters. Beneath a planned parking lot, finds discovered at the site in recent years are to be preserved and made accessible.
“The Jerusalem Regional [Planning] Committee heard the objections to the Kedem Center plan in Jerusalem and thought that the plan to build the visitors’ center will aid in exposing the important archeological finds to the broader public and serve as a focus for tourism that will help in developing the city of Jerusalem,” read the Interior Ministry’s announcement of the approval.

The full article describes some of the objections and the planning committee’s requirements. The story is also reported by Arutz-7. Several months ago the Jerusalem Post reported the objections of a group of archaeologists, though the basis for their views seems to be primarily political and not archaeological. In reviewing previous stories posted on this blog, I see that a nearly identical story was reported in February 2012; it is not clear what is different this time around. For more images, see the Hebrew version of the Haaretz article.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Silwan - Ministry of Interior - February 13, 2012
Proposed Kedem Center near City of David.
Image by Ministry of Interior
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