Customer Reviews

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

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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

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.

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.

You cloud see Sepphoris from Nazereth; but, it isn't mentioned in the New Testament. Why? I have my idea as does the author. In the end you'll have to decide for yourself. The author gives you enough information to make your decision reasonable.

Josephus does mention Sepphoris. He should as he was the Jewish commander there during the war against Rome. If you have any interest in the archaeology of Israel I recommend this book highly. I will give one hint: Sepphoris, while the capital of Galilee, was a Greek town.