Lazarus and Resurrection
What time of the year did the resurrection of Lazarus happen? According to the commentaries I have read, the incident took place in the winter, just before Jesus was crucified in the early spring. However, Martha's fear about the smell of her brother's corpse makes a summertime scenario more likely. The decomposition problem would not have been as severe if Lazarus had passed away before Passover, when it would have been cooler outside. Martha's reaction seems unjustified when we take into account his meticulous embalming, a chilly tomb, and a winter season. Later in the year, however, it wouldn't be an exaggeration. The 4 days that were cited would have represented Jewish inclusive counting. Are there any alternative options to the usual winter schedule?
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What kind of climate is there in Bethlehem in winter?
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Christian Alexander said:
According to the commentaries I have read,
The first problem; speculation, and assumption the writers were presenting a time-based biography (versus an instructive series of narratives for example).
Christian Alexander said:The decomposition problem would not have been as severe if Lazarus had passed away before Passover, when it would have been cooler outside.
The text is interesting, in that it specifies a cave. Burials were more commonly simple 'dirt', or more expensively vertical shafts (depending on the geology). But caves tend to keep a fairly even temperature, especially if a group burial.
Christian Alexander said:his meticulous embalming
Where did you find that? Cloth binding appendages, and a facial cloth.
Christian Alexander said:The 4 days that were cited would have represented Jewish inclusive counting.
Maybe. Maybe not. I'd suspect the latter, given the account spends considerable effort in making sure Lazarus is really dead.
Point: Speculation is interesting but maybe the author 'tuned' his account the way he wanted? Interesting connect: Hab 2:15 LXX uses the same 'cave', presumably as a euphemism for nakeness. I asssume either how typically buried, or more likely the cultural banning.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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yes sorryDMB said:
I wanted to point out that as Bible readers we often think that our weather in the fall or winter must also be like the weather in Israel. But is the climate there really the same as ours? What do the Jewish historians of that time say? - Questions for the thread starter0 -
Christian Alexander said:
The 4 days that were cited would have represented Jewish inclusive counting.
Regardless of what you've read or been told, there's no such thing as "Jewish inclusive reckoning". There's just "inclusive reckoning" and it is done pretty much by every society that counts. It also isn't done by every society that counts. In other words, everyone everywhere counts inclusively or non-inclusively depending on whether it is appropriate to do so based on what and why they are counting.
In other words, just because "Jews" are counting something somewhere doesn't mean they automatically employ the "Jewish method" of inclusive counting. That trope is goofy, wrong-headed, and ever so slightly racist...not to mention that the trope was invented whole cloth by Christians trying to solve a problem in the text they otherwise have difficulty accounting for.
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"The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not." Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.
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Thanks everyone.
- John 5:21 - For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
- John 5:24-26 - Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
- John 10:27, 28 - My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
Jesus, in my opinion, had already drawn the distinction between Himself as the Son of God and the giver of life to everyone who believes. Martha was a close friend and associate of Jesus, therefore it's likely that she was aware of these teachings.
Rambam on this Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1:6
And the fifth group - and they are many - join all of these matters together and say that that which is anticipated is that the Messiah will come and bring the dead back to life, and they will enter the Garden of Eden, and they will eat there and drink and be healthy all the days of the world.
According to the author of the Gospel of John John, the Priest also intended to kill Lazurus. Because Bethany was so close to Jerusalem, word of Lazurus's resurrection would spread swiftly. Thus, it would seem plausible that Lazurus's Resurrection occurred only a few days before Jesus' crucifixion. Is this a correct assumption? Where can I find out what the Jewish historians of antiquity say about Israel's climate?
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Christian Alexander said:
Where can I find out what the Jewish historians of antiquity say about Israel's climate?
I would search the web with different search terms. Not sure you will find what you're looking for, but you might get lucky.
Christian Alexander said:Thus, it would seem plausible that Lazurus's Resurrection occurred only a few days before Jesus' crucifixion. Is this a correct assumption?
Just a few verses after he rises, in the same chapter, it says the Passover was near, so it is a somewhat safe assumption. Not sure you can put a number of days on it. The main caveat is John 11:54, which inserts an unquantifiable period between Lazarus and Passover.
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"The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not." Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.
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Seriously off-topic but interesting. Lazarus' burial is literally a cave (which geologically sites the location relative to Bethany). But the same word shows up in Jesus cleansing the temple. The 'den of robbers' is literally a 'cave' of robbers, whense hiding the loot!
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Christian Alexander said:
Where can I find out what the Jewish historians of antiquity say about Israel's climate?
[quote]Bethlehem has a Mediterranean climate, with hot and dry summers and cold winters. Winter temperatures (mid-December to mid-March) can be cold and rainy. January is the coldest month, with temperatures ranging from 1 to 13 degree Celsius (33–55 °F). From May through September, the weather is warm and sunny. August is the hottest month, with a high of 30 degrees Celsius (81 °F). Bethlehem receives an average of 700 millimeters (28 in) of rainfall annually, 70% between November and January.53
Bethlehem's average annual relative humidity is 60% and reaches its highest rates between January and February. Humidity levels are at their lowest in May. Night dew may occur in up to 180 days per year. The city is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea breeze that occurs around mid-day. However, Bethlehem is affected also by annual waves of hot, dry, sandy and dust Khamaseen winds from the Arabian Desert, during April, May and mid-June.journal={The Dictionary of Christianity and the Bible},
pages={1828} }0
