The Temple, Aramaic Epigraphy and the Historical Jesus

In “The Temple, Aramaic Epigraphy and the Historical Jesus,” Bruce Chilton of Bard College explains how these three separate fields of study can be combined to understand better the Jewish context of Jesus’ life and teaching. Chilton dismisses the notion that Jesus was simply pro-prophecy and anti-ritual, examining numerous analogies in Christian and Rabbinic literature. Using Aramaic inscriptional evidence, especially from first-century Judea and Galilee, Chilton sheds light on the language Jesus spoke and how it relates to the cleansing of the Temple described in the Gospels.