How Empty Was the Tomb?
Although the term ‘empty tomb’ is endemic in contemporary literature, it is never used in the earliest Christian materials. The term makes little sense in the light of first-century Jerusalem tombs, which always housed multiple people. One absent body would not leave the tomb empty. The gospel narra...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue: Crisis as Catalyst: Early Christian Texts and the COVID-19 Pandemic |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2021
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 2021, Volume: 44, Issue: 1, Pages: 134-148 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Grave
/ Archaeology
/ Funeral
/ Resurrection
/ Mark
/ Gospels
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament HH Archaeology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Although the term ‘empty tomb’ is endemic in contemporary literature, it is never used in the earliest Christian materials. The term makes little sense in the light of first-century Jerusalem tombs, which always housed multiple people. One absent body would not leave the tomb empty. The gospel narratives presuppose a large, elite tomb, with multiple loculi, and a heavy rolling stone to allow repeated access for multiple burials. The gospels therefore give precise directions about where Jesus’ body lay in this large tomb. Apologetic anxiety leads to the characterization of the tomb as ‘new’ (Matthew and John), ‘in which no one had been laid’ (Luke and John), but it is possible that the appearance of Mark’s young man ‘on the right’ is significant. The anachronistic question ‘Was the tomb empty?’ should be replaced by the accurate question, ‘How empty was the tomb?’ |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5294 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0142064X211023714 |