More tidbits keep coming out about the Jesus Tomb. Here's the latest I've found: Chris Rosebrough of Extreme Theology has an excellent, clear summary post against the statistical claim used to support the tomb theory (i.e., the claim that there's only a 1 in 600 chance that the tomb is not the Jesus family tomb). The post includes an interesting point I hadn't yet heard.
In order to create this extraordinary statistic, the name "Mariamene e Mara" on the ossuary has to be connected with Mary Magdalene. Jacobovici claims the name on the ossuary should be translated, "Mary the Master," rather than, "Mary also known as (Mary nickname)," and he believes the title "Master" points to Mary Magdalene.
As we discussed here, there's no solid reason to think Mary Magdalene was ever known as "Mariamne," but now Rosebrough makes the further point that the only way one can come up with the translation "Mary the Master" is by mixing languages. The inscription is written in Greek, and "Mariamne" is the Greek form for "Mary," but "Mara" means "master" in Aramaic, not Greek. If the inscriber wished to communicate "Mary the Master," he would have written "Mariamne Ho Kurios." Instead, "Mara" is more likely a nickname for Mary, or it refers to a "Martha" also placed in the ossuary. Either way, the already tenuous connection to Mary Magdalene is lost, reducing the statistical probability dramatically.
Read the entire post about the faulty assumptions used to come up with the 600 to 1 statistic here.
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