Jesus/Historical Jesus

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

What did Jesus look like? In “Painting a Portrait of Jesus,” D. Moody Smith examined the difficulties in answering this question.

By: Jonathan Laden

Emmaus occupies an important place in Bible history. According to the New Testament, it is where Jesus first appeared after resurrection, making himself known to […]

By: Robin Ngo

Where did Jesus turn water into wine? According to archaeologist Tom McCollough, one site offers the most compelling evidence that Cana of Galilee has been found.

By: BAS Staff

From Capernaum to Bethsaida to Jerusalem, the archaeological and historical evidence keeps piling up.

By: Andrew McGowan

Andrew McGowan challenges the tradition that Jesus was a welcoming host at meals.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Was Jesus a Jew? Some people claim that Jesus was a Christian. Some have claimed that he was an Aryan Christian. But in recent decades scholars have been returning to ancient historical settings and discovering the Jewish Jesus.

By: Jonathan Klawans

Many people still assume that Jesus’ Last Supper was a Seder, a ritual meal held in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Passover. In this exclusive Bible History Daily guest post, Boston University Professor of Religion Jonathan Klawans provides an update to his popular Bible Review article questioning this common assumption.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Many assume that Jesus' Last Supper was a Seder, the ritual Passover meal. Examine evidence from the synoptic Gospels with scholar Jonathan Klawans.

By: Marek Dospěl

The Gospels offer a surprisingly excusatory depiction of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea directly responsible for Jesus’ death. While the contemporary sources do not mention Pilate’s fatal involvement with the itinerant rabbi from Galilee, they reveal a governor determined to promote Roman religion in Judea and to ruthlessly suppress any form of dissent.

By: Megan Sauter

What kind of stone sealed the tomb of Jesus? Was it a round (disk-shaped) stone or a square (cork-shaped) stone? While both kinds of blocking stones are attested in Jerusalem tombs from the time of Jesus, square (cork-shaped) stones are much, much more common than round (disk-shaped) ones.