The Ossuary Formerly Known as the “Jonah Ossuary”

A movement is afoot to ditch the term “Jonah ossuary” which reflects an interpretation that most do not find plausible, and substitute another nickname, such as the “amphora ossuary” or, if that isn’t catchy enough, the “handled fish ossuary.”

In The Bible and Interpretation James Tabor recounts James Charlesworth’s claim to have found the name of Jonah embedded in the inscription. The Globe and Mail features the news.

Steve Caruso gives the suggestion a failing grade, in a blog post that includes this image:

And Bob Cargill suggests that if one is willing to try to turn all lines and scratches into letters, then one can find other names besides Jonah on the ossuary:

Mark Goodacre lists the top ten problems with the claims being made about the ossuary and the inscription on it. James Tabor responded. The Duke Chronicle has an interview with Mark Goodacre and Eric Meyers about the subject.

Eerdmans announced that they will be publishing a volume on the Talpiot controversies.

Antonio Lombatti, John Byron, Ken Schenck, Jim West (several times), Jim Davila, Joel Watts, Sharon Hill, and others have also commented on this topic (or shared images on Pinterest). And if you haven’t seen it yet, last but not least, here is a second video that Bob Cargill shared yesterday:

UPDATE: Here is a link to the CNN video of Bob Cargill being interviewed. Mark Goodacre shows how the alleged stick-man has kept changing.