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More Re: Jesus Family Tombs??
Here are four more stories on the "Jesus" family tombs, which contain more
details plus comments by Joseph Zias of the Rockefeller. Note the story hits
USA Today, today...NYTimes has not yet "stooped" to carry this. The
additional names in the tomb add interest to the story.
James Tabor
Copyright 1996 Caledonian Newspapers Ltd.
The Herald (Glasgow)
April 1, 1996
SECTION: Pg. 5
LENGTH: 667 words
HEADLINE: Church scholar rejects claim that casket is Christ's tomb
BODY:
AN eminent church scholar has dismissed the finding of tomb relics
bearing
the names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as no more than "an interesting
coincidence".
Dr Tom Wright, the Dean of Lichfield, spoke out after experts said they
might have uncovered the tomb in which Christ and his family were laid to
rest.
Nine caskets for bones, known as ossuaries, have been discovered, six of
them marked with significant biblical names.
However, Dr Wright said it was "laughable" that anyone could have tended
the
body of Jesus without it becoming public knowledge.
He said early Christians had been adamant that Christ's body was
resurrected
- and this was the reason the religion survived the centuries.
Dr Wright, a former Oxford don and a member of the Church of England
Doctrine Committee, added: "I have read pretty well everything that has been
written and can see no other explanation other than the body was
resurrected."
The caskets bearing the names were discovered in an Israeli museum
warehouse
- owned by the Israel Antiquities Authority - by the makers of the BBC's
Heart
of the Matter programme.
The caskets bear the names Jesus, son of Joseph, Mary, Joseph, Yehuda son
of
Jesus, Matthew and Mary.
They had all been found in the same tomb but contained no bones because
of
vandalism.
An edition of the programme, called The Body in Question, will be
screened
on Easter Sunday and discuss the impact on Christianity if the bones of
Christ
were ever discovered.
Dr Wright said: "These were very common names at the time and it would be
like someone in 2000 years time claiming to have found the tomb of the royal
family because it contained the names Charles, son of Philip, Andrew and
Diana.
"This is no more than an interesting coincidence."
The curator of the Rockefeller Museum, Mr Joe Zias, said: "I find it very
interesting that we have the combination of names. This thing definitely, I
think, is worth some further research."
Heart of the Matter presenter Joan Bakewell said: "The names of Jesus,
Joseph and Mary are luminous with meaning for anyone brought up in the
Christian
tradition. Our find will renew the debate of the resurrection and deepen the
mystery surrounding Easter."
The Associated Press
The materials in the AP file were compiled by The Associated Press. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Associated Press.
April 1, 1996, Monday, AM cycle
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 254 words
HEADLINE: Caskets Labeled Jesus, Mary and Joseph Probably Coincidence
BYLINE: By HILARY APPELMAN, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: JERUSALEM
BODY:
Researchers say they have found caskets from a 1st-century tomb near
Jerusalem that bear the names Joseph, Mary and Jesus, son of Joseph. But
archeologists say the find is probably a coincidence.
The oblong limestone caskets, which contained no bones, were excavated in
1980 from a building site near Jerusalem. They were rediscovered two weeks
ago
by researchers for a television program, and found to have come from the same
tomb.
"There is no proof that these belonged to the Holy Family, but the
combination of names is interesting," said Ray Bruce, director of the
independent television company CCTV, which produces "Heart of the Matter" for
the British Broadcasting Corp.
But Israel's Antiquities Authority and other archeologists dismissed the
find
as a coincidence, saying the names Joseph, Mary and Yehoshua - or Jesus -
were
common in the 1st century.
"They're all very common, perhaps the most common names," said biblical
scholar Father Murphy O'Connor. "It would be a statistical abnormality if you
didn't find them in conjunction at some point."
O'Connor said scholars believe Joseph probably was buried in the Galilee,
in
what is now northern Israel. Mary is believed to be buried in Jerusalem. The
Bible holds that Jesus' body was taken to heaven.
"Archeological evidence shows that chances of these being the actual
burials
of the Holy Family are almost nil," said Motti Neiger, a spokesman for the
Antiquities Authority.
The BBC planned to broadcast the findings on April 7, Easter Sunday.
