Jesus and the Forgotten City : New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban World of Jesus [Hardcover]

Richard Batey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

Did Jesus spend his youth in an isolated village? Or was he immersedin a world of commerce, provincial government, and the arts? Traditionally Jesus is pictured as "a rural son of the Galilean countryside whose only urban excursion was to Jerusalem," relates noted historian Paul L. Maier in the foreword.

"Richard A. Batey finds that portrait faulty," Maier continues. "In these intriguing pages, he overlays a fresh dimension of cosmopolitan culture onto the image of Jesus, bursting the bucolic frame that has thus far tended to delimit it. The ruins of the palace, colonnades, forum, theater, and villas at Sepphoris show that the Galilean culture affecting Jesus was far more sophisticated and urban than was previously thought possible."

Amid beautiful illustrations and photos by the staff of the National Geographic Society, Batey's images of Sepphoris reveal a city that Jesus almost certainly knew. In fact, the excavations have turned up evidence of political and social institutions which would seem to lie behind some of the terminology and illustrations Jesus uses in the Gospel narratives.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard A. Batey served as administrative director of the University of South Florida's exceavations at Sepphoris from 1982 to 1983 and was assistant director from 1984 to 1989. He was W. J. Millard Professor of Religion at Rhodes College and author of Jesus and the Poor. His Ph.D. degree is from Vanderbilt University. Illustrator J. Robert Teringo has done extensive travel and research in Bible lands and has served as associate art director of National Geographic magazine. He is the author and ilustrator of The Land and People Jesus Knew.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: CenturyOne Media (April 1, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0967849101
• ISBN-13: 978-0967849102
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,972,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all...., February 19, 2002

By 

The BPR Reference Guide (East Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus and the Forgotten City : New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban World of Jesus (Hardcover)

This book is about a city called Sepphoris that was about an hour's walk from Nazareth and postulates whether Jesus grew up in a much more urbanized setting than is usually depicted when conjuring up images of Jesus' everyday life. Sepphoris in the first century is described as "the ornament of all Galilee, its capital and its largest and most ornate city, and at that time second only to Jerusalem in importance in all Palestine." Archaeological evidence in the area seems to point to a much different overall setting for Jesus' early life than we are used to hearing for it is pretty hard to believe that a city of that size and that proximity would have no influence on the inhabitants of Nazareth.

Chapters include: The Importance of Sepphoris in Jesus' Day; Jesus the Carpenter; Jesus and the Theater; Antipas the Fox and John the Baptist; The King Figure in the Teachings of Jesus; Herod Antipas' Galilean Economy; The Economy of the Kingdom of God; Jesus, Friend of Tax Collectors and Jerusalem, City of the Great King. Very nice pictures and illustrations but a little pricey. -- Moza

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbeatable Imagery, May 9, 2008

By 

Emily Jamison "Emily" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus and the Forgotten City : New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban World of Jesus (Hardcover)

If you want to picture Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee during Jesus' childhood and a possible place of employment for him prior to his ministry, this is a wonderful book to buy. The author makes the theater, the overall scheme of Sepphoris, its construction, etc. come alive in a way that no other excavator I have read, on any Israeli site, does. I only wish that he had included more parts of Sepphoris in this attempt.

He also spends extensive time on Jesus' parables, and, presumably, enlightenment on them, from the discoveries of Sepphoris. I skipped that part - I am doing research for a novel and want to be able to depict Sepphoris - but I have no reason to think it isn't excellent as well.

If you're looking for scholarly results of the archaeological excavations at Sepphoris, this is not the book to buy. Although it is written by one of the excavators, it doesn't go into measurements, various strata, numismatics, etc. There are chapter notes at the back, but don't purchase it for bibliographic information and references either - it is nothing extensive.

5.0 out of 5 stars Jesus and The Forgotten City, October 22, 2011

By 

SteinKP - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jesus and the Forgotten City : New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban World of Jesus (Hardcover)

Well written, easy and quick read. Was hoping for perhaps some direct evidence relating to Joseph and Jesus, but what was given was very valuable for understanding and gaining new perspective on Jesus early life. Book arrived well ahead of the promised date, and was in such good condition it was hard to believe it wasn't new.