Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 149:594 (Apr 1992)
Article: Periodical Reviews
Author: Anonymous

BSac 149:594 (Apr 92) p. 236

Periodical Reviews

“Discovery of the Caiaphas Family Tomb,” Zvi Greenhut, and “Ossuary Inscriptions from the Caiaphas Tomb,” Ronny Reich, Jerusalem Perspective 4 (July-October 1991): 6-11 and 13–21.

“One of the most significant New Testament-related archaeological discoveries ever” was made in Jerusalem in December 1990, according to Jerusalem Perspective. Archaeologist Zvi Greenhut excavated what appears to be the family tomb of Caiaphas, high priest in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.

The tomb, found during construction, is located 1.5 kilometers south of Mount Zion. It contained pottery of the first century A.D. (including a Herodian lamp) and a coin of Herod Agrippa I from the year A.D. 42/43. Also in the tomb were 12 ossuaries (stone boxes for bone deposition), six of which were intact and six broken. There were multiple burials in the ossuaries, and a total of 63 individuals were represented by the remains.

Five ossuaries bore inscriptions, including some common personal names, but some names have never before been found on ossuaries: Caiapha and Joseph bar Caiapha. The latter was one of the most elaborately decorated ossuaries ever found in Palestine. It held partial remains of six individuals, including a male about 60 years of age.

Ronny Reich discusses the etymology of the name Caiaphas and traces its forms in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. He establishes that it was a nickname, found in the New Testament, Josephus, the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud.

In the end, however, nothing in the tomb beyond a family name can surely be tied directly to the high priest mentioned in the Gospels. The closest connection Reich can make is that the inscriptions related “directly or indirectly to one of the priestly families which lived in Jerusalem during the first century C.E.” An editorial introduction is more positive, stating that the bones of the 60-year-old male “are almost certainly the remains of the high priest mentioned in the New Testament.” And David Flusser, in a third article, says “Caiaphas is the most prominent Second Temple period Jewish personality whose ossuary and remains have been discovered.”

Robert D. Ibach, Jr.

BSac 149:594 (Apr 92) p. 237

“‘Faithfully Proclaim the Truth’—An Interview with John F. MacArthur,” R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Preaching 5 (November-December 1991): 2-10.

When a preacher as gifted and successful as John MacArthur talks about preaching, others would do well to listen. But they must listen critically not naively. What comes easily for a gifted preacher will not necessarily come easily for others. What has...