The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & His Family

News of the most important archaeological discovery about Jesus – the inscribed, first-century ossuary of his brother, found near Jerusalem – generated immediate international media. Since its official unveiling in October of 2002, scholars and archaeologists have hotly debated the authenticity of both the ossuary and its inscription.

In response to recent claims challenging the ossuary's authenticity, this updated and revised edition includes:

An all-new Introduction that demonstrates that the ossuary itself dates to the first century and compelling arguments that this really is the box that contained the bones of Jesus' brother James.
An all-new Appendix that includes the Israeli Antiquities Authority report.
Critical responses from Hershel Shanks, Ben Witherington III, André Lemaire, the world-renowned scholar who discovered the ossuary and its inscription, and Ed Keall, Near and Middle Eastern Antiquities expert and curator at the Royal Ontario Museum (where the ossuary was exhibited and subjected to independent testing) to the Israeli Antiquities Authority's conclusion that the inscription is a fake.


Amazon.com Review:

Before lay readers can grasp the significance of this book, they’ll need a little historical reference. In the time of Jesus, the Jews of Jerusalem often buried their dead in tombs. After a year, when the flesh had disintegrated, it was customary to gather the bones and place them in a small limestone chest called an ossuary. Sometimes the name of the deceased would be inscribed onto the outside of the box. Flash forward to the spring of 2002 when Andre Lemaire, a specialist in ancient texts, was asked to read the Aramaic inscription on an ossuary that was owned by a collector in Israel. When Lemaire translated the inscription–"James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus"–he knew he had just stumbled upon an artifact in the same caliber as the lost Ark of the Covenant.

Just as this artifact is now in safe hands, so is the amazing story of its discovery. Co-authors Hershel Shanks (The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls) and Ben Witherington III (The Jesus Quest) are esteemed scholars as well as riveting storytellers. They expertly recount the exciting moments of discovery and the darker moments of despair (at one point the ossuary is improperly shipped and breaks into five pieces). They build a convincing case against its forgery and offer a flourishing finish in which they delve into the life of James, who was a linking force between the Jews and Christian of the first millennium, and could possibly continue that role into the second millennium. –Gail Hudson