Introduction
All Christians and many non-Christians are familiar with the account of Yeshua’s resurrection in the Gospels. In fact, it is one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith, for the 1st Century Disciples, and billions of Christians ever since, it was an affirmation that he was truly the son of God, and that he was the true Messiah who had been granted the power over life and death.
Whilst it is attested by Christians and other scholars that the Gospels are a collective of individually written accounts asserting to the eyewitness sighting of the resurrection of Yeshua, more sceptical minds desire additional evidence outside of these writings to affirm to such a miracle.
Whilst we have seen other potential evidences of Yeshua’s true nature and the truth of the Gospel accounts, such as the historical non-Christian witnesses of the crucifixion darkness, and apparent miraculous signs in skies three days later, there is another potential line of evidence known as the “Nazareth Inscription”.
What is the Nazareth Inscription?
The “Nazareth Inscription” is an ancient 1st Century A.D tablet made out of marble, and was acquired in the year 1878 in the city of Nazareth, Israel by Wilhelm Fröhne.
It is unknown if the item was first uncovered in Nazareth, or if it was simply “discovered” in an antiquities market by Wilhelm, upon which, it is suggested it may have in fact originated elsewhere outside of Nazareth. The exact details of how, when, or where it was originally found are unknown to this day.
The tablet is written in ancient Greek (which many historians have claimed was written poorly, indicating the original author did not speak or write Greek as his native tongue).
Why it’s of Interest to Christians
What has made it an object of interest to Christians over the years, of course, is what is written on the tablet:
- “Edict of Caesar
“It is my decision [concerning] graves and tombs—whoever has made them for the religious observances of parents, or children, or household members—that these remain undisturbed forever. But if anyone legally charges that another person has destroyed, or has in any manner extracted those who have been buried, or has moved with wicked intent those who have been buried to other places, committing a crime against them, or has moved sepulcher-sealing stones, against such a person, I order that a judicial tribunal be created, just as [is done] concerning the gods in human religious observances, even more so will it be obligatory to treat with honour those who have been entombed. You are absolutely not to allow anyone to move [those who have been entombed]. But if [someone does], I wish that [violator] to suffer capital punishment under the title of tomb-breaker”. – Nazareth Inscription
We see above that this was an Imperial edict, or command, sent out by Caesar, that is, the Roman Emperor.
What makes it interesting is that it clearly is a warning being sent out in response to what appears to have been a “grave robbery”, and the moving of “sealing stones”.
Any Christian familiar with the Bible will already be thinking of the account where Yeshua raised from the dead and that the stone sealing his tomb was moved:
- “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards trembled in fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Yeshua, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as he said! Come, see the place where he lay”. – Matthew 28:1-6
It has been suggested that the edict was possibly a response to the rising number of Christians claiming that Yeshua had risen, but that the Romans had merely dismissed the claims and instead presumed that Yeshua’s body had been robbed from his grave in order to trick people into ‘thinking’ he was risen, and thus sent out a warning against the robbing of graves.
Why Did Caesar Write This Edict?
Of course, a big question is; “why would Caesar of Rome be bothered writing an edict in regard to a small group of Jewish upstarts who they deemed to be a bunch of mad men robbing local graves nowhere near the Roman capital?”
There are two possible answers to this question from a Christian perspective:
From a Christian Perspective
One is that such a proclamation may have been causing a political and social stir in Israel. The Romans were already concerned with the activities of the Jewish “Zealots” in Israel, who were plotting against Rome, the last thing they needed were grave robbers trying to make it look like the Jewish Messiah and true King had returned (something which many Jews, including Zealots, had presumed would bring about the fall of Rome, even the Apostles themselves thought this when they questioned Yeshua about the restoring of the Kingdom moments before he ascended at Acts 1:6).
A second reason this rumour may have reached the ears of Caesar can be found in scripture:
- “While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And after the chief priests had met with the elders and formed a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report reaches the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day”. – Matthew 28:11-15
We see clearly, according to the Gospels, the Jewish priests who opposed Yeshua planned to spread a rumour that Christians were robbing graves, and that the report had the potential to reach the governor (likely the regional Roman governor). The Roman Empire was very organised, and if something had gained the attention of an Imperial governor, then it would only be a matter of time before information spread to higher levels if it was deemed a potential threat.
Seeing how the Empire was invested in keeping Israel under its thumb, to the point where they did not hesitate to destroy Jerusalem in 70 A.D (as both Yeshua and the prophet Daniel foretold would happen; Daniel 9:26-27, Matthew 24:14-16), it’s not too far from a stretch of the imagination to suggest Caesar’s edict was targeted at the Jews specifically, even more so in the fact that this edict was acquired in Nazareth, which may imply its Israeli historicity.
An Alternative Perspective
Regardless of all these parallels to the Christian accounts, other historians have suggested it may have no connection to Jews or Christians at all.
It is worth noting that Israel has no marble deposits. This has led some historians to believe the tablet was not originally found in Israel at all, but simply had been transported there at some later date, and therefore has nothing to do with Jews or Christians at all. Experiments in 2020 on the tablet revealed the marble used to make the tablet came from the Greek island of Kos.
Because of this, historians feel it may have been written as a response to the desecration of the grave of Nicias of Kos in 20 B.C.E
However, we should note that simply because Israel has no marble, it doesn’t prove that it wasn’t a tablet set up for Jews in Israel, for it was a common practice to import materials not native to certain lands, all over the Empire.
For example, though one might argue “because the marble was from Kos, the tablet was originally set up in Kos”, the writing on the tablet was written in very poor Greek, which is odd due to the fact that Kos was predominantly a Greek speaking island. The fact that the writer was not good at Greek shows that it’s a likely possibility that the marble was imported from Kos to another location where not as many people spoke fluent Greek.
Another important note to make, is that whilst Nicias’ grave was desecrated in 20 B.C.E, most language scholars date the edict to the first half of the 1st century A.D, which again is the time Yeshua was said to have died, long after the time of Nicias.
“The Nazareth Inscription or Nazareth decree is a marble tablet inscribed in Greek with an edict from an unnamed Caesar ordering capital punishment for anyone caught disturbing graves or tombs. It is dated on the basis of epigraphy to the first half of the 1st century AD“. – Wikipedia, Nazareth Inscription
Conclusion
Seeing that there is much evidence that can support the Nazareth Inscription being a response to the “removal” of Yeshua’s body from his tomb, does this act as absolute evidence for his resurrection? No, but it does imply further that the Gospels are telling true accounts.
Even if it does not directly prove Yeshua was raised, if it is a response to what was happening in Israel, then it would strongly attest to Yeshua’s body being missing, and to the rumour the Jewish priests were spreading about the Christians stealing his body, which the Apostles mention with candour in their writings.
Proselyte of Yah 