The ossuary of Miriam, a relative of Caiphas, is not as famous as that of James, the brother of Jesus, but it speaks of the reliability of the Bible. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
Joel Kontinen
A 2,000 year old ossuary or limestone bone box is the most recent evidence of the reliability of the Bible. Israeli archaeologists examined the box that was confiscated from tomb robbers three years ago. They concluded that both the ossuary and its inscription are genuine.
The inscription is rather interesting: ”Miriam daughter of Yeshua son of Caiaphas, priest of Maaziah from Beth Imri.”
The Gospels tell us about a high priest named Caiphas. The Caiphas mentioned in the ossuary might have been a relative of his since priesthood in Israel was hereditary and only the well-to-do (for instance, the high priest and his family) could afford limestone burial boxes.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University examined the ossuary with powerful microscopes in order to rule out fraud.
At the end of June, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that the ossuary and its inscription are both ancient and genuine.
Once again, archaeology confirms that the Bible tells us about real people who lived in a certain historical era. (You can read more about archaeological finds that support the historical reliability of the Bible here, here, here and here.)
Source:
Israeli scholars say 2,000-year-old burial box linked to Bible’s high priest is genuine. The Washington Post. 29 June 2011.
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