Thursday, May 8, 2014

What did Jesus Look Like?

A new image of what could be Jesus has been unearthed in Egypt.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/29/jesus-inscription-tomb_n_5234109.html

Like other early images, this one depicts him without a beard.

The oldest known depiction of Jesus (235 CE) shows him not only without a beard, but with short hair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dura-europos-paralytic.jpg

Here is another one from around the same era:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Good_shepherd_02b_close.jpg

However, these descriptions were most likely based on images of the Roman gods.

It was not until almost two centuries later, in the late 4th century, that Jesus was depicted with longer hair and a beard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depiction_of_Jesus

It was Jewish law for men to have beards and to not cut the hair on the sides of their head short, and the Pharisees never accused Jesus of not complying with this regulation. However, scholars believe that many people cut their hair short in those days to help prevent lice.

I was recently watching a documentary called "Who Was Jesus?" and a forensics person came up with this image: