The James Ossuary

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that an ossuary is a bone box, which is often used for the purposes of reburial; the James Ossuary, which was found in 2002, bore the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus". The author points out that, from the beginning, there was a great deal of controversy surrounding the discovery of this particular ossuary especially the fact that the James ossuary was not found by qualified archaeologists. The paper concludes that, while it was from the first century, the inscription on the ossuary was a forgery.

From the Paper:

"The author [of "Jesus and the Ossuaries"] explains that, since the James ossuary was not found by archaeologists in a properly controlled environment and because of the historic inscription that it bore, there was a great deal of skepticism surrounding its authenticity. The author asserts that initially examinations of the ossuary by epigraphers, geologists, linguists and paleographers, found that the ossuary itself was probably an authentic first century artifact. In addition, they concluded that the inscription was also first century Aramaic."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Altman R. I. Official Report on the James Ossuary. 2000. 1 Apr. 2006 <http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Official_Report.htm>
• Evans, Craig A. Jesus and the Ossuaries. Waco, TX: Evans University Press, 2003.
• "Israeli Authorities Indict Ossuary Owner." The Christian Century 25 Jan. 2005: 15.
• "Ossuary Script 'Fake, ' Say Israeli Experts." The Christian Century 12 July 2003: 14.

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• Persuasive Essay # 106203 : "The Historical Biblical James"
• Term Paper # 127898 : "Questions from "Excavating Jesus"

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