In October 2002, the Biblical Archaeology Society announced a discovery which could provide historical evidence for the existence of Jesus. An inscription had been found on an ancient bone box (ossuary) that reads “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” If authentic, this container provides the only new Testament-era mention of

the central figure of Christianity and is the first-ever archaeological discovery to corroborate biblical references to Jesus. This June, the Discovery Channel followed the story of the unearthing in Israel of this ancient ossuary, providing viewers with new information about the discovery of this historic relic and raising questions about Jesus’ family life.

According to one of the world’s leading specialist in ancient inscriptions, Andre Lemaire of the Sorbonne University in Paris, the Aramaic words etched on the box’s side show a cursive form of writing used only from about 10 to 70 AD. Ancient inscriptions are typically found on royal monuments or on lavish tombs, commemorating rulers and other official figures. But Jesus, who was raised by a carpenter, was a man of the people, so finding documentation of his family is unexpected. The find is also significant in that it corroborates the existence of Joseph, Jesus’ father, and James, Jesus’ brother and a leader of the early Christian church in Jerusalem. The family relationships contained on the ossuary helped experts uncover that the inscription very likely refers to the biblical James, brother of Jesus. Although all three names were common in ancient times, the statistical probability of their appearing in that combination is extremely slim. In addition, the mention of a brother is unusual, indicating that this Jesus must have been a well-known figure.

耶穌的兄弟

2002年10月，圣經考古學會宣布一項發現，可能提供了耶穌確實存在人世的歷史證據。在一個古代的藏骨柜上發現了以下的鐫刻文字：“雅名，約瑟之子，耶穌的兄弟”。如果屬實，這座藏骨柜將是“新約時代”首度提及這位基督世界的中心人物，也是第一個能證實圣經提及之耶穌事跡的考古發現。今年6月，Discovery頻道追蹤了這座古代藏骨棺在以色列的出土過程，提供觀眾有關發現這個歷史遺物的新資訊，也對耶穌的家庭生活提出了新的疑問。

根據世界上首屈一指的碑銘研究家，巴黎索邦大學的李梅爾教授表示，刻在藏骨棺旁邊的阿拉姆文字，是以一種僅在西元10到70年間使用的草寫方式完成的。一般來說，古代銘文常在皇室紀念碑或奢華的陵墓中發現，用來紀念統治者或其他官方人物。但是耶穌生長在木匠之家，屬一介平民，因此能夠發現他家族的文字記載，實在出人意料。這項發現的重要性還在于它證實了耶穌的父親約瑟以及兄弟雅各的存在，雅各也是早期耶路撒冷基督教的領袖。記載于藏骨棺上的家庭關系有助于專家確定，此銘文極可能與圣經中耶穌的兄弟雅各脫不了關系。雖然這三個名字在古時候都很普遍，但統計機率顯示，三個名字同時出現于父子三人組合的機會微乎其微。此外，在銘文中提到某人的兄弟是很不尋常的，此舉表示這位耶穌必然曾是一位知名人物。

關鍵詞

inscription / / n.銘文，碑文

authentic / / adj.真實的，可靠的

corroborate / / v.證實，確認

biblical / / adj.圣經的，圣經中的

reference / / n.提及，涉及

unearthing / / n.發現，出土

etch / / v.蝕刻

typically / /adv.典型地，一般地

commemorate / / v.慶祝，紀念

unexpected / / adj.意外的，突如其來的

significant / / adj.有意義的，重要的

slim / / adj.渺茫的