Biblical Blue Confirmed in Jerusalem
My friend, colleague and co-author (The Jesus Discovery), Professor James Tabor, has made a big 1st century discovery on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion. The dig is conducted by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and it’s co-director is Professor Shimon Gibson.
Basically, when we read in the Gospels that Jesus was tried by priests who sat on the Sanhedrin and officiated in the Holy Temple, we’re talking about individuals who most probably lived in the mansion that Professors Tabor and Gibson have just uncovered.
For me, the most intriguing find is a large number of Murex shells – the largest number ever found in the ruins of 1st century Jerusalem! This species of sea snail was highly valued because it was used to produce a rich, purple/blue dye that the Bible calls “Tekhelet”. For hundreds of years, the secret of Tekhelet had been lost. About a hundred years ago, the search for the “hilazon”, the mysterious sea creature that was used to produce Tekhelet, began. Some people identified the hilazon with an octopus, others focused on the Murex snail which, scientifically speaking, is the best candidate. My friend Baruch Sterman and his wife Judy wrote a wonderful book about the recent rediscovery in modern Israel of Biblical blue. Another friend (what can I do, I’m blessed with great friends?), Professor Zvi Koren, one of the world’s experts on ancient textiles, dyes and colours, is preparing a definitive scientific article on the subject. This is not simply an academic issue. The Bible explicitly commands us to wear “holy” strings, if you will, at the corners of our four-cornered garments. One of the strings has to be dyed in Tekhelet (Numbers 15:37-41). No Tekhelet, no fulfillment of the Biblical commandment! As I said, the Murex sea snail has already been identified as the mysterious hilazon, out of which Tekhelet is made, but finding great piles of Murex away from the seashore and in a priestly context in Jerusalem basically seals the argument from an archaeological point of view.
See: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/behold-jerusalem-dig-turns-priestly-bathtub-jesus-time-4B11186595
Click here to see my recent article “Christians at Masada!” on The Times of Israel
