There was a priestly family with a father by the name of Joseph, and sons James (Jacob) and Jesus (Joshua). All of these Hebrew names were extremely common in the 1st Century CE. The ossuary could very well be authentic of a Judean family. It just wouldn't be a family known in the NT.
Did you familiarize yourself with the statistical likelihood of the names combination in first century Jerusalem, and the virtually non-existent occurrence of the deceased's brother being listed on their ossuary?
I took my daughter to see the ossuary when it was on tour a bunch of years ago. She was around 5. Surveying the size of the thing, she said "he must've been really small." Edited to add: coincidentally, it was at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto.
Ossuaries were only meant to hold bones -- not a full body at time of death. By the ancient Jewish custom, the flesh of the dead were first allowed to decompose away in a tomb laid to rest fully covered in a shroud, and then the loved ones would collect the remaining bones and put them into these containers. That being said, the average height of people in the 1st Century was much shorter than today. I believe reading once that the average height of a Roman soldier was no more than 5'6" at the most. And ancient Israelites no more than 5'3".
@@jody6851 Yes, I explained that to her after, as I realized her Latin was not up to the task. She was, after all, 5, and it is a very small box. Still, I had a delightful moment of imagining the New Testament narrative being played out by oompaloompas.
@@ronbock8291 thank you my dude, I am now hearing the oompaloompa song in my head while visualizing various robed purple hair fellas climbing a mountain. 😆🤣
i think the jewish practice was to let the body rot, then put the bones in the ossuary and i could be wrong . but my faith tells me the devil is always deceiving. and the jesus that i believe in, was resurrected. that is the great hope for all mankind .
Isn't it amazing !!!... that nobody outside of the media and RU-vid knows anything about this so-called "amazing discovery " ? Coz it's fake, debunked bullshit...
One of things that make things so difficult is how common Jesus, Joseph, & James were as Jewish names at the time. There likely was more than one James the brother of Jesus and son of Joseph in his own extended family. However, whether it is authentic to the Jesus of Nazareth, doesn't mean that this couldn't have been a relic for Christianity in the past. Definitely an existing piece.
@@str33t3r I went with the common usage in English. If we want to be precise we should be using either the Aramaic names (ie Yeshua for Jesus) or the Hebrew (ie Yehoshua for Jesus) depending on the inscription and preference. Also Jesus isn't exactly a Greek name. It's an anglicization of the Latin translation (Iesus) of the Greek translation (Iesous). Jesus was likely called Yeshua during his life. Calling Jesus, Joshua isn't really helpful as it is just as inaccurate and likely to cause to confusion. The English J is from the language's Germanic roots and can be traced be to the Elder Futhark (at least 2nd century BC but a case for far older can be made). I am pretty sure Jesus starting being used in Middle English. So more like roughly 500-800 years old.
@@str33t3r now what if the remains from this have a DNA match to the others that say Yeshua, Son of Joseph, that was found buried with one that said "Maria" or "Mary" of the time?
@@str33t3r You’re not factoring in Mary Magdalene which there was only one and she was buried there too,so we can’t be talking about anyone other than Jesus of Nazareth.
Why is Jesus having brothers even a question? Matthew 13:55,56 and Mark 6:3 name Jesus' 4 brothers and say he has sisters, plural, so at least 2 sisters.
I don't think anyone is trying to prove that. Seems Jesus's ossuary was already found. Now his brothers, possibly his mother's. That would upset Christians however as it would prove he was moved.
@@Ericsaidful Jesus’s ossuary was indeed discovered along with his entire family……. The discovery occurred in 1980 in the Talpiot tomb…… Mary Magdalene and Judah son of Jesus was also among the buried. The IAA realized the profound affect this would have on religion and seized the boxes and destroyed all contents within and scoured the interior of the boxes and put them in a warehouse out of sight out of mind. Money trumps truth.
A fingerprint might yield a whole DNA profile but if others also touched the surface, or sneezed on it or....then there is mixed DNA. What's the chance these very old sources are contaminated by multiple contributors?
I have serious doubts about them being able to get anything genuinely useful from a two thousand year old sneeze or miniscule sample of skin cells that are potentially from some nameless, faceless stranger who may or may not have made the ossuary, carried the ossuary, visited the tomb with ossuary, simply sneezed at the ossuary as it passed by, etc. Anyone who wants to go in that absurd direction, GOOD LUCK. Just sounds like an utterly stupid waste of time to me.
I have little idea what Tabor means by 'authentic'. It is an ossuary; it is inscribed; yes the last part of the inscription was apparently not added later to increase its value. Otherwise, since we don't have the foggiest idea whether there really was a 'James' or a 'Jesus' historically corresponding to the figures in the Bible, saying this is authentic really means squat.
