Reflections of an Epigrapher on Talpiyot Tombs A and B: A Detailed Response to the Claims of Professor James Tabor and Filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (Christopher A. Rollston);
Jodi Magness responds to the “New Jesus Discovery”;
On ‘Absalom’s Tomb’ in Jerusalem and Nephesh Monument Iconography: A Response to Jacobovici and Tabor by Robert Cargill.
Bottom line: the specialists find their theories sensationalist and unpersuasive.
Happily, the mainstream media is taking some notice of the specialist response:
Alan Boyle, Cosmic Log (MSNBC): Doubts about 'the Jesus Discovery'.
Michael Gordon, Professor's discovery resurrects debate over 'Jesus tomb' (Kansas City Star/McClatchy Newspapers):
Most of Tabor's peers dismissed his "Jesus Tomb" hypothesis, saying it lacked proof.Adrian Blomfield in the Telegraph also sounds a note of skepticism: Christ's disciples' remains 'discovered':
That said, John Dominic Crossan, an expert in first century Christianity and professor emeritus at DePaul University in Chicago, called Tabor's latest find "a stunning discovery," which he hopes doesn't get diminished by renewed debate over the "Jesus Tomb."
"As a scholar, I really don't want to get lost in saying, 'Oh come on, it's off the wall,'" Crossan told MSNBC. "Yeah, it's off the wall, but look at the wall!"
The research, and the stories behind it, are included in Tabor's and Jacobovici's new book, "The Jesus Discovery." A documentary will follow this spring.
Duke University archaeologist Eric Meyers lacerated Tabor's claims Tuesday on a blog for the American Schools of Oriental Research. He called Tabor's book sensationalistic, predicting it may end up "on a long list of presentations that misuse not only the Bible but also archaeology."
He even questioned Tabor's central image, the whale, saying it may instead be a nephesh, a common symbol found on first century tombs.
Tabor's response: "Ridiculous."
But the Israeli archaeologists who discovered the ossuaries dismissed Mr Jacobovic's conclusions as nonsense, saying such names were common at the time.But many other mainstream media articles just report the story without taking note of the critical evaluation by scholars.
Biblical scholars have also pointed out that, as a Galilean, Christ would not have been buried in Jerusalem, particularly not in a tomb that suggested considerable wealth given His humble origins.
Israeli archaeologists, who jokingly refer to Mr Jacobovic as "Indiana Jones", point out that he is a film maker with no academic qualifications beyond a bachelor's degree and say he has "cherry-picked" findings from experts on his team to create the flimsiest of cases.
"His Jesus theory is conjecture built upon deception built upon wilful misinterpretation in order to spin a moneymaking yarn and garner publicity," said one archaeologist who asked not to be identified in order not to link his name to the claims
Also, Tom Verenna has a Roundup of Biblioblogger Comments on the New Jacobovici Claims as of yesterday. I'm sure there will be more coming.
Two observations. First, as the scholarly commentators have already said, the technology used to get at Tomb B is really cool and the tomb itself is not unimportant. No one has been convinced that it contains earthshattering discoveries, but there are new data that will contribute a little to our knowledge of first-century Judea and that is all to the good. There is a real story here and it's too bad that it is being overshadowed by sensationalist claims that specialists find unconvincing.
Second, for a change the scholarly response has been swift and well organized, and the media seem to be taking some notice of it. Earlier stories such as the fake metal codices seem to have helped us set up lines of communication among ourselves and with the media, and this is also all to the good. Well done!
It will be interesting to see if other major media take any notice of the ASOR blog.
UPDATE: Another post on the ASOR blog: Prof. Robin Jensen Refutes Any Claim that She Concurs with the Interpretation in “The Jesus Discovery.”
UPDATE: James McGrath: Is the New Testament Evidence Compatible with Jesus having been Buried in Talpiot?. He thinks not. The post also has a list of the latest blog posts on The Jesus Discovery-related matters.