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Article: Who's who in Jesus' family. (What Does The Ossuary Tell Us?).
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- May 3, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE STONE BOX that possibly held the skeletal remains of James the brother of Jesus has continued to come under critical scrutiny. Should the church and scholars take seriously this item of unknown origin sold to an antiquities collector? Did one hand or two scratch the Aramaic inscription on the limestone ossuary? Does the inscribed phrase "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" really narrow the box to the Holy Family?
A new book, The Brother of Jesus (HarperSanFrancisco), offers a helpful account of the archaeological debate, coming down on the side of the relic's authenticity. Coauthor Hershel Shanks, editor of the popular Biblical Archaeology Review, wrote ...