We agree the ossuary is simply a "bone box", nothing more. Any inscription would not prove the existence of Jesus, nor would a forgery disprove it. The Bible is the proof of Jesus.But here it seems we disagree. You think "Jesus" and "James" were made up? Like Harry Potter or something? The Bible accurately records dealings with the kings of different nations (by name) at different times and records the historical events of those days. Harry Potter does not. The Bible is the most accurate historical source available for Jesus and James. If you can't tell fiction from non-fiction, Heaven help you. It is natural to want some kind of proof. Jesus' enemies asked for the same. They were given one: Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Thank you Dr. Tabor. When will some DNA results be completed, do you think, from the Talpiot Tomb? Where can I find what has currently or already has been completed-if available? Peace
@@sagesarabia5053 James Tabor found it. Put in a search for "red hair, James Tabor, Talpiot tombs" James Tabor's sites as well as bibicalarcheology have articles. I believe it's in James Tabor's information on RU-vid for the Talpiot tomb also.
Was it common at that time for a person's brother to be specifically mentioned on an ossuary? I'm assuming it was indeed common for a father, and perhaps a son's name to be listed. But a brother? I'm not doubting. I simply don't know and it seems like a reasonable question. Another question - Prof. Tabor mentions several times the possibility that the "brother of Jesus" part could have been added later. What about the entire inscription? Is it plausible that the entire inscription was done at a later time? Is is plausible that the ossuary may have had no inscription or another inscription, at the time it was originally made, and then at some later time the existing inscription if there was one, was worn away and a new one cut into the stone? Depending on the time frames involved, would it be possible to identify differing dates between the initial carving of the ossuary and a later carving of the inscription? Nothing is known about the provenance. Is the wear and tear consistent with the time frame?
The logical position toward an extraordinary, supernatural claim is skepticism until proof is offered, and so far none of the dozens of gods that have been claimed to exist throughout history have lifted a finger to prove themselves. In fact, most believers grasp this for themselves; they automatically disbelieve all religious claims except their own, barring actual proof that never produces itself.
@@plainsman I agree with you! So much so that I cannot believe nothing exploded and everything came to be. Science has never demonstrated something coming from nothing, or life being born of non life. All we ever see is life coming from life, children coming from fathers. Your belief says the first human had no father, and logic says the first human cannot come from both a father and no father. So you should probably take your own advice on skepticism. Savvy?
..fascinating to listen too,...truth is truth and the nature of all real truth is that it will eventually set you free, but probably make you miserable first xD...and the love of truth will eventually lead you to the sum of all truth, which of course is summed up in Rabbi Yahshua the brother of Ya'acov, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one, absolutely no one, including us Jews, get to the Father except thru Him...Hebrews 13:8 Yahshua Messiah the same yesterday, today and forever... Ya'acov Blesses His Sons Gen 49:1 And Ya'acov called unto his sons, and said, "GATHER YOURSELVES TOGETHER", that I may tell you that which shall befall you in THE LAST DAYS. Gen 49:2 "GATHER YOURSELVES TOGETHER", and SCHMA* , you sons of Jacob; and SCHMA* unto ISRAEL your father. *Mar 12:29 And Yahshua answered him, The FIRST of all the commandments is, SCHMA, O ISRAEL (not church); YHWH Elohainu YHWH Echad
If memory serves James was buried in a fancy tomb in Jerusalem. When things went south and there was trouble, people would bury this awesome rabbi in the family tomb to protect him. They might also write the relationship as a salute to an important family and a martyred brother. I love your work, James
@@Fanofou82 yes, rabbi. remember all the first Christians were also faithful Jews and St. James was a religious man raised in Torah tradition and a teacher of religion so he was a Rabbi.
There is so much mystery about the family of Jesus. Many people believe that Joseph the carpenter was a widower when he married the virgin Mary, with four children, two boys and two girls James being one. But Jesus had a younger look alike full brother named Dydimus Thomas who founded the early church in India just a few years after the crucifixion.
There is zero Biblical or extra-Biblical evidence for this, and the only reason to presuppose Joseph had been married before and had children is because the Catholic Church TRADITION is that Mary remained a virgin her whole life. But that is not reasonable, necessary, nor Biblical. It is just a facet of idolatry around Mary that grew up centuries later.
I was reading the bible, particularly the book of Genesis. It was talkin about how Abraham left with hi cousin Lot to a new land. Later in the passages Lot is referred as his Brother. I believe it was the culture and customs of that time to refer your cousin as Brother. So Jesus brothers could be his cousins trough joseph or Mary.
