Jesus-era leper sheds light on Turin shroud mystery
Body found in Tomb of the Shroud in Jerusalem reveals earliest known case of leprosy.
By Haaretz Service Tags: Jerusalem Israel newsIsrael experts said on Wednesday that a burial shroud known as the Turin shroud, assumed to be the type used to wrap the body of Jesus, did not actually originate from Jesus-era Jerusalem.
The conclusion was based on excavation discoveries of a first-century C.E. shrouded man found in a tomb on the edge of the Old City of Jerusalem, which also revealed the earliest proven case of leprosy.
Along with the DNA of the shrouded man, this was the first time that fragments of a burial shroud have been found from the time of Jesus in Jerusalem, which, unlike the complex weave of the Turin Shroud, this shroud was made up of a simple two-way weave, as the textiles historian Dr. Orit Shamir was able to show.
The results from the first-century C.E. Tomb of the Shroud have filled a vital gap in our knowledge of this disease, said Prof. Mark Spigelman, of the Sanford F. Kuvin Center for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Shamir and Spigelman were both part of a team of academic experts which conducted molecular investigation on the shrouded body, discovered in the burial cave known as the Tomb of the Shroud, and is located in the lower Hinnom Valley and is part of a first-century C.E. cemetery known as Akeldama or 'Field of Blood' (Matthew 27:3-8; Acts 1:19) - next to the area where Judas is said to have committed suicide.
The shrouded man's tomb was located next to the tomb of Annas, the high priest (6-15 C.E.), who was the father in law of Caiaphas, the high priest who betrayed Jesus to the Romans. These facts lead investigators to believe that that this shrouded man was either a priest or a member of the aristocracy.
Using radiocarbon methods, the investigators discovered that this man dated back to 1-50 C.E., and did not receive a secondary burial, which was particularly rare for this type of tomb.
Secondary burials were common practice at the time, where the bones were removed after a year and placed in an ossuary (a stone bone box).
But the entrance to this tomb was completely sealed with plaster.
According to Prof. Spigelman, this was due to the fact that this man had suffered from leprosy and died of tuberculosis, as the DNA of both diseases was found in his bones.
The excavation also found a clump of the shrouded man's hair, which had been ritually cut prior to his burial.
These were both unique discoveries because organic remains were hardly ever preserved in the Jerusalem area owing to high humidity levels in the ground.
Prof. Spigelman and colleague Prof. Charles Greenblatt said that the origins and development of leprosy were still largely obscure. Leprosy in the Old Testament may well have referred to skin rashes such as psoriasis.
The leprosy known to us today was thought to have originated in India and brought over to the Near East and to Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic period.
The co-infection of both leprosy and tuberculosis here and in 30 percent of DNA remains in Israel and Europe from the ancient and modern period also provided evidence for the postulate that the medieval plague of leprosy was eliminated by an increased level of tuberculosis in Europe as the area became urbanized.
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A diagram of Jerusalem's Tomb of the Shroud. |
| Photo by: (Shimon Gibson) |
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First Jesus said : Love your GOD the only one GOD with all your mind, all your heart, all your streng, and love your neighborg as yourself and that is the all Moses's Law.i'm not trying to discuss or teach something new my dear Hebrew people, just i wanna told you Israel always not recogniced the time when ELOHIM calls,do you remember Moses in the desert?Elija?Jeremy,Eliseo?Daniel?and all prophets?The Tora says always Israeli people were far from their GOD, is true or wrong ? what about know has something changed ? Remember YOU ARE SPECIAL non better than us,YOU ARE PRECIOUS all promises that ELOHIM said he will do because HE LOVES YOU open your hearts to HIM, GOD BLESS YOU ISRAEL FOREVER ;-))
"Leprosy in the Old Testament may well have referred to skin rashes such as psoriasis." Wrong! Leprosy is not mentioned in Tenach. Leprosy is a mistranslation of the word tzoras, which is a spiritual, not a physical ailment. The laws of tzoras show this. For example, if one has tzoras one does not see a doctor, but rather a Kohen (priest). If tzoras was a physical ailment, the law would be to see a doctor. By the way, the Shroud of Turin has long been proven to come from the Renaissance era. This is confirmed by carbon dating.
You say that Jesus "never canceled the Moses laws he spoke and he did and completed it, like never before and after. . . ." That is not what the Christian bible says. It clearly says that Jesus ate bread on Pasach, gathered grain on Shabbos, told one follower not to bury his father, chastized his own mother in public. . . . Need I go on? Each act is a violation of Torah law as given by HaShem to Moses.
attis was nailed to a tree, buried in a cave-like tomb. rose from the dead after 3 days. his followers were doused in lamb's blood to symbolize being washed in attis' blood. they were said to be born-again and could only drink milk for the first 7 days after their conversion. christianity is a complete and utter counterfeit of this, and other, more ancient religions. read a book already!!!
you are partially right about blame being shifted to the Jews. However the Roman church was largely to blame for that around the time of the council of Nicea about 330 AD when power was consolidated in Rome rather than equally amongst the 5 patriarchies. The Gospels are clear that it was G-D's plan that Jesus was cruxified and that Jesus also was aware of what was coming. Pilate sought to quiet the general unrest in this Palestinian backwater and used the requests of the politically appointed priests to curry favor with the people. Nevertheless the Romans where the executioners and did so for their purposes, regardless of the Jewish leaders desires. Not all the Sanhedren were consenting as is evidenced by the illegal meeting convened to accomplish it. Remember that those who say "Jews killed Jesus" disregard the fact that all Jesus' followers for many years following were Jews .
People seem to choose to ignore the solid historical facts that crucifixion was spcifically designed to leave no remains for burial, whether in a shroud or otherwise, because the body was not allowed to be taken down until the birds ate it almost completely and as the bones fell off dogs would run off with them. Anyone who tried to take down the body before this happened would be punished with crucifixion themself. There was no body to wrap in a shroud, this was all an invention of centuries later like much of the distortions and fabrications and falsehoods that the pagan Romans inflicted on Jesus's teachings through Paul...
If Johns Gospel was written 120 years after the the account, which occurred between 27 and 33 AD when Jesus was 33 y.o., how is it that we have an extant fragment of this Gospel, Papyrus 52, which all experts date no later than 90 AD?
"So why the continuing fraud on the public about this mere piece of cloth?" - W Because life is short and some folks think that they can buy fire insurance. The need to believe has always existed. And those that must believe in something grasp at any straw to support their belief. The 'Shroud of Turin' was judged a hoax by the Church soon after it appeared. It has been proven that the flax plants which were turned into the cloth grew over a thousand years after the Crucifixion. This will never sway those desperate to believe that by belief they will escape death. Reality will not intrude because they cannot allow it to intrude. They grasp at the Shroud as 'proof' Jesus was real and they are 'saved.' It would be unkind to disillusion them. Anyone who feels the need to believe that the Shroud of Turin is "proof' of Christianity is a person with fragile faith John 3:12 .
"I would think that the shroud used to cover the body of the son of God would rightfully be of the highest quality available. . . " - Joseph Blough The guy buried near Jerusalem was a convicted criminal.
"The Jews were the first persecutors of Christians." - Lou Medel Lou, Jesus wasn't a Christian. The religion didn't exist when he died. He was a Jew. "Greetings Rabbi!" - judas (Matthew 26:49 Oh, and Lou, check out Matthew 26:47 while your at it. Caiaphas clearly arranged the bust.
"esus was executed for sedition against Rome by Roman soldiers, following a Roman trial." - BDS You noticed this too? After Christianity became the official religion of Rome someone had to b blamed besides Rome. . . . p.s. There were lots of Jews quite happy with the status-quo and not interested in seeing troublemakers prosper.
"The Turin shroud remains a mystery" - Frank Only to the self-lobotomized.
