James Tabor is a rare creature among academics, combining solid expertise in traditional literary and archaeological scholarship with creativity and a sense of the truly sensational. Many scholars have undertaken studies of Jesus and his legacy; none has dared advance the boldly provocative theses of The Jesus Dynasty. For sheer breadth of vision and imaginative reconstruction, rooted deeply in the historical sciences, this promises to be a book unlike any the public has ever seen.

Professor Bart Ehrman
Chair, Dept. of Religious Studies
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Based on more than twenty-five years of painstaking study of both the textual and artifactual remains of ancient Judaism and Christianity, James Tabor presents what may be the boldest reconstruction yet of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. In this book, which is sure to fascinate some and dismay others, Tabor brings his extensive research in apocalypticism and messianism to bear on the historical figure of Jesus. Working with the surviving evidence like a CSI detective—especially the testimonies concerning Jesus’ family and the Jerusalem Nazarenes—Tabor succeeds in reinscribing what has been lost (and in some cases erased) from the historical record. At once scholarly and accessible, Tabor’s book may very well inaugurate a new phase in the quest for the historical Jesus.

Professor Arthur J. Droge
Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature
Director, Program in Religious Studies
The University of California at San Diego

James Tabor stands out among his generation of biblical scholars for his thorough familiarity with the full range of textual evidence from the first centuries, his extensive experience with archaeological excavations, and his imagination and creativity. Tabor has a remarkable ability to discern the contours of vital religious movements from the scattered bits and pieces of evidence that survive from antiquity. Anyone who takes the career of Jesus seriously will have to reckon with his bold, new synthesis.

Professor Eugene V. Gallagher
Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies
Connecticut College

A good introduction for the first-time and/or non-specialist reader to the real dynastic situation surrounding the person and family of ‘Jesus’ and, in particular, the dynastic situation of his ‘brother’ James. James Tabor takes the people-friendly and low-key, highly-accessible approach. He applies his extensive knowledge of Christian hermeneutics and interpretation and Jewish history and tradition in this attempt to more accurately portray ‘the Historical Jesus’ in the context of his Jewish family and Community, as well as against the background of the Messianic Movements of the time.

A useful and an important first step into the world of complex theology and controversial archaeological activity for those of Christian and Jewish backgrounds alike. Tabor diplomatically weighs in on long-standing controversies in a manner that readers of either Jewish or Christian background may well find conciliatory. One hopes that this book will help to increase understanding and sympathy across the lines dividing the Abrahamic traditions.

Robert Eisenman
Author of James the Brother of Jesus and forthcoming, The New Testament Code: Uncovering the Truth about James the Brother of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls

I just finished reading your book, it is indeed a page-turner, and I just wanted to say that it is the most electrifying and fascinatingly detailed book on Jesus that I have ever read. The resurrection of John the Baptizer, James, and the Jesus Dynasty has been a long time coming and for those out there who are starving for accurate details, tantalizing and plausible possibilities, and most of all, for the historical truth, you have done a great and much appreciated service. I am very, very excited about its publication and I wanted to say thanks again for the early opportunity to read it.

Chip Trammel, Graduate Student
Christian Origins and Ancient Judaism
Rice University, Houston, TX

While I have serious disagreements with many of his historical constructions and conclusions, I must say that in The Jesus Dynasty Dr. James Tabor has made what must be considered a remarkable attempt to make sense of the ancient evidence for the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Of course, those in the Christian mainstream will cringe and even shriek aloud over much of what Dr. Tabor has written, but his ideas cannot be considered far-fetched when viewed from a perspective that considers the New Testament gospels to be non-eyewitness, late-1st-century aggregations of oral embellishment layered over the “real” Jesus. Unlike the painfully absurd approaches of recent books such as The Da Vinci Code, The Jesus Papers and The Templar Legacy, Tabor, as a serious scholar, has kept his wits about him and broached the subject with the skill of an historian, albeit in a purposed attempt to push the envelope of Jesus studies to the limits of what he considers reasonable speculation. As one who has spent nearly three decades assembling evidence in favor of the eyewitness nature and historical accuracy of the New Testament gospels, I look forward to discussing our differing views this coming October at the 2006 International Symposium on Archaeology and the Bible in Jordan. That will be great fun!

Steven Collins, Ph.D.
Director, The Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project, Jordan
Dean, College of Archaeology & Biblical History
Trinity Southwest University
Albuquerque, NM