Page 23 - Holyland Magazing - Catholic Edition 2016

the House of David. In this way the tablet
becomes the only archaeological testimony
in the world to the dynasty of King David.
Much is recounted in the Bible about
King David and his magnificent dynasty.
According to the New Testament, Jesus
himself was a scion of this splendid dynasty.
Yet this inscription is the only archaeological Temple. This famous coin is on display to
remnant of the dynasty outside of the Bible
itself. A few months ago, the President of the
State of Israel, Mr. Reuven Rivlin, met Pope
Francis at the Vatican and presented him
with an exact reproduction of this inscription, foreigner may enter within the balustrade
specially prepared in the laboratories of the
Israel Museum.
Immediately after this, the tour continues
to one of the most exciting exhibits in the
museum's galleries. Metal plates from the
First Temple period on which the Priestly
Blessing appears. The plates were found in
burial caves in Jerusalem, one around the
neck of a woman's skeleton, the other in a
grave. They are dated around 600 BC. This
is in fact the oldest discovery of a biblical
text, from the periods estimated to be
those in which the scriptures were written.
Deciphering the text and opening up the
plates that had been rolled up were delayed
for several years while seeking a technology
that would do this without harming the rare
find. After more than a decade, a team of
scientists succeeded to decipher other parts
of the inscription, using highly advanced
techniques. This text which had already been
used by Jews for more than two thousand
years has also been used by Catholics since
the first centuries of the present era.
The tour allows visitors to take a look at
life in the Temple using original artifacts
from the area which Jesus himself visited.
The courtyards of the Temple thronged
with people at the times of the pilgrimage
festivals: around the Temple, animals and
grains were sold for sacrifices, and monies
were redeemed for tithes. Bronze coins
1 4
1. The ossuary of Yehohanan ben
Hagkol (Jonathan son of Hagakol)
2. No foreigner may enter -
inscription in Greek forbidding
the entrance into Temple
compound
3. To the Trumpeting Place -
Hebrew inscription in stone from
the Temple Mount
4. Ornate ossuary of Yehosef
bar Qayafa (Joseph, son of
Caiaphas), who is mentioned in
the New Testament
were exchanged at money changers for have been found there, with the one in the
a silver half-shekel coin, the contribution gallery being the most magnificent of all. The
every Jew who came on pilgrimage had to full name of the person buried was "Joseph
offer to the Temple, though not before the son of Caiaphas," which appears twice.
money changers in the Temple forecourts The name and the magnificence of the
had charged a fat commission. This enraged decorations support the argument that this
Jesus, who overturned their tables in the was indeed that of Caiaphas, the High Priest
mentioned in the New Testament. Christian
visitors, alongside additional evidence from tourists very frequently come to the Museum
the Temple such as a fragment of a stone just to see this discovery.
tablet with part of an inscription of a warning The second discovery concerns Pontius
in Greek, whose full wording was: “No Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea. The
ancient sources describe him as a cruel,
around the sanctuary and the enclosure.
Whoever is caught, on himself shall he put 2
blame for the death which will ensue.” This
was one of many tablets set up on the barrier 3
that surrounded the Temple and separated
between the area permitted for entry of
gentiles and the area of the Temple itself,
entry to which was permitted only to Jews,
as Josephus described: "And on this barrier
at equal distances apart stand columns
informing of the laws of purity, some in Greek
script and some in Latin, stating that is
forbidden for a gentile to enter the Temple..."
The only evidence in the world of
crucifixion by the Romans
Archaeological finds bearing directly on
known historical characters are particularly
rare. Therefore the uncovering of two
items directly related to people who were
connected with the arrest, trial and
crucifixion of Jesus are an unparalleled and
surprising discovery. The first of the two is
Joseph the son of Caiaphas, the High Priest
in the years 18-36 AD. His principal claim
to fame is his involvement in the arrest of
Jesus, as described in the books of the New
Testament: "And the people who captured
Jesus took him before Caiaphas the High
Priest, where the scribes and elders had
assembled" (Matthew 26: 57). The burial
cave of the Caiaphas family was discovered
in south-east Jerusalem. Twelve caskets
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