tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post3133870228915785194..comments2024-03-10T10:54:59.776-07:00Comments on Ben Witherington: A Treat without a Trick on All Hallow's Eve-- the James Ossuary Rises from the DeadBen Witheringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-68656582994156466362008-11-04T09:23:00.000-08:002008-11-04T09:23:00.000-08:00Well, golly, leave it to Ben Witherington to dig u...Well, golly, leave it to Ben Witherington to dig up good news from a tomb just in time for Halloween. Being a bit unfamiliar with the knicks and knacks of archeology, could you please tell me a bit about the use of patina in the ancient world? What implications do you think we should draw from the ancient patina on the word Jesus?Michael Bridgmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09363047440776556671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-28023508765862070622008-11-03T13:31:00.000-08:002008-11-03T13:31:00.000-08:00Hi Doobie: Actual this particular combination of n...Hi Doobie: Actual this particular combination of names is not common at all. There may be only one other example in all of Biblical and related data from that period. And the one other example does not include the apocopated form of the name Ya'akov. But of course you are right that we cannot have absolute air tight certainty about who this refers to. But the probabilities are very high that they are the Joseph father of James, whose brother is Jesus that we know and love.<BR/><BR/>BW3Ben Witheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-46421166354839636422008-11-03T11:59:00.000-08:002008-11-03T11:59:00.000-08:00Dear Dr. Witherington, thanks for this important ...Dear Dr. Witherington, thanks for this important and interesting story! It reminds us that our Christian faith rests on a rock solid (pardon the pun) historical foundation. These are real people the NT describes. I'm not convinced we can ever know for certain that this find refers to THE James, THE Joseph and THE Jesus. The names are just too common in 1st century Jerusalem; but it is an interesting find.Doobiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05932683548372080821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-72506733303740668982008-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:002008-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:00Ben:"Free the James Ossuary" I love it! Print it u...Ben:<BR/><BR/>"Free the James Ossuary" I love it! Print it up and I will put it on the bumper of my pickup.Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-79673253573375843492008-10-31T14:05:00.000-07:002008-10-31T14:05:00.000-07:00Hi Ranger: It is the very specific combination of ...Hi Ranger: It is the very specific combination of names on one single ossuary that makes this an exceptional case. The James in question is son of Joseph, and brother of Jesus. And the order of the names matters. Notice it does not call Jesus 'son of Joseph'. Furthermore, the inscription is in period Aramaic and it calls James Jesus' brother (ahui) here, not his cousin. This is an inconvenient truth for many Christians. Thirdly, this ossuary was found far from the Talpiot tomb and before the Talpiot tomb had ever been openned. Fourthly, the form of the name Ya'acov is different, not what the forger would have used to convince people this was the famous Jesus' brother. Fifthly, if indeed this is the Biblical James ossuary, only a tiny number of examples, two in fact from the first century, have an extended identifier like "his brother is Jesus", and everything after X son of Y in such inscriptions is honorific. So here is the All Hallow's Eve punchline--- this ossuary provides independent evidence that the crucifixion of Jesus was not the end of his story. In that culture you don't put on your tombstone--- "I'm related to a crucifixion victim". No this inscription attests to the redemption of Jesus' honor beyond crucifixion, and I would say attests to his resurrection indirectly. When you mention a brother on your tombstone, it is because he is more famous, and has done something more honorable and noteworthy than you. <BR/><BR/>BW3Ben Witheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06017701050859255865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11840313.post-79725715466955948812008-10-31T13:15:00.000-07:002008-10-31T13:15:00.000-07:00That is wonderful news!On the other hand, I doubt ...That is wonderful news!<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I doubt the vendication of the Ossuary, BAR, and all involved will recieve as much attention as accusations did.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05635426740700809467noreply@blogger.com