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,…
This one jumped to #1 on my Youtube Channel in one hour…take a listen. The historical Jesus has been robbed and stripped of his religion as a Jew, his core Messianic ideas, and his reality as a human being–all by Hellenistic theological motifs taking over his movement in the 2nd…
Too long the origins of early Christianity and its development in late Roman antiquity has focused on ancient texts–to the neglect of important material evidence, particularly the considerable numismatic evidence of the period–and its relationship to astrological beliefs. The view arose that one’s fortune or destiny was determined by the…
There is clearly a lot of interest in understanding the apostle Paul in our world today–even after two millennia. Recently I was honored and pleased to be asked to fill in for Bart Ehrman’s popular Podcast on YouTube and other outlets hosted by the fabulous Megan Lewis. That two part…
My on-line mini-course on the Gospel of Mark, which was released on January 12th, is really doing well with lots of rave reviews and great questions and responses by those taking it. It is open to the public, non-credit, but lots of learning at your own pace. This course is…