The Shroud of Turin suddenly appeared in history during an age when the manufacture and sale of holy relics was a cottage industry. It has been radio-carbon dated to that same time. How do we know Jesus was 24 feet tall? Be cause he would have to have been to have carried all the pieces of the True Cross venerated across Europe. I find the archeology fascinating and enlightening. And I am amused at how well Dr Shamir and Profesor Spiegelman have schlepped the Shroud of Turin onstage to get some publicity. Good work, sullied by unprofessional showmanship.
Yes, thank you, I have always been aware of what BC and AD have meant. I was taught this in history classes. I know that this is a modern phenomenon to push the great divide in time to a relagated place which no longer has meaning. However, History is HIS Story and it was once recognized as such and will be again when "every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of G-d the Father"Phil.2,vs.8-10. I have no intention of prosletizing on this site, I just am offended that Jews, who I love, have seen to it that this designation is being eliminated from our culture. I see this as aggressive and predjudicial. The designation was not a problem when we were not "politically correct" and trying to please everyone in the whole world.
The translation of the name Bar-Abas can men the son of the father. What do you say if Jesus was called Bar-Abas, and freed by Pontus Pilatus as the followers came and voted for him? Without CNN, SkyNews, BBC and Haarets. The story took some twists until it was written down several decades later...
Christians don't own the calendar.
That well known, modern liberal democracy, that bastion of human rights, Rome. Of course one could vote, if you owned land, if you were a male, if you weren't a slave. I'm sure that every Roman governor took numerous polls to find out what the people wanted, and catered to their every whim. The Legions were just for show, no really. After all, the Jews, you know, the ones that were living on the inside of Jerusalem when those 'for show' Legionieres, sacked the Temple, the ones which stood on the inside of Masada for seven years, our decisions were final. If you believe that, then I have a bridge to sell you, cheap.
BC - Before Christ AD - Anno Dominae translates into "In the Year of Our Lord" "Back in the day", calendar years were based off of the rule of a nation's king, so years fluctuated throughout world based on which king you lived under. When the Gregorian calendar was used, they took the year of the "King" or from Jesus birth. This is all well and good if you are a Christian living in the year 2009 of Christ's dominion. But if you're not, it's a slap in the face at you. Before the Common Era (BCE) and CE (Common Era) allows those of other faiths and non-believiers to utilize the calendar as well for non religious, ie, common, purposes.
This is an Israeli newspaper. Israel is the JEWISH state get over it and get with modern times.
I love how haaretz has no problem letting christian idol worshipers post their hate. Just because the article is "Jesus-era" doesn't mean the body has anything to do with the Idol Worshiper Jesus.
Ned, you may want to consider your terms of reference. As a Jew, who does not regard Jesus as dominus, the use of AD or BC may be an unneeded usage to describe history. There are Muslims, Buddhistsm Hindus, Shintoists who do not regardl Jesus as Lord. Why do you insist on this term which dates from the Middle Ages?
Blasphemy? Yes. Pilate wanted no dissention with the Jews. His position was precarious. Read your own Talmud. Jesus is referred to as "illegitmate"(bastard) and Mary as "unclean"(harlot.) C'mon don't be dishonest. These are things that happened millenia ago. You and I are not guilty of these acts. Salaam/Shalom
The word Lord is ambiguous because in Ps. 110:1 there are two Lords. The first is YHVH, the one God of Israel and of Jesus. The second is the Messiah lord (adoni, not adonai). The Lord Christ was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:11). The true Jesus affirmed the unitarian creed of Israel. Jesus was certainly not a Trinitarian. His followers ought to follow the creed which Jesus approved in Mark 12:29: The Lord our God is one Lord, not two! or three.
I don't understand what upsets you? How else are you going to differentiate between before and after? Old or new testament? It's just a dating system. Or are proposing that we date from the great flood?