Some Christians say it's authentic, and some Christians say it's NOT authentic. So, it looks like Christians can take either position without contradicting their Christian beliefs. (This is particularly evident in the debate on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin.) However, we don't find the same balance among atheists. In fact, it appears that the number of atheists who come down on the side of affirming the authenticity of debatable Biblical/Christian artifacts is virtually nil, thus indicating an incredible inability of atheists to be objective on such topics.
I got a New World Translation of The Holy Scriptures 1970 revised edition Which is The Jehovah Witness Bible at that time and in the back last pages it states that James was Jesus Brother written in Jerusalem and that Jude was also Jesus Brother written in Palestine with a question mark. The title was Books of The Greek Scriptures During the Common Christian Era. I do not believe Jesus had a brother as He is the Son Of God
I thought there was a chance that this might be forged. That the patina was applied recently by the use of chemicals. And then baked or heated to give it age. However, when limestone is heated at a high degree of temperature is slowly turns into a more fragile chalk like substance. And possibly the reason why it was damaged during its transport to Canada. However, I can be sincere and still be sincerely wrong.
How do you know they are close to finding the DNA of Jesus wouldn't they to get the actual DNA of Jesus I don't think they use the DNA of the so called DNA Jesus that they have
Oded's King Yehoram's inscription to repair the First Temple with the Half Shekel tax recorded in the Book of Kings is a more significant archaeological find.
God doesn't leave "relics." "For we walk by faith, not by sight." "My kingdom is not of this world." These silly forms of idolatry -- Shroud of Turin is but one example -- are distractions fabricated to line the pockets of their sponsors.
I love Robert Eisenman’s work BUT he can be stubborn and pig headed at times and unwilling to budge when he THINKS he is right, and I disagree with Eisenman where James is buried. I think his body was moved to the cave and this is the authentic ossuary
Wouldn't it be amazing to find the DNA of a man that had a mother but no father? Or the DNA of the real Jesus so we could identify the DNA of God? Of course, in this case, even if the inscription and origin is real, finding a contemporary James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus does not prove that it is the Jesus. And even if it did, it does not prove that anything of the Biblical Jesus story or divinity of Jesus is real.
It is kinda strange how he is called brother of Jesus while he had many other brothers. Later Christians could've simply taken an ossuary and inscribed it with whatever they wanted.
Well they did test blood from whats believed to be Jesus. It had every signature of dna from only female line and an unknown Y ... which is actually like 99% impossible..
@@J1WE No it's not. DNA degrades. Not even ancient family members can be positively identified, only that they are related. King Tut for example was buried with 2 fetuses, but they don't know if he was the father, brother or uncle because they can extract only a few usable markers. The same counts for bishop Peter Winstrup (who was so much embalmed he became a mummy), and he was from the 17th century.
As every morning, your website is not joinable in center Europe. Don't know f this is satellites, servers, weather conditions, or censoring on my device. But about the genetic data, we must care a lot. Keep eyes well open!
It wasn't a particularly common name back then, and tracing somebody called Jesus who had a brother James, and parents Mary and Joseph was more rare and even less common. I recall a Canadian professor of statistics ( timeline documentary) who studied the chances of this being the family tomb of Jesus, and he arrived at the conclusion that there is only a very small chance that this ISN'T the family tomb. See his calculations on aforementioned timeline documentary. It's Fascinating stuff
👍 👌 🙆♀️ what if it was added later, could've been another family member during a different burial, maybe because they needed too, for identification reasons. Especially, a few years or even decades later, when they had more followers. Just saying.
Is it a standard modern practice to loot tombs and sell the coffins and other grave goods? You'd think a grave in a city would be sort of sacrosanct? I'm thinking of that poor mummified cowboy in the store window in Seattle as I type this. Is there some sort of "past this date" where it's okay socially to sell human bones?
State mortuary laws vary but might be applicable in the case you mention. I know in another state that you can own human bones but only in the context of being a scientific specimen (like of a specific dental pathology) but you cannot sell it out of state.
This doesn’t work at all in context. Consider when people from Jesus’ hometown were expressing disbelief that the Jesus they grew up with was now a teacher and performing miracles: Matthew 13:55-56 “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” This is clearly describing Jesus’ close family and not his followers. Similarly Josephus clearly says James was the brother of Jesus but does NOT refer to any of the other disciples he talks about as Jesus’ brother. This argument doesn’t work.
This is SO ridiculous! Every Jewish mother would stand outside their doorway when the 1st century equivalent of streetlights came on, calling their kids in to dinner, and you know what 60 percent of those mothers were yelling? They were yelling “Jaaaaaakovvvv! Yehhhhshuaaaaaaa! Dinnnnnnnerrrrrrrrr!” My first name is Kathryn, but that doesn’t make me Katheryn Hepburn. This is just stupid.
