CRAIG A. EVANS is the Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the author or editor of more that 30 books on the New Testament and its Jewish backgrounds. His recent publications include Who Was Jesus? (2001) and The Missing Jesus: Rabbinic Judaism and the New Testament (2003).

Jesus and the Ossuaries

By Craig A. Evans

Baylor University Press

Copyright © 2003 Baylor University Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-918954-88-6

Contents

Preface..........................................................................ixIntroduction.....................................................................11 Jewish Burial Practices in Late Antiquity......................................172 Inscriptions-Non-Burial........................................................313 Burial Inscriptions-Themes.....................................................534 Burial Inscriptions-Names......................................................675 Significant Ossuaries for Research in the Historical Jesus.....................916 Conclusion.....................................................................123Abbreviations....................................................................125Bibliography.....................................................................131Index of Biblical Literature.....................................................159Index of Modern Writers..........................................................165

Chapter One

Jewish Burial Practices in Late Antiquity

In what must be one of the eeriest stories narrated in the New Testament Gospels, we are told that when Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Kinneret Lake) and entered the country of the Gerasenes, "there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs," a man no one was able to subdue, a man who "night and day among the tombs" was "crying out, and bruising himself with stones" (Mark 5:1-5). The tombs, among which this tormented man lived, formed in all probability a necropolis (Greek: [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]), or a "city of the dead." According to Jewish beliefs, a necropolis was the favorite haunt, not just for the spirits of the departed, but for the far more dangerous spirits, the evil spirits that could, it was believed, take possession of people (cf. Jub. 22:17; LXX Isa 65:3-4; b. Ber. 18b). The man described in this story was such a man.

Readers and hearers of this story in late antiquity would readily imagine a necropolis, which oftentimes resembled a miniature city. Tombs, monuments, and mausolea were designed to resemble small houses and temples, complete with windows, doors, pillars, and gabled or vaulted roofs (for survey, see Kurtz and Boardman 1971; Fedak 1990). Sometimes grave robbers broke into these buildings. It is easy to imagine the tormented man living among, and perhaps even inside, these tombs and monuments, his only companions restless spirits.

Notable Tombs in Israel in Late Antiquity

The sepulture in the story narrated in Mark 5 is not described; it is merely an assumed part of the backdrop of the story. But the remains of many tombs and monuments are visible today, some in remarkably good condition (Avigad 1950-1951; Rahmani 1961). It is estimated that the necropolis surrounding Jerusalem (north, east, and south of the city) is made up of some 800 tombs. Several impressive tombs and mausolea line the Kidron Valley (Yamauchi 1985), at the base of the Mount of Olives, opposite the eastern side of the Temple Mount (The Mount of Olives has yielded a rich harvest of ossuaries; see Allegretti 1982; Puech 1982). As one walks down the valley one can view the so-called Tomb (or Pillar) of Absalom, an unusual mausoleum that dates to the first century C.E. and stands some twenty meters, eclectically ornamented with Ionic columns, a Doric frieze, and an Egyptian cornice. The structure is crowned with a concave conical roof, its most distinctive feature. It gains the name "Pillar of Absalom" from 2 Samuel 18:18: "Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar, which is in the King's Valley, for he said, 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance'; he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called 'Absalom's pillar' to this day." Next, one encounters the Tomb of the Sons of Hezir, a priestly family, whose entrance is adorned with two Doric columns and which dates to the first century B.C.E. After that comes the so-called Tomb of Zechariah, with its Ionic pilasters and pyramid roof. The tomb is covered with small, neatly incised Hebrew inscriptions, and probably dates to the first century B.C.E. And finally, one comes to the Cave of Jehoshaphat, a tomb with eight chambers and whose entrance is supported by two square pillars. These tombs and others were whitewashed annually, usually just prior to major holidays, such as Passover.

