Video: What scientists learned about Jesus Christ when they deciphered the texts on the famous Nazareth tombstone
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The "Tablet of Nazareth" is a marble tombstone with an inscription in Greek which states that "death to anyone who loots or otherwise violates the tomb." According to research by scientists, this tablet dates from the beginning of the first century AD. For a long time, this artifact was considered the tombstone of the tomb of Jesus Christ. Recently, historians have stated that the famous "tablet from Nazareth" has absolutely nothing to do with the Messiah.
The University of Oklahoma historian of ancient Rome, Kyle Harper, assembled a team of scientists to study the tablet. He hoped to find out more about her likely origins. After all, the life and death of Jesus Christ for centuries excites the minds of not only believing Christians, but also militant atheists.
Some are trying to prove that everything was exactly as written in the Bible. Others, on the contrary, go out of their way to prove that all these are fables and none of this happened. Moreover, the latter are ready to give in and agree that there was such a person - Jesus. They only deny all his miracles and divine origin. Without realizing it, absolutely all these people are driven by one fierce desire - the thirst for knowledge.
In fact, the common goal is very good and noble. After all, they say the truth: live and learn. The author of the original phrase is Lucius Annei Seneca, and it actually sounds like this: "Live forever - learn how to live." In relation to the study of the life and death of Christ, this expression takes on a particularly profound meaning.
The researchers carried out a thorough isotopic analysis of a piece of marble on the back of the "Nazareth tablet." They found that the stone was not of the type that would be found in the Middle East. It was very similar to the stone found on the island of Kos in Greece. The results of this analysis, combined with the style of the letters that make up the inscription, suggest that it is highly unlikely that the tablet is of Nazareth origin.
Firstly, in those ancient times, the stone was very rarely delivered so far. Secondly, the period during which the quarries operated on Kos does not correspond to the time of the life and death of Jesus Christ. The stone could have been mined no later than the middle of the first century BC, that is, one hundred years before the coming of the Messiah.
In light of this, it was suggested that the tablet may have a completely different context from the already established one. First, there is no specific indication of a person or place in the inscriptions. Second, the style of the Greek alphabet suggests that the tablet is about 2,000 years old, but the particular dialect of the language used was not usually spoken outside of Greece and Turkey. Therefore, its use in the Middle East is very unlikely.
Scientists have every reason to believe that the tablet is directly related to a Greek tyrant named Nikias, who ruled the island in the thirties of the first century BC. He was so unpopular that the inhabitants of the island of Kos pulled his body out of the grave and scattered his bones. This caused a terrible scandal at the time and Emperor Augustus (the first Roman emperor) may have ordered this tombstone to be made to restore order in the region.
Also, historians think that Augustus considered the issuance of such a decree politically expedient for completely different reasons. Desecration of graves is, of course, outrageous, but this was not a unique act. Often in those days there were outrages over the burial places of corrupt rulers.
In addition, Augustus cannot be called a great admirer of Nikias, for he supported not him, but Mark Antony. So far, this is all just guesswork, but scientists are very active. They are now working to establish the exact date of the tablet's creation. This is the first and most important stage. Then the researchers plan to conduct a thorough analysis of the language used, compare it with other inscriptions from the islands of Kos and Nazareth. After all, the tablet could have ended up in Nazareth as a trade item.
Researchers believe that the plate was acquired by the famous collector Wilhelm Fraener from an unknown merchant in 1878. He kept it until his death. After that, the tablet ended up in the Paris National Library. They noticed that she was brought from Nazareth. The tablet was considered, therefore, directly related to Jesus Christ. Scientists have suggested that the text on it was an excerpt from the decree of the Emperor Claudius.
According to this version of events, the emperor was told about the resurrection of Christ. The Jewish high priests did their best to convince Claudius that the body was in fact simply stolen by Jesus' disciples. To avoid such stories in the future, the Roman emperor allegedly issued a corresponding decree.
Despite all versions of events and assumptions of scientists, work on unraveling the inscriptions on the "tablet from Nazareth" is still underway. So this mystery has yet to be solved. The most important thing is that it doesn't really matter whether this tablet has anything to do with Jesus of Nazareth or not. Scientists do not deny that such a person actually existed. The tablet does not add anything new to the history of the Messiah. But faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is a personal matter for everyone.
Read about other unique ancient artifacts in our article 10 recently discovered ancient manuscripts and secret codes that forced to rewrite history.
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