The Brother of Jesus

by Ben Witherington III

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 widespread 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.

Genres: Religion, History, Archaeology, Biblical Studies, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2003

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[11811 (Eleven) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was far more fascinating than I expected. The blurb from Time Magazine sums it up nicely - "A scientific detective story with extremely high religious stakes."

[Wayland Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was an attempt to authenticate a rare artifact that supposedly proves the historical existence of Jesus. There were some torturous attempts to make the logic work. It's now a moot point as the box in question was later revealed to be a fraud. I'm mildly interested in the general subject matter, but this was a bad example of it.

[Georg Sagittarius · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kurzmeinung: No Brother: See GOD's (JESUS JEHOVA!) AUTOBIOGRAPHIES+REV. to Jakob Lorber Max Seltmann Leopold Engel Bertha Dudde: j-lorber.de! Walter Lutz
Lügen & blasphemisch AntiCHRISTliches im jüdisch-konservativen Stil wie Johannes Fried/Lehmann, Schalom Ben-Chorin, Walter Homolka, Reza Aslan...! JESUS war die einzige Selbstinkarnation GOTTES (JESUS JEHOVA = JHWH!), Maria nur seine "Leibesmutter" & Josef nicht sein leiblicher Vater! Dieser hatte 5 Söhne ("Jakobus, Joel, Joses, Samuel, Simeon") & 5 angenommene Armuts-Mädchen ("Mägdlein")! Siehe GOTTES JESUS-AUTOBIOGRAPHIEN (GEJ 11 Bd.! "Jugend JESU - Jakobusevangelium", "Drei Tage im Tempel"), PROPHEZEIUNGEN, EXEGESEN, HILFEN für 3.Wk & Kometenkollision (m.E. 2026)... an Jakob Lorber (& Max Seltmann, Leopold Engel, Gottfried Mayerhofer, Bertha Dudde...)! Top: j-lorber.de! Gerd Gutemann! Walter Lutz, Kurt Eggenstein, M Kahir, Franz Deml!

Zitate aus dem Rezensionsbuch siehe unten

"Wer waren JESU Eltern und Stiefgeschwister?
Wichtige Fragen - direkte Antworten aus den Neuoffenbarungen JESU durch Prophet Jakob Lorber (1800-64)":
http://www.j-lorber.de/faq/1/familie.htm :
Aus welcher Erblinie stammt Jesus?
Was berichten Lorbers Offenbarungen über Maria, die Mutter Jesu?
Wer war Josef, der Stiefvater Jesu?
Wer waren die (Stief)geschwister Jesu?
Wo wohnte Jesus in seiner Kindheit und Jugend?

VON GOTT an Jakob Lorber offenbartes Jakobus-Evangelium
https://www.lovelybooks.de/suche/Jako...
http://www.j-lorber.de/jl/kjug/index.htm : "In diesem Offenbarungswerk sind jene ausführliche Aufzeichnungen über die Familie, Zeugung, Geburt, Kindheit und Jugend Jesu enthalten, die Jakobus, ein Stiefbruder Jesu aus der ersten Ehe des Witwers Joseph niedergeschrieben hat. Dieses sog. 'Jakobus-Evangelium' genoß in der frühen Christenheit hohe Wertschätzung. Wegen späterer Entstellungen wurde es jedoch nicht in den Kanon der biblischen Schriften aufgenommen. Im Verlaufe der Zeit ist es verschollen. Lediglich kapitelweise blieb es erhalten, z.B. in der 'Berlenburger Bibelhandschrift'
Jesus offenbarte durch Jakob Lorber die meisten Kapitel des ehem. 'Jakobus-Evangeliums' wieder. Mit den Bruchstücken der alten Überlieferung in der Berlenburger Bibel liegt eine teils wörtliche Übereinstimmung vor.
Der einfache, zu Herzen gehende Sprachstil spiegelt die Gefühle, Erlebnisse und Gespräche des Stiefbruders Jakobus mit Jesus wieder.
Diese wiedergeoffenbarte urchristliche Urkunde bietet eine unvergleichlich gute Möglichkeit, Jesus in seinem familiären Umfeld kennenzulernen und zu verstehen!"

http://www.j-lorber.de/jl/kjug/Kjug-0... :

Das Jakobus-Evangelium über die Kindheit und Jugend Jesu, Kapitel 1
Biographisches Evangelium Jesu Christi ab dem Zeitpunkt, als Joseph Maria zu sich nahm
Vorgeschichte: wie Tempelschülerin Maria in Josephs Obhut kam
Josephs Berufstätigkeit [jl.kjug.001,01]
Warum Tempelschülerin Maria den Tempel verlassen musste [jl.kjug.001,03]
Wie Maria durch ein priesterliches Gottesurteil dem Witwer Josef anvertraut wurde. [jl.kjug.001,04-16]
Überwindung der Widerstände Josephs gegen eine Pflegschaft über Maria [jl.kjug.001,17-23]
Zeugnis Gottes über Josephs Gerechtigkeit und Integrität [jl.kjug.001,24-25]
Gottes Wille zur Pflegschaft Josephs über Maria [jl.kjug.001,26-30]
Joseph bringt Maria nach Nazareth in seine ärmliche Behausung [jl.kjug.001,31]
Josephs Berufstätigkeit als Zimmermann mit seinen 5 Söhnen aus erster Ehe [jl.kjug.001,32-35]

GOTT (JESUS) über Maria
http://j-lorber.de/faq/1/maria.htm
http://jakob-lorber.info/maria.html
http://www.j-lorber.de/jl/kjug/Kjug-0... :
http://www.j-lorber.de/faq/1/familie.htm
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=...

ZU den Irrtümern & Lügen bezüglich angeblicher Töchter Joseph u/o (Halb)Schwestern JESU:
Im Jakobus-Evangelium
https://jakob-lorber.cc/index.php?s=K... : Joseph zu Cyrenius, einem der besten römischen Freunde von JESUS & Joseph:
"Lasse du mir die fünf Mägde ganz, auf dass sie an mir vollkommen ihren Vater haben sollen!

5. Denn du wirst ohnehin noch eigene Kinder bekommen, die sich in der späteren Zeit mit diesen hart vertragen würden.

6. Bei mir aber wird darob nie eine Disharmonie entstehen; den Grund kennst du nun so gut als ich.“

7. Und der Cyrenius willfahrte gerne des Josephs Wunsch und übergab ihm die fünf Mägde völlig zu eigen, worüber der Joseph eine große Freude hatte;

8. denn er hatte die Mägdlein lieb, weil sie so gelehrig und sehr folgsam waren, und waren von gutem Wuchs und von einer lieblichen Gestalt.

9. Als dieses abgemacht war, da umarmte der Cyrenius den Joseph und sprach:

10. „Bruder, so es des Herrn Wille sein wird, da hoffe ich dich bald wiederzusehen!“

11. Und das Kindlein, das da neben dem Joseph stand, sprach: „Amen sage Ich! So hier nicht, so doch in Meinem Reich!

12. Denn Ich sage dir, lange werden wir uns nicht mehr in diesem Land aufhalten, weil wir schon zu bekannt sind.

13. So wir aber ausziehen werden, dann werden wir uns in eine Verborgenheit zurückziehen, auf dass da kein Mensch gerichtet werde.

14. Jedoch – wir in der Liebe eins Gewordenen werden uns allzeit gegenwärtig sein, im Geiste ewig!

15. Wo dein Schatz sein wird, da wirst auch du sein mit deinem Herzen, in dem der Hauptschatz wohnt.

16. Bin Ich dir ein köstlicher Schatz geworden in deinem Herzen, – wahrlich, so sollst du Meiner ewig nimmer ledig werden;

17. denn da Ich wohne in der Liebe, da bin Ich eigentlichst zu Hause und ziehe nimmer aus – aus solcher Wohnstätte!