Elsewhere in Jerusalem we find the tomb of Queen Helene (or Helena) of Adiabene, daughter of Izates the proselyte (Josephus, J.W. 5.4.2 147). (The tomb is also called, mistakenly, the Tombs of the Kings.) It is by far the largest and most impressive tomb in Jerusalem. A staircase leads down through an arch and into an expansive garden area. The broad opening included a facade twenty-seven meters wide, supported by two large pillars. The queen and two members of her family were interred in this tomb some time after 50 C.E. When excavated the tomb contained several decorated sarcophagi. On one of them were inscribed the words [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("Queen Saddan"). According to Josephus (Ant. 20.3.5 95), her tomb was adorned with three pyramids (though the location of these pyramids and their relation to Helene's tomb are disputed), possibly one for herself and one for each of her two sons. Supposedly F. de Saulcy in 1865 entered the tomb and found an inscription in Aramaic or Palmyrene that included the title and name "Helene the Queen." There is no trace of this inscription today (Rahmani 1994d).

The Tomb of Nicanor was discovered on Mount Scopus in 1902. This large tomb, dating to the first century C.E. and possessing four branches of burial chambers, contained several decorated ossuaries, including an important inscription (see discussion in chapter 5). The Cave of Umm el-'Amed (named after the wadi in which it is located) was decorated with a facade and possessed two chambers with burial niches. The so-called Sanhedrin Tombs boast a beautiful gabled facade, large central hall, several burial chambers, with staircases leading to various levels (Jotham-Rothschild 1952). Not far from this complex is the so-called Tomb of the Grapes, which derives its name from the sculpted grape clusters that adorn the space above the entrance. There is also the Tomb of Herod's Family, discovered in 1892 not far from the modern King David Hotel. The tomb is beautifully decorated and contained several decorated sarcophagi. Its distinctive feature is the large wheel-shaped stone that served as the door to the vault. The Tomb of Jason was discovered in 1956 in Rehavia (or Rehov), Jerusalem, and is supported by a single pillar, instead of the traditional two pillars. Along with a Greek inscription and several Aramaic inscriptions, charcoal drawings of ships were found scrawled on the walls of the crypt. Coins and pottery found in the crypt date the earliest use of the tomb to the beginning of the first century B.C.E., continuing to the beginning of the first century C.E. In the French Hill district of Jerusalem a number of tombs and ossuaries have been found (Geraty 1975; Strange 1975; Kloner 1980).

Perhaps the most interesting narratives concerning tombs in the writings of Josephus involve the tomb of David. The Hasmonean ruler, John Hyrcanus (ruled 134-104 B.C.E.), when besieged by Antiochus VII (ruled ca. 139-129 B.C.E.), looted David's tomb, removing some 3000 talents (of silver?) to pay off the Syrian despot and lift the siege (see Ant. 7.15.3 393; cf. J.W. 1.2.5 61; Ant. 13.8.4 249, where we are told that David "excelled all other kings in riches"). About one century later, Herod the Great, having heard the story of how Hyrcanus had looted David's tomb, decided to enter the tomb himself (Ant. 16.7.1 179-82). Josephus tells us that Herod opened the tomb at night, and entered it, taking precautions that none in the city would know of it. He did not find money, but he did find many valuables, which he removed. He decided to penetrate further into the tomb and even open the sarcophagi of David and Solomon. However, as he and his associates entered the vault, they were met with flame that killed two of Herod's guards. The king fled in terror, later erecting an impressive memorial of white marble at the entrance of the tomb. Josephus goes on to say that it was believed that Herod's domestic troubles and health problems commenced not long after and because of his violation of David's tomb (Ant. 16.7.2 188). David's tomb is specifically mentioned in the New Testament (cf. Acts 2:29, where Peter tells the crowd: "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day").

Josephus also accuses Cleopatra (born in 69 B.C.E., died in 30 B.C.E., and ruled Egypt, more or less, 48-31 B.C.E.), lover and ally of Marc Antony, of grave robbery: "If there were any hopes of getting money, she (Cleopatra) would violate both temples and tombs. Nor was there any holy place that was esteemed the most inviolable, from which she would not fetch the ornaments it had in it; nor any place so profane, but was to suffer the most flagitious treatment possible from him, if it could but contribute somewhat to the covetous humor of this wicked creature" (Ant. 15.4.1 90). This accusation, however, may have arisen from Roman vilification of the wily politician and seductress.

