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Friday, July 18, 2014

Shanks on the GJW and the Jehoash inscription

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: First Person: Gold from the Temple? Hershel Shanks’s First Person in the July/August 2014 issue of BAR. Mr. Shanks notes Leo Depuydt's response to the Gospel of Jesus' Wife and then he (Shanks) comments on the authenticity of the Jehoash (Joash) Inscription, adding some additional information about the gold globules on it.

I have commented unfavorably on some of Depuydt's statements, but I'm not sure what the point was of quoting him in this essay. All he seems to be saying is that the papyrological evidence alone suffices to show that the text is a modern fake (albeit, using ancient materials). Given the recent advances in the discussion by Christian Askeland and Stephen Emmel,* that sounds about right to me. Although if Hershel is implying that the material tests ought to be applied nevertheless, I agree with him.

*I just discovered that my post of 23 June (linking to Alin Suciu's blog post about Stephen Emmel's new observations) apparently did not publish correctly. But it's there now, so go have a look at it. And further background on the GJW is here and links.