Jesus and the Remains of His Day: Studies in Jesus and the Evidence of Material Culture
Overview
This book is a collection of thirteen articles on various aspects of how archaeological evidence enlightens our understanding of the life and death of Jesus and the culture in which he lived. Nine of the book’s thirteen essays were published previously, though several of these have been revised or augmented for inclusion in the present book; four of the book’s essays are new. Several of the essays deal with the death of Jesus and the burial practices of his day.
The book’s introduction explains the value of material culture (i.e., archaeological evidence) for interpreting Jesus and the Gospels and discusses the limits of such evidence. Also, the author is including several of his own photos in this book.
- Explores how archaeological evidence enlightens our understanding of the life and death of Jesus
- Explains the value of material culture for interpreting Jesus and the Gospels
- Focuses on the death of Jesus and the burial practices of his day
- Introduction
- A Tale of Two Cities: What We Have Learned from Bethsaida and Magdala
- A Boat, a House, and an Ossuary: What Can We Learn from the Artifacts?
- Excavating Caiaphas, Pilate, and Simon of Cyrene: Assessing the Literary and Archaeological Evidence
- “Have You Never Read?”: Jesus and Literacy
- Shout at the Devil: Jesus and Psalm 91 in the Light of Early Jewish Interpretation
- “Hang Him on a Tree until Dead”: Hanging and Crucifixion in Second Temple Israel
- The Family Buried Together Stays Together: On the Burial of the Executed in Family Tombs
- Death Becomes Him: On the Execution and Burial of Jesus
- Keeping Up Appearances: The Talpiot Tomb Façade in Context
- The Talking Dead: Postmortem Beliefs in Pagan, Jewish, and Christian Epitaphs
This is a splendid collection of state-of-the-question essays. On topic after topic having to do with archaeology and the historical Jesus, Evans shows himself to be not only exceedingly well informed but also judicious. This book has much to teach all of us.
—Dale C. Allison, Jr., Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary
Craig Evans offers here an exciting collection of essays written over the last twenty years. He integrates at a deep level his maturing reflections about the history of Jesus and the findings of recent archaeology. The thorough scholarship in each chapter is truly impressive. For anyone interested in the interchange between biblical scholars and archaeologists, this is a must read. Evans has produced a real gem, truly a book that will benefit all students of Jesus in his first-century world.
—Douglas E. Oakman, Professor of New Testament, Pacific Lutheran University
In this book, Craig Evans exposes the misuse of archaeology involved in some sensational claims about Jesus and early Christianity. Even more importantly, he shows that archaeology properly used has much to contribute to a realistic understanding of Jesus and his movement. Evans demonstrates a rare mastery of the primary sources, and his judgments even on very controversial issues are fair and balanced. He convincingly shows that the canonical Gospels, although confessing Jesus as the Son of God, nevertheless depict him as a down-to-earth first-century Jew.
—Rainer Riesner, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, University of Dortmund, Germany
- Title: Jesus and the Remains of His Day: Studies in Jesus and the Evidence of Material Culture
- Author: Craig A. Evans
- Publisher: Hendrickson
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Pages: 360
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Resource ID: LLS:JSSRMNSMTRLCLTR
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2020-08-03T18:23:14Z
Craig A. Evans earned his PhD in biblical studies at Claremont Graduate University and received his decretum habilitationis from Budapest. He is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament; Acadia Divinity College Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada; John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins (Houston Theological Seminary); a New Testament scholar; and a prolific author and popular teacher/speaker.
Evans is well-known for his work on the Gospels, the Historical Jesus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the archaeology of the New Testament. His passion for archaeology has him frequently participating in Middle East digs and leading Holy Land tours. He has regularly appeared in television and radio interviews, such as the History Channel, BBC, and Dateline NBC, served as a consultant on the National Geographic Society's Gospel of Judas project and for The Bible television miniseries, and is featured in documentaries like Fragments of Truth and the Archaeology and Jesus series.
He's written hundreds of articles and reviews and published more than 70 books, including Jesus and His Contemporaries, Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies, Mark in the Word Biblical Commentary, Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels, God Speaks, and Jesus and the Remains of His Days: Studies in Jesus and Archaeology. He coauthored Jesus, the Final Days with N. T. Wright.