These accounts of violation of royal sepulture provides important contextual insight to a burial plaque, on which is inscribed in Aramaic the name of Uzziah the king. The plaque was discovered in 1931 by Eleazar Sukenik (1931b; 1932b) in the Russian Convent on the Mount of Olives. The stone measures 25 cm x 34 cm and apparently was engraved to commemorate the reburial of the remains of Judah's king from the first temple period (cf. 2 Chr 26:1-23). The epitaph, now housed in the Israel National Museum, reads:

[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]

Hence were brought the bones of Uzziah king of Judah; and do not open! (NEAEHL 2:753)

William F. Albright (1932, 10) speculates plausibly that the bones of Uzziah, originally buried "in the city of David" (2 Kgs 15:7), had to be relocated outside the city, "because he was a leper" (2 Chr 26:23). Eric Meyers (1971, 84) dates the plaque to ca. 50 C.E. and speculates that the bones of Uzziah, the "leper" king (cf. 2 Chr 26:19-23), were moved to the new location, either because his bones were at a later time thought eligible to be included in the "sepulchres of the kings," or because his tomb had been disturbed by recent renovations, such as those ascribed to Agrippa I during 41-44 C.E. (cf. Josephus, J.W. 2.11.6 218). Agrippa's extension of the city wall may have required the relocation of the king's remains. The warning not to open the vault is commonplace in late antiquity.

Albright further remarks that it "is a most interesting illustration of the growing reverence paid to the graves and relics of great men of the past" (1932, 10). One thinks of Jesus' criticism directed against the scribes and Pharisees, "You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous" (Matt 23:29; cf. Luke 11:47-48).

Josephus often mentions tombs and burials in his narratives. He tells us that the monument and tomb of Eleazar the high priest, son of Aaron and colleague of Joshua, are in the city of Gabatha (Ant. 5.1.29 119, probably a corruption of the Hebrew "in Gibeah"; cf. Josh 24:33: "And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son"; Jeremias 1958, 48-49). Josephus also says that Asahel, one of David's soldiers, was buried by his brothers in "the tomb of their fathers" in Bethlehem (Ant. 7.1.3 19; cf. 2 Sam 2:32). He mentions the burial of several of ancient Israel's monarchs (e.g., Rehoboam in Ant. 8.10.4 264: "He was buried in Jerusalem in the tombs of the kings"; Abijah in Ant. 8.11.3 285: "buried in Jerusalem in the tomb of his forefathers"; Josiah in Ant. 10.5.1 77-78: "buried magnificently in the tombs of his fathers ... great was the mourning for him observed by all the people, who bewailed him and grieved for him for many days") and later rulers, such as Hasmoneans (e.g., Aristobulus in J.W. 1.9.1 184; Ant. 14.7.4 124: "His dead body also lay, for a good while, embalmed in honey, until Antony afterwards sent it to Judea, and caused him to be buried in the royal tombs") and Herodians (e.g., Herod's son Aristobulus, whom Herod arranged to have murdered, in Ant. 15.3.4 61: "he made all the more display of lavishness in the burial rites, providing a very fine tomb and a great quantity of perfumes"; Herod the Great in Ant. 17.8.3 196-99: "Herod was borne upon a golden bier studded with precious stones ... followed by five hundred servants carrying spices"; Herod Philip in Ant. 18.4.6 108: "when he was carried to that monument which he had already erected for himself beforehand, he was buried with great pomp"). He mentions also the burial of Jehoiada (or Jodas, according to Josephus) the high priest. Scripture says, "they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done well in Israel and to God and his house" (2 Chr 24:16); but Josephus describes the priest as "an upright man and good in all ways," who "was buried in the royal tombs at Jerusalem because he had restored the kingdom to the line of David" (Ant. 9.8.3 166). According to a variety of sources, including and especially the pseudepigraphal first-century work Lives of the Prophets, there were many tombs and monuments in Israel associated with prophets and other Old Testament worthies (for a study of the subject, see Jeremias 1958).

