|(I'm considering making this image a series header. :-) )|
One of the most common apologies that Dr. Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici have been using in blog comments is that scholars cannot make up their minds about what the image is; therefore, their interpretation somehow has some more possible merit.
Is it a krater? Is it an amphora? Is it an unguentarium? Is it some generic vessel? No one knows! -- There is no consensus -- so it could be a fish.
Allow me to explain it with metaphors: Two of them in fact.
One automotive, the other an older one I've used before, but in a much more explicit context.
For the first, please absorb this image (props to go my eldest daughter):
Let us imagine that when this image was first noticed 30 years ago, a newspaper reported it being some sort of Sedan automobile.
The newspaper article is forgotten and suddenly this very year Simcha Jacobovici and James Tabor announce to the world that, "We've found this inscription, and it's a fish."
Needless to say, this causes a lot of ruckus.
Bob Cargill remarks, "What? It's a Chevy."
Mark Goodacre says, "Come on. It's a VW, or some sort of German 2-door."
Tom Verenna says, "Really? I think it looks more like a Nissan Fiargo."
Tabor and Jacobovici, after listening in for a bit, then say here and there, "See? You guys can't agree with one another. It's a fish."
This is where a little more puzzlement and disbelief sets in. Everyone else does not quite understand, not just how they could come to such a conclusion, but also how they could say that no one could make up their minds.
After all -- a Sedan, a Chevy, a VW, a Fiargo -- they're all cars. Where the make and model are nuances, the clear consensus is that it's an automobile.
Simply put: This apology that there is "no consensus" cannot and does not stand upon its own merits.
With me so far?
Now to the second metaphor. I've shared this one with you before, so bear with me:
When you watch this video *this* time around, substitute the following phrases in your mind, one-to-one, melodrama and all:
"Skull" = "Jonah" or "Fish"
"Island" = "Ossuary"
"Duck" = "Vessel"
"Bunny" = "Nephesh Tower"
"Scary" = "Theologically Traumatic" or "Early Christian"
(The former I admit, is more Simcha's phrase. :-) )
There: You now truly have the whole story that has played out these past weeks.
Labels: james tabor, jonah ossuary, Mark Goodacre, robert cargill, simcha jacobovici, The Jesus Discovery, The Resurrection Tomb Mystery, Tom Verenna