In
the News: News Archive
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... The Tax Return and JeremiahProfessor Michael Jursa has found amongst the British Museum's collection of cuneiform tablets a receipt for the payment of 0.75g of gold made to a temple in Babylon dated to around 595 BCE. The discovery is particularly exciting because the tablet, measuring only 5.5 cm wide, is made out to a Nebu-sharrussukin who is listed (with slight variant spelling - Nebo-Sarsekim) in Jeremiah 39:3 as one of the Babylonian officers-in-chief who marched with Nebuchadnezzar II against Jerusalem during the siege of 587 BCE. Although it is fairly common to find non-biblical references to important figures such as kings and rulers, it is rare to find such references for less important people and it helps to confirm the accuracy of the account of the Jerusalem siege in Jeremiah. The tablet has been reported to read: (Regarding) 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. According to Prof Jursa, the payment represented a significant sum of money which could be comparable to the price of a "large townhouse". To read the report in the Telegraph... To read the report in the Times...
---------- ... Lasers to examine the Book of KellsThe Book of Kells has been described as the 'most beautiful book in the world'. Edward Sullivan's famous commentary commences with a reference to "[i]ts weird and commanding beauty..." The manuscript, comprising 339 pages, contains the Latin text of the four Gospel and is thought to have been produced around 800 CE. The text has not been particularly carefully copied, being "riddled with errors", but it interestingly contains words and passages that are not found in the Vulgate Latin text. One addition of particular note relates to the assertion of the divinity of the Holy Spirit inserted at John 3:5-6. However, it is the quality of the illuminations that attracts most interest. It combines geometric patterns with zoomorphic (animal), phyllomorphic (leaf/plant) as well as human forms in rich and vibrant designs. The new study hopes to identify the constituents of the inks and materials used in order to explain why they have retained their colour and vibrancy. Lasers will be used to determine the wave lengths of various pigments. The process will be non-destructive. To read the Independent's report... ----------... The Tomb of King HerodProfessor Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University has claimed to have found the tomb of King Herod the Great who is notoriously said to have ordered the 'Massacre of the Innocents' following the birth of Jesus (Matthew 2:16-18). Herod ruled Judea under the governance of Rome from 37 to 4 BCE. It was an extremely turbulent time. The demands of Imperial Rome had to be balanced with expectations and needs of the Judean populace. His task was made harder by the political intrigues and infighting from within his own family. He appears to have met these demands with a measure of flamboyance and extravagance (particularly with his building projects) coupled with a ruthlessness towards any possible political rival. The 1st Century Jewish historian Josephus summarised Herod in his Antiquities of the Jews (17:8:1) as: A man he was of great barbarity towards all men equally, and a slave to his passions; but above consideration of what was right; yet he was favoured by fortune as any man ever was, for from a private man he became a king; and though he were encompassed with ten thousand dangers, he got clear of them all, and continued his life till a very old age; but then as to the affairs of his family and children, in which, indeed, according to his own opinion, he was also very fortunate, because he was able to conquer his enemies; yet, in my opinion, he was herein very unfortunate. Translation by William Whiston
To read Hebrew University's report... To read the Telegraph's report and picture reportage... To read the BBC report click here... TopA Gladiator's Cemetery at EphesusThe coastal town of Ephesus appears to have been a strategic location for the expansion of Christianity into the West. Paul frequently refers to it and it is one of the seven churches named in the book of Revelation. Paul even addresses one of his letters to the Ephesus church - however, it must be noted that a number of scholars question whether Paul was the actual author or that Ephesus was the originally intended recipient. Ephesus is also known to have had a longstanding relationship with gladiatorial combat which is thought to have been introduced in 69BCE and to have attracted crowds of up to 25,000 spectators. It is thought that Paul's reference to having fought the 'wild beasts in Ephesus' (1 Corinthians 15:32) is an allusion (actual or metaphorical) to the games. It has also been suggested that the militaristic language in Ephesians (particularly Eph 6:10-18) also draws upon the close identification of the region with sparring and combat. The Telegraph's story relates to a BBC Timewatch investigation of the gladiator's cemetery which helps to create a more detailed understanding of the context of gladiatorial activity, including diet, lifestyle and medical interventions. Such data, although not specifically referring to Biblical matters, helps to provide a clearer picture of the social and cultural context of the first Christians. To read the Telegraph's article, click here...Go to the BBC webpage on this story, click here...----------The Gospel According to JudasSource - Times, Guardian, inter alia. 20/03/07, 21/03/07Jeffery Archer and Roman Catholic theologian Francis Moloney launch the publication of their book The Gospel According to Judas. Its title alludes to the 3rd/4th Century Coptic manuscript known as the Gospel of Judas. Archer and Moloney's book provides an apologetic biography of the figure of the disciple Judas Iscariot and as such is not based upon the mid-second century text of the Gospel of Judas. The Gospel of Judas, itself, is a gnostic text (gnostic means knowledge). It seeks to teach an individual ways through which they can attain a hidden or secret Truth/Knowledge and as such it represents a specific expression of some early Christian groups. In the manuscript, Judas is portrayed as one who is party to receiving a special revelation from Jesus. It begins with the words "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot" - reflecting the words with which the Gospel of Thomas commences. To some extent, Archer and Moloney's book stands within the broad stream of apocryphal tradition, whereby writers sought to develop and fill-in-the-gaps of the Biblical narratives. For example, a lot of our early Christian literature describes what happened during Jesus' childhood (the Infancy Gospels). It is possible that many of these types of texts were meant primarily to entertain - although they also generally contain a moralising element. As well as expressing and promoting particular expressions of Christianity, Apocryphal literature also attempted to provide answers to existing problems (as in the question of Judas). To read the Times article click here... To read the Guardian article click here... To read the Daily Telegraph article click here... Interested in apocryphal literature?Click here to read the Gospel of Judas Read a summary of Paul Foster's recent article on the Gospel of Peter Also see our course: 'Other Voices' click here... Top---------- The Lost Tomb of JesusClaims that archaeologists have discovered the tomb of Jesus (together with Mary Magdalene and their son, Judah) have received widespread coverage throughout the press. The tomb at Talpiot was excavated under the supervision of Amos Kloner for the IAA (Israel Antiquities Authority) in 1980. Regarding this story, Kloner dismisses the claims that the tomb has any association with Jesus and his family as "impossible" and "nonsense" and that there was “no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb in Jerusalem.” The claims being made are not particularly new as they have been bubbling on the fringes for a while. However, the spotlight has somewhat intensified recently by a documentary directed by Simcha Jacobovici which has been fuelled by the involvement of James Cameron (the director of films such as the Titanic). Academia is notorious for its contention and disagreement (some may even say that it is its life-blood), nevertheless there is broad agreement voicing concern and caution about the claims being made. Among the arguments against the assertion are: the situation of the tomb (if it belonged to Jesus it should be in Galilee), that Jesus, Joseph and Mary were very common names at the time - even the inscription which is supposed to read Jesus has been contested. As more than one commentator has remarked, "it can only give Biblical archaeology a bad name" To read the Guardian's article click here... To read the Daily Telegraph report click here... ---------- Did cleanliness kill off the the Dead Sea Scrolls Community?Archaeological research of the Qumran Community, commonly associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, has shown that their religious cleanliness could have contributed to their eventual demise. The eleven caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 are located near the ruins of a desert community (Khirbet Qumran) which was occupied between 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE.. It has long been speculated that it was this community that produced and hid the scrolls which make up the Dead Sea find. Several of the scrolls themselves describe a code for communal living which suggest a fairly rigorous attention to ritual cleanliness.
The Qumran community has also been associated with the religious group the Essenes. Although many of the Essenes appeared to have lived within the mainstream Jewish society (marrying and raising families), it appears that a number of them lived as celibate isolates within the desert. Their practices were described by the contemporary Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. What is particularly of note to the recent findings, is Jospehus' account of their toileting arrangements. In The Jewish Wars 2.8.9 he notes that: Nay, on other days [i.e. not the Sabbath] they dig a small pit, a foot deep, with a paddle (which kind of hatchet is given them when they are first admitted among them); and covering themselves round with their garment, that they may not affront the Divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit, after which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them. It is this sort of arrangement which is described in the Telegraph's report on the research of James Tabor and Joe Zias. They suggest that rather than being hygienic, this practice served to incubate disease. They argue that waste matter which, in these conditions, would normally be desiccated and sterilised by the sun, when buried provides an ideal breeding ground for parasites and bacteria which could later infect the community. If correct, their research provides further evidence linking the Qumran community with the Essenes and possibly the Dead Sea Scrolls. Moreover, their findings appear to provide an answer, if only a partial one, as to why the Qumran community disappeared. |
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