In 1 Maccabees we are told that the Hasmonean Simon (ruled 142-134 B.C.E.), son of Mattathias and brother of Judas Maccabeus,

built a monument over the tomb of his father and his brothers; he made it high that it might be seen, with polished stone at the front and back. He also erected seven pyramids, opposite one another, for his father and mother and four brothers. And for the pyramids he devised an elaborate setting, erecting about them great columns, and upon the columns he put suits of armor for a permanent memorial, and beside the suits of armor carved ships, so that they could be seen by all who sail the sea. This is the tomb which he built in Modein; it remains to this day. (1 Macc 13:27-30; cf. Josephus, Ant. 13.6.6 211; Jeremias 1958, 49-50)

It was mentioned above that apparently three pyramids adorned the tomb of Queen Helene. Pyramids, of course, are associated with Egypt, but these structures were also built in other parts of the Mediterranean world (e.g., the well-known Pyramid of Cestius, in Rome, dating to the first century B.C.E.; cf. Gordon 1983, 101-2). Roman architecture also influenced building in Israel in late antiquity, and Roman mausolea have been discovered (e.g., at Neapolis, at the foot of Mount Gerizim, not far from Shechem; cf. Dajani 1966; Damati 1972; NEAEHL 4:1358-59), complete with ornamentation and imagery that conservative, Torah-observant Jews would have found offensive.

Some burial vaults have special importance. In describing Roman siege works, encircling Jerusalem, Josephus states the wall ascended from Siloam "over against the tomb of the high priest Ananus" (J.W. 5.12.2 506). This tomb may well have been discovered among the tombs and monuments found in Akeldama (cf. Avni 1993; Ritmeyer and Ritmeyer 1994; Avni, Greenhut, Ilan 1994; Avni and Greenhut 1996). It is palatial in size, design, and ornamentation, and at one time was adorned with an impressive superstructure. The quality of this tomb complex and its location (remnants of the siege wall mentioned by Josephus are nearby) support the identification. Indeed, the very resting place of the former high priest (known in the New Testament as Annas) may also have been discovered.

What is so interesting are the forensic findings with respect to the human remains. Joe Zias (1996) finds evidence of high infant mortality and widespread illness, such as caused from parasites. The skeletal evidence indicates that nearly one half of those interred in this tomb (i.e., forty-eight percent) did not reach adulthood and that several that did suffered from various infirmities, including those caused by parasites, such as tapeworm (as indicated by the calcified cysts that were left behind). Zias (1996, 118; cf. 1992, 79) remarks that "the relative wealth of the families buried here, manifested by tomb architecture and the ossuaries, did not confer any significant health advantages" (see also Goldstein, Arensburg, and Nathan 1981; Zias 1990, where dietary deficiencies are mentioned). It might be mentioned that the forensic evidence from the so-called Caiaphas tomb is similar. This tomb contained the remains of approximately sixty-three persons (looting makes an exact body count impossible). Only one third of these persons reached adulthood and some skeletons exhibited signs of degenerative disease (Zias 1992). The evidence from these two tombs, though admittedly as a sample quite limited in time and place, nevertheless does assist us in better appreciating the healing dimension in Jesus' ministry. If the wealthy, who have access to the best physicians and medicines, were no better off than the inmates of the Akeldama tombs, it is not hard to see why Jesus, who enjoyed the reputation of a healer, drew large crowds, which at times actually interfered with his activities (e.g., Mark 1:28, 32-34, 36-37, 45; 2:1-4; 3:7-12; 4:1). Even the wealthy would likely have sought aid from Jesus, as perhaps in the case of the synagogue official (Mark 5:21-24), or the woman of means who had spent much on doctors (Mark 5:25-26).

(Continues...)

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