18. Lasse Mich daher fortwährend wohnen in deinem Herzen, und Ich werde für dich in keiner Verborgenheit wohnen!

19. Denn nur die Liebe allein kann Meine Gegenwart ertragen, wie ein Feuer das andere.

20. Alles aber, was nicht Feuer ist, das wird vom Feuer zerstört und verzehrt!

21. Darum auch ziehe Ich Mich vor der Welt zurück, auf dass sie Mein Feuer nicht ergreife und zerstöre!

22. Frage aber ja nie: ‚Herr! Wo bist Du?‘ – Da werde Ich dir nicht sagen: ‚Hier bin Ich!‘ –

23. sondern frage sorgfältig dein Herz, ob es Mich liebt, und Ich werde in deinem Herzen, das Mich liebt, zu dir rufen:

24. ‚Hier bin Ich zu Hause in aller Fülle Meiner Liebe, Gnade und Erbarmung!‘

25. Nun besteige getrost dein Schiff, und guter Wind solle dich nach Tyrus tragen – Amen.“

26. Hier empfahl sich der Statthalter Cyrenius zum letzten Mal bei Joseph in Ägypten und bestieg sein Schiff.

27. Und sobald kam ein guter Wind und eilte mit dem Schiff davon."


Zitate aus dem Rezensionsbuch
Indeed, Jesus had several brothers and sisters. When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth, his fellow congregants were amazed at his wisdom: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 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?” (Matthew 13.54–56).
The Gospel of Mark has almost identical language, but the order in which the brothers are listed is slightly different: “James and Joses [a variant of Joseph] and Judas and Simon” (Mark 6.3). If the brothers are listed in order of their birth, then James is the oldest in both gospels.
Nevertheless, this leaves open the precise relationship between James and Jesus. First, there is the question of who Jesus’
parents were. Mary was surely his mother. But was Joseph his father (as the Nazareth Jewish community at the time seems to
have assumed)? Or was Jesus’ father purely divine?
Is Jesus literally the Son of God, without an earthly father?

Second, was Mary a virgin when Jesus was born and not thereafter? Or was she perpetually a virgin, semper virgo, ever
virgin, as some later church doctrine holds? If the latter, then Jesus and James cannot be related through Mary.

Third, was Joseph previously married? Or was Mary his first and only wife?

Finally, what does brother mean? If it can mean cousin or kinsman, as some traditions suggest, Jesus and James might
be only cousins. Think of the possibilities. If both Jesus and James were sons of Joseph and Mary, they were full blood brothers. If Jesus
was the son of Joseph and Mary, and James was the son of Joseph by a previous marriage, the two would have been half
brothers. If Jesus was the son of his divine father and Mary, and James was the son of Joseph by a previous marriage,
Jesus and James would have been stepbrothers; that is, they wouldn’t have been blood brothers at all. This reading would
leave room for belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary, as some church doctrine holds, but a standard Bible dictionary
tells us that this belief “is not a serious option in most contemporary historical scholarship.

”1 If brother signifies kinsman, Jesus and James might not have been blood brothers at all but merely cousins. This last view, traditionally espoused by western Catholic tradition, is, however, difficult to squarewith the use of the term brother on the ossuary. Even before the ossuary surfaced, one leading authority on James called this reading of the biblical text “improbable.”2 (Incidentally, the word brother on the ossuary clearly refers to a family member, not a “brother in arms,” so even if all early Christians were “brothers” in that sense, that is not the kind of brother the ossuary is talking about."

[Lee Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really two books in one, and both are excellent. Hershel Shanks (editor of my favorite mag, Biblical Archaeology Review) tells the story of the discovery of the James ossuary, and Ben Witherington describes the person both scholars believe this limestone burial box belonged to: James, the brother of Jesus. I’ve been following Shanks’ arguments in BAR over the years, so I already know he’s a proponent of the ossuary’s authenticity.

The box itself is inscribed “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” The Bible agrees: Jesus’ father was Joseph and one brother was James. The box was discovered in the collection of a private collector, who had no recollection of its origin … and no idea of its potentially incredible value. It’s dated pretty accurately to the first century, so while we cannot say with any certainty that it’s authentic to THE Jesus, both authors are convinced it’s an authentic first-century bone box.

