At the end of December, 1990, one of the most significant New Testament-related archaeological discoveries ever made came to light in Jerusalem: the tomb of Caiaphas, high priest in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ death. Some of the ossuaries found in the tomb were inscribed with the name “Caiaphas,” the most magnificently decorated of them was inscribed with the name “Joseph bar Caiaphas.”
Caiaphas[1] is the most prominent Second Temple-period Jewish personality whose ossuary and remains have been discovered. I have used the occasion of this discovery to discuss Caiaphas’ personality and place among the high priests, and to explain some of the background to his fateful decision to eliminate Jesus and his disciples.[2] A careful reading of the gospel reports shows that the involvement of this high priest[3] in handing Jesus over to the Romans and persecuting his disciples was more decisive than it is commonly believed.
Both rabbinic sources and the recently discovered ossuaries show that the name Caiaphas was the designation for this whole family. The Tosefta speaks about the house of Caiapha (Yevamot 1:10), and Josephus refers to Joseph surnamed Caiaphas (Antiq. 18:35, 95). The surname קיפא/קפא (ka·ya·FA Caiapha) appears on two of the ossuaries discove
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