James Ossuary Forgery Case Dropped

The Aramaic inscription on the ossuary

The infamous forgery case surrounding the James ossuary has been dropped. From this article, it would seem that the antiquity of the ossuary itself (which everyone agrees on) as well the inscription has been proven. The famous inscription comes from the first century and reads “Yaqub bar Yahosef achuyi d’Yeshua” (“Jacob ("James"), son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”).

As a side note, the name of the brother of Christ should be translated "Jacob," not "James." This is plain to anyone who knows even a small amount of Aramaic or Greek. The New Testament book should also be translated "Jacob". Why this is not the case I'm not sure. Therefore, I will refer to the brother of Christ as "Jacob," not "James."

In the New Testament period, the burial practices included the collection of the bones into a small bone box (ossuary) after the body decayed. This differs from the Old Testament practice of being "gathered to the fathers," where all the bones of a family would be placed together in a pit inside of the family tomb.

It is interesting that this case was dropped and the inscription on the box seems to be authentic, and indeed, this could refer to the brother of Christ. Jacob was known to remain in Jerusalem, where the ossuary was found, and shepherd the church there in the first century. Furthermore, we know that the Jews only used these bone boxes from around AD20 until the destruction of the temple in AD70. The fact that the ossuary was found in Jerusalem (in Silwan, across the Kidron Valley from the temple mount) means that there high degree of probability that this ossuary contained the bones of Jacob Jesus' brother. Of course, if it were, it would be to the dismay of the Orthodox Armenians who have believed Jacob to be buried in the church of St. James in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. We will never be able to say with certainty that this is the ossuary of James Jesus' brother (though it is highly probable), but it's authenticity would lend credibility to the gospel narratives' first century setting.



Some ossuaries at Dominus Flevit on the Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem.