Jesus/Historical Jesus

By: BAS Staff

Read the 114 sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas as translated by Stephen J. Patterson and James M. Robinson.

By: BAS Staff

The Bethesda Pool, where Jesus heals the paralytic man in the Gospel of John, is a complex site. It appears to have been a mikveh, or ritual bath.

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Was Joseph Jesus’ biological father? If not, who was Jesus’ biological father? Andrew Lincoln examines what early Christians thought about conception and explains how views about this subject have changed over time.

By: James Tabor

James Tabor discusses the wedding at Cana from the Gospels of Mark and John. Whose wedding was this and why were Jesus and his family present?

By: Megan Sauter

 When did December 25 become the date for Christmas? In the Winter 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, T.C. Schmidt argues for an early […]

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Read letters published in the Q&C section of BAR debating the dates of Herod’s death, Jesus’ birth and to which lunar eclipse Josephus was referring.

By: BAS Staff

During the fourth century, when Christianity went from a persecuted minority to a state-sponsored religion, several monumental churches were built across Roman Palestine to commemorate […]

By: Andrew McGowan

Theological scholar Andrew McGowan examines how December 25 came to be associated with the birthday of Jesus and became Christmas, a holiday celebrated by Christians around the world.

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

Did Jesus of Nazareth, “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), really exist? What’s the evidence outside of the Bible? Classical and Jewish writings from the first several centuries C.E. give us a glimpse of the person who would become the central figure in Christianity mere decades after his crucifixion.

By: BAS Staff

A lost Syriac manuscript, the Revelation of the Magi, translated into English by Bible scholar Brent Landau, may help answer that key question from the Christmas story: “Who were the magi?”