The Israel Museum

Here are a couple of cool finds displayed at the Israel Museum. I've been to Jerusalem 5 times and the museum has been under renovation every time until now. So it was great to spend a day there.  The first pic is of the Caiaphas Ossuary. An ossuary is literally a bone box. In the time of the New Testament, wealthy Jews who died would be laid in a rock cut tomb for about a year, then after decomposition, their bones would be put in an ossuary, often with the bones of their ancestors, to be kept for generations. Thus derives the expression, "to rest with your fathers." This ornate box has two inscriptions, "Joseph, son of Caiaphas."  This was the given name of Caiaphas, the high priest who condemned Jesus. Prior to this find, some scholars doubted the historicity of such a person named in the gospels. Inside this box were the bones of a 60 year old man.

The second photo is from a block of limestone that was found at a theater in Caesarea in 1961. The words Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea is clearly seen on the stone. The stone monument was dedicated to the emperor Tiberius, which you can see on the top line. When a person visits Caesarea, they can see a replica of this stone there, but the original is in the Israel museum, just across from the Caiaphas ossuary. Two early historians report that Pilate committed suicide in the first year of the reign of Caligula.

It's ironic that these two enemies of Jesus are so well represented today.