This practice of removing the bones from the tomb and burying them again in a small box was practiced only for a short time, from about 20 BC to 70 AD. This, too, points to the period of Jesus. But what are the odds that this box once held the bones of the brother of Jesus? All three of these names—Jesus (Yeshua), James (Ya’akov), and Joseph (Yosef)—were quite common back then, but it’s still possible to estimate the odds. One estimate is that about 20 such James’s (with the indicated brother and father) would have lived in that period; another estimate is between 2 and 4. But how many would have a brother so famous that his brother’s name would be indicated on his ossuary? That would be a rarity. If this is the brother of the “real” Jesus, then, as Shanks posits, this little box may be “the most astonishing find in the history of archaeology.”

Then Witherington takes over halfway through the book to tell us about James, the brother of Jesus. Who he was, what he taught, how he died. While Peter and Paul may have become the most famous apostles, James was in reality probably the most important after the death of Jesus. He was appointed as the head of the Jerusalem church, the mother church.

Among other things, Witherington goes head to head with the Catholic doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. While the Bible lists several brothers of Jesus, Catholics maintain that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus was born, and many believe the listed “brothers” are really just cousins. This idea was promoted by St. Jerome. Witherington quotes John P. Meier, a leading Catholic New Testament scholar, as saying that if the James ossuary is authentic, it is probably the last nail in the coffin of Jerome’s view of the brothers of Jesus being cousins.

I’ve always enjoyed the writings of both these authors, and this book doesn’t disappoint.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the first of a number of books by different authors leading up to claims that the ossuaries, and some human remains, of several members of Jesus' family and apostolic circle may have been discovered. The story unfolded gradually owing to apparent fact that the initial discovery of the tomb(s)--there seem to have been two--during a construction project was not well-exploited. The real estate developers and their contracted construction firms were in a hurry. The Israeli Antiquities authority was disposed to discount the implications of the discovery. Some of the artifacts, such as the ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus and son of Joseph, were stolen.
One of the apparently stolen artifacts was the James ossuary, the subject of this book, both of whose authors vouch for its authenticity.

There is ample evidence that an organization continued after the execution of Jesus, an organization run by his brother James and his friend Simon Peter initially, then continued on by other members of his family after James' death. This organization, not unlike later rabbinic schools, continued on until the Islamic conquest and may have survived, headquartered in Pella after the destruction of Jerusalem, until the ninth century. Patristic references to the dread Ebionites, "the poor", likely refer to these Jewish Christians as do some texts like the Pseudo-Clementines. As might be expected, these, the followers of Jesus, did not subscribe to Hellenistic ideas such as the virgin birth, the resurrection or the divinity of their founder. Consequently, they were anathema to the growing gentile community which came to call itself Christian. The conflicts between the two are, of course, described canonically in Acts.

If this find is actually of the remains of members of Jesus' circle, the consequences may be immense for some modern Christians as they tend to support the historicity of the Jewish Church over that of the gentile. None of this is a great surprise to scholars, but the very physicality of the ossuaries and their contents is conducive to popular media attention.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review title: Unboxing James

When an artifact owned by an antiquities dealer in Jerusalem was reported in 2002 to have an ossuary (a stone box used for storing human skeletal remains) inscribed with the words "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus", it became an international news story. And this book, written by Hershey Shanks who helped assess its authenticity, with a forward by the man who first saw it, was rushed to press within a few months to take advantage of the excitement in breathless prose and photographs.

But as soon as the finding was announced it was questioned. The artifact had no provenance certifying its handling by professional archeologists, many of whom refuse to consider the authenticity of any artifact obtained from the antiquities markets given the opportunity and frequency for forgery of items found in them. Some questioned the age of the inscription, others the believability of it based on their religious doctrine. Shanks spends the first part of the book describing and defending the artifact against these questions based on archeology, history, linguistics, and even statistics.

Based on names referenced in texts and inscriptions from the first century, Joseph was second most, Jesus/Joshua was sixth most, and James/Jacob eleventh most popular (Shanks explains the variations of names on p. 53-55). Based on population estimates and other statistical probability factors, it was estimated with 95% confidence that there were at most four men named James with a father named Joseph and a brother named Jesus in Jerusalem in those years (p. 62). In other words, even if the ossuary and its inscription are authentic, this artifact may not be related to our biblical characters. However, Shanks adds that it was highly unusual for the time for an inscribed ossuary to include a reference to a sibling, the references probably indicating that the brother had been responsible for the burial, or was "a prominent person with whom the deceased would desire to be identified." Jesus of Nazareth, as the inspiration for a growing sect in the generation after his crucifixion, would certainly qualify, especially since James was by then a leader of the sect worshipping his brother.

All of this points to possibility, not probability, and certainly not proof. Clearly Shanks leans toward the positive probability, but references several experts in the archeological disciplines studying the artifact who are skeptical.. After this book was published, the authenticity of both the artifact and its inscription were questioned in court. Here is a 2023 article from Bible Archeology Report which concludes: "In summary, I would conclude that the James Ossuary is an authentic artifact, that the complete inscription is genuine, and that it likely contained the bones of James, the brother of Jesus Christ from the New Testament, although we cannot be certain." It is worth noting that the 2023 article was on the Bible Archeology Report website, while Hershel Shanks is listed in his bio in the 2003 book as the founder of the magazine Biblical Archeology Review, and a Google search confirmed that the two are not related despite the very similar names.

The question of the authenticity of the box and it's inscription remains. But the faith of the many millions of people who identify as Christians now and throughout the last two millennia has never depended on artifacts like this to prove their faith. In fact, as I learned in reading this book, the faith of some Catholic Christians compelled them to reject this artifact as genuine because of the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity. After Shanks documents the finding and initial investigation of the ossuary in the first part of the book, co-author Ben Witherington is given the second and longer part of the book to provide a documentary analysis of what we know about this "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" from the New Testament, early historians of the time (primarily Josephus), and the first generation of Christian church fathers.

Given his less-well-known position compare to Paul and Peter, this part became for me the more interesting part of the book, an unboxing of James from both his ossuary and his obscurity.
It was here I learned that because of that doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, James and the other brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned directly in the New Testament are considered by different branches of Catholicism either children of Joseph from a marriage prior to Mary the mother of Jesus, or cousins of Jesus ("sons of some woman or man other than the biblical Mary and Joseph", p. 202). Meanwhile, Protestants, following the plain language and logic of the New Testament, consider these children, including James, to be the younger children of Mary and Joseph after Jesus was born and Mary and Joseph consummated their marriage vows. I am left wondering 20 years after the publication of this book how much of the questioning of the authenticity of the ossuary is based on this difference in belief.

Witherington, a professor at an American Christian University specializing in the study of the historical Jesus, concludes "James was an observant Jew who believed his brother was the Messiah. He and the church he led felt that this was in no way in conflict with their standing as religious Jews. . . . James said yes to both, as did his brothers and family members, and the Jerusalem church, the mother church of early Christianity." (p. 214-215) As the respected leader of this congregation of devout Jews following his brother the new Messiah, James worked with Paul, the missionary to the Gentiles, and Peter, the leader of the Christian church in Rome, to negotiate what it meant to be a Christian. Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, documents the consequential meetings where doctrine and moral obligations (such as circumcision for non-Jewish converts and observance of Mosaic law for Jewish ones) were hammered out, and Paul in his several epistles and James in his own book shared and annotated these visions to their congregations.

Where do I stand, and where might you land after looking at the evidence here and in subsequent web investigations like the one I cited? My faith does not depend on the existence of such an artifact, as the Bible and history of the time and place and the Christian church proves the lives and impact of Mary, Joseph, James, and most of all Jesus Christ, whose appearance and life on earth changed history forever. If it is an authentic artifact it is nice but not necessary corroboration of my faith. Open the Bible, read the history, open your mind, and consider the impact that the life and resurrection of Jesus had on his own brother as Whittington documents in the second part of the book.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE STORY (AS OF 2003) OF THE FAMOUS AND CONTROVERSIAL CHEST OF BONES

The Introduction to this 2003 book by coauthor Hershel Shanks explains, “This book is about what may be the most astonishing find in the history of archaeology---an inscription that many scholars believe is the first attestation of Jesus of Nazareth in the archaeological record, carved into a limestone chest that once contained the bones of Jesus’ brother James, the leader of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem… This ossuary has only recently surfaced---from the collection of an antiquities aficionado in Israel… Since then, the ossuary has taken the world by storm, appearing on the front page of almost every newspaper in the globe… But the initial excitement has been followed by a barrage of questions. Where did it come from? How did the collector get it? It is a fake? How do we know that it refers to Jesus of Nazareth? … Does it cast doubt on the doctrine that Mary was a perpetual virgin? Does it challenge the Roman Catholic identification of James as only a cousin of Jesus? These are some of the questions Ben Witherington and I address in this book…”

Shanks recounts how scholar André Lemaire “accepted a social invitation from a prominent collector in Israel… [who] invited Lemaire to look at some of his more difficult-to-rad inscriptions…. Lemaire’s eyes popped. The inscription … read… In English: ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.’ Lemaire immediately recognized its potential significance—if it was genuine. The Jesus of the New Testament had never before appeared in an archaeological context. Neither had Joseph or James. If this inscription was authentic… it was… an unprecedented find. And the bod itself may once have held the bones of Jesus’ brother James.” (Pg. 11-12

He acknowledges, “I knew that this was a find of potentially enormous importance. But there was also a danger: we could publish an article about the discovery, and our claim would fall apart. That was the nightmare scenario I also considered. What if some clever forger had produced an accomplished fake? How sure were we that the figures mentioned in the inscription were the people referred to in the New Testament?” (Pg. 14)

He explains, “I readily admit that I am not competent to judge the paleography. But I would rather stick with the unanimous judgment of the senior scholars who have devoted their lives to this arcane art… But a number of academics, some of them respected scholars in their own fields, have also expressed doubts about the ossuary inscription, even though they are not paleographers… [However] the new doubters simply ignore [the paleographic evidence], realizing that such issues are beyond their expertise.” (Pg. 43-44)

He notes, “even more significant is [paleographer Kyle] McCarter’s conclusion that if two different hands are responsible for the inscription, the second half of the inscription is still not a forgery. It was added no later than a hundred years after the first part of the inscription was carved, McCarter says. He speculates that ‘brother of Jesus’ might have been added to the original inscription because in the subsequent years, other members of the same family bore the names ‘James son of Joseph,’ and it had become necessary to identify this James further, ‘the brother of Jesus.’ … McCarter does not suggest that any part of the inscription is a modern forgery.” (Pg.47)

He concludes, “to my mind, it is virtually certain that the James ossuary and its inscription are authentic ancient artifacts. I predict in time, any doubts about the authenticity of the inscription will dissipate.” (Pg. 50) Later, he adds, “Although the James ossuary is not needed to prove the existence of Jesus, it does have a tactile, visual quality that bridges the millennia in a very different way from a literary text. This plain stone box somehow transports us back almost two thousand years---to a stone burial cave in ancient Jerusalem, where the friends or family of a man named James reverently laid his bones and honored him then or subsequently by taking the extraordinary step of identifying him with his presumably famous brother, Jesus.” (Pg. 77)

He notes, “But this ossuary came to us unprovenanced. It surfaced on the antiquities market. Even if the inscription is authentic (as it almost surely is), we would know more about the ossuary and its contents if we know where and under what conditions it was found. As it is, it is an artifact without context. Or, in the words of the critics, it has been ‘ripped from its context.’ Yet what should we do? Ignore it?” (Pg. 79)

However, in the Introduction to the Revised Edition, Shanks states, “On June 18, 2003, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced at a press conference that the inscription … on the … ossuary, of James was a modern forgery. On July 21, 2003, Oded Golan, the owner of the ossuary, was arrested, presumably for forging the inscription with tools found in his workshop. So the jig was up. Everything in the first edition of this book… was wither wrong or irrelevant. I had been taken in by a forger and made a fool of. But that is not really the end of the story. As a matter of fact, the end of the story cannot yet be written. At the present time we still don’t know for sure whether the inscription… is authentic or a modern forgery. Now do we know for sure whether the owner of the ossuary, Tel Aviv collector Oded Golan, is a forger.

