The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus

(Hardback)

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A world-renowned historian of early Christianity and ancient Judaism lifts the veil on the life of Mary-revealing her revolutionary role as the matriarch of the Jesus movement. A world-renowned historian of early Christianity and ancient Judaism lifts the veil on the life of Mary-revealing her revolutionary role as the matriarch of the Jesus movement. Mary, mother of Jesus, is the best known-and least known-woman in history. Revered and worshipped by countless millions, she remains a figment of the imagination, the ethereal subject of Raphaels and Botticellis, bathed in heavenly light, too virginal and pure to move among us. But what about the real Mary The young Jewish woman and single mother of eight-five boys and three girls. The defiant citizen of Roman-occupied Galilee who survived through one of the most dangerous periods of Jewish history-an ancient "game of thrones" that claimed the lives of two of her sons- Jesus by crucifixion and James by stoning. The historical Mary whose teachings and courageous example may in fact make her the "first founder" of what we now call Christianity. This Mary has not only been lost to us; she has been systematically erased over the past two millennia by a theological, cultural, and political program intent on removing her from the human realm and marginalizing her womanhood, motherhood, and Jewishness. In The Lost Mary, James D. Tabor corrects the record, laying out the results of his intensive textual and archaeological sleuthing over the past three decades, including new evidence regarding Mary's genealogy (which may be hiding in plain sight in the New Testament!). Tabor's quest for the historical Mary offers a transformative perspective on Jesus and his early followers, and recovers the nature and essence of earliest Christianity.

Reviews

In The Lost Mary, renowned historian James Tabor launches a bold quest to rediscover the historical Mary, mother of Jesus. Far from the passive, deified figure of Christian tradition, the real Mary was a Jewish woman shaped by the revolutionary fervor of her time. Tabor restores her voice, her faith, her motherhood, and, most of all, her humanity, in this groundbreaking portrait that challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of Christianity. Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Gospels, histories, legends, traditions, archaeological artifacts: James Tabor brings all these sources to bear as he retells the story of Mary, the mother not only of Jesus but also of the movement that he championed. The Lost Mary effects an imaginative repatriation of this ancient and elusive figure, vividly conjuring both her character and the times that she lived in. Tabors Mary is lost no more. Paula Fredriksen, author of When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation

Mary mother of Jesus, perhaps the most poorly-understood person who ever lived, could not find a better modern interpreter than James Tabor, whose life-long training in both archaeology and textual studies has given him the keys to, for the first time, constructing a convincing portrayal of this enigmatic figure. John Dominic Crossan, author of The Historical Jesus

"Tabors accessible, informed and wide-ranging exploration challenges Marys traditional portrayal, while situating Mary solidly within the social and political world of her times. This is a book that will appeal to those who seek an alternative view of Christian history. Joan E. Taylor, author of Boy Jesus: Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times

Author Bio

JAMES D. TABOR is a retired professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he served as department chair for a decade. His previous ten books include the international bestseller The Jesus Dynasty, The Jesus Discovery, and Paul and Jesus. Over the past three decades Tabor has combined his study of ancient texts with field work in archaeology, and since 2008 he has been co-director of the acclaimed Mt. Zion excavation in Jerusalem. Tabor's work has been featured in dozens of major magazines and TV documentaries, including on PBS Frontline, BBC, Discovery Channel, Nightline, 20/20, and the History Channel. He lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.