Product Description

Towards the end of 2002, Andre Lemaire, from the Sorbonne, discovered, whilst visiting a Jewish antiquities dealer, an ossuary - or bone box - which bears the inscription 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus'. This discovery immediately caused wide-spread international interest and it was heralded as the most important archaeological discovery ever about Jesus. In The Brother of Jesus, Hershel Shanks, who has been at the forefront in making archaeological discoveries known and understood by the public (for example, the Dead Sea Scrolls), joins forces with renowned scholar Ben Witherington to recount the discovery and the authentication of the ossuary in compelling detail. After having examined the scientific evidence and the palaeography of the inscription, Hershel Shanks concludes that the inscription on the ossuary is genuine. Witherington examines its implications for understanding Jesus, and his family and followers, and offers a unique insight into the early days of Christianity and the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem, which was led by Jesus' brother James. The Brother of Jesus explains why this discovery matters. Andre Lemaire has written a foreword for the book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1318955 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-27
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 254 pages

About the Author
Hershel Shanks is editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review and was a leading figure in making the complete Dead Sea Scrolls available to the world. Ben Witherington is an expert on the historical Jesus and New Testament.

Customer Reviews

Will the real James please stand up?
In late 2002, a remarkable find was announced by the Biblical Archaeology Society (whose director, Hershel Shanks, achieved fame and notoriety through the magazine, Biblical Archaeology Review, and the long-standing campaign to free the Dead Sea Scrolls from academic restriction). A small artifact, an ossuary (a small box in which remains of the dead would be stored after some time of decomposition in a tomb) had been discovered, bearing a remarkable Aramaic inscription: Ya'akov bar Yosef achui d'Yeshua (James, Son of Joseph, brother of Jesus). Despite the fact that all of these names are common to the time of the second Temple and Roman-occupied Judea, the combination of the three together in this familiar, familial relationship took the media by storm.

This book chronicles the discovery of the ossuary as well as the beginnings of the controversy that would eventually envelope it. One hopes for a second edition that will continue the saga. The first part of the book looks at the personalities involved in the discovery and initial identification of the ossuary, as well as authentication and provenance. Unfortunately, not all the information that is now available was known at the time of the publication of this volume. While the evidence presented here is interesting and in some ways convincing, it lacks important evidence later put together by the IAA (Israeli Antiquities Authority), with whom Shanks is having continuing arguments. Shanks does present many of the arguments against the authenticity of the ossuary, or at least the inscription. It is unclear if all of the inscription is done by the same hand.

While controversy remains, it seems increasingly likely that the ossuary is a forgery of one sort or another. That being said, the portions of the text dealing with the discovery and announcement of the ossuary still make for a fascinating case study, particularly as background to what has become an ongoing story.

The second half of the book, written by biblical scholar Ben Witherington, looks at the figure of James -- who was he? Witherington discusses the doctrinal problems around James as the brother of Jesus (it conflicts with various Orthodox and Catholic beliefs, while it presents little difficulty for most Protestants). It seems that James was, at the very least, a relative of Jesus, as well as a disciple. James became the leading authority of the church in Jerusalem; while Peter, Paul and other disciples spread throughout Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire, James remained as the head of the community in Jerusalem, in effect becoming the first bishop in the church. This authority came, according to the ancient scholar Eusebius, because he was the brother of Jesus.

James is also mentioned in the works of Josephus, as being killed by stoning after an unjust pronouncement by the Sanhedrin. While Josephus' work has been doctored on occasion throughout the centuries of monastic scribal transmission, Witherington argues that this passage was not doctored, in part because it does not conform to other traditions of James' death more prominent in the church (that he was thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple).

This portion of the text presents an interesting analysis of James, from a conservative Protestant perspective as the base, bringing in other traditions as relevant. Some may not subscribe to the conclusions Witherington draws, but his analysis is worth exploring.

This book was fast-tracked to publication, to get it to market while the James ossuary was still prominent in the media. As a result, there are some shortcomings. However, as part of the overall history of the ossuary, and part of the history of antiquities discovery, trading, and possibly, forgery, it is an interesting text.