So we don't know where it came from, we don't know if the inscription is authentic, and we don't know which family the name refers to. Not much to get exited about from my perspective.
Why would James-or anybody-add "brother of whoever" under normal circumstances? "Son of Whoever" yes, but brother? Of course Yaacov ben Yosef, the brother of Yeshua (the Messiah) would beg exception-but-if the bones of Yeshua are in the ossuary at the time of James' death, then that would mean James knew the bones were not risen. And then that would defeat the purpose of his ossuary making special reference to Him. The only reason the Gospels reference him as "the brother of Yeshua" is to differentiate him from James son of Zebedee. And then the question is why is the familial tomb in Jerusalem and not Nazareth? Seems really sketchy.
I'm an atheist, but Jesus was certainly a historical individual. We know there was a "Q source" gospel that consisted solely of Jesus' teachings. He might not have been named Jesus; he was not divine, and we know that much of the biography added to his teachings in the Gospels were lifted from other, more popular, myths of the time, but someone had to have traveled around providing the teachings eventually taken down in the original, lost "Q source" used to write some of the Gospels.
How many “Jameses”, “Josephs”, and “Jesuses” (whatever the ethnic versions) were there in antiquity? To me, this means very little relative to the Biblical stories.
So many of these people speak so slowly. Better at 1.5X speed. He dithers a lot qualifying his statements to be cautious. Why not just say what you mean as there will always be naysayers who will argue with you. You can’t cover every specious, asinine criticism.
It's interesting to ask that, but any projection of your reality onto this story only messes it up. Where did those, now political refugees, go after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth? Did they travel off-shore to the same northern salmon fishing grounds other political refugees fled to, after the fall of the Garden of Eden? Their language is still spoken. They are all in the books and on the maps, and aren't taught in North America.
Could be, could be. The historical Jesus was a pissed off Jew with brothers and sisters. Did crucifixion victims receive proper burials? Maybe. Bones placed in a box? Possibly.
Who really cares if the secular history of an ancient person is accurate or not. There are bound to be people who lived at one time or another. The real question for Jesus believers is where is the physical evidence of supernatural or paranormal events from that era? Or today? (and I don't count writings by men)
I don't know if you know this but Jesus didn't have a brother named James his name was Jacob changed to James as part of an attempt to de Jewish the new testament (this is not controversial and very well know) Also fyi Jude name wad Judah and judas was Judah from kirot
So what. If it found that this Jesus person of the bible actually existed does not prove anything about his life, the miracles, the resurrection, or anything else.
isnt it the same ossuary that was found during the taipot tomb documentary which had the whole family in one tomb? the documentary said the tomb even had 2 mary's in the tomb insinuating that mother mary and mary magdeline were in the same tomb!
5 mins in... and we're still hearing about the character of the person who sold it and the person who bought it. This says absolutely nothing about the authenticity of the object, and if this much time is spent going no where.... I'm out.
What a fascinating story... told by the most boring expert on the planet. Get to the point.. finish a sentence. "Get the latest one not the latest one... but the latest one" Sheesh!
A major warning sign of pseudoarchaeology includes discoveries pitched directly to the media. The pseudoarchaeologist knows his or her claim will not stand up to scrutiny by actual archaeologists or of have much likelihood of passing peer review of any reputable science journal, so it gets pitched directly to the media.
One discussion path I would like to see explored is this. If one were writing a pseudo docudrama, as has been hypothesized for the Gospels, wouldn't one go exploring the old city and write in backstory over existing names of people and places? I'm curious as to how much a historian would know about these tombs by being outside them. Would the names all be available? I'd love to see James Tabor write the definitive account of the Talpiot Tomb. I feel that Dr. Tabor is the closest to understanding the difficult piecing together of New Testament historicity.
The actual name is Yeshua, Jesus is a transliteration into Greek and thence to English. Yeshua, Joseph and James (Jacob) where all common Hebrew names in Isreal at the time of the Jesus story so even if the inscription is authentic there is no evidence that the jesus, Joseph and James mentioned are the biblical ones.
Mr. Tabor, read carefully Genesis 1 and you will find that it is a summary of the creation of the world, Genesis 2 deals with the creation of man and sex and procreation does not enter the plot until the 3rd chapter. That means only after the fall of man. Physical procreation was not in God's plan!
Using all caps is not considered respectful toward your readers. In my many years of experience within an important university it is considered perfectly normal and acceptable simply to say "Professor So-and-so". "Doctor Professor" is redundant. One cannot become a professor without first having a Doctorate. So "Professor" automatically implies "Doctor".