“What we do know for sure is that the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has not proved its case. Maybe it will do so in the future as more and more people study the inscription and the ossuary and, despite the failings of the story, find the description a forgery. But at this time, the IAA has not even bothered to defend its study. We can only speak about what we know now and what we do not know now. At this time, whether the inscription is authentic is an open question. I can no longer state with such confidence, as I did in the first edition, that ‘it is virtually certain that the James ossuary and its inscription are authentic artifacts. But I am by no means convinced that it is a forgery either. In short, the question has been raised but not answered.” He adds, “Needless to say, we all await further developments. At this time. We know only that the final chapter cannot yet be written.”

[NOTE: after a seven-year “forgery trial of the century,” in 2012 Oded Golan was acquitted of the forgery charges but convicted of illegal trading in antiquities; but the judge also said in his decision that the acquittal “does not mean that the inscription on the ossuary is authentic or that it was written 2,000 years ago.”]

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nonfiction book about the recent discovery of an ossuary with the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus". Intersting and educational.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 2003 this book was an announcement to the world of the discovery of an ossuary [bone box] with an inscription stating, “James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” The book is more of a defense of the validity of this “find.” To their credit, the authors, in their attempts to refute their critics, provide much of the research and documentation from those critics. In a way, this defeats the authors' intent because their refutation comes up short and the critics' opinions remain standing. James was executed in 62 C.E. and the box does date from that time period, but for me, the authors are not successful in proving that the inscription is authentic.

As near as I can tell from online searches, 16 years later everyone is still divided over the legitimacy of the inscription and much of the information associated with this ossuary.
Interesting, but inclusive.

[Melissa Rosenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love modern archeological mysteries so I enjoyed this book which presents the case of an inscribed ossuary that came to light in Israel. Authors present facts and let you decide if the carved inscription points to THE Yeshua. An interesting foray into ancient scripts and dating methods combined with a well-written portrayal of the biblical figure known as James (Yaakov), the brother of Jesus.

[Michael Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got what I wanted so I stopped. I was looking for background into antique forgery and I got an insight. As ana addition, I learned about early Christianity and what might have been.
I must admit I did not finish the book. Not out of boredom, but I had what I wanted to learn just the one aspect.

[Charlene McGrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

This is a well researched book and very interesting. I had not heard that this was found. So I thought that it was very interesting.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to be taking Archaeology in college when the “James Ossuary” was revealed to the public. It was an exciting event for the class to talk about, and, as I recall, it was a topic everyone wanted for their final term paper. Alas, our teacher made us all pick a different topic. I ended up writing about the bytdwd inscription found at Tel Dan, but that’s another story.

The ossuary (bone burial box) is engraved with the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. If this inscription is authentic to the first century it might refer to the James in the New Testament, the head of the Jerusalem church. This would truly be an exciting find. Unfortunately, there were several problems with the ossuary when it was made public. First of all, it wasn’t found in situ. It was part of a private collection and purchased on the antiquities market in the 1970s. This automatically casts a shade of suspicion over the find in the minds of many professionals. When it was initially revealed, a number of professional epigraphers and paleographers concluded that it was authentic and from the latter half of the first century AD. However, other scholars registered skepticism about the possibility that the find could be authentic. And even if the ossuary proves to bear an authentic first century inscription, what is the likelihood that the Jesus, James, and Joseph in the inscription are identical with the Biblical characters.

