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Boy Jesus

The Childhood of Jesus of Nazareth in History and Archaeology

Joan Taylor

9780281085002
288 pages
SPCK Group
Overview

As a boy, Jesus was a refugee, an outsider, an immigrant in the Galilee in which he grew up, and a witness to horrific atrocities by the occupying Roman overlords.

All this and more is explored in this scholarly but highly accessible investigation into the world of Jesus, ranging from his birth to his coming of age at his Bar Mitzvah and beyond. Joan Taylor, a world authority on the history and literature of the first century CE, draws both on the latest archaeological findings and on the historical clues to be found within ancient texts of the period.

The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus’ childhood clearly and vividly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which his experiences as a child are likely to have influenced his life, attitudes and actions as an adult.

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1:The Identity of Jesus
Chapter 2: Seed of David
Chapter 3: Bethlehem and the House of Herod
Chapter 4: Memories and Meanings in the Nativity
Chapter 5: Refugee: Troubles in Judaea
Chapter 6: Growing up in Nazareth of Galilee
Chapter 7: Remembering Boy Jesus
Conclusions

Author Bio
Joan E. Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism, King’s College London. Her recent books include The Essenes, the Scrolls and the Dead Sea (OUP 2012), What Did Jesus Look Like? (Bloomsbury 2018) and (with Helen Bond) Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples (Hodder 2022).