The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Family, and the Birth of Christianity“Many scholars have undertaken studies of Jesus and his legacy; none has dared advance the boldly provocative theses of The Jesus Dynasty.” —Bart Ehrman, New York Times–bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus Jesus, as we know, was the son of Mary, a young woman who became pregnant before her marriage to a man named Joseph. The gospels tell us that Jesus had four brothers and two sisters, all of whom probably had a different father than his. He joined a messianic movement begun by his relative John the Baptizer, whom he regarded as his teacher and a great prophet. John and Jesus together filled the roles of the Two Messiahs who were expected at the time John and Jesus preached adherence to the Torah, or the Jewish Law. But their mission was changed dramatically when John was arrested and then killed. After Jesus was crucified by the Romans, his brother James—the “Beloved Disciple”—took over leadership of the Jesus dynasty. James, like John and Jesus before him, didn’t believe that their movement was a new religion. It was Paul who—breaking with James and the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem—preached a message based on his own revelations, which would become Christianity. James Tabor has studied the earliest surviving documents of Christianity for more than thirty years and has participated in important archaeological excavations in Israel. Drawing on this background, Tabor reconstructs for us the movement that sought the spiritual, social, and political redemption of the Jews, a movement led by one family. The Jesus Dynasty offers an alternative version of Christian origins, one that takes us closer than ever to Jesus and his family and followers. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 6 | |
In the Beginning Was the Family | 35 |
A Virgin Shall Conceive | 37 |
A Son of David? | 48 |
An Unnamed Father of Jesus? | 59 |
Children of a Different Father | 73 |
Growing Up Jewish in Galilee | 83 |
Ushering in the Kingdom | 153 |
Herod Strikes | 171 |
Last Days in Jerusalem | 187 |
The King Is Dead | 208 |
Dead but Twice Buried | 223 |
Go to James the Just | 243 |
The Challenge of Paul | 259 |
The Legacy of the Jesus Dynasty | 272 |
The Lost Years | 85 |
A Kingdom of this World | 95 |
The Religion of Jesus the Jew | 109 |
A Great Revival and a Gathering Storm | 123 |
Hearing the Voice | 125 |
A Crucial Missing Year | 138 |
The End of the Age | 284 |
Recovering Lost Treasures | 305 |
Timeline of Major Events and Figures | 319 |
Acknowledgments | 345 |
Photo Credits | 365 |
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The Jesus Dynasty: Stunning New Evidence about the Hidden History of Jesus James D. Tabor No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
1st century a.d. 1st-century Acts ancient Apostles archaeological began birth bones brother of Jesus burial called cave Christ Clophas crowds crucified crucifixion David Dead Sea Scrolls death Didache disciples early Christian emperor Essenes Eusebius Church History evidence excavation faith father followers Galatians Galilee Gentiles Gibson God’s gospel of John Greek heaven Herod Antipas historical holy inscription Isaiah Israel James Ossuary Jerusalem Jesus dynasty Jewish Jews John the Baptizer John’s Jordan Jordan River Joseph Josephus Judaism Judas Jude Judea King Kingdom later lineage lived Luke’s Mark Mary Magdalene Mary’s meal Messiah mother Mount of Olives movement Nazarenes Nazareth Old City Palestine Pantera Passover Paul Paul’s Peter Pharisees Pilate preaching priestly priests Q source refers Revolt Roman Rome royal rule says scholars Sepphoris Shroud Simon story Talpiot tomb teachings Temple Testament gospels things tion Torah tradition tribe Vespasian village Yahweh Zechariah