April 19, 2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the tragic ending of the Branch Davidian siege by Federal authorities outside Waco, Texas. A press conference and Memorial is being held today as I update this blog post. There is much to say about “What Happened at Waco” and its aftermath,…
In the introduction to this this extended interview with Paul Williams, I update viewers a bit on my activities in April and beyond–including my Zoom meeting on April 30th with students in the Mark course. Paul Williams is the YouTube host of #BloggingTheology, we explore Mark’s view of the figure…
If you want to understand ancient ideas of astral immortality–including Jewish “gnostic” and Kabalistic circles, this exposition on how the earliest Christian astrological iconography developed is essential. Wray argues that the mysterious Migdal synagogue stone is far from just a “Temple” representation, but in fact has astrological meanings…and he has…
In this final segment of my series on Final Days of Jesus over “Holy Week” as the Christian call it, I consider the burial and empty tomb accounts in the Gospels, as well as “sightings” of Jesus. Please access the blog posts that lay out these issues in GREAT detail.…
When I began this blog in 2005 it was called The Jesus Dynasty. Over the years it grew and expanded, to cover much more than the historical Jesus–the the drop down menu “Categories.” The traffic has increased over the years at least 10-fold, with several millions of page views and visits.…
In this video I narrate the last night of Jesus’ life, critically and historically examined. Quite a few surprises. The Crucifixion was on Thursday, not “Good” Friday; Jesus never ate a Passover meal; he never said “eat my body; drink my blood,” and other significant insights. https://youtu.be/ReSBtcaKNh4 For more on…
In this video narrative on the “Last Days of Jesus,” I relate the story of Jesus’s final journey to Jerusalem after spending the winter of the year 29-30 CE across the Jordan in the Wadi Cherith–where Elijah the Prophet once hid from Ahab and Jezebel. Similarly, Jesus withdrew to the…
I hereby offer my loyal readers a challenge–READ and study all of these blog posts during the next eight days. Whether you agree or disagree I think you will learn a lot–and this includes Jews, Christians, or others. It is on this week that the worlds of Judaism and Christianity…
I have been teaching various courses on Christian Origins as well as ancient Mediterranean religions and the emergence of Christianity in its Greco-Roman cultural and religious context for over four decades. The one question I get most often goes something like this: “Dr. Tabor, can you explain Gnosticism–what is it,…
There are all sorts of legends about Jesus between the years of 12 and 30 traveling to Egypt, India, and even the British Isles. However, a knowledge of the history and the geography of his hometown of Nazareth, and recent archaeological excavations at Sepphoris, just 4 miles to the north,…