Copyright 1996 The Irish Times
The Irish Times
April 1, 1996, CITY EDITION
SECTION: WORLD NEWS; Pg. 13
LENGTH: 507 words
HEADLINE: Holy Family tomb find discounted
BYLINE: --(PA)
BODY:
AN EMINENT church scholar yesterday dismissed the finding of tomb relics
bearing the names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as no more than "an interesting
coincidence". Dr Tom Wright, the Dean of Lichfield, spoke out after experts
said
they might have uncovered the tomb in which Christ and his family were laid
to
rest.
Nine caskets for bones, known as ossuaries, have been discovered, six of
them
marked with significant biblical names including those of the Holy Family.
But
Dr Wright said it was "laughable" that anyone could have tended the body of
Jesus without it becoming public knowledge.
He said early Christians had been adamant that Christ's body was
resurrected,
and this was the reason the religion had survived.
Dr Wright, a former Oxford don and a member of the Church of England
Doctrine
Committee, added: "I have read pretty well everything that has been written
and
can see no other explanation other than the body was resurrected."
The caskets bearing the names were discovered in an Israeli museum
warehouse
- owned by the Israel Antiquities Authority - by the makers of the BBC's
Heart
of the Matter programme. The caskets bear the names Jesus, son of Joseph,
Mary,
Joseph, Yehuda, son of Jesus, Matthew and Mary. They had all been found in
the
same tomb but contained no bones because of vandalism.
An edition of the programme called The Body in Question, will be screened
on
Easter Sunday and discusses the impact on Christianity if the bones of Christ
were ever discovered.
Ten ossuaries marked with the name of Jesus have been found in and around
Jerusalem.
Mr Amos Kloner of the Israel Antiquities Authority said: "I would not say
that it deserves a special interest other than the chance of the appearance
of
the names ... I can't say a possibility that it is the tomb of the Holy
Family
does not exist at all, but I think such a possibility is very close to zero."
But the curator of the Rockefeller Museum, Mr Joe Zias, said: "Had this
not
been found in a tomb, I would have said, 100 per cent, that what we're
looking
at are simple forgeries. I find it very interesting that we have the
combination
of names. This thing definitely, I think, is worth some further research."
Copyright 1996 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
April 3, 1996, Wednesday, FIRST EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6A
LENGTH: 382 words
HEADLINE: Coffin in Israel is not that of Jesus' family, experts say
BYLINE: Abraham Rabinovich; Special for USA TODAY
DATELINE: JERUSALEM
BODY:
JERUSALEM -- Israeli archaeologists on Tuesday disputed sensational
claims that stone boxes found in Jerusalem once held the bones
of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
"It's a nice news story for Easter," said Israel Antiquities
Authority spokesman Motti Neiger. "But the archaeological evidence
shows that chances of these being the actual burials of the Holy
Family are almost nil."
A British Broadcasting Corp. producer recently discovered the
boxes inscribed with the names "Jesus," "Mary" and "Joseph"
in a government warehouse of archaeological finds.
Hundreds of excited journalists, archaeologists and tourists have
converged on a dusty and airless basement of the Israel Antiquities
Authority for a glimpse.
"This could be a sign from above," said tourist Regina Murphy
of Oklahoma City, 51. She blessed herself as she saw the relics.
"This find is as important as the shroud of Jesus."
The engraving on one side of a mud-encrusted box appears to read
"Yeshua bar Yehosef," or Jesus son of Joseph, in Aramaic.
But it's barely legible, so the antiquities authority said it
was never sure what it had when it removed the box from an East
Jerusalem plot in 1980.
In keeping with Israeli law, the bones were turned over to rabbis,
who gave them a Jewish burial nearly 15 years ago. No one knows
where the bones are buried. And the archaeologist who found the
boxes is dead.
According to the Bible, Jesus ascended physically into heaven.
Biblical historians say Mary was buried in Gethsemane, a mile
from where the boxes were found, and her husband, Joseph, was
buried in Galilee. Biblical scholars also note that nearly one in four
women at the
time was named Mary. And at least 10 urns bearing the name Jesus
in Hebrew or Greek have been found in recent years.
"What we have is a tomb containing the remains of three generations
of a nice Jerusalem family," said Israeli archaeologist L.Y.
Rahmanim, who has cataloged more than 1,000 urns. "It's absurd
to think that the urn will cast doubt on Christianity."
But that's not stopping the BBC.
"If the burial caskets contain the remains of Christ and his
family, they would cast doubt on the Christian belief central
to Easter, the Resurrection," the BBC will report Sunday.