In the 15th Century. However, what is the importance of the actual weave? If it is a simple two way weave does this signify wealth, well acually a lack of it? As the more money that is available the more elaborate the burial is usually the case the world over. Jesus had a large following perhaps they all ppitched in a shekel or two? Or even after Pontius Pilate acknowledged Jesus as king of the Jews he gave him the best send off he could. Also isn't there many references to Leprosy in the New and Old Testaments and as such this is merely a confirmation that they hold a record of the population at the time? It is an interesting find particularly the fact he had no secondary burial, could this be as simple as the fact they forget he was there, or even that the burial party became infected so the tomb was quarantined. A fascinating insight. More of the same Haaretz
"The Romans were merely executioners." It is unreasonable to believe that a Roman governor would allow himself to be pushed around by a subject people like that. Jesus was executed for sedition against Rome by Roman soldiers, following a Roman trial. 120 years later, after the expulsion from Jerusalem, when John's Gospel was written, it suited the Christians, many not Jews by birth, to exonerate the Romans and blame the rebellious Jews.
a Jewish defense mechanism to avoid facing the truth. "You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
Regardless of wether the Turin Shroud is from Jesus times or from the 14th century, what I find astonishing is that so far nobody has answered the question of how the haunting image of a crucified man on it was formed. The fact is that science just has no answer to it. As far as I'm concerned, the Turin Shroud still remains a mystery.
I can't tell you how hurtful it is to Christians who are in support of a strong Israel to read time and time again "CE" or "BCE" in reference to dating time. It is a slap in the face to us and is a modern invention to eradicate the historisity of the importance of Jesus time upon this earth. You know these things and yet you continue to abuse our sensitivities in this regard. Please don't be so insensitive to us. We love Israel and feel this is real discrimination which Jews should be aware of.
missionary who ? may be you're blinded and have a stone hearts but Your GOD wants to give the oportunity to changed your religions way to sincerity just read and study the TORA with your heart and not only mind ok GOD BLESS YOU!
ok just study the Tora there you will find the answer, from the genesis to the last prophet but open yours hearts ELOHIM is tired to listen only words He wants your hearts ok go to study the TORA now and make like DANIEL the prophet when he was in babilonia he has recogniced his sins and changed yours hearts GOD BLESS YOU FOREVER :-))
The Shroud of Turin was made in the 14th century, according to Luigi Gonella, scientific adviser to the archbishop of Turin. The Church's archives show it investigated the Shroud when it first surface, and found it to be a fraud. So why the continuing fraud on the public about this mere piece of cloth?
Carbon dating shows it to be from th 13-14th century, not earlier. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon_14_dating_of_the_Shroud_of_Turin
Hey Mario, you can believe in Jesus, in Buda, in Mohammad, you are free to do so, but G-d is one and soon He will send the true Mashiaj
I would think that the shroud used to cover the body of the son of God would rightfully be of the highest quality available, so it is no surprise that it would differ from that used to bury a leper. Given the Messiah's stature, the cloth used for his burial could have even been of divine origin.
I knew jewish people were very talented in general, BUT HEY, one of them was even able to convince the likes of you that he is god himself....WOW.
"The shrouded man's tomb was located next to the tomb of Annas, the high priest (6-15 C.E.), who was the father in law of Caiaphas, the high priest who betrayed Jesus to the Romans." Caiaphas didn't betray Jesus. He demanded that Jesus be executed. The Romans were merely executioners. Even Pilate washed his hands of "this innocent man." The Jews were the first persecutors of Christians. As for the shroud of this ancient leper, does it have any meaning other than scientic speculation? It has nothing to do with what Jesus taught. Salaam/Shalom
I have no opinion about the authenticity of the Turin Shroud, but I do have questions about the methodology of this study. What is the basis for believing only one kind of shroud was used at that time? It is easy to postulate that because Jesus was so revered by some of his followers they used a more expensive shroud in his honor.
Mario - Please don't use this forum for missionary.
JESUS just loves all humanity firts Jews and gentiles, He never did something wrong if you read the true bografic about Him you will be happy, because he speak about the true justice,the true shalom,the true ahava and he never canceled the Moses laws he spoke and he did and completed it, like never before and after and He is coming back, and all the prophesis that he said about Israel are happening why ? the tora says only ELOHIM knows the mistery of the future because JESUS is ELOHIM'S SON !