Even now, over a decade later, the ossuary is a matter of controversy. In 2004, the Israeli Antiquities Authority released a statement saying that they had tested the box and that it was a late forgery. However, other independent studies seemed to confirm the first century date. The owner of the ossuary was put on trial by the Israeli government for forgery and was found not guilty, but this doesn’t settle the matter of whether the box is authentic.

This particular book, written soon after the ossuary went public, is really two books in one. The first part of the book, written by Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, gives the archaeological background of the box. As one of the people responsible for the public unveiling of the ossuary, he gives the inside story of how the box came to the attention of Andre Lemaire, and how he recognized the possibility inherent in the inscription that the owner had never considered. Shanks tells the background story on the ossuary and goes on to explain the controversy surrounding it up to the time the book was written and the methods used to date the box.

The second part of the book, written by Ben Witherington III, turns to the character of James himself. He gives a background of who James was in the New Testament and how he is important to the history of the Christian church. Some of this is basic info that any Bible reader would know. However, the most interesting part of his section was the exploration of later legends that developed around James and the political and theological biases that led to them. Also he talks about the implications of the ossuary for various views of the brothers of Jesus in the New Testament, explaining how the authenticity of the ossuary would affect Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant theology. He gives a background and evaluation of the origin of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary doctrine as well. Finally he concludes with a plea for the significance of James as an equal to the more well known and understood Peter and Paul.

Overall this was a great book. Both parts were well written and informative. The second part has probably held up better than the first, as the debate on the authenticity of the ossuary has moved on since Shanks’s overview. However, it still stands as a fascinating account of how the ossuary was made public. If you’re interested in archaeology or New Testament backgrounds and theology, you’ll probably find this book interesting.

[Honeybee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! Co-authored by Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, and Ben Witherington III, a seminary professor, the book consists of two parts--each covering a different aspect of a box purported to have contained the bones of James, son of Joseph and brother of Jesus.

The first half reads with all the intensity of suspense novel. It relates the discovery, examination, authentication and unveiling of a limestone box engraved with an inscription designating the remains of James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus--leader of the early church in Jerusalem mentioned in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Galatians and James.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to a careful study of who this leader was, as well as the controversies surrounding his identity. Professor Witherington examines New Testament Scripture, Josephus, early church history and apocryphal writings to uncover the origins of church traditions and doctrine surrounding James. Three leading views are covered: 1) the Catholic assertion from Jerome that James was a cousin of Jesus, preserving their notion of the perpetual virginity of Mary; 2) Orthodox tradition, based on aesthetic apocryphal books, which designates James as a son of Joseph from a previous marriage; 3) the Protestant view, from a straight-forward reading of Scripture, that James was the half-brother of Jesus born to Mary after the Messiah's birth. This careful Bible scholar also addresses the notion that James was at odds with Peter or with Paul and the antisemitism that has developed in the church as a result of this perceived schism.

If you are interested in any way in Biblical archaeology, early church history or doctrine, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this book. Pastors, this volume belongs in your personal library. Regardless of the camp with which you most identify concerning the relationship of James to Jesus, you really ought to study and consider the carefully documented discussion raised in this text. A scholarly book, to be sure, it is nevertheless very well-written and accessible for any lay reader.

[Bobbie N · Rating 3 out of 5]

SUMMARY: The story of the discovery and authentification of a first-century ossuary (since proven to be a fake), bearing the Aramaic inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”, and the implications it has for traditional Roman Catholic and Orthodox belief. Although the authors’ beliefs are clear and the ossuary has since been proven inauthentic, the doctrinal controversies and issues of various denominations are covered very well as is the historical background to the New Testament; written in language understandable to non-scholars.

[Charlotte Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was about finding and authenticating the ossuary. It was tedious and boring. The second half was about James himself and was excellent. Now I'm hooked on reading more about the trial and the others claiming it's a fraud.

[Jimmie L.]

Good history of the discovery of the ossuary of James and how it was authenticated.

[Cindie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The books was interesting...too bad the find was totally discredited as a fraud. A rare black mark on Hershel Shanks' record

[John Polson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho Hum.
What was I thinking...

[Lindsay Hicks]

A very interesting perspective!