Jesus and the Ossuaries: What Jewish Burial Practices Reveal about the Beginning of Christianity

Abstract

Jesus and the Ossuaries: What Burial Practices Reveal about the Beginning of Christianity, by Craig A. Evans. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2003. Pp. 168. $19.95. The discussion about the alleged James ossuary continues, even though the case against its authenticity seems to be quite clear. Nevertheless, the question about the relevance of early ossuaries and their inscriptions for our understanding of first-century Christianity and its writings is still open. In his new book, Craig A. Evans examines exactly this issue. After a survey of scholarly sources and some terminological clarifications Evans summarizes the importance of this enterprise for biblical exegesis. Several passages of the NT mention tombs, speak about burial practices, or presuppose that their readers are acquainted with them (see, e.g., Matt 23:27, 29; Matt 8:22 par Luke 9:60; Mark 6:29; John 11; Matt 27:51-53). Chapter 1 is entitled Jewish Burial Practices in Late Antiquity. Evans starts with Mark 5, the story about the man with an unclean spirit living day and night among the tombs. He asks what kind of necropolis ancient readers of this text would have imagined. In this context he discusses briefly several well-known tombs from Israel in late antiquity. He points to the fact that Jews, unlike their pagan neighbors, did not practice cremation. Moreover, they buried their dead, later gathering the bones and placing them in containers set aside for this purpose. This practice is called ossilegium, or secondary burial. Traces of it possibly go back to very early times, as evidence from the OT seems to reveal (e.g., 2 Sam 21:13-14; Gen 25:8, 17; 2 Kgs 22:20). Evans writes: One of the interesting features of ossilegium is that it likely reflects the belief that the dead are still with the living and, perhaps, still able to be of some influence. In other words, the dead are not completely dead, but are diminished and weakened. . . . They mutter as shades (Isa 8:19; 29:4) and feel worms gnawing at them (Job 14:22; Isa 66:24). . . . The idea that some life still lingers in the bones of the deceased may help us understand better Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones (Ezek 37), bones that are still capable of returning to a full life. (p. 28) Quite surprisingly, ch. 2 turns to several inscriptions that do not have much to do with burial practices (e.g., the Temple Warning Inscription; Caesar's Edict against Grave Robbery; the Theodotos Synagogue Inscription; the Seat of Moses Inscription, the Pilate Inscription). Of course, these examples are quite interesting for our understanding of first-century history in general, even though they do not really touch on the main question of the book. In chs. 3 and 4 Evans tries to illuminate several NT themes (e.g., titles and rank, professions and trades, philosophical and religious themes) and names with the help of burial inscriptions. Evans here mainly lists examples and points to the critical editions of the texts. When, for example, he discusses the word scribe, he writes: On Ossuaries we have 'Yehuda the scribe' (CIJ no. 1308) and, from Jerusalem, 'Yehuda, son of Eleazar the scribe' (Klein 1920, no. 19) and 'Joseph, son of Hananya the scribe' (Sussman 1994, 228; Rahmani 1994a, no 893). …