Boy Jesus

'Enlightening and engaging, this is a must read for everyone interested in the historical Jesus and the birth of Christianity.'

Nick Holmes, author of The Roman Revolution: Crisis and Christianity in Ancient Rome

What would Jesus have witnessed, experienced and felt as a boy growing up in first-century Galilee?

Jesus lived at a time of deep social disturbance, as the Jewish people struggled to come to terms with Roman occupation. As a boy, he was a refugee, an outsider, an immigrant in the Galilee in which he grew up. He was also a witness to horrific atrocities carried out by the occupying Roman overlords and their client rulers. All this and more is explored in this scholarly but highly accessible investigation.

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 key texts of the period. The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus' identity, birth and boyhood clearly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which his experiences as a child are likely to have influenced him as an adult.

Contents

Figures and Plates

Acknowledgements

Timeline

1. Identity: Jew, Judahite and Judaean

2. Heritage: Seed of David

3. Location: Bethlehem

4. Born Jesus: The Gospel of Matthew

5. Born Jesus: Luke and Beyond

6. Refugee: Into Egypt

7. Return: A Time of Hope

8. Growing up Galilean

9. Growing up Jesus

10. Boy Jesus in the Temple

Conclusions

Abbreviations

Notes

Index