by hadassah | Jan 17, 2016 | Rise of Christianity
Joseph A. Fitzmyer. “Did Jesus Speak Greek?” Biblical Archaeology Review 18, 5 (1992). That Jesus spoke Aramaic there is no doubt. By Jesus’ time numerous local dialects of Aramaic had emerged. Jesus, like other Palestinian Jews, would have spoken a local form...
by hadassah | Jan 10, 2016 | Rise of Christianity
Jonathan Klawans. “Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?” Bible Review 17, 5 (2001). Many people assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, a ritual meal held in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Passover. And indeed, according to the Gospel of Mark 14:12, Jesus...
by hadassah | Jan 10, 2016 | Rise of Christianity
Stephen J. Patterson. “The Dark Side of Pilate.” Bible Review 19, 6 (2003). Poor Pilate. If ever a man was caught unwittingly in the net of historical circumstance, it was Pilate. A simple Roman governor just doing his job, he could see that Jesus wasn’t the...
by hadassah | Jan 10, 2016 | Rise of Christianity
Joe Zias. Crucifixion in Antiquity – The Anthropological Evidence Whereas crucifixion, a form of state terror described by Josephus as “the most wretched of deaths” (Jewish Wars 7,23) persisted for hundreds of years, few are aware of its widespread use with...
by hadassah | Jan 10, 2016 | Rise of Christianity
Vassilios Tzaferis. “Crucifixion—The Archaeological Evidence.” Biblical Archaeology Review 11, 1 (1985). From ancient literary sources we know that tens of thousands of people were crucified in the Roman Empire. In Palestine alone, the figure ran into the...
by hadassah | Nov 17, 2015 | Fall of the Hasmoneans and Roman Conquest, Rise of Christianity
Augustus Sculpture of Augustus with a cross superimposed on his forehead, Ephesus Museum. At Ephesus, crosses were added in a very public way to the forehead of Augustus, transforming the emperor into a Christian penitent. What do you want